ASUS TUF F15 2024, Core i5-12500H, 16GB, 512GB SSD, RTX 3050, Gray

The RTX 3050 6GB at the 75th percentile is the headline here, giving you solid 1080p gaming performance at a budget price. The i5-12500H with 12 cores keeps things snappy, and the 144Hz display is a nice bonus. But at 3.57kg, this thing is a tank, and the 512GB SSD fills up fast.

The RTX 3050 6GB is the star here, landing at the 75th percentile among all laptops in our database. That's well above average for a budget gaming rig. You'll get playable frame rates at 1080p on medium settings in most titles, and the 144Hz display means esports games like Valorant or CS2 will feel smooth if you drop settings a bit. The 6GB of VRAM is the key spec here, it's the newer variant of the 3050 and gives you more headroom than the older 4GB version.

The i5-12500H is a 12-core, 16-thread chip that boosts up to 4.7GHz. At the 68th percentile, it's a solid performer that won't bottleneck the GPU in most gaming scenarios. The 16GB of DDR5 RAM at the 51st percentile is about average, but DDR5 is a nice future-proofing touch. The 512GB NVMe SSD at the 52nd percentile is fine for speed, but you'll be uninstalling games to make room for new ones sooner than you'd like.

Stacked against the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10, the TUF F15 gets absolutely smoked on GPU performance, but the Legion costs significantly more. The HP OMEN Transcend 14 is lighter and more portable, which makes the TUF's 3.57kg weight feel even more punishing. The MSI Prestige and Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition aren't really gaming machines, so they're not direct competitors, but they highlight how far behind the TUF is on portability and build quality. The Apple MacBook Pro M4 Pro is in a completely different league on CPU performance and battery life, but again, you're paying for it. For pure gaming value at this price, the TUF F15 holds its own, but it's not winning any awards against the big boys.

At $1,119 USD, the TUF F15 is priced like a budget gaming laptop and mostly delivers on that promise. The RTX 3050 6GB and i5-12500H combo gives you a machine that can handle 1080p gaming without breaking the bank. The 144Hz display is a genuine bonus at this price point. But the 512GB SSD feels tight, and you'll likely spend another $50-100 on an external drive or upgrade within the first year. The single US listing at $1,119 means you don't have much price comparison to do, but the included Office 2024 license adds a bit of value if you need productivity software.

The ASUS TUF F15 lands in our database with a GPU that sits at the 75th percentile, which is the strongest thing about this machine. The RTX 3050 with 6GB of VRAM isn't going to blow anyone's hair back, but it's a solid entry-level gaming card that handles 1080p gaming without falling on its face. The i5-12500H with 12 cores and 16 threads comes in at the 68th percentile, which puts it firmly in the 'good enough' camp for most tasks.

Where this laptop stumbles is portability. At 3.57kg, it's in the 14th percentile for compactness, which means it's one of the heaviest machines in our database. You're not tossing this in a backpack for a coffee shop session without feeling it. The 512GB SSD sits at the 52nd percentile, which is about average, but you'll fill that fast with modern game installs. The 144Hz display at 65th percentile is a nice touch for the price point, though the resolution listed as 1920x1280 in some places is actually 1920x1080 per the manufacturer highlights.

If you need a laptop you can actually carry around, skip this. At 3.57kg and the 14th percentile for compactness, the TUF F15 is a desk-bound machine in practice. If you're into AI workloads or local LLM work, the 30/100 score in that category is a real letdown. And if you're the type who likes to install a dozen games and never uninstall anything, the 512GB SSD at the 52nd percentile will frustrate you within the first month. This is a machine for budget-conscious gamers who mostly play at a desk and don't mind managing their storage.

The ASUS TUF F15 is a solid budget gaming laptop that gets the fundamentals right. The RTX 3050 6GB at the 75th percentile and the 12-core i5-12500H give you a machine that can handle 1080p gaming and everyday productivity without much fuss. The 144Hz display is a genuine highlight. But the 3.57kg weight is a real drag, and the 512GB SSD will have you juggling storage space within months. If you're looking for a desktop replacement that mostly stays on a desk, this is a good buy. If you need something portable, look elsewhere.