ASUS VivoBook Pro review: Great laptop, reasonable price, terrible display

The ASUS ZenBook Pro was ane of my favorite laptops of 2022. Information technology combined enough ability to take on any task and do some gaming while notwithstanding looking similar a high-stop, sophisticated Ultrabook. In my list of things to look for in a new laptop, it ticked every box.

The VivoBook Pro, then, is an interesting laptop for a number of reasons. It still packs power and dedicated NVIDIA graphics into a body that looks sleek and sophisticated, but at a considerably more than affordable cost point than the ZenBook Pro. In the Uk, the model ASUS sent us for review comes in at not a lot over £1,000 (about $1,500), and that'southward actually enticing.

For the sort of money you could spend on a Surface Laptop, y'all can go significantly ameliorate performance. But is it worth it?

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ASUS VivoBook Pro tech specs

Category	Samsung Notebook 9 15
Processor	7th Gen Intel Core i7-7700HQ
Memory	8GB or 16GB
Storage	128GB SSD and 1TB HDD
Graphics	2GB NVIDIA GTX 1050
Display	15.half dozen-inch Full Hard disk (1920 x 1080)
Keyboard	Backlit KBD, Precision Touchpad
Ports	USB-C 3.ane x 1, USB iii.1 x one, USB ii.0 x 2, HDMI X1, SD card, Ethernet, headphone and mic jack, and Kensington lock slot
Security	Fingerprint Sensor on some models
Power	47Wh
Weight	i.9kg (4.2lbs)
Dimensions	380 mm x 256 mm x 19.2 mm
Price	Around £i,100 as tested ($1,487)

ASUS VivoBook Pro hardware

The VivoBook Pro comes in a couple of different variants. Some reviews point to a North American version that has a fingerprint sensor on the trackpad for Windows Hullo. In that location is also, according to ASUS a 4K brandish on offering, but in the Great britain this doesn't seem to be the case.

The processor hasn't withal been bumped to one of Intel'due south eighth Gen chips, just the quad-cadre i7-7700HQ is certainly no slouch. It'due south what the previous generation of gaming laptops all used, and paired with an NVIDIA GTX 1050, it gives the VivoBook Pro some serious horsepower.

Yous wouldn't call back it to look at the laptop from the outside, though. It's very much a traditional ASUS looking laptop, comparing pretty well visually with the VivoBook S15 with a sleek metal looking body and a brushed metal finish. Despite the look, it isn't all metal; the base is very much plastic, which is never more evident than when pressing firmly on the keyboard area.

There's a lilliputian more bounce here than I'd similar to see, but unless you lot're a especially heavy typer, it's not something that will bother you likewise much. As for the keyboard, it'southward nice to type on, equally is usually the case with ASUS laptops, though information technology does experience a little cramped having a number pad.

Compared to my own laptop, a Dell Inspiron fifteen 7559, which is also a 15.half dozen-inch notebook, the number pad on the VivoBook Pro is cramped and feels squeezed in. It also interferes with the cursor keys. I tin't tell you lot how many times I pressed the right arrow rather than aught or one, but considering the layout isn't traditional and my encephalon had to adapt.

Despite housing a GTX 1050 and a quad-core CPU, the VivoBook Pro remains fairly slim, and while information technology's heavier than some other xv-inch notebooks, it certainly isn't going to interruption your back conveying information technology around. Being slim e'er adds cooling challenges, and ASUS opted to solve this by packing two fans inside, one on the left and one on the right. As such it tin can get a little noisy when you lot're pushing information technology, but they do a skilful job keeping things to a warm temperature every bit opposed to searingly hot.

What's actually great for a laptop with "Pro" in its name is just how much stuff you tin can plug into it. You lot have ports here for pretty much everything. USB-C 3.i is on lath for both data transfer and external display connexion, as well, there are a handful of regular USB ports, HDMI, Ethernet, SD carte du jour, or everything a prosumer would desire from their laptop.

What isn't so great is that the fingerprint scanner isn't standard on every model in every country. It sits on the trackpad, then it'southward located nicely, and the trackpad itself is too precision and pretty prissy to apply. But in the Britain it has no fingerprint sensor.

ASUS VivoBook Pro display

What'southward really not peachy about this PC is the display. And that'due south existence nice nigh it.

The display on this laptop is merely bad. Really bad.

The TN panel on the version I accept has terrible viewing angles (as you'd expect) and comes through the Spyder 5 Pro colorimeter examination at lx percent of sRGB. That's poor. Really poor. Out of the box calibration was besides pretty bad, with colors existence apartment and washed out. Tunning information technology through the colorimeter at least made some comeback, but it nonetheless looks far from proficient. It's only a bad display, and on a laptop pushing £ane,000 ($i,500), that'south unacceptable.

Of form, if you're in a position to go the version with a amend display, as it seems folks in other parts of the globe are, information technology's peradventure a unlike story. I tin can't review that, but other reviewers take said other models take better colors and solid viewing angles.

ASUS VivoBook Pro operation and battery

When you're putting any form of defended graphics into a laptop battery life is going to have a hit. That's why most gaming laptops tend to put in physically larger units and so they tin rest out the expected drop off.

The VivoBook Pro hasn't done that, instead, you get dedicated graphics and the aforementioned sort of battery you'd expect to find in a PC with but an Intel integrated GPU. That, in turn, leads to three to four hours on average off the charger earlier you're running dry. Not good.

Yous tin definitely play some games on the VivoBook Pro when you're washed working

The flip side is a laptop that oozes performance at every plough. Sure, the GTX 1050 isn't the beefiest GPU on the market place, but it's quite capable in a number of scenarios, especially when paired with that quad-core i7 processor, which a number of loftier-end gaming laptops also utilize.

Testing it out on a few different benchmarks, the VivoBook Pro achieves a laudable 46 frames per 2d (FPS) on Rise of the Tomb Raider and 80 FPS on Clay Rally, both on high graphics settings. Geekbench'southward Cuda compute test generates a score of 77,208 and it scores 5,633 on 3DMark Burn down Strike, better than 24 percent of all results. And remember, this is the entry level, with 2GB GTX 1050 from NVIDIA.

Tin can it game? Sure. Will it adapt creators working with video rendering? Absolutely, as long as yous're not editing on this display. For folks seeking power on a budget, the VivoBook Pro has a lot to offer.

The lesser line on ASUS's VivoBook Pro

As a fairly affordable laptop for work and play, the VivoBook Pro has a lot going for it. The processor and GPU are bully and are easily able to play some of today's PC games with reduced graphics settings at decent frame rates. It'due south fairly dainty looking, and the keyboard is decent

Pros:

• Superb operation.
• Precision touchpad.
• Ports galore.

Cons:

• Terrible display on this model.
• Beneath average bombardment.
• Fingerprint sensor isn't standard on all models.

The display completely lets down the VivoBook Pro, or at to the lowest degree, the model I take. It wouldn't be good enough, frankly, on anything merely a budget laptop. ASUS all also frequently lets the display suffer (equally on the VivoBook S15) in pursuit of functioning on a toll. A laptop with "Pro" in its name with a bad display isn't a pro-grade laptop.

That's a shame, because battery life and a couple of annoyances aside, it's a really strong laptop. In other territories where the display seems to exist meliorate, it'd be fairly like shooting fish in a barrel to recommend.

You lot go a lot for your money. Only sadly, this PC is clearly flawed.

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

Posted by: duryeapecter.blogspot.com

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