These need TO BE FIXED... ASAP - Asus TUF A16 2023 FA617XS & FA617NS 1 Month Plus Review

The Asus TUF A16 has one thing in common with my toddler: Going to Sleep.
They mess up in so many aspects that we take for granted.
I don't exactly recommend them but if you're STILL interested in getting one, check out my links below.
⭐ Asus TUF A16 (Zen 4 FA617XS) ⭐
🛒Malaysia (Shopee): shope.ee/3Af24...
⭐ Asus TUF A16 (Zen 3+ FA617NS) ⭐
🛒Malaysia (Shopee): shope.ee/9KFfP...
Got Questions? Hit me up on Twitter or Facebook:
💬 / techrodent
0:00 Intro
0:53 Specs & Differences
2:29 Dimensions & Weight
3:15 Build Quality & Finishing
3:44 Ports
4:12 Teardown & Upgradeability
5:19 Lid Opening & Display
6:55 Webcam test
7:44 Encoding differences & AV1 Issues
9:09 Keyboard & Trackpad
10:18 MAJOR SOFTWARE ISSUES.
11:09 Stranded processes when using dGPU
12:11 SAG causing screen wake issues
12:38 Gaming benefits in with SAG?
13:32 FA617NS sleep issues
14:18 FA617XS Rebooting in it's sleep!
14:41 Both unable to turn on without a jump start...
15:17 Nothing I tried works, and Asus is having the same issues.
16:22 Preinstalled Software... and McAfee.
16:48 Benchmarks & Weird Results.
18:30 CP2077
19:08 Texture issues in The Callisto Protocol
20:22 8GB of RAM isn't enough for Far Cry 6 with HD Texture Pack.
21:00 Noise Levels
21:27 Speaker Test
21:58 Battery Life & Charging Time
23:09 These laptops need to be fixed.
Music:
Sessions Diana - Gemp - Floral Cosmos

[@willian4428]

*JUNE 2024 buyer here* *The keyboard blinking in suspension is something you can disable in armory crate. Yes, it is a feature. *There is absolutely ZERO bluescreen or black screens during GPU switching, *The laptop DOES NOT turn itself on by sheer will. All have been solved by updates.

[@Thickle]

Thank you bruh I’m watching this after I ordered mine I thought I was cooked

[@ginglee4199]

Is it the newer model 2024? Or the old like in the video 2023?

[@freeloaderfs]

thanks for the update on this. also wondering whether to get the asus tuf advantage edition or go with a GeForce intel combo myself

[@BominYarou]

Thanks for reporting, I'm about to buy it too so, good to know that just updating it will solve these issues. Do you know by chance if it has any issues on Linux distros compared to Windows?

[@ragnar3187]

@@Thicklesame😂

[@engineering_guy]

Being honest is a rarity. Thankyou.

[@TechRodent]

Hopefully it doesn't mean bad blood between me and Asus 😂 I do still want to check their stuff out; I just wanna make sure that people are informed

[@patrickhizkia804]

Oh my god, first time viewer here, seeing the quality of this video I thought you would have at the very least 50k views!! Thank you, because of this I made up my mind I won't buy the A16 Advantage and look for other alternatives. Really love the content and presentation, it has a different feel/vibe to it compared to other reviewers. Hope the channel get bigger, I'd like to watch more reviews from you. Cheers!

[@user-ug3ci2se2z]

man, i was all set to buy this laptop until a saw this video. thanks and please update when the problem is fixed

[@Anotherword7486]

i bought it and will sell it to you for 500 bucks.

[@MiwuScience1]

@@Anotherword7486 why do you wanna sell it and i would like to buy

[@Anotherword7486]

@@MiwuScience1 because I use my 4k television to game on. When I'm just using the laptop it's fine but 1080 x 1200 doesn't look very good on a 4k display. Usually I play at 1440p to get a steady 60fps but even then some games like cyperpunk I have to run at medium to get 60fps. If I wanna play at 4k I have to play games at the lowest settings most times. Skyrim without mods i can run 4k 60fps no problem. . For.the most part it's good but if I would have had the option I would have spent a few hundred more dollars to get something beefier or even a pc instead of a laptop.

[@MrBOOM-fq3lw]

ive had mine for awhile now, it doesnt sound good in a dedicated reveiw but when you line it up realistically against the other laptops with price included its actually a pretty good setup, i also noticed he was on bios 408, i bought this fa617ns a year ago and out of the box had to upload bios 409 and another since audio is another one people complain about but this isnt an issue unless your trying to dj a party off your laptop, my volume sits at 40-50 on the rare occasion im playing without a headset

[@MiwuScience1]

@@Anotherword7486 what's your eBay

[@buddy4129]

I'm literally waiting for my FA617NS to get back from warranty repair due to all the issues mentioned in this video. This is the second time I have sent it in for the same issues. If they repeat, I am going to urge them for full refund. I really loved this laptop too. Negatives outweigh the positives though.

[@alanbq2ed]

I have the FA617NS but mine came with 16gbs of ram instead of 8. Glad I'm not the only one running into sleep issues and occasionally having to jumpstart my laptop with the charger if I had it off for more than a few days. I did a clean OS install and the sleep issues happens much less frequent for me now. Still, hope Asus can roll out fixes for these issues asap. Aside from those 2 problems, I can't really complain since I managed to pick this laptop up fairly cheap at around $800 usd.

[@TechRodent]

Glad to know it's also not an isolated incident. I'm also forwarding your message over to my Asus Rep to pass on, hopefully they can get this issue resolved for your laptop as well!

[@TheUltimateHacker007]

Did your 16gb ram version resolve the issues with texture pop in compared to the laptop in this video?

[@alanbq2ed]

@@TheUltimateHacker007 Ran a benchmark on CP2077, didn't notice any of the texture pop in that was seen in this video. Here are the results of the benchmark and the settings. i.imgur.com/raGFmwy.png

[@kieonwhite8179]

Just ordered one last night have some of the issues been sorted out?

[@Binkleburg]

I’m just glad to know I’m not crazy. I have these issues as well. Also my screen will freeze and the laptop will even reboot itself on its own. Im getting so frustrated with this computer

[@l.bogdan1360]

I returned my fa617xs recently. With latest updates for Bios, Windows 11 Home and Adrenalin utility I checked all issues described in your video. Wish I saw your review sooner.... Agree with the McAfee bloatware, it has gray buttons for confirming removal ... just to trick you and avoid uninstalling. Strongly advise avoiding these laptops.

[@KouroshFarrokhzad]

Comprehensive and detailed, thank you for this excellent review of the two A16 variants. Amazingly, I had bought a Strix machine back in 2017 (753VD) with very similar sleep / start and restart issues! I only managed to resolve it literally years later after I swapped out the hard drive and did a full reinstall / update of all BIOS and drivers. It was an entirely unreliable laptop for the better part of two years and for this reason I have never bought ASUS twice. Absolute deal breakers, it's very disappointing to see this happening with both A16s in 2023. Thank you for your amazing efforts!

[@shlyfy]

i have same problem with lenovo it's not sleeping at all, i hate this trash... also new bios broke my usb c (my pc freeze after connecting to monitor), so i have to be on old version

[@kofiz7355]

Thank you for this going in depth with this video, i was curious about the differences in the models and also if my issues were just only a defect model or so :( , happy to know i'm not alone and really hope some updates can help polish out some of the problems.

[@TechRodent]

Yeah, above all else I want people who already bought into this laptop to get a working laptop, what they paid for, things I consider to be a given. Good news is that my video has definitely reached AMD and Asus from what I've heard, and they're feeling the heat

[@kofiz7355]

That gives me hope :) , thank you for your review , I greatly enjoyed how you paced out things, godspeed :))

[@dennisdjy]

Really appreciate the thorough examination of the bugs. You saved me some money. Thanks!

[@kapturelab]

Thanks for this. I get the keyboard issues blinking with my older TUF. There's so many littler quality of life errors that's making me consider other brands. Been using Asus for laptops for 10 years now my first was incredibly strong. I've used 3 over the last 10 years but now my most recent TUF has always had issues (including screen failure) and it's the I paid most for.

[@dl88889]

As of today unfortunately the BIOS version listing on Asus's website is still from August 2023... means they haven't done anything to fix this since your video was released... I almost bought this for work, but thank you for your comprehensive reviews and warnings. These issues are simply unacceptable. You have a new subscriber! cheers from singapore and keep up the good work :)

[@supperhey]

Just got this laptop last week and the bios for the zen 3+ on their website is ver. 4.14, updated 9/27/2023

[@dl88889]

@@supperhey did you try out the new version ? Fixed anything for you ?

[@supperhey]

@@dl88889 No issue so far, but it dies run hot. AMD claims that their chips perform optimally at 95C and I call cap on that. Returning the laptop tomorrow

[@a.Murder.Of.Crows.]

Latest BIOS now is 414 and recent as of Feb 2024.

[@olegkrushelnitskiy6869]

I replaced MediaTek MT7921 wifi/bt module with Intel AX210. This resolved problems with battery drain by enabled bluetooth during sleep and resolved problem shown at 13:40 (I described the method of its occurrence in previous comments). And even the restoration of the network connection after sleep mode occurs almost instantly, and not as before with a delay of 5-10 seconds.

[@papipencho1815]

❤

[@Binkleburg]

Just bought this laptop was so excited for it and now I have all of these issues :/ glad I found this video. Best Buy had a huge sale with these and I saw the specs and was like hell yes. Well now I know why…

[@rickjohnson5752]

I bought this laptop and within two months the left hinge broke lol. Then a month later the right hinge broke. Pretty sad cause it was a powerful laptop.

[@mtadc1545]

I heard that the bios updates etc have it all fixed? can you verify this?

[@EngineerMikey5]

ur just doing something wrong at that point, stop being so rough. asus tuf hinges arent that weak. @@rickjohnson5752

[@EngineerMikey5]

@@rickjohnson5752 You're probably being too rough on it. Almost nobody has hinge issues with these. You're doing something wrong.

[@CamilaA730]

@@rickjohnson5752 Theres no way u were being gentle with it lmao. my asus tuf is still doing well.

[@gilberto518]

I wish I had watched this video yesterday 😢 I just bought it, and it's already having these issues 😫

[@RaphaelRichard-ii9kh]

how is your experience with it, I'm planning on buying it, are the issues still there

[@eyomme1]

This is why it is important to review a product after a long term because none of the other reviewers pointed out the software issues that you may encounter on a day to day basis. I have the zen3+ model of this and I can say that I have also experienced that black screen when waking up after using the gpu and the sleep issue when the laptop refuses to go to sleep. But the 2nd issue spontaneously resolved itself and I don't know how I did it. But still, that smart access graphics issue is really annoying. I can't really turn off smart access graphics completely because in some games (forza horizon, warzone, dota) there's at least a 10 fps difference which is quite a substantial gap in my opinion.

[@TechRodent]

Yeah 10 fps is quite substantial, yes in that case I would most definitely leave it on. Hopefully AMD and Asus figures this out

[@user-ks6bp6yb2b]

AMD adrenalin 23.10.2 fix black screen issue on my a16, but has freeze issue...

[@khalifa6413]

​@@user-ks6bp6yb2bi want to buy this laptop cuz it looks cool but now idk. Do you recommend it? Or should i stay away from it?

[@user-ks6bp6yb2b]

@@khalifa6413 overall I like it, but amd laptop has freeze or crash/reboot issue right now. And GPU is not good as 4060. I buy it because discount (~1050usd fa617xs) and battery life(it's good).

[@buddy4129]

stay away @@khalifa6413

[@Thepotheadzombie]

I got the zen3 about 3 months ago. I switched out the ram for 32gb DDR5 and added a 2tb ssd to it. I only play plugged in, but its also connected to two monitors lol. No issues so far and loving it.

[@panagiotiskoutoulakis9315]

I am thinking of recommending this to my father, I also have an Asus A15 and I had none of these problems so would you recommend it?

[@Thepotheadzombie]

@@panagiotiskoutoulakis9315 absolutely, i game 4 plus hours a day and still no issues on this laptop. I get around 100frames at 1080p resolution and around 80frames at 2k resolution. I wouldn’t recommend this for 4k but anything less works great

[@cheekimfbreeki9606]

I appreciate your time and effort and your style of reviewing. Great information!

[@duncanwhyyou611]

Hi! Man, I hope this gets many more views. I had the Zen 3+ version 2 months ago, and it went into an infinite restart after updating to BIOS 406. Was able to return it and got the same one. Staying at BIOS 308 rn. With Panel Power Saver (Armoury Crate) on the laptop freezes when connecting/disconnecting the charger. So I disabled it. The Smart Access Graphics is unpredictable so I disabled it. The restart instead of shutdown is still here. Games won't change resolution properly (but the returned unit was able to do it). Even after installing/reinstalling AMD drivers using their tool. It randomly wakes from sleep. :(

[@TechRodent]

Thanks for sharing your experiences! I really do hope that Asus fixes these issues so that you get to use your laptop normally once more!

[@kofiz7355]

Having similar issues :( , even switching between the ultimate, standard and eco mode in armoury crate can cause the laptop to black screen and just restart itself

[@CornelPv]

"It randomly wakes from sleep. " This could be an older Windows problem, starting with around 10. It has various app/security/utility scanners which wake it up. One way to test this is to go into Power Options and change the advanced settings for whatever active plan you use, and disable the Wake Timers for both plugged in and On Battery, see how it behaves. In case the AMD armory changes the plan on the go, then do it for other power plans as well (Powersave, Performance). There were some additional timed schedulers, but those can go weird or reset back by the system. Once scenario is when the laptop wakes up from sleep after a while and goes into hibernation, standard procedure (can be adjusted as well). PS: stumbled on this video after looking forward to get this one (on sale), but I guess I could wait. I still use a mid range Asus from 2016 (intel+nvidia) and all issues were with windows/updates/drivers, eventually replaced the battery, the keyboard needs a replacement.

[@CornelPv]

I decided to jump and get the zen4 on a sale. Bios 313 from showroom, was updated before me getting it. Did a fresh Win 11 install (now that was annoying). Impressive machine, and some software bugs present in the video can't be reproduced. Like weird sleep/reboots. There is a sleep keyboard blinking which is turned off if lid is closed or power cable disconnected, or if disabled in Armoury! And you can even change some light settings. Also suggest to check the windows updates, there can be quite some things, download/install/configure AMD Adrenaline and Armoury, there are a LOT of settings. One I suggest is to switch from SAG to Hybrid (if you work and switch often between intensive 3D programs and non-3D), and don't stress the iGPU with unnecessary load. There are weird moments with a coil whine if running very intensive 3D programs (like UE5 editor with realtime rendering enabled), but can be switched off, and mess around with FPS settings. This is a common thing for other hardware configurations (other laptops, powerful PCs, etc). Another thing is numlock doesn't have an indicator if it's enabled. Other than that, quite good for the price. And 512GB storage might not be enough for some people, so plan for a minor upgrade. And expect it to heat a lot during heavy loads, so do check settings in Adrenaline and Armoury for optimizations (CPU, GPU, power balance, fans, FPS cap, etc).

[@pariank]

I managed to solve the "randomly wakes from sleep" by turning off "Wake on LAN" and "Wake on Pattern Match" for both Wifi and ethernet adaptors. You can do so by accessing their respective settings in Device Manager. I also just left the graphics setting in standard and hybrid graphics mode. This "resolved" the wake on black screen in my A16. I'm running the latest 410 Firmware. I do hope that ASUS and AMD fixes their drivers and firmware so that we regain the advertised functionality of these laptops.

[@VONYX8]

Btw one of the most underrated reviewers on the entire platform

[@dragemmmm8339]

Just came across your channel. I love watching laptop reviews and i enjoyed watchin you too. You earn a sub.

[@TLOZ1986]

Fixed or not?

[@chiefmatewg7711]

Good question

[@Synapsenkurzschluss]

Got same question

[@a.Murder.Of.Crows.]

Fixed - kind of. Please refer to my comment that I posted today.

[@Davorta]

This review help me to choose my next laptop, before i doubt between this Zen 4 variant or lil bit more expensive legion slim 5. I read couple of forum post on the internet that have a similar problem with Tuf laptops. It seems it not just this specific AMD chip. But all tuf laptop have this black screen/sleep problem too. The older tuf laptops seems to get fixed tho.

[@danielcwl862]

Im using the asus tuf a15 with the rtx 4060 gpu, doenst have any of the issues mentioned. I strongly believes maybe that could be the AMD pairing that has the issues. I could be wrong. But so far its been working great for me. As a normal citizen i don't have the luxury to change gaming laptop here and there but so far the purchased asus tuf is been kinda worthwhile. Previously im rocking MSI GF65 i7-rtx3060 that one last 3 years and recently the screen flicker non stop and died. Causing me problems for working and playing. I always from day 1 doing my own self maintenance, like repasting thermal paste with grizzly kyronaut, thermal pads, fine tuning witb throttle stop, fan curve tuning, undervolt -150-180mv, debloating. MSI laptop have a horrendous overheating issues and i fix it with max temp that does not exceed 85c compare to 105 when i first got it and running the game faster . But ultimately i cant prevent screen death. I do think AMD + Nvidia had lesser issues. As mine from day 1 works properly, the only issues i have is the Armoury Crate doesnt have fan curve tuning built into it and only have fan profiles which is not what i wanted. Also AMD undervolting is a new stuff that i need to learn. Intel is easier to undervolt for me.

[@supperhey]

Damm just bought the gen 3+ on sale from best buy. Updated bios to ver. 4.14, and AMD Andrenaline to 24.1.1 and havent gotten any of these issues, but ive only owned thos for a week.

[@alanz.lopezrdz5908]

Bro, have you gotten any trouble with this laptop? I'm really interested in it, but still have my doubts

[@supperhey]

@@alanz.lopezrdz5908 Ya i've returned it. It randomly froze from time to time (~10 seconds of no-response regardless of where the mouse clicks). That's only from my web browsing and no extensive video game yet, but it's enough for me to return the thing within bestbuy's return windows. Too bad

[@RagulCJ]

Damn I was considering buy this for EUR 800 in the Netherlands@@supperhey. I'll just go for Legion slim 5 4070 or zyperus G16 4070

[@derekbailey7049]

Any update?

[@supperhey]

@@derekbailey7049 decided to return. Experienced some issue, and a desktop came on sale with a pretty good price so I pulled the trigger

[@alonzoknightjr2637]

Abybody running into the issue where your computer restarts randomly well using i just bought this labtop 2 days ago and it happens like 1-2 times a day

[@olegkrushelnitskiy6869]

Regarding random restarts in sleep mode, it seems to be related to SmartAccess Graphics and SmartAccess Memory. I have disabled them in Amd control panel and disabled SAG in bios. The laptop has been working fine in this aspect for a week now.

[@applel2.043]

What is your experience with the laptop?

[@olegkrushelnitskiy6869]

@@applel2.043 Now it works well, the main problems for me have been solved. I mainly used it for C# development. I didn’t test it in games, since I have another computer for games. When I bought it, there were problems with the sleep mode: the keyboard backlight was blinking frequently (13:40 in this video); increased energy consumption in sleep mode; spontaneous restart in sleep mode, as if the power was lost; sometimes network cards were disabled; and quite rarely a black screen when waking up from sleep (maybe I encountered it 3 times during the entire time I worked with the laptop in the first months from the date of purchase). And in this laptop Asus removed support for the S3 sleep mode, which was extremely unusual for me. There were also problems with switching the operation mode of the video card - sometimes it went to the blue screen of death. Conducted various experiments with BIOS settings, drivers, etc. As a result, most of the sleep mode problems turned out to be related to the MediaTek MT7921 WiFi/Bluetooth module. Replaced it with Intel AX210. This solved half of the sleep pattern problems: the frequent blinking stopped; increased energy consumption due to bluetooth turned on has gone away; network devices no longer disappear; became less likely to spontaneously overload in sleep mode. I turned on the Hybrid graphics mode and removed SmartAccess Graphics - this completely eliminated reboots in sleep mode and there was no longer a black screen when exiting sleep mode. This really affected the battery life. I replaced Armory Crate with Asus services with G-Helper, which also helped with stability of sleep mode. I disabled Hibernate mode because I don't need it. At first, video cards worked stably only with the version of drivers provided on the Asus website. This year I installed the BIOS 414 update, after which the video cards began to work stably with the latest drivers from AMD. For some of my tasks, 16 GB of RAM was not enough for me, so I replaced the modules with 64 GB. In terms of performance, I was completely satisfied with the processor. A couple of months ago I needed to start experimenting with local Large Language Models (mainly experimenting with quantized 7B models). At first I tried to experiment with them on the processor, but it was slow for prompts of 1000+ tokens. Then I tried to get a Radeon 7600S for these tasks, but it turned out to be somewhat difficult to do under Windows. So I installed Arch Linux as my second system. Under Linux, after recompiling a number of libraries, the acceleration worked. Linux started up without any problems. Wayland froze a few times, but after changing the kernel to a version with patches from Asus, all the problems went away. I can't say much about battery life right now. Before switching to Hybrid Mode in Windows, up to 8 hours of Internet browsing, up to 5 hours of medium load (browser + viewing and writing code, compiling and debugging small projects) or up to 2 hours of intensive load (data processing or compiling large projects) was enough. After switching to Hybrid Mode on Windows, I didn’t do any special experiments, but it was enough for me to work for 4 hours. In Linux, I also didn’t particularly test the operating time from the battery; the last time I needed it (I forgot to take the power supply with me), it was enough for 4 hours of operation. Overall the laptop is quiet. In Quite Mode, the fans turn on only under load. Now for my tasks I am completely satisfied with it.

[@ninjaram123]

I have a16 and i found every issue in this video with my laptop...sad😢

[@DanielZenMaster]

Thanks, that is a very comprehensive review and it cured me from buying this specific model. As for weird battery issues...I have had something similar happen for about 3-4 months, though at the moment I don't use an Asus laptop or any gaming laptop for that matter, but HP Spectre from 2018 (yeah, I'm due to upgrade). Thing is, sometimes my battery shows half the charge or more and laptop switches itself off like it's empty. Happened already way too many times to be a fluke and seeing the same problem with your laptops makes me believe that perhaps one of the Windows updates messed it up 🤔 Just a speculation, but it would explain a lot.

[@TechRodent]

Your issue sounds very much like a dying battery, if your laptop is a bit old it might be worth changing it

[@mikescchen]

Bought A16 (7735) for several months. Had zero unexpected reboot after updating bios / driver. Some games can have temporal freeze (5~10 secs) when alt-tabing between games and desktop with Smart Access Graphics enabled, but that can be solved easily by setting Hybrid Graphics per game. Also upgraded to 16GB x2 RAM and Crucial T500 1TB SSD.

[@15apocalypto]

Idk what the hell is hapenning to my asus . it worked fine for like a month and now recently I have a really poor experience with it. I have a lot of lags in games like lol or the finals ( I can't even play) , performance issues every day use .. I expected much more for an expensive laptop . I will never buy an asus product again in my life . I had my old lenovo laptop for 6 years and it run like a champ

[@deccicator]

Same for me; right now the laptop is not responding for whatever reason. It’s my last Asus laptop; I’ll never buy this again

[@15apocalypto]

@@deccicator I already put this for sale and I'm thinking on buying a lenovo legion pro 5 or 7

[@AlexPandianJ]

I bought A16 on November first week and faced lot of issues with sleep and had heavy backlight bleeding. Lot of wifi disconnection and screen was terrible. It feels like always in night mode. By performance wise its good for the price. But CPU always runs hot even for basic task and in lot of games it got thrmal throttle and started stuttering.So i returned the laptop and bought acer predator on the same day and really enjoying it.

[@rexaifi]

Would you say or even recommend to get Helios Neo 16 over the A16?

[@TechRodent]

I'm using a Helios Neo 16 that I got after returning that laptop to Asus; it's a banger. No issues and solid workhorse. Just battery life leaves more to be desired, because it's an Intel

[@rexaifi]

@@TechRodent thanks for the swift reply! i was about to return the Helios Neo 16 for the A16, but now I'll keep with the Helios despite the shorter battery life

[@AlexPandianJ]

@@rexaifi Only advantage A16 over neo 16 is battery life due to AMD Ryzen. Apart from that neo 16 is so much better

[@AlexPandianJ]

@@TechRodent Yes it was so much better

[@mikeylejan8849]

I bought the 2023 Asus Tuf 16, I also upgraded the RAM to 32gb.

[@brutalknife3928]

Got a TUF A16 (FA617NT) with R7 7735HS and RX 7700S, it is pretty nice, didn't had any problems, maybe these problems solved with updates, thank you for being honest, this video was crucial to make the choice to buy it.

[@DreadnoughtBattlestations]

I bought mine for 750 about a month ago and no issues yet. Looks like I got lucky 😊

[@TechRodent]

It could be that newer versions come with an updated BIOS, because some users have reported fully working laptops after a BIOS upgrade. Either way if true it's great news.

[@sorric6810]

Thank you very much!. I was going to buy this laptop instead of legion 5 (2023). Now I know which one to choose. 👍

[@albertobenitezbrand]

Yesterday I had a drama with the Asus Tuf FA617 model: when using Photoshop it had an intermittent power-on screen, however, on a desktop that same file does NOT have any problem. TUF FA617 data • AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS Mobile Processor (8-core/16-thread, 16MB L3 cache, up to 4.7 GHz max boost) • AMD Radeon RX 7600S, up to 95W (Smart Shift), 8GB GDDR6 • 16GB DDR5-4800 SO-DIMM I will have to wait several days to send it to service, it has 8 days of use in video editing and graphic design. Has anyone gone through the same problem? I hope NO, it is very unpleasant to be without work for a few days.

[@RaphaelRichard-ii9kh]

I bought the zen 3 version a week ago, July 2024 and I had ZERO ISSUE

[@JarrodsTech]

14:41 I don't suppose you happened to take off the bottom panel in between turning it off and trying to turn it back on? ASUS laptops have a sensor inside that prevents them powering back on after being open unless you connect the charger. I'm guessing this isn't the case though, as you said ASUS replicated the problem, so I'm guessing it's some sort of bug with this feature.

[@TechRodent]

Hey Jarrod. No, the laptops were just left alone for a couple of hours and then this would happen. If there is a sensor that prevents starting up unless it's plugged in if the chassis is open then yeah this does sound like it could be a bug with that. Some of the commenters here have also mentioned running into said issues. I haven't had time to revisit this however as they're long returned to Asus for investigation. Great content on your channel btw 👍

[@bmitch652]

Any response from Asus or AMD on this? I’m going through every single issue you covered on this laptop. I have had it for two months. I can’t be on it for more than ten minutes before the mouse freezes. Or the screen goes completely black and will start flashing different colors and such and I have to power down.

[@cldpt]

fans are likely the reason for weight difference. Zen 4 probably needs stronger fans with lighter, likely maglev bearings

[@adrians9367]

I have the fa617ns, with a few changes everything is working perfecly and no sleep issues, so it's a pretty good laptop with good battery life for students Just the brightness could be better

[@iamthames]

What changes did you do?

[@h4rsh.ed1ts]

I was planning to buy FA617XS Model . If any current user of this model could guide me Should I go for it or not ??? (July 2024)

[@mishiro6170]

Thank you for addressing these issues in your review! I was eyeing on this laptop because it had sufficient CPU and GPU with a great battery life as well... But the issues you have addressed was kind of a bummer. Do you have any laptop recommendations that is a good alternative to this? (performance and battery wise) I'm a university student so battery life is kind of crucial for me. Hopefully ASUS fixes this asap so I can pull the trigger on this

[@TechRodent]

I don't have first hand experience with them but I heard the Lenovo options with the AMD 7000 processors and NVIDIA GPUs are pretty good without being too costly. You could also look at the Acer Nitro 16 that just launched

[@drangstveitmark]

the asusu tuf with the 4060 works great, my girlfriend has one and its buttery smooth...i got the amd a16 tuf NS aaand going all amd was not the right move

[@unyu-cyberstorm64]

My friend and I are getting the FA617XT. He already has his and said it’s very nice.

[@TechRodent]

I'd be curious to know if it does or doesn't have the issues listed above. The XT is technically a different model under a different BIOS, so it'd be interesting to know

[@unyu-cyberstorm64]

I have the same model now, and it has these problems occasionally, but it runs great and overall is an exceptionally good laptop. Some recommendations from me: * Use Turbo Mode. This prioritizes active cooling and spins up the fans sooner, the laptop gets warm otherwise. (Also those fans do spin fast, they're just quiet) * If you are having issues, just reboot the computer. It's the standard windows fix. * Keep all your drivers up to date, especially your AMD drivers. * Turn on optimizations and performance mode. And be willing to set the priority of things higher if you want to. (games and benchmarks benefit from this a lot) * Use HyprRX (or at least some of its features) AntiLag is applied by the drivers on a systemwide basis, and it does make the computer seem more responsive in some ways. * Use 10bit mode on the GPU. It looks good, and I don't think anything should be shipped with anything less than a 10bit display. * Check if the professional or prosumer applications you have support OpenCL or HIP acceleration and try enabling hardware acceleration. * Meow at your computer. * Run out of ideas. * post this comment. @@TechRodent

[@supperhey]

​@@unyu-cyberstorm64thanks for the tips

[@vincentjoya2658]

Any update on the xt? Planning to get it

[@vincentjoya2658]

Any update on the xt? Planning to get it

[@applel2.043]

In your personal opinion, would you recommend buying this laptop? Have these issues been fixed?

[@Cjsolares]

I bought the Asus Zen 3+ laptop and to date they still haven't fixed those problems and it is annoying that it doesn't go to sleep

[@TechRodent]

Some say it's related to the wifi chip, you can try changing it out to an Intel one and see if it works

[@a.Murder.Of.Crows.]

Most of these issues are from the stock Realtek wifi/BT module; get rid of that POS and replace with the Intel AX200 or AX210.

[@Jinknows]

Did they put a solution to this at this day? I am hoping to get this laptop but if the issue are still there. I might get predator neo 16 instead.

[@packersfan036]

I have the zen 3 + model that cpu kicks azz, no complaints here. the only thing i noticed about the cpu is that a lot of times it is running with over 100w of power, never seen that before.

[@TechRodent]

Interesting, have you ever updated the BIOS etc?

[@packersfan036]

@@TechRodent yes, bios is up to date.

[@rishabbantiya6384]

​@@packersfan036which country you purchased from

[@joshuakoa9596]

Wish I saw this before buying back in Aug 2023. Laptop still has sleep/wake issues, esp with Linux. Bluetooth also isn't perfect. I have to unpair and re-pair anything with Bluetooth. The thermal paste is insufficient because the laptop overheats and randomly shuts down frequently. While using better thermal paste prevents the random shut downs, the laptop fans and thermals kick into overdrive randomly, esp in startup, which makes no damn sense since I haven't done anything significant yet. I can't believe this is the only review I found that is sufficiently honest about issues with this laptop. The cost-savingsbarent worth the servicing cost (I bought this abroad, so warranty isn't covered) and headaches it induced.

[@a.Murder.Of.Crows.]

I am a Linux user too - I just posted a comment with a long list of fixes for this machine. Try using the latest kernel (6.9), repaste the CPU/GPU with Cryonaut or MX-6, and make sure you're running the new BIOS from Feb 2024 (414). Also, do NOT keep using the included Realtek Wifi/BT card - it's trash and triggers a whole bunch of other issues - replace it with the Intel AX200 or AX210.

[@streamofthesky]

Whelp, just bought a Zen3 16 GB RAM version for the Black Friday price... I'm fine disabling the smart graphics, but the sleep and shutdown issues sound horrendous, might just tell Best Buy to refund me... Thanks. I read/watched like 5 reviews and NONE of them mentioned this.

[@TechRodent]

A lot of outlets just test benchmark numbers and then return the loan units; as you can imagine, owning a laptop is more than just how well it runs games, how hot it gets etc.

[@paulsworldph]

has the issues been resolved now?

[@coremaw]

I have the encounter sleep issue. Sometimes, it drains the battery overnight from full. Like wtf. Update: My laptop display died. Not detected on setting aftet i check on 2nd monitor. Sent for RMA. Goodluck to laptops with expired warranty.

[@VONYX8]

Yo thank you very much for this video. I am desperately trying to find the A16 Zen 4 in the UK but failing 😭.

[@nsawatchlistbait289]

What's the difference FA617XS-N3025WS and FA617XS-N3026WS? The 25 has Ryzen 9 7940HS while the 26 has Ryzen 9 7940HS AI Powered (according to amazon India). The GPU is the same 7600S

[@Baitcasterbass]

Thank you for this video. I was trying to find a good laptop in the 1000-1500$ range and ended up ordering the AAA A16. After watching this video, I canceled the order.

[@martinhyska1206]

Probably check cpu temperature, I saw that are like 95C+. It has very hi temps and when hits max temp can pc go shut down randomly.

[@joergstrong]

Try to cover it with some black tape.

[@erespekate3572]

Hello, thanks for this great review. I have a16 fa617ns and when using Smart Access I found the same issues with the screen, but after changing to hybrid mode the issues are not observed. May I ask you if the max brightness is really 250 nits? I didnt check it before purchase because screen looks really nice for me, but now when I know it is only 250 nits is quite disapponting and I am considering return. According to slepping mode it is not the issue of this laptop but all Ausus TUF/ROG unfortunatley :(

[@samjebaston7782]

Thx man... really helped me

[@DKTD23]

I have the A16 with the Zen3+ rebranded CPU. I got it like-new as a return open box for $550 plus tax. Well worth it at that price point. Also, the screen does achieve 300 nits. It's pretty solid. Colors look good! Mine also came equipped with 16gb ram vs 8. Also, some ebay sellers sell the 2K screen separately, so that is an unofficial upgrade path to get the better screen if one is willing to dissemble and install it.

[@sqrlmonger]

Best buy currently has a "Black Friday" deal on the Zen3+ 16GB model for $750 new. Though it looks like this deal is running all month...maybe? Not sure. I post this mostly because refurb options are usually not unlimited and this is a good option for those looking to get this.

[@DKTD23]

@sqrlmonger yep its worth it and has run great for me

[@musicjuly3415]

Just a minor correction to your video - The FA617XS doesn't have a 2560x1600 display. It has the 1920x1200. There's one other more expensive model FA617XT that has the 2560x1600 display.

[@TechRodent]

The model that was sent to me by Asus is a FA617XS with a 2560x1600 display, it was noted on the box it came with as well as the online listings. It might be a Malaysian specific variant of the XS. I believe the XT is the one with the 7700s

[@UnderDC]

Thank you, man. You are going places with this high quality and thorough content. Maybe you could help me or point me in the right direction. I bought the Zen3+ version of this one a few months ago. I ran into an issue where the system would hang/freeze randomly for a few seconds to up to a few minutes. I had to reset the computer several times and I realized the issue starts only when I first open Armory Crate or AMD Software. So I uninstalled those and using G-helper, but would like to be able to use AMD Software for the latest drivers and features. Any ideas how to solve this? If you have contact with your rep, could perhaps ask around so they are aware and maybe fix this in the future? I have opened tickets and posted on their forums with no avail yet. Thanks! Liked and subscribed. Much deserved!

[@-TheRealThing-]

The weight difference is the display panel, storage & ram differences.

[@mtadc1545]

The first motherboard I ever touched was ASUS And that was 20 years ago when I built my first PC with my dad. I’ve been a loyal asus customer since and I was really wanting this laptop. Then I’ve noticed all the complaints on KZbin about the quality issues and service from ASUS. This will be the first time I avoid them!

[@Superbuenpedo]

somebody knows how to turn the led indicators off (The upper middle ones) its a pain for me, i dont like the indicators there =(

[@TheHappyCraftPL]

I recently bought stronger version and had no issues with it so I guess they did a fix to it at some point.

[@BoyWhoLikesMinecraftPvp]

So if i get the same laptop with a RTX 4060 i will mostly be fine? Was the startup kickstart by plugging it in fixed by turning the thing off?

[@inspectoranalis4031]

I bought another version at the Asus store with a 32GB memory upgrade already inserted - €1299 ASUS TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition Laptop Windows 11 Home AMD Ryzen™ 7 7435HS 3.1GHz Processor (20MB Cache, up to 4.5 GHz, 8 Cores, 16 Threads) AMD Radeon™ RX 7600S 8GB GDDR6 Graphics 16" QHD+ 16:10 (2560 x 1600) 240Hz IPS screen 32 GB DDR5 RAM memory 1TB of M.2 NVMe™ PCIe® 4.0 SSD storage 10/100/1000Mbps RJ45 LAN port Fast charging 0-50% in 30 minutes 90Wh high capacity battery Sandstorm Color ...pass four years my Acer Predator Helios 300 shut down and burn 😢

[@v12vanquish]

I got the a16 at best buy on sale, the model was very strange, it has a 7735hs, 16gb of ram, and a 7700s. This model isn’t listed on asuses website

[@Agatonga]

12:11. THIS. someone tell me when they fix THIS.

[@DavidTorres-mn7er]

Somebody tag asus

[@ivanmarc3155]

excellent review!

[@thewealthycast]

Are those issues fixed ? Please answer

[@nsawatchlistbait289]

So I was searching for the difference between FA617XS-N3025WS and FA617XS-N3026WS. It turns out that the model 25 has actually smaller dimensions than the model 26

[@vincentjoya2658]

Got the asus a16 f617xt version. No issues so far.

[@topgun7115]

Just give me the nicer one but with a rtx 4070 and I'll buy it. Want the nicer screen and everything but without AMD and that color looks nice

[@joelrangel7373]

I was this close (..) to buy this laptop, Im going back to the first plan and get a lenovo legion even if is more expensive...

[@cldpt]

reason why 7735hs is underperforming on Blender smells like the GPU may be getting either less TDP during combined load (Ryzen 9 CPU is hungrier than 7), or less PCIE lanes although my money is on the former. This is likely the same problem in gaming. The fact the laptops also don't go too loud seems to me that the BIOS isn't letting either laptops make use of all the power. You should do some on-wall power measures to see how much each is consuming.

[@freegame7520]

A16 Zen3 You can added RAM16 to be 32 and M.2 SSD 1T it’s enough for Max 1080p

[@01_M1ku_39]

I seem to fixed my screen blackout issue by reformatting my laptop. But can anyone help me why the armoury crate doesn't show my gpu stats? Cpu stats are working just fine but gpu stat are just all 0%

[@JudgeFredd]

Great video

[@drangstveitmark]

lol im running into all of these issues as well. along with when playing games theres crazy amounts of latency (im hooked up to a montior, but that shouldnt matter right? but i get crazy stuttering and ltenc in counter strike 2 along wth half the time when trying to open the game the computer freezes then the laptop restarts. i came from a desktop with a 5800x and a 12gb 3060 and it ran everything i could throw at it smooth as butter.... I really hope since its under warranty i can replace it with the 4060 model(girlfirend has the 4060 model and it runs like a dream). im pretty upset, considerng i just sold my desktop pc thinking that this would be better since i plan to move in the near future by plane... ITS NOT GOING WELL LOL mine also came with 16gb ram the NS model

[@danimax5203]

Hey bro, after some months, do you still recommend the 4060 model? Or has it given you problems too?

[@drangstveitmark]

@@danimax5203 4060 model seems to be working just fine , no issues. but still hving issues with the all amd version

[@captaincrazy138]

it might be an amd issue because i have a desktop pc with amd gpu and also have sleep issues

[@SirRFI]

How well does it run on Linux? Are any of the issues relevant on it? Not using the sleep function allows to skip any shutdown/restart/sleep problems?

[@TechRodent]

Works fine with Linux, windows modern standby etc are all... Well, windows issues.

[@SirRFI]

@@TechRodent Thanks. Personally not concerned with sleep issues, but I also stumbled upon opinions of having black screen due to SAG (Smart Access Graphic, which is AMD's Advanced Optimus I guess) and some more.

[@a.Murder.Of.Crows.]

Works perfectly in Linux with Kernel 6.9+ and also with the replacement of the stock Realtek card with the AX200/210.

[@mochamadghozysaturpanama]

My Asus vivobook pro 15 k6502zc is has the same problems.. now it’s been 2 weeks the laptop in service center and I still didn’t get any information when the repair is done 😢

[@averagehooman1832]

After all this time, did asus or amd did fix this problem? Or maybe after update the bios did the issues fixed, Im close purchase a new laptop

[@hafidzdwinata1836]

No dont buy it

[@BominYarou]

I wonder if anyone uses Linux with this laptop and how good or bad it runs on it. All of these issues people mention on every review video is Window's related mostly.

[@PointTheorist]

Yeah

[@link5170]

Can you comment on the temperature difference of the two devices? Notebookcheck found the zen 4 model to have lower temperature especially in idle, they attributed it to isolated defect for the zen 3 model but I wonder if it's consistent that the zen 4 model has better temperature than the zen 3 equivalent.

[@ajmozez6671]

🤔... As i think about this... I thinknim still going to buy... Reason 1: i havnt heard any performance issues Reazon 2: no performance issues Reazon 3: sleep mode issues aren't at the top of my list as issues... I will jus shutdown the system.. I see it has a fast start up.. No biggie... Reazon3: amd is on the come up.. Im sure this issue will be fixed.. Better than nvidias issues.. Reazon 4: if i get the insurance.. It sould be covered or i can jus return it... Sometimes i think we want perfection .. But dont realize companies make issues to keep relevant...

[@shlyfy]

Asus tuf a15 has also the same problems??

[@acupofcoffee9082]

I'm 7 months late, but I have the a16 tuf fa617ns model, and it freezes A LOT. The freezing is VERY bad when I do anything online and is sometimes pretty bad when just doing normal computer stuff (especially if I have 2 or more programs running) I was wondering if anyone else with the same laptop or similar specs has the same issues and if you have found a fix. I think it's down to the RAM not being enough and am looking to upgrade the RAM (just put in a new ssd so it'll be a payday or 2 away for RAM lol) but yeah, is the RAM my issue or is my machine faulty or is this a common thing with this laptop or one with these specs? I should note that I don't have freezing issues when in games and have only had a game crash 1 time while playing helldivers2 and I'm not too sure why it crashed, I only had the game running and I wasn't doing anything I'd call demanding on really any part of the machine but it just decided to nope out of the game.

[@a.Murder.Of.Crows.]

I posted a list of fixes for a similar model with the 7700S GPU. Check it out.

[@victorvon5714]

I experience all the issues you talked about...still wondering if it is the compatibility issue with Windows 11.....

[@TechRodent]

Reading the comments from others, it sounds like it's an Asus TUF specific issue, and some people have managed to solve them apparently by disabling Wake on LAN features on both the NIC and Wireless device. It may have something to do with Realtek, their drivers and S0 sleep.

[@dvolutionz6950]

Quick question, i have not yet seen the 7700s being reviewed or even any official benchmark on the web, it's not even showing on userbench, techpowerup says its closer to performance to the desktop 2070 super and the laptop 4070, so what type of performance should i expect from the 7700s version?

[@TechRodent]

At the moment I'm testing a 4060 laptop and it's quite a bit faster than the 7600S, I'd put the 7700S maybe slightly ahead of the 4060, but we'll only really know when it's in our hands

[@asmrnaturecat984]

7700s variant only sold in usa Some have brought it at microcenter

[@trentlewallen5286]

I can really complain about the laptop much since I only paid $750 for it for Black Friday

[@luiscortesherrera1216]

Has it given you problems?

[@realdomdom]

What's up with comparing two different colour spaces?

[@joemamabidendementia]

is this fixed now? if not, what other similar (in price and overall) gaming laptops could you recommend?

[@TechRodent]

Afaik not just yet, I have an Acer Predator as well as Lenovo LOQ with a 4060, both are doing well

[@joemamabidendementia]

@TechRodent i decided to go with the legion pro 5 4060

[@ajmozez6671]

would u say the acer predator 500 is a better choice?

[@tunejar6821]

My Tuf a15 r7 4800H also turns on when shutting down sometimes, moreover I am running dual os Windows 10 and chrome os because I had constant bsod on windows 10 and unbarable in windows 11 where I cound't even install it, it always crashed in bios. Wifi issue, sometimes on windows it freezes when I play youtube, it's always youtube, screen flicker constant need to turn it down to 100 or 80 or 120 frame rate so stupid. And what not. But I never experienced any problem in chrome os not even one.

[@wendysburgers4326]

7:07 you turned Green in Zen 3 Auto White balance issue in webcam?

[@TechRodent]

Yes, webcam issue.

[@zakariyaoozeerally4316]

I own a ryzen 7 tuf a16 and i have the same screen issues! Laptop screen turns on for a second and turns off immediately after sleep. Have to restart the laptop everytime it happens. Its really annoying, wont be buying AMD again

[@sajjadhossain8244]

What do you think? Buying zen 4 would be worth?