Asus TUF Gaming A15 (2023) evaluate: This laptop oozes value

If you’re attempting to find a gaming laptop it’s tempting to imagine your transportable of selection will likely be far too costly however that’s not the case with the Asus TUF Gaming A15 for 2023.

This yr’s model begins at solely $1,199/£1,049 and rises to an inexpensive $1,399/£1,499 so that you received’t need to spend massive cash.

The mannequin I’ve reviewed prices $1,399 within the US however a extra palatable £1,199 within the UK. That will get you an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU and a 144Hz, 1080p show – the precise {hardware} you’ll must run nearly each sport easily for the subsequent few years.

On paper, that’s nice. But there’s extra to success than elements. Let’s dig in.

Further studying: The finest PC laptops for any price range

Design & Build

• Familiar army design and MIL-STD-810H testing
• A strong port choice, albeit with out some future-proofed choices
• Slimmer and lighter than its key rival

The Asus TUF vary takes inspiration from army {hardware}, and this 2023 version nonetheless appears like a provide crate. Make of that what you’ll.

Get past that – and the promotional stickers – and also you’ll discover a pocket book with MIL-STD-810H testing to make sure it will probably face up to shocks, drops, temperature modifications and water spillages.

That stated, there’s important motion within the display screen, base and keyboard, so I’d nonetheless suggest a protecting sleeve in the event you regularly deploy the A15 out of the home.

More impressively, the A15 weighs 2.2kg and is 25mm thick, so it’s slimmer and lighter than the Acer Nitro 5. This is just not a slim and light-weight laptop within the grand, but it surely’s considerably simpler to handle.

Mike Jennings / Foundry

There are full-size USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports on both aspect, however the USB 4 Type-C port, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C connector and the HDMI, audio and Ethernet outputs are all clustered on the left edge, which is probably not helpful to your cable-routing or for left-handed customers.

The strikes to USB 4 and HDMI 2.1 are the one upgrades from the 2022 A15, and the AMD chipset means no Thunderbolt. You’ll discover that, and one further USB port, on the Acer.

Elsewhere, the A15 has Wi-Fi 6 slightly than 6E, a blurry 720p webcam with no Windows Hello sign-in and no fingerprint reader. There’s Gigabit Ethernet however not quicker 2.5Gbps. That’s anticipated for an reasonably priced gaming pocket book and it received’t hinder day by day use – and the Acer suffers equally.

Keyboard & Trackpad

• A great structure with further buttons and RGB LED lighting
• A mushy, squishy typing motion that received’t fulfill many avid gamers
• An inconsistent trackpad means you’ll be higher off with a mouse

The keyboard may use a little bit extra refinement, too. The buttons might have 1.7mm of journey, however they’re mushy, with out the snappy really feel you’ll discover on one of the best gaming notebooks.

It’s not a catastrophe; you should utilize the A15 for gaming and typing. But if you need a strong keyboard to hammer by frantic classes, you received’t get it right here.

Mike Jennings / Foundry

The trackpad can be mushy and its buttons are inconsistent, with differing ranges of power required throughout the pad.

Ergonomically the A15 is okay however not good. The structure is best, with a numberpad, further audio buttons and single-zone RGB lighting. There’s hardly any distinction between the Asus A15, the Asus A16, and the Acer – they’re all effective however not superb.

Screen & Speakers

• A 1080p IPS panel at 144Hz means you’ve acquired the pixels and tempo for mainstream video games
• An absence of brightness means outside play is a no-go
• Mediocre audio system

There aren’t any massive additions to the show on this yr’s A15 – the 1080p IPS panel with 144Hz refresh fee reappears. You additionally get G-Sync assist alongside Nvidia Advanced Optimus and a MUX swap so it’s simple to make use of the laptop on mains and battery energy.

That’s effective for mainstream gaming and esports, however this display screen isn’t quick sufficient for high-end competitors. It doesn’t have the additional immersion you’ll get from 16:10 panels or screens with greater resolutions.

Mike Jennings / Foundry

In phrases of high quality, there’s good and dangerous information. Positively, the A15’s delta E of 1.46 means colours are correct and the distinction ratio of 935:1 is ok for gaming – mainstream video games will look good right here.

Negatively, although, the utmost brightness of simply 290 nits is just not excessive sufficient for outside use. And it’s at all times fairly annoying when different specs aren’t accessible – the 2022 mannequin may generally be discovered with 1440p panels and 300Hz refresh charges however there’s no signal of that this yr.

Unsurprisingly, you get mediocre audio system on this unit, with non-existent bass and a tinny top-end. Use a headset as a substitute and also you’ll have a much better time.

Specs & Performance

• AMD Ryzen 7 or Ryzen 9 processors
• Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050, 4060 or 4070 graphics
• 16GB DDR5 reminiscence and 512GB SSD

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU has 8GB of reminiscence and a TDP of 140W, which is correct on the prime of the GPU’s thermal envelope. Asus has deployed an AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS processor with eight multi-threaded cores and a lift velocity of 4.75GHz.

You’ll discover that processor within the TUF A16, too, but it surely’s odd when most different gaming laptops – together with the Acer Nitro 5 – embrace Intel chips.

The A15 has 16GB of dual-channel reminiscence and a 512GB SSD. That reminiscence is ok, however the SSD is small contemplating the dimensions of contemporary video games. Thankfully there’s a second SSD slot inside.

The Asus performed CyberPunk 2077 at Ultra settings with an 88fps common, and returned a still-playable results of 55fps with Ray Tracing and DLSS. A 1080p common of 85fps in Far Cry: New Dawn and a mighty 247fps lead to Rainbow Six Siege continued the A15’s good kind.

You have sufficient tempo to deal with any prime single-player sport for the subsequent few years, particularly in the event you don’t wish to run the highest settings. There’s simply sufficient velocity for any eSports sport too.

Mike Jennings / Foundry

In 3D Mark Time Spy, the A15 scored 10,020 factors – almost 1,000 past the RX 7600S contained in the A16. That end result rose by 600 factors in Turbo mode. That’s pretty much as good because it will get for the laptop model of the RTX 4060.

AMD’s processor does a good job in opposition to Intel’s chips. In PCMark 10 the AMD CPU scored 7,132, which outpaces the 6,926 scored by the i5-12500H within the Acer and the i7-12700H, which has truly proved a little bit slower in PCMark 10. The i5-13500H and i7-13700H don’t make an enormous distinction right here, both.

In Cinebench R20’s single- and multi-threaded checks, the A15 scored 579 and 5,241, with the previous behind Intel and the latter forward.

The Ryzen chip’s Geekbench 5 rating of 9,291 is about 3,000 factors shy of the Core i7-12700H and never far past the i5-12500H. Its Geekbench 6 results of 10,120 sits behind the i7, which is greater than 1,000 factors higher in that take a look at.

For on a regular basis looking, photo-editing, multi-tasking and workplace duties the AMD chip is nice, however if you need true content material creation potential you’d be higher off with Intel i7-12700H.

More positively the Asus by no means proved too sizzling or loud. Its followers solely produced a tiny whirr in on a regular basis Performance Mode and the noise wasn’t rather more intrusive in Turbo Mode.

You even get respectable battery life. I acquired two hours of gaming from the TUF A15 – twice as a lot because the Nitro 5. Remarkably, the A15 lasted for nearly 9 hours when working with the show at full brightness and twelve hours when working a movie with the brightness diminished to our regular take a look at setting.

The A16 exhibited equally prolonged outcomes, so there’s clearly one thing good taking place within the 90Wh energy pack and it is a laptop that’s definitely usable for a full working day.

Price & Availability

In the US and UK, the TUF A15 comes with RTX 4050, RTX 4060 and RTX 4070 graphics. The first two GPUs include the Ryzen 7 7735HS processor, whereas the RTX 4070 is paired with a Ryzen 9 7940HS.

The RTX 4050 model prices $1,199 and £1,049, the RTX 4060 mannequin prices $1,499 and £1,199, and the RTX 4070 rig arrives at £1,499 however isn’t accessible within the US on the time of writing.

In the US, you’ll discover the A15 at Walmart, Newegg and within the Asus Store at various costs, and within the UK, head to Amazon, Box, Currys and the Asus UK Store.

Mike Jennings / Foundry

These costs align with the A16 and are aggressive with the Acer. The Nitro 5’s RTX 4050 mannequin prices $999 within the US but it surely’s at the moment at £1,264 within the UK, so the A15 is best value within the UK. The Acer’s RTX 4060 model prices $1,299 and £1,399, so the A15 is extra reasonably priced.

Check out our chart of one of the best low-cost gaming laptops and try one of the best gaming laptop backpacks in the event you’d like sturdy, dependable storage.

Verdict

Alongside that higher value the A15 delivers nice 1080p and eSports energy, excellent battery life, a display screen that’s ok for indoor, clean gaming and a good number of ports inside a comparatively manageable chassis.

The lack of future-proofed connectivity, display screen brightness and a genuinely nice keyboard reign the A15’s ambition in, and the AMD processor is ok – however Intel stays higher in lots of situations.

At these costs, although, the A15 glosses over its faults. It’s a reliable, moderately quick gaming laptop with no big flaws, so it’s ideally suited if you need strong gaming energy with out spending foolish cash.

Specs

• Model examined
• OS: Windows 11 Home
• Display: 15.6in IPS, 1920 x 1080 144Hz
• CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS
• Memory: 16GB onboard
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 8GB
• Storage: 512GB PCIe NVMe M.s SSD
• Webcam: 720p
• Connectivity: 1 x USB-C 4/DisplayPort, 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C/DisplayPort/Power Delivery, 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1, 1 x HDMI 2.1, 1 x audio
• Networking: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2
• Battery capability: 90Wh
• Dimensions: 251 x 354 x 25mm
• Weight: 2.2kg
• Warranty: 1yr RTB

Editor’s observe: This article initially appeared on TechAdvisor.com.