ASUS VivoBook ASUS VivoBook 16 Laptop, 16" WUXGA (1920 x 1200) Review

The ASUS VivoBook 16 is a solid mid-range laptop with a surprisingly capable GPU. It's built around the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme, a discrete chip with 8GB of VRAM, which pushes its gaming score to a respectable 55.7 out of 100. That's paired with a 1TB NVMe SSD, landing in the 78th percentile for storage, so you've got plenty of room for your games and media. The 16-inch 1920x1200 touchscreen is a nice bonus for the price, and the whole package comes in under 1.9kg. But there's a clear trade-off. The 8GB of RAM is a major bottleneck, sitting in the bottom 10th percentile, which will hold you back in multitasking and more demanding applications.

Performance is a mixed bag, but the GPU is the clear star. The Ryzen Z1 Extreme lands this machine in the 64th percentile for graphics. That means you can comfortably handle modern games at medium settings on that 1200p screen, and it's a big reason the 'gaming' score hits 55.7. The CPU, an AMD 7730U, is more middle-of-the-road at the 51st percentile. It's fine for everyday tasks and light productivity. The real-world limitation is that 8GB of RAM. It's a severe constraint for modern software, and it's the main culprit for the weak 44.1/100 developer score. You'll feel it if you try to run multiple apps, have too many browser tabs open, or work with large files. The 1TB SSD helps keep things snappy for loading, at least.

The value story here is all about the GPU and the screen size for the money. With prices ranging from $500 to $690 across different vendors, you're getting a discrete graphics card and a large touchscreen that competitors in this bracket often lack. At the $500 end, this is a compelling deal for casual gaming and media consumption. At $690, it starts to feel stretched, especially with that 8GB RAM ceiling. Shop around, because that $190 price spread is significant. The lower end of that range is where this laptop makes the most sense.

Compared directly to its peers, the VivoBook 16 carves a niche. The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i or MSI Vector 16 will demolish it in pure gaming performance but cost much more. The ASUS Zenbook Duo offers far better productivity with its dual-screen design. The real competition is value. Against something like a base model gaming laptop with a similar price, you're trading some raw GPU power for the convenience of a touchscreen and slightly better portability at 1.88kg. However, almost any competitor in the $600+ range will likely offer 16GB of RAM, making the VivoBook's 8GB a tough pill to swallow for the price.

This is a good laptop for a very specific user. If you want a large screen for movies, can live with medium settings in games, and absolutely need a touchscreen on a budget, the VivoBook 16 delivers, especially if you find it near $500. But for almost anyone else, that 8GB of RAM is a deal-breaker for future-proofing. It cripples multitasking and limits the otherwise capable Z1 Extreme GPU. If your budget can stretch to a model with 16GB of RAM, you should look elsewhere. This is a hardware configuration that feels stuck between generations.