ASUS Vivobook Pro 15 OLED (N6506) review – Killer Display, Lasting Battery, Minor Compromises


    [eBook Guide + Tools] How to MAX OUT your Laptop

    Your laptop can be Faster. LaptopMedia has tested thousands of models in the last 15 years, and we're yet to see a notebook that couldn't be made more powerful through modifications. And have you seen the most popular search on Google related to "how to make my ..."? No? OK, here it is:

    As you see, having a faster laptop is more important than having more hair.

    Well, the main issue here is that there are thousands of advices on the Web. Some work, some don't. Some are easy, some are complicated. Some are safe, and some are risky. If only there could be an Easy-to-Follow, Step-by-Step, and Laboratory-Tested guide by a proven organization, right?

    That's what we've done. We have hundreds of laptops scattered in our office, and we've spent a whole year testing different optimizations. We've chosen the ones that really make a difference, that are easy to implement without expert skills, and that are safe for your laptop in the long term.

    πŸš€ What's the performance boost I could expect?

    There's no general answer but we've reached more than 30% GPU Performance boost on some models, while typically it's between 10% and 20%. You could always go beyond but we want to be sure that our advice will keep your laptop on the safe side in the long term. But you want to get the absolute maximum? We'll show you how, and then it's up to you.

    We even set several World Records on 3DMark, one being our first Max Out for a specific laptop model - MSI Katana B13V.

    We'd be happy to compete with YOU on the 3DMark rank lists, and see what YOUR laptop can do using our guide!

    πŸ“¦ What's included?

    πŸ“– Our eBook includes All the tools you need, along with an Easy-to-follow guide for hassle-free:

    ⚑ GPU Performance boost by vBIOS replacement, Overclocking, and Undervolting
    βš™οΈ Checking the hardware components and findingΒ if you could get a significant boost by upgrading some of them
    πŸ’Ύ Installing a clean Windows OS, with all the base settings you need
    πŸ“‹ Software optimization steps that really give a performance boost
    ⏩ Building a RAID Storage configuration for doubling sequential read/write speeds or protecting your data
    🎯 Display Profiles bundle for a panel of your choice, enhancing the display for accurate colors, better experience, and protection of your eyes

    🎁 To receive the Display Profiles bundle as a gift, simply email us your panel model through our "Contact Us" form.

    πŸ’΅ What is the price?

    R&D on laptops isn't easy nor cheap, especially when you're not using cherry-picked review samples but real units instead. Our idea is to reinvest the profits from the sales back in our laboratory. However, we also want to make it a killer deal for everyone who is planning or has already spent on a gaming laptop, as this product would significantly boost the performance per dollar they get.

    [eBook Guide] How to MAX OUT your Laptop

    πŸ› οΈ GPU Modifications: vBIOS, Overclocking, Undervolting
    βš™οΈ Building Fast/Reliable RAID configuration
    πŸ’» Hardware upgrade tips for best results
    πŸ–Ό Display enhancing
    πŸ’Ύ OS Optimization for best performance

    βœ– But if these optimizations are easy, why don't manufacturers do them?

    There are a lot of reasons for the manufacturers to put boundaries on your machine, locking part of its performance:

    πŸ“Š Market Segmentation: To create different product tiers, manufacturers often limit performance. This allows them to target various market segments and price points, encouraging consumers to pay more for higher-performing models.
    ❓Unknown Potential: Each unit's performance varies. Checking each one individually isn't feasible.
    🏒 Regulatory Compliance: Certain regions have regulations regarding energy consumption, and manufacturers often place some boundaries to fit all standards.
    🏭 Supply Chain Constraints: Limitations are imposed due to the current availability of components.
    🫰 Cost-effective solutions: Often, less popular but important details are overlooked. For example, better RAM types can boost performance by up to 30%, but many users ignore this, and many online stores don't even provide that info.
    πŸ”’ Security concerns: Many protections impact performance while being negligible for regular users. However, manufacturers don't know if their laptops will be purchased by individuals or large corporations, so they can't disable these features by default.

     

    Not a bad performance bump in terms of Storage Speeds:


    What are the default apps that impact performance the most?

    What to do when RAID drives don't show up?
    How to optimize Windows further for maximum FPS gain in games?



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    Simone
    Simone
    2 years ago

    Does the laptop support the installing of a 32GB stick of memory in the sodimm slot or intalling it results in the system not booting up, not recognize the memory or behave strangely? On the zephyrus g14 2022 Asus claims a maximum memory of 32GB but I knew of people reaching 48GB with no problem changing the 16GB stick with a 32GB one.
    Thank you in advance.

    Simeon Nikolov
    Admin
    2 years ago
    Reply to  Simone

    According to ASUS, the maximum amount of RAM supported is 24GB. However, since the CPU can support up to 96GB, the Vivobook Pro 15 OLED likely wouldn’t have issues running with up to 56GB of DDR5-5600MHz RAM (8GB soldered + 48GB in the SODIMM slot).

    Nick
    1 year ago
    Reply to  Simone

    Yes. But 32GB is a 2 rank memory, so the frequency will be lowered to 4800 and the total speed will be around 40GB/s. 

    Andreas Abrahamsson
    Andreas Abrahamsson
    2 years ago

    Thank you for such a comprehensive review. I would really appreciate if you could incorporate the fan noise for a normal workload – web browsing, movies, etc. This is often left out in favor of fan noise at full load, which is seldom relevant.

    How would you categorize the fan noise under normal office work, please?

    Jiaxiang
    Jiaxiang
    1 year ago

    It’s basically silent, occasionally there is some fan noise but it’s very quiet. Does get very loud sometimes during intensive workloads, but silent mode should do the trick in most cases.

    Sammy Saeed
    Sammy Saeed
    2 years ago

    Is the GPU eco mode disabled when the laptop is connected via the power brick? πŸ™

    comment image

    With my current asus laptop I usually always have eco mode on even when connected to power to keep my laptop cool (often have it my lap or chest)

    Oridini
    Oridini
    2 years ago

    For the display what is the max brightness in HDR (small window and full screen)? Also what is the colour accuracy like in HDR?

    Simeon Nikolov
    Admin
    2 years ago
    Reply to  Oridini

    Measuring color accuracy in HDR mode is more complex and influenced by various external and internal factors, which is why our current measurements are limited to SDR mode. Additionally, manufacturers typically prioritize more attractive picture over color accuracy in HDR. If you aim for the most realistic colors, working in SDR mode is the better option.

    Regarding the size of the white window when measuring screen brightness, we’ve conducted tests with both 10% fill and fullscreen fill. In both cases, the max brightness was similar, just below 400 nits.

    Nick
    1 year ago

    Did you really get 25 hours of browser time or is that a mistake? 
    I have this laptop at idle on minimum brightness consumes about 9 watts, that is about 8 hours of idle time with no applications running. 
    Any activity increases the consumption and the actual browser time is about 6 hours. 
    But I have a second module 32 GB, maybe the reason is this, or the drivers are not installed correctly. Installed different Windows builds several times, different drivers – nothing helps. 

    Jiaxiang
    Jiaxiang
    1 year ago
    Reply to  Nick

    Hi,
    I have this laptop, and with browsing on chrome, I only get 2-3 hours. Could you tell me what settings you are using?
    Even though they said 25 hours, 6 hours is still better than the 3 hours that I’m getting.
    I’m on silent mode, and it’s fairly new. I usually just use google docs and some other websites like amazon, makerworld, but nothing super power intensive.
    Thank you!!

    Nick
    1 year ago
    Reply to  Jiaxiang

    Just use Optimal Operation mode to disconnect Nvidia from the battery (this is crucial) and Standard or Quiet cooler mode.
    If only 2-3 hours in this case as well, 
    1. Look in Task Manager to see which applications are loading the CPU and/or graphics card
    2. Install drivers for your laptop from the official Asus website, because other, even newer drivers not from Asus may not work correctly. 

    Jiaxiang
    Jiaxiang
    1 year ago
    Reply to  Nick

    Thank you so much for your helpful response! I looked in the Task Manager and found that a few background apps like steam were using a lot of resources, so I just closed out of them, and with a few chrome tabs, I also let MyASUS auto install some drivers, and I’m getting much better battery life! (Nvidia was already disconnected and quiet mode was on before.)

    Thanks for your help! I’m getting around an estimate of around 5 hours, seeing that I lost around 50 percent after 3 hours.

    Jiaxiang
    Jiaxiang
    1 year ago

    Hi,
    Please tell me how you got it to 25 hours of battery life!!! I can’t even get 3 hours on this thing and I’m just doing basic web browsing with google docs!
    Anything helps!!
    Thank you so much!