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The ASUS ROG Stream X16 is a brand new providing from an organization that’s producing a number of the greatest gaming laptops of 2022. This premium 2-in-1 gaming laptop computer meets the wants of people that needed a bigger model of the ASUS ROG Stream X13 / Z13, which can be in a position to change between a traditional laptop computer kind issue and that of the pill, coming with a contact display show that can be utilized with a stylus pen. The highly effective CPU and GPU choices, plus improved cooling but slim measurement, make it an attention-grabbing selection for a conveyable gaming platform; while the choice for a 100% DCI-P3 mini-LED show able to exhibiting HDR media, plus pill performance counsel an excellent dual-use machine for creatives. Learn on to see if the ASUS ROG Stream X16 meets its potential!
ASUS ROG Stream X16
CPU
AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (8C/16T)
Graphics
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti (125W) / RTX 3060 (125W) / RTX 3070 Ti (125W)
RAM
32GB/64GB 4800MHz DDR5
Storage
1TB / 2TB M.2 NVMe
Specs & upgradability
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AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (8C/16T)
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti (125W) / RTX 3060 (125W) / RTX 3070 Ti (125W)
2x USB-A 3.2 (Gen 2), 1x USB-C 3.2 (Gen 2) with DisplayPort 1.4 & 100W charging, 1x PCIe 4.0 x8 & USB-C 3.2 combo port, 1x microSD card reader,1 x HDMI 2.1 (helps 120Hz 4K output), 3.5mm audio combo jack
Professionals
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nice in-game FPS efficiency -
MUX Swap -
Excessive-res 16:10 show -
Excellent peak brightness -
100% DCI-P3 & sRGB shade replication -
HDR mode for viewing HDR content material -
Contact display & stylus help -
FreeSync -
skinny, light-weight & transportable -
good high quality membrane keyboard & trackpad -
mini-SD card reader -
good construct high quality -
good high quality audio system for a Home windows laptop computer
Cons
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shade accuracy could possibly be higher -
most 165Hz refresh fee -
no ethernet port -
some display wobble -
keyboard placement a bit too far again -
pretty dear
Opening the again of the laptop computer required eradicating 11 Phillip’s Head screws and a little bit of cautious however agency prying (we suggest a slender prying software for this job).
As soon as inside you possibly can see the 2 M.2 storage slots on both aspect in addition to the 2 DDR5 reminiscence slots within the centre. A welcome enchancment over earlier ASUS gaming laptops is that these reminiscence slots at the moment are upgradable, somewhat than soldered on, permitting for future updating. There’s additionally a Wi-Fi 6E card.
The addition of a 3rd, centrally-placed fan helps to maintain the X16 comparatively quiet while additionally remaining cool, because the fan speeds can stay decrease than if there was simply two. Moreover the central fan blows air out throughout the heatpipes and thru the again vents of the laptop computer, which occupy your entire rear aspect (a reasonably distinctive design). The CPU is cooled with liquid steel and the GPU comes with new Pulsar Heatsink expertise that redirects airflow to the GPU.
So far as we’re conscious there is just one CPU choice, the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS, which isn’t as highly effective as Intel twelfth gen laptop computer choices (the i7-12700H and up) in most eventualities, however does beat them on power effectivity. There are three Nvidia GPU choices to select from: the RTX 3050 Ti, RTX 3060, and RTX 3070 Ti, and we examined probably the most highly effective RTX 3070 Ti one. The TGP of all three of those graphics playing cards is 125W, which makes the 2 decrease SKU playing cards probably the most highly effective choices out there of their sort, whereas the RTX 3070 Ti is beneath the utmost 150W choice we’ve examined in laptops just like the XMG Neo 15 E22.
The X16 additionally comes with compatibility with the ROG XG Cell exterior GPU sequence that ASUS produce. Sadly we didn’t get one to check with this machine, although we did do beforehand after we reviewed the ASUS ROG Stream Z13 (2022). That 2-in-1 laptop computer/gaming pill got here with an inside RTX 3050 Ti (40W) and we had an ASUS ROG XG Cell RTX 3080 (150W) exterior GPU to go along with it. Getting an exterior graphics card with the highly effective loadout we had could be comparatively pointless, however the inclusion of the slot is sweet for future proofing the machine in the event you needed to get a extra highly effective eGPU in years to come back (assuming ASUS proceed to help the expertise). Certainly the proprietary combo port on the X16 is PCIe 4.0 slot, which means better ahead compatibility and efficiency with future XG Cell eGPUs that help it (the current ones don’t). In the event you opted to go along with the RTX 3050 Ti or RTX 3060 loadout, then the extra highly effective eGPU slot is likely to be of extra use at the moment to provide you additional gaming energy at your desk.
Lastly, most likely the largest draw of this machine is the choice for the mini-LED ROG Nebula HDR show, which is the one we had in our take a look at mannequin. Mini-LED expertise doesn’t fall sufferer to the identical drawbacks of OLED tech, like display burn-in and the potential for lowered longevity as a result of natural compound, plus Mini-LED shows are usually brighter than these on OLED laptops. The primary draw back of Mini-LED in comparison with OLED is that there are a finite variety of dimming zones, in contrast to OLED the place every pixel can flip itself on and off, which implies the distinction ratio and black depth won’t ever be pretty much as good. Nonetheless, this explicit show has 512 dimming zones, which is sweet, which means minimal blooming. That is the one gaming laptop computer we’re conscious of that has a mini-LED panel. See the Display part beneath the place we put the show by way of its paces.
Software program
The ASUS ROG Stream X16 comes with ASUS Armoury Crate software program, which we’re very conversant in from different ASUS gaming laptops, however which we nonetheless hate to navigate. It’s riddled with pop ups, unclear, distracting flashy visuals, and is poorly organised.
That being stated, it does have a superb diploma of performance, and tweakable choices, which all allow you to tailor your expertise; whether or not you’re in search of most gaming efficiency when plugged in, most power effectivity on battery, or (within the case of the mini-LED model of this laptop computer) want to view HDR content material with the panel’s full 512 dimming zones.
Most of those controls are beneath the Residence part, the place you possibly can choose from Silent, Balanced or Turbo presets, or create your individual Handbook customized profile the place you possibly can allocate wattage to the CPU and GPU in addition to arrange fan profiles and save them so you possibly can simply change between them.
We’ll go into the completely different performance in better element beneath the Display and Efficiency, Noise & Temperature sections beneath.
Design aesthetics & RGB
The ROG Stream X16 comes with one shade choice: a darkish metallic gray chassis with black keys. There’s a lined, ridged impact and texture throughout the entire physique of the laptop computer, with completely different sized traces on the lid in comparison with the inside physique of the laptop computer and the trackpad, and the ASUS ROG emblem cleverly etched out in the identical fashion to the underside proper of the keyboard. The entire impact appears good and feels good to the contact, and helps give the impression of a top quality machine.
There’s one lighting zone beneath the keyboard that additionally shines by way of the lettering of the keys, with completely different RGB patterns that may be managed from inside the Armoury Crate software program. The brightness of the backlighting has three settings (4 in the event you embody off fully) which can be passable brilliant even on a sunny day.
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Dimension, construct high quality & ergonomics
The size of the ASUS ROG Stream X16 overview are as follows:
Peak: 1.94cm / 0.76″, Width: 35.5cm / 13.98″, Depth: 24.3cm / 9.57″
Trying on the weight now:
laptop computer: 2.2kg / 4.85lb, energy adapter & cable: 0.7kg / 1.54lb, mixed weight 2.9kg / 6.39lb
All instructed the scale are similar to each the ASUS ROG Zephyrus M16 (one other 16-inch show machine) and ASUS ROG Zephyrus G15 (a 15-inch show laptop computer). The burden is a contact heavier than the G15, however virtually the identical because the M16. For a gaming laptop computer, that is very respectable, and the entire thing matches simply in a small to medium-sized rucksack, nonetheless for a pill machine it’s a bit giant and cumbersome. You wouldn’t doubtless use the X16 as you’d a traditional pill or smaller 2-in-1 pill machine consequently.
In contrast to the X13 or Z13 which have removable Microsoft Floor-style keyboards, the 2-in-1 360° hinge of the X16 folds the keyboard part across the again. This will really feel a bit awkward whenever you’re holding it in pill place as you possibly can really feel the keys miserable behind the display, nonetheless previous the 180° level each the keyboard and trackpad are mechanically deactivated, which means you possibly can’t by accident miss sort/miss click on.
The machine makes extra sense in ‘pill mode’ to make use of as a roughly A4-sized drawing pad flat on the desk, or in tent/pyramid mode as a viewing display to observe media on, or related with an exterior keyboard and mouse for gaming. This upside-down association would possibly have an effect on the effectivity of the cooling considerably, which can add a bit extra thermal throttling to your gaming expertise, however it’s unlikely to be something too drastic.
The chassis is a combination of aluminium and magnesium which really feels bit extra like plastic to the contact, somewhat than steel. As with most ASUS merchandise, construct high quality felt good and stable for probably the most half, significantly round the primary physique of the laptop computer, keyboard, and touchpad.
The one space which may have carried out with some enchancment when it comes to construct high quality is the hinge, which we discovered to be a bit on the unfastened aspect. When the laptop computer was turned to the pyramid form we discovered a slight knock would trigger the hinge to open up a bit extra, somewhat than remaining fastened within the place it was set in. While this didn’t show to me a lot of an issue in practise, the display wobble when typing was extra irritating. It’s not too dangerous on an workplace desk, however when writing an article on a prepare for example, it turns into annoyingly noticeable.
Keyboard, trackpad & touchscreen
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The membrane keyboard feels fairly satisfyingly clicky and responsive, with first rate key journey. Equally the trackpad was responsive and has a satisfying click on.
The keyboard sits fairly far again from the entrance of the laptop computer, behind the massive wrist relaxation and trackpad. The positioning could be a little awkward when you have smaller-sized arms, and chances are you’ll end up by accident nudging the trackpad with the aspect of your thumbs / inside arms when making an attempt to sort a number of the back-central keys. A barely smaller trackpad for a better keyboard would have been a worthwhile trade-off.
Nonetheless, as soon as we bought used to the positioning we didn’t make many typing errors, and total the ping expertise was nice.
The keyboard has varied helpful shortcuts as secondary capabilities of the operate keys, together with a sleep button, airplane mode, a button to disable to the trackpad, one to shortly cycle by way of the fan efficiency profiles and one other to open the Armoury crate software program.
Sadly, we weren’t despatched a stylus with our overview unit by ASUS, nonetheless the X16 has Stylus help MPP 2.0 expertise, which is no less than suitable with ASUS model pens/stylus. Simply utilizing fingertips, we discovered the contact display performance to be good and responsive, and we encountered no points.
Webcam & inbuilt microphone
The HD webcam is sadly solely 720p with a most image high quality of 0.9 MegaPixels at 30FPS. Nonetheless, for a decrease decision choice it carried out to an sufficient stage. It additionally has InfraRed performance, which means it may be used together with Home windows Whats up.
The onboard microphone array has a most high quality of 24bit and 48000Hz however sounded fairly good to our ears, undoubtedly above common for a gaming laptop computer and positively adequate for a video name.
Ports, sockets, and different options
Provided that everything of the rear fringe of the laptop computer is dedicated to a thermal exhaust port, all the sockets for the X16 are positioned on the perimeters of the machine, together with the primary energy socket.
For probably the most half, the port protection is fairly normal for a 16-inch gaming laptop computer. You get a 3.5mm combo audio jack, two USB-A 3.2 ports together with one separate USB-C port, able to DisplayPort 1.4 output in addition to charging the laptop computer as much as 100W (not sufficient to the laptop computer and GPU on the excessive finish of the efficiency however sufficient for common use). You additionally get a microSD card reader, which is at all times good to see for the performance it brings to creatives.
The place the X16 differs is in two respects: the shortage of an ethernet port (which can be disappointing for some aggressive avid gamers, although an adapter can be utilized as an alternative), and the inclusion of the customized ASUS combo port used to pair with the ROG XG Cell exterior GPU. This combo port comprises a PCIe 4.0 x8 port as talked about, plus a further USB-C 3.2 socket which can be utilized as regular when an exterior GPU shouldn’t be connected.
Display
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The mini-LED ROG Nebula HDR show is, from a purely subjective person expertise, the nicest wanting show we’ve seen on a laptop computer. It’s colourful, appears very crisp with its 2440 x 1600 decision, has a pleasant tall 16:10 16-ich show which is good for scrolling by way of two paperwork or net pages side-by-side, and could be very brilliant when set to 100% – sufficient to view paperwork and video media in direct daylight on a sunny day. The bezels are good and skinny and it does really feel such as you get a whole lot of display house to play with.
We are able to’t say what the IPS model of the show is like, as we weren’t given one to overview, however the mini-LED display is certainly the one we’d go for.
In a great world we’d have preferred to have seen a most refresh fee above 165Hz, which is the quickest choice out there with this laptop computer, given the highly effective core elements are able to pushing past 165 FPS in video games (see the benchmark outcomes additional down this web page). That being stated, though we’re beginning to see 240Hz 1440p choices in 2022, we’ve but to see a competing 1600p laptop computer with a refresh fee above 165Hz, so it’s not like a competing machine may do any higher. 165Hz is greater than sufficient for almost all of avid gamers wants anyway, and it’s solely actually a draw back in the event you’re a hardcore aggressive participant of on-line twitch shooters.
When it comes to the response time, ASUS declare 3ms when Overdrive is enabled within the onboard software program, although testing exhibits a median 5ms grey-to-grey response time is extra correct. Regardless, that is nonetheless sooner than the 6ms wanted to fully remove ghosting at this refresh fee, so it doesn’t really have to be any sooner than this, and is a formidable end result.
The show comes with FreeSync help, not G-Sync sadly, nonetheless the USB-C/DisplayPort 1.4 output does help it if you wish to plug in to an exterior show. That is additionally a option to get a better max refresh fee, must you want to.
The next exams have been performed with the Backlight Management set to One Zone (beneath Residence > System configuration inside the Armoury Crate software program). This implies the show acts extra like a traditional panel, with every of the min-LEDs appearing as one somewhat than independently. This successfully disables HDR mode, reduces distinction ratio and means much less deep blacks, however is the one option to obtain the very best shade accuracy.
ASUS ROG Stream X16 shade gamut
ASUS claims that the mini-LED model of the X14 has a shade gamut which covers 100% of the sRGB spectrum, in addition to 100% DCI-P3. Our outcomes, which you’ll be able to see beneath, help these claims, recording 99.9% sRGB and 99.6% DCI-P3 protection, which is shut sufficient in each cases to successfully depend at 100%. Adobe RGB protection was 94.2%.
ASUS ROG Stream X16 shade accuracy out of the field
Previous to calibrating the show, the colour accuracy of the X16 out of the field confirmed a median delta of two.88, which is a bit disappointing, and above the two.5 threshold {that a} display wants to attain beneath to get a respectably low stage of variance. The white level nonetheless, was rattling close to good was very good at 6504K, very near the best 6500K end result. Gamma was equally good at 2.20, which is an ideal rating. Black depth was sufficient at 0.1324 cd/m², however we’d have preferred to have seen a greater (decrease) end result, and the identical may be stated for the distinction ratio, which was disappointingly low at 912.5:1.
Switching the Backlight Management to Multi-Zone would doubtless enhance the distinction ratio and black depth outcomes as talked about, however we haven’t but examined these resulting from time pressures. Watch this house for the up to date outcomes. Both method the common delta / shade accuracy was the primary disappointment, and Multi-Zone wouldn’t enhance this.
ASUS ROG Stream X16 shade accuracy following calibration
Calibration noticed nearly no change to the outcomes, with white level getting barely worse to 6474K and distinction ratio barely enhancing to 917.1:1. Every little thing else remained precisely the identical, which isn’t shocking given the display has been Pantone calibrated and licensed (nonetheless at all times price a crack regardless). It’s doable {that a} extra in-depth calibration than the one we did might yield a barely improved delta end result, however it’s unlikely.
Finally, which means that professionals working in fields the place shade accuracy is paramount may not discover this show appropriate for his or her wants, even with the highest notch gamut protection. The vast majority of creatives (together with professionals) who don’t need to be fairly so industry-precise in the case of shade ought to nonetheless discover it greater than appropriate nonetheless.
ASUS ROG Stream X16 panel uniformity
We do a panel uniformity take a look at on all laptops we overview after their calibration, which exams for each luminance and shade accuracy. We begin on the centremost level as a reference after which take a look at all the opposite sections of the display (25 in complete) to see how they examine.
Typically, any common shade variation beneath 1.00 is sweet and exhibits up as inexperienced within the picture above, although the common client received’t be capable to inform a lot distinction beneath 3.00. Visible editors who work with shade nonetheless might have a keener eye.
The outcomes we bought on the X14 have been usually respectable. There was a mixture of variation above (in yellow) and beneath (in inexperienced) 1.00 common delta, however nothing exceeded the three.00 rating, which means no variance could be noticeable to the untrained eye. The best common variance was 2.31 within the second from backside left panel (equating to three.34 cd/m²) however nowhere else averaged above 2.00, which is fairly good.
All-in-all, a decent end result – definitely adequate for many creatives to work with except they’re working on the very excessive finish of color-accurate requirements.
ASUS ROG Stream X16 brightness
We completed off our shade accuracy testing by working a luminance take a look at. On the unit we examined, we bought a peak brightness of 518.73 cd/m² and a minimal of 37.03 cd/m². This can be a very respectable end result and nicely above common when it comes to the height brightness. It’s nicely wanting the 1100 nits peak brightness claimed by ASUS, however this can be when the laptop computer is examined in HDR mode, which we’ve got but to do (watch this house although!).
When utilizing the laptop computer within the daytime we’d suggest matching the brightness to 120 cd/m² which equates to a brightness setting of 29% beneath the brightness controls for this laptop computer.
Audio
ASUS are one of many few gaming laptop computer manufacturers that are inclined to have respectable audio system on their fashions, and the overall audio high quality of the X16’s are nicely above common (although not up there with the likes of the very best non-gaming fashions just like the MacBook and Dell XPS 13 Plus). There’s a richness to the sound high quality, the higher and center frequencies are nicely represented, and there’s a diploma of bass by comparability to most gaming laptops.
Like with nearly all laptops, the decrease bass frequencies are nonetheless fairly absent, so in the event you’re taking part in any songs with a whole lot of sub-bass tones, you’re unlikely to listen to them. Equally, a whole lot of the low rumbling high quality of sound results in video games (explosions and the like) are lacking. Nonetheless, the audio system are adequate to take pleasure in Netflix and many others. in the event you aren’t too treasured about this kind of factor, and the actual fact is there aren’t actually any competing units that may output this kind of bass anyway.
Quantity-wise the audio system have been additionally above common, definitely loud sufficient for gaming and watching media on, and most crucially there wasn’t any discernable lack of sound high quality at max quantity.
Battery life
The ASUS ROG Stream X16 battery life, on the mini-LED RTX 3070 Ti mannequin we examined no less than, got here in at simply over 5 hours.
This was with our traditional take a look at, with brightness set to 50%, background purposes switched off, two hours of fullscreen YouTube, then the remainder net searching and typing on GoogleDocs. We set every little thing inside Armoury Crate to enhance power effectivity as a lot as doable, with MSHybrid (i.e. Optimus), Eco Mode, Panel Energy saver all turned on beneath Residence > System Configuration, One Zone Backlight Management switched on, Panel Overdrive turned off, and beneath Machine > System the GPU Energy Saving set to Eco Mode. Keyboard RGB was additionally turned off.
We wouldn’t go so far as to name this a formidable end result, however it’s definitely not dangerous, contemplating each the pretty slimline nature of the machine, the mini-LED show, and the high-powered elements. The performance of having the ability to tweak so many settings inside Armoury Crate definitely helps rather a lot, and we think about if these aren’t tweaked the battery life would solely final a mere fraction of the above.
Efficiency, noise & temperature
Noise
On the whole, non-gaming utilization, when set to Silent mode inside Armoury Crate the X16 was simply that. Even Balanced Mode was virtually inaudible, and that is most likely the setting we’d suggest in the event you’re within the workplace or typing on the transfer, because it received’t be heard by anybody but will provide higher inside and exterior cooling. When gaming beneath Turbo or our personal customized Handbook preset (which we’d suggest), the laptop computer did get pretty loud, however was nonetheless quieter than your typical gaming laptop computer working beneath the extent of pressure we subjected it to, which speaks to the advantages of getting the third inside fan.
Exterior temperature
The X16 remained fairly temperate for common use when switched to Balanced mode. Silent mode generated noticeable heat on the keyboard however to not an uncomfortable stage, on a heat day you would possibly get sweaty palms although. When gaming on both Turbo mode or our personal maximised customized preset, with each the followers and energy allocation to the CU and GPU set to the max, the keyboard did get fairly heat, however not more than nearly all of gaming laptops. Given the slimline nature of the machine the general expertise was definitely respectable.
Inner temperature
The graph above exhibits the temperature outcomes for the video games we examined (as defined beneath, we’ve got but to efficiently take a look at Far Cry 6, however will add this at a later time).
As per all of our exams, we set the wattage allocation to the CPU and GPU to the utmost inside the onboard software program, set the followers to most beneath Residence > handbook mode, and turned off any power saving settings for the GPU and different elements – this may put the utmost pressure on the inner temperatures of the laptop computer, and isn’t essentially what you’d need for day after day gaming, however provides the very best thought of the utmost efficiency potential.
To get an thought, the low-to-mid 90’s is the place thermal throttling begins to happen on a CPU, and the excessive 90’s is the place harm to the longevity of elements begins to happen. Though the outcomes could appear excessive to the untrained eye, these are literally decrease temperatures than what we’ve seen on the XMG Neo 15 E22, which is a a lot thicker laptop computer, each for CPU and GPU efficiency, to not point out the smaller sized ASUS G14 (which is much less shocking). Briefly, evidently the brand new cooling expertise is doing a superb job; these are spectacular outcomes for such a skinny machine and in the event you turned the ability limits down a bit in comparison with how we had them on this take a look at, you could possibly count on to get a good lifespan out of this machine.
ASUS ROG Stream X16 benchmarks
We examined the ASUS ROG Stream X16 with Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti and AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS in each its native 1600p decision and at 1080p throughout a variety of titles on completely different graphical presets.
We made positive the MSHybrid/Optimus was turned off with the MUX Swap inside the Armoury Crate software program, which is how we suggest everybody has it set when taking part in demanding video games, because the FPS uplift it brings may be as excessive as 50% in some titles.
Word: The outcomes aren’t as complete as we’d like but, as we had points working Far Cry 6 with out it crashing (although this isn’t doubtless a problem with the laptop computer itself). We can be updating this overview with the Far Cry 6 ends in the close to future.
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CS:GO underperformed relative to the XMG Neo 15 E22 with RTX 3070 Ti, hitting a median FPS round 30% decrease at 1080p and 15% decrease at native decision. CS:GO is a extra CPU leaning sport, so this doubtless signifies the inferior efficiency of the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS relative to the Intel Core i7-12700H within the XMG machine.
Conversely, the outcomes for Murderer’s Creed: Valhalla have been among the many greatest we’ve ever recorded, performing about in addition to the Z13 with the RTX 3080 eGPU hooked as much as it.
Doom Everlasting had probably the most attention-grabbing mixture of outcomes. The sport carried out between 5-20% higher in common FPS phrases on the X16 in comparison with the XMG Neo 15 E22 with RTX 3070 Ti, throughout the vary of various resolutions and graphical presets, with each Ray Tracing On or Off, with one exception: on the highest graphical settings with RT switched on, the efficiency tanked. This might sometimes level to a scarcity of VRAM relative to what’s wanted at these settings, nonetheless the RTX 3070 Ti within the XMG Neo 15 has the identical quantity of VRAM, and if it was a clock velocity or energy restrict problem you’d suppose it will outperform throughout the board on all settings. A puzzle certainly, however the chief takeaway is that you just’ll get nice efficiency from the X16, so long as you keep away from taking part in at most settings with Ray-Tracing On.
Gaming on the native 1600p decision is completely possible on the X16, and usually the common FPS was above the 165Hz most refresh fee of the show, though the 1% and 0.1% body drops have been extra noticeable. For some cause the common FPS at 1600p on CS:GO was really greater, which can level to CPU throttling on the sport at 1080p, whereas on the greater decision the system depends extra on the GPU. Alternatively it may simply be an anomalous quirk in our take a look at.
ASUS ROG Stream X16 gaming efficiency: the takeaway
General we have been massively impressed by the gaming efficiency of the ASUS ROG Stream X16. Regardless of having a decrease 125W GPU energy restrict than a number of the excessive finish 150W RTX 3070 Ti laptops on the market, it really managed to outperform them in sure video games. Notable areas the place the laptop computer fell comparatively quick was in CPU-leaning titles, in comparison with these with Intel twelfth gen processors, which is the trade-off you pay for higher battery life. Ray-Tracing on the very highest graphical settings additionally appears a stretch too far for this machine, however you possibly can nonetheless get good efficiency in the event you tweak issues down a notch, and in the event you flip off RT you’ll haven’t any downside at any setting. Inner and exterior thermal efficiency beneath excessive stress was the very best we’ve examined in a gaming laptop computer, which is spectacular given the slim design of the machine.
Ultimate Phrase
The ASUS ROG Stream X16 is undoubtedly an excellent laptop computer for each gaming and inventive use, a novel twin use machine with a terrific brilliant and vibrant mini-LED show choice that actually units it aside from the competitors. That being stated, it’s not fairly good: though the colour gamut is prime notch, the colour accuracy leaves one thing to be desired for skilled work on this space. Aggressive avid gamers may also need one thing with a better most refresh fee than 165Hz and an ethernet port. Apart from this and some different quibbles although, it’s a superb premium machine, in the event you can afford the worth tag. When it comes to uncooked gaming efficiency, you may get the identical stage of FPS efficiency for much less cash than the MSRP of over $3,000 for the RTX 3070 Ti mannequin, however when you think about the standard of the show and inventive utility of the machine moreover this, it’s not particularly overpriced.
