I’ve been spending some time with the ASUS ROG Strix G16 (compensated affiliate link), a gaming laptop that’s been on sale for Prime Day and likely will pop up in other sales throughout the year. This is a mid-tier option in the ROG lineup, and ASUS sent it over on loan for a closer look.
You can see it in action in my latest review.
It’s powered by an Intel Core i7-14650HX—an older CPU, but still very capable given the rest of the system—and it’s paired with an Nvidia RTX 5060 GPU with 8GB of VRAM, running at up to 115 watts. The display is a 16-inch 1920×1200 panel in a 16:10 aspect ratio. It’s not especially high-res, but it runs at 165Hz with G-Sync and a 3ms response time. I’d estimate brightness at around 350 nits. While not the brightest screen out there, it holds up well in everyday use and looks good while gaming.
The build is mostly plastic, with some metal reinforcement on the display lid. It weighs in at about 5.84 pounds (2.65 kg). Inside, there’s 16GB of DDR5-5600 RAM and a 1TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD. There’s an extra NVMe slot for expansion. One thing that stood out to me was the ease of access for upgrading memory and storage—no screws are needed to get inside. A simple twist-and-lift mechanism opens the bottom panel to expose the internals.
As for the lighting, it’s a bit of a mixed bag. The system features a full underglow RGB light bar and zone-based keyboard lighting, but the customization process is far from intuitive. You’ll need to dig into ASUS’s Armory Crate and Aura Sync software to isolate the keyboard from the light bar, and it doesn’t support per-key lighting. It’s clunky.
The keyboard itself feels solid, with a good amount of travel and a few translucent keycaps that let the lighting through. The trackpad is generously sized and responsive.
Port selection is another strong point: the left side includes the power input, gigabit Ethernet, HDMI, a 10Gbps USB-A port, a Thunderbolt 4 port, and a 10Gbps USB-C port that also supports video output. On the right, there are two more 10Gbps USB-A ports. The power brick is 280W—not small, but a bit more manageable than others in this class.
I like Thunderbolt ports because they add a lot of versatility to a laptop, especially for someone like me who does live video production. With Thunderbolt, I can connect high-speed external storage, additional displays, or even specialized gear like desktop capture cards in compact breakout boxes (compensated affiliate link). I set my local high school up with a Blackmagic card in a Thunderbolt box that brought in four SDI camera feeds for live switching—something that wouldn’t be possible with a standard USB-C port. It’s one of those features that quietly makes a gaming laptop far more capable for both creative work and general expansion.
Battery life is about what you’d expect. While gaming, you might get an hour or two. Lighter tasks like browsing and document work could stretch it to six to eight hours, assuming lower brightness and efficiency settings. The 1080p webcam is passable, and there’s also an IR camera for facial recognition login.
In terms of gaming performance, I tested Cyberpunk 2077, No Man’s Sky, and Red Dead Redemption 2, all at the display’s native resolution with graphic settings cranked up and DLSS enabled. Frame rates ranged from about 75 to over 100 fps depending on the title and scene. Even with the modest display resolution, the visuals looked sharp and responsive, and the 165Hz refresh rate kept everything smooth. The display also handles glare well thanks to its anti-reflective coating.
As for benchmarks, the 3DMark Time Spy score came in at 12,960—better than last year’s version of this with an RTX 4060, and not far off from some RTX 4070 laptops. A 99.2% score on the 3DMark stress test suggests strong thermal performance under sustained load. The laptop has three fans and large exhaust vents, and while you’ll hear the fans when gaming, they’re not overly loud. This thicker chassis likely contributes to better airflow and reduced noise.
From a build and performance perspective, the G16 sits in an interesting spot—not quite high-end, but a clear step up from ASUS’s TUF line. It’s sturdy, not overly flashy, and quiet under load. The display looks better than its resolution might suggest, and gaming performance is solid across the board. It’s also a useful option for creators thanks to the inclusion of Thunderbolt 4.
This one checks a lot of boxes for me as someone who games occasionally and does video production. Others might prefer different brands or slightly different features, but this setup hits a nice balance.
Disclosure: Asus provided the laptop on loan. This was not a sponsored review nor was content reviewed or approved prior to publishing. All opinions are my own.