ASUS N550JV Entertainment Laptop SSD upgrade and Clean Installation of Windows 8.1

Most reviews give high praise to this laptop but all of them moans about the mechanical hard drive. Seriously, I can’t really understand all the fuss since SSDs are so cheap and this laptop is so easy to upgrade. You can then put the mechanical hard drive into a case as an USB drive or even better, put it in where the optical driver is so you have both the speed and space.

Regarding how to swap the drive for an SSD, please see the video below. You don't have to buy the adapter from them though, you can find one on ebay at much lower price. Remember that you will need a 9.5mm one.

In this post, I will give you a step by step guide on how to clean install windows 8.1. Although you can migrate the system from the HDD to SSD, I never liked the idea. Whenever I get a new PC, clean installation of windows is always the first think I do.

My main argument points are:

1. The most important reason for a fresh install is that the machine will normally run better. In the case of N550JV, the SSD runs about 30MB/second faster when tested with CrystalDiskMark.
2. Remove bloat wares and save hard drive space. I have claimed about 10GB which is significant for a 256GB SSD. And again, removal of bloat ware will also help the machine run faster.
3. Using migration software such as Easeus Todo Backup needs some hardware like SATA-USB adapter and if you don’t have a USB3.0 one, it tends to take longer. 

If you still prefer to just migrate the data or you have some software that you are no longer have the installation media, I recommend using Easeus Todo Backup. It’s a free software and straitforward to use.

The phase 1 of this guide is generic and can be applied to any windows 8.1 installation. (some of the pictures were copied from internet and the right belong to the original authors)

Phase 1:

• Find you windows 8 or windows 8.1 key. Since windows 8, the product keys have been hidden in bios instead of a sticker on the back of the computer (some dell PC has the key in a little compartment in the back of the PC which is very handy). This makes our life a bit difficult as you cannot active windows 8/8.1 without the key. But hey, wherever there is a problem, there is a solution. 
• Download and extract the  Windows Product Key Viewer (you may skip this step if your laptop did not come pre-installed with Windows 8). Run pkeyui.exe by right clicking on it then choose Run As Administrator, then find your Windows 8 product key and write it down somewhere safe.
• Find driver for your computer. You can download this from the manufacture’s website. Some good manufactures will include a driver folder in C drive and some better ones will include a CD. I recommend download/backup all drivers on a flash driver before the installation process. If your manufacture provide drivers for different harwares, you can find yours by Go to Control Panel > System > Device Manager, then click on the + sign next to your hardware, then note down the exact name that shows for the them in order to be able to choose and download the appropriate driver for them.
• Download the windows installation ISO. You can download the Windows 8.1 Single Language x64 GA ISO or Windows 8.1 core & pro x64 GA ISO. Please note this must be the version that you currently have on your PC. These links were posted by a very kind user. If they stop working, you can download the RTM ISO by searching on Google or from here if you have access to a retail windows 8 or 8.1 product key. ASUS N550JV has Windows 8.1 core.
• Burn the ISO to a DVD or better yet, use Rufus to make a bootable USB, make sure to choose the UEFI/GPT partition option in RUFUS as per the guide. Don’t use Windows 7 DVD download tool as it can’t write UEFI boot sequence.

• Insert your Windows 8.1 DVD or USB stick Shut down your computer.
• Enter bios to change boot sequence to DVD or USB stick.
• For N550JV and most ASUS computer, you can simply keep pressing the ESC key on your keyboard quickly while turning your laptop on without changing anything in bios. If this doesn't work the first time and you find yourself back to Windows, then simply restart your computer while continuously pressing the ESC key it should work. 
• When you get the boot options, choose UEFI:Matshita or UEFI:USB Stick as we want to install Windows 8 in UEFI/GPT mode.

• Wait while the Windows setup loads then click install now, chose your keyboard layout then click next.

• Accept the license agreement. Install windows using the Windows 8.1 Default Installation Keys listed, these are not illegal cracked keys and are NOT actual keys that you can activate Windows with, they are legit generic keys for the installation only. You will need to enter the product key you got above when you're in Windows to activate.

Windows 8.1 Single Language Y9NXP-XT8MV-PT9TG-97CT3-9D6TC
Windows 8.1 Core 334NH-RXG76-64THK-C7CKG-D3VPT
Windows 8.1 Pro XHQ8N-C3MCJ-RQXB6-WCHYG-C9WKB

• When you get to the partition wizard, delete all the partitions, then proceed to create new ones, You'll need at least 50GB for the OS but I recommend 100 if you are planning to install some big games. To do this, click on CREATE to create a new partition, if you want 100GB exactly for C:, then enter the following value in the size box: 102936

• Install Windows on the 4th partition which is the 100GB partition which we just created or whatever size you may have chosen.

• When you get to the first screen on Windows 8, choose EXPRESS SETTINGS if you are not sure what you are doing or choose CUSTOMIZE if you want to change individual settings.
• Type in computer name, user name etc.
• When you have done all these, you should be able to see the familiar windows tiles.
• Now press windows+w and search update, install all critical update.
• Go to Control Panel > System then scroll down to the end and click on ACTIVATE then click on Enter New Key and enter the product key that is built into your BIOS which you acquired as mentioned earlier in this guide. As soon as you enter the product key Windows will be activated automatically over the internet.
• Congratulations, you have completed a successful clean install.
• Now install all the drivers you have downloaded following the order on the manufacture's website. When asked to restart please DO restart immediately as that is vital for the proper installation of some drivers. DO NOT take any shortcuts!

Phase 2: Install all drivers (Please note this part of the guide is for ASUS N550JV only)

Download the drivers from the below links and install them in the numbered order. 

When asked to restart please DO restart immediately as that is vital for the proper installation of some drivers. DO NOT take any shortcuts!

01-Intel Chipset Drivers 9.4.0.1022
02-Intel Rapid Storage Technology Driver 12.8.0.1016
After you download the *.ZIP File, extract the *.ZIP File then go into that folder
Right click on PNPINST64.exe then choose Run As Administrator, reboot when asked to
After you restart, go back to that same folder, then right click on IRSTPatch.exe then choose Run As Administrator. Then continue to install the drivers below in the same order.

03-Intel Management Engine Interface 9.5.14.1724
04-Intel Graphic Driver 10.18.10.3308.02
05-nVIDIA GeForce Drivers 9.18.13.2683
06-Realtek Audio Driver 6.0.1.7037
07-Atheros AR9485 WLAN Driver 10.0.0.268
08-Atheros AR8171 LAN Driver 2.1.0.21
09-Atheros Bluetooth Driver 8.0.1.306
10-Atheros Multi-Card Reader Driver 4.3.0.7
11-ATK Package 1.0.0031
12-ASUS Smart Gesture Touchpad Driver 11.5.12.1

Optional:

13-Power4Gear Hybrid Utility 3.0.6
14-ASUS USB Charger Plus 2.1.5
15-ASUS Splendid Video Enhancement Technology 2.01.0018
16-ASUS Console 2.01.0018
17-ASUS DVD 10.0.4126.52 (3D) or ASUS DVD 10.0.4126.52 (Non 3D)





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ASUS N550JV Entertainment Laptop Frequently Asked Questions

• How much does the laptop weight?

The touch version weigh about 2.6kg (5.7lbs) and the non-touch version weigh about 2.3kg (5lbs). The power pack is a 120W one that weigh about 0.3kg (0.7lbs).

• Is the screen full HD? Is it IPS? Is it matte or Glossy? 

I can't speak for the others but mine is 15.7 1920x1080 FHD IPS LED glossy touch screen. It's made by LG and the model number is LG LP156WF4-SPB1. I think the non-touch version are matte. The average brightness is 277.7 cd/m², Contrast is 1410:1 and black value is 0.21 cd/m².

• Is the Glossy screen annoying? 

The Screen is glossy and reflective but it's not the worst I have seen. The glare depends on your screen brightness and ambient light, if the brightness is down it can be distracting but it's not as bad if your screen brightness is all the way up. It's also worse if you are in a well lit room. I find it's bearable in the library with the brightness set at 80%

• Is ASUS N550JV noisy?

The fans of the N550JV always spin even when the laptop is idle there and the CPU is only at 40 degrees. However, the fans are fairly quiet and you have to listen hard to notice it. Notebookcheck.net measures that while idle, the system noise remains moderate with a noise level of 32.9 dB(A) and reaches 42.6 dB(A) under medium load (3D Mark 06), but only 38 dB(A) under full load.

There is a little neat program called NoteBook FanControl that can keep the N550JV absolutely quite. The default auto option of this software works really well and only spin the fun when the CPU reaches 60 degrees. I hardly hear the fan while doing light work like word processing and net browsing.

• How to upgrade to SSD?

Please see the upgrade guide in this post. It has a 2.5 inch hard drive bay so almost all 2.5 inch SSD will fit. You will need Torx Screwdriver No. 5 to crack open the case. There are 10 screws and nothing is hiding under the rubber feet. The front of the bottom cover come off very easily but there are a few clips around the hinge. Be patient and don't force it.

• Is the wireless really that rubbish?

The laptop comes with Qualcomm Atheros AR9485 WIFI and bluetooth 4.0 combi card. It works ok and the range is not great but it's not too bad. Some people has reported that the card sometimes disconnect itself for no particular reason but it only happened to me once and recovered after restart. Updating to the latest driver should help. Some users have reported that this is due to the power saving feature that can be disabled by opening the Atheros networking adapter in Device manager, click "properties", go to "power management" tab and untick the option "allow the computer to turn off this device to save power".

It's a standard half height mini PCI-E card so easily upgradable. There are two antennas and you can put almost any half height mini PCI-E card in. There is not stupid whitelist problems like Lenovo.

If you want to upgrade, I recommend Intel 7260HMW IEEE 802.11AC, dual-band, 2x2 Wi-Fi plus Bluetooth 4.0 Mini PCI Express combo card. It will cost you around £20 and should work much better. Be careful about the part number when purchase the card though, you want the 7260HMW rather than 7260HMW BN, the latter only support wireless N.

• What about the battery life?

It has a 4 cell 59 Wh Lithium Polymer Battery. I get about 4 hours while doing light work such as browsing the net, word processing etc.

• How to create a recovery disk?

Unfortunately there is no on board software that you can use to create recovery disk. You can use
EaseUS Todo Backup to create a backup clone and burn it to DVDs but this won't help if you can't boot in the OS. You can use windows 8's backup facility to create a back up on a flash drive and you will need a 16GB one.

• Is CPU throttling a big problem? How to stop it? 

The short answer is NO. Some users and reviews have reported that the CPU throttle at 800MHz when it reaches 80 degrees, which it only happens at some extreme conditions like running Prime95 and FurMark at the same time. In real life, it's unlikely that we will ever experience this.

It this annoys you,  you can disable CPU throttling using throttlestop by following this guide. Another work around is set your CPU max to 99% in windows power management (Control Panel -> Energy Settings -> Power4Gear High Performance -> Change Energyplan Settings -> Advanced Energy Settings -> Processor Energy Management -> There you find Min & Max.). This will disable the turbo and you CPU max will be 2.4MHz instead of 3.4MHz, this should be sufficient for most tasks and keep the CPU cool.

This is put in place by ASUS probably due to the fact that the cooling systems are not able to cool both CPU and GPU at maximum load at the same time. To be honest, the cooling system design is quite poor. Each 90 degree bend on a heat pipe reduce it's efficiency by about 25%, the GPU pipe was bent twice and it's rather thin as well. On comparison, slightly under powered Dell XPS 9530 has a thicker heat pipes that was bent very little.

 

The other problem is that the drop-down hinge blocks the airflow, half the heat went down and the other half up at the screen. seriesly, what are you thinking, ASUS.

• How to flash an older bios?

Use WinFlash and use cmd to navigate to the folder where WinFlash's executable is and start it up with the phrase WinFlash /nodate so that you can flash an older bios even though WinFlash & Asus Easy Flash straight up refuse to flash to an older bios.

• Headphone static noise?

Some users have reported static noise while plugging in earphone. I haven't experience this yet but this can be solved by uninstalling the Realtek audio driver.

• How to check laptop temperature? How to Check CPU temperature? How to Check GPU Graphic card temperature? 

I use HWMonitor, it's a free software and it's very easy to use. Please note if you want to check NVIDIA 750M temperature, you need to start the game first then start the HWMonitor as in the normal condition the NVIDIA GPU is disabled and there is nothing to check.

• Can I upgrad Ram, which model?

Yes you can. the laptop has two memory slots and can support a maximum of 16GB of RAM. You will need 1.35 V DDR3L 1600MHz memory. Mine come with 1 single 8GB stick but some machines come with 2x4GB.

• Can I upgrad Ram, which model?

Yes you can. the laptop has two memory slots and can support maximum of 16GB of RAM. You will need 1.35 V DDR3L 1600MHz memory. Mine come with 1 single 8GB stick but some machines come with 2x4GB.

• How to enter UEFI BIOS? 

This can be a bit tricky as windows 8/8.1 boot so fast. I found the best way to do it is restart the laptop and hit F2 like crazy right after you press the start button until the bios screen shows up.

• How to enter boot menu? 

This can be a bit tricky as windows 8/8.1 boot so fast. I found the best way to do it is restart the laptop and hit ESC like crazy right after you press the start button until the boot menu shows up.

• What if I hate windows 8/8.1? I miss windows 7 start menu. 

You can install windows 7 on this machine and all driver can be found on individual manufacturer's website. There are 4 specific driver that you need to download from the manufacturer's website. All the rest you can use the windows 8 driver from ASUS's site.

Geforce 750M: Drivers | GeForce

Ethernet: Realtek
Audio: Realtek
USB 3.0: Intel

If you cannot be bothered, you can install softwares such as Classic Shell or StartIsBack to make windows 8/8.1 look like windows 7. I like windows 8 so I haven't really test either software but people do give good feedback on them.

• How to fix 'You are not currently using a display attached to an NVIDIA GPU' ?
• How to fix Graphic related 'Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems. (Code 43)'?

Some times, normally happens after a game crash, you laptop will display a message like 'Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems. (Code 43)' and when you try to open NVIDIA control panel, you will receive a message like  'You are not currently using a display attached to an NVIDIA GPU'. This is due to NVIDIA driver error that cause windows to disable the NVIDIA card (hardware level?). If you check the device manager, you can see an annoying yellow device manager yellow exclamation point next to you NVIDIA card. To solve this, you can simply disable the card then reenable it. If this doesn't work, you need to flash the bios. It doesn't have to be a newer version, it can be the same or even older version (Check how-to a few paragraphs up). This will reset the card and it should work again.

• Will disable NVIDIA GPU increase battery runtime? 

Not really, it has actually been reported that this will decrease battery time. This is probably because that windows is not able to manage it's power profile while disabled.

• Can I over-clock the NVIDIA GT 750 GPU? 

Some users have managed to over-clock the GPU from 1150 / 900 to 1250/1100 using MSI after burner but I haven't tried this personally.

• Why some of my programmes looks fuzzy? 

This is because the windows 8 auto scaling which is not very clever. You can change this by right click on desktop, Screen Resolution, Make text or other items larger or smaller, Check "let me choose one scaling level...." and change the text zoom level to 100%.

• How do I start ThrottleToggle wih windows.

To put it in startup you need to create a simple task.
So go to control panel -> administrative tools -> task scheduler -> on the right side click on "Create Basic Task..." -> give it a name -> trigger at login -> action is "start program" -> choose the ThrottleToggle.exe and add the argument -f in the second line if you don't want to have the window open until you hit a key -> click on the checkbox and go on -> click the checkbox "Run with highest privileges" and confirm -> you're done and it starts after you log in.

After putting the notebook to standby and waking it up it would start throttling again.

To solve this you have to add one more trigger:
control panel -> administrative tools -> task scheduler -> right click on the throttletoggle task -> triggers -> new -> on a event, source: Power-Troubleshooter, event id: 1

To avoid any possible conflicts like logging out, putting to standby, waking and logging in (the task would run twice resulting in toggling the throttling back on) you have to change the original At Logon event to At System Startup and also change the user, which will run the task to SYSTEM (this will also give a nice bonus in hiding the command line window).

 

• How to install the latest graphic driver from Intel/NVIDIA?

Sometimes, when you try to install the latest graphic driver from Intel/NVIDIA website you will receive an error message say that your hardware is not supported and ask you to contact vendor. This is because that ASUS drivers have the OEM signature which will prevent a generic driver to be installed. The easy work around is to uninstall ASUS driver first then the generic driver should install without any problem.

• How do I know if my NVIDIA card is doing it's job?

You can enable an activity indicator in the Nvidia control panel for the tray area, if it's colored the Nvidia card is working and if it's gray then it's not. To do this, go to NVIDIA control panel, Click desktop menu, tick Display GPU activity icon.

If you find this post useful, Please get me a beer, Cheers!

ASUS N550JV Entertainment Lapto Review

Please note this is not a proper review, it’s just some thoughts that I have after using the machine for about 2 weeks. I have listed a couple of good reviews in the end that you can refer to if you need any more information or just drop me a line.

I have also set up an FAQ post that provides more information.

My machine is a UK version and the specs are listed below:

- Intel Core i7-4700HQ Haswell 2.4GHz - 3.4Ghz with Intel HD Graphics 4600; 47W
- nVIDIA GeForce GT 750M 2GB DDR3
- RAM 1x 8GB 1600 MHz DDR3 Hynix
- HDD Hitachi 1000GB 5400rpm;
- ODD MATSHITA BD-CMB UJ162
- Display 15.6 FHD IPS LED Glossy LG LP156WF4-SPB1;
- Audio based on Realtek - 4 speakers + external subwoofer;
- WLAN Qualcomm Atheros AR9485 150 Mbps;
- LAN RealTek RTL8168/8111 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet 1000 Mbps;
- Bluetooth 4.0;
- 3x USB 3.0;
- Headphones/Line out;
- HDMI;
- Mini DisplayPort;
- Card reader Realtek Multicard reader
- HD web camera;
- Full keyboard + white light;
- 4 cell baterry.

There are a few versions of this laptop but they all share the following:

- Intel Core i7-4700HQ Haswell 2.4GHz - 3.4Ghz with Intel HD Graphics 4600; 47W
- nVIDIA GeForce GT 750M 2GB DDR3 or 4GB DDR3
- 8GB 1600 MHz DDR3 1x8GB or 2x4GB
- 1080p IPS Screen touch (glossy) or non touch (matte)
- NO SSD cache and no port to install one


I have been using two setups for the past 5 years, a personal built desktop to do the heavy lifting and a latitude XT2 laptop to carry around. Both machines have started to show signs of age and I have decided it’s time to upgrade. This time, instead of spending £1000 to get a mediocre laptop and a mediocre desktop, I wanted to get a good all-around laptop that packs enough power and not too heavy that I can easily slip into my backpack.

After some research, I have narrowed down my choice to the following:

Dell XPS 15 9530
This, in my mind, is a perfect machine. It’s elegant, light weight, powerful, has a fantastic screen and decent battery life. But I just can’t justify spending that much on a laptop.

Dell Inspiron 7000 7537
This was my first choice, a lot cheaper than the XPS but with similar spec except the CPU.

Samsung 7 Series NP780Z5E
Very good all-rounder, only let-down the third gen chip.

HP Envy TouchSmart 15
Rather poor build quality. Poor screen. So it's a no go.


As you can see, N550JV was not even in my original list because I had some terrible experience with ASUS. The screen hinge on my last ASUS laptop broke after about two month use.  It pops up while I was trying to find the best price for the Dell Inspiron 7000 7537 and all the reviews are quite positive. It has a much more powerful processor, slightly less powerful graphic (DDR3 vs DDR5, why there is no DDR4?), shorter battery life but has a optical drive that I can stuck in a 1TB mechanical drive.

In the end, I went with N550JV and now 2 weeks in and I am reasonably happy with my choice but I think that dell would probably have made me happier.

Pros:

-Top-of-the-line 4th gen Core i7 processor
-Reasonably capable dedicated video card
-Full HD touchscreen display with IPS technology (very wide viewing angles)

-All round metal body
-Decent build quality
-Rather thin.


Cons:
-A bit too heavy even as a 15 incher
-Mediocre battery life, all my other choices have much better battery life.
-Optical drive, this is totally a personal choice. I would rather have a lighter laptop or bigger battery.
-Touch Pad, it works but the keys are very stiff.
-Atheros wireless card, it just refuse to connect sometimes for no obvious reason.
-External subwoofer, it improves sound quality but Samsung and HP manage to build the subwoofer in.
-Dropdown Hinge that blocks the air flow and it doesn't give much confidence.
-Horrible webcam



A very thorough professional review
A good user review