Review and testing of ASUS TUF Gaming FX505G laptop based on Intel Core i7-8750H processor and GeForce GTX 1060 graphics card

ASUSTeK Computer is one of the largest manufacturers in the computer market, including a wide range of laptops. Among them are laptops of the TUF Gaming series, which combine high performance with increased requirements for ruggedness and compact size. In this review, we take a look at the powerful TUF Gaming FX505G 15-inch gaming laptop based on the Intel platform and NVIDIA graphics.

ASUS TUF Gaming FX505G

The most powerful model of the FX505 series with a top combination of components fell into our hands. This is a powerful six-core Intel Core i7-8750H processor in an economical version with a lower TDP, a GeForce GTX 1060 graphics card, a large amount of 16 GB DDR4 memory and a fast NVMe SSD. The gaming level of a laptop is determined not only by a set of components, but also by the presence of an appropriate screen. This is a 15.6-inch display with a resolution of 1920×1080 based on a high-quality IPS matrix that supports frequencies up to 144 Hz.

This configuration is housed in a case 36 cm wide and 26 cm deep with a thickness of less than 3 cm. The weight is 2.2 kg, which is quite acceptable for a gaming laptop.

A feature of the TUF series are increased requirements for reliability. ASUS TUF are made in a rugged case, have a certain vibration resistance and even pass reliability testing according to the military standard MIL-STD-810G.

Next, let’s talk in more detail about the configuration, the exterior of the laptop and its key features.

Contents of delivery

The device comes in a cardboard box with a large TUF Gaming logo.

The package is standard. There is a charger and cable inside.

Mains power is provided by the ADP-180UB B unit, which is designed for a load of 180 W. This is the standard power supply for many TUF and ROG series laptops.

Appearance

It should be noted right away that against the background of many gaming laptops, this ASUS TUF seems very small. Its strict outlines are combined with special curves on the body, which gives a certain individuality. The screen cover is made of metal, although other options are possible in cheaper configurations. There is an illuminated ASUS logo. The rest of the body is made of hard plastic.

The rear part is stylized as a radiator grill, through which two red radiators are visible.

The bend of the screen cover leaves an open area with indicators of operating modes.

The bottom of the laptop has a different textured surface. There are not enough ventilation holes. Probably, the manufacturer abandoned the excessive perforation of the case in favor of durability.

The thin cover with the screen fastens on two hinges. The maximum deflection angle of the screen is standard. On the inside, the plastic has a surface stylized as brushed metal, which looks stylish.

Above the screen is a webcam peephole.

All connectors are located on the left side of the laptop: power connector, RJ-45 network port, HDMI, one USB 3.1 and two USB 2.0 ports.

On the right side there is only a slot for a Kensington security lock. There are also additional holes for blowing hot air. The laptop uses a conventional audio system with two speakers, which are located under the user’s hands. For them, there are small slots on the side faces, which are protected by a red mesh.

The keyboard is full-size, there is a number pad. The key travel is small, the pressing is soft. The arrow buttons are moved down, the space bar has an unusual enlarged shape, which is convenient for pressing with your thumb.

The power button is located in the right corner. The photo clearly shows that the surface around the keyboard has a different texture, and this gives visual originality. In terms of practicality, there are no complaints, the working surface is not easily soiled, although after a long work the prints will remain.

The WASD gaming keys have a white translucent body, which makes them stand out from the crowd. Among the gaming features, the proprietary ASUS Overstroke technology is announced, which provides key actuation and fast response to full pressure.

Not without full-color RGB lighting, which helps to highlight WASD even more. You can adjust the color and set dynamic glow effects through the TUF Aura Core proprietary application.

The touchpad with two keys is made in the form of a single surface.

Screen

Let’s talk more about the screen. It has a matte finish with an anti-reflective coating.

ASUS TUF Gaming FX505G uses AU Optronics B156HAN08.2 type AHVA matrix, which is one of the varieties of IPS. The diagonal is 15.6 inches, the resolution is 1920×1080.

According to the measurements, the coverage of the sRGB space is 86%. The color temperature in the main brightness range is slightly below 7000 K, which is close to the optimal mode, so the color gamut is natural and natural. Gamma curves are close to the reference.

Brightness from 19 cd/m² to 326 cd/m². The contrast ratio is stable at around 1300:1.

The DeltaE color deviation is low, averaging 3.1, and the white balance is near perfect.

Thanks to the IPS matrix, the screen has wide viewing angles. Flickering was not observed.

Based on the results, we can say that the screen has good color reproduction and calibration. At the same time, a high frequency of 144 Hz is still supported, which will please fans of dynamic games. But all this is true for the top version of the FX505. According to the specifications, models with a similar matrix at 60 Hz and even with a smaller coverage of the color space are possible.

Internal organization

It’s time to look under the “hood”. First of all, we are interested in the organization of cooling. The HyperCool system is responsible for this. This one consists of two “turbines” with two common heat pipes for the CPU and GPU, plus an additional third tube for the graphics accelerator.

The video card is completely covered with a copper plate to provide cooling for the memory chips. Since this is the hottest component of the laptop, in addition to an additional heat pipe, we also see two radiators, which are blown by one fan. Accordingly, the blowing of hot air comes from both sides of the laptop.

On the processor side, there is a usual “turbine” with one fan and one radiator, and the free space here is occupied by a board with external ports. By the standards of mobile systems, cooling is decent. Although common heat pipes will lead to an increase in overall heating with an uneven load on the processor and video adapter. Well, there could be more holes for air flow.

A hard drive is installed in a special compartment. Next door in a small separate compartment is a speaker.

For autonomous power, a 4240 mAh battery is used. Above the battery, you can see the NVMe M.2 drive covered with a black protective film.

A free memory slot is hidden by the same protective overlay. The second slot has a 16 GB memory stick.

The Intel Core i7-8750H processor is one of the most powerful processors in Intel’s mobile processor lineup. These are full six cores that process 12 threads. The base frequency is 2.2 Hz, but Turbo Boost can go up to 4.1 GHz. And all this with a TDP of no more than 45 watts.

DDR4 memory operates at an effective frequency of 2666 MHz with delays of 19-19-19-43-2T. This is one bar produced by SK Hynix, so the single-channel mode works accordingly.

The GeForce GTX 1060 video adapter is identical to the desktop prototype in terms of computing units. This is the GP106 core with 1280 stream processors, 192-bit bus and 6 GB of GDDR5 memory. But the operating frequencies of the GPU are slightly lowered to meet the 80W limit. The base core clock is 1405 MHz with an average Boost Clock of 1671 MHz. The effective memory frequency is 8000 MHz. The processor has an integrated graphics core Intel UHD Graphics 630, which is activated in simple modes. When switching to 3D, the system automatically switches to the GeForce GTX 1060.

The main drive is a 256GB Kingston RBUSNS8154P3256GJ NVMe M.2 SSD. For additional storage, a 1 TB Toshiba MQ04ABF100 hard drive is used, its characteristics are standards for this type of device – a spindle speed of 5400 rpm, a SATA 6 Gb / s interface.

The full specifications of the laptop are presented below in the screenshot of the HWiNFO utility.

ASUS TUF Gaming FX505G has a Wi-Fi 802.11ac wireless adapter, supports Gigabit Ethernet and Bluetooth 5.0.