ASUS VivoBook 15 S513UA-DS74 Review: (Almost) Perfect

Finding the perfect mid-range laptop is far from easy. There are so many factors to take into consideration depending on each particular user profile. Do you need a dedicated graphics card? Do you need a high-powered CPU? Is battery life a deal-breaker? So many questions that you need to ask yourself when researching your next laptop.

It's with that in mind that today we're happy to introduce the ASUS VivoBook 15 S513UA-DS74, a solid mid-range laptop that promises to be the perfect compromise of everything. A high-end processor, generous storage, enough RAM (that can be upgraded), a sharp display, lightweight design, and sufficient battery life. Overall, a laptop that has it all - though in different shapes and sizes -.

But, is this the notebook you've been searching for? Will it fit your needs? That's what we're here to figure out!

Who's it for?

=>College Students - The ASUS VivoBook 15 S513UA-DS74 would be the perfect laptop for a college student. It is thin and light, so it can fit in a backpack effortlessly. What's more, it has enough horsepower to run just about every program that you would need in college.

=> Professionals - This laptop is also suited for professionals who wish to have a powerful and portable device on the go.

=> Writers/Bloggers - The combination of its lightweight design, ergo lift backlit keyboard and powerful internals make it a shoe-in for professional writers who want a machine that can not only be used to write but also to comfortably edit, upload pictures and work on the go.

=> Casual users - While this laptop is hardly targeting the casual user, it's got enough built-in horsepower to handle just about any task a casual user would throw at it. Sure enough, it's overkill and you'd be better off with a Chromebook such as the ASUS Chromebook Flip C433TA-AS384T and the HP Chromebook x360 14a-ca0022nr but if you fancy it then it definitely won't let you down.

ASUS VivoBook 15 S513UA-DS74 Laptop Review

Design

It's also very lightweight, weighing in at just 3.7 pounds, and measuring just 18.6 mm for maximum portability. Sure, it's not as portable as some of the 13-inch models we've reviewed in the past but let's not forget that these figures look pretty good when you consider this to be a 15.6-inch notebook.

Display

The ASUS VivoBook 15 S513UA-DS74 laptop offers a 15.6" Full HD (1920 by 1080) NanoEdge bezel display with an impressive 85% screen-to-body ratio. It's an IPS display, which means viewing angles will be great and there won't be any color shift.

Overall, the picture quality is good with crisp detail and a good color representation. However, we should not lose sight of the fact that this is a mid-range laptop and not a high-end laptop so the focus on this model was mainly set on the internals more so than the actual display. Ie: don't buy this laptop expecting the screen quality of a MacBook Pro or you'll just be sorely disappointed.

Keyboard & Trackpad

A few years back no one really cared much about the keyboard. However, these days it seems to be a feature that's gained more prominence.

Specifically, on this notebook, we've got an ergo-lift backlit keyboard with a 1.4 mm key travel distance. This basically means that you're in for a comfortable typing experience and, in fact, many customers have high praise for this keyboard.

As for the trackpad, it gets the job done. The response is solid, there are no accidental palm presses and you've even got a fingerprint reader located on the top-right to inlock your notebook through Windows Hello.

Hardware and Performance

Moving onto the key specs, the ones that determine the S513UA-DS740's overall performance, we've got an AMD Ryzen 7 5700U CPU clocking in at a base frequency of 1.8 GHz and reaching a maximum of 4.3 GHz when pressed. This is an octa-core processor, meaning it packs 8 cores.

Memory-wise we've got 8GB DDR4 RAM, with the option to upgrade to 12GB of memory by swapping one of the RAM slots. That should be enough RAM to handle most multitasking needs and you can always upgrade it if it falls short.

Wrapping up the key components, we've also got 1 TB of SSD storage. If you haven't updated your laptop in a few years and you're coming from a laptop with an HDD then you should know that an SSD is much faster and allows for instant boot-ups, far better program load times, and a snappier overall experience.

What can I expect in terms of everyday performance?

All these specs are well and good but, what does this mean for your everyday tasks? What are the limits of this laptop? What can you do with it?

=> Multitasking - While 8 GB isn't all that much when compared to other models, it's still enough to comfortably multitask for most average professional users

=> Editing documents - Obviously, this laptop is suited for your run-of-the-mill document editing. Be it editing spreadsheets or crafting a powerpoint presentation, it's definitely got the horsepower to manage all of that without even breaking a sweat.

=> Streaming video - Of course, streaming video is a no-brainer on this notebook, more so when you take into account the fact that it features a Radeon Graphics card.

=> Editing pictures - While this laptop does lack a dedicated graphics card, it's still suitable to edit pictures. We might not recommend it for professionals because a dedicated graphics card will definitely provide a better workflow but, then again, if it had a dedicated graphics card it wouldn't be as slim.

=> Coding - Professional developers will also be pleased with this laptop as its processor and RAM offer just enough power to help you code and compile code seamlessly.

Battery Life & Connectivity Options

Unfortunately, while Asus did pull out all the stops when deciding on the internals, battery life clearly wasn't as much of a priority.

On this front, the S513UA-DS74 could probably give you up to 6-hours worth of juice if you adjust your brightness to 50% and be careful not to use up too many resources, otherwise, 4-5 hours are pretty much a given which is far from what we've come to expect on other mid-range models such as the Acer Aspire 5 A515-55-35SE or the Acer Aspire 5 A515-46-R14K, both of which average well above these numbers.

In terms of general connectivity, we're happy to see that Asus didn't skimp on us and we've got pretty much every option we could want/need. On that front, there's an HDMI port, an audio jack, a couple of USB 2.0 ports, a single USB 3.1 Type-A port, as well as a USB 3.1 Type-C port.

There's also WiFi 6 support and Bluetooth because it's 2021 and it's incredibly rare that a laptop in this day and age comes without Bluetooth. Oh, and there's a microSD card reader, which is not all that common so we appreciate it!

There's also a webcam which we appreciate has an HD resolution. You'd be surprised at the amount of mid-range laptops that try to pass off a VGA webcam. Seriously? In 2021?

Bottom Line

The Asus VivoBook 15 S513UA-DS74 reviewed today is the perfect mid-range model for most users. It's got everything you need to do your everyday tasks and, while it doesn't feature a dedicated graphics card there are few laptops that can boast such a slim form factor and such powerful internals without breaking the bank or costing an arm (and leg).

Sure enough, we would've liked to see a longer battery life but given that it features a very power-hungry CPU we can understand that Asus made a very strategic decision here.

Ultimately, this is a great laptop that's bound to be a perfect fit.