ASUS TUF Gaming has long been regarded as the mainstream gaming laptop line from ASUS which is priced at an affordable price. But in the middle of 2024 this time, ASUS presents the TUF Gaming A16 which can be said to be no longer very affordable but does not enter the premium zone.
The TUF Gaming A16 (2024), which comes with product code FA608, is not like other TUF Gaming laptops.
It comes with a completely new, more minimalist design, and has relatively compact dimensions for a 16-inch laptop. But does that make this gaming laptop worth the higher price tag than its predecessor? Let's discuss.
New Design, Better Screen, Ports Are Pretty Okay
ASUS calls the TUF Gaming A16 (2024) a laptop designed for users who need a powerful laptop with high mobility. With dimensions of 35.4 x 26.9 x 1.79 ~ 2.57 cm and a weight of 2.2 kg, this laptop is indeed quite easy to travel with and is more compact than most gaming laptops in its class.
The body comes back in the "Jaeger Gray" color that matches the identity of the TUF Gaming series. But what's most interesting about this gaming laptop is its overall "clean" and simpler design compared to its predecessor.
This makes this gaming laptop suitable for non-gamers who are looking for a powerful laptop but don't like the "gaming design" which is usually crowded and full of gimmicks.
The TUF Gaming A16 (2024) has a 16-inch display with 2.5K (2560 x 1600) resolution, 16:10 ratio, 165Hz refresh rate and 3ms response time supported by NVIDIA G-Sync. While the screen brightness level is at 400 nits with 100% sRGB color gamut.
These screen specifications are one of the factors why this laptop can appear at a higher price than its siblings.
But the advantage of the screen is that the TUF Gaming A16 (2024) can be used as a hybrid laptop for gamers, creators, and professionals thanks to its spacious size, high resolution, fast refresh rate and response time, and quite capable color gamut.
ASUS TUF Gaming A16 (FA608) is also equipped with decent connectivity. ASUS provides an RJ45 LAN port, two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, and two USB Type-C that support DisplayPort™ and power delivery on this laptop. Meanwhile, wireless connections are supported by Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3.
One thing that is missing from this laptop is the absence of an SD card reader. Considering its size, this laptop should come with an SD card reader. Not something crucial, but it could make creators a little disappointed.
Performance as Expected Except Battery Life
ASUS TUF Gaming A16 (2024) is one of the first laptops in Indonesia to be powered by an AMD Ryzen™ AI 9 HX 370 processor that has a configuration of 12 cores and 24 threads. On paper, the main advantage of the processor is in its latest NPU that uses XDNA™ architecture which is claimed to have up to 50 TOPS performance.
But for us, the advantage of the AMD Ryzen™ AI 9 HX 370 processor is not in its NPU, but how AMD can balance performance and power efficiency so well.
On the TUF Gaming A16 (2024), the processor with the Strix Point code can run very efficiently or very fast, depending on the usage scenario. Moreover, this laptop is powered by the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 graphics chip.
Let's check it out through the following benchmark results of its CPU performance and gaming capabilities.
Then compare it with the following battery life benchmark results.
It can be seen that the TUF Gaming A16 (2024) not only has good performance, but also long battery life. How is that possible? Of course, besides the processor, there are several other factors that make this gaming laptop can have a battery life of more than 10 hours.
First, of course, is the large battery capacity of 90Wh. Secondly, the TUF Gaming A16 (2024) is equipped with a MUX Switch that allows you to turn off the discrete GPU or the integrated GPU. When you need performance, you can turn off the integrated GPU.
Meanwhile, when battery life is needed, the power-consuming discrete GPU can be turned off completely.
But the system presented by ASUS has been around for two years and this is the first time that a TUF Gaming-class gaming laptop can have excellent battery life. Why?
Of course, the answer is because the AMD Ryzen™ AI 9 HX 370 processor has a very wide power configuration and ASUS manages to utilize it very well.
So when this gaming laptop needs performance, the processor can provide fast performance by increasing its power consumption to more than 50W. Meanwhile, when idle or not being used for heavy activities, the processor can run at up to 15W.
Typically, gaming laptop processors run at 35W to 55W, so even when idle they can consume a significant amount of power.
Is TUF Gaming A16 (2024) Worth It?
Based on our analysis of its design, features, and benchmark data, the TUF Gaming A16 (2024) can be summed up as a laptop that we recommend buying. Although the price is quite high at Rp30 million, it has excellent performance coupled with a very long battery life.
In addition, the design of the TUF Gaming A16 (2024) is also very modern, simple, and still tough with its US Military Grade Durability certification. The design is also quite practical and still easy to travel with.
However, there are a few things to be aware of. The TUF Gaming A16 (2024) does not come with an SD card reader and its memory is not upgradeable. Fortunately, ASUS still provides ample ports and equips this gaming laptop with a large-capacity fast memory.
| Main Spec. | ASUS TUF Gaming A16 (FA608WV) |
| CPU | AMD Ryzen™ AI 9 HX 370 Processor 2.0GHz (36MB Cache, up to 5.1GHz, 12 cores, 24 Threads) |
| NPU | AMD XDNA™ NPU up to 50TOPS |
| Operating System | Windows 11 Home |
| Memory | 2x16GB LPDDR5X 7500 |
| Storage | 1TB PCIe® 4.0 NVMe™ M.2 SSD |
| Display | 16-inch 2.5K (2560 x 1600) 16:10, 165Hz, 3ms, 400 nits, IPS-Level, G-Sync, 100% sRGB |
| Graphics | NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 4060 Laptop GPU (233 AI TOPs, 140W TGP) |
| Input/Output | 1x RJ45 LAN port, 1x Type-C USB 4 with support for DisplayPort™ (data speed up to 40Gbps), 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C with support for DisplayPort™ / power delivery / GSYNC (data speed up to 10Gbps), 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A (data speed up to 10Gbps) |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) (Triple band) 2*2 + Bluetooth® 5.3 Wireless Card |
| Camera | 1080P FHD IR Camera for Windows Hello |
| Audio | AI noise-canceling technology, Dolby Atmos, Hi-Res certification (for headphones), Microsoft Cortana near field/far field support |
| Battery | 90WHrs, 4S1P, 4-cell Li-ion |
| Dimension | 35.4 x 26.9 x 1.79 ~ 2.57 cm |
| Weight | 2.2 Kg |
| Color | Jaeger Gray |
| Price | Rp29,999,000 |
| Warranty | 2 Tyear GWarranty Global and 1 Year ASUS Perfect Warranty |
ASUS TUF Gaming A16 (2024)
Summary
Although the price is quite high at Rp30 million, this laptop has excellent performance coupled with a very long battery life. In addition, the design of the TUF Gaming A16 (2024) is also very modern, simple, and still tough with its US Military Grade Durability certification. The design is also quite practical and still easy to travel with.
