ASUS Vivobook 16 16" M1607KA Cool Silver 2023

A desktop replacement in denial. The ASUS Vivobook 16 packs a shockingly powerful CPU and tons of RAM into a chassis with a screen and battery that feel like afterthoughts. Only buy it if you plan to leave it plugged in on a desk forever.

We were genuinely surprised by how well the Ryzen AI 5 330 handles basic multitasking. With 32GB of DDR5, this thing laughs at 50 Chrome tabs, Slack, and a few Office apps all running at once. It's a productivity beast for pure CPU grunt, landing in the absolute best tier of our database for processor performance. But the integrated Radeon graphics are just okay, sitting in the middle of the pack. Don't let the "discrete" mention in some listings fool you, it's integrated, and it'll choke on anything more demanding than light photo editing. The 1TB SSD is a nice, speedy inclusion, but the whole experience is held back by knowing the battery will die long before the processor breaks a sweat.

Stack this up against the HP OMEN Transcend 14 or the Lenovo Legion Pro Series 7i Gen 10, and the Vivobook gets embarrassed on display quality and gaming ability. Those are actual creator and gaming machines with color-accurate screens and real GPUs. Even the more office-focused MSI Prestige 13 feels like a luxury item next to this ASUS. The Vivobook's only real win is raw CPU performance per dollar and that huge 32GB of RAM, which you won't find in many competitors at this price. But for most people, a better screen and longer battery life in a MacBook Pro M5 Pro or a Galaxy Book5 Pro are worth the extra cash, even if it means less RAM.

Pricing is all over the place, from $900 to $1251 across different vendors. At the low end, you're getting a lot of RAM and storage for the money, but you're also buying a screen and battery that feel like they belong on a $400 laptop. If you can snag it closer to $900 from a seller with a good return policy, it's a passable deal for a desktop-bound office machine. Paying over a grand for this is a mistake, especially when the competition offers vastly superior screens and build quality for just a little more.

The ASUS Vivobook 16 is a classic case of a spec sheet that looks way better on paper than the laptop feels in real life. You see "Ryzen AI 5," 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD for under a grand and think you've found a steal. But the moment you open the lid, the dim, washed-out screen and that tiny 42Wh battery tell a different story. This is a machine built for a very specific buyer: someone who needs a ton of RAM and a big screen for office work and absolutely nothing else. If you're hoping for a hidden gem that can do a little bit of everything, you'll be disappointed. The one thing to know is that ASUS cut every corner on the display and battery to hit this price, and you will feel those cuts every single day.

If you're looking for a laptop with a beautiful screen for Netflix, any kind of gaming, or all-day battery life, this isn't it. Go get a Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro or a MacBook Pro M5 Pro instead. This ASUS is purely a desk-bound workhorse for number crunchers who value RAM above all else.

We can't recommend the ASUS Vivobook 16 for most people. The combination of a terrible battery and a dull, low-quality screen on a 16-inch laptop is a dealbreaker. It's a one-trick pony that only makes sense if you're a spreadsheet warrior who will have it plugged into a monitor and a power outlet 95% of the time. For everyone else, this is a hard pass. Spend a little more on something with a screen that doesn't make you squint and a battery that can last through a workday.