The ASUS Vivobook has long been a mainstay of value-oriented laptops, offering features that are often trickled down from past generations of flagship laptops.
The 2023 refresh of the Vivobook 15X is no exception to this rule, boasting the latest generation of processors, military grade durability testing, and sustainable materials.
Table of Contents
ASUS Vivobook 15X (K3504) – Specifications
| Processor | Intel Core i5-1335U 12MB Cache, up to 4.6 GHz, 10 cores, 12 Threads |
| Operating System | Windows 11 Home |
| Graphics | Intel Iris Xe |
| Display | 15.6″ LED Backlit IPS-level display 1920 x 1080 pixels 60Hz refresh rate 250nits 45% NTSC color gamut Anti-glare TÜV Rheinland-certified |
| Memory | 8GB DDR4 (Upgradeable) |
| Battery | 42Whr |
| Storage | 512GB PCIe 4.0 SSD |
| Camera and sensors | 720p camera with privacy shutter |
| Dimensions (H x W x D) | 359.7 x 232.5 x 17.9 mm |
| Weight | 1.6kg |
| Color | Cool Silver |
| Connectivity | WiFi 6E, dual band Bluetooth 5.3 |
| I/O Ports | 1x USB 2.0 Type-A 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C support power delivery 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A 1x HDMI 1.4 1x 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack 1x Headphone/Headset 1x DC-in |
What’s In The Box?
- ASUS Vivobook 15X
- Power adapter
- Documentation
Design
The Vivobook 15X has a chassis made of plastic, with a metal lid. The logo is located at the right corner of the lid, with an accompanying warning stripe design element. The lid is a bit of a fingerprint magnet, so be prepared for smudges if you have sweaty fingers.
Opening up the laptop reveals a large 15.6-inch display, with standard sized bezels. The webcam has a physical privacy shutter that is orange in colour.
The full-sized keyboard with numpad is backlit with white LEDs, and the warning stripe design extends to the Enter key. The touchpad is well-sized, with a fingerprint scanner located at the top-right.
Sadly, you can only get the Vivobook 15X in the Cool Silver colourway, which frankly speaking looks a bit tacky. I would’ve liked it more if the keyboards and touchpad are in a different colour for a two tone look, but it is what it is. It won’t win any design awards here, but at least it looks functional.
Display
The IPS-level display is quite standard at this point with an average colour gamut. Viewing angles are decent with minimal colour fringing at all sides. While it lacks all the fancy features like HDR or a high refresh rate, it is pretty much expected for a product at this price point. It does however, have an anti-glare coating and the large screen is sufficient for most users.
User Experience
While the overall design and the display wouldn’t wow anyone, the Vivobook 15X is certainly more function than form. This laptop gets the basics right down to a tee.
Keyboard
Firstly, the backlit chiclet keyboard is well-spaced apart and feels decent to type on. There is visibly no key wobble present and only a little bit deck flex in the centre. It does feel slightly stiff, but its relatively tactile and does not feel mushy upon actuation.
Touchpad
The touchpad is decently sized, and comes with a fingerprint reader. However, I noticed the surface to be quite grippy when I first used it, resulting in a rough user experience. After a while however, the touchpad starts to smooth out after some use.
Webcam
The 720p webcam is nothing to shout about. It is good enough for occasional video calls, but visual quality suffers in low light. That being said, it has a physical privacy shutter to prevent spying.
I/O Ports
The ASUS Vivobook 15X has a logical selection of I/O ports to cater to most users’ needs. On the left, you get a single USB 2.0 port and indicator LEDs. The rest of the I/O are locared at the right, with a single HDMI 1.4 port, dual USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C port, and a headset combo jack.
One minor gripe I have with the Vivobook 15X is that it still comes with a DC power supply despite having a USB Type-C port with power delivery. It would have been a better value proposition if ASUS ditched the DC in altogether and replace it with another USB Type-C port.
Audio
The dual speakers are alright. It sounds decent at moderate volumes, but it will sound muddy at maximum volume. The mids are warm and treble is reasonably smooth. The mid-bass section is okay, but lacks depth.
Anti-Microbial Guard
The Vivobook 15X gets the proprietary Anti-Microbial Guard coating that can inhibit bacteria growth by 99% with a protection period of at least 3+ years. It’s a nice touch for those who are always on the go and use the laptop on different surfaces and in different environments.
Performance
Benchmark Results
| Geekbench 6 | Single Core – 2,148 Multi-Core – 5,259 GPU OpenCL – 8,849 | |
| Cinebench R23 | Single Core – 1,734 Multi-Core – 7,779 | |
| CPU-Z | Single Thread – 661.9 Multi Thread – 4,612 |
The Intel Core i5-1335U processor is part of the chipmaker’s power efficient processor lineup. The performance level is actually quite decent for its power draw of less than 40 watts.
My only concern is that it only comes with 8GB of DDR4 memory, but there is an additional SODIMM slot that allows you to upgrade it to have a total of 16GB memory.
If you want more performance, I would recommend spending a little bit more to get the Vivobook 15X variant with an AMD Ryzen 7 7730U processor instead, as not only it has slightly better performance, but also an integrated Radeon GPU.
Thermals
Thermals are well-controlled under stress-testing using HeavyLoad. The Vivobook 15X hovered around 72°C for the most part, with occasional spikes to the low 80s.
Battery Life
The battery life on the Vivobook 15X is quite good despite the battery’s size. I managed to get about 7 hours of continuous mixed use on a single charge.
Final Verdict
3.5 / 5Despite the uninspiring looks, the ASUS Vivobook 15X nails the basics with all the essential features you need.
For a retail price of RM3,099, there is not much you can complain about the Vivobook 15X’s value proposition. Sure its not a looker, but it is a functional laptop that packs all the essentials for day to day computing, and to many that’s all it matters.
For more information about the ASUS Vivobook 15X, please visit the official product page here.
