Asus has taken an unconventional approach to desktop gaming with its latest offering, challenging traditional desktop design principles. The company's new compact gaming PC adopts mobile processors in a desktop form factor, promising improved thermal efficiency while maintaining gaming performance.
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| The Asus TUF Gaming T500, a compact gaming PC demonstrating innovative design in desktop gaming |
An Unusual Approach to Desktop Design
The newly announced Asus TUF Gaming T500 represents a significant departure from conventional desktop architecture by incorporating laptop-grade processors in a desktop chassis. This small form factor gaming PC utilizes Intel's mobile-class CPUs rather than their full-sized desktop counterparts. The highest configuration features an Intel Core i7-13620H, a 13th-generation H-series processor typically found in gaming laptops. This chip offers 6 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores, totaling 16 threads with boost clock speeds reaching up to 4.9GHz. A more budget-friendly option with the Core i5-13420H, an octa-core mobile processor, is also available.
Thermal Advantages of the Hybrid Approach
Asus claims this unconventional design delivers desktop-level gaming performance with much lower temperatures. The reasoning makes sense—laptop processors, which typically struggle with heat dissipation in cramped notebook chassis, can potentially perform better when placed in a desktop tower with superior airflow and cooling capacity. To maximize this advantage, Asus has implemented a custom cooling solution featuring a heatsink with a 90mm fan and three heat pipes running across the processor. This setup aims to prevent thermal throttling and maintain consistent performance during extended gaming sessions.
Graphics and System Specifications
Despite its mobile CPU, the TUF Gaming T500 doesn't compromise on graphics capabilities. The system can be equipped with up to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 Ti desktop GPU featuring 16GB of VRAM. This Blackwell architecture-based card should deliver strong performance at 1440p resolution and reasonable 4K gaming with DLSS enabled. Lower-tier options include the RTX 5060 8GB, RTX 4060 8GB, and RTX 3050 6GB.
The base configuration ships with 16GB of DDR5 SO-DIMM memory running at 5200 MT/s, upgradable to a maximum of 64GB. Storage options include either 512GB or 1TB PCIe Gen 4 SSDs, with a secondary M.2 slot available for expansion. Power is supplied by either a 330-watt unit in base models or a more robust 500-watt 80+ Platinum certified power supply in higher-end configurations.
Design and Connectivity
The TUF Gaming T500 features a rugged industrial design that Asus claims meets MIL-STD-810H standards for durability against drops, extreme temperatures, altitude exposure, and vibrations—an unusual feature set for a gaming desktop. The chassis is available with either a tempered glass or solid metal side panel, both accented by customizable RGB lighting on the front panel.
Connectivity is comprehensive, with the front I/O offering a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C port, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, and an audio jack. The rear panel includes four USB 2.0 Type-A ports, 7.1 analog audio jacks, DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 1.4 video outputs, and a Gigabit Ethernet port. Wireless connectivity is handled by Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.4.
Market Position and Availability
The TUF Gaming T500's unique approach makes it potentially appealing to gamers seeking a compact build or lower power consumption without significantly sacrificing performance. However, enthusiasts demanding maximum CPU performance might find the mobile chip doesn't fully match high-end desktop processors in sustained workloads.
While specific pricing for each configuration hasn't been announced, Asus's product page lists the desktop starting at approximately USD $1,299. No official release date has been provided yet, but with the product page now live, availability should be imminent.