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The Asus ROG Strix G16 (2025) is a solid gaming laptop entering the entry-mid range of the market, as this model – G615JMR-AS74 comes with an RTX 5060. Through 2025, we’ve seen a ton of top-of-the-line gaming rigs, but now we’re finally seeing some premium machines with slightly toned-down specs that will deliver strong performance and perhaps a bit less price shock.
Earlier this year, I reviewed the Asus ROG Strix G16 (2024), which was an absolute gaming beast featuring an Intel Core i9-14900HX and Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 4070 GPU. Now, I get the chance to look at the Asus ROG Strix G16 (G615JMR-AS74), which is slightly lower on the gaming laptop hierarchy, but it gets newer hardware – both processor and graphics card.
In addition to the 14th Gen CPU and RTX 50 Series graphics card, this version of the ROG Strix 16 also features 16GB DDR5 RAM and 1TB GEN 4 SSD storage. While its predecessor from last year had a bank-breaking price tag, the model we’re reviewing is a bit cheap; but the price goes up should you opt for a model with a higher graphics card – RTX 5070, 5080, or higher. But for 1080p gaming, we expect our review model to be a standout performer, especially for gamers on a tight budget.
Asus ROG Strix G16 (2025): Specs and features
- CPU: Intel Core i7-14650HX
- Memory: 16GB DDR5-5600
- Graphics/GPU: Nvidia RTX 5060 8GB VRAM, (115-Watt TGP)
- Display: 16-inch, 1920×1200 IPS, 165Hz, 300 nits, 100 percent DCI-P3
- Storage: 1TB PCIe Gen4 SSD
- Webcam: 1080p + IR
- Connectivity: 1x Thunderbolt w/ DisplayPort, 1x USB 3.2 Type C, 3x USB 3.2 Type A, 1x HDMI 2.1 FRL, 1x GbE, 1x 3.5mm combo audio
- Networking: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4
- Biometrics: Windows Hello facial recognition
- Battery capacity: 90 watt-hours
- Dimensions: 13.94 x 10.55 x 0.9 inches
- Weight: 5.84 pounds
The Asus ROG Strix G16 (2025) comes in several configurations. All of them are built around Intel and AMD CPUs and RTX 50-series GPUs. Support for Wi-Fi 7, dual SSD slots, 1TB PCIe storage, 90Wh batteries, and 280W chargers are all common among them.
Design and Features
Asus did a complete redesign of the ROG G615JMR-AS74 chassis to accommodate the bigger screen, and it looks gorgeous. The lid is made from aluminum, while the rest of the body is made from plastic. However, the plastic used here isn’t the “cheap” one found in budget laptops; the ROG Strix G16 goes for quality throughout, along with a satin-like sheen on the body.
The ROG Strix often comes with lots of RGB lights, but with the newer models, the lighting is a bit modest; just a thin “peeping-glow” LED strip runs along the laptop’s front edge and wraps around to the sides, and per-key lighting on the keyboard. You can configure each key using the Aura Sync in the Asus Armoury Crate software.
Asus uses the same keyboard we’ve seen in other ROG Strix models, but they just added five programmable hotkeys at the top of the keyboard, with labels M1 through M5. These keys handle functions like volume, microphone on/off, and a shortcut to the Armoury Crate by default. Surprisingly, the Asus G615JMR-AS74 doesn’t include a number pad despite the large size to accommodate it.
Port selection is decent, with two USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A ports on the right side. All the other ports are located on the left side: one Thunderbolt 4 port, one USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C port, a GbE port, an HDMI 2.1 port, a 3.5 mm audio jack, and a barrel-style charging port. Along both sides and the rear of the laptop, there are large vents to exhaust the heat generated by the Core i7-13650HX and GeForce RTX 4060.
The ROG Strix G16 measures 13.94 x 10.55 x 0.9 inches and weighs 5.84 pounds. Compared, the ROG Strix is lighter than the Gigabyte Aorus 15X, weighing 5.73 pounds, while the Acer Predator Helios 16 weighs 6.39 pounds, but the Razer Blade 15 is the most portable in this category at 4.4 pounds.
Gaming Performance
For this Asus ROG Strix G16 review, I have the fairly base specification, with an RTX 5060 and Intel Core i7-14650HX, 16GB RAM, and 1TB SSD storage. With these specs, you’re getting a gaming laptop that will power through most triple-A titles at 1080p (highest settings), and it will have no trouble at all.
The Strix G615JMR-AS74 impresses with the kind of performance it offers, and while it can’t crack 4K resolutions for most AAA, it has no trouble when it comes to the built-in Full HD+ display. It plays a good amount of Redfall on the Epic graphics presets, and it surprisingly maintains a solid 86fps at 1980 X 1080, never even once dipping below 60 fps.
In Cyberpunk 2077 played at the Ultra preset at 1920 x 1080 with ray tracing disabled and DLSS enabled, the ROG Strix 16 maintains an average of 93 fps, which is nothing short of impressive. If you don’t mind dropping below 60, you can activate ray tracing on Ultra settings, and that garners an average of 36 fps.
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 used in the Asus ROG Strix G16 is a mobile graphics card, based on the GB206 chip, and uses the Blackwell family. The RTX 5060 mobile GPU offers 3328 shaders and uses 8GB GDDR7 dedicated graphics memory with a clock speed of 16 Gbps on a 128 Bit memory bus. With 104 tensor cores that enable DLSS 4, including frame generation for supported games, this GPU delivers solid gaming performance, much more stable than the RTX 4060 it replaces.
The Asus ROG Strix G16 doesn’t beat every other gaming laptop every single time, but it’s surprising how often it does
To the left lower of the display, there’s a handy little physical toggle switch, which allows you to switch between quiet, balanced, performance, and turbo presets, which can be controlled from the Acer Predator Sense utility too. In turbo mode, the fans can get uncomfortably loud, but it certainly helps the frame rates. In performance mode, the fans are reasonably loud, and they do their job well – exhausting hot air via the vents on the rear of the chassis. The vents are well placed, too, ensuring that hot air is blown away from the user, meaning you’re not likely to get a hot mouse hand.
The laptop features Nvidia Advanced Optimus, meaning it will use the integrated GPU for simple tasks like office work and web browsing, only launching the RTX 5060 when you boot up a game. The concept here is to prolong battery life without sacrificing power when needed.
Productivity Performance
For productivity tasks, the Asus ROG Strix G16’s Intel Core i7-14650HX processor paired with 1TB SSD storage is a powerful combination to get all your demanding chores sorted. The Core i7-14650HX is Intel’s mid-tier Raptor Lake mobile processor, with 16 cores and 20 total threads. The processor performance cores top out at a turbo clock of 4.5 GHz, while the efficiency cores top out at 3.7 GHz. This CPU is then paired with 16GB of DDR5-4800 memory in two 8GB SO-DIMMs.
The Asus ROG Strix G16 features a 16-inch 165Hz IPS panel with a 1920 x 1200 resolution. Most laptops with this CPU and GPU typically feature a 2560 x 1440 or 2560 x 1600 resolution display. Our review unit features a 1920 x 1200 panel. Asus still produces versions of this laptop with a 2560 x 1600 panel, which I assume should be the standard here.
Finally, the battery life on the Asus ROG Strix G16 is better compared to most gaming laptops, such as the Razer Blade 14. The Strix lasts around eight hours on a single charge, which is excellent for a gaming machine, and that’s at least three hours longer than both the HP Omen 16 and the Gigabyte Aorus 15X.
Asus ROG Strix G16 (G615JMR-AS74) Review: Bottom line
The Asus ROG Strix G16 (2025) is a capable, midrange gaming laptop. Its closest competitor is the MSI Katana 15 HX, which costs a little more but gives you a higher resolution display at 2560 x 1440 but the ROG Strix makes up with an additional three hours of battery life.
In addition to impressive gaming performance, thanks to Nvidia’s latest RTX 5060 GPU, the Asus ROG Strix G16 emphasizes the power packed into Intel’s new Raptor Lake mobile processors, particularly when paired with Nvidia’s flagship GeForce RTX 50 GPUs. To the impressive performance, the laptop rocks a solid build quality, modest RGB lighting, and a comfortable keyboard.
Granted, the 1920 × 1200 resolution is a bit underwhelming given the kind of hardware that this laptop is packing, but you have the option to upgrade to 2560 x 1600 for a little more money. Asus also misses a few marks on the speakers and webcam, but they don’t affect gaming performance at all.
That said, the Asus ROG Strix G16 (G615JMR-AS74) excels in gaming performance, is fantastic for creative tasks, and impresses as a productivity machine; and that’s what counts. It’s an excellent value for the sub-$1,500 price and a meaningful investment for midrange gamers on a budget.
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