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In the past, I’ve stayed away from Asus TUF laptops, because they were on the lower end in terms of design. This means chunky bodies, poor displays, and thick bezels. Models from 2025 looked more modern, but the prices weren’t competitive with some of my favorite cheap gaming laptops like Lenovo Look 15 and Acer Nitro V16.
But again, the TUF A14 is something new, and the design is impressive. It is approximately the same thickness and weight as MacBook Pro 14 inchAnd the bezels around the sides of the screen are really stylish. The bottom bezel is thick, mainly because the A14 uses a 16:9 aspect ratio screen. I won’t get into that point, but it means less screen and more bezels in the same footprint. Overall, it’s pretty accurate. The gaming aesthetic has been greatly downplayed, with only a few elements remaining, such as the font on the keycaps and the shape of the holes under the hinge. There isn’t even a backlight for each key on the keyboard.
Photo: Luke Larsen
Photo: Luke Larsen
You’d never know this was a gaming laptop based on the ease of use of the keyboard and touchpad; On gaming laptops versus work machines, these can often be afterthoughts. Here, both are excellent. The touchpad, in particular, is large and surprisingly accurate. Even though the laptop is made of plastic, it handled the pressure I put on it around the lid, keyboard, and palm rests without much give.
The TUF A14 has a useful variety of ports. On the left side, you get a USB-A 3.2 port, a USB-C port, an HDMI 2.1 port, a headphone jack, and a proprietary power jack. You get an additional USB-A and USB-C (USB4) port on the right side, along with a micro SD card slot. I really like the decision to place the USB4 port on the right side, because it means you can charge the laptop or connect to an external monitor from the right side as well. Only being able to charge from one side is one of my pet peeves, so good job, TUF A14.
More than just games
Photo: Luke Larsen
As soon as I saw the screen resolution, I knew that the TUF A14 was no longer a true “budget” device. It has a resolution of 2560 x 1600, which is a big step up from cheap gaming laptops. It also has a 165Hz refresh rate, which is useful when gaming at 1200p – and let’s be honest, this is the optimal choice the vast majority of the time. However, the higher resolution plays a role in the A14 being a powerful hybrid device that can work as well for gaming as it does at school or work.