AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 powered ASUS Zenbook S 16 OLED Review

Introduction

Regular viewers of the channel will have seen Leo visiting LA recently where he got a first look at a whole host of new CPUs coming from AMD. While the focus of his videos was mainly on the desktop processors that are about to hit the market, AMD is also launching a new range of laptop APUs. Today, I'm looking at a laptop that contains one of these new AMD processors. This on the desk behind me is the Zenbook S16 from ASUS, and it contains an AMD 300 series chip. I'm going to run it through a host of testing and benchmarks to see just what this laptop can do and more specifically what the processor is like.

Hi guys, I'm Matt and welcome to KitGuru. So this is the Zenbook S60 OLED, a sleek new laptop from ASUS. It's thin, lightweight, and features a 3K OLED screen and some pretty hefty specs on paper. These laptops are releasing today and will be available from most major UK tech retailers starting at £1599.99. There are two models of the laptop available. The £1599.99 model gets you an AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 processor which has integrated Radeon 880M graphics along with 24GB of LPDDR5X memory. If you bump that price up to £1700, that will get you the spec that we're going to be taking a look at today, which sees the CPU get upgraded to the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 and the memory capacity increased to 32GB of that same LPDDR5X RAM.

Full Specifications

The processor in this higher-end model is the brand new Zen 5 AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370. It boasts 12 cores and 24 threads with a base clock speed of 2 GHz and a maximum boost frequency of up to 5.1 GHz. Interestingly, the cores operate in a similar way to what we're used to seeing with Intel CPUs from recent years. There are a number of Zen 5 cores and Zen 5C counterparts. The Zen 5 cores handle intensive tasks while the Zen 5C cores deal with background processing, similar to how P-cores and E-cores work on Intel CPUs. The CPU has a default TDP of 28 watts and it also features a dedicated XDNA 2-based NPU (Neural Processing Unit) for on-device AI processing, capable of up to 50 TOPS (trillions of operations per second).

Alongside the Zen 5 CPU, the HX 370 also features integrated Radeon RX 890M graphics based on AMD's new refreshed RDNA 3.5 architecture. The system memory is 32GB of LPDDR5X RAM running at a reported 7,000 mega transfers per second. The memory is soldered to the board, so it can't be upgraded in the future. For storage, we have a Micron 2400 1TB M.2 NVMe PCI Express Gen 4 SSD. It's not the fastest drive by any means but it will do, with reading speeds of roughly 570 megabytes per second and writing at roughly 3,500 megabytes per second when tested with Crystal Disk Mark. The 1TB capacity is a bit stingy though. I think ASUS could have included a 2TB drive, but since this is not primarily a gaming laptop, it can be forgiven to some extent.

Design and Build Quality

The Zenbook 16 OLED features a 16-inch touchscreen ASUS Lumina OLED panel with a resolution of 2880x1800. It has a 120Hz refresh rate which is adaptive to help with battery life, working much like high refresh rate screens on mobile phones. The bezels are thin and the screen-to-body ratio is 90%. The colors are vibrant and deep. This screen is probably the nicest I've ever seen on a laptop - it's crisp, detailed, punchy, and amazing to look at. The Zenbook 16 comes with a touch stylus in the box, which is great for design work or anyone looking to get a bit creative. The trackpad is generously sized and has a clicky and tactile kind of feedback across the bottom section but unfortunately, it doesn't click towards the top.

Build quality on the Zenbook 16 OLED is somewhat of a tale of two halves. The top of the lid is finished in a mixture of ceramic and aluminum (or aluminium) with what ASUS calls the Ser Aluminum process. It feels unlike anything I've ever seen coating a laptop before – kind of halfway between traditional ceramic and the texture of a chalkboard. The rest of the chassis is standard metal in comparison. The Zenbook 16 is very lightweight, weighing just 1.5 kg. As for I/O, on the left-hand side, you've got a pair of USB 4 type-C ports, a full-size HDMI 2.1 port, and a combo audio jack. On the right side, there's an SD card reader and a USB type-A 3.2 Gen 2 port.

Performance

The new Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 CPU in this laptop provides impressive power while maintaining efficiency. The performance improves significantly when switching the fan profile from balanced to performance mode as recommended by ASUS. In Cinebench R23 multi-core tests, the laptop scored 14,835 points in balanced mode and 17,496 points in performance mode. Cinebench R23 single-core results were exceptional, with a score of 1,953 points, placing it at the top of the charts. The integrated Radeon 890M graphics performed respectably in 3DMark Time Spy, with a GPU score of 3,355 points.

Memory performance showed read speeds of 8688MB/s and write speeds of 10,112MB/s. PC Mark 10 benchmarks fell a bit short compared to some other systems, likely due to the newness of the CPU. Battery life was particularly impressive, lasting 13 hours and 56 minutes in our testing. The CPU temperatures remained fairly cool at around 84 degrees Celsius during sustained workloads, with idle temperatures around 55 degrees Celsius. Despite the performance, the laptop was almost silent at idle and measured around 47 decibels under full load.

Gaming Performance

As expected, gaming performance was not stellar due to the integrated GPU. However, it was serviceable for less demanding games. Counter-Strike 2 ran at around 30-40 FPS at native resolution on the lowest settings, but bumping the resolution down to 1920x1200 increased the FPS to 80+. Horizon Zero Dawn managed 60-70 FPS at 1920x1200 on the lowest settings. While this laptop isn't designed for gaming, it is capable of running popular titles at lower settings with acceptable performance.

Conclusion

The ASUS Zenbook 16 OLED is an excellent high-performance laptop ideal for productivity, design, and general use. Its standout features include a gorgeous display, impressive battery life, and efficient performance powered by the new AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 CPU. While it's not a gaming powerhouse, it handles less demanding titles reasonably well. The design, build quality, and on-device AI capabilities make this laptop a strong contender in the high-end laptop market. Improvements could be made to the keyboard and trackpad housing and hinge design, but these are minor gripes in an otherwise fantastic device.

Keywords

AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370
ASUS Zenbook S 16 OLED
Integrated Radeon RX 890M graphics
3K OLED screen
AI capabilities
Performance benchmarks
Battery life
CPU temperatures
Gaming performance

FAQ

Q1: What is the starting price of the ASUS Zenbook S 16 OLED? A1: The starting price of the ASUS Zenbook S 16 OLED is £1599.99.

Q2: What is the primary difference between the two models of the Zenbook S 16 OLED? A2: The primary difference lies in the processor and memory. The lower-priced model features an AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 with 24GB of LPDDR5X memory, while the higher-end model for £1700 includes a Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 and 32GB of LPDDR5X memory.

Q3: How does the AI performance of the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 compare to Intel counterparts? A3: The AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 shows a strong performance in AI benchmarks, outclassing comparable Intel CPUs in CPU float benchmarks and general integrated GPU performance.

Q4: What is the battery life of the ASUS Zenbook S 16 OLED? A4: The battery life is exceptional at approximately 13 hours and 56 minutes under sustained productivity workloads.

Q5: Is the Zenbook S 16 OLED good for gaming? A5: While not primarily designed for gaming, it manages to run less demanding or older games reasonably well, though it won't perform highly in more graphically intensive titles.

Q6: Can the memory in the Zenbook S 16 OLED be upgraded? A6: No, the memory is soldered to the board and cannot be upgraded in the future.

Q7: What are the build quality issues with the Zenbook S 16 OLED? A7: The main concerns are the flex in the keyboard and trackpad housing, and the hinges not folding back flat enough to comfortably use the included stylus.

This concludes the detailed review of the ASUS Zenbook S 16 OLED powered by the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370.