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Sometimes what you need is a well-designed, competent, and not too-expensive laptop with decent features for schoolwork, accomplish basic work, or simply surfing the web on the go. The ASUS E200HA-UB02-GD checks all these boxes; it’s also one of the wallet-friendly ultraportables that would work as an entry-level system for a student or anyone on a tight budget with modest computing needs. Its 64-bit Windows 10 operating system, all-day battery life and Atom processor mean its suited to basic computing tasks rather than heavy computing, but that’s expected for the budget category.
Design
The ASUS E200HA is quite compact –just like its predecessor; the ASUS VivoBook E200HA-US01-GD, measuring 7.6 by 11.3 by 0.74 inches (HWD) and weighing only 2.2 pounds. It is slightly lighter than the Apple’s 11 inch Macbook Air that weighs 4 pounds. Being a budget device, it is entirely made of plastic with a nicely textured plastic frame and lid. The body of the UB02-GDis sturdy, and though made of plastic, it is a little slick. Our unit came clad in some sort of pinky bronze chassis that ASUS calls ‘gold’ but it does look good overall.
Connectivity options include one USB 2.0 port, one USB 3.0 port a micro-HDMI port, a headset jack, and a 2-in-1 (SD and MMC) card reader, which means you can expand the built-in storage by quite a bit. There’s also Bluetooth 4.0 and 802.11 AC Wi-Fi for wireless connectivity. The 2 cells 38 Whrs Polymer battery promises to stay all day up to 12 hours of word processing, video streaming and web browsing.
Display and Storage
The 11.6-inch display features a 1,366-by-768 resolution, which is typical for the budget laptop category. The HP Stream 13, the Lenovo S21e-20 and the Dell Inspiron 15 Non-Touch (3531) all offer the same resolution. Higher, full-HD-resolution screens are generally found on more expensive systems, so 720p makes sense here to keep the cost down. The viewing angles on the ASUS E200HA aren’t great, however, so there’s definitely a sweet spot. The picture gets too dark and washes out quickly if you move too far to the side (or too far above or below) the center of the display, an issue we didn’t experience with the Asus F555LA-AB31. Otherwise, it’s generally bright and clear.
The 32GB of eMMC flash storage—with about 17.3GB free out of the box—isn’t exactly generous, but it’s not too far off from other systems in this range. The HP Stream 13 has the same amount, while the Lenovo S21e-20 offers 64GB. The Asus F555LA-AB31 is a larger budget system, and has a much bigger 500GB hard drive. Most chromebooks in the same price range offer 16GB of storage, like the Asus Chromebook Flip.
Performance
The system includes a 1.44GHz Intel Quad-Core Atom Z8350 (Turbo 1.92GHz) processor, Intel HD graphics, and 4GB of DDR3 memory. However, unlike many small, budget, ultraportables, the ASUS E200HA features a 64-bit operating system; thus, it is a perfect candidate for most day-to-day computing needs. The 4GB of memory is crucial for the 64-bit architecture on these tests, allowing the system to run them and generally resulting in better speeds. As on all the budget laptops, gaming scores are on the bare minimum with frame rates in the single digits. Stick to word processing, video and regular websites, and you’ll do fine.
Battery life is notable, since the ASUS E200HA-UB02-GD lasted 11 hours, 36 minutes, on our rundown test. That’s good enough to watch movies on a cross-country flight and still have plenty of juice left over for the evening afterward.
The Bottom Line
The ASUS E200HA-UB02-GD is a decent ultraportable budget laptop, with a fair share of storage, and it runs smoothly if you’re not using intensive applications like Adobe Photoshop. If you’re a student with modest computing needs—like writing papers and doing research—the UB02-GD is a perfectly good computer that is portable and wallet-friendly.
Given that it has features and performance rarely seen in most Windows laptops, safe for Chromebooks, it is an easy choice for student and anyone on a tight budget. That said, if portability and long battery life are more important to you than power, keep the ASUS E200HA on your short list.
Nevertheless, the Acer Aspire E5-576-392H has a 15-inch full HD screen, an eighth-generation Intel Core i3-8130U processor, excellent battery life and stellar performance for everyday use. Plus, it is very affordable. For all these, it is our Top Pick for budget everyday-use laptops.
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