The Asus TUF Gaming F15 is expected to live up to high expectations. TUF laptops are a regular on our list of the best laptops, and the 2023 batch is the first to feature 4000-series Nvidia graphics. This means they are the first to have Frame Generation, the name of Nvidia’s AI technology that fills in the gaps between frames, making games run smoother. I have tried it on other budget laptops, like the Gigabyte G5, and I think it’s a revelation, enabling me to run AAA games at max settings. Asus TUF Gaming F15 – PhotosThis laptop should also be a big part of the previous TUF games – and the visuals show that it should also outperform other 4000-series laptops we’ve tested, such as the impressive Gigabyte G5. Fortunately, it certainly lives up to that promise. It’s not flawless – no gaming laptop is – but it offers the kind of gaming experience that, even two years ago, would have seemed impossible from a $1,100/£1,000 machine. The metallic body is strong and heavy, able to withstand daily bumps in and out of the bag, or moving between rooms in the house. The display panel flexes a bit when you try to twist it, the hinges feel solid, and the keyboard panel stands up to a good, solid push. I have only had it for a month or so, but it seems like the toughest laptop I’ve ever tried. something more likely, look elsewhere. But this is not too heavy for a gaming machine, and it was not easy to carry in hand or pocket. It is one of the best looking budget machines. The cover has the TUF logo engraved, dimples in the corners, and a cut-out section to see the four indicator lights (power/off, charging, hard drive access, and flight mode) when closed. It’s not flashy or ugly, and it won’t look out of place in an office or restaurant – but the subtle accent makes it feel special.It’s also useful: the cover has a support flap that pops out from under the laptop when it’s closed, which you can grab to open it without hitting the screen. It’s not very visible when you lift the lid. I like the nice looking WASD keys, but the cutout in the cover makes the hinges look awkward – and the “WARNING: HIGH FRAMERATE ZONE” text all over the bottom of the keyboard made me feel a little out of place. The design of the keyboard is very thoughtful, and Asus has placed many keys in a small space without feeling crowded. You get a full set of keys, including one to switch between functions, two to turn the keyboard on or off, and it’s handy for taking a picture at any time.You also get a full number pad – something that other laptops of this size don’t have – and easy volume control above the main keyboard. It’s a natural layout and it didn’t take long to get used to it. The keys are slither very soft and shallow which I like – I like the resistance and depth. But it’s not bad at all to use: I can type comfortably for hours, and I don’t feel like the keyboard is getting in the way of my game fire. It has all the ports you’d expect from a gaming machine: two USB-A ports, an HDMI port, a headphone jack, a USB-C port and a Thunderbolt 4 port, which can charge a laptop up to 100 watts. It’s handy if you want to leave the house without a power brick – my Steam Deck charger, for example, keeps the laptop’s battery topped up even when I’m using the screen.My biggest gripe with the port’s design – and it’s small – is that the charger occupies the middle left side of the laptop. Leads always cross my desk. It’s especially annoying if you’re a left-handed user, because your mouse can be close to where the mouse pointer goes. I’m looking forward to a future where all chargers go into the back of the laptop.Asus TUF F15 (2023) – Display & speakers The 1080p display does exactly what you’d expect at this price from Asus: it’s a bright, clear IPS panel that doesn’t bother you. Beautiful games like Jusant pop from the screen, while games like Alan Wake 2 look dark and grim. The 144Hz refresh rate combined with G-Sync made every game I tested smooth and responsive. If you’re used to mid-to-high-end laptops, the screen isn’t that bright or sharp. It won’t be used in direct sunlight, and while the 75% Adobe RGB color coverage is good for gaming, it may fall short for heavy work.The speakers are great at medium volumes when you’re not blasting music: I watched movies, listened to podcasts, and played a few games at high volume without hurting my ears. That’s not to say that it sounds sharp or deep – even cheap gaming consoles sound great – but it’s a little bit better. At high volumes, it sounds tinny and washed out, and the bass is absent. But it’s what you’d expect in laptops around this price.Asus TUF F15 (2023) – SoftwareThe TUF F15 is thankfully free of bloatware, and comes with only two software – MyAsus and Armory Crate. MyAsus is lightweight and not very useful, except for switching on “battery care mode” which freezes your battery above 80%, to save it longer. I wish it was just built into the Armory Crate, which is more than enough. The main dashboard is a bit overwhelming at first, but it’s a powerful tool once you get used to it. Enthusiasts can enjoy digging into the “manual” mode to tweak GPU settings, thermal targets, and fan speeds – it’s much easier to use and more intuitive than other systems I’ve tried. P (performance) cores or E (efficiency) cores. Asus has a page that clearly explains why you might want to do this – either to save battery or to boost performance at lower settings. Most people won’t use it, but it’s good to know it’s there. You can also switch between GPU modes, which can be very useful to save battery. “Ultimate” forces the laptop to use the graphics card, instead of integrated graphics, all the time. I instead chose the recommended “Optimized” mode. This disables the graphics card when you pull out the recorder – and when connected, it will only use the graphics card for intensive tasks such as gaming. This configuration made a huge difference in the battery tests – which I will touch on later. So is the “Panel Power Saver”, which is turned on by default and reduces the refresh rate when you unplug your charger. Away from the main dashboard, however, Armory Crate is clunky and confusing. It has junk content and a weird “featured” tab that failed to load. The built-in “Aurasync” would normally control your keyboard’s RGB lighting – but instead it takes you to another page where you can choose your colors and lighting colors. The keyboard still has a dedicated “aura” button, but it doesn’t work: every time you click to switch between lighting colors, it changes color to red. Bizarre. As laptops go, it’s the hardest I’ve tried – and I found myself going back to the central dashboard many times to adjust settings. Asus TUF F15 (2023) – Performance and GamingI came expecting the Asus TUF F15 to destroy AAA games. I was not disappointed. Its impressive performance is made possible by Frame Generation, a feature made possible by Nvidia’s Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) AI technology. It generates new frames and places them between the frames you see, increasing the frame rate By enabling Frame Generation, this laptop cuts through even the most visually demanding games. I hit a smooth FPS of 100 in Cyberpunk 2077 on Ultra graphics, and went above 100 in Forza Horizon 5 and Hitman 3. These are the kind of numbers that Frame Generation is producing next to a new budget machine. Some people have said that it’s too late to use it – but I haven’t heard anything about it. Of course, you can’t just rely on the AI’s ability to work well. Some games may not be compatible with the Frame Generation and you need a laptop that will play them, too. Fortunately, the previous generation i7-12700H CPU and RTX 4060 are the two carriers. I hit 100 FPS in Call of Duty: Warzone on high, and I can play the latest Alan Wake 2 at 70 FPS without Frame Generation (albeit with some Nvidia AI technology enabled). around 45fps on the highest resolution. This may not sound surprising, but know that this is a budget laptop that plays one of the most demanding games of the last five years. Dialing a few settings down got me over 60 FPS. What you’re getting here is a laptop that will play anything you throw at it, at the highest settings, for years to come. Sounds like future proof. The numbers don’t lie: in performance tests, they did very well. It outperformed the Gigabyte G5, which also has a 4060 graphics card, in every test, and scored almost the same as the MSI Stealth 14 Studio (2023), a much more expensive machine. things. First, the Gigabyte laptop reduces the graphics power to 75W – in the Asus machine, it is 140W, which means that you can squeeze more from the GPU. and can multitask. I can open multiple Chrome tabs, download a game, watch a video and browse my storage drive at the same time without slowing down. Considering the size of today’s games, that’s a bit much – put in four big games and you’ll be done. It’s frustrating to change what you’ve downloaded, although it must be said that it’s not unusual for laptops of this price. If you have a lot of money to spend you should choose one of the more expensive – although it’s still expensive – configurations that have a 1TB SSD. You can also open the laptop and put another SSD in the slot, but it’s not a fix everyone will be free to try.Asus TUF F15 (2023) – Battery life Battery life is solid – and even if you use the right settings. Our battery test on PCMark10, which tests regular use at 50% brightness and automatically switches between GPU and integrated graphics, gave a flawless 4 hours and 49 minutes. That’s exactly the same as the Gigabyte G5, which has a smaller battery.However, by following the settings in Armory Core – which limits the GPU’s battery power – and switching to the “silent” mode I was able to last for more than 10 hours in the same test, which is what the G5 is capable of. it doesn’t work. The settings are great, and it doesn’t compromise performance like it does with the battery. It’s now my standard way to use the laptop.Buying advice In the UK, the Asus TUF F15 is available in the configuration I tested from Scan, Amazon, or Curry’s for £999. You can also order a cheaper version with a 4050 graphics card from Amazon. In the US, there are many upgrades offered. The exact one I tested is available at Best Buy for $1,099, or at Walmart for another $100. At Best Buy, you can upgrade to a 4070 with a 1TB SSD for another $300. You’ll find other configurations – listed on the Asus website – at Newegg, B&H, and a few other stores.
It’s also useful: the cover has a support flap that pops out from under the laptop when it’s closed, which you can grab to open it without hitting the screen. It’s not very visible when you lift the lid. I like the nice looking WASD keys, but the cutout in the cover makes the hinges look awkward – and the “WARNING: HIGH FRAMERATE ZONE” text all over the bottom of the keyboard made me feel a little out of place. The design of the keyboard is very thoughtful, and Asus has placed many keys in a small space without feeling crowded. You get a full set of keys, including one to switch between functions, two to turn the keyboard on or off, and it’s handy for taking a picture at any time.
You also get a full number pad – something that other laptops of this size don’t have – and easy volume control above the main keyboard. It’s a natural layout and it didn’t take long to get used to it. The keys are slither very soft and shallow which I like – I like the resistance and depth. But it’s not bad at all to use: I can type comfortably for hours, and I don’t feel like the keyboard is getting in the way of my game fire. It has all the ports you’d expect from a gaming machine: two USB-A ports, an HDMI port, a headphone jack, a USB-C port and a Thunderbolt 4 port, which can charge a laptop up to 100 watts. It’s handy if you want to leave the house without a power brick – my Steam Deck charger, for example, keeps the laptop’s battery topped up even when I’m using the screen.
My biggest gripe with the port’s design – and it’s small – is that the charger occupies the middle left side of the laptop. Leads always cross my desk. It’s especially annoying if you’re a left-handed user, because your mouse can be close to where the mouse pointer goes. I’m looking forward to a future where all chargers go into the back of the laptop.Asus TUF F15 (2023) – Display & speakers The 1080p display does exactly what you’d expect at this price from Asus: it’s a bright, clear IPS panel that doesn’t bother you. Beautiful games like Jusant pop from the screen, while games like Alan Wake 2 look dark and grim. The 144Hz refresh rate combined with G-Sync made every game I tested smooth and responsive. If you’re used to mid-to-high-end laptops, the screen isn’t that bright or sharp. It won’t be used in direct sunlight, and while the 75% Adobe RGB color coverage is good for gaming, it may fall short for heavy work.
The speakers are great at medium volumes when you’re not blasting music: I watched movies, listened to podcasts, and played a few games at high volume without hurting my ears. That’s not to say that it sounds sharp or deep – even cheap gaming consoles sound great – but it’s a little bit better. At high volumes, it sounds tinny and washed out, and the bass is absent. But it’s what you’d expect in laptops around this price.Asus TUF F15 (2023) – SoftwareThe TUF F15 is thankfully free of bloatware, and comes with only two software – MyAsus and Armory Crate. MyAsus is lightweight and not very useful, except for switching on “battery care mode” which freezes your battery above 80%, to save it longer. I wish it was just built into the Armory Crate, which is more than enough. The main dashboard is a bit overwhelming at first, but it’s a powerful tool once you get used to it. Enthusiasts can enjoy digging into the “manual” mode to tweak GPU settings, thermal targets, and fan speeds – it’s much easier to use and more intuitive than other systems I’ve tried. P (performance) cores or E (efficiency) cores. Asus has a page that clearly explains why you might want to do this – either to save battery or to boost performance at lower settings. Most people won’t use it, but it’s good to know it’s there. You can also switch between GPU modes, which can be very useful to save battery. “Ultimate” forces the laptop to use the graphics card, instead of integrated graphics, all the time. I instead chose the recommended “Optimized” mode. This disables the graphics card when you pull out the recorder – and when connected, it will only use the graphics card for intensive tasks such as gaming. This configuration made a huge difference in the battery tests – which I will touch on later. So is the “Panel Power Saver”, which is turned on by default and reduces the refresh rate when you unplug your charger. Away from the main dashboard, however, Armory Crate is clunky and confusing. It has junk content and a weird “featured” tab that failed to load. The built-in “Aurasync” would normally control your keyboard’s RGB lighting – but instead it takes you to another page where you can choose your colors and lighting colors. The keyboard still has a dedicated “aura” button, but it doesn’t work: every time you click to switch between lighting colors, it changes color to red. Bizarre. As laptops go, it’s the hardest I’ve tried – and I found myself going back to the central dashboard many times to adjust settings. Asus TUF F15 (2023) – Performance and GamingI came expecting the Asus TUF F15 to destroy AAA games. I was not disappointed. Its impressive performance is made possible by Frame Generation, a feature made possible by Nvidia’s Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) AI technology. It generates new frames and places them between the frames you see, increasing the frame rate By enabling Frame Generation, this laptop cuts through even the most visually demanding games. I hit a smooth FPS of 100 in Cyberpunk 2077 on Ultra graphics, and went above 100 in Forza Horizon 5 and Hitman 3. These are the kind of numbers that Frame Generation is producing next to a new budget machine. Some people have said that it’s too late to use it – but I haven’t heard anything about it. Of course, you can’t just rely on the AI’s ability to work well. Some games may not be compatible with the Frame Generation and you need a laptop that will play them, too. Fortunately, the previous generation i7-12700H CPU and RTX 4060 are the two carriers. I hit 100 FPS in Call of Duty: Warzone on high, and I can play the latest Alan Wake 2 at 70 FPS without Frame Generation (albeit with some Nvidia AI technology enabled). around 45fps on the highest resolution. This may not sound surprising, but know that this is a budget laptop that plays one of the most demanding games of the last five years. Dialing a few settings down got me over 60 FPS. 
What you’re getting here is a laptop that will play anything you throw at it, at the highest settings, for years to come. Sounds like future proof. The numbers don’t lie: in performance tests, they did very well. It outperformed the Gigabyte G5, which also has a 4060 graphics card, in every test, and scored almost the same as the MSI Stealth 14 Studio (2023), a much more expensive machine. things. First, the Gigabyte laptop reduces the graphics power to 75W – in the Asus machine, it is 140W, which means that you can squeeze more from the GPU. and can multitask. I can open multiple Chrome tabs, download a game, watch a video and browse my storage drive at the same time without slowing down. Considering the size of today’s games, that’s a bit much – put in four big games and you’ll be done. It’s frustrating to change what you’ve downloaded, although it must be said that it’s not unusual for laptops of this price. If you have a lot of money to spend you should choose one of the more expensive – although it’s still expensive – configurations that have a 1TB SSD. You can also open the laptop and put another SSD in the slot, but it’s not a fix everyone will be free to try.Asus TUF F15 (2023) – Battery life Battery life is solid – and even if you use the right settings. Our battery test on PCMark10, which tests regular use at 50% brightness and automatically switches between GPU and integrated graphics, gave a flawless 4 hours and 49 minutes. That’s exactly the same as the Gigabyte G5, which has a smaller battery.
However, by following the settings in Armory Core – which limits the GPU’s battery power – and switching to the “silent” mode I was able to last for more than 10 hours in the same test, which is what the G5 is capable of. it doesn’t work. The settings are great, and it doesn’t compromise performance like it does with the battery. It’s now my standard way to use the laptop.Buying advice In the UK, the Asus TUF F15 is available in the configuration I tested from Scan, Amazon, or Curry’s for £999. You can also order a cheaper version with a 4050 graphics card from Amazon. In the US, there are many upgrades offered. The exact one I tested is available at Best Buy for $1,099, or at Walmart for another $100. At Best Buy, you can upgrade to a 4070 with a 1TB SSD for another $300. You’ll find other configurations – listed on the Asus website – at Newegg, B&H, and a few other stores.
