Launching at $169.99 / £169.99, the ROG Falchion RX Low Profile does hit at a slightly higher cost than most of its 65% contemporaries. It backs those numbers up with a slick typing feel, compact chassis, and fantastic design to stand as one of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming keyboards on the market right now. 

Design

The Asus ROG Falchion RX Low Profile is a sup♛er slimline gaming keyboard with plenty of hidden features baked right in♌to the design. All-white keycaps and a silver base make for a refreshing departure from the standard black and gray we tend to see on the shelves. 

That skinny form factor is further supported by an almost floating design from the main base plate overhanging the plastic wedged base by jusཧt under a centimeter.  

Prior🍰 to the Falchion RX, one of my biggest grips with low profile keyboards was - funnily enough - their height. I like a good base to work off, with an elevated set of keys easily reachable no matter how horrifically slumped I am in my chair. If I can still reach the number row while a chiropractor is preparing to make their 💛millions off me, I'm happy. 

With the larger of the two flippable feet extended, the ROG Falchion RX isn't quite as high as the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Roccat Vulcan II Mini Air, but it's certainly a more comfortable elevation level than your standard low profile deck. Compared to the relatively flat 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Cherry MX LP 2.1, this is a dream. 

That height is ever so slightly helped by the white case that ships with the keyboard. The textured plastic shell can be used on top of the deck to protect the keys during travel, but also slots neatly under the keyboard to provide extra grip while still allowing access to all your ports and controls. It's a unique addition to the design that I haven't come across before, 🌜but it's a handy extra for those on the move a lot.

The top of the deck features an RGB LED✱ display with 'Republic of Gamers' stamped across the middle and a series of RGB stripes running most of the top bezel's length. These stripes respond to the gestures made on the slide bar (located on the top of the deck itself) for a visual representation of your scroll actions. I haven't come across a control feature like this, but the slightly indented panel is easily reachable from the main deck and has a series of tactile bumps to help you find your way as well.

All in all, the build quality is incredibly high here. It's not as lightweight as Cherry's low profile option, but has a pleasing heft that assures its premium construction materials. Even in such a slimline package, everything feels durable and secure with a rock solid main base plate and no creaking or flexing across the main🌸 deck. ABS keycaps aren't the most stable long-term by themselves, but they feel fantastic under the fingertips and ℱAsus has applied a UV coating to protect against any greasy shine.

Features

The ROG Falchion RX Low Profile ships with the brand's low profile optical switches in either Red or Blue flavor. My device𓂃 sports a set of red linear clickers, with a 1mm actuation point, 40gf actuation force, and 55gf total force. That's a particularly lightweight switch with a relatively sensitive actuation point. Each switch features centralized RGB lighting to keep bleed to a minimum as well. 

One of the biggest features for those after a 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:wireless gaming keyboard for travel is going to be the ample connection options. You're getting Bluetooth and 2.4GHz wireless connections here - perfect for use with a range of devices - as well as full Mac compatibility (and corresponding legends) as well. That's a rarity in the world of gaming keyboards, though I have noticed more and more decks playing nicely with Apple's tech in the last few months. Of my comparison pool, the𒉰 Asus wins in the connectivity department. Cherry offers both Bluetooth 🌌and 2.4GHz wireless, but drops Mac compatibility, while Roccat relies solely on its USB dongle. Asus even goes one further, using its Omni receiver, which can connect multiple compatible accessories via the same port. 

It's also rare to find dedicated media controls on a 65% gaming laptop, but the Falchion has us covered here as well. As mentioned above, the slide bar featured along the top of the deck allows for a range of different inputs (customized through Armory Crate) as well as media playback, volume control, and brightness settings. Each mode is toggled via a small button at the left of the deck, and adjusted via the slide bar itself (sweep left to right to play the next track or dial up volume and brightness, and right to left for the opposite). I was initially skeptꦯical of this bar - it's covered in the same gray plastic as the rest of the deck and doesn't look like it should be as responsive as it actually is. There's some kind of magic going on here, though, it was able to pick up commands instantly no matter how lightly I was sweeping.

Under the hood, the ROG Falchion RX Low Profile 🐲features two layers of sound dampening foam; one under the main plate and another below the PCB. While I've used gaming keyboards with far more mods applied, the sound profile here is still comfortably muted with a soft landing to boot.

On top of all that you're getting full programmability and on the fly macro recording (something the Cherry model drops 𝓰from its feature list). Asus has even made space for up to six profiles, just nudging ahead of the average five count I tend to see.

Performance

Typing on the Asus ROG Falchion RX Low Profile feels more like gliding across fresh snow. The super lightweight switches, soft keycaps, and gentle sound profile make for a particularly pleasant experience. Not only that, but the switches themselves are sensitive enough to maintain some serious speed while also providing a super speedy debounce for repeat presses as well. Even in these linear switches there's a tactile sna✅p that makes flying across the deck feel satisfying and controll🍌ed, while offering a smooth glide to each keypress. 

By comparison, the Roccat Vulcan II Mini Air feels rattly and heavy and carries a much harsher sound profile. The Cherry MX-LP 2.1 has a little more weight to its keypresses, with a scratchier feel overall. Overall, Asus wins out in the overall typing expe🎃rience here - everything is buttery smooth and sounds fantastic to boot. 

In fact, there was only ever one problem I encountered while testing the Falchion. The shorter shift key, combined with those sensitive switches and minimal spacing between keys, meant I was regularly 🔥hitting caps lock by acc✅ident. It's not a major issue, and something that can easily be rectified with more muscle learning, but if you do rely on these keys for most of your macros or keybindings, it's worth taking into consideration. 

Should you buy the Asus ROG Falchion RX Low Profile?

If you're in the market for a low profile 65% gaming keyboard, I'd recommend the Asus ROG Falchion RX o🍬ver everything else I've tested thus far. It's a super portable, super flexible device with up to 430 hours of battery life, a fantastic typing experience, and rare extra features like dedicated media controls. 

For $40 / £30 less you can drop down to the Cherry MX-LP 2.1, but with a harsher typing feel, scratchier switches, and 🦂flatter elevation those looking for the best experience under the fingertips might not want to. You're also losing MacOS functionality and those media co♏ntrols in that sacrifice as well. 

If you're not fussed about those low profile keycaps, the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Endgame Gear KB65HE is currently in the running for my favorite 65% gaming keyboard on the market. It sports a more traditional keycap design, but throws in hall effect switches for customizable actuation points, as well as luxurious Ducky PBT caps. If you're after a 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:hot-swappable keyboard, Endgame also ticks that box. I'd still recommend opting for Asus if you're going to be travཧelling a lot, though, the 1kg weight of Endgame's deck (and the wired only connection) make it a tough pie💝ce to transport. 

At the time of writing, the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Razer Deathstalker V2 Pro is our favorite low profile gaming keyboard overall. However, the Asus ROG Falchion RX could change that. Razer's entry is a full-sized device, but it carries a $249.99 / £249.99 price tag and doesn't♑ back it up with too many extra features. Yes, you're getting the number pad and full navigational keys but these days that's certainly not worth an extra $80 - especially considerin൲g pretty much everything else offered by the Deathstalker is covered here.

How we tested the Asus ROG Falchion RX Low Profile

I used the Asus ROG Falchion RX Low Profile for three weeks, while also testing against the Cherry MX LP-2.1, Roccat Vulcan II Mini Air, and Endgame Gear KB64HE at the same time. I primarily played across Apex Legends, Assassin's Creed Odyssey, and House Flipper in that time, with some more intensive testing in CS:GO as well. For more information on 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:how we test gaming keyboards, check out the full 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy. 

We're also rounding up all the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Razer keyboards on the market, as well as the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best membrane keyboards and the latest 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:cheap gaming keyboard deals for those looking to spend a little less. 

With prices starting at $1,199 / £1,049 (and often dropping well below that with sales), these rigs can steer you well away from the $3K price tags I'm often staring down during testing. I took the newest 2023 Asus TUF A15 out for a spin to see just what that cash can get you these days, and where it all sits among the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming laptops on the market. 

Design

For its budget price point, the Asus TUF A15 certainly gives the effect of a more premium gaming laptoജp. U🅠nlike Acer's Nitro range of budget rigs, the metal lid feels solid and secure even if there's a little flex to the main panel. The rest of the chassis is plastic, but everything still feels well put together - corners feel like they can stand the test of time and there's no creaking across the main body or hinge. I did, however, notice some flex to the main typing deck. It's by no means present when typing casually, and only made itself known once heavy pressure was applied. 

The aesthetic itself remains the same as previous years, with a dark cool gray color running throughout and an embossed TUF logo emblazoned in the centre of the lid. Inside we have a few TUF icons stamped acros꧃s the main chassis, but nothing too egregious. The 'Caution: High Framerate Zone' text ♔in the lower right corner is a cringe at first glance, but we can take some deep breaths and move past it. 

The same angular cut out runs most of the length of the 🤡hinge, allowing for greater airflow once the lid is lifted and making for a neat addition visually as well. A handy lip to the front of the block makes opening the laptop easy with one hand, and I was impressed with the low lev🃏el of wobble in the display while doing so as well.

The Asus TUF A15 hasn't quite caught up with the 16:10 times, and the display panel does look aged for it. I hadn't realized just how us🦩ed to a larger ratio I had become, but peeking at that large lower beze🌳l did send me back a few years. That's not a surprise considering cheaper rigs like this are still to adopt more expensive 16:10 panels, and you'll find the same bezel thickness in the Acer Nitro 5 as well.

The A15 isn't the slimmest on the market and is thicker than the previous 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Asus TUF Dash F15, but it's still thinner and lighter than the Acer Nitro 5 and never felt bulky or cumbersome in my testing. It's by no means the chunkiest m🍬achine out there, and is easily thrown in a backpack or held with one hand.

Features

The Asus TUF A15 has everything you'll need to play the꧋ latest games, but it does cut some corners in the feature department to keep that🍸 price low. That's most apparent in the display. A 15.6-inch IPS panel running at 144Hz was never going to give the top guns a run for their money, and while the colors are solid and contrasts are tight enough it's far dimmer than screens you'll find on more expensive machines. Of course, the power under the hood means you won't actually need a faster screen than 144Hz - this can still handle everything the GPU can throw at it in the motion handling department. 

The size also means you're taking a step back from the more immersive 16:10 options on the shelves right now. Off the back of testing several screens in this aspect ratio; the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Asus ROG Zephyrus G16, 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Acer Nitro 16, and 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 to be exact - I fꩵelt letterboxed when playing on the A15. If you've only ever had a 16:9 gaming laptop this isn't going to hurt𒐪 one bit - but if you've tasted that taller aspect ratio it's well worth reconsidering.

Underneath that display you've got a full-sized keyboard which also throws in a number pad for good measure. That's rare to find on a smaller 15.6-incher - many 16-inch and even some 18-inch rigs drop these additional keys - and will come in handy if you're doubling up your use for work as well. The keys themselves are a little smaller than you&🐭apos;ll find on a standard keyboard, with wider spacing in between. I didn't find myself losing accuracy on here, though, and managed to maintain my average typing speed for a low profile deck as well.

Switches themselves carry 1.7mm of travel distance, with a softer bottom out than I'd typically prefer. They're not exactly spongey, there's still some snap to the debounce, but they don't offer that clacky tactility ღthat you'll find further up the price scale. This is a keyboard that's there when you need it, rather than being a staple piece of the kit.

I would, however, ward against relying too heavily on the trackpad. This is a particularly mushy pad with particularly unreliable click zones and a stiff middle section that sometimes drops responsiveness. Trackpads are never the shining beacons of a gaming laptop, but there are far better implementations out there for those who won't be u𝄹sing🅠 a mouse for day to day usage outside of gameplay. Similarly, the webcam and speakers are purely functional for when you need them, offering a basic experience all-round.

You can configure the Asus TUF A15 from an RTX 4050 up to an RTX 4070 with the latter GPU option bumping you to an AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS processor rather than the Ryzen 7 7735HS CPU shippe꧂d with cheaper models. All come with 16GB RAM via two 8GB slots and either a 512GB or 1TB SSD depending on the configuration. Unfortunately, it looks like you'll need to hunt for a 1TB option on the shelves - the majority come with a relatively paltry 512GB - which is unlikely to be enough inꦺ this day and age. You'll need to be strategic and efficient with your stored games here.

Ports are plentiful but things can get 🎀pretty cozy. The majority of your connections sit in the bottom corner of the left flank. Not only is that a nightmare for cable management, with wires consistently looking to flop over the top of the main deck area, but there's not always space for all your connections if some dongles are larger or oddly shaped. It's doable with some workarounds, but something to be mindful of.

Performance

The Asus TUF A15 is actually a pretty good performer. Despite its price tag it was able to post some serious numbers with power whacked up to Turbo Mode, and even managed to hold its own in the quieter default performance settings as well. Being limited to 1080p certainly helps these framerates and ♛industry benchmark scores shine, but if you don't need the extra few pixels a 1400p or 1600p display can afford you're going to be zipping through the latest and greatest games here. 

I never dipped below 60fps even in heavier games like Returnal and Hitman 3, meanwhile Nvidia-friendly titles like Shadow of the Tomb Raider flew through its benchmarks on even the highest settings. My personal Asus TUF Dash F15 from just a few years ago couldn't even dream of these results, proving just how well even high-end components are working in cheaper 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Asus gaming laptops.

My spec costs $1,399 - it's one of the cheapest gaming laptops I've reviewed yet, and it's far from the lowest performing considering it's working with an RTX 4060. For reference, a similarly specced 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:HP Omen 16 Transcend comes in at $600 more at MSRP, and pulled weaker Time Spy and Fire Strike numbers in default performance settings in my testing (9,864 / 21,618 respectively). Considering I was flying through these in-game benchmarks without a hitch, I'd call that $1,♔400 well spent. 

Should you buy the Asus TUF A15?

If you're in the market for a budget gaming laptop that can still put up a fight against top games fo🍸r a good few years to come, the Asus TUF A15 is a fantastic option. While you're sacrificing some luxury in the display, keyboard, trackpad, and speakers everything is more than functional here and well put together to boot. What you're really picking this thing up for is the raw performance against the price. I don't know of many rigs that can match this k꧙ind of price for these framerates and by itself that's enough to propel the A15 into the top spot for my favorite budget gaming laptop. 

How we tested the Asus TUF A15

I used the Asus TUF A15 for a total of three weeks before finalizing this review, spending one week of that time solely using the device for all work and play and the other two testing alongside the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 and Acer Nitro 16. During that time I benchmarked against Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Total War: Three Kingdoms, Returnal, and Hitman 3 while also playing Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, House Flipper, and Apex Legends casually. For more information on 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:how we test gaming laptops, check out the full 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy. 

We're also rounding up all the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Razer laptops and the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Alienware laptops on the market right now - or for more bargain buys, check out the latest 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:cheap gaming laptop deals on the shelves. 

The ROG wing of Asus already offers just about everything a gamer could hope for so it was only a matter of time before we saw a new top-spec microphone from the brand. The ROG Carnyx is a premium-level microphone aimed at gamers who are looking to take content creation a ﷽little more seriously. 

A £169.99/$179.99 USB contender, the Carnyx goes head to head with a number of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:besꦐt microphones for streamers and gaming and enter💙s an already crowded market. So does RꦰOG have what it takes to stand out, or is this microphone just going to get lost in the noise?

Design & Features

From a design standpoint, the ROG Carnyx is simultaneously outlandish and simple, which is an impressive mix to pull off so effectively. The microphone itself is a pretty basic tube that’s held aloft by a permanent shock mount and stand combo that’s all funky and angular. It’s very "gamer" and very on-brand for ROG𓄧 with a number of logos and design flourishes in 🌱the mix.

Build quality is generally strong with a metal casing on the main microphone body complimenting the all-metal stand and mount, but a pair of plastic ends to the microphone rather spoil it as they feel cheap and out of place. It’s also an unbelievably big unit, far too big in my opinion because sitting 25cm off the desk at its highest point it’s much too large to fit under a monitor without blocking a fair part of it. With one of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best capture cards, a stream controller, probably two monitors, and one of 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:the best webcams already taking up space on a desk, microphones like these don't help themselves by being this large. There’s little adjustment on offer in the stand to help this either, just a little tilt back and forܫth and no way to rotate it to a horizontal position.

I imagine many will go without the stand altogether and instead bolt the ROG Carnyx directly onto a mic arm. While it should be pretty universally compatible with arms from different brands, you’ll need to dig out a screwdriver to remove the baseplate which is far less us🔜er-friendly than it should be. Surely ROG could have found a thumb screw to use instead? 

You’ll find the USB-C port and a 3.5mm headphone jack easily accessible on the back of the Carnyx and the multi-function dial on the front is nicely textured. The dial lets you switch between controlling mic gain and headphone output levels, as well as toggling the onboard high pass filter. It’s an intuitive control scheme but the dial needs a surprisingly firm press to activate s🌌o be warned⛎ that you’ll send your mic flying unless you hold on to the back of it too.

A touch-sensitive mute button sits on top of the ROG Carnyx and while it’s simple enough to fire off you’ll need to pay attention to where you’re tapping because it doesn’t cover the entire surface. The microphone itself may be 55mm across but the working area of the mute button is only the middle 20mm or so with no ring indicator to let you know where the hidden button en൩ds and plain plastic begins. It made for a fiddly experience trying to quickly mute myself while testing. I found I almost always needed multiple taps to get it to trigger.

You’ll definitely know when you’ve found the right spot though because the inside of the ROG Carnyx will ignite in a fiery red glow from within when you're muted. It’s an eye-catching effect that you’ll do well to miss as the LEDs are punchy and offer strong color with even brightness. In theory, you should be able to do a lot more with the LEDs onboard t💦he ROG Carnyx by utilizing the Aura Sync effects inside the Armoury Crate desktop app. I say in theory because after more than an hour of uninstalling, reinstalling, unplugging, and restarting I could never get the app to recognize the Carnyx and ultimately gave up. I’m sure the lights would have been very pretty though.

Performance

A single USB cable is all you need to get started with the ROG Carnyx and there’s a generously long 3m braided USB-C to USB-A𒐪 cable included in the box. Both my streaming PC and OBS instantly recognized the mic as soon as I plugged it in, making it even more baffling that ROG’s own software was none the wiser. Luckily, the EQ options on offer inside the app are either available in OBS or using the Carnyx’s onboard controls anyway so I wasn’t missing out on much. Perhaps a few software patches will help things.

Like the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:SteelSeries Alias and 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:SteelSeries Alias Pro microphones, there’s a professional grade 25mm condenser capsule tucked away inside the ROG Carnyx a🐻nd throughout my testing, I found it delivered impressive audio. Everything I captured was clean and well-rounded, particularly when I got a little closer to the microphone itself. While this is a condenser microphone so mic etiquette is nowhere near as important and the p🌳ickup area is fairly wide, I found the ROG Carnyx offered a far deeper, smoother sound when you addressed it from 10-15cm away. 

Moving further back to a more traditional streaming and gaming distance of around 30cm introduced some roominess and pulled back on the richness. It still sounded clear and I was happy overall but my voice began to sound a little more withdrawn and lost some of its podcast feel. This isn’t unusual for condenser microphones though, the final sound is just more nat♍ural like you’re sitting in the room with someone rather than watching a more produced broadcast. The benefit however is the freedom of movement available around the front of the microphone. Even when I pushed this well outside the limit of how far someone would likely move while gaming the ROG Carnyx continued to pick up my voice clearly with little to no drop-off in overall ꦰquality.

The 3.5mm headphone jack works exactly as you’d expect it to, no complaints there but make sure you run a few tests with the onboard high pass filter before going live. It certainly works, though ﷺperhaps a little too aggressively as in my quiet and slightly treated setup, I found it had a detrimental effect on my overall sound rather than helping improve it. I have little need for a high pass filter though so this wasn’t necessarily surprising. At the same time, I wouldn't recommend just leaving🥃 it on and blindly assuming it will make things better since my voice was more rounded and filled out with it off.

Should you buy the Asus ROG Carnyx?

The streaming microphone space is a crowded one so joining its upper echelon is always going to be a tough ask. The ROG Carnyx certainly holds its own and arrives as a very good option that's priced somewhat reasonably. Unfortunately, it doesn't necessarily stand out from others at this price range as a result. The large diaphragm does deliver the strong, clean sound ROG promises and by paying a little extra attention🤪 to mic etiquette it's capable of producing great vocals.

Frustratingly, it’s much too large for a home-targeted microphone and it makes it awkward trying to fit it into a standard gaming setup. For gamers not blessed by mountains of space at one of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming desks, this is almost a non-starter as a result, no matter how good it can sound at times. If you’re flushed with desktop real estate then the Carnyx is definit💖ely worth a look, but there are equally strong options from brands like Elgato and SteelSeries in far smaller packages.

How we tested the Asus ROG Carnyx

I added the ROG Carnyx to my desktop PC setup and used it for dedicated testing, streaming, and general calls for a couple of weeks. It was mounted both on the included stand and an Elgato Wave Arm mic arm bu♓t was used without the accompanying software as this was not recognized.

For more on how we test the latest mics for review purposes, take a look at our 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:hardware policy.

For more on the latest streaming hardware, check out the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best ring lights for streamers, the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best green screen, and the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Razer streaming gear.

This is the do-it-all machine, offering the graphical pieces to a gamer's puzzle while maintaining a super slimline luxury chassis for the creators out there. Of course, that all comes with a lofty pr🥀ice tag - but if you don't want to sacrifice either function or for𓂃m there are very few gaming laptops out there offering this all-in-one package. 

I spent two weeks with the 2024 Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 to see just where it sits among the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming laptops on the market right now. 

Design

MacBook Pro move over, the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 is takes the form of a high-end CNC milled aluminum chassis with soft rounded corners and a super subtle design. As with the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:2024 Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 model, the LED matrix design atop of the lid is now a thing of the past, and I personally couldn't be happ💎ier. These extra animations added to the size and weight of the whole machine and I never found them particularly🎉 exciting in the first place, so I'm glad to see a single strip of silver adoring this lid. 

This is a glossy panel with a selection of 28 fully customizable RGB mini LEDs. It's a simple nod to the G16's gaming roots, while still presenting🌌 a slick creator-style aesthetic when either set to white or switched off. In full color mode, these lights can be distracting, but I did find myself enjoying the effect they cast on their surroundings during gameplay. 

The G16 is available in either a darker or lighter gray color, with my review unit being the brighter of the two. The light gray used here is pretty much a pinpoint match with Apple&🔥apos;s original MacBooks, and gives everything a particularly professional finish.

The actual construction is rock solid, too. There's no flexing the main deck no matter how hard I pushed and the soft touch material is resistant to fingerprints and smudges - though it remains to be seen how it will fare against everyday use in the scratch department. The display can be easily lifted with one hand, though with some wobble to the main hinge. That's nothing to worry about, and there's certainly no creaking or snapping in this action, but considering the angle of the display🥃 has been restricted to 135 degrees, it's an overall minor downgrade from previous versions.

Features

The 2024 Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 is more of an iterative upgrade under the hood. You're still getting the full scope of RTX 4050 - RTX 4090 graphics card options in here, with a minor bump up to the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H processor (or the Core Ultra 7 155H in smaller configurations). These are the latest and greatest components on the market, though, and fitting those top-end pieces into this particularly skinny form factor is an incredible achievement. Of course, these mid-range vers🀅ions aren't going to act the same in here as full turbo models would in a larger rig (as we'll see further down), but with a max TGP of 125W in the RTX 4090 you're still getting some decent power for the form factor. 

Plus, you might not be able to get that OLED display panel in thicker models. And this screen absolutely sings. Developed alongside Samsung, the 240Hz G-Sync panel is the first of its kin🌊d, pairing ROG's Nebula HDR with super crisp visuals and fantastic color dynamics for a sublime experience overall. I was impressed with theဣ OLED display on the 14-incher, but in this larger form factor it's more immersive than ever - across both movies and games. 

This is by no means the brightest screen I've dealt with - but it was still more than enough for inside use and t💟he odd train journey. The real devil is in the detail here, though, with color contrast to make your eyes bleed and a bouncy vividity that pushed Palworld to its limits. 

Atop that screen you're also getting a 1080p webcam (goodbye recurring 720p nightmares) for super crisp video calls as well as IR facial recognition and tracking. Below, you'll find a cr💜isp white keyboard with everything you need (barring a number pad). This is a taller keyboard than the chiclet style you'll find in most luxury ultrabooks, with a 1.7mm travel distance to each key and satisfying level of resistance to each press. Everything is nicely sized and spaced - apart from the arrow keys. Like with the G14 these are shor🍌ter stub keys and while they're separated from the main deck for better accuracy they're still harder to hit reliably during everyday play. It wasn't a massive issue for me in my testing, especially once the muscle memory kicked in - but if you rely on these keys for quick-time combos things might get messy. 

Just beneath that keyboard sits a behemoth of a trackpad. This takes up the space of everything from the Alt to the CTRL keys, and stretches the full length of the base down to the bottom lip. It's a massive work surface and made for excellent precision movement during productivity tasks. I can't see many players dropping their 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:gaming mouse, but if you're after a hybrid device this super 🍰smooth glid🌱er is definitely a selling point. 

All your standard ports are present and accounted for, though the G16 doesn't go the extra mile with an Ethernet which is a little disappointing in this form factor and at this price point. The left side features Thunderbolt💟 4-enabled USB-C, one USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, the HDMI 2.1, 3.5mm audio out, and the squared off power port. Meanwhile, the right treats us to a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port with full Display Port and power delivery, as well as another USB-A and the large SD card reader. The placement of these ports means you bank your accessories on either side of the machine as your setup requires. 

The configuration you choo💛se will determine which cooling features you receive. The RTX 409♌0 model I reviewed comes with a full vapor chamber cooling system backed up by two fans, whereas less power intensive models ship with simple heat pipes and a three-fan array. 

Finally, we come to the speaker system - an area I didn't expect to be as invested in. I'll generally throw on a 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:gaming headset for testing (pushing those components to their limits means a lot of fan noise), but I was blown away when I loaded up Spider-Man No Way Home one evening. Sound is incredibly powerful here - with far more bass than I've come to expect from slimline machines. While things can get a little clustered at the lower end of the mid-range (that bass often overpowering more nuanced soundscapes) this is cert♌ainly an impressive system. 

Performance

The 2024 Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 isn't as invested in pure gaming performance as some of its contemporaries. Instead, this is a machine designed to take you through a full work day and th💟en power up for some gaming in the evening. While you'll still find those high-end components under the hood, the numbers ar🌠en't as high as you'll find in alternative models with different aspirations. 

Overall, the performance certainly isn't anything to be sniffed at. There aren't many gaming laptops measuring just 1.7cm thick and still scoring over 30,000 points in Fire Strike. Even the chunkier 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Lenovo Legion Pro 7i tapped out at just under that position with an i9-13900HX processor and RTX 4090 at the helm. Still, with its reduced power the G16 couldn't quite keep up with the likes of the giant 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 across both Time Spy and Fire Strike. While last year's larger 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 did fall a⭕ couple of hundred points behind the G16 𒁏in Time Spy, it stretched out well ahead in Fire Strike. That's still impressive for the newer model - the M16 is running a much higher powered graphics card in a slightly thicker chassis after all. 

In-game benchmarks show that the G16 can still handle pretty much anything you throw at it at above 100fps in 1080p and can hold steady at 60fps+ in QHD+. I'm comparing in-game performance across a range of different 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Asus gaming laptops from the last year here, all of which were tested in Turbo settings. It's worth noting, though, thatཧ the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i - used here as an example of a chunkier machine running similar specs - was benchmarked on a Balanced power preset. 

In-game the G16 managed to stay on level with last year's counterparts despite its smaller form factor - outperforming the thicker but smaller 2023 Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 and the M16 to boot. Shadow of the Tomb Raider's numbers co🍷uldn't quit🍬e keep up with the extra power afforded to the Lenovo Legion Pro or the Zephyrus Duo, but still were still consistently above 120fps in both 1080p and QHD. 

Total War: Three Kingdoms presents a bit more of a challenge, especially in QHD+ resolutions. However, the G16 still managed 🔯to stay above water, only ever dipping below 100fps with everything pushed up to 11. The slimline chassis does make itself known here, though. The Le𒁃novo Legion Pro 7i managed to beat the G16's 1080p scores without even cranking up its power profile in previous tests, and kept pace in QHD+ as well. 

Returnal and Hitman 3 are mo𒐪re demanding benchmarks with heavier lighting and texture sequences. We're looking to the Legion and the G14 for comparative benchmarks here - and there aren't too many surprises. Results are pretty even, with both older devices pulling ahead slightly. The reduced power of the G🅘16's components is clear, but the resulting framerates can't be snubbed at over 100fps. 

Should you buy the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16?

The Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 is perfect for those looking to invest in a creator / gaming laptop to see them through a multimedia work day and into an evening of high-end gaming. Its power isn't going to top the charts, but whether or not you really need 200fps+ style framerates is up for debate (I'd take the OLED display, slimline form factor,ꩵ and excellent speakers with 100fps play any day). 

The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i does have performance on its side, but at the sacrifice of that portable form factor and certainly the OLED panel. While last year's G14 can beat the G16 in terms of sheer size while keeping🍒 up with its performance, it drops the more sophisticated look and feel of the newer model (and did I mention that OLED screen?). 

Of course, this isn't going to be the best pick if you're going all in on gaming. Those after a rig designed to stay firmly on a desk will see much better returns in a chunkier 16-inch machine or an 18-inch powerhouse like the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Alienware M18 or 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:2024 Asus ROG Strix Scar 18.

How we tested the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16

I used the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 for two weeks, with one week spent solely working and playing on the device and another spent testing alongside the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Acer Nitro 16 and Acer Nitro 5. I primarily played Palworld, Assassin's Creed Odyssey, and Apex Legends during this time, while stress testing across Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Total War: Three Kingdoms, Returnal and Hitman 3. For more information on 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:how we test gaming laptops, check out the full 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy.

We're also rounding up all the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Razer laptops and the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Alienware gaming laptops on the market. Or, for something a little cheaper, check out the latest 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:cheap gaming laptop deals available. 

Design

The biggest change to the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 comes in its physical design. This is a much slimmer model, dropping the chunkier base plate required for heavier RTX 4080 and RTX 4090 graphics cards and adopting a more mainstream ultralight profile. It's by no means as skinny as some of the more high profile non-gaming options out there (a creative market Asus is looking to tap with this new release), but it still feels impossible as a gaming device. Other gaming laptops have been taking aim at this infinitely more portable form factor in recent years, but the current roster  can't beat the G14's 1.5kg. The 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Razer Blade 14 clocks in at 1.8kg and last year's G14 packs a 1.7kg footprint - even the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Alienware x14 R2 comes in at 1.9kg. 

It's obvious, though, that Asus is taking the Zephyrus G14 beyond its gaming roots. The dotted LED matrix display of yore has been replaced by a super slick diagonal stripe running along the back of the lid.♏ This is a glossy glass by itself, but can be illuminated with 28 mini LEDs for added flair. That more restrained aesthetic, combined with the unibody CNC milled aluminum chassis, gives the G14 a strꦐong MacBook feel. I was initially confusing the G14 with my own MacBook Pro when simply carrying the device around, due to the soft-touch light silver finish and flat square design - even the rounded corners feel like a Tim Cook touch.

That luxury feel extends to the build quality as well. Try as I might I was unable to flex the main baseplate, and while there's a little flexibility to the lid it's one of the sturdier screens I've tested. The whole clamshell is comfortably opened with one hand, with a smooth hinge designed to keep hot air away from the display itself. That does mean sacrificing the drop hinge I loved on the previous model, in favor of a more unified design - with no rise to the ke🐽yboard either.

Features

Asus has also 𝐆changed the G14's feature set inside and out, swapping out the Nebula Mini LED display for a Samsung designed OLED panel and scaling back its configuration options. 

Last year's Mini LED was certainly impressive, but it felt like a step backwards from the same tech's implementation in larger 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Asus gaming laptops. The OLED panel available here is a revelation. The incredible contrast ౠand super fast response times are married perfectly with a bolstered '3K' (2880 x 1800) resolution to produce an incredibly vivid picture overall. Everything jumps off 🧸the screen here - forget the dappled sunlight and vivid green hues of Assassin's Creed: Odyssey or the almost alien glow of Cyberpunk 2077, I was impressed just watching developer logos splashing across the screen on boot. 

The Nebula part of Asus's marketing relates to its HDR system which is alright - Windows 11 isn't currently handling HDR content by itself particularly well aꦯnd with the lowered overall brightness of an OLED panel adding further fuel it's not the panel's main selling point. Still, the fantastic contrast you are getting here is well worth the trade 🐽off if you're both a gamer and creator.

Under the hood, you'll find an AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS processor across all models, with either an RTX 4050, RTX 4060 or RTX 4070 GPU at the helm. That CPU is more of an iterative upgrade over the previous generation that doesn't push the newer release too much further than last year. However, if you're after the full power of the RTX 4080 and RTX 4090 it's worth noting that the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:2023 Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 is still available in these hig𓆏her configurations.

As we'll see in the performance section, thou♒gh, those premium GPUs might not be worth the trade. The OLED screen on here is incredibly well implemented - and could be reason by itself to stick with an RTX 4070 configuration. Those chasing the highest possible framerates will have to stick to 2023's offerings, but the power on offer here is more than enough for everyday play and after the last two weeks I can definitively say I would rather have the boosted screen. DLSS 3 is also your saving 🐠grace here.

The keyboard feels super slick under ꦡthe hand, with generously sized keycaps... for the main part. The arrow keys are halved, making them a little difficult to hit in more frantic gameplay situations. Sill, there's a good amount of space around the left and right arrows so I was able to find them without having to scan. Each key actuates with a soft but satisfying clack and a tactile feel while skimming over the top - they're also covered with a particularly pleasing smooth finish. You've got everything you need here as well, though there's no dedicated macro for switching between performance modes like you'll see on larger rigs.

On top of all that the 2024 Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 still doesn't compromise on its por♛ts. Everything but Thunderbolt 4 is catered for here (due to the AMD build), with plenty of options on both 𒅌sides of the rig for additional flexibility.

Performance

My test unit was running an RTX 4070 GPU, so it naturally won't be competing on the same level as the RTX 4090 previous generation I tested last year. Still, three figure framerates were fully on the table here - and they certainly shouldn't be taken for granted. After all, this is a slimline gaming laptop housing power that would have been unthink💯able just a few years ago. I've included my results from last year's G14 as a reference for those costing up the drop from an RTX 4090 GPU. 

Overall performance puts the 2024 Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 on par with last year's Raze𓃲r Blade 14 - sometim☂es edging ahead and sometimes nudging behind. Both of our test machines in this match up were running RTX 4070 GPUs, though the Blade 14 switches the CPU out for an AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS. Given the minor upgrades to this year's chip, though, that shouldn't pose too much of a difference. 

It's also worth noting that Cinebench 20💙24 results sit on a different scale to the previous Cinebench R23 benchmarks we have completed on other models. 

Performance mode 3D Mark benchmarks put the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 behind the Razer Bl♈ade 14 in raw performance, with a 5% decrease in results between the two devices. Bumping things into the system's Turbo mode for the machine's full 90W power potential, those numbers took a healthy jump. I av♐eraged an 11,531 score in Time Spy and 25,952 for Fire Strike with those fans running at full power. 

In-game the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 put on an excellent show. While there are some symptoms of that skinny chassis design in some top-end QHD+ results, these are more than playable framerates from even particularly demanding titles. I've seen far lower numbers in chunky (but considerably cheaper) gaming laptops runღning the same RTX 4070 graphics cards, so being able to pull of this kind of reliable performance in a miniature chassis is certainly impressive. 

The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 does drop behind the Blade 14 ever so slightly in 1080p on Shadow of the Tomb Raider's benchmark, however it starts to pull away from it in a QHD+ setting. The increased native resolution of the display is, obviously, taking its effect here and even though those gains are small (a jump of ar🦂ound 4%) they still keep the Zeph competitive. 

The drop down to an RTX 4070 doesn't cut quite so deep here either. Last year's test unit was p🌞ulli🅺ng 165fps in 1080p at High settings, and 124fps at QHD Highest - not a million miles away from today's 152fps / 119fps in the same categories. At these heights, that's far from a sacrifice. 

Three Kingdoms' Battle benchmark often poses gaming laptops a slightly higher threat, with massive scenes rendering an abundance of tiny little warriors and all the special effects they command. Here, though the Zephyrus G14 held out well, beating the Razer Blade 14 across both FHD and QHD+ resolution🃏s. That RTX 4090 comparison is a little starker with this slightly more chaotic task, though. Ultra QHD+ framerates took a plunge, kicking the 2024 model to sub-60fps levels while the 2023 version sails through at 86fps.

This is a heavy one. Returnal is still a demanding game for a slimline gaming laptop, and these numbers prove it. While this benchmark wasn't part of our testing suite when the Razer Blade 14 was on the desk last year, it was a part of the 2023 Zephyrus G14's dissect🥂ion. Those differences between the RTX 4070 and RTX 4090 of the two generations are going to be obvious - but the fact that we're still comfortably over 60fps here is still well worth shouting about. 

It's an indication of things to come, though. The 2꧑024 G14's performance is holding on by today's standards, but with heavier games on the way these components might not offer enough to stand the test of time in a few years.  

Rainbow Six Extraction is a naturally faster game that doesn't put as much pressure on a system's GPU, and the G14 benefitted massively from this rest. The FPS style allowed i𒈔𒁃t to jump back up to nearly 200fps in 1080p, and still comfortable sit well over 100fps even in Ultra QHD+ settings. That's well ahead of the Razer Blade 14 which doesn't quite rev its engines so well when given an open road like this. 

Hitman 3's benchmark gave us a far more clustered result. The 2024 Asuꦜs ROG Zephyrus G14 was much closer to its predecessor's performance here, only tailing by a few frames in each test. While 1080p performance lagged ever so slightly behind the Razer Blade, QHD+ number🐬s were once again pulling ahead. 

Should you buy the 2024 Asus ROG Zephyrus G14?

I can&apo🏅s;t remember the last time I told someone looking for a 14-inch gaming laptop not to buy an Asus ROG Zephyrus G14. This year is no different, but my recommendation comes with a slight caveat. If you're chasing framerates and you'll be playing the latest and greatest games at ultra settings for years to come, it's worth considering the older 2023 model. You're still getting a super portable device but as my testing has showed, more demanding titles do put that RTX 4090 GPU on show. 

There's a big but here, though. I don't think the vast majority of players out there would benefit more from taking a step backwards like this. The RTX 4070 inside 2024&ap♛os;s Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 is more than capable of seeing you through today's games (and likely the games to come in the next couple of years) comfortably. If you're not push𝔉ing max settings, or if you're happy to rely on DLSS features, even more so. 

The overall aesthetic, lightweight footprint, luxury form factor, and astonishing display more t🃏han make up for the 20-or-so frames per second you're dropping with the new model. Considering you'll ba🎀rely notice that dip in performance when we're talking about 100+ framerates, it's an easy trade to make. 

Asus is coming for Razer's lunch here - taking aim at both the gaming and creator markets with one luxury swoop. Compared to the Razer Blade 14, the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 has another trick up its sleeve. It's considerably cheaper than the luxury Razer device that pretty much performed on par with the G14 in my testing. If you're going to be solely playing in 1080p that edge in lower resolution framerates could sway you towards the gre🏅en snake if you have the budget, but the display and QHD+ performan𓂃ce would always bring me right back to Asus. 

How we tested the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14

I used the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 for two weeks alongside the testing of the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 and the Acer Nitro 16. In that time I tested across everyday play in Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, Cyberpunk 2077, and House Flipper while also benchmark testing in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Total War: Three Kingdoms, Returnal, Rainbow Six Extraction, Hitman 3, and industry tests from 3D Mark, PC Mark 10, and Cinebench. For more information on 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:how we test gaming laptops, check out the full 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy. 

If you're between brands, you can also check out the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Razer laptops and the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Alienware laptops on the market right now - or take a look at the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming PCs for something more permanent. 

I took the 2024 Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 out for a spin, using the machine exclusively for one week and then alongside the new Zephyrus G14 for another, to see exactly where the latest beast sits among the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming laptops on the market.

Design

Much has been left unchanged from the original 18-inch Strix, but there are a few hints that this is a new iteration. You&ap🤡os;re still getting the all-black metal lid and trꦓanslucent plastic body all with a softer matte finish, as well as the RGB front and rear panels.

The rear of the lid still carries that RGB ROG eye logo, which isn't too egregious in its aesthetic overall, especially if you keep those LED🤪s on low. A diagonal stripe across the back of the lid repeats 'Republic of Gamers' rather than stamping the same logo as it did in the original model, which makes for a🍌 cleaner, bolder design overall. Of course, there's still ample grill space, with more ridged diagonal cuts to the fan portion on both the inside and outside of the main hinge.

The 2024 Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 🧸takes this design language a step further, bleeding those sharp lines into the main deck as well. Whereas the previous model kept its translucent plastic free from additional iconography, Asus seems to have thrown ev🎉erything it's got at this base plate. A mix of dots, lines, rectangles and letters are splattered across the top right of the main plate - and it does nothing for the visible internals inside.

As I found in my 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:review of the previous model, I'm not a fan of this aesthetic. The translucent plastic feels cheap against a backdrop of super durable all-metal designs like that of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Razer Blade 18, especially when it drips over to the sides of the machine in an even more transparent form. This t🌌ime around the effect is even messier. Yes, these smaller details are soft, they're not going to cause a distraction, but with more and more gaming laptops moving towards a 'less is more' approach to their aesthetics this feels like a step back in time. 

That 18-inch form factor remains here as well, with the 2024 Strix Scar 18 packing the same dimensions as the previous model. These kinds of machines are rarely built to be slim, but the Scar does have size in its favor here. The 39.9 x 29.4 x 2.3cm footprint and 3.1kg weight won't beat last year's Blade 18 in its relatively skinny form factor (39.9 x 27.5 x 2.1cm) but they both share the same weight. Plus, the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Alienware M18 from🍌 2023 is bulkier at 41 x 31.9 x 2.5cm and weighing 4.23kg. 

Features

A selection of last year's Asus gaming laptops were treated to a new Mini LED 'Nebula HDR' display, though the Strix 18 wasn't one of them. This year that's all changed. I'm a massive fan of this screen, and have been since I first laid eyes on it atop the Asus ROG Zephyrus M16, and I always considered it a little strange that brands were dropping the qualities of their displays on these bigger, more expensive, beasts. Asus bucked that trend this year with a full 2,304 dimming zones in its Mini LED panel. The result is a particularly crisp picture with super bright HDR shining through and excellent motion handling. All that thrown u꧒p on 18-inches of screen made for the best gaming laptop viewing experience I've had so far.

I was also impressed by the keyboard here. I'm naturally a fan of a laptop keyboard with more tension underneath each keypress than your typical chiclet deck has to offer, so the slightly increased resistance and additional spring underhand here was welcome. Like the former model, everything remains well spaced for the most part, even if the arrow keys are awkwardly wedged half between the main deck and half into the number pad. There's still just a little exꦯtra space around these keys, though, which made them easily navigable during gameplay. You're getting a full sized keyboard here, with number pad and function row, as well as five additional macro keys placed in the top𝕴 right. By default these are dedicated media controls, but they can easily be reassigned in Asus's Armory Crate software. 

The trackpad was a pleasant surprise. I generally only use these scrollers for quick navigatio♏n through settings when I'm not fully set up for a gaming session, but the smooth feel and tactile press felt far more responsive than other pads I've used. 

Most 18-inch gaming laptops are looking to act as a full desktop replacement, and that means providing you with all the ports you could need in one go. For the most part, the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 achieves this goal - you're getting two USB-As for your mouse and keyboard, a USB-C for an additional accessory or hooking up to a dock (as well as a Thunderbolt 4), and a 2.5G LAN connection as well. That's all well and good for a casual everyday setup, but if you're adding macro pads, 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:gaming headsets, 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:PC steering wheels, or 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:joysticks to your experience you'll need something a little more prepared. The Alienware M18, for example, doubles your USB-A 🐻and Thunderbolt 4 selection compared to Asus.

And I really would recommend adding a headset to this setup. The speakers included on the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 are bafflingly poor. This is a 🤡near $4,000 gam💝ing laptop, and it sometimes sounds like a tablet. Dialogue was often completely buried in my own testing, and music felt flat and almost suppressed by the system's low power. Of course, you don't spend this much on a gaming laptop for the sound experience, but if you're going to be chilling with movies or music it's well worth noting.

I'll m💧ಞention that 720p webcam out of due diligence. For some reason we're still in a world where $4,000 doesn't buy you a camera from the last five years - but this bizarre problem isn't isolated to the Scar 18 by any means.

Performance

The 2024 Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 hasn't made too many moves under the hood. There aren't any new mobile graphics cards to take advantage of right now, and Intel's gaming-focused Raptor Lake Refresh 14th generation range of processors is itself a minor iterative upgrade over last year's 13th ♒generation. Wi൩th the same RTX 4080 or, in the case of our testing, RTX 4090 GPUs running the show, things aren't going to be drastically different here. 

On average, 🧸benchmark results are 8% down over last year's Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 at Performance Mode power settings, but it's still beating the Blade 18 by nearly 18%. Like for like performance puts the new Scar 18 3% behind the Alienware M18 R1, though - wher♈e the previous generation was just edging ahead of Dell's monster. That's not a great look for the 2024 iteration and while these numbers are still incredibly high, it looks like the new generation has grown complacent where its predecessor shot for the stars. 

There were no thermal concerns during these benchmark tests, aside from the traditionally noisy fans, and results were consistent across multiple runs after regular reset and🅰 update processes. That's not to diminish the real power of this machine - after all, these are scores that smaller gaming laptops can only dream of. You're never going to be left in the dark here, this is a complꦫetely future-proofed rig that still manages to post numbers that would have had us laughing just a few years ago.

In-game benchmarks tell a similar story. Shadow of the Tomb Raider is rock solid at over 200fps in 1080p, only slightly dropping below that threshold in native 1600p resolution. These scores beat last year's model, with the exception of the High / 1080p benchmark which performed particularly well on the previous generation. It also trounces both the Alienware M18 R1 and 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 at these QHD+ resolutions as well. 

Total War: Three Kingdoms is more stressful on a system, but the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 still managed to hold on. Machines tend to drop off their 1080p heights pretty quickly once you get to QHD numbers he✃re, but like last year the 2024 model holds the line,ꦉ beating the Razer Blade 18 and Strix Scar 16. Performance mirrors that of the 2023 model pretty closely, just edging out ahead at the very top of QHD Ultra settings. 

Unfortunately I don't have data for Returnal, Rainbow Six Extraction, or Hitman 3 across the Razer Blade 18 or Asus ROG Strix Scar 16. However, comparing the 2024 model's performance against that of the previous generation and the M18 R1 reveals൲ an interesting improvement in QHD performance. While Returnal doesn't natively benchmark at the 1600p these machines run at, that High 1440p performance exceeds Ultra 1080p numbers in the case of the 2024 model. However, both models lag behind the Alienware M18 R1 in this 1440p performance still. 

Rainbow Six Extraction is our go-to fo💟r low pressure first person shooter framerates, and the 2024 Scar 18 is miles ahead of the Alienware M18 here. That performancওe was still ever so slightly behind last year's version, but I did notice some evening out in QHD+ numbers here again. 

Hitman 3 can humble a gaming laptop, especially when we get to QHD+ Ul🙈tra settings. Numbers here are pretty close, though - with 1080p performance only slightly nudging aheౠad of higher resolutions. Everything is far closer here, you're more likely to get similar framerates at the top end of QHD settings as you would in FHD from this model compared to both the previous generation and the Alienware M18 R1. 

Should you buy the 2024 Asus ROG Strix Scar 18?

The Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 remains an absolute powerhouse, even if some performance indicators are lagging behind last year's release. This is a premium gaming laptop, though, and if you're not fussed about that Mini LED display it's well worth checking out the 2023 model for some additional savings. That's going to be a serious sacrifice if you do plan on using your laptop's built in display, though. The Nebula HDR panel on here is a sight to behold - but whether it's enough to carry this iteration through to the setups of gamers willing to invest this muꦚch cash remains to be seen. 

How we tested the 2024 Asus ROG Strix Scar 18

I used the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 for all daily work and play over the course of one week, while testing alongside the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 for another week. In that time I tested with the laptop docked to a QHD+ external display for a little of the time, but primarily using the machine on a desk for both gameplay and work. I stress tested across Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Total War: Three Kingdoms, Returnal, Rainbow Six Extraction, and Hitman 3, as well as using industry benchmarks from 3D Mark, PCMark 10, and Cinebench. I also tested across We Happy Few and Assassin's Creed: Odyssey in that time as well. For more information on 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:how we test gaming laptops, check out the full 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy. 

If you're between brands, check out the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Alienware laptops or the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Razer laptops. Or, if you're after something a little cheaper take a look at the latest 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:gaming laptop deals on the shelves. 

The 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming handheld scene has changed dramatically, and the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Asus ROG Ally is somewhat responsible for the shift. Valve’s 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Steam Deck certainly paved the way for the platform overall, but the Ally has ultimately helped facilitate more competition in the space in terms of cost and performance. Plenty of familiar brands are now making moves to grab a slice of the tasty portable PC pie, and now that the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Lenovo Legion GO and upcoming MSI Claw serve as alternatives, it makes sense that Asus is pꦆlanning its next move.

Word of the Asus ROG Ally 2 comes courtesy of , who recently claims to have sat down for a chat with Asus India Vic𒆙e President Arnold Su at a Zenbook 14 OLED event. During the interview, the VP seemingly stated that the company “ꦕmost likely will launch a second generation [handheld gaming console] this year.” 

In addition, Su revealed that the Asus ROG Ally 2 “will still keep the Windows features, but we will focus more on gaming.” Whether that means it’ll boast a software suite that better bridges the gap between Windows 11 and a console-like experience remains to be seen, andꦏ the comments could realistically refer to any number of changes that improves the overall core experience.

It’s worth noting that while news of a potential Asus ROG Ally 2 reportedly comes from the senior Asus India VP, the company hasn’t officially announced plans for a new gaming handheld. Therefore, I’d absolutely take any mention of it for now with a grain of salt, as this could just be a reference to vague plans that are on the ca🐭rds. That said, Asus consistently puts out new hardware, so the idea of a new portable PC arriving this soon isn’t completely farfetched.

For now, there are plenty of handheld gaming PCs out there, and if you’re looking for something truly premium, you may want to swing by our 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Ayaneo 2S review. Alternatively, we’ve also got 🦋a few current deals below that may comꦿe in handy.

Looking for something with a portable punch? Check out the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming laptop for a selection of powerhouse rigs.

Of course, the main reason to pick up the Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro is performance, as the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming phone contender will sit on the most powerful throne throughout 2024. That said, prices do start at $1,200, so it’d be disappointing if it didn’t boast serious smartphone specs. We’re talking about a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor that could give even 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:gaming handhelds a run for their money, and up to 24GB RAM means you won’t have to worry about whethe♐r your phone will actually run the latest games for at l𒁏east a few years.

I think one of the things that caught me off guard most is the fact the Asus ROG Phone 8 has effectively got me into mobile gaming. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not going to retire my 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Steam Deck and start using this pricey phone full time, but I’m one step closer to regularly investing in the latest Play Store releases. There’s just something about the device’s design and physical prowess that makes playing games on it more appealing, not to mention perks like capacitive shoulder buttons to help controls fee🦩l that bit less virtual. 

Specs

Spec sheets often only tell half a story, but let’s delve into what the Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro has to offer on paper before discussing my personal experience. As mentioned above, the latest version of the smartphone is armed with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, but the rest varies based on whether you opt for the vanilla or ‘Pro’ version of the pocket rocket. The latter comes with up to 24GB LPDDR5X RAM and 1TB s🦋torage, whereas the base model sticks with a evꦫer so slightly more conventional 16GB RAM and 512GB storage combo. 

For context, the iPhone 𓂃15 Pro Max comes with 8GB RAM across the board, and even other gaming p💃hones like the Black Shark 5 Pro cap out at 16GB. So, it’s needless to say Asus is trying to flex when it comes to ROG Phone 8 Pro specs, but I wouldn’t expect anything less from the company that usually takes the charge with smartphone performance. 

Design

I’m not saying I completely hated the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate’s gamer getup, but I’m delighted at the approach with the Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro this time around. At a glance, you won’t necessarily even realise it's designed for gaming, as its sleeker profile and slimmer body add an understated elegance compared to predecessors. The newcomer is also the first ROG phone to f﷽eature a truly edge-to-edge display, with virtually non-existent bezels helping bring out the best in its 6.78-inch E6 AMOLED display.

Like its predecessor, the ROG Phone 8 Pro also wears a small screen at the rear, but this time it’s a dot matrix display, dubbed AniMe Vision, that hides under the device’s black matte glass back. I personally absolutely love this approach, as while it definitely feels more like a novelty, it’s one that gives the device a unique flare that avoids looking garish. It is surprisingly practical, as it will enable you to view battery life and time at a glance. However, I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t the fact it can display custom animations that remind me of something like the Vectrex, a𓂃nd there’s even a little ‘pew pew’ spaceship GIF included in the Armoury Crate menu. 

In the hand, the ROG Phone 8 Pro feels relatively pleasant to hold, with buttons like power and volume feeling appropriately within each on the right side. Activating the under screen finᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚgerprint sensor can also be easily achieved with one hand, and as I’ve become extremely clumsy with phones in my𝓡 old age, I didn’t feel like I was going to drop this rectangle like with other slidey devices I’ve used previously. 

That couldꦜ be down to the textured feel of that aforementioned matte back in comparison to glossy glass devices, or perhaps Asus has managed to balance its 225g weight nicely. Regardless, using the ROG Phone 8 Pro for everyday vertical tasks feels good, and things only get more interesting when you flip it horizontally.

Other notable design changes include a chonkier camera system bump round back and a new screen cut out at the front for the forward facing camera. Sadly, Asus decided to stick with its weird USB-C port placement at the bottom, which makes using mobile controllers like the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Backbone One a bit of a pain. The fact it lives next to a 3.5mm headphone jack helps mitigate the design choice, and there’s nothing stopping you using gamepads with the phone sitting slightly off centre. Nevertheless, it does hinder the prospect ofꦓ universal compatibility📖 with controllers in the future, and it puts a damper on what is otherwise a really strong setup. 

Features

If you were a big fan of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Asus ROG phone 7 Ultimate’s capacitive shoulder buttons, you’ll be delighted to hear they’re back. Just like with the previous iteration, the touch triggers provide something a bit more tactile in terms 🐓of controls, using pressure sensitivity to emulate the sensation of something mechanical. For the most part, they work wonderfully,ꦑ and they help shooters like Call of Duty Mobile feel less like a boiled down version of its console release counterparts. 

However, if you really can’t vibe with the idea of touch controls, you’ll find an AeroActive Cooler X in the box with two rear triggers attached (providing you opt for the top end model). Just ꦜlike before, the add-on attaches to the phone via its extra side-mounted USB-C port, doubling up as a way to squeeze more performance out of its Snapdragon APU and add some physical buttons. It doesn’t remotely make up for making the use of mobile gamepads awkward, but it does the job if you want more physical controls within reach. 

Now that we’ve got to grips with the physical side of the ROG Phone 8, let’s talk software. Naturally, this new flagship Asus device comes armed with Android 14, the latest version of the operation system, meaning it benefits from all the new features and Google services you’d expect. I’m actually pretty impressed with just how clean the OS insta✨lled on this phone🍌 is, as I was expecting it to feature some quirks since it's a ‘gaming phone’. Yet, everything looks pretty close to what you’d find on something like the Google Pixel 8, with all the extra gaming goodies instead residing within the Armoury Crate app. 

I use an Asus laptop as my daily driver, and it’s needless to say me and Armoury Crate have a complicated relationship. Yet, the mobile version of the software manages to avoid the sins of its father, as it offers up swift access to performance profiles, virtual button mapping, AniMe Vision options, and system stats. The interface avoids feeling o🧜ver cluttered, and every time I launched it in search of something, I was able to find what I was looking for within a few seconds.

I did admittedly get a bit worried when I was launched into an ‘unboxing mission’ after booting the phone u🐈p for the first time, but mini game tutorials aside, the software also avoids feeling intrusive when not in use. This all helps the phone feel less aggressively gamery while also ensuring that if you want to use it as a portable mobile powerhouse, you’ll be able to do so instantly.

Performance 

If you’ve ever tried to run games on your smartphone, you’ll know the experience can vary wildly. You don’t necessarily need a gaming monster like the ROG Phone 8 Pro to run every Play Store release out there, but you will undoubtedly come across some 3D outings that can’t quite pull off the same slick frame rates without a decent chip. Therefore, I was hungry for next to flawless performance and stability while taking Asus’ Snapdragon 8 Gen 3-powered c🦹hampion for a spin, and my tests left me feeling satiated.

Call of Duty isn’t normally my go-to shooter, but I decided to give the mobile version a whirl using the ROG Phone 8, as it helped me try out both the phone’s capacitive triggers and the optional cooler’s physical buttons. It takes a lot to shock me when it comes to speedy visuals, especially since I’m used to testing the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best graphics cards fᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚor desktop, but I was taken back with how slick the FPS game felt on the phone’s 165Hz screen.

It’s worth notinꦰg that COD Mobile specifically caps out at 120fps, so actually making full use of that high🉐er refresh rate is harder than you’d think. Yet, breezing through and gunning down online strangers at a high frame rate using those touch triggers still felt incredible, and I’m excited to try out other shooters when I get the chance.

Next, I installed Honkai Star Rail, as I’ve experienced the frame rate horrors this RPG is capable of first hand on lesser devices (looking at you, 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Logitech G Cloud). Again, my standards were high going in, but I’m pleased to say my performance expectations were matched. Sadly, the gatcha game is capped at 60fps on mobile, meaning the experience felt pretty much the same as it did on the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Razer Edge. Still, we’re talking about no jittering or fps dips, which means i💯t✱ passes the smell test on that front.

Did you know there’s a mobile port of Alien Isolation? No? Well, neither did I before looking into games to try out on the ROG Phone 8. Trying out one of my favorite horror PC romps on a high spec smartphone felt like a great way to test for any performance caveats, but I was actually initially greeted with a “this devic🔯e is not supported” message after launching the game. Despite this, the game actually runs flawlessly, and while the frame rate is most certainly capped at 60fps, the high refresh 2,400 by 1,080 screen helps the iconic sci-fi adventure look incredible. I also still jumped out my skin while playing, which isn’t great when you’re holding an expensive rectangle made of glass.

In my quest to find demanding Android games to make𒈔 the ROG Phone 8 sweat, I also acquainted myself with the world of Black Desert. This is where that included USB-C cooler comes in handy, as this game warns you before jumping in ꧟that max settings can overheat your device. However, even without the add-on, I was able to maintain 60fps without things getting too toasty, and automatic settings didn’t feel the need to kick in for protection. If I manage to properly get into the MMO, I’ll be sure to update this review if any performance shenanigans occurs over time, but I’m pretty impressed with what I’ve experienced thus far.

To round off testing, I decided to try out a bit of cloud ga💮ming using GeForce Now and Xbox Game Pass. Yes, using streaming on a phone of this calibre is slightly ironic, but it makes for a good way to test out the phone’s wireless stability. As you’d maybe expect from a mobile in 2024, I was able to play PC and console games without any hiccups whatsoever, and I enjoyed roaming around Night City in Cyberpunk 2077 using the device more than I thought I would.

As for battery life, I was able to get around 4-5 hours out of the ROG Phone 8 when running intensive games, and the device typically drains around 20% every 12 hours when sitting idle. Not too shabby 💧considering it’s armed with a smaller capacity than its predecessor, and it’ll last around 2 days if you prevent it from working too hard. Generally, I was able to get more than a full day out of the phone with some gaming thrown in with a single charge, but you can somewhat strike a balance by taking advantage of Armoury Crate profiles.

Camera

Typically, I wouldn’t expect a gaming phone to boast anything more than an acceptable camera. Yet, the Asus ROG Phone 8’s tri-camera setup is robust, producing decent results across all lenses. I take a lot of product photos for reviews, and the jump compared to devices from a few years ago is pretty significant. The 50MP sensor handles low light environ💃ments effectively, and colors hold up in terms of accuracy. 

As a content creator nerd, I’m also stoked about the ROG Phone 8’s video capture capabilities, as it can both pull off 4k 60fps and ramp things up to 8k 24fps. That latter resolution will serve as many people’s first experience messing around with anything beyond UHD, and switching to the higher spec output doesn’t compromise other qualities. Simply put, there’s a chance I’ll actually retire my full blown Sony๊ 4K HandyCam thanks to this phone.

Should you buy the Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro? 

The Asus ROG Phone 8 stands as a testament to the maturity of gaming phones as we enter 2024, and it’ll no doubt sit pre♚tty on the premium gaming phone throne throughout the year ahead. Its price does make my head hurt a little, and I am still a bit mad at that off-centre USB-C port hampering mobile controller compatibi꧙lity. However, If you’re looking for something with specs and power that should withstand the test of time, Asus’ new frontrunner is a solid option, especially if you’re not really into the aesthetic tropes of typical gaming devices out there.

Ultimately, if you’re looking to use a smꦑartphone as one of your main gaming platforms, the Asus ROG Phone 8 is well worth the investment. Otherwise, you’ll be able to pick up a similar premium Android daily driver without splashing out to this degree. If any device is going to help you properly get into mobile gaming, it’s going to be this one, even if the Play Store itself has a somewhat limited library.  

How I tested the Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro

Over the course of a month, I used the Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro as my daily driver for both calls, texts, internet access, and mobile gaming. I used the device connected to both my at-home Gigabit Wi-Fi connection and 5G where possible, which enabled me to download games like Call of Duty Mobile, Black Desert, Alien Isolation, and Honkai Star Rail. While testing each, I used on-screen controls, the phone’s touch triggers, a🌼nd the included AeroActive Cooler X in compatible scenarios. I also connected controllers like the Backbone One and Razer Kishi to check whether the offset USB-C port would affect compatibility.

If you’d like to learn more about how we test portable gaming devices, check out our 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Gamesradar+ Hardware policy for more information.

Looking for more portable devices? Check out the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming laptop for a selection of powerful on the go rigs. Alternatively, stick with mobile and take a peek at the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming tablet options in 2024.

When it comes to building the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming PC, size matters, and specs are naturally tied to case size. That’s not to say you can’t cram powerhouse components into an extremely small footprint, as that’s exactly what rigs like Intel’s NUC (Next Unit of Compute) machines have set out to achieve in the past. 𒁃Now that the tech giant has tasked other companies with the qu🃏est of putting together similar compact gaming machine, my brain is firing off living room ideas all over the place.

Unveiled during CES 2024, the Asus ROG NUC is a 25-litre mini gaming PC that the company claims “will cater to the needs of esports enthusiasts”. That’s a roundabout way of saying its discrete RTX 4070 graphics and Intel Core Ultra i9 processor will help you boost fps to competitive levels, which is impressive given its tiny footprint. Even if you’re not into virtually shooting in a sporting fashion, this dinky𓃲 rig is going to outpace many chonkier mid-range machines out there in the latest games

If you’re on more of a budget, you’ll be pleased to hear there are lower spec versions of the Asus ROG NUC, with Intel Arc and RTX 4060 options serving as an alternative. Even then, you’ll still end up with a Intel Core Ultra 7 155H chip, 32GB DDR5 RA🎉M – a bananas ensemble that’d end up taking up far more space if I were to attempt a similar build myse🧸lf. 

And 🐲that’s exactly why the Asus ROG NUC is currently occupying my living room endeavours, as the setup feels impossibly small. I was well aware that rigs like this were a possibility, but the company’s whole approach to design and implementation hits pretty hard. I previously used a PS5-sized rig as part of my setup with an RTX 3070 within, but it still felt like it occupied too much spac✃e to permanently pitch up.

It’s also worth noting that the ROG NUC uses a tool-less chassis that’ll allegedly enable you to carry out any upgrades within 10 minutes. As someone who’s always looking to refine and improve anything dwelling in my house, this is invaluable, and it has me wondering whether the tiny rig could outlast everything else I currently use Steam on. After all, while I’m a big fan of using the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming handheld connected to a dock, mileage with 𒉰newer games will inevitably decrease month by month, and upgrading means buying an entirely new machine.

💖Naturally, we'll need to run our own tests to see whether the ROG NUC PC lives up to  my expectations, and Asus hasn't mentioned any word of price yet. Still, it's great to see smaller rigs arrive in a big way, and this system could be the start of something special.

In Association with ROG Ally

Looking for something more portable? Check out the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming laptop for systems you can take on the go. Alternatively, take a peek at the the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Steam Deck dock and turn your handheld into a desktop hybrid.

Asus unveiled its new redesigned Zephyrus lineup at CES 2024, with both the G16 and G14 getting some special treatment. The new machines are now kitted out with all-aꦰluminum CNC chassis' with a seriously thin and light form factor. I fell in love with the way the Zephyrus G14 paired power with portability back in the day - now I'm all but married to the device. The 2024 G14 shaves 200g off the weight of the 2023 device, with a 4mm reduction in thickness. 

Of course, there's a downside to this super lightweight design. As we saw in the new HP Omen Transcend 14, Asus has cut down the top end of its GPU offering in the G14. Last year's 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:2023 Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 was capable of💯 running an RTX 4080 or RTX 4090 in its chunkier underbody, whereas 2024's entry is limited to an RTX 4070 at the most. That's certainly not as res☂trictive as it may sound, though. The vast majority of everyday players are going to tap out at this 4070 position - it's a sweet spot between affordability and performance that keeps the new Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 super streamlined. 

While the G16 takes things up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 processor, the G14 sticks with its AMD roots as it has done for the last two years. The newly announced AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS is the crown jewel here, but the biggest change comes up top. I first saw Asus's Nebula HDR Mini LED display on the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 last year - and it was a revelation. While the same tech was injec🎉ted into 2023's G14, I was disappointed to find i𓆉t was a watered down version.

Asus heard me crying. We're still not up to the 1,100 peak brightness of the M16's Nebula, but with an OLED panel, 1♍,000,000:1 contrast ratio, and 3K resolution this is still a major step up.

Asus has hit Razer where it hurts here. The recipe looks familiar - a unibody design keeping things slick and stylish while offering a high end display and the latest components, it all sounds very Sneki. While we don't have any spec♌ifics yet, it's safe to assume the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 could well be a lot cheaper than the Blade 14 - if previous years' releases and that classic Razer tax are anything to go by.

The expensive, heavy LED matrix lid is gone, the whole unit looks incredibly sleek, and there's still some upgrades under the hood. This is one 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Asus gaming laptop I'm particularly excited to get my hands o🌟n🐎 in 2024.

In Association with ROG Ally

Of course, if you're still between brands we're also rounding up all the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Razer laptops and the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Alienware laptops on the market right now. Or, if you're after something more permanent, check out the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming PCs. 

To grab what we consider to be one of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming handhelds at the moment, you’ll want to swing by Best Buy, as the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Asus ROG Ally Ryzen Z1 edition is down . Again, it’s easy to miss this Black Friday gaming deal if you’re distracted ওlooking at the more expensive AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme version, and while that portable PC is also worth picking up if✤ you prioritize power, the cheaper model could be a better fit for many of you out there.

For starters, if your budget is limited to under $500 and you’re eyeing up 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Black Friday gaming laptop deals, chances are you won’t find what you’re looking for. Even if you do end up finding something more affordable, mobile rigs arguably aren’t the most efficient way to run games 🌞on the go, as PC performance is now available in something with roughly the same footprint as a Nintendo Switch. Don’t get me wrong, laptops can still provide a desktop punch away from home, but not everyone is looking for a larger screen and higher resolutions.

Should you buy an Asus ROG Ally Ryzen Z1 Edition? 

There are a few things worth considering before diving on this gaming handheld deal. As the name suggests, the handheld is rocking the ‘non-extreme’ version of AMD’s RDNA 3 APU, meaning it features scaled back performance compared to the flagship 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Asus ROG Ally. Naturally, that’ll tie into how far you can boost fps, and the gap between this version of the Ally and something like the Steam Deck is much narrower. However, keep in mind that the above 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Black Friday deal brings the portable PC down to the same price 🎐as Valve’s powerhouse, so that itself offsets some of the caveꦇats. 

Circling back to the idea of buying the ROG Ally instead of a laptop, it’s wise to weigh up the pros and cons before clicking buy. For one, most mobile gaming rigs that cost under $450 aren’t going to fair well ꦯhandling the latest releases, and reducing settings and resolution using a 15-inch screen will produce some pretty unsavoury results. Not that Asus’ handheld is going to provide better performance than a discrete GPU, but it's harder to notice discrepancies on a smaller seven-inch screen.

In any case, if you’re looking for a handheld with more heft than the Nintendo Switch, the Asus ROG Ally Ryzen Z1 version is going to fill the brief. If you’re still window shopping, you’ll want to take a peek at 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Black Friday Steam Deck deals, as there are a few portable PCs out there that’ll provide an impressive portable gaming experienc♎e for less.  

Looking for more handheld offers? Check out 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Black Friday Nintendo Switch deals for something console flavoured. Alternatively, swing by澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询: Black Friday PS5 deals for a 4K system you can use at home. 

18-inch gaming laptops have firmly settled onto the shelves now. These powerful rigs are capable of running top shelf graphics cards and incredibly speedy processors in chassis' designed to replace your traditional desktop gaming PC. They make up some of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming laptops on the market from a pure performance perspective right now, but there arಞe two front-runners from the class of 2023. 

The 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Alienware M18 and 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 both offer extreme levels of power but they also make different sacrifices in their specs and build as well. I've had my hands on both over the last couple of months, working out exactly which model those af🎀ter a luxury big-screen experience should be buying. Both gaming laptops have earned a spot on our top list, with Asus's entry being the most powerful laptop I've ever tested, and the M18 being the best all-round 18-incher for most players - due to its range of configuration options. 

That's not to say the decision is going to be clear-cut, though. There are just as many drawbacks to the M18 as there are extra features in the Scar 18. That's why I sat down with both laptops at the same time, during a particularly fortuitous crossover in review loans, to work out exactly who should be investing in which. One sits at the top of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Alienware laptops and the other at the top of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Asus gaming laptops around. If you find yourself coming back to the Alienware M18 vs Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 deꦿbate regularly, you'll find everything you need to know right here. 

Pricing and Configurations

Straight off the bat, it should be mentioned early that if you're working with a max $2,000 budget you'll be looking solely at the Alienware M18. You're not going to find any configurations (at MSRP) of the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 that will net you that big-screen experience at this price point. Asus's cheapest configuration sits at $2,499.99, thanks to the fact that the Scar 18 only ships with a top end Intel i9-13980HX processor and can't be configured past an RTX 4070 (and I've only seen a handful of those rigs in the UK, US models seem to bottom out at 4080s). You've got far more choice at the low🥀er end of the price spectrum with Ali🦋enware, then, but also at the top. 

A bank-busting configuration can send you home with a whopping 8TB SSD if you op﷽t for Alienwar﷽e, coming in at $4,549.99. By comparison, the $3,899.99 Asus maxes out at 2TB of storage. If you're going all out, you've got more room to spend on your M18 rig. 

Like for like pricing also puts th♒e Alienware M18 at a lower price point overall. The two laptops I reviewed were pretty evenly matched in their specs; the Alienware offering an Intel i9-13900HX processor with RTX 4090 GPU, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD, and QHD+ 165Hz display and Asus packing in an Intel i9-13980HX, RTX 4090, 32GB RAM, 2TB SSD, QHD+ 240Hz display. Bumping the Alienware spec up to a 13980HX (the 13900HX doesn't seem to be configurable with an RTX 4090 anymore) brings the price to $3,199.99 - $700 less than the same core components in the $3,899.99 Asus. Yes, you're doubling up your storage and grabbing a faster display, but that's still a considerable price difference.

Winner: Alienware M18

Design

Both the Alienware M18 and Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 are chunky laptops - there&ap🤪os;s no hiding that 18-inch form factor after all. However, the Alienware has a more refined design which, along with the thinner tapered lip at the front, makes it feel less imposing on the desk top. The effect was so impressive, I was shocked when trying to lift the rig with one hand, it's an aesthetic choice that makes the M18 feel far less chunky than it really is. 

By contrast, the ROG Strix Scar 18 has a boxier silhouette with sharper corners and blaring RGB ligh💃ts running along the front that add to that gaudy ☂aesthetic. The translucent plastic side panels certainly don't help, but this design will be down to personal taste. I personally found the see-through design to cheapen the feel of the device overall, especially as it creeps up through the main base plate towards the hinge. 

Both laptops are constru🌄cted of plastic in the main chassis area, with aluminium lids up top. Both these lid designs are fairly laid back, but with RGB switched on the Alienware is far more subtle. This is a sticking point for me, I personally prefer the aesthetic of the Scar 18 without LEDs, but the M18 with them. Both models offer lighting on their respective logos, but the Asus's ROG icon is far larger and features a blizzard of colors straight out of the box. Alienware keeps things to a cool and controlled 🔯blue on a smaller, neater alien head in the center, however the two-tone design of the gray plate itself and the black hinge might be a sticking point.

It simply doesn'📖t feel as sleek as the matte black Asus does when those lights are turnedꦗ off. Throw in the fact that the Alienware picked up significantly more fingerprints in my testing and the Scar 18 is picking up some points.

It'💎s a tough one to call, but the Alienware M18 has just tipped the scales here. The translucent plastic, garish RGB, and boxier outline of the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 are going to put more players off than win them𒆙 over.

Winner: Alienware M18

Portability

This is where Alienware falls down - and that's going to be a heavy fall. Theꦏ sheer weight of the M18 means it's never going to win awards for portability. Of course, neither machine is easy to transport, they've been designed to do just the opposite - sit on a desk and stay there. However, those who sꦉtill need the option to take their rig on the road will be sticking to Asus. 

Not only does the M18 weigh in at a record 4.23kg (9.32lbs) - over a kilogram more than the 3.1kg (6.8lbs) Scar 18, but its shape also holds it back from being thrown in a laptop. Like many 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Alienware laptops, the M18 sports a large recess at the back for the hinge. That's a frustration in smaller configurations - here it blocks the laptop from being transported in pretty much any 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:laptop backpack. 

Winner: Asus ROG Strix Scar 18

Display

Asus also has the upper hand when it comes to the display. While both laptops show off an incredibly imm💞ersive 18-inch panel, the QHD+ speed and overall vividity of the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 makes it far better than the Alienware M18. You're getting a 240Hz 2560 x 1600 display here, compared to the maximum 165Hz refresh rate on the QHD+ Alienware꧙. Considering the majority of current generation 18-inchers are using this 240Hz staple, that's a little disappointing. 

Of course, there's a caveat here. If you're a competitive plaཧyer, you might want to rethink your choice. The Alienware M18 also comes in an FHD+ flavor with a ma꧋ssive 480Hz refresh rate. That's incredible speed for those who want every frame to count, something no configuration of the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 can keep up with. 

Still, the majority of players are going to want a QHD resolution and will feel the pinch of that 165Hz refresh rate. I noted reduced m𝔍otion handling quality in my own testing, which - considerin🌜g the price of our review unit - was an unexpected sacrifice. 

Not only that, but colors and details were far more vivid on Asus's panel when put side by side. Alienware has a matte coating that dulls the picture slightly, which means colors can blanche in brighter environments and darker details aren't as easily discernible. While the screen included on the ROG Strix Scar 18 isn't the Mini LED I celebrated in the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Asus ROG Strix Scar 16, you🌊're still getting HDR and a more immersive experience overall. Side by side, the 🐎Alienware struggled to shine bright enough and the Asus was blinding. 

Winner: Asus ROG Strix Scar 18

Keyboard

Despite looking similar at first glance, the Alienware M18 and Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 sport very different keyboards. Personally, I preferred Alienware's overall, with its slightly larger keys and smoother switches. Of course typing feel is subjective, so if you do prefer a switch with more tension behind it the Scar is going to come out on top. I found that the Scar's keyboard offered more of a mechanical feel because of that extra snap under the fingertip, while the Alienware offers a more silky smooth set of keys to glide across. That's ironic, the M18 is the only model of the two thatꦑ can be configured to include a Cherry MX set of clickers underneath. 

The closer spacing also helps the M18's keyboard feel more cohesive - all the keys are sized in accordance with a standard gaming keyboard, whereas the Scar 18 drops the enter key to half the size and squeezes a miniature number pad on the right. Over on the M18 a full sized enter key feels far 𝓀more controlled under the hand, and you're getting a full number pad to boot. 

The Asus also inexplicably shifts everything on the function row over to the right, grouping buttons by secondary uses. That t𒁃ook a little getting used to in testing, and may become a frustration if you've already got muscle memory conditioned. While we're being this nitpicky, though, I did prefer the media control placement on the Scar 18. Playback and volume have their own section of the main base board here, whereas they're tacked onto the end of the function row on the M18. Asus's design is a lot easier to hit at a moment's notice, and I did find myself peering across the Alienware deck to try and locate the mute on more than a few occasions.

Winner: Alienware M18

Performance

Now we get to the good stuff, and the best news is that the Alienware M18 and Asus ROG Stri🍒x Scar 18 are relatively evenly matched in the power department. The two configurations I tested were incredibly similar, with RTX 4090 GPUs at the helm, 32GB RAM and the Scar 18 pushing only slightly ahead with an i9-13980HX CPU vs the Alienware's i9-13900HX. That meant they were poised to go toe-to-toe, and each device had its own set of wins by the time benchmarking was done. 

In-game tests across Shadow of the Tomb Raider🐟, Rainbow Six Extraction, and Hitman 3 worked particularly hard in the Scar 18's favor. These slightly 🌳less demanding titles were a breeze for the RGB machine, maxing out at 216fps in Rainbow Six on High settings and 187fps in Shadow of the Tomb Raider on Ultra. The M18 couldn't keep up with these moments, scoring a still respectable 168fps in Rainbow Six at High and 173fps across Lara Croft's Ultra adventures. 

However, the M18 didn't give up so easily. It edged just slightly ahead of the Scar 18 in Total War: Three Kingdoms and considerably ahead in Returnal. These heavier games normally give gaming laptops a tougher time, so when given the space to let loose it seems like the M18 is bett🦂er equipped. Still, ꦓit lagged behind in 3/5 tests, handing the majority win over to Asus in-game. 

The same is true f🎀or 3D Mark's Time Spy and Fire Strike industry tests, as well as PC Mark 10's CPU benchmark. The Scar 18 managed to nudge a lead in Fire Strike, while dropping slightly behind in Time Spy, but ultimately securing the win across 💃PC Mark 10. It's neck and neck here, but the Scar 18 is still, overall, the more powerful model - though granted, it's certainly not by much.

This is a tricky one to call, but going off pure numbers alone, the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 is the more powerful machine. That could easily be a draw should you ch𓆉oose to switch out your CPU for a more competitive Intel Core i9-13980HX model, though the real-world difference is likely to be negligible for the every day player.

Winner: Asus ROG Strix Scar 18

Extra features

Of course, there's always extra features to clean up. The Alienware M18 and Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 both have their own secret weapons that could make or break a buying decision. Need a webcam for work meetings? The M18's 1080p lens is far better value than the frustratingly low quality 720p model on the Scar. Don't want to bother with a gaming headset? ℱThe speakers on the Strix blow Alienware out the water. 

The rear ports of the M18 make far more sense for a desktop-ba🉐sed device, keeping all your cables neatly tucked away out of sight with a handful of options on each side to keep things close. You're also getting far more ports on Alienware's side, with loads of🍷 USB-C (with all their various power delivery and Thunderbolt 4 functions) to keep everything connected. By contrast, Asus packs everything around the sides, making for a spider-like mess of cables on top of the desk - not ideal for a permanent setup. 

However, Asus's software is far easier to navigate and keeps everything within a moment's notice as well. Dell's Alienware hub has had a makeover with this new release, but it's sti💖ll clunky and lacking behind others in its competition.

This is, of course, a case of picking and choosing what you need. Each machine brings its own extra special benefits to the table, so the winner is whichever suite of features works better for your use. In general, though, those looking to keep their laptop firm🥂ly on the table (and replace a desktop for work as well), will find the Alienware M18's spec sheet more interesting. However, those after a more immersive gaming experience first and foremost will be better set with the Asus ROG Strix Scarജ 18. 

Winner: Tie

Verdict

Both the Alienware M18 and Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 are impressive gaming laptops, but they will serve different playstyles in different ways. If you're looking for an all-in-one desktop replacement then the M18 is better suited. You're sacrificing some screen specs, but you may well be hooking it up to an external 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:gaming monitor anyway. You're making up for it with a lower price poi๊nt, better port pla🦄cement, and a 1080p webcam for work. 

M🐟eanwhile, those𝓡 looking for a better quality of experience overall (while sacrificing a few extra features and a subtle design) will prefer the boosted screen and portability of the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18. 

We're also exploring the world of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming PCs if you're after something more robust. Or, take a look at the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Razer laptops and the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best laptop backpacks for more inspiration. 

I'll get it out the way first, I'm coming into this review without being a massive fan of these larger laptops. They're designed as desktop replacements, with bulky chassis' that won't hold up to a backpack and a good range of ports to keep everything connected. Adding a screen, hinge, and the cooling required to run those high-end components in a technically portable device inflates the price over a standard 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:gaming PC significantly, though. Yes, these are hugely impressive gaming laptops - bu🥀t do we really need them? 

The answer for the majority of players is no. You're either going to spend less and bulk out a desktop PC or spend less and pick up an infinitely more portable gaming laptop to travel with. Very few players are looking to spend more on a top-of-the-range gaming laptop that sits permanently on their desktop - with the added luxury option of being able to close up and hit the road every now and then. If you're one of those players, though, you need to be looking at the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18. 

Design

If you've taken a look at the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 (or last year's 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:ROG Strix Scar 17 SE) you pretty much know what you're in for here. Asus hasn't reinvented anything for its larger device, this is a stretched Scar model with all the RGB your retinas can handle. The t♛ranslucent plastic sides and top of the main deck returns, which isn't my favorite design choice - it cheapens a premium-priced product, especial𒆙ly considering that plastic material is pervasive in this build. It does allow those LEDs to shine bright, but unless your setup is particularly color-heavy there's little other benefit.

Of course, the lid itself is a cool aluminum with a soft finish, offering up a dark contrast to the - again - RGB ROG logo in the corner. This is a bold piece of branding that won't suit those after a more professional finish, but I did enjoy the particularly crisp lighting effect up top. That's about as far as metal goes in this build, though - ꧅the rest is all plastic, a pleasantly durable feeling plastic - but plastic nonetheless. Considering this device is going to cost you upwards of $3,000 that's a little disappointing at first glance. But looking at the rest of the market, it's easy to see why this build is working in our favor. 

It's not like Asus messed up here. In fact, quite the opposite. The plastic material is still solid, durable, and feels great under the hand - and by dropping the price of the chassis, the ROG Strix Scar 18 has a major one-up against the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Razer Blade 18. After all, the Blade edges close to $5,000 in a comparable specification - a cost that must have been helped along by the full CNC Aluminum chassis. In a world of hugely expensive gaming laptop💟s, we'll take anything we can to bring that price down. 

In case it wasn't already obvious, the sheer size means this isn't a portable machine. The Strix Scar 18 weighs in at 3.1kg - that's an 80% increase over the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Asus ROG Zephyrus G14's 1.72kg. That means t𝓡his is going to be perched on your desk for the majority of🐼 its life, either as your central workspace or connected up to a monitor and extra peripherals. 

The 18-inch screen and full-sized keyboard are🉐 working hard ♌to offer an all-in-one PC gaming solution in this instance. Things get messy, however, should you wish to connect all your peripherals. Ports are placed on either side of the rig, making for cable management hell once you've got a monitor, speakers, keyboard, and mouse to contend with. Cables were still splayed across my desk even when I was using an external docking station. A rear I/O would have tidied this up immediately, so it's frustrating to see a giant RGB-covered grill sitting where my cables really should be in this form factor. 

Yes, yoꦇu're getting two USB-C ports running along the left, with an Ethernet and HDMI 2.1, but yﷺour USB-As sit along the other side of the machine. If you're running a desktop-style setup, this configuration isn't going to be the most attractive.

Features

The Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 has been developed to offer a feature set similar to that of a desktop PC while also carrying a luxury 18-inch display up top. That means you're getting bountiful ports, a solid tactile keyboard, four room-filling speakers, and high-end components under the hood. All that works together to almost replace a gaming PC -൲ besides those niggling port frustrations. 

The display up top certainly makes up for the wires below it though. A super bright (often too bright to be comfortably used indoors at full whack) 1600p display flickers at a super speedy 240Hz, offering stunning colors and vivid contrasts. This isn't the mini LED screen that other 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Asus gaming laptops are being graced with this generation, but the IPS panel still manages to pull excellent viewing angles without anything looking blanch🔯ed. Crawling through the crypts of Baldur's Gate I was surprised to be able to see every fine detail my torch would allow me to - without having to squint through any darker shadows. The sheer size of such a display also meant I was completely immersed in gameplay right from the start, with the space to take in the wide vistas of Red Dead Redemption 2 comfortably.

Underneath all that you've got a full-sized keyboard with a number pad included. Many of these larger gaming laptops are generous with their keyboards, save for the Razer Blade 18's strange numpad-less offering, and everything feels tactile and snappy under hand. There's a little more tension in each press than I'v🌳e found in other decks, giving a more mechanical feel to the chiclet keys which is appreciated considering actual mechanical switches will cost you a lot more. 

Everything is also nicely spaced - though if you regularly make use of the fu꧅nction row in your gameplay it's worth noting that everything is shifted slightly to the right here. 'F1' begins above the '2' key which did take some getting used to in certain games. Full-sized arrow keys, a comfortable snap, and a whole number pad to make use of means this 🤡is one of the most versatile keyboards I've used on a gaming laptop in a while though.

I was impressed by the keyboard, but it was the four speakers surrounding it 🍨that really blew me away. The Dolby Atmos support is the cherry on the cake, but even running natively this machine could pump out robust, well-rounded sound across my entire room. While not as loud as some, there's definitely more than enough volume in here, and the audio is still handled with care even at higher levels. Bass lines are kept distinct but powerful without disintegrating into crackly messes, while the top ranges still manage to carry excellent detailing as well. It's a shame that the particularly loud fans will get in the way during actual gameplay.

Those fans are needed though. Asus has sent its Scar 18 off with the very best components you can squeeze into a gaming laptop right now. All configurations start off with an Intel Core i9-13980HX processor but split into a choice between an RTX 4080 or RTX 4090 GPU in the US (I spotted some RTX 4070 models floating around UK retailers as well). That's still an incredible combination, pairing the DLSS 3 support of high-end 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:graphics cards with the octa-core hyper-threading raw power of Intel's biggest mobile chipꦐ to dat🌟e.

It's no wonder Asus has paid so much attention to cooling then. The two fans sit over the CPU and GPU respectively, channeling a steady airflow through the entire chassis with plenty of opportunities for escape. It's a sophisticated system that works well. I never noticed the keyboard or main deck area heating up to uncomfortable temperatures - even after longer sessions in more demanding games on the Turbo preset. Yes, those fans are going to call for one of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming headsets, but your fingertips will thank you.

Elsewhere you'll find a MUX switch to swap your GPU output and a 720p webcam. The latter is still frustrating, especially in a machine of this expense in 2023. 1080p has been the standard for so long now it's baffling that gaming laptop brands still insist on u🎶sing an almost useless lens - especially in a rig designed to take over from a full PC setup.

Performance

Shocking nobody, the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 takes the power of its high-end components and channels it all into a supremely fast machine. Between extremely high framerates, rock-solid reliability, and even the option to output to one of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best 4K monitors (with ray tracing no less), this is the best performance we've seen froﷺm a gaming laptop yet. 

The extra space in the chassis compared to the Razer Blade 18 means you're getting vastly improved performance 🌳in both industry tests and in-game benchmarks. While the Blade was spitting out a respectable 155fps in Shadow of the Tomb Raider's QHD+ Ultra settings, the Strix was reliably pumping out average framerates of 171fps. The Scar 18 nailed a 23% increase in performance from the Time Spy benchmark and a 28% boost in Fire Strike. Yes, the Blade 18 had a slightly weaker processor in our testing, but that i9-13950HX configuration comes in at around $600 more than Asus's more powerful entryꦉ. 

This k🉐ind of performance can easily hold up against a gaming PC - it's why you're interested in buying a larger 18-inch gaming laptop after all. Everything about the As⛎us ROG Strix Scar 18's design and feature list has been configured to reach these heights, and this laptop hits that brief with aplomb.

The 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 was the most🦩 powerful gaming laptop I had tested before the Strix Scar 18. While there are some tests that keep the dual-screened Zephyrus in the running, though, the majority of benchmarks and 3D Mark runs put the Scar 18 on top. Yes, the Duo 16 is doing all this while running a second screen - which has to be taken into account - but on paper, the 18-incher has stolen the title.

Three-figure framerates aꦏbound here - you're going to be hitting those lofty goals no matter what you throw at the Scar 18. That's incredible - even though these kinds of speeds are available across the new generation, I've ne📖ver seen test after test stick above 100fps before. Between more demanding games like Returnal and Total War: Three Kingdoms, and more Nvidia-friendly titles like Shadow of the Tomb Raider, this machine was consistently offering up some of the highest numbers we've seen in a benchmark session yet.

Should you buy the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18?

Very few players wiౠll get their money's worth from an 18-inch gaming laptop. By design, they're too large to fulfill that portable gameplay lifestyle we've been sold and don't quite hold up to the upgradeability and connectivity on offer from a gaming PC. Add in the fact that they🧸 cost significantly more than either a smaller rig or a desktop, and the market is limited. 

Still, if you are looking for a desk-based gaming laptop and you've got the budget to spend big (but you still need to be able to transport your rig every now and then), this is the model I'd recommend. The Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 packs a serious punch, going over Razer's head in terms of both raw component power and resulting speeds. You're not getting𝔉 as sleek a chassis as the Blade 18, but the chunkier form factor does lend itself to a significant boost in performance for less cash - and that꧑'s a win for the vast majority of players. 

How we tested the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18

I used the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 for all daily work and play (while also testing against the Alienware M18) over the course of three weeks. By default, the Scar 18 was hooked up to a Samsung Odyssey G5 gaming monitor for work and the odd hour of gameplay, but primarily set up as an all-in-one device for everyday play. During this time I was playing Baldur's Gate 3, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Planet Coaster while testing across Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Total War: Three Kingdoms, Returnal, Rainbow Six Extraction, and Hitman 3 for in-game benchmarking. For more information on 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:how we test gaming laptops, check out the full 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy. 

Updated 09/07/2023: This headline has been altered to reflect our recent testing following the review of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Alienware M18.

We're also rounding up all the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Alienware laptops and the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Razer laptops on the market right now. Or, if you're after some transport options, check out the best laptop backpacks available now. 

The ROG Raikiri Pro hopes to burn its way through the competitive rankings of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best PC controllers, with compatibility on Xbox as well. This is no surprise really since th🐠e🦹 gamepad takes on a pretty common design philosophy of the controller market:

"People like the Xbox controller, let's take one of those and MoDIFY iT in a way that suits our brand."

In the looks department, it's clear that's what Asus was thinking here. The Raikiri Pro is e♒asily one of the best-looking controllers on the market with ROG branding and stunning lighting hammering that home, but I'm not sure those looks alone warrant the hype this gamepad built up.

At an MSRP of $150 / £150, it certainly isn't as expensive as some pro controllers can be these days. Unfortunately, that design philosophy is indeed a common one, and that means there are plenty of Xbox controller lookalikes that are cheaper, more ergonomic, and will serve you b🔯etter overall.

Design

The Asus ROG Raikiri Pro certainly has a more striking design than a lot of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Xbox Series X controllers, at least without getting down and dirty with custom skins. A lot of my time with the Raikiri Pro had me wondering if Asus was trying to make something that resembled the DualSense controller for PS5 here. The faceplates and grips are dotted with tiny textures and little ROG inscriptions that are similar to the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:PS5 controller's embossed face button textures.

The front of the controller is where a lot of design has been focused. On the left-hand side, you have all the ROG logos, but across some bold LED lines that split the pad down the middle as though they were tectonic plates, there&a𝔉pos;s an almost transparent panel that adds an entirely different dynamic.

The lighting here, although pointless to gameplay and everything else, is actually stunning. I can't give it enough credit in the looks department, and the way you can customize it with Asus's full suite of effects and colors is really cool. Although I'm not the biggest fan of this gamepad for reasons I'll come onto, I can't fault the way it look✤s.

In shape and build, the Raikiri Pro is very similar to the standard Xbox Series X controller, and besides the textured grips which feel a bit like sandpaper on your skin, it feels almost identical in the hands. The standard A, X, B, and Y buttons occupy the face, and an Xbox power button sits in the upper middle. This is accompanied by the standard share, pause, and in-game menu buttons, too. While I like the😼 aesthetics of this controller for the most part, I feel it is let down by the lettering on the face buttons, and the size of these function buttons. Most folks will know what buttons they're pressing, but for anyone coming from a PlayStation controller, the lettering will be really difficult to see without squinting hard and moving the gamepad within an inch of their face. 

The thumbsticks are indented and textured around the sides, although still don't prevent slipping. There's a circular 8-way D-pad which feels like a cheaper version of the one found on the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Razer Wolverine V2 Pro, in thཧat it almost slides in the direction you're pressing more than it pushes down.

There are an additional four back buttons꧟ on this controller, but their design is all over the plac♓e and I'll explain why when we get to the performance section.

Elsewhere, the controller features a USB-C connection type, wired and wireless use, and a quoted battery life of up to 48 hours with vibration and lighting off. I didn't actually get to test this in its full capacity, because one of the most annoying things about this controller is that it can't connect to the Xbox Series X or S wirelessly. Given that I wanted to test connectivity on𓆉 multiple devices more than I did the battery life, the controller would charge whenever I wanted to play games on Xbox. The Raikiri Pro can also connect via Bluetooth, which will make it very handy as a mobile controller.

As standard on the majority of modern controllers these ꧂days, you get a 3.5mm headphone jack at the bottom, as well as a small mute button to the right of it. Inside the box, you get a 3m USB-C to USB cable, and one feature I do love is that on the controller's back, there's a handy little compartment for holding the USB wireless dongle. This is truly excellent, and I wish more controllers would include something like this so these things don't get lost so easily.

Features

Ok, fine, I'll talk about the blo🀅ody OLED display.

The ROG Raikiri Pro features a small OLED display at the top of its face. Why, I hear you ask? Well, in an ideal world, this would help to centralize controller customization and be a real answer to all those annoyances of trying to change button mappings, lighting, and deadzones with either controller software, or function button shortcuts like with the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:GameSir T4 Kalied, or 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Victrix Pro BFG.

In reality, though, this OLED display is the epitome of style over substance. You can change profiles, system, connection type, screen brightness, and turn-off time, as well as *checks notes* change the wallpaper.

Just going to let that breathe for a moment.

It isn't entirely useless, but navigating this menu would have made sense 🎉if you could actually use the controller's main buttons. As it happens, you have to use two tiny buttons on the top of the controller that are really pernickety and instil the same kind of navigational annoyance that button combinations would. To make it worse, you can't change button mappings without connecting to a PC and using Armoury Crate. 

For those that want to upload text and images to be displayed oꦏﷺn the controller, it is possible like with a lot of other ROG gaming hardware. On a controller, however, these moving bits of text and gifs did feel a bit distracting at times.

The Raikiri Pro has trigger stop switches, and some of the most precise vibration I've come across outside of the haptic feedback on the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:DualSense Edge,🅠 although perhaps the textured grips do contribute to that tact🐟ility. 

Trigger sensitivities, thumbstick deadzones, lighting, button mapping, and vibration intensity are all available to set to your liki💯ng inside Asus's Armoury Crate PC software. For the most part, this is really very conclusive, although frustratingly you can only play around൩ with settings here in wired mode. That includes button mappings, which is super disappointing for a controller with a literal screen on it.

Performance

I had a lot of trouble figuring out what genre of game this controller works best with. I'm always sad to say that a gamepad with back paddles is better when you ignore them altogether, but that's true of the Asus ROG Raikiri Pro. Ergonomics here are just off. For starters, back buttons are placed similarly to the 澳洲💟幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Thrustmaster eSwap XR Pro controller, which is to say they're high up on the controller's body, as opposed to being integrated into the grips. This means using them is really only comfortable and possible with your middle fingers. Some people grip a controller differently from others, but for me, back buttons that aren't integrated into the natural position hands sit in when holding it, means they aren't ever going to be 🦩as usable.

What's worse is the frankly bizarre shape of these back buttons. I honestly don't know how I'd begin to articulate their weird off-angles and pointless grooves that do nothing to help grip them. Suffice to say, using these took some getting used to, and caused so much slipping when playing a game like HUNT: Showdown that reaಌlly requires these extra buttons. Even trying to use the bottom back buttons for more comfortable jumping in games like Tiny Thor and Returnal resulted in multiple slips, and because of the weird angles the buttons sit at, it makes them hard to correct your fingers back into the home position.

If you really want a controller with great back buttons, go for something like the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Xbox Elite Series 2, or the cheaper 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Elite Series 2 Core and g🧜et back bu𝐆ttons that are to your liking separately.

For games like Forza Horizon 5, the triggers on a controller can really come into play. You're holding them down for long periods, and if the design of them isn't up to snuff, that can cause discomfort. The triggers o♎n the Raikiri Pro are fine - there isn't much to criticiz🍨e and there isn't much to praise, although, coming off the eSwap RX review, gamepad triggers have a lot to prove to me at the moment.

The analog sticks are much the same. They work just fine, and although I haven't had the time to test their durability since the loan period for this product is two weeks, I'd remind you that there are now multiple cheap controllers for Xb꧟ox and PC that include Hall Sensor sticks, making this Asus pad an even less convincing prospect. 

The face buttons have a super traditional Xbox feel to them, but when I was playing High on Life, I wasn&ap🌟os;t a huge fan of their fairly slow, heavy-feeling presses. In a lot of games I'd want to use a pro controller with, I'd want face buttons to act a bit quicker than these ones do. Having said that, they're quite big buttons that will be satisfying for a lot of traditional Xbox controller fans. 

Should you buy the Asus ROG Raikiri Pro?

If this review has sounded overly negative, it's probably only because there was 𒁃so much hype around the Asus ROG Raikiri Pro, and I expected a lot more than I got here. The Raikiri Pro is hardly a bad gamepad by any means, it's a spin on a standard Xbox controller, and that alone secures some quality. 

I'd recommend it to anyone who wants all the pro controller bells and whistles cares about how their 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Xbox Series X accessories look, and aren't interested in something that gives them the be-all, end-all in performance. I'd also say it's a lot more suited to smaller hands, and because of its connectivity and portability, it'd be a great controller to take on the go and use with mobile devices or even handhelds - I bet it'd pair great with an 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Asus ROG Ally, whether in one of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Steam deck docks or not. For the money, it isn't terrible in these respects, and although there are certain𝓰ly cheaper options I'd recommend over it, I wouldn't go so far as to say no one should be buying this.

All in all, I expected this to be among the upperꦰ echelon of controllers in 2023, and as it stands, it quite clearly falls below that. Pro controllers can look nice, and can have clever design elements like this one does. But function has to come first, especially when you're paying over $100 for it.

How we tested the Asus ROG Raikiri Pro

I put the Asus ROG Raikiri Pro to the test across Xbox Series X and PC over the last two weeks before this review. I played HUNT: Showdown, Returnal, Tiny Thor, Forza Horizon 5, High on Life, Hi-Fi Rush, Tunic, and Dishoꦿnored: Definitive Edition. I played this wide range of games from multiple genres to get a feel for where this controller's strengths lay and to place it among a controller for comfort or performance. The reason I played so many first-person games is to test how useful the back buttons can be in providing extra functionality without taking your thumbs off the sti༺cks.

I compared my experience closely with🦋 my usage of other pro controllers in today's market, with close comp🦋arisons made to my personal favorites like the Victrix Pro BFG, Xbox Elite Series 2, and the DualSense Edge. Since I reviewed the Raikiri Pro back to back with the Thrustmaster eSwap XR, I also made a lot of comparisons with that model too. 

I made thorou✤gh use of Armoury Crate's customization options during the course of testing to get a more personalized feel when it came to triggers, thumbstick dead zones, and vibration intensities.

If you want to read more about the ways we test the latest gaming technology and accessories, grab a refreshing beverage, put your feet up, and have a read of our 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:hardware policy.

Want a more situational controller? Read up about the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best joysticks, the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best racing wheels for PC, and the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Nintendo Switch controllers.

But, whether you're running a high-end machine like that, or even if you're working with hardware a little less impres🌃sive, getting the most out of your CPU is paramount to performance. From the most simple to the most sophisticated, here are five ways to get ౠthe most out of your gaming laptop CPU. 

Play games with the charger plugged in 

Okay, so a really simple one to kick things off, but it really is the best place to start. It's not always possible to have your laptop plugged into a power supply at all times – after all, one obvious perk gaming laptops have over desktops is the fact you can more easily take them on the roa🐼d – but whenever you can, you should. Anything that allows your CPU and GPU to work as freely as possible is worth doing, and relying on battery power often throttles performance, causing frame rate drops and unwelcome lag. Even if you're gaming on a 13th Gen Intel Core processors (HX Series) and GeForce RTX 4090 GPU, plugging in, switching on, and allowing your gaming laptop to work at its fullest and fastest is recommended on all occasions.  

Optimize power settings 

Since we're talking power, optimizing your power settings is important for the smoothest gaming experiences, and not all laptops are configured to play the most resource-hungry games by default. The good thing is, it's easy to check this out and adjust as required. It's worth noting that changing your settings to High Performance will drain your battery faster, but it should boost your CPU performance. And, if you're followi🌞ng the step above whenever possible, this should be less of an issue. 

To op꧅timize your performance settings you should: 

1. Hit the 'Start' button and go to 'Settings'
2. Hit the 'System' menu, and once there hit 'Power & sleep'
3. Under 'Related Settings' hit 'Additional power settings'
4. Hit 'High Performance' and confirm your new settings 

Beat the heat  

Overheating can be a nightmare for gaming laptops, and a sure-fire way to send frame rates plummeting, and cause lag to skyrocket. The first port of call here may sound simple, but by ensuring your laptop is always used on an even surface ensures its vents remain clear of obstruction, thus allowing heat to escape as designed. After that, you might consider manually adjusting your laptop's fan speed – setting your hardware's fan to maximum speed (rotations-per-minut🌠e, or RPM) will help keep your machine cool, even when playing the most demanding high-end games.  

Firing on all cores 

It's not always obvious why, but some games and/or applications fail to use the CPUs that power them to their fullest potential. Even if you're packing an octa-core processor, your game may decide it only wants to utilize some of those cores and not all – leaving you with poor performance at your end. You'll be pleased to know, though, that the workaround for this is straightforward. First, you'll want to fire up the game in question, and then press Ctrl Alt Delete to activate Windows Task Manager. Once there, locate and right-click on the game you're playing, select the 'Details' tab, hit 'Set Affinity', and select '' at the top 🧜of that list to activate all of your CPU's processors. Go on, make the most of those eight cores and 16 threads, you and your CPU deserve it!    

Disable unnecessary background services 

A whole host of background serviceౠs run on Windows laptops in defaultꦫ settings, many of which can be switched off as a means of boosting performance, in turn putting less strain on your RAM usage and CPU. Services such as 'Bluetooth Support Service', 'Downloaded Maps Manager', 'Internet Connection Sharing', 'Windows Biometric Service', and 'Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service', can all be toggled off, alongside many others. 

Disabling background servi🍎ces is easy – you should:

• Search "services" in the Windows search bar, and hit the 'Services' app
• Right click on the service you want to disable, and select 'Properties'
• Below where it says "Service status: Running", hit 'Stop' 
• Below that again, hit 'Apply' – move onto the next service and repeat all of the above 

If you’re looking for the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming PC for on-the-go play, you can do much worse than the Asus ROG Ally. Not only is it one of the closest Steam Deck competitors out there in terms of price, but it can pull off fabulous frame rate tricks while furnishing your eyes with 1080p 120Hz visuals. That’s not to say it’s flawless,꧒ however, as the versatility of Windows 11 comes with a few caveats, and now Asus apparently has BIOS-related woes to contend with.

Highlighted by , Asus ROG Ally firmware upda🐻te 319 drastically affects performance while running at 15W and 25W. In other words, if you’re f𝓀ussy about frame rates and are aiming to boost fps in demanding games like Cyberpunk 2077, you’ll quickly notice the difference post-update.

Thankfully, Asus is aware that firmware 319 is wreaking havoc, so we’ll hope📖fully see a revised version released soon. In a ‘tips and tricks’ video, marketer Whitson Gordon does advise installing various 🎃other updates that’ll improve quality of life on the handheld, but says players can ‘hold off’ on updating the device’s BIOS for now.  

As for those of you who have already received the update, you’ll have to revert back to firmwarꦚe 317 to restore performance expectations back to normal. That’s going to involve restoring the previous BIOS version just like you would on a regular PC, which effectively means using Asus’ EZ Flash u💃tility and downloading the update file manually. If you’re a bit stuck, there’s a handy available on the manufacturer's website.

Frankly, given the🥃 nature of the Asus ROG Ally and the fact it’s only been around for a hot minute, I’d be surprised if Gremlins didn’♍t randomly disrupt the experience. Sure, Valve’s approach to Steam Deck updates helps protect general users from experimental hiccups, but even then, everyone’s favourite handheld PC isn’t immune to frame rate dips and performance shenanigans.

In any case, the company is on the case, and will hopefully be able to get back to resolving the issues highlighted in our 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Asus ROG Ally review soon🔯. The Steam Deck rival is a fierce handheld gaming PC, but the above incident and outstanding launch day quirks mean it has a long way to go before it sits pretty on the throne. 

Today's best handheld gaming PC deals

Fancy higher on-the-go frame rates? Check out our 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming laptop picks for a collection of portable powerhouse alternatives. We've also whipped together a list of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Alienware gaming PCs, just in case you'd rather stay indoors. 

Admittedly, I sit in pretty dreadful positions most of the time. If I'm not draped over an armrest, I'm probably cross-legged on an office chair or coiling my spine forward toward the keyboard I'm hammering to write this review. So if there was anyone these premia, ergonomic, Michelin Star chairs were wasted on, it'd probably be me. Equally, my never-ending quest to find one of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming chairs that changes that for me is ongoing.

The good news is, the Asus ROG Destrier Ergo chair is actually one of the more affordable Ergo chairs I've seen. For $899 / £899, it's under its most clear-cut rivals like the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Herman Miller Embody (which comes in at a vomit-inducing $1,450 these days). Even so, 900 bucks is a lot ♏to pay for a chair that is mainly made up of mesh materials. Then again, its frame does cradle you like a babe in a 💎manger.

Design and Features

The Asus ROG Destrier Ergo Gaming chair has a somewhat futuristic lꦫook to it. Although, you could say it's fairly minimalist all the while. Its aluminum frame follows simple skeletal lines on the chair's back, and these are visible through the backrest which is made of a breathable mesh.

Built into this backrest is adjustable lumbar support which is some of the best I've tested in any office or gaming chair. The same goes for the adjustable headrest, as I usually detest those t🌱hings on gaming chairs. Whenever I change positions in this seat, however, it clicks a few notches into the correct height without ever feeling obtrusive or like it's forcing me into a wors🔯e posture by tilting my head forward.

 3D armrests also click and side into new positions with ease, and can be raised or lowered to suit mobile and handheld gaming - a nice plus for anyone spending most of their time on one of those platforms since even the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best console gaming chairs aren't usually designed for them. Holding the entire operation up is a set of 75mm PU ca🐼sters. These are more substantial than any of the gaming chair caster wheels I've come across, and that makes them feel like offroad tires when you're rolling around on a carpet. This is an extremely bulky chair at 30.95Kg, so having larger wheels on the bottom to make it more maneuverable is useful indeed.

The seat's cushion is also a breathable mesh, but at its front end, it tapers off with a PU foam that helps your legs not to get that dead feeling when they're pressed up against the metal of the fra꧂me. This is spongy and feels great, although I'd have liked a little more of this on the⛎ seat's cushion for the amount of money you pay.

Somewhat bizarrely, the chair comes with a detachable acoustic panel which rounds off the Ergo chair's futuristic feel. This, as far as I can decipher, is supposed to shield incoming sounds toward your head, but in truth, I found absolutely no difference when my 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:RUARK MR1 MK2 speakers were play🐷ing my favourite video game soundtracks, or when I was using one of the best gaming headsets to play games (obviously). To be honest, this felt like a bit of design fluff, and it only got in the way of my arms whenever I needed to do a big-stretch.

Assembly

Before we get to performance, I do feel the need to put a few words down about the assembly of this chair - for the reason that it's probably one of the biggest and heaviest gaming chairs I've had to put together. Straight away when you tak𒀰e delivery of this thing, you'll be short of space in your home. The box is absolutely massive and takes some effort to shift. If you're an assembly team of one I'd be very careful trying to move the Ergo chair around𝐆 because it isn't easy.

Building instructions do come in the box, and they are bespoke to this chair, unlike a few other manufacturers that just supply generic catch-all ones. Tools for the job are pretty much all covered in the box, the main problem will be finding ⛎everything you need because it's all individually packaged in sma𝓰ller matryoshka doll-type boxes. 

Building the Asus ROG Destrier Ergo chair yourself is a bit of a mission, not least because the individual aluminum parts feel more like cold rolled steel in terms of their weight. I'd recommend building this one with a partner 🌃since trying to hold it in awkward positions to join things together actually ended up bruising my arms in a few places.

For the most part, the assembly process itself was fine and followed the typical steps for building a gaming chair. All in all, I'd say it took around 45 minutes to an hour to put the chair together - a time that could easily be wh🎀ittled down if I recruited help.

Performance

When it comes to comfort, this chair has it in spades. It isn't comfortable in the same way that a gaming chair like the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Corsair TC100 Relaxed is, it's co💧mfortable in that it cradles your body and promotes elongation of your spine. For me tho🍌ugh, a true test of a gaming chair like that is if it's still comfortable when you inevitably give up those positions to actually relax your body for a while. The Asus ROG Destrier Ergo Gaming chair passes that test with flying colors thanks to its mesh padding and large frame. With adjustable support, tilt, armrests, and a wide seat to boot, you can find plenty of comfortable positions in this chair without feeling confined.

For the amount of money you pay for this chair though, I can't help but feel that yoꦆu should get more padding and comfort. That 🎶mesh is transparent, and you can see straight through the fact that there really isn't much to this chair's padding. I understand that an element of ergonomic chairs is that they cut out all the cushioning fluff and focus fire on the areas that matter - a sturdy frame, strong lumbar and neck support, with padding that supports the elongating of the spine. But paying upwards of $800 for that minimalism doesn't quite sit right with me. In truth, this chair reminds me a bit of the mesh office chair you can get from IKEA, which is almost entirely made of mesh netting and will cost you a fraction of what Asus is charging here. 

I do absolutely love the adjustability of this chair though. Being able to slide the armrests forward🌟 or back with a simple few clicks is fantastic, and helps me find that comfortable position even if I'm going off-piste from how the chair would have me sit. The headrest is the same - shoving it up or down and tilting it to best suit my body sha🔯pe was a brilliant feature, and it's honestly the first headrest I've kept on a gaming chair, I usually chuck them as soon as I've tried them. The only downside to this adjustability is that you can very easily click things out of place accidentally, which did happen a few times.

The acoustic guar🐭d is absolutely pointless, as far as I can tell. Your mileage may vary if you work in an office, or your speakers aren't set up in the same way mine are. But, to me, this was a swing and a miss, and something that I hope doesn't contribute much to the price.

Should you buy the Asus ROG Destrier Ergo chair?

If you have the budget for the upper echelon of gaming chairs, the Asus ROG Destrier Ergo chair is seriously worth considering. It's cheaper than Herman Miller's Embody and Vantum chairs and offers a lot of the same features w𝄹ith a bit more gaming-focused flare.

The way the Asus Ergo chair cradles you while catering to different body types with adjustability is truly excellent. This is truly up there🥂 with the best gaming chairs on the market both for ergonomics and overall comfort.

Having said that, it's up to you to decide if paying t𒀰his much for what is predominantly a mesh, minimalist office chair is too much for you. I for one feel like you should get a bit🐲 more for your money.

How we tested the The Asus ROG Destrier Ergo chair

I tested the Asus ROG Destrier Ergo gaming chair over a period of around a month. In that time, I used it for all working from home and desk gaming tasks. I sit at my desk for around eight hours a day all things considered, so I put some decent mileage on the clock with this seat. I compared my experience closely with the Corsair TC100 Relaxed, as well as the IKEA mesh office chair I 🅘own too.

Although I haven&apo🦹s;t been hands-on with Herman Miller's rival chairs, I compared my time with the Destrier Ergo gaming chair closely with the experience of our reviews of those two products. 

If you'd like to read a bit more about how we go about testing the latest gaming hardware, have a read of our 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:hardware policy.

Need a new desk to go with a gaming chair? Have a gander at the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming desks, and the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best standing desks.

Th🌳ankfully, Asus has kept the𒁃 majority of what we know and love about the Zephyrus G14 the same. This is still a Goldilocks machine, packing plenty of power into a compact, easily portable chassis. No, it's not the smallest machine available and it's not the most powerful - but in trying to be neither the G14 has always managed to pull off a particularly enticing proposition. 

When I 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:reviewed 2022's model, I celebrated and lamented the fact that it was a fully AMD build. There's plenty of power in those Ryzen pr💟ocessors, but it just couldn't keep up with Nvidia ꦏin the graphics department. Today, Asus is rolling out the best of both worlds. 2023's iteration will still lean on the speed of the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS /  Ryzen 7 7735HS, but the picture has been handed back to Nvidia - all the way up to an RTX 4090. 

After gleefull🀅y welcoming another Asus ROG Zephyಌrus G14 into my life, I sat down for three weeks to see where this new tech is taking the portable powerhouse. 

Design

• Compact footprint and sturdy portable form factor remain
• Subtle aesthetic that will fit in anywhere
• Soft touch aluminium construction feels reliable

The G14 hasn't aged too much in its 2023 iteration. The latest model sits very much inline with its predecessors, a slick aesthetic in a compact chassis. Wrapped up in the same magnesium alloy materials, it offers a solid, dense feel which certainly made taking it on the road for a week considerablyജ less nerve wracking. Add soft rounded corners and a relatively light 1.7kg form factor and 2023's G14 is as trip-ready as it ever was. 

We received the top-shelf MiniLED display version, which doesn't feature Asus's AniMe Matrix LED panel along the back of the lid. I'm not convinced anyone's going to miss it in this high-end configuration, and it's a worthy trade for the extra weight of that display. You'll still find this grid of configurable lights in lower-rung configurations, but be wary that it does add a little extra heft and cost. Without those LEDs installed, our unit still carries a dotted section set at an angle a𝔍cross the majority of the lid, but that's the extent of the external aesthetics. This certainly isn't a gamerfied laptop, perfectly cementing it as an all-in-one device for work and play on the go. 

Lifting that screen reveals a particularly sturdy hinge✱, which lifts the💜 main body slightly below the top lid to provide extra ventilation and add height to the typing experience. I'm a personal sucker for this laptop design. It adds a sense of luxury while also providing crucial cooling, and feels all the more comfortable for it. Considering those hinges can take you all the way to 180 degrees without any concerning wobbles, this is a particularly well designed system. 

The main body is mad🐲e up of a standard, nicely spaced keyboard (I greatly appreciated this breathing room after cramping over the Razer Blade 18's deck), as well as a soft, roomy touchpad. That touch panel is the same size as the previous version, and uses the same glass-top design, but doesn't quite feel as slick as the prev🍰ious iteration. Feedback is still incredibly responsive, and each tap feels satisfyingly tactile, but I wasn't as blown away by this version. 

Features

• Nvidia GPUs return for a boost in graphics
• Fantastic speaker system and performance
• Mini LED display isn't as premium as other 2023 Asus laptops

The G14 remains an AMD outlier in the world of 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Asus gaming laptops. Unlike the previous iteration, though, you're still picking up an Nvidia graphics card - which makes all the difference when it comes to high end features like ray tracing performance. That could be a generational difference; AMD is certainly bringing its A-game with its Radeon RX 7000 GPUs this year - but side by side, the 2023 G14 greatly benefits from Nvidia's lates𒆙t tech. 

You also get the luxury of more choice here. The G14 is available with RTX 4060, 4070, 4080 and 4090 graphics card options, which means you won't need to spend $3K+ if you won't need top of the range visuals. The ch꧂eapest 144Hz IPS display and RTX 4060 graphics card, with 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD, will come in far closer to ඣ$1,000 than it will $2,000. 

All that power is keeping the display up top looking its best. Unfortunately, the Mini LED Nebula HDR screen found on the top-end RTX 4090 configuration (the model I've been testing) isn't quite as luxurious as the panel you'll find on the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 or 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Asus ROG Zephyrus M16. With 504 dimming zones compared to the 1,024 on the larger models, as well as 600 nits of pea⛦k brightness vs 1,100, this is a reduced experience. The results are tangible - while I was blown away by the contrast and dynamic picture quality on the previous devices, this screen felt a lot more last-gen. 

Of course, that HDR engine is still whirring away to provide a rich experience when stream🔯ing and in-game, but that wow factor wasn't quite as powerful here. Asus does get away with it on a smaller screen - everything is naturally a lot tighter anyway - which means packing the full whack may have inflated the price point beyond reconcilable value.

The actual machine boasts a slim selection of additional features to keep that weight and form factor, as well as the base price, low. The speaker system is certainly 💎powerful, and took me by surprise the most when first loading up. Asus has always produced well-balanced, robust speakers on its laptops, but the quad-array here is particularly effective - especially considering it's housed in a smaller body. Dolby Atmos provides virtual 5.1.2-channel surround sound for greater depth as well. 

Ports are bountiful with a USB-C on each side (with a direct line to the Nvidia GPU on the right), HDMI 2.1, 3.5mm audio jack, two USB-A 3.2 Gen ꦡ2, and a Micro SD card reader. Up top you've also got a FHD webcam, which suffices foꦚr everyday meetings and the odd streaming session when you're away from your full setup. 

Performance

• Performance is well above last year's model
• Some settings might have to be tweaked once temperatures climb
• Framerates remain steady between High and Ultra settings

The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 has been turbo charged in its latest iteration. 𝐆Like for like numbers across Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Total War: Three Kingdoms show just how far these new components and additional cooling features can take us, posting framerates well above 150fps in 1080p and staying consistently above 100fps in 1440p (aside from a drop in Ultra settings) as well. Considering we were struggling to reach three figures in any of our QHD+ benchmarking on the previous generation, that's astounding. For reference, we saw jumps of between 50 and 87% in performance compared to the previous generation's framerates. 

Those in-game numberღs aren't going to compete with larger, more performance-oriented devices like the Strix series or the M16, but considering the compact form factor they're still incredibly impressive. I was flying through High on Life environments, and when I wasn't ziplining without dropping a single frame or watching dozens of greebles filling the screen, I was stopping to enjoy the vivid textures of the jungle and dynamic lighting of Dreg Town. Temperatures did climb, but considering the condensed design, the G14 handled heavy loads with aplomb. Plus, the thermometer never reached concerning levels. 

What was most notable from dedicated in-game benchmarking, though, was the lack of a real need to dip below Ultra settings. In general, even at 1440p, numbers were particularly steady - Returnal offered up just 1fps difference between High and Epic settings, and Hitman 3 trucked along at 114fps in High, only dipping to 110fps in Ultra. The only result that disappointed in thisꦦ regard was Total War: Three Kingdoms, which came back at 86fps in Ultra. Overall, then, you really can have it all here. 

Stress tests confirm that as well. Fire Strike and Time Spy scores are 40% and 60% up in this year's generation respectively, posting numbers that don't sit too far🐼 away from the far chunkier Asus ROG Strix Scar 16. Not only does that bode well for the efficiency of high-end components in a smaller form factor, but it also makes the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 even more competitive with far larger systems.

Should you buy the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2023)?

Anyone on the hunt for a 14-inch gaming laptop needs to be looking at the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14. It's a pricey option, but so are the rest of this year's RTX 40-Series 🏅lineup, and you're certainly getting your money's worth in portability and power. That's not something I can say too often. The majority of gaming laptops lean into one aspect of use rather than trying to strike a balance between the two. The G14 not only proves you can hit both with the latest components under the hood, but do it in style🍌. 

Not only that, but the performance jumꦚp is so large that I would also recommend the swap to anyone thinking of upgrading their 2021 or even 2022 model. Whether you're looking to boost framerates or just maintain more stability overall, there's a tang🐟ible leap here in terms of raw power. 

I'm yet to get my hands on competitors, but the Alienware x14 is going to be one of the bigg🅠est options on the market. The Alienware x14 does come in thinner and lighter, but carries a larger square footprint overall and is limited to an RTX 4060 GPU at the top end of the ✨scale - for not dissimilar prices. On paper alone, the G14 is easily the better investment. 

How we tested the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14

I used the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 as my daily driver for two weeks, using the device for all daily work, play, browsing, and streaming. One week of that time was spent with the laptop hooked into a monitor setup with another spent solely on the machine itself. During everyday play, I used the G14 to run High on Life, Cities Skylines, and Atomic Heart while also stress testing across 3D Mark and PC Mark 10 benchmarks and in-game tools on Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Total War: Three Kingdoms, Returnal, Hitman 3, and Rainbow Six: Extraction. For more information on 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:how we test gaming laptops, check out the full 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy. 

For something more permanent, we're also rounding up the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming PCs on the market. Or, if you're after a different brand, check out the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Alienware laptops and the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Razer laptops available. 

The Asus ROG Ally has a difficult job on its hands. Squeezing a full 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:gaming PC into a handheld form factor is a tall order for anyone, but Asus has years of producing some of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming laptops on the market - if anyone can take a crack at the next portable PC they ca♏n. 

Coming in at $699 / £699, the 512GB Z1 Extreme version (there's a cheaper, slightly weaker model in the works as well) already beats out the vast majority of portable PCs out there. On top of that, it's only $50 more than the top-end 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Steam Deck. If you're a console player looking to make the most of a far wider PC catalogue without buying a full rig, the Ally could be your best friend. I spent just over a week tinkering with the latest 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:gaming handheld to see just how well it delivers on its lofty promises.🍎 

Design

• Solid form factor inspires confidence in a premium product
• Clean white aesthetic looks great
• Excellent ergonomic form factor and balanced weight

The first time I held the Asus ROG Ally in my hands, it was clear this device was built to offer a solid, rugged feel without the weight of a more cumbersome device. The two angled curves running along the back cup the hands perfectly, while the sꦫloping corners on the front make a particularly comfortable landing spot for the palms. There's just the right amount of chunkiness here - you know you're holding a stack of tech, but the form factor and weight allow for long-lasting comfort in a variety of sitting positions. 

Pair that with a stark white aesthetic courtesy of the reinforced 🦩polycarbonate chassis, and gorgeous display and the ROG Ally screams pedigree. Despite the grey ROG logo on the lower bezel of the screen, you'd be hard pressed to identify the Ally as an Asus product from the front. Around the back, however, this lineage is boldly clear. From the reflective metallic strip slicing the back panel diagonally to the ridged texture and grills forming the classic ROG logo, it's a packed design but one that still doesn't crowd the experience. I'd be hesitant to call it subtle, but it certainly doesn't come out the gate screaming RGB and fꦚans. The whole device feels like it's from the future, but a future that's easily within reach of today.

All of t🌠hat sits in an 27.9 x 11.1 x 1.2 cm body and weighs in at 608g. Not only is that remarkably compact for the power housed inside (the Steam Deck comes in slightly wider and taller, and much thicker), but the weight is both low and well balanced. I was able to easily hold the device with one hand while shifting positions and maintain comfort over longer sessions as well.

There's no grip across the two thumbsticks adorning each side (instead they sport a precisiꦰon-focused concave shape), but the textured diamond shape running across the back of each side makes for a particularly secure fit. Both the bumpers and triggers are coated in a similar texꦆture, while the sloped sides around the front offer a wide ridged surface to keep everything in place as well.

And then we get to the screen. On first booting the ROG Ally up, the larger bezels are going to make themselves known. I feared for a letterbox feel here, with a giant device crowding a tiny display, cramping all visuals. These concerns were unnecessary, though - on firing up💎 my first game it was obvious that ꦯthe size and quality of the screen itself is more than enough to draw you in. I barely noticed the larger bezels when I was this immersed in the gameplay - though it would obviously be nice to go edge to edge here.

Controls

• Familiar control layout makes for an easy transfer to handheld
• Responsive but loose thumbsticks and heavy back buttons
• No Xbox button

The Asus ROG Ally plays it simple with an Xbox-style l𝔍ayout and traditional ABXY face button array. That makes for an instantly recognizable control system familiar to anyone who's used an Xbox controller or Nintendo Switch in the past. The left flank sports an analog stick, D-Pad, View button, and a button to bring up the Armoury Crate visual overlay. The right features a dedicated button for the full Armoury launcher system, Menu button, ABXY face buttons, and the second thumbstick. Alongside the USB-C power c🔴onnection, ROG XG Mobile eGPU port, mini SD card reader, and 3.5mm headphone jack at the top, you'll also find a volume rocker and power button. 

While everything is laid out well, and spaced particularly nicely to avoid accidental presses, I did find myself missing aspects of more premium-feeling controllers. This was most notable in the thumbsticks. Compared to the DualSense or even the stock Xbox Wireless controller, the sticks are a little too loose to feel truly precise here, which had an impact on quick aiming and lining up more difficult shots. This slackened feel translated into the face buttons as well, though the longer travel distance and plastic feel didn't have any impact on gameplay itself. There's not enoug꧅h resistance behind these buttons to compete with more competitive options like Razer's microswitches, but they'🅘re comfortable, responsive, and offer a speedy return as well.

The bumpers and triggers feel great to use with a nice tactile response, just the right amount of resistance, and enough space to make twitch reactions possible. Unfortunately, the same praise can't be layered on the two programmable back buttons. Shaped somewhere in between a button and a paddle, these clickers have the opposite problem to the thumbsticks. There's just a hair too much resistance to feel truly s𓄧nappy, and the smaller shape makes them less reliable in the heat of battle. There's also a hollow sound to the actuation of each of these buttons, which feels a little cheap considering the luxurious experience nearly everywhere else.

There's one omission that stands out, and it's not the lack of touchpads offered by Valve's Steam Deck. There's no Xbox button here - a staple if you're a Game Pass shortcut afficionado. It doesn't make much of a difference in everyday play, but if you're using the ROG Ally for simultaneous chat or multi-tasking you're g🌌oing to♑ struggle.

Display

• 1080p resolution makes for crisp viewing when it can be used
• Vivid picture quality and excellent contrast
• Plenty of details across the picture

All those inputs aren't going to make much of a difference if you're watching your games on a potato screen. Thankfully, the ROG Ally follows up with an excellent panel. While it's a standard LCD display, it has the vividity and color depth more comparable to that of an OLED, and boasts a higher 1080p resolution than the Steam Deck's 1280 x 800 hybrid. Running at 120Hz, this is a slick, bold, and bright disp🍌lay offering incredible immersion and sumptuous picture across a range of genres. 

That higher r🌊esolution might not always be in play for the best graphical settings but when you've got the scope to really let it rip ✨it absolutely shines. Cassette Beasts packs a phenomenal punch on this screen, with an energetic contrast and super crisp picture that kept up with the frenetic style of the action on screen. It doesn't quite keep up with the Switch's OLED panel when it comes to fidelity in darker scenes; Steamworld Heist was noticeably less lively, for example. However, the 120Hz refresh rate more than made up for it in my experience. Such silky smooth motion is tricky to find on a handheld, and on a screen this size it feels far faster to boot.

High on Life made particularly good use of this motion handling, but also showcased the Ally's ability to handle finer deta🔯ils within the picture as well. Looking out across the neon expanse of Dreg Town, I could make out far off buildings, indi💫vidual asteroids, and even smaller splatters on a lower floor from atop a set of steps.

Audio

• Dual front firing speakers pack plenty of power
• Nice balance across ranges even in more bass-heavy environments
• Surround sound is generally accurate but sometimes over-emphasized

I'm grateful the Asus ROG Ally can back up a screen as immer🦩sive as this with a powerful set of lungs. Dual front firing speakers blast audio with clarity and gumption, balancing ranges with a delicate hand and still managing to pack a punch when needed. Atomic Heart's KS-23 shotgun ricocheted around my living room with every shot, rumbling through the low end without distorting the background sound. There was a nice amount of impact to environmental audio, with dialogue being particularly well represented in crisp, clear tones. 

The Ally also boasts virtual Dolby Atmos 5.1.2 channel surround sound, offering a nice sense of direction across more competitive shooters. I did sometimes find this enhanced audio a little over-emphasized, though. The moment I moved my camera in High on Life, the audio seemed to shift wildly to the size, disproportionately to the actual angle of view. Yes, this is in close quarters dialogue situations more than anything else, and that emphasis can come in handy in combat situations. However, it's not an issue I've experienced with 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:gaming headsets offering similar features. 

Software

• Windows 11 presents navigation issues
• Armoury Crate makes for a more console-like experience...
• ... but is still held back by Windows

The Asus ROG Ally's hardware is impressive, but it's obvious Windows 11 needs a dedicated gaming mode. You're getting the full Windows operating system here, and the vast majority of it isn't needed, while everyday control, typing and navigating suffers for it. The Ally does present you with a keyboard for typing inputs when it feels like it (I was strangely stuck on various different text boxes where the onscreen keys simply didn't appear, across web br🤪owsing and different launchers), but requires use of the touchscreen to use it. Scrolling is hit and miss depending on the program being used; 🎃Steam automatically boots in Big Picture mode which is silky smooth, but others like Epic or Chrome will scroll slightly before jumping down the page when using the thumbstick. You can control a cursor with this stick, but it's so wildly sensitive it's pretty much impossible to get anything done. 

It's technically possible (system settings and browser downloads aside) to use the Asus ROG Ally primarily from its Armoury Crate software, though. This is where I initially predicted one of the biggest everyday use improvements over the Steam Deck when the Ally was first launched and, like most predictions, there's a pinch of salt to be taken. Yes, being able to see every game downloaded onto the system in one clear menu, regardless of the launcher it uses, is a bonus. It's a much more console-like experience that streamlined everything about how I played on PC during my testing. However, there are smaller quality of life features that I hadn't 🦩considered before diving in.

You can't, for example, pause and resume a game from this launcher like you can on Steam Deck. This is, after all, a PC - an꧃d you'll be quitting and reloading like you do every day on a PC. Just hitting the power button to send the system to sleep before resuming later on didn't work out too well for me either. ꦐEvery time, no matter the game, I would load back in to a broken mess of a game, with almost no framerate to speak of, years of input lag, and crackly audio. It's just too much to ask of Windows at the moment.

Armoury Crate is more than a launcher, though. It also houses control mapping for Desktop Mode and Gamepad Mod🌄e (two of the three control schemes that the software applies to each game you play), power presets, display settings, RGB assignments, and gives you space to edit the Command Center overlay available in-game.

Compatibility

• Technically compatible with any Windows game
• Dock with charger or external GPU for keyboard and mouse
• Only one USB-C port which will likely be used for power

A Windows operating system means pretty much every game you can download onto a PC will be playable on Asus ROG Ally. It might not run well, but it will run. The control scheme and lack of touchpads means titles designed for a keyboard and mouse certainly don't run well, especially due to that over-zealous cursor. Of course, there are plenty of gadgets compatible with the ROG Ally to help y𝓰ou out. 

The official charger dock, for example, allows for anᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ HDMI connection up to a separate💃 monitor with USB slots for a keyboard and mouse. Or, you can go the whole hog and hook up your handheld to the ROG XG Mobile, a dedicated eGPU ready to whack an RTX 4090 or AMD graphics card into your setup. 

Audio compatibility is a slightly trickier issue in handheld mode. There's only one USB-C port here, and - as we'll see in the battery section - it will likely be filled by your power cable. That means you're going to be relying on a Bluetooth headset rather than the 2.4GHz connections which require a free port. Thankfully today's 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming earbuds can 𒆙keep up with the speeds requiꦆred for everyday play, but more competitive players might find themselves lagging.

Performance

• 1080p now smooth with updates
• Demanding games can average around 60fps with graphical tweaks
• Power presets make a big difference

I have to head up the performance category with a note as to why this review is a little later than usual. The original ROG Ally device I received required additiona🐼l updates and fixes to run, with very low framerates, crazy in๊put lag, frequent crashes, strange Windows UI errors, and a Steam Big Picture mode that kept hiding the menu from me. I couldn't even get past the title screen of Borderlands The Pre-Sequel, and that game's nearly 10 years old. 

Since Asus worked its magic with my review unit, though, things have turned around. Obviously this original device contained some errors which could be fixed with a BIOS update, though whether or not some retail units could ship with 🅰similar faults is another issue. Once everything was polished up, I was flying through menus and enjoying fluid gameplay across far more demanding titles. 

AMD&a𝐆pos;s Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor and Radeon RDNA 3 graphics make for a powerful set of specs in this handheld arena. That CPU boasts eight cores and 16 threads, offering an immense amount of power, especially when side by side with the Steam Deck's AMD Zen 2 APU. It's easy to see why Asus has had to beef up the internals here, and that's largely down to the 1080p res🔥olution on offer.

I did notice a significant drop in framerates across Doom Eternal, High on Life, and Atomic Heart when bumping resolution up, but could smooth things out with some graphical tweaks. Those looking for fluid action will likely need to stick close to 720p here. I managed to keep framerates at between 60 and 70fps in Doom Eternal, which ultimately dropped down to around 30fps in 1080p. Similarly, I was net🐲ting around 65fps on average in High on Life before dropping to the 40s with a bumped resolution. Neither scenario is unplayable, but there were far more stutters and jumps when that screen was working its best. Of course, less demanding titles were far easier on the system. Ghost song was blitzing at around 100fps, for example.

You will need to🅺 play around with graphics settings and power presets here. I was never experiencing truly fluid gameplay more demanding games outside of Turbo mode and at Ultra settings. Instead you could find me closer to Medium and High with a few extra tweaks on shadows and textures. In a world where I'm using the Asus ROG Ally as a secondary PC for on the go p♐lay, though, I'm satisfied with where we are right now.

Battery

Unfortunately, if you're planning on using the Asus ROG Ally on the go for more than a couple of hours you're likely to be disappointed. Asus let the Ally out the gate with a promise of an 8 hour battery life - that doesn't mean🍸 game-time battery life. I was averaging closer to two hours on the default performance settings, and an hour to an hour and a half on Turbo across my tested titles. That's disappointing for sure, but doesn't stray too far from Steam Deck's own battery. 

Should you buy the Asus ROG Ally? 

When all is said and done the Asus ROG Ally is a remarkable piece of kit. Anyone looking for a handheld Game Pass machine under four figures should be seriously considering this n💫ew contender. The display, form factor, and general performance are well worth an early adopter's investment, especially if you're going to make the most of as wi𓄧de a library as Xbox's. I'd also recommend the Ally to anyone looking for a Nintendo Switch alternative, as long as you're happy with the fiddly Windows operating system for the benefit of a far wider range of games. When it comes to the main debate, though, Asus ROG Ally vs Steam Deck, things aren't as clear cut. 

The Steam Deck benefits greatly from those touch panels and by using its own Steam OS. The general navigation and quality of life ex⛎perience is vastly improved here, even if you do need to spend more time booting up Epic or Game Pass. I would, however, argue the form factor and comfort of the Ally could sway even those ready and willing to dual-boot into Windows on Valve's model. 

That said, the extra power under the hood is swamped by the Windows 11 operating system and 1080p resolution, rendering its impressive spec sheet moot. Add in the fact that Windows isn't built as a console🙈-like gaming platform and struggles to integraꦐte itself into this use-case, and it's clear the Asus ROG Ally is - currently - ahead of its time. I've been having too much fun with this first iteration to not recommend it, but the best is yet to come and the majority of players may want to wait for it. 

How we tested the Asus ROG Ally

I tested the Asus ROG Ally in two stints, the first for three days before returning the unit for vital updates and the second for just over a week. This review is written based on the experiences of my second encounter with the Ally, with findings from the first inclu✃ded where appl🍰icable. During this time, I primarily tested across High on Life, Cassette Beasts, Atomic Heart and Ghost Song while also performing stress tests across Apex Legends and Doom Eternal. 

For more portable kit, check out the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming tablets and the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming phones on the market. We're also rounding up all the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best mobile controllers to boot. 

The Asus ROG Ally just had its big launch event today where it revealed pricing information and a June release date, and Val🐓ve chimed in to c♔ongratulate its competition.

"Congratulations to A✱sus on𝔍 the announcement of the ROG Ally!" reads a from the official Steam Deck Twitter account. "We're excited to see PC handheld ecosystem continue to grow, and for players to have more ways to play their games on the go."

Although it's clearly positioned as a fairly direct competitor to the Steam Deck, the Asus ROG Ally is a slightly more premium produc🍸t, packing more powerful internals and a heftier price tag at $700 for the one version on offer. For comparison, the cheapest Steam Deck is $399 and the m💦ost expensive version if $649, so a good $50 cheaper even at its most expensive price point.

If you want a much more comprehensive break down of the two portable consoles, check out our writeup on the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Steam Deck vs the Asus ROG Ally. There you'll find the ♓full details on each console's specs, design, and features so you can make an informed decision about whether to pull the trigger on a Steam Deck now or hold off until the Asus ROG Ally launches. That said, we'll have to wait until June to see how the two portables stack up when they🍷're actually in our hands.

While we might not ever know how Valve, not to mention its investors, *truly* feel about Steaꩵm Deck's first big competitor, it's good to see this kind of sportsmanship from one of the biggest companies in the industry. 

Looking for portable gaming with a bigger screen? Check out our picks of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming laptops available now.

Thankfully, you won't need to go scouting the web for Asus ROG Ally pre-orders. is the retail exclusive partner in the US, so we'd recommend heading over as soon as possible to secure your order. Similarly, you can also pre-order directly f✅rom . Best Buy is listing a $599.99 alternative with a simpler AMD Z1 processing system🧜, but it's currently 'Coming Soon', so we'll keep you updated if you're looking to save where possible. 

Meanwhile, UK punters can head directly to for pre-orders today or register interest at . Asus has a retail exclusive with the highstreet electronics shop, though pre-orders will open a little later here, on May 🤪16. 

Where to pre-order Asus ROG Ally

Asus ROG Ally specs

We were also treated to a whole new roster of Asus ROG Ally specs in today's event. The handheld will offer an AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor with Zen 4 ar🗹chitecture boasting 8 cores and 16 threads. To help you out in the graphics department, we've also got 12 RDNA3 CUs running at up to 2.7GHz. You'll find the full specs just below

What is the Asus ROG Ally?

The 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Asus ROG Ally appeared on our radar just 💙a couple of months ago, but its specs (on paper at least) are already🐎 gaining on the Steam Deck to become the most powerful gaming handheld on the market. Crucially, this device runs on Windows 11 which means no faffing around trying to download launchers - it simply runs as a PC itself. 

On top of that, the Armoury Crate launcher brings everything together for a truly console-like experience. Throw in a full set of controls, a 7-in𒈔ch FHD display, powerful speakers, and a lightweight 608g form factor and you've got a serious contender to the♚ Steam Deck's throne. 

Should you pre-order Asus ROG Ally?

While the stock wars might be behind us, it might still be worth ge♋tting your name down early for an Asus ROG Ally. That's because we don't know how many units will be out in the wild, and - crucially - we don't know how many haꦬve been allocated to Best Buy / Currys. Because the Ally is launching with exclusive retail partners, competition to grab the next handheld PC is going to be fierce, even among early adopters. 

If you're still deciding whether to take the plunge, there's a little more to consider. The Steam Deck is slig🌱htly cheaper but runs at lower specs and doesn't have the ease and freedom in its launcher system for things like Epic or Origin. Of course, you're also nearly at a budget gaming laptop price at $699 / £699 - though we're yet to see if performance can match similarly priced clamshells. If you've got the money to splash and you've been waiting for something to outclass the Steam Deck, now's the time to go for it. While our own review has been delayed due to issues with an early unit, we'd also recommend waiting for some verdicts before diving in if you're unsure. 

We're also rounding up the full 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Asus ROG Ally vs Steam Deck debate, and all the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming PCs and 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming laptops on the market - should you opt for something more substantial. 

MLB The Show 23 SP ratings (starting pitcher)

• 1= Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Angels) - 99
• 1= Jacob deGrom (Texas Rangers) - 99
• 3 Justin Verlander (New York Mets) - 98
• 4= Max Scherzer (New York Mets) - 96
• 4= Corbin Burnes (Milwaukee Brewers) - 96

J🥂acob deGrom was the only starting pitcher to score a maximum 99 OVR last year – but this time around he’s joined by Angels ace Ohtani. Verlander is the lone newcomer to the top five, which bids farewell to Clayton Kershaw (Los Angeles Dodgers, 91) and Chris Sale (Boston Red Sox, 86).

MLB The Show 23 RP ratings (relief pitcher)

• 1 Andre Munoz (Seattle Mariners) - 86
• 2= Michael King (New York Yankees) - 85
• 2= AJ Minter (Atlanta Braves) - 85
• 4 Jhoan Duran (Minnesota Twins) - 83
• 5 John Schreiber (Boston Red Sox) - 82

A lowly rated crop at the reliever position, but that’s to be expected – all baseball’s best🌼 late-innings men can usually be༒ found at the closer position. We have eight of those guys for your consideration below. Munoz tops this list with two standout ratings: 99 Arms, and 99 Velocity. Nasty.

MLB The Show 23 CP ratings (closer)

• 1 Emmanuel Clase (Cleveland Guardians) - 93
• 2 Edwin Diaz (New York Mets) - 92
• 3 Evan Phillips (Los Angeles Dodgers) - 90
• 4 Ryan Helsley (St Louis Cardinals) - 86
• 5= Josh Hader (San Diego Padres) - 85
• 5= Felix Bautista (Baltimore Orioles) - 85
• 5= Ryan Pressly (Houston Astros) - 85
• 5= Devin Williams (Milwaukee Brewers) - 85

After clocking up 42 saves with a phenomenal 1.36 ERA in 2022, Clese nabs top s⛄pot among pitchers called upon to finish games. He’s just as dominating in The Show as real life, with 99 Arm, 99 Velocity, 97 Breaking Ball, and 86 Control. Note that he also has the Night Player quirk - making him even more reliable after dark!

MLB The Show 23 C ratings (catcher)

• 1 JT Realmuto (Philadelphia Phillies) - 90
• 2 Will Smith (Los Angeles Dodgers) - 88
• 3 Alejandro Kirk (Toronto Blue Jays) - 86
• 4 Adley Rustchman (Baltimore Orioles) - 84
• 5= Willson Contreras (St Louis Cardinals) - 83
• 5= Salvador Perez (Kansas City Royals) - 83
• 5= Travis d’Arnaud (Atlanta Braves) - 83

JR Realmuto tops the charts behind the plate, knocking Yasmani Grandal (Chicago White Sox, 74) out of the top five completely. Alejandro Kirk, meanwhile, is a newcomer to the elite list after a 2022 season in which he hit .285 with 14 home runs, and✱ 63 RBI. That was enough for the glove man to earn a first All-St♓ar appearance.

MLB The Show 23 1B ratings (first base)

• 1 Paul Goldschmidt (St Louis Cardinals) - 96
• 2 Pete Alonso (New York Mets) - 90
• 3= Freddie Freeman (Los Angeles Dodgers) - 88
• 3= Vladimir Guerrero Jr (Toronto Blue Jays) - 88
• 5 Matt Olson (Atlanta Braves) - 87

What a monꦑster boost for Cardinals cruncher Goldschmidt. He was rate🃏d 89 last year, but surges all the way up to 96 – and soars to the crest of the first base category. Guerrero topped the pile last year, but has to make do with sharing third spot this time around.

MLB The Show 23 2B ratings (second base)

• 1 Jose Altuve (Houston Astros) - 93
• 2 Marcus Semien (Texas Rangers) - 87
• 3 Andre Gimenez (Cleveland Guardians) - 86
• 4 Trevor Story (Boston Red Sox) - 84
• 5= Ozzie Albies (Atlanta Braves) - 82
• 5= Jeff McNeil (New York Metts) - 82

Even at 32, Jose Altuve remains t๊he best second baseman in the league – batting .300 across 141 games in 2022, with 28 walks and 57 RBI. He’s an incredibly fun player to deploy in The Show. Highlights include 95 Contact against left handers, 88 Batting Clutch, and the Unfazed quirk – so he excels when hitting with two strikes.

MLB The Show 23 3B ratings (third base)

• 1 Manny Machado (San Diego Padres) - 95
• 2= Nolan Arenado (St Louis Cardinals) - 94
• 2= Jose Ramirez (Cleveland Guardians) - 94
• 4 Austin Riley (Atlanta Braves) - 93
• 5 Matt Chapman (Toronto Blue Jays) - 85

Manny Machado and Nolan Arenado took first team and second team honors at third base in the 2022 All-Star team – so it’s little surprise to see the MLB The Show 23 ratings stay consistent with that order. Machado’s sole weak points are 39 speed and 26 stealing – but you shouldn’t have to worry abou🔜t those when he’s clouting homers into Row M.

MLB The Show 23 SS ratings (short stop)

• 1 Trea Turner (Philadelphia Phillies) - 92
• 2= Carlos Correa (Minnesota Twins) - 89
• 2= Francisco Lindor (New York Mets) - 89
• 4 Dansby Swanson (Chicago Cubs) - 88
• 5 Xander Bogaerts (San Diego Padres) - 86

Two years after appearing on the cover of MLB The Show 21, and one year after scoring a 94 rating, Fernando Tatis is no longer available in the game at all. That’s because he was suspended for 80 games last year after testing positive for an anabolic st𒉰eroid. No word yet on whether he’ll return to The Show at some point in 2023.

MLB The Show 23 RF/CF/LF ratings (outfielder)

• 1= Mike Trout (CF, Los Angeles Angels) - 99
• 1= Aaron Judge (CF, New York Yankees) - 99
• 3 Mookie Betts (RF, Los Angeles Dodgers) - 97
• 4 Bryce Harper (RF, Philadelphia Phillies) - 95
• 5 Yordan Alvarez (LF, Houston Astros) - 94
• 6 Byron Buxton (CF, Minnesota Twins) - 93
• 7 Ronald Acuna Jr (RF, Atlanta Braves) - 92
• 8 Kyle Tucker (RF, Houston Astros) 90
• 9= Julio Rodriguez (CF, Seattle Mariners) - 89
• 9= Michael Harris (CF, Atlanta Braves) - 89

MLB The Show splits outfielders into three categories – LF, CF, a🅠nd RF – so we’ve turned this into a top ten, rather than a fab five. Trout once again maintains his bombastic 99 overall rating, where he’s matched by Aaron Judge this year. Ronald Acuna Jr also notched the big nine-nine in The Show 🀅22, but spirals down to a 92 score this time out. Wondering where all the left fielders other than Yordan Alvarez are? Arizona slugger Lourdes Gurriel Jr ranks second on that list, with an OVR of 87.

In fact, the original comic book🥀 Guardians team predates the version that inspired the MCU team by almost 30 years, having debuted all the way back in 1969's Marvel Super-Heroes #18.

Created by writer Arnold Drake (who also co-created DC's Doom Paꩵtrol) and artist Gene Colan, the original version of the t﷽eam was a group of freedom fighters from the 31st century, who were part of a rebellion against the galactic alien empire of the sinister Badoon.

This version of the team consisted of Major Victory, a psychic astronaut sent to the future from the present day who carries Captain America's shield (later retconned as a future version of the New Warriors hero Justice); Yondu Udonta, a spiritual warrior f🎃ar removed from his MCU portrayal; Martinex, the last surviving settler of the planet Pluto which fell to the Badoon; and Charlie-27, himself the last survivor of Jupiter which also fell to the Bad❀oon.

When the team returned in 1975, they had added Nikki, a survivor of the Badoon conquest of Mercury, and Starhawk AKA Stakar Ogord, a cosmic powered human from some 🍌time in the near future who traveled farther✤ ahead. 

This roster of the team later traveled back in time to the present day to team up with Earth's Mightiest Heroes in the classic '70s story 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Avengers: The Korvac Saga, which earned the entire team honorar💯y membership witꦫh the Avengers.

The original Guardians of the Galaxy went on to have a popular title in the late '80s and early '90s before fading into nigh-obscurity after it ended. And then, in 2008, a new version of the team - ⛄the one that would inspire the roster of the MCU Guardians - was formed.

Sinc🎶e then, the original Guardians have appeared off and on, sometimes as guest stars in the adventures of the contemporary team, and even in their own short lived revival title.

The original Guardians have even made it into the MCU themselves as supporting characters in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, with most of the team&apos🌳;s classic comic book roster, led by Sylvester Stallone as Starhawk, showing up as the former Ravager crew of the MCU Yondu.

It remains to be seen whether the original comic book Guardiaജns will return in the MCU for May's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, but given the promise of big changes to the classic MCU team in their final movie outing, anything is possible.

Catch up with the current comic book adventures of the classic MCU Guardians - Peter Quill, Gamora, Drax, Nebula, Mantis, Rocket, and Groot.

If you're bored of the standard clamshell aesthetic of most of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming laptops on the market, the Zephyrus Duo might be the perfect tonic. The extra display propped up just above the keyboard certainly isn't a gimmick -ꦬ in fact, it's a productivity dream. Considering Asus hasn't compromised on performance to pack this extra feature in means the Zephyrus Duo is uniquely positioned to offer a best-of-both-worlds experience, combining work and play into one excellent device.𓂃 

I've spent the last two ꦺweeks with the 2023 Duo, and while my configuration will set you back an eye-watering $3,999, I'm confident in recommeಌnding it to any big spenders looking for an all-in-one powerhouse with a unique twist.

Design

• Dual screen design pushes keyboard down but still comfortable
• Slick feel despite extra heft compared to competition
• Subtle, professional external aesthetic

The Asus ROG Zephryus Duo line is all about the design. You can't pack a secondary display into a gaming laptop without seriously considering the aesthetic, functionality, and durability of the build. That's why it's so refreshing to see the same subtle iconography running along the back of the lid as the previous iteration. There's nothing loud or particularly 'gamery' about this design, and that's an easy trap to fall into when the inside of a machine looks as futuristic as this one. A simple diagonal line with an embossed ROG ⭕logo is all you get here, and it&⛦apos;s really all you need. 

Under the hood, though, that unassuming aesthetic goes out the window. I've never used any of Asus's dual-screen laptops before, so opening the lid for the first time provided a sense of wonder I haveౠn't felt with a gaming laptop in a long time. The second screen takes up about half the space of the main deck but rises with satisfying resistance as the lid itself opens. Once at its final 13° angle, it sits within perfect eyeline when viewed from a desk or in a laptop position.

The 14-inch screen sits at just under 5-inches tall on top of the main keyboard. Th🌌at means things look a little different further down. The main keys have been nudged to the very bottom of the deck, leaving no room for resting your palms, with the trackpad positioned at the right-hand side. I was ready to 🔜blast this design on first look, already imagining the hand cramps from a vertical trackpad and the strange angle at which I would have to be typing. 

However, the whole experience was bizarrely comfortable. Yes, I had to adopt a new method of using the trackpad when seated in a laptop position, but it certainly wasn't as unnatural as I had first imagined it to be. I was also able to comfortably type on the keyboard for the full work day without shifting my position too far from ordinary. In short, that extra screen doesn't sacrifice your keyboard or trackpad comfort, it just takes some minor💦 tweaks to muscle memory. Of course, it won't be for everyone so it's well worth putting some careful consideration into your typing style if you are looking to invest.

In fact, the tilted angle of the screen actually provides additional cooling. W✤hile I did notice performance dropping slightly (and one benchmark test cut out completely) when closing the lid slightly, there's plenty more airflow all around the machine here which is always a bonus. 

Despite all those moving parts, the Asus ROG ﷽Zephyrus Duo 16 still feels sturdy and durable. In fact, I was impressed with just how slimline this machine is for all its extra features and power-hungry components. Measuring in at just under 3cm thick, it's on the smaller side of current-generation gaming laptops and doesn't pack a cumbersome weight at 2.67kg. 

Yes, that's a chunkier laptop than the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 or the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Asus ROG Zephyrus M16, but it just doesn't feel like it in the hand. Perhaps it's the lack of sloped corners or thicker🐟 grill sections but the Duo feels far slicker than these lighter machines. That means it suits an office-based setting just as well as a gaming setup, and won't draw the eye unnecessarily when you ✤whip it out of a backpack.

Despite this more streamlined feel, there are still plenty of ports up for grabs - including a selection of the more heavy-duty options lined up on the back. HDMI 2.1, USB-A, and LAN connectors are positioned in the center of this pa🅘ck panel, keeping them perfectly tucked away when used on a desktop setup. I would have appreciated the USB-C currently located on the right to join them, to allow for a discrete connection to a dock for even better cable management, but I'm still glad to keep the majority of permanent connections tidy. 

Features

• Second screen is handy for productivity but less so for gaming
• Detailed and vivid HDR main display
• Wider choice of graphics cards than other 2023 Asus releases so far

Of course, we're going to have to pay that second screen its due attention first. The ROG ScreenPad Plus can be used to keep track of your stats in-game, control and view your chat when streaming, or simply act as a standard additional display during work. It's touch-sensitive🔥 as well, which means you won't need to wiggle your cursor all the way down to quickly navigate, and easily reachable when used both on the lap and on a desk. There's plenty of potential in this extra panel, especially considering it boasts a crisp 3840 x 1100 resolution and responds to taps particularly quickly. 

I largely used it as I would a second screen in any other scenario, for work. Keeping Slack and emails side by side while splitting the main display as well made for an extremely easy portable work setup. I spent my work week on the sofa to truly test the capabilities of this all-in-one 𒉰command center and came away impressed. Content creators will also love the touch gestures on offer here, with the ability to dock certain controls and menus to the lower display for fast scrubbing or just easy access. 

That's all well and good for work. For play, the ROG ScreenPad Plus poses some issues. I regularly lost access to the second ♒screen when booting up certain games, and som🧔e simply shunted half the picture off the screen. I was looking forward to kicking back with Planet Coaster and a YouTube playlist, but this proved too much to compute. When gaming, I generally only used the second screen during certain games, and only for monitoring system performance. If you're after a pure-play device, it's likely not going to be worth shelling out for such an experience.

Looking up to the main display is well worth it though. This is a particularly vivid 16-inch 2560 x 1600 MiniLED panel. Not only is that offering excellent color contrast and an impressively detailed picture, but with an HDR 1000 rating, Dolby Vision, and 1,024 local dimming zones it&ap🍰os;s a dynamic range powerhouse. It needs the right game to truly set it off, but once I loaded up Castle Dimitrescu in Resident Evil Village I was amazed at the warmth and distinction of the tones here. It's also plenty bright with 1,100 nits to its name - this is one of the only laptops I've felt I had to turn down in the evening.

To compliment that excellent display, you'll also find a six-speaker array tucked away under the body, offering richly textured audio that could pack a punch. Other peripheral featur🎀es include a webcam (now boosted up to 1080p, but still only for emergency Zoom calls) as well as Armoury Crate in all its customizable glory.

Underneath the hood, you'll find the very latest and greatest components. Configurations generally only vary by graphics card, which means you'll be picking up the AMD Ryzen 7945HX processor whether you're after an RTX 4060 / 4070 / 4080 or the 4090 I tested. This CPU is a real ki🥂ller, packing 16 cores and 32 threads for all-around power. 

While I did run into a few crashes during my time with the ROG Zephyrus Duo (more on that later), it's a blindingly fast brain at the helm. It's nice to see more graphics card choices in the Duo than in other 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Asus gaming laptops already released this year - picking up the M16 will kill 🦄the RTX 4060 option and the ROG Strix Scar 16 only plays with the top 4080 and 4090. No, it's still not cheap with a weaker GPU but there's more room to tailor your purchase in this feature set.

Performance

• Incredible performance across industry tests and in-game benchmarks
• Excellent cooling and airflow
• Comfortable with max settings

Into the nitty gritty, I'll say straight off the bat the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 offers some seriously impressive performance considering all the other jobs it's doing at the same time. Powering two displays, one with a touchscreen panel, while also running demanding titles in Ultra settings on a QHD+ resolution is going to be a big job for any machine. The Zephyrus Duo 16 can do it in its sleep. It's easy to forget just how much work is going into the picture on your screen, and I often found myself taking the Duo's performance for granted. It wasn't until I returned to my faithful 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Asus TUF Dash F15 that I realized just how well I'd been treated by my revi💮ew unit.

Everything is lightning fast here, whether I'm running four RAM-hungry Chrome tabs for work or keeping an eye on messaging while barrelling through Apex Legends. The amount of work that CPU and GPU are doing𝔉 is astounding, and - when set to Performance mode - the fan noise could fool you into thinking it was easy. Turbo mode does kick things up a notch, and I did find myself reaching for a gaming headset to avoid distraction, but the boost in performance was well worth it. 

The industry benchmarks below are impressive when taken in Performance, but I was able to push Fire Strike up to a whopping 40,844 and Time Spy to 18,245 when hitting that Armoury Crate Tur𝓰bo button.

Considering even with those fans somewhat limited I was still consistently beating the Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 across all benchmarks - while running a second screen - th𒈔at's an insane result. The Duo was also giving the beefier ROG Strix Scar a run for its money when it came to Fire Strike and PC Mark 10 tests as well.

These numbers show AMD's latest generation of processors in a particularly shiny light. These are astounding r💫esults, putting Intel's similar tier options well behind. Of courseꦅ, every component is going to perform differently in every laptop, but there's no denying the sheer power of the Ryzen 7-HX.

Aside from that CPU, I have to believe a lot of this performance boost comes from ventilation, if o♔nly because those numbers did drop when slightly closing the lid (and therefore reducing the angle of the second screen). Temperatures were remarkably comfortable throughout my testing, and even after multiple stress tests, I was able to benchmark figures similar to those returned at the start of a testing session.

The story is much the sꩲame in-game. Shadow of the Tomb Raider was consistently netting over 200fps in 1080p. Yes, it's an easy game for an Nvidia GPU to hit quickly - and I was running it in a reduced resolution - but this is the first time I've seen the fps counter stay above 200 for the duration of a benchmark.

Hitting three-figure fps no matter what's thrown at it, the Zephyrus Duo holds its own on the battlefield. It outperformed both other Asus laptops I was comparing against in my ow🌳n testing and is by far the best-performing machine onꦯ paper. However, I did raise my eyebrows at the blue screen of death a couple of times during my testing. 

I rarely experience crashes when testing gaming laptops, and I struggled to find rhyme or reason behind the Duo's occasional blip. However, on more than one occasion, and only ever when using the laptop for work, the machine would either freeze indefinitely or completely shut down, cue the smug 'Windows encountered a probl🤪em' message. As mentioned above, temperatures were always well within safe - impressively low - boundaries and everything was up to date. Whether a component wasn't quite seated perfectly or the power supply was waning, I'll never quite know. It certainly wasn't enough for me not to trust the device as a whole, and I would still certainly recommend it for a work setting.

Should you buy the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 16?

I had more fun testing the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 than I have any other gaming laptop in a long time. That's a testꦐament to the almost-seamless integration of the second screen and incredible power under the hood. This isn't just any old gaming laptop, this is about as versatile as they come.

However, not everyone is going to get the most out of this unique build. The second screen just isn't going to justify itself for those after a device created purely for play. If you're not going to be using the Duo for content creation, everyday work, or streaming, I'd recommend investing more in a machine with a greater investment in the keyboard, or one that works harder to bring the overall weight down. That's if you're set on spending top budget prices - any🅰one who won't use the second screen will also be able to find similar specs in a slightly cheaper laptop (if not now, then in a few months' time).

Of course, that's a tricky recommendation because the Duo just performs so, so well. Those set on spending big would do well to consider this two-f💜aced beauty, even if there's just a chance of using i🃏t for more than play in the future. If I had the cash to spare you can bet I'd be out buying one tomorrow.

Buy the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo if:

How we tested the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo

I used the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo as my primary work, play, and binge-watching laptop for a period of two weeks. I used the device daily for all work, with gaming sessions across Planet Coaster, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, Apex Legends, Resident Evil: Village, Doom Eternal, and The Sims 4. During this time I also stress tested in a variety of resolutions and graphical settings in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Total War: Three Kingdoms, Metro Exodus, Red Dead Redemption 2, and The Division 2. For more information on 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:how we test gaming laptops, be sure to check out the full 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy.

We're also rounding up all the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Razer laptops and the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Alienware laptops if you're keen to try a different brand. Or take a look at the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming PCs if you're after something more permanent.

Of course, the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Steam Deck has been out in the wild since February 2022, whereas we're still awaiting release date information for the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Asus ROG Ally. That means this comparison isn't going to be the final word on which handheld 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:gaming PC you should buy in 2023. Rather, we'll be keeping this updated with all the latest information on the the ROG Ally to help you work out which device might be better suited as each new reve♕al is announced, culminating in a final launch verdict once we've had the ROG Ally in hand. 

And more information is coming soon. The Asus ROG Ally launch event is on the way today, May 11, promising pricing, release date, and spec information in full. That means you'll know plenty more about whether the Ally or Steam Deck is best for you in 𝓡just a few hours. 

Asus ROG Ally vs Steam Deck: Specs

The Steam Deck may have only released a year ago, but the Asus ROG Ally is about to smoke Valve's offering in the specs department. On paper, this is a far more capable device with AMD Zen 4 processing (vs Steam Deck's Zen 2) and RDNA 3 graphics. Of course, all of that comes with a pinch of salt - we don't know how well the Ally will handle all this power in the real world. The Steam Deck may wel💯l still win in the performance department, but right now, with specs in front of us, this is going to be a hard battle for V💞alve. 

On top of that, the💦 Asus ROG Ally is also promisin𒁃g a superior display to that of the Steam Deck. They're both 7-inch panels, but Asus has upped the resolution to true 1080p with a much faster 120Hz refresh rate. If all goes to plan, that's going to leave you with crisper images and far less motion blur - especially with AMD FreeSync running in the background. 

We only know about one configuration of the Asus ROG Ally at the moment, a 512GB model. Right now, the Steam Deck is the more flexible option, with models sporting 64GB෴, 256GB or 512GB of storage space a༒nd variable prices to match them. 

Asus ROG Ally vs Steam Deck: Design

The Asus ROG Ally and Steam Deck both share the same de🌱sign language, the same central screen and s🃏ide control form factor that has reigned supreme in the handheld space for so long. However, there are some easily discernible differences in the fine print. 

For starters, the Steam Deck is a chunky device, with a width and hefꩲt to each side that the Asus ROG Ally is looking to avoid. That means some of the stability we enjoyed with Valve's option may be lost in Asus's iteration, with less to physically hold onto and reduced grip size around the back. However, the angled sides and skinnier profile to the ROG Ally may prove more comfortable for those with smaller hands. 

Both devices have a slick look to them. Where the Steam Deck opts for a classic black and gray aesthetic, though, Asus is moving into the future with bold white, RGB accents around the thumbsticks, and angular accents along the b𓄧ack. The better design will be down to personal preference, but it's well worth considering the additional LEDs piled into the ROG Ally - for better or worse. 

Asus ROG Ally vs Steam Deck: Features

If you're deciding between a Steam Deck and the upcoming Asus ROG Ally, the feature sets may certainly help you out. While the Steam Deck concerns itself with buttons galore, the Ally focuses its strengths under the hood. If you're looking to keep all your macros right at your fingertips, we'd recommeꩵnd ✨sticking with Value. There are four additional buttons around the back (double that of the ROG Ally), as well as those two classic pressure sensitive touchpads. That's a pretty comprehensive control system to serve a massive range of genres. 

However, Asus&apos♏;s option comes with a Windows 11-shaped s🎃ilver bullet. While the Steam Deck runs off a Linux-based operating system (running SteamOS), the Ally will be able to run far more launchers far easier. From Epic to Game Pass, all your games will be quickly accessible, with special thanks to the Armoury Crate SE software bringing everything into one scannable home screen. By contrast, Valve requires some pretty time consuming tinkering behind the scenes to be able to fudge anything other than Steam. 

That flexibility is also present in your docking opt꧅ions. Yes, the Steam De🐓ck can connect to a separate display via its USB-C port, but the ROG Ally will be able to do all that while also boosting its power through an Asus ROG XG Mobile GPU. Budget permitting, that means you'll be playing handheld when on the go and taking advantage of an RTX 4090 graphics card when hooked up to the big screen.

Should you buy the Steam Deck or wait for Asus ROG Ally?

All of this is to answer one simple question. Should you dive in with the Steam Deck today or wait for the Asus ROG Ally this summer? While we're still working with theoretical numbers and a few press shots, I would recommend holding 𒅌off until we know more about how the Asus ROG Ally handles in the real world. That doesn't mean we should all be rushing out and picking up the Steam Deck while we wait - in fact, the numbers ꦇare pointing towards the Asus ROG Ally being the better buy in 2023. 

If you're after more portable options, be sure to check out the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming phones and the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming tablets. For more PC on the go, though, take a look at the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming laptops on the market right now. 

The 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Steam Deck is great and all, but its obvious reliance on Valve's own launcher can be frustrating for those looking to just pick up and play. Yes, you can install Epic or Origin by delving inside the Steam Deck's different systems, disabling certain systems, and generally fiddling around, but it's easy to lose that enthusiasm after tinkering with interꦚnal folders and following endless YouTube tutorials. Asus has no such loyalties. You're free to install as many different launchers as you like, meaning a much larger pool of easily accessible games. There's even three months of Game Pass included in the box. 

Not just is this a much more flexible experience for the PC gamer, but the new Armoury Crate SE software is the final silver bullet. Of course, running on Windows 11, jumping into Epic or Game Pass is going to simple anyway, but Armoury Crate SE will pull all installed games into one handy place. That makes the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Asus ROG Ally an actual handheld console, rather than a shrunken 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:gaming PC rife with sacrifices. 

The Steam Deck has some serious competition in the slimline, ergonomic design of the Asus ROG Ally, but it's this ease of use that's 💞going to draw everyday players to the latter. I spend a lot of time tinkering with the numerous devices that cross my path, and even I don't want to spend unnecessary time delving into libraries and folders just for the chance to install a launcher. The everyday player isn't going to dedicate too much time, especially when there's no guarantee that the end goal game is going to run well. Of course, we don't know how these titles will look on the Asus ROG Ally, but this native support fills me with much more confidence in the handheld gaming PC proposition.

Yes, there are internal components to consider. There are cooling systems, speaker placements, and power draws to compare. But at the end of the day, the vast majority of players want an easy way to play their games on the go. It's not the 'Zero Gravity Thermal System' or ten million presses in the D-Pad that's going to sell that, it's a clean, simple launcher system with all your games in one place. A centralised home for everything on your device, instantly scannable and easy to hop in and out of. That's what makes the Asus ROG Ally already feel more like a robust all-in-one console system, rather than a first lo🥃o🐽k for early adopters. 

For more portable play, we'd recommend checking out the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming phones and the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming tablets, or for a fully fledged system, check out the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming laptops on the market. 

With confirmation of the device's existence last mo🔯nth, Asus has been quie𒁃t about its new venture over the last few weeks. However, with a roster of specs now public, it's easy to see just what kind of device the Ally will be. 

If you weren't paying attention on April Fool's Day, or you simply dismissed this futuristic 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:gaming PC༺ handheld as a joke, just know that the Asus ROG Ally is the first serious competitor to the Steam Deck that we've seen. Its sleek design, Windows 11 operating system, and solid components under the hood promise a slick experience across a wide range of launchers and games. 

Until release, we&ap👍os;re taking a deep dive into the Asus ROG Ally specs announced, to see just where the new generation of on-the-go PC gaming could take us. 

Asus ROG Ally price

Asus has now announced the ROG Ally price; $699 / £699. That puts it at a slight premium over the $649 / £5💃69 512GB Steam Deck, but it's running boosted specs compared to its competitor. It's also worth pointing out that vastly smaller storage options of the Steam Deck are available for as little as $399 / £349. 

Asus ROG Ally release date

The Asus ROG Ally releaಞse date in June 13, with pre-orders now live at in the US 𓃲and in the UK. will join in on May 16 with its own roster of pre-orders. 

Asus ROG Ally specs

While we're still awaiting full configuration listings, we do have the Asus ROGꦬ Ally spec sheet in hand. Starting from the top, the Ally will run off AMD architecture, with a Ryzen Z1 processing chip and RDNA 3 graphics. This APU has been custom-built and offers six cores and 12 threads for some serious performance. That's a solid start, and when combined with the 1080p display should provide plenty of grunt to see you through Triple-A titles while on the go. To keep everything running smoothly, the device will also feature ROG Zero Gravity thermals, an ultra-thin dual-fan system with high-friction heat pipes. Why zero gravity? To ensure airflow is maintained when the Ally is held in any orientation. Not only that, but Asus claims that the system produces just 20dB of sound with two fans running. 

Up on top, we have a 7-inch Full HD display with a speedy 120Hz refresh rate and AMD FreꦚeSync for extra protection against tearing. At this size, 1080p is very much🍸 forgivable, though it remains to be seen whether a more contemporary 1440p screen is going to be missed in practice.

Storage comes in the form of a 512GB PCle Gen4 drive, with an additional UHS-II MicroSD slot. Asus claims that the speeds from this e🔯xpandable slot should matcꦬh those of the dedicated drive, though, of course, that performance will also be down to the SD card you choose to use. You've also got 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM to see you through as well, though we're awaiting different configuration sizes. 

All of that sits underneath a set of Xbox-style controls, with fully programmable back buttons and customizabl🎶e thumbstick and trigger deadzone / sensitivity. Squeeze it all down to just 608g and the Asus ROG Ally makes an excellent proposition straight off the bat. 

Asus ROG Ally software

The whole system runs off Windows 11, which is where Armoury Crate SE comes into play. Whereas 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Steam Deck will have you breaking through the back door to install Epic and other launchers, everything is supported straight off the bat here. That means the Asus ROG Ally feels much more ak𒐪in to a fully-fledged console experience, with Armoury Crate pulling all your installed titles together for one home page. 

The launcher is already one of the most exciting aspects of the Ally, but there's plenty more to love about this software. Armoury Crate will also allow you to custoཧmize your key mapping, view performance stats in an overlay, and set different power presets. 

Asus ROG Ally compatibility

Asus claims that the ROG Ally has been developed to work with as many different game launchers as possꦉible, but attention has also been paid to the streaming experience. Game Pass is a clear goal here, with the system shipping with a three-month subscription straight out of the box. 

There's also a wide range of compatible hardware accessories to choose from as well. At the extreme end of the scale, you've got the ROG XG Mobile external GPU, capable of boosting performance with an RTX 4090 graphics card when connected to a separate display. Want the big screen experience without the pricey graphics card attachment? The ROG Ally can also be used with the ROG Gaming Charger Dock for fast charging and HDMI 2.0 transfer, as well as the ROG Raikiri Pro controller. Based on what we've seen with the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Steam Deck docks, particularly the third-party ones,꧑ we'd expect more Ally do🌟cks emerging too.

For more PC play on the go, take a look at the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming laptops and 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming phones on the market right now. We're also rounding up all the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming tablets for something slightly different as well. 

The ROG Ally ("a lie" - you can see why folks were confused) will rꦗun on Windows 11 and supposedly house a custom AMD APU that's dubbed to be the fastest on the market.

Compared to the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Steam Deck, the ROG Ally looks like it will have superior specs, at least on paper. The Ally will have a 16:9, 1080p touchscreen display with a 120Hz refresh ra🦹te. Valve's popular handheld, on the othꦛer hand, can only boast 800p and 60Hz on a 16:10 display.

Regardless of the confusion, an official Asus Twitter account confirmed the handheld's ex🐟istence on April 3rd.

Of course, there's no accounting for taste, but the sleek and stylish white design seen in images contrasts distinctly from the Deck, as its vents, colorful line work, and front speakers all resemble the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Asus gaming laptops.

The ROG Ally will be the latest in a long line of portable 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:gaming PCs to launch in recen🍬t years, as the Ayaneo 2, OneXPlayer 2, and Steam Deck have all made inroads into competing with the o🌃n-the-go capabilities on Nintendo Switch and mobile.

While details are still sparse at present, Asus has confirmed that it will run games from Steam and Xbox libraries, as well as other digital ജstorefronts. 

Just as the Steam Deck can be fastened down to a more stationary setup with one of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Steam Deck Docks, the Asus ROG Ally can be plugged into an external GPU🍌, or connected to a larger display.

There are no confirmed release dates or pric♐es yet, although one leak found on and reported by states that the Ally will launch in two colors – Black and White – and in two storage capacity sizes. If the leak is to be believed, a 512GB model will cost $649, and a 1TB version will set you back $899.

This leak also suggests an October release date, and that the Ally will even support VR. Whether there is much validity to this remains to be seen, although we'd expect to hear more in the 💝coming months. 

To sign ⛎up to hear more about the Asus ROG Ally, you can join the on the Asus website.

Looking for a more stationary setup? Check out the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming monitors, the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming chairs, and the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming desks.

With two Strix Scars on the shelves in 2023, Asus has completely redesigned the main chassis. Of course, that's largely to accommodate the new components under the hood, shared between the Scar 16 and 18. We recently had our hands on the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Asus ROG Zephyrus M16, a similarly chunky 2023 release, and were blown away by the power on offer from the 4090 and Intel i9-13900H. With the Strix Scar's boosted thermals, an🐼d blitzing i9-13980HX at 🍬the controls, there's certainly plenty to live up to here. 

Design

• So much RGB, all housed in a translucent design
• Build quality feels solid and durable
• Ports are back on the sides

The new Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 is certainly distinctive. Nestled within a halo of RGB lights sits a translucent chassis with large grills to the rear. Add that to the chunky nature footprint and 16:10 aspect ratio and the Strix Scar 16 risks feeling boxy, though is saved by softer rounded corners and lighter grey of the perimeter material.𒐪 

Let's get onto that translucent design, though - because it will likely make or break the Strix Scar 16 from an aesthetics perspective. Personally, I'm not a fan. This plastic already picks up too many fingerprints and smudges (and holds onto them), and adding those oils to a translucent panel already makes this deck feel far cheaper than it ought to. Yes, it✤'s cool to see the innards of the rig on show, but I don't want them staring me in the face all the time, at the expense of feeling like I'm using as high a quality machine as this. This is, ultimately, going to be down to personal preference, b🐼ut I would recommend avoiding if you're going for a clean aesthetic. 

That chassis design does make some more controversial changes to the location of your ports. Whereas we previously enjoyed power and HDMI connections neatly tuck༒ed away behind the main lid, that space is now reserved for the gargantuan grills, relegating these connections to the sides once again. While I understand the reasoning behind such a move, it's a shame such a handy design feature has been dropped in this latest iteration. Instead i'm back to my laptop looking more like a rat-king spider and less like൩ a slick addition to my setup.

The build quality is particularly so🍒lid here. There's no flex in the main deck, only the slightest of wobbles in the screen, and a hefty sense of durability to everything from hinges to keycaps. While the aforementioned fingerprint smudgin🀅g may cause issues with oily deposits later down the line, I have confidence this chassis will last.

Features

• Blindingly fast Intel i9 processor
• The best display i've ever seen on a gaming laptop
• Spongey trackpad

One of the biggest features separating this year's ROG Strix Scar 16 from the other RTX 40-Series laptop we've tested so far is that Intel i9-13980HX. This is an absolute beast of a processor, seemingly built for work🍷flows so demanding they haven't even been invented yet. That means you're picking up sign𝓰ificantly more power under the hood here, alongside the RTX 4090 configuration's 175W TGP if you do decide to go all out. 

Above the hood, though, there's still plenty to celebrate. The keyboard sitting atop of the main deck offers a particularly satisfying typing experience. Sitting slightly higher than your average chiclet deck, there's❀ a nice ꦗclunk to each stroke and responsive feedback as well. 

This is a slimmed down layout compared to the full-size keyboards you might find on a 17- or 18-inch device, dropping the numpad and dedicated navigation keys in favor of a small strip of media playback buttons along the right and a suite of volume, mic, and Armory Crate options running along the top left. This setup suited me just fine for work, and I particularly valued the larger arrow keys in play as well. Previous 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Asus gaming laptops have dropped these in size, cramming them into the🎶 corner, whereas here you're getting a full-sized set to work with.

Unfortunately, I can't layer the same praise on the trackpad. While spacious, its tracking seems to suffer sometimes and clicks feel particularly spongey. Of course, even for work, I tend to use a separate mouse all together, but when using thꦓe Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 on the road the clunky feel of this trackpad made itself known.

Up top, you've got one of the best screens I've ever used on a gaming laptop. Asus's Nebula HDR display is back for the Strix series (we previously reviewed an iteration on 2023's Zephyrus M16) and shines just as bright - lit🌼erally. With HDR content represented in gorgeous detail and colors popping from the screen with excellent vibrancy, this is a real feast for the eyes. The display itself boasts 1,024 dimming zones as part of its Mini LED genetics, with a 240Hz refresh rate, and 1,100+ nits of peak brightness. 

That means super smooth, super clear visuals that never compromise on accuracy. The matte finish also means this is a screen capable of actuaꦍlly showing up on a sunny day or in a well-lit environment as well, though the contrast doesn't shine through quite as well. That immersive display is only enhanced by four speakers running a Dolby Atmos system with a solid virtual surround sound as well.

Performance

• Record breaking benchmark figures
• Silky smooth and responsive
• Strange rattling sound from fans on game load

It's easy to say the Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 is powerful. It's running Intel's fastest CPU yet, and balancing it all with Nvidia's latest and greatest graphics cards. In practice, this is an extraordinary amount of power. With Time Spy and Fire Strike scores blowing all our previous gamin꧟g laptop reviews out the water and the CPU providing some stunning numbers across PC Mark 10 and Cinebench, things were looking good at the start of my testing. 

And those numbers didn't lie. I was marvelling at not only the꧒ detail and vividity of The Division 2's꧙ landscapes, but also the three-figure framerates even in Ultra settings in the screen's native 2560 x 1600 resolution. Trifles like a full Planet Coaster map or a bustling Cities Skylines save didn't even cause the Scar 16 to break a sweat.

In-game performance was stable and silky smooth, though I did notice some more concerning aspects of the Strix Scar 16's performance. While it must be noted that future firmware updates can offer up fixes, I did notice a cursor freeze whenever I returned to the desktop after quitting a game. It certainly never amounted to more than a few seconds of stasis, and never escalated into a full-scale 🐽crash, but was enough to slow the overall experience when switching between games.

Then we come to the fan noise. In general, for the sheer amount of cooling taking place under the hood, the Strix Scar 16 was relatively quiet. Yes, you'll still need to use a 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:gaming headset for full immersion, and it's by no means silent, but I've used far louder machines running far weaker components in the past. That's when the fan isn't creaking, of course. This might be down to the fact that the review unit I'm using has been shipped here and there for a few weeks now, but on booting certain games there was a distinct screeching noise that seemed to taper off after a few minutes. That's a concer♉n for longer term durability,❀ though I never noticed a slowdown associated with the sound so performance itself never suffered for it.

The benchmarks really do speak volumes, though. And, while reaching these ﷺdizzying heights I really valued the boosted thermal design of 2023's iteration. I never felt the chassis becoming uncomfortably hot, and even during longer stress tests, rising t♚emperatures never impacted on-screen experience.

Should you buy the Asus ROG Strix Scar 16?

The Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 is the most powerful gaming laptop I've had my hands on yet (though I've got the Razer Blade 18 and MSI Raider GE78 waiting in the wings for their turn next). However, it's certainly not the most expensive rig on the market. You can spend far more and pick up weaker performance overall, which - while it's still definitely costly - makes it excellent value for money as well. This generation of 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Alienware gaming laptops are certainly boosting the cost, as are RTX 40-Series 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Razer laptops as well. 

Of course, if you're not going to make use of that high-end g🦩aming potential, then the $3,000 / £3,000 isn't going to be worth it. You're better off waiting for more affordable configurations to hit the shelves in that instance. However, if you're looking to dive in early with the next generation of top tier graphics cards and processors, the Scar 16 should definitely be on your radar. 

How we tested the Asus ROG Strix Scar 16

I used the Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 over the course of two weeks, running everything from daily work to lengthy gaming sessions during that time. During everyday playtesting, I used Sable, Planet Coaster, Cities: Skylines, Doom Eternal, and Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, before🅠 stress testing across in-game benchmark systems for Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Total War: Three Kingdoms, The Division 2, Metro Exodus, and Red Dead Redemption 2. 

I also completed a range of industry benchmark tests, including PC Mark 10, 3D Mark's Time Spy and Fire Strike, Maxon's Cinebench, and Crystal Disk Mark. For more information on 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:how we test gaming laptops, check out the full 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy. 

We're also rounding up all the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best laptop backpacks for those taking their PC on the go, as well as the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming PCs and the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming desks to keep your setup fresh. 

This is one of the first 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:gaming laptops to storm out the RTX 40-Series gate. That means it's under the microscope not only as the next iteration of Asus's popular do-it-all machine but also as a carrier for the next generation of ✅Nvid🍌ia and Intel hardware. What can the M16 do with an RTX 4090 and i9-13900H at the helm? A hell of a lot.

Of course, that hardware isn't going to come cheap. The R♎TX 4090 spec I've been playing with for the last coupl⛦e of weeks comes in at £4,099.99 here in the UK (US pricing is yet to be revealed, but that measures out at $4,950 with current exchange rates). That means the M16 is entering an arena of lightning-fast machines packed with the latest and greatest tech and engineering designs to draw the most power possible out of it. 

Both Razer and Alienware have 16-inch devices on the way, both offering RTX 4090 GPꦑU configurations and Intel's 13th generation i9 processors for around the same price point.✤ So, should the M16 be your next heavy investment? I put this scarily expensive machine to the test to find out exactly what all this fuss is about. 

The Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 will launch in mid-March 2023. This review was completed using a pre-retail unit running early drivers. 

Design

• Sleek and solid soft-touch design with minimal branding
• Lighter than upcoming Razer and Alienware devices but thicker overall
• Durable Ergolift hinge with plenty of air vent space

Fans of previous generations will be glad to know that th𒁃e Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 doesn't mess with perfection too much. There are some minor upgrades (and the addition ofꦕ the AniMe Matrix LED display on the back of some models), but in general, the clean lines and subtle aesthetic of previous models are retained here. 

Even with those powerful components under the hood, the 2023 M16 still manages to hold▨ onto its compact form factor, coming in at just 2.3kg and 22.9mm in thickness. That's lighter than both the upcoming Razer Blade 16 and Alienware x16, though thicker than both of these models as well. Of course, a machine trying to pack as much punch from the RTX 4090 as it can, won't be your average slimline, backpac𓄧k-friendly rig, but the Zephyrus M16 is on the right side of the line here. 

Not only that, but the body itself feels particularly solid. I felt no flex in this build, which is impressive considering that spongey architecture is something I've noticed creeping into 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Asus gaming laptops. Like its predecessor, the 20ꦏ23 M16 features an aluminium lid with magnesium alloys for the main chassis and interior, but this time around everything feels significantly sturdier. 

Many have complained of a drop in build quality around the base of previous models, which has been completed ironed out here. Yes, it feels slightly thicker than the streamlined devices I'm used to, but it still holds a slimli🍰ne aesthetic and angles itself downwards from the main body which carries the illusion of a smaller device as well. On top o𝓰f all that, you'll find a soft-touch material keeping everything feeling luxurious and comfortable, especially with the generous space either side of the touchpad and gentle, rounded corners.

The screen itself is set back from the base with a dropped hinge running on either side of a large grill area. The Ergolift hinges are back from previous models, allowing for greater airflow around the back fans and for a full 180 degrees of movement as well. It's a slick implementation of a hinge design rapidly being ado🔯pted into more and more gaming laptops, and compliments the 16-inch, minimal-bezel display well.

Slapped on the back of certain configurations (namely the more expensive ones), you'll also find the AniMe Matrix display. This is a collection of white LEDs packed underneath small holes dotted across the main lid with a range of customizable animations, text options, stat displays, and even a virtual pet to play with. It's a gimmick, for sure, and one I never had too much time for in previous iterations. Just as I found with last year's 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Asus ROG Zephyrus G14, I would much rather pay less and have a thinner gaming laptop than sport a series of flashing lights that 🌳I woul♚dn't even get to see most of the time.

Your main cont🤪rol panel is made up of a standard keyboard deck, a spacious touchpad, and a series of four additional media / Asus Armoury Crate buttons. I'm a big fan of this keyboard spacing in particular - though it feels a little wider than I'm used to, I had plenty of room to scan across the deck itself. Like the rest of the body, the keycaps themselves feel silky soft to the touch - perfect for the satisfying clack of the switch꧅es underneath.

I found the typing experience to be a little softer here, compared with my own 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Asus TUF Dash F15, but the tactile clunk of each actuation ensured just the right amount of feedback. There's no number pa🎃d here, instead the extra base board space is taken up by two upward firing speaker grills. There's a bountiful glass trackpad here as well, offering a smooth glide and precise controls with very little flex to harder clicks.

Features

• Latest components but a slightly weaker processor vs competition
• Mini LED display won't suit competitive players but can be tweaked
• Offers plenty of connections, but only two USB-A ports

Of course, the biggest features to land with the 2023 Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 are the new Intel processor and Nvidia graphics cards. All M16 configurations come packed with the Intel Core i9-13900H, a hefty CPU for sure, but not quite the most powerful up for grabs. Of course, this processor is going to be absolutely singing for gameplay and demanding workflows (it certainly did in my testing), but i🎶t is worth noting the spec sheets for both the upcoming Razer Blade 16 and Alienware x16 boast slightly more impressive CPUs. The former will offer an i9-13950HX while the latter packs an overclockable i9-13900HK. When you're spending this much on a gaming rig, those finer performance details become all the more important. 

Of course, we haven't had our hands on Razer or Alienware's entries yet which means we can't speak to the performance of these chips under the hood. On paper, though, the Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 is heading into the market at a slight power disadvantage when compared against similarly designed machines꧙. 

On꧒to that all-important GPU, though, and those not concerned with the RTX 4090 will be glad to know that the M16 is also a🐼vailable with RTX 4080 and RTX 4070 cards to nudge those costs down a little. Elsewhere, each device ships with 32GB DDR5 RAM and a 2TB SSD, as well as a new motherboard to accommodate everything. 

Up top, you'll find a 16-inch 16:10 screen, with the configuration I tested sporting a M🍸iniLED panel. These displays are only starting to make their way to the world of mainstream gaming laptops, having previously been reserved for high-end TVs and more specialist rigs. Only the RTX 4090 models offer what Asus has branded its 'ROG Nebula' screen, with other variants offering IPS displays only. The new tech treats your eyes to over 1,000 dimming zones and over 1,100 nits at peak HDR b👍rightness, covering 100% of the DCI-P3 color range. 

That's because Mini-LED really means 'more LED' - loads of tiny lights working to offer more precise picture representation, with individual zones raising or lowering their light lꦉevels to offer much greater contrast on-screen. What does that mean for everyday play? Vibrant colors, rich, deep blacks, and a super bright HDR picture. Asus has other machines heading to market with its Nebula screen – namely the ROG Zephyrus G14, Strix G16, and G18 as well as the Flow series –  but Razer will also take its own stab at the tech with the Blade 16 as well. Our other competitor, the Alienware x16, won't offer a MiniLED display configuration - at least at launch.

While MiniLED is going to beไ slower than the traditional IPS panel, and therefore potentially push eSports-focused customers away, there are ways to speed things up. Asus's Armoury Crate software allows users to disable the most power-intensive aspect of a MiniLED display - zone dimming. The picture is noℱticeably flatter, of course, but will become more responsive as a result. That's a nice workaround for anyone after tournament-level performance, or those after a more color-accurate display for media editing.

The 240Hz refresh rate is more than enough for mid-range pla♛y - yes, you can find 360Hz panels out there (and 480Hz is making its way to more gaming laptop screens this year), but I'd only recommend splashing out on these kinds of speeds if you're truly serious about your eSports chances.

Ports and connections are plentiful, though it would have been nice to pick up an additional USB-A on top of the two available here - at least to bring connectivity options in line with the three USB-As you'll find in Razer and Al💫ienware's competing models. As it stands, you're getting two USB-A Gen 2 ports, two USB-C (one with Thunderbolt 4 and the other offering standard power delivery), HDMI 2.1, a microSD card reader, and a 3.5mm audio jack. The fingerprint sensor of previous iterations has once again been scrapped here, but you'll still find an IR camera🍷 up top.

Performance

• Silky smooth framerates of over 80fps in QHD Ultra settings 
• Graphics performance averages 30% improvement over 3080 Ti machines
• Max power draw hampers true potential of RTX 4090

Onto the good stuff. It's safe to say, the Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 can easily handle anything modern and demandin🍸g games can throw at it. QHD resolution and Ultra graphical settings? No problem, it'll spit out 80+ framerates without even blinking. The power on offer here is staggering and made booting up to scratch a Stardew Valley itch one morning feel laughable - like the Hadron Collider being used to play Pong. That RTX 4090, combined with Intel's Raptor 🦋Lake prowess, ups the game in a big way. 

We've all grown a little fatigued with iterative updates over the last few years, but this is a t🍰angible jump in performance, quality, and stability. I ran our usual benchmark tests and compared results with some of the top-performing RTX 3080 Ti gaming laptops from the previous generation, and the numbers speak for themselves. 

Of course, the biggest gains were seen in comparisons with 15.6-inch devices, with the Razer Blade 15 and Alienwa💞re x15 both lagging around 45% behind in Fire Strike and Time Spy benchmarks. However, even the Razer Blade 17's performance still averages a 20% deficit over that of the Asus ROG Zephyrus M16. Those 3D Mark results are the highest I've personally tested - and they should be, they're running on cutting edge tech. But it's the size of ꧂this leap that has me this excited. 

Yes, CPU peformance doesn't quite reach the same heights of improvement, but there's still a solid 7,947 sco🐼re here - a feat none of our previous generation machines could manage. The Asus ROG Zephyrus M16's Cinebench and Crystal Disk M⭕ark scores were also promising, offering excellent rendering performance across both single and multi-core tests and keeping that SSD snappy as well.

In a real world setting, those lofty numbers start to make more sense.ಌ Not only does everything whistle through frames, but that MiniLED display keeps visuals popping the entire time. This is one slick machine that made everything from Cyberpunk 2077 to Planet Coaster feel like a next-gen experience. The role of DLSS 3 shouldn't be discounted here, it's implementation in the RTX 4090 chip means we're pushing well above the means of that medium i9 CPU. While Cyberpunk 2077 is the only title I was able to take advantage of this supported performance with, it certainly pushed things to the next level. You'll find our full suite of in-game benchmarks in both 1080p and 1440p below. 

Not only did the voluptuous landscapes of Red Dead Redemption 2 manage to hold their frames under the stress of QHD Ultra, but the speed of The Division 2 was also maintained even in the same graphical fidelity. That's no mean feat and a testament t𝓰o the impressive combination of CPU and graphics card here. 

All of these benchmarks were taken in the standard Performance mode, keeping that RTX 4090 tampered with an 85W power draw. That's well below the card's 175W limit, so there's plenty more to be seen from this card in chunkier gaming laptops that can really le꧅t it spri🍰nt. 

Bumping settings up to the system's built-in 'Turbo Mode' does unlock a 120W power draw, but I was surprised by the roar those fans produced when under this kind of pressure. In my own everyday play, I was more than happy with Performance Mode, which didn't require the use of a 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:gaming headset to con🅷centrate and still provided plent♏y of horsepower. 

Those fans are working hard, and temperatures are manageable as a result. Asus has boosted the cooling design of the ROG Zephyrus M16, in order to keep up with the latest components, with a heatsink༺ spread across the full back of the rig and three fans whirring away. 

For the most part, this did the job. I was comfortable playing older games like Shadow of the Tomb Raider and indie games on my lap. However, turn the power on fully and I did notice a single spot of significant heat runဣning towards the back of the main deck. That was enough to move me to a desk, though didn't noticeably impact performance.

Should you buy the 2023 Asus ROG Zephyrus M16?

There's no denying it, the Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 is a powerful gaming laptop - and the best gaming laptop we've tested yet. That's only because it's the first out the gate, though, and there will be plenty of RTX 40-Series laptops to see soon. As it🗹 stands today, the Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 is a masterclass in power and style - portable enough to sit in a backpack, but with next-generation performance to outclass the vast majority of the market. It's a long-term buy with a blinding price tag to match its gaming prowess.

If you're after an everyday machine, it should be obvious by now that the ROG Zephyrus M16 isn't going to be for you. Even the cheapest configuration is still se꧂t to hit over $3,000. 2023 versions♈ of the Asus TUF F15 and Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 with RTX 4070 GPUs will still send you home with the latest components without breaking the bank when they launch. 

However, if you are jumping in with a big purchase for the 40-Series, the M16 is certainly well worth your consideration. That Mini LED display has competition from Razer, but all we can say without seeing the opposition is that it truly outshines anything we've had our hands on before. If Asus's prices fall in line with that of the Razer Blade 16 (slated to hit $4,299.99 for📖 a like-for-like configuration), there's going to be some difficult decisions. On paper, the Razer Blade 16 sports a better spec - a boosted i9-13950H processor and an additional USB-A port, alongside an ever so slightly slimmer design. However, the M16 avoids the constriction of a super skinny build, and may be able to draw better performance because of it. 

When it comes to the Alienware conundrum, your decision is💮 a little more clear-cut. You're getting beefier guts under the hood by waiting for the x16, but - based on spec alone - the displays simply won't match up. Dell's installment doesn't offer that Mini LED screen, so if premium HDR and contrast handling sound like a deal-breaker, you'll be set with Asus. If, however, you're looking to pump as much power into that RTX 4090 card as possible, the i9-13900HK processor under the hood of the x16 will be far better suited. It's worth noting, though, that we still don't know the price of a like-for-like configuration from Alienware. 

How we tested the Asus ROG Zephyrus M16

I used the Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 over the course of two weeks, using the laptop for the vast majority of my daily work during that time and stress-testing gameplay over the course of one week. I used in-game benchmarking tools for Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Total❀ War: Three Kingdoms, The Division 2, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Metro Exodus while also playing Cyberpunk 2077, Doom Eternal, and The Witcher 3 during casual p✤lay sessions. 

I ran industry benchmarks from 3D Mark, PC Mark 10, Cinebench, and Crystal Disk Mark to further test graphical, processing, and storage performance. For more information on 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:how we test gaming laptops, be sure to check out the full 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy.

For more from the competition, we're also rounding up all the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Razer laptops and the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Alienware laptops as well. Or, for a more permanent solution, check out the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming PCs on the shelves right now. 

Design & features

The Rapture is, without a doubt, one of the biggest and most extreme-looking routers I've ever seen. It looks like it could transform into an evil robot set on world domination. The main unit is a flat cuboid, similar to a PS4 Slim, and weighs 2.1 kg. It has 8 thick antennae that fold out, making it quite large, requiring a good mounting spot. On the back of the Rapture are 4 Gigabit LAN ports, a 2.5Gb and 10Gb WAN port, and two USB ports with LED indicators on the front. It also comes with customisable RGB lighting via the intricate Eagle eye logo on the top composed of smaller backlit ROG text and a light👍 bar on the back side.

The large size of th𝕴e Rapture hides the latest and greatest WiFi and network tech. It has a maximum speed of 11,000Mbps while Link Aggregation allows you to combine different internet sources into 3.5Gbps bandwidth. For network-heavy devices like a NAS, the Rapture can bind two 1Gbps LA💜N ports into a 2Gbps connection. The Rapture's internal quad-core 2.0GHz CPU helps it quickly manage signal processing. Thanks to the beam-forming antenna and OFDMA technology, the Rapture gains impressive range and coverage.

This router is designed for gaming, and it comes with a range of network-specific tools. Asus's Triple-level Game Acceleration includes AI-powered QoS, dedicated gaming LAN port, packet prioritization, OpenNAT, and Gamer VPN for a fast connection to game servers. Plus, Mobile Game Mode is available in the Router app on your device. The Asus Rapture comes with the free AI Protection Pro suite, which includes the latest WPA3 security protocols and advanced parental controls. Network monitoring is available 24/7, filtering out malicious traffic, blocking dangerous 🧜websites, and preventing infected devices from spreading malware. This is especially useful for parents of young teens, as it is difficult to monitor their i♍ndividual devices. AIProtection Pro is free for owners of the Rapture, including all updates.

Managing the Rapture is easy with the Asus Router app for iOS and Android. This ap𒐪p makes setup and management of the network a breeze, with quick tools to optimise the network, manage devices, and set up parental and group controls. This app is probably the best thing about 🙈owning the Rapture, aside from the obvious WiFi benefits.

Performance

Objectively me𒅌asuring Rapture's network improvements requires spec🀅ialized monitoring tools, which I don't have. But I can say my network performance is better than my provider's standard router. I'm not a huge online gamer, but I do enjoy playing Destiny 2. My old router caused interruptions while gaming, but the Rapture runs smoothly even when others are streaming.

I've also noticed far fewer buffering notifications while streaming Disney+ in 4K. My wife, who recently started working from home, hasn't complained about the quality of her work calls on Zoom or Teams since switc🍨hing to this new router. I haven't seen the "poor connection" warning on my calls in a while. Additionally, running multiple large downloads on my personal rig and r🐼eview devices has never caused any bottlenecks, and WiFi issues are now a thing of the past.

As the Tech Dad, I'm satisfied with how easy Rapture makes managing💞 devices. The Asus Router App lets me view who's on the network & what they're doing. I can switch devices into modes like streaming, work, file transfer, and gaming, and Rapture routes traffic. I use parental controls to set up control groups for kids' devices and manage what websites they can access. Security & tools provide great peace of mind, plus added value.

Should you buy the ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 Pro?

The Rapture GT-AX11000 Pro does exactly what it was designed to do, and more. It's definitely overkill for the average consumer, but heavy online gamers and those who use streaming game services like Xbox Cloud and GeForce Now will benefit greatly from its network smarts. Despite this, the router still provides a lot of utility for large households with൲ many devices connected. Add Asus's excellent and 🌊free Ai Protection Pro suite, along with the super intuitive mobile app, and it's easy to see the value. The Rapture is a powerful router, and it definitely justifies its existence.

How we tested the ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 Pro

To test the Rapture GT-AX11000 Pro, I set it up as my main router connected to an NBN100 fiber connection with 100Mbps download speed and 40Mbps upload. Every single internet-capable device in my house from speakers to phones and computers, averaging between 16 to 20 devices at a time, was connected through it. I set up the network into three channels and set our work devices and family TV to the fastest network with other things like speakers and smart dev🦩ices to 2.4Ghz. Online play was limited to Destiny 2 and Xbox Cloud on my PC, Xbox, and iPhone.

You can read about our holistic approach to gaming tech in our full 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Hardware Policy.

Looking for more ASUS gear? Then check out our guide to the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best ASUS gaming laptop money can buy too.

The ASUS Rog Swift Pro PG248QP is looking to go ballistic in the frames-per-second game and provide an image that's smooth to the tune of 540Hz. This is impressive, yes, but I'm really struggling to work out who this is really for - and h🧔ow many of those folks are out there to get the most out of that (both from their machines, and for themselves to actually enjoy).

Now, I know there is demand for the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best high refresh rate monitors for gaming now, so as to maximise the smoothness of images, but also the edge that can be gained in competitive or online play. These typically top out at 240Hz - which is usually more than enough, for more than most. And being fast is a great feature to have! There's nothing better than super-smooth gaming displays, and a lot of our picks for the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming monitor have spee💞dy panels 🎃that will make you question how you ever made do without.

But 540Hz is a different kettle of fish. Even for those monitors with 240Hz refresh rates you need a 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:gaming PC or 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:gaming laptop with enough chops to actually take advant𝔍age and pump out your fav🌺ourite games at that pace. At 540Hz, the power necessary to actually hit that number of frames per second would be immense. And something unlikely to be achieved by any normal gamer, even at the PG248QP's 1080p resolution.

And let's face it, in a world where 1080p gaming is broadly being left behind as a resolution, (remember I said 'broadly' there), shouting about super high refresh rates while🐻 being stuck at Full HD, is... not that exciting either. Personally, I'd prefer the research and engineering was put into making 4K 144Hz refresh rate monitors cheaper or packing more features into affordable monitors, or, well, just anything else.

But, nonetheless, ASUS has identified a market demand for such a screen. Naturally, this is the PC market, and a niche of that too - this certainly isn't going to be any use as a sole 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:PS5 monitor or 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Xbox Series X monitor as those machines can only top out at 120Hz. No, this is for PC gamers who also have a very, very beefy setup, sporting one of the best graphics cards - perhaps even the best one available right now, the RTX 4090. Though the reality is that even that mega GPU won't get close to the 540Hz av﷽ailable on the screen. And then it's likely - though not certain, of course - that someone who has got the biggest GPU of them all may well not be interested in just gaming at 1080p resolution when it can offer a solid 4K experience.

Away from the hardware, I'm not sure even we as humans could get the most out of such a screen and actually enjoy it. There's long been a debate about how much the human eye or brain can actually detect frame-rate-wise. Our sister site PCGamer that asked how man🐻y frames per second can we see. In it, an assistant professor of psychology at St Joseph’s College in Rensselaer 🔯said that “I think typically, once you get up above 200fps it just looks like regular, real-life motion; sure, aficionados might be able to tell teeny tiny differences, but for the rest of us it’s like red wine is red wine.”

So after this point, it really does seem like it's a case of diminishing returns, and certainly for the majority of us - just thinking about the hardware you'd need to run this thing at anywhere near the max gives me and my wallet a headache. And as genuinely-impressive a bit of gaming tech as it is, I know that someone like me would never need it, and I also just don't know who the ASUS ROG Swift Pro PG248QP is really for, or why anyone would buy one...

If you're looking for a speedy but TV-shaped screen for your gaming visuals upgrade then check out our guides to the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best 120Hz 4K TVs and the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming TVs, and don't forget to add one of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best HDMI cables for gaming to ensure the connection is rock solid.

I was blown away by the feel and performance of the Azoth during my two weeks of testing. From the thoughtful design to the rich feature list, all the way down to the♚ feel of the keycaps and the support of stabilizers underneath them - this is a clear winner for anyone who can stomach its p🍃rice tag. That's the only real clincher here - you're not going to get the feel and quality of a custom keyboard for mainstream prices. However, there are plenty of gaming keyboards knocking on this $249.99 / £269.99 price point - this is the first I'd truly be comfortable spending that kind of cash on. 

Design

The Asus ROG Azoth is at once subtle in its gamer aesthetic while also screaming it loudly. It's a strange line to walk, but without the RGB flares and swirling logo on the OLED di✨splay, this could simply be another enthusiast keyboard sitting on your desk. The two-tone keycap array is in keeping with the aesthetic, alongside the slim-bezel, stocky form factor. Peer a little closer at the sides and you'll spot the sharp angular lines of many a gaming keyboard before it, though, and the legends that reveal themselves when those LEDs to spring to life will immediately reveal this deck's true intent. 

Everything feels so incredibly soft yet satisfying here (and we're not even talking about the typing experience yet). The doubleshot PBT keycaps are slightl♏y textured underhand to prov💖ide that all-important grip, but the slightly shorter height of each key keeps you moving swiftly across the deck all the same. 

Of course, the gasket mount design certainly helps that o💟verall experience. You&🅘apos;ll find three layers of foam sandwiched between the top plate and the base, cushioning every press and dampening sound at the same time. The result is that soft, snappy feel, with no reverb even in stabilized keys like the space bar and enter. 

The actual keyboard layout feels perfectly balanced as well. A smaller🐽 frame usually means making sacrifices in functionality to allow for more mouse-swinging space, but here the Azoth manages to keep a miniature footprint while also offering a row of navigation keys and arrow buttons. 75% keyboards usually offer this layout, but in a block of keys that adds to the overall length, so by keeping things skinny her൩e we're getting the best of both worlds. 

The aluminium frame running along the top of the deck gives way to a plastic underbelly - a design that will separate the Asus ROG Azoth from the enthusiast keyboards it takes inspiration from. However, the plastic material underneath allows this 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:wireless gaming keyboard to offer both 2.4GHz and Bluetooth without getting in the way and still carries a high build quality without having any auditory effect on the sound of ea💮ch keypress. 

Features

You aren't sacrificing anything from the standard feature list to pick up that excellent enthusiast design here. All the standard anti-ghosting and n-key rollover features are still present and accounted for, unlike many typist-first devices. The full deck is also programmable with on-the-fly macro recording and six profiles to set up as well. That's far more than you'd usually see in a 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:hot-swappable keyboard o𝔉f this quality, but for the cash, we wouldn't expect anythꦏing less. 

Where the Asus ROG Azoth shines, though, is ജby tying all those standard features together with some additional quality-of-life enhancements that add that extra premium feel. The first, and most noticeable, is the OL⭕ED display sitting in the top right corner. This is a surprisingly high-quality display, with plenty of detail in the rolling animations and plenty of space for system information.

Next to this display, you'll find a small control knob that can be set to control volume, playback, keyboard brightness, OLED display brightness, or switch the LED lighting effect on your keyboard. You can also set your own custom commands through the Armoury Crate software on top. It would have been nice to control both media playback and volume without having to switch presets, but there's a surpri🌳sing amount of flexibility 🃏in this one small knob.

Of course, all this extra pizazz would get us nowhere without a solid set of keys to type on - and this is the Azoth's not-so-secret weapon.🦂 Asus has used its own NX switches under the hood, a 1.8🌊mm actuating red linear number with 40 gram-force (gf) of actuation force and a slick, nippy debounce. Combine that with the aforementioned gasket mount design and luxury keycaps and you've got a stunning typing experience. All of that comes with pre-lubed stabilizers and its own lubing kit including Krytox GPL-205-GD0.

Performance

I'll come out and say it: I've had my hands on a lot of enthusiast, custom, and gaming keyboards and this is the best typing experience I've ever had. An off-the-shelf deck has never offered such a high-quality feel, and to do🐈 so with allꩲ the gaming features of a specialized rig is a marvel. Each switch clacks with a subtle but still satisfying clack, and bounces back with incredible speed, but on top of that, you've got the gasket mount feel and sturdy build quality to set the ROG Azoth apart from the rest of the market. 

Swapping switches is easy and simple, and I never found any clickers awkwardly jammed or requiring excessive force to removജe as can sometimes be the case. I took a brief departure from the stock NX switches to add so⭕me standard Cherry MX Reds, which still managed to shine in the chassis.

I often find that hot-swappable models lack the internals to keep up with truly frantic gaming action. I've never not been able to play on decks like the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Mountain Everest Max or 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Keychron Q2, but the speed of a dedicated machine simply hasn't 𒁃been there. The Asus ROG Azoth, by comparison, is seriously nippy. It might not offer tournament-level responses, but you'll still feel a marked improvement in everyday fps and action titles.

Pair that with a faultless wireless connection and long-lasting battery life (I ran this deck for a week straight and only had to re෴charg🔜e once), and it's clear this is an all-round winner.

Should you buy the Asus ROG Azoth?

If you're looking to invest in a high-end gaming keyboard, the Asus ROG ♛Azoth should absolutely be at the top of your ✱list. There aren't too many keyboards knocking on this $250 / £250 door, but competition is out there. 

For the same kind of money, you can pick up the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Razer Huntsman V2 Analog, a full-sized wired deck with adjustable actuating switches but no hot-swappability. Or, if you don't want to lose that customizable edge, you could also look at the cheaper 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Corsair K70 Pro Mini. Available in a wireless model, and offering a strong typing experience, you're just not getting the same level of high-end quality. You're spending around $100 / £100 less on Corsair's model, and that will suit those looking to tinker with their switches and still play. However, th🌃e Azoth is of a far higher quality, with that gasket moun๊t design and super smooth feel all around. 

In short, it's certainly not a 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:cheap gaming keyboard but this is the best deck I've had my hands on in a long 🌃time. It's going to take a lot to knock the Asus ROG Azoth off my desk, and I would seriously urge anyone looking for a premium typing experience to keep one on theirs. 

How we tested the Asus ROG Azoth

I used the Asus ROG Azoth over a period of two week♔s, using the deck for all daily work and play. During that time, I primarily tested across Apex Legends, Rise of the Tomb Raider, and Epistory while also comparing against both the Mountain Everest Max and Corsair K70 Pro Mini. I also completed a full switch swap, installing a set of Cherry MX Reds and then returning to the Asus NX switch.

You can find out more about 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:how we test gaming keyboards in the full 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy. 

We're also rounding up all the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Razer keyboards on the market if you're sticking with the gaming giant. Or, take a look at the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best Asus gaming laptops available if you're completing a set. We're also rounding up the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best gaming mouse models to pair your Azoth with as well.