On paper, the RTX 4060-armed Asus Vivobook Professional 16X OLED provides me all the things I would like — a robust laptop computer that may deal with my prosumer workload by day and play video games by night time.
You see this as a key frustration of MacBook Professional customers like myself, as Apple continues to probably not care about laptop computer gaming. However the high tier Professional 16X seems to choose up the slack with a thirteenth Gen Intel Core i9 CPU, RTX 4060 graphics, a giant, lovely 16-inch OLED panel, and a critically inexpensive value for all that horsepower.
One factor is clear: if you happen to’re going to come back on the king within the 16-inch MacBook Professional, you finest not miss. Let’s see the way it fares on this beasty battle.
Asus Vivobook Professional 16 Worth and compatibility
That is the top-tier spec of the Asus Vivobook Professional 16X OLED (opens in new tab) that you would be able to purchase, which is available in at £1,899 (or $1,499 for the US). For that, you’re getting the 16X packed to the gills with present {hardware}: Intel Core i9-13900H CPU, RTX 4060 GPU with 8GB GDDR6 video reminiscence, 16GB DDR5 RAM and a 1TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD.
At present, this spec doesn’t appear to be accessible within the US. Nevertheless, you may get nearly an identical internals (aside from half the storage) and drop the OLED show for the Vivobook Professional 16 for $1,499 (opens in new tab).
So let’s flip our consideration again to good outdated Blighty for the value comparability. Asus is clearly gunning for the MacBook Professional, so let’s deal with it as such. It’s £300 lower than the 14-inch M2 Professional MacBook Professional and £800 cheaper than the 16-inch mannequin.
As for comparative Home windows powerhouses, it’s £750 cheaper than the Samsung Galaxy E-book 3 Extremely with an RTX 4050. Hopefully, you’re beginning to see why the worth for cash proposition is so sturdy right here.
Asus Vivobook Professional 16 design
If you happen to’re taking a look at this laptop computer, scratching your head and asking “Didn’t Laptop computer Magazine actually assessment this a couple of months in the past?” I wouldn’t blame you. It’s principally the Vivobook S 15 OLED by and thru with a few adjustments in dimensions to think about that 16-inch show.
Aesthetically, that is acquainted territory — a easy, premium, utilitarian design that has a pleasurable texture as you graze your fingers atop the antibacterial guard. It provides it a tactile matte really feel that’s virtually metallic in sensation, regardless that it’s plastic. And talking of plastic, don’t let this materials offer you any doubts in regards to the sturdiness. Every part feels properly put along with no creaking sounds to be discovered wherever on the chassis. That is additional bolstered by the US military-grade examined sturdiness, so it will possibly stand up to drops and excessive circumstances, offering you with confidence in its ruggedness.
However we’ve received to speak, Asus. What’s with “#GoFurther” and “#BeFearless” being emblazoned on the lid? They’re small, so nobody will discover them. However I do know they’re there, and I really feel fairly #cringe about it.
As for dimensions, regardless that it does really feel smooth, it’s definitely not the thinnest choice on the market. That honor belongs to the Galaxy E-book 3 Extremely. However so far as laptops of this class go, the Vivobook does match into the gang properly right here.
| Laptop computer | Dimensions | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Asus Vivobook Professional 16 | 13.9 x 9.9 x 0.8 inches | 4.18 kilos |
| Apple MacBook Professional 14-inch | 12.3 x 8.7 x 0.6 inches | 3.5 kilos |
| Apple MacBook Professional 16-inch | 14 x 9.8 x 0.7 inches | 4.8 kilos |
| Samsung Galaxy E-book 3 Extremely | 14 x 9.86 x 0.65 inches | 3.95 kilos |
It could not have the identical all-metal building of its counterparts on this class, but it surely’s not a dealbreaker, particularly if you happen to take into account that it’s partially liable for the Vivobook Professional 16’s pocket-friendly price ticket.
Asus Vivobook Professional 16 ports
Asus has listened! Now you can discover a full-size SD card slot on the left facet, together with a 3.5mm audio jack and a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Sort-A port.
On the precise facet, there’s the proprietary energy jack, HDMI 2.1, one other USB-A port of the identical customary, gigabit ethernet, one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Sort-C, and a Thunderbolt 4 port (look out for the lightning icon that will help you inform which one is which).
These small adjustments and updates make for a giant enchancment to the person expertise, particularly if you happen to’re residing life with SD playing cards to switch all of your photographs and video.
Asus Vivobook Professional 16 Show
1600-pixel decision, a 120Hz refresh fee, and HDR. Even higher, it’s Pantone-validated for colour accuracy, and it’s a TÜV Rheinland licensed panel for its low blue gentle and flicker-free expertise.
This makes for a show nice to take a look at with very minimal eye pressure over lengthy durations of time. Inventive work utilizing Photoshop stays color-accurate to knowledgeable grade and also you get responsive contact management together with extremely slim bezels for a 93% screen-to-body ratio.
Whereas we don’t have any lab testing on the show, it’s straightforward to make some educated conclusions based mostly on the utilization of those laptops. For instance, side-by-side, the MacBook Professional’s mini LED display will get brighter and the Galaxy E-book 3 Extremely’s colour is solely jaw dropping because of its OLED expertise.
That is an IPS panel on the finish of the day, so that you do get among the customary issues that include distinction. Placing it to the check with the trailer for A Quiet Place Half II, you may see the IPS panel begin to battle with among the darkest elements of the surroundings, however the distinction is generally satisfactory.
However with all the things taken into consideration, this can be a strong display for getting stuff finished. When evaluating costs, you may see why Asus has made this cutback from supplying you with the most recent and biggest in cutting-edge show tech. However it’s nowhere close to as dramatic of a step down as you suppose.
Asus Vivobook Professional 16 keyboard and touchpad
Similar to the Vivobook S 15, the Professional 16 packs a nice-feeling full-size chiclet keyboard with 1.4mm of journey and a separate quantity pad on the precise. Put merely, it’s a pleasure to kind on with a quick really feel to every key and an excellent quantity of cushioning for many who are identified to be extra aggressive typers (like me).
That is evident sufficient in my 10fastfingers.com typing check; I managed to hit 88 WPM with 99% accuracy. Comparatively, I often nail a mean of 85 WPM.
Transferring additional south, you’ll discover the 5 x 3.2-inch touchpad — an unlimited canvas so that you can sweep effortlessly round Home windows 11. However whereas the floor itself is good and easy, the clicking feels a little bit spongey, and the plastic texture doesn’t fairly match the glass touchpads you’ll discover on the MacBook Professional and Galaxy E-book 3 Extremely.
Asus Vivobook Professional 16 Audio
The Harmon Kardon audio system within the Vivobook Professional 16 present spectacular readability and an honest little bit of bass so as to add to this laptop computer’s leisure credentials.
They even dealt with the depth of Set Your Objectives’ album “This would be the loss of life of us,” which is an all-out assault of hovering vocals, thunderous percussion and chugging guitars. Does it stand as much as the laptop computer audio king within the MacBook Professional 16-inch? Not likely. It nonetheless baffles me to listen to how deep the bass tones are on Apple’s laptop computer.
However with audio system that get loud with no actual distortion to be heard, these can comfortably fill any small/medium room with a nice wall of noise.
Asus Vivobook Professional 16 efficiency
Beneath the hood, Asus dialed up the facility on this top-of-the-line mannequin with an thirteenth Gen Intel Core i9-13900H CPU, 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM and a 1TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD.
I threw all the things I may at this machine, together with a number of 4K YouTube movies, an extra 20 Chrome tabs, modifying a big RAW image in Photoshop and having Cyberpunk working within the background. Even beneath such stress, responsiveness didn’t lag and the system saved working easily. Not solely that, however high-capacity information are saved and loaded with a good pace on the M.2 SSD. Relaxation assured, this beast will sustain along with your intense workload.
| Laptop computer/class common | Geekbench 5 multicore | Geekbench 6 multicore | Handbrake time | SSD Write pace | SSD Learn pace |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asus Vivobook Professional 16 | 12828 | 12438 | 5:50 | 3,484 MBps | 4,353 MBps |
| Apple MacBook Professional 14-inch | 12154 | 12253 | n/a | 2,932 MBps | 3,446 MBps |
| Apple MacBook Professional 16-inch | 15044 | 14626 | n/a | 6,664 MBps | 5,717 MBps |
| Samsung Galaxy E-book 3 Extremely | 12212 | 12405 | 06:06 | n/a | n/a |
| Premium Laptop computer common | 10212 | 10621 | 08:29 | 1,257.1MBps | n/a |
As you may see, these numbers do pip the 14-inch MacBook Professional and Galaxy E-book 3 Extremely to the submit, whereas annihilating the premium laptop computer averages, too. However as you’d anticipate, the vastly costlier 16-inch MacBook Professional does have a efficiency benefit in Geekbench efficiency.
Impressively, transcoding 4K video to 1080p through Handbrake additionally reveals the energy of the Intel Core i9 packed into right here — ending a complete movie in 5 minutes and 50 seconds, which is quicker than the Galaxy E-book 3 Extremely and the premium laptop computer common.
Oh, and with Apple decreasing the pace of its SSD in half on the M2 Professional MacBook Professional (because of decreasing the variety of NAND chips), you’re getting vastly quicker storage within the Vivobook Professional 16 when in comparison with the 14-inch base mannequin.
Now, I simply need you to needless to say you’re getting these numbers out of a laptop computer that may be a sizable quantity cheaper than all three of those fashions. If you happen to’re needing critical horsepower in your inventive work with out breaking the financial institution, this is a perfect solution to go.
Asus Vivobook Professional 16 graphics and gaming
Now right here’s the bit the place issues get fascinating. As a result of whereas I can discuss gaming on the Vivobook Professional 16, that is the place the MacBook Professionals falters — given the shortage of a library of AAA titles. It’s unlucky as a result of I’d love to make use of a MacBook Professional for all functions, given how a lot you pay for one. However right here we’re, and that state of affairs isn’t actually altering.
So let’s flip our consideration again to the RTX 4060 with 8GB GDDR6 video reminiscence within the Vivobook Professional 16, which may deal with not simply graphics-intensive workloads, however a ton of video games with the best of ease.
| Laptop computer | 3DMark Fireplace Strike | 3DMark Wild Life Exteme | 3DMark Port Royal (ray tracing) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asus Vivobook Professional 16 | 15645 | n/a | 2433 |
| Apple MacBook Professional 14-inch | n/a | 10554 | n/a |
| Apple MacBook Professional 16-inch | n/a | 13360 | n/a |
| Samsung Galaxy E-book 3 Extremely | 14307 | n/a | n/a (not sufficient vRAM) |
Once more, worth for cash is necessary right here. The Galaxy E-book 3 Extremely could also be a extra premium building with an OLED panel, but it surely solely has an RTX 4050 inside. That limits its potential when in comparison with the vastly cheaper Vivobook Professional 16, as you may see by the 3DMark check scores.
However let’s go deeper into my love of DLSS 3.0, and the way its making tremendous highly effective (and tremendous costly) laptops look a little bit redundant. I fired up two of my favourite video games, and in contrast the outcomes:
| Recreation | DLSS 3.0 setting | Common FPS |
|---|---|---|
| Cyberpunk 2077 (Ray Tracing Extremely 1920 x 1200) | DLSS Off | 21.25 FPS |
| Row 1 – Cell 0 | DLSS On (Balanced) | 46.28 FPS |
| Forza Horizon 5 (Extremely 1920 x 1200) | DLSS Off | 107 FPS |
| Row 3 – Cell 0 | DLSS On (Balanced) | 120 FPS |
See? Big beneficial properties within the body fee. Even with DLSS off, these titles each work admirably properly (particularly Forza Horizon 5). However for that further smoothness, Nvidia’s supersampling tech is a should. It turns the Professional 16 from an incredible workhorse with informal gaming credentials to an all-in-one monster.
Asus Vivobook Professional 16 battery life
Now let’s discuss stamina. We haven’t put this laptop computer by our rigorous battery testing, however I can confidently say the reply to that’s “not that nice.”
My day includes a number of Chrome tabs, Spotify and Slack working consistently, and the occasional use of Photoshop. Beginning at 9am, I received to 11:30am with about 5% battery remaining. If you happen to’re economical with energy over these lengthy durations away from plug sockets, you can also make this final.
Nevertheless, be it by a mixture of the TDP and power-intensive elements inside this spec, issues fall down rapidly. For instance, Forza Horizon 5 killed it in just below an hour.
Comparatively, we clearly can’t do gaming checks, but it surely goes with out saying that the MacBook Professionals final for much longer in the case of productiveness.
Asus Vivobook Professional 16 Webcam
The 1080p webcam is definitely a step up from the 720p shooters we received used to in older Vivobooks, but it surely nonetheless leaves lots to be desired. Even in a well-lit area, similar to my spare room, photographs could pack extra element, however are too noisy to be good for something apart from the occasional Zoom name.
Sadly, you don’t have Home windows Hiya assist because of the IR digital camera, which makes use of facial recognition to quickly log you into the system. So based mostly on the standard, I’d go in search of a higher webcam to enhance your face.
Asus Vivobook Professional 16 warmth
So, I’ll begin by saying the Vivobook Professional hasn’t been by its thermometer-based pacing with our lab testing. However I can say I used to be stunned in a great way about how this dealt with the spice.
Preserving its cool higher than I ever may with additional scorching rooster at Nando’s, the keyboard deck stays comfy to the contact even on the heights of Cyberpunk utilization. The most popular space throughout the underside facet does decide up in temperature by fairly a bit, so I’d advocate protecting these vents clear!
In the meantime, even when being put beneath critical stress, the followers are working onerous to dissipate the warmth, however are nowhere close to as loud as I feared. In reality, with sufficient quantity by the audio system, you may drown it out when taking part in video games.
Asus Vivobook Professional 16 software program and guarantee
MyAsus is your hug for all issues customization — permitting you to change fan profiles to be quicker (and louder) for higher sustained efficiency, or activate battery care mode to keep up the longevity of the cells.
On high of that, you will see that some Amazon-based bloatware, because of the Alexa integration. If none of this pursuits you, uninstalling all of it (alongside McAfee) will take a couple of minutes to sift by all of it.
So far as after-purchase assist goes, the Vivobook Professional 16 comes with a one-year guarantee. See how Asus did on our Tech Help Showdown and Finest and Worst manufacturers particular stories.
Backside line
I used to be left feeling a little bit bit like I can personally relate to the Asus Vivobook Professional 16 — a bit bland on the skin, however makes up for it with persona, intelligence and being a dust low-cost date.
For all intents and functions, it doesn’t really feel particular to the contact, nowhere close to as premium as its competitors, the IPS show is odd, and the plastic chassis’ aesthetic doesn’t actually stand out with the identical exuberance of a Galaxy E-book 3 Extremely or MacBook Professional.
However with the facility unlocked inside this beast, the elevated port array, and that far cheaper price, you’d be mad to not no less than take into account this when selecting your subsequent prosumer laptop computer.
