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I bought this laptop six months ago and thought I'd share my experience. It's been a great laptop for going back to school and I think it'll be reliable for a long time. As well as real-life usage, I'll go into some the details that took some Googling to find as well.
Spoiler alert: Don't buy the Intel version!
First thing's first... Specs for my model # M5402RA-AS71-CA:
Processor: AMD 6800H 8-core/16-thread 3.2 GHz w/ 4.7GHz max boost (45W TDP)
Memory: 16GB DDR5-4800 MHz (Two 8GB SODIMMs: One soldered, one not soldered)
SSD: 1TB PCIe Gen 4x4 (WD SN735 SDBPNHH-1T00-1002)
Graphics: Integrated Radeon 680M 2GB (RDNA2)
Monitor: 14.5" 2880x1800 OLED (16:10 ratio, 120Hz refresh rate, 600nits brightness, gloss finish)
Dimensions: 12.69" x 9.09" x 0.70", 3.59 lbs
Battery: 70Wh
Charger: 90W (USB-C)
Ports: 1x USB2.0 Type-A, 1x USB3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, 2x USB3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x 3.5mm Audio
Details not reported by Asus:
- Windows reports RAM is upgradeable to 64GB (Asus only reports 16GB).
- The SSD reports as Gen4x4 but basically runs at Gen 3 speeds with improved power consumption.
- The integrated Radeon 680M is comparable to an Nvidia 1060 Mobile but with much better power consumption.
The good:
- Intel Evo battery life without a slow U-rated Intel processor.
- Powerful, yet efficient 8-core processor (no such thing as efficiency cores in an AMD chip).
- Best-in-class integrated GPU.
- USB-C PD charging makes it easy to use something besides the factory charger.
- Very good keyboard.
- Beautiful screen.
- None of that RGB crap, only a static white backlight.
- USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports.
The bad:
- Having all my ports, except for the USB 2.0 on the right side (including charging) where my mouse goes is slightly annoying.
- Crappy, mushy touchpad buttons.
- Overkill screen specs that affect battery life.
- No Ethernet port but I guess the kids these days just use a dongle if they need it.
- No DisplayPort but I guess the kids these days just use a dongle if they need it.
- No traditional s3 sleep, only s0 "modern standby". I had to switch to hibernation because it turned itself on in my backpack to do updates and overheated. This is common with modern Win10/11 laptops.
- Battery is internal and not easily replaceable.
- Too much Chinglish in the Asus vendor apps, which takes over driver updates and certain settings.
Thoughts on daily use:
- The 70Wh battery is totally acceptable with AMD components. I can easily do 6 hours of school usage and I only charge it to 80% (systems administration, not graphics design or machine learning). I bought a 100W GaN brick off of Amazon to use instead of the factory charger for portable use.
- I'll need to upgrade my RAM next semester as my school has gone BYOD and we run multiple simultaneous VMs in this systems administration course. At least I can upgrade one of the DIMMs.
- The monitor, while nice, is overkill. The OLED display looks beautiful but I've had to stick a matte screen protector on it to be able to use it at low brightness settings, due to the glossy finish. This laptop can't do 120Hz gaming, so the refresh rate and high resolution are just unnecessary battery drains.
- This thing consistently surprises me for gaming. Forza Horizon 5 runs at 60 fps. E-sports titles are no problem. Not every game runs well and it's disappointed me with a few of my favourite titles but it will do for casual gaming. Fan noise is very good.
- The USB 2.0 slot is useful for a wireless mouse dongle and is the only slot on the left side.
- For some weird reason it sometimes takes 2-3 presses of the power button to turn on.
- I had to re-install the fingerprint reader drivers once.
- The webcam, which has a privacy shutter and "on" light, and built-in array microphone are adequate for meetings.
Overall:
I'd highly recommend this unit for portable productivity. The AMD processor is amazing for a laptop with this kind of battery life and I see this easily being a 10-year laptop. The cores are all full-speed cores as opposed to Intel's mix of performance and efficiency cores. The RDNA2 integrated graphics will keep this system fast and responsive far longer than any Intel HD or Iris iGPU. Battery life is very good for something this powerful and it is built very well. Its port selection is adequate and any shortcomings can be handled with universal USB-C dongles.
The Zen 3+ processor architecture promises to add support the USB4 standard through BIOS updates, which will add support for Thunderbolt 3 devices and speeds. I haven't been able to determine whether this laptop will support this yet, but if so, would be a huge bonus.
This is a great choice for a highly portable laptop that will serve you well for years to come. It is not a gaming laptop and is not the thinnest, lightest unit on the market. However, I think it is a perfect balance of price, usability and performance.
Hello, I'm thinking about buying the Asus Vivobook 14 14" laptop - Intel core i5 - 12G memory - 256GB for my high school daughter to use for college classes. Is this a good option?