Asus TUF F15 Review: TUF-EST around?

Over the years, Asus has earned a good reputation in the PC gaming segment thanks to its well-designed, powerful gaming laptops.

“Choice” is the perfect word to describe Asus notebooks. The brand offers its customers a whole range of gaming laptop configurations, from the flagship ROG series to the budget TUF gaming laptops.

The TUF series has come a long way, both in terms of specs and price. The latest addition to Asus’ TUF series is the TUF F15, which features the latest 12th-generation Intel Core i7 chipset and the highly acclaimed Nvidia RTX 3060 GPU for the ultimate gaming experience.

But has Asus done enough to make the TUF F15 the ultimate price-performance gaming laptop? Let us find out in our Asus TUF F15.

Tuf on the inside, Tuf-er on the outside

Workmanship and design play an important role in any laptop, and Asus has not compromised in this regard. Although the notebook is made of plastic, it does not feel cheap and is quite stable in hand. In addition, the lid offers an aluminum finish that enhances the overall experience.

Compared to the previous generation, the laptop is also lighter and thinner at 2.2 kg, which is good. Despite the thinner thickness, I did not notice any major warping of the keyboard or deck.

Since the Asus Tuf F15 is a gaming laptop, it’s not exactly easy to carry around or put in a backpack, and that’s something we expect from gaming notebooks. Still, the notebook could survive a few drops, as it is Military Garde MIL-STD 810H certified.

While the build quality is pretty good for the price, the design is pretty decent. Do not get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with the design, but it’s not a looker either. Unlike other gaming laptops from Asus, this one lacks some game-changing touches like an RGB strip running across the notebook or an eye-catching glowing logo on the back.

The design is quite generic but still functional, and most users should be satisfied with the overall design and build quality of the laptop.

Ports

Asus has not compromised on the availability of ports on the Asus TUF F15, and you pretty much get all the ports you need. The port selection on the left side includes a USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A port, an HDMI port, a LAN port, a headphone jack, a power port, and two Type-C ports that support Thunderbolt 4.

You get a Kensington Lock switch and an additional USB Type-A port on the right side. Overall, port availability is excellent, and you should have no issues with the laptop’s connectivity. Also, the notebook is equipped with the latest WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 standard, which is always a good thing.

300Hz Smoothness

Asus sells the Tuf 15 with two display configurations – one with a 165Hz QHD display and another with a 300Hz FHD display. I have the variant with the 300Hz FHD display, and the display quality is pretty good.

The colors and sharpness of the screen are not exhilarating, but it does its job well. The display makes up for lost ground with the smooth 300Hz refresh rate; that’s a treat for all gamers out there.

Thanks to the refresh rate, navigating Windows 11 and playing games felt buttery smooth. Note that you will need to manually switch the refresh rate from 60Hz to 300Hz after setting up the notebook.

Brightness and viewing angles were relatively good, so no complaints there. Overall, gamers will appreciate the smooth display of the Asus Tuf F15.

Hello 12th Generation

Gaming laptops are known for their performance, and the Asus Tuf F15 is no different in this regard. But before we take a look at the laptop’s performance, let us first take a detailed look at its specifications.

The Asus Tuf F15 is powered by the 12th Intel Core i7-12700H, coupled with 16GB of DDR5 RAM and 1TB of fast SSD storage. The notebook is powered by the ever-popular Nvidia RTX 3060 GPU on the graphics front, which consumes a maximum of 145W.

As you can probably guess from the Tuf F15’s specs, the notebook is capable of anything you throw at it, including intense gaming.

Personally, I prefer PC to mobile gaming, and the laptop reminded me why I feel that way. I have a number of games installed on the Asus Tuf F15, including Valorant, GTA 5, Farcry, and many more.

With Valorant, the laptop managed 400-500 FPS at 1080P resolution with no issues at medium graphics settings and turbo mode enabled. In GTA 5, the notebook averaged 120 FPS at normal graphics settings and about 90 FPS at high graphics settings, which is still pretty good. In Overwatch, the notebook reached approximately 130-140 FPS, which is pretty decent for a notebook with an RTX 3060.

For all the benchmarking nerds out there, I ran Cinebench R23 and Geekbench tests, and the results are as follows.

In addition to Cinebench and Geekbench, I also ran the CrystalDiskMark app to test the SSD speeds, and here is the laptop’s performance:-.

The heat generation is handled quite well, and yes, the fans get loud when Turbo mode is enabled, but since this is a gaming notebook, this was to be expected. Also, you can switch to the Silent Mode profile to reduce fan noise, but it does affect the overall performance a bit.

Sizeable Battery

The Asus Tuf F15 has a large 90-Wh battery and a 240-Watt power supply that runs on a 15-A outlet. Considering that it is a gaming laptop, the battery life was quite decent and lasted for 4-5 hours with occasional use.

However, it is not recommended to play with the battery as the performance suffers significantly, and the battery life is not good either. Charging times were also quite average, taking about 1.5 hours to fully charge the laptop.

Spaced, Clicky and Functional

Asus has always used very good keyboards for its gaming notebooks, and the Asus TUF F15 is no different. The keys are well-spaced, have good click feedback, and feature full RGB backlighting for the right gaming laptop feel.

The trackpad is also very good, as it is a good size, smooth to use, and supports Windows gestures. However, since this is a gaming notebook, most users will probably use an external mouse anyway.

A 720p Webcam

The notebook has a dual-speaker setup with Dolby Atmos support, which works well for a laptop speaker. The speakers are sufficiently loud and offer good clarity and bass.

Most gaming laptops do without a webcam, but the Asus F15, fortunately, does not have one. However, the quality is rather average and is only sufficient for Zoom meetings. If you want to stream, you should better get an external webcam.

Asus TUF F15 Review: Verdict

In conclusion, the TUF F15 is a very good gaming notebook from Asus and one of the first laptops in India to be equipped with Intel’s 12th-generation chipsets. There is nothing exorbitantly wrong with the device, and Asus has laid the foundations of a gaming laptop here.

You get excellent performance, good build quality, a smooth 300Hz display, and much more. Yes, at Rs. 1,40,990, it’s not the cheapest gaming laptop, but considering factors like the global chip shortage, the laptop is priced okay. Of course, it has more affordable variants in the TUF F15 series starting from as low as Rs 1,17,900, which you can consider.

That being said, if you are looking for something cheaper and can make a few compromises on overall performance, you can buy last year’s Asus TUF F15 or even take a look at Lenovo’s Legion series.

Buy Asus TUF F15