First on first, let’s hop right into the specifications of Asus TUF Gaming F15 (2022) without any delay.
Asus TUF Gaming F15 (2022) Specifications:
- Design & Build: Plastic/metal hybrid build quality, 13.91W x 9.88D x 0.88H-inches, 2.2 kg
- Color Options: Jaeger Gray, Mecha Gray
- Display: 15.6″ anti-glare IPS panel, 300Hz refresh rate, 100% sRGB, Adaptive-Sync, MUX Switch, Optimus
- Resolution: FHD (1920×1080) resolution, 16:9 aspect ratio
- Keyboard: Full-size backlit keyboard (single-zone RGB), 1.7mm travel
- Trackpad: Multi-touch trackpad, Windows Precision drivers
- Security: TPM 2.0 chip, No fingerprint sensor
- Processor: Intel Core i7-12700H CPU (Alder Lake), 14C/20T, 4.7GHz Max Turbo Frequency, 24MB L3 Cache, Intel 7 process (10nm), 45W base power
- RAM: 16GB DDR5-4800MHz (2x 8GB), Up to 32GB (2x SO-DIMM slots total)
- Storage: 1TB M.2 PCIe 3.0 NVMe SSD (2x M.2 slots total), 1x 2.5″ SATA slot
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 (140W), 6GB GDDR6 VRAM
- Audio: 2x 2W speakers, Dolby Atmos audio
- Battery: 90 Watt-hours 4-cell Li-Ion battery
- Power Supply: 240W Smart AC power adapter
- Webcam: 720p HD camera, No physical shutter, Array microphones
- Connectivity: WiFi 802.11 6 (AX200), Bluetooth 5.2
- I/O Ports: 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C (DisplayPort, G-SYNC), 1x Thunderbolt 4 (DisplayPort), 1x HDMI 2.0b, 1x 3.5mm headphone jack, 1x RJ45 (LAN)
- Price in Nepal: Rs. 235,555 (i7-12700H, RTX 3060, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD)
- Accessories inside the box: Laptop, power adapter, quick start guide, TUF backpack, TUF Gaming M5 V2 mouse
Intel and AMD have updated their latest CPU lineup and Asus has also newest processors set up in their gaming laptops with. This makes it the best time to buy one of them. Alongside, Asus TUF Gaming F15 (2022) has brought some major upgrades in other departments like GPU and cooling system besides the CPU.
Asus TUF Gaming F15 (2022) Review:
Before the review, let’s have a look at TUF F15 and A15. They are pretty similar except that the F15 is powered by Intel’s 12th Gen CPU while the A15 brings AMD’s Ryzen 6000 series CPU inside. On the other hand, TUF Dash F15 goes with a somewhat cleaner design and a marginally slimmer build quality, all at the sacrifice of performance to some extent.
TUF F15 can be configured with up to Intel Core i7-12700H and a 140W RTX 3070 whereas the TUF Dash F15 maxes out at i7-12650H and 105W RTX 3070. However, TUF F15 is powered by the i7-12700H CPU, 140W RTX 3060 GPU, 16GB DDR5 memory, and a terabyte of PCIe Gen 3 SSD. Meanwhile, both RAM and SSD are upgradable. This configuration costs NPR. 235,555 in Nepal, around INR 147,000 in India, or $1,500 in the US.
Design & Build
- Plastic/metal hybrid build quality
- 13.91W x 9.88D x 0.88H-inches, 2.2 kg
TUF F15 has either a Jaeger Gray finish or Mecha Gray variant with an embossed TUF logo on the lid. Asus claims that it has minimized the chassis volume by 4.5% this time and it is 100 grams lighter than its predecessor.
Apparantly, its lid has faux-aluminum finish and the rest of chassis is plastic. TUF series laptop are in great terms with durability department. Its hinge, lid, and keyboard deck are all solid. The soft matte finish on the keyboard deck that doesn’t attract fingerprints as much is a nice touch too.
Excellent gaming results
The active MUX switch takes quite a toll on the battery life. TUF F15’s results are remarkable compared to a similarly configured 11th Gen laptop with 130W RTX 3060. Especially on CPU-reliant games like CS: GO, where its average and 1% low fps are more than 50% higher than the competition.
GTA V and Borderlands 3 both deliver over 100 fps at High settings. On to some relatively GPU-intensive games, I got 66 fps on Hitman 3 at Ultra preset. And moving down to Medium settings didn’t improve the fps throughput by a lot here.
Besides, control managed 48.3 fps average at Ultra settings and High ray tracing, which jumps to 67.9 fps when switching to Medium preset. Cyberpunk 2077 is almost unplayable at Ultra settings with just 27.5 average fps. But at Medium settings, it delivers a respectable 46.8 fps. TUF F15 manages an impressive 104.5 fps average with ray tracing turned off completely.
Performance
- Intel Core i7-12700H CPU (45W base power)
- NVIDIA RTX 3060 (140W, 6GB GDDR6 VRAM)
- 16GB DDR5 RAM, 1TB PCIe NVMe SSD
It is the most powerful laptops for this price for now. It features 12th Gen processors. It annihilates the Core i7-11800H-be it in terms of single-core or multi-core workloads. Cinebench R23’s single and multi-core scores are highest in the entire database. Also, the 12th Gen CPU posts a double-digit performance jump in other tests like 7Zip, V-Ray 5 and Corona, on top of productivity benchmarks like PugetBench and SPECWorkstation.
It can easily manage to edit a 1080p video project on Premiere Pro and everything from adding animation and text layers to making color corrections with a breeze. Similarly, it promises significantly higher bandwidth, power efficiency, and other upgrades over DDR4. But the thing is, the TUF F15 uses a CL40 DDR5-4800 memory in dual-channel.
The CAS latency could differ depending on the individual unit but maybe notime sooner.
MUX switch
Talking about the gaming side of things, we need to turn on Turbo mode for the best gaming result in Asus gaming laptops which maxes out the CPU and GPU performance, alongside fan speed. However, the company has added a MUX switch this time.
Multiplexer (or MUX) switch disables a CPU’s integrated graphics so that it doesn’t get to bottleneck the faster discrete GPU’s performance. When enabled, the dGPU is directed connected to the display and it therefore doesn’t need to route data through the iGPU first.
Furthermore, the option to turn it on is right there inside the Armoury Crate app which is pretty neat of Asus because the MUX switch is usually hidden inside BIOS in most cases. Although, enabling or disabling it requires a cold reboot.
Moving on, TUF F15’s display isn’t G-SYNC compatible, although it does support VESA’s Adaptive-Sync technology. But since Adaptive-Sync doesn’t work when enabling the MUX switch, there is screen tearing on multiple instances when gaming on this laptop.
Cooling and fan noise
It can handle the most modern AAA titles at medium to high settings easily. Asus has significantly upgraded the cooling system this time to make the CPU and GPU perform consistently. As an upgrade, it has an additional exhaust vent on the left and an extra heatpipe underneath. TUF F15’s thermal performance is pretty impressive.
Heat is mostly localized slightly left to the Enter key area in the front with the surface temperature reaching 43.4°C when playing some light games like CS: GO, or 48°C just above it. But that number would jump to 47.2 and 53.9°C under Cyberpunk 2077.
As for fan noise, 47.8dBA is the peak. However, the laptop gets bit warm even when it’s idle. Asus is pretty strict about its fan control mechanism unlike Acer or MSI. The fan speeds on during absolutely necessary even when it’s on Turbo mode. One can always get it under Manual mode for cooler temperatures.
Display
- 15.6″ anti-glare non-touch FHD IPS panel
- 300Hz refresh rate, 100% sRGB gamut
- Adaptive-Sync, Optimus, MUX Switch
The 2022 edition of TUF F15 comes with some upgrades here. Content creators can go for the 15.6” WQHD variant with 100% DCI-P3 gamut and a 165Hz refresh rate, while its entry-level model with a 144Hz refresh rate still has an underwhelming 62.5% sRGB coverage.
The best is to go with the 300Hz variant like ours, which is sort of a middle child between the two with its 100% sRGB panel unless you are short on budget.
This screen covers 98% sRGB and 74% P3 gamut. The color reproduction looks pleasing and the contrast level isn’t half bad either considering its IPS nature. The viewing angle is also quite nice, with a drop in saturation and brightness levels noticeable only when you’re looking at it from extreme angles.
The speakers however are not very commiting to an enjoyable quality. Anyway, I often noticed that this display looked noticeably worse on battery power. Be it in terms of brightness, colors, or contrast.
Decent port selection
We can see a funky X-shaped set of LED indicators, which are visible even with the lids closed. The connectivity side of things is also pretty decent. There’s a Kensington lock and a single USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A port on the right.
On the left, there is an additional USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A port alongside a 3.5mm headphone jack, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, a Thunderbolt 4, an HDMI 2.0b, an RJ45, and a power connector. Both USB-C ports here support DisplayPort 1.4 as well, whereas the standard USB 3.2 Gen 2 port even lets you connect a G-SYNC compatible display.
Battery
- 90 Watt-hour 4-cell battery
- 240W AC power adapter
A 90 Whr battery is available to power-hungry processors. It lasted for 2 and a half hours of screen-on time under regular usage consisting of web browsing together with editing word documents during the experimental hour. That was under Silent mode with Standard GPU profile turned on. Alongside, there is an option too to double the battery endurance by switching to Eco mode.
Bright enough display
TUF F15’s display can get plenty bright as well. It has 344 nits peak brightness. There is also a layer of matte-coating here to prevent ambient light reflections from getting in your way. Apart from this, the 300Hz display has absolute smoothness. And its 3.1ms MPRT response is great.
Keyboard
- Backlit full-size keys (with Numpad)
- 1.7mm travel, Single-zone RGB lighting
Asus has the same keyboard that was on the TUF F15 2022 last year. It has a full-sized chiclet keyboard with a dedicated Numpad and all. The WASD keys also get a special transparent flair, which sets them apart from the rest of the keys. Also, the actual typing experience on this keyboard is not that bad.
This is also a backlit keyboard with single-zone RGB that’s configurable via the aforementioned Armoury Crate app. Its actual backlighting is so inconsistent and all the keys are properly well-lit either. However, the issue is not new.
Webcam
- 720p HD camera, No privacy shutter
TUF F15 has a standard 720p camera up top. Although it’s not extraordinary or anything, this is more than usable for attending casual video calls.
Trackpad
- Plastic trackpad with integrated left/right keys
The trackpad has been upgraded this time. It is 26% larger and the separate left/right keys have been integrated into one as well. This is still a plastic-made trackpad so the gliding motion isn’t as smooth as it could be. And its clicking feedback is quite spongy too.
Conclusion
The performance jump compared to 11th Gen CPU in its predecessor is huge. It has too included the top notch TGP RTX 30 series GPU. There is a competent thermal system and F15 has it all.
Lastly, it has a terrific 1080p gaming performance, decent cooling system and nice I/O options. In addition, it has smooth 300Hz display, 1.7mm RGB backlit keyboard and quite good battery life.
However, design is a bit subtle and the display isn’t G-SYNC compatible. The speakers don’t meet expectations and there inconsistent keyboard backlighting. Also, Trackpad feels a bit squishy.
Now, with all the pros and cons of the laptop along with its upgrades and features detailed, it is up to you to choose whether they meet your demands to belong to you.
