ASUS TUF Gaming Laptop, 15.6” IPS Level Full HD, AMD Ryzen 5 3550H Processor, AMD Radeon Rx 560X, 8GB DDR4, 256GB PCIe Nvme SSD, Gigabit WiFi, Windows 10 - FX505DY-ES51

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----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Final Update (June 8, 2019)(said I would after a few months of use): -Still no complaints, laptop has been rock steady, have not had a single "crash" since purchase. -Still one of the quietest laptops Ive had recently, fans are virtually silent. Obviously theyll spin up during graphics intensive games or when you are doing considerable multi-tasking with a heavier load on cpu/gpu. Also, as always, periodically get some canned air to clean out the vents, etc. -Have had one odd anomaly, laptop has entered sleep mode on its own, during gaming sessions. Checking the windows event viewer, this appears to be graphics related. Unfortunately it could be anything, from cooling issues, to drivers issues, game coding glitches, or windows build glitches. The system doesnt actually crash, it just goes to sleep, so its hard to pin down. -Still cant give you any info on the battery. It works, but as mentioned initially it is a UPS for me, and thankfully I havent had any long term power outages (knock on wood). -I see the price of this model has come down, and ASUS has introduced a couple models (more expensive) with newer graphics, increased factory storage, etc, so you have some options now. *Ultimately, I do not regret this purchase, it was, and is, still a really nice gaming laptop, especially for those dedicated to the AMD side of the equation. *I have no plans to further update this review, but if something major happens, an unknown flaw rears its head, or I figure out the sleep issue, Ill go ahead and note it here. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Disclaimer. This is an initial review and I will update it over time as needed, having had the laptop for a little over a week (Mar. 10, 2019) OVERVIEW: Though Intel and Nvidia make good products that can provide a lot of performance, both have increasingly come at a premium as the years progressed. I know that there are others out there, who like me, intentionally stick with AMD products. Their price for performance is consistently better, and they provide the only competition that keeps the Intel/Nvidia duopoly from becoming criminally expensive. BATTERY DISCLAIMER: I have given the battery 5 stars, not because its good (or bad), but because it is an aspect I cant evaluate properly. For me, this laptop is essentially a desktop replacement, the batterys primary purpose is as a UPS (uninterrupted power supply) in the event of a power outage. When this occurs, or the infrequent times I travel overnight and take the laptop, Ill update the battery life evaluation. PROS: -Good size for 15.6, no thick bezels, lightweight compact chasis -Boots in a few seconds thanks to the M.2 NVME SSD -Easy to upgrade, take screws off bottom, pop it off, full access -Has slot ready to go for a traditional 2.5" SSD (or HDD) alongside the existing M.2, includes mounting screws -Initial bootup had firmware update available and completed through Windows Update (nice touch for the less tech savvy) -Uses AMDs newest, high performance, low power draw, mobile cpu, designed for mobile gaming, etc -Quiet, like dead quiet with basic tasks, and even when gaming the fans arent that loud NEUTRAL: -With falling memory prices its almost inexcusable this didnt include at least a 512 M.2, or secondary storage drive -Same as a above, for minimal cost this could have included double the RAM -The 560 is an aging graphics platform, this version (560X) is a marginal upgrade and does include 4GB RAM though -Above I stated lightweight, while nice, I am not sure if this is design intentional or reflective of cost cutting, I am not sure how this would handle a waist high drop -Screen, while good, is still a 15.6, you will want to attach an external monitor for long term use. Laptop screen defaults to a "zoomed" in view due to it being 1920x1080, which can effect some programs. NEGATIVE: -Limited ports, 3 USB, 1 HDMI, 1 Audio, 1 Ethernet. Get yourself a USB HUB, youll likely need it. -Its standard today, the battery is built in. It helps on space saving designs (as noted above though, replacement appears like it would be easy because for the most part removing the bottom gives you full interior access) -Attracts fingerprints on the inside (track pad and surrounding areas, etc) *Like I said above, this is an initial review, to give prospective buyers something to chew over if they are considering this machine. I will update this in a few months when I have a better feel for the overall experience. In the meantime, I have no complaints, I received a good machine at a good price, and the few games I have played (like OVERWATCH) were an enjoyable experience. Bear in mind this is not a $2000 gaming laptop, and reign in over-expectations. This will likely play any game out, but you may have to tinker with the graphics a little bit for optimal performance.

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Ive been testing this laptop out for a few days now, and overall its been great. My usage for this is 70% regular computer work (business, light Photoshop, web browsing, etc.) and 30% gaming when I travel as I have a full size gaming rig at home. I bought the FX505DU, which has the 3750H and the 1660ti. I like the form factor and aesthetics of the device, it doesnt have much flex or "creakiness" to it, and it looks great sitting on a desk. The RGB keyboard is a great touch, but wouldnt allow me to change the color until I downloaded an extra piece of software. It cycles through all the colors by default. Other than that everything worked right out of the box and the performance has been very good. The 1660ti is a beast and has destroyed anything and everything Ive thrown at it in 1080p. The 3750H cpu has been good as well, though as expected with Ryzen in some CPU intensive games it gets more than it can handle. Assassins Creed Odyssey is a great example. I can play at ultra at 1080p with a locked 30FPS framerate, but if I attempt to get a steady 60fps on any settings, including the lowest, theres just too much going on and it cant do it, even with plenty of GPU headroom. Athens just melts it. Having said that Athens pushes my desktop 9900k, so I dont consider it a negative, just something to keep in mind if youre wanting 1080p60 on everything. The only other games Ive tested so far are: The Witcher 3: Steady 60fps on ultra (had to dial back one setting, "foliage" to high, and no hairworks). Great experience. Doom 2016: All ultra locked 60 fps using less than 50% of the GPU and CPU. This title can play at 100fps, but it gets too choppy in some high intensity spots, so I lock it to 60 for a smoother experience. Thermals are great, GPU never exceeded 71c at 100% usage, no throttling that i was aware of. Make sure fans are on Turbo, which can be done with a touch of a button on the keyboard, which is awesome. The noise levels during normal usage are fairly quiet, and I appreciate that it has a silent fan setting that can dial things back in case you dont want to let everyone in the classroom or office know youre rocking a gaming rig. Noise levels during gaming were loud, but Ive certainly heard much worse from other gaming laptops. I also appreciate that the top of the laptop doesnt get hot, even after prolonged gaming sessions, so you can rest your hands on the keyboard without discomfort. The screen is decent, nothing amazing, but perfectly serviceable, especially considering the price. The 120hz refresh rate is nice for regular usage, but in gaming Ive found that the CPU cant get many games past 80-90fps before hitting its limit, so Ive been staying with a locked 60. Also be aware this screen doesnt have any type of adaptive refresh rate (Freesync/Gysnc) so make sure to use Vsync and a frame rate limiter if you want locked frame rates as very few newer games can hit the native 120. This model comes with 2 drives, an SSD and a mechanical hdd. I replaced the hdd with a Samsung Evo ssd, and it took about 5 minutes. The entire bottom comes off the machine after removing all the bottom screws and carefully popping the bottom panel off. I recommend using a plastic separator tool to avoid damage, the tabs were a bit too snug to pop off with just fingers. You also have access to the fans and ram in case you ever need to service and/or clean the dust out. Other than McAfee there isnt much bloatware and the preloaded Asus apps work fairly well. The keyboard and track pad are both comfy and work well. The track pad may turn some people off because it doesnt have separate left/right buttons, but its large and responsive which is all that I look for. Overall Im very satisfied with this laptop. It looks great, performs very well, especially considering the price, and feels very durable. My one criticism is the lack of adaptive refresh rate tech, but at this price point thats wishful thinking. Great laptop, definitely recommended.

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I purchased the FX505DY (AMD CPU and GPU. The description on ASUS and Amazon indicated that is had an RGB keyboard. Looking at the ASUS website for the DY model shows the laptop changing colors of the keyboard. After purchasing the laptop, and then contacting support when I was unable to change the color. Asus indicated that the model being sold does not have that capability. In the small print on the Asus site, it indicates that not all models support the RGB keyboard. Issue #2 was the WiFi adapter. I use a home mesh network that is benchmarked by phones and other wireless devices, including another laptop at 230-270 Mbs. This laptop would begin the same test at 50 and drop down into the low teens. Working with support on the first issue, they had me uninstall and resintall the adapter. This resulted in a test that began at 250 Mbs, but within 5 seconds dropped back down to below 20 Mbs. The support person suggested doing a loading of default values to the BIOS, but I had made up my mind the laptop was being returned. The last issue I encountered was the track pad. It was flaky and sometimes completely unresponsive for 3-10 seconds, and then work again for a short period of time before becoming unresponsive again. For the day I had the system, the benchmarks on the CPU/GPU were as expected. Only item I should have known, but didnt going into a dual video option model is that each application needs to be assigned which GPU to use (onboard or add-on card). Battery life was about 2.5 hours with typical activity, when not using the add-on- video card. The support at Asus was good and I was very happy with the support of Amazon in allowing this item to be returned. I hope that both will update their sites to ensure that others know what this model does and does not offer.

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So far my experience with the fx505dy have been great, gaming performance is decent... 1019 in Superposition 1080p extreme 35fps average in far cry 5 1080p ultra/high Doom vfr has a strange issue of only using the APU in the headset, managed to get it on the 560x once and it worked well however I need to do more research as to how to get it to use the dGPU 100%, both steamvr house and windows vr portal work fine. Just above a gtx 1050 4gb for those that need a reference I too experience touchpad delay occasionally Freesync is great but goes unnoticed most of the time As for RGB keyboard, there are a few variations here, this model is red LED, there is a gold LED model somewhere as well as a full RGB option that as far as I can tell is unreleased, keyboard types solid which is important. Display is usable, lots of backlight bleed at the bottom if brightness is above 60% Thermals are great and the hotkey to toggle between silent, balanced, and turbo is wonderful. Fans are whooshy and not whiney and can be drowned out by audio. Upgrades are easy, 12ish screws to remove the bottom, 1 slot free for ram and 1 sata 2.5 tray for storage. I added 8gb of ram which rated at 2400 booted at 2666 dual channel for a total of 16gb. Also added a 1tb add for extra space. Will update my review in a month after the stoke has worn off.

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Ill be quick and to the point. This computer is not for those with little tinkering and software experience. You must properly update all drivers and remove any junk programs straight out of the box. Windows must be fully updated before installing the newest radeon software or otherwise the graphics card will crash causing a blue screen. Either way AMD warns of this happening on their site. Other than that this laptop is amazing for the money. SSD is very fast and the Ryzen 5 3550H plus RX560x combo is very snappy and loves to run games. Fans are noisy under Max load but what gaming laptop isnt? While unplugged you can set it on silent mode and the fans will literally turn off and be dead silent as long as you are doing casual browsing or utilizing simple programs like word. I would definitely recommend this to anyone that is looking for a budget option.

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Update!!!! AMD has a mobile app for Android/iOS that links and monitors your gaming PC laptop vitals with your phone as you play! AMD Link... check it out! Let me start with the research I have done. I purchased this laptop from research on the budget end of gaming laptops. A few reviewers thought this was the best value a gamer on a budget. Also from past experience, I wanted an AMD-powered gaming laptop. The unboxing surprised me in how lightweight the laptop was compared to my work laptop. Screen is bright and clear (1080p) and the mat screen finish keeps reflections and glare down to a minimum. The keys are brightly lit as shown in the pictures, the keys also are good quality and give a good tactile feedback when typing. The touchpad works very well which surprised me. Some touchpads give mediocre performance...ASUS did it right with this gaming laptop. The twin fans to keep it running cool are fairly quiet. When the fans go into high gear you can hear them but fan noise is not distracting. On the negative side, the battery does not last more than a couple hours under heavy game use. As a side note, it is very easy to open up the case to do repairs or upgrades. I unscrewed the eight screws holding the case together to add memory and upgrade to a 1TB SSD. Easy Peasy! I highly recommend going to the AMD website and install the software utility for the display for keeping all drivers and hardware up to date. the AMD Radeon software package has updated not just the software drivers in my laptop but also the BIOS for you geeks out there. Adrenaline 2019 will keep your AMD powered gaming experience at its best. And AMD Link to monitor your gaming stats in real time. WhooHoo! To summarize, a great gaming laptop for under $1000 US dollars. The AMD processor with RX560 AMD graphics is a winner...just as reviewers from magazines and YouTube stated. If you want something better, spend $1400 to $2600 for a serious gaming laptop. Dont waste time reading performance charts and benchmarks as some Amazon reviews state...they should have spent more money. Anyway RPGs, 1st Person shooters... everything from Candy Crush to Crysis runs well. I am playing BioShock and Farcry this month. Die villainous scum!

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I bought the metallic 1660ti version and ive had it for a week so far, here is my thoughts: Pros: 1. Noise: It stays pretty cool and quiet even in its loudest mode called turbo. Balanced is completely silent and still decently fast. 2. Display: Although small the display is pretty sharp and a nice 120hz. I do wish it had GSync but overall you cant get everything for this great of a price. 3. Speed: This thing is quite the monster, its fast with the 1660ti. Im quite impressed by it. Cons: 1. Silent mode: There is a mode called silent mode, In my opinion I think that mode is unusable. Its too slow for me. I bet it is good when you are trying to save battery life. 2. Now that leads into the next con, battery life. It seems it only lasts around 1 and a half hours even in balanced mode. Maybe im wrong about that but it seems very short. 3. Sleep mode: Sometimes when I close the laptop and try to open it back up the display doesnt start up again. I can still hear the error sound when I type but there is no display, seems like a small bug. I have to usually hard reboot to start it again. I contacted support and they seemed very responsive though. Hope it gets fixed.

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This replaced an 8 year old ROG G73JW that finally cooked its motherboard. This one is an OK unit and I can play games on max graphics settings without any lag or stutter or visual artifact, but on any game its about as loud as a hairdryer on the low setting. There is no exaggeration - I have to turn up the game volume just to hear it. I have it on an active (triple fan, powered) laptop stand, so the vents arent blocked by anything. Its just overly noisy, especially compared to the 17" behemoth it replaced. EDIT: added a star. Updating the video drivers resolved the fans running so hard for every game.

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I purchased the model with the Ryzen 7 3750H CPU and GTX 1660Ti graphics card. The laptop overall is very fast. The NVME OS drive was able to transfer at over 950 MB/s. Not as great as a Samsung NVME, but still better than a SATA SSD. The secondary D: drive was 1tb, and its performance was abysmal. It would only write to the drive at 40 MB/s. The dual fans werent overwhelmingly loud when gaming, however they are still running at over 2500 rpm even when the system is idling. Farcry 5 was able to run at over 60 fps on max settings. The reason why I ended up returning this laptop is because of the terrible battery life. I understand that if Im gaming or using a moderate amount of CPU that the battery life would be terrible. I turned all settings to maximum battery life, both in the asus software, and in the control panels power settings. I dimmed the display to minimum, and set the refresh rate to 48hz. I used device manager and disabled the GTX1660. The keyboard LEDs were turned off. Wifi was on and connected by itself to a mobile hotspot. The laptop was idling with no apps open and just sitting at the desktop. It was using the minimum amount of power that I could set it at. The battery lasted 1 hour, 15 minutes from 100 percent to 5 percent. Using a kill-a-watt, this laptop was using 50 watts while idling. This is why the laptops battery was unable to keep up. While playing Farcry 5, the kill-a-watt showed the laptop was using 130 watts. This is basically a desktop computer with a built in UPS. I would have loved to keep the laptop, but needed to have a low power mode last at least 2-3 hours.

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Met my needs for a new gaming laptop perfectly. Pros: • Solid, sturdy build • Powerful- game performance exceeded my expectations, even with just 8 gig of RAM • Keyboard is surprisingly comfortable to type with • The laptops monitor is high quality, and the high refresh rate makes watching live sports or gaming look great Cons • Fans do a great job keeping the system cool, but they can be loud • The trackpad is poor, especially for someone thats used to Macs. Since this is billed as a gaming PC this is a minor issue- stick to using a mouse and youll never notice For the price I couldnt be happier with this laptop. If youre looking for an affordable gaming system you cant go wrong with this.

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