This $649 RTX 4060 laptop is the cheapest way to get into gaming and content creation — save $250 off this jaw-droppingly capable laptop

What is it? The Asus TUF Gaming A15 is the most affordable laptop on the market right now with an Nvidia RTX 4060 GPU and 16GB of memory. Nothing comes remotely near and while it has a gaming label attached to it, its performance will appeal equally to solopreneurs, budding programmers and creatives.

What makes it special and why should I buy it? It offers unbeatable value for money thanks to a balanced configuration with barely any corners cut. Its headline specs, a 6-core AMD Ryzen 7 7535HS CPU, 16GB DDR5 RAM (in dual channel configuration), a 512GB Gen4.0 SSD and an Nvidia Geforce RTX 4060 GPU, are exceptional for a product in this price bracket. This is powerful enough for 1080p gaming and for pretty any generic scenario I can think of. Heck, you should even be able to use it for CAD and some chunky content creation. Asus literature says that the GPU will reach 233 AI TOPS with an up-to clock speed of 2.42GHz (140W TDP).

How much does it cost? The Asus TUF Gaming A15 costs only $649.99 (FA507NV-EH53) at Staples.com with free delivery. That is a saving of $250 (about 27% off the sticker price) which makes it a great deal in our books. Asus sells it direct for $899.99, just a few dollars more than at Walmart.

What else should I know? It’s a gaming laptop, so expect it to be bulkier which is not necessarily a bad thing as it can be upgraded more easily. Since it has a 15.6-inch display,there’s a full numeric keypad as well. Top points for having a backlit keyboard as well. The screen itself is a 250-nit full HD model which is the ideal screen resolution. At under 25mm thick and weighing only 2.2Kg, it still manages to be MIL-STD-810G compliant which means that it can take a fair share of knocks and bumps. I love its huge battery as well. 90WHr is one of the highest I’ve seen on a recent laptop in this price range. Asus opted for a barrel-type adaptor which frees one Type-C connector, one of the seven ports that equip the A15.

Any cons? Tabitha Baker, from Gamesradar, pointed out that the Asus TUF Gaming A15 has a slightly soft-feeling keyboard and its display was less bright than the competition. But she also highlighted the solid construction and use of premium materials, a rarity on a laptop – gaming or not – at this price point.