[Review] Asus TUF Gaming F17 FX706HM-ES74 | Killing It!

Are you looking for a high-end 17-inch gaming laptop? If so, ASUS's TUF Gaming F17 lineup could be an excellent solution for you since its top-selling models feature top-tier hardware components to ensure victory on the battlefield every time you need it.

It's with that in mind that today we take on one of the highest-rated models within the series; the Asus TUF Gaming F17 FX706HM-ES74. Specifically, the FX706HM-ES74 has gained great popularity thanks to its powerful GeForce RTX 30 GPU, 11th generation Core i7 CPU, ample connectivity suite, generous battery life as well as an unbeatable price point. 

Without further ado, today we're going to walk you through everything there is to know about this particular gaming laptop in this review of the Asus TUF Gaming F17 FX706HM-ES74. Ready? Let's get cracking!

As expected for an ASUS TUF Gaming F17 laptop, the ASUS TUF Gaming F17 FX706HM-ES74 features a sturdy black matte chassis with a subtle brushed finish on the trackpad. Also, its MIL-STD-810H certification ensures greater durability since it successfully passed drop tests, high-temperature exposure, vibrations, and humidity tests. All of this to ensure you that this laptop is fit for every scenario you can think of.

Although it's a 17-inch laptop, it's surprisingly lightweight compared to other models as it weighs just 5.73 pounds and has a profile of 0.97 inches, while its redesigned anti-dust cooling system ensures a proper dissipation of internal heat with 11% less noise and 10% more airflow. Yeah, that's the stuff ;).

Regarding the display, we've got an immersive 17.3-inch Full HD screen with anti-glare coating and IPS technology, so you'll be able to work with no distractions and with excellent picture quality at almost any viewing angle.

Moreover, its high refresh rate of 144 Hz allows you to play fast-paced games smoothly without missing a single detail since the Adaptive-Sync technology will adjust the refresh rate dynamically to match the number of frames per second generated by the computer, delivering a tear and stutter-free gaming experience.

However, if you prefer a gaming laptop with an even higher refresh rate for the same price, then you might consider the ASUS TUF Gaming F15 FX507ZM-ES74 as it boasts a 300 Hz 15-inch display - that's a seriously high refresh rate! - with a 12th-Gen Intel Core i7 processor, amongst many other features. 

One of the most appealing features of this laptop, according to many of its online reviews, is the chiclet-type backlit keyboard, as it boasts RGB lighting that can be fully customized to fit the gamer's needs. Also, WASD keys are highlighted to make it easier to find them even in dark rooms.

Last but not least, the multi-gesture touchpad has two physical buttons and is responsive enough to navigate comfortably through Windows 11's user interface. We would not have expected less from a high-end gaming laptop such as the one that concerns us today.

Moving onto the hardware, this gaming laptop comes with an 11th-Gen Intel Core i7-11800H processor powered by 8 cores, 16 threads, and a 24 MB SmartCache memory, reaching up to 4.60 GHz via Turbo Boost technology when pressed for high-end performance.

Unlike the Alienware M15 R6 AWM15R6-7287BLK-PUS, which features a monstrous 32 GB DDR4 RAM, this model packs a decent 16 GB DDR4 RAM (upgradeable up to 32 GB) that offers excellent performance on tasks such as photo/video editing, running virtual machines, programming, and 3D rendering, as well as the basic everyday tasks. 

However, we do recommend upgrading the RAM on this unit, especially if you're going to be doing professional-grade video editing, as you'll enjoy far better performance with 32 GB of RAM. 

 

Once in the battleground, the 6 GB GDDR6 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card will be your main ally delivering solid performance when playing in high definition AAA games as popular as Ghostwire: Tokyo (119.3 fps), GRID Legends (99 fps), Tiny Tina's Wonderlands (76 fps), and F1 22 (52 fps).

Additionally, there's a 1 TB M.2 NVMe SSD drive that will enhance your productivity from day one as it can reach up to 3200 MB/s of reading/writing speed so it can boot Windows, open programs/games, render 3D projects, and transfer data at lightning speed.

And thanks to its easy-to-upgrade design, you can add another SSD M.2 NVMe unit in case you need to. However, we find that 1 TB is pretty generous as is, and most users tend to fend well with that amount of storage. 

Regarding the connectivity department, the F17 FX706HM-ES74 features a high-speed USB-C 3.2 port that supports Thunderbolt 4 and DisplayPort 1.4. Also, it comes with an RJ-45 connector - ethernet port -, three USB-A 3.2, an HDMI 2.0b output, a 3.5 mm audio jack, and an HD webcam for video calls.

Moreover, we've got Bluetooth 5.2 and Wi-Fi 6 wireless standards, so you'll be able to surf the web and stream with a faster and steadier internet connection. 

And in case you're not aware, the Wi-Fi Alliance changed up the Wi-Fi standard names to make them easier to remember for users, so the Wi-Fi 802.11ac protocol is now Wi-Fi 5, while the Wi-Fi 802.11ax is now known as Wi-Fi 6. It took them a bit - 18 years but who's counting? - but they finally took the plunge and made the change. 

Overall, we are extremely happy with the connectivity on this Asus TUF gaming laptop. We noticed that there's no SD card reader, which has become the norm as of late - unlike the recently reviewed HP Victus 15-fb0028nr - but we really appreciate both the ethernet port as well as the upgraded HDMI 2.0b port. Generally, you get the 1.4 version of this port. 

As for the battery life of the FX706HM-ES74, it packs a 90 Wh 4-cell Li-Ion battery promising up to 11 hours of web surfing, as stated by the manufacturer. However, unless this is the first laptop you have ever bought, you probably know by now that you should never trust what manufacturers say when it comes to battery life, as they test it in incredibly unrealistic scenarios. 

A good rule of thumb when researching laptops is to take the battery life that the manufacturer states and shave off a solid 30-35% off that number, and that will give you a more realistic number. Additionally, if you're gaming, you should shave off 50% of the battery life claimed by the manufacturer since gaming drains the battery very, very fast. 

Having said that, the notebook at hand features quick-charge technology, which means that you'll be able to charge the battery up to 50% of its capacity in just 30 minutes. That's not all that common amongst gaming laptops and a very useful feature to have.

The ASUS TUF Gaming F17 FX706HM-ES74 reviewed today is a solid computer perfect for demanding tasks and recent AAA games as it can handle anything that you throw at it and will be able to do so for many years to come thanks to its powerful hardware.

Also, it's lightweight - relatively speaking - and easy to carry along when compared to other popular 17-inch models with similar specs while providing a solid picture quality, ample connectivity options, and generous storage and RAM - both of which can be upgraded - to satisfy the most ambitious power users out there. 

Overall, you're going to be hard-pressed to find another 17-inch gaming laptop that offers this amount of high-end specs within this price range, which is why we are not surprised that this model has managed to climb the charts and quickly become one of the best-selling gaming laptops on the market.

 

Buy Now!