Our charts focus on the 1080p numbers, but we also test at the system’s native resolution if different, which is 2560 x 1600 for the Asus and a slightly higher 2880 x 1800 for the Acer.
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware) (Image credit: Tom's Hardware) (Image credit: Tom's Hardware) (Image credit: Tom's Hardware) (Image credit: Tom's Hardware) (Image credit: Tom's Hardware) In Shadow of the Tomb Raider at the Highest detail preset, the TUF Gaming A14 averaged 67 FPS at 1080p, well behind the Framework Desktop (87 FPS) and significantly trailing the Acer (102 FPS) and Lenovo (105 FPS). Performance fell to 37 FPS at native resolution, which is only marginally playable.
The results worsened in Cyberpunk 2077 at Ray Tracing Ultra, where the TUF Gaming A14 managed just 16 FPS at 1080p. While the Framework Desktop fared slightly better at 22 FPS, neither system delivered a playable experience. The Acer (30 FPS) and Lenovo (32 FPS) performed much better thanks to their dedicated Nvidia GPUs.
Playability improved somewhat in Far Cry 6 at Ultra settings, where the TUF Gaming A14 reached 66 FPS at 1080p, though it still lagged the other systems: Lenovo (73 FPS), Framework (83 FPS), and Acer (84 FPS) all did better.
In Red Dead Redemption 2 at the Medium preset, the TUF Gaming A14 posted 49 FPS at 1080p, trailing the Acer and Framework (both 57 FPS) and falling well short of the Lenovo’s leading 68 FPS.
The TUF Gaming A14’s standings didn’t improve in Borderlands 3 at the “Badass” preset, where it delivered 54 FPS at 1080p – 34 FPS slower than the Lenovo’s 88 FPS, its closest competitor in this test.
Stepping back, the TUF Gaming A14 is capable of modern gaming in most titles at 1080p, though running games at its native 1600p resolution may require dialing back the detail settings for smooth performance. However, as the Lenovo LOQ 15 demonstrates, even entry-level gaming laptops can deliver substantially better performance.
We stress test gaming laptops running 15 loops of the Metro Exodus stress test at RTX settings. During the test, the TUF Gaming A14 averaged 49.8 FPS across all runs, starting at 54.2 before dropping to around 49 FPS by the fourth loop, where its numbers remained steady for the remaining iterations. The Ryzen AI Max+ 392 averaged 1.92 GHz while the Radeon 8060S averaged 1.84 GHz.
Our TUF Gaming A14 review sample features an AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 392 processor, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. With 12 cores, the CPU should deliver strong performance for any task.
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware) (Image credit: Tom's Hardware) (Image credit: Tom's Hardware) In Geekbench 6, the TUF Gaming A14 delivered competitive single-core performance, scoring 2,867 points to slot between the Acer (2,806 with a Core Ultra 9 288V) and Framework (2,966 with a Ryzen AI Max+ 395) while the Lenovo trailed at 2,548 (Ryzen 7 250). It stood out in multi-core, posting 17,334 points, effectively matching the Framework (17,574) and decisively outperforming both the Acer (10,974) and Lenovo (9,713).
Storage performance was middle-of-the-road. In our 25GB file transfer test, the TUF Gaming A14 averaged 1,520.83 MBps, edging out the Acer (1,232.68) and Lenovo (1,378.45), though falling well short of the Framework Desktop’s 2,976.46 MBps.
The TUF Gaming A14 also showed strong performance in Handbrake, completing the 4K-to-1080p transcode in 2 minutes and 45 seconds. That result tied the Framework (2:45) and comfortably beat the Lenovo (4:56) and Acer (6:03).
Taken together, these results indicate the TUF Gaming A14’s value proposition is strongly skewed towards CPU performance. From a productivity standpoint, its Ryzen AI Max+ 392 CPU is substantially stronger than a standard Ryzen 7 laptop CPU based on the Lenovo Legion, making it highly capable for content creation and multi-threaded workloads.
The TUF Gaming A14’s 14-inch display will satisfy most buyers. Its 2560 x 1600 resolution is well-suited for productivity yet not out of reach for gaming with its Radeon 8060S graphics. Its smooth 165 Hz refresh rate, anti-glare surface, and IPS wide viewing angles also earn it good marks.
The image quality is satisfactory but doesn’t stand out. Watching Blade Runner 2049 , the display’s ample contrast allowed for good detail in shadowy scenes and enough brightness to make firefights immersive, though an OLED screen would have punchier contrast and greater color depth.
With a peak brightness of 390 nits, the TUF Gaming A14 easily outshined the Lenovo (315 nits) and the Acer (359 nits), though the latter’s OLED panel doesn’t require the same luminance to appear as bright as the Asus’ IPS. With 82.1% DCI-P3 and 115.3% sRGB coverage, the Asus practically tied the Lenovo in color reproduction. Neither could match the Acer, which covered an astounding 135.7% of DCI-P3.
Ample throw, a cushioned rubbery feel, and comfortable key spacing provides a satisfying typing experience on the TUF Gaming A14. The layout offers no surprises and includes convenient dedicated keys above the Function row for volume, microphone, and launching the Armoury Crate app. Its only real miss is lack of backlighting color customization. Though the white lighting is bright, adjustable in four levels, and offers breathing and strobing effects, this price point virtually mandates RGB customization.
Meanwhile, the touchpad is excellent, offering an appropriately sized surface and quiet, responsive physical clicking action.
The Asus’ downward-facing speakers produce a subpar audio experience. They sounded strained with the music I sampled, particularly bass-heavy dubstep, producing almost no bass. Volume is also sufficient only for personal listening. Additionally, there’s no app for tuning equalizers. They can suffice for basic gaming, but the lack of bass means the immersion factor isn’t there. For an entertainment-focused laptop, Asus has a lot to improve here.
The TUF Gaming A14 offers moderate upgradeability: two M.2 2280 drive slots, an M.2 2230 wireless card, and the battery are all serviceable. The RAM is soldered.
The bottom panel is secured by 11 Philips-head screws. Oddly, the one under the corner of the right palmrest is retainer-style while the one on the opposite side isn’t, and both of those screws are shorter than the rest, all of which are uniform length. I didn’t need to use a pry tool to pop the clips securing the bottom panel, using just my fingers to pop the clips along the back edge and working my way around the edges.
Our battery test consists of web browsing, running OpenGL tests, and streaming videos with the screen at 150 nits while connected to Wi-Fi. The TUF Gaming A14 lasted 9 hours and 7 minutes for the longest runtime in the group, edging out the Acer (8:16) and leaving the Lenovo LOQ (6:50) far behind. While it lands a few hours shy of a premium ultraportable, the TUF Gaming A14’s impressive CPU performance is a worthy tradeoff.
Asus’ dual-fan cooling system exhausts air out the rear edge, producing steady streams of heat under load while maintaining an acceptable noise level – it didn’t become bothersome or distracting in my testing.
We measure the surface temperatures of gaming laptops during the Metro Exodus stress test. The peak temperatures on the TUF Gaming A14 were more than acceptable, peaking at 99 degrees F between the keyboard’s G and H keys, 77 F on the touchpad, and 108 F on the underside. Internally, the Ryzen AI Max+ 392 CPU averaged 58 degrees Celsius.
Asus includes two main apps on the TUF Gaming A14. The first is Armoury Crate, which provides performance profiles including Performance, Silent, Windows Default, and a manual mode.
By default, the system automatically switches to Performance when plugged in and Silent on battery. Manual mode is a technical deep-dive, with wattage settings for CPU power states and customizable fan profiles. The app also provides control over the amount of system memory dedicated to the GPU, which defaults to 4GB. Even if left at the minimum, the system can still requisition up to 14GB on demand. More memory can be allocated, but it reduces the amount available to Windows. With the default 4GB, Windows can access 28GB of the 32GB total memory.
Armoury Create also includes user preferences: toggles for turning the Windows and Armoury Crate keys and touchpad on or off, keyboard backlighting settings (four brightness levels and static, breathing, or strobing effects), display settings for color temperature and various profiles, such as FPS and RTS/RPG modes for gaming and an eyecare mode to reduce blue light. Most of these settings can be stored in profiles, which can automatically be applied when a specified app is opened.
The other app is MyAsus for diagnostics, support access, and system updates. It also provides a battery care mode to limit the charge to 80%.
There is some bloatware, namely a McAfee Premium + Individual app.
Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
- Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows
Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/laptops/gaming-laptops/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/laptops/gaming-laptops/asus-tuf-gaming-a14-2026-review#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com
- Press Start on April: GeForce NOW Brings 10 Games to the Cloud
- Game On: Five New Titles Now Streaming on GeForce NOW
- Corsair Vengeance RGB Custom Lab Cherry Blossom DDR5-6000 C36 2x16GB Review: RAM customization made easy
- The Future of AI Is Open and Proprietary
- Score 64GB of G.Skill DDR5 and a 1TB 990 Pro for an insane $441 in this Newegg bundle — 9800X3D and X870E motherboard also comes with a free AIO, just $1,299 to
Informational only. No financial advice. Do your own research.