ASUS VivoBook S15 S512FL Thin and Light Laptop, 15.6″ FHD, Intel Core i7-10510U CPU, 8 GB RAM, 512 GB PCIe SSD, NVIDIA GeForce MX250 Graphics, FingerPrint, Windows 10 Home, S512FL-NB71, Silver-Metal ASUS

★★★★☆ Pros: This laptop is lightweight. For its weight, it is extremely powerful and fast. In a business/pleasure usage scenario, this is almost a perfect device. No lags, no thumb-twiddling waits, just raw performance. The graphics chip is capable of running most games including FPS at medium settings. The ICExxx SonicMaster is the same software/hardware as the B&O branded HP Envy stuff. Running a video conversion test produces 12fps and no lockups, no overheating, just some well-managed thermal throttling. Core 0 can go up to 4.8, but all cores settled in at 3.2 for the conversion test. Battery life is good for the typical Win10 laptop. I got over 5 hours with simple browsing and running a few apps that would be typical for a traveling business user. Watching a movie took it down to just over 3 hours. Construction is good. The tilting hinge that elevates the base to create airflow is a great idea, much easier than propping up the back with a book some sort of block object like almost everyone has been doing for 20 years. It's about time. Fingerprint reader is a nice feature that actually works as expected. Cons: The achilles' heel - The numpad is some non-standard layout that feels like punishment to use. This is a 15" chassis with plenty of room for a real business-class keyboard layout. Why not give business users a feature that is certainly a reasonable expectation? The screen is dull, with serious amounts of edge bleed. If you compare side-by-side with a similarly priced, similarly equipped HP Envy, you certainly won't pick this laptop. This is a huge disappointment to me. Despite having the SonicMaster/ICExxx features, if I don't prop up the front of this laptop, the sound is muffled because the speaker openings are on the bottom, facing downward. If it is on my lap, my clothing makes it even worse. This is definitely a design flaw. A silly looking "SonicMaster" logo is etched into the handrest. Why? Who made that decision? I could have peeled a sticker off... Overall Review: ICEPower refers to a patented (Bang & Olufsen) Class T audio amplifier that produces huge amounts of efficient power without the heat. I had hoped that this meant that the onboard audio was a class T amp with enough power to drive tower speakers, but no - it only refers to the software that claims a lot and delivers a little. I did test a pair of 32-ohm headphones, but I could crank the volume all the way without getting loud enough to be even slightly uncomfortable. So, definitely not ICEPower. The lid is brushed aluminum. The handrest/keyboard frame, bezel, and bottom of the case are plastic. The 8gb ram included is soldered, and there is an open slot for up to 16GB more. NotebookCheck gave this unit a 60 rating (i.e., at this price point, you have better options). Because you get so much power and performance for the price, I would actively debate this except for the numpad issue. Yes, you do have better options. It is still an excellent deal though, especially if you want a lightweight, moderate gaming, high-powereed, highly mobile laptop for business/pleasure AND you don't mind having an unusable numpad.

★★★★☆ Pros: Nice packaging and size, the weight is not quite ultrabook but is well within the threshold of being ultra portable. The screen bezil is tidy but nothing to shout about though the top bezel does include a very functional webcam (no privacy cover) and microphone that work well. The 4 core (8 thread) CPU is a great compromise of power consumption and performance at 15W and like other have mentioned is very capable for typical tasks. For reference, a similar CPU power just 2 years ago required a 45W CPU power envelope. The keyboard is great with some exceptions, the button press feel is very quite and reliable. MyAsus application offers some really convenient tweaks that let you better manage screen color balance, sharpness AND battery management features that should improve battery health over the life of your laptop (thank you Asus for catching on to what Tesla and others have found). The near-Chromebook functionality comes in part from the fingerprint reader that works quite well, the lid shut/open power ON/OFF dynamics and simple keyboard layout/feel. Do not fear the touchpad, it is excellent in every way. Cons: The numpad as others have mentioned is a poor compromise in design and is just too narrow (perhaps with more hours on it, my view will change) but I think that the entire keyboard spacing could have better accommodated those num keys by being shifted to the left 1/4". The addition of the num keys and misc over there also makes the hit to Del and +/- the Power key a bit more difficult than necessary. There is no way of knowing if the numlock is ON or OFF (seriously?). The keys light up and have 4 settings from Off to full On (only Off and full On actually are helpful in different light conditions due to the reflections of the screen when dark or the transparency of the keys when light). It just seems like it turns in to a maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe situation more than it needs to be. I would have been happier to see 2 USB-C and 3 USB-A (1x USB3.1, instead of 1 and 3) since it is 2020, but the inclusion of full size HDMI and microSD card slots are welcome. The screen looks great at full brightness but quickly worsens at lower brightness. Overall Review: This is a great around the house or lightweight work PC and I do not have any reservations for recommending to those of you that "need a new laptop" because your old one is slow/dead/heavy/stopped working. It has plenty to offer and does not have any glaring problems. I likened this PC to a chromebook because of its packaging and feel as well as its great functionality. It will of course probably be a lot more capable running windows. The inclusion of the Nvidia GPU is a bit odd as you will likely get just a bit better performance than the standard Intel GPU, but its there. Don't expect much though, this is not a gamer by any measure. I look forward to enjoying a healthy battery for a long time due to MyAsus charging management.

★★★☆☆ Pros: Thin, light and fast. Nice display. Cons: Mainly my expectations for things that this unit did not have. No ethernet port is a big downer, especially since the wireless reception sucks. You need to be right on top of your router. Also, you can barely hear the speaker(s). Who's the brainiac that decided to put the speakers underneath? Why bother. Overall Review: I can't recommend this unit.