A hexagonal power button occupies the top right corner. Chiseled lines bracket the keyboard, which features translucent W, A, S, and D keys. The camera lacks IR face recognition capability and there is no fingerprint reader, so you can't use Windows Hello to bypass typing passwords. Medium-thin bezels surround the 1080p non-touch screen, and a slight bump in the top bezel accommodates the webcam. The rear edge of the lid is sliced away to reveal a strip of the deck with 'TUF GAMING' lettering.

The lid is decorated by four faux corner screws and an ungainly winged-shield logo that (sort of) spells 'TUF' if you squint at it sideways. TUF-Guy CredentialsĪvailable in Fortress Gray or Bonfire Black (my test model TUF706IU-AS76 was the former), the A17 combines an aluminum lid with a plastic keyboard deck and underside. The GTX 1660 Ti won't max out the system's 120Hz-refresh-rate screen-and the screen isn't the most gorgeous thing you've seen-but the A17 is a good option for plus-size gaming on a budget. It offers longer battery life and tougher construction than many competitors, passing MIL-STD 810H tests against shock, vibration, and environmental extremes. It backs its 17.3-inch full HD display with a capable Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti GPU. It combines a beefy eight-core AMD Ryzen 7 4800H 'Renoir' processor with a very ample 16GB of RAM and a positively generous 1TB solid-state drive. Asus' TUF gaming laptops are priced and positioned below its elite Republic of Gamers (ROG) models, but the TUF Gaming A17 gives you more than you might expect for $1,099.99.

Asus tuf gaming 17.3 inch laptop