The ASUS Vivobook 16 (M1605) is offered with Zen 3 (Refresh) CPUs or Zen 4 chips. The machines with the newer processor platform rely on DDR5 memory, Gen 4 M.2 slot, bigger battery variants (50Wh or 70Wh), and an optional 3.2K OLED display. If you don't need all these features, the Zen 3-based notebooks can be found at a lower price since they have DDR4 memory, Gen 3 SSDs, a smaller 42Wh battery capacity, and you can't opt for the fancy OLED display. The rest is standard for all machines - Wi-Fi 5 / Bluetooth 5.1 or Wi-Fi 6E / Bluetooth 5.3 for connectivity, so-so I/O, and limited upgradability. We decided to buy a laptop with DDR4 memory to see how long the modest battery could last on a single charge when it has to deal with a not-so-powerful processor and a 1200p IPS display. Oh, yeah, and the ASUS Antimicrobial Guard Plus coating is applied on the frequently touched zones. ASUS states that the coating that contains positively charged silver ions should last at least three years. You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/asus-vivobook-16-m1605/ Specs, Drivers, What's in the box Drivers All drivers and utilities for this notebook can be found here: https://www.asus.com/laptops/for-home/vivobook/asus-vivobook-16-oled-m1605/helpdesk_knowledge/ What's in the box? The box contains a bit of paperwork and the laptop itself. The DDR4-based notebooks are bundled with a 45W barrel plug adapter while the machines with DDR5 memory rely on a 90W charger. Design and construction The design of the ASUS Vivobook 16 (M1605) is almost identical to the one of the Vivobook 15 OLED (M1505). Indie Black and Cool Silver are the color options here. Smudges can be spotted even on the silver model. The device is made of plastic. This results in a 1.88 kg weight, and the profile is 19.9 mm. The lid rigidity is nothing special. The unit can't be opened with one hand, it can be flexed without too much effort, and it feels wobbly during angle changing. The area beneath the keyboard is a bit spongy but not as much as the 15-inch version. The bezels around the display are very thin. Ok, the lower one is slightly thicker than the others. The 720p Web camera with a privacy shutter and Noise Reduction support is placed above the panel. The laptop can lay flat on your desk. The lid lacks a lever mechanism but that's fine since the base sits pretty high off the ground. The keyboard is comfortable for work because of the long key travel and the clicky feedback. The backlight is optional and there is a NumPad for the accountants out there. The arrow keys are too small for normal usage. The touchpad has a smooth surface and the tracking feels good. Some devices have an optional fingerprint reader that is positioned in the top right corner of the pad. On the bottom plate, you can see the single fan that is visible through the big ventilation grill alongside four rubber feet and the cutouts for the speakers. The heat is guided via a vent on the back and another one on the left. Some amount of hot air makes its way to the display during max CPU loads. Ports On the left, there is just one USB Type-A 2.0 port. On the right, you get a power plug, an HDMI 1.4, two USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 1) ports, a USB Type-C 3.2 (Gen. 1) port with a Power Delivery function, and an Audio combo jack. Display quality, Health impact (PWM), Sound ASUS Vivobook 16 (M1605) is equipped with a WUXGA IPS panel, model number Innolux N160JCE-ELL (CMN1618). It comes with a 60Hz refresh rate. Its diagonal is 16.0" (40.6 cm), and the resolution - 1920 x 1200p. Additionally, the screen ratio is 16:10, the pixel density – 141 ppi, and their pitch – 0.18 x 0.18 mm. The screen can be considered Retina when viewed from at least 61 cm (from this distance, the average human eye can’t see the individual pixels). Viewing angles are comfortable. We offer images at different angles to evaluate the quality. Also, a video with locked focus and exposure. The maximum measured brightness is 299 nits (cd/m2) in the middle of the screen and 272 nits (cd/m2) average across the surface with a maximum deviation of 16%. The Correlated Color Temperature on a white screen and at maximum brightness is 7010K (average). In the illustration below you can see how the display performs from a uniformity perspective. The illustration below shows how matters are for operational brightness levels (approximately 140 nits) – in this particular case at 59% Brightness (White level = 141 cd/m2, Black level = 0.1 cd/m2). Values of dE2000 over 4.0 should not occur, and this parameter is one of the first you should check if you intend to use the laptop for color-sensitive work (a maximum tolerance of 2.0 ). The contrast ratio is good – 1430:1. To make sure we are on the same page, we would like to give you a little introduction to the sRGB color gamut and the Adobe RGB. To start, there’s the CIE 1976 Uniform Chromaticity Diagram that represents the visible specter of colors by the human eye, giving you a better perception of the color gamut coverage and the color accuracy. Inside the black triangle, you will see the standard color gamut (sRGB) that is being used by millions of people on HDTV and on the web. As for the Adobe RGB, this is used in professional cameras, monitors, etc for printing. Basically, colors inside the black triangle are used by everyone and this is the essential part of the color quality and color accuracy of a mainstream notebook. Still, we’ve included other color spaces like the famous DCI-P3 standard used by movie studios, as well as the digital UHD Rec.2020 standard. Rec.2020, however, is still a thing of the future and it’s difficult for today’s displays to cover that well. We’ve also included the so-called Michael Pointer gamut, or Pointer’s gamut, which represents the colors that naturally occur around us every day. The yellow dotted line shows ASUS Vivobook 16 (M1605)'s color gamut coverage. Its display covers 56% of the sRGB/ITU-R BT.709 (web/HDTV standard) in CIE1976 and 44% of DCI-P3. Our “Design and Gaming” profile delivers optimal color temperature (6500K) at 140 cd/m2 luminance and sRGB gamma mode. We tested the accuracy of the display with 24 commonly used colors like light and dark human skin, blue sky, green grass, orange, etc. You can check out the results at factory condition and also, with the “Design and Gaming” profile. Below you can compare the scores of the ASUS Vivobook 16 (M1605) with the default settings (left), and with the “Gaming and Web design” profile (right). The next figure shows how well the display is able to reproduce really dark parts of an image, which is essential when watching movies or playing games in low ambient light. The left side of the image represents the display with stock settings, while the right one is with the “Gaming and Web Design” profile activated. On the horizontal axis, you will find the grayscale, and on the vertical axis – the luminance of the display. On the two graphs below you can easily check for yourself how your display handles the darkest nuances but keep in mind that this also depends on the settings of your current display, the calibration, the viewing angle, and the surrounding light conditions. Response time (Gaming capabilities) We test the reaction time of the pixels with the usual “black-to-white” and “white-to-black” method from 10% to 90% and vice versa. We recorded Fall Time + Rise Time = 20 ms. After that, we test the reaction time of the pixels with the usual “Gray-to-Gray” method from 50% White to 80% White and vice versa between 10% and 90% of the amplitude. Health Impact: PWM (Screen flickering) Pulse-width modulation (PWM) is an easy way to control monitor brightness. When you lower the brightness, the light intensity of the backlight is not lowered, but instead turned off and on by the electronics with a frequency indistinguishable to the human eye. In these light impulses, the light/no-light time ratio varies, while brightness remains unchanged, which is harmful to your eyes. You can read more about that in our dedicated article on PWM. ASUS Vivobook 16 (M1605)'s display doesn't flicker at any brightness level. This makes the screen pretty comfortable for long periods of use. Health Impact: Blue light emissions Installing our Health-Guard profile not only eliminates PWM but also reduces the harmful Blue Light emissions while keeping the colors of the screen perceptually accurate. If you’re not familiar with the Blue light, the TL;DR version is – emissions that negatively affect your eyes, skin, and your whole body. You can find more information about that in our dedicated article on Blue Light. Health Impact: Gloss-level measurement Glossy-coated displays are sometimes inconvenient in high ambient light conditions. We show the level of reflection on the screen for the respective laptop when the display is turned off and the measurement angle is 60° (in this case, the result is 50.3 GU). Sound ASUS Vivobook 16 (M1605)'s speakers produce a sound of very good quality. Its low, mid, and high tones are clear of deviations. Buy our profiles Since our profiles are tailored for each individual display model, this article and its respective profile package are meant for ASUS Vivobook 16 (M1605) configurations with 16.0" Innolux N160JCE-ELL (CMN1618) (1920 x 1200) IPS. *Should you have problems with downloading the purchased file, try using a different browser to open the link you’ll receive via e-mail. If the download target is a .php file instead of an archive, change the file extension to .zip or contact us at bg.laptopmedia@gmail.com. Read more about the profiles HERE. Performance: CPU, GPU, Gaming Tests All benchmarks and tests were conducted with the “Best performance” preset activated in the Windows “Power & Battery” menu. Also, the Fan profile is set to “Performance mode” in "MyASUS" software. CPU options The Zen 3 and the Zen 3 Refresh CPU options are the following - AMD Ryzen 5 5625U, Ryzen 7 5825U, Ryzen 5 7430U, Ryzen 5 7530U, and Ryzen 7 7730U. You can also choose between three Zen 4 processors - Ryzen 5 7640HS, Ryzen 9 7940HS, and Ryzen 9 7940H. GPU options You get what is inside of the CPU, ergo - the iGPU. Gaming tests CS:GO HD 1080p, Low (Check settings) HD 1080p, Medium (Check settings) HD 1080p, MAX (Check settings) Average FPS 60 fps 38 fps 25 fps DOTA 2 HD 1080p, Low (Check settings) HD 1080p, Normal (Check settings) HD 1080p, High (Check settings) Average FPS 72 fps 35 fps 21 fps [eBook Guide + Tools] How to MAX OUT your Laptop Temperatures and comfort, Battery Life Max CPU load In this test we use 100% on the CPU cores, monitoring their frequencies and chip temperature. The first column shows a computer’s reaction to a short load (2-10 seconds), the second column simulates a serious task (between 15 and 30 seconds), and the third column is a good indicator of how good the laptop is for long loads such as video rendering. Average core frequency (base frequency + X); CPU temp. AMD Ryzen 5 7530U (15W TDP) 0:02 - 0:10 sec 0:15 - 0:30 sec 10:00 - 15:00 min ASUS Vivobook 16 (M1605) 3.23 GHz @ 75°C @ 34W 3.18 GHz @ 87°C @ 33W 3.18 GHz @ 89°C @ 34W ASUS Zenbook 14 (UM3402) 3.56 GHz @ 78°C @ 48W 3.16 GHz @ 92°C @ 36W 3.04 GHz @ 79°C @ 30W Lenovo Yoga 6 (13″, Gen 8) 3.06 GHz @ 70°C @ 30W 2.85 GHz @ 77°C @ 25W 2.37 GHz @ 71°C @ 15W Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 (16″, Gen 8) 3.57 GHz @ 73°C @ 48W 3.57 GHz @ 89°C @ 48W 3.00 GHz @ 72°C @ 25W Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 (14″, Gen 8) 3.64 GHz @ 79°C @ 48W 3.59 GHz @ 95°C @ 46W 3.18 GHz @ 88°C @ 27W Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5 (16", 2023) 3.52 GHz @ 90°C @ 44W 3.34 GHz @ 92°C @ 37W 2.93 GHz @ 83°C @ 24W The Ryzen 5 7530U inside Vivobook 16 (M1605) can maintain almost the same 3.20GHz clock and 33-34W power limit in any kind of load. That's way higher compared to the 2.0GHz official base frequency of this processor. On the other hand, the chip temperature is very close to the 90°C mark during long loads. Comfort during full load When the CPU is stressed at max, the noise that is coming from the fan is average. If that is too much for you, switching from "Performance" fan mode to "Standard" will lower the noise significantly. The keyboard deck also feels slightly warm to the touch but nothing too serious. Battery Now, we conduct the battery tests with the Windows Better performance setting turned on, screen brightness adjusted to 120 nits and all other programs turned off except for the one we are testing the notebook with. The 42Wh battery pack lasts for 16 hours and 40 minutes of Web browsing or 10 hours of video playback. The result is very good! To achieve that, you have to apply the “Balanced” preset in the Windows “Power & Battery” menu and select the "Standard" fan mode in the MyASUS app. You also have to turn off the "AI Noise Canceling for the speaker and microphone. Disassembly, Upgrade options, and Maintenance To open the notebook, you have to undo 10 Phillips-head screws. Then, lift the bottom panel close to one of the top two corners to create a gap. After that, you can begin prying the plate with a thin plastic tool starting from the back and then work your way around the sides and the front. Here's how the bottom panel looks on the inside. This laptop has a 42Wh battery. You can also find the notebook with 50Wh or 70Wh capacities. To take the battery out, pull out the connector from the motherboard and undo the 4 Phillips-head screws that keep the unit in place. The capacity is enough for 16 hours and 40 minutes of Web browsing or 10 hours of video playback. The devices with Zen 3 or Zen 3 Refresh CPUs rely on DDR4-3200MHz memory while the Zen 4-based iterations boast DDR5-4800MHz RAM. Sadly, all machines have 8 gigabytes of soldered system memory. However, you get one SODIMM for dual-channel mode. The maximum possible amount of RAM is 16GB of DDR4 or DDR5 memory. For storage, there is a single M.2 slot compatible with 2280 Gen 3 SSDs. The cooling seems fine for a machine with an iGPU. It has one fan, a long heat pipe, two heat sinks, and a heat spreader. Storage performance Our device has a 512 SAMSUNG MZVL4512HBLU-00BTW. This is a Gen 4 NVMe but here its speeds are limited to the Gen 3 standard. Below you can see some benchmarks of this SSD. Its temperatures during benchmarking are acceptable - 63°C. Verdict The biggest advantage of the ASUS Vivobook 16 (M1605) is the great battery life. We have a machine with a Zen 3 Refresh CPU that isn't thirsty at all. When you add the 1200p display in the mix, this results in more than 16 hours of Web browsing on a single charge. Not bad for a 42Wh battery! Of course, if you get a laptop with a Zen 4 processor and a 3.2K OLED display, perhaps the battery life could be shorter. This machine is offered with a plethora of processor options. This allows you to pick the right chip for your needs. For casual office or home usage, even the 6-core Ryzen 5 5625U should be fine, if you aren't too pretentious. It's not a bad idea to choose a machine with dual-channel memory that will boost the overall performance. On the other side, this notebook can be transformed into a productivity beast with an 8-core Zen 4 CPU like the Ryzen 9 7940HS. This will also increase the end price. The default 1920x1200 IPS display (Innolux N160JCE-ELL (CMN1618) doesn't impress with its color accuracy but the unit is PWM-free and has good viewing angles which is enough for normal usage. If you need a high-res display, you can get the 1600p IPS or the OLED model. The upgradability is nothing to write home about - 8GB of soldered RAM + one SODIMM and an M.2 slot. The I/O is decent but there is no sign of 10 Gbps or greater ports. The CPU can sustain a stable 3.20 GHz slock under any kind of usage which is actually a good achievement. The ASUS Vivobook 16 (M1605) offers great battery life, comfortable input devices, and a PWM-free display. You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/asus-vivobook-16-m1605/