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ASUS VivoBook 15.6" Laptop - Dark Grey (AMD Quad-Core R5-2500U/256GB SSD/8GB RAM/Windows 10) $599

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Jul 28, 2007
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Vancouver

[Best Buy] ASUS VivoBook 15.6" Laptop - Dark Grey (AMD Quad-Core R5-2500U/256GB SSD/8GB RAM/Windows 10) $599

I've been in the market for a Vivobook, it seems to check the boxes I want at a reasonable price. I have some concerns about the AMD chip but it integrated AMD graphics seem to do well in reviews.

I was going to wait for the Intel version at Boxing Day, but no guarantee it would be on sale, and has never gone under $649 anyway.

Appreciate any thoughts on this deal.
37 replies
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Aug 12, 2013
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175 upvotes
Brandon
Also thinking about getting this. Been searching for a laptop with a ssd drive for a while now. Is there any reviews out on this one?
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Sep 19, 2017
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Moncton
My concern would be with the quality of the included SSD. At this pricepoint manufacturers are probably using bottom of the barrel cacheless drives that are only marginally better than a mechanical HDD, and well below the performance of the brand name consumer grade SATA SSDs we've been seeing lately @ sub-$100 prices for 256GB drives and only slightly above $100 for 512GB.

If it were me, I'd be planning on replacing the included SSD with a known brand and price accordingly.

As an example of what to look for if you don't want to replace the SSD..... Dell Inspiron 15 5000 lists the SSD as being a PCIe NVMe drive which will be blazingly fast when compared to a cacheless SATA SSD.
Last edited by sswilson on Dec 8th, 2018 11:39 am, edited 1 time in total.
Koodo 33GB UL T&T @ $48 (waiting on my tab to switch to a better/cheaper plan)
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Jan 16, 2015
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Cochrane, AB
This seems like a hot price. 256 GB Ssds are cheap to replace if they fail, less than $50 on Amazon. In hoping the prices for these type of laptops drop even more on Boxing Day.
Member
Oct 2, 2009
490 posts
180 upvotes
Non back-lit keyboard and bilingual kill this deal for me...
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Jul 28, 2007
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gsr519 wrote: Non back-lit keyboard and bilingual kill this deal for me...
Why is bilingual a problem? I don't get it. It's been a long time since I've bought a new PC with an OS installed.
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Apr 10, 2006
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WarrenC12 wrote: Why is bilingual a problem? I don't get it. It's been a long time since I've bought a new PC with an OS installed.
The keyboard on bilingual laptops is cancer.
Holdin' it down like a fat kid on a see-saw.
Deal Fanatic
Sep 13, 2004
5991 posts
3584 upvotes
Toronto
This open box Dell is similar but cheaper https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/de ... 16135.aspx
On sale today only $449.99.

It has a 1TB HDD and a slot for an m.2 NVMe SSD. So you can add the SSD of your choice and retain the large HDD.

Bad things about the Dell (I haven't checked if these are true of the Asus):
  • I don't much like the screen (we have a sister model).
  • The HDMI port is only 1.4b, not 2.0.
  • The ethernet port is only 100 megabit.
Member
Aug 5, 2012
434 posts
395 upvotes
Toronto
Hugh wrote: This open box Dell is similar but cheaper https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/de ... 16135.aspx
On sale today only $449.99.

It has a 1TB HDD and a slot for an m.2 NVMe SSD. So you can add the SSD of your choice and retain the large HDD.

Bad things about the Dell (I haven't checked if these are true of the Asus):
  • I don't much like the screen (we have a sister model).
  • The HDMI port is only 1.4b, not 2.0.
  • The ethernet port is only 100 megabit.
Dell refurbished, 4.48lb and touch screen vs Asus new, 3.51lb no touch
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Nov 23, 2018
592 posts
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Hugh wrote: This open box Dell is similar but cheaper https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/de ... 16135.aspx
On sale today only $449.99.

It has a 1TB HDD and a slot for an m.2 NVMe SSD. So you can add the SSD of your choice and retain the large HDD.

Bad things about the Dell (I haven't checked if these are true of the Asus):
  • I don't much like the screen (we have a sister model).
  • The HDMI port is only 1.4b, not 2.0.
  • The ethernet port is only 100 megabit.
still the cancerous keyboard.
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Jul 28, 2007
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The link for this laptop includes a top down picture of the keyboard. What are the bilingual differences? I checked it out in the store and seems pretty standard to me... just wondering what I'm missing.
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Apr 30, 2005
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Mars
sswilson wrote: My concern would be with the quality of the included SSD. At this pricepoint manufacturers are probably using bottom of the barrel cacheless drives that are only marginally better than a mechanical HDD, and well below the performance of the brand name consumer grade SATA SSDs we've been seeing lately @ sub-$100 prices for 256GB drives and only slightly above $100 for 512GB.

If it were me, I'd be planning on replacing the included SSD with a known brand and price accordingly.

As an example of what to look for if you don't want to replace the SSD..... Dell Inspiron 15 5000 lists the SSD as being a PCIe NVMe drive which will be blazingly fast when compared to a cacheless SATA SSD.
is it easy to replace the ssd and upgrade the ram, how many ram slots this one gets? i was thinking about that dell you mentioned too until i saw couple of RFDers complained about the screen, i will pass that dell. if it's easy to replace the SSD on this one, i would choose this ASUS between the two, but don't see any reviews on BB.
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forgetpwd wrote: is it easy to replace the ssd and upgrade the ram, how many ram slots this one gets? i was thinking about that dell you mentioned too until i saw couple of RFDers complained about the screen, i will pass that dell. if it's easy to replace the SSD on this one, i would choose this ASUS between the two, but don't see any reviews on BB.
As far as I can tell, this is the model on their store website - https://store.asus.com/us/item/201810AM ... cicle-Gold - but I've been unable to locate a manual for it and thus have no idea how hard/easy it would be to replace hardware on it.
Koodo 33GB UL T&T @ $48 (waiting on my tab to switch to a better/cheaper plan)
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forgetpwd wrote: this one says (up to 3.6GHz) and the one on BB is only 2G?


either way it still doesn't get us any closer to finding a manual to confirm access to memory and ssd. The only way forward would be to get a look at one in a brick and mortar store.

edit: They both list the processor as a R5-2500U. If I had to guess it'd be that one is listing the max normal operating speed and one is listing the boost speed.
Last edited by sswilson on Dec 9th, 2018 3:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Koodo 33GB UL T&T @ $48 (waiting on my tab to switch to a better/cheaper plan)
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sswilson wrote: either way it still doesn't get us any closer to finding a manual to confirm access to memory and ssd. The only way forward would be to get a look at one in a brick and mortar store.
it won't be of much help unless you can open the back cover.
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forgetpwd wrote: it won't be of much help unless you can open the back cover.
It might have the access panels labelled to let you know. (I also edited my previous to note that both the BB and ASUS links list a R5-2500U.

Bottom line for me though is that I wouldn't even consider purchasing one unless I knew for sure I could update the SSD (or confirm it was an NVMe drive instead of a cacheless SSD).
Koodo 33GB UL T&T @ $48 (waiting on my tab to switch to a better/cheaper plan)
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Feb 24, 2018
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This laptop is reasonable value for money, I'm not going to give OP a hard time.

This is a good laptop for a student, a mobile business user, and anyone but a gamer or power user.

On a side note, AMD may be winning the chip wars come gen 3.
I aim to be inclusive and considerate of others in my posts. If I fall short of that mark, feel free to let me know in good faith, and where appropriate, I'll edit my posts. Thank you.
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redflagdealsguy wrote: This laptop is reasonable value for money, I'm not going to give OP a hard time.

This is a good laptop for a student, a mobile business user, and anyone but a gamer or power user.

On a side note, AMD may be winning the chip wars come gen 3.
I hope posters understand that comments like mine aren't directed towards them, only intended to point out possible issues. OP has 6 thumbs up and no thumbs down........
Koodo 33GB UL T&T @ $48 (waiting on my tab to switch to a better/cheaper plan)
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Feb 24, 2018
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sswilson wrote: I hope posters understand that comments like mine aren't directed towards them, only intended to point out possible issues. OP has 6 thumbs up and no thumbs down........
It took me a second to understand your defensiveness, it appears you were being excessively courteous... gentlemanly even.

Constructive feedback is welcome I'm sure, you're not fouling anyone's chicken soup.

God bless.
I aim to be inclusive and considerate of others in my posts. If I fall short of that mark, feel free to let me know in good faith, and where appropriate, I'll edit my posts. Thank you.

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