Asus’ range of ROG gaming laptops are usually known for their high-end gaming performances in a premium package, so that make this particular product rather interesting. This is the Asus ROG Strix G, and it’s the most affordable gaming laptop in the current ROG lineup.
Retailing from only RM3,499 in Malaysia, the ROG Strix G is not a premium offering; rather, it aims to offer good value for money. I got my hands on the highest-end variant of the laptop with an Nvidia GTX 1660 Ti GPU, and overall, it’s really quite a promising gaming machine.
Now, even though the ROG Strix G retails from RM3,499, this top-of-the-line GTX 1660 Ti model costs quite a bit more: it goes for RM5,499. While that’s not exactly an affordable price tag, you’re getting a lot of bang for your buck here.
For one, that’s really how much you’ll have to pay for the majority of GTX 1660 Ti gaming laptops in the market now. Well, except for the Asus TUF Gaming FX505, which retails at only RM4,399. But that laptop is powered by an AMD Ryzen 7 processor; the Strix G comes with a more powerful Intel Core i7-9750H chip paired with 8GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD storage.
As far as gaming laptops are concerned, the Core i7-9750H is one of the most powerful mobile processors right now. It can definitely keep up with the GTX 1660 Ti, and if you’re a creative professional, this processor should be able to offer enough processing power too.
But how does that translate to actual gaming performance? Well, I’ve only managed to play a couple rounds of Apex Legends with the Strix G, so I can’t really judge exactly how capable it is. But I did thoroughly enjoy gaming on the Strix G, even if it was for only a while. Apex Legends ran extremely well with maxed out settings, I didn’t notice any stuttering, and I’m confident I was getting above 70 to 80 frames per second.
Part of what makes the gaming experience so enjoyable is the Strix G’s 15.6-inch 1080p display with a 120Hz refresh rate. This high refresh rate allows the screen to show up to 120fps in games, and titles that can push that many frames will look very, very fluid. On top of that, motion blur will also be minimised with the 120Hz display.
While you will definitely appreciate the 120Hz display when gaming, doing other things on the Strix G will be a lot more pleasant too. The extra motion clarity makes everything look a lot more…smooth. You will notice this even when doing simple actions like moving your cursor around.
Quality of the display itself is quite good too. It’s an IPS display, so you get great viewing angles, punchy colours, and good dynamic range. Basically, it’s an above average screen, and it looks great.
To bring down the price of the ROG Strix G, the chassis of the laptop is made completely out of plastic, including the bottom cover, lid, as well as the palm rest area. It would’ve been great if the laptop had more premium build material, but some things have to be sacrificed to lower the cost of the laptop.
Thankfully, the Strix G has reassuring build quality. I love how the textured lid look and feel, it doesn’t creak with added pressure, and I can even lift the lid with only one finger. The latter is a small thing (almost inconsequential, even), but it does show the laptop’s level of refinement.
Oh, I also really like the RGB underglow of the Strix G. It may be gimmicky, but it completes the “gaming laptop look.” However, there is one thing that bothers me a bit: the Strix G doesn’t have any webcam. Yes, it has thin screen bezels, but there’s still plenty of space at the top of the display to fit in a camera module there.
Connectivity options of the Strix G, on the other hand, is relatively good. It comes with three USB-A ports, one USB-C connection, an HDMI 2.0 output, and an RJ45 port.
Like the keyboard of most gaming laptops, the Strix G has an RGB keyboard, and it’s quite pleasant to type on. The keys have just enough travel for a comfortable typing experience, they are very tactile, and the standard layout of the keyboard takes little to no adjustment to start typing effectively.
Surprisingly enough, the Strix G’s trackpad is really good too. Thanks to the use of Windows Precision drivers, it can track my fingers very well, and gestures work seamlessly too. However, I do wish I could click on the trackpad. It doesn’t feel natural to not be able to do that simple, intuitive gesture.
The Asus ROG Strix G is a capable gaming laptop that offers good value for money. The fast 120Hz display is a joy to use, you can game very well with the Core i7-9750H and GTX 1660 Ti combo, and the laptop has solid build quality despite its all-plastic construction.
Of course, retailing at RM5,499, that’s still quite a sum of money to put down for a gaming laptop. But taking into account the Strix G’s feature set and gaming performance, that price tag doesn’t seem all that bad. Nonetheless, only a full review can reveal any possible weaknesses of this gaming laptop.
For what it’s worth, I’m positive I will enjoy reviewing the ROG Strix G.