ASUS Vivobook 17.3" K3704VA-DS96 Indie Black 2023

A monster i9 CPU trapped in a budget laptop body with a dim screen and no real GPU. Great for office work if you find it cheap, terrible for anything else.

The i9-13900H is the star here. It sits in the 80th percentile for CPU performance in our database, which means it'll chew through code compiles, large Excel files, and multi-tab browser sessions without breaking a sweat. The 1TB NVMe SSD also lands in the 80th percentile, so boot times and app launches feel snappy. But the RAM situation is a head-scratcher. 16GB of DDR4 in 2025 is fine for most office work, but it's only in the 37th percentile, and the 8GB soldered plus 8GB SO-DIMM split means you're capped at 40GB max if you ever upgrade. The real surprise is how much that integrated Iris Xe holds this thing back. It's fine for video playback and light photo editing, but don't even think about gaming. Our gaming score is 13 out of 100. That's not a typo.

Against the Lenovo Legion 5i, this Vivobook gets embarrassed on graphics and display quality, but it's also way cheaper if you find a good open-box deal. The MSI Prestige is a closer match on CPU and portability, but the Vivobook's 17.3-inch screen gives it a multitasking edge for desk-bound users. The Apple MacBook Pro M5 is in a completely different league on build quality, battery, and screen, but it costs three to four times as much. If you need a big-screen Windows machine for office work and don't care about gaming, the Vivobook holds its own. If you want any kind of GPU performance, the Legion 5i is the obvious pick.

Pricing is all over the map. In the US, we're seeing listings from $720 to $1,334, which is a massive $614 spread. At the low end, this is a screaming deal for an i9 machine with a 1TB SSD. At the high end, you're getting fleeced. The best deal we found is the open-box listing on Newegg, which undercuts the refurbished option by a wide margin. If you can snag this under $800, it's a solid buy. Over $1,000? Walk away.

The ASUS Vivobook K3704VA-DS96 is a weird one. You get a genuinely fast 14-core i9-13900H and a roomy 1TB SSD in a big 17.3-inch chassis, but ASUS paired that muscle with integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics and a dim, washed-out 250-nit display. It's a productivity workhorse for people who need CPU grunt and screen real estate, not a machine for creators or gamers. The one thing to know? This is a spreadsheet slayer with a screen that belongs in 2015.

If you're looking for a gaming laptop, this isn't it. The integrated graphics are a dead end. Go get a Lenovo Legion 5i or Acer Predator Helios Neo instead. If you need a color-accurate screen for photo or video work, skip this too. The 45% NTSC panel will drive you crazy. And if you want something portable, the 3.24kg weight and 17.3-inch footprint make this a desk queen, not a travel buddy. Look at the MSI Prestige or Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition for something you can actually carry.

The ASUS Vivobook K3704VA-DS96 is a niche machine. Buy it if you need a big, fast CPU for productivity work and you can find it under $800. The i9-13900H and 1TB SSD are genuinely excellent for the price. But the dim 250-nit display, integrated graphics, and chunky 3.24kg build mean this is not a laptop for everyone. If you want to game, edit video, or carry your laptop around all day, look elsewhere. For desk-bound spreadsheet warriors on a budget, this is a solid, if unglamorous, pick.