Asus ROG Strix G18 overview: Tremendously powerful and luxuriously big

Best Prices Today: Asus ROG Strix G18

The Asus Strix G18 is actually a gaming powerhouse able to chart-topping efficiency because of its Intel Core i9-13980HX processor and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 sequence GPU, but additionally as a consequence of an revolutionary design that enhances airflow and cooling. Additionally, with its big, beautiful 18-inch, QHD+ 240Hz show, this laptop computer is the closest factor we’ve seen to a real desktop alternative thus far. Read on to search out out simply why that’s.

Looking for extra gaming laptop computer choices? Check out our roundup of one of the best gaming laptops accessible proper now.

Asus ROG Strix G18: Specifications

All configurations of the Asus ROG Strix G18 have the identical Core i9-13980HX processor, with variations among the many fashions consisting of their various RTX 40 Series GPUs or different {hardware} parts.

Price-wise, all Strix G18 fashions price a fairly penny, however when put next in opposition to premium laptops of an analogous ilk they’re truly pretty aggressive. My laptop computer price $3899.99 and, on the time of scripting this overview, was out of inventory at Asus’ on-line retailer, however you should buy an Asus Strix G18 with RTX 4080 GPU at Best Buy for a extra affordable $2,499.99 USD.

By comparability, Razer’s latest Blade 18, with the identical chipset paring as our overview unit price $4,999.99 and MSI’s Titan GT77 HX 13V, but once more with the identical chipset, is dearer nonetheless with a MSRP of $5,299.99. The specs of our unit are as follows:

• CPU: Intel Core i9-13980HX
• RAM: 32GB DDR 5 / 4800 MHz
• GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090
• Display: 18-inch, QHD+ (2560 x 1600), 16:10 side ratio, IPS-level, 240 Hz refresh fee, DCI-P3 100 %, G-Sync, Advanced Optimus
• Storage: 1TB PCIe Gen 4 NVMe strong state drive
• Ports: 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C (helps DisplayPort, energy supply), Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C), HDMI 2.1, 3.5 mm combo audio port
• Networking: Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 ax), Bluetooth 5.3
• Dimensions: 15.71 x 11.57 x 0.91 inches
• Weight: 6.61 lbs (3kg)
• Battery: 90WHrs
• Price: $3,899.99

Asus ROG Strix G18: Design and construct

The G18 is unashamedly a laptop computer for severe avid gamers–as its big measurement and extravagant characteristic set attests to. Measuring 15.71 x 11.57 x 0.91 inches, it’s not as skinny and compact as its close to rival the Razer Blade 18 and it received’t slot in any of my laptop computer luggage, however then once more, a couple of millimeters every means in a gaming laptop computer does have its benefits.

For one, viewing the G18’s 18-inch QHD+ show, which by the way sports activities a formidable 89 % screen-to-body and 16:10 side ratio, and thinner bezels than most 17-inch laptops, was a tantalizing expertise. For me it felt like I used to be gaming on a flashier, blinged-out Smart TV–one thing I by no means thought I’d see myself write in a laptop computer overview.

What’s extra, the G18’s big proportions make it doable to host its powerful new 13-gen Intel and RTX 40 Series {hardware}–so to truly get near-to-desktop efficiency. To that finish, the G18’s motherboard and chassis have been designed from the bottom up for extra environment friendly cooling, together with the addition of a full-width three part heatsink. A 3rd consumption fan was additionally added to permit for higher sustained efficiency over lengthy gaming periods–one thing you possibly can solely do in in chassis this big.

All these modifications from the G18’s predecessors, the Strix/Scar 17 fashions thought of, and you’d anticipate this laptop computer to have an additional 1.5lbs weight on it, however one way or the other it weighs simply 6.61lbs. It’s baffling how Asus did this, however I’m not complaining if it means I can proceed to recreation like I’m on a desktop and merely pack the laptop computer down like a ebook afterwards.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

See also  Viewsonic Omni VX2716 assessment: A good display for gamers on a tight budget

But the Strix G18 is greater than only a big and powerful laptop computer; it additionally options lavish styling that appeals deeply to my gamer psyche. Some of the acquainted options that return from final 12 months look improbable with recent touches; options just like the sharp edges and laser polished floor with anti-fingerprint coating. The iconic ROG brand additionally seems once more on the highest lid, nonetheless the minimize line that we noticed final 12 months has very aptly been modified to a black one for a extra discrete look.

On the bottom of the chassis and across the keyboard, there are many fascinating options to admire, too. From customizable magnetic armor caps alongside the again to semi-translucent casings that give it a particular cyberpunk look, Asus has seemingly spared no expense to actually impress us on the fashion entrance.

There’s loads of flashy RGB shade accents across the G18 too, to actually bedazzle us. Notwithstanding the Aura Sync per-key lit keyboard, which appears to be like massive and sensible and flashes when not in use, you’ll additionally discover colourful RGB gentle bars on each the again and entrance of the chassis.

These have been propped up with further LEDs within the new mannequin to emit an much more wondrous glow–however you may need to flip them off throughout hardcore gaming periods for those who want absolute focus.

Asus ROG Strix G18: Keyboard and trackpad

Apart from wanting improbable, the keyboard sports activities a beneficiant format, together with a spacious full-sized numpad and full-sized arrow keys. It additionally has a smattering of devoted sizzling keys that may require a little bit of a studying curve to recollect all of them at first, however after some time they’ll actually velocity up how rapidly you possibly can entry your important instructions.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

The keys really feel a lot lighter and bouncier than I discovered within the Asus TUF A16 Advantage Edition, so are good and comfortable for lengthy typing stints. The trackpad by comparability feels easy, however a small nit-pick is that it requires somewhat an excessive amount of stress to register clicks. That’s fantastic for gentle utilization, however I did develop a wierd throbbing ache in my index finger after an entire day’s clicking, so utilizing a mouse goes to be preferable to keep away from an analogous end result for me sooner or later.

Asus ROG Strix G18: Connectivity and audio

Gamers and creators are going to search out the I/O choices a lot to their liking, with each USB port sorts accessible and sufficient slots to plug in 4 units. The addition of a Thunderbolt 4 port is a pleasant contact too which means avid gamers can switch massive recreation information rapidly at a velocity of as much as 40Gbs (gigabits per second), as an alternative of sitting round and ready for his or her video games to obtain on Steam.

For displaying video or video games the G18 additionally provides you a number of choices; the Thunderbolt 4 port for one means that you can stream video to both 2 x 4K shows or a single 8K show at a refresh fee of 60Hz, or you may also use the laptop computer’s HDMI 2.1 show port for those who don’t need to tie down a USB-C.

In regards to the sound, the standard is middling for a laptop computer of this measurement with the ends of the tonal vary, each highs and lows, sounding somewhat hole. That stated, in most video games and movies the two-speaker system can nonetheless muster a reasonably first rate cinematic expertise, and it does have Dolby Atmos and Hi-Res audio help which provides a richness and aptitude to motion pictures and video games.

Asus ROG Strix G18: Display and webcam

The G18 I examined had an 18-inch QHD+ (2560×1600) ROG Nebula panel with 100% DCI-P3 and sRGB shade gamut protection and a 240 Hz refresh fee. It additionally got here with Adaptive-Sync and Dolby Vision.

I’ve already raved on in regards to the 18-inch panel’s beneficiant measurement, however apart from that it additionally delivers beautiful colours and crisp pictures. That stated, being a traditional IPS-level LCD panel, it does have one apparent limitation, in that it lacks some depth of distinction in darker pictures, that if it have been an OLED panel, it most likely would have had.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

Consequently, some darker scenes in video games present up somewhat murky. However, the panel’s excessive peak brightness of 489 nits (as measured by my LUX meter) does make it very easy to see in brilliant or sun-soaked environments and it additionally brings out one of the best in video games which have extra vivid colours.

The panel’s 240 refresh fee, nonetheless, is a welcome characteristic that proved a gem. It did a spectacular job of conserving body charges ticking over, and to me the G18’s movement appeared buttery easy with little to no tearing or micro stuttering.

While it’s good to see a webcam, the truth that it’s a low-res 720p one as an alternative of a 1080p digicam appears somewhat incongruent with the laptop computer’s premium worth level. As anticipated, the low-resolution image it produced was somewhat underwhelming at instances. It supplied satisfactory, however not nice efficiency, with some imagery typically showing hazy.

Asus ROG Strix G18: CPU efficiency

My G18 got here with a number of the most powerful efficiency {hardware} you will get as of late–specifically an Intel Core i9-13980HX CPU and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 GPU. And, as you’ll see in our benchmarking, they made a really sensational pairing.

But simply by itself the G18’s CPU is spectacular sufficient. It contains a whopping 24 cores and 32 threads. Intel’s personal benchmarking outcomes have proven this chip to be extraordinarily fast, demonstrating clock speeds of 5.6 GHz for its Performance cores (P-cores), and 4 GHz for its Efficient cores (E-cores).

Because of all that energy, I pulled out PCWorld’s very prime performing laptops of 2022 and 2023 for CPU comparisons. The line-up for this conflict of the titans included the MSI Titan GT77, which options the identical CPU as our overview unit, and the Razer Blade 17, which sports activities an Intel Twelfth-gen Core i7-12700H CPU.

First up in my testing schedule, I ran Maxon Cinebench’s Single-Threaded benchmark. As you possibly can see within the outcomes under, the G18 confirmed glorious single core efficiency, main the pack in our comparability charts. This end result suggests the G18 has dollops of energy for working easy applications like workplace apps, or browsers.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

Still in Cinebench, I ran the Multi-Threaded benchmark which exams all of the cores of a laptop computer’s CPU. Once once more, the G18’s Core i9-13980HX displayed probably the most spectacular efficiency amongst our comparability group. On common it was about 15-30 % faster than laptops with midrange Twelfth-generation Intel chips, however it additionally outclassed the MSI Titan GT77, which options the identical Intel Thirteenth-gen i9 processor.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

With such a end result, you possibly can thereby additionally anticipate distinctive efficiency for high-end gaming and for different CPU-intensive duties like video modifying or encoding.

Last however not least, I accomplished the HandBrake 0.9.9 take a look at – a sort of dash to the end line which permits us to gauge a laptop computer’s means to manage thermals earlier than it will get too sizzling and must throttle efficiency.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

See also  Secure Boot vulnerability causes Patch Tuesday headache for admins

In this take a look at the G18 completed first in a really fast time of simply 590 seconds, thereby proving it will probably hold cool and energy on, even when different laptops fall by the wayside. It’s additionally testomony to the G18’s revolutionary design that appears to fairly effectively handle its thermal load.

Asus ROG Strix G18: Gaming efficiency

The Strix G18 is the primary laptop computer that includes Nvidia’s new RTX 40 Series GPUs that I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing and what a spot to begin! The RTX 4090 is probably the most high-end cell GPU Nvidia at present has accessible. This video card is constructed with ultra-efficient Ada Lovelace Architecture and contains new cores and AI applied sciences that mixed, ship increased base and top-line efficiency than Nvidia RTX 30 Series playing cards.

To quote my PCWorld colleagues Gordon Mah Ung and Alania Yee, “RTX 4090 for laptops is absolutely ferocious”–which nearly sums up the Strix G18’s GPU efficiency within the following graphics benchmark outcomes under.

The first take a look at I ran was the 3DMark Time Spy benchmark, which provides a tough indication of the G18’s suitability for a wide range of duties that require graphics processing. As the end result exhibits, the G18’s efficiency was comparable with the MSI GT77, in that it’s completely primed for probably the most graphically demanding duties you possibly can throw at it–be that AAA video games or one thing else a content material creator may run on it.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

Next, we transfer on to the primary of our gaming benchmarks for Rise of the Tomb Raider. Here, the Strix G18 clocked a mean body fee rating of 209 frames-per-second. This not solely tops our record of comparisons, it additionally tops our PCWorld charts because the quickest rating thus far–an exceptionally fantastic end result that’s going to be arduous to beat in 2023.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

The outcomes for our subsequent gaming benchmark for Shadow of the Tomb Raider have been actually no completely different. In truth, the G18 clocked a mean body fee of 209 frames-per-second but once more, thus as soon as once more securing first place within the record of comparability gaming laptops.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

Overall, these benchmark outcomes are very encouraging. Not solely do they reinforce the prevalence of the Nvidia’s new RTX 4090 video card over numerous older GPUs and therefore the G18’s suitability for probably the most graphically demanding video games, additionally they recommend the G18 can simply as effectively deal with creator-focused graphics duties with gusto.

Consequently, because the G18’s show can also be Pantone Certified, we are able to surmise that it could additionally make a fantastic alternative for content material creators wanting a laptop computer that performs each powerfully and precisely, that they will use in both the house or workplace.

Asus ROG Strix G18: Battery efficiency

Considering this laptop computer’s massive 90WHr battery, environment friendly new technology {hardware} and Advanced Optimus expertise that may swap off the discrete GPU to save lots of energy, I had excessive hopes for a protracted battery life within the Strix G18.

Regrettably, although, it lasted simply shy of seven hours in our light-weight 4K video rundown take a look at. For that purpose, for those who’re not close to an outlet you possibly can anticipate roughly 4 hours gaming time unplugged, as a result of increased energy drain you’ll get while gaming.

Dominic Bayley / IDG

If that’s a deal breaker, then maybe it is best to take a look at the Asus Gaming A16 Advantage Edition as an alternative. This 16-inch laptop computer lasted a whopping 11 and a half hours once we ran the identical take a look at on it–which is actually a formidable end result.

Asus ROG Strix G18: Should you purchase it?

The Asus Strix G18 is a top-notch gaming laptop computer, there’s no denying that. While it does have a couple of drawbacks, specifically its common battery life and steep worth, the G18 is stacked with a lot energy to be thought of a prized possession in any gamer’s family. Put merely, for those who’re after a desktop alternative with the perfect efficiency on supply and you possibly can afford to purchase one, you completely ought to.