A discrete GPU means the Vivobook Professional 15 presents some stable gaming efficiency, even when that’s not the primary function of this laptop computer. I examined just a few video games, equivalent to Cyberpunk 2077 and Marvel Rivals. As a result of this can be a 40-series GPU, you have got entry to body era, which might web you over 90 frames per second at Extremely settings, as long as you flip off ray tracing and play at 1080p. Then again, a lighter recreation like Marvel Rivals feels nice and represents the proper sort for the Vivobook Professional 15.
Battery life sadly falls in need of expectations. The mixture of these power-hungry elements and the high-resolution OLED display take quite a lot of juice to energy. Enjoying an area video file on loop, it solely lasted 6 hours and 21 minutes earlier than dying. That was with the display at a standardized 100 lux of brightness, and the keyboard backlighting turned off. A heavier load will drain the battery pretty rapidly, so this isn’t the only option for work on the go.
Tread Rigorously
{Photograph}: Julian Chokkattu
The Vivobook Professional 15 prices $1,500, and I’ll be clear: That’s barely too costly in my ebook. The OLED show is superb, and the efficiency is stable, however for those who’re attempting to avoid wasting a buck, there are cheaper laptops that provide related efficiency.
Take the Vivobook Professional 16, which launched final 12 months and likewise had an RTX 4050. Because of some worth drops since its launch, you’ll be able to at present purchase it for $1,000. The display decision is decrease—it’s not OLED—however it’s a extra trendy laptop computer due to its 16:10 show. It additionally solely comes with 16 GB of RAM as an alternative of 24 GB. But it surely’s additionally a $500 worth distinction. There’s additionally final 12 months’s Lenovo Yoga Professional 9i, which often dips to $1,350, additionally comes with the RTX 4050, and is an analogous dimension. You don’t get OLED, however it features a increased decision IPS touchscreen panel with a quicker 165-Hz refresh charge to make up for it.
In the end, the issue with the Vivobook Professional 16’s worth proposition is the dearth of a brand new GPU onboard. The generational CPU improve this 12 months seemingly gained’t make an enormous distinction over the prior Intel chip, and because it makes use of the identical graphics card, it’s arduous to make a case for paying this rather more. That’s very true for the reason that RTX 5050 may be just a few months away. The standard of the OLED nonetheless makes it stand out—if solely it weren’t in an outdated side ratio.
