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ASUS Laptop from DID - Terrible Performance

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  • 25-07-2015 7:11pm
    #1
    chops018
    Registered Users Posts: 2,458 ✭✭✭


    Hi all,

    My dad previously had this laptop for 5 years, got it for €500: http://www.dabs.ie/images/product/uni2/DigitalContent/7r/7RHT_BF1EAC74-9844-443E-B6B6-825B9667CD38_large.jpg

    A great laptop but as you know as they get older more and more starts going wrong with them so he said he would get a new one. I told him the cheap ones would probably do him as a cheap laptop now would be even better than an expensive laptop from 5 years ago.

    He got this: http://www.did.ie/asus-15-6-4gb-1tb-laptop-x551mav-b-sx1-prd

    However it seems to be choppy on video play sometimes, mostly on HD (even the specs say the screen is able for HD) even browsing on the net seems slower - a page takes an extra second or two loading than his old laptop and my laptop (my laptop is about 2 years old and is a €500 one too). Both my laptop and his old laptop seems miles better in every aspect than this new one.

    Should this be happening? Or is it just the cheaper laptop and you get what you pay for?


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    #2
    thehouses
    Registered Users Posts: 445 ✭✭thehouses


    The processor is terrible. Most cheap laptops sold will have terrible processors. You usually need to spend around the €400 mark to get one that performs well. They haven't even advertised the clock speed. Here is how yours compares:

    http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Celeron+N2815+%40+1.86GHz


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    #3
    jaymcg91
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,015 ✭✭✭jaymcg91


    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834231876

    Mixed reviews for it but I mean, for under €300 what did you expect, really?


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    #4
    GreatDefector
    Registered Users Posts: 540 ✭✭✭GreatDefector


    For future reference avoid celeron like the plague, they're dire


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    #5
    chops018
    Registered Users Posts: 2,458 ✭✭✭chops018


    True - I assumed the cheaper laptops would still be better than semi expensive laptops from 5 years ago.

    Obviously wrong.

    He said it will do him for a couple of years anyway.

    He only uses it to go on YouTube, DoneDeal, Netflix, then I would put TV Shows and Movies on it for him. So I told him there is no point in spending €500 on a laptop. How wrong I was.

    So there is nothing actually wrong with the laptop? It's just crap yeah?


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    #6
    Allyall
    Registered Users Posts: 10,381 ✭✭✭✭Allyall


    chops018 wrote: »
    I told him the cheap ones would probably do him as a cheap laptop now would be even better than an expensive laptop from 5 years ago.

    That can be true, but unfortunately is only really valid, if the software stays the same as 5 years ago.


    Still, should be able to squeeze a better performance out of it than described.

    Kill everything running at startup, uninstall any bloatware that came with it, and that should be a start.


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    #7
    Allyall
    Registered Users Posts: 10,381 ✭✭✭✭Allyall


    How long ago did he buy it? He may be able to return it...
    Although I'm not very sure about that. Someone in consumer issues may know more.


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    #8
    chops018
    Registered Users Posts: 2,458 ✭✭✭chops018


    Allyall wrote: »
    That can be true, but unfortunately is only really valid, if the software stays the same as 5 years ago.


    Still, should be able to squeeze a better performance out of it than described.

    Kill everything running at startup, uninstall any bloatware that came with it, and that should be a start.
    Allyall wrote: »
    How long ago did he buy it? He may be able to return it...
    Although I'm not very sure about that. Someone in consumer issues may know more.

    Ah I don't think he would be able to return it. It seems just crap rather than anything being actually wrong with it.

    I think I tried to stop all unnecessary programs from coming on at start up.

    Should I uninstall the malware thing that came with it?


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    #9
    Allyall
    Registered Users Posts: 10,381 ✭✭✭✭Allyall


    chops018 wrote: »
    Ah I don't think he would be able to return it. It seems just crap rather than anything being actually wrong with it.

    I think I tried to stop all unnecessary programs from coming on at start up.

    Should I uninstall the malware thing that came with it?

    I meant within 7 or 30 days.. I don't know the consumer rights there, but I know they exist "If you are unhappy with a product".


    I'd uninstall everything that came with it.
    Use Revo Uninstaller Trial version, uninstall all the useless programs he will never use.
    Do an aggressive scan at the end of each uninstall, and delete all remnants.

    Then maybe scan for junk files (same program).


    Also, I just realised that it comes with Windows 8.
    You should get a much better performance once you upgrade to Windows 8.1 and then Windows 10 (Both free upgrades).

    I don't think that laptop should be as bad as you describe.
    http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i3-3217U-vs-Intel-Celeron-N2815

    I'd imagine a lot of your issues are software related.


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    #10
    starlit
    Registered Users Posts: 12,340 ✭✭✭✭starlit


    Tech specs seem good. At 1TB should run more smoothly. 4GB is average some pc's/laptops now have 8GB. HP, Acer and Toshiba are ones i'd recommend. Thought Asus were good, Samsung laptops aren't bad either. I'd be a bit mixed on Lenovo ones, good for work but found them impossible to use as a general user.

    Upgrade to windows 8.1 for sure it ask you to upgrade to that anyway. The latest windows 10 is due in a few days. Graphics card might be the only issue I could think of. Refresh the computer settings and reboot completely would be my suggestion or do a clean up of the computer that can slow down the video/graphics. Might be software needs updating. Anti-virus software and programmes slowing it down.


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    #11
    beauf
    Closed Accounts Posts: 22,651 ✭✭✭✭beauf


    chops018 wrote: »
    ... I told him the cheap ones would probably do him as a cheap laptop now would be even better than an expensive laptop from 5 years ago.....

    Not always

    Heres the CPU compared with my 9yr old laptop

    http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core2-Duo-T7200-vs-Intel-Celeron-N2815

    The thing with all computer hardware is you can't compare them unless you look at benchmarks and get the details.

    The other problem with that Celeron is that the graphics isn't as good as something like an i3. If your older laptop had half decent seperate graphics card in it, it may even be better than an onboard Celeron or i3. Which makes a difference not just for games, for any video playback, or hardware acceleration in web browsers. My old 9yr old laptop can playback 1080 video perfectly. Also a cheap laptop will have a cheaper quality screen. An old expensive laptop might have a much better screen. But you'd have to really dig out the detail on the reviews to find that out. Keyboards on a old expensive laptop might also be better.

    The big advantage of the newer laptops is mainly going to be in battery life. Mines gets about an hour of battery. Some of the new cheap ones get 3~4hrs. Some better ones 10hrs! They'll also have WiFi N or AC and Gigabit Ethernet and USB. Also they might have a faster HD interface and even a SSD. Also they will probably have a higher RAM limit. My old ones stuck on 3.5GB of RAM.

    In short a cheap laptop, is still cheap for a reason.


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    #12
    200motels
    Registered Users Posts: 2,602 ✭✭✭200motels


    Disable super fetch and windows search, go to computer management in control panel then services then look for the super fetch and windows search and disable them, see if that improves it.


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    #13
    Squaredude
    Registered Users Posts: 1,186 ✭✭✭Squaredude


    To get the best out of it I'd also recommend setting your power options to high performance. I have a laptop with a celeron cpu and it's all but useless if its not on the high performance option. It's 5 years old and still works great for watching movies and stuff.


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    #14
    Alanstrainor
    Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators Posts: 23,157 Mod ✭✭✭✭Alanstrainor


    GreatDefector wrote: »
    For future reference avoid celeron like the plague, they're dire

    People get to hung up on the Celeron brand, and forget that it any intel processors today should make easy work of 1080p youtube.

    OP, look at what's running at startup on your machine and remove as many tasks as possible. What browser is he using?


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    #15
    TerrorFirmer
    Closed Accounts Posts: 29,930 ✭✭✭✭TerrorFirmer


    A few years ago, all Celeron and Pentium processors were based on the architecture of their Core 2 or i3 older brothers, which resulted in cheaper processors that were extremely capable for casual use.

    Now, Intel has introduced a new range of 'Celeron' and 'Pentium' processors, which are actually based on Atom architecture and not the i3 tech. The performance of those processors is comparatively poor.

    I wish they had stuck with the 'Atom' branding or something new altogether, because Intel have brought themselves full circle back to the 'Celeron/Pentium are crap' situation.

    However, they are OK for casual browsing and video, so you probably do have to clear a lot of junk from the laptop.

    But a €279 laptop from 2015 realistically is probably on-par with a €500 laptop from about 2007/2008. A second hand Dell Latitude with first generation i5 for about €150 would be considerably faster.


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    #16
    beauf
    Closed Accounts Posts: 22,651 ✭✭✭✭beauf


    Also there are many different types of i3 and i5 some are for long battery life and so performance varies considerably.


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    #17
    Tombi!
    Registered Users Posts: 6,689 ✭✭✭Tombi!


    I'd return it and get one with an i3 processor.

    The other thing that "might" help is disabling any and all programmes that are set to startup unless they're part of Windows, remove as much of the bloatware as possible and make sure the power mode is correct. Even if it's on High Performance/whatever, it might still need to be plugged in to get the most power going.


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    #18
    stevejazzx
    Registered Users Posts: 3,247 ✭✭✭stevejazzx


    chops018 wrote: »
    Hi all,

    My dad previously had this laptop for 5 years, got it for €500: http://www.dabs.ie/images/product/uni2/DigitalContent/7r/7RHT_BF1EAC74-9844-443E-B6B6-825B9667CD38_large.jpg

    A great laptop but as you know as they get older more and more starts going wrong with them so he said he would get a new one. I told him the cheap ones would probably do him as a cheap laptop now would be even better than an expensive laptop from 5 years ago.

    He got this: http://www.did.ie/asus-15-6-4gb-1tb-laptop-x551mav-b-sx1-prd

    However it seems to be choppy on video play sometimes, mostly on HD (even the specs say the screen is able for HD) even browsing on the net seems slower - a page takes an extra second or two loading than his old laptop and my laptop (my laptop is about 2 years old and is a €500 one too). Both my laptop and his old laptop seems miles better in every aspect than this new one.

    Should this be happening? Or is it just the cheaper laptop and you get what you pay for?

    The problem here is the processor
    Its benchmark is 816

    To put that in perspective a core 2 duo t7600 released in 2008 for mobile scored ~1400

    Windows 8/8.1 needs around, at the very minimum a processor with a grading of about 1000-~1500 benchmark to run properly but ideally you'd want 2000 and upwards which would be the newer pentium and celeron models and your core i3 and core i5 etc.

    Hit ctrl alt delete - task manager
    Check processes
    What are cpu, ram & hdd saying? How maxed out are they on just the desktop?
    Then leave task manager open while you play a youtube video and monitor that.


    Here are things you can do that could dramatically improve performance
    • Install chrome and use chrome only for browsing internet - Remove internet explorer icon from desktop
    • Disable startup items (also available on task manager)
    • Install latest GPU driver (find your model and go the intel website)
    • If video is still choppy reduce resolution (right click empty are on desktop and select screen resolution - to see if that makes a difference
    • If onedrive is enabled pause it - onedrive can be pretty devastating to slow pcs performance
    • As before go to control panel and remove nonsense programs that came with the laptop i.e games etc
    • Remove all surplus AV software like McAfee etc
    • When all AV is gone - Install Malware bytes free edition and use in conjunction with the built in windows defender

    If at all possible I would try to exchange it at DID - they are very approachable lads in most stores with good returns exchange policies.
    Invest another few quid and you'd get a much better ASUS /Laptop.
    Good luck


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    #19
    Alanstrainor
    Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators Posts: 23,157 Mod ✭✭✭✭Alanstrainor


    I run an Atom tablet running 8.1, with 2GB of RAM and can play 1080p video flawlessly, so I presume there is something else at play with the OP's laptop, rather than it being a limitation of the hardware. Perhaps it came installed with a lot of junk, which a lot of laptops do.


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    #20
    stevejazzx
    Registered Users Posts: 3,247 ✭✭✭stevejazzx


    Alanstrainor wrote: »
    I run an Atom tablet running 8.1, with 2GB of RAM and can play 1080p video flawlessly, so I presume there is something else at play with the OP's laptop, rather than it being a limitation of the hardware. Perhaps it came installed with a lot of junk, which a lot of laptops do.

    You may have windows 8.1 with bing installed
    Very little difference but runs on lower end spec smoother

    Steve


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    #21
    Alanstrainor
    Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators Posts: 23,157 Mod ✭✭✭✭Alanstrainor


    stevejazzx wrote: »
    You may have windows 8.1 with bing installed
    Very little difference but runs on lower end spec smoother

    Steve

    No i do not. My me400c has full fat Windows 8, and subsequently updated to 8.1.


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    #22
    thehouses
    Registered Users Posts: 445 ✭✭thehouses


    If the use is as you describe i.e. internet browsing and watching films and tv shows I would wipe the machine and install Linux Mint. It uses far less resources that Windows 8 and is easy to use.


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    #23
    Alanstrainor
    Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators Posts: 23,157 Mod ✭✭✭✭Alanstrainor


    thehouses wrote: »
    If the use is as you describe i.e. internet browsing and watching films and tv shows I would wipe the machine and install Linux Mint. It uses far less resources that Windows 8 and is easy to use.

    I wouldn't...

    Open task manager, and look at startup applications, clean up what's in their as it should be relatively free of items.


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    #24
    thehouses
    Registered Users Posts: 445 ✭✭thehouses


    Alanstrainor wrote: »
    I wouldn't...

    Open task manager, and look at startup applications, clean up what's in their as it should be relatively free of items.

    Why wouldn't you use Linux?


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    #25
    Allyall
    Registered Users Posts: 10,381 ✭✭✭✭Allyall


    thehouses wrote: »
    Why wouldn't you use Linux?
    He didn't say he wouldn't use linux.

    There would be no need to wipe it. He could try a live cd/usb or dual boot install mint (or any linux). Also, recommending he wipe it, without recommending to keep the restore partition wouldn't help, if he didn't like it.

    Mint doesn't run everything easily, and unlikely would function the way his father is used to.
    It may require wine or an alternative program instead of the one he is used to.
    It's easier just to upgrade to 8.1 and/or 10.


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    #26
    chops018
    Registered Users Posts: 2,458 ✭✭✭chops018


    Thanks for all the replies guys.

    I've some time off soon so I am going to try sort it out for my father and try make it run better for him.

    It took him years to get used to Windows never mind trying to get him used to another operating system.

    Anybody have any other suggestions in the mean time that might help make it run better it would be appreciated.

    I will update you when I have a look at it this weekend/next week!

    On another note - when he purchased it the first one he was given didn't even turn on - he went back over straight away and they just exchanged it for another one (same model) and this obviously turned on no problems - I wonder did they get a bad batch?

    I got a laptop from the same place around 2 years ago and it took me months to sort - everytime I swiped the keypad the stupid windows 8 stuff came up and even certain keyboard letters being pressed would result in the same thing. It was very weird. Works perfect now but it's a great processor and other specs compared to this.


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    #27
    beauf
    Closed Accounts Posts: 22,651 ✭✭✭✭beauf


    I tend to turn off the windows 8 interface with classic shell. Nothing speeds to up a laptop than a ssd. But it might be held back by the atom in this.

    But your problem is that laptop if its slow now. What will it be like in 6-12 months time. Websites are getting heavier and heavier. These atoms will not be useful for as long as the better chips. Also some of these cheap laptops are lower quality screens and keyboards etc. Dell were selling them for 199 that's about what they are worth.

    Some places try to sell them as regular laptops and they really aren't.

    Some one in my family got a cheap Asus i3 and had to return it. The screen was worse than their 6yr old laptop.


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    #28
    chops018
    Registered Users Posts: 2,458 ✭✭✭chops018


    Update:

    I upgraded to Windows 10 for my dad and the laptop is running much better! :)


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    #29
    Overheal
    Registered Users Posts: 81,846 ✭✭✭✭Overheal


    chops018 wrote: »
    True - I assumed the cheaper laptops would still be better than semi expensive laptops from 5 years ago.

    Obviously wrong.

    He said it will do him for a couple of years anyway.

    He only uses it to go on YouTube, DoneDeal, Netflix, then I would put TV Shows and Movies on it for him. So I told him there is no point in spending €500 on a laptop. How wrong I was.

    So there is nothing actually wrong with the laptop? It's just crap yeah?

    Pretty much; in 5 years that laptop willlaugh at you trying to play netflix and such. Reminds me of my first laptop which was not cheap but came out when HD video was 'new' - it could play 1080p video but it could also fry an egg while it did so. Similarly if you enter low, you stay low - as soon as software advances (new trends in web browsing, higher HD content, etc) that laptop is taking you out of the game, it won't be able to do such things. What you have there is a short term laptop, not a replacement for the one you had, not something thats going to act as a primary device for another 5 years.


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