Asus is well-known when it comes to making gaming laptops with peak performance ratings and great looking on the outside. When looking at the FX 503 from the outside, you wouldn’t necessarily notice it’s a gaming laptop straight away. It has four slanting streaks from each corner that converge into an ASUS logo in the middle. We’re not going to lie; the overall design of the laptop makes it stand away from other laptops in the room.
What’s great about the outside design of the laptop is that even though it’s great looking, the gaming aspect isn’t emphasized physically on the outside. The design is very subtle, and it would be hard to tell it’s a gaming laptop unless you open it and notice the red outlines of the buttons on the keyboard and the GTX sticker next to the touchpad. We love this, as it makes the laptop very easy to bring into an office meeting when you’re not gaming. Nobody would know that it’s a laptop meant for gaming, so you should feel perfectly comfortable bringing it into an office meeting with a room full of people.
A Surprisingly Handsome Tinder Date
The ASUS FX503 is one of the laptops that looks much better in person than in any picture online. When you see and hold the laptop in your hands, that’s when you can truly appreciate how good and sleek it looks for a gaming laptop.
Furthermore, it’s packed with different ports and connectivity making it great if you have a lot of different peripherals you want to use with it. You can practically connect anything to it, but let’s go over the ports and connectivity options just to grasp how good this laptop is. On the left side, you will find several ports, including the charging point, an HDMI port and several USB ports. Whereas, the right side of the laptop is packed with a Kensington lock which is a really good safety feature, especially if you’re into the habit of leaving your laptop in the car, an SD card reader and another USB port.
A little miss? But they don’t take way the amazingness of ASUS FX503
The only ports missing are a USB-C port and a Thunderbolt port. We feel that having these ports would have done wonders for the futureproofing of the machine, and it would make it a much better workhorse for people who work daily with these ports. Furthermore, the lack of modern ports means that the user would have to connect other devices through a dongle which is a hassle, but for what the laptop offers it’s so far so good.
ASUS has made ventilation one of the priorities with this laptop which is great because gaming laptops can overheat quite easily which further hinders the performance of the machine. Below the keyboard, you will notice a bunch of lines strewn across the lower body of the laptop, and this is done with the single aim of having better airflow.
As soon as you open the laptop it’s noticeable right away that we’re talking about a gaming laptop. The keyboard buttons are all outlined with the easily recognizable ROG red colour, clearly stating that a gaming beast is hiding beneath the hood. Even though the red colour is almost overused in the gaming world, it’s subtle enough to not bother you if you’re not a fan of it.
ASUS FX 503 Specs
| CPU | Intel Core i7-7700HQ @ 2.80GHz (6MB cache, TurboBoost up to 3.8GHz) |
| RAM | 4GB DDR4 2400MHz |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 4GB GDDR5 |
| Storage | 128GB M.2 SSD + 1TB 7200RPM HDD |
| Display | 15.6″ LED-backlit FHD (1920×1080) 60Hz Anti-Glare Panel with 45% NTSC |
| Connectivity and ports | Integrated 802.11 AC (2×2) Wi-Fi 3 x USB 3.0 port(s) Type A 1 x RJ45 LAN Jack 1 x HDMI, Support HDMI 2.0 1 x SD Card Reader |
| Sound and Audio | Built-in Stereo 2W Speakers & Array Microphone ICEpower Technology 1 x Combo Audio Jack (Mic + Headphone) |
| Battery | 4 Cells 64 Whrs Polymer Battery, 180W Adapter |
Performance – Can It Handle The Heat?
It doesn’t matter how good a laptop looks unless it brings some serious gaming performance to the table. Looking at the technical specs it’s clear that this laptop is no slouch. But, it’s time to see how those specs translate into real-world usage.
The 128GB M.2 SSD packs some nice performance, and even though it isn’t the best performing SSD on the market, it’s more than enough for an everyday user. You will notice the speed of the SSD especially if you’re transferring from an HDD. It’s a night and day difference. The only downside is the small amount of storage at 128GB, but the 1TB 7200RPM HDD is a good addition. It allows you to store the larger files on it. We advise you to keep only the most important games and apps on the SSD for faster booting and better performance.
It’s powered by an Intel Core i7-7700HQ which packs quite a punch. It scored a 741 in Cinebench which is what we would usually expect from a machine with internals such as the ASUS FX503. In Unigine Heaven it scored a min FPS of 8.5, a max FPS of 96.5 and an average FPS of 50.4. With is with x8 AA, 1600×900 resolution and Ultra Settings with turned of tessellation. The performance is not astounding, it but’s perfectly acceptable and good for the parts it has.
Verdict
The ASUS FX503 is a decent laptop with great performance for the internals it carries. Physically it’s a stunning machine which can work great in both office and gaming scenarios. It has good connectivity options even though it lacks USB-C and Thunderbolt support. The Storage options are good, it has an SSD for the apps you want to boot right away. A 1TB 7200RPM HDD for storing movies and media files accentuates it even more.
Sound-wise the speakers perform greatly for a mid-range laptop. It has a good depth of sound, but the bass is a little lacking. This is expected from a laptop, however, especially for a mid-range one. Furthermore, the keyboard buttons are tactile and comfortable to use for a longer period which is always a big plu. Keyboard user friendliness always mean a lot especially when you’re gaming for hours on end. Overall, the ASUS FX 503 is a laptop we can easily recommend if you’re looking for a decent mid-range laptop. The icing about the laptop is that even with its great features, it does not send buyers breaking the banks.