ASUS TUF Gaming F16 Review: An Solid Choice for the Multitasker by Day and Casual Gamer by Night

ASUS recently unveiled a new laptop in its affordable TUF Gaming series in India. The new ASUS TUF Gaming F16 (FX607) is designed for causal gamers who want a foot in the door without breaking the bank.

The latest iteration of the TUF F16 gaming laptop is equipped with an 8-core Intel Core 5 210H processor and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050A graphics card. Now, let's find out just how good the TUF F16 (FX607) is in everyday scenarios for work, play, and entertainment, given its Rs 80,990 price tag.

Design and Build

The new TUF Gaming F16 retains the classic TUF aesthetic and comes in a subtle Mecha Gray shade. The TUF logo is engraved on the laptop's brushed metal lid, while four small triangles frame the corners of the lid. There are TUF references throughout the keyboard deck and trackpad, while the entire chassis of the laptop is made from plastic.

However, despite this plastic build, there's little-to-no keyboard flex, while the hinges feel quite sturdy ensuring the screen doesn't feel wobbly. The front of the lid also sticks out, allowing you to easily open the laptop with one finger. The new TUF F16 was very resistant to fingerprints and smudges.

Despite its 16-inch form factor, the new TUF gaming laptop is fairly portable, weighing around 2.2 kg and measuring 26.7mm thick. This makes it easy to drop into a bag, although working on a small seat table on an aircraft can be rather challenging.

Additionally, the TUF F16 (FX607) also features US MIL-STD 810H certification, ensuring a durable machine that can withstand challenging environments, despite the plastic material. Moreover, ASUS has also minimized the display bezels to ensure more screen real estate than ever before. Overall, the ASUS TUF F16 (FX607) combines a durable yet lightweight design with a sturdy build, making it a solid choice for gamers seeking portability and reliability.

Keyboard and Trackpad

The TUF 16 incorporates a full-sized keyboard with a numpad. The chiclet-style keys don't offer much travel distance but are still comfortable to type on, while the 'WASD' keys are highlighted to give it that gaming vibe. Moreover, the new TUF F16's keyboard also features one zone RGB lighting that is fully customizable in the Armoury Crate software. You also get a dedicated Copilot key to quickly access the AI app.

ASUS's latest affordable gaming laptop also comes with a large trackpad that is smooth and responsive. I primarily used the mouse for navigation but in the absence of one, using the trackpad was fairly comfortable. While the trackpad offered a smooth and responsive experience, the keyboard was a mixed bag-comfortable for typing and gaming but lacking a satisfying tactile feel.

Connectivity

The ASUS TUF Gaming F16 gaming laptop offers a well-rounded port selection, including a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port with support for DisplayPort, power delivery, and G-SYNC (up to 10Gbps), two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports (up to 5Gbps), an HDMI 2.1 FRL port, a 3.5mm combo audio jack, an RJ45 LAN port, and a dedicated DC-in for charging.

Wireless connectivity options include Bluetooth 5.3 and Wi-Fi 6. The TUF F16 also features a 720p HD webcam that is good enough for video calls so long as you are in a well-lit room. Whether it was hooking it up to an external monitor or using a bunch of accessories, the TUF F16 had plenty of options, ensuring I didn't have to whip out the docking station.

Display

For the display, the latest iteration of the ASUS TUF F16 opts for a 16-inch Full HD+ (1920 x 1200 pixels) IPS Anti-glare LCD screen. The display boasts a super-smooth 144Hz refresh rate and a 3ms responsive time for competitive gaming. The display can achieve a decent 300 nits of peak brightness, while the comfortable 16:10 aspect ratio and good viewing angles, make it ideal for watching videos, movies, and TV shows.

ASUS has also achieved a 90% screen-to-body ratio on the TUF 16. The ASUS TUF Gaming F16 features Dolby Atmos and Hi-Res audio support, delivering enhanced sound quality through speakers and headsets. Two-Way AI Noise Cancellation reduces background noise for clearer voice communication. Additionally, the built-in HD camera enables video calls without requiring external accessories, ensuring convenient face-to-face interactions.

Performance

For performance, our TUF Gaming F16 model was equipped with an Intel Core 5 210H CPU with four performance cores and four efficiency cores and 12 threads. The CPU is paired with an Nvidia RTX 3050A Laptop GPU with 4GB of GDDR6 VRAM and 65W Max TGP. Finally, the laptop features 16GB of DDR4 RAM clocked at 3200MHz and 512GB of NVMe 4.0 M.2 SSD storage.

I tested a few games on the TUF F16 and here are the results:

Multiplayer Gaming:

• Call of Duty: Black Ops 6: Averaged 75fps on Medium settings.
• Overwatch 2: Reached just over 90fps on High settings.
• Marvel Rivals: Consistently hit 100fps on Medium settings.
• Valorant: Surpassed 200fps on High settings.

(All tests were conducted at Full HD, even though the display supports Full HD+.)

Shadow of the Tomb Raider, GTA V, and Forza Horizon 5 were all able to hit the 60fps, surpassing it in the case of the GTA V and Shadow of the Tomb Raider, on medium settings at 1080p resolution. Finally, I tested God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla on Ultra settings and got little under 30fps with DLSS turned on to Quality. Despite the casual and affordable titles, it was nice to see that the TUF F16 could still perform when called up on.
I also ran a couple of benchmarks on the TUF F16:

Benchmark Results:

Geekbench 6:

• Single-core: 2013 points
• Multi-core: 9401 points

Cinebench R23:

• Single-core: 1575 points
• Multi-core: 11,900 points

During a 10-minute throttling test, single-core performance remained steady, while multi-core scores slightly dipped to 10,500 points. The RTX 3050A GPU managed an OpenCL score of 57517 in Geekbench 6. In 3D Mark Time Spy, the F16 earned a graphics score of 5901 points.

The TUF F16 also features solid upgradability with 2x M.2 PCIe slots and 2x DDR4 SO-DIMM slots, capable of expanding RAM up to 64GB. To improve peak sustained performance, the TUF F16 comes with a pair of 84-blade Arc Flow Fans, 4 exhaust vents, and 3 heat pipes.

Additionally, the dual 84-blade Arc Flow Fans work in tandem with the three heat pipes to maintain a stable thermal environment, ensuring that GPU temperatures rarely exceed 80% and the CPU remains below 90%, keeping performance peak and comfort intact.

Battery

The ASUS TUF F16 packs a comparatively small 56Whr battery, which can deliver anywhere between 1 hour to 1.5 hours of gaming on a single charge, although this depends on the gaming and settings. In silent mode, the laptop went from 100% to 50% after watching YouTube for an hour and 15 minutes (Screen Brightness - 80%, Speaker Volume - 70%).

While undertaking usual productivity tasks between Chrome, MS Word, and PowerPoint, the laptop ran for little under four hours. Using Nvidia Optimus to switch to Eco mode, further helps cut down power consumption, only consuming 30% of the battery while watching the same video on YouTube.

The notebook is powered by a 150W AC adapter that supports fast charging technology, capable of getting a 0 to 50% charge in just 30 minutes, while a full charge takes little over an hour. Considering the TUF F16 is a gaming laptop, battery shouldn't be a priority, but even so, the numbers here didn't look good.

Verdict

The ASUS TUF Gaming F16 (FX607) is a solid choice for gamers who don't need competitive frame rates. It delivers smooth everyday gameplay and features a standout 16-inch Full HD+ IPS display with a 144Hz refresh rate, making it ideal for both gaming and media consumption. Its ample ports, including USB Type-C, multiple USB Type-A, HDMI 2.1, and an RJ45 LAN port, support a wide range of peripherals.

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Despite its plastic chassis, US MIL-STD 810H certification ensures robust durability and a premium feel for everyday users. However, battery life falls short of gaming laptop norms. While its performance and build quality justify the higher price, some alternatives offer better price-to-performance. Overall, it is indeed a commendable yet pricier option.