ASUS Vivobook 16 M1605YA-ES74, Ryzen 7 7730U, 24GB, 1TB SSD, Indie Black

Big screen, big RAM, big storage, tiny battery. A desk-bound workhorse that dies the moment you unplug it.

The Ryzen 7 7730U handles everyday business and dev work without breaking a sweat. Eight cores and 16 threads chew through browser tabs, code compiles, and Office apps easily. The 24GB of RAM is a standout, especially since most laptops at this price stick you with 16GB. Storage is also strong, with the 1TB NVMe SSD landing in the 80th percentile for capacity. The integrated Radeon graphics are fine for video playback and light photo editing, but gaming is a non-starter. The 42Wh battery is the weak link. With a 16-inch screen and a 45W power draw, you'll be hunting for an outlet by mid-afternoon.

The Vivobook 16 sits in an awkward spot. The Apple MacBook Pro M4 Pro absolutely destroys it in performance, battery life, and build quality, but costs way more. The Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition is a closer rival, with better portability and battery life, though you'll pay extra for similar RAM and storage. The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i and MSI Raider are gaming beasts that make the Vivobook's integrated graphics look silly, but they're heavy and expensive. For pure office work on a budget, the Vivobook holds its own. For anything else, look elsewhere.

At $890 USD, this is a fair deal if you need lots of RAM and storage for office or dev work. The 24GB RAM and 1TB SSD combo is rare at this price. But you're giving up battery life and port selection. If you can live with 16GB RAM, there are thinner, lighter options with better endurance for similar money.

The ASUS Vivobook 16 M1605YA is a workhorse laptop that prioritizes RAM and storage over flashy extras. You get 24GB of DDR4 and a full 1TB NVMe SSD, which is more than enough for heavy multitasking and local file hoarding. The Ryzen 7 7730U is a solid 8-core chip, but it's built on Zen 3, not the newer Zen 4, so don't expect cutting-edge efficiency. The big 16-inch 1920x1200 display is nice for spreadsheets and documents, but the 42Wh battery is small for a screen this size. This is a desktop replacement for people who mostly stay plugged in.

If you need a laptop that lasts all day on battery, this isn't it. Go get a MacBook Air or a Surface Laptop instead. And if you want to play games, skip this entirely and look at something with a dedicated GPU, like the Lenovo Legion or MSI Raider.

Buy the ASUS Vivobook 16 if you need a big screen, lots of RAM, and a full terabyte of storage for under $900. It's a dependable desk-bound workhorse. But if you need all-day battery life or any kind of gaming performance, this isn't your laptop. The small battery and weak integrated graphics are dealbreakers for anyone who works away from a wall outlet.