The ASUS ROG Strix G16 is back, and it’s promising big things. With a serious boost in power and a slick new design, this year’s model is more than just an upgrade—it’s a statement. While it takes some design cues from the Strix Scar 18, the G16 carves out its own identity with an impressive 120W RTX 5080 GPU under the hood. It’s ultra-portable, ultra-powerful, and yes, ultra-premium. In our in-depth review of the ASUS ROG Strix G16, we see if this gaming behemoth is worth the pretty penny you’ll be spending to make use of its massive power.
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If you’re here, you already know the price tag is steep, but what you really want to know is how this beast performs. I’ve been putting the ASUS ROG Strix G16 G615 through its paces, and I’ll soon show you how its Intel Core Ultra 9 275HK CPU, 2TB SSD, and 64GB of RAM all come together to deliver on that promise.
Design & Build
The ASUS ROG Strix G16 features a significant design refresh. Its lid is made from CNC-machined aluminium, while the sides and base are plastic. The most notable visual change is the full RGB light bar that wraps around the bottom of the chassis. ASUS offers two distinct colourways: Volt Green and Eclipse Gray. The Volt Green model includes a green accent strip on the side and an RGB ROG logo on the lid, whereas the Eclipse Gray version has a more subtle, non-illuminated lid. This choice seems to cater to users who prefer a less flashy aesthetic, which is a welcome design consideration.
One point of potential confusion for buyers is the variation between G16 models. The G615LW review unit I tested features translucent keys for the spacebar, QWERTY, and ASDF keys, but lacks a NumberPad on the trackpad. Other variants I’ve seen on the ASUS website have solid keys and do include the NumberPad, so it’s important to be aware of these differences.
Both models, however, share a massive trackpad—a 36% increase over last year’s model. While the size is impressive, I often found my wrist accidentally brushing against it while typing. The chiclet keyboard is fantastic to use, with a great feel and ample room for typing. The translucent keys on my review unit are a nice touch, and the dedicated function keys at the top are a practical addition.
The ASUS ROG Strix G16 is a robust machine that prioritizes cooling and a sturdy build. Despite its weight of 2.6kg, it feels surprisingly manageable for its size. A significant portion of this bulk comes from its comprehensive cooling system, which features ventilation that wraps around the entire rear and extends to both sides of the base. There are even two smaller vents located on a raised shelf above the keyboard.
ASUS uses a triple-fan arrangement to keep the internals cool, which, combined with the wide ventilation, prevents the system from getting shrill during heavy use. The fans produce a gentle “breeze” sound that’s not distracting, even when you’re sitting close to the laptop.
The laptop’s chassis feels sturdy, with minimal flex in the base, which is made from a combination of ABS and polycarbonate plastic. While the bottom plastic feels tough, its rough texture can make it seem less premium. The display lid, however, features a more high-end feel with its aluminium cover.
The display itself has a small amount of flex when opened or closed from the corner. Fortunately, a small lip at the top of the lid provides a more balanced and secure grip for opening the laptop.
Display & Audio
The ASUS ROG Strix G16 features a display that is, for the most part, a joy to use. My testing showed it reached an impressive 480 nits of brightness, which, when combined with its effective anti-glare coating, makes it easily viewable in almost any lighting condition. The 2560×1600 resolution is respectably sharp, and the 240Hz refresh rate delivers a super-smooth experience with only minor ghosting. The colours are wonderfully vibrant, as the display fully covers the DCI-P3 colour space.
However, it’s not perfect. The colour accuracy was not as precise as I would have liked. The most distracting issue is an aggressive auto-dimming behaviour where the brightness slowly ramps up or down depending on the screen content. While this isn’t noticeable during gaming or movies, it becomes very distracting when you browse the web, where content brightness can change quickly.
The laptop’s two down-firing speakers provide clear and respectable audio, particularly for voices. They are great for watching instructional videos or taking voice calls. The speakers can get very loud, but they become a bit harsh at maximum volume. Fortunately, when dialled back to a more reasonable level, they still offer ample volume and decent fullness with a hint of bass. While ASUS claims the speakers support Dolby Atmos and virtual 5.1.2-channel surround sound, this seems like a very generous overstatement for what are essentially basic stereo speakers.
Performance
The ASUS ROG Strix G16 is built for raw performance, thanks to a robust set of internal components and advanced power management. This laptop can push its CPU to 175W and its GPU to 175W under PL1 and PL2 settings. While the combined total can reach 255W, the CPU typically runs at 80W. In Turbo mode, the GPU delivers 150W but can be boosted by an additional 25W using manual mode. All of this is managed by an 87°C thermal cap.
For my testing, I pushed the laptop to its limits. I overclocked the CPU and GPU to their maximums (175W and 175W, respectively) and increased the memory and base clocks by 150MHz and 50MHz. This provided a comprehensive look at the notebook’s top-tier performance.
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Under this maxed-out load, the Strix G16 got noticeably loud, with a constant fan noise of 60dBA throughout all tests. The fans are hard to ignore as they run at 100% to keep the system cool.
The cooling system worked hard to manage the heat. The GPU peaked at 87°C while drawing 174W of power. The CPU, however, reached a concerning 100°C at times. While high temperatures are common on Intel chipsets, seeing this in a laptop is a bit alarming. Despite the high thermals, the system managed to sustain this performance, with the memory clock reaching 1787MHz and the GPU clock hitting 2160MHz.
Ultimately, the general performance of the ASUS ROG Strix G16 was impressive. The high thermals and fan noise are a trade-off for incredible speed, and games ran smoothly and looked fantastic. Even without performance-enhancing features like DLSS and Frame Gen, the laptop showed its capabilities with smooth gameplay in demanding titles like Assassin’s Creed Shadows. With DLSS 4 enabled, performance is even better, making this a powerful gaming machine for those who want to push frames to the limit.
Battery
I was pleasantly surprised by the ASUS ROG Strix G16’s battery performance in a productivity setting. With RGB lighting turned off and the laptop in Silent Mode, I was able to work all day without needing to plug it in. Even with the LEDs set to 25%, the battery still lasted an impressive 6.6 hours while I was running a few Chrome tabs.
However, gaming on battery is a different story. In Performance Mode, with the display brightness up and RGB on, the average gaming session lasted for about an hour. What’s more impressive is that even on battery power, gameplay in demanding titles like Doom: The Dark Ages remained incredibly smooth. While the textures weren’t as crisp as they would have been in full Turbo Mode, I didn’t experience any noticeable stuttering or framerate drops. This marks a huge improvement from just a few years ago, when on-the-go gaming on a laptop was often a frustrating experience. For optimal performance, however, the Strix G16 is still best used when plugged in.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the ASUS ROG Strix G16 proves to be a powerful and well-engineered gaming laptop. Its redesigned chassis, impressive display, and robust internals deliver an exceptional gaming experience. The ability to run demanding titles smoothly, even when unplugged, is a testament to its performance capabilities. While the trade-off comes in the form of high fan noise and aggressive thermals—particularly on the CPU—the system effectively manages to sustain peak performance.
The choice for buyers will come down to weighing the benefits of this latest generation against the similar performance of high-end 40-Series laptops. For those who prioritize a premium design and cutting-edge features, the Strix G16 is an excellent choice that justifies its price tag and delivers a top-tier gaming experience.
