Asus ROG Strix G16 Review: Is it a value for money gaming laptop?

A comparative review of Asus ROG Strix G16 G614JI-N4175X and other models.

May 22, 2023, 08:31 AM
by Shahriar Rabab

UNB News
Publish- May 22, 2023, 08:31 AM
Shahriar Rabab
Update- May 22, 2023, 09:10 AM

Asus ROG Strix G16

The world of gaming laptops is complicated. It's never easy to find the perfect balance between the price, performance, and portability of a laptop in a single product. But since performance is the ultimate goal of a gaming laptop, price and portability seem to always take a back seat. The Asus ROG Strix G16 is here to disrupt that age-old notion. While it's not a small laptop by any means, it seems to have figured out a formula that works for a rational price range (by gaming laptop standards). Let’s have a detailed look.

Key Specifications of Asus ROG Strix G16

Design

The Asus ROG Strix G16 comes in 12 different configurations out of the box. That is a lot to take in even for hardcore gamers. For the sake of simplicity, this review uses the standard G614JI-N4175X model. This unit has specs that can be considered right in the middle of the lot.

The design of all the units is exactly the same with size and internal configurations differing in each model. By the external looks, the design principle from the G15 of last year has been carried on to the G16. The hinge has been staggered below onto the base in a typical ROG design. The back hinge has been updated with a new grill.

Speaking of grills, there seems to be no end to them. The ROG Strix 16 has an aluminum top, a plastic body, and a hard plastic base. The sides and the base have been crisscrossed with air vents in all types of different designs. This has been done to let the hot air pass from the CPU and keep the laptop cool. The G16 has an intelligent noiseless cooling system but more on that later.

The aluminum top of G16 has some aggressive ROG branding which may not be to everyone’s preference. The Scars model, which is a much higher-tier variant of the G16 has a more toned-down back with the Aura Sync ROG eye logo. The standard model doesn’t have the Aura Sync on the logo.

There is a white bar along the front edge of the laptop. This time Asus has included RGB lighting for the device on the edges which gives it a quite futuristic look.

The choice of ports on the G16 is abundant. All of the ports are placed on the right of the laptop. There is the power port, RJ45 LAN, HDMI 2.1, and two USB 3.2 with one being a Thunderbolt one for PD support and a headphone jack. The HDMI port will be able to project up to 4K at 120 fps max on an external display.

Design of Asus ROG Strix G16

Display

Coming to the display, there have been a lot of improvements. But that is mostly limited to the paper. The display is a 16-inch QHD+ panel with IPS Level anti-glare features. It has a refresh rate of 240 Hz which is one of the highest among gaming laptops. Asus is calling it their ROG Nebula Display.

Asus claims 100% DCI-P3 support. But in real life tests, the panel comes in at under 80%, which is a bit surprising considering the gaming laptop benchmark is around 88%. Additional features like NVIDIA Advanced Optimus and Dolby Vision HDR are also present on the G16.

Another thing to note about the display is that Asus claims to have a 500 nits brightness on the panel. But in real life, users will be able to churn out around 300 nits max. It is not clear whether Asus will incorporate an HBM in the future.

There is also a 720P webcam on the Strix 16. It's surprising how Asus was able to incorporate a webcam on such thin bezels. It’ll get the job done, but nothing more than that.

Keyboard

Being a gaming laptop the tactility of the keyboard is a huge factor. While the G16 doesn’t have a proper mechanical keyboard, the springy action more than makes up for the lack of mechanical travel. Every press feels solid with noticeable travel.

The keyboard is also backlit with the Q, W, E, R, A, S, D, F and the space bar has been made transparent with special RGB effects to make night gaming even more immersive.

The trackpad on the G16 is still glass with great tracking. The previous model had a board but the G16 has scrapped that in favor of a more minimal look. And let’s be honest, no one will be using the trackpad for gaming.

Processor and GPU

Last year, the G15 had an exclusive AMD Ryzen partnership where all the G15s came with Ryzen-powered chips. This year, the partnership is with Intel. The model in our test comes with Intel i9 13th generation. All of the 12 variants have either i9 13th gen or i7 13th and 15th gen onboard.

The i9 13th gen comes at 2.2 GHz standard which can be overclocked up to 5.6 GHz with a total of 26 cores.

The GPU is where the performance difference is created. Asus has incorporated a wide range of GPUs starting from GeForce RTX 3050 all the way up to RTX 4080. All of the GPUs will support ROG Boost and Dynamic Boost options.

All the performance of the Strix 26 is handled by Conductonaut Extreme liquid metal cooling system developed by Asus. Previously this cooling system was reserved for the Scars variant only. Asus also used a triple cooling fan on three different core heating points for seamless cooling with the Armory crate. Asus claims a 0 dB cooling experience in typical use.

The test model came with RTX 4070 with 8 GB DDR5 RAM and 1 TB SSD. The RAM and ROM configuration can go up to 32 GB and 2 TB respectively.

Gaming Performance and Benchmark

The gaming performance on the G16 is quite good, even though there are some limitations to the display. At 1080P users will be able to get around 100 fps on most titles. Low-spec titles can push it up to 180 fps as well.

Table: FPS benchmark with different titles.

Title	Configuration	FPS
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	1080P, DX12	116
Far Cry 6	1080P, Highest Graphics	98
Borderlands 3	1080P, Highest Graphics	99
Red Dead Redemption 2	1080P, Medium Graphics	72

The performance of the Strix 16 suggests that it doesn’t quite fit in the premium gaming laptop segment. With the same configuration, the Legion Pro 7, Blade 16, Aero 16, and Zephyrus Duo 16 churn out better fps. But it should also be noted that the Strix comes at a considerably lower price compared to the alternatives.

Display of Asus ROG Strix G16

The Battery of the ROG Strix G16

The Asus ROG Strix G16 has a 90WHrs with 4 cell Li-ion battery on board. There is an included 280W charger with the laptop. In moderate usage, the Strix G16 will easily last 10 to 12 hours. With extreme gaming, users are looking at 4 hours of usage max.

Price of the Asus ROG Strix G16 in the USA

The price of the ROG Strix G16 (2023) G614JJ-N4092X model is currently 1,999 USD. It roughly translates to around 2,13,945 BDT (1 USD = 107 BDT). However, the price may differ once it becomes officially available in Bangladesh.

Pros and Cons of Asus ROG Strix G16

Pros:

· Great gaming performance

· Tactile keyboard

· Good build quality

· Good battery life.

Cons:

· Mediocre webcam

· The display is not on par with the competitions.

Final Verdict

The Asus ROG Strix G16 sits between mid-range and premium gaming laptop options. The laptop cuts some corners all the while bringing some premium features to the standard Strix lineup.

So who is this laptop for? Anyone looking for their first gaming laptop and on a budget. While the word budget doesn’t really justify the case here, as there are budget-friendly options available. But they can’t be considered proper gaming laptops like the Strix 16. The laptop would be perfect for professional work like video editing and rendering as well. The Strix leaves some more to be desired, but what it brings for its price is more than a bargain.