ASUS TUF Dash 15 516PE-AB73: The Ultimate Budget Gaming Laptop

Over the past few years, ASUS has won our hearts with ASUS ROG range of gaming laptops. The ROG lineup has been trusted by gamers for offering versatile performance and great bang for bucks. Later on, ASUS has taken its gaming laptop offerings to even higher level with TUF Gaming lineup.

TUF Gaming lineup has laptops “bristling with high-refresh rate displays and competitive GPUs,” according to ASUS. These “ultra-durable laptops deliver a reliable portable gaming experience to a wide audience of gamers.” As with the ROG lineup, TUF Gaming consists of laptops aimed at budget as well as professional gamers.

The latest entry in the TUF lineup is ASUS TUF Dash 15 TUF516PE-AB73. To put it in short, the TUF Dash 15 is an ultra-slim gaming laptop that offers superb performance on a budget. What exactly this sub-$1000 offer? Let’s find out.

ASUS TUF Dash 15 Gaming Laptop: Overview

To talk about the exterior first, TUF Dash 15 is a gorgeous laptop. First thing that catches attention is its super-slim profile. At 19.9mm (0.8-inch), it might look fragile but ASUS claims the Dash 15 passes rigorous MIL-STD-810H tests. Drops, vibration, humidity and extreme temperatures – these laptops are exposed to everything to ensure durability. Long gaming sessions can be rough and accidental bumps and knocks won’t be a trouble for hardcore gamers.

Beside the slim profile and tough build, we like those smooth curves and edges and those narrow bezels. It’s exterior is not flashy begging for attention. That makes the ASUS Dash 15 a pleasure to look at and worthy of all the attention it’s going to catch because of its subtle looks. Other notable additions are a backlit precision gaming keyboard with 1.7mm key travel and a smooth but responsive touch pad.

ASUS has not compromised on the interior by making this laptop super-slim. Inside, this particular modal carries an 11th-generation Intel Core i7-11370H 3.3 GHz processor with huge 12M cache and Turbo up to 4.8GHz.

With ASUS TUF Dash 15, a powerful processor is just a part of the story. ASUS has equipped this model with 4GB NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti GDDR6 dedicated graphics with ROG Boost up to 1585MHz at 60W. Thanks to Dynamic Boost 2.0, it can go further high to 75W. In addition, TUF Dash 15 516PE-AB73 carries 8GB DDR4 ‎3200 MHz RAM. For super fast storage, there’s a 512GB PCIe NVMe M.2 PCIe 3.0 SSD.

The powerful gaming experience comes alive on a 15.6-inch 144Hz IPS-Type Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) display. Yes, it might not sound like a wow-factor but considering the cost of this model, it’s a superb display. With Adaptive-Sync, its refresh rate synchronizes with the GPU’s frame rate and reduces lag, minimizes stuttering and eliminates visual tearing for ultra-smooth gaming experience. For those who seek to extend their gaming on a larger screen, there are many gaming monitors to choose from.

To keep things cool during extended gameplays, this TUF model features ROG Intelligent Cooling system with self-cleaning anti-dust tunnels that preserve cooling performance and offer system stability. There are four fan outlets and 83-blade fan to eliminate heat efficiently.

Other features that deserve attention are WiFi 6 (802.11ax), dual band Bluetooth 5.1, two speakers with DTS and two-way AI noise cancellation. Its 76WHrs, 4S1P, 4-cell Li-ion battery offers long cordless usage with ASUS claiming up to 16 hours of backup. Of course, this does not include gaming which will dramatically affect the backup.

Port-wise, too, this ASUS laptop has plenty to offer. It carries three USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type A ports, one DisplayPort 1.4 over Thunderbolt 4 Type-C (with power delivery), one HDMI 2.0b port, an RJ-45 port and an audio combo jack. It allows a lot of room to connect different peripherals and offers high-speed data transfers. With DisplayPort 1.4, you can connect two external displays.

These specs come together to create a powerful gaming laptop that’s capable of handling high-definition games with ease. No lag, no flickers, no interruptions – this ASUS TUF can go on for long gaming sessions without a hint of tiring. For a price tag under $1000, ASUS TUF Dash 15 goes a long way to offer immersive gaming.

ASUS TUF Dash 15 Gaming Laptop: Overall Thoughts

Overall, ASUS TUF Dash 15 516PE-AB73 is a laptop that combines powerful processor and dedicated graphics, super fast RAM and storage and Full HD display to offer smooth and immersive gaming experience. To make things better, ASUS has included features like the latest WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1, efficient cooling technology, speakers with DTS and a long-lasting battery.

At a price below $1000, ASUS TUF Dash 15 516PE-AB73 is a gaming laptop that offers performance and value for money that’s too good to believe. ASUS has done a great job in coming up with a budget-friendly offering for the gamers who might not want to spend huge amount of money on a gaming laptop.

And of course, this is not just a wonderful gaming laptop but also a very capable productivity laptop. Beside budget gamers, business executives, power-users and professionals – this ASUS laptop caters all these users perfectly well without burning a hole in pockets.

For those who are looking for even more power and has higher budget, there are other options in the same lineup. Priced at $1400, ASUS TUF F15 TUF506HM-ES76 offers better graphics (NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060), better processor (Intel Core i7-11800H with 24M cache), double the RAM (16GB) and storage (1TB SSD). The $2000 ASUS ROG Strix G15 is a hot gaming laptop also worth checking out if your budget allows.