Overview
The Asus Tuf 506IU-ES74 gaming laptop is one of the first mobile systems to sport the all- new and powerful AMD Ryzen 7 4800H processor. This ES74 follows the Asus Tuf line of laptops in several departments, but of course, it stands out in the cost per performance area. In this review, we have taken the opportunity to dissect completely this Asus Tuf A15 laptop to look at its intimate specs, performance, strengths and weaknesses.
Processing power
Of course, the Tuf A15’s main attraction is its processor. It stocks a very powerful AMD Ryzen 7 4800H processor. This eight core – sixteen threaded CPU with a base clock speed of 2.9 GHz and Max Boost Clock speed of 4.2 GHz , in several benchmarks tests has out- performed the popular Intel i7-9750H 6 core processor and even its i9 counterpart. In addition , this processor has an L3 cache of 8 megabytes and a TDP of 45 watts. By now you would have had a clear idea of the 4800H’s raw performance power and of course, if this Tuf A15 has it, then you should know how powerful it is where processing strength is concern. To see more benchmarks of the Ryzen 7 4800H here.
The Graphics Card employed by the Tuf A15 507
For graphics power, Asus of course, had to go with a graphics card that’s already available on the market. This means that unlike the all new processor, it sports a graphics card that we know quite a bit about , since it has been around for quite a while. This is the Nvidia Geforce GTX 1660Ti 6 GB graphics card that has been employed in other models of laptops in the Tuf emperor. While the 1660Ti is a relatively powerful card that can at least run, all of today’s most demanding games on low to medium settings, it is certainly not powerful enough to push the Ryzen 7 4800H, anywhere near its max potential. In fact, many of today’s games won’t be able to do that, themselves. See some benchmarks of the 1660 Ti here.
How about its memory?
The Tuf A15 comes with a total of 16 Gigabytes DDR4 3200 GHz RAM, in the form of two 8 gigabyte modules. This means that this system is able to take advantage of the dual channel technology, which of course, provides enhanced performance. Asus should be applauded for going for the faster RAM based on the speed of the CPU used. While 16 GB RAM at this point in time, is good enough for gaming and most tasks, this laptop is compatible with a maximum of 64 GB RAM. To do so though, you would have to replace both 8 GB sticks with two 32 GB modules, since it has only two memory slots.
Lets take a closer look at the display of the Tuf A15
This laptop comes with a 15.6 inches 144 Hz FHD Anti-Glare Display. While the refresh rate of this monitor is similar to that of its major competitors , it must be noted that its response time in tests conducted, was a bit slower than the 3 mili-seconds expected. This slower response time might in some games, result in ghosting, which can be quite annoying. How about screen tearing? well, happily, this display comes with the free sync technology, that does very well in preventing screen tearing during gaming. Through observation, absolutely no back light bleeding was observed , which is of course, another plus. The brightness of the Tuff A15’s display was measured at a little over 270 nits , which is actually pretty around average and should be quite enjoyable, used in direct sunlight. The major shortfall of the display panel used, is its color accuracy and vibrancy. It is important to note that while its viewing angles are very good, this system is not the best for tasks such as professional photo editing that require a display with high level color accuracy. Asus could have gone with a display that covers more than the 65% of the sRgb, this one covers.
Storage
The Tuff A15 like many budget gaming laptops ,comes with a 512 Gigabyte SSD. Luckily though for users, this specific configuration comes with a very fast NVMe SSD. It also has two empty m dot 2 slots for additional storage. Which means , plenty of storage options for you.
Lets take a look at the battery
This specific configuration of the Tuff A15 was put together to achieve something no other laptop with its power, and in its price range, is able to achieve. We are talking here, about a massive 90 watt hour battery that gives around 7 hours on basic computing tasks and closer to 10 hours on video playback. On more demanding tasks such as intense gaming where both CPU and GPU are drawing much power, expect to get around 4 hours. This beats the likes of the 9th gen Acer Predator Helios by a very decent margin. Battery life, is really one of the A15’s strengths.
Build quality
Asus can be congratulated on the build quality of this laptop. It was built on the durable MIL-STD-810H military standard construction with a full aluminum back panel cover , solid plastic keyboard deck designed to keep out moisture and counter drops and vibrations. The base of this laptop is made from hard plastic .
Maintenance
The Tuff A15 has a single plastic maintenance cover, which is also the base of the laptop. It takes the removal of ten phillips screws to remove the back panel, after which, you have direct access to the storage slots, RAM and other components. This is particularly a great thing, as it means that even a complete computer novice, can complete tasks such as upgrading of storage and memory.
Connectivity
Here we take a look at the various ports and connection slots that the A15 has. As for networking, it depends on a Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 LAN Jack or Wi-Fi 5 2 x 2 wireless network card. It also has Bluetooth 5.0 capabilities. In terms of ports , it has 2 USB 3.2 Type A, 1 USB 3.2 Type C and 1 USB 2.0 type A ports. In addition, it has a headphone-out & Audio-in Combo Jack and a single HDMI 2.0 port for video output. Unfortunately, this laptop doesn’t have a thunderbolt port, which would have been a fantastic feature!
Heat management
We did not get to put this laptop through as many temperature tests as we do with other laptops, but from the stats collected in the few done, the A15 definitely looks very good where surface heat is concern. The chassis of the laptop, mainly the keyboard rest, was quite cool throughout intensive gaming and didn’t present any discomfort to touch. As it relates to internal temperatures, we must say that it did quite well and maintained good temperatures for most of the time in our stress tests, but in turbo mode and at extremely heavy load, the CPU did reach a temperature of 95 degrees which is quite hot! Of course, as time passes by and this system reaches in more hands, different modifications to help with thermals, will be developed.
Performance
The performance of the Tuff A15 depends strongly on the raw power of the Ryzen 7 4800H. In several CPU bench marks and comparisons, the Tuff A15 courtesy of its CPU, was able to perform outstandingly well. In Cinebench R20 multicore CPU test, it scored an amazing 4121 points in regular performance mode, some 200 points better than the i9 9880h processor. It performed even better when put into turbo mode, recording an astonishing 4121 points!. Definitely, if you are looking for CPU power, you will not be disappointed here. As for the performance in gaming where the graphics card is concern, we didn’t see much difference in performance from a laptop paired with the i7-9750H and the 1660 ti. The Tuf A15 performed and recorded identical frame rates to the 9th gen Acer Predator Helios 300. What we get from this, is that the processor doesn’t make much of a difference in most games, as most of them could not take advantage of the extra processing power available.
Laptop Deal’s Verdict
Any laptop that sports the Ryzen 7 4800H and can sufficiently power it, will be a giant to contend with. The Tuff A15 is one of these giants where processing power is concerned.. As if the processing power of this machine isn’t good enough…it also has a battery life that is quite better than its closest competitors. This laptop stands tall in just about all areas, except in the crucial display department . If you are not too concerned about experiencing some amount of ghosting in some of your games and don’t care too much about color accuracy and vibrancy, this is for you. If you however care about the above mentioned downside, then look somewhere else.
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