VivoBooks are known for their pocket-friendly price and user-friendly configuration. We are gonna focus our attention on Asus’s budget N705UD series notebooks. And almost all the laptops from this N705 series are nearly identical in every possible way. Today we are gonna inspect VivoBook Pro N705UD-GC103T, a relatively cheaper model from Asus.
Check out the latest price for the Asus VivoBook Pro N705UD-GC103T
Specs:
- CPU – Intel Core i5 Quad-Core (8th Gen), 1.6 GHz
- GPU – 2 GB DDR5, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050
- Memory – 8 GB DDR4, extendable upto 32 GB
- Screen – 17.3-inch Full HD IPS (1,920 x 1,080)
- Storage – 1 TB SATA HDD + 128 GB SSD
- OS – Windows 10 Home edition
Benefits:
- Performance – It’s equipped moderately to handle your gaming needs. It’s powered by an 8th generation Intel Core i5 processor. It comes with 8 gigs of RAM and a dual storage of 1 TB HDD and 128 GB SSD. While the RAM seems a tad bit low for your gaming needs it can be extended up to 32 GB which is a big bonus. Looking at the configuration I would say that while it’s a bit low-specced it can comfortably handle moderate gaming needs.
- GPU – This machine would come handy for both the casual gamers as well as the general users due to the dedicated NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 GPU. If your gaming need requires you to run games like Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor or Fallout 4 in the low or medium settings then you’d be good to go. You can run rather lighter titles like Doom or Battlefield 1 even in the Ultra settings.
- Portability – It’s a starting gaming cum multimedia notebook, not a hardcore gaming rig. So despite being a 17-inch notebook it is thinner even than an inch (2.1 cm) at the meatiest part and weighs only as much as 2.1 kg, much lower than the comfortable mark of 2.5 kg. Pretty neat.
- Display – It is equipped with a 17.3-inch FHD IPS display. Firstly, the panel is decently bright. With the average brightness lying around 300 nits (category average 280 nits) you can use it in indoor conditions as well as outdoors. The colours are pretty vibrant as well making the visuals crisp and clear. In short, it’s a pretty good display for casual gaming as well as everyday chores.
Downsides:
- No Thunderbolt 3 – That’s no surprise. A Thunderbolt port can hardly be seen on a budget laptop nowadays. But in effect, you won’t be able to connect external monitors or GPU docks to it via this port.
- Battery – It includes a 6-cell 42 Wh battery. Unsurprisingly the battery backup was found around 5 hours (6 hours max at lower load) while doing trivial tasks like word processing or net surfing in medium brightness. That’s a long way away from the category average of 8 hours or more. A tiny battery like this can barely handle a 17-inch notebook in reality.
Verdict:
It’s a good performer as a cheap starter gaming notebook. And most importantly despite its 17-inch stature, it’s pretty light (in fact even lighter than some of the 15-inches). So if are in the hunt of a lightweight multimedia notebook to carry around occasionally then Asus VivoBook Pro N705UD-GC103T might be the thing for you.