The Asus VivoBook E1504FA-AS33 is a budget laptop designed for everyday tasks: emails, light work, college assignments, and productivity tasks. Coming in the sub-$300, it’s in the competitive space and is a good option for students or office users looking for an affordable laptop that will handle day-to-day tasks without breaking the bank.
Asus is a popular brand offering laptops in a wide space – from budget laptops like the Asus VivoBook Go to high-end gaming machines like the Asus ROG Strix G16; in short, it straddles every use scenario and price point. The VivoBook E1504FA-AS33 is a budget offering, packing a basic AMD Ryzen 3 processor, 8GB RAM, and 128GB SSD storage, running Windows 11 Home in S mode. Let’s dive in.
About the Asus VivoBook Go
Here are the specs on the Asus VivoBook Go laptop in this review:
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 7320U
- GPU: AMD Radeon Graphics
- RAM: 8GB
- Storage: 128GB SSD
- Display: 15.6-inch, 1920 x 1080
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.1
- Size: 14.19 x 0.7 x 9.15 inches
- Weight: 5.49 pounds
Design & Features
The VivoBook E1504FA-AS33 uses plastic for the most part which makes it incredibly light. Asus has done a good job of offering a metal-like black finish on the lid; it’s fairly fingerprint-resistant and smooth to the touch. However, I just wish the VivoBook branding was placed more unobtrusively. The company claims to have tested its VivoBook line of laptops using US military standards, but that remains to be seen. The laptop has a 180-degree lay-flat hinge and a physical webcam shield for privacy which adds to the much-needed functionality.
The Vivobook gets a comfortable chiclet keyboard that’s fitted to the entire deck just like you’d find on Asus’ premium models. The large trackpad sits flush on the wrist without being too obtrusive, and it even has the already-mentioned fingerprint scanner for locking up your system.
As with all recent Asus notebooks, the VivoBook 14 features the signature ErgoLift Hinge that angles the keyboard so that it’s raised a bit for more comfortable typing when seated on a desk, and the 180-degree hinge allows for seamless screen sharing with colleagues. ErgoLift is a feature carried over from some Asus ROG gaming laptops and does a good job of increasing ergonomics on the go. It’s nice to see that the company opted to implement it into its budget-level laptops.
Port selection is excellent for a budget laptop, and you’ll conveniently dock most of your devices. The left side has a single USB 2.0 port plus a status indicator light. The right side has the rest of the ports: a proprietary power jack, two USB 3.2, a USB 3.2 Type-C, HDMI 1.4, and a 3.5mm Combo Audio jack. Wireless connectivity comes via Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2.
Display
The VivoBook Go’s 15.6-inch, 1920 x 1080 NanoEdge display has thin bezels on either side, with a bit more at the top to accommodate the webcam with a manual privacy shutter. But beyond the fairly widescreen look, the display’s dim color profile (250 nits rated) and unwieldy viewing angles make it an underwhelming device for consuming online video.
It’s not very bright, typical of budget systems, but the Acer Aspire 5 looks a bit brighter at 259 nits; still, both models are below the industry average of 268 nits. The viewing angles, too, are very tight, so you’ll have to look at the laptop at an exact angle – about 100 degrees – to see the display without shadows.
This affects dark colors, especially black and gray, and if you attempt to use it in dark mode, the issue is hard to ignore within most apps. Whichever way we try to shake it up, the VivoBook E1504FA-AS33 isn’t simply meant for your cinemas and movies. While you can stream your YouTube movies and watch some Netflix episodes, it still lacks the cinematic experience of the Asus ZenBook 13 OLED or other top-tier 4K laptops out there.
Performance
The Asus VivoBook Go’s AMD Ryzen 3 7320U processor and 8GB RAM are quite able, despite being bottom of the chain. You can sift through dozens of Google Chrome tabs, plus shuffle through your cloud-based libraries without the fans sounding like they are about to take off. The integrated AMD Radeon graphics can run your old favorites like Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, maintaining between 18 and 25 frames-per-second, but it won’t suffice for modern titles like Cyberpunk 2077 or Overwatch.
It seems you can do a lot with the VivoBook E1504FA-AS33, but most of these budget laptops initially feel this way. The AMD Ryzen 3 is a mobile processor for cheap laptops in the Mendocino series, featuring four older Zen 2 cores, which is similar to the Ryzen 4000 series like the AMD Ryzen 3 4300U. Its clock rate ranges from 2.4 to 4.1GHz and it can work on 8 threads simultaneously. That’s pretty decent for daily basic productivity tasks and is fine-tuned for office work and college use.
Even with the modest spec sheet, none of those facts suggests a high level of performance but should prove sufficient for day-to-day use, and the good news is that the Vivobook Go can run everyday productivity and entrainment tasks without signs of strain or delay. Running a couple of dozen Chrome tabs and a video in VLC didn’t cause any problems, nor did editing some sizeable RAW image files in GIMP.
Most budget laptops can last well over eight hours on a single charge of the battery, but the VivoBook E1504FA-AS33 struggles to hit this mark. It lasts only 6 hours and 39 minutes through continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness. While it beats out the Acer Aspire 5 (6:13) and the HP 15 (4:58), it’s still below the industry average of other budget laptops (6:41).
Should you buy the Asus E1504FA-AS33?
Yes, if you need a simple, affordable laptop for light tasks.
For the price, the Asus E1504FA-AS33 is a good option if you’re looking for one device to tackle a bunch of smaller problems. For simple school studies, portable evening entertainment or distraction, and getting household admin or light office workloads out of your schedule, it’s a great little package with a respectable battery life.
There are lots of alternatives out here, though. A slight push in your budget will get you better performance, a brighter screen, and better battery life. The 2024 Acer Aspire 5 is one such laptop, which features an Intel Core I7-1355U processor, 16GB RAM, and 512GB SSD, but it costs twice as much.
But if all you need are the essentials and don’t mind the few concessions, this Asus VivoBook E1504FA-AS33 can do the job as an affordable daily driver for simple home, college, and office tasks.
Recommended Configuration
ASUS Vivobook Go 15.6” FHD Laptop, AMD Ryzen 3 7320U, 8GB, 128GB, Windows 11 Home, Mixed Black, E1504FA-AS33
$219.99 in stock
18 used from $173.79
The Review
Asus VivoBook E1504FA-AS33
The Asus VivoBook E1504FA-AS33 is a budget laptop that delivers decent day-to-day performance and sports a sleek design than most alternatives that cost twice as much.
PROS
- Strong value
- Lightweight and portable
- Responsive for basic tasks
CONS
- Subpar display
Review Breakdown
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ARS SCORE
