Gaming laptops often boast about their hardware in an effort to garner attention due to sheer numbers. As hardware is something that can be found in products of different companies, gaming laptop manufacturers often scale the gap with unique features and gimmicks. But what if you want none of those gimmicks and are only after the sheer power and performance? Well, you get something like the ASUS TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition. In this review, we check if the ASUS TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition is more than good enough for your daily needs.
ASUS TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition Review – Specifications
| Model |
ASUS TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition (2023)
|
| Operating System |
Windows 11 Home
|
| Processor |
AMD Ryzen™ 7 7735HS Mobile Processor (8-core/16-thread, 16MB L3 cache, up to 4.7 GHz max boost)
|
| Graphics |
AMD Radeon™ RX 7600S, up to 95W(SmartShift), 8GB GDDR6
|
| Display |
16-inch, FHD+ 16:10 (1920 x 1200, WUXGA), IPS-level, anti-glare display, sRGB:100%, Adobe:75.35%, Refresh Rate:165Hz, Response Time:7ms, FreeSync Premium, MUX Switch + AMD Smart Access Graphics
|
| Memory |
8GB DDR5-4800 SO-DIMM x 2, Max Capacity:32GB
|
| Storage |
512GB PCIe® 4.0 NVMe™ M.2 SSD
|
| I/O Ports |
1x 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack
1x HDMI 2.1 FRL 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C support DisplayPort™ / power delivery, 1x RJ45 LAN port 1x Type C USB 4 support DisplayPort™ |
| Keyboard and Touchpad |
Backlit Chiclet Keyboard Single Light
Touchpad |
| Camera |
720P HD camera
|
| Audio |
Dolby Atmos
AI noise-canceling technology Hi-Res certification Built-in array microphone 2-speaker system |
| Network and Communication |
Wi-Fi 6(802.11ax) (Dual band) 2*2 + Bluetooth® 5.3 Wireless Card (*Bluetooth® version may change with OS version different.)
|
| Battery |
90WHrs, 4S1P, 4-cell Li-ion
|
| Power Supply |
ø6.0, 240W AC Adapter, Output: 20V DC, 12A, 240W, Input: 100~240C AC 50/60Hz universal
|
| Weight |
2.20 Kg (4.85 lbs)
|
| Dimensions (W x D x H) |
35.5 x 25.2 x 2.21 ~ 2.68 cm (13.98″ x 9.92″ x 0.87″ ~ 1.06″)
|
| Xbox Game Pass |
Xbox Game Pass for PC_3 months (*Terms and exclusions apply. Offer only available in eligible markets for Xbox Game Pass for PC. Eligible markets are determined at activation. Game catalog varies by region, device, and time.)
|
| Ecolabels & Compliances |
ENERGY STAR®
|
| Security |
Kensington Security Slot™
McAfee® 30 days free trial |
| Included in the Box |
TUF backpack
P309 TUF GAMING M3 *Included accessories vary according to country and territory. Please check with your local ASUS retailer for details |
TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Review – At A Glance
Ports
For ports, the ASUS TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition has most of it on its left side. On the left are the 3.5mm Audio Jack, the HDMI 2.1 port, a USB Type-A port, two USB Type-C ports, and the one for power delivery. On the right is a lone USB Type-A port and the slot for a Kensington Lock. Pretty standard and nothing spectacular to drool over here.
No RGB
If you are not a fan of RGB lighting, then you’d definitely love the TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition. It does not feature any lights except the standard white ones that highlight the keys and several indicators on the laptop itself. While you can attach RGB peripherals to it, you cannot get any color out of this thing. You also don’t get any accent highlights and other RGB stuff found in most ASUS ROG gaming laptops.
TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition – Benchmarks
Gaming Performance
| Resolution | 1920*1200 | Frame Rates | |||
| Games | Preset | Average | 1% | 0.1% | Notes (Score, etc.) |
| Assassin’s Creed Valhalla | Ultra High | 84 | 57 | 30 | 100% Render Scaling |
| Dota 2 | Best Looking | 108 | 68 | 53 | – |
| Metro Exodus: Enhanced Edition | Extreme | 32 | 24 | 23 | DLSS OFF |
| Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker | Maximum | 125 | 64 | 55 | – |
| Rainbow Six: Siege | Ultra | 211 | 158 | 134 | 100% Render Scaling |
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | Highest | 111 | 87 | 52 | DX12, DLSS OFF |
| Modern Warfare 2 | Extreme | 85 | 37 | 19 | – |
| Watch Dogs Legion | Ultra | 72 | 58 | 48 | DX12, DLSS OFF |
| Borderlands 3 | Badass | 83 | 34 | 8 | DX12 |
| Total War: Warhammer 3 | Ultra | 63 | 47 | 18 | – |
Handles Games Fairly Well
The TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition runs modern titles pretty well, including recently released triple-A titles. Given such numbers above, popular games such as Valorant, Apex: Legends, and CS:GO are expected to have frames in the hundreds when played on this machine.
Synthetic Benchmarks
These benchmarks are meant to measure the device’s performance relative to other people’s machine. We plugged in a mix of CPU & GPU-intensive tests and other ones that measure the performance of both at the same time.
The numbers below will be quantified into an easy to read chart once we have compiled results from previous reviews. Please do check them out after some time.
3DMark Firestrike Extreme
3DMark Fire Strike Extreme is designed for multi-GPU systems and future hardware generations. In addition to raising the rendering resolution, additional visual quality improvements increase the rendering load to ensure accurate performance measurements for truly extreme hardware setups.
3DMark Firestrike Ultra
3DMark Firestrike Extreme but more demanding. Incredibly taxing to the system as the benchmark tests how your PC can render in 4K (3840 x 2160).
3DMark Time Spy
3DMark Time Spy is a DirectX 12 benchmark test for Windows 10 gaming PCs. Time Spy is one of the first DirectX 12 apps to be built the right way from the ground up to fully realize the performance gains that the new API offers.
3DMark Port Royal
3DMark Port Royal is the world’s first real-time ray tracing benchmark for gamers. It shows you how well your PC handles ray tracing effects in real-time.
Cinebench (Release 20)
Benchmark Score: 4990
Cinebench leverages the same powerful 3D engine found in the award-winning animation software Cinema 4D Release 20 to accurately evaluate CPU rendering performance capabilities across various systems and platforms.
Cinebench (Release 23)
- CPU (Multi Core): 12,795
- CPU (Single Core): 1,526
Unigine Superposition
Extreme performance and stability test for PC hardware: video card, power supply, cooling system.
PassMark
PassMark measures CPU, 2D & 3D GPU, Memory, and Disk speeds. Similar to Novabench, it gives you an aggregate score, giving you an idea on how your PC performs and how it ranks when compared to other computers around the world.
CPU-Z
- CPU Single Thread: 559.4
- CPU Multi Thread: 5598.8
wPrime
- 32M – 3.938 sec
- 1024M – 124.003 sec
wPrime is a leading multi-threaded benchmark for x86 processors that tests your processor performance by calculating square roots with a recursive call of Newton’s method for estimating functions. It then uses an iterative calling of the estimation method a set amount of times to increase the accuracy of the results.
TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition – User Experience
Neither Slim Nor Sleek
In terms of looks, the TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition is a chonker. Unlike the sleeker and more streamlined ROG gaming laptops, the A16 Advantage Edition does away with style and just offers itself as a huge block. However, this type of design also has an advantage in terms of cooling: the A16 Advantage Edition does not heat up that much. Compared to slimmer machines, this gaming laptop has decent space for cooling, allowing it to have a warm-enough to touch surface.
165Hz & Wider Screen Resolution
Despite not having the best, the TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition still has a decent screen. With 165Hz refresh rate and WUXGA screen, you get more than what you would with a normal 1080p screen. The 1920×1200 resolution, although unusual, allows you better screen space especially in games that support wide-screen resolutions.
TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition Review – Conclusion & Verdict
More Than Good Enough
As mentioned above, gaming laptop manufacturers are in an arms race to produce unique features that would accompany standard hardware. But what if you just do away with those gimmicky stuff and just get something for pure performance and play? What you get is something like the TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition. It’s a piece of good tech that offers what you need without the bells and whistles that usually accompany such hardware.
Hardware-wise, while not armed with top-of-the-line chips, the TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition does well in most games. Given that it only has a screen with a maximum resolution of 1920×1200 and refresh rate of 165Hz, you do get limited crispness. But that does not mean that it looks and displays substandard images. You get predictably good frames with that resolution and more often than not, that is good enough!
Limited Storage Capacity
500GB? Seriously? In 2023? What plagued me during my review is the capacity of the TUF A16 Advantage Edition. 500GB is not enough for play and work. I was hard-pressed to install games to test given that most games nowadays require more or less 100GB to install. If you factor in real-life usage and capacity requirements of the OS, you’re looking at installing 3 to 4 triple-A games at a time. Frustrating, yes; but definitely solvable as you can just opt to install a 1TB capacity to at least double what is available in stores here in the Philippines.
Great Price Tag To Boot!
As mentioned, the ASUS TUF Gaming 16 Advantage Edition does away with gimmicky features. You don’t even get to have RGB built into this thing! But sometimes, that is a good thing. It reflects a better price tag that most can afford and it does not have the ROG tax that ASUS usually attaches to their “more sophisticated” brand. If you are after raw performance and are not really into the fancy stuff and looks, then the TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition is a gaming laptop that you should really consider.
TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition Review – Pricing & Availability
The TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition is available in the Philippines and can be had for PhP 73,000 to PhP 80,000 depending on the store and upgrades. If you fancy a more affordable gaming laptop, you can opt for older versions of the ASUS TUF Gaming A15. On the other hand, if money is not something you are mindful of, then check out the ROG Strix Scar 18 2023.
For more information about the TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition, check out the official product page.
