This article is sponsored by ASUS Malaysia. Statements made in the article do not reflect the views of the techENT editorial teams.
For those of you out there looking for a laptop with decent graphics performance while on a budget, machines running an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 are often recommended as the best you can get without breaking the bank. It not only offers close similar performance to the last generation RTX 3060 but also comes with support for DLSS 3.0 Frame Generation AI upscaling technology for a superior experience in games.
However, not every RTX 4050 laptop is built the same. Most brands cater towards the gamer crowd with their RTX 4050 laptops, while some put them into their thin-and-light machines targeting creative professionals. These, however, tend to result in laptops with certain compromises, as you’ll either end up sacrificing portability with the former thanks to a large, hefty chassis, or performance in the latter due to cooling constraints.
That’s where the ASUS Vivobook 16X (K3605) comes in. This is not only the lightest 16-inch laptop with an RTX 4050 in Malaysia, but it’s also a beast of a machine thanks to its capable 12-core processor under the hood. In fact, here are five reasons why we think the Vivobook 16X is the ideal machine for creative professionals on-the-go who double as casual gamers when it’s time to clock off work.
1. Perfect balance between performance and cooling
As we perhaps hinted at before, the Vivobook 16X packs a pretty decent punch under the hood despite its more subtle appearance. For starters, you’ll find a 12th Gen Intel Core i5-12500H here, which is a high-end CPU for laptops that packs four Performance cores and eight Efficient cores for a total of 12 cores with 16 threads.
Now we know what you’re thinking: 12th Gen Intel Core i5-12500H? Isn’t that fairly old by now? Well, yes, it’s a two-year-old processor, but just because it’s a little older doesn’t mean that it’s a bad option. See, thanks to the relatively high number of CPU cores, it stands out as a fantastic alternative compared to even newer processors such as the 13th Gen Intel Core i5-13420H, averaging about 13% higher results in the Cinebench R23 multi-core benchmark. This makes it a great choice for those planning to do heavy multithreaded workloads such as video editing and 3D modelling.
That doesn’t mean that it can’t game either; the Intel Core i5-12500H not only closely matches the Core i5-13420H in Cinebench R23 single-core benchmarks, but also ever so slightly averages higher performance numbers than the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H, which is two generations newer than the Core i5-12500H.
Knowing how well the Core i5-12500H stacks up against its newer siblings, it’s no wonder then that it’s the best for a value-focused performance machine such as the ASUS Vivobook 16X. It’s not all about the CPU only though; the Vivobook 16X also packs in an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 laptop GPU based on the latest ADA Lovelace architecture, allowing you to not only excel at pro-level rendering and other creative needs but also in-game with support for features like DLSS 3.0 Frame Generation for super smooth gameplay. The Vivobook 16X also uses NVIDIA Studio drivers, ensuring that you get maximum stability especially when it comes to professional creative apps used to edit photos and videos. On top of that, there’s even a MUX Switch enabling you to choose between using the discrete GPU or switching to the iGPU for a much longer battery life.
This marriage of powerful hardware and cutting-edge AI upscaling technologies means that you’ll be able to comfortably run triple-A titles such as Cyberpunk 2077 at high settings or Black Myth: Wukong with a mix of medium and high settings, and still expect 60fps and higher in-game.
All of that powerful hardware is kept nice and cool too with ASUS IceCool thermal technology, with upgraded 8mm, 6mm and 4mm heat pipes along with an 87-blade IceBlade fan for efficient heat transfer. Such cooling performance allows the Vivobook 16X to run with up to 70W CPU+GPU TDP in performance mode with no thermal throttling.
2. Slim, light and the most portable RTX 4050 16” Laptop
We’ve already mentioned a lot about what’s powering the Vivobook 16X, and while it’s what’s inside that counts, it’s hard to ignore the fact that first impressions tend to last forever too. Luckily then the Vivobook 16X offers a great user-friendly design, with the classic Vivobook raised logo on the metallic lid, and measures just 18.9mm thin. It’s also merely 1.8kg light, making this one of the most portable RTX 4050 laptops you can get right now with a 16-inch display.
That puts it in stark contrast to the other 16-inch laptops out there that feature similar levels of performance. In fact, in most cases, you’ll be resorting to gaming laptops with an uber-thick chassis typically above 20mm thick as well as weighing oftentimes over 2kg. Such heft makes them a lot more inconvenient for creators on the go who value not only performance but also portability, which is where the Vivobook 16X comes in with its slim chassis and compelling hardware.
ASUS laptops are also engineered to withstand more so that they can tough it out, and the Vivobook 16X is no different as it meets the US MIL-STD-810H military grade standard, making it reliable and durable. Other great design choices here include a 180-degree lay-flat hinge design for easy sharing, an ASUS ErgoSense keyboard for a more satisfying typing experience, and an ASUS Antimicrobial Guard for up to 99% bacterial growth inhibition for at least three years.
3. Perfect for work and play with accurate colours and a high refresh rate
ASUS has been at the forefront of laptop display technology for a long time now, and you can certainly see that with the Vivobook 16X. As this is a laptop that will likely find itself being used by many professional creatives, the Vivobook 16X comes kitted out with a large 16-inch IPS display in a 16:10 aspect ratio for additional screen real estate and covers 100% of the sRGB colour gamut that’s essential for colour accurate work.
The WUXGA (1920 x 1200) resolution meanwhile offers great clarity even when up close and personal with the Vivobook 16X. You’ll also find that the Vivobook 16X’s display offers a 144Hz refresh rate, as well as 300nits of brightness and is even kind to your eyes thanks to it being TUVRheinland low blue light and flicker-free certified.
All of this makes the 16-inch display on the Vivobook 16X perfect for creators who would be able to appreciate the larger screen and taller aspect ratio to better see your workflow while maintaining impeccable colour accuracy too. And then once it’s time to clock off work, you’ll be able to quickly transform the Vivobook 16X into a portable gaming station that lets you see everything in-game at a buttery smooth 144Hz.
4. Complete selection of I/O ports
It perhaps goes without saying that almost all of us would hate carrying dongles with us. Your laptop should simplify your workflow, rather than become a headache every time you want to connect a simple accessory or transfer files from it. That’s again one of the great reasons why the Vivobook 16X can appeal to everyone from gamers to creatives, as it packs in a complete selection of I/O ports so that you can connect just about anything and everything to it.
Specifically, the ASUS Vivobook 16X packs in two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, a USB-C Thunderbolt 4 port with support for display output and power delivery, a HDMI 2.1 TMDS port, a 3.5mm combo audio jack and an SD card reader too. And that’s not all either as the Vivobook 16X offers great wireless connectivity options too thanks to support for WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3.
As such, you’ll be able to enjoy speedier transfers be it from an external SSD or an SD card after your shoots and productions, or if you prefer, simply download everything back from the cloud; it’s all no issue thanks to the complete connectivity options on the Vivobook 16X.
5. Brilliant option on a budget for everyone
With a new revised price tag of just RM3,999, the ASUS Vivobook 16X is truly a fantastic buy for anyone wanting an easy entry-level professional or gaming laptop that is not just powerful and capable but portable and durable too. You can find the Vivobook 16X on sale at our ASUS official eStore as well as on shelves from our retail partners nationwide.
This article is sponsored by ASUS Malaysia. Statements made in the article do not reflect the views of the techENT editorial teams.
ASUS Malaysia has unleashed the upgraded 16-inch ASUS Vivobook 16 (M1605), powered by the latest AMDRyzen 7000 series processors. This laptop is engineered to provide an enhanced visual and performance experience, empowering you to accomplish more.
The key highlight is its impressive 16-inch 16:10 NanoEdge display, boasting an larger screen-to-body ratio of up to 86.5%. This means you get more screen real estate within the same laptop footprint as conventional 15.6-inch models. To enhance your viewing comfort during extended usage, the Vivobook 16 comes certified with TÜV Rheinland’s low blue-light and flicker-free technology.
Under the hood, you’ll find the AMD Ryzen 7 7000-Series processors, 16 GB RAM, and a speedy 512 GB SSD, ensuring seamless performance for your tasks. The Vivobook 16 incorporates a dual-vented cooling system with an IceBlade fan, ensuring quiet and efficient cooling. The substantial 42Wh battery offers extended usage, and you can enjoy ultrafast connectivity thanks to WiFi 6E.
This laptop features a slim and lightweight design complemented by a metal-like finish. Its 180° lay-flat hinge facilitates collaboration, and it also comes with a full range of ports including USB-C 3.2 Gen 1, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, USB 2.0, HDMI 1.4, and an audio combo jack.
The Vivobook 16 incorporates a physical webcam shield for the HD webcam for better security and privacy. It also features a full-size ASUS ErgoSense keyboard and a generously sized touchpad. ASUS Antimicrobial Guard Plus protection is applied to frequently touched areas like the palm rest, keyboard, and trackpad, reducing the transmission of harmful viruses and bacteria.
Environmentally conscious consumers will appreciate that this Vivobook is now crafted using 30% post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastics and comes in 100% recyclable packaging. Its energy efficiency surpasses the ENERGY STAR® standard, and it’s built to endure, adhering to the strict MIL-STD-810H US military-grade standard.
Pricing & Availability
The ASUS Vivobook 16 (M1605) is available in two variants with prices starting from MYR2,599 for the model with Ryzen 5 7530U with 8GB of RAM. While the version with the Ryzen 7 7730U and 16GB of RAM will be priced at MYR2,999.
Both variants come in Indie Black and Cool Silver and are available through authorized ASUS resellers and the official ASUS e-store.
OLED is wonderful. Since its introduction as viable digital panels for TVs, PC monitors, and even smartphones, the technology has been regarded as the best display technology so far. OLED display is all about contrast, brightness, clarity, and colours. It does all that well while consuming less energy than LCD panels. There is little wonder why manufacturers and users love the technology this much.
While it sounds like the perfect display technology, it is far from that. OLED panels tend to have burn-in issues especially when a static image is being displayed for far too long. OLED panels tend to have shorter lifespans too. At the same time, it is an expensive technology.
For ASUS though, the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks. Thankfully as well, modern technology ahs brought the cost of the OLED technology down significantly. Modern Technology also made the OLED technology even better and more colour accurate than ever before. Modern technology, in a sense, brought the OLED technology to the accessible Asus VivoBook series, and there are new ones to be excited about.
ASUS VivoBook Pro 14X OLED
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Content creators need colour accuracy in their display. Of course, if you have larger budgets to work with, you might be able to afford a dedicated display that is made specifically with colour accuracy in mind. More often than not, independent content creators always work with limited budgets. That also means that they can only afford a single device and would need to spend their money elsewhere. This is where the VivoBook Pro 14X OLED comes in.
The new VivoBook Pro 14X OLED features a brilliant 14-inch 2.8K OLED panel boasting HDR 600. That means that the display boasts 600-nits in maximum brightness, plenty bright for a laptop that will set you back less than MYR 5,000. It is a unique 16:10 aspect ratio 14-incher too. With 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage, you will not find anything more colour accurate in the same price bracket.
A great display like the OLED panel that the VivoBook Pro 14X needs a powerful hardware to back it up. It comes packing Intel’s 11th Generation Core i5 processor and up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 GPU. To ensure that you have all the power to get your creatives flowing is an 16GB RAM supporting the powerful CPU and GPU. Of course, if you need to use a secondary display for productivity’s sake, there is a Thunderbolt 4 capable USB Type-C port too.
ASUS VivoBook Pro 15 OLED
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
What if you are not really a content creator, but appreciate a good large display on your laptop anyway? What if you are a student that has not requirement for an ultra-powerful hardware and ultra-premium laptop? You get the Vivobook Pro 15 OLED
It features a stunning 15-inch Full HD OLED panel as its display. It may not be as high-resolution as the Vivobook Pro 14X, but it still got all the right benefits from OLED technology. The immersion you get from the OLED display is made even better with the Vivobook Pro 15’s Harman Kardon audio.
It packs AMD’s latest Ryzen 5000 H-series processor. That processor is supported by a powerful NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 GPU. It also has up to 16GB of RAM to keep everything running nice and smooth with up to 512GB of storage for everything else.
ASUS VivoBook 15 OLED
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Even if you are on a budget tighter than MYR 4,000 though, you still can get access to an OLED display with the VivoBook 15 OLED. It is the same 15-inch Full HD display you get from the Vivobook Pro 15. You also get 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage for the best and accurate colours from your 15-incher. What it lacks in, or at least where it becomes cheaper, is at its performance hardware.
It is powered by AMD’s Ryzen 7 processor or an Intel Core i3 processor. It does not come with a discreet GPU though so you are either stuck with AMD’s own Radeon or Intel’s own Iris Xe graphics. You still get and SSD with the Vivobook 15 OLED. You also get Harman Kardon-certified audio with the new Vivobook 15 OLED.
Price and Availability
The three new ASUS VivoBook OLED series are now available in Malaysia. You can get your hands on one via ASUS’ authorised retailers across the nation, or even online. The ASUS VivoBook Pro 14X will set you back MYR 4,799. The ASUS VivoBook Pro 15 OLED starts at MYR 4,299. The VivoBook 14 OLED though starts at a mere MYR 2,799. More information on the ASUS VivoBook OLED series can be found on ASUS’ website.
The ASUS Vivobook lineup is one of the most popular lineups the company has under its wings. Only recently, it received an infusion of “Pro” features with the Vivobook Pro series. Now, ASUS is bringing more variety to the lineup with a new tablet form factor.
Source: ASUS
The new ASUS Vivobook 13 Slate OLED is the first Vivobook tablet that comes with a 13.3-inch Full HD OLED display. It comes with a 16:9 aspect ratio and a 1920×1080 pixel resolution. The Vivobook 13 Slate OLED seems to be built with creators and media consumption in mind. The display has a peak brightness of 550 nits and covers 100% of the DCI-P3 colour gamut. It also has support for Dolby Vision. Completing its multimedia experience is a quad-speaker setup that is concentrated on the bottom half of the slate with Dolby Atmos certification. The speakers also come with smart amplifier technology that amplifies the audio up to 3 times louder.
New Form Factor with “Unique” Insides
The Vivobook 13 Slate OLED doesn’t come with your regular Intel Core i processors. Instead, ASUS has opted to go with the Intel Pentium Silver N6000. It’s an x86 quad-core processor with no multithreading support. It has a 4MB cache and a maximum speed of 3.3GHz. The processor is supposed to be one of Intel’s more power-efficient SoCs. This should promise better battery life with the OLED display. The processor is complemented with either 4GB or 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of storage.
Source: ASUS
The Slate OLED comes with a 13-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. It also has support for WiFi 6 with ASUS WiFi Master to boot. Also along for the ride is Bluetooth 5.2. Aside from that, the Slate OLED comes with 2 USB Type C ports that support USB 3.2 and power delivery, and a microSD card reader and a 3.5mm combo jack.
Accessoried to be Your Tablet and PC
Coming in at only 785g, the Vivobook 13 Slate OLED is made to be a portable productivity beast. However, unlike other slates on the market, ASUS opted to minimise the amount of moving parts on the Slate OLED. Instead, the Slate’s multimode form factor comes from its accessories. It comes with a cover stand which allows it to stand in both portrait and landscape modes. Together with this, it also has a separate Keyboard cover which comes with a large touchpad.
Source: ASUS
Together with these, the ASUS Vivobook 13 Slate OLED comes with support for the ASUS Pen 2.0. The new ASUS Pen 2.0 is compliant with Windows’ built-in Microsoft Pen Protocol 2.0. This means that it connects seamlessly when attached to the Slate magnetically. It has 4096 points of sensitivity and a 266Hz sampling rate. The most unique thing about the ASUS Pen 2.0 is its interchangeable tips. Instead of just being replaceable for wear and tear reasons, the tips also mimic the textures of 2H, H, HB and 2B pencils. It charges via USB-C. I thas a quick button on top which brings added functionality when paired via Bluetooth.
Pricing & Availability
The ASUS Vivobook 13 Slate OLED will be available starting in December 2021 with prices starting at USD$600 (MYR2,491.88). The Slate will be bundled with a cover stand, keyboard and ASUS Pen 2.0.
Together with the standard version of the ASUS Vivobook 13 Slate OLED, ASUS also announced special editions of the new Vivobook. These special edition Slates will feature custom designs from Steven Harrington and Philip Colbert. They will feature a special cover stand, wallpaper, a special box, a sleeve, a keyboard, a hardcover case and keyboard stickers. The Philip Colbert version will come with an additional pair of limited-edition shoelaces.
By now you are probably quite familiar with the name ‘VivoBook’. That is mostly thanks to the fact that we have been reviewing the namesake or each iteration of the same notebook for quite sometime now. We hope that you have not grown bored of the same notebook though, because we have not. Also, because there is a new one in the block.
It seems like just yesterday that we were reviewing a new ASUS VivoBook S notebook PC. It seems like yesterday too that we gave quite high praises to ASUS’ value offering of a notebook PC. That said, we have always liked the ASUS VivoBook series. They are relatively inexpensive offering of notebook PCs that are always outperforming our expectations. They are also always very well built, for the kind of material they employ on the VivoBook.
Because of the wholesome package that is the ASUS VivoBook, it has become one of our most recommended notebook PCs so far. While it is a serious contender for ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution, the designers have never taken a too serious approach to the notebook too. That is also why the ASUS VivoBook notebooks have always been lookers.
The new one? Well, for one I think it is no different from the old recipe of making an attractive looking PC with great internals. They approached the VivoBook with the same ‘one-size-fits-all’ philosophy as before. Somehow, they have managed to make it even better in certain aspects. How? Let us delve deeper.
Design
Like before, the ASUS VivoBook is built with a mix of plastic and aluminium. We suspect that the outer shells are mostly aluminium and the keyboard tray is also aluminium. The only part that is not made from the lightweight metal is the bezel surrounding the Full HD display.
Unlike the previous ASUS VivoBook S too, the new 2020 variant seems to be a bit more scratch resistant. This is mostly due to the aluminium construction and what we think is an anodized surface instead of a paint coating. Anodizing has been a common practice in getting colours on metallic surfaces, and they last a whole lot longer.
Anodizing also has another benefit, you can get really interesting colours on the surfaces. Which is what ASUS has gone for with the 2020 variant of the ASUS VivoBook S. The one we have here is green in colour. Specifically, Gaia Green. It is a stunning colour, in our humble opinions.
Personally, I have always liked green, Emerald Green or British Racing Green especially. Those are great colours, and I have always dreamt of a Bentley Continental GT in Emerald Green shade or a 1961 Jaguar E-Type in British Racing Green. We are getting a little side-tracked.
The point is, it is a very pretty Green that we are getting on the ASUS VivoBook S15. Finally, someone bothers to go with another green coloured notebook. This makes Red shades look over-rated and overly loud. There isn’t a big difference in the branding layout otherwise.
Open the ASUS VivoBook S15 up and you will be greeted with a very familiar full keyboard layout with backlighting. Oh, let us not forget the accented enter key with a lime outline and wording. We may not completely understand why that is included in the design, but it does help distinguish the keyboard itself from its competitors. The numpad is largely similar on the side with a nice layout too.
The trackpad is a little larger compared to what we could remember, but that is not a bad thing. Unlike the more popular wide pad designs, the new one looks more traditional and with additional height. That allows your two palms to rest on the palm rests on either side of the trackpad properly without accidentally touching the trackpad for extra inputs or accidental clicks.
There is no more fingerprint sensor on the ASUS VivoBook S15 anymore though. We are testing the Intel Core i5 variant of the ASUS VivoBook S15. Usually you would find the fingerprint sensor on the top right corner of the trackpad. Not this time though. Although you still get the same on/off button nestled at the top right corner of the whole keyboard layout.
There is a shiny chromed out chamfers on the side of the keyboard tray. That somehow adds to the premium look when its new. The shiny chromed ring surrounding the keyboard is what made us think that the whole top is aluminium. Thing is though, they will smudge a little from the oils from your skin. While that may not be too big of a deal if you keep it clean with constant care, it will not be the case for most people. Still, we feel that that is a nice touch. At least you know when you need to give your laptop a quick wipe down.
Hardware
As we have mentioned, this ‘go-anywhere-do-anything’ machine is made mostly of aluminium. Which is always a nice touch, in our opinion. It also helps with the overall feel and rigidity of the device, which is always nice.
There is more that just an aluminium body with nothing to show for it inside though. While it is not very heavy, it is still quite a powerful package. As we have mentioned, this is powered by an Intel Core i5, the one we have. We also have NVIDIA’s GeForce MX250 to work with, which is no slouch if you are not after outright gaming performance.
Specifications
ASUS VivoBook S15 S533
As Tested
Processor (clock)
10th Generation Intel Core i5-10210U (1.6GHz ~ up to 4.2GHz)
GPU
NVIDIA GeForce MX250
Display(s)
15.6-inch LED -backlit IPS Full HD (1920 x 1080) NTSC: 45% NanoEdge
1 x USB-C 3.1 Gen 1 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A 2x USB 2.0 1 x Standard HDMI 1.4 1 x Audio combo jack 1x MicroSD card reader Intel Wi-Fi 6 Gig+ (802.11ax) Bluetooth 5.0
Battery
50Wh 3-cell Li-Polymer Fast Charging (60% in 49 minutes)
Operating System
Windows 10 Home
Miscellaneous
Audio certified by Harman Kardon Certification 1.8kg
Features
Do not think for a second that ‘one-size-fits-all’ means that there is nothing that makes this thing special though. There is still a few things that makes this the perfect notebook PC that can do everything you need.
Back to Basics
So instead of the whole ErgoLift technology that ASUS was raving about a year ago, this has a regular hinge that tilts the display as normally as you would expect a normal notebook PC. You still get a similarly styled hinge, it is just that the VivoBook does not stand on the hinge. That also ensures that your keyboard remains at the same height on any surface, at any given time. You are not going to move your display and have your keyboard shift a few mm away from out or what not.
Not to say that the ErgoLift hinge was a bad thing. It really did improve typing positions when you set it on a proper surface to work with. On normal café tables, working on an ErgoLift hinged notebook is a little bit more comfortable than usual. Because your whole set up moves as the display moves though, it is a little inconsistent for my liking.
On the new 2020 line-up of the ASUS VivoBook S, ASUS is saying or listening to the consumers who say; “what was ever wrong with the normal typing position of notebook PCs”? After all, ASUS was one of the only players pushing that that kind of hinge design.
The loss of the supporting body part that extends from the display does create a little bit of an added opportunity in terms of rigidity too. If you turn the laptop around to its bottom, there is an extra rubber nub in the middle of the back part of the notebook PC. While it may not do much, it does add some body rigidity on the ASUS Vivobook S15, especially in the middle of keyboard which is usually where the older ASUS VivoBook S flexes. There is no visible or perceived crease here even when you put a little bigger pressure on the top part of the keyboard. That is really nice.
There is also another plus point with the regular flat-footed approach to the base of the notebook PC. It is much more comfortable using it on your lap. That is exactly the position of this notebook PC as I am typing this review.
The VivoBook S15 (2020) is missing a fingerprint sensor though, which is quite an unpleasant surprise. It was one of the better fingerprint sensors in a position that we thought made a lot of sense. While some may think that having a fingerprint sensor on the trackpad could be a little distracting, we like where it is positioned. It is one of the more intuitive designs and placements we found in the market. We want the fingerprint sensor back – ASUS, take note.
Clickety Clackety
Notebook PCs have improved on their keyboards tremendously over the past few years. The ASUS VivoBook series over the years, in our opinions, has some of the best keyboard feels among ASUS’ other offerings. We feel that they could use a little more travel and softer feedback, but honestly, they are some of the best keyboards we find on an ASUS notebook.
The ASUS VivoBook S15 technically still has the sort of same keyboard as the slightly older VivoBook S of 2019. It feels somewhat similar as well. There seems to be a little more travel this time around, but that could just be me. We still think that it could use with a little more feedback with the keys though, and more travel. But still, travel would be sacrificed in making notebook PCs lighter and thinner.
Still, that comment of ASUS VivoBook series offering the best keyboard experience from ASUS still stands true with the ASUS VivoBook S15. We suspect also that is mostly due to the fact that this product is targeted mostly to students who types long essays. We feel that this could still be perfect for businesspeople too who needs something reliable and affordable to work with.
There is a small complaint on the keyboard though. The backlight still leaks from the sides of the of island keys. That is a very small tolerable issue though. What is slightly a bit more annoying is that the white backlight makes the keys harder to read in bright conditions. Under the light of the display for example, you cannot read the keys. It still helps when you are typing in darker conditions though. This is basically nit-picking already though as that only happens at certain angles.
We find the highlighted ‘enter’ key a little odd as well. We do not really know why it is in a different colour accent compared to all keys. While it helps us find the enter button, it is still rather odd. It could just be a design decision to help you find the enter key in the dark, to differentiate it from the ‘shift’ key maybe.
Harman and Kardon’s Magic Touch
Yes, the previous ASUS VivoBook S was also fitted with audio by Harman Kardon. Yes, the new one is also fitted with audio by Harman Kardon. Is there a difference? Not really. Both sounds great still.
The sound profile, on speakers at least, is similar to the older VivoBook S. With Harman Kardon, audio sounds crisp and clear. Not to forget, it can get quite loud. There is still a lack of bass or low frequency strength from the speakers. Still, that is quite understandable when they have not fitted a subwoofer into the svelte body of the ASUS VivoBook S15. You would need proper headphones for that needed thump from your music.
Still, even if you do not have any good pair of headphones to work with, the audio is plenty usable and enjoyable. That is the case for both movies and music, which is pleasant. Of course, you would want more low frequencies for action movies with plenty of explosions. In terms of music though, if you are not too big into Hip-Hop, you should do more than fine actually. The high frequencies and mid frequencies are great and clear.
Again though, there are still notebook PCs that packs better audio than the ASUS VivoBook S15 (2020). At the same time though audio for notebook PCs have evolved quite a bit and progressed further than anyone would have thought these days. You can hardly fault modern notebook PCs when it comes to audio quality these days – save for weaker low frequencies.
While Harman Kardon is nothing new for the ASUS VivoBook S15, we do think that having that backup from a large audio brand like Harman Kardon is still an exciting feature to have. It means that ASUS can handle what they do best while allowing one of the best in the business to do what they do best.
Plus the Magic of ICESound by ICE Power
Added to the prowess of Harman Kardon’s know how in making great sounding speakers, or tuning them to sound good. But a good speaker is nothing without good software to articulate and equalise sound. Here is where ICE shines.
ICE Power is known to make some professional grade amplifiers and audio equipment. They are one of the world’s best when it comes to studio monitoring and production grade audio solutions. No, that does not mean that ASUS worked with them to fit an amplifier that is made by them within the VivoBook S15. Not quite, those are still a third party developed part and then Harman Kardon would add their clever know how to make the speakers capable.
What ICE Power makes here is quite unique. It is a software based tuning kit that adjusts the frequencies of the media played through the speakers. Yes, in other words, they made a custom equaliser software for ASUS here.
Unlike plenty of other notebook PCs, the equaliser that is given by ICE Power, more known as ICESound that is built into ASUS’ existing Audio Wizard(cheeky) is a lot more comprehensive. You can tune the audio output to however you might like your music to be. You can have different settings for different software too. They are all saved under presets so you can just quickly get a different tuning and EQ in different conditions within a click.
There are preset settings, of course, for those who are not familiar with tuning software or equalisers adjustments. They simply label them as ‘Music’ and ‘Movies’. Both give you different experiences in both instances too.
Even in those settings, you can customise them further if you want your music to sound a certain way, like how professionals work with live audio, you can too with ICE Power, or at least at the default settings, they do the magic work and you just turn it on to work with. I suggest just going with their default setting though.
While to many, this may not sound like a huge difference with no treatments or equalisers; to any trained ear, you can notice differences straight away. Even with Spotify, the sound profile changes dramatically. Vocals sound clearer with that trailing afternote that you always hear when someone talks to you or in live concerts. The instruments sound a little more alive than they really are somehow. All these in just a simple arrangement of different frequencies. It is pleasantly surprising.
Of course, there is still the problem of not enough low-frequency strength from smaller speakers fitted on the ASUS VivoBook S15. Still, for a notebook PC to have audio like this is plenty amazing. If you are a little picky with audio, this could be the notebook that you might want to have.
There is some caveat though. While it does transform your audio experience a little bit, the speakers at times might seem that it hardly copes with the changes in frequencies, especially the higher ones. There are minimal tears in audio if you pay attention. Still, they can be quite negligible in most cases. To be fair, it could be Spotify too.
Performance
Of course, there are some limitations to what the ASUS VivoBook S15 can do. After all, the test device we have here only packs Intel’s Core i5. While it is the 10th Generation processor, it is not the most powerful in its range too. It is made to be power efficient and durable. It is made to be a workhorse instead of a powerful all conquering device with short bursts of power. This is made to last all day and more. This VivoBook S15 is made to stay away from the wall plugs as long as possible.
Still Quite Powerful
That is not to say that the ASUS VivoBook S15 is a weakling though. With the 10th iteration of Intel’s powerpack, it is more powerful than ever. It scrubs through Full HD 1080p videos on Adobe Premier Pro with ease. It renders the video quite fast too. Well, of course, this coming from a modern PC and at 1080p, you can expect as much. The NVIDIA GeForce MX250 does help things trundle along in video editing purposes too, especially when you need to do any extra stabilisation of your footage.
While your gaming rig can render Full HD videos much faster, this is not too far off. We were able to render 2minute Full HD videos in a few minutes. Provided the video does not feature plenty of complex animations, or too many added footages, or generally that much in complexity. It is just a simple cut, join and render from two different Full HD videos.
Where this should shine though is in simple Adobe Illustrator works and even Adobe Photoshop. Thing is, you might be left a little bit wanting from the display a little bit though. You are not getting the most colour accurate display available to you. Still, it is an IPS display; which means you still get best in class viewing angle and colours still look good.
We also appreciate the fact that this comes out-of-the-box with 8GB RAM. We have always said that 8GB should be the minimum RAM size that any notebooks come in. ASUS listened and fitted 8GB into this thing. Of course, you can upgrade it or add another RAM stick on your own if you want to.
Of course, with 512GB of SSD, you are not going to think too much about wanting for more speed out of your storage. 512GB is also plenty to work with when you are just going to work with documents, some light video or image editing, and even looking through endless emails. Trust me, it is enough. If not, you still can add a 2.5-inch HDD if you want to.
Gaming
Obviously the first part of any performance gauge on almost any notebook PC. Well, that is barring the creator grade stuffs. So, gaming.
Before we go on though, we are not going to install or test AAA titles on this notebook PC. Let’s face it, no one will buy this type of PC to run AAA titles in even close to high settings. You might be able to run older AAA titles still though.
We are not very good DOTA 2 players, but we are pretty sure this still can run that. Then again DOTA 2 runs on nearly any machine on the market these days. So DOTA may not be a good marker anymore.
We ran Two Point Hospital and Motorsport Manager on this thing. We relied on Two Point Hospital more than Motorsport Manager to work with though. Motorsport Manager is buggy at best, and does not require super high performance from GPU as well.
In that light, we are delighted to report that this runs Two Point Hospital healthily. As in, we have not complaints on it. We did not fiddle with the settings, for obvious reasons. We are pretty sure we could push the VivoBook S15 to higher settings on Two Point Hospital, but it might make the frames a little choppy, so we did not bother.
No, you will not get anything higher than 60 fps. This display only refreshes at 60hz. Nope, not a competitive esports contender here. Just a regular PC.
Going the Distance – Battery Life
The older VivoBooks have allowed us to work remotely quite efficiently in the past. There is no specific battery life quote from ASUS really for the new ASUS VivoBook S15. The 50Wh battery built into the ASUS VivoBook S15 (2020) though allowed us to stay on the move and work for at least 4 hours. This is considering that we left it at default power mode. You could improve that a little bit by changing your power consumption model like any other Windows notebook.
We got about 6 hours in battery life with no more than 10 tabs open on both Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge, plenty of typing on Microsoft Word (we typed this review entirely on the ASUS VivoBook S15), constantly having audio at various levels of volume with Audio Wizard on full time. Oh yes, we were downloading some things from Steam too. Screen brightness were kept to half though.
Still, we managed to get this review written on the ASUS VivoBook S15 in two full charges. Which is not ideal if we are away from ports for 8 hours or more in a single period. We are not though, so it still works. We are also thinking in terms of the buyers of this notebook PC. It should be more than adequate to work with between charge points if you are a student especially. Unless, of course, your class goes on for more than 5 hours at a time.
Display
We are not going to lie; the display is not the best. This is not some notebook PC that you might want to use to edit photos or images with super accurate colours. Might I suggest you get a secondary monitor that might cost as much?
No, this is not made for super accurate colour reproduction. This is also not made for gaming, so you do not get anything close to 120Hz. It stops at 60Hz, which is quite terrible in today’s gaming standards.
Does it matter though? This is not a PC that is made to be a creator’s tool. It is made to be a reliable workhorse for the likes of students, or some working adults that is looking at a budget. This is made for Word processing, Excel sheet crunching, and PowerPoint creation. This is made to browse through endless research papers and a mindless amount of web pages.
In that sense, the display is great enough for web browsing and reading. It is adequate to work with; you do not need 120Hz or even Pantone validation to process videos or get through an Excel sheet. You only need to protect your eyes. Windows and ASUS has you covered with blue light filter built-in of course.
The ASUS VivoBook S15 S533 (2020) – The Best VivoBook
That should go without saying. Every new device should be the best of its series. But the ASUS VivoBook S15 (2020) managed to do even more than that though. We admit, it lost some great stuff. It lost the highly acclaimed ErgoLift design (somehow, I am personally glad though). Then there is the fact that you do not get the fingerprint sensor with Windows Hello anymore, a mild annoyance. There is also no significant improvements in battery life too.
The ASUS VivoBook S15 (2020) is a mild progression from the older 2019 variant, rather than a revolution. It does everything a little better. Sure, we do not get some things that we have come to expect from the ASUS VivoBook line-up. But a notebook PC at this segment is not made great by those things.
You still get the same sort of great looking design that can stand out anywhere or blend in anywhere. That is up to your colour choices, by the way. It remained at the same great price too at MYR 3,199. That while having slightly better rigidity, which in turn improves durability and overall typing experience (thank you, little nub). The product still feels great but is made better with the slightly more powerful new generation Intel Core i5 processor (the only one we are getting in Malaysia, by the way). Audio by Harman Kardon is still much of the same thing, but the discovery of Audio Wizard by ICE Power made exclusively for ASUS PCs made it slightly better; just the right amount to change the experience.
Everything points to very slight increments in the experience of the ASUS VivoBook S15. All the increments are made at the same price too. Yes, that means that you must give up some good stuff too. But remember, that is not the point. The point of the ASUS VivoBook S15 is to be a great all-rounder. In that, it does well. We would describe it as the perfect all-rounder. It’s 15.6-inch display is large enough, but also light at 1.8kg. It has all the power you need too, and still lasts longer your meetings or classes. Of course, the Harman Kardon and ICE Power combination is a winner in the audio aspect. Music is enjoyable on this, really.
It is like that friend that you hang out with all the time, the one that goes to the ‘mamak’ with you to discuss world issues, and to the bar with you to watch Liverpool winning the 2019/2020 season; the all-around swell and reliable friend. This is that friend. Oh, as a bonus, this ‘friend’ might look better than that friend; whatever you may think, the Gaia Green is gorgeous. Definitely the one I would spend my MYR 3,199 on.
