Benchmarks: CPU
The N550JK faces stiff competition from the premium gaming laptops in our line-up, yet it more than holds its own in terms of CPU performance. Despite having been superseded by fifth-generation 'Broadwell' parts, the previous-generation Core i7-4700HQ remains a fast mobile performer and makes the Asus laptop well-suited to everything from casual use to strenuous workloads such as video transcoding.
Our final CPU benchmark, HandBrake, carries out 4K transcoding and is interesting in that it applies prolonged load to all available CPU cores. Many laptops automatically throttle during this demanding test, yet the N550JK is able to hold higher frequencies for longer spells, resulting in the chart-topping score.
