Finding mid-range laptops that are affordable and reliable at the same time it’s becoming more challenging over time. In this ASUS F505ZA-DH51 review, we take a look at this laptop from the house of Asus and see how it fits into this equation. This laptop is made for those who need a decent level of power at a budget price.
The laptop is affordable mainly because of its choice of processor. Asus has gone with an AMD processor instead of an internal one, reducing the price. Does this mean the laptop’s performance will take a backseat? Is this laptop worth my hard-earned money? Let’s find the answers to these questions and more in the full review below.
ASUS Vivobook F505ZA-DH51
Specifications:
- 15″ FHD
- AMD Ryzen 5
- 8GB RAM
- 256 GB SSD
The ASUS F505ZA-DH51 laptop is a perfect choice for those who need an affordable laptop that is reliable and doesn’t compromise on power.
ASUS F505ZA-DH51 Review
Design
The design of this laptop is not that extravagant by any means. We have a nice golden finish that has a beautiful shine to it. At first impression, this may not look like an affordable laptop. But once you lift it, you know this is not a premium device, thanks to the materials used.
Plastic is the primary material used on this laptop, but it is not that weak. The laptop’s durability is decent and should last a long time. There is a bit of flexing when you force the display too much, and you hear some creaking sound here and there, which is unavoidable at this price point.
With the dimensions of 14.2 × 9.6 × 0.7 inches, the laptop weighs around 3.5lbs. This is one of the most portable 15.6″ laptops out there, and you win easily carry it around without feeling anything extra. Regarding portability, this laptop is suitable even for students and people traveling.
The keyboard on this laptop is a good one. We do not have a numeric pad which will undoubtedly disappoint some. The keyboard’s layout is quite spacious, and the keys come with decent travel giving you a smooth typing experience.
One of the things we liked about this keyboard is the presence of full-sized arrow keys. Most laptops will reduce the size of the arrow keys to fit into the keyboard, but here they have not gone that way. The touchpad on the laptop is also pretty neat, giving you a nice surface to make your gestures.
Display
The display on the ASUS F505ZA-DH51 laptop is a 15.6 “LED-backlit display. This LED-backlit display comes with a 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution, i.e., full HD. The display is a widescreen display which means you can stack up windows side-by-side and carry on with your work without losing any productivity.
The color accuracy of the display is decent. You can get a vibrant image on the screen, which is perfect for media consumption and other visually specific activities. One of the best things about this display is the slim bezels on its sides. This makes for a much better viewing experience.
The display is perfect for streaming your favorite online content on platforms like Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, and other phones. Thanks to this widescreen display, you can also work on your office documents and browse the web freely.
The sound quality of this laptop is above average. You get decent sound at low volumes, and a bit of distortion is added to the mix when you raise the volume higher. If you are not super serious about sound quality, you will be fine with the speakers inside this laptop.
Performance
The AMD Ryzen R5 2500U Processor powers this ASUS F505ZA-DH51 laptop. This mid-range chip from AMD comes with 4 physical cores and 8 threads. The processor clocks at a base clock speed of 2.0 GHz and can clock up to a maximum of 3.6 GHz, which is a lot of power for a laptop in this price range.
The processor does a decent job on benchmark scores and gets a CPU mark score of 6618. This is a decent score and puts the processor in the mid-range category. With this processor in charge, the laptop can handle your everyday needs without any issues. You can browse the web, stream videos, work on your social media platforms, and do much more with this laptop without any hiccups.
The memory department on this laptop comes with 8 GB of RAM. This RAM is of DDR4 type and comes with decent clock speed. With this memory, you can perform multitasking without any shortcomings. You can run several apps side-by-side and even open more than a few tabs on your favorite browser without facing any lag.
Graphics And Storage
The ASUS F505ZA-DH51 laptop does not come with a dedicated graphics card. We only have the integrated AMD Radeon graphics card on this laptop, and it does a pretty neat job when it comes to handling your everyday graphics requirements. This is not a gaming laptop, so you cannot play all the latest and the most incredible games. But if you must, you can play some light games and even some mid-range titles without any issues.
For storage, we have a 256 GB solid-state drive. This solid-state drive gives you a decent amount of space and also provides you with a lot of improvements when it comes to performance. The SSD launches the operating system super fast and does the same in your everyday applications. If you come from a mechanical hard drive, the speed improvements will be life-changing, and you will never return to a mechanical hard drive.
Battery Life And Connectivity
The battery life of the laptop is just about average. With light use, you should be able to squeeze 5 to 6 hours of battery life out of this laptop. This could be better, as we have seen laptops with better battery life in this price range. With heavy use, this battery life will only go down, leading to a not-so-good user experience.
The laptop comes with a decent amount of connectivity options. We like the fact that is USB type C port is included. With this sport, you can transfer data at lightning speed. The port also comes in handy if you have to connect your laptop to a high-end external display.
In addition to the USB type C port, you also have a USB 3.0 port, a USB2.0 port, an HDMI port, an SD card slot, and also an audio jack. Sports are essential when it comes to handling data transfer and connectivity issues. Laptop also comes with Bluetooth 4.2 and Wi-Fi 5 built-in. These wireless connectivity standards help reduce clutter and give you the best experience.
ASUS F505ZA-DH51 Review – Wrap Up
Overall, the ASUS F505ZA-DH51 laptop is a perfect choice for those who need an affordable laptop that is reliable and doesn’t compromise on power. The display on this laptop is ideal for everyday use, while the processor and memory together manage to present a solid user experience. The laptop’s battery life may not be that impressive, but including a solid-state drive definitely changes the way you use this laptop. If you are on a budget, this laptop is a good decision.