ASUS VivoBook K570UD 15.6” Laptop, Intel Core i7-8550U, GeForce GTX 1050 4GB, 16GB DDR4, FHD Display, 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD, Fingerprint Sensor, Backlit keyboard, K570UD-ES76 Casual Gaming Laptop

ASUS makes some of the best computers on the market, and this is no exception. If you are upgrading from a mid-level PC, you will notice a substantial difference.This is a premium PC, one of ASUS's higher-end models (along with the ZenBook). It comes with an SSD (for the OS), an HDD (for storage), 16GB RAM, and an Intel i7 processor, and a NVIDIA GTX 1050 4 GB GPU.This laptop is more than capable of handling most business needs. It can effortlessly run multiple RAM-intensive programs and it's read/write times are pretty good. I mainly use this PC for development and it can Eclipse, Firefox, and another program or two with no decrease in speed.The keyboard is backlit, and feels great. Typing is very comfortable and the premium feel of the laptop becomes very apparent here. Another feature which elicits the premium feel of the laptop is the 15.6" FHD display. The graphics on this PC are amazing. If you are coming from another PC with similar specs, you may not notice the difference, but upgrading from a PC at half the price of this one, it becomes very noticeable. This laptop is also very light. While obviously not as light as, say, a MacBook Air, it is still easily under five pounds and can be carried around under your arm or in a backpack with no problem.The fingerprint scanner isn't the best, and is more of a gimmick. It's nice to be able to unlock the PC with your finger, but it's really not much faster than typing a password or PIN. I've had it say it cannot recognize my fingerprint, only to tell me that fingerprint is already added when I try to add it as a new one. This PC also is not for anything other than casual gaming, but if you want to game intensively, you probably would be looking for other PC anyway.This is a great laptop and if you need a PC for business, development, or even just streaming/browsing, look no further.

Excellent product. Multipurpose laptop, fair price, perfect for someone looking for a daily use laptop that allows decent gaming.Pros:- Good performance.- Big screen, very lightweight laptop.- Not noisy.- Good battery life.- Amazing design.Cons:- Heavy charger.- Fingerprints.- Corners may wear out a bit, consider a sleeve and a good backpack.

EDIT: After prolonged (3+ hours continuous) use running a game (FFXIV in particular) on high laptop setting, I can give this a thumbs up for casual to semi-hardcore gaming use. The game runs smoothly and the laptop has not overheated. It gets a little warm on the bottom but hardly noticeable, it has very good ventilation with a quiet fan. Also, the battery which I stated lasts 2-6 hours on my previous review, lasted me 8 hours on class note-taking on customized battery saver plan.---If you're looking to do some hardcore gaming, this laptop is not for you.You get just about what you would expect from an i7 1050 laptop. I bought this to use with school -- taking notes, net surfing, streaming videos (Netflix and lectures), and the occasional casual gaming -- and it works well for that purpose. The battery lasts anywhere from 2-6 hours depending on my level of usage. It is also very thin and light for a laptop of this size. It is not built to last physically however, the material looks really cool and sturdy but really feels like cheap plastic. I am expecting it to last maybe a couple of years before I move onto another device. I like that it has all the ports I need (HDMI, USB-C, microSD, etc.) and has a numpad, and most importantly I love that the ctrl key is on the left side of the fn key and the accent colour is pretty.Oh and by the way, the AC adapter is a freaking brick (literally, about the size of a Nintendo 3DS).

(CLARIFICATION: This review is specifically for the K570UD-ES76, which includes the i7 processor & 16gigs of RAM. Don't let the 2 & 3 star reviews fool you: most of those that I've seen are for the i5 processor version, and that's an entirely different computer for all intents and purposes. Also, the pictures I've included are after 3 months of use; my keyboard has a dust-cover over it.)My first (and only) ever laptop was the ASUS K55A-DB51, so that is technically my only point of reference for comparison. Considering that the K55A lasted the better part of 5 years, I decided to stick with ASUS upon deciding to get a new laptop.(I should note that my K55A is still perfectly functional: the reason for the upgrade is that 1] 5 years of wear & tear as a college student have taken their toll, and 2] the software can no longer keep up with my work.)Here's the basic comparison:K55A - i5-3210M Processor, 8Gb RAM, Intel HD 4000 Graphics, Windows 7.K570UD - i7-8550U Processor, 16Gb RAM, Geforce 1050 GTX Graphics, Windows 10Definitely an upgrade.As of 6/30/2018, it has been two whole days since I received the K570UD, and it is a world of difference in comparison! I will be judging the laptop overall by Software, Interface & Connection, and Casing & Durability.Software: 4.8 / 5Immediately upon finishing the basic setup I put the software on this laptop to the test, using several games to push the software as hard as I could. The first thing I fired up was Wargaming's World of Warships (Set to Medium graphic settings w/ 4x anti-aliasing; my K55A could handle it on Low graphics), while simultaneously downloading & Installing about 6 different other games via Steam, while also playing a YouTube playlist in the background. I had 2 web browsers open (including the one with YouTube) during this time (Google Chrome & Firefox: Sorry Edge, but your predecessor makes it hard for me to trust you). I ran the machine for a good three hours this way. During that time I hit 60% memory usage on average with occasional bursts to 100%, but it never slowed my laptop down or interrupted my gameplay. The GPU usage never went above 78%, so I am confident that I could set the graphics on World of Warships even higher if I wanted to. The CPU was all over the place, hitting 100% several times every other minute or so, which caused very brief (no more than 1 second) hiccups in gameplay, but I hardly even noticed them.If I did this on my K55A, it would punch me in the face right before it blew up in my face...The fact that I was actually on Power Saving mode (didn't realize that until after this little test) makes this even more impressive to me!I also ran SolidWorks (one of my engineering programs) on a separate (and more realistic of my intended use) test, and it ran flawlessly.Interface & Connection: 3.8 / 5There are two USB ports and an audio-jack on the left side. The right side has one USB, a USB-C (never used one of those before), an HDMI port, an Ethernet port, and a Micro-SD slot (as well as the charging port). Very similar to the layout on the K55A, except its in reverse (On the K55A most of the ports are on the left side vs the right). This layout actually makes it slightly inconvenient since I'm right-handed, and if I have an Ethernet cable plugged in it gets in the way of my mouse when I use it. Of course if you're left handed, this shouldn't be a problem, and even then it's not so inconvenient as to be unworkable. The thumb scanner is easy enough to use if set up properly.Another rather curious issue is the absence of indicator lights for the CAPS Lock, Scroll Lock, and Num-Lock keys. I don't know why they would exclude them, but it makes it difficult to know if they are on or not.During my little "test" there were some minor heating issues near the back of the laptop, but the rest of the keyboard and pad stayed cool throughout the test.Casing & Durability: 4.6 / 5 (Updated)My K55A went through a lot in 5 years, and still runs quite nicely. That said, I can't vouch for the K570UD's long term durability quite yet. Since I am a Mechanical Engineer, I can at least give some pointers.The casing over the keyboard appears to be aluminum; the rest is plastic. The case covering the screen is slightly flexible, but not enough for me to worry. 11 screws secure the bottom cover, and all eleven need to be removed to reach the inside components. (I kind of miss the K55A setup here: that one has a panel that when removed gives access to all up-gradable components, and only required two screws be removed.)The heating vents are all in the back of the laptop, which I don't mind. (It's actually nice not having a heating vent toasting my left hand anymore).Overall, I'd say it's more durable than my old K55A, so I expect to get a good 3-4 years of use out of it as long as I take care of it.UPDATE - 9/17/18: After three months, I am quite impressed by how well my K570UD has held up. The only problem I have encountered is that the bezel near the back has developed minor wear, likely from rubbing against the inside of the backpack I carry it in (My backpack has a slot specifically for a laptop). It's minor enough that I'm not too concerned, but I have now included pictures.Conclusion:I bought this knowing that it was not the "best of the best" out there. I spent a good 3 months researching various laptops before I decided on this one, and even then only after researching the K570UD for a good 2 weeks. As such, I was aware of what to expect long before I had even bought it, and so far I have yet to encounter anything that I didn't expect. ASUS likes to strive for excellence, and I think they did so here.My criteria were very simple: I wanted a laptop that was more than capable of handling my school work, and better than my K55A in all specs. The K570UD is not the best, but it is more than enough to handle anything outside of VR. If you're like me and looking for an upgrade from an older laptop, then this is a fantastic machine to upgrade to! If you're a PC gamer and want to play games but you don't really care about 4K graphics, this machine will get the job done! And if you're a college student that wants a good laptop that can handle hefty programs, then I can also recommend this to you!I cannot recommend this to you if you:Want only the absolute best.Want to take over the world (unless it's a game world, then maybe).Want a laptop that is also a Swiss army knife. Literally.Are on a budget of under $1,000.Are actually shopping for shoes and you have no idea how you got here.Thus, my rating is 5/5 stars for personal satisfaction, 4.55/5 stars for meeting/exceeding expectations. I will update this review as I see fit.P.S. A lot of reviews I've seen mentioned dings & pits on the screen. I had no such issues, so if you encounter that I would suggest you contact customer support or the folks at Amazon, and I'd bet they can sort you out.-UPDATE - 7/19/18: I have encountered an issue that warrants a heads up I believe. The computer still works great, but I have repeatedly had issues with WiFi connection; whenever my computer wakes up from sleep or hibernation, it seems to have increased difficulty locating or finding connections. Right-clicking on the WiFi icon and activating the troubleshooter usually fixes this problem (Usually the troubleshooter just resets the WiFi connection/receiver). Once it does connect, it's smooth sailing and connection all the way, so this is mostly a minor inconvenience. I haven't determined if this is hardware or software related, so I won't change the score on my review until I determine that.-UPDATE - 9/17/18: Thank you to those who responded in regards to the WiFi issues. I've confirmed that it's a Windows problem, so my score remains unchanged. I want to add that most of the issues I had (few as they may be) have been traced to Windows, and not the computer itself. I also added pictures showing my laptop 3 months later.