ASUS TUF Gaming FX504G Review - Cool Designed Laptop at a reasonable price.

The ASUS TUF Gaming FX504G is part of ASUS's TUF series laptops, aimed at mobile gaming enthusiasts looking for an immersive and durable (TUF for Tough, get it?) gaming laptop.

Design - Sleek and well thought out plastic body

The laptop is entirely made of plastic on all sides, with a red accent around the edges and the ASUS insignia on the top. On the left side of the laptop, you'll find a charging port, an RJ45 LAN cable connector, an HDMI port, a Type-A USB2.0 port, two Type-A USB3.1 ports, and a single TRRRS 3.5mm audio connector.

If you look closely at the complete QWERTY chiclet keyboard, you'll notice red highlighted WASD keys highlighting the laptop's gaming focus. Due to the use of chiclet keys, keystrokes are typically short, mushy, and quiet. That is not all for the keyboard, as the individual keys are also self-illuminated, enhancing their visibility in the dark.

With a weight of 2.3kg, it is far lighter than most gaming laptops on the market. It is lightweight enough that I can go between locations without straining my back with the computer. I initially assumed the laptop's shell was made of aluminum due to the brushed metal-like surface at the top and around the chassis, which felt gratifying to the touch due to the texture, but it is plastic.

Despite its plastic construction, the chassis felt solid, with only a slight wobble in the display. At first, the screen's hinge felt relatively rigid, necessitating two hands to unfold the laptop. Finally, the touchpad felt smooth and clicky when pressed. However, it does tend to accumulate smudges from our fingertips, which look unsightly but are easily remedied by wiping it down with a slightly damp cloth.

Tech Specs and Features - Specs are not too shabby for their price.

The configuration under evaluation features an Intel Core i7 processor, 4GB of RAM, and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti graphics processor. Additionally, other variants are available, such as an FX504 equipped with an Intel Core i5 processor or a more powerful Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 graphics processor. The laptop's three USB Type-A ports are sufficient to connect a mouse, keyboard, and audio interface for a desktop-like experience while gaming on the road.

The ASUS TUF Gaming FX504G came pre-installed with several ASUS utilities, including ASUS Battery Health Charging, ASUS Keyboard Hotkeys, and ASUS Product Registration, as well as the full WPS Office software suite. It also lacked a control center through which users could modify settings to overclock the CPU, GPU, or even the RAM. Speaking of modifications, you can quickly adjust the brightness of the keyboard's lighting using the function keys. There are four distinct brightness levels to pick from.

Performance - The i7 processor helps; the RAM, on the other hand...

After extensive use of the ASUS TUF Gaming FX504G, I can say that the laptop performs admirably in everyday chores such as browsing the internet and viewing videos and in productivity tasks such as editing photos, spreadsheets, and word processing. Not only was that, but the laptop's backlit chiclet keyboard made it easier to operate in a dark area, and the keys quiet and satisfying to type on. With the bundled SSD, windows booted in less than ten seconds, and all installed software loaded faster.

However, the sound quality of the speakers on the underside of the laptop is not as good since the music sounds notably thin and distorted while playing any type of audio at the maximum volume setting.

The processor more than held its own when performing light multitasking tasks such as Spotify, multiple tabs in Google Chrome, VLC Player, and the GIMP image editor. However, due to the 4GB RAM, intensive multitasking, such as having too many tabs open in Google Chrome, will occasionally cause the laptop to slow and stutter. In terms of battery life, the laptop had lasted approximately 2 hours and a half before requiring a recharge, which takes about 1 hour to complete.

The laptop's gaming performance is good thanks to the Nvidia GeForce GTX1050 Ti graphics processor, averaging approximately 47 frames per second on the newest AAA release, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, not bad considering how demanding AAA titles can be. On the other hand, Playerunknown's Battlegrounds averaged approximately 42FPS, while Monster Hunter World, another AAA title, averaged around 36FPS. Bear in mind that all of the games were run on medium settings and could easily reach 60 frames per second if the quality was reduced to the bare minimum.

However, remember that it is advisable to disable all background activities while gaming since they already consume the very restricted 4GB of RAM. This can result in substantial stuttering or even cause the laptop to become unresponsive until the application is closed.

When gaming, the laptop heats up significantly but not to the point of discomfort. In terms of connectivity, the computer includes a LAN cable port on the side that enables me to connect directly to the router, ensuring that I always have a solid connection. While gaming over WiFi is possible, the connection will not be as stable as a direct cable connection to the router.

(Related Article - Acer Nitro 5 Review - It's more than just a Budget Laptop)

Conclusion - Good for most things but better with more RAM

The ASUS TUF FX504G got almost everything right, including the design, a 15.6-inch Full HD display, a 2.3kg weight, an 8th Generation Intel Core i7 processor, and reasonable pricing. However, the primary disadvantage is the meager 4GB RAM, which makes multitasking difficult. This can readily be rectified by purchasing another 4GB RAM stick, but at a slight premium over the standard pricing.

At RM3149, I'd say the laptop is an excellent companion for people looking to work, watch movies, or even play esports games such as Dota 2, League of Legends, Counter-strike: Global Offensive, or even Player unknown's Battlegrounds while on the go.

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