CES 2021: ASUS dust off its entry level with the TUF Dash F15, from 1,100 euros

Following the announcements of the Strix SCAR 15 and 17 or the promising ROG Flow X13, ASUS unveils its TUF Dash F15. The gaming laptop PC takes up the torch of the TUF F15, combining solid performance and affordable price, while further refining an already effective formula.

The years go by and laptops belonging to the TUF lineage are becoming more and more attractive at ASUS. After a TUF F15 / A17 tandem that we appreciated last year, the manufacturer is slightly revising its copy to deliver us in this CES 2021 a more successful TUF Dash F15 (under Intel processors). The design is evolving to take over certain components of the Zephyrus range and the PC is equipped with new-generation components.

ASUS improves its 15-inch TUF …

Like last year, the TUF Dash F15 benefits from a reinforced chassis incorporating the codes of the military standard MIL-STD-810H. This design must in particular allow its casing, which is only 19.9 mm thick (for 2 kg all round on the scale), to better withstand shocks and impacts.

ASUS also announces a maximum autonomy of more than 16 hours in video playback and a battery capable of being recharged to 50% in 30 minutes. The TUF Dash F15 also supports USB-C charging up to 100 W.

We also learn that the dissipation system has been partially revised to cool both the CPU / GPU duo but also the video memory and the voltage regulation model thanks to four heat pipes. The fans of the device are nevertheless cut when the temperature of the components is lower than 50 degrees, promises ASUS. The new TUF should therefore remain perfectly silent in-office use or video playback.

… by maintaining an accessible starting price

Component side, this model gives pride of place to the new Intel Tiger Lake-H processors, engraved in 10 nm and announced at the beginning of the week. Depending on the model chosen, ASUS offers Core i5 or i7 (ranging from i5-11300H to i7-11375H) and indicates that the most high-end chip will be able to reach up to 5 GHz. We will surely have the opportunity to verify it in the test.

Alongside its processor, the Dash F15 will rely on an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 or 3070 as desired.

The set will be supported by a maximum of 16 GB of RAM (DDR4 at 3200 MHz, with a vacant slot to upgrade to 32 GB) and will finally be able to have up to 1 TB of storage in M.2 SSD (with the possibility of ‘opt for a RAID configuration) as well as Wi-Fi 6 connectivity and a 76 Wh battery.

ASUS finally offers several optional IPS screens, all Full HD, but differing in the refresh rate: 240, 144, or 60 Hz. The screen was not necessarily the strong point of TUF laptops in the past, we will see if ASUS has improved its product on this point.

The connection, finally, is rather generous with a Thunderbolt 4 USB-C port, three USB-A ports, an HDMI output, an RJ45 port, and a headphone jack.

The TUF Dash F15 will be available in France at the end of February, at a starting price of € 1,099.

Source: ASUS press release / ASUS CES 2021 Briefing