Asus X550DP — Features, Specs, Performance & Business Use

The Asus X550DP is a mid-range 15.6-inch laptop from Asus’s X-series that shipped in the early 2010s. It was built around AMD’s mobile A-series APUs (Trinity / Richland family) and aimed at buyers who wanted a roomy screen, solid multimedia chops and a discrete-class GPU for light gaming or GPU-accelerated tasks — but at a consumer price point. In this longform guide I’ll walk through the X550DP’s hardware and real-world performance, highlight where it makes sense (and where it doesn’t) in small-business and professional workflows, and give practical tips for deployment and upgradeability.

Quick overview — what the X550DP is good for

A comfortable 15.6″ screen and full-size keyboard for everyday office work and content consumption.
AMD A-series APU performance that balances multi-threaded CPU work and decent integrated graphics for media tasks.
Many SKUs shipped with a discrete AMD Radeon HD 8670M GPU, giving extra GPU power for light 3D work and GPU-accelerated workloads like video playback and some editing.

In short: the X550DP is a budget-to-mainstream laptop that sits between basic office notebooks and entry-level multimedia/gaming machines.

Key features & hardware summary

Processor options (APU family): X550DP models were offered with a range of AMD A-series APUs — from dual-core A4/A6 parts to quad-core A8 and A10 mobile APU models such as the A8-5550M and A10-5750M in higher-end SKUs. Those APUs integrate both CPU and Radeon graphics on the same chip and provide a balance of multi-threaded throughput plus media acceleration.

Graphics: Many SKUs shipped with dual-graphics arrangements (integrated APU graphics + a discrete AMD Radeon HD 8670M), or used the faster Radeon integrated cores (e.g., HD 8650G / 7660G) on models without the discrete GPU. The discrete 8670M typically included its own 1–2 GB of GDDR3 memory in retail configurations, improving performance for photo editing and casual gaming.

Display: 15.6-inch HD (1366×768) glossy TN-type panel — serviceable for office and multimedia but not a wide-gamut or high-resolution panel for color-critical work.

Memory & storage: Two SODIMM slots supporting DDR3/DDR3L at up to 1.6 GHz (typical factory configurations were 4–8 GB). Storage options ranged from 500 GB to 1 TB 5400 rpm HDDs; the chassis accepts standard 2.5″ drives and an mSATA/PCIe M.2 slot is not standard on most SKUs.

Connectivity & I/O: USB 3.0 ports, USB 2.0, HDMI, VGA (D-Sub) for legacy projectors, Gigabit Ethernet, multi-card reader and an optical DVD±RW drive on the front-facing bay — handy for software installs and occasional media tasks. Wireless was commonly 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth in many configurations.

Battery & weight: Typical SKUs shipped with a 4-cell battery (~44 Wh or a 3000 mAh cell in some regions) and the laptop weighed roughly ~2.2–2.3 kg, which is average for a 15.6″ consumer laptop of that era.

Detailed specs table (practical snapshot)

CPU: AMD A4 / A6 / A8 / A10 mobile APUs (A8-5550M, A10-5750M common).
GPU: Integrated Radeon (HD 7650/7660/8650G family) ± discrete AMD Radeon HD 8670M (1–2 GB).
Display: 15.6" HD (1366×768) LED, glossy.
RAM: 2× SO-DIMM, DDR3/DDR3L (1600 MHz), up to 8 GB typical factory; upgradeable.
Storage: 2.5″ HDD (500 GB–1 TB typical); SATA interface.
Optical: DVD±RW (some SKUs).
Ports: HDMI, VGA, USB3.0, USB2.0, Ethernet, SD card reader, audio combo jack.
Battery: 4-cell, ~44 Wh (varies by SKU).
Weight & size: ~2.2 kg, typical 15.6″ laptop footprint.

Real-world performance — CPU, GPU, thermals & battery

Everyday productivity: With an A8/A10 quad-core APU the X550DP handles office suites, web conferencing, spreadsheets and light multitasking comfortably. The APU’s multiple cores help with parallel tasks like background backups or indexes while you work in the foreground. For standard business apps and browser workloads the experience is smooth when paired with 4–8 GB RAM and an SSD (see upgrade tips).

Multimedia & light content creation: The integrated Radeon cores combined with the optional discrete 8670M give the machine good multimedia capability: smooth HD video playback, modest photo editing and short-form video transcodes using AMD’s UVD/VCE acceleration. The discrete GPU improves responsiveness for GPU-accelerated filters in tools like Photoshop Elements or Lightroom when compared to integrated graphics alone.

Gaming: Don’t expect modern AAA titles at high settings, but many older or eSports titles (League of Legends, Dota 2, CS:GO) run at playable frame rates at 1366×768 with medium to low settings on discrete-GPU SKUs. Integrated-only SKUs are more limited but still fine for casual games.

Thermals & sustained load: The X550DP was engineered as a mainstream chassis — under sustained CPU+GPU loads you will see fan noise and thermal throttling compared with thicker gaming chassis. For typical office and multimedia use the cooling system is adequate; for long renders or gaming sessions consider an external cooling pad or throttling-aware workflows. Notebookcheck’s historical reviews highlight moderate heating under full load for similar X-series models.

Battery life: Expect 3–5 hours in light productivity use with the standard 4-cell battery; heavier multimedia or GPU work will reduce that significantly. If battery endurance matters for mobile workers, a newer ultrabook or an external battery option is preferable.

Business use cases — where the X550DP fits

1. Office productivity & admin roles
For general knowledge-worker tasks — word processing, spreadsheets, e-mail, web CRM systems — the X550DP is a solid and affordable choice. Its full-size keyboard and 15.6″ screen make it comfortable for long work sessions. Upgrade the storage to an SSD and add RAM for the best user experience.

2. Sales & marketing staff who need light media editing
The combination of a roomy screen and optional discrete GPU makes the X550DP a fit for staff who regularly prepare marketing assets, edit photos for social media, or build quick presentation graphics without needing a full workstation. The HDMI output is handy for client demos.

3. Training labs and shared desktops
Because it’s affordable and relatively upgradeable, the X550DP can be a cost-effective machine for labs, training rooms and temporary deployments where high portability or extreme battery life aren’t required. Standard ports (VGA/HDMI/USB3) make it easy to connect to projectors and peripherals.

4. Field service & light POS
The optical drive and VGA port support legacy workflows, and the discrete GPU helps when using GPU-assisted visualization tools or lightweight CAD viewers. It’s a reasonable field machine where durability needs are moderate and budget is constrained.

Where it’s not ideal for business

Heavy compute workflows like full-time video editing, large 3D CAD, or data-science model training — use workstation class machines instead.
Mobile-first employees who need long battery life, very light weight, or LTE connectivity — ultrabooks beat the X550DP in portability and endurance.
Large managed fleets that require enterprise features (smartcard readers, vPro/AMT, advanced remote management). The X550DP is consumer/SMB oriented and lacks Intel vPro features.

Upgrade & deployment tips (make it last longer)

Install an SSD. Replacing the HDD with a SATA SSD is the single best upgrade for perceived responsiveness — boot times, app launches and document saves all improve dramatically.
Max out RAM. If your SKU ships with 4 GB, upgrade to 8 GB (the platform supports DDR3L SODIMMs) for smoother multitasking.
Use discrete GPU SKUs for media tasks. If you plan GPU work (photo edits, light video), select an X550DP with Radeon HD 8670M or add an external eGPU only if you’re comfortable with tinkering — note eGPU support on AMD notebooks of this era is limited.
Provision imaging & security. For business deployment create a standard image with drivers from Asus’s support page and enable BitLocker/FileVault and endpoint protection. Asus maintains support pages and driver packages for the X550DP.

Final assessment

The Asus X550DP is a practical, budget-minded 15.6″ laptop that offered strong value when new: roomy screen, upgradeable internals and AMD APU options with a discrete Radeon GPU for extra graphics headroom. For small businesses, training labs and mobile professionals who value a balance of multimedia ability and price, it’s a solid choice — especially if you plan to upgrade storage and RAM. It’s less suitable for compute-intensive professional workloads or users who need ultra-long battery life and ultra-light weight.

Asus x550dp Drivers Download Windows 10

ASUS Smart Gesture (For Windows 10 Upgrade)
Version V4.0,5
50.29 MB
2015/07/23

ASUS Smart Gesture (Touchpad Driver) provides smoother and more intuitive touchpad experiences.
To avoid losing ASUS customized gestures due to compatibility issue after upgrade to Windows 10, please update ASUS Smart Gesture to v4.0.5 or above.
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ATK
ATKPackage (For Windows 10 Upgrade)
Version V1.0.0039
11.81 MB
2015/07/23

ATKPackage includes ATKACPI driver and hotkey-related utilities.
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Software and Utility
ASUS Live Update
Version V3.6.15
6.84 MB
2022/01/04

Fix Optimize the self-update stability in ASUS Live Update
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