Difference between revisions of "ASUS Vivobook Pro 14 15 OLED"

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ASUS Vivobook Pro 14 15 OLED (view source)

Revision as of 12:15, 12 April 2022

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== Review ==
== Review ==
A mainstream, quite slim, moderately powerful, business laptop, released in 2006. It had an average mix of performance parts, with a better than average CPU (when using the Core 2 Duo option) but a somewhat lacking graphics module and more fragmentation, due to the similarly equipped Radeon X1300 and X1400 graphics chipsets and the lackluster Intel GPU also available for ordering.  
A mainstream, laptop catering to professional users, released in 2021. The major highlight is the worldwide highly acclaimed OLED screens from Samsung, the AMOLED lineup. This offers unprecedented visual comfort at an affordable price. The configuration options are reasonable but the laptop does not respect the "PRO" moniker, having a mediocre 15 inch screen and no possibility of upgrading RAM.


The platform is centered on Windows XP compatibility, with DDR2 RAM and SATA but not yet a webcam, even if these features were available at that time on other manufacturers' laptops. Overall, there are very small changes between T43 and the previous T60 model in terms of graphics performance although some chassis changes are highly welcome. The trackpad is strongly improved, being more confortable and more reliable due to better buttons and sensitivity. Cooling is the most severe improvement, having an estimated 50-75% improvement in capacity and reduced noise at various fan speeds, mostly due to the requirement of handling faster CPUs. to feel very dated and slightly underpowered.
The OLED screen is the major highlight of this laptop lineup. It offers excellent contrast ratio that are practically infinite (1 million to 1), compared with LCD screens that only reach, at most around a couple of thousands to 1 ratios. This means that black and dim colours are presented realistically, even better than in the case of old CRT screens that have been highly praised by graphics designers, more than a decade ago. The 100% DCI-P3 certifications offers even more confidence in any graphics editing scenario, which simply highlights in the best way the suitability of these laptops. The only minor complaint to have is that the 15 inch models have a poorer (standard) refresh rate and lower resolution, which seems slightly unsuitable for 15 inch screens. Keep in mind that the screen may be slightly unstable in brightness at low light levels and this is not a defect.


The LCD screen has slightly improved specifications in terms of response time, contrast. Higher resolution models are reasonably close in terms of performance compared with standard resolution ones, limiting the drawbacks compared with the T43 series. The choice of resolution depends mostly on the target OS, with the 1024x768 resolution better suited for Windows XP while the 1400x1050 resolution is better suited for Windows Vista and Seven. The 1600x1200 resolution is suited only for specific use cases. Screens can be easily replaced between similar models but the connector must also be replaced if using different T6x series displays. The widescreen variant is somewhat useless due to the lackluster graphics chipsets available not allowing good enough native resolution performance so they should be avoided. Also, some XP era games might not run or look great on widescreen displays. On the other side, the widescreen model has better audio capabilities due to a different speaker placement, on the top of the chassis, near the screen assembly.
The choice of CPUs make the lineup heavily skewed towards AMD models and does not fully include top of the line models from either manufacturer (the HK Intel Series and HX AMD Series). These have the highest number of cores and performance. In terms of raw capability, the Ryzen 7 and Ryzen 9 configurations offer true desktop replacement performance, the only exceptions being overly demanding workloads. Unfortunately, the choice of video cards does not keep up well and is lacking even when an integrated graphics option is not used. Cooling also seems unoptimized for noise output. While the dual CPU fan configuration is highly effective in keeping the system cooled even when running at full load, it is very noisy and lowly kicks in even in idle states.


It has a high performance CPU, especially in the Intel Core 2 Duo variant. The Intel Core Duo Cpu is quite a mixed bag as it does not support 64bit operating systems and it is quite slower than the Intel Core 2 Duo CPU, and slightly sluggish in certain cases (lower cache and latency performance). This makes the Core Solo option entirely unacceptable. The Intel video chipset is a very poor option as it does not support Hardware TnL or other capabilities, making it suitable for legacy gaming or application support. The CPU cooling is adequate for all CPU options. Higher performing models with ATI graphics require are only slightly noisier and warmer. The keyboard is quite durable but slightly less stiff and with a noticeable poorer quality feel. The slow decline in build quality becomes obvious on this last fully IBM developed laptop.  
The limited RAM configuration choices are a major nuisance. The 8GB configuration is seriously limiting even in Windows 10 and Windows 11 does not seem to improve the situation much. Using large applications can easily get close to even the largest 16GB configuration. There seems to be no reason to forego even the availability of a single RAM upgrade slot in the laptop, as previously even cheap models had this choice. Being left with a single configuration possibility vastly reduces the laptop's main life potential as well as its re-usability, being wasteful on resources.


The removable drive bay can house an optical drive or a hard drive, if you can find a compatible caddy. The rechargeable battery can be easily removed or replaced. The BIOS and timekeeping battery is a standard CR2032 3V button cell.
The integrated graphics performance is poor, whether you have an AMD or Intel configuration. It seems almost pointless that such fast CPUs are coupled with abysmal graphics chipsets. As it seems, the pro lineup should have been supplied only with dedicated graphics capabilities. Even the graphics chipset lineup seems inadequate as highly performing video cards from AMD and Nvidia are not included either, making the top of the line models still short on GPU performance.


The chasis was slightly larger than the T4x series but it is more rounded and even mor comfortable. The laptop's case is slightly less durable than the T4x series, but it holds up well to other durable laptops, while being lighter than the T4x series. The display hinges are overly engineered, with great durability. The integrated speakers are quite good, although their position, size and technology is not the best.
The storage selection is decent but it does not feature high performance SSDs but low-end PCIe NVME choices that are only slightly better than SATA models, being, again, far from the PRO moniker. It is true that affordable SSDs can be present on the lower end models, but the top of the line one should have a much better one. Just as important, 1TB SSDs seem quite on the low side for video editors, the 2TB choice should have been present.omes obvious on this last fully IBM developed laptop.


The standard HDDs supplied by Western Digital are reasonably fast and quite silent. The SATA drives offer a good performance boost compared with the T4x series PATA drives, while also supporting exotic, very fast, modern SSDs. No restriction is placed on HDD types. The only compatibility drawback is that only IBM branded or accepted wireless cards can be used.
The chassis seems reasonably well made but it does not have a frame stiff enough to improve survivability. Also, the lower case bends slightly when using the keyboard, making the typing experience not that pleasant, despite the overall good performance of the keyboard itself. The trackpad feels smooth and sensitive, being comfortable to use and generally precise enough. As is standard with most laptops, it is large and support multiple gestures.


Software support is good on Windows XP but slightly less polished for Windows Seven. This is somewhat obvious as drivers are actually released with full compatibility upto Windows Vista and the lackluster Intel video chipset is entirely unsuitable for the Windows 7 GUI acceleration requirements.
The port selection seems very poor for a pro laptop. There is no reasonable explanation for designing the laptop with 2 USB2 ports and a single TYPE A USB3 port. The USB2 ports have a too poor performance to be used in most cases and especially so on a laptop designed for work. Even 8 years ago some 12 inch laptops had 2 USB 3 ports, so there is no excuse for delivering a laptop with a single USB3 Type A port.
 
The inclusion of a single USB3.2 Type C port is even less understandable, as the laptop has plenty of space for at least 2 such ports. Availability of a micro SD card reader is welcome, although it depends on your workflow if it is useful or not. The lack of USB Type C charging seems unpleasant, especially in the case of integrated graphics configurations that draw less current. Not having to carry a proprietary power adapter would have been a major usability advantage. Moreover, as USB3 Type C adapters get more common and higher power ratings are cheaply available, this decision seems less forward thinking as an USB Type C adapter can power a laptop, tablet or telephone easily and requires less space for travelers.
 
The standard configuration that features a 60Wh battery seems small for 15 inch laptop models and the endurance of it is outright low even without integrated graphics as the laptop has issues reliably being used for more than 6 hours in typical pro editing applications, even discounting 3D design and video editing which are overly CPU intensive.
 
Software support is somewhat good on Windows 10 and Windows 11 but graphics drivers seem to be quite incomplete in backward and forward compatibility, leading to cases when certain applications do crash or textures are missing. Most well known titles fare well but there are fringe cases that seem to manifest. While the AMD configuration options are plenty for graphics, Intel ones seem almost nonexistant, making an almost pointless purchase reason for this laptop configuration as it also performs poorer, generally, and the cost difference is not justifiable.


{{footnotes|
{{footnotes|
# There are no visual clues to differentiate between display types or graphics chipsets based on exterior appearance. However, the 15 inch can be easily noticed as they use a different, thicker, right screen hinge. Models with or without Bluetooth can be spotted if the screen assembly was not changed, due to the well known status bar light on the lower side of the screen.
}}
}}


[[Category:ASUS laptops]]
[[Category:ASUS laptops]]
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