ASUS V500 Mini Tower review: The compact workhorse for real tasks

While desktops may no longer be in vogue, most users still prefer the convenience of a portable machine they can carry anywhere. However, when it comes to raw performance, future upgrade flexibility, and the ability to accommodate more powerful hardware, desktop PCs remain unmatched. Especially when you have the option to get a high-performance system, complete with all essential features, neatly optimized and packed inside a compact cabinet that doesn’t compromise on efficiency or design.

Enter the new Asus V500 mini tower. Designed with an all-in-one compact chassis, the company claims it delivers top-notch performance without cutting corners. So, how well does it actually hold up in real-world usage? Let’s find out.

A PC that trades flash for function and is made for those who mean business

The ASUS V500 Mini Tower doesn’t care to show off. No RGB lights, no aggressive cooling. Just a compact desktop to get things done. At Rs. 62,990, it’s for students, professionals, coders, and creators who want speed, silence, and stability not the latest design trend. It doesn’t look like much when you take it out of the box, but give it 5 minutes with a spreadsheet, and it will earn its spot silently.

Inside the ASUS V500 Mini Tower

A compact and capable mini tower with a purpose

This system takes principles from the ASUS business product line and puts them into a practical design. 15-liter chassis, 6 kg weight, and a clean matte gray finish. No windows, no gimmicks, no over-the-top design. And that’s the point.

Inside this simple box is a 13th Gen Intel Core i7 13620H CPU, 8 GB DDR5 RAM, and a 512 GB PCIe 4.0 SSD. 180 W power supply with a peak of 228 W and 80 Plus Bronze certified. This should be enough to keep things running smoothly and efficiently. The system ships with Windows 11 Home, Microsoft 365 Basic for one year, and Office Home 2024 with a lifetime license, making it usable straight out of the box.

Smart chip in a small shell

ASUS has used a laptop-grade processor, but don’t be fooled by the word mobile. The i7 13620H performs surprisingly well. It handled long multitasking sessions without heating up or slowing down. Fan noise was minimal throughout, and the thermal design kept things cool even after hours of use.

This gives you power where it matters without being bulky or loud.

Built for access and configured for purpose

The design is clean and easy to service. You get tool-free access, and upgrades are simple. Inside you’ll find two DDR5 SO-DIMM slots, two M.2 2280 storage slots, one PCIe 4.0 x16 slot that runs at x8, and a separate M.2 slot for Wi-Fi.

Front ports
• USB-C
• USB A
• Combo audio
• Headphone jack

Rear ports
• HDMI 1.4
• DisplayPort 1.4
• Four USB 2.0
• Seven-point-one audio out
• RJ45 Ethernet
• Kensington lock

No optical drive, but ASUS includes a wired keyboard and mouse in the box, which are simple and effective.

Efficient on power and low on noise

While performance gets the attention, the V500 excels at conserving energy. The mobile-grade processor gives it a clear advantage in energy savings compared to desktops. Combined with the 80 Plus Bronze certified 180 W power supply, the system uses less power, produces less heat, and is whisper quiet even under heavy load.

For users who keep their machines on all day, such as students, educators, coders, or remote workers, this power efficiency helps reduce electricity bills and increase component lifespan. It’s not just compact. It’s thoughtful.

Performance for work, not gaming

We put the V500 through its paces with tasks like writing documents, editing photos, opening 30 browser tabs, running Zoom, and testing AI models. It never crashed, froze, or showed any signs of struggle. It just worked. PowerPoint exported slides quickly. Word handled large files without hesitation. Excel crunched complex formulas. Even with video call apps running, it stayed cool and quiet.

Benchmarks with Meaning

Benchmarks are numbers but are more than just numbers. Benchmarks measure how well, or how poorly, a computer performs in everyday real-world tasks. The ASUS V500 Mini Tower didn’t score top marks consistently in daily real-world tasks, but it was quick and responsive from boot to shutdown.

In PCMark 10 Extended, the system scored 5222 overall. The essentials that scored highest were app launches, Chrome browsing, and video calls with 10681. Productivity apps like Microsoft Word and Excel scored 7867. For your light productivity needs, converting an exported document to PDF took 17.22 seconds, adding images in Word took 1.26 seconds, and comparing documents took 2.37 seconds. Excel was smooth too, with cell edits taking 0.48 seconds and a standard equation 4.49 seconds. Light photo editing and video trimming were decent and fine as long as you didn’t have too many projects.

Gaming was the only part I had concern with. The whole project used Intel UHD Graphics. While good for casual gaming and streaming, the integrated graphics can’t run 3D titles. The graphics score was 4157, and PCMark gaming was 3220. If you want to play a modern game, the system needs a dedicated graphics card.

AI tasks performed better than expected. Without a GPU, the V500 did over 42,000 inferences with MobileNet V3, 1.1 ms per inference. YOLO V3 was 87.34 ms. Overall AI score was 109. So this is a good option for students and professionals learning AI basics or running simple models locally.

Graphics and storage that work

Intel UHD Graphics handled full HD video, online content, and light creative work without issue. Variable Rate Shading helped. In 3DMark testing, the system scored 120.8 fps with VRS on and 79.61 fps with VRS off.

Storage was solid. The 512GB NVMe SSD scored 1063 in the 3DMark storage test. Average bandwidth was 182.24 MB/s, and peak read was 456.61 MB/s. Apps opened quickly, and file transfers were smooth. There’s also an M.2 slot for future storage expansion.

Safe and stable

Security basics are covered. It has TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot. These are protections at the firmware and BIOS level. It doesn’t have rollback protection like some enterprise machines, but it’s enough for home, education, or small office setup.

Built for purpose, not for presence

The ASUS V500 Mini Tower is built for practicality; it’s small, reliable, and does one thing well: work. It’s worked well for schoolwork, writing, coding, presentations, and remote teaching.

If you’re a student, dev, teacher, or just work from home, the chances are the system you’re using falls into this category. While it doesn't stand alone, it functions within the framework of most tasks you perform.

No bling. It’s functional. And sometimes that’s exactly what’s called for.