ASUS V500 Dark Gray 2025 Review

The ASUS V500 is a basic office PC with great connectivity and quiet fans, but weak graphics and average CPU power. It scored a dismal 11/100 for gaming. It's only worth buying if you need a simple work machine and will never game or do GPU-heavy tasks.

The ASUS V500 is a basic desktop PC that knows its lane. It's got a modern 13th Gen Intel Core i5, 16GB of DDR5 RAM, and a 1TB SSD, all wrapped up in a box with a ton of USB ports. It's built for office work, web browsing, and maybe some light photo editing, and it's very upfront about that.

Where it falls short is in any task that needs graphical muscle. The integrated Intel UHD Graphics are fine for your spreadsheets and Netflix, but that's it. This isn't a machine for gaming or serious creative work. It's a focused tool for getting standard productivity done, and it seems designed to do that quietly and reliably.

Performance is a mixed bag, which our data backs up. The CPU lands in the 30th percentile, which means it's fine for everyday tasks but won't win any races. You can have a dozen browser tabs open alongside your office apps without much fuss. The real story is the GPU, sitting in the 25th percentile. That's the trade-off for the low price. It'll handle your desktop and video calls, but ask it to render a 3D model or play a modern game and it'll tap out immediately. On the bright side, that 1TB SSD is quick for booting and loading apps, and the 16GB of RAM is a solid amount for this class.

At around $520, the value proposition is straightforward. You're paying for a complete, no-fuss Windows 11 system with decent core specs (RAM, SSD) and exceptional connectivity. You won't find a new desktop with this many ports at this price. However, you're also accepting major compromises in processing and graphical power. It's a fair price for a basic workhorse, but you're not getting any extra performance headroom for the future.

Compared to the gaming desktops like the HP Omen or Alienware Aurora, it's not even a contest—those are in a different league for performance. A more relevant comparison is against other budget office towers or even modern Mini PCs. Against a Mini PC, the V500 offers easier upgradeability and way more ports, but it's much larger and heavier. The Lenovo Legion Tower 5i, even in a base configuration, would typically offer a dedicated GPU, making it a better choice if you think you might ever need graphical power. The V500's niche is for users who need a simple, connected desktop and will never, ever game on it.

Skip this if you have any interest in PC gaming, 3D modeling, video editing, or CAD work. The integrated graphics are a hard stop for those tasks. Also, skip it if you want a small form factor; at 6kg, this is a chunky box. Look at Mini PCs or systems with a dedicated GPU instead.

Buy this if you need a dependable, plug-and-play desktop for a home office, reception area, or for a family member who just needs to run web apps, Office, and video calls. Its abundance of ports and quiet operation are genuine perks for that use case. Just go in with the absolute certainty that you will not be playing anything more demanding than Solitaire.