****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
I've been testing this laptop out for a few days now, and overall it's been great. My usage for this is 70% regular computer work (business, light Photoshop, web browsing, etc.) and 30% gaming when I travel as I have a full size gaming rig at home.I bought the FX505DU, which has the 3750H and the 1660ti.I like the form factor and aesthetics of the device, it doesn't have much flex or "creakiness" to it, and it looks great sitting on a desk.The RGB keyboard is a great touch, but wouldn't allow me to change the color until I downloaded an extra piece of software. It cycles through all the colors by default. Other than that everything worked right out of the box and the performance has been very good. The 1660ti is a beast and has destroyed anything and everything I've thrown at it in 1080p.The 3750H cpu has been good as well, though as expected with Ryzen in some CPU intensive games it gets more than it can handle.Assassin's Creed Odyssey is a great example. I can play at ultra at 1080p with a locked 30FPS framerate, but if I attempt to get a steady 60fps on any settings, including the lowest, there's just too much going on and it can't do it, even with plenty of GPU headroom. Athens just melts it. Having said that Athens pushes my desktop 9900k, so I don't consider it a negative, just something to keep in mind if you're wanting 1080p60 on everything.The only other games I've tested so far are:The Witcher 3: Steady 60fps on ultra (had to dial back one setting, "foliage" to high, and no hairworks). Great experience.Doom 2016: All ultra locked 60 fps using less than 50% of the GPU and CPU. This title can play at 100fps, but it gets too choppy in some high intensity spots, so I lock it to 60 for a smoother experience.Thermals are great, GPU never exceeded 71c at 100% usage, no throttling that i was aware of. Make sure fans are on Turbo, which can be done with a touch of a button on the keyboard, which is awesome.The noise levels during normal usage are fairly quiet, and I appreciate that it has a silent fan setting that can dial things back in case you don't want to let everyone in the classroom or office know you're rocking a gaming rig.Noise levels during gaming were loud, but I've certainly heard much worse from other gaming laptops. I also appreciate that the top of the laptop doesn't get hot, even after prolonged gaming sessions, so you can rest your hands on the keyboard without discomfort.The screen is decent, nothing amazing, but perfectly serviceable, especially considering the price. The 120hz refresh rate is nice for regular usage, but in gaming I've found that the CPU can't get many games past 80-90fps before hitting it's limit, so I've been staying with a locked 60.Also be aware this screen doesn't have any type of adaptive refresh rate (Freesync/Gysnc) so make sure to use Vsync and a frame rate limiter if you want locked frame rates as very few newer games can hit the native 120.This model comes with 2 drives, an SSD and a mechanical hdd. I replaced the hdd with a Samsung Evo ssd, and it took about 5 minutes. The entire bottom comes off the machine after removing all the bottom screws and carefully popping the bottom panel off. I recommend using a plastic separator tool to avoid damage, the tabs were a bit too snug to pop off with just fingers. You also have access to the fans and ram in case you ever need to service and/or clean the dust out.Other than McAfee there isn't much bloatware and the preloaded Asus apps work fairly well.The keyboard and track pad are both comfy and work well. The track pad may turn some people off because it doesn't have separate left/right buttons, but it's large and responsive which is all that I look for.Overall I'm very satisfied with this laptop. It looks great, performs very well, especially considering the price, and feels very durable. My one criticism is the lack of adaptive refresh rate tech, but at this price point that's wishful thinking.Great laptop, definitely recommended.
