ASUS TUF Dash F15 (2022) Review: Better but could be more

ASUS made its first attempt to introduce a gaming laptop with a bit of pizzazz last year with the TUF Dash F15. Now, they’re looking to up the ante with a follow-up release sporting better internals and a whole new look. Check out our ASUS TUF Dash F15 (2022) Review!

Design and Build Quality

The TUF Dash F15 for 2022 retains its slim and slender figure but has some noticeable design changes. The lid is a little simpler only featuring the TUF logo and dropping the “TUF” letters. We also got a full keyboard this time around covering its entire area on the chassis. Yep, there are no spaces on the left and right of that board. Yet it still maintains an aura of sexiness despite those changes. Cause, again, on the outside it’s still a pretty thin and light laptop and the overall dimensions didn’t really change.

There are some subtle bling like the cross-shaped light notification arrangement and that trapezoidal cut on the lower center of the display lid. These add some flair to the rather subtle and unassuming laptop. Don’t get us wrong though, it does look more like a high-end professional device than a gaming one. That speaks volumes about how it is in the looks department.

Our model is clad entirely in a black matte-ish material, it looks and feels great but does attract a lot of dust and prints. You could argue the white variant of the device is catchier but it has some weird dual-tone areas. So, I actually favor the black one more, I only wish it was a little more resistant to dust and prints. In terms of its build, this one can take a hit and you do feel confident it can when you carry it around.

Like all of the TUF products that came before it, the 2022 Dash F15 features that MIL-STD-810H standard. After all, ASUS takes pride in its TUF brand as a champion of durability. However, I did notice the display lid to be a little wobbly despite its aluminum material. The overall build quality of the laptop though is still pretty impressive, just avoid slapping that display, if you can.

Multimedia

Display

There are two display variants for the TUF Dash F15 2022, our review model has the QHD (2560 x 1440) 165Hz screen. We not only get great visuals and acceptable color reproduction and accuracy but also adaptive sync support. This is on a TN panel though but has close enough levels to an IPS one, so viewing angles are still all good. Overall, you’ll have a great time consuming media with the QHD variant of TUF Dash F15 2022.

Gaming-wise you’ll have an even greater time, especially with titles that have great visuals such as RPGs and adventure games. Don’t count out fast-paced games too though like MOBAs and FPS as we do have 3 ms response time in this display. It may not be 1 ms, but that’s low enough to give you a smooth gaming experience with these types of games. Not to mention, that 165Hz is at just the right spot, not too overkill for the specs but not too low either.

I personally had no problems enjoying any type of game on the display of the TUF Dash F15 2022. Had a blast admiring the landscape of the mountains at Death Stranding. The screen responded well enough to games like Mount and Blade II: Bannerlord and Age of Empires IV.

So, overall, the screen will not disappoint and the internals, which we’ll talk more about later, can more than handle the QHD resolution to push for those high frames and maintain that eye candy.

Audio

The TUF Dash F15 has dual firing speakers with Dolby Atmos support. The addition of Dolby Atmos may have helped as the audio quality on the TUF Dash F15 2022 is way better than its predecessor. It may also be better than most in the market as it can go pretty loud while maintaining clarity. Mids and Highs are crystal clear and you can feel some base but not as much.

That’s still better than not having any base at all though. In any case, we still do recommend you use your favorite gear when playing audio-reliant games such as FPS and RPGs with great soundtracks. Yet, you can still get away and enjoy just by using the laptop’s speakers in some games. Plus you do get that well-regarded ASUS two-way AI noise cancellation feature as a bonus.

Keyboard and Trackpad

As stated earlier, the keyboard for the F15 2022 is a bit bigger than its predecessor. Unlike the 2021 version where we have some space between the board and the end of the chassis, this time around it takes up all the space it could. Apart from that though, I have no problems with the keyboard itself. It still has good feedback and tactility for a chiclet and is fun to type on.

However, I did have to adjust slightly since the keyboard is bigger than I am used to. So I had a few misclicks during my first few days with the laptop. ASUS did reduce the bling on the F15 (2022) though as the keyboard doesn’t have any RGB lighting. What we have is just plain old white, well at least it’s not red. You do still get some effects via Armoury crate. However, that’s all you’re going to get when it comes to light.

For the trackpad, there’s nothing much to say, you have a big smooth clickpad smack in the middle of the chassis. It’s large enough for swiping gestures but small enough to avoid accidental palm registers.

Connectivity and I/O

The TUF Dash F15 has your average port selection for a thin and light, so if you do have a lot of cable peripherals you may need a hub to support all of them. The busy side of the laptop is the left one. This is where you’ll find the Thunderbolt 4, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A HDMI 2.0b, RJ45 LAN, and 3.5mm ports.

Then over to the right, by its lonesome, is a second USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A port. Connectivity-wise we have Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) and Bluetooth 5.2 (Dual Band), the typical combo nowadays.

Performance

Now on to the elephant in the room for the successor of the TUF Dash F15 last year. ASUS’ first attempt in this line was a bit of a miss in this department. The 2021 Dash F15 had a good GPU it’s just the CPU wasn’t able to carry it or was a bottleneck. With that in mind, did ASUS finally get to create a good CPU and GPU pair? The answer is yes.

Powering the TUF Dash F15 (2022) is Intel’s Core i7-12650H processor and Nvidia’s RTX 3060 GPU. The pair finally compliments each other and are more than powerful enough to handle games at QHD resolution and even some content creation. Its performance is also way ahead of last year’s Dash F15. As evident in our synthetic and gaming benchmark results below.

Synthetic Benchmarks

The Unigine and 3DMark Benchmarks of the TUF Dash F15 yielded great results. The numbers may seem a little on the low side from what you mostly see from other devices but do note these were taken in its native resolution of QHD (2560 x 1440). Meaning if we ever lower the resolution to FHD (1920 x 1080), these numbers will be way up.

Apart from these benchmarks we also did some Cinebench R23 tests where the i7-12650H got respectable scores in the multi and single-core tests. Which are 10,967 and 1,814, respectively. We also did a real-world render test of a 2-hour long 1080p video using Davinci Resolve. The laptop was able to finish the project in about 54 minutes and 31 seconds, a quick and favorable result.

Gaming Benchmarks

As for gaming, I personally had a blast playing on the TUF Dash F15 (2022). I was able to play most of the games I threw at it at the highest graphical settings possible while still reaching more than 60 frames with ease. Lowering the resolution and doing some graphical settings tweaks will most likely yield better results. Not to mention you’ll be able to take advantage of the 165 Hz refresh rate of the display. If you wish to pump more frames and not eye candy.

As seen in our benchmarks above, most games reached and maintained 60 frames despite being on ultra settings at QHD resolution. Either way, I can confidently say that the TUF Dash F15 (2022) can run current and even future Triple-A titles at their maximum graphical settings with favorable results. This is a far cry from the performance we got with last year’s Dash F15. So finally, this TUF line is a contender in the space as a thin & light gaming machine.

Battery Life and Upgradability

Sadly, this is one of the instances where the good things end for the TUF Dash F15 (2022). Even with the MUX switch feature from Nvidia, where it automatically switches between the discreet GPU to the internal one, the battery life on the laptop is a bit on the low side. During our standard battery test where we loop a 1080p video at 50% brightness and volume with earphones plugged-in and WiFi off. This year’s Dash F15 only lasted around 5 hours and 18 minutes.

Not too impressive of a result, which also translates to our real-world usage where it lasted a bit longer but still not enough. So, sadly, you won’t be able to take it out with you to coffee shops or whatnot for long durations without a plug-in. As for, upgradability, we have the standard laptop options for swapping and adding storage drives and RAM modules. You have two storage and RAM slots that are, thankfully, both accessible.

Thermals and Acoustics

Thermals

As is always the case with thin & lights, there will be sacrifices at some point. For the TUF Dash F15, that’s on thermal performance as it can get pretty hot both inside and out. During our stress tests using Furmark for the GPU and Prime 95 for the CPU, the components maxed out at 90° and 100°, respectively. Which are insane numbers to reach in stress tests and this translated to real-world temps too.

During gaming, we are averaging around 83° to 87° on both the CPU and GPU. Outside temps also followed, with the areas around the exhaust heating up to levels where you can get burned with prolonged exposure. So, we don’t recommend you place the device on your lap when you plan on doing heavy tasks. We also recommend, as much as possible, to use the laptop in cool places. Such as areas with air conditioning or pointing a fan at it directly.

Acoustics

While the temperatures are on the hotter side, surprisingly the fans are on the quiet side. Even at its hottest the fans of the TUF Dash F15 weren’t roaring to the point of no return unlike some thin & lights out there. They are spinning as hard as they could to cool down the device, so that’s not the reason for the bad thermals. You do occasionally hear a few whistles but the speakers can easily drown those out.

Verdict

ASUS is finally a step in the right direction for their Dash F15 line. The 2022 update fixed the glaring performance problem of its predecessor while maintaining its glamour. The result is a thin & light laptop with great performance, a good display, a tough build, and serviceable audio. However, there are still improvements to be made. Particularly in the thermals and battery life department as the laptop can become extremely hot and dies out rather quickly.

In the end though, the ASUS TUF Dash F15 (2022) is better than its predecessor but it could become much more with further tweaks and changes. Yet for Php 92,995 it has steep competition when we talk about value for money. As there are a few competitors out there with almost the same performance for a cheaper tag. Although, if you’re looking for a tough thin & light that can also game then the TUF Dash F15 (2022) should be on that list.

Reasons to get

• Thin & Light Frame
• Great Performance
• Good Display
• Above average speakers
• Durable build

Reasons not to get

• Short battery life
• Hot internal and external temperatures

Specifications and Price