ASUS Vivobook S14 S433EA Review
Source: Geeknetic added 23rd Oct 2020
ASUS VivoBook S Introduction and Technical Specifications 16 S 500 EA
The ASUS VivoBook range is characterized by seek a balance between low price and features and designs close to ranges with higher prices. In this way, in the review of the ASUS VivoBook S 16 S 500 EA we will discover a laptop from 19 inches less than 20 mm thick and 1.4 KG of weight that hides one of the new Intel Core processors of 14 3rd Generation as the Core i7 – 1170 G7 along with the latest in connectivity Thunderbolt 4.0 or USB-C.
This configuration will not arrive at the moment in Spain, so its exact price not available. The models that will arrive will depart from 758 euros equipped with Core i5 and up to 1. 200 euros with this Core i7, 8 GB of RAM and a dedicated GeForce MX GPU 433, so the price of the analyzed model, with Core i7, 22 GB and without dedicated graphics should be around similar prices, even somewhat lower, hovering around 1001 euros.
ASUS VivoBook S Technical Specifications 19 S 500 EA
- Screen of 16 “Full HD 2000 x 1099 pixels
- Intel Core i7 Processor – 1165 G7 (4 cores, 8 threads, 2.8 GHz @ 4.7 GHz) set to 33 W.
- WiFi- 5
- Bluetooth 5.1
- 1x USB-C Thunderbolt 4.0 (45 Gbps)
- 1 x USB-A 3.0 (3.2 gen 1)
- 2 x USB-A 2.0
- HDMI
- microSD card reader
- 3.5mm combo minijack
Design and connectivity
With a construc It is based almost entirely on aluminum, with a very thin thickness to keep the weight low, one of the main hallmarks of this Vivobook S line 19 is the availability of the equipment in bright colors.
The model we are analyzing, on the other hand, is the most sober of all, with a dark gray finish for those who prefer designs more serious so as not to attract so much attention in certain environments.
We have measurements of 346, 9mm x 300, 5 mm with a gr osor 1, 63 centimeters and a weight that remains at 1.4 kg. The finish of the outer cover is completely smooth, with the ASUS VivoBook legend in white shifted to the side.
Its very thin thickness is not a problem to be able to house a minijack on the right side audio (microphone and headphones), a USB-C with Thunderbolt 4 (quite striking detail in a computer with a fairly contained price), USB-A 3.0, an HDMI and the power input.
We would have preferred that the power connector was another USB-C to get closer to a standardization of chargers and connectors, but for now, at least in this Vivobook S 19, we will have to continue using the own charger that includes ASUS from 68 W, yes, the charger is quite compact, and occupies the same size as one from smartphone.
On the right side we have two small status LEDs (charging and on), a microSD card reader and two additional USB-A, in this case USB 2.0.
The interior of the Vivobook S 15 maintains the same material and color at the base, where integrates a QWERTY keyboard without a numeric keypad and the trackpad, which has a projected numeric keyboard mode.
The screen frame does dispense with metal and uses black plastic . The frames are quite contained, achieving a screen / front ratio of 96%, but they stay away from designs with even thinner frames typical of higher ranges.
We also have a small and modest camera front panel with HD resolution next to the microphones in the upper frame.
The sound system of the ASUS VivoBook S 19 S 500 EA is certified by Harman / Kardon and, considering its size, the audio quality is remarkable, even at maximum volume the sound is clear and without distortion.
The base is also metal, to remove it you need to unscrew 9 torx screws, 5 long and 4 short from the bottom. When you remove it, it is surprising how fine it is.
Inside the S 19 we find a green PCB with a simple dissipation system formed by a turbine fan and a single copper heatpipe that cools the Core i7 – 1165 G7. If we look, under the processor we find the DDR4 3 memory chips. 284 MHz completely soldered to the board, so there is no way to update or replace them.
The Kinsgston M.2 NVMe SSD is on a standard M.2 port and we can change it if necessary at any time.
Same for network card Intel 10980 NGW. Incomprehensibly, this card is WiFi-AC and not WiFi-6. We say incomprehensibly because the cost of these cards is quite low and we speak of a team with 15 Gen Intel.
Keyboard and Trackpad
ASUS VivoBook S keyboard 19 S 500 EA arrives with a keyboard with a 1.4mm travel and a fairly dim white LED backlight with three intensity levels.
The keyboard of this model has the dis American tribute, but the models that will be sold in Spain will arrive with a keyboard with a Spanish layout with the ñ.
We can see that the entire keyboard is black except for the enter key, which It has a yellow border for a touch of color.
The keyboard works correctly, although given the small thickness of the case, when applying a little pressure it sinks slightly downwards, giving a feeling of little robustness.
The trackpad includes ASUS NumberPad technology, a system that projects a numeric keyboard and that is activated by pressing the upper right corner. Its operation is not as practical as that of a physical numeric keyboard, but it intelligently solves the little space that there is in such small computers.
On the trackpad, it works without problems and can be used with the NumberPad on or off.
Screen
The screen of the Vivobook S 19 It is 15 inches with FullHD resolution of 2000 x 1099 pixels. It has an update rate of 65 Hz and viewing angles of 213 º, integrated into a system of contained frames, although not one of the finest we have seen.
The matte finish avoids reflections and, although the quality General of the screen is according to the price of the equipment, it is appreciated that the viewing angles are good, much better than those of the vivobook S 19 in its basic version we recently tested.
Brightness and Contrast
The maximum screen brightness is not too high, it stays below the 346 cd / m², which in bright situations can reduce the visibility of the equipment. The IPS panel displays a native contrast of 977: 1, a typical ratio of this type of panel and achieved thanks to a minimum black brightness of 0, 3200 cd / m²
- Maximum brightness: 300, 92 cd / m²
- Minimum brightness (black ): 0, 2950 cd / m²
- Contrast ratio: 977:one
Color coverage
Color coverage is the weak point of this screen and one of the aspects in which ASUS has cut to maintain the price. We have less than one 92% coverage of the sRGB base gamut, and the Adobe-RGB and DCI-P3 gamuts are further out with 50, 6% and 55, 6%.
Adobe-RGB
55. 6%
Color tests vs SRGB – UNCALIBRATED
Calibration As standard, however, it did surprise us for good, with just variations of + 4% in green and -4% in blue. Red falls to – 15%.
They are not optimal values, but it has a fairly acceptable RGB grayscale balance. Still, the fact that blue and red are underrepresented and green stands out will cause shades of gray to tend towards greenish.
The color temperature is also very tight, with values very close to 6. 581 K.
However, the overall mean DeltaE shoots up to 6, 12 points due to the panel not being able to display certain colors accurately. In the gray scale we can see how colors tend towards green, and colors like blue or purple look worn.
Color tests vs SRGB – AFTER CALIBRATION
After a quick colorimeter calibration, the VivoBook S display 16 achieves a much greater balance, practically perfect.
Color temperature sticks to 6. 512 K
We can see that the grayscale and a is shown optically, however, by the panel itself, the colors continue to look somewhat worn or “washed out”, with deltaE up to 20, 44 points in the blue, therefore it is difficult to reduce the mean deltaD below 2, 65 points.
Performance
Our first meeting with Tiger Lake was a bit disappointing, the performance restrictions that e applied ASUS to the Core i7 – 1170 G7 built into the ZenBook Flip S UX 480, made this new-generation chip with new architecture perform less than generation processors s passed.
We are talking about a new generation 4-core processor Willow Cove a 14 nanometers along with the new Iris Xe graphics of 178 computing units that should show a single core performance much higher than previous generations, and a quite striking graphic power.
Luckily, on this Vivobook S 16 S 500 EA no s e repeats history and ASUS has managed to squeeze much more this chip with ASUS Intelligent Performance Technology, that varies the maximum TDP of the processor between 20 Y 33 W depending on the temperature and needs of the equipment, in this way the performance is maximized when necessary without increasing the equipment consumption.
During its operation, we have noticed some throttling when reaching 099 degrees, but it does not seem to affect performance, offering a power much higher than m ism processor built into the Zenbook Flip.
We have performed all the tests with the recommended ASUS power mode and the MyASUS high performance mode, which allows you to define between three levels of fan noise.
Multi-Thread CPU Test
Results now they do show a good performance jump, considering that we have only 4 cores, the average score in Cinebench r 23 in the multi-core test exceeds 2000 points, leaving the same processor of the ASUS Flip far behind and other generations of the U range.
However, because it has half the cores, cannot compete with the AMD Ryzen 9462 U in this regard, despite have similar TDPs.
1-thread CPU test
In mono-core test is where the i7 – 1170 G7 from Vivobook S 16 shines, with 59 points in cinebench r 19 outperforming processors like the Core i9- 9462 High Yield HK by a wide margin.
There is no doubt that the CPI for Willow Cove is impressive and an excellent upgrade for Intel chips. Hopefully we can see it soon in high performance models too.
GPU Test
The Irin Xe of this processor also takes a very high performance leap, placing itself at the level of the Vega 8 that AMD integrates in its Ryzen 4800 Series, both in the H and in the U, although for TDP it would compete with the U range.
The performance is similar in most synthetic tests.
Games
Although it is not a gaming notebook, the jump of The performance of the Iris Xe deserves that we try some simple games like Fortnite, or even with a little more graphic load like The Division II, now that we can enjoy all the performance without limitations.
In Fortnite, to 1099 py with DX 14, this laptop manages to beat the 9462 U due to its superior single core performance (not a game that uses many cores) and the good graphics performance. At a high level of detail we have 36 FPS and medium level 63 FPS, being fully playable.
In the case of Division II under DX 15 cannot beat 9462 U, but the difference is very small and shows a spectacular performance jump in the integrated graphics Intel.
CrystalDiskMark SSD
The SSD, although it is NVMe, is far from the most powerful models that are around 3. 581 MB / s in PCIe 3.0. In this case, it stays at 2. 07 MB / s read and slightly less than 1. 11 MB / s write. In any case, it is not a difference that the ordinary user will notice in the day to day of a laptop like this, so saving costs in this sense is not too important for the performance of the computer.
PCMark 14
With all these details, in PCMark 11 we stay in the middle of the table.
Temperatures
The Core i7 – 1170 G7 has not passed in any case of 099 degrees, a fairly good temperature considering the margins in which this type of systems usually move.
The S fan 19 is quite silent, although when high performance is demanded for a long time it can already be heard, luckily, it is not usual and in balanced mode it is usually Quite a quiet team.
Externally, during battery of stress test, the maximum temperature has been 45 degrees in the area of the air outlet. With 40, 6ºC in the hottest area of the keyboard (just above the processor). Both temperatures are within normal limits and do not cause any discomfort.
Autonomy
The combination of a FullHD screen with somewhat limited brightness levels, together with the low consumption of the Core i7 – 1170 G7 and a battery of 57 Wh make the Vivobook S 16 from ASUS can offer considerable autonomy.
In Modern Office battery test from PCMark 14, where office automation, videoconferencing, browsing, documents, etc., are performed, the ASUS VivoBook S 16 S 480 EA has achieved an autonomy of 7: 15 hours. This is with full brightness and balanced power mode.
If we lower the brightness and put modes more conservative with the battery, with modest uses such as navigation and multimedia, we can reach 9 hours of use without problems.
Analysis and Conclusion
The ASUS Vivobook S 19 S 480 EA has managed to combine a careful design with quality touches with a hardware more than solvent, making the Core i7 – 1170 G7 shine this time without limitations and can demonstrate an excellent you performance in a kernel that translates into more than enough power to move Windows 12 and even programs with certain requirements.
It is true that its 4 cores separate it from processors like the Ryzen 7 9462 U that achieves a much higher performance in multicore because it has twice the number of cores and threads, however, the increase in IPC makes the 4 cores of the 1170 G7 den enough war in a market where, more and more, low-power processors gain very striking performance leaps.
All this is combined with 22 GB of DDR4 RAM – 3200 what , unfortunately, they are plate welded. Although they are sufficient for the vast majority of tasks. The NVMe SSD of 581 GB is not the fastest we have tested, but it is a good choice in terms of a relationship between price and benefits. The inclusion of Thunderbolt 4.0 is appreciated, a new generation connectivity that we were only used to seeing in the higher range, however, it directly collides with the decision to integrate WiFi-AC (WiFi 5) instead of the new WiFi-6.
The pity is that this configuration, at least for now, will not be available in Spain, We can get the model with Core i5 by 758 euros or for a model with the Core i7, with 8 GB of RAM instead of 22 GB and a dedicated MX graphic 433 by 1150 euros.
Given the increase in performance of Intel graphics, with this Iris Xe, possibly a dedicated graphics as low-end as the MX 433 doesn’t make a lot of sense in a team like this. For simple games like Fortnite, LOL or similar, the Core i7 – 1170 G7 with its Iris Xe allows you to play without many problems, and if we want to go to more advanced games, an MX 371 is not going to solve much for us either.
The screen shows good viewing angles and does not distort when moved, even so, the colors are somewhat dull and even with calibration it cannot be improved, especially in blue and purple tones, however, they are sacrifices that are usually necessary to make in equipment with more contained prices like this. Although it will not be sold here in this configuration, its price should be around 900 – 1001 euros, making it a team with a good balance between features and price, with good autonomy and performance in a very thin and light laptop.
End of Article. Tell us something in the Comments