Prycedin via eBay has
ASUS Vivobook S14 14" Copilot+ Laptop (Certified Refurbished, M5406WA-IB96-R) on sale for
$840.
Shipping is free.
Thanks to Community Member
Dr.Wajahat for sharing this deal.
- Note: Includes a 2-year warranty serviced by Allstate.
Specs:
- 14" 2880x1800 120Hz OLED Display, 600 nits Peak, 100% DCI-P3, Pantone Validated
- AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 10-Core 20-Thread Processor (2.0GHz, up to 5.0GHz)
- AMD Radeon 880M Graphics
- 32GB LPDDR5X Memory (Onboard)
- 1TB M.2 PCIe Gen4 NVMe Solid State Drive
- RGB Backlit Chiclet Keyboard + FHD Webcam
- Wi-Fi 6E (2x2) + Bluetooth 5.3
- Windows 11 Home
- Ports:
- 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C with support for display / power delivery
- 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A
- 1x USB 4.0 Gen 3 Type-C with support for display / power delivery
- 1x HDMI 2.1 TMDS
- 1x 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack
- Micro SD Card Reader
- 75WHrs Li-Ion Battery
Top Comments
Because the CPU/GPU are so new I had to replace my graphics drivers and kernel in Ubuntu 24.04 to get hardware acceleration working correctly. But after I did it's smooth even in power saving mode. When it's plugged in it's near the fastest laptop you can get without a dedicated GPU.
It draws about 9-10W watching YouTube on lowish brightness so it can last about 7 hours doing that. For normal desktop work in power saving mode with medium brightness it draws around 4-7W so it can last for at least 10 hours, usually more. I've never actually depleted the battery because it lasts longer than a work day.
I assume if you use Windows it already comes with the proper drivers set up but I don't have a Microsoft account to log in with so I never made it to the desktop. The Linux drivers from AMD are still a work in progress so I wouldn't be surprised if Windows is even more power efficient for the next few months.
19 Comments
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Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank StevenD6327
Because the CPU/GPU are so new I had to replace my graphics drivers and kernel in Ubuntu 24.04 to get hardware acceleration working correctly. But after I did it's smooth even in power saving mode. When it's plugged in it's near the fastest laptop you can get without a dedicated GPU.
It draws about 9-10W watching YouTube on lowish brightness so it can last about 7 hours doing that. For normal desktop work in power saving mode with medium brightness it draws around 4-7W so it can last for at least 10 hours, usually more. I've never actually depleted the battery because it lasts longer than a work day.
I assume if you use Windows it already comes with the proper drivers set up but I don't have a Microsoft account to log in with so I never made it to the desktop. The Linux drivers from AMD are still a work in progress so I wouldn't be surprised if Windows is even more power efficient for the next few months.
Best thing to do is wipe and install a fresh copy of Windows. I don't want to name names, but Google "Windows LTSC Download 26100.1742" and read through the website of the first result. Using LTSC is optional but AFAIK Windows 10 will not run on hardware this new so you will need to stick with Windows 11.
TL;DR:
Launch Win11 installer while disconnected from internet
When the installer is ready for you to click to proceed, push Shift+F10 to bring up the Command Prompt
Type oobe\bypassnro, hit Enter
The installer should reload and you'll have a No Internet option to create a local account.
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Linux is better anyways now that Steam can use Proton to launch Windows games as well as a Steamdeck: less broken updates and no ads in the OS. I just wanted to check if I needed to upgrade the BIOS but it turns out ASUS computers can do that from a flash drive. So I wasn't missing much and didn't care much about using Windows for anything else.
Note though that setting up Linux on hardware like this that's more recent than whatever distribution you're using (in this case RDNA3.5 graphics are very new) is much more difficult than usual. There's some tweaking involved or you can wait a few months for a more up to date release with a newer kernel. I work full time on Linux so I don't have a problem with it but messing with internals to update an older Linux install like I did would be very confusing for new users.
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No offense to the OP, or any lucky Asus fans, but FYI / FWIW - Here's my 4/16/2025, Asus Vivobook S 15 review on Best Buy:
I kept getting the Blue Screen of Death. Averaging about 5+ per day!
The Geek Squad "FIXED it" THREE times, but shortly after I got it home, same thing, BSOD!
Sent it into the Asus service center, & when I got it back 15 days later, got BSOD twice within 4-min.
They said the warranty does NOT include any replacements or refunds.
I will never buy another Asus product.
And I will also avoid buying anything from Best Buy.
PS - This is the one I bought:
https://slickdeals.net/f/18095260-asus-vivobook-s-15-15-6-3k-oled-120hz-ryzen-ai-9-hx-370-32gb-lpddr5-1tb-ssd-1299-99?p=175604200&
.
April 25 EDIT: I talked to the Best Buy store manager yesterday, hoping that they could step up & help a loyal customer out. Nope! But he did take this opportunity to tell me that I should have bought their ($180) Total membership plan (within 1 or 2 weeks of purchase), so that I **might** have been eligible to have gotten store credit or exchange.
No, I don't think I will.
PS - Asus has a D- rating at the Better Business Bureau - Failure to respond to 83 complaint(s) filed against business
https://www.bbb.org/us/ca/fremont...1116-16870
Now for the TMI, here's a copy and paste of my 2 posts from the last deal. For anyone who gets this deal, I hope you have a similar experience as me!
--- 1st post
Well I just got mine yesterday so still a bit early to say, but so far it's been great. Got this to finally replace my 5-6 year old Yoga 9i (10th, iirc, gen i7). Was a network and systems admin for almost 10 years until COVID, which also coincided with the birth of our first child, and admittedly I've been relatively out of the loop since then (got furloughed then decided to be a stay at home dad for a few years, now extended since we had another kid since 🥰).
Anyway, very happy with this machine at its cost. Liking the port selection and screen is beautiful. I'll admit I've gotten used to my Galaxy Tab S10 tablets with the anti reflective screens, but this is still a beautiful screen that gets plenty bright despite the reflectiveness of it (hasn't been a problem even with the overhead lights in the kitchen). Plenty fast, especially what I upgraded from. Runs pretty cool and quiet, especially compared to my last laptop. Battery is holding a great charge and estimating 6+ hours at like 80% brightness. I'm not at home right now but I would like to check the MyASUS utility and see if it reports the battery stats (designed, original, current capacity) like the Lenovo one does. Wouldn't surprise me if it were basically new.
There was a very recent BIOS update (313) released like last week. No idea if it addressed any of the aforementioned blue screens, but I haven't had a single one personally (again, only been a day but I did all the setup on BIOS 309 iirc, and then now on 313 and no issues). Also did the Windows 11 Pro upgrade with permanent digital license using the genuineticket / MAS trick and no problems there. Face unlock works fine and this is my first laptop with IR camera, and herein is a caveat. It doesn't work well at all in the dark, and it seems to be trying to use the regular webcam primarily. A Google search seems to indicate this happening across several makes and models and may be due to a recent Windows update.
The machine arrived in plain packaging, but did have the original protective soft paper thing sandwiched between the keyboard and screen, and the factory sticker over the track pad. It also came with the original, genuine, brand new ASUS 95W charger. It also came with a note saying due to being [ASUS certified] refurb, the recovery partition was removed, but it seemed to have the same factory OEM Windows install with recovery partitions intact.
It wouldn't surprise me if these were just brand new customer returns, or overstocks, or something like that. At least as far as what I received, it was essentially open box brand new without original packaging. While the listing mentioned the 2 year AllState warranty, I didn't get any paperwork or emails on that, so I guess I'll reach out to the seller soon to find out how to register that. Besides all that, very happy with the purchase!
--
Edit: MyASUS doesn't list the battery health stats specifically, but using powercfg command, it shows design capacity of 75,002 mWh, and it historically shows that it charged to 74,248 mWh (99%, not 100%) as I set it up while taking care of the kids so it never sat on the charger for extended periods. It also does report a full charge capacity of 75,002 mWh, which leads me to think that yeah, this is essentially a brand new battery!
I also wish I checked the reported total power on time of the original SSD, but I already replaced it with a 2TB Samsung Evo Plus. Hooking up the original Micron 1TB SSD (or any NVMe drive really) using a USB adapter usually causes certain things to not get recognized correctly, e.g. the stats. Unfortunately I don't have a NVMe to thunderbolt adapter. I'm just as curious what the original drive would report! I really do suspect either these laptops are brand new, or refurbished to the point they threw in brand new components (at this point, the former is more likely).
---2nd post
I was genuinely / way too curious about the included SSD, so I borrowed an NVMe to USB4 / TB adapter enclosure. The stats as reported by HD Sentinel Pro:
1.2TB lifetime writes, 1 day 2 hours total power-on time.
Note a a significant amount of the power on time was probably from me leaving it idling during setup, running back and forth between the kids and setting up. Along with the battery stats reporting full charge capacity compared to designed capacity, and the lifetime writes being 1.2TB on the original SSD, I'm gonna say, at least in my case, it was a customer return, probably secure wiped and reset to factory conditions. Secure wipe would explain the 1TB written, the remaining 0.2TB would essentially be 2 OS installs and setup.
I also unexpectedly got an email this morning from ASUS (ActiveADP at asus dot com), subject line "Thank you for being a valued ASUS Member!", giving me free 1 year accidental damage protection. Excerpt from the email: "New members who register their ASUS product may be eligible for one year of complimentary Accidental Damage Protection (ADP). Here is the ADP coverage status for each product registered to your account" then it had the serial number and a note saying it was successfully registered for one year of complimentary ADP... Holy crap that was unexpected. Doesn't really matter considering the 2 years AllState warranty it supposedly comes with, but yeah for sure this was a very legit refurb! Very happy I went with this.
Also funny because I'm not a new myAsus member but they still gave me the complimentary ADP, although my first and only ASUS laptop I previously purchased and registered was a Zenbook Pro or something from way back in like 2016.
--- Final Thoughts
My previous several laptops were all top of the line Lenovo Yoga 9 series (900, 910, 920, c930, 9i). Since I was a sysadmin (and putting myself through school) at the time, I pretty much got a new one every 1-2 years. As much as I was used to having the touch and 2-in-1 form factor, I really don't miss it. If anything, being able to lie it completely flat was more useful then folding it into a tent, and this ASUS checks that box thankfully. I guess now being a SAHD and parent in general my priorities have greatly shifted, but I barely used those features (touch and tent/tablet) to begin with. The high resolution OLED screen absolutely blows them out of the water too! And although I had 4K screens on most of the Yogas, this ASUS is high resolution enough that I can't tell the difference. I love that (with the right power settings configured) I can just play my movie "backups" and MPC-BE just automatically toggles HDR and everything looks amazing. The battery life is a whole different ballgame. I know a lot has changed since my 5-6 year old Yoga 9i, but dang if this Ryzen 9 365 doesn't absolutely sip on the battery. And I keep it always on 120hz. Also has a great ports selection. I dunno, I'm just very very happy with my purchase lol.
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Asking the same. Something light gaming would be perfect