April launched it’s 8th generation Intel Core i processors with up to 6 cores and 8 threads in an event in china last April 2, 2018. Along that announcement, came a few surprises from one of the world’s top gaming brands – ASUS, who launched the NEW Zephyrus M and a new laptop gaming line to come under the TUF Gaming series branding.

The Tuf Gaming series brand is not new. The TUF series, The Ultimate Force, was launched back in 2010 featuring the most durable motherboards from the ASUS family. It was subjected to the most stringent of tests and came with multiple military grade components, truly fit for it’s brand name. In 2017, ASUS followed up with what they called the TUF gaming series which built on the characters of its TUF counterparts but infused with the spirit of gaming and, well, RGB.

This 2018, Asus launches the first gaming laptop under the series and we take a closer look at the retail model and it’s package contents.

OUTER BOX

Despite the TUF Gaming brand, the FX504 does not come in a fancy outer box as compared to ASUS ROG Gaming line of laptops. It’s a simple brown box, adorned with a touch of red and a rather medium sized TUF GAMING brand wording on the front side of the box. On the rear side, we get a quick rundown of the specs of the laptop inside the box.

Upon opening the box, we are instantly greeted by the unit itself.

External Design

The design of the TUF Gaming FX504 is quite fresh. It doesn’t have the usual black and red scheme of gaming laptops that we’re used to these days, along with RGB. The approach here is something more simple yet very classy. It comes with a premium metal finish with some angular sharp lines and an ASUS logo in the middle the glows red when the unit is turned on. Depending on the reflection of the light, the laptop’s color shade changes from gunmetal to silver.

The Tuf Gaming FX504 is also available in 3 other designs, but they come in plastic instead of Metal like the PH retail version. We like ASUS Philippiens decision to go with the metal version. It’s just much more premium.

 

Keyboard Design

The C Part of the laptop is where it gets busy, though. Compared to the simplistic approach of the A part, the keyboard area of the laptop is adorned with striking design, black and red accents and the laptop’s features.

The keyboard is a red-backlit keyboard with a touted 20million key press lifespan, double than the industry standard of 10million. Upon trying the keyboard itself, it was quite good to type on but not the best we’ve seen. It was quite soft but good enough for hours of light to medium gaming.

The 120Hz Screen

One of the highlights of the TUF Gaming FX504 is actually it’s screen. Despite the affordable price tag, the Tuf Gaming FX504 provides a 120hz 3ms IPS screen for those needing ultra fast refresh rates and response times. Granted the GPU options were a 1050, 1050ti and 1060 – you’ll have to moderate your gameplay settings – it was an option that we’d like to see on other entry gaming laptops these days. After all, the higher end ones area already adopting 144hz 3MS IPS with Gsync like the G703, Zephyrus GX501, Zephyrus M GM501, Strix GL503 and Strix GL703.

We have yet to test actual game play on the FX504 but the screen was rather dim at only 250 nits instead of the usual 300-350 nits that we’re used to on more expensive gaming laptops. The TUF Gaming FX504 does not have Gsync but has Nvidia optimus to extend battery life when using non-extenssive applications.

Upgrading the TUF Gaming FX504

The Tuf Gaming FX504 features 2 ram slots, an HDD slot and an M.2 SSD Slot. The Philippine configurations don’t come with an SSD but the HDD is the Firecuda variant which has a hybrid 8GB SSD built in on the HDD itself for faster boot ups and app load times.

If you still feel the need for an SSD though, the M.2 sata slot is avaialable for use, as 1 ram slot as the other one already comes with either a 4GB or 8GB stick. Speaking of ram, ASUS is using 2666mhz as the standard frequency for all it’s gaming laptops with 8th generation processors be it entry or high end.

It’s quite troubling to upgrade the Tuf Gaming FX504 though as you have to remove a total of 10 screws before you can remove the bottom panel.

Ports

The TUF GAming FX504 comes with plenty of connectivity ports. there’s 1 full HDMI 1.4 port, an RJ45 Lan Port, 2 USB 3.1 and a USB 2.0 port.

Configurations

4 variants for the Tuf Gaming FX504 was announced by ASUS Philippines but we were told to expect more in the next coming weeks and months. All come with 120hz 3MS IPS screens as standard, plus Intel’s latest 8th Generation Intel Core i processors.

Model Name	LCD	LCD TYPE	CPU	RAM	STORAGE	GPU	SRP
FX504GM-EN001T (Metal)	15″ FHD	IPS 120HZ	i5-8300	8G	1TB+128G PCIE	GTX1060 6GD5	₱77,995
FX504GE-EN039T (Metal)	15″ FHD	IPS 120HZ	i7-8750	8G	1TBSSH+128PCIE	GTX1050ti 4GD5	₱72,995
FX504GE-EN179T (Metal)	15″ FHD	IPS 120HZ	i7-8750	8G	1TB-8GSSH	GTX1050Ti 4GD5	₱69,995
FX504GD-EN045T (Metal)	15″ FHD	IPS 120HZ	i5-8300	4G	1TB-8GSSH	GTX1050 4GD5	₱56,995

All variants, except for the Tuf Gaming FX504GM is already available in retail stores nationwide.

Here’s a list of ROG and ASUS Concept stores where you can buy the Tuf Gaming Series.

• ROG Concept Store, 4th Floor, CyberZone, SM Megamall
• ROG Concept Store, 4th Floor, SM North Edsa, Quezon City
• ROG Concept Store, 2nd Floor, CyberZone, SM Mall of Asia
• ROG Concept Store, 2nd Floor, CyberZone, SM City Cebu
• Asus Concept Store, 3rd Floor, Cyberzone, SM Fairview
• Asus Concept Store, SM City Bacolod, Negros Occidental
• Asus Concept Store, SM Premier Lanang, Davao City
• Asus Concept Store, 3rd Floor, SM Cyberzone, SM IloIlo
• Asus Concept Store, 3rd Floor, Festival Mall, Alabang
• Asus Concept Store, UGL CyberZone, SM Mall of Asia
• Asus Concept Store, SM Cabanatuan, Cabanatuan City
• Asus Concept Store, 4th Floor, CyberZone, SM Megamall
• Asus Concept Store, 4th Floor, SM North Edsa-Annex
• Asus Concept Store, 1st Floor, SM CyberZone, SM Marikina
• Asus Concept Store, SM Clark, Angeles City Pampanga
• Asus Concept Store, D’ Mall Boracay, Malay, Aklan
• Asus Concept Store, SM Premier Downtown, CDO
• Asus Concept Store, 2nd Floor, CyberZone, SM Cebu
• Asus Concept Store, Centrio Mall, Cagayan de Oro
• Asus Concept Store, 2nd Floor, KCC Mall Zamboanga
• Asus Concept Store, 3rd Floor, Cyberzone, SM Tuguegarao
• Asus Concept Store, Malvar Road, SM City Puerto Princesa
• Asus Concept Store, 2nd Floor, Cyberzone, SM City Clark
• Asus Concept Store, 4th Floor, Cyberzone, SM City Sta. Mesa

To learn more, Click here.