Asus TUF T500 review: The ‘PlayStation’ of gaming PCs

TUF T500 review

Rating: 7.5/10

There are brands who love to try different things – a different approach to the same things. I mean not in a bad way – in fact, there are times, when you need to see things from a different angle and make necessary adjustments to cater the right set of buyers and Asus is one such brand who have always managed to put up the products with user-first approach and their latest gaming desktop PC – the TUF T500– appears to be a unique product – not in terms of the category, but the way it has been designed and the internals that it offers.

Let’s get to the point first. The TUF T500 starts at Rs 78,000 and for the price, it packs a NVIDIA RTX 50 series graphics – RTX3050– to be exact.  On  paper, the specifications do not sound like a big deal and it seems like so 2023. But, the price, the approach of the machine is different and in a month of using this machine, here’s what I think about it.

Asus TUF T500 design: A PS5-like approach

So, it is a compact machine — so much so – it is barely broader and deeper than the original PlayStation 5. And, it is actually shorter than the PlayStation 5. And, I am not just assuming things. Here’s a reference table for you:

TV vs TUF 500 Size

However, that’s just one part of it. Let’s talk design, the T500 comes with a one side transparent chassis, which makes this look more appealing and there’s an evident TUF design language at the front and logos are present everywhere including inside the left glass panel. There’s also a light at the front which illuminates when it is being used.

About the ports, there is no shortage of them. You'll find three DisplayPorts, 3 HDMI ports., a couple of USB ports including Type-C at the back. Then, there are two USB ports at the front that make it easier for users to plug-in their hard drives and other accessories.

Asus TUF T500 performance: It’s good enough

The TUF T500 is equipped with the Intel Core i5-13420H processor and NVIDIA RTX 3050 graphics card. On paper, it is not much. But, it delivers a decent gaming performance package for a wide range of users. In typical 1080p gaming scenarios, this combination handles most modern AAA titles at medium to high settings, often achieving frame rates between 50 and 90 FPS. For esports and less demanding games, the numbers soar even higher, enabling smooth, responsive gameplay with little compromise. While the RTX 3050 on this desktop is not on par with the latest flagship GPUs, it proves more than capable for everyday gaming, streaming, and content creation at a mainstream level.

Ports and buttons

When compared to the PlayStation 5, the TUF T500 lags behind in terms of pure graphical horsepower, as the PS5’s custom GPU has more teraflops and delivers higher performance, especially at 4K or with ray tracing enabled. However, the TUF T500’s PC architecture opens greater flexibility for multitasking, productivity applications, and future upgradability—advantages not found in a console ecosystem.

Keyboard and mouse

Thermal management on the TUF T500 is efficient, ensuring consistent and reliable performance even under heavy loads. The included 16GB DDR5 RAM and fast PCIe SSD further bolster responsiveness, from application launches to file transfers. Overall, the ASUS TUF T500 strikes a strong balance between capable gaming, practical computing, and upgrade-friendly design, making it an appealing option for users seeking reliable PC performance without the premium price tag of high-end setups or the hardware limitations of consoles.

The Asus TUF T500, priced at Rs 78,990, offers reliable 1080p gaming, everyday task performance, and light content creation. Its compact, console-like design is a major strength, allowing it to fit neatly on a desk. While not the most powerful, its upgradability and versatility make it an appealing choice, balancing affordability and usability as the "PlayStation of gaming PCs."