Asus TUF Gaming Laptop FX504 15.6” 120Hz 3ms Full HD, Intel Core i7-8750H Processor, GeForce GTX 1060 6GB, 16GB DDR4, 256GB PCIe SSD + 1TB HDD, Gigabit WiFi, Windows 10 Home - FX504GM-ES74

The FX504 is an incredible value, and I am extremely happy with my decision/purchase. My configuration (GM-WH51) came with the i5 8th Gen, 256Gb M.2 (albeit SATA not NVME), and a 3Gb 1060(mobile). I'll preface the rest of this by saying I'm an avid PC user, builder, and all-around enthusiast. I also happen to particularly favor ASUS and their products. My last laptop was a U43F bamboo series from 2011; it finally died on me a week before I made this purchase, so I had been on the hunt for several days before settling on this machine. I had an incredibly difficult time shopping because I'm pretty picky and had very specific parameters. This model really popped out to me because it not only featured the important things like an SSD & dedicated graphics, but it was so much less expensive than traditional 'gaming' laptops of the same variety. Overall, if you're looking for something that can perform about as well as $1000 laptop without some of the bells and whistles then this is the one for you. Out of the box you're going to want to update BIOS, clear-out the gray-ware/bloatware (it's fairly minimal), and update Windows. BE SURE TO SWITCH YOUR 3D SETTINGS TO THE GRAPHICS CARD! Otherwise you'll end up on integrated Intel graphics. Once finished (about an hour later) I ran it though some benchmarks and it did not disappoint. Userbenchmark showed all the parts were performing as intended or better, and the 3DMark Time Spy showed it scoring on par with their 'Gaming Laptop'. Having used it now for a couple of days I'm really enjoying the upgrade from my old notebook. The SSD is lightning fast on reboots and on wake-up. The keyboard is also quite enjoyable and has a nice feel (and yes! it has a number pad!). Also, the general overall build-quality and design has a very pleasing feel as well; a sort of sturdy-yet-sleek. It's not as thin or compact as the new Vivobook or ZenBook models, and the screen bezel is fairly thick compared to those as well. My only real critique is the the track-pad. It feels a little flimsy and seems like it's going to take some getting used to, but if you're going to use a mouse more often than not it obviously won't be an issue. TL:DR- I really recommend this laptop, especially in the $700-800 price range. For what you're getting it's an absolute steal, and it looks and performs as it should.

I've had this laptop for about a year and a half. Here's a rough timeline of everything that's gone wrong: 4 months - One of the fans starts making a ton of noise periodically 8 months - Fan gives out entirely 12 months - Hinge on right side of laptop where it opens cracks and starts to deteriorate 14 months - Track pad simply stops working 16 months - USB ports randomly stop working for minutes at a time 18 months - Red lights on display completely die Warranty? Enjoy shipping your laptop to Texas for several weeks whenever anything goes wrong. This is simply a poorly made product that I cannot recommend to anyone.

This review is for the 16GB, 1060 Nvidia with NVME SSD device. Sadly Amazon has combined the reviews of the lower end versions of this device which I think is causing a lot of confusion and probably poor sales. The lower end models were rated very poorly on every site I visited. The reviews consistently state that it has a weak chassis that flexes way too much and jet engine fans among other things. This device has none of the flaws indicated with the lower end models in this product line. The chassis is rock solid and the fans are in line with other devices in this price range in my personal opinion. Although fans never really bothered me as I do game and it's just the price you pay when you want the higher end parts. Higher end parts run hotter and they need sufficient cooling. If fans bother you then there are products designed to deliver the silence you desire. The primary drive is an Intel Optane NVME SSD. This is one of the fastest SSD on the market and is of premium build quality. It comes with a GeForce 1060 which should be able to handle any modern game at high or ultra settings. I've played quite a few games on ultra like Tomb Raider and Galactic Civilizations III on Ultra Settings and all were silky smooth. I was actually amazed that there was no stutter or choppiness at all. The bottom line is that you will get exactly what you pay for with this machine. It is serving as a desktop replacement for me and doing a fine job of it. That being said, nothing is perfect. My only real gripe with this device is the OS installation. There is minimal bloatware but it also does come with the much dreaded McAfee antivirus. Like Norton, this software just dominates your system and bogs it down. I tried to uninstall it but got random failures. It just didn't want to go away. I eventually had to use a malicious software removal tool to get rid of it. But even that didn't quite clean it all out. The system still felt sluggish and sticky. I finally resorted to downloading a clean Windows install on to a USB stick and wiped the drive. Once this was done and I had all the drivers updated appropriately, not only was my installation about 20 gigs less than before it is also now snappy and super responsive. As a side note you will be prompted to to a firmware update for the BIOS. If you're going to do a fresh reinstall like I did, I highly recommend doing this update before you reload Windows. It will just make the final installation that much more stable. All in all this is a fantastic product though. It will do everything you want and more. Update: So it's been 3 months since I purchased this machine and wanted to provide an update. First I wanted to say that it does not contain Intel Optane as I had previously stated. I went to the ASUS web site when I was researching the computer and at that time it did mention Optane. It even had fancy graphics illustrating the speed improvements. Since then I have obviously discovered it does not and I can no longer find the ad which stated it does have it. That being said it is still a very robust computer and I still have no regrets. Other than that it boots up fresh and fast every time. No screen bleed issues as some others have mentioned. The audio is fantastic for a laptop. It is a little on the plasticky side as opposed to an aluminum construction but I feel it's a worthwhile payoff considering the price and internal components. Another drawback would be that it only came with a single 16 GB stick of ram. I have since upgraded it to two 8 GB sticks of HyperX Impact and it got even faster once in dual channel. I'm a little irritated that I had to spend another 100 bucks to get the machine to where it should have been out of the box but what's done is done. Anyways, I'll post another update if I find anything new. Second Edit: Had to drop this machine down two stars for false advertising. After opening the case I have found that not only does this not contain Optane, it doesn't even have an NVME drive. It is an M.2 SATA ssd. Although the slot is capable of NVME. This is dirty ASUS and I expect better of you!

I just received my new laptop and wanted to post some initial thoughts on it as this is my second ASUS gaming laptop. I already own a 2 year old ROG one running the 7th gen Intel I7 with the GTX 1050ti card (4gb). That laptop has pretty much run everything my kids play on it like Fortnite, Fallout 4, modded minecraft and lots of Steam games running near max resolutions. I was needing a new laptop for myself but figured I would get another gaming one so my two kids aren’t fighting over the other laptop. I immediately looked at ASUS since my first one has been solid. The current lineup of ROG options seemed to only have the 1050ti option unless I went to a 17” screen and spent way too much money on it. Then I found this TUF gaming edition. Running the 8th gen I7 and a 6gb 1060….hard to pass up at this price. So I took a chance. Botting up the first time and waling through the painful Cortana setup, I was finally up and running. The laptop seems to come with minimal bloatware. It has some but the screen isn’t covered with useless apps like my old Dell. I began downloading the various games and then let me younger son have at it for a while. He mostly stayed with Fortnite and it ran perfectly with whatever default settings it chose. The screen is beautiful. Probably one of the best laptop displays I have seen. It makes the 2 year old ROG one look terrible even though that screen is very nice. The sound coming out of the laptop speakers was also very nice. Was shocked at how well they worked as I find laptop speakers to be horrible. Normally my kids play with headphones but this was more of a testing period. My older ROG is loud when being used. Lots of fans to keep it cool. You get used to it but it is loud. The TUF, while not quiet, is much better. You can hear the fans kick on and off but it is nowhere near as bad. I haven’t done much testing on heat yet but can post that later. I know the ROG gets hot. Even the power supply on the cord gets really hot when it use. I couldn’t really tell why the TUF edition costs so much less than the ROG. But after getting it I do see that it is not as “fancy” as the ROG. The cover still lights up on top with ASUS but it lacks the fancier light up flame things. The keyboard only lights up in red vs multi for the ROG. It is apparently missing some ports that come on the new ROG but is in line with my older ROG. At the end of the day, what matters are the components. Seeing the TUF has the 1060 with more RAM and the same processor, I would think it is just as good, if not better. I have no regrets for getting this. Will post up any new findings if I have any.

First of all, it is better than a console and it's been nice to have a decent laptop for COVID. Some problems though are some stuttering issues. When playing a game on the laptop, it will sometimes run really great, and other times it runs terribly, even though it's the same game with the same settings. Another problem is that the game will randomly stutter and skip frames, making it annoying to play. The CPU doesn't boost all that much and the temps are fine in the 70s during gaming. I can get 40-70fps in Sea of Thieves and around 70 in Minecraft. With stuttering of course. Overall you can get more for your money in other Laptop designs for the same price, or just build your own PC, which is much more fun and runs a TON better. I kinda recommend buying it, but I also recommend building your own PC instead.

Excellent value for money. I was worried after reading/watching reviews online, that spoke of how under-powered this laptop is, don't believe it. I get a 1254 Cinebench 15 score. It Plays Fallout 4 on ultra at a constant 60fps (game is limited to 60fps). The fans can get loud,but what do you expect, with this much power packed into such a small space. The track pad sucks, it feels cheap and makes clackety noises, but again if you going to use the track pad on a gaming laptop, you probably missed the point. I am very happy with my Laptop and would wholeheartedly recommend it to anybody.

First, let me start off by saying I'm a big ASUS fan. My last few laptops that I purchase were ASUS because I've been completely satisfied each time I buy one. So you can imagine my surprise when I purchase this one. The reason for the poor rating is because the laptop continuously freezes only after 1 to 2 hours of game play. This issue started on the first day I received it and I submitted a return request the same first day. I've tried everything before coming to this decision. Clean out my temp folders (even though it was a new laptop), confirmed that my drivers were updated, etc. I came to the conclusion that the freezing kept happening because of the graphics card overheating. Prior to the freeze, the game (World of Warcraft) runs smooth. No fps or lag issue. The laptop boots extremely quick and uploads the game pretty dang fast. Everything was a dream, except the one issue that literally destroys my gaming experience. I even went into the power setting options and adjusted them, based on an expert's advice. Mine suggestions and his did not fix the issue. I read the other reviews and I'm not sure if I just happened to get a defective one or if this is an issue that just hasn't really been revealed. I'm going to say this will stop me from purchasing another ASUS laptop, but I'm definitely going to seek some other options. For $1,000+ for a gaming laptop, I don't expect it to be the greatest gaming laptop of all time, but I at least expect to be able to play a game for more than 2 hours straight. Or to at least not completely freeze on me mid-game.

Reading the reviews and looking at the price, I felt like I was taking a big risk getting this laptop. Once it came in, however, I knew it was the right decision. Delivered a stunning presentation at my recent portfolio review, and it's been able to run any game I own. Battery life is about 3.5 hours, but not bad for the power you get, and track pad is not the most responsive. If you are using a mouse and near outlets (like at the office) you will love this laptop!