The last few ASUS TUF Gaming devices that we have reviewed left us with positive impressions. The ASUS TUF Gaming A17 (FA707, 2023) has good cooling potential and long battery life and the same applies to the ASUS TUF Gaming A15 FA507. We got the successor of the latter in front of us - the ASUS TUF Gaming A15 (FA507, 2023). The new version has a similar design but the real deal is hidden under the bonnet. You can choose between a refreshed AMD Zen 3+ CPU and a more powerful Zen 4 chip. The mobile NVIDIA RTX 4000 GPUs are part of the package and they come with hefty TGPs which is something mandatory for a gaming laptop. The device is MIL-STD-810H certified so the laptop can "survive" a harsher than usual usage. Gamers should be happy because all configurations are paired with high refresh rate displays, G-Sync, and NVIDIA Advanced Optimus support. You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/asus-tuf-gaming-a15-fa507-2023/ Specs, Drivers, What's in the box Drivers All drivers and utilities for this notebook can be found here: https://www.asus.com/laptops/for-gaming/tuf-gaming/asus-tuf-gaming-a15-2023/helpdesk_knowledge/ What's in the box? The package contains some manuals and a 240W charger. Design and construction The design is similar to the predecessor. Even the dimensions are exactly the same - the laptop weighs 2.20 kilos and has a profile of 22.4 - 24.9 mm. Two color options are available - Mecha Gray and Jaeger Gray. We got the former - the lid of this version has an embossed TUF logo. The machines with other color version come with additional branding on the lid and the logo is left-placed. The metal lid can be opened with a single hand. You can flex it a bit but that's all. The base isn't made of metal, but the internal structural support is very good and that's why the body feels solid. We spot just a small amount of flex in the zone between the two hinges. The bezels around the panel are thin if we don't count the "chin". The top bezel has a protrusion for easier opening and it's also a home of a 720p Web camera. On the base, we can see a backlit chiclet keyboard that glows in a single color but you can also customize it via the ASUS software. The board is surprisingly quiet during typing, it has a NumPad and a highlighted WASD section. The key travel is above average but the feedback is clicky. An air vent is placed next to the power button which is separated from the other keycaps. The touchpad is a real gem, it's crazy smooth and super responsive. The bottom panel houses a huge ventilation grille and two speaker cutouts. The hot air is pushed through for vents - two on the back and two on the sides. Ports On the left, we can spot the power plug, a LAN port, an HDMI 2.1 FRL connector, a USB4 port with DisplayPort function, a USB Type-C 3.2 (Gen. 2) port with DisplayPort, Power Delivery, and G-Sync capabilities, a USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 1), and an Audio jack. There are a few ports on the right - a Kensington lock slot and a single USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 1) port. Display quality, Health impact (PWM), Sound ASUS TUF Gaming A15 (FA507, 2023) is equipped with a Full HD IPS panel, model number Innolux N156HMA-GA1 (CMN1556). It comes with a 144Hz refresh rate. Its diagonal is 15.6" (39.6 cm), and the resolution - 1920 x 1080p. Additionally, the screen ratio is 16:9, the pixel density – 142 ppi, and their pitch – 0.18 x 0.18 mm. The screen can be considered Retina when viewed from at least 60 cm (from this distance, the average human eye can’t see the individual pixels). Viewing angles are good. We offer images at different angles to evaluate the quality. Also, a video with locked focus and exposure. The maximum measured brightness is 274 nits (cd/m2) in the middle of the screen and 256 nits (cd/m2) average across the surface with a maximum deviation of 10%. The Correlated Color Temperature on a white screen and at maximum brightness is 6480K. In the illustration below you can see how the display performs from a uniformity perspective. The illustration below shows how matters are for operational brightness levels (approximately 140 nits) – in this particular case at 70% Brightness (White level = 140 cd/m2, Black level = 0.15 cd/m2). Values of dE2000 over 4.0 should not occur, and this parameter is one of the first you should check if you intend to use the laptop for color-sensitive work (a maximum tolerance of 2.0 ). The contrast ratio is good – 1550:1. To make sure we are on the same page, we would like to give you a little introduction to the sRGB color gamut and the Adobe RGB. To start, there’s the CIE 1976 Uniform Chromaticity Diagram that represents the visible specter of colors by the human eye, giving you a better perception of the color gamut coverage and the color accuracy. Inside the black triangle, you will see the standard color gamut (sRGB) that is being used by millions of people on HDTV and on the web. As for the Adobe RGB, this is used in professional cameras, monitors, etc for printing. Basically, colors inside the black triangle are used by everyone and this is the essential part of the color quality and color accuracy of a mainstream notebook. Still, we’ve included other color spaces like the famous DCI-P3 standard used by movie studios, as well as the digital UHD Rec.2020 standard. Rec.2020, however, is still a thing of the future and it’s difficult for today’s displays to cover that well. We’ve also included the so-called Michael Pointer gamut, or Pointer’s gamut, which represents the colors that naturally occur around us every day. The yellow dotted line shows ASUS TUF Gaming A15 (FA507, 2023)'s color gamut coverage. Its display covers 99% of the sRGB/ITU-R BT.709 (web/HDTV standard) in CIE1976 and 79% of DCI-P3. Our “Design and Gaming” profile delivers optimal color temperature (6500K) at 140 cd/m2 luminance and sRGB gamma mode. We tested the accuracy of the display with 24 commonly used colors like light and dark human skin, blue sky, green grass, orange, etc. You can check out the results at factory condition and also, with the “Design and Gaming” profile. Below you can compare the scores of the ASUS TUF Gaming A15 (FA507, 2023) with the default settings (left), and with the “Gaming and Web design” profile (right). The next figure shows how well the display is able to reproduce really dark parts of an image, which is essential when watching movies or playing games in low ambient light. The left side of the image represents the display with stock settings, while the right one is with the “Gaming and Web Design” profile activated. On the horizontal axis, you will find the grayscale, and on the vertical axis – the luminance of the display. On the two graphs below you can easily check for yourself how your display handles the darkest nuances but keep in mind that this also depends on the settings of your current display, the calibration, the viewing angle, and the surrounding light conditions. Response time (Gaming capabilities) We test the reaction time of the pixels with the usual “black-to-white” and “white-to-black” method from 10% to 90% and vice versa. We recorded Fall Time + Rise Time = 19.5 ms. After that, we test the reaction time of the pixels with the usual “Gray-to-Gray” method from 50% White to 80% White and vice versa between 10% and 90% of the amplitude. Health Impact: PWM (Screen flickering) Pulse-width modulation (PWM) is an easy way to control monitor brightness. When you lower the brightness, the light intensity of the backlight is not lowered, but instead turned off and on by the electronics with a frequency indistinguishable to the human eye. In these light impulses, the light/no-light time ratio varies, while brightness remains unchanged, which is harmful to your eyes. You can read more about that in our dedicated article on PWM. ASUS TUF Gaming A15 (FA507, 2023)'s display doesn't flicker at any brightness level. This makes the screen pretty comfortable for long periods of use. Health Impact: Blue light emissions Installing our Health-Guard profile not only eliminates PWM but also reduces the harmful Blue Light emissions while keeping the colors of the screen perceptually accurate. If you’re not familiar with the Blue light, the TL;DR version is – emissions that negatively affect your eyes, skin, and your whole body. You can find more information about that in our dedicated article on Blue Light. Health Impact: Gloss-level measurement Glossy-coated displays are sometimes inconvenient in high ambient light conditions. We show the level of reflection on the screen for the respective laptop when the display is turned off and the measurement angle is 60° (in this case, the result is 50.1 GU). Sound ASUS TUF Gaming A15 (FA507, 2023)'s Dolby Atmos speakers produce a crisp sound of very good quality. Its low, mid, and high tones are clear of deviations. Buy our profiles Since our profiles are tailored for each individual display model, this article and its respective profile package are meant for ASUS TUF Gaming A15 (FA507, 2023) configurations with 15.6" Innolux N156HMA-GA1 (CMN1556) (1920 x 1080) IPS. *Should you have problems with downloading the purchased file, try using a different browser to open the link you’ll receive via e-mail. If the download target is a .php file instead of an archive, change the file extension to .zip or contact us at bg.laptopmedia@gmail.com. Read more about the profiles HERE. Performance: CPU, GPU, Gaming Tests CPU options You can find the laptop configured with the AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS or the Ryzen 9 7940HS. GPU options There are three dGPU options - NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 (Laptop), GeForce RTX 4060 (Laptop), or GeForce RTX 4070 (Laptop), all with a 140W TGP. Gaming tests Assassin's Creed Valhalla Full HD, Low (Check settings) Full HD, Medium (Check settings) Full HD, High (Check settings) Full HD, Ultra (Check settings) Average FPS 167 fps 143 fps 119 fps 102 fps Borderlands 3 Full HD, V.Low (Check settings) Full HD, Medium (Check settings) Full HD, High (Check settings) Full HD, Badass (Check settings) Average FPS 132 fps 117 fps 101 fps 84 fps Far Cry 6 Full HD, Low (Check settings) Full HD, High (Check settings) Full HD, Ultra (Check settings) Average FPS 114 fps 94 fps 89 fps Gears 5 Full HD, Low (Check settings) Full HD, Medium (Check settings) Full HD, High (Check settings) Full HD, Ultra (Check settings) Average FPS 191 fps 149 fps 138 fps 123 fps The GeForce RTX 4060 (Laptop) of our laptop is showing good FPS results in the tested games. However, it looks like the Ryzen 7 7735HS is bottlenecking the GPU by some degree. The same video card performs better in the Lenovo ThinkBook 16p Gen 4 and HP Victus 16 (16-r0000) that we also have tested. They can maintain almost the same TGP as the ASUS device (~105-110W) but the other two laptops are configured with an Intel Core i7-13700H. [eBook Guide + Tools] How to MAX OUT your Laptop Temperatures and comfort, Battery Life Max CPU load In this test we use 100% on the CPU cores, monitoring their frequencies and chip temperature. The first column shows a computer’s reaction to a short load (2-10 seconds), the second column simulates a serious task (between 15 and 30 seconds), and the third column is a good indicator of how good the laptop is for long loads such as video rendering. Average core frequency (base frequency + X); CPU temp. AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS (35W TDP) 0:02 - 0:10 sec 0:15 - 0:30 sec 10:00 - 15:00 min ASUS TUF Gaming A15 (FA507, 2023) 3.91 GHz @ 73°C @ 76W 3.89 GHz @ 81°C @ 76W 3.90 GHz @ 93°C @ 77W MSI Bravo 15 C7U 3.64 GHz @ 72°C @ 65W 3.74 GHz @ 78°C @ 65W 3.75 GHz @ 87°C @ 65W MSI Bravo 15 C7U Max Fans 3.77 GHz @ 65°C @ 65W 3.76 GHz @ 71°C @ 65W 3.77 GHz @ 84°C @ 65W MSI Bravo 15 C7V 3.75 GHz @ 81°C @ 65W 3.74 GHz @ 84°C @ 65W 3.75 GHz @ 84°C @ 65W Acer Nitro 5 (AN515-47) 3.94 GHz @ 73°C @ 75W 3.86 GHz @ 77°C @ 70W 3.87 GHz @ 85°C @ 70W The ASUS TUF Gaming A15 (FA507, 2023) has the upper hand in terms of CPU clocks and power limits compared to the other laptops with the Ryzen 7 7735HS that we have reviewed up to date. The frequencies are rock solid under any kind of load but this results in 93°C CPU temperature in longer periods of maximum processor stress. Real-life gaming NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 GPU frequency/ Core temp (after 2 min) GPU frequency/ Core temp (after 30 min) ASUS TUF Gaming A15 (FA507, 2023) 2520 MHz @ 78°C @ 112W 2520 MHz @ 81°C @ 111W Lenovo ThinkBook 16p Gen 4 2475 MHz @ 76°C @ 107W 2475 MHz @ 77°C @ 108W HP Victus 16 (16-r0000) 2520 MHz @ 77°C @ 107W 2520 MHz @ 76°C @ 107W The mobile GeForce RTX 4060 can maintain 2520 MHz and 111W TGP after 30 minutes of gaming which is a very good achievement. Still, the core temperatures are a bit higher. Comfort during full load In "Turbo" mode, the fans aren't loud but they aren't quiet either. The WASD area is cool under heavy load because the cooling solution draws fresh air through the keyboard. The other part of the board isn't too hot to the touch. You can choose between a bunch of performance presets in the ASUS Armoury Crate app. You can have a look at the fans' speed of the three presets in idle mode. In "Turbo", the rotation speed is ~2900RPM while in "Performance" the result is ~2300-2400RPM. The laptop can produce zero noise in "Silent" mode because the fans are completely turned off in light loads. Battery Now, we conduct the battery tests with Windows Better performance setting turned on, screen brightness adjusted to 120 nits and all other programs turned off except for the one we are testing the notebook with. This laptop has a 90Wh battery pack. It lasts for 25 hours of Web browsing or 10 hours of video playback. This is a superb result! Disassembly, Upgrade options, and Maintenance For gaining access to the internals, you have to unscrew 12 Phillips-head screws. One of them is captive so it slightly lifts the bottom panel from the chassis. This makes the prying of the plate much easier. You can also lift the panel up from the zone around the LAN connector. On the inside of the bottom panel, we can see many elements for better structural support of the chassis. The battery is a 90Wh model. If you want to take it out, you need to pull out the battery connector from the mainboard. Then, undo the three Phillips-head screws that are fixing the unit to the base. One of them has an ASUS sticker on it so pull it gently. The capacity is enough for 25 hours of Web browsing or 10 hours of video playback. This is a staggering result, especially for a gaming laptop! For memory upgrades, there are two SODIMM slots. They can handle up to 32GB of DDR5-4800MHz RAM in dual-channel mode. For storage, there are two M.2 slots for Gen 4 SSDs. The cooling system comprises two fans, and two heat pipes, shared between the video card and the processor. There is one more heat pipe dedicated to each chip and a fifth one meant for cooling the GPU memory and the VRMs. We can also see four heat sinks and some heat spreaders. Storage performance Our notebook is equipped with a 1TB WD PC SN560 SDDPNQE-1T00-1002 NVMe. Below you can see some benchmarks of this Gen 4 SSD. Its temperature during testing didn't exceed 55°C. ASUS Armoury Crate The Armoury Crate application is full of useful options. You can set different fan presets in AC and DC modes. There are manual control options for the CPU and GPU power limits. You can also overclock the video card and set a custom fan curve for each of the two fans. The RGB of the keyboard can be tuned, as well as the noise canceling function for the microphone and for the speakers. You have eight different display modes at your disposal (like FPS, Racing, RTS, etc.), and you can change the skin of the app. The "GPU Power Saving" tab is very important. For full power during gaming, the "Ultimate" preset is the way to go because that's a dGPU-only scenario. "Eco mode" stands for iGPU-only regime which is appropriate when the AC adapter isn't plugged in. Verdict The ASUS TUF Gaming A15 (FA507, 2023) is a device that can impress gamers and power users. It boasts a strong chassis with a typical gamer-ish design which isn't too intrusive. The lid can be opened with a single hand which is always appreciated. The backlit keyboard is quiet during usage and the touchpad is very smooth. The display is the main event here. The 15.6" 16:9 IPS panel (Innolux N156HMA-GA1 (CMN1556)) has 99% sRGB color coverage and when our "Design and Gaming" profile is applied, the color accuracy reaches an average dE value of just 0.7 which is a mind-blowing result for a gaming device. So, you can use this machine for content creation and color-sensitive jobs. The display hints at its gaming nature with the G-Sync support and with the 144Hz refresh rate. It's also PWM-free so you can use it for long hours of gaming or work. The cooling solution looks massive and it does a good job. The Ryzen 7 7735H can sustain a solid 3.90GHz clock even in prolonged periods of 100% stress. That's why the laptop feels very snappy and responsive no matter what is your task in front of the display. The I/O is nice (not great though) with its two Type-C ports and an HDMI 2.1 connector. Hey, there is a LAN connector which is slowly becoming a bit of a rare find in the era of super-fast wireless connections. Nothing to moan about the upgrade options - two SODIMMs for up to 32GB DDR5 memory and two Gen 4 M.2 slots. The overall gaming performance is good. The laptop version of the GeForce RTX 4060 in our machine can maintain ~110W TGP. On the other hand, some Raptor Lake H-based devices with the same GPU and close TGP levels can show even higher gaming capabilities. This means if money isn't a problem, the optional and more powerful Zen 4 CPU option (Ryzen 9 7940HS) should be a better complement to the GPU of this ASUS notebook. Last but not least, the battery life is out of this world - 25 hours of Web browsing on a single charge! The ASUS TUF Gaming A15 (FA507, 2023) is a great tool for gaming. It has good cooling, a color-accurate display, and a long battery life. You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/asus-tuf-gaming-a15-fa507-2023/
Perfect laptop for students with its out of world battery.
Would love more such laptops especially in smaller chassis and non-gaming vibes.