Is Intel Core i5 still in the game? ASUS ROG Strix G16 (2025) laptop review

Many gaming laptops, especially with top-end features, reach a price that is too high for the average buyer. In addition, not in all cases the owner uses all the capabilities of the hardware, and even in the long run there may be a noticeable "overkill" with overpayment. Actually, both for the price balance and for not too picky gamers, there are much simpler configurations. We have already told you about the new flagship of the current ROG Strix line. This time, a much cheaper and simpler model of the line has reached the editorial office. In what ways will the simplest ROG Strix G16 lose and what flagship features it retains — we will consider in today's review.

ROG Strix G16 (2025) specifications

Package contents

To keep the price from "taking your breath away", the basic models have a simpler package and don't include a backpack or mouse. But with a laptop, the user will still get two power supply options — a more powerful one and a more portable one. The approach is logical and clear.

Of course, for those users who often need to travel with this particular laptop, a large backpack with additional protection will not hurt. ASUS has many quite affordable options for this case, or you can always turn to third-party offers. I'm sure that gamers have everything else without this.

Design and usability

As expected, the different versions of the ROG Strix models remain similar. The manufacturer does not differentiate them much externally, so by purchasing a simpler modification, the owner will still have a device with an up-to-date design. And given the fact that such an appearance has been "polishing" the details for some time, the new models have something to please. However, there will also be certain simplifications here.

For obvious reasons, the ROG Strix G16 did not receive a large "decoration" in the form of AniMe Vision. The logo on the top cover also did not have a backlight. In fact, this does not affect the functionality in any way. And the user practically does not see these elements. So the "loss" will be almost not felt. Of course, the RBG keyboard backlight and the large contour at the bottom are here, and together this adds atmosphere while working, regardless of whether the user chooses simple static light or any effect from the available set.

The model also retains the traditional dark Eclipse Gray body color. It does not offer other options. Personally, I like such shades, and this one does not disappoint. Traces of use, however, are not hidden in every light. But overall, the appearance still remains neat.

The laptop is assembled mainly from plastic, as in most cases, there is not much metal here. However, there are no questions left before assembling. What is more difficult to say about the dimensions, because they turn out to be quite typical for 16-inch gaming laptops, namely 354×268×22.8-30.8 mm. And the weight is 2.65 kg. A little bit of a bad decision when you often need to work "on your lap". But, again, this is a typical situation for models of this class, and from the basic offer of the line, something else was definitely not expected. Moreover, models from another line — Zephyrus — provide better portability.

And despite the price and positioning, the ROG Strix G16 has a new mechanism for easy access to memory. To do this, you just need to turn off the system (although in this case there is a "protection against amateurs", which will work anyway), pull the latch and then the cover. This is very convenient for replacing memory and minimal maintenance. It is also an original element that makes the new ROG Strix line quite unique (from the point of view of purely upgrade mechanics).

Despite minor cosmetic changes and a new memory access mechanism, in general, the ROG Strix G16 remained approximately the same laptop in use as it was before. There were similar feelings with the flagship as well. But this does not mean anything bad, because Strix has long had many successful models, and the new G16 is no worse. Yes, it cannot be attributed to the most mobile, but for its class it is quite an excellent option. Again, this year the emphasis is on ease of service, which the company coped with wonderfully.

Display

Since the model, as always, has many configurations, the screen is one of the variables. The difference between the options is in the resolution, color gamut, refresh rate and maximum brightness. However, the prices of different models can also vary significantly. But this does not mean that the basic version, which just got to us, was severely deprived. Not at all.

So the simplest ROG Strix G16 this year will offer the owner a standard resolution of 1920×1200 pixels with an aspect ratio of 16:10, a refresh rate of up to 165 Hz and a response speed of 3 ms. A kind of "base" for a modern gaming model. Perhaps it does not indulge in an excess of pixels, but in general this is enough for entertainment, work or study.

It is also an IPS matrix with 100% sRGB coverage. More expensive options will allow you to choose a color space with the DCI-P3 option, but here, logically, there is no such option. Although in the settings you can find a set of display presets standard for gaming models of the brand for various games or watching movies. However, in my opinion, most of them still do not do better even situationally. But on the other hand, the standard image is already good enough to satisfy the vast majority of usage scenarios.

A more noticeable concession is the maximum brightness level, which in our case is 300 cd/m², and not 500, as in more expensive options. The coating, of course, is matte. And this, in principle, helps our hero of the review. If we take into account that such a model is unlikely to be used outdoors often, then the available level will be quite enough. Automatic backlight correction this time also remained "overboard".

Ports

As expected from the class, the ROG Strix G16 is well-equipped with communication ports. The left side of the top case houses the vast majority of them: a proprietary power port with an indicator next to it, gigabit Ethernet, HDMI 2.1, USB-A 3.2 Gen 2, Thunderbolt 4, USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, and a combo audio port. The right side gets two more USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports. In more expensive versions, there is faster LAN and two Thunderbolt 5 ports.

The placement is logical and understandable. It's nice to see that over time the ports on the right side are "pulled" further away from the user, freeing up space for mouse movements. Thus, if something is connected during games, it becomes more difficult to catch wires, transmitters and other gadgets. Of course, a situational point, but still it becomes more convenient.

Security

Not so long ago, ROG gaming laptops began to receive IR sensors for quick access to the system. The initial Strix, despite its relatively low price, also has this functionality. As expected, it works quite quickly. During the day, there are no problems at all, but with dim lighting in the evening, a little more time may be required to react, or at least more light.

Other ASUS laptops, even in affordable configurations, have started to offer an expanded set of related features, such as automatic locking as soon as the owner leaves the workplace. There are no such options here. But it will not be a significant loss.

Keyboard and trackpad

Gaming models in the 16-inch format often get keyboards without a NUM block. The ROG Strix G16 has just such a thing, but a virtual version of the number keys is also in the trackpad (an old ASUS "trick"). There is a standard set of additional programmable keys, Copilot or Menu Key via Fn, function keys, media control, RGB backlighting... The manufacturer changes some details from model to model, but most of this will be familiar to experienced ROG users.

The full-size keyboard is comfortable for both gaming and typing. It also has ROG Overstroke technology, which should ensure that the key is actuated before it is fully pressed. The mechanisms are not noisy, with sufficient travel and a confident press. That is, there is everything here to work and play, except that you will have to get used to the location of the additional media control keys on the right, for which, subjectively, there could be a better place.

Below is traditionally located a large trackpad. Its position is exactly in the center, and due to its rather large dimensions of almost 150×100 mm, it will somehow fall under the arm. I have not had any accidental activations, but users with larger palms may encounter this. There is a hotkey (Fn+F10) to disable it during games, so it will not cause any inconvenience.

There are no comments left about the quality of its work. With a large trackpad, it is really more pleasant to work without a mouse, and the touch surface responds accurately to touches and gestures. Except that I was happy to change the "built-in" virtual NUM-block to ASUS's proprietary gestures, like in models of other lines, to control sound levels and brightness. But that's, as they say, "for an amateur."

Camera and media

A two-megapixel webcam will be enough to transmit images in Full HD resolution. The overall quality will depend on the lighting, which, as always, is better to have more of. But for basic communication it will be enough. True, in the absence of an NPU, the system does not offer additional Windows effects, but nothing prevents you from using third-party software if necessary.

The built-in microphones have also been given a lot of AI noise cancellation options. Without them, the microphones’ sensitivity is too high and they react to everything that happens nearby. In the corresponding modes, the AI tries to get rid of most of the unnecessary. It succeeds with varying degrees of success, and, for example, the sound from the already quiet keyboard remains in any case. Not critical, but ASUS has done better.

There are also two speakers, and here they can be praised more. They are loud enough for indoor use, do not distort the sound at maximum volume, reproduce voices and mid/high frequencies well in general (as for laptop speakers). Any simple tasks (conversations, podcasts, programs, series...) are easy for them.

With music and games, considering the positioning of the laptop, everything is also fine. In much more expensive configurations, I would probably really like separate woofers that would create more atmosphere. But in the basic version, you can hardly ask for more.

Productivity and software

The ROG Strix G16 also has the variety of configurations typical of gaming lines. Moreover, if we talk about Intel, here you can find versions from the 13th generation to the current Core Ultra. They are accompanied by current models of NVIDIA video accelerators. Again, from the rather modest RTX 5050 to the much more powerful 5080. The chosen combination will simultaneously affect the availability of more interesting matrices and the amount of memory (and the backlighting of the logo, but these are minor details).

And it's not for nothing that I often mentioned the basic solution, because our test sample is presented with the Intel Core i5-13450HX (6 powerful cores up to 4.6 GHz, 4 energy-saving cores up to 3.4 GHz, 16 threads, 20 MB cache, up to 65 W) paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 (8 GB GDDR7, up to 1,905 MHz, up to 115 W). This is what allows such a model to keep a relatively affordable price tag of 60,499 hryvnias. Actually, at the moment, this is the cheapest gaming model that has appeared in our editorial office.

This ROG Strix G16 provides 16 GB of DDR5-5600 and only 512 GB in PCIe 4.0 NVMe storage. And this is exactly the case when the user will still need the previously mentioned easy access to memory upgrades. And if the RAM is still enough in certain cases, then adding permanent memory to the free slot (there are two in total) will be necessary almost immediately, considering that modern games still require free space. And besides them, everyone has their own set of other files that also need to be placed somewhere. Therefore, easy access to the memory slots is definitely not superfluous here.

In terms of communications, everything is already commonplace, as for 2025: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, and gigabit Ethernet, if the workplace has a wired connection. The latter in more expensive versions will allow speeds up to 2.6 Gbps.

There is no point in criticizing the initial model for low synthetic test scores compared to more expensive options. Considering that some smartphones can now cost more, there were no sky-high expectations. But at the same time, it is not to say that the results are completely bad. Yes, Intel's average offer, after which there is already a third line, now looks outdated. But in this case, it is about saving, and this is exactly what the choice often "rests on".

However, in gaming benchmarks, the ROG Strix G16 still pleased. There were not many expectations, and they were even exceeded. Of course, there are limitations, because not every modern game will simply have enough 8 GB of memory for the best graphics. However, even under such conditions and with the highest settings that can be selected for such a configuration, it will still be possible to play comfortably. Especially if we talk about competitive games, with which there were no problems at all. However, in this case, one can hardly count on the same smooth operation with an external monitor. But those users who play directly on the laptop should be satisfied.

And the pleasant surprises don't end there. The system showed excellent stability. Both AIDA and 3DMark did not record excessive temperatures, which on average did not exceed 75°C. There were also no performance limitations. The topcase, of course, remained comfortable to work with, with minimal "heating". But that's not all.

Like the more expensive models, it also uses three Tri-Fan coolers, has an evaporation chamber, liquid metal on the processor (but not on the video accelerator, which was left to more expensive configurations), a new "exhaust" design, etc. But this laptop is probably the quietest of the gaming models that I have come across. And not in the sense that the cooling is in a passive state. If you believe the system utility, then at maximum the large coolers spin up to only 2,500 and 2,800 RPM, and the system one — 7,200. And the noise from them is no more than that of some laptops in normal cooling mode without extreme loads. This was a very pleasant surprise. There is also no "hot wind" nearby, which was also a little surprising at first.

The operating modes and options for engaging a discrete video accelerator here are no different from other ROGs we've seen before. There's also fast switching, but the graphics still have to reboot when changing MUX Switch options. And the traditional performance difference between maximum power with a connected power supply versus maximum energy conservation when running on battery power is also there. And it's also not felt during idle operation.

And from additional software there is also a standard set for ASUS gaming lines: ARMORY CRATE, MyASUS and ScreenXpert. Each of the utilities can minimally change the set of functionality depending on the capabilities of a particular model. But in general, little has changed in them. However, the stability of all functions is minimally improved, which is difficult not to notice in recent years.

Additionally, since the beginning of the year, the ROG Elite Rewards loyalty program has been operating in Ukraine. After registering, you can complete certain tasks and accumulate points, which can then be exchanged for branded accessories, digital content and exclusive games. ROG Elite Rewards also has several levels to recognize the most active users. According to the manufacturer, there are already more than 25,000 active participants.

Battery life

For ROG Strix G16, all configurations have a 90 Wh battery, which lasted more than 8.5 hours in the PCMark office test. Quite a good result for a gaming model. Of course, a more demanding gaming test drained the battery in an hour. And a banal two-hour movie cost a quarter of a charge. Thus, in the event that there is no outlet nearby, you will still be able to work, but you will have to monitor the charge level for a few hours anyway.

The bundled power supplies will provide 280 and 100 W of power, respectively. The more powerful one has a proprietary port and will allow you to fully charge the battery in a little over an hour and a half. Interestingly, the simpler and lighter version took only 15 minutes more. And this PSU is equipped with USB-C, which will add a little versatility for charging other gadgets.