Asus Vivobook Pro 16X OLED evaluation: A developer laptop computer with video gaming power

Finest Prices Today: Asus Vivobook Pro 16X OLED

While the 2022 Asus Vivobook Pro 16X OLED displayed a stunning OLED display screen, however simply dipped a toe in the water for efficiency, the 2023 Asus Vivobook Pro 16X OLED, by contrast, takes the complete plunge, acing both the screen and efficiency in equivalent procedure.

Obviously, while that makes it incomparably more effective– in reality, it’s so effective it’s similar to a few of the very best video gaming laptop computers of 2023– there is one tradeoff: a middling battery life. That’s not to state it isn’t an exceptional laptop computer for developers. Its generous connection, and programmable DialPad trackpad, are simply 2 functions that make it one of the finest choices for innovative specialists in 2023. Continue reading to learn more …

Searching for more alternatives? Take a look at PCWorld’s roundup of the very best laptop computers readily available today.

Asus Vivobook Pro 16X OLED: Specifications

The most just recently launched Asus Vivobook Pro 16X OLED designs include an Intel 13th gen i9-13980HX CPU or i9-13900H CPU. Setups sport numerous mobile GeForce RTX GPUs as much as an RTX 4070. A 3.2 K resolution NanoEdge OLED screen with a 120Hz revitalize rate supplies the visuals.

Taking a look at costs, and a starter design with an Intel Core i9-13900H and RTX 4050 GPU ships for $1499.99 on Amazon. From there costs increase to $1942.99 for a design with a Core i9-13980HX CPU and GeForce RTX 4070 GPU.

My evaluation system boasts an RTX 4060 GPU and Core i9-13980HX CPU. This rig costs $1748.99 at Amazon with a basic 16GB RAM set up, nevertheless my system had an additional 16GB RAM included after it left the store. Its precise specs are as follows:

• CPU: Intel i9-13980HX
• RAM: 32GB DDR5/ 4800MHz
• GPU: Intel UHD + Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060
• Show: 16-inch 3.2 K (3200 x 2000) OLED, 120Hz revitalize rate, 0.2 millisecond action, non-touch, 16:10 inch element ratio
• Storage: 1TB
• Ports: 2 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, 2 x Thunderbolt 4, HDMI 2.1, SD card reader, RJ-45 Ethernet port, 3.5 mm audio combination jack
• Networking: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3,
• Weight: 4.19 pounds (2.02 kg)
• Measurements: 13.98 x 9.80 x 0.90 inches
• Battery: 90Whr
• Cost: $1,748.99 with 16GB RAM

Taking a look at how competitors form up for rate, and laptop computers like the Lenovo Slim Pro 9i, Dell XPS 15, Acer Swift 16X and Apple MacBook Pro 16, are simply a couple of options with quick graphics efficiency and shows precise enough for the requiring color work lots of developers do.

The Swift 16X and Lenovo Slim Pro 9i are the most economical of these alternatives, with starter designs delivering for under $2000– the Dell XPS 15 and MacBook Pro 16, by contrast, expense upwards of $2,000. From these choices just the MacBook Pro 16 and the Acer Swift 16X have 16-inch screens big enough to take on the 16X OLED’s screen– the Swift 16X likewise has an OLED display screen, like the Asus.

If you desire to tire all of the choices offered before you purchase, comparable hardware can be discovered in some premium video gaming laptop computers. The 2023 Razer Blade 16 can be set up with an RTX 4060 and i9-13950HX CPU on Razer’s site, however it’ll set you back a cool $2,699.99.

If you decrease this course, you’ll be spending for a few of the very best video gaming functions available like a quicker 240Hz refresh rate and greater 175W Total Graphics Power … however, if you’re an animator or videographer, those additionals might well be simply what you require.

Asus Vivobook Pro 16X OLED: Design and construct

The 2023 Vivobook Pro 16X OLED’s style is a revamp of the 2022 design’s style which exuded functionality instead of sophistication or design. That implied my black evaluation system sported a familiar industrial-looking chassis and grey colored secrets. If that’s not your design, there is a silver design readily available.

Much like its predecessor, however, I was right away drawn to the laptop computer’s piece de resistance– the stunning 16-inch OLED screen. This year, the screen is once again provided in a wonderfully high 16:10 element ratio. A a little bigger 88 percent screen-to-body ratio pushes out the 86 percent ratio we saw in 2015– so you get partially larger visuals.

Not that the 2022 design was heavy at 4.30 pounds, however Asus has actually handled to drop the weight down even additional to 4.19 pounds. This makes the 2023 Vivobook somewhat much easier to bring in a pouch or bag. This was attained by including more recycled plastic to the chassis; it now comprises 30 percent of the plastic utilized, which is a good nod to sustainability.

Dominic Bayley/ IDG

The 16X OLED’s measurements have actually likewise been lowered. From 14.8 x 10.20 inches (W x D) in 2022 they’ve diminished down to 13.98 x 9.80 (W x D), which is a reputable drop in my book. The laptop computer is a little thicker year on year– it’s now 0.71 of an inch thick compared to 0.78 of an inch thick, however that modification is so very little you’ll hardly observe.

Regardless of sporting more recycled plastic, Asus declares the 16X OLED has as soon as again passed the United States Military-grade STD-810H requirement for durability. The variety of tests has actually been broadened to consist of 26 tests all up. To be sure, the laptop computer feels extremely difficult almost all over– from its unmovable base to its robust hinges.

For cooling, the 16X OLED makes use of Asus’s IceCool Pro thermal innovation. The system includes double fans that feed 4 enormous air vents– 2 on the flanks and 2 at the back. The fans have actually been rigged to be thinner than in the 2022 design and they now sport shark-inspired fins which Asus states permits the laptop computer to reach a greater 150-watt Total Graphics Power (TGP).

Asus Vivobook Pro 16X OLED: Keyboard and trackpad

Grey tones and orange highlights control the appearance of the 16X OLED’s ErgoSense keyboard, with some secrets clearly painted for much easier orientation. While I didn’t always require color-coding for my work, I did value the appearance.

For ease of usage, Asus has actually made the keyboard a lot more like a full-sized desktop keyboard than you’ll discover in other laptop computers; It consists of a full-sized numpad on the far right, Fn secrets with faster ways, along with left and best Shift secrets. In general, it’s a good choice that guaranteed I had a lot of fodder for commands in programs like Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Premiere Pro.

The laptop computer’s primary letter secrets are huge. There’s likewise a generous 0.75 of an inch pitch in between them. The secrets likewise sport a 0.2 mm dip in their. The long pitch indicated I seldom ever miss-hit, and the dips permitted me to type for long stints without getting aching, tingling fingertips.

Dominic Bayley/ IDG

The power button and the trackpad are 2 other functions worthwhile of appreciation. The previous functions as a finger print reader, however it’s a single indication on one, so you just need to touch it when to login. It enabled me to get my concepts down rapidly after breaks instead of needing to flap around attempting to re-login each time I wished to return into Windows.

The 16X OLED’s trackpad includes a virtual dial. In Windows it’s a helpful function for managing settings like the volume or the brightness level of the screen without needing to move your hands. It’s likewise suitable with Adobe apps, and third-party apps like Davinci Resolve. I utilized it primarily for web browser commands; it’s likewise programmable in Asus’s exclusive ProArt Creator Hub app.

Asus Vivobook Pro 16X OLED: Connectivity and audio

The 16X OLED was well prepared to be my go-to workstation, without any less than 2 Thunderbolt 4 ports in addition to 2 USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports and an HDMI 2.1 port accommodating my primary peripherals. This setup permitted me to plug in a cordless mouse, 2 external display screens, and my headset’s USB dongle and still have one Thunderbolt 4 port maximized for fast file transfers at an information transfer speed of approximately 40GB/s.

The microSD card reader in 2015’s design has actually been attentively changed by a full-sized SD card UHS-II reader with approximately 312MB/s shipment speed. This makes a lot more sense to me, considering that the majority of the gadgets I wish to move information from– like my DLSR video camera and camera– utilize this format sd card. Suffice to state, this one function conserved me a great deal of time.

The 16X OLED’s Harman Kardon speakers produce a good well balanced audio that has a certain cinematic quality, more than likely thanks to support for Dolby Atmos. I havenevertheless, heard clearer, much deeper bass on laptop computers of this size, however they’ve primarily had larger and chunkier chassis, so for its density, the 16X OLED does an exceptional task for noise.

Asus Vivobook Pro 16X OLED: Display and webcam

My very first assessment of the 16X OLED’s display screen was while the laptop computer was turned off– it had that shiny shine that numerous OLED panels tend to have. Turned on, nevertheless, the visuals were absolutely nothing except magnificent; the images and videos appeared crisp and in-depth, with highly saturated color and really deep blacks.

How does it accomplish this? The 3.2 K OLED screen covers 100 percent of the DCI-P3 color range and it has a high contrast ratio of 1,0000,000:1, so there’s a depth to darks that you simply do not see in IPS-level display screens.

The panel is likewise fairly brilliant: It has a peak optimum brightness of 600 nits, which isn’t anywhere near as intense as the Acer Predator Triton 17X’s mini-LED screen, however it was still intense adequate to see information when I utilized the laptop computer in the brilliant and bright parts of my home.

Color precision is something that many developers require in spades, so the display screen’s accreditation for Pantone color precision implies it needs to be well matched for any work including color recreation. I was likewise well happy to hear the display screen lowers the emission of damaging blue light by an approximated 70 percent, which if absolutely nothing else, suggests you can rest simple understanding there’s some defense for your eyes throughout long work stints.

For cam, the 16X OLED has a 1080p electronic camera with a hassle-free personal privacy shutter. The cam relies greatly on AI algorithms for lowering image sound and ambient noise. In my screening I discovered these worked well to make sure images were reasonably clear which there wasn’t any obvious noise distortion of voices in conferences.

Asus Vivobook Pro 16X OLED: CPU efficiency

The Vivobook Pro 16X OLED’s i9-13980HX is a powerful chip, including an overall of 24 cores, including 8 P-Cores and 16 E-Cores with an overall of 32 threads. Intel’s efficiency charts reveal an optimum turbo frequency of 5.60 GHz.

My coworkers Gordon Ung and Alaina Yee did comprehensive screening of this CPU back in February this year and they made a couple of guidelines about it, like that its efficient in amazing efficiency however it’s likewise overkill if you simply wish to search the web or run Microsoft Office jobs. To see how it carried out in the context of this laptop computer I made it leap through a lot of benchmark hoops. Later on, I measured the outcomes versus PCWorld contrasts.

Workhorse and video gaming laptop computers with discrete GPUs comprised most of my contrasts. These consisted of strong entertainers like the Razer Blade 16, MSI Prestige 16X and the Lenovo Slim Pro, all 3 of which likewise include 13th generation Intel CPUs. A 2022 Vivobook Pro 16X OLED including a Ryzen 9 5900HX CPU is more of a mid-range predecessor to my laptop computer, however it supplied some context to see how efficiency has actually enhanced year on year.

The Asus Vivobook Pro 16X OLED impressed me right away in my screening schedule. On PCMark 10, the laptop computer scored in the low 7000s, trading close blows with 3 other 16-inch laptop computers.

Dominic Bayley/ IDG

The outcomes of the Cinebench Multi-Threaded criteria are likewise outstanding. The 16X OLED stood apart from the pack with a rating of 10,524 in this test that bends all the cores of a laptop computer’s CPU. Ergo, carrying out complicated jobs like encoding, modifying video or running AAA video games will be a breeze for this laptop computer. These outcomes verify its CPU is type of overkill for standard workplace apps or searching.

Dominic Bayley/ IDG

Next up is the HandBrake test where I set the laptop computer to encode a 30GB MKV file to an MP4 utilizing the energy’s Android tablet pre-programmed. What we’re searching for in this test is a fast finishing time, which suggests the laptop computer can prevent throttling and can power on through squashing CPU jobs. The X16 OLED did simply that, completing the encode rapidly in simply 735 seconds.

Dominic Bayley/ IDG

Asus Vivobook Pro 16X OLED: Graphics efficiency

My evaluation system’s RTX 4060 GPU is just a mid-range GPU in Nvidia’s RTX 40 Series lineup, you might state its gas pedal was pushed to the metal, because it was tuned to an optimum 150-watt TGP. Let’s see how that remarkable power played out in the graphics criteria …

In UL’s 3DMark standard, which supplies us a peek of a laptop computer’s general graphics efficiency ability, the 16X OLED completed behind the Razer Blade 16 however ahead of the other contrasts. Notification that it substantially outshined the MSI Prestige 16 Studio which sports the very same RTX 4060 GPU.

Asus Vivobook Pro 16X OLED

Relocating to the real-world video gaming tests, and the 16X OLED published extremely excellent frame per 2nd ratings in both Shadow of the Tomb Raider and the City Exodus standards. This was a huge surprise; in 2015’s Vivobook produced playable frame rates, however this year’s design can actually shred.

Dominic Bayley/ IDG

Dominic Bayley/ IDG

These outcomes reveal the X16 OLED is definitely approximately the job it’s created for; it’s more than efficient in taking on intricate graphics-based jobs like 3D making, or modelling. It’s going to exceed many of its near competitors in these jobs. It’s likewise going to be a great deal of enjoyable as soon as you start your shoes and loosen up for some video gaming time, based upon its fps ratings which rest on par with a few of the most effective video gaming rigs of 2023.

Asus Vivobook Pro 16X OLED: Battery life

To evaluate the battery, I set a 4K video to repeat in the Windows television and Movie app. I likewise changed the Wi-Fi to Airplane Mode and plugged in a low-cost set of earphones to manage sound. I sat back and timed how long it took for the battery to run out of juice. The 16X OLED lasted simply shy of 6 hours before it changed to standby mode.

Dominic Bayley/ IDG

What’s going on here? A big 90WHr battery is apparently simply what a developer laptop computer like this would require, and the 16X OLED has simply that! There’s some severe power draw from the hardware that’s certainly taking a huge toll on the battery.

6 hours is not an excellent outcome for a developer laptop computer, which you ‘d anticipate to a minimum of make it through an eight-hour working day. It recommends you ‘d be fortunate to get simply 3 hours from this laptop computer doing any sort of severe work if it’s unplugged from an outlet– which is rather frustrating.

Asus Vivobook Pro 16X OLED: Should you purchase it?

The Asus Vivobook Pro 16X OLED is an excellent alternative for developers desiring an effective laptop computer with a stunning, color precise 16-inch OLED screen that’s likewise framed up in a high 16:10 element ratio. Its connection makes it a flexible rig for work or play. My efficiency results programs that it exceeds its predecessor and near competitors in the power stakes, providing dollops for running complex programs, graphics-based jobs and for video gaming. The tradeoff is a brief battery life, which simply indicates it’s best utilized plugged into an outlet.

Finest Prices Today: Asus Vivobook Pro 16X OLED