Asus ASUSPRO P541 (i3 6006U, HD 520) Laptop Review

Asus is using a plastic casing for its P541UA. The base unit's upper side features a light copper-like silver tone while the display back and base tray are black. Asus also applies a grooved texture to the wrist rest and display back that is to simulate brushed metal. The build does not give much cause for complaint. The laptop could be more rigid; the base unit warps easily.

The laptop does not have a maintenance hatch. The casing has to be opened for accessing the innards. First, all screws on the underside have to be removed and the laptop is then placed right way up for removing the upper tray. We recommend using a thin putty knife or spatula. Note: The upper tray is secured with two plastic hooks that can break easily. Furthermore, two flat ribbon cables connect the upper tray to the motherboard. The cables do not have to be removed for replacing the SSD.

Asus' laptop is one of those increasingly hard to find laptops with a VGA out. An HDMI port is also present. In addition to two Type-A USB ports (1x USB 2.0, 1x USB 3.1 Gen.1), a USB Type-C port (USB 3.1 Gen1) is also found. Unfortunately, the laptop has only a Fast Ethernet port. Gigabit Ethernet has been standard for quite some time. The position of the interfaces is not ideal. They are on the left front side. Thus, the left area beside the wrist rest will not remain free of cables.

The installed memory card reader is one of the faster models. Transferring 250 JPG image files (approx. 5 MB each) is performed at a speed of 83.8 MB/s. We test the memory card reader with our Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II reference card.

It is also possible to use Windows instead of Linux when preferred. Installing Windows 7 and Windows 10 is possible. However, we recommend installing Windows 10. Installing Windows 7 involves some obstacles. We tried it.

The drivers for the hardware have to be searched for manually. Some Windows 7 drivers can also be found on the included Windows 10 drivers DVD. The biggest problem is the future updates for Windows 7. The update function of Windows 7 cannot be used. Microsoft supports only Windows 7 (as well as Windows 8) for a few Skylake-based PCs and laptops from the business sector. Our review sample is not one of them. A list of supported PCs/laptops can be found on Microsoft's website. Future updates for Windows 7 would have to be downloaded and installed manually. Alternatively, the update packs that some IT websites provide could be used.

Installing Windows 10 is much easier. All missing drivers can be easily installed via the Windows update function after installing the OS. The included driver DVD is not needed for Windows 10. Unfortunately, an error message pops up when it is used anyway. The Asus assistant on the DVD reports that the drivers are not suitable for the P541UA. However, this is not true. The drivers have to be installed manually then.

Asus delivers a basic, 15.6-inch office laptop with its P541UA. The laptop has enough computing power for office and internet applications. Our review sample costs around 400 Euros (~$482). Other configurations exist. The prices start at approximately 360 Euros (~$434).

The P541UA is equipped with an Intel Core i3-6006U (Skylake) dual-core processor. The CPU clocks at a speed of 2 GHz. It does not have Turbo. However, the processor supports Hyperthreading (two threads per core can be processed). The CPU always performed our CPU tests at full speed. We used the Endless OS and the preloaded Chromium 59.0.3071.86 browser for our CPU browser tests.

We check whether the processor can permanently clock at full speed by looping the Cinebench R15 Multithread test for approximately 30 minutes in Windows 10. The outcomes of Asus' laptop are all on the same level. Performance did not decrease.

The system runs smoothly. We did not encounter problems. The laptop offers more than enough power for office and Internet applications. It is not possible to increase the total performance.

Asus has equipped the P541UA with a solid-state drive by Hynix. It is a 2.5-inch model with a total capacity of 128 GB.

Intel's HD Graphics 520 graphics unit is responsible for video output. It supports DirectX 12 and clocks at speeds of up to 900 MHz. Asus has wasted some of the graphics performance since the laptop's working memory runs only in single-channel mode. The GPU would be exhausted more efficiently in active dual-channel mode and would consequently deliver more power. The dual-channel mode cannot be activated later in Asus' laptop.

Some games run smoothly on the P541UA. These include games that do not have high hardware requirements. However, the user has to be satisfied with low resolutions and low quality settings. Performance-driven games like “For Honor” will never achieve high enough frame rates.

The fan switches between inactive and active in idle mode. We measured a noise level of up to 32.6 dB(A). Unfortunately, the fan produces a humming noise. The fan speeds up during full load. The noise level climbs up to 40 dB(A) here.

It cannot be said that the P541UA heats up. The temperatures barely exceed 30 degrees Celsius (~86 degrees Fahrenheit) only in some places even during full load. Thus, Asus could certainly have implemented a more conservative fan management.

The stereo speakers are situated above the keyboard underneath a perforated cover. They produce a very decent sound that tends to sound a bit muffled.

Frequency diagram comparison (checkboxes above can be turned on/off!)

The power consumption climbs up to 9.6 watts in idle mode. This rate is a bit high for a basic office laptop. The power consumption climbs up to 27 watts during full load. This is a normal rate for the hardware platform installed here. The power supply has a nominal capacity of 45 watts.

Our practical Wi-Fi test simulates the load needed for opening websites. The "Balanced" profile is enabled, the energy saving functions are disabled, and the screen's brightness is set to approximately 150 cd/m². The P541UA achieves a runtime of 3:51 hours - an abysmal rate. We expect a minimum runtime of 5 to 6 hours from a laptop like the P541UA.

It looks much better in Windows 10. The laptop manages a runtime of 6:39 hours in our Wi-Fi test here.