ASUS TUF Gaming FX505 - Tough Gaming Laptops from All Sides
ASUS TUF Gaming FX505 is the latest gaming laptop
product from the line that is quite interesting. TUF Gaming is a new line from
ASUS that is level below ROG (Republic of Gamers) for users who want to have
high-performance laptops to play games than most mainstream laptops but have
more limited funds.
Then whether the FX505 laptop as the latest model from
the line can re-captivate the hearts of gamers? Here's a review of the ASUS TUF
Gaming FX505 from TNP.
Design
The ASUS TUF Gaming FX505 has a design that is still
somewhat similar compared to its predecessor with several reshuffles here and
there. The design character that is characteristic of TUF laptops such as
trapezoidal pieces in the cover and lines that make up the X are highlighted in
this version.
The gray cover with aluminum and the gold ASUS logo
give a smooth and soft impression but also look premium at the same time. At a
glance, the outer appearance is not as flashy as most gaming laptops, so it's
still appropriate to take it to a formal place like lectures.
The body feels sturdy even though overall it is made
of plastic that is quite thick. Not surprising because this laptop has been
equipped with MIL-STD-810G certificate which means it has passed the Military
Grade test. This ensures the laptop will be resistant to shocks, humidity,
solar radiation, altitude, and extreme temperatures.
This laptop is quite large with dimensions of 360.4 x
262.0 x 25.8 mm and weighs around 2.2 Kg. Therefore, make sure you have enough
bags to store when you want to take a trip. This large size is actually still
fairly reasonable for a gaming laptop in its class but it will be something
that should be considered for those who prefer slim laptops.
The gaming side of this laptop will only be really
visible when opening it. A keyboard with RGB backlit and a transparent WASD
button that is different from other buttons. There are several RGB effect modes
that can be selected starting from Static, Breathing, Color Cycle, to Strobing
so that they can be adjusted to your taste.
Unfortunately this backlit RGB is only available on the Gold Steel variant FX505 while for other variants only available is a typical red backlit gaming laptop. Even so, the other variants in my opinion are no less cool.
The keyboard itself is quite good for playing
games but still feels unsatisfactory for typing for a long time because the surface
is flexible so that the surrounding area feels down when pressed. Asus chose to
provide a full keyboard layout on this laptop which would certainly be quite
helpful in playing some games. One thing that makes it a bit surprising is the
arrow button slightly protrudes downward which makes me have to get used to it
because I often press the clump accidentally.
Under the keyboard there is a large enough
touchpad that is comfortable to use when not carrying an extra mouse. The
surface makes the fingers slip easily and clicks tactically and left and right.
About connectivity, this laptop provides a fairly complete port starting from
USB 3.1, USB 2.0, HDMI 2.0, RJ45, and 3.5 mm audio jack. All of these ports are
available on the left while the right side does not have any ports except
Washington Lock.
The ASUS TUF Gaming FX505 has a 15.6-inch screen with Full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels with 100% sRGB gamut coverage. Also do not miss the anti glare layer to minimize disturbing light reflections.
As an ASUS laptop released in 2018, the screen uses the NanoEdge design which has a thin bezel of only 6.5 mm. Even so, the bezel is fairly thick when compared to other ASUS laptops in 2018 which offers a NanoEdge screen.
To accompany the screen, ASUS also embeds audio that is no less cool. The TUF Gaming FX505 is equipped with DTS Surround Sound technology that provides more real audio with virtual 7.1 surround that will simulate where the sound comes from.
After playing games and watching movies with headphones, I can say that the virtual surround effect is very good and makes the playing experience feel more like being inside. Unfortunately virtual surround in my opinion is less felt when using speakers.
Performance and Gaming
The ASUS TUF Gaming FX505GE-I7T61T that I use has an Intel Core i7-8750H processor with speeds of up to 3.9 GHz which provides 23% better performance than the previous generation. At the same time there is also an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti graphics card for the need for heavier graphics.
This laptop has 8GB of RAM LPDDR4, but unfortunately it's only a single channel. Of course there are still slots available to activate dual channels and increase the maximum capacity to 32GB for those who want it.
About storage, this laptop offers a dual storage solution with a 128GB PCIe Gen 3 SSD for the operating system and a 7200RPM SATA HDD with a capacity of 1TB to store personal data. This combination is still the most optimal in my opinion because it provides better overall performance but doesn't really make prices too swollen.
In normal daily use, the performance provided by the FX505 is no longer questionable. All the activities that I do on this laptop feel very responsive and fast whether it's just enjoying multimedia content, browsing, or running office applications. It can also be seen from the results of trials of several popular benchmark applications that simulate the performance needed in general.
ASUS TUF Gaming FX505 is able to score around 4,423 on PCMark 10 while PCMark 8 scores 4,977 for Work Accelerated mode. For the ability of the processor, the Core i7 embedded in reaching the number 826 cb in Cinebench R15.