Are you looking for a new gaming laptop? Look no further than the Asus Strix G18. After testing several Asus devices, the Strix G18 stands out as the best performer, with a 40 series GPU and exceptional pricing. The Strix G18 comes in two variants, a regular version and a premium scar version, with the only difference being that the scar version has RGBs on the back and a light-up RGB logo. The front RGB, build quality, screen, keyboard, performance, and thermals are all identical between the two variants, but the regular version offers better value for your money.
The 13th gen CPUs in the Strix G18 offer crazy-fast performance, with the RCA 64080 giving an average of 25-30% better performance than the top-of-the-line 3080 Ti from last year. The 4090 model offers even more performance, with a 35-40% increase over the 38 ATI. Despite this, the price difference is significant, with most devices requiring an extra $600-$800 to upgrade to an RTX 4090.
The chassis of the Strix devices has been completely redesigned this year, with the 18-inch model capable of going up to a 175-watt RTX 4090. The 16-inch model can also be configured to the same wattage, with 175 watts for the GPU and up to 65 watts concurrently on the CPU. The bottom panel is designed much better this year, with the ribbon cables from previous generations now gone. When you open up the Strix G18, you’ll find three fans, including one in the middle that sucks air in from the bottom and blows it up across the GPU and VRMs. The heatsink on the back runs along the full width of the device, providing even more surface area for heat dissipation. The thermal performance is quite good, with impressive GPU temperatures even on full load, and fan noise is acceptable.
The Strix G18 comes with two NVMe’s and two RAM slots, with DDR5 running at 4800 MHz. There’s seemingly very little difference between two RAM speeds, and you get a 90-watt-hour battery, which provides an okay battery life for an 18-inch screen running an Intel chip.
The keyboard is nice and wide, with a number pad on the right and sitting on a keyboard deck that fades up to a smoked gray translucent material at the top. The trackpad is glass and has a nice texture, but the click mechanic is a bit weird, with some rattle when tapping. The screen is an 18-inch 16:10 QHD+ display, with great brightness, colors, and speed. It’s arguably one of the best screens in the gaming laptop space and has a mux switch and advanced Optimus if you want to squeeze out a few extra frames.
Overall, the Asus Strix G18 is a solid product that makes it difficult to review other products in this category. It offers ultra-competitive pricing without any weird configurations or twisted branding. If you’re in the market for an 18-inch screen and an RTX 48, the Strix G18 is the way to go.
