If you ’re looking at theAsus TUF Gaming A14this time ofyear , you ’re probably getting the other start onback - to - school day shopping . Or possibly you demand something as compact as a MacBookfor study but would care to do a little gaming on it . The trick is finding somethingeasy to conduct with enough power to do the “ grueling tasks ” like taunt or 3D modeling while also being capable to sneak in a few rounds ofValorantwhen no one is looking .
The Asus TUF Gaming A14 has a slim profile and no - frills design , but it ’s a potent machine under the tough . The newAMD Ryzen 9 AI HX 370 chipeasily beat Intel ’s Meteor Lake lineup from originally this year . It ’s play down by a lack of upgradability and circumscribed spec options , but it makes up for it by being a still operator . It feels more like an ultrabook than a gambling laptop . It weighs just a bit more than 3 Sudanese pound , and while the keyboard backlight is hopeful , it ’s not overt . It run softly , even under stress , and can still diddle graphics - intensive games at fair framerates .
Asus TUF Gaming A14
© Artem Golub / Gizmodo
It ’s a subtle but surprisingly brawny gambling laptop that wo n’t go against the bank at $ 1,500 . It ’s only held back by its little assault and battery life sentence and limited RAM .
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Photo: Artem Golub / Gizmodo
View at Best Buy
The laptop computer start at $ 1,400 for an AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS C.P.U. with a less capable neural central processing unit , though you ’ll need to pay $ 100 more for that AI - centric microprocessor chip . That ’s stretching its “ budget ” nature , especially without the usual gambling accoutrement . Asus ’ own 14 - inchROG Zephyrus G14with an OLED showing start at $ 1,600 , or you could spend closer to $ 2,000 for 32 GB of RAM and an RTX 4070 .
In its press stuff , Asus lay claim the A14can have up to 32 GB of RAM , though my review unit moderate the standard 16 gigabit . The translation with magnanimous RAM is only available throughANTfor $ 1,800 MSRP ( though presently on cut-rate sale for $ 1,650 ) . The sticking out full point is thatyou ca n’t upgrade the memory in this car . You ’re stuck with the mean 16 gibibyte . That ’s good enough for most task and gambling , but I imagine many scenarios when you ’ll want more .
Photo: Artem Golub / Gizmodo
Asus TUF Gaming A14 Review: Design and Display
A Smooth, Stealthy Operator
As its name suggests , this is one sturdy little laptop . The aluminium frame does n’t buckle or flex too much despite the pressure of my hand and fingers . The decoration rest period were stout and never grew too warm , even under strain . It ’s the kind of laptop that feels like it will suffer scrapes and scratches and still fare out dead workable .
It weigh 3.2 pounds , and its heavyset size of it makes it easy to carry around or pack into a midget - sized pocketbook . And it will still calculate jolly presentable after you handle it . My dingy hands left plenty of print on the inside of the case , but I ’m surprise by how the outside plate was never as marred .
The keyboard ’s cogent look of its keys for a relatively cheap laptop computer surprise me . It ’s not cash in one’s chips to trick you into suppose you ’re using a mechanically skillful keyboard , but there ’s enough locomotion to have a presence when you press down on the cay . The trackpad , meanwhile , is just fine . It ’s not a skating skating rink or a crushed rock bandage . At the very least , I had minimum issues with palm tree rejection on my medium - sized custody . There are just enough ports on this laptop sizing for casual use to make it available for work or gaming . You have two USB - A , two USB - C ( only one support power ) , one HDMI 2.1 , and an superfluous microSD card expansion slot .
Photo: Artem Golub / Gizmodo
The PC is quiet on performance stage setting , but throw to turbo way will be brassy enough to flex some straits in a hushed elbow room . It never gets too hot on the surface , but when play , the fan boast most of the heat down through the bottom of the PC , which may make it uncomfortable if you desire to play in bed with the laptop on your lap .
The 14 - in laptop computer has an IPS LCD with a max refresh charge per unit of 165 Hz . It ’s decidedly good enough , but with a 2560 x 1600 resolution , you ’re not getting the premium visual quality of laptop that be a few hundred bucks more .
The exhibit hit 236 nits peak brightness at 25 % of the screen . It ’s not unbelievable , but I was n’t expecting too much from a budget laptop computer . It ’s bright enough for most task and should work well enough so long as it ’s not in lineal sunlight with the sun peering down at the screen .
The only affair marring this design is its lack of upgradability . The RAM is tie to the machine , though you may change out the 1 TB SSD for something large if you ’re afraid you ’ll be full . The PC comes with two SSD slot .
Asus TUF Gaming A 14 Review: Performance
Leaps Better than an Intel Core Ultra 7 With Stable Framerates for Most Games
base on our tests , AMD ’s Strix Point CPU with GeForce RTX 40 - serial is a potent combination . The Ryzen 9 AI HX 370 outperformed the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H cleanly throughout all our bench mark . It also stacks against the ARM - base Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite powering Microsoft ’s AI - centric Copilot+ PCs .
Our Geekbench 6 benchmark with TUF ’s CPU show it beats an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H in laptop like theDell XPS 14by more than 500 point in single - meat and a little less than 1,000 full stop in multi - core preferences . It ’s a interchangeable report across Cinebench benchmark . The chip exceed Intel ’s mid - range laptop chip by sizeable margins . We ’re hold off for Intel ’s Lunar Lake drop in just a few unretentive months , but right now , AMD ’s x64 chip for small PCs reign supreme , even if you ignore all the AI capabilities stemming from the NPU .
In our Blender bench mark , where we demand the personal computer to render a scene of a BMW , it took just two minutes and 15 seconds to cultivate on the CPU . That ’s more than a minute faster than the Intel Core Ultra 7 . However , it was slower than a MacBook Air with M3 on our Handbrake tryout , where we clock how long it takes to transcode a 4 KB movie to 1080p . All that being said , this personal computer is strong at everyday work project , but it ’s also a potent gaming PC .
With the PC plugged in on the high setting , the TUF A14 flummox playable framerates on multiple game benchmark , though it wo n’t beat other laptops with high - end chip . I hit 36 FPS with dispirited shaft of light line onCyberpunk 2077benchmarks and just under 60 FPS with DLSS.Assassins Creed : Valhallabenchmarked at 93 FPS on ultra - high configurations .
InBaldur ’s Gate III , I dispatch 70 FPS on gamy and ultra configurations without DLSS in interior scenes and a stable 50 FPS in exterior environments in Chapter 1 . With the same preferences in the dense city of Chapter 3 , I was edge closer to 40 , but with DLSS preferences on Quality , I was contend closer to 55 .
In several more recent plot , I managed to get it to 60 FPS with eminent options . InBlack Myth : Wukong , I was capable to make it to a self-colored framerate on universal high background without form coevals on Turbo Mode through Armoury Crate , but in quieter carrying into action mode , you do necessitate to set DLSS to performance and lend in frame generation . In a game likeHorizon : Forbidden West , I could make it to the fabled 60 without much squabble or even DLSS in Armoury Crate ’s performance musical mode .
Asus TUF Gaming A14 Review: Battery Life
About Average for a Small Gaming PC
We ’ve watch not to wait much seniority from gaming laptops , even the most expensive of their kind . The TUF A14 is n’t exactly breaking any land with its battery life , but I found it was fair , especially moot its price . With a 73 Whr battery , you wo n’t be doing unplugged gaming academic term of more than two hour , but you ca n’t get some work done when you ’re off the plug .
The TUF A14 will net you a four - hour battery life when doing steady productivity tasks on Windows and Armoury Crate ’s balanced mode . It was consistent during browsing , piece of writing , or taking video calls . I was surprised how consistently the battery drained at just a few decimal peak off 25 % per hour . That was n’t doing anything too straining , and the battery drainage importantly quicker with any activity that takes more power .
It ’s not great , but it ’s not the worst you would get for a gaming laptop , especially one that ’s so good at dissemble to be a primary productivity machine . For gaming , you ’re lucky to get a little more hour out of the equipment in performance mode in a game likeCyberpunk . It ’s what you’re able to expect from this character of automobile at this sizing , but you might get a slimly better life out of a machine that costs just a few hundred dollar more or choose for a liberal physical structure than a 14 - column inch .
Asus TUF Gaming A14 Review: Verdict
This PC Does Everything I Need it To, and Nobody’s the Wiser
There ’s emphatically a use case for large gaming PCs likeAlienware ’s m16 R2with its so - called “ stealth mode ” that disables the RGB lighting and makes everything run more quietly . But come on , we all know it ’s a big play laptop with that large Alienware logo on it .
The TUF Gaming A14 is such a surprising beast in its retiring package . It manages everything I could give at it , and still , the only thing anybody will notice from the back is four small blinking LEDs . That “ TUF ” logo is so hidden on the backplate that most people ca n’t read it except in direct visible light .
It ’s a strong competition at $ 1,500 . Still , you could get a more capable , better - take care gambling laptop computer from Asus ’ ROG slate for only a few hundred buck more . There ’s also the issuance with upgradability and the modified RAM you get on - gimmick . If you hope to make the A14 your everyday laptop , you must also deal with the circumscribed electric battery life . Hopefully , you ’re working where you could access a plug because you ’ll need it . Just think back to sprain the fans down in class if you ’re ever — hem — take very intense talking to notes .
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