ASUS Vivobook S16 16" S5606MA-DS96 Neutral Black 2024

The 98th percentile 3.2K OLED display is the best thing about this laptop, and it's not close. The Core Ultra 9 185H delivers strong CPU performance at the 83rd percentile, but the integrated Arc Graphics drag the gaming score down to 19.8 out of 100. If you want a gorgeous screen for work and media and can find it near USD 851, this is a compelling buy.

The Core Ultra 9 185H is the real deal for CPU-heavy work. 16 cores, 22 threads, boost clocks up to 5.1 GHz, and a dedicated NPU rated at 11 TOPS for AI tasks. That puts it well above average in our rankings, and it'll chew through video exports, code compilation, and heavy multitasking without breaking a sweat. The 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD keeps things snappy too.

Graphics are where the wheels come off. The integrated Intel Arc GPU shares system memory and lands in the 65th percentile. It's fine for light photo editing, streaming, and older titles at low settings, but the gaming score of 19.8 out of 100 tells you everything. This is not a machine for modern AAA games. The 16GB of LPDDR5X is soldered, so you're stuck with what you get, and it's only middle of the pack compared to other laptops in this class.

Against the Apple MacBook Pro M4 Pro, the Vivobook wins on raw display specs, 120Hz OLED versus Apple's mini-LED, but loses badly on GPU performance and battery efficiency. The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 will absolutely destroy it in gaming, though you'll pay more and carry more weight. The Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro is the closest rival, with a similar OLED panel and thin-and-light focus, but Samsung's pricing is typically higher. The HP OMEN Transcend 14 and MSI Prestige 13 offer different trade-offs, smaller screens and better portability versus this 16-inch canvas. If your priority is the best possible screen for the money, the Vivobook S16 at its lowest US price is hard to beat.

Pricing is all over the map. In the US, you'll find this refurbished unit between USD 851 and USD 1,258 across two listings, a spread of USD 407. That's a huge gap for the same machine, so shop carefully. The lower end of that range is genuinely compelling for a 3.2K OLED laptop with a Core Ultra 9. In Europe, the story is less rosy, with EUR prices ranging from EUR 1,924 to EUR 2,744 across four listings. That EUR 820 spread means some buyers are paying nearly 43% more than others for identical hardware. If you're in the EU, patience and price alerts are your friends.

The screen is the story here. That 16-inch 3.2K OLED panel sits in the 98th percentile of our database, which puts it ahead of almost every laptop display we've tested. 3200 x 2000 resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, 600 nits brightness, and full DCI-P3 coverage. If you stare at text, photos, or video all day, this thing will spoil you fast.

The rest of the package is a mixed bag. The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H is a strong performer, landing in the 83rd percentile for CPU, and the 1TB NVMe SSD is solid at the 80th percentile. But the integrated Intel Arc Graphics only manages the 65th percentile, and 16GB of soldered RAM is just average. This is a productivity and media machine, not a gaming rig.

Gamers should look elsewhere immediately. The gaming score of 19.8 out of 100 is one of the weakest we've seen for a laptop at this price point, and the integrated Arc Graphics won't keep up with even mid-range dedicated GPUs. If you need more than 16GB of RAM, skip it too, since the memory is soldered and sits at just the 52nd percentile. And if portability is a priority, the 42nd percentile compactness score means this 16-inch chassis will feel bulky in a backpack. Reliability is also only average at the 60th percentile, so if you're buying refurbished, factor in some risk.

The ASUS Vivobook S16 S5606MA-DS96 is a specialist. It's built around one of the best laptop displays we've ever seen, a 98th percentile OLED panel that makes everything else on your desk look washed out. Paired with a genuinely strong Core Ultra 9 CPU and fast storage, it's a fantastic machine for content consumption, office work, and light creative tasks. Just don't expect it to game, and don't expect to upgrade the RAM later. At the low end of the US refurbished pricing, it's a steal. At European prices, you're paying a premium for that screen.