Asus VivoBook S 14 (M5406) 14" AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 2.0GHz / 32GB RAM / 1TB SSD specifications and in-depth review

Asus VivoBook S 14 (M5406) 14" AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 2.0GHz / 32GB RAM / 1TB SSD

Manufacturer: Asus

The Asus VivoBook S 14 (M5406) is a slim productivity laptop built around AMD's Ryzen AI 9 365 processor, targeting users who need capable everyday performance in a compact, lightweight form. Weighing just 1,300 g and measuring 13 mm thick, the chassis is notably portable for its class. The machine ships with 32GB of DDR5 RAM and a 1TB NVMe SSD, giving it a well-rounded storage and memory configuration for multitasking and general workloads. A backlit keyboard, 3D facial recognition, and a front-facing camera round out the usability-focused feature set.

The 14″ OLED display runs at 1920 x 1200 px with a 120Hz refresh rate, 400 nits of typical brightness, and a contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1, which reflects the inherent characteristics of OLED panel technology. Graphics are handled by the integrated Radeon 780M, clocked up to 2,900 MHz with 768 shading units across 12 execution units. Connectivity includes one Thunderbolt 4 port, one USB 4 40Gbps port, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, an HDMI 2.1 output, Wi-Fi 6E, and Bluetooth 5.3. The 75 Wh battery supports sleep-and-charge functionality, and the laptop carries a three-year warranty.

Pros
  • The 14″ OLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate and 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio delivers visually sharp and fluid on-screen content for a productivity-oriented machine
  • At 1,300 g and just 13 mm thick, the chassis is genuinely portable for a laptop in this specification tier
  • 32GB of DDR5 RAM running at up to 7,500 MHz with a 1TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD provides a well-rounded foundation for memory-intensive and storage-heavy workloads
  • The inclusion of a Thunderbolt 4 port and a USB 4 40Gbps port adds meaningful high-bandwidth connectivity for peripherals and external displays
  • Support for up to 4 simultaneous external displays broadens its usefulness as a desktop replacement setup
  • 3D facial recognition and voice command support offer hands-free and password-free login options without relying on a fingerprint scanner
Cons
  • No RJ45 ethernet port means wired network connections require an adapter
  • The display lacks an anti-reflection coating, which may cause visibility issues in brightly lit environments
  • With only one built-in microphone, audio capture quality for calls or recordings may be limited
  • No fingerprint scanner is available as a backup authentication method alongside facial recognition
  • The laptop is not weather-sealed, offering no protection against accidental liquid exposure
Who is this for?

This laptop is well-suited to users who spend long hours on productivity tasks such as document work, data processing, or light creative workflows, where 32GB of DDR5 RAM and a fast NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD help keep multitasking fluid and file operations snappy. The slim 13 mm chassis and 1,300 g weight make it a practical choice for professionals who regularly move between locations and need a capable machine without significant bulk. Its support for up to four external displays via Thunderbolt 4 and HDMI 2.1 also makes it a sensible pick for those who want to expand their workspace into a more capable desk setup when stationary.

Who is this NOT for?

Users looking for a laptop capable of handling demanding GPU workloads such as 3D rendering, video production, or modern gaming will find the integrated Radeon 780M insufficient for sustained graphically intensive tasks. The absence of an RJ45 ethernet port makes it a poor fit for environments where stable wired network connectivity is a requirement. Additionally, users who need motion sensing or location capabilities — such as field researchers or those working with sensor-driven applications — will find the lack of GPS, gyroscope, accelerometer, and compass a significant limitation.

Design:

Type Productivity
weight 1300 g
Uses a fanless design
Has a backlit keyboard
warranty period 3 years
volume 890.63 cm³
width 310 mm
height 221 mm
thickness 13 mm
is weather-sealed (splashproof)

The Asus VivoBook S 14 (M5406) is classified as a productivity laptop, built with a compact footprint of 310 mm wide, 221 mm deep, and just 13 mm thick, giving it a total volume of 890.63 cm³. At 1,300 g, it sits on the lighter end of the 14″ laptop spectrum, making it reasonably easy to carry between locations. The machine uses an active cooling system rather than a fanless design, and it does not offer weather or splash resistance. On the convenience side, it includes a backlit keyboard for low-light use and comes backed by a 3-year warranty.

Display:

screen size 14"
resolution 1920 x 1200 px
pixel density 161 ppi
Display type OLED/AMOLED
has a touch screen
brightness (typical) 400 nits
refresh rate 120Hz
contrast ratio 1000000:1
has anti-reflection coating
supported displays 4

The laptop features a 14″ OLED/AMOLED display with a resolution of 1920 x 1200 px and a pixel density of 161 ppi, delivering a sharp and detailed image across everyday tasks. It runs at a 120Hz refresh rate, contributing to smoother on-screen motion, and carries a typical brightness of 400 nits alongside a contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1, which is characteristic of OLED panel technology. The screen does not include a touch layer or an anti-reflection coating, but the system supports up to 4 external displays simultaneously.

Performance:

RAM 32GB
Uses flash storage
internal storage 1024GB
CPU speed 10 x 2 GHz
CPU threads 20 threads
Is an NVMe SSD
DirectX version DirectX 12
GPU clock speed 800 MHz
uses multithreading
maximum memory amount 256GB
DDR memory version 5
turbo clock speed 5GHz
GPU turbo 2900 MHz
PCI Express (PCIe) version 4
semiconductor size 4 nm
Supports 64-bit

The processor runs 10 cores at a base speed of 2 GHz, scaling up to a turbo clock speed of 5 GHz, and supports 20 threads through multithreading, enabling efficient handling of parallel workloads. Built on a 4 nm semiconductor process, it is a 64-bit chip with full DirectX 12 support. The system comes equipped with 32GB of DDR5 RAM, expandable up to a maximum of 256GB, running across two memory channels. Storage is handled by a 1024GB NVMe SSD connected via PCIe 4.0, offering fast read and write throughput through flash-based technology. The integrated GPU operates at a base clock of 800 MHz with a turbo frequency reaching 2,900 MHz.

Benchmarks:

Geekbench 6 result (multi) 12581
Geekbench 6 result (single) 2533
PassMark result 29482
PassMark result (single) 3841

In standardized benchmark testing, the processor achieves a Geekbench 6 multi-core score of 12,581 and a single-core score of 2,533, reflecting its capacity for both sustained parallel workloads and responsive single-threaded tasks. PassMark results follow a similar pattern, with an overall score of 29,482 and a single-thread score of 3,841, providing a broader picture of the chip's general compute throughput across varied test scenarios.

Connectivity:

USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports (USB-C) 0
USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports (USB-A) 0
USB 4 20Gbps ports 0
USB 4 40Gbps ports 1
Thunderbolt 4 ports 1
USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports (USB-C) 1
USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports (USB-A) 2
Thunderbolt 3 ports 0
has an HDMI output
Has USB Type-C
supports Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax), Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac), Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n)
has an external memory slot
Bluetooth version 5.3
RJ45 ports 0
HDMI ports 1
HDMI version HDMI 2.1
DisplayPort outputs 0
has AirPlay
mini DisplayPort outputs 0
has a VGA connector

The laptop offers a varied port selection, including one Thunderbolt 4 port, one USB 4 40Gbps port, one USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C port, and two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports; there are no USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, Thunderbolt 3 ports, or an RJ45 ethernet jack. Video output is handled by a single HDMI 2.1 port, with no DisplayPort or VGA options available. Wireless connectivity covers Wi-Fi 6E, Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 5, and Wi-Fi 4, paired with Bluetooth 5.3, and the device also supports AirPlay. An external memory slot is present for expanded storage flexibility.

Battery:

battery size 75 Wh
Has sleep-and-charge USB ports
Has a MagSafe power adapter

The laptop is equipped with a 75 Wh battery, providing a reasonably sized energy capacity for a 14″ productivity machine. It supports sleep-and-charge functionality, meaning connected USB devices can continue drawing power even when the laptop is not in active use. The device does not use a MagSafe power adapter.

Features:

has stereo speakers
has a socket for a 3.5 mm audio jack
has Dolby Atmos
Stylus included
Has a fingerprint scanner
number of microphones 1
Uses 3D facial recognition
has voice commands
has a front camera
Has S/PDIF Out port
has a gyroscope
has GPS
has an accelerometer
has a compass
Has an optical disc drive

On the audio side, the laptop includes stereo speakers and a 3.5 mm headset jack, though it does not feature Dolby Atmos or an S/PDIF output. A single microphone is built in, and the system supports voice commands. Security and authentication rely on 3D facial recognition via the front-facing camera, as there is no fingerprint scanner included. A stylus is not bundled with the device, and it lacks an optical disc drive. Motion and location sensors — including a gyroscope, accelerometer, compass, and GPS — are absent, reflecting the laptop's focus as a stationary or desk-adjacent productivity tool rather than a mobile or convertible device.

Miscellaneous:

clock multiplier 20
shading units 768
Type Laptop, Desktop
Uses big.LITTLE technology
Has an unlocked multiplier
instruction sets MMX, F16C, FMA3, AES, AVX, AVX2, SSE 4.1, SSE 4.2
GPU execution units 12
GPU name Radeon 780M
Has integrated graphics
Supports ECC memory
memory channels 2
RAM speed (max) 7500 MHz
L3 core 2.4 MB/core
L3 cache 24 MB
L2 core 1 MB/core
L2 cache 10 MB
CPU temperature 100 °C
Thermal Design Power (TDP) 28W
Has NX bit

The processor carries a clock multiplier of 20 and features an unlocked multiplier, offering flexibility in clock management, while its thermal design power sits at 28W with a maximum operating temperature of 100 °C. It does not use big.LITTLE heterogeneous core architecture, and ECC memory is not supported. The chip operates across two memory channels with a maximum RAM speed of 7,500 MHz, and its cache configuration includes 24 MB of L3 cache (2.4 MB per core) alongside 10 MB of L2 cache (1 MB per core). Supported instruction sets include MMX, F16C, FMA3, AES, AVX, AVX2, SSE 4.1, and SSE 4.2, and NX bit support is present for hardware-level memory protection. Graphics are handled by the integrated Radeon 780M, which features 12 execution units and 768 shading units, and the processor is designated for use in both laptop and desktop form factors.

Final Verdict

The Asus VivoBook S 14 (M5406) presents a coherent package for productivity-focused users who value portability without sacrificing core computing capability. Its combination of a Ryzen AI 9 365 processor, 32GB of DDR5 RAM, and a 1TB NVMe SSD gives it a solid foundation for everyday professional workloads, while the 14″ OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate elevates the daily viewing experience well beyond what most laptops in this form factor offer. The slim, lightweight chassis and broad connectivity options — including Thunderbolt 4 and multi-display support — further reinforce its role as a capable on-the-go machine that can anchor a more expansive desk setup when needed. Users with demands beyond integrated graphics or those requiring wired networking will need to look elsewhere, but for its intended audience, the VivoBook S 14 (M5406) delivers a well-rounded and thoughtfully specified configuration.

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