Asus TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition Review

At a look

Knowledgeable’s Ranking

Professionals

• Nice all-day battery life
• Beautiful and easy show
• Stable efficiency
• Sturdy, strong chassis

Cons

• Underwhelming webcam
• Not the perfect keyboard
• Port format designed for right-handers

Our Verdict

The TUF Gaming A16 Benefit Version combines respectable efficiency with excellent visuals and a battery that lasts all day, making it a wonderful possibility for 1080p players.

Value When Reviewed

$1,099.99

Greatest Costs Immediately: Asus TUF Gaming A16 Benefit Version

$1099.99

$1099.99

The highly effective but comparatively inexpensive Ryzen 7000 CPUs are a terrific alternative for reasonable gaming laptops such because the A16. Certainly, it’s considered one of solely a handful of gadgets to be included in AMD’s ‘Benefit’ class, which recognises “best-in-class gaming” throughout desktops and laptops.

However after all, there’s extra to a terrific gaming laptop computer than pure efficiency. The A16 additionally boasts wonderful battery life and a beautiful 16in, 16:10 show.

Alongside a sturdy chassis and loads of different premium options, this can be a actual gem for 1080p players. Right here’s our full evaluate.

Design, construct & ports

• Understated however very powerful design
• Engaging matte end
• A number of ports

The A16’s design displays its comparatively inexpensive value, however nonetheless seems to be good within the course of. There aren’t any luxurious extras resembling flashy RGB lighting or curves that resemble samurai swords. It focuses on the fundamentals as an alternative, which is a sensible transfer.

Its sturdy plastic chassis and inflexible metallic lid have US army grade certification for toughness, which could be very reassuring. Even if you happen to’re not significantly cautious along with your laptop computer, the A16 ought to keep away from critical harm. I used to be additionally impressed with the lid, which stays put at a wide range of angles.

The design of the system additionally makes it very versatile. Whereas many gaming laptops are too huge and heavy to snug use on the go, the A16 stays transportable sufficient to take most locations with you. It measures 13.88 x 9.92 x 0.87 inches and weighs 4.85lb (2.2kg), which is comparatively light-weight for a gaming laptop computer.

Asus

The show is the primary aspect of any laptop computer, however that feels very true right here. Extremely-slim bezels body the display screen superbly, whereas a intelligent hinge pops it as much as a extra pure angle, that means you may comfortably take within the full panel.

One other factor I liked in regards to the A16’s design is its modest aesthetic. It’s very understated for a gaming laptop computer, with only a TUF emblem on the lid and crest within the top-right of the trackpad. The upside of that is that it gained’t entice any undesirable consideration within the workplace – it’s geared in direction of work simply as a lot as play.

On the 2023 version, the same old black mannequin is joined by a brand new ‘Sandstorm’ color. Each fashions function a matte end on the lids, serving to to cut back the visibility of fingerprint smudges and different grime. Nevertheless, any that you just do see might be tough to take away.

The A16 locates most of its ports on the left aspect. This frees up loads of area in your mouse hand if you happen to’re right-handed, however isn’t so nice for lefties.

Thunderbolt 4 is an Intel know-how, so that you gained’t discover it on this AMD-powered laptop computer. However you do get two USB-C, two USB-A and an HDMI 2.1, alongside gigabit Ethernet, 3.5mm audio jack and even a Kensington lock connection. Each USB-C ports function DisplayPort 1.4 for connecting to exterior shows, whereas one helps 100W Energy Supply quick charging.

As anticipated, there’s no Thunderbolt 4 ports, however the inclusion of a number of USB-A and USB-C ports and one HDMI 2.1 port means there are nonetheless loads of nice choices in your gadgets. Conveniently each USB-C ports function DisplayPort 1.4. Moreover, one of many USB-C ports options 100W Energy Supply so you may cost gadgets shortly on the fly.

Keyboard & trackpad

• Full-size keyboard
• Loads of journey, however not essentially the most responsive
• Spectacular trackpad

The A16’s keyboard is massive and spacious, with every key providing a beneficiant 1.7mm of journey. There’s additionally ample room to relaxation your palms both aspect of the trackpad, so nothing feels cramped.

Though there’s not one of the RGB lights we’ve come to anticipate of gaming laptops, the white backlighting is enticing and straightforward to see. The keys really feel low-set and comfortable, which makes typing fast, though they’ll grow to be fatiguing throughout lengthy gaming or typing periods. Personally, I’d have most well-liked them to be a bit of bouncier and extra responsive.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

That stated, the keyboard format could be very beneficiant. You get a full-sized quantity pad, all of the operate keys and a set of handy audio controls on the very high. Under the keyboard, a decent-sized trackpad feels neither too slippery nor too grippy, making it splendid for gaming.

Show, webcam & audio

• Glorious 165Hz 16in show
• Webcam solely 720p
• Respectable twin audio system

I’ve tried my fair proportion of laptops with 4K shows, and a few of them have a decision that’s just too excessive for a really seamless expertise.

By comparability, the A16 drops right down to a Full HD+ (1920×1200) decision, that means it nonetheless seems to be good however feels extra slick and polished. Its colors actually pop, with full sRGB color gamut protection means content material seems to be wealthy and different.

Regardless of having a comparatively low peak brightness of 250 nits, there’s additionally a stunning depth to the blacks and greys. That’s one thing OLED screens are inclined to do higher than the IPS panel right here.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

However the show’s finest function is undoubtedly its fluid gameplay or video playback. A 165Hz refresh fee helps it tick over with out even a touch of stutter or glitching. I by no means as soon as noticed it skip a beat, one thing I’d a lot favor over a high-end 4K show that struggles to maintain up.

Above the show is a 720p webcam. It does a decent job in lots of situations, however like loads of gaming laptops, can’t compete with sensors which might be 1080p or increased. That’s significantly obvious in low-light circumstances, the place footage tends to look grainy.

The A16’s twin audio system sound clear and balanced, though the dearth of bass is noticeable – it tends grow to be fairly flat towards the decrease finish. You do get assist for hi-res audio and Dolby Atmos, although, which considerably boosts sound high quality on content material that helps it.

Specs & efficiency

• AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS CPU and RX 7600S GPU
• Spectacular common efficiency
• Highly effective sufficient for 1080p gaming

The A16 mannequin reviewed options AMD’s Ryzen 7735HS CPU, which options eight cores and 16 threads and makes use of the corporate’s Zen 3+ structure. It’s an upgraded model of Ryzen 7 6800HS, and mixed with 16GB of DDR5 RAM right here.

To check the laptop computer’s CPU efficiency, I pitted it towards a wide range of gaming laptops. Most have related mid-range CPUs, and all carried out nicely in opinions.

First up was the Cinebench R20 Single-Threaded benchmark, which checks a single core of a laptop computer’s CPU. Its efficiency right here isn’t incredible, however the A16 will nonetheless don’t have any hassle operating light-weight apps.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

Within the Cinebench R20 Multi-Threaded benchmark, the CPU as a complete fared considerably higher, proving its suitability for AAA video games and CPU-demanding duties like video modifying and encoding. It’s value noting that it outperformed the MSI Katana GF76, which options an Intel Twelfth-gen Core i7-12700H CPU.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

Subsequent, we ran a bespoke check created particularly for the free HandBrake utility. This gave us a sign of how nicely our laptop computer may hold processing a CPU-intensive process earlier than it bought too scorching and wanted to throttle efficiency. The outcome? The A16 did a good job staying cool and powering on, ending the check in a decent time of 1,072 seconds.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

Beneath the hood, my A16 evaluate unit is provided a mid-range AMD Radeon RX 7600S GPU. These newer graphics playing cards use the RDNA 3 structure, which permits quicker, extra environment friendly efficiency.

The outcomes from 3DMark’s Time Spy benchmark give a basic overview of the GPU’s efficiency for each gaming and different graphics-based duties. As you may see under, the A16 seems in the course of our comparability subject, shut behind the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 and Razer Blade 15.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

Shifting to our gaming benchmarks and for Rise of the Tomb Raider the outcomes are extra promising. Right here, you may see the laptop computer produced quicker framerates than most opponents.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

Within the Shadow of the Tomb Raider recreation benchmark, the A16 additionally carried out very nicely, outpacing most rivals. The Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 carried out barely higher, but it surely has extra premium graphics {hardware}.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

What do these outcomes inform us? They affirm that the A16’s GPU delivers mid-range graphics efficiency, but additionally show that it’s highly effective sufficient for first rate gaming at a Full HD+ decision.

That’s what I noticed from real-world testing – you may anticipate persistently excessive framerates and easy, seamless movement from the show.

Battery life

• 90Wh battery
• Spectacular, all-day battery life
• Lasts longer than virtually all rivals

The A16 has a variety of power effectivity benefits over 2022 Benefit Version fashions, together with the AMD SmartShift applied sciences talked about above. These have clearly made a distinction to the laptop computer’s battery life.

You get a beneficiant 90Wh capability right here, however I actually wasn’t anticipating all-day battery life – it’s virtually exceptional for a gaming laptop computer.

I started operating our battery check at 6.35am one morning, and after I arrived residence from the workplace at 7pm, a lot to my astonishment, it was nonetheless going. In whole, it ran for a whopping 11 and a half hours that day.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

Admittedly, the battery check is kind of light-weight, however these outcomes nonetheless recommend it’s going to see you thru roughly seven hours of gaming away from an influence supply. When you’re solely operating gentle productiveness apps, you’ll most certainly get greater than a full day’s use, which is kind of extraordinary for a gaming laptop computer.

Value & availability

Contemplating every little thing you’re getting, the A16 is competitively priced. The Ryzen 7 model prices $1,099.99/£1,199.99 at full value, though there are sometimes reductions obtainable.

You can even purchase a Ryzen 9 model for £1,399 within the UK from Currys, however no retailer is presently promoting it within the US.

Even so, that entry mannequin is inexpensive sufficient to be thought-about an affordable gaming laptop computer. There are a number of different price range choices, together with Asus’ personal TUF Gaming A15 and the MSI Status 15, however the A16 ticks loads of packing containers.

Verdict

The A16 makes a wonderful case towards shopping for dearer laptops, particularly if you happen to’re into 1080p gaming. Regardless of being inexpensive, it doesn’t skimp on efficiency or a sturdy chassis.

Nevertheless, the most important issue that units it other than rivals is its unimaginable battery life. It’s extraordinarily uncommon to see to see a gaming laptop computer final so lengthy on a single cost.

In my e book, that makes the A16 a really excellent gaming laptop computer. It’s a wonderful inexpensive possibility.

Specs

The Asus TUF Gaming A16 Benefit Version is accessible with both AMD Rembrandt Zen3+ (Ryzen 7 7735HS) or AMD Phoenix (Ryzen 9 7940HS) CPUs. Two show choices can be found additionally – a FHD+ with 165 Hz refresh fee or QHD+ with 240 Hz refresh fee. The specification of our evaluate mannequin are as follows:

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS
• RAM: 16GB DDR5 / 4800MHz
• GPU: AMD Radeon RX 7600S
• Show: 16-inch FHD+ (1920 x1200) IPS-level, 165Hz refresh fee, one hundred pc sRGB, 7ms response, FreeSync Premium
• Storage: 1TB SSD PCIe 4
• Ports: 2 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (Each with Show Port 1.4 one with 100W PD), 2 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, HDMI 2.1 port, 3.5 mm audio port, 1G Lan port, Kensington lock
• Networking: Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
• Weight: 4.85lbs (2.2kg)
• Dimensions: 13.88 x 9.92 x 0.87 inches
• Battery capability: 90Whr