frontpageHat-Trick posted Feb 10, 2026 02:48 PM
Item 1 of 2
Item 1 of 2
frontpageHat-Trick posted Feb 10, 2026 02:48 PM
ASUS Zenbook S 16 Laptop: Ryzen AI 9 365, 16" OLED Touch, 24GB RAM, Radeon 880M
+ Free Shipping$1,000
$1,500
33% offBest Buy
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I almost didn't get this one because I punch in a lot of numbers once or twice a week for work and there's no number pad, but I gave in and bought a $20 bluetooth add-on, and I'm satisfied with that solution. The XL touchpad is responsive and has a few tricks up its sleeve. Beware if you need a lot of storage there is no second NVME slot, although that's true of most non gaming-oriented laptops these days, and prices for bigger drives have skyrocketed in the last year or so (thanks AI data centers, GRRR).
Everything works, the white keyboard backlight actually works particularly well with the white/silver keyboard, which I was skeptical of. I'm running Pop OS linux mainly and everything is working well, as it does with Windows. Haven't played any games yet. Speakers are decent for a laptop and get loud. It's not a $3000 gaming laptop or Macbook Pro but this is a nice overall package for a grand.
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Have you open up 50 web tabs on 16 to 24gb ram?
I almost didn't get this one because I punch in a lot of numbers once or twice a week for work and there's no number pad, but I gave in and bought a $20 bluetooth add-on, and I'm satisfied with that solution. The XL touchpad is responsive and has a few tricks up its sleeve. Beware if you need a lot of storage there is no second NVME slot, although that's true of most non gaming-oriented laptops these days, and prices for bigger drives have skyrocketed in the last year or so (thanks AI data centers, GRRR).
Everything works, the white keyboard backlight actually works particularly well with the white/silver keyboard, which I was skeptical of. I'm running Pop OS linux mainly and everything is working well, as it does with Windows. Haven't played any games yet. Speakers are decent for a laptop and get loud. It's not a $3000 gaming laptop or Macbook Pro but this is a nice overall package for a grand.
In fact, Costco is selling very similar configuration in ASUS Vivobook S16... It was sold around $899.99 during thanksgiving sale. Same story very mixed reviews.
https://www.costco.com/p/-/asus-v...d=110l1347
I was comparing this with Lenovo Ideapad Pro 5i deal ($999.99) sold by Costco during thanksgiving deal.
https://www.costco.com/p/-/lenovo...?langI
Geekbench gives higher numbers to the Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i due to dedicated graphics (single-core is comparable, but multicore is lacking ~40%). I understand the Costco deal didn't last even for 24 hours, but I'm still looking for a better deal before the 90-day window closes down (might not find one).
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Love the display. The size, colors, and OLED pops. Indoors it is perfectly fine and bright enough.
The size and weight are perfect. It is very light and thin. The top material (ceraluminum) has no scratches since Nov 2024. It rejects fingerprints nicely.
I use it everyday and battery only degraded about 8%. I set charging limit to 80%.
In terms of performance, this thing used to get warmer at the top (not the keyboard) when they ran peak 33-35W. Asus has now limited wattage to the following:
Whisper mode: 10-12W
Standard mode:15-18W
Performance mode: 22W
Full speed mode: 24W
Light gaming at lower settings is ok for demanding games like Marvel Rivals. For more optimized games like CS2, Valorant, etc it can play at much higher settings than you expect.
Fan noise is pretty constant in performance and full speed modes. A trick is to use these modes with Windows Energy Saver mode. This prevents the CPU from turbo boosting and keeps temps 10-15C cooler thus making fans come on less frequently.
Battery life is a solid 8-10 hours if you use 60% screen brightness, whisper mode, and Energy saver. (Doing web browsing, Spotify, Youtube, Netflix, etc).
I wish there was one more USB A or USB C port. Wish the trackpad was haptic. A bigger cooling system would allow for 40-45W of power for more performance.
While the 880m can be equivalent to 3050 in some cases, Asus uses a relatively low TDP of 28 watts PL1 and 33 watts PL2 which means restrictions in terms of maximum performance.
It used to peak at 33 watts and settle at 28W but now it peaks at 28W and settles at 24W in the full speed mode.
Just a heads up, Asus has further limited the TDP in BIOS updates last year.
It used to peak at 33 watts and settle at 28W but now it peaks at 28W and settles at 24W in the full speed mode.
One negative thing to note regarding buying open-box ASUS from BestBuy is the warranty. ASUS does not give you 1 YR warranty on open-box. They somehow know when first sold and you get whatever is left-over, which can be just a few months. Since BB has a 15 day return period, I wonder how an open-box laptop can be 9 months old? In any case, you do have a 1YR from BestBuy, but if there is no ASUS warranty left, you have to pay BestBuy a service fee, based on the original price, should you need service. Sort of scummy if you ask me. BestBuy is probably one of ASUS's largest retailers yet treat BB customers with little respect with regards to warranty.
G Helper lets you configure your power limit, but also set an undervolt offset. I run a offset of -24, which runs, which runs overall 20% less wattage at the same frequency, and less heat.
Heads up though, BB does not provide warranty services unless you purchase the Geek Squad accidental protection. All BB will provide you with is their standard return policy, which isn't a warranty service.
Asus has a standard warranty policy of 90 day warranty for open box items, regardless of original warranty date. The 1 year warranty only applies to new items.
Also, the AMD Ryzen 9 AI 365 max TDP from the factory is 54W. It is impossible for you to get 80W running through this chip.
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