Notebooks shipping with elaborate cooling solutions is exactly the path manufacturers should take so customers actually obtain the performance that they’ve paid a premium for. ASUS Zenbook 16 takes the correct approach to properly cool the extremely powerful Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme, and it’s a lesson that Apple could strongly adhere to when introducing its newer MacBook Pro series. Remember, the company’s base M5 MacBook Pro handles all the heat with just a single fan, which is insufficient to tame the SoC.
The Zenbook A16 takes it one step further by sporting removable storage, but ASUS still left out some valuable space that could be used to make an even more robust cooling solution
An inside look was provided by Notebookcheck, showing that ASUS knew exactly how the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme would perform, necessitating the need for a dual-heatpipe and dual-fan solution. Only Apple’s M5 Pro and M5 Max models ship with two fans, but they are joined by just a single, flat heatpipe that does a terrible job at cooling because a smaller chassis like the 14-inch MacBook Pro suffers from throttling, leaving a ton of performance on the table.
Another perk of daily driving the Zenbook A16 is that it also features a removable PCIe NVMe Gen 4 SSD, meaning that when solid-state drive prices finally stabilize, you can upgrade that drive to a 4TB or even an 8TB one if your budget allows. However, while ASUS should be commended for the decision it took to properly cool the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme, there’s still room for improvement.
If you look at the images, there’s plenty of space to accommodate a bigger battery or at least move it down to make room for the motherboard. Additionally, there’s space where the two fans are, which ASUS could have used to extend the heatpipe length or add another unit to improve cooling. It’s possible the company didn’t make these decisions to maintain the Zenbook A16’s weight, but it's worth noting the manufacturer wasted a ton of space.
It’s understandable when you face constraints with a 14-inch notebook, but ASUS wasn’t dealing with this form factor. Still, it’s a lot better than Apple’s implementation, and we certainly hope that the Cupertino firm gets the message that its MacBook Pro lineup can be made more capable with this upgrade alone.
News Source: Notebookcheck
About the author: Omar Sohail is a reporter and analyst for Wccftech's mobile section, specializing in the technology and business of the mobile industry. His expertise lies in the intricate hardware supply chain, covering developments in semiconductor manufacturing, chip lithography, and camera sensor technology.
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