Table of Contents
- Specs sheet as reviewed – Asus ROG Strix G16 G614
- Design and construction
- Keyboard and trackpad
- Screen
- Hardware and performance
- Performance and benchmarks
- i9 (13th gen) + RTX 4080, 4070 or 4060 performance
- Turbo Mode vs. Performance, Silent
- Gaming performance
- Performance and benchmarks
- Noise, Heat, Connectivity, speakers, and others
- Battery life
- Price and availability- Asus ROG Strix G16
- Final thoughts- Asus ROG ROG Strix G16 review
This is my detailed review of the Asus ROG Strix G16 series, the mid-tier mid-sized Republic of Gamers laptop available as of 2023/2024.
The Strix series shares its core with Asus’s highest-tier ROG Strix Scar series, which I’ve already reviewed here – ROG Scar 16 review.
Update: As of early 2024, there’s an updated generation of the Asus ROG Strix G16, built on a Raptor Lake Refresh Core i9-14900HX processor, faster DDR5-5600 default RAM, and the same RTX 4050/4060/4070 graphics chips. Since the two generations are nearly identical in most ways, this article still applies to both model years. Nonetheless, I will update this with links to our dedicated review of the 2024 ROG Strix G16 model if we get to test it.
Internally, the two are nearly identical, but with a few important differences. Among them, the Strix G16 is available with mid-tier Nvidia RTX GPUs, while the Scar 16 only comes with RTX 4080 and 4090 graphics. Another are the display options, where the Strix G16 is only available with IPS panels, while on the Scar 16 you’re mostly getting a superior mini LED panel. And then there are also more speakers on the Scars.
This aside, the Strix G16 also looks different than the Scar 16, with a lighter gray color scheme and fewer RGB elements. But the two are otherwise the same chassis and overall functionality.
Down below I’ve gathered my thoughts and impressions on this Asus ROG Strix G16 series, with a close look at all the details that you should be aware of as a potential buyer. Our review unit is the i9 + RTX 4060 configuration, but we’ll also cover the performance of the RTX 4070 and 4080 configurations, based on our other reviews of ROG Strix laptops.
Specs sheet as reviewed – Asus ROG Strix G16 G614
ASUS ROG Strix G16 G614JV | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Display | 16-inch, 16:10, non-touch, matte, Nebula QHD+ 2560 x 1600 px, IPS, 240Hz 3ms, 500 nits HDR, 100 This Strix G16 (i9 + RTX 4060) is the mid-specced configuration available with the ROG Strix G16 series. Other options include RTX 4050, RTX 4070 and RTX 4080 dGPUs, as well as a Core i7 HX processor option on the base-level models, plus various amounts of RAM and storage. Design and constructionThe Asus ROG Strix G16 is a mid-sized full-performance laptop. It’s not portable or compact, but rather a notebook meant to maximize performance and cooling in a 16-inch chassis. In fact, the Strix G16 and the Scar 16 are identical concepts, as already mentioned earlier. You’re just getting better specs, a more refined design, and a few extra features with the Scar. That means this Strix G16 is a simpler gray color, which some might find rather dull looking, or might I even say ugly. But at least it is a versatile color that does a good job at hiding smudges. The various branding elements are quite visible on this gray color, both on the lid and on the main deck, more so than on the darker color of the Scar, which makes the design a little more crowded. ![]() Shop It Here link: Coupon Code to get 2 That aside, there are fewer RGB elements on the Strix, with just that lightbar on the front and sides, and no RGB logo on the lid. I don’t mind this. As far as materials go, the lid is made from a thick and sturdy piece of aluminum, while the main chassis is plastic, but still solid made. These plastics might not feel as nice to the touch as the metals used on other devices, but actually allow the laptop to feel cooler to the touch with demanding loads and long gaming sessions. It also allows for a slight weight reduction. Speaking of the sides, the materials used on this Strix are a little more basic than on the Scar, with plain-color plastics all around the edges and main deck, instead of the partially translucent plastics used on the Scars. There’s also non removable ROG plate in the laptop’s top-left corner, the removable and interchangeable version being exclusive to the Scar. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() All these aside, the Strix G16 and Scar 16 are similar designs with similar ergonomics and functionality. That means this G16 is a full-size 16-inch laptop that weighs about 2.35 kilos / 5.2 lbs, so is not quite a heavy as other 16-inch performance notebooks, and is also a little lighter than the Scar 16 as well. The chassis allows for a spacious keyboard without a NumPad, grippy rubber feet on the bottom, and friendly edges around the main case. At the same time, Asus implements these awfully positioned status LEDs, placed just below the screen and bright and annoying when using the laptop at night. I’m also not a fan of the always-on light in the power button and the screen’s hinges, as they only allow the screen to lean back to 135 degrees, and not all the way flat to the back. At least they’re solid and smooth, otherwise. As for the IO, there’s a good set of ports here, but they are only grouped on the right and left sides, because the entire rear-edge of this laptop is used for cooling. Other designs include ports back there, which allows for a less cluttered setup when having multiple peripherals connected. On the left, you’ll find the power plug, the LAN port, the full-size HDMI 2.1 FRL, and the two USB-C ports. One of them supports Thunderbolt 4 with 40 Gbps USB, no charging, and DP through the iGPU, and the other is a regular USB-C 3.2 with 10 Gbps USB, 100W charging, and DP through the dGPU. On the right, there are two USB-A slots. There’s still no card reader on this Strix series, and no Lock of any kind. But at least they gave up on that useless KeyStone occupying space on the right edge with the previous generations. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() I’ll also add that this Strix G generation only implements a system of 2x speakers (placed on the bottom), without the extra tweeters offered with the Scars, despite still having those speaker cuts underneath the screen, to the right and left of the status LEDs. There are also no biometrics: no IR camera and no finger sensor. Keyboard and trackpadThe keyboard on the Strix G16 is an update of the rubber-dome keyboard design offered on past ROG laptops. But there are actually two keyboards and touchpads variations available for this series. The keyboards are the same layout, but differ in aspect and in functionality: the keycaps are different and the illumination is either 4-zone RGB or per-key RGB. The touchpads are also either a basic surface, or one that integrates a virtual NumberPad. On this unit, we have the 4-zone keyboard and the standard touchpad. ![]() Shop It Here link: Coupon Code to get 2 This keyboard is a minimalist layout with a central deck of properly sized and spaced main keys, and without a NumPad section. Instead, there’s an extra column of media keys at the very right side, and five customizable keys positioned separately in the top-left part, as on most other ROG devices. I would have preferred if those keys in the right column were mapped as PgUp/PgDn/Home/End by default and not as media keys. Instead, that functionality is implemented as secondaries to the arrow keys. Speaking of, the arrow keys have been updated on this generation, and are now full-size keys intertwined between the other keys on the lower-right side. I rather prefer the smaller and better spaced-out arrows implemented in the past design, but perhaps full-size arrows make more sense on such a gaming computer. Perhaps. The typing experience hasn’t changed notably from the previous Strix generations, and doesn’t differ in any notable way from the variant implemented in the Scar 16, with per-key lighting. This is still a good keyboard with average stroke depth and good overall key feedback. No complaints here. The keys are RGB backlit, with 4-zones in this variant, and various effects selectable in Armoury Crate and the Aura Creator app. The LEDs are bright enough and uniform, with some light creeping from underneath the keycaps. This is especially visible because the keycaps have translucent sides. The QWER ASDF keys are also entirely translucent. I’m not necessarily a fan of this design, but it’s fine. I must add that unlike on the keyboard implement with the Scar 16 model, the F1-F12 writing on the top keys is backlit on this variant. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() For mouse, the taller format of this 16-inch chassis allowed Asus to implement a taller glass clickpad than on the past Strix G15 models. The surface is spacious and smooth to the touch, and the physical clicks are smooth and quiet. The surface still rattles with firmer taps, though, so tap it gently. On this laptop variant, the touchpad doesn’t double as a virtual NumberPad. But you will get that touchpad version with some G16 configurations, particularly the highest-tier models. As for biometrics, there are still none on this ROG Strix G16. ScreenThere’s a 16-inch 16:10 matte display on the ROG Strix G16 series, with either an IPS QHD+ or an IPS FHD+ panel option. We have the QHD+ panel on our sample, which seems to be the most widespread of the two, as the FHD+ is only available on some of the lower-end configurations. This is a versatile laptop screen, with 100 Furthermore, this panel is 240Hz refresh with fast response times (3-7 ms GtG), both must-have features on a modern gaming laptop. On top of these, GSync is supported on the main display with the 2023 ROG laptops, for smooth images without any tearing in games. Here’s what we got in our tests of this panel, with an X-Rite i1 Display Pro sensor:
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() There’s room to further improve the out of the box pre-calibration. Once calibrated, we measured good luminosity and color uniformity levels on our sample. However, some light bleeding was visible around the edges on dark backgrounds. Make sure to check this on your unit, and decide if you’re fine with what you got, or return the laptop if you’re not. As far as the FHD+ IPS screen option goes, that’s a slightly lower tier panel, with around 350-nits of brightness and 100 Hardware and performanceOur test model is the mid-specced configuration of the Asus ROG Strix G16, code name G614JV, built on an Intel Core i9-13980HX processor, 32 GB of DDR5-4800 memory in dual channel, 1 TB of SSD storage, and dual graphics: the Nvidia RTX 4060 8GB dGPU and the Iris UHD iGPU integrated within the Intel processor. Before we proceed, keep in mind that our review unit was sent over by Asus and it runs on mature software available as of mid-June 2023 (BIOS 309, Armoury Crate 5.6.3.0, GeForce 531.79 drivers). Few aspects might still change in any significant matter with later software at this point. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Spec-wise, this 2023 ASUS Strix ROG G16 is built on the latest Intel and Nvidia hardware available to date. The Core i9-13980HX is the top mobile processor in Intel’s Raptor Lake 13th-gen platform, with 24 Cores and 32 Threads. It is a hybrid design with 8 High-Performance and dual-threaded Cores, and 16 extra Efficiency cores, which work together or separately in the various loads. The design and thermal module of this Strix G16 allow the processor to run at up to ~135W of sustained power in demanding CPU loads, on the Turbo or Manual profiles. For the GPU, the 2023 Strix G16 series is available with mid-tier RTX 4000 chips. What we have on this sample is the RTX 4060 Laptop dGPU running at up to 140W with Dynamic Boost, and you can also spec this series with an RTX 4050 140W or RTX 4070 140W, as well as an RTX 4080 175W on some configurations. With the exception of the 4080 version, these GPUs are lower power than the RTX 4080/4090 implemented in the Scar 16, and allows the laptop to run cooler as a result. There’s still a MUX on this design, for uncompromised gaming performance, but new for the year is support for Nvidia’s Advanced Optimus technology and GSync on the main display. As for the RAM and storage options, the laptop still comes with two accessible memory DIMMs and two M.2 2280 SSD slots. Our unit shipped with 32 GB of DDR5-4800 RAM in dual-channel and a single 1TB gen4 Micron SSD. This is not as fast as the Samsung SSD offered on the Scar 16 series. Getting inside to the components required you to pop up the back panel, held in place by a couple of Philips screws, with the one in the lower-right corner being a pop-up screw. Careful, these screws are of different lengths, so make sure you put them back the right way. The light bar on the front edge of the laptop is no longer integrated into the D-Panel, as on the previous Strix generations, which means you can easily lift up the panel without any concern. Inside you’ll find all the components, the big battery, and the thermal module. Everything is packed up tightly inside this 16-inch chassis. ![]() ![]() ![]() Shop It Here link: Coupon Code to get 2 Specs aside, Asus offer their standard power profiles in the Armoury Crate control app: Silent, Performance, Turbo, and Manual, with various power settings and fan profiles between them, summarized in the following table.
Aside from these main power profiles, there are also some GPU options to choose from: Ultimate (dGPU only, requires a restart when selected), Standard (enables Advanced Optimus), Optimized (enables regular Optimus), and Eco (regular Optimus, but disables the dGPU). I mostly kept the laptop on Standard for daily use and tests, and opted for Ultimate for gaming. Before we jump to the performance section, here’s how this laptop handles everyday use and multitasking on the Silent profile, unplugged from the wall. For what is worth, the fans keep mostly idle on this Silent mode with casual use, as the 0DB technology keeps the fans inactive most of time, as a result of the CPU/GPU staying under 60 degrees C. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Performance and benchmarksOn to more demanding loads, we start by testing the CPU’s performance by running the Cinebench R15 test for 15+ times in a loop, with a 1-2 seconds delay between each run. The Core i9 processor stabilizes at ~125W of sustained power on the Turbo setting, with temperatures of around 95 C and scores of ~4700 points. The fans spin at ~46-47 dB at head level in this mode. Voltage control is locked with both XTU and Throttlestop, but there is an undervolting option in the BIOS that allows for up to a -30 mV undervolt. With the undervolt, the CPU scores 1-2 There’s also the option of using the Manual profile and bumping the fans to 100 Switching over to the Performance profile translates in the CPU stabilizing at ~115W and temperatures in the mid-80s, with the fans spinning much quieter at ~37-38 dB at head-level. The system power limits the CPU on this profile, and the performance takes a 10 On the Silent profile, the CPU runs at around 90W for a few loops, and then stabilizes around 65W, with barely audible fans (sub 35 dB) and temperatures in the high-70s C. The i9-13980HX scores ~3500 points in the Cinebench test on this profile, which is about 65 Finally, the CPU runs at ~70 W of power on battery use, on the Performance profile, with scores of around 3500 points. Details below. ![]() Shop It Here link: Coupon Code to get 2 ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Overall, these are excellent results in this test. Sure, other implementations of the i9-13980HX are able to run at higher sustained power and score around 5 At the same time, Ryzen 7000 HX platforms available this year in the Strix G17 and Scar 17 score around 5500 points in the Cinebench R15 test, beating this Intel HX platform by about 15 Shop It Here link: Coupon Code to get 2 We then went ahead and further verified our findings with the more taxing Cinebench R23 loop test and Blender – Classroom, which resulted in similar findings to those explained above (~125W limit for Turbo, ~100W for Performance, ~65W for Silent). ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Shop It Here link: Coupon Code to get 2 We also ran the 3DMark CPU test on the Turbo profile. Finally, we ran our combined CPU+GPU stress tests on this notebook. 3DMark stress runs the same test for 20 times in a loop and looks for performance variation and degradation over time. This review unit passed the test both when having the laptop flat on the desk, or placed on a raiser stand in order to favor airflow into the fans. Unlike on the Scar, the lower-power GPU allows this system to run at cooler temperatures and not overheat in any way that impacts the crossload performance. We’ll further discuss this in the Gaming section below. ![]() ![]() ![]() Next, we ran the entire suite of tests and benchmarks, on the Turbo profile with the GPU set on the Standard mode (MUX on Advanced Optimus), and with the screen set at the native QHD+ resolution. The CPU runs on stock voltage for these tests. Here’s what we got:
And here are some workstation benchmarks, on the same Turbo profile:
These are solid results for this sort of top-tier CPU + mid-tier GPU configuration, on par with our findings on similar devices such as the Alienware m16 or the Lenovo Legion Pro 5i. On the CPU side, this performs within 95 i9 (13th gen) + RTX 4080, 4070 or 4060 performanceAsus offer this laptop in a multitude of options, and I expect many of you to want to compare the 4080, 4070 and 4060 specs on this sort of chassis. I haven’t yet tested the 4050 model, but will update the table once we do.
The i9 + RTX 4070 scores a little higher in some of the CPU tests, but that’s because the test unit is the larger 18-inch Strix G18, with a larger cooling module. On the GPU side, the RTX 4070 is about 15 As for the RTX 4080 configuration, that’s in a different league altogether, 50-60 Turbo Mode vs. Performance, SilentLet’s also discuss the Performance and Silent profiles offered in Armoury Crate. The laptop runs at ~48 dBA on the Turbo profile, which is not as loud as on most other devices, but still loud enough. So if you’re willing to sacrifice the performance to some extent for quieter fans, the Performance and Silent profiles should be of interest. Here’s how this ROG Strix G16 performs on the Performance profile, which limits the fans to around 38 dB at head level.
The CPU runs at high power in shorter loads, but at about 85 You can also opt for the Silent profile, in which case the fans won’t go over 35 dB. Here’s what we got in this case:
Both the CPU and the GPU run at 75-90 Gaming performanceLet’s see how this mid-tier i9 + RTX 4060 configuration of the Strix G16 handles modern games. We tested a couple of different types of games on the various available profiles at the screen’s native QHD+ resolution, all with the MUX set on the Ultimate GPU mode. Here are the results:
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