ASUS VivoBook 14 X415 review – it is affordable but is it worth it?

Today we have a laptop that may be found by different names. In some places, it is called the VivoBook 14 X415, while elsewhere it can be found as ASUS X415. Regardless of what you call it, though, it’s made for one purpose – to satisfy your mobile computing needs. Well, this is where we open huge parenthesis because computing needs is a very broad statement. Some people need a laptop for gaming, others for processing large 3D objects… No, the X415 is definitely not meant to do that.

Instead, you get a relatively low-budget solution, which can be paired with up to the Core i7-1165G7, and a GeForce MX330 dedicated GPU. And while we doubt that this machine is going to be a performance king, what we are most excited about is the upgradability. According to ASUS, this is one of the few 14-inchers on the market, that employ a 2.5-inch SATA drive bay.

Surely, we are going to check that in the following lines. By the way, when we look at the specs sheet, we see three display options – two TN panels – one 768p and one 1080p, and a 1080p IPS screen. Needless to say, we advise you to stay away from the TN panels, and we are going to further check the qualities of this notebook’s IPS option.

You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/asus-vivobook-14-f415-x415/

Contents


Specs Sheet

ASUS VivoBook 14 F415 (X415 / S415 / M415) - Specs

  • Innolux N140HCA-EAC
  • Color accuracy  5.8  3.5
  • HDD/SSD
  • up to 4000GB SSD
  • RAM
  • up to 64GB
  • OS
  • Windows 10 Home, Windows 11 Pro, Windows 11 Home, No OS, Windows 10 Pro
  • Battery
  • 37Wh, 2-cell, 41Wh, 3-cell
  • Body material
  • Plastic / Polycarbonate
  • Dimensions
  • 325.4 x 216 x 19.9 mm (12.81" x 8.50" x 0.78")
  • Weight
  • 1.55 kg (3.4 lbs)
  • Ports and connectivity
  • 1x USB Type-A
  • 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps)
  • 1x USB Type-C
  • 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps)
  • HDMI
  • 1.4
  • Card reader
  • MicroSD
  • Wi-Fi
  • 802.11ac
  • Bluetooth
  • 4.1
  • Audio jack
  • 3.5mm Combo Jack
  • Features
  • Fingerprint reader
  • optional
  • Web camera
  • VGA
  • Backlit keyboard
  • optional
  • Microphone
  • Speakers
  • Optical drive
  • Security Lock slot

What’s in the box?

Inside the package, there is a 45W power adapter and some paper manuals.


Design and construction

So, this laptop is made entirely out of plastic. However, ASUS states that it has reinforced the chassis and the two bezels surrounding the screen with metal for better impact resistance. As far as the measurements go, it weighs 1.55 kg for the version without a dedicated GPU, and 1.60 kg for the one that has. Additionally, it has a profile of 19.9mm, which puts it somewhere in the middle of the “thinness” factor. Its structural integrity seems okay, as there are some flexes when the chassis is twisted, but it’s nothing concerning.

Unsurprisingly, the lid can’t be opened with a single hand. Looking at the matte display, we see thin side bezels and quite sizable top and bottom ones. Unfortunately, the Web camera placed above the display is only of a VGA resolution, which results in a potato-like quality.

In search of consolation, we move to the base, where we find the keyboard. It has rather small keycaps, which is a bummer, but the key travel seems okay, and the feedback – clicky, although inconsistent. Expectedly, there is some keyboard deck flex. Further down below, you have the touchpad. Indeed, it could have been both bigger, and more responsive, but to be honest, it’s not that bad.

Next, there is the bottom panel. There, you will find the speaker cutouts, the ventilation grill, and part of the exhaust slot. The rest of the exhaust slot continues to the side of the device.

Ports

On the left side, there is the charging plug, a USB Type-C 3.2 (Gen. 1) port, an HDMI connector, and a USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 1) port. The rest of the I/O is a bit disappointing. It consists of two USB Type-A 2.0 ports, and an audio jack, and it is located on the right.


Disassembly, upgrade options and maintenance

There are 10 Phillips-head screws that hold this notebook’s bottom panel in place. After you undo them, pry the panel with a plastic tool and remove it from the chassis.

Here, we see a rather small 37Wh battery pack.

When it comes to memory, this notebook comes with either 4 or 8GB of RAM soldered to the motherboard. Additionally, there is one SODIMM slot that supports up to 32GB of DDR4 memory. Storage-wise, there is a 2.5-inch SATA drive bay, as well as an M.2 PCIe x4 slot. Unfortunately, our unit did not have the accessories needed to connect a 2.5-inch device, so you would have to buy them separately.

Lastly, there is the cooling solution. Interestingly, the fan is placed on one side of the device, while the heat sink is located on the other. Respectively, the air is channeled via the boards on the bottom panel we showed you earlier.


Display quality

ASUS VivoBook 14 X415 has a touchscreen Full HD IPS display, model number Chi Mei N140HCA-EAC (CNM14D4). Its diagonal is 14″ (35.56 cm), and the resolution – 1920 х 1080. Additionally, the screen ratio is 16:9, the pixel density – 157 ppi, their pitch – 0.161 x 0.161 mm. The screen can be considered Retina when viewed from at least 56 cm (from this distance, the average human eye can’t see the individual pixels).

Its viewing angles are excellent. We have provided images at 45 degrees to evaluate quality.

Also, a video with locked focus and exposure.

The maximum measured brightness is 234 nits (cd/m2) in the middle of the screen and 221 nits (cd/m2) average across the surface with a maximum deviation of 12%. The Correlated Color Temperature on a white screen and at maximum brightness is 6130K (average) – slightly warmer than the 6500K optimum for sRGB.
In the illustration below you can see how the display performs from a uniformity perspective. The illustration below shows how matters are for operational brightness levels (approximately 140 nits) – in this particular case at 78% Brightness (White level = 139 cd/m2, Black level = 0.146 cd/m2).
Values of dE2000 over 4.0 should not occur, and this parameter is one of the first you should check if you intend to use the laptop for color-sensitive work (a maximum tolerance of 2.0 ). The contrast ratio is decent – 950:1.

To make sure we are on the same page, we would like to give you a little introduction to the sRGB color gamut and the Adobe RGB. To start, there’s the CIE 1976 Uniform Chromaticity Diagram that represents the visible specter of colors by the human eye, giving you a better perception of the color gamut coverage and the color accuracy.

Inside the black triangle, you will see the standard color gamut (sRGB) that is being used by millions of people on HDTV and on the web. As for the Adobe RGB, this is used in professional cameras, monitors, etc for printing. Colors inside the black triangle are used by everyone and this is an essential part of the color quality and color accuracy of a mainstream notebook.

Still, we’ve included other color spaces like the famous DCI-P3 standard used by movie studios, as well as the digital UHD Rec.2020 standard. Rec.2020, however, is still a thing of the future and it’s difficult for today’s displays to cover that well. We’ve also included the so-called Michael Pointer gamut, or Pointer’s gamut, which represents the colors that naturally occur around us every day.

The yellow dotted line shows ASUS VivoBook 14 X415’s color gamut coverage.

Its display covers just 52% of the sRGB/ITU-R BT.709 (web/HDTV standard) in CIE1976.

Our “Design and Gaming” profile delivers optimal color temperature (6500K) at 140 cd/m2 luminance and sRGB gamma mode.

We tested the accuracy of the display with 24 commonly used colors like light and dark human skin, blue sky, green grass, orange, etc. You can check out the results at factory condition and also, with the “Design and Gaming” profile.

Below you can compare the scores of ASUS VivoBook 14 X415 with the default settings (left), and with the “Gaming and Web design” profile (right).

The next figure shows how well the display can reproduce dark parts of an image, which is essential when watching movies or playing games in low ambient light.

The left side of the image represents the display with stock settings, while the right one is with the “Gaming and Web Design” profile activated. On the horizontal axis, you will find the grayscale, and on the vertical axis – the luminance of the display. On the two graphs below you can easily check for yourself how your display handles the darkest nuances but keep in mind that this also depends on the settings of your current display, the calibration, the viewing angle, and the surrounding light conditions.

Response time (Gaming capabilities)

We test the reaction time of the pixels with the usual “black-to-white” and “white-to-black” method from 10% to 90% and vice versa.

We recorded Fall Time + Rise Time = 22 ms

After that, we test the reaction time of the pixels with the usual “Gray-to-Gray” method from 50% White to 80% White and vice versa between 10% and 90% of the amplitude.


Health impact – PWM / Blue Light

PWM (Screen flickering)

Pulse-width modulation (PWM) is an easy way to control monitor brightness. When you lower the brightness, the light intensity of the backlight is not lowered, but instead turned off and on by the electronics with a frequency indistinguishable to the human eye. In these light impulses, the light/no-light time ratio varies, while brightness remains unchanged, which is harmful to your eyes. You can read more about that in our dedicated article on PWM.

ASUS VivoBook 14 X415’s display is using PWM to adjust the brightness up to 60 nits. After that it’s flicker-free. Moreover, the PWM it uses has a very high frequency, making the display comfortable for long hours of work and safe for your eyes in this aspect.

Blue light emissions

Installing our Health-Guard profile not only eliminates PWM but also reduces the harmful Blue Light emissions while keeping the colors of the screen perceptually accurate. If you’re not familiar with the Blue light, the TL;DR version is – emissions that negatively affect your eyes, skin, and your whole body. You can find more information about that in our dedicated article on Blue Light.

Buy our profiles

Since our profiles are tailored for each display model, this article and its respective profile package are meant for ASUS VivoBook 14 X415 configurations with 14.0″ Chi Mei N140HCA-EAC (CMN14D4) (FHD, 1920 × 1080) IPS panel.

*Should you have problems with downloading the purchased file, try using a different browser to open the link you’ll receive via e-mail. If the download target is a .php file instead of an archive, change the file extension to .zip or contact us at [email protected].

Read more about the profiles HERE.

In addition to receiving efficient and health-friendly profiles, by buying LaptopMedia's products you also support the development of our labs, where we test devices in order to produce the most objective reviews possible.

Office Work

Office Work should be used mostly by users who spend most of the time looking at pieces of text, tables or just surfing. This profile aims to deliver better distinctness and clarity by keeping a flat gamma curve (2.20), native color temperature and perceptually accurate colors.

Design and Gaming

This profile is aimed at designers who work with colors professionally, and for games and movies as well. Design and Gaming takes display panels to their limits, making them as accurate as possible in the sRGB IEC61966-2-1 standard for Web and HDTV, at white point D65.

Health-Guard

Health-Guard eliminates the harmful Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM) and reduces the negative Blue Light which affects our eyes and body. Since it’s custom tailored for every panel, it manages to keep the colors perceptually accurate. Health-Guard simulates paper so the pressure on the eyes is greatly reduced.

Get all 3 profiles with 33% discount


Sound

ASUS VivoBook 14 X415’s speakers produce a sound of decent quality. Its low, mid, and high tones are clear of deviations, however, the maximum volume seems to be a bit low.


Drivers

All of the drivers and utilities for this notebook can be found here: https://www.asus.com/Laptops/For-Home/Everyday-use/ASUS-X415-11th-Gen-Intel/HelpDesk_knowledge/?model2Name=ASUS-Laptop-14-X415EA

Battery

Now, we conduct the battery tests with Windows Better performance setting turned on, screen brightness adjusted to 120 nits and all other programs turned off except for the one we are testing the notebook with. This device’s 37Wh battery delivers 9 hours and 7 minutes of Web browsing, and 5 hours and 42 minutes of video playback.


CPU options

This device comes with a tone of different configurations. However, our unit is equipped with the latest Tiger Lake processors from Intel. This features the Core i3-1115G4, Core i5-1135G7, and Core i7-1165G7. Furthermore, you can pair it with the more energy-efficient Pentium Gold 7505.

ASUS VivoBook 14 F415 (X415 / S415 / M415) CPU variants

Here you can see an approximate comparison between the CPUs that can be found in the ASUS VivoBook 14 F415 (X415 / S415 / M415) models on the market. This way you can decide for yourself which ASUS VivoBook 14 F415 (X415 / S415 / M415) model is the best bang for your buck.

Note: The chart shows the cheapest different CPU configurations so you should check what the other specifications of these laptops are by clicking on the laptop’s name / CPU.


GPU options

In addition to the integrated graphics, you can pick the laptop with an NVIDIA GeForce MX330 with 2GB of GDDR5 memory.

ASUS VivoBook 14 F415 (X415 / S415 / M415) GPU variants

Here you can see an approximate comparison between the GPUs that can be found in the ASUS VivoBook 14 F415 (X415 / S415 / M415) models on the market. This way you can decide for yourself which ASUS VivoBook 14 F415 (X415 / S415 / M415) model is the best bang for your buck.

Note: The chart shows the cheapest different GPU configurations so you should check what the other specifications of these laptops are by clicking on the laptop’s name / GPU.

Results are from the 3DMark: Time Spy (Graphics) benchmark (higher the score, the better)

Results are from the 3DMark: Fire Strike (Graphics) benchmark (higher the score, the better)

Results are from the Unigine Superposition benchmark (higher the score, the better)


Gaming tests

cs-go-benchmarks

CS:GOHD 1080p, Low (Check settings)HD 1080p, Medium (Check settings)HD 1080p, MAX (Check settings)
Average FPS50 fps39 fps16 fps

DOTA 2HD 1080p, Low (Check settings)HD 1080p, Normal (Check settings)HD 1080p, High (Check settings)
Average FPS63 fps35 fps22 fps

Temperatures and comfort

Max CPU load

In this test we use 100% on the CPU cores, monitoring their frequencies and chip temperature. The first column shows a computer’s reaction to a short load (2-10 seconds), the second column simulates a serious task (between 15 and 30 seconds), and the third column is a good indicator of how good the laptop is for long loads such as video rendering.

Average core frequency (base frequency + X); CPU temp.

Intel Core i5-1135G7 (15W TDP)0:02 – 0:10 sec0:15 – 0:30 sec10:00 – 15:00 min
ASUS VivoBook 14 X4153.31 GHz (B+38%) @ 91°C @ 37W2.71 GHz (B+13%) @ 91°C @ 25W2.40 GHz (B+0%) @ 76°C @ 20W
MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo3.65 GHz (B+52%) @ 96°C @ 45W3.31 GHz (B+38%) @ 96°C @ 47W3.03 GHz (B+25%) @ 96°C @ 29W
Dell XPS 13 9310 (2-in-1)3.36 GHz (B+40%) @ 99°C @ 41W3.16 GHz (B+32%) @ 99°C @ 37W1.92 GHz @ 72°C @ 16W
Dell XPS 13 93103.15 GHz (B+31%) @ 100°C @ 40W2.73 GHz (B+14%) @ 100°C @ 30W1.65 GHz @ 73°C @ 15W
Dell Vostro 15 55023.33 GHz (B+39%) @ 100°C @ 38W1.96 GHz @ 72°C @ 14W2.02 GHz @ 74°C @ 15W
Dell Vostro 14 54023.02 GHz (B+26%) @ 99°C @ 29W2.61 GHz (B+9%) @ 99°C @ 25W2.00 GHz @ 76°C @ 15W
MSI Modern 15 (A11X)3.59 GHz (B+50%) @ 94°C @ 44W3.45 GHz (B+44%) @ 95°C @ 40W3.18 GHz (B+33%) @ 91°C @ 34W
Lenovo ThinkBook 14s Yoga3.52 GHz (B+47%) @ 94°C3.24 GHz (B+35%) @ 94°C2.63 GHz (B+10%) @ 75°C
Lenovo Yoga 7 (14)3.34 GHz (B+39%) @ 94°C2.97 GHz (B+24%) @ 94°C2.39 GHz @ 75°C
Acer Aspire 5 (A514-54)3.54 GHz (B+48%) @ 87°C2.01 GHz @ 66°C2.03 GHz @ 67°C

Interestingly, the VivoBook 14 X415 performs decently under load. Apparently, the unorthodox cooling solution works.

Comfort during full load

When not in Performance mode, the laptop runs pretty quietly, even under a heavy workload.


Verdict

Although we don’t have to be too harsh on a laptop from this price range, we can’t help but be disappointed by some decisions made by ASUS. First, the upgradability seems okay, and even though the laptop supports 2.5-inch SATA drives, you would need to buy the accessories, needed to connect such devices separately.

Then, there is the I/O. Not only there is no sign of an SD card reader, but two of the three USB Type-A ports only run at 2.0 speeds. And for the battery… Well, we were actually a bit surprised here. This unit packs a tiny 37Wh unit, and in our tests, we got 9 hours and 7 minutes of Web browsing, and 5 hours and 42 minutes of video playback. Indeed, the latter doesn’t sound impressive at all, but given the small battery size – the result is not bad.

ASUS VivoBook 14 X415’s IPS panel (N140HCA-EAC) has a Full HD resolution, comfortable viewing angles, and a decent contrast ratio. Furthermore, its backlight is safe when it comes to PWM usage. However, this display can only reproduce 52% of the sRGB colors, which is a disadvantage.

When it comes to the performance, we have to mention that our device came with 8GB of soldered memory. This means it ran at a single channel, which hindered the iGPU performance by quite a bit. However, it seems like the weird-looking cooling solution does a decent job in cooling this laptop’s processor. Although it doesn’t match more premium laptops, it manages to keep the frequency at or above the base clock speed, even under heavy workloads.

So, if you are willing to give up the stuff we mentioned above, and don’t have huge expectations for your device, the VivoBook 14 X415 might be a feasible offer. However, keep in mind that devices like the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 (14″) come at a similar price, and offer more in some aspects.

You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/asus-vivobook-14-f415-x415/

Pros

  • Fine upgradeability
  • Decent cooling solution
  • Appetizing price tag
  • Can be configured wit capable hardware
  • No PWM (N140HCA-EAC)


Cons

  • Two of the USB ports work at only 2.0 speeds
  • No SD card reader
  • Covers only 52% of sRGB (N140HCA-EAC)
  • No 2.5-inch SATA device connecting hardwear in the box

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andi widi
andi widi
2 years ago

where can i buy 2.5-inch SATA HDD device connector, i have connector SATA from Acer Aspire… is it same?
sorry with my english…

Willmiar Furgesin
Willmiar Furgesin
9 months ago

I read this review of the ASUS VivoBook 14 X415 and I found it very informative and helpful. However, I have a question. How is the battery life of this laptop? I need a laptop that can last for at least 6 hours of moderate use without plugging in. Does anyone have any experience with this model? 

Pieterpauwel Beelaerts
Pieterpauwel Beelaerts
9 months ago

I don’t know how they did the tests, but battery life is disappointing while doing web browsing and occasionally watching video’s (youtube). 5 hours is more real then 9 hours: The battery is depleating rapidly. I even bought a powerstation just to have more power for this laptop…

Pieterpauwel Beelaerts
Pieterpauwel Beelaerts
9 months ago

Does anyone know how much power it actually draws when in use (so not when it charges?) The power brick is rated at 45W so that is the maximum amount this laptop will draw, but in normal conditions (watching series or browsing etc and with a full battery) how much power will it draw?

Bruce Middleton
Bruce Middleton
6 months ago

The easiest way to infer power consumption from facts you’ll find online is to divide battery capacity (37 Wh in this case) by rundown time (9 hours browsing, 5 hours video playback). Answers are about 4 watts and about 7 watts.