Asus Vivobook S301 / Q301 review – fast and affordable 13 inch ultrabook

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Specs Sheet
Design and exterior
Keyboard and trackpad
Screen
Hardware and performance
Noise, heat and speakers
Battery life
Price and availability
Final thoughts
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By Andrei GirbeaAsus Vivobook S301, last updated on February 9, 2023

Asus Vivobook S301

Summary: The Asus Vivobook S301LP offers plenty for the buck. It's one of the few 13 inch ultrabooks that offer a Haswell platform and dedicated graphics these days, but in order to keep the price down, Asus had to leave out some features and cut off some less-important corners.

Our score: 3.5 / 5
Price when reviewed: $699 - $999

THE GOOD

solid built and good looking, packs fast hardware and dedicated graphics, can be further upgraded easily, runs mostly cool and quiet, decent keyboard and trackpad

THE BAD

small battery, rather poor screen, heavy for this class, some wireless issues

Table of Contents

Asus Vivobook S301 / Q301 video review
The specs sheet for the Asus Vivobook S301 / Q301
Design and exterior
Keyboard and trackpad
Screen
Hardware and performances
Noise, Heat, Connectivity and others
Battery life
Prices and availability
Wrap-up

Hey everyone, Mike here and this is the Asus Vivobook S301, a 13 inch portable laptop with a touchscreen, Intel Haswell hardware and optional dedicated graphics, that starts at around 700 dollars in the US and about 700 euros over here in Europe.

But is it something worth looking at and eventually buying? Well, that you’ll find out from this article.

Before we start, it’s important to understand exactly what we’re looking at here. The S301 is not one of the sleekest or lightest 13 inchers and it lacks fancy features, like a backlit keyboard, SSD storage or a high resolution panel. It’s designed to offer an excellent bang for the buck and that’s why it is one of the few Haswell 13 inchers to bundle dedicated graphics.

We have the Vivobook S301LP version here, with an AMD Radeon graphics chip. Asus sells the S301LA version as well, which ditches the dedicated graphics, but is more affordable and lasts longer on a charge. The S301 line is sold as the Q301 in some regions, including the US, and that means that over there you’re going to find the Vivobook Q301LA, the cheaper versions without dedicated graphics, or the Vivobook Q301LP, the one with the AMD graphics, identical to our test unit.

And one more thing: out test unit is a pre-production PR sample, that’s why I did encounter some issues with the existing drivers. So take all the numbers and results in regards to performances with a grain of salt and expect the final product to perform somewhat better.

Asus Vivobook S301 / Q301 video review

The specs sheet for the Asus Vivobook S301 / Q301

	Asus Vivobook S301LP / Q301LP
Screen	13.3 inch, 1366 x 768 px resolution, TFT, touchscreen
Processor	Intel Haswell Core i7-4500U CPU
Chipset	Intel HM87
Video	integrated Intel 4400 HD + AMD Radeon Mobility 8530G
Memory	8 GB DDR3
Storage	750 GB 5400 rpm HDD
Connectivity	Wireless N, Gigabit Lan, Bluetooth
Ports	3xUSB, SD card reader, HDMI, LAN
Baterry	38 Wh
Operating system	Windows 8
Size	330 x 233 x 21 mm (12.9″ x 9.1″ x 0.8″)
Weight	about 1.75 kg (3.8 pounds)
Extras	–

Design and exterior

For starters, let me tell you that this is a fairly sleek and sturdy machine. It’s not really as thoroughly polished as some of the premium ultrabooks you can find these days in stores, but for the money, is definitely good enough.

Aluminum is used for the upper part, the sides and the laptop’s interior, while some rough plastic covers the underbelly. Which BTW can be removed without voiding warranty, by taking care of the 10 or so screws holding it in place, and that will allow you to access the internals, in case you want to upgrade stuff here. More about that in the Hardware and performances section.

A sleek machine – the Asus Vivobook S301

Anyway, I don’t really have much to complain about this laptop in terms of looks and build quality. Nor can I complain about the footprint or weight, although you will find thinner and lighter 13 inch notebooks on the market, especially if you are willing to spend more on them. At 3.8 pounds, the S301 is a bit on the heavy side for a 13 inch ultrabook, but given what it packs and the price, I can definitely live with that.

Opening the lid, you’ll notice the metal dressed interior, as I mentioned earlier, that creates a nice contrast with the keyboard. The palm-rest is spacious and that makes the S301 comfortable to use even for hours in a row, despite the fairly sharp edges. The Power button is placed in the Left-top corner, with some LEDs next to it, and you’ll find more status LEDs on the front edge, towards the right.

Metal is used for most of the case

Keyboard and trackpad

Anyway, let’s turn our attention on the keyboard.

The keys are large, properly spaced and stiff enough, so they will register commands even when pressed on the sides. At the same time, the rather shallow travel is something you will have to get used to and there’s no back-lighting system, if you care about that.

The layout is alright, with a few exceptions. For instance, there are no dedicated Home and End buttons, as you’ll have to press FN and the arrow keys for that. Which BTW, are tiny, and I did find that very annoying in games, where those keys are crucial.

The trackpad is smooth, properly sized and most of the time accurate, although I did find it somewhat over-sensible, but that can be to some extent tweaked from the software. It supports all kind of gestures, including those characteristic to Windows 8.

Screen

And then there’s the screen. If you’re used to a premium display and care a lot about viewing angles or a non-glare finishing, this is not going to be the one for your. For the average user though that only wants a decent screen and doesn’t have high expectations, this will do.

We have a 13.3 inch touchscreen on the S301, with 1366 x 766 px resolution and a TN panel, and that translates in a rather low pixel-density and not the best contrast or viewing angles.

Regardless, as long as you’ll keep this Vivobook mostly inside and on a desk, you’re going to be fine with it. Otherwise, you might get annoyed by the reflective glass covering the screen and the fact that you can’t completely lean back this display and adjust the vertical viewing position in more difficult conditions (on a plane or while lying on the couch).

Not really the best screen on this laptop

Hardware and performances

All these being said, the S301 is more or less similar to all the Vivobooks we’ve seen in the past (Check out my review for the S200, the S400 or the newer S551 with Haswell). And that’s because the major update lies inside, where the laptop bundles the latest Intel ULV hardware platform and something on top.

I have the most powerful configuration for this review, with an Intel Core i7-4500U processor, 8 GB of RAM, dedicated AMD Radeon graphics on top of that Intel HD 4400 chip embedded within the CPU and a 750GB hard-drive. But there will be plenty of options available in stores, with Core i3, i5 and i7 CPUs, various types of storage and with or without dedicated graphics, as you can see below, in the Prices section.

Overall, these make for a potent machine. The S301 can handle all sorts of tasks, from everyday activities like browsing or editing documents, to playing movies and games. There is one thing however dragging down the overall speed of this notebook: the 5400 rpm hard-drive without any SSD caching is a major bottleneck, so you should definitely upgrade it.

Speaking of upgrades, you can fairly easily access the internals on this laptop, but you’ll find out that you can only swap the HDD for something else there is no mSATA spare slot available for an extra compact SSD (the one available is occupied by the wireless chip). However, you can upgrade the memory. This laptop comes with 4 GB already soldered on the motherboard and a an extra DIMM hidden behind the aluminum cover next to the CPU, that can take another up-to 4 GB of RAM, for a total of 8. This post will explain exactly how you can access it.

Anyway, if you’re after numbers, here’s how the S301LP scored in various benchmarks:

3DMark 11: E1909, P1132;
3DMark 13: Ice Storm – 44734, Cloud Gate – 3871, Fire Strike – 660 ;
PCMark 07: 3021;
Windows Rating: 5.9;
CineBench 11.5: OpenGL 21.77 fps, CPU 2.82 pts.

And here’s what I got in some of the games that I’ve tried, all on 1366 x 768 px native resolution and with details set to Low:

Need for Speed: Most Wanted – 32 fps;
Skyrim – 44 fps;
Starcraft 2 – 42 fps (4 v 4 map) – can drop below 30 fps in intense battles with hundreds of units.
Bioshock Infinite – 23 fps.

There is however one important thing you should know. This tested unit is a pre-release PR sample and some of the apps and games failed to actually detect the dedicated graphics. HWInfo or Skyrim only show the Intel graphics, however, when running all the tested games, the results are superior to what I got on other Intel HD 4400 motorized machines that I tested in the past, which hints that the AMD chip is actually working.

Still, take these results with a grain of salt. From the benchmarks, it looks like CineBench and most of the others detected the dedicated chip, while 3DMark 13 did not. At least that’s how I translate the numbers. What do you guys think?

Anyway, I’m not going to jump to any conclusions here. And you should not either. Still, as expected, the S301LP does perform better in games and graphic dependent applications than the average ultrabook, I just can’t say for sure how much better for the time being.

Noise, Heat, Connectivity and others

Runs cool and quiet

The laptop runs fairly cool and quiet most of the time, although it will heat-up a bit when really pushed, on the area just above the keyboard, but it never gets annoyingly hot or anything like this.

There is a fan inside and you’ll hear it spinning, slower or faster, based on what you’re doing on the computer. The air is sucked from the the bottom of the device and then blown out through the grills behind the screen’s hinge, towards the user.

The good speakers definitely help with the multimedia experience on the S301, as they are punchy and clear for this class, with little distortions, even at high volume. On top of that, you can adjust the sound output via the included Audio Wizard app.

Connectivity wise, the Vivobook S301 offers all the things you might expect from a laptop of its kind. There’s Wireless, Gigabit LAN and Bluetooth, while on the sides you’ll find three USB ports, an Ethernet connector, a card-reader that can’t completely fit a regular SD card and HDMI video-output. VGA is missing, but you can use adapters if really needed.

I should also mention that the wireless performance tends to drop fast when getting a bit further away from the router (20+ feet), with two or three walls in between, and that is something you should have in mind. At 10-15 feet away from the router with no obstacles, the S301 performed flawlessly though.

That’s somewhat unexpected, since there is an Intel 7260 wireless module on this tested unit, and this chip is known for its solid performances. That’s why my money are on some software issues here and hopefully Asus will take care on these by the time the S301 actually hits the stores.

Battery life

At the end of the day, Haswell is more about efficiency than it is about performances. And the S301 I had here proves that.

With average daily use that included a mix of browsing, chatting, watching movies and listening to music, all with Wi-Fi ON and the screen at 60%, I was able to get about 4 and a half hours of life on the S301. I also got about 5 hours of looping a 720p clip in similar conditions, with the sound volume at about 50%.

That’s not great, considering what we’ve seen from Haswell ultrabooks in the past, but don’t forget that there’s only a small 2 Cell 38 Wh battery on this machine and on top of that, we do have the most powerful configuration here, with the Intel Core i7 processor and dedicated graphics.

Regardless, the Core i3/i5 versions without the graphics should do significantly better. But of course, all these won’t stop me from concluding that Asus should have squeezed a higher capacity battery on this machine. It’s not like they did not have the room for that, judging by the hardware layout.

Prices and availability

There will be several versions of the S301 available in stores in a few weeks. These are the configurations that I know about right now:

Vivobook S301LA-C1015H – $699 – Intel Core i3-4010U, 500 GB HDD, 4 GB RAM, Intel HD 4400;
Vivobook S301LA-C1042H – $799 – Intel Core i5-4200U, 750 GB HDD, 6 GB RAM, Intel HD 4400;
Vivobook S301LA-C1043H – $899 – Intel Core i7-4500U, 1 TB HDD, 8 GB RAM, Intel HD 4400.

Vivobook S301LP-C1024H – $749 – Intel Core i3-4010U, 500 GB HDD, 4 GB RAM, Intel HD 4400 + AMD Radeon Mobility 8530G;
Vivobook S301LP-C1028H – $849 – Intel Core i5-4200U, 750 GB HDD, 6 GB RAM, Intel HD 4400 + AMD Radeon Mobility 8530G;
Vivobook S301LP-C1029H – $949 – Intel Core i7-4500U, 1 TB HDD, 8 GB RAM, Intel HD 4400 + AMD Radeon Mobility 8530G.

These are of course the list prices, and in the meantime, I’m pretty sure they got lower. The latest discounts on this series can be found here. And don’t forget that the Vivobook S301 line is sold as the Vivobook Q301 in the US and a few other countries.

Out review unit is almost identical to the last version in this list.

If you’re after performances in a fairly small body and don’t have a lot of money for that, the S301 is an option to considera

Wrap-up

All in all, the Asus Vivobook S301 is a good 13 inch laptop. It lacks some of the fancy features encountered on premium ultrabooks, like a high-resolution IPS screen or the backlit keyboard and is not as sleek or as slender as those. It has some flaws, but it doesn’t have any real deal breakers, and with prices going between $700 and $1000 at launch, I’d say it offers plenty for the money. Especially since it is one of the few 13 inch ultraportables packing dedicated graphics.

The S301 is not without rivals though. The Lenovo IdeaPad U330 or the Samsung Series 9 Lite are just some of the newer ones, plus many of the IvyBridge mid-range ultrabooks that sell for as little as $600 these days.

At the end of the day though, if you want a fast and solid 13 inch Haswell laptop and don’t have a lot of money to spend on it, the Asus Vivobook S301 is for sure an option to consider. But if Haswell and the graphics are not at the top of your list, you will find more affordable alternatives out there, or sleeker ones that pack extra features, for the same kind of money. This article is a great place to start your search.

Anyway, that’s about it for now. Thank you guys for sticking by and if you have any questions about this laptop or other ultraportables in general, leave them below and also check out the other reviews, the guides and the comparisons here on the site.

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Review by: Andrei Girbea
Andrei Girbea is a Writer and Editor-in-Chief here at Ultrabookreview.com. I write about mobile technology, laptops and computers in general. I've been doing it for more than 15 years now. I'm a techie with a Bachelor's in Computer Engineering. I mostly write reviews and thorough guides here on the site, with some occasional columns and first-impression articles.

21 Comments

AP

September 5, 2013 at 4:58 am

Hi Andrei! This is my first time posting, but I have read a lot of your articles, always insightful :)

I am wondering if I should buy a 3rd gen or wait for some more 4th gens to come out. Would you recommend the S300CA or the S400CA? If they were both prices 500-550. I am a high school teacher, use laptop mainly for streaming shows/youtube, surfing, word processing/ppt. But I also like to do some light gaming: League of Legends. So in all, looking for a portable laptop that can do some light gaming. I was wondering if the price increase is worth waiting for the 4th gens S301, S451. (Or even the Aspire S3 Haswell). Price would like to spend $600, but am willing to go higher for the right laptop (maybe up to like $900ish, more comfortable though 700-800 range).

And I did buy the Aspire M5-6644, but was having wireless problems (did the U330 fix the U310’s wireless problems?), which I couldn’t fix, so had to return it. I think I would prefer a 13.3 in screen, but would be cool with a 14 in one. Any advice on what to do/recommendations? Sorry if this was long and rambly! Thank you!

Reply
Alejandro

October 7, 2013 at 12:43 am

Hi Mike, I’ve bought the Asus Q301LA (the version that Best Buy sells that comes with a 4th Gen i5 processor and 4GB RAM) and I was wondering how much additional RAM can I install on this machine.

I’ve seen it comes with and empty slot for a DDR3L module, but I don’t know the max RAM it can handle (additional 4GB or 8GB).

Do you have that information?

Thank you very much!

Reply
- Andrei Girbea
  
  October 7, 2013 at 10:42 am
  
  it should take an extra 8 GB module but I’m not 100% sure on that because I haven’t tried upgrading it myself…
  
  Reply
  - giuseppe
    
    December 5, 2013 at 1:45 pm
    
    Hello. I do not understand if on the S301LP you can upgrade the ram or not.
    Or you can justA on the Q301LA/S301LA series ?
  - Andrei Girbea
    
    December 5, 2013 at 2:38 pm
    
    The entire S301 line is built on the same platform, so they are all upgradeable
  - marco
    
    January 31, 2014 at 8:08 pm
    
    I read on the internet it’s difficult to do it as the ram is soldered. can you disprove or confirm it? cheers. thank you for your reviews
edilio

December 11, 2013 at 10:11 pm

hi, what’s the differences with the Asus S301LP-C1014P? is also in the S301LP-C1014P the Intel 7260 wireless module WIDI compatible?

thanks

Reply
Sam

June 7, 2014 at 4:38 pm

Hello Guys,
I’ve got a S301LP i did upgrade it with a new CRUCIAL 4GB ram(total 8GB 1600mhz)and replaced the HDD with a SAMSUNG 512GB SSD. Now this machine is a Monster.
Any idea about Replacing the Screen to a Full HD IPS 3 ???? has anyone done it yet ? is it possible ?

Reply
- Dreamande
  
  June 22, 2014 at 1:01 pm
  
  Hi Sam, can you run the same test that Andrei made for the review, like PCMark, 3DMark and Cinebench? I am very interested in this Vivobook and this information would be useful to let me choose what to buy. Thank you
  
  Reply
  - sam
    
    August 7, 2014 at 8:16 am
    
    Not exactly, but sometimes it’s much better. Graphics are fine, I’m playing WatchDogs at medium level of graphic…
- Sauro
  
  August 6, 2014 at 12:57 pm
  
  Hello Sam,
  
  I’ve buy an S301LP too and I want expand the ram to 8Gb. Could you confirm that an expansion bay is available? Looking the images of board I have not yet identified where it may be memory slot.
  Informations in web are very few and sometimes contradictory ….
  
  Reply
  - Andrei Girbea
    
    August 6, 2014 at 4:09 pm
    
    See this post, it’s just the same for the S301 : https://www.ultrabookreview.com/4879-upgrade-memory-asus-vivobook-transformer-book-flip/
  - Sauro
    
    September 15, 2014 at 12:21 pm
    
    Hi Andrei,
    
    tank very much for the suggestions !!!
    I have succesfully upgrade the Ram adding 4 GB as SoDimm DDR3L SDRAM Kingstom KVR16LS11/4 module. I also replaced with SSD Crucial M550 256 Gb unit the internal HD.
    Now machine is a monster !!!
    As reported on your post, expansion bay is below a metal shield, easy to remove/replace by needle-nosed pliers. For the HD, just take care the cables passing along the external frame. The only difficult task was the removal of back panel, I recommend using an old credit card or similar plastic tool to unclip the snap-fit all around the borders. Take care the corner were little status leds are placed.
    
    Tanks again !!!
  - Dreamande
    
    October 14, 2014 at 12:26 pm
    
    Hi Sauro,
    can you confirm me that you have installed a ddr3l module and not a “normal” dd3? I tried a 4gb ddr3 Corsair 1333MHz (code CMSO4GX3M1A133C9) and it doesn’t work so i want to be sure to buy the right ram.
    Thank you!
  - sam
    
    August 7, 2014 at 8:13 am
    
    Hello Sauro
    
    S301LP has an onboard RAM. you can NOT upgrade it to a 8gb if u buy a 4gb version. but you can still change the HDD to a SSD, and it can brings you great resaults with the speed.
    P.S. Sorry for the first comment, i was talking about S301L 15″ version of my last one which i don’t remember the model correctly. sorry…
  - Andrei Girbea
    
    August 7, 2014 at 10:23 am
    
    Are you 100% positive on that? It looks to me a lot like all the Transformer Book FLip 13 and the 15 inch Vivobook, which has a spare DIMM hidden behind that aluminum foil cover placed next to the CPU?
Sauro

October 14, 2014 at 7:02 pm

To Dreamande,

I have simply used the Kinstom web site to found the right RAM. Anyway as reported on specs the module must be low voltage (1,35 V) RAM or compatible one.

Reply
Frankie

November 17, 2014 at 6:23 am

Is there a “wacom pen” or any other tablet pen that will work on the touch screen for a ASUS Q301L?

Reply
Sitraka

February 3, 2015 at 5:49 pm

Hi Mike,
I’m interested in a model, the Vivobook s301la-dh084h. It’s marketed as having a full HD screen. Do you think it’s a TN or an IPS panel ? Do Asus only use IPS for their full HD screens or do they also use TN panels ?
Thank you in advance for your answer. By the way, nice review.

Reply
Cad

June 1, 2015 at 8:25 pm

Hello everybody who’s ever planning on buying an ASUS crappy vivobook. I have had the s301LA touchscreen for about 8 months and the hatred in me has grown so big that I’m never gonna go again for another ASUS in my entire life. The inside of the laptop is full of shit. Currently planning on buying an axe to fuck the computer up as soon as I get myself a proper Macbook.

Reply
Kristine

May 22, 2016 at 6:55 pm

Does anyone know were to buy a new speaker for a Vivobook 301L? Mine is broke.. /:

Reply

Asus Vivobook S301 / Q301 review – fast and affordable 13 inch ultrabook

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