ASUS VivoBook X510 review: Jack of all trades, master of none

Design

ASUS managed to keep the design minimalistic while making it lightweight at 1.7 kg and around 17.9mm in thickness. The company has used plastic but has made a robust and a good looking machine. The lid has ASUS's signature circular pattern, but the lid is something that one should be careful about, as pressing it results in bending. So make sure you don't apply pressure on the lid or place something heavy on top of the laptop.

The front panel of the device looks impressive, thanks to the narrow bezels on the sides, the upper bezel and the chin of the screen are tad broader. Design wise, the company has offered a more premium look for a mid-range laptop.

The left side of the device holds two USB 2.0 connectors and an SD card slot, while on the right side you will find the charging port, a USB 3.0, HDMI port, and a USB Type-C connector.

Overall the VivoBook has a well-built case with only a few drawbacks which are forgivable considering the price range of the device. The lightweight and compact design make it easy to carry around. The overall design of the laptop qualifies as decent and something you wouldn't mind showing off in public.

Keyboard and touchpad

The keyboard on the VivoBook offers a decent tactile feedback, but the keyboard feels bit roughened and has a shorter travel than usual. Also, you can notice a flex in the keyboard if the buttons slightly harder.

The touchpad of the ASUS VivoBook X510 is smooth and supports Windows 10's precision touchpad and multi-gesture input with up to
4-finger gestures, allowing users to switch applications or screens. It also has palm rejection ability so that it will ignore accidental presses by the user's palm while typing. The company has also added a fingerprint sensor to the touchpad for added security.

Display

The ASUS VivoBook X510 has a 15.6-inch, Full-HD display that is framed by an ultra-slim bezel that is just 7.8mm wide, giving it an 80 percent screen-to-body ratio. The company has used the Tru2Life Video technology that analyses every pixel in every video frame to increase 150 percent contrast, sharpness, and smooth playback.

The display is bright and colors come out vivid on the screen. The viewing angles are also impressive, all thanks to the IPS panel. We never felt the need to use the device on full brightness, as halfway was enough for a smooth viewing experience.

Since Vivobook X510 is for the budget-conscious, the company had to make some sacrifices such as using a budget IPS panel. But it is still a better alternative to a TN display. But overall the display won't disappoint you in any way and will offer a comfortable working experience.

Performance

The VivoBook X510 is powered by an Intel Core i3-7100 2.40GHz processor paired with 4GB of RAM and 1TB hard disk. The laptop can handle your everyday tasks with ease, but we did notice major lags and stutter while firing up multiple applications. The laptop also shows signs of sluggishness if you try to browse on multiple tabs on a web browser.

The laptop also boasts two side-firing speakers powered by ASUS SonicMaster audio technology. Users can also optimize their audio using ASUS AudioWizard software that offers five intuitive presets:
Music, Movie, Recording, Gaming, and Speech Mode.

The laptop comes with a 42WHrs, 3S1P, 3-cell Li-ion battery pack and support for Superbattery technology which claims to offer three times battery lifespan and charge up to 60 percent in 49 minutes. But honestly, the battery life didn't impress us. It only lasted up to 5-6 hours after being fully charged which is not what you would expect from a performance laptop.

Well its pretty evident that this laptop isn't built for gaming away from the power output, but you'll be happy to know that the device can handle intensive tasks such as gaming for a little over two hours before you start looking for a charger.

Verdict

Overall the ASUS VivoBook X510 is the jack of all trades, master of none. Despite offering decent specs, it lacks a USP that would make it a standout performer. The company needs to overcome some considerable drawbacks, and of course, there are alternatives available in the market.

But if you look beyond the flaws of the device, you get a well-built machine that is lightweight and compact. Additionally, you get a good looking screen with thin bezels complementing the overall design. The display quality is also impressive offering high contrast ratios.

Overall performance is decent and can handle your usual work, multimedia and bit of low-end gaming. However, the cooling system maintains higher than usual temperatures when running intensive apps or games.

Priced at Rs 34,999, the VivoBook X510 is still cheaper than its competition. If you still aren't convinced, then you have an option of choosing Dell Inspiron 15 5567, or the Lenovo Ideapad 520 which are a direct competition to the ASUS VivoBook X510 but come at a higher price point.