Question 1

Does this come with windows 8.1 already installed?

Accepted Answer

Mine came with windows 8.1 . If you have windows 8 there is a free upgrade to windows 8.1 from Microsoft. The little sub woofer that comes with the machine provides great sound for a laptop.

Question 2

There are review with the screen being slightly defective, is it truly defective for everyone or is it only a small quantity of people having the bad screen?

Accepted Answer

Background : I have had the laptop for 2 weeks and have not read a review where the display is being reported defective.

Answer : I can report that, with my laptop, there are no issues with the screen at all. It was one of the reasons I picked this laptop and the quality is what I hoped it would be. The colors and contrast are amazing.

Question 3

Does this come with a Windows 8 disc?

Accepted Answer

You should be able to go directly to microsoft and ask them for a link from their website for the windows 8 installer download. I will require you the windows 8 key that comes with your computer(cannot be found on the bottom of the laptop). You can search online how to retrieve your windows 8 key.

Question 4

If i drop in a ssd in place of the cd drive can I just swap OS over to new ssd since it comes with no discs?

Accepted Answer

You will be able to install windows by going to the microsoft website and ask for a windows 8.1 installer, they will ask you for your windows 8 key and you will have to find out how to do that(online). Then you can install it on the ssd. If you are going to put in a new SSD I suggest that you place the ssd in the primary slot(where the HDD is) and move that HDD to where the cd Drive would be since I've heard people saying that the sata connection speed is less through the cd drive slot. Best of luck

Question 5

What's the battery life looking like on this? The specs say 49WHrs, which doesn't seem like much. Can anyone elaborate?

Accepted Answer

While gaming, you can get around 2-4 hours of battery life. But while browsing the web and watching videos, you can get around 5-8 hours.

Note: If you are using this notebook for gaming, the FPS (frames per second) of a game will significantly drop if it is not charging or being pluged into the wall. For example, while playing Team Fortress 2, charging I got around 80-110 FPS, while not charging I got from 20-40 FPS.

Question 6

Does this version include the IPS display? I see it says Full HD but I'm unsure whether or not if that's the same thing.

Accepted Answer

Yes it's IPS and the screen is beautiful!!

Question 7

This computer or the Macbook Pro or Air for a University student? Also a little gaming on the side.

Accepted Answer

This device is without a doubt both more powerful and a better value than a similarly priced MacBook Pro. This is especially conducive if you plan to game. However, it really depends on what you ultimately want. If you care about the brand and overall sleekness more than anything, the MacBook may still be a better choice for you.

Question 8

What's the battery life looking like on this? The specs say 49WHrs, which doesn't seem like much. Can anyone elaborate?

Accepted Answer

Reviews I read say three to five hours depending on level of usage (we're not talking standby).  Based on my limited experience that seems about right, though because it's on the heavy side, I don't use it much like a portable and usually have it plugged in.  Put the SSD drive in, as some recommend, and it Is a wonderful beast!
Have fun.

Question 9

Is it possible to add an SSD without removing the hard drive it comes with?  I saw some comments saying they replaced the OPTICAL DRIVE with more memory... is that possible? (And if so, will it require me to pay a professional to do it?)

Accepted Answer

Yes, it's not only possible, it's advisable. Well, I did it. So I hope it's advisable :)

You will need to buy this:
Protronix SATA Optical Bay 2nd Hard Drive Caddy, Universal for 9.5mm CD / DVD Drive Slot (for SSD and HDD)
and this:
Able 16 in 1 Sets Repair Tools Screwdrivers Set Kit For Samsung Galaxy S2 / S3 / S4 /Note / Note 2 / Iphone 4 / Iphone 5 Samrt Phone
(newegg won't let me post links to other sites)

The procedure is only slightly more complex (though not any harder) than swapping an old laptop hard drive for a new one. Just make sure the screws and parts line up. There was one screw that I misplaced the first time I tried to install it, but it was obvious that I had done something wrong and didn't take long to correct.

The trickier part is copying the old hard drive over to the new one and then getting the new SSD to be the main hard drive (OS hard drive) instead of the old one. You don't need to be a tech genius to do this, but you do need to be somewhat computer literate. The fact that you're suggesting you want to do this to your computer qualifies you as computer literate enough. So don't worry.

I forget the exact program I used to do this, but check out this list from gfi's website: "top-20-free-disk-tools-for-sysadmins"
You should find one here that fits the bill. I'm pretty sure I used the EaseUS Partition Master Free, but any program that can copy a hard drive, erase a hard drive, and declare a hard drive as the default will do. Hopefully you won't have to mess around in the BIOS, but if worse comes to worst, then you can tinker there.

To sum up, the fact that you want to do this means that you're more than capable of doing it. Even if you mess up little or get frustrated, there is no way you can mess up your computer, so fear not. You'll figure it out in the end. Enjoy the upgrade!

Question 10

I have a question about the RAM that comes with the Asus N550JK-DS71T.  The specs say that it comes with 8GB, but can be increased to 16.  The 8 that comes with it: is it one 8GB DIMM, or 2 4GB DIMMS?  I was curious because I'd like to up it to 16 and wasn't sure if I needed to buy one or two 8GB DIMMs to do that.

Also, what type of DIMM does it take?

Thanks :)
--Skye

Accepted Answer

It is only one stick of 8GB RAM

Brand	ASUS
Model	N550JK-DS71T

Color	Dark Gray
Operating System	Windows 8.1 64-bit
CPU	Intel Core i7-4700HQ 2.4GHz
Screen	15.6" Full HD
Memory	8GB DDR3L 1600
Storage	1TB 5400RPM
Optical Drive	DL DVD+-RW/CD-RW
Graphics Card	NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M
Video Memory	2GB GDDR3
Dimensions (W x D x H)	15.1" x 10" x 1.1"
Weight	6.0 lbs.

CPU Type	Intel Core i7 4th Gen
Processor Name	Intel Core i7-4700HQ
Number of Cores	Quad-core Processor
Turbo Frequency	Max Turbo Frequency 3.4 GHz
CPU L3 Cache	6 MB

Screen Size	15.6"
Touchscreen	Touch Screen
Wide Screen Support	Yes
Resolution	1920 x 1080

GPU/VPU	NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M
Video Memory	2GB
Graphic Type	Dedicated Card

BenchmarksBenchmarks Information

ASUS - 15.6" - Intel Core i7-4700HQ - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M - 8GB Memory DDR3L 1600 - - Windows 8.1 64-bit ()

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Memory	8GB
Memory Speed	DDR3L 1600
Memory Slot (Total)	2
Max Memory Supported	16 GB

LAN	10/100/1000Mbps
WLAN	802.11b/g/n or 802.11a/g/n Wireless LAN
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 4.0

USB	3 x USB 3.0
Video Port	1 x Mini DisplayPort
HDMI	1 x HDMI
Audio Ports	1 x Headphone/Microphone Combo Jack

Touchpad	Multi-touch Gesture
Keyboard	Illuminated Chiclet Keyboard
Backlit Keyboard	Backlit
Webcam	Yes

Storage
HDD	1TB
HDD RPM	5400 RPM

General
Style	Standard
Type	Gaming
Usage	Consumer

Item#: N82E16834231684