ASUS TUF FX505DV Laptop Review

Price

So, given that we have regularly been beating on about the price, you’re probably wondering how much this laptop costs. Well, we think that for £1,049, the performance offered here provides some excellent value for money.

Yes, an Intel 8th or 9th-generation processor would’ve outperformed it in our benchmarks. It also, however, would’ve probably added, at least, £200-£300 to the price tag. In laptops, you generally tend to have to pay through the nose for the higher-spec stuff.

While the performance isn’t amazing, it’s remarkably solid for a laptop that is more than capable of holding its own in terms of work and play!

Performance

The AMD Ryzen 7 3750H and Nvidia 2060 compliment each other really well in this laptop. Admittedly, out of the two, the graphics card does seem to hold a fair advantage over the processor, but they’re close enough to be a good pairing.

The only key factor we noted in performance changes is how you use this laptop. Plugged in and in performance mode, it works really well. When unplugged, however, it generally defaults to an ‘economic’ mode that really drags the best of its performance down.

So, to keep this laptop at its best, keep it plugged it, well charged and/or ideally in performance mode. I promise it won’t disappoint you!

Design & Aesthetics

In terms of visual presentation, ASUS has a really nice (and well established) style of laptops that are nice on the eye, yet suitable in practically any conceivable environment. Be it at work or at play.

There are aspects of it, however, that could be better. For example, as noted earlier, the middle section of the keyboard does feel a little spongey, and only having USB ports on one side of the laptop isn’t ideal. On the whole, however, these minor ‘inconveniences’ are largely outweighed by the many other positives.

Should I Buy One?

It’s no secret that getting a high-end laptop can cost you a lot of money. By this, we mean upwards of £1800. What the ASUS TUF Gaming Alliance FX505DV tries to do instead is to offer a solid gaming experience while at a price that will not be beyond the reach of the average consumer.

This would’ve been a prime contender for our ‘Bang for Buck’ award, but we feel that this offers just enough in terms of performance and presentation to tip the scales into something a little more impressive!

This laptop has style, performance, and certainly a brand name you can trust. Added together with the excellent CPU and GPU pairing, while this might be the first laptop I’ve encountered with a Ryzen processor, it’s a great product to kick things off and I’m certain it won’t be the last we see of them from ASUS.

Pros

• Solid performance levels for work and play
• Highly-attractive price point
• Stylish and professional – Suitable in any conceivable environment
• Excellent display quality
• Lightweight and highly portable

Cons

• None

Neutral

• Somewhat limited on USB ports in terms of number and location
• The keyboard is a little spongey in the center
• Performance mode is required to get the best from this laptop (and more specifically the processor), but it comes at a significant battery cost if not plugged in