The Asus TUF FX 504 is durable performer but lacks certain essentials, says Rahul Saha.
The TUF FX 504 is the latest in gaming laptops from Asus.
While built and designed like a true-to its-core gaming machine, the laptop is positioned as an all-rounder to some extent.
Priced at ₹90,990, the TUF FX 504, with an 8th-generation Intel Core i7-8750 processor, 1TB storage and 8GB DDR4 RAM, is built to last.
The pro-gaming look is substituted with a professional feel with linear graphics on the panels to bring out the gamer in you.
The compact laptop is very handy and the review unit is still scratch-free despite suffering from a free fall in the Metro.
The laptop comes with a 15.6-inch FHD matte display.
The viewing angles are decent but the display is dull unless the brightness is set to above 75 per cent.
The wide-RGB colour gamut produces crisp and beautiful video and games with high-intensity graphics work well, supported by the in-built Intel UHD graphics and Nvidia drivers.
The TUF FX 504 features a full-sized keyboard with the number pad squeezed on the right.
The red colour, red-backlit chiclet shows the gaming DNA of the laptop.
Additional keys for multimedia and other modes are given a miss and the arrow keys are placed slightly lower in order to manage space, but the keys feel cramped.
The trackpad supports all Windows 10 features.
The keyboard is decent for day-to-day use but an external keyboard and mouse setup is recommended if you are up for serious gaming or video editing.
The i7-8750H processor has no performance issues but is not the fastest.
As far as day-to-day computing is concerned, the laptop performs all those tasks with ease.
Multi-tasking on this laptop is not a problem but working on heavy software simultaneously may make the system stutter a bit.
When it comes to cooling, Asus' Anti-Dust Cooling system works well but its fan is very noisy at times.
Even though there are different fan speed options and cooling pipes to dissipate the heat, the laptop heats up and stays lukewarm on extended use.
The three-cell battery lasts for a maximum of 2.5 hours on regular usage and an hour or so on heavy-gaming or video editing in full-brightness mode, so the charger will be your constant companion.
It takes around 1.5 hours to fully charge this machine.
The speakers on this laptop are not impressive.
The sound is not loud and the audio quality is average.
The optical disc drive is given a miss like any other modern-day laptops and the 720p webcam offer decent images.
The Asus TUF FX 504 is a good laptop for someone looking for daily use, casual gaming and regular video producing.
But, despite its durability, at a price point above ₹90,000, it's not the best in its class.
