The ASUS ROG brand is the bastion of the company when it comes to gaming. ASUS ROG notebooks are one of the best in the market and a lot of gamers would love to have one but in case you want an ASUS ROG Gaming notebook but don’t have the budget? Then you better check out the ASUS TUF Gaming FX504. It’s the first notebook in the TUF series and it’s more affordable than most ROG notebooks despite that, the notebook still has the specifications of a ROG notebook and gaming feels. Check out our review of the ASUS TUF FX504 below.
Design and Hardware
One of the things that you’ll easily notice in the notebook is the lack of the ROG branding. Yep, no ROG brand over here but we’re getting a gaming exterior feel here with its patterns on the notebook. Again, there’s no ROG logo here but the X-design on the rear of the notebook’s display says something about the ASUS FX504 Gaming Notebook. There’s no ROG logo but the ASUS logo at the rear lights up in red. It brings a sharp and tough look on the ASUS TUF FX504 Gaming Notebook.
One of the things you got to love about the notebook is that the ASUS FX504 Gaming Notebook is really light. One of the reasons why the laptop only weights at 2.3kg is because the laptop is made out of plastic. Well, it’s not that bad as the plastic build feels just fine.
The keyboard of the notebook has smaller chiclet keys than its ROG notebook brothers but it feels just fine typing on this one. The actuation of this notebook is way deeper than I expected but typing feels comfortable on this notebook. There’s no RGB backlit on this one but the red backlit keyboard looks just fine and bright on the notebook.
The touchpad of the notebook is surprisingly good for an entry-level gaming notebook. The trackpad doesn’t feel janky and the large trackpad space was quite good. It’s responsive and clicking on it feels really fine.
The ASUS TUF FX504 Gaming Notebook is lacking when it comes to connectivity. The notebook has a 2x USB 3.0 ports, 1x USB 2.0, headphone jack, HDMI, & LAN port which are placed on just one side of the notebook. Unfortunately, there’s no USB Type-C and SD Card reader which is a must for some people.
ASUS is also proud that the notebook has an Anti-Dust Cooling when removes the dust from going inside the notebook. Well, we saw it and it was really effective and surprisingly, the fan of the notebook wasn’t that loud.
The ASUS FX504 Gaming Notebook is proud that it supports Virtual 7.1 Channel Surround sound, however, the speaker wasn’t really that loud but it’s clear.
Display
One of the best features of the ASUS TUF FX504 Gaming Notebook is its display. There’s a 15.6-inch 1080p display on this one with 94% NTSC Color gamut with a refresh rate of 120Hz. The colors of the display were just fine but not great but it was really bright.
The viewing angles of the display are just fine but damn, the 120Hz panel is really a game changer when it comes to gaming. You can feel that the games are buttery smooth with this one. However, the notebook doesn’t come with Nvidia’s G-Sync but that’s just fine considering we’re getting a notebook with entry-level gaming specs and price.
Performance
The ASUS TUF FX504 Gaming Notebook is an entry-level gaming notebook. Inside is an Intel Core i5-8300H CPU with four cores and 8 threads, a Nvidia GTX 1050 4GB GPU, 4GB DDR4 RAM at 2133MHz and a 1TB of FireCuda SSHD. Obviously, that’s not the best specs for gaming but it can run a lot of games. In our performance test, we used different benchmarking applications and games and we got the following scores.
The notebook isn’t the most ideal gaming notebook around but considering that the notebook is an entry-level gaming notebook, I wouldn’t complain. However, if you’re getting one, I suggest that you get the variant with 8GB RAM to have a better gaming and overall experience on the notebook. Check out the FPS that I got on some games.
When it comes to temperatures but I was fine with its cooling. Again, it has an Anti-Dust Cooling so you can expect good temperatures on this notebook at a longer time of usage.
Battery Life
The ASUS TUF FX504 sport a 4-cell 48Whrs battery and the gaming notebook just felt fine and lasted as I expected. The notebook’s battery provided 4 and a half hours of average usage such as browsing the internet and doing office work however at gaming, the notebook will only last in about an hour and a half. So if you’re using this notebook for office work then it will be just fine, however, don’t expect the same case when it comes to gaming.
Verdict
The ASUS TUF Gaming FX504 is for the people who are looking for an entry-level gaming notebook. It comes in different variants but if you’re looking for the most affordable gaming notebook, then this one should be on your list. It might now have the same features as the ROG notebooks but this one will do.
However, I highly suggest that you get the ASUS TUF Gaming FX504 with a higher 8GB RAM and an SSD for better gaming and overall experience on the notebook.
