Speed and silence in a cheap 14 inch, this is what the Asus E410MA-EK378T offers you, an ultraportable with an original design that is equipped for office automation. Among its strengths are a decent total of RAM (8 GB), fast NVMe SSD storage (128 GB) and a recent Pentium Quad Core N5030 processor, quite capable of dealing with everyday jobs (browsing, streaming … .). The set is installed in a blue box with an original design (1.3 kg), surmounted by a numeric keypad on the touchpad and a Full HD screen that opens flat. At this level, there is not much to reproach it with except its limited storage capacity.
Specifications of the Asus E410MA-EK378T
| Screen (s) | 14 “Full HD LED 220nits thin edges (1920×1080, anti-glare) |
| Processor | Intel Pentium Silver N5030 Gemini Lake Refresh (1.1 GHz, 4 cores) |
| RAM installed (max) | 8 GB (4 GB soldered 4 GB) DDR4 2400 MHz |
| Graphic card | Intel UHD Graphics 605 |
| Storage | 128 GB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD |
| Connectivity | 1 USB 2.0, 1 USB 3.2, 1 USB 3.2 Type-C (Gen1), HDMI 1.4, microSD |
| Network | Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 4.1 |
| Numeric keypad | Yes, via NumPad |
| Windows Hello | – |
| Audio system | 2 SonicMaster speakers |
| Operating system | Windows 10 Home 64-bit S mode |
| battery life announced / Battery | 6 hours / Li-Ion 3 cells 42Whr |
| Weight / Dimensions (mm) | 1.3 Kg / 325 x 217 x 18.4 |
Chassis, connectivity, screen of Asus E410MA-EK378T
To give its VivoBook 14 its own aesthetic identity, Asus has chosen to dress its cover with a graphic design around its logo and distributed over the entire surface. It’s not very subtle but it’s out of the ordinary. The back of the cover is “peacock” blue (after Asus’ denomination) and the rest of the chassis is in a darker blue shade. Its measurements are particularly compact with a weight of 1.3 kg and a thickness of 18.4 mm . Note that its screen opens at an angle of 180 degrees to come to rest flat, a plus if you use it on the train or lying down for example, or if you want to share your work with the person in front of you. The keyboard is not backlit.
Surrounded by thin bezels encouraged by the NanoEdge design , the screen follows the same path with its extended definition Full HD (1920 x 1080 px) at the ideal display density to make the most of its High Definition content. In addition, its anti-reflective surface will ensure good visibility in bright surroundings by limiting the appearance of reflections. As for the nature of the panel, it is the basic TN which produces narrow viewing angles and unreliable colors. Logical considering the price.
Connection question, the essential is present if we put aside the limits imposed by the microSD reader. There is an HDMI output as well as three USB ports including a USB 2.0, a USB 3.2 as well as a versatile USB 3.2 Type-C port. Connectivity provides for Wifi AC and Bluetooth 4.1.
Functionality welcome to this VivoBook 14, the NumPad . Its principle is to make a highlighted numeric keypad (retro LED) appear on the touchpad following a pressure in its upper right corner.
Performance, battery life of Asus E410MA-EK378T
The VivoBook is equipped with a Pentium Silver Quad Core N5030 Gemini Lake Refresh whose performance is similar to that of a small Core i3. In other words, the processor largely supports office use hinged around web browsing, office work or video playback and won’t be against some light photo editing. On the other hand, there is only 4 GB of RAM in support, which could constitute a brake in multitasking. These days, 6-8 GB of RAM is recommended for smooth browsing in both Windows 10 “S” and standard Windows.
Another component that emphasizes the speed of the system, the SSD storage brings a little responsiveness to the whole. This solution offers a much faster response time than a standard hard drive, in addition to being more energy efficient, more robust and quiet. In addition, its capacity of 128 GB will accommodate the operating system, programs and work files. For your multimedia documents, you will have to turn to an external storage solution or to the Cloud (or other online storage system).
A word about Windows 10S, installed by default on this reference. It is a lightweight version of Windows designed for education that only supports apps from the Windows Store. It is therefore more secure but also more limited in actions. You can upgrade to a full version of Windows 10 at any time, but the reverse is not possible.
The Asus E410MA-EK378T is definitely not intended for gamers. And it’s not the recent Intel UHD 605 graphics chipset integrated into the processor that will make the difference. Only a few less greedy titles will be able to shoot in HD (1366 x 768px) with reduced details, at a pinch.
Let’s finish with a characteristic that is important in mobility, battery life. Asus still announces 12 hours of current use but we doubt it. With its 42Whr battery, the VivoBook 14 can be happy if it exceeds 7 hours of Internet browsing , and more. Note that in the absence of an active cooling solution (no fan), the little VivoBook is perfectly silent , a real plus!
