AMD’s RDNA 3 GPU architecture has just launched less than two weeks ago. While details are still quite scarce, the new GPUs launched in their livestream looked promising. There was not to say plenty in terms of variety in their launch too.
They launched two flagship class GPUs within the Radeon family. You can say hello to AMD’s Radeon RX 7900 and RX 7900 XTX. In their launch, they say that their flagship RX 7900 XTX performs at least 15% better than the older RX 6950 XT in games. Thanks to RDNA 3 technology, which is also an evolution from RDNA 2, AMD’s latest GPUs can maintain and even lower the GPUs’ power consumption while delivering the same amount of processing power. At the same time, AMD has upgraded its encoders to ensure that the new GPUs can work with videos and rendering much better than the RX 6000 series Radeon GPUs.
Of course, you do not only have to buy the GPU directly from AMD. You can get your hands on AMD’s Radeon RX 7900 XT and RX 7900 XTX from AMD’s board partners like ASUS and their new TUF Gaming line up of AMD GPUs. Welcome to the TUF Gaming Radeon RX 7000 series GPUs.
The basic construction and design of ASUS’ TUF Gaming GPUs are not completely different from AMD Radeon’s original design. Like AMD’s reference GPU, the ASUS TUF Gaming Radeon RX 7900 XT has the same 20GB of GDDR6 RAM. If you want something more cutting edge, the Radeon RX 7900 XTX offers 24GB in GDDR6 RAM.
TUF Gaming Radeon RX 7900 XTX
Source: ASUS
It is a big card, this one. In its entirety, the GPU takes up to 3.63 slots within your desktop PC. All that cooling is required to keep the 6,144 stream processors with 384-bt memory interface. But this much weight is never good on a PCB. That is why ASUS built the GPU with a die-cast frame holding a solid aluminium backplate and shroud to ensure that the weight does not stress the PCB out too much. For even more security, there is a GPU stand that is included when you buy the Radeon RX 7900 XTX.
The large structure houses a combination of large heatsinks and fan designs that allows for up to 13.8% more airflow and up to 8% more static pressure over TUF Gaming’s last generation AMD Radeon flagship card even at lower fan speeds allowing for a quieter card despite its power. You can also choose between two BIOS presets for either a quieter experience or more powerful performance mode.
The new RDNA 3 GPU packs an HDMI 2.1 port for up to 8K 165Hz display connections. You will not get that kind of graphics for most AAA games played on the GPU though, even if you can find a display to match that. Still, it is nice to know that you are futureproofed. You also get three DisplayPort 2.1, which is technically even better than HDMI 2.1 currently. Unlike NVIDIA’s latest and greatest, the AMD GPU still needs three 8-pin connectors from your PSU to work.
TUF Gaming Radeon RX 7900 XT
Source: ASUS
The new high-end AMD GPU packs just a little under 800 stream processors at 5,379. It is still anything but a slouch though. It is paired with 20GB of GDDR6 RAM and 320-bit memory interface, which is still a plenty and rather fast.
The Radeon RX 7900 XT also features a 3.63-slot design that houses plenty of cooling capabilities while remaining quiet. At the same power draw, the GPU runs faster, cooler, and quieter than the older Radeon RX 6900 GPU. That also means that if you truly want to overclock the GPU, you have even more headroom than before.
Price and Availability
While ASUS has announced and unveiled the new AMD GPUs, there are no official dates teased by the board makers. There is also currently no official pricing from them just yet. We are expecting them to be available sometime soon after the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT and Radeon RX 7900 XTX reference GPUs arrive in Malaysian shores. You can expect prices to be higher than the reference cards too thanks to the beefier cooling solution that the TUF Gaming variants offer. More on the new AMD Radeon GPUs from ASUS can be found on their website.
AMD recently launched their new Zen 4 architecture platform in their Ryzen 7000 series CPUs. Yes, in case you have not known yet, the AMD Ryzen 5000 series is now outdated and is replaced with AMD’s brand-new Ryzen 7000 processors. Yes, benchmark numbers produced by AMD also shows rather promising figures too, they suggest performance numbers well beyond what their Ryzen 5000 Zen 3 processors can manage. They are promising larger performances even compared to their competitors too.
While the past few years of AMD’s Ryzen goodness have been backward compatible with their AM4 socket, the new Ryzen 7000 with Zen 4 kicks things off for a new generation of socket made for the future, the AM5 socket platform. Gone are the flimsy pins on the chip itself and in comes push pins on the board instead, for a less nerve-wrecking installation process.
While AMD can go on and on with how powerful and different their new processors are, their Ryzen 7000 chips are glorified paperweights if they cannot get on a proper motherboard. This is where ASUS comes sweeping in with brand new motherboards to support the new AM5 platform and take advantage of Zen 4 with the B650 chipset motherboards.
You want to keep in mind that the AMD B650 boards are not the top-of-the-line computing platforms you can get for AMD’s latest and greatest. For the most current ultimate AMD experience, you want to go for the X670 boards. The B650 then is a sort of budgeted performance boards for those looking to build a powerful system that does not break the bank.
For the Hardcore Gamers – The ROG Strix Series
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Everybody wants an ROG. That is also because they are known to make some of the best gaming gears and hardware in the market. For the AMD Ryzen 7000 they have the ROG Strix B650-E, B650-F, B650-I, and B650-A Gaming WiFi motherboards.
All of them comes with PCIe 5.0 drives of course. Only the ROG Strix B650-A does not carry any PCIe 5.0 x16 slots for peripherals. It is also the only one in the ROG Strix line-up that does not pack an I/O Shield. Then again, only the latest GPUs from NVIDIA are PCIe 5.0 peripherals. All of them support DDR5 memory though. True to their names too, they are all WiFi equipped boards.
The top-of-the-line ROG Strix B650-A comes with 16+2 teamed power stages with 8+8 ProCool power connectors for even more flexible overclocking on AMD’s Ryzen 7000 processors. It also features a tonne of heatsinks to cool two M.2 slots and its VRM. There are two additional M.2 slots too, on top of the two that are wrapped under heatsinks. To make installation much more convenient, the M.2 drives do not have to be screwed in; they are latched by ASUS’ clever Q-Latch system. There is also a USB FlashBack feature that allows the BIOS to be flashed even without a processor or GPU installed on the system. All you need is a USB drive and power supply. Its audio is also greatly improved with USB-based ALC4080 audio codec alongside a new Savitech SV3H712 amp for better experience when you work with audiophile gears.
For the Budget Gamers – The TUF Series
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
If you still want something tailored for gaming, but do not want to spend on an ROG, there is the TUF gaming series of motherboards. The B650 motherboards from TUF line-up offers all everything you need to fully take advantage of Ryzen’s 7000 series of processors Zen 4 architecture. You can choose between ATX or micro-ATX options for builds designed for smaller footprints.
Just because they are value offers for gamers, does not mean that they pack any less performance and features than their ROG cousins. You still get support for DDR5, PCIe 5.0 M.2 slot, and onboard USB 3.2 2×2 Type-C ports for all sorts of stuff. Of course, all TUF boards also come with 2.5GBps ethernet ports for high-bandwidth internet connections and WiFi 6 in case you prefer things to be wireless.
For the Creators – The ProArt Series
Source: ASUS
The gaming market is not the only hotbed for high-performing computing solutions. The content creator market is still heating up and their appetite for high-performance machines has increased in recent years. They also need high-performing machines that are quiet and svelte when they need to be.
While contents take time to produce, speed in workflow is key in their projects. That is why having a PCIe 5.0 support on their M.2 slot is important. Plenty of content creator programs are memory hungry too, which also means that high-speed memory is important, you get that from new DDR5 RAM support. While the ProArt series only has PCIe 4.0 x16 slots as standard, it also means that users can fit up to two GPUs to handle all their content creation workflow needs in an x8/x8 confguration.
Of course, connectivity could be key in a shared worlkflow. You get 10GBps ethernet port as standard on your boards. At the same time, you can work without a dedicated GPU if you choose with a built-in DisplayPort 1.4 output on the board itself. On top of that, you get the versatility of a USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Type-C port support.
For the Value Hunters – The Prime Series
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
If you are just looking for something that does not break the bank but still take advantage of AMD’s latest and greatest, then look no further than the ASUS Prime series motherboards. It gives you the flexibility of using all sorts of budget cases and compat builds with ATX and micro-ATX solutions. It is the perfect daily driver, in ASUS’ books.
The ASUS prime B650 boards offer up to 2.5GBps networking port, PCIe 5.0 M.2 slot, and DDR5 support across their boards, The boards also packs BIOS FlashBack feature that allows you to reset your BIOS and even update it with nothing more than a USB stick and working power supply. You do not get PCIe 5.0 x16 slots just yet, but you really are not missing out on much at this point of time.
Pricing and Availability
There are no mentions yet on their official pricing currently. There is also no promised availability date for the boards at this time, but we are expecting them to be available pretty soon. For more information on the ASUS B650 motherboards made for AMD Ryzen 7000 Zen 4 processors, you can head over to their website.
Last year, if our friends asked us about building a PC or a gaming rig for themselves, we would have said that it is not a good time. We would have also told them to maybe get a gaming laptop instead, especially with prices of parts soaring out of control,
Fast forward to 2022 though and the PC component market has shown signs of recovery. Prices of GPUs and CPUs have dropped by 20-25%. While components are still sold above recommended retail prices, situations are not as bad as before and stocks are slowly becoming more available.
Source: ASUS
In terms of current component prices, it is a better time now to build your own PC. In the current market climate, there has never been a better time to build a PC because new components are launching left and right. It is an especially good time to build budget gaming rigs thanks to ASUS releasing the latest AMD Radeon GPU.
It is called the AMD Radeon RX 6400, and just as its numbers suggest, it is an entry-level GPU. It is still a modern AMD GPU though, and they say that it will do 1080p gaming rather well. We trust them on this and recommend that you stick to a 1080p gaming build on this.
It is meant for a budget rig, so you cannot expect miracles out of it. Still, you get 4GB of GDDR6 memory out of the card. You also get HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4a outputs, which should allow you to have two monitors working simultaneously. It is also a PCIe 4.0 card, which also means that it should perform better than some of the AMD Radeon RX 5000 series GPUs.
Source: ASUSSource: ASUSSource: ASUSSource: ASUSSource: ASUS
Of course, the GPU comes with AMD’s latest RDNA 2 architecture on the 2039 MHz clocked chip. The GPU can be boosted up to 2321 MHz when you need maximum power for your games. When the GPU consumes little to no power, its fans turn off for silent operation. The Radeon RX 6400 also comes with support for DirectX 12 Ultimate, AMD Fidelity FX technology, AMD Radeon Super Resolution, and AMD’s Smart Access Memory technology for even better gaming experiences.
ASUS’ AMD Radeon RX 6400 comes in two flavours – ASUS Dual Radeon RX 6400 and ASUS Phoenix Radeon RX 6400. The Dual variant comes with two fans for maximum cooling performance while the Phoenix comes with a single fan design. Currently only the ASUS Dual Radeon RX 6400 will be available in Malaysia for MYR 960. There are no confirmations on when the more affordable single-fan Phoenix Radeon RX 6400 will be available in Malaysia. More information on the AMD Radeon RX 6400 can be found on AMD’s website.
First, yes, we realise that the newly announced NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti is not in any way an affordable piece of kit. In fact, it is NVIDIA’s most expensive RTX 30 series GPU to date at US$ 1,999 which is nearly MYR 8,500 by today’s estimation. But this also is not a regular GPU made for the regular consumer.
To be fair, yes, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti broke cover a few days ago. It is still a brand-new piece of kit that hardly comes by though. While conditions in the market is not getting worse, it is not getting that much better either. Prices of GPUs are still quite inflated and item availability is still not great. So, does this mean that NVIDIA’s move in launching a new card going to screw us, customers over even more with an even more pricey GPU?
As it turns out, not really. Let us go into that a little bit later. For now, the GPU; the star of the show.
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti is not really a new GPU. Like its siblings, the RTX 3090 Ti is more like a small improvement over the mighty RTX 3090. In some partner board cases, it is even bigger than the RTX 3090 which just makes them ridiculous to look at and to have.
As mentioned earlier, it is no ordinary consumer class GPU. The regular RTX 3090 was not a regular consumer class GPU either, so you should not expect this one to be at its asking price. NVIDIA targets not only the most demanding gamers with this card, they want the prosumers to also notice. It is made to chew applications like Maya, Blender, Cinema4D, and other 3D rendering software then spitting out masterpieces as quickly as you can conceptualize them. Of course, I am exaggerating a little bit here, but you get the idea.
It packs 10,752 CUDA cores with 24GB of onboard memory that is capable of 78 RT-TFLOPs, 40-Shader-TFLOPs, and 320 Tensor-TFLOPs. That basically means it can do a lot of calculations. The regular RTX 3090 only houses 10,496 CUDA cores in comparison. The result is a GPU that is overall 9% faster than the one that it evolves from. It is also about 50% faster than the most expensive GPU NVIDIA had before, the TITAN RTX.
All these not just enables gamers to game with up to 8K resolutions in smooth fashion. It also enables content creators to work even more seamlessly with 8K resolution contents. The demand for contents today has brought 8K resolution videos as standard. This would be the perfect GPU to work with for 8K contents.
Source: ASUS
The first of the board partners that have come out and announced their RTX 3090 (at least in Malaysia) is ASUS with their ROG Strix and TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3090 Ti GPUs. The Strix is quite unique, a water-cooled GPU with its own AiO cooler that you need to find space for in your case, if you want one. The TUF Gaming GPU is a more regular GPU, but you still do need some clearance for it with a 3.2 slot heatsink. You can get the ROG GPU at MYR 11,000 and the TUF Gaming GPU from MYR 9,700, which is around the ballpark price of a high-end GPU these days.
So, What Does This Mean?
A quick Shopee search for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 GPU will bring you some clue to the answers. You would see prices of the previous halo product going anywhere between MYR 10,000 to about MYR 12,000. This would be considered a reasonable price before the RTX 3090 Ti showed up. Considering stocks are low, with demands that stocks could not meet, it is understandable these prices.
A few months ago, a quick search of the NVIDIA GeForece RTX 3090 yields result that hover anywhere between MYR 12,000 to even MYR 20,000 for a single GPU. This also means that GPUs have gone down in prices for the past few months and that is a good thing. But it is not necessarily good enough because GPUs are still sold way above their retail prices, just because they can.
Here is the thing though, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti marks an end of stock shortages in the GPU market, it is basically NVIDIA producing a new halo product because they can finally do it with ease. It is why the RTX 3080 Ti was released and the RTX 3090 Ti had to wait a few more months before it comes to light.
If you look closely, even with ASUS’ inflated pricing, the RTX 3090 Ti is priced lower than plenty of the current RTX 3090 GPUs you can find in the market. This should, in turn, drive down prices of GPUs that are currently out in the market even lower. At this point as well, retailers might not even be able to use the “stocks are still scarce” excuse to price their GPUs. There is enough GPUs to go around now, and prices should have come down to earth.
Sure, a halo product like this will still come in limited quantities. It is, after all, the most expensive GPU you can buy in 2022. But it does mean that you can go out and buy a GPU. It signals to us that you can start haggling down prices of the GPUs that you want from the retailers, at least a little bit. It also means that you have enough GPUs to go around now. It is now almost a reasonable time to go out and buy a GPU.
The ASUS TUF line-up has its roots in 2010 as one of ASUS’ peripherals arms. Short for The Ultimate Force, they made peripherals for the gaming market. Unlike ROG though, the TUF line-up caters to the budget conscious gamers.
In that sense, some of the TUF are designed with durability and value in mind, and it shows. Beside the ROG name, the TUF branding is one of the most recognizable one in the gaming PC components industry.
The ASUS TUF gaming laptop line-up was made to be the entry-level category from 2016 onward. Of course, entry-level gaming laptops are full of compromises to make them as budget friendly as they can be. They were one of the first gaming laptops with MIL-STD 810 military standards certification, so they haven’t compromised on build quality. The performance was the one that took the hit though.
It is still a TUF gaming laptop, this TUF Dash F15, an entry-level product in other words. But it is not like any TUF gaming laptops that we know from before. It looks more sophisticated; more streamlined, and cleaner. It also packs a lot of power under its hood, or keyboard.
At MYR 5,799 though, it is not cheap. Should you consider an entry-level gaming laptop now if you are going into content creation and if you want to game without breaking the bank? Should you get this laptop for that matter?
Design
The ASUS TUF Dash F15 is not just an ASUS TUF gaming laptop. It is also their thinnest offering to date. While the other 15-incher from ASUS’ TUF line-up offers you about 2.5cm in thickness, the TUF Dash 15 is just below 2cm. The diet also takes off about 300g off the weight, at 2.0kg.
While remaining thinner and lighter than most 15-inch gaming laptops, the TUF Dash F15 still features three full-sized USB 3.0 Type-A ports, a full-sized HDMI 2.0 port, and an RJ45 port to the sides of the notebook. Of course, with any modern laptop, you can expect to see one USB Type-C port alongside a 3.5mm audio jack.
Our test unit comes with the Eclipse Gray matte finish, and we are fans of its looks. The redesigned TUF emblem is a lot flatter than before, elegant almost. Just in case you forgot, there are letterings spelling out TUF on its cover boldly reminding you that it is a TUF device.
The ASUS TUF Dash F15’s more compact body also means limitations in terms of cooling vents. The solution is moving the cooling vents elsewhere which also moves the ports toward users. Because the chassis is smaller too, the keyboard is now a ten-keyless with two very unsightly unused space sandwiching the keyboard. While they have disguised the unused space with some textured designs, we still think that ASUS could have made better use of the wasted spaces.
Most of the TUF Dash F15 is made of plastics. Despite being mostly plastic, the TUF Dash F15 does not feel cheap. The plastic parts, which mostly cover the bottom and the display bezel of the laptop, feels durable, just as an ASUS should.
Other than the subtle branding exercise, there are no creases or bulges that indicates a gaming laptop. The only indicator that this is a gaming laptop is the cut out at the bottom of the display paying homage to ASUS ROG’s original idea. The cover is a flat aluminium slate that hides its power.
Hardware
Underneath the MIL-STD 810 build of the ASUS TUF Dash F15 is a powerhouse of a processor combined with a powerful enough GPU that you can appreciate.
Specifications
TUF Gaming Dash F15 (2021)
As Tested
Processor (clock)
Intel Core i7-11370H (Quad-Core@3.1~4.4GHz)
GPU
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060
Display(s)
15.6-inch IPS (1920 x 1080 FHD) 144Hz Anti-glare Narrow Bezel
Memory
512GB NVMe PCIe Gen 3 SSD 16GB DDR4 RAM (8GB x 2)
Networking and Connections (I/O)
1 x USB 3.1 Type-C (Thunderbolt 4) 3 x USB 3.2 Type-A 1 x 3.5mm AUX 1 x HDMI 2.0 1 x RJ45 Ethernet Port WiFi 6 (802.11ax) Bluetooth 5.01
Operating System
Windows 10 Home (64-bit)
Miscellaneous
2.00kg DTS audio All-metal body
Features
The ASUS TUF Gaming is not just an entry-level value offering though. It is a thin-and-light gaming laptop. You still want everything that makes the gaming laptop a proper working PC when you need it to be.
Full Ports
There is little sacrifice in terms of I/O ports. You still get three USB Type-A 3.2 ports on both sides. There is a full HDMI 2.0 port, and one thunderbolt 4 USB Type-C port on the left side of the device too for multi-display compatibility. You get a 3.5mm AUX jack too, which is a nice welcome since the ASUS ZenBook devices started omitting AUX ports. As mentioned, you also get a full RJ45 port.
We still feel that some of the ports like the HDMI, the charging, and even one of the USB Type-A ports could be shifted to the back for better ergonomics and cable management. It might sacrifice some needed space for the cooling vents though.
You will not find an SD card reader, which is a bummer for content creators. While card readers are not that expensive these days, it is also always nice to have one already built-in.
Armory Crate
The ASUS TUF Dash F15’s Armoury Crate allows you to choose your power profile. You can tell the device to push maximum power with performance mode. While the power profile is set to ‘balanced’ by default, launching Armory Crate is just a matter of a click of a button and changing profiles is also just a matter of clicking the ROG logo button that sits separately above the keyboard. The Armory Crate button is also grouped with the volume up, down, and mute buttons.
Sadly, the Armory Crate does not allow you to change the back lighting of the keyboard. That is also because the keyboard on the ASUS TUF Dash F15 does not feature RGB. You can customize how your keyboard is being lit though. If you have an ASUS Aura Sync compatible device, you can connect it to the TUF Dash F15 and customize the lighting scheme from Armory Crate.
Sorry, I Don’t Have a Webcam
There is one glaring issue with the ASUS TUF Dash F15. It is one you cannot find. There is no webcam on the TUF Dash F15.
A lot of the included webcam on your laptops are not great though. You get subpar quality cameras that shoots at only 720p for video calls. Most of the time, your smartphone can do a much better camera capturing videos at 720p.
Webcams are easily accessible anyway. That also means that you might be better off with them anyway. You can even turn your smartphones into webcams these days.
Performance
This is a gaming laptop built with performance in mind. It is also made with budget in mind. The terms ‘budget-friendly’ and ‘high-performance’ does not always come together very often. In the case of the ASUS TUF Dash F15 though, you can put the terms together.
Multitasking & Poductivity
You get 16GB RAM out of the box (as tested). That means you have ample of RAM to work with in normal use cases. 16GB is more than enough even for creative suites like Adobe’s Premiere Pro or even Photoshop. You might want to be a little patient with After Effects though.
Still, even if you are on Google Chrome, you can manage up to 20 tabs with no issues. Of course, a clever RAM management plugin should do wonders for Chrome. Ample RAM also means that documents processing and even PowerPoint is a breeze.
On the end of content creation, the ASUS TUF Dash F15 also comes into its own. We relied on Adobe’s suite for most of our audio-visual work. For videos, we work with Adobe’s Premiere Pro. We tasked the laptop to render an H.264 Full HD video from H.265 HEVC 4K sources. It took the ASUS TUF Dash F15 about 5 minutes and 19 seconds to render the video. At H.265 format, the ASUS TUF Dash F15 renders the video at just about half the time. Oddly, the laptop refuses to render 4K videos at both H.264 and H.265 formats.
Silently Working
Keyboards on ASUS’ gaming laptops have come a long way though. In case you forgot that the ASUS TUF Dash F15 is a gaming laptop, the light blue backlighting shows through on the transparent keycaps for the WASD buttons.
It is still a laptop though, so you cannot expect an experience that compares to mechanical keyboards. The key travel is limited, and tactility is not the best. While it does not feel like you are hitting your fingers on a wooden board, the keyboard does not give you the best feedback. It might not feel the best and your typing accuracy might suffer a little bit, but at least you will not be too fatigued when you type out long essays.
Gaming
On the ASUS TUF Dash F15, we tested games like Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Horizon Zero Dawn, and even Grand Theft Auto V. Horizon Zero Dawn is also made to be optimized for the Sony PlayStation 4 platform first, which would also mean that Horizon Zero Dawn should have no trouble running at higher settings.
We cranked the graphics settings on the eight-year-old Grand Theft Auto to its highest. The game clocked at a maximum of 120fps on Grand Theft Auto V. On average, the fps count hovers around the 100fps mark and above.
While Horizon Zero Dawn is made for the PS4 platform, it is still a graphics heavy game. That also means that it clocks only at about 90fps on average with its graphics settings turned all the way up. Shadow of the Tomb Raider did push the hardware on the TUF Dash F15 a little bit. At some points the game only clocked 28fps. There were some noticeable lags far and few. Still, at default settings (medium-high), the game could run at 40-50fps on average.
While you may not be able to enjoy all the current AAA titles at ultra-quality, they will be easily playable and therefore enjoyed on the ASUS TUF Dash F15. If you wish to, you can even plug it into a monitor or TV to enjoy your games via the HDMI port or even the USB Type-C thunderbolt 4 port.
Throttle, Throttle, Throttle
In our test of the ASUS TUF Dash F15, we did encounter a few odd issues with its fan. The fans on the ASUS TUF Dash F15 throttles as temperature goes up. There is a way to turn the fans all the way up in the BIOS settings if you really want, but by default, the fan responds to temperature.
Temperatures on the rig can get quite high. When you are playing games, you tend to see your CPU hitting its limit at about 99oC to 100oC. The fan ramps up in an attempt to cool the PC in games. In games as well, the fan speed is sustained to keep temperatures manageable. The same cannot be said when you edit videos though.
In our test of the ASUS TUF Dash F15, working with Adobe Premiere Pro was mostly a pleasure with the PC being quiet most of the time while scrubbing through footages. Even at “performance” settings, the device remains relatively quiet. Once you start rendering the video though, fans start to ramp up to their maximum but not at a sustained rate, oddly enough.
Display & Audio
You get a nice 15.6-inch IPS panel for a display. Because there is no webcam to speak of, the bezels are super thin on the top and sides. It is also a Full HD display that refreshes at 144Hz, important when it comes to competitive titles.
Of course, if you are playing titles like Shadow of the Tomb Raider, or even Horizon Zero Dawn, you might not be taking advantage of the 144Hz refresh rate. The speed of the display can be appreciated by competitive titles like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive though. At the same you can still enjoy a goods game of GTA Online with your friends.
On the end of content creation though, you might want to consider a secondary monitor. While the display looks good with highly saturated colours, it is not the most accurate display you might find in the market. It is good enough though if you are not using the ASUS TUF Dash F15 for colour grading work.
Where the display shines beyond games is movies and consuming other medias. Videos look crisp and nice on the display, and you can easily enjoy Netflix and Amazon Prime on the platform. While the colour contrast is not the best, it is still great enough to casually enjoy a good movie with.
On the end of Audio, you get DTS Audio speakers. There are only two speakers that are firing downward and out. The speakers are decent in the mid-range and high-end frequencies with more emphasis on the mid-range. Low-end is a little thin because there is no sub-woofer on the laptop. At least the speakers can be louder than the fan when you game. That also means you might not need your headphones or earphones when you game with the ASUS TUF Dash F15.
The ASUS TUF Dash F15 – A Reasonable Performer
The ASUS TUF Dash F15 is a new sort of notebook in ASUS’ entry-level gaming line-up. It does not feel like they are new to the segment though. The TUF Dash F15 feels like a properly mature attempt at the thin-and-light gaming segment.
The ASUS TUF thin-and-light is brilliant for users who are looking for the form factor but do not want to spend insane amounts of money for it. It is also packed with all the right I/O ports, except for an SD card reader.
It is not the most powerful gaming rig you can find in the market. At MYR 5,799, it is also not the cheapest of its kind out there. For that kind of money, you can get another gaming laptop that features an RGB keyboard instead of a regular backlit one on the TUF Dash F15. The fan profile is a little odd when you start working with it in terms of content creation, which also means you will see some thermal throttling when you start rendering your videos.
If you are in it for the latest games, the ASUS TUF Dash F15 can easily keep up with any title you can throw at it in 2021. Of course, you have to adjust your expectations a little bit in terms of graphics performance. If you are talking about competitive e-sports titles, you are going to be more than happy with it.
Is it worth the MYR 5,799 price tag then? We would say it is. The aluminium finishing on the laptop makes it feel more premium than it is. The laptop is designed tastefully, and the new logo just looks modern and subtle, something we appreciate. In today’s money though, you are getting quite a lot of power. In gaming situations, you are not going to ever feel like you are lacking. In content creation, there are some give and take here, but it works well enough. It is all you could want in a thin and light gaming laptop, just about.
Last year NVIDIA announced their next generation GPUs, the GeForce RTX 30 series GPUs that they claim to have the largest generational gap over the older series. It is inevitable then for fans to be asking for the mobile variant of the GPUs to be put in the ever popular and growing gaming notebook market. They are also asking for more budget friendly variants like the RTX 3060 Ti and updated variant of the GTX 1650 and GTX 1660 Ti.
That is not all though, new CPUs are also introduced in 2020 and early 2021. AMD came swinging hard with the new AMD Ryzen 5000 series CPUs with Zen 3 architecture making them the most powerful consumer level CPU overall currently on sale. Intel pushed their own boundaries with their 10nm architecture 11th Generation CPUs early in 2021 too. To be fair though Intel came with the mobile variant of the 11th Generation Core processors early in 2020 before the desktop variants were introduced in 2021.
TUF Gaming F15 and F17 (FX506H-CHN021T, FX706H-CHX065T, FX506H-MHN103T)
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
ASUS kicks of with the new TUF Gaming notebooks, both in 15-inch and 17-inch flavours. You get to choose between an Intel Core i5-11400H and an Intel Core i7-11800H for the ASUS TUF Gaming F15’s (FX506H) processor. That powerful GPU also comes paired with either an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 or an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 GPU with 6GB of GDDR6 RAM.
To ensure that you get a smooth gaming performance too, RAM is at up to 16GB for the top-of-the-line TUF Gaming F15 with room to spare. For storage you get a single SSD with 512GB in capacity. The storage is also expandable still with free extra NVMe PCIe 3.0 M.2 slot.
The 15-inch and 17-inch variants both get a 144Hz IPS display that pushes Full HD in resolution. For even more immersive gaming, the TUF Gaming F15 and F17 packs DTS Audio and speaker calibration. Of course, a great gaming experience today also means stable internet connection, and the ASUS TUF Gaming F15 and F17 packs WiFi 6 capabilities alongside Bluetooth 5.2 for extra stable wireless peripheral connection. With 90WHrs 4-cell battery, the TUF Gaming F15 and F17 may not last a whole day, but at least a few hours of use away from the wall socket should be enough for you to get your emails and whatever else done.
The ASUS TUF Gaming F15 with 11th Generation Intel Core i5 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 will be available mid of June 2021 onward at MYR 4,199. The TUF Gaming F17 with 11th Generation Intel Core i5 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 will be available at the end of June 2021 at MYR 4,299. The TUF Gaming F15 with 11th Generation Intel Core i7 with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 will be available at the end of this month (May 2021) onward at MYR 5,599.
For extra portability, you might want to look at the ASUS TUF Gaming Dash F15, a thinner and lighter TUF gaming notebook like no other. At 2kg, it is no ultrabook. Still, it is a light gaming device with the power to match.
You get the 11th Generation Core i7-11370H processor that also has an Intel Iris Xe Graphics integrated GPU for general usage at lower power draw. For all the high-performance stuff though, this thing packs a powerful NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti GPU. Thanks to the integrated GPU, the notebook draws minimal power from the 76WHrs battery and ensures that the notebook can last longer than your average gaming notebooks.
The powerful NVIDIA GPU though powers the 15.6-inch IPS display to push Full HD into your face. You even get fast 144Hz refresh rate to ensure you still have the necessary competitive advantage in any gaming situation. With up to 8GB of RAM, you can be sure that gaming is a smooth and snappy experience.
The ASUS TUF Gaming Dash F15 will be available in two colour options – Eclipse Grey and Moonlight White. The new gaming laptop will be available this month (May 2021) onward. The thinner and lighter TUF Gaming notebook will set you back MYR 4,799.
ASUS ROG Strix G15 and G17 (G513Q-CHN019T, G512Q-CHN020T, G712Q-CHX022T, G512Q-CHN096T)
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
The new ASUS ROG STRIX G15 and G17 packs up to the highly acclaimed AMD Ryzen 7 5800H processor. With AMD’s processor, the ROG STRIX G15 and G17 is also a powerful creator class GPU. Pair that with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 and you get a capable video editor and gaming notebook that you can take with you anywhere you want.
You get up to 8GB in RAM and up to 512GB in SSD storage. If those are not enough though there is an extra available slot for you to expand your RAM and SSD storage still. An extra 8GB and an extra 512GB of SSD storage would do you nicely for the ASUS ROG STRIX G15 and G17.
You get to choose up between 15.6-inch and 17.3-inch display sizes for the new ASUS ROG STRIX series. Both sizes are IPS displays that churns out Full HD in resolution too. Of course, for the extra smooth feel and edge in competitive gaming, the displays refreshes at 144Hz.
For all your connectivity needs there is the usual WiFi 6 that should be standard today. It also packs Bluetooth 5.1 for an extra stable wireless peripherals experience. You can find a USB Type-C port, but unfortunately Thunderbolt is not supported on the AMD based notebook.
The ROG STRIX G15 and G17 notebooks with either an AMD Ryzen 5-5600H or the AMD Ryzen 7-5800H will be available this month (May 2021) onward. The AMD Ryzen 5 variant of the ASUS ROG STRIX G15 will set you back MYR 4,199. The AMD Ryzen 7 variant of the ASUS ROG STRIX G15 and G17 will sell for MYR 4,499 and MYR 4,599 respectively. There is also an Elctro Punk special edition ASUS ROG STRIX G15 with AMD Ryzen 7-5800H that comes with its own set of colour matching accessories like a mousepad, a gaming mouse, and a backpack for MYR 4,799.
ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 (GA401Q-HHZ078TS, GA401Q-CHZ083TS, GA401Q-EK2023TS)
Source: ASUS
The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14, in our books, is one of the notebooks that put AMD’s Ryzen processors name in the gaming laptop map. The first Zephyrus G14 was a brilliant product that received many accolades. That packed the older generation AMD Ryzen 3000 series mind you.
The new one of course packs the new AMD Ryzen 7 5800HS processor to boot. You get to work with up to NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 3050 Ti GPU for all of your gaming and content creation needs. Both the CPU and GPU are supported by an 8GB RAM that you can easily expand with an extra RAM slot in the thin and sturdy body with the very recognisable Matrix LED shell. Storage wise, you get 512GB in SSD with an extra expansion slot too.
The powerful CPU and GPU combination pushes games to up to 144Hz (120Hz for WQHD variant) on the 14-inch IPS display that comes with the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14. You get to spec your Zephyrus G14 with up to WQHD display too if you need the extra resolution for content creation purposes. On both the Full HD and WQHD displays, you get 100% coverage of DCI-P3 for a super deep colour accuracy and Pantone validation as the cherry topping.
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 will be available in Eclipse Grey and Moonlight variants. The ROG Zephyrus G14 with NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 1650 GPU will come with a non AniMe Matrix shell while the rest of the variants get the AniMe Matrix panel on the shell of the notebook for extra personalisation. The new AMD Ryzen 7 powered ROG Zephyrus G14 notebook is available this month (May 2021) onward and will start at MYR 4,799 and tops out MYR 6,499.
