ASUS R503U Battery
The system works fast and smooth. Inputs and executions of applications are quickly handled. The PC Mark 7 result is slightly ahead of the ProBook (AMD A4-4300M, Radeon HD 7420G) and the ThinkPad (AMD A8-4500M, Radeon HD 7640G) but falls behind a bit compared to the Vostro (Core i5-3210M, Radeon HD 7670M). ASUS R503VDR Battery
5Windows 7 Experience IndexProcessorCalculations per second7.1Memory (RAM)Memory operations per second5.9GraphicsDesktop performance for Windows Aero5Gaming graphics3D business and gaming graphics6.3Primary hard diskDisk data transfer rate5.9 ASUS R503VD Battery
The P55VA is equipped with a Toshiba hard drive. It has a capacity of 500 GB and works with 5400 rpm. The hard drive is by default divided into a recovery partition (25 GB), an operating system partition (184 GB) and a data partition (254 GB). CrystalDiskMark reports a reading speed of 105.3 MB/sec. HD Tune shows an average transfer rate of 85.1 MB/sec. These are good results for a 5400 rpm hard drive. ASUS R503V Battery
The speed is usually more important than the available amount of storage for business notebooks. The P55VA would be predestined for a fast solid state drive. With a retail price of 650 to 700 Euros (~$870 to $937) Asus could have implemented a small SSD - at least as an option. Users can also replace the hard drive by themselves. ASUS R503U Battery
Graphics output is handled by the Intel HD 4000 GPU. The graphics processor supports DirectX 11 and has a clock of 350 MHz up to 1,100 MHz.
The results of the 3D benchmarks are as expected. The ProBook (AMD A4-4300M, Radeon HD 7420G) and ThinkPad (AMD A8-4500M, Radeon HD 7640G) are on the same level with the P55VA. The ThinkPad is clearly ahead of the Asus notebook in 3D Mark 11. In this case, the influence of the CPU is smaller. The Vostro (Core i5-3210M, Radeon HD 7670M) is again far ahead of the competition thanks to its fast Radeon GPU. ASUS R503CR Battery
The Intel GPU is not ideal for gamers. The HD Graphics 4000 core can produce usable results in some of the latest 3D games with low settings and reduced resolution but blockbuster titles like Battlefield 3, Hitman: Absolution or Assassin's Creed 3 are too demanding. Some games with low hardware requirements run smoothly with the native resolution and medium details - for example the FIFA series. Even the current F1 2012 runs reasonably smooth. ASUS R503C Battery
As it should be for an office notebook, the P55VA is very quiet in idle. We measure a system noise between 30.3 and 33.4 dB. The ProBook (32.5 dB) and ThinkPad (31.7 up to 32 dB) are similarly quiet. The Vostro (33.5 up to 43.4 dB) produces considerably more noise. Even under medium workloads (3D Mark 06 running) the P55VA is not especially noisy with 35.8 dB, the same applies for the Edge E535 (32.1 dB) and the 4545s (32.5 dB). Again the Vostro is considerably noisier (42.2 dB). Maximum load led to higher sound levels of 38.4 dB for the P55VA, which is not far away from the Vostro (42.1 dB). The ProBook (34.6 dB) and ThinkPad (33.5 dB) are very quiet even under maximum load. ASUS R503A Battery
The P55VA never gets really hot. During idle we measure temperatures between 24.2 and 28.5 °C. Under maximum load the temperatures rise to very moderate values between 26 and 37.1 °C. The device can be used on the lap in every scenario. The temperature of the palm rest also stays below 30 °C all the time. The temperature development of the ProBook is similar for the whole load range, the ThinkPad gets warmer. The Vostro generates more heat than the competition in every scenario. You should keep in mind that the reviewed Vostro version is the only device with a powerful dedicated GPU (Radeon HD 7670M). ASUS R503 Battery
The CPU clock during the stress test (Prime 95 and Furmark running for at least one hour) was steady at 2.9 GHz, no matter if the device was plugged in or running on battery. The same applies for the GPU (1,100 MHz). The CPU temperature leveled off at around 70/71 °C. ASUS R500VS Battery
Asus placed the stereo speakers at the bottom of the notebook. They produce a thin, bass-lacking and somewhat tinny sound. Voice playback is very clear, nevertheless you do not want to listen to the speakers for a long period. A better sound is produced by headphones or external speakers. ASUS R500VM Battery
Energy Consumption
During idle we measure an energy consumption between 8.2 and 13.2 Watts. These values are okay. Again the ProBook (7.6 up to 12 Watts) and ThinkPad (8.1 up to 11.6 Watts) are on the same level with the Asus device. The Vostro (10.9 up to 17.7 Watts) is more demanding. Under medium load (3D Mark 06 running) the consumption of the four devices is pretty similar in the range between 37 up to 42 Watts. Under maximum load (Prime95 and Furmark running) the ProBook (42.9 Watts) is the most frugal device. The P55VA and ThinkPad consume 7.6 and 6.9 Watts more respectively, the Vostro is again the most power hungry device with 59.9 Watts. ASUS R500VJ Battery ,ASUS R500VD Battery , ASUS R500V Battery ,ASUS R500N Battery , ASUS R500DR Battery ,ASUS R500DE Battery , ASUS R500D Battery ,ASUS R500A Battery ,ASUS R500 Battery , ASUS R403VD1 Battery , ASUS R403VD Battery
