Your Basic (Red and) Black Gaming Laptop
Sporting an angular, black-and-red design, the Asus TUF Gaming FX504G sports an ordinary gaming-laptop appearance.
Ports Aplenty...All on the Left
On the left side, you get two USB 3.0 Type-A ports, in addition to a single USB 2.0, an HDMI output, an Ethernet jack, and an audio port that you can use for either microphone input or headphone/speaker output.
Keeping Your Connections on Lock
On the right side is a Kensington lock notch for tying down the machine with a security cable.
Compliments to the Keyboard
The chiclet keyboard is fast and quiet. The WASD keys are outlined in red for better visibility, and the spacebar is shaped so that the left side protrudes outward in case you need more room for your left thumb.
So-So Touchpad
Small, plain, and at times finicky, this pad is ho-hum at best (as so many gaming-laptop touchpads are).
Battery Blues
As for the battery life, the longevity of the Asus TUF Gaming FX504G is disappointing off the charger; 4 hours and 20 minutes is vastly inferior, for example, to the 11-hour-and-1-minute battery life of the Dell Inspiron 15 7000 Gaming.
Where It Shines: Esports and MOBAs
The Asus TUF Gaming FX504G is an especially good value for esports competitors and players of MOBAs that don't require a lot of graphics-processing power to run their titles. The optional 120Hz screen in the coming $1,299 version of this laptop may appeal to them as well.