ASUS VivoBook S14 review: Premium style and hardware with a mid-range price

Source: Windows Central

It'southward an exciting fourth dimension to be shopping for a mid-range laptop, with more good selection than ever before in the $500-$i,000 price bracket. Not only can yous get something that looks similar the nigh expensive, highest-end Ultrabooks, only in some cases, y'all tin fifty-fifty get the same sort of specs you might in one case take been forced to pay over the odds for.

The latest ASUS VivoBook S14 is a perfect case of this. It oozes style, merely it's not all merely skillful looks on the exterior. Under the hood are some seriously impressive specs all in a laptop you tin can buy for comfortably under $1,000.

Information technology has its flaws, as most laptops do, but given the price point compared to what you're actually getting, this is a stunning laptop and one I'd happily utilize as my daily driver.

Super Stylish

ASUS VivoBook S14 S433

Bottom line: A premium Ultrabook in every way except the price, only one of the display options does let it downward.

Pros:

• Gorgeous design
• All-metal chassis
• Solid keyboard
• 10th Gen Intel CPUs
• Attractive price

Cons:

• Average SSD functioning
• Disappointing display in some regions
• Doesn't charge over USB-C

What you'll like well-nigh the ASUS VivoBook S14

Source: Windows Central

From the moment you open up the box, the S14 impresses. The version I take is the gunmetal color, but there are several others, some more vibrant and fun similar those with the green or pink lid. The gray is very sleek, though. I'm a large fan.

The chassis is all-metal, and while it isn't quite equally small as a Dell XPS 13, it's nevertheless very compact for a 14-inch laptop. It's thin and lite, and the compact nature is helped by the extremely slender bezels that flank the display.

Despite existence modest and slim, the S14 is yet absolutely packed with useful ports. You've got USB-A, USB-C, microSD, and even a full-sized HDMI port. Need a number pad, too? No worries, on this version, simply tapping the right-paw corner of the trackpad brings up a full number pad, and information technology doesn't stop you using the trackpad, either.

On some models, you lot detect a fingerprint sensor in this corner of the trackpad instead, which is also extremely useful.

Source: Windows Central

Upwards front, that 14-inch brandish has a 1080p resolution and no affect, which is fine, and it comes in two flavors depending on which region y'all're ownership in. Ane of the panels has 100% sRGB color reproduction. 1 of them does not—more than on that below. Sadly I don't take the better of the ii, and so I can't test how accurate the sRGB claim is.

What's inside is as impressive as what'south exterior, as well. The review unit I accept came with a tenth Gen Intel Core i7-10510U, a 512GB SSD, 8GB of DDR4 RAM, and Wi-Fi 6. The SSD likewise has Intel Optane memory, 32GB of information technology to be precise, and while the version I accept only makes use of Intel's integrated UHD graphics, there is an option in some regions for the NVIDIA MX250 as well.

Performance is excellent, though, especially in this price range. CPU operation is right where you'd wait information technology to be when compared to some of Intel's new and older CPUs, and the just real fly in the ointment is falling short compared to similarly priced laptops powered past AMD'due south new Ryzen four,000 series. Overall though, it's pleasing.

CPU SSD

CPU

Geekbench five.0 Benchmarks (Higher is better)

Device	CPU	Single cadre	Multi core
ASUS VivoBook S14	i7-10510U	1,269	3,808
Dell XPS 15 9500	i7-10875H	1,318	7,621
Dell XPS fifteen 7590	i9-9980HK	1,176	7,624
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme (Gen 2)	i7-9850H	1,160	4,168
ASUS ROG ZEPHYRUS G14	Ryzen 4900HS	1,221	7,982
Surface Book 3 fifteen	i7-1065G7	1,298	4,511
Surface Volume 2 15	i7-8650U	one,130	iii,602
Dell XPS 13 9300	i7-1065G7	1,284	4,848
Dell XPS xiii 2-in-1 7390	i7-1065G7	1,209	3,571
Dell Inspiron 13 7390 2-in-1	i7-8565U	1,111	2,965
Dell Precision 3541	i7-9750H	1,117	4,720
Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 xiv	Ryzen 5 4500U	1,087	4,570
Surface Laptop 3 fifteen	Ryzen five 3580U	769	2,720

SSD

CrystalDiskMark (College is ameliorate)

Device	Read	Write
ASUS VivoBook S14	ane,428 MB/s	356 MB/s
Dell XPS xv 9500	3,420 MB/s	2,856 MB/south
Dell XPS xv 7590	3,000 MB/s	two,796 MB/s
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme (Gen 2)	three,416 MB/s	3,016 MB/s
Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 7390	2,400 MB/south	ane,228 MB/due south
Dell Inspiron 13 7390 2-in-1	ane,440.3 MB/southward	359.2 MB/s
Dell Precision 3541	three,468.eight MB/s	two,220.4 MB/s
Huawei MateBook fourteen	three,470 MB/s	1,920 MB/due south
Huawei MateBook X Pro (new)	3,416 MB/s	2,779 MB/south
Huawei MateBook thirteen	3,436 MB/s	two,553 MB/s
HP Spectre x360 13t	3,085 MB/southward	1,182 MB/due south
LG gram fourteen 2-in-ane	558.1 MB/s	523.one MB/s
Dell Latitude 7400 two-in-1	3,110 MB/due south	ii,825 MB/s

.

Battery functioning is pretty expert, besides. The VivoBook S14 comes with a three-cell 50Wh bombardment, and in real-world use, it's been good enough for between seven-8 hours off the charger. Information technology's disappointing that you can't recharge over USB-C, so yous'll still have to carry a dedicated laptop charger, just at least if you lot leave it at home, you lot'll exist able to get through a twenty-four hours. The S14 also boasts fast charge, getting upwardly to 60% in only 49 minutes.

One other affair worth highlighting is the keyboard. ASUS keyboards are generally outstanding, and its no exception on the S14. Weirdly, ASUS decided to outline the enter key with a Day-Glo yellowish, but to actually type on and use the keyboard is excellent with good key travel and a strong backlight.

What y'all'll dislike most the ASUS VivoBook S14

Source: Windows Central

Earlier I mentioned the brandish and how there are two variants. One sounds very expert, the other, well, it's pretty average. And that'due south the one I have. Where the better claims a 100% sRGB figure, the alternative is very far away from this. Run through my SpyderX colorimeter, information technology reported just 64% of RGB, and the calibration was undoubtedly on the absurd side.

For most people, the display will still be excellent. Information technology doesn't look bad to the eye, and calibrating information technology makes a difference. But fifty-fifty at this toll, you'd be entirely inside your rights to expect a lilliputian more, and for creatives who want to edit photos or videos, for instance, this is offputting.

This display could also practise with being a niggling brighter, too. It's matte, at to the lowest degree, but when I sat at my kitchen table on a sunny mean solar day, I was still struggling to read text at times. I don't make a habit of working outdoors, so I could certainly live with it, but I do wish that all versions of the S14 just came with the better brandish, even if information technology meant calculation a picayune to the price. It would exist well worth information technology.

The SSD performance is as well pretty boilerplate. In regular use, you won't notice whatsoever issues; indeed, the read speed from the Optane-infused SSD is quite quick. It's far from the fastest y'all'll find in a laptop, but for something in this toll range, it's not too bad. The read speeds are reporting adequately depression, which could be down to a combination of the criterion software and Optane, but big file transfers practice accept noticeably longer than on some other laptops I've got lying around.

Should you purchase the ASUS VivoBook S14?

Source: Windows Central

If y'all're shopping in the $500 - $1,000 space, I would certainly put the VivoBook S14 on your shortlist. Exactly which combination of specs you tin get will depend on where in the earth yous are, but if you lot can get a better-quality display, in particular, it's excellent value.

Whether you get the Cadre i5 or Core i7 version, you're getting a quad-core CPU at present with hyperthreading, and the selection of NVIDIA graphics being there on selected models is a overnice bonus.

The VivoBook S14 certainly isn't perfect, simply it's swell to look at, a pleasure to use, well priced, and very well equipped.

It'southward clear where it isn't entirely on par with the likes of the XPS 13 and the Surface Laptop 3, but it likewise costs significantly less than both of those. Information technology's exciting to come across a mid-range laptop as expert as this.

Stylish Ultrabook

ASUS VivoBook S14 S433

A mid-ranger you lot tin can easily mistake for something much more than expensive

Aside from the lackluster display some regions get, the ASUS VivoBook S14 is a superb Ultrabook that costs a parcel less than some of the best-known names in the space while offer comparable hardware and quality.

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Source: https://www.windowscentral.com/asus-vivobook-s14-review

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