Laptop, Review

Asus TUF Dash F15 Review: Slim & Light RTX 3060 Gaming Laptop From RM4,699

Most affordable gaming laptops are not particularly lightweight or slim, which is the very reason why the Asus TUF Dash F15 is such an intriguing gaming machine. Not only does it have a relatively thin, lightweight chassis, it also offers good value for money with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 GPU.

Despite some of its shortcomings, the TUF Dash F15 is easily one of the most attractive RTX 3060 gaming laptops in the market now. Keep on reading this review to find out why!

What It Is

Display15.6-inch FHD IPS (1920 x 1080), 144Hz
ProcessorIntel Core i7-11370H (4C/8T, 3.3GHz with boost up to 4.8GHz)
GPUNvidia GeForce RTX 3060 6GB GDDR6 (85W TGP)
RAM16GB DDR4 3200MHz
Storage512GB M.2 PCIe 3.0 NVMe SSD
CameraNone
Battery76Wh
Dimensions360 x 252 x 19.9 mm
Weight2kg
AudioBottom-firing stereo speakers
Ports3x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1
1x Thunderbolt 4 (DisplayPort)
1x HDMI 2.0b
1x RJ45
PriceRM5,499

There are as many as four different variants of the TUF Dash F15 for the Malaysian market; the one we received is the RM5,499 mid-range configuration, which I personally believe offers the best performance for the money.

Sure, the RM4,699 model has even better value for money, but that variant features only 8GB of RAM and a Core i5-11300H chip. For the best balance between cost and performance, I highly recommend the configuration we received for this review.

The Good Stuff

The major highlight of the TUF Dash F15 has to be its thin and light nature. Tipping the scales at 2kg with a 19.9mm thin chassis, it’s one of the more portable gaming laptops in the market now, especially at this price point. I dig the minimalist, understated design of the Dash F15 as well.

In the performance department, the Dash F15’s combination of a Core i7-11370H processor and an RTX 3060 GPU can run AAA games with little to no difficulty. I’ve played a few games at maxed out graphics settings on this laptop, and while the fans did kick up a fuss, the games ran very well with high, consistent frame rates.

Games (max settings @ 1080p)Average FPS
Genshin Impact (1.5 render resolution, locked at 60fps)59.219
Borderlands 3 (DX11)61.65
Witcher 3 (HairWorks disabled)79.877

Complementing the fast performance of the TUF Dash F15 is its equally fast 15.6-inch 1080p IPS screen with a 144Hz refresh rate. Not only does this offer excellent motion clarity in fast-paced, competitive games, even just browsing the web with the high refresh rate is a pleasant experience.

Speaking of which, the Dash F15 can actually return very respectable battery life. Outside of gaming, I can get between seven to eight hours of use on a single charge. If you plan to use this gaming laptop as a productivity machine as well, you won’t be disappointed with its battery life.

And then we have the thermals of the TUF Dash F15, which really surprised me. No matter what I throw at it, both the CPU and GPU never got above 80°C. The palm rest area does get a little warm in longer gaming sessions, but not to the point where it’s uncomfortable to the touch.

Last but certainly not least are the input devices of the Dash F15. The keyboard, for one, has enough key travel to not feel shallow, and I like the rather pronounced tactility of the keys, not to mention the standard (hence intuitive) layout of the keyboard. As for the trackpad, it can accurately track my fingers with no issue.

The Bad Stuff

While the TUF Dash F15 offers really good performance, there’s still room for improvement. The Core i7-11370H processor powering this laptop is decent, but it is outclassed by AMD’s Ryzen processors. I put the Core i7 through its paces in Cinebench R20 – see for yourself how it compares to AMD’s offerings.

ProcessorSingle-core testMulti-core test
AMD Ryzen 9 5900HS (Asus ROG Flow X13)5724922
AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX (Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE)5665461
AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS (Asus ROG Zephyrus G14)4814173
AMD Ryzen 7 4800H (Asus TUF Gaming A15)4814106
Intel Core i7-10875H (Acer Predator Triton 500)4833773
Intel Core i7-11370H (Asus TUF Dash F15)5812749

Yes, the Core i7-11370H can outperform its competition in the single-core test, but it loses out in terms of multi-core performance by a very big margin. This can be attributed to the fact that it is only a quad-core processor; most of the competition, even at this price point, already offers eight processing cores.

Aside from that, the screen quality of the Dash F15 could be better too. It’s great that it has a fast 144Hz refresh rate, but the panel quality itself leaves much to be desired. The dynamic range isn’t particularly great, and I wish the brightness could be a tad higher for a more comfortable viewing experience.

My last qualm with the TUF Dash F15 isn’t a big one, but it’s definitely worth a mention: it doesn’t have a webcam. Given that more folks are working from home in this COVID-19 pandemic, the inclusion of a webcam would’ve really made this gaming laptop more attractive to those who are looking for a complete productivity machine.

After all, the Dash F15 already has very respectable battery life. It can easily double as a great productivity laptop too.

Is It Worth It?

Starting from RM4,699, you cannot go wrong with the Asus TUF Dash F15, especially if you want the best gaming performance at this price point in a slim, lightweight chassis. It would’ve been great if it shipped with an AMD Ryzen 5000 processor instead, but at least the laptop’s Core i7-11370H chip can still keep up with the RTX 3060 GPU.

If you can live with the shortcomings of the TUF Dash F15 – which are not lot, in retrospect – you will be very happy with this portable, sleek gaming laptop that also offers excellent value for money.

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