Asus TUF GamingG A15 (2021)
The styling won’tw be to everyone’s ta taste, but this is a brilliant gaminggam laptop at an exceptional pricep
SCORE
PRICE £1,333 (£1,600 (£1,6 inc VAT) ) from uk.store.asus.com uk.store.asu
The phrase “go big or go home” definitely has its place when it’s time to be bold, but it isn’t always true for gaming laptops. Admittedly “go more compact and it will be easier to carry” is never going to catch on, but there’s one key reason why a 15.6in Full HD screen makes more sense than a 17.3in display with the same resolution: sharpness.
Put simply, text is easier on the eye on the TUF Gaming A15 than on the Strix G17 ( see p46). Aside from the A15’s lower refresh rate – still great at 240Hz – these IPS screens share many of the same characteristics, with a 3ms response time and almost 100% coverage of the sRGB gamut. Colour accuracy is great, with an average Delta E of 0.49. I’d like the A15 to go even brighter than 313cd/m2, but it’s well suited to indoor usage, and a 1,078:1 contrast ratio is plenty.
Then we come to weight and bulk. A saving of 400g compared to the Strix G17 may not sound much, but at 2.3kg the TUF Gaming A15 is that much easier to lug around, while its significantly reduced dimensions mean you don’t need to reach for an over-sized backpack on your travels.
Both laptops have excellent battery life for gaming machines, but you’ll still need to pack the power supply if you intend to game on the move. It’s lighter and more compact than the Strix’s, but its 607g weight remains significant.
This is a laptop that lives up to its TUF naming, despite the main body being made from plastic (a sturdy metal lid protects the screen). Asus proudly adds a “Military
Grade” sticker onto the chassis too, reflecting the fact this laptop passed MIL-STD-810H tests – think vibration and temperature extremes. It isn’t a semi-rugged laptop of the Toughbook ilk, but this all adds confidence that it will last for several years.
I certainly have confidence that the internal parts are up for the long haul. AMD’s Ryzen 5800H is again partnered with a GeForce RTX 3070 graphics chip and Asus backs them with excellent cooling; there was little sign of thermal throttling in our tests. However, if you’re looking to squeeze every last ounce out of the RTX 3070, our in-depth tests in SPECviewperf 2020 showed that the Strix G17 was consistently 5% faster.
Unlike the Gigabyte Aero laptops overleaf, the screen isn’t calibrated and it isn’t part of the Nvidia Studio scheme, but there’s nothing to stop you downloading the Studio drivers and using this machine as a powerful creative
“The Asus TUF Gaming A15’s keyboard is a fine example of how to produce a quiet, precise unit while paying attention to the details”
system. Note that it’s quiet in general use; it’s only when you push the A15 that its fans kick into action.
Asus fills both available SODIMM slots with 8GB Samsung 3,200MHz DDR4 modules, but you can add more storage easily by removing the bottom compartment cover and slipping a second M.2 SSD into the spare socket. There’s plenty of storage as standard, with a 1TB PCIe SK Hynix SSD in place: this returned excellent sequential reads and writes of 3,140MB/sec and 2,825MB/sec in AS SSD.
You’re spoiled for choice when it comes to connectivity. There’s Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5, of course, but also note the Gigabit Ethernet port, one USB-C 3.2 and three USB-A 3.1 ports. The USB-C port supports 10Mbits/sec data transfers and video output (but not Power Delivery), with an HDMI output for good measure. There’s also a 3.5mm combo jack, but you’ll find the built-in speakers to be adequate most of the time. Music isn’t a strength – there’s not enough depth or precision – but it’s fine for games and voice. The built-in mic is too quiet for my liking, but there’s none of the distortion that plagued the Strix, and note the presence of a 720p (non-infrared) webcam above the screen. Its picture is woeful, mind.
But it’s only right to go out on a high, which is why I’m ending on the keyboard. Despite squeezing in a number pad, it’s a fine example of how to produce a quiet, precise unit while paying attention to the details – note the separated cursor keys and the function keys in their mini groups of four. Everything is easy to hit as a result. And while I’ve used slicker, larger touchpads, the old-school click buttons at the bottom again add to this laptop’s usability.
What wins this laptop its A-List spot, though, is the price. For £1,600, you get a phenomenal amount of power that makes this a fantastic choice for someone who not only likes to play the latest games but also has a creative side. 8-core 3.2GHz (4.4GHz boost) AMD Ryzen 7 5800H processor Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 graphics 16GB DDR4-3200 RAM 15.6in non-touch IPS display, 240Hz, 1,920 x 1,080 resolution 1TB M.2 PCIe SSD 2x2 Wi-Fi 6 Bluetooth 5.2 USB-C 3.2 3 x USB-A 3.1 HDMI 2.0b Gigabit Ethernet 3.5mm combo jack 90Wh battery Windows 10 Home
359 x 256 x 24.5mm (WDH) 2.3kg 1yr C&R warranty part code: FA506QR-AZ001T