Author Topic: Whaddya think of this laptop? (ASUS 14" VivoBook S413 Laptop)  (Read 782 times)

ObviouslyNotAGolfer

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We just need a basic laptop, mostly for use by my wife for web browsing. However, I do want it to have at least halfway decent specs; I use it an hour or so a week for Audacity (recording LPs), and occasionally Microsoft Libre Office apps. I maaaay be interested in shooting tethered with my dSLR (not a huge priority). For anything more intensive, I use our desktop system.

One big priority is that it is small and LIGHT, because we travel frequently, including long overseas trips--hence I like the 14" screen and 3.1 lb weight.

We have had good luck with Asus in the past (Dell, not so much!), but I am kind of bugged that this one has no reviews.

Any thoughts on this one--or what might be a better alternative in this price range?

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1628150-REG/asus_s413ua_ds51_s413ua_ryzen_5_5500u_8gb.html




Sibley

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Re: Whaddya think of this laptop? (ASUS 14" VivoBook S413 Laptop)
« Reply #1 on: June 09, 2021, 06:46:06 PM »
If I had the same needs as you, I'd be fine with it. Have also had good luck with Asus in the past.

RWD

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Re: Whaddya think of this laptop? (ASUS 14" VivoBook S413 Laptop)
« Reply #2 on: June 09, 2021, 09:24:57 PM »
You can find reviews of older models of ASUS VivoBook which might give you an idea of build quality at least. This one has the new Ryzen processor which is really really nice. 512GB NVMe SSD is very good. A little less RAM than I'd like (this is probably upgradable). Integrated AMD graphics will be fine for your needs. Wi-Fi 5 instead of Wi-Fi 6 is disappointing but still should be more than sufficient. There are lighter laptops but for $600 you'd be hard pressed to find one with the same or better specs.

AccidentialMustache

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Re: Whaddya think of this laptop? (ASUS 14" VivoBook S413 Laptop)
« Reply #3 on: June 09, 2021, 09:58:52 PM »
Specs say 8gb onboard memory. I wouldn't assume that ("onboard") can be upgraded. [Edit: the Q&A says ram is not upgradable.] As long as it is light web browsing that'll be okay, but if your wife is a 100+ tabs person then more ram is called for.

These days 3lbs isn't exactly light. Light is pushing 2lbs, often at the 11-13 inch range, and you pay for it. YMMV if it is worth it.

Rdy2Fire

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Re: Whaddya think of this laptop? (ASUS 14" VivoBook S413 Laptop)
« Reply #4 on: June 10, 2021, 06:37:08 AM »
Big Fan of ASUS laptops and others have pointed out the downfall on this one i.e RAM. I mean if you were just browsing and emailing 8GB RAM MAY be fine but I would definitely want more. I'd want more storage as well for travel pictures etc but just get an external drive if need be. Outside the RAM this is a great machine

ObviouslyNotAGolfer

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Re: Whaddya think of this laptop? (ASUS 14" VivoBook S413 Laptop)
« Reply #5 on: June 10, 2021, 02:04:04 PM »
Thanks for the comments. As for photo editing--I never do that on a laptop, so I am not too concerned with the display.

My wife--who uses this machine far more than I--decided that she would prefer a larger display. Because this will decrease its suitability for travel, I think we may just get a tablet later on for overseas trips (in which we need web and email only).

I have heard from someone else on another forum that ASUS support is horrible/non-existent. I have not been all that happy with Dell support--even on the Pro side, with our refurb system bought last year.

Hence, I am now looking at these two:

A larger ASUS:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1637033-REG/asus_f515ea_ds54_i5_1135g7_8gb_512gb_pcie_intel_iris_graphics_windows.html/specs

AND

I have also been looking at this Lenovo, which receives very good reviews. Any thoughts on these?

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1611037-REG/lenovo_81yk000tus_flex5_i5_1035g1_8gb_512gb.html/reviews

Thanks.
« Last Edit: June 10, 2021, 02:08:36 PM by ObviouslyNotAGolfer »

RWD

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Re: Whaddya think of this laptop? (ASUS 14" VivoBook S413 Laptop)
« Reply #6 on: June 10, 2021, 02:24:13 PM »
Hence, I am now looking at these two:
Both of those have the same amount of RAM which might not be upgradable. The processor on the ASUS is about 28% slower than the AMD Ryzen you were looking at before. And the one on the Lenovo is slower still (about 42% slower than the Ryzen).
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html

I've been happy with my Lenovo X1 Extreme and my mom is very happy with her IdeaPad (hers has 12GB of RAM, if I recall correctly).