ASUS TUF Dash F15 review – Mid-range specs, high-range potential

It’s getting harder than ever to recommend a good gaming laptop; not because your options are limited, but because there’s so much competition in this category lately. At the same time, the vast majority of people who are ready to invest in mobile gaming gear are looking to stretch their buck as far as possible with a machine that provides a superb gaming setup and workhorse functionality.

So what does the ASUS TUF Gaming 15 have to offer? Its latest edition leans more towards the mid-range of gaming with its hardware, but underneath the slick steel lid, there’s a competent machine that can provide a rock-solid gaming experience if you keep your expectations in check. Throw in capable content creation functionality, and you’ve got yourself an attractive Swiss army knife that you can throw into your backpack.

In terms of this review unit provided by ASUS, the TUF Dash F15 is packing a 12th gen Intel Core i7, a mobile GeForce RTX 3050, 16GB of RAM, and a 1080p panel clocked at 60Hz. Externally, you’ve got plenty of ports to take advantage of, including a Thunderbolt 4 port, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, two more USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, HDMI 2.0. Ethernet, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Not too shabby.

The other big plus here is the weight of the F15, which combines an overall sturdy feel with a very manageable heft of 2kg. As someone who has lugged around heavier gear at conventions before, knowing that I can put this in my bag, throw it over my shoulder, and not instantly shatter my spinal column is a huge relief.

For the screen, you’re looking at a 15.6-inch panel that has a fairly high pixel density. Images look sharp, and for entertainment purposes, you’ll be able to enjoy some rock-solid gaming and multimedia visuals on it. For content creation purposes, you could do better, but if you’re planning to create disposable and quick-fire entertainment, then the screen is more than up to the task of handling fast edits with a lower level of color precision.

The Dolby Atmos speakers aren’t mind-blowing, as they juggle an average soundscape with a good range of volume and a significant amount of bass. Let’s just say that for on-the-go purposes, they do a decent job, but if you’re looking for higher-quality audio, you’ll want to plug in a decent headset or soundbar.

In total, you’re looking at a laptop that isn’t designed to go toe-to-toe with some of the heavyweights of the scene, but then again, it also costs several thousand Rands less than those technical behemoths. The F15 positions itself as a 1080p gaming machine, and on that front, you’re getting a consistent effort from the modest hardware. Thanks to Nvidia DLSS, the F15 can punch above its weight when playing hard-hitting games like Resident Evil 3, Final Fantasy VII Remake, or Marvel’s Spider-Man, although not using that black magic from GeForce will see frame rates plummet.

For quick benchmarks, I loaded up solid test games like Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. Shadow of the Tomb Raider actually managed to reach over 100 frames-per-second with its graphics cranked up to the highest default settings and running at 1080p; while the delightful space-opera of Guardians of the Galaxy fell just short of a 100fps with similar settings. Again, this is pretty impressive for a laptop with these specs, and a screen at this size. You don’t need to aim above 1080p to get a sharp full HD picture.

It is worth noting, though, that you’ll want to make certain that you have the laptop placed on a fire-resistant surface because this device gets hot when its internals are pushed. It definitely has the potential to make your legs look like a streaky pile of bacon if you’re playing in bed, and some heat can also be felt radiating from the keyboard.

The big question is how much juice does the TUF F15 have when it’s untethered from a power supply? With load shedding still a bastard and a half, the 76mWh battery actually lasts surprisingly long when you’re ticking off average tasks – around an easy 3-4 hours for typing, YouTube-gazing, and spinning up some spreadsheets. For gaming, expect the battery to naturally be drained within an hour to 90 minutes, which is just long enough to retain your sanity for a stage or two of rolling blackouts.

All of this adds up to a pretty decent laptop for its price point, but I went into this review from a different angle. Can the F15 play modern games at a decent clip when they’re set to 1080p, provide enough computing power for programs, and keep them running when you’re sitting at a coffee shop and sipping a fresh latte? Absolutely, and the fact that it has a very attractive shell and a sturdy keyboard makes it a great device.

Meeting the needs of demanding content creators

What I wanted to test though, was a machine that could handle my needs as a content creator. That meant that the F15 needed to kick ass at two specific tasks: Capturing gameplay footage and editing said content. As someone who plays a lot on Xbox Series X, let me just say that Microsoft’s console is one of the worst machines on the market for native gameplay capture. Whether it’s 4L or 108p, Xbox Series X gameplay captures look like week-old roadkill when you have to edit it, and you simply cannot beat a dedicated capture device for the best video quality.

And look, I’m using an ancient one: an Elgato HD60, which predates the Rosetta stone, but it works! It grabs beautiful video from my gameplay, which looks leagues better than what the Xbox is capable of. For other consoles, it’s the same story. I know the PS5 has much better video capture options, but again, it’s hard to deny that something like an Elgato card just does a better job.

This is coming in especially useful for the launch of PlayStation VR 2, as having a dedicated video capture station does make a difference. The F15 excels at this, as I know I’m going to be capturing the best video possible within my means. Having the reassurance of a stable laptop combined with a time-tested capture card makes for a winning combination.

The second part of this equation is putting all of this content together. High-quality video capture means that you’ll want a machine that can handle the workload, and using my video editing software of choice, Wondershare Filmora, I was able to easily scrub through my captures and put a few videos together. In fact, the majority of this review was done on the F15 during a few bouts of load shedding, and I’m pretty happy with the end result.

So who is the F15 for? It has a decent range of power, it can handle a wide variety of tasks thrown at it, and it’s a decent machine for spinning up some games. It’s also a device that you need to have tempered expectations for, which is understandable at its price point of around R24,999 (in comparison to what else is out there right now).