Amongst Asus’ esports-branded Strix laptop computer, the 16-inch ROG Strix G16 is the choice for individuals who favor one thing smaller. (The Strix G17 and Strix G18 sit above it in dimension). The ROG Strix G16 encompasses a top-of-the-line Intel Core i9-13980HX Raptor Lake processor and Nvidia’s new GeForce RTX 4070. This marks the second laptop computer we’ve examined with Nvidia’s Ada Lovelace-based mainstream laptop computer GPU.
The ROG Strix G16 additionally represents the newest laptop computer transitioning from a 16:9 to 16:10 side ratio, with a 16-inch 1920 x 1200 (WUXGA) 165 Hz IPS show. This laptop computer has the products to take care of among the greatest gaming laptops in the marketplace and consists of 16GB of DDR5-4800 reminiscence, a 1TB SSD, and a high-quality chassis that we’ve come to count on from Asus ROG.
With a price ticket of $1,999 as configured, the ROG Strix G16 gives a whole lot of competent {hardware}, however how does it stack as much as the competitors?
Design of the Asus ROG Strix G16
Asus has utterly redesigned the chassis of the ROG Strix G16 for 2023, and I believe it seems nice. Asus makes use of aluminum for the lid and plastic for the remainder of the chassis. Plastic doesn’t should imply “low cost,” because the ROG Strix G16 has a high-quality match and end all through, together with a satin-like sheen.
Asus retains it comparatively delicate with the RGB lighting; a skinny “under-glow” LED strip runs alongside the laptop computer’s entrance edge and wraps round to the perimeters and per-key lighting for the keyboard. Every is configurable utilizing Aura Sync within the Asus Armoury Crate software program.
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Talking of the keyboard, Asus added 5 programmable hotkeys on the high of the keyboard, labeled M1 by means of M5. By default, they deal with features like quantity, microphone on/off, and a shortcut to the Armoury Crate. The ROG Strix G16 doesn’t characteristic a quantity pad regardless of seemingly being massive sufficient to accommodate it.
The fitting facet of the ROG Strix G16 is house to simply two USB 3.2 Gen2 Sort-A ports. Nonetheless, the left facet options one Thunderbolt 4 port, one USB 3.2 Gen2 Sort-C port, a 2.5 GbE port, HDMI 2.1 port, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a proprietary barrel-style energy port. There are massive vents alongside each side of the laptop computer and rear to exhaust warmth generated by the Core i9-13980HX and GeForce RTX 4070.
The laptop computer measures 13.94 x 10.39 x 0.89 inches (354 x 264 x 304 mm) and weighs 5.51 kilos (2.5 kg). That weight compares to five.73 kilos for the Gigabyte Aorus 15X, 5.2 kilos for the HP Omen 16 and 4.4 kilos for the Razer Blade 15.
Asus ROG Strix G16 Specs
| CPU | Intel Core i9-13980HX |
| Graphics | Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 (8GB GDDR6, 2,225 MHz Enhance Clock, 140 W Max Graphics Energy) |
| Reminiscence | 16GB DDR4-4800 (2x 8GB) |
| Storage | 1TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD |
| Show | 16-inch, 1920×1200, 165 Hz, 16:10 |
| Networking | Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX211, Bluetooth 5.2 |
| Ports | 1x Thunderbolt 4, 1x USB 3.2 Sort-C Gen 2, 2x USB 3.2 Sort-A Gen 2, 1x HDMI 2.1, 3.5mm headphone jack, 2.5 Gbps Ethernet |
| Digital camera | 720p |
| Battery | 90 Whr |
| Energy Adapter | 280 W |
| Working System | Home windows 11 Dwelling |
| Dimensions (WxDxH) | 13.94 x 10.39 x 0.89 inches (354 x 264 x 304 mm) |
| Weight | 5.51 kilos (2.5 kg) |
| Value (as configured) | $1,999 |
Gaming Efficiency on the Asus ROG Strix G16
The Asus ROG Strix G16 is a robust gaming laptop computer that includes an Intel Core i9-13980HX (8 efficiency cores, 16 effectivity cores, 5.6 GHz max turbo increase), an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 GPU, 16GB of DDR5-4800 (two SO-DIMMs) and a 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD. The laptop computer has a considerably awkward 1920 x 1200 decision. It’s barely extra pixel-dense than a 1920 x 1080 show however nicely under the 2560 x 1440 panels we frequently see within the $2,000 worth band for gaming laptops. In consequence, all of the opponents on this group characteristic 2560 x 1440 panels as a result of that’s what you’ll usually discover in gaming laptops with GeForce RTX 3070/4070-class GPUs lately.
Whereas benchmarking is intriguing, I needed to spend a while gaming with the ROG Strix G16, so I fired up Overwatch 2. I set all element settings maxed out at 1920 x 1200 decision. I maintained 165 fps, matching the 165Hz refresh price of the show. The 165 fps determine was maintained in nearly any situation whereas gaming on-line, even when a whole lot of motion occurred on the display screen.
In our Shadow of the Tomb Raider benchmark, the ROG Strix G16 shortly moved to the top of the category at 1080p with 116 fps, simply barely beating out the Gigabyte Aorus 15X (Core i9-13900HX, GeForce RTX 4070). The Razer Blade 15 (Core i7-12800H, GeForce RTX 3070 Ti) and HP Omen 16 (Core i7-12700H, GeForce RTX 3070 Ti) tied for third place with 90 fps at 1080p.
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Transferring to Grand Theft Auto V, the Razer Blade 15 and HP Omen 15 took high honors, hitting 104 fps at 1080p. Sadly, the GeForce RTX 4070-equipped ROG Strix G16 and Aorus 15X needed to take a backseat. And as you’ll discover, all the opposite laptops fell considerably in efficiency at 1440p, which is comprehensible in comparison with the ROG Strix’s minimal drop from 1080p to 1200p.
Crimson Lifeless Redemption 2 noticed the ROG Strix eke out one other win at 72 fps over the Aorus 15X at 1080p. Nonetheless, the Razer Blade 14 and Omen 16 weren’t too far behind. Once more, the ROG Strix G16 confirmed a minimal drop at 1200p, in comparison with the extra precipitous drop for the 1440p laptops.
The ROG Strix G16 and Aorus 15X ran away from their lesser GeForce RTX 3070 Ti-equipped competitors in Far Cry 6, with every practically hitting 100 fps at 1080p. The Razer Blade 15 got here in third place with 83 fps, whereas the Omen 16 pulled up the rear with 66 fps at 1080p.
Lastly, our Borderlands 3 check confirmed an outsized victory for the Aorus 15X, with 151 fps at 1080p. With a stronger CPU and the identical GPU, the ROG Strix G16 solely mustered 100 fps. We ran this benchmark a number of instances to confirm our outcomes, however that’s the place issues stand. The Omen 16 and Razer Blade 15 got here in third and fourth place, with 79 and 76 fps, respectively, at 1080p.
In video games with DLSS assist, equivalent to Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Crimson Lifeless Redemption 2 and Metro Exodus, high quality mode upscaling can usually enhance efficiency by 30–50 %, typically extra, and the ensuing picture high quality usually competes nicely towards native rendering. DLSS 3 Body Era, the place supported, can artificially increase the speed of frames despatched to your show by 50–one hundred pc, however it causes further latency and the precise really feel of video games with DLSS 3 does not enhance practically as a lot as the upper FPS would point out. It is not a foul choice to have, however private desire turns into an actual think about what Body Era does to the general expertise.
To emphasize-test the ROG Strix G16, we ran Metro Exodus on its RTX preset at 1200p for 15 runs, which takes about half an hour. The system ran the sport at a median of 79.35 fps, with all runs falling between 79.10 and 79.66 fps. The Core i9-13980HX’s efficiency cores ran at a median of three.93 GHz, whereas the effectivity cores measured 3.3 GHz. The CPU bundle measured 76 levels Celsius. In the meantime, the RTX 4070 ran at a median 1,717 MHz and measured 65.4 C.
Productiveness Efficiency on the Asus ROG Strix G16
Given its Core i9-13980HX processor, the Asus ROG Strix G16 packs some severe firepower for productiveness duties. That is Intel’s flagship Raptor Lake cell processor, with 24 cores and 32 complete threads. The processor efficiency cores have a most turbo clock of 5.6 GHz, whereas the effectivity cores high out at 4 GHz. Asus then pairs that processor with 16GB of DDR5-4800 reminiscence utilizing two 8GB SO-DIMMs.
Issues began sturdy with Geekbench 5, with the ROG Strix G16 delivering a single-core rating of two,067 and a multi-core rating of 18,227. These numbers simply barely outpaced the second-place Gigabyte Aorus 15X. With their much less highly effective Alder Lake-based processors, the Razer Blade 15 and HP Omen 16 trailed far behind, notably in multi-core efficiency.
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The ROG Strix G16 got here in second place within the file switch check, which entails copying 25GB of recordsdata throughout the SSD. We measured 1,238.04 MBps in the course of the check, placing it roughly 30 % slower than the first-place Aorus 15X (1,721.37 MBps). Asus makes use of a Micron 2400 SSD (MTFDKBA1T0QFM) within the laptop computer, which isn’t precisely the quickest PCIe 4.0 SSD in the marketplace.
The ROG Strix G16 got here in second place in our Handbrake check, which entails transcoding a 4K video to 1080p. It took the laptop computer 5 minutes and 5 seconds to finish the duty in comparison with 3 minutes and 55 seconds for the Aorus 15X.
Show on the Asus ROG Strix G16
The Asus ROG Strix G16 encompasses a 16-inch 165 Hz IPS panel with a 1920 x 1200 decision. Laptops with thisunt of CPU and GPU energy usually characteristic a 2560 x 1440 or 2560 x 1600 show. Whereas our assessment pattern got here with a 1920 x 1200 panel, Asus does produce variations of this laptop computer with a 2560 x 1600 panel, which I believe needs to be the usual right here.
I like attempting Overwatch 2 when shows due to the intense and colourful palette. The greens and reds popped, and the calming blues of the Greek-focused Ilios map stood out on the ROG Strix G16’s punchy show.
For a extra grounded tackle the show, I watched Throttle Home’s magnificent assessment of the Lotus Emira. The Emira, painted in a stunning British Racing Inexperienced, was faithfully represented, and the on-location visuals had been beautiful. I additionally caught the remaining trailer for The Tremendous Mario Bros. Film. Every part from the lava surrounding Bowser’s fort to the pinkish hues of the Sand Kingdom appeared faithfully recreated.
In instrumented testing, the ROG Strix G16 wasn’t as vivid as its opponents — particularly, the overachieving Razer Blade 15 — however it’s undoubtedly within the operating. We measured 75.9 % of the DCI-P3 and 107 % of the sRGB colour gamuts. Its brightness of 279 nits was sufficient to attain second place behind the HP Omen 16.
Keyboard and Touchpad on the Asus ROG Strix G16
Asus gives a full QWERTY keyboard format and extra high hotkeys. The hotkeys are programmable and, by default, management quantity, microphone, fan settings, and provides entry to Armoury Crate. You possibly can change the operate of the programmable keys utilizing the Armoury Crate software program. All the keys have particular person RGB backlighting.
Asus says the keys supply 2 mm of journey, and I discovered it simple to sort on. My fingers shortly felt at house on the keys, which had a comfortable end that made them snug to make use of for hours at a time. My go-to check for keyboards is keyhero.com. As I’ve repeatedly talked about, I’m not the quickest or most correct typist, however I scored 67.81 phrases per minute with an accuracy of 97.1%.
Regardless of its massive 16-inch body, Asus didn’t discover the area to slot in a quantity pad on the ROG Strix G16, which can be disappointing to some (a few of my colleagues, nonetheless, are glad to go with out it). I often reached for the non-existent quantity pad, solely to be stymied each time. Asus does supply variations of the laptop computer with a quantity pad built-in into the touchpad, however my assessment pattern didn’t have this selection.
Talking of the touchpad, it’s massive (5.12 inches x 3.5 inches) and glass-covered. Though I favor to make use of a mouse when utilizing a gaming laptop computer, the touchpad proved spacious and allowed me to glide simply, be it in on a regular basis apps in Home windows 11 Dwelling or when gaming (although for video games you are much better off utilizing one of many greatest gaming mice).
Audio on the Asus ROG Strix G16
Asus makes use of a two-speaker system within the ROG Strix G16, which sounds advantageous. I made a decision to queue up “What You Received’t Do for Love,” carried out by Bobby Caldwell. Though little bass was represented right here, Caldwell’s soulful vocals soared, completely complemented by the horns and guitar licks.
Circling again to Throttle Home’s assessment of the Lotus Emira, I immediately honed in on the sound of the three.5-liter V6 engine. Whereas the engine comes from a lowly Toyota Camry, Lotus massaged it and bolted on a supercharger so as to add over 100 extra horsepower. In consequence, I may hear the delicate supercharger whine within the background because the V6 revved to its 6,800 revolutions per minute redline. The crackling and burbling of the exhaust whereas easing off the throttle additionally got here blaring by means of the audio system.
The audio whereas gaming wasn’t precisely the ROG Strix G16’s sturdy level; once more, the shortage of bass took a whole lot of the influence out of explosions in video games like Grand Theft Auto V and Overwatch 2. Nonetheless, I cranked the amount with out distortion, which helped to drown out the inner followers.
The Dolby Atmos app can alter audio profiles, together with Dynamic, Recreation, Film, Music and Voice. I didn’t discover a lot distinction between the settings, so I simply left it on Dynamic, which mechanically adjusts primarily based on the content material being performed.
Upgradeability of the Asus ROG Strix G16
I ventured contained in the Asus ROG Strix G16 by first eradicating 11 screws. Nonetheless, I wasn’t completed but. It takes some cautious prying to take away the underside panel, and I didn’t need to danger damaging the RGB strip that runs alongside the entrance of the chassis. So, I began prying close to the ethernet port and was in a position to utterly take away the panel.
This gave me entry to the internals, together with the Micron 2400 PCIe 4.0 SSD located on the best. A second, unused M.2 slot is on the alternative facet of the chassis subsequent to the Intel Wi-Fi 6E card. Positioned towards the middle of the motherboard are the 2 SO-DIMM slots. Our unit got here populated with two 8GB DDR5-4800 SO-DIMMs, however the machine is upgradeable to 32GB (2x 16GB). The battery additionally seems to be simply replaceable.
Battery Life on the Asus ROG Strix G16
Gaming laptops have earned a foul fame concerning battery life, however the Asus ROG Strix G16 bucks that pattern. In comparison with the much less highly effective Razer Blade 14, the ROG Strix G16 lasted practically 4 further hours. The laptop computer additionally lasted at the least three hours longer than the HP Omen 16 and the Gigabyte Aorus 15X.
The efficiency is much more outstanding in comparison with the equally outfitted Aorus 15X with a bigger 99 Whr battery. Nonetheless, we should do not forget that the Aorus 15X drives a 240 Hz, 2560 x 1440 show.
Warmth on the Asus ROG Strix G16
To check warmth output on the Asus ROG Strix G16 whereas gaming, we ran our Metro Exodus stress check in a loop. This benchmark will get laptops loads sizzling, giving us the proper alternative to measure warmth ranges.
We measured the middle of the keyboard between the G and H keys, which reported 94 levels Fahrenheit (34.4 levels Celsius). That’s proper consistent with what we’d count on from a gaming laptop computer, and a few get fairly a bit hotter. The touchpad was a relatively cool 78 F (25.5 C).
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The underside of the laptop computer measured 109F (42.7 C). The most popular a part of the laptop computer – the underside close to the hinge/exhaust – measured 119 F (48.3 C).
The followers are clearly audible throughout gaming classes, however the pitch just isn’t objectionable and is definitely overpowered by the audio system. For those who put on headphones whereas gaming, the sound from the followers is a non-issue.
Webcam on the Asus ROG Strix G16
Though extra gaming laptops are transitioning to 1080p webcams, Asus is, sadly, sticking to its 720p weapons. There’s no assure {that a} greater decision digital camera would translate to a direct increase in picture high quality, however the truth that Asus didn’t even strive on this laptop computer is disappointing.
In consequence, we’re left with efficiency that’s merely common on this class. In contrast to the Gigabyte Aero 15X’s 1080p digital camera which inspired me with its total high quality and low-light efficiency, the ROG Strix G16’s digital camera appeared as if it was coated in a skinny layer of Vaseline. The advantageous element in my mustache and beard stubble was misplaced in translation and low gentle induced a substantial improve in background noise.
Software program and Guarantee on the Asus ROG Strix G16
The Asus ROG Strix G16 comes with the usual bloat included in Home windows 11 Dwelling, like Spotify, Kindle, WhatsApp, and varied trials of Microsoft Workplace apps. Nonetheless, Asus consists of its personal apps, that are helpful for purchasers.
The aforementioned Armoury Crate means that you can monitor system vitals (temperature, clock speeds, reminiscence, storage, and many others.), customise the 5 hotkeys, alter the Aura Sync RGB lighting and extra. MyAsus gives customer support and guarantee info together with social media interactions with Asus. Aura Creator is a utility that means that you can create your individual customized lighting schemes that may be synchronized between units.
Different put in apps embody Dolby Entry, the Realtek Audio Console, and McAfee LiveSafe.
The ROG Strix G16 comes with a one-year guarantee.
Asus ROG Strix G16 Configurations
The Asus ROG Strix G16 is obtainable in a number of prebuilt configurations ranging from $1,399. Our $1,999 assessment pattern (G614JI-AS94 (opens in new tab)) options an Intel Core i9-13980HX processor, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 GPU, 16GB DDR4-4800 reminiscence, a 1TB SSD, 1200p 165 Hz show and per-key RGB lighting.
All ROG Strix G16 configurations out there from Asus include a Core i9-13980HX processor however can be found with GeForce RTX 4050 or RTX 4060 GPUs. Upgraded show choices embody a 2560 x 1600 show with a 240 Hz refresh price, and as much as a 2TB SSD, taking the worth to $2,199.
Backside Line
Total, the Asus ROG Strix G16 is a advantageous entry into the ~$2,000 gaming laptop computer phase. Its closest competitors is the Gigabyte Aorus 15X, which is simply $100 extra. The Aorus 15X provides you the next decision show at 2560 x 1600, however the ROG Strix G16 gives an extra three hours of battery life.
Concerning efficiency, the Asus ROG Strix G16 is a powerful gaming laptop computer that continues to indicate the energy of Intel’s new Raptor Lake cell processor and Nvidia’s contemporary GeForce RTX 40 Sequence GPUs. The laptop computer has many different strengths, together with its stable construct high quality, RGB lighting that doesn’t go overboard, and comfy keyboard.
The ROG Strix G16 didn’t ace our file switch check, however it bought second place and carried out nicely within the different productiveness duties. The 1920 x 1200 decision is a little bit of a bummer given the type of {hardware} that this laptop computer is packing, however prospects can improve to 2560 x 1600 for some additional cheddar. Asus additionally skimped out on the audio system and webcam, with the latter being an enormous miss on this work-from-home local weather.
Regardless of these flaws, the Asus ROG Strix G16 deserves to be in your buying shortlist as a robust, 16-inch gaming PC in a premium design.
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