Asus VivoBook S200 review

The S200 has a 500GB hard disk for your media collection, as well as plenty of connectivity options, including two USB2 and one USB3 port, an SD/MMC card reader and VGA and HDMI ports for connecting the laptop to external monitors and projectors. There’s no optical drive, though, but this helps keep the laptop’s weight down to a travel-friendly 1.4kg.

It’s not quite an Ultrabook, but it’s impressive-looking given its price

This is a cheap laptop, so it’s not exactly a powerhouse. The S200’s 1.8GHz Intel Core i3-3217U processor helped it to an overall score of 29 in our benchmarks. This means it will be fine for web browsing and office tasks, but will struggle with video editing and multitasking. The laptop’s integrated Intel HD 4000 graphics makes it a poor machine for gaming; our Dirt Showdown benchmark didn’t run at anywhere near a playable frame rate, so you’ll have to stick with older or more casual gaming titles (there’s bound to be lots of the latter designed to work on such laptops for sale through the Windows 8 store).

The processor’s “U” suffix means it’s a low-voltage model, which should help with battery life. The S200 lasted 5 hours and 26 minutes in our battery life benchmark, which, while not an all-day figure, is still par for the course for a budget laptop.

The Asus VivoBook S200 does have some drawbacks, notably a lack of screen brightness, but it’s still excellent value, and a remarkable first effort from Asus for a budget touchscreen laptop. It’s not suitable for intensive tasks such as video editing, but is still an inexpensive way to get the most out of Windows 8. It’s a Budget Buy.