Asus VivoBook Max X541SA-PD0703X Budget 15.6″ Laptop (Intel Pentium, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD)

The Asus VivoBook Max X541SA-PD0703X is a very affordable standard-size notebook PC. It’s regularly priced at $250 and offers a 15.6-inch display, Intel Pentium processor (CPU), 4GB of system memory (RAM), and a 500GB hard drive (HDD). They are packed in an elegant-looking silver plastic chassis with a metal-like finish.

Performance is one of the main concerns when buying cheap laptops. Luckily, the X541SA-PD0703X isn’t overly slow. The included Intel Pentium N3710 is an entry-level chip, but it’s still better than Intel Celeron parts used in similarly priced notebooks. The Pentium N37xx series can handle very well the basic computing chores of the average home and office PC users. Namely, web browsing, work in MS Office and other productivity applications, and video and audio playbacks. It however lacks speed of the main Intel Core i3/i5/i7 CPU series, which can be noticeable in processor-intensive tasks. Also, 4GB of RAM isn’t capacious by today’s PC standards. But, it’s big enough for normal multi-tasking with a couple of programs and web browser tabs running simultaneously. Asus has included a 500GB hard disk in the VivoBook Max X541SA-PD0703X. This is a very basic storage device. It’s not as capacious as the mainstream 1-Terabyte HDDs and not as fast as more modern solid state drives. But again, it enables normal functioning of Windows operating system and software. It provides a decent amount of space for storing your files if you don’t regularly download and collect high-def videos and other large files to your disk. This model has a built-in DVD reader / writer drive.

A common trade off for a low price of a new laptop is picture quality. The display on the X541SA-PD0703X isn’t an exception. It features the low-end but serviceable 1366-by-768-pixel resolution and TN panel technology. For comparison, more expensive laptops have sharper displays with 1920×1080 or higher pixel count and IPS technology for wider viewing angles than with TN.

Touchscreen functionality is missing. For interaction with software, Asus has provided a full-size non-backlit keyboard with numeric pad and a roomy touchpad with built-in buttons for left and right “mouse” click actions.

The rest of the specs sheet doesn’t bring any positive nor negative surprises. As usual, the laptop features stereo speakers and a web camera with rather low VGA quality. Furthermore, there are 802.11AC Wi-Fi wireless, HDMI and VGA connectors for hooking-up external displays, two full-size USB ports and a smaller USB-C port, a 2-in-1 microphone / headphones jack, and an SD memory card reader.

Official battery life estimation for the X541SA-PD0703X is four hours.

The machine weighs in at 4.4 pounds which is a fairly light weight for a 15.6″ laptop.