Most budget models place screen real estate on the sacrificial altar—offering 11- or 12-inch displays—in their effort to hit a low price point.
And granted, the 15.6-inch Asus VivoBook F510UA ($599.99) doesn't technically meet our definition of a budget laptop—it's above our $500 limit—but it comes too close to call it anything else.
The VivoBook F510UA dazzles with a stylish design and eighth-generation Intel Core i5 performance.
We just wish its battery life were better.
Honest, Objective Reviews
Daxdi.com is a leading authority on technology, delivering Labs-based, independent reviews of the latest products and services.
Our expert industry analysis and practical solutions help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.
Low Price, High Design
Big, budget-minded laptops such as the Editors' Choice Acer Aspire E 15 and the Dell Latitude 3490 will not turn heads with their stodgy, clunky designs.
The VivoBook F510UA ( at Amazon) , in contrast, boasts a sleek, modern look that belies its budget status.
Its gunmetal blue color is unique and attractive.
You won't get an aluminum chassis at this price point, but the VivoBook F510UA's plastic enclosure is thin and fairly rigid.
The textured lid feels like a lenticular lens—you know, the corrugated surfaces upon which an image changes depending on the angle you view it.
The VivoBook F510UA measures 0.8 by 14.2 by 9.6 inches (HWD), which places it between the Acer Aspire E 15 ($699.00 at Amazon) (1.2 by 15.0 by 10.2 inches) and the Dell Latitude 3490 ($449.00 at Dell Technologies) (0.8 by 13.3 by 9.2 inches) in terms of trimness.
At 3.57 pounds, it is the lightest of the three; the Latitude 3490 weighs 3.79 pounds, and the Aspire E 15 tips the scales at 5.27 pounds.
The inclusion of an optical drive is a large part of the Aspire E 15's added heft; like most modern laptops, the VivoBook F510UA lacks the ability to read or write to a CD or DVD without external help.
The roomy keyboard is comfortable and allows you to type in near silence.
A cheap, clacky keyboard it is not.
The keys provide narrow travel but a firm feel and offer a muffled click.
The plastic keyboard deck flexes a bit underneath your fingertips when typing, but only near the middle.
The keyboard lacks backlighting, a feature often left off of budget models.
The touchpad feels responsive but looks a tad undersized at 4.1 inches wide by 2.9 inches deep on the expansive palm rest.
Like the keys, the touchpad offers a soft click when pressed.
A fingerprint reader sits in the top-left corner of the touchpad.
Many budget laptops feature thick screen bezels that make the display appear smaller than it is and give a general outdated feel to the whole design.
That is not the case with the VivoBook F510UA.
The bezels here are narrow and create an elegant frame for the 15.6-inch display.
No Touch, But Two Types of USB
The 15.6-inch full HD (1,920-by-1,080) LED-backlit display produces a bright, crisp image.
It lacks touch support, but because of this omission, Asus was able to forego the glossy screen coating that accompanies touch screens in favor of a matte finish that keeps glares and reflections at bay.
The display's viewing angle is not very wide, however, so this is a large-screen laptop best used solo and not sharing the screen where you and your friend will be looking at it from an angle that's not straight on.
The VivoBook F510UA produces passable audio.
The sound is predictably lacking in the bass department, but the audio output has enough oomph to fill a small room and more than suffices for YouTube videos and video conferencing.
The laptop features both USB Type-A and USB Type-C ports, which means all of your USB devices can connect without needing to locate a dongle first.
On the left edge, you'll find two USB Type-A 3.0 ports and an SD card slot.
On the right edge is a USB Type-A 3.0 port and a USB Type-C port, along with an HDMI port, a combo headphone/mic job, and the power connector.
But That Battery Life...
Packed inside of the Asus VivoBook F510UA are an eighth-generation Intel Core i5-8250U CPU, 8GB of RAM, the integrated Intel UHD Graphics 620 of the Core i5 chip, and a 1TB hard drive.
The Core i5-8250U has four processing cores, eight processing threads and operates between a base frequency of 1.6GHz and a turbo frequency of 3.4GHz.
(At the time of this writing, our model was selling for $509 on Amazon, but you could snag an upgraded model with an additional 128GB SSD for about $100 more.)
The system felt snappy during the usual Windows tasks, including multitasking with multiple apps and browser tabs running.
The system's cooling fan kicked on when the multitasking load increased, and especially when streaming videos.
It was not overly loud and obnoxious, but it was definitely noticeable.
Let's dive into the productivity tests...
See How We Test Laptops
As you can see from the performance charts, the Core i5-8250U is a popular choice among budget laptops.
As the lowest-cost model in the group and relying on a spacious but slow 1TB hard drive (as opposed to a speedier SSD), I figured the VivoBook F510UA would be a step or two behind its competitors.
Not so.
On PCMark 8, its score of 3,126 fell within the range of the others.
Anything above 3,000 on this proprietary benchmark signals very good performance when it comes to everyday tasks like watching videos, browsing the web, and editing spreadsheets.
Similar groupings can be seen on our Handbrake and Photoshop tests, and the VivoBook F510UA took top honors on Cinebench with a score of 703.
The graphics tests, on the other hand, were what you would expect from a current-generation laptop based on Intel integrated graphics...
All but the Acer Aspire E 15 rely on such integrated solutions and fail to produce any noteworthy results on our 3D graphics and gaming tests.
You'll need to limit your gaming to casual, browser-based games with the VivoBook F510UA.
Where the VivoBook F510UA tripped up was on our battery-drain test.
It lasted only 6 hours and 48 minutes, while the others run for hours and hours longer on a single charge.
Buy the VivoBook F510UA only if you plan to keep it tethered to a wall outlet most of the time, which is something you might plan to do with a large laptop using a 15-6-inch panel, anyway.
Best as a Desktop-Replacement
If you can live with its short battery life, the Asus VivoBook F510UA provides a great deal of bang for your budget buck.
It supplies a roomy display and comfortable keyboard in a stylish, sleek package.
Inside, it boasts a Core i5 processor from Intel's latest family of chips, along with ample RAM and storage space.
Really, it came a few hours from snatching the Editors' Choice award from the Acer Aspire E 15, which lasted an impressive 14 hours in our battery rundown testing.
That aside, the VivoBook F510UA is a well-rounded, good-looking budget laptop.
Pros
Low price.
Sleek design.
Large FHD display.
Both types of USB ports.
Competitive performance.
View More
Cons
Short battery life.
No SSD in test model.
Lacks touch support.
Keyboard not backlit.
View More
The Bottom Line
The 15.6-inch Asus VivoBook F510UA is an affordable, capable desktop replacement, but its short battery life makes it less compelling as an oversized thin-and-light portable.
The cheap 15-inch laptop is a rare breed.
Most budget models place screen real estate on the sacrificial altar—offering 11- or 12-inch displays—in their effort to hit a low price point.
And granted, the 15.6-inch Asus VivoBook F510UA ($599.99) doesn't technically meet our definition of a budget laptop—it's above our $500 limit—but it comes too close to call it anything else.
The VivoBook F510UA dazzles with a stylish design and eighth-generation Intel Core i5 performance.
We just wish its battery life were better.
Honest, Objective Reviews
Daxdi.com is a leading authority on technology, delivering Labs-based, independent reviews of the latest products and services.
Our expert industry analysis and practical solutions help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.
Low Price, High Design
Big, budget-minded laptops such as the Editors' Choice Acer Aspire E 15 and the Dell Latitude 3490 will not turn heads with their stodgy, clunky designs.
The VivoBook F510UA ( at Amazon) , in contrast, boasts a sleek, modern look that belies its budget status.
Its gunmetal blue color is unique and attractive.
You won't get an aluminum chassis at this price point, but the VivoBook F510UA's plastic enclosure is thin and fairly rigid.
The textured lid feels like a lenticular lens—you know, the corrugated surfaces upon which an image changes depending on the angle you view it.
The VivoBook F510UA measures 0.8 by 14.2 by 9.6 inches (HWD), which places it between the Acer Aspire E 15 ($699.00 at Amazon) (1.2 by 15.0 by 10.2 inches) and the Dell Latitude 3490 ($449.00 at Dell Technologies) (0.8 by 13.3 by 9.2 inches) in terms of trimness.
At 3.57 pounds, it is the lightest of the three; the Latitude 3490 weighs 3.79 pounds, and the Aspire E 15 tips the scales at 5.27 pounds.
The inclusion of an optical drive is a large part of the Aspire E 15's added heft; like most modern laptops, the VivoBook F510UA lacks the ability to read or write to a CD or DVD without external help.
The roomy keyboard is comfortable and allows you to type in near silence.
A cheap, clacky keyboard it is not.
The keys provide narrow travel but a firm feel and offer a muffled click.
The plastic keyboard deck flexes a bit underneath your fingertips when typing, but only near the middle.
The keyboard lacks backlighting, a feature often left off of budget models.
The touchpad feels responsive but looks a tad undersized at 4.1 inches wide by 2.9 inches deep on the expansive palm rest.
Like the keys, the touchpad offers a soft click when pressed.
A fingerprint reader sits in the top-left corner of the touchpad.
Many budget laptops feature thick screen bezels that make the display appear smaller than it is and give a general outdated feel to the whole design.
That is not the case with the VivoBook F510UA.
The bezels here are narrow and create an elegant frame for the 15.6-inch display.
No Touch, But Two Types of USB
The 15.6-inch full HD (1,920-by-1,080) LED-backlit display produces a bright, crisp image.
It lacks touch support, but because of this omission, Asus was able to forego the glossy screen coating that accompanies touch screens in favor of a matte finish that keeps glares and reflections at bay.
The display's viewing angle is not very wide, however, so this is a large-screen laptop best used solo and not sharing the screen where you and your friend will be looking at it from an angle that's not straight on.
The VivoBook F510UA produces passable audio.
The sound is predictably lacking in the bass department, but the audio output has enough oomph to fill a small room and more than suffices for YouTube videos and video conferencing.
The laptop features both USB Type-A and USB Type-C ports, which means all of your USB devices can connect without needing to locate a dongle first.
On the left edge, you'll find two USB Type-A 3.0 ports and an SD card slot.
On the right edge is a USB Type-A 3.0 port and a USB Type-C port, along with an HDMI port, a combo headphone/mic job, and the power connector.
But That Battery Life...
Packed inside of the Asus VivoBook F510UA are an eighth-generation Intel Core i5-8250U CPU, 8GB of RAM, the integrated Intel UHD Graphics 620 of the Core i5 chip, and a 1TB hard drive.
The Core i5-8250U has four processing cores, eight processing threads and operates between a base frequency of 1.6GHz and a turbo frequency of 3.4GHz.
(At the time of this writing, our model was selling for $509 on Amazon, but you could snag an upgraded model with an additional 128GB SSD for about $100 more.)
The system felt snappy during the usual Windows tasks, including multitasking with multiple apps and browser tabs running.
The system's cooling fan kicked on when the multitasking load increased, and especially when streaming videos.
It was not overly loud and obnoxious, but it was definitely noticeable.
Let's dive into the productivity tests...
See How We Test Laptops
As you can see from the performance charts, the Core i5-8250U is a popular choice among budget laptops.
As the lowest-cost model in the group and relying on a spacious but slow 1TB hard drive (as opposed to a speedier SSD), I figured the VivoBook F510UA would be a step or two behind its competitors.
Not so.
On PCMark 8, its score of 3,126 fell within the range of the others.
Anything above 3,000 on this proprietary benchmark signals very good performance when it comes to everyday tasks like watching videos, browsing the web, and editing spreadsheets.
Similar groupings can be seen on our Handbrake and Photoshop tests, and the VivoBook F510UA took top honors on Cinebench with a score of 703.
The graphics tests, on the other hand, were what you would expect from a current-generation laptop based on Intel integrated graphics...
All but the Acer Aspire E 15 rely on such integrated solutions and fail to produce any noteworthy results on our 3D graphics and gaming tests.
You'll need to limit your gaming to casual, browser-based games with the VivoBook F510UA.
Where the VivoBook F510UA tripped up was on our battery-drain test.
It lasted only 6 hours and 48 minutes, while the others run for hours and hours longer on a single charge.
Buy the VivoBook F510UA only if you plan to keep it tethered to a wall outlet most of the time, which is something you might plan to do with a large laptop using a 15-6-inch panel, anyway.
Best as a Desktop-Replacement
If you can live with its short battery life, the Asus VivoBook F510UA provides a great deal of bang for your budget buck.
It supplies a roomy display and comfortable keyboard in a stylish, sleek package.
Inside, it boasts a Core i5 processor from Intel's latest family of chips, along with ample RAM and storage space.
Really, it came a few hours from snatching the Editors' Choice award from the Acer Aspire E 15, which lasted an impressive 14 hours in our battery rundown testing.
That aside, the VivoBook F510UA is a well-rounded, good-looking budget laptop.
Pros
Low price.
Sleek design.
Large FHD display.
Both types of USB ports.
Competitive performance.
View More
Cons
Short battery life.
No SSD in test model.
Lacks touch support.
Keyboard not backlit.
View More
The Bottom Line
The 15.6-inch Asus VivoBook F510UA is an affordable, capable desktop replacement, but its short battery life makes it less compelling as an oversized thin-and-light portable.
