ASUS – VM501 Desktop – AMD Ryzen 5 220 (2025) – 16GB Memory – 512GB Storage – Black

Overpriced but good desktop - With the specs of this machine this is basically a 450-550 dollar pc , 850 is a bit much .. the R7 model at 750 makes more sense over this one. Not worth it unless at a good sale price

I like solid state hard drive. - The computer is fast. Best buy worked efficiently and gave good explanations on the computer. It worked flawlessly when they were finished. Strangely, it had pop-ups when I first operated it at home. The pop-ups claimed to be McCaffe and were reporting 250 viruses including Trojans. I found where the blocker for pop-ups was located and selected the highest level and that solved the issue of pop-ups. Thus far it has been working nicely and I would recommend it to anyone else.

Asus computer - Had to replace an old computer. Purchased an Asus. Purchased an Asus. Works great.

ASUS Desktop - I thought the price was right, but this computer while remain on long after you've turned it off. Sometimes it will pretend to be off, then hours later turn itself and the monitor back on.

Desktop computer - Like the performance, does what we need and more, easy setup.

Great product. Works for just what I need. - Like the product. Wish it came with a wireless mouse and keyboard instead.

base unit computer, - So far like the base unit computer, No complains. Somewhere a challenge 2 older monitors to hook up to the new unit. But Mr. Austin at Bel Air - was awesome in helping/guiding me with the cables to get them monitors hooked up!!!!

Repairs required. - This worker for 3 days, then quit. I had an appointment for in home service for set-up support by Geek Squad, but the tech didn't show up because I needed a key. I had to take this computer apart and return it to your Bethlehem Township store where Mike had it operating in 20 minutes. If it were not for Mike, you'd have a return on your hands.

Amda Ryzen Desktop PC - I like everything about my new hard drive, it Works great.

ASUS Desktop Computer - easy setup no complains .

Great Home Desktop - If you need a new desktop for general home usage and don't want to break the bank, this is exactly what you are looking for. Pros: Size/ build - the mini tower is a fantastic form factor that will fit in any setup/ office space. It is also a very good looking unit and looks good if you want to have it on top of a desk which gives great access to the front 3 USB ports. It is also surprisingly quiet. the lack of graphics card and the ample space inside the case make airflow smooth and minimize fan noise. The only true indication of power on is the led. Specs - This machine is notal a world beater or gaming powerhouse but for what it is made for, it excels. Snappy multitasking and general purpose home computing are remarkably quick. The mouse and keyboard are fine, nothing fancy and work well. Cons: Memory - 500gb just isn't a lot these days however with many options for external storage, it's hard to count against it. With the price of computer components these days, I think this computer fills a niche perfectly. If you have an aging general purpose home computer that needs replacing, this is the perfect option.

Great desktop for the cost and purpose - I picked up this desktop as a media server for my entertainment room and I think it will do a pretty good job. It's a very simple design and the tower itself is mostly empty which makes for easy cleaning and hopefully simple leads to long lasting. The processor is plenty fast and has a remote heat sink on the back of the case which should keep it cool enough. There is a video card slot for adding a card but I'm still trying to figure out how much power the board can send through the slot. There is a port on the motherboard labeled 'VGA power' but it's a proprietary plug and I can't seem to find a cable for it online. So if you intend on adding a video card to this your options will be limited. The power supply is only 180w but that should leave well over 100w for a future card. The performance of this as it comes is plenty for any office work or light video browsing. It's not great for newer games but no computer at this price point would be. For my purpose of watching videos on a TV or possibly playing lighter games I think it will do just fine. The system does come with power cord, keyboard and mouse. It has built in WIFI and Bluetooth with internal antenna which will limit range a little but I had no problem connecting to everything and I like the clean look of not seeing antenna exposed. The front of the case is also a very nice classical finish that will look good sitting on the shelf in my entertainment center. Overall I think this is a great option that comes with a nice SSD (easily upgraded later if desired), 16GB in 1 stick which is great for upgrading when DDR5 prices come back to earth in the future. I'm very happy with this computer and would recommend it to anyone who needs a good solid workhouse or good looking computer in a smaller size.

Great compact PC for your everyday tasks. - The VM501 Desktop PC from ASUS is a great mid-level PC desktop that is ready to go right out of the box. This PC is perfect for the average everyday user. Design This is a smaller desktop PC. Since everything is solid state and it does not have any large CD/DVD drives it all fits into a small package. This is the perfect size desktop if you have limited desk space and it can easily fit on the corner of a desk tucked behind your monitor if needed. The side panel has thumb screws that do not require a screwdriver to open which allows you to easily open it and change out components. However, this is probably not necessary since this PC comes with just about everything you need. Asus includes a keyboard and mouse in the box. They are both wired and basic, but they are perfect for what this PC was designed for. There is a single fan inside of this PC and it has an advanced cooling system which uses some thermal engineering to help cool the CPU and other components. Ports Since this is a smaller PC it has limited ports. As far as USBs, it has multiple 5 USB-A ports and 1 USB-C port. If there was one thing that could be better, it would be at least one additional USB-C port. Since most peripherals use USB-C it would be a nice addition. The graphics are integrated and your options are a single HDMI port and a single display port. Performance This PC is not designed to be a crazy gaming PC or used for graphic intensive tasks. AMD’s Ryzen 5 offers great performance when it comes to multitasking and everyday applications/entertainment. Paired with 16 gbs of DDR5 memory and it has everything you need to be productive. The graphics are integrated but are more than enough to handle daily tasks. One of my favorite things about this PC is how simple it is right out of the box. It is easy for anyone to set up. It does not come with bloatware. It only comes with the basic programs you need to get started and be productive. It also comes with a keyboard, mouse, and power cord. Not much else is needed besides a monitor and HDMI or display port cable. Upgradability Upgradability is somewhat limited due to the size of this PC. It does not have an additional SSD slot so if you want to upgrade the SSD you would have to replace the one that is currently in it. It does have two RAM slots (only one in use) but it is smaller RAM designed for laptops. It also has a slot that you could add a graphics card or something else that uses PCI Express but honestly, I would leave this PC as is. Conclusion This is the perfect PC for older people, someone with a small business, or maybe even a college student. It is great for everyday tasks such as checking emails, multi-tasking, browsing the web, and watching your favorite entertainment online. It is compact, quiet and efficient. I consider it mid-range because it is slightly better than the cheapest PC you can buy and it comes with everything you need right out of the box.

High-quality everyday-use budget desktop PC - The Asus VM501 Desktop PC with the 6-core AMD Ryzen 5 220 processor, 16GB DDR5 memory at 5600MHz, 512GB PCIe 4.0 SSD, and integrated AMD Radeon graphics all inside a compact 15L case is a great, reliable budget desktop system that is perfect for everyday computing. Even though it does not have any of the newer high-end components that are available on the market, this Asus VM501 PC fulfills what it is designed to do very well while maintaining a very budget-friendly price. When it comes to PC brands, Asus is one of my favorites. They consistently release high-quality products that I have found to be very reliable and this Asus VM501 is no different. Since this specific PC is designed to be used as more of an everyday system such as in an office or at home for routine tasks and/or schoolwork, it needs to be reliable. I haven’t had any issues with mine so far and based on past experiences with Asus products and their attention to detail as well as use of high-quality components, I am confident this system will continue to operate as expected for many years to come. Even though this VM501 does not come with the newest technology and components which would have dramatically increased the overall price of the system, it still performs very well. It does a good job of multitasking as I often have multiple windows open and programs running at the same time without any noticeable lag. This is likely due to the 16GB of high-speed DDR5 memory as well as the PCIe Gen 4 SSD storage that is used. Since I don’t intend on using this system for gaming, this combination of components more than makes up for the fact that this PC does not have a dedicated graphics card and instead relies on integrated graphics. Adding in a dedicated graphics card would have unnecessarily increased the cost of this system and would have put more strain on the power supply and cooling system so I’m glad Asus decided to go with the integrated graphics for this particular PC. Overall, I am very impressed with this Asus VM501 Desktop PC and I highly recommend it!

Computer of compromise, an okay laptop in a shell - At the time of this writing, I couldn’t believe the price of this box! The memory & chip shortage due to AI datacenters suctioning up as much memory & storage as possible. It led to this desktop, a perfectly fine machine at a reasonable price, but when you open it up it's just a laptop in a desktop costume. I had to deduct a star for the limitations of using a soldered CPU, laptop RAM, and only a single PCIe slot, along with the form factor being twice as tall as it should be (I'd also suggest laying this sideways for aesthetics if you're using it for media & streaming like I am, fits in nicely with A/V equipment! This isn't a bad idea by any means, lets look at the pros: ● AMD Ryzen 5 220 is a solid family workstation chip. ● 16 GB of expandable DDR5 RAM at a decent 5600MT/s is more than acceptable for this class of machine. ● 512 GB SSD storage that is both expandable with a second m.2 SSD slot & replaceable! But then you get the cons... ● CPU is soldered to the motherboard, no upgradability. ● DDR5 RAM is laptop style - more expensive at any time. ● Storage is currently obscenely expensive! ● Large case for what's inside. Overall though, if you can snag this at a good price, it's a great desktop for a family computer to browse the internet, use Office and other productivity programs, streaming PC, light gaming, or other more basic, daily tasks. The expansion options are amazing to have, especially given that this is effectively a mid-range laptop in a desktop shell, but with that shell being about twice the thickness it needs to be. This would be a great classroom, library, office desktop with a half-height/slimline case to be laid on it's side with a monitor stacked on top of it! Really brings some nostalgia back of the computer labs of the 90s & 2000s. If you need something right now that can handle most of your daily tasks, some gaming, maybe you want to add storage & memory down the road, this is a good option. Not great, but certainly not bad. It is definitely worth checking out the 1TB SSD model if you know you'll need a little extra storage right away.

Simple, effective, powerful unit - Upon unboxing, the unit was well received. Base unit, wired keyboard, wired mouse. Pretty much 'plug and play' unit. Actually used my USB keyboard and mouse wit no problems. Initial setup was typical - hook up monitor (not included) keyboard and mouse, power up and wait for base initialization, updates and connection to wireless home network. Had to play around a bit to get the desired connection to my high speed wireless network. (It initially autoconnected to the slower band, so I had to disconnect from the 2.4GHz band and reconnect to the 5GHz band on my router. No biggie, and made a big difference in performance.) A little light on storage, at 500GB, but sufficient for most home use. Wireless connections to home network - router, printer and other peripherals - was simple and straightforward. Unit itself is sleek and stylish. First desktop I have had without a CD-ROM/DVD/DVR player/recorder, but that is to be expected in this day and age. Two front USB ports and 3 rear, HDMI (video) port, ethernet port on rear as well. A fine, basic, home unit. Fits my needs perfectly.

Nice living room PC. - Wasn't expecting much from this PC but hey, I was pleasantly surprised by what it could handle. Still don't know why Asus refuses to put a intake fan in the front of their build but that is a minor gripe with this one. Let's start with how this looks. Very clean and it was girlfriend approved to be in the living room next to the TV. It is super quiet as long as you are not trying to play a game on it. Plex and basic entertainment is done very smoothly and not a peep out of it. Handled my hi bit rate 4K movies from Plex without a hiccup except for one movie that I have that tends to make everything that attempts to play it crash. Super light weight so it will be easy to move around in case you need to keep finding a spot to put it to keep your partner happy.😉The AMD Ryzen 5 220 w/ Radeon 740M Graphics was not on my bingo card to be a decent base with just a single so-dimm stick of 16GB of ram. I like what AMD is doing and Asus is impressing me with the quality of their builds. I really can't pick this apart. It is a solid PC with the components it has. Solid 8 out of 10.

A Stylish PC - The Asus vm501 desktop is an affordable, attractive workhorse. Jumping right in, this is one of the more stylish yet refined PCS I've ever seen. If you're looking for something classy, and not just full of RGB colors and everything, this is it. It looks so great on a bookshelf, making it the perfect computer for an office or even a living room. It looks good everywhere. It's also a great computer for someone who hasn't really had computers before. It's not as intimidating as it doesn't. Just feel like a computer, and setting it up is quick and easy. Plug in the monitor, plug in the mouse, plug in the keyboard, and you are done. While that is pretty much the case with any computer setup, this one just feels less intimidating for less experienced folks. It is very quiet, and so it is not obtrusive in any environment. That said, it's important to remember that this is not a gaming PC. While you certainly could do some light gaming on it, it is actually a great computer for a student because there are less chances for them to get distracted with gaming capabilities. But any basic work you throw at this machine, it can handle without ramping up the fans or anything. With this setup, keep in mind that you are paying a bit extra for style, which I am all for doing, but if you're looking for these specs at the best price possible and aesthetics don't matter, then this computer is a bit pricey. If your top goal is aesthetics, this is for you, but if you just need functionality, there are better options

Great Performance and Value - The ASUS VM501 Desktop has been an outstanding addition to my home office. I wanted a computer that could easily handle everyday tasks, multitasking, streaming, and light productivity without slowing down, and this desktop has delivered exactly that. Right out of the box, setup was quick and straightforward, and within minutes I was up and running. The AMD Ryzen 5 processor provides excellent performance for everything from web browsing and email to Microsoft Office, video conferencing, and media streaming. Programs open quickly, switching between multiple applications is smooth, and I rarely experience any lag even with numerous browser tabs open. The 16GB of memory makes multitasking effortless, allowing me to work efficiently without worrying about performance. The included 512GB SSD is another major highlight. Boot times are incredibly fast, Windows loads in seconds, and applications launch almost instantly. There's also plenty of room for documents, photos, videos, and software while maintaining excellent system responsiveness. Compared to older hard drive-based computers, the speed difference is immediately noticeable. I also appreciate the clean, modern design of the black tower. It doesn't take up much desk space and blends nicely into both a home office and entertainment setup. The build quality feels solid, and the system operates quietly even after several hours of use, which makes working much more enjoyable. Connectivity has been excellent as well. There are plenty of ports available for connecting monitors, external drives, keyboards, mice, printers, and other accessories without constantly swapping cables. Everything worked exactly as expected, making setup simple and hassle-free. For everyday computing, this desktop offers an excellent balance of performance, reliability, and value. Whether you're working from home, attending online classes, managing personal finances, streaming movies, or simply browsing the internet, it handles each task with ease. The combination of the Ryzen 5 processor, 16GB of RAM, and the fast 512GB SSD creates a responsive, dependable computer that feels much more expensive than its price suggests. Overall, the ASUS VM501 is a well-built desktop that delivers fast performance, quiet operation, and a smooth user experience. It provides everything most users need for daily computing in an attractive, reliable package. I would confidently recommend it to anyone looking for a dependable desktop that offers excellent performance and great overall value.

Great for Work, Ok for Play - I have relied on gaming PCs to be all around workhorses for me for quite some time. There is nothing wrong with this as they are amazing machines with a deep vault of resources. Something that I have to remind myself is that not every task requires a gaming desktop or the inherit investment required to get there. Enter the ASUS VM501 Desktop. This desktop PC is a much more budget friendly computer that would be right at home for an office, business, or student. With a smaller footprint than most gaming PCs and a very unambiguous look, it will fit in nearly anywhere. Its ambient noise is also very subdued so even the most sensitive to sounds won't have to worry about where they place this PC. In my home, I actually connected this PC to a canvass style television that we use during family game nights, vacation planning, and other group activities. Just like almost any store-bought computer, it comes with an adequate mouse and keyboard, however this is always one of the biggest areas on improvement that you can make cheaply. I ended up pairing this PC with an inexpensive wireless mouse and keyboard so that I don't have to run cables over to our sitting area. With this addition, the computer works great for our needs of multitasking between spreadsheets, website research, and online videos. Surprisingly, we were even able to run lower demand games such as Minecraft to keep the kids occupied while the adults worked on more monotonous tasks associated with planning. Although this mild gaming was a surprise to us, I would definitely caution a potential buyers to realize that this Asus VM501 may not be a completely budget minded addition to the Asus lineup, however it does fall somewhere between budget to moderate performance. The AMD processor handles multitasking well with business and studious tasks, however will most likely not fit the needs of content creators. There are two display outputs (HDMI & Display) and this should work just fine for most people wanting to be productive. Having an SSD is also a great addition, but if I were to do it over again, I would probably splurge for the 1TB model as the size of pictures and files is ever growing. Is this Asus VM501 Desktop the end all, be all PC for everyone's needs? No. But its not intended to be. If you want to have a budget friendly workstation that handles productivity well and flirts with the ability to be used for fun, this is a desktop that should definitely be considered.