Asus Vivobook F510UA Review – 128GB SSD 1TB HDD
The Asus Vivobook F510UA review at a glance:
- Specifications
- Pros & Cons
- Design and Aesthetic Appeal
- How good is the Display Quality?
- Hardware
- Performance
- How Does the F510UA Fare Compare to Competition?
- Final Thoughts
The Asus Vivobook F510UA is a sub-$750 laptop that has many top-end features, The laptop boasts a Full HD resolution and respectable performance, which, judging from the spec sheet alone, fits the ASUS VivoBook F510UA down to a T.
Equipped with an 8th Generation Intel Core i5 8250U processor, as well as a 15.6-inch Anti-Glare Full HD Display with an 80% screen-to-body ratio, as well as 8GB of DDR4 RAM, 128GB SSD and a 1TB HDD plus a wide assortment of connectivity options, the ASUS Vivobook F510UA is easy to recommend. The laptop looks good on paper but is it really worth buying?
Read on more below to find out.
Specifications
| CPU: 8th Generation Intel Core i5 8250U 1.6GHz | Screen Size: 15.6″ | Resolution: 1920x 1080p | Panel Type: IPS | RAM: 8GB DDR4 RAM | HDD : 1 TB | SSD : 128 GB | Fingerprint Sensor: Yes | OS : Windows 10 Home | Connections: USB 3.1 Type C (Gen1), USB 3.0, USB 2.0, and HDMI | Touchscreen: No |
Pros & Cons
 Low price. Full HD display. Light Weight No TouchscreenCheck Price On Amazon |  |
Design and Aesthetic Appeal
The F510UA is part of the revamped line of ASUS’ laptops from their previous VivoBook line.
While the previous VivoBook laptops from ASUS did not receive as much of a warm welcome, this newer, trendier line of laptops enjoy a good reputation. Not only do they look more elegant and sleek, they’re also lighter and thinner.
The F510UA, in particular, weighs just 3.7 pounds, with measurements of 14.2 x 9.6 x 0.8 inches.
At 0.8 inches, the F510UA is only marginally thicker than the second-generation MacBook Air at 0.68 inches and comes at a fraction of the cost. Not to mention, where the F510UA is thicker actually makes sense, as the thicker hinge-edge feels more comforting knowing that it doesn’t look like it’s going to break whenever you apply just a teeny bit more force to it than usual.
ASUS was also smart enough NOT to mess with the overall placement of the trackpad, keyboard, and ports of the F510UA, as it takes its cue from its predecessor.
Perhaps the most appealing part of the F510UA though is its 80% screen-to-body ratio.
Using ASUS’ very own NanoEdge bezel technology, the F510UA has a 0.3-inch bezel that is barely noticeable. Although this is not, by any means, revolutionary, the fact that ASUS is able to offer such a slim bezel display at this price point is what helps set the F510UA apart. This technically makes it a 14-inch laptop with a 15.6-inch display.
How good is the Display Quality?
As far as display quality is considered, the 15.6-inch Full-HD IPS display delivers. Not only because it’s larger than it has any business of being, especially since it’s encased in a 14-inch laptop body. It’s also because of the WideView technology thanks to the IPS technology, which gives the F510UA’s display some of the best viewing angles in its class.
The colors are vibrant and the images look sharp. ASUS also gave the F510UA a couple more proprietary display technologies for good measure.
Take, for example, the Splendid visual optimization technology that optimizes the visuals of the user depending on the content viewed. Paired with the ASUS Tru2Life Video technology this laptop enjoys the kind of display quality that you’ll usually find only in more expensive models.
Hardware
The F510UA doesn’t just look good with an awesome display. It’s also an excellent performer.
Under the proverbial hood lies ultra lower power 8th Generation Intel Core i5-8250U with a default clock of 1.6GHz that can be turbo boosted to 3.4GHz. Meanwhile, this efficient processor is paired with an 8GB DDR4 RAM, as well as HD 620 integrated graphics for ultra-smooth visuals for day-to-day tasks and multimedia purposes.
The F510UA could’ve been perfect if not for its HDD storage. Although 1TB is ample amounts of space for the average user, the fact that it’s still a Hard Disk Drive means that its performance is somewhat lacking. Thankfully, the HDD is easy to swap out with a Solid State Drive for better performance.
Impressively the F510UA comes with a fingerprint sensor that’s basically unheard of in laptops within its price range.
Webcam
Being a budget-oriented laptop, ASUS fitted the F510UA with a VGA front-facing camera. It’s not bad, by any means. However, it’s not good either. It’s good enough for video calls and conferences, but you can’t really rely on it if you want to take quality photos.
Connectivity Options
On both sides of the laptop, you’ll find ports distributed evenly. This includes a USB 3.1 and a USB 3.0 port, as well as a pair of USB 2.0 ports. The F510UA also comes with an HDMI port, an SD card reader, as well as a 3.5mm Audio Jack.
Performance
Is the ASUS VIVOBOOK F510UA good for Gaming?
The ASUS VIVOBOOK F510UA is not designed for gaming. Whilst the laptop is capable of handling games with a light footprint such as Minecraft and browser-based games, it lacks the resources to put up a decent show with AAA titles like Witcher 3, Fortnite etc. even at low graphics settings.
Gamers looking for a gaming laptop may want to look at the Dell Gaming Laptop G3579 that falls in the same price bracket.
Are there any overheating problems?
The F510UA is not plagued by overheating problems. The laptop has an efficient cooling system. The fan spins up as load on the CPU is increased but thankfully it operates at lower decibels without becoming overly noticeable. Rendering videos for longer periods (in excess of 2 hours) heats up the laptop beyond its normal working temperature, therefore a cooling pad is recommended for such use cases.
Is the ASUS VIVOBOOK F510UA good for Photo and Video Editing?
The budget ASUS VIVOBOOK F510UA delivers beyond expectations for photo and video editing. The system doesn’t lose it’s cool (pardon the pun) during use for editing and rendering. This laptop comes installed with a 128GB SSD that vastly improves the laptop’s rendering performance by shortening rendering times by almost 80% as compared to the non-SSD version of this laptop.
How good is the Multimedia Performance?
Earlier on, we touched up on how well the F510UA performs for multimedia purposes, and we’re here to double down on that.
In addition to its bright and colorful display, the F510UA also comes with two built-in stereo speakers that perform well for all sorts of purposes. You can expect clear mids, highs, and lows from this, albeit, you might want to temper your expectations a bit to match that of a budget-oriented laptop.
Because of its display and audio, playing videos on the F510UA makes for a good time.
It also certainly does help that the F510UA can handle multiple types of videos, as well as codecs, including Full HD videos and 4K videos.
How good is the Battery Backup?
One of the areas where the F510UA’s larger screen is supposed to hurt is its battery backup, but that isn’t necessarily the case. In fact, with a battery life of around 5-6 hours of continued and normal usage, the F510UA has a longer battery life compared to its segment rivals. Not to mention, charging from 0 to 100 only takes a little over 2 hours.
How Does the F510UA Fare Compare to Competition?
At the $500 to $750 range, the F510UA is easily one of the best.
Compared with likes of Acer Aspire E15, HP 15t, and the Lenovo Ideapad L340, the F510UA either has a bigger and better display. Not to mention, it comes in a more lightweight and compact package.
To get a better-performing laptop you’ll have to either pay a bit more (around $100) and/or settle for something heavier.
The Dell Inspiron 15 5585 is a good example of a better-performing laptop in terms of gaming, thanks to its AMD Ryzen 7 3700U mobile processor with Radeon Vega 10 graphics. But, at the same time, it’s also bigger, heavier, more expensive, and comes with noticeably thicker bezels.
Final Thoughts
At the $500 to $750 price range, you’re expected to make more than a couple of compromises. Battery life and display quality are usually the weakest areas of laptops in this segment. However, in a surprising turn of events, battery life and display quality are where the ASUS VivoBook F510UA shines the most.
As an added bonus, the ASUS VivoBook F510UA isn’t the kind of laptop that you’ll be shy to whip out in the middle of the room — it’s beautiful, is what we’re trying to say here.
Unless you are looking for a gaming-centric laptop, in which case you better be prepared to spend more and carry a heavier device, the F510UA is a perfect daily driver for people who are always on the go.