Home » ASUS VivoBook S14 (S433EQ) Review

ASUS VivoBook S14 (S433EQ) Review

Written By Louie Diangson
Published • November 16th, 2020
Gadget ReviewsLaptop
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The VivoBook S14 (S433EQ) is an upgraded version of the VivoBook S14 (S433) we reviewed in July. This time, it’s packing the newer 11th-gen Intel Core i7-1165G7 processor, with NVIDIA GeForce MX350 graphics, 8GB of RAM, and 512GB SSD. Will the new CPU provide a significant improvement over the previous 10th-gen Intel Core model? Find out in our review.

Table of Contents

Design and Construction

What separates the ASUS VivoBook S14 (S433EQ) from other laptops in its class is what is included in the package. Aside from the compact charger and manual, it comes with stickers. Yes, stickers that you can use to personalize the VivoBook S14’s lid.

There are also stickers that you can put on certain keys and the webcam for privacy.

Other than that, the VivoBook S14 also comes in four colors: Dreamy White, Gaia Green, Resolute Red, and Indie Black. What we have is the latter.

It feels premium and cool to the touch thanks to the metal chassis with diamond-cut edges. It also has a matte finish that repels fingerprints and smudges.

Found on the left are the DC-in, HDMI, USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, Thunderbolt 4 Type-C, and 3.5mm audio combo jack.

On the right are the microSD card reader and two USB 2.0 Type-A ports.

Flip it on its belly, and you’ll see the rubber feet, vent, and two loudspeakers.

Lift the lid, and you will be greeted by the 14-inch Full HD NanoEdge display. It’s a vibrant screen that looks immersive thanks to the slim bezels. Found above the screen are the HD camera and array microphones.

Below is the backlit keyboard with three levels of brightness. The keys are quiet and comfortable to type on. There’s a column of dedicated keys for Home, Page Up, Page Down, and End. The Enter key also has this neon yellow accent, which breaks the keyboard’s boring black theme.

Below the keyboard is the smooth trackpad that also features the ASUS NumberPad. Just press the icon on the upper right corner to bring up the LED-illuminated numeric pad.

The VivoBook S14 is a pretty slim and light laptop, measuring 1.59 cm thick and weighing in at 1.4 kg. It also has a narrow footprint, so it doesn’t take up much space on your desk or in your bag.

Display and Multimedia

The ASUS VivoBook S14, as the name suggests, features a 14-inch IPS-level Full HD display. It’s immersive thanks to the 85% screen-to-body ratio and has great viewing angles at 178-degrees. The screen is bright with nice colors. ASUS said on their website that it supports up to 100% sRGB.

The audio quality coming from the two bottom-firing speakers are decent, with enough bass while not being too tinny when setting to its max volume. It was also capable of filling a small room. If you want to have a good audio experience, we recommend putting it on a hard surface like a table and not on a bed or pillow where the speakers can get muffled.

OS and Features

The ASUS VivoBook S14 runs on Windows 10 Home with all the usual pre-installed apps such as Microsoft Office 365, McAfee Live Safe, and MyASUS. The laptop is pretty much free from bloatware, which is good for the 512GB SSD with 465GB of usable space.

Performance and Benchmarks

Powering this model is an Intel Core i7-1165G7 processor with NVIDIA GeForce MX350 graphics, 8GB of RAM, and 512GB of SSD. Such configuration will breeze through typical workloads such as web browsing, Office 365 tasks, and entertainment such as video streaming.

The previous VivoBook S14 we reviewed proved to be capable so we’re expecting better performance given the newer processor. Check out the benchmark scores below:

• PCMark 10 Extended – 4,340
• 3DMark – 3,459 (Fire Strike), 1,252 (Time Spy)
• Geekbench 5 – 1,547 (Single-Core), 4,656 (Multi-Core), 15,518 (OpenCL)
• Cinebench R20 – 1,831 (CPU), 543 (CPU Single-Core)
• CrystalDiskMark (SEQ1M Q8T1) – 1,644.15 MB/s (Read), 961.65 MB/s (Write)

In the CPU department, the new VivoBook S14 scored better compared to the previous model we reviewed. The GPU performance is almost the same, though, considering that it also has the MX350 graphics.

Connectivity and Battery Life

When it comes to connectivity, we’re getting the same WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, and plenty of ports mentioned above, which is great for those who don’t want to depend on dongles for wired connectivity. The battery was also retained at 50Whr 3-cell lithium-polymer, which is good for around 7 to 8 hours of continuous use in varying battery modes. Our video loop test, which involves playing a 1080p video on loop at 50% brightness and volume in Airplane mode at Better battery mode, got us a little over 13 hours of playback. Charging, on the other hand, is handled by a 65W charger via DC-in.

Conclusion

The VivoBook S14 (S433EQ) is priced at PHP 59,995, which is the same price found on the previous VivoBook S14 10th-gen Intel Core i7 variant. If you recently purchased the 10th-gen model, there’s no need to feel bad as the performance can still be considered good. But if you’re scouting for a good laptop now for that budget, you’d be glad to know that the new VivoBook S14 received some upgrades.

ASUS VivoBook S14 (S433EA/EQ) specs:
14-inch FHD (1920 x 1080) NanoEdge display
Intel Core i7-1165G7 processor (S433EQ), Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor (S433EA)
NVIDIA GeForce MX350 (S433EQ), Intel Iris Xe Graphics (S433EA) GPU
8GB 3200MHz DDR4 RAM
512GB PCIe SSD
WiFi 6 GIG+
Bluetooth 5.0
1 x Thunderbolt 4 Type-C
1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A
2 x USB 2.0
1 x HDMI
1 x 3.5mm audio combo jack
1 x MicroSD Card reader
1 x DC-in
HD Camera
Built-in Array Microphones (with support to Cortana)
Built-in Speakers
Harman Kardon certified audio
Windows 10 Home
50Whr 3-cell lithium-polymer battery
32.49 x 21.35 x 1.59cm
1.4kg
Dreamy White, Gaia Green, Resolute Red, Indie Black