ASUS TUF Gaming FX505 Laptop Review: A Tough Recommendation

Dec. 7, 2018

Asus Republic of Gamers is a huge name in the gaming industry, known over the years for its excellent gaming hardware and accessories. We ourselves have recommended some Asus gaming laptops such as theROG Strixlaptops in the past for its killer performance. That, sadly, hasn’t been the case with theTUF Gaming series,which is fairly new on the scene, and looks to reduce the price point of Asus gaming laptops.

With its TUF Gaming laptops, Asus is essentially trying to bridge the gap between hardcore gaming laptops and mainstream notebooks. An ambitious plan, yes, but the company hasn’t made any big strides with this series. I mean, you may have heard about other budget gaming laptops from the likes of Acer, Dell, etc., but TUF Gaming series? Duh, what’s that?

Well, that’s exactly what Asus is looking to change with thelaunchof theirnew TUF Gaming laptopsin India. In fact, they sent over a unit for us to check out and see how we like it.

Still, most look like alien devices, with gaudy RGB lights seeping out of the edges. It’s what inside the laptop that matters the most, not the number of RGB lights on the body. Asus, as you can see, seems to have understood what I am saying.

Asus is pretty confident about its TUF Gaming build quality. It says these laptops have passed a series of rigorousMIL-STD-810G tests, surviving varying conditions including solar radiation exposure, high altitude, etc. As much as I like to believe that, I don’t think that’s something I can entirely agree with.

In fact, I didn’t even have to use the laptop for an extensive period of time to draw this conclusion. The moment I opened the laptop and started trying random words to test the keyboard (just like I do on any new laptop), I noticed the first flaw –a fragile keyboard deck.As far as I can tell, it looks like my unit, in particular, lacks the reinforced metal plate beneath the keys, making it feel flimsy and, just, cheap. It’s not so bad that it makes me feel like it’s going to give up on me, but it’s definitely weak and flimsy. Flimsy enough to make me dedicate an entire paragraph to rant about it. Anyway, let’s move on. No, wait, did I tell you about the flimsy display panel as well?TUF Gaming logo

Yes, while we are at it, let me point out that the top portion of the display panel feels like it’ll detach any moment from thepolycarbonate bezelsupporting it. The lid itself is very firm, but the panel seems to have issues sticking to the bezel. Both the display and the fragile keyboard deck, as I mentioned earlier, could be limited to my unit. But I feel like this is worth checking out in retail stores before picking one up for yourself.

I’ve been using what Asus calls‘Gold Steel’variant of the laptop. However, you can also buy ‘Red Fusion’ or ‘Red Matter’ variants, which have plenty of red elements. I am not a huge fan of red elements anyway, so i enjoyed my time with the Gold Steel variant.

Honestly, I would have loved to see more ports like the USB Type-C, a mini Display Port, etc. So, yes, it doesn’t have every port you could possibly want, but all the majors are here and about as plentiful as any gamer would ever want.

It’s a15.6-inch LED-backlit FHD display with 72-percent NTSC.I am also glad that Asus has done away with distractingly glossy screens. It’s amatte panel(anti-glare coating) and has excellent viewing angles. Asus claims that the display covers100% of the sRGB color range. And from what I’ve experienced, the colors are nice and bright, blacks are deep and dark enough to both play games and watch movies.Thin Bezels

Overall, the display is truly a treat to look at. It’s got thin bezels, a wide color gamut, and a very fast refresh rate. I mean, what else can you possibly ask for from a laptop display?

Although I appreciate Asus for adding a full-size keyboard, I can’t get over how narrow both the arrow and NumPad keys really are. As you can see, they feel really cramped in there as compared to the other alphabet keys.

As I mentioned earlier, it’s an RGB-backlit keyboard, and the 4-zone illumination can be controlled via the AURA software that comes preinstalled. The WASD keys are made from clear plastic, just like the ones found on some ROG Strix laptops as well.

The AURA software lets you choose from four lighting effects, i.e. static, breathing, color cycle and strobing. You can also set the lighting to over16 million colors.The controls are pretty basic, though. So, think of it like a novelty feature, which you won’t find yourself using all the time.AURA Software

Touchpad

The sound is mostly dominated by mids and highs. It lacks the bass, which makes it sound tinny even on significantly high volumes. The stereo separation, however, is really good. Asus is advertising some high-fidelity 7.1-channel virtual surround sound, thanks to the DTS Headphone: X technology. So, you might to wear a pair of headphones playing games or watching movies, etc.

As you can see, I managed to put a taxing load on all 6 cores of the CPU by running a bunch of benchmark tests. The results are on par with most other Core i7-powered laptop out there. The fan was on auto mode throughout the duration of the benchmark test, and I must say that it kicked in pretty early on while running the tests.

Playing games on battery is not something that you should be doing anyway, so let’s not go there. However, even while doing day-to-day work, which, in my case, involves, web browsing, typing, etc., I got poor results. I was able to use it only for a little over 4 hours, before needing to charge the battery again.

But overall, Asus has managed to make a well put together laptop. It’s a step in the direction. Now I’ll just the waiting game to see what’s next in line.

But that’s just me. I’d like to know your thoughts on this laptop. Do you see yourself buying this laptop after reading my review? Let me know by dropping a comment down below.

Karthik is a Contributing Author for Beebom. Be it mobile devices, laptops, etc. he brings his passion for technology wherever he goes. When he’s not dwelling on the latest tech, you can usually find Karthik wasting time on Instagram or feeding his incessant obsession for video games.