Pros: Great build quality; Solid performance; Plenty of storage and RAM; Good battery life; Fast WiFi speeds.
Cons: No SD card reader, but can be resolved with a cheap dongle
A laptop is a necessary tool for many people, and yet most of us can’t find the perfect one. Why? It comes down to what you want out of your device. If you need something with a big screen and lots of power, it will be expensive but powerful. But if you want something portable and lightweight with long battery life, prices go way down—but so does performance.
If we had the budget, we might go for an Apple MacBook Pro or Dell XPS 13 because they offer both portability and power in one package at a price that won’t break the bank (although these devices are still very pricey).
But as things stand now, I recommend the Asus Vivobook M515UA-EB72. An interesting laptop that features a decent battery life, is portable enough to carry around all day, has enough power for most hardcore users, and presents an affordable price tag.
But is it the perfect laptop for you? That's what we're going to figure out in this review of the Asus Vivobook M515UA-EB72.
Who's it for?
=> Students: This is the laptop to get if you're looking for a well-rounded device that's perfect for your studies and much more. It has enough power, storage and RAM for you to run all your office programs, an internet browser with multiple tabs open and even Photoshop or other creative apps. And it also has a decent battery life so you won’t have "battery anxiety".
=> Professionals: If you're looking for a laptop that's not too expensive but has enough performance to power your apps, this is the best choice. It's perfect for your presentations and reports at work, and you can even hook it up to a 4K display if needed. It doesn't get hot when running demanding programs like Chrome with multiple tabs (like other laptops), and has enough storage space to hold all your media files.
=> Casual users: If you're a casual user - have a couple of chrome tabs open, listen to some music and watch a couple of videos - this might be a bit of an overkill and you could definitely get by with a Chromebook like the recently reviewed HP Chromebook 14a-na0024nr. On the flip side, if you don't want to stray from Windows and your laptop usage is very basic you could also consider the Asus L410MA-PS04.
Asus Vivobook M515UA-EB72 Review
Design, Display, and Keyboard
As far as the design is concerned, the new M515UA-EB72 isn't exactly reinventing the wheel. However, Asus went with a nice tried and tested design that offers the perfect balance between connectivity options and portability. Its minimalistic space grey color coupled with a lightweight of 4.19 pounds makes this a very compelling choice for professionals on the go.
The display is alright. Though not as nice as the ones you can find on higher-end laptops - think upwards of $1000 -, yet we appreciate the 15.6-inch Full HD IPS panel with great viewing angles which means you can comfortably view your content from the sides without the image and colors getting distorted as it happens with TN panels on cheaper notebooks.
Finally, the keyboard is nicely spaced out for an optimal writing experience with key travel at 1.4 mm - my personal favorite to get solid feedback from the typing process -. It's also backlit which is always a nice bonus.
The trackpad is also fine, though nothing to write home about, it's just your standard trackpad with a fingerprint reader located on the top-right.
Performance
Moving onto the performance of the Asus Vivobook M515UA-EB72, we've got to say that Asus definitely did their homework on this one. A quick recap of the specs shows us that we've got a Ryzen 7 5700U CPU accompanied by 8GB of RAM and a whopping 512GB SSD.
As far as everyday tasks go, no matter your needs, you'll have enough juice to get them done here with this laptop. When it comes to gaming though, the new AMD Ryzen processors do their job admirably but aren't quite up to speed yet with the Intel Core series.
That being said, until this is addressed by software updates you're better off playing more demanding titles on your desktop. Plus, there's always the option of using an external GPU box if gaming is very important for you.
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Overall, this set of specs is more than enough for most hardcore users. On that front you can expect a solid performance on everything from software development to working your way through spreadsheets and having multiple tabs and programs open at a time.
Can I upgrade the RAM on the Asus Vivobook M515UA?
In short: yes. You can upgrade up to a maximum of 16 GB worth of RAM. It comes with 8 GB onboard and a free slot that accepts up to another 8 GB. Specifically, you want to get a DDR4 3200 MHz SODIMM module, fortunately, they're not very expensive.
Should I get more RAM for the Asus Vivobook M515UA?
That's really up to you. However, if you are a hardcore multitasker who likes to have literally dozens of tabs open at any given time and don't want to have to close tabs to work properly then more RAM will definitely be a great feature to have as you'll allow your laptop to manage way more tasks at any given time.
Battery Life & Connectivity Options
The battery life is solid. You can expect 4-5 hours of web browsing and up to 7 hours of video playback at medium brightness level.
This laptop has no shortage of ports either. On the sides, we've got an HDMI port, a USB 3.0 Type-A port, two USB 2.0 Type-A ports, and an audio jack. Oddly enough, there's no SD card reader. However, if this is a big deal for you then you can always opt for a cheap dongle.
Finally, there's a decent enough HD webcam, WiFi 5 (ac) connectivity, and Bluetooth support in case you want to connect any sort of wireless peripherals.
Bottom line: Should I buy it?
The ASUS VivoBook M515UA-EB72 reviewed today is a great laptop for anyone who needs a powerful and portable machine and doesn't want to break the bank.
It's fast, has enough memory and storage to handle most tasks, and offers some neat features. We think this is one of those categories where you get what you pay for so if your budget allows it, the VivoBook M515UA-EB72 is definitely worth considering.
Ultimately, if you're in the market for a new laptop and wants something that performs well, has a long-lasting battery life, and doesn't cost too much money, then the Asus Vivobook M515UA-EB72 is definitely worth buying.