These Are the Most Powerful ASUS Gaming Laptops You Can Buy

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Asus products are almost unavoidable when shopping for a new laptop, desktop, or gaming PC. Thankfully, most of the brand’s products are rock solid—and this is especially true when it comes to its powerful gaming laptops. Often making headlines with star-studded critical reviews, Asus’s gaming laptops come in a wide range of sizes and at various price points.

But the sheer number of models can make picking the “right one” overwhelming. That’s why we’ve compiled seven of the best Asus gaming laptops for anyone seeking portable, powerful gaming.

Looking for more ways to play? Check out our gifts for gamers, best gaming consoles , and best gaming laptops.

Best ASUS Gaming Laptops

• Best Overall: ROG Strix Scar 16 (2023)

• Best Budget: TUF Dash F15 (2023)

• Most Well-Rounded: ROG Zephyrus G15

• Most Compact: ROG Zephyrus G14 (2022)

• Most Powerful: ROG Strix Scar 18 (2023)

What to Consider

GPU

A solid GPU, or graphics card, is how your laptop optimizes a game’s graphics. Most gamers should get a laptop with a dedicated graphics card—AMD and Nvidia are the top two brands. We recommend at minimum an Nvidia RTX 3060 or AMD Radeon 6700M for your Asus gaming laptop.

The Nvidia RTX 3070 and 3080 graphics cards, in particular, offer cutting-edge performance for gaming at 1440 pixels and 4K. The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT and RX 6800 are also solid GPUs.

Take note that Nvidia is widely considered the industry leader for ray tracing performance, which is responsible for realistic, vivid light and lighting effects in games. AMD’s cards options also offer this at sub-optimal levels, but for casual gamers, an AMD card is fine.

RAM

RAM, or random access memory, is the space a computer has to store temporary data like your operating system and programs. The higher the RAM, the faster your laptop can access that temporary data. Most great gaming laptops come with at least 16GB of RAM. This should allow you to run background applications without slowing gameplay.

Display Resolution

More subjective than other considerations, you should decide whether you need a great screen on your laptop or if you plan on using a monitor when you game.

A 1920 x 1080 HD display will perform well on nearly any laptop. Higher resolutions, such as 2560 x 1440 quad-HD, require more powerful components to perform smoothly. Generally speaking, higher resolutions are better, but a 3840 x 2160 (4K UHD) display might be overkill for some first-person shooters or MOBA games, especially if your screen is small to begin with.

Refresh Rate

The display refresh rate is a major differentiating factor between gaming and non-gaming computers. This number, measured in Hertz (Hz), indicates how many times per second the display can draw a new image. The higher the number, the faster your display can show new data. We recommend a laptop capable of at least a 120-Hz refresh rate.

How We Selected

Many of these recommendations come from plenty of personal use by our former tester and gaming expert, Harry Rabinowitz. For the products we didn’t use ourselves, we performed intensive research on the most important specs, as well as read consumer reviews. As for the products themselves, we evaluated them on performance, design, build quality, and price.

We’ve prioritized the latest Asus gaming laptops for this list. Any laptops we recommend from previous generations are listed due to current availability.

ROG Strix Scar 16 Gaming Laptop (2023)

The newest Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 is one of the brand’s latest, most balanced gaming laptops, earning critical and user acclaim for its consistent performance and sharp display.

Its LED display can handle a refresh rate of 240 Hz, practically diminishing lag and choppiness. Thanks to the latest in powerful hardware, it also has a powerful GPU, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 (an RTX 4090 version is also available), which fuels its robust graphic performance. Plus, it’s aesthetically pleasing: it has semi-transparent plastic that gives it a ’90s flair, much like an old-school Game Boy Color.

One of this laptop’s major drawbacks is its weight—a common problem with gaming laptops. The ROG Strix Scar 16 is nearly 6 pounds and comes with a 2.5-pound power brick. That weight adds up when you’re on the go, but it also gives it—according to several critics—up to 7 hours of battery life while gaming.

Reach for the ROG Strix Scar 16 if you’re looking for the latest big deal from Asus and a solid entry point to gaming laptops in general.

TUF Dash F15 Gaming Laptop (2023)

Not everyone has thousands of dollars to spend on a new gaming laptop, but even those on a tight budget can grab Asus’s TUF Dash F15 without compromising much performance. Usually hovering at around $1,200 or less, the Dash F15 is a great example of how the bare essentials can still deliver excellent gaming performance.

The mid-range CPU and GPU perform very well at gaming in 1080p and, combined with the 144Hz screen, render up some very smooth gameplay. Like ASUS’ other top-tier laptops, the Dash 15 has excellent battery life, lasting an entire day of browsing or a little over an hour of intense gaming.

While the inside may feature more mid-range specs and the outside relies more on plastic, the price more than makes up for the Dash F15’s shortcomings. And if you want to save even more, reach for a lower-spec build for a laptop under $1,000.

ROG Zephyrus G15 Gaming Laptop

Of all of Asus’s laptop offerings, the ROG Zephyrus G15 is the easiest to recommend as it strikes a near-perfect balance between performance, design, and price.

The combination of its Ryzen 9 5900HS CPU and RTX 3070 GPU deliver incredible performance on graphically intense games like Red Dead Redemption II and Shadow of the Tomb Raider, our tester found, and can run both at max settings without issue.

We love the G15’s design, too. The keyboard, touchpad, and speakers are all excellent, especially compared to options from more budget brands like Lenovo and Acer.

But the G15’s most impressive feature might be its stellar battery life, which can cruise through an entire workday on one charge or crank out about an hour and a half of intense gaming unplugged.

The only real drawback is that, like many Asus gaming laptops, the G15 lacks a webcam.

ROG Zephyrus G14 Gaming Laptop (2022)

Anyone seeking a gaming laptop with a more compact form factor should check out Asus’s ROG Zephyrus G14. Initially released in 2020 and updated since, this laptop made waves with its incredible battery life, excellent performance, and affordable price point, all features not commonly associated with smaller laptops.

The 2022 Zephyrus G14 is still relevant today thanks to its robust CPU and GPU, making it Asus’s best compact laptop. While the screen isn’t extraordinary, this laptop’s CPU, GPU, RAM, and storage specs make it a solid performer, especially considering its price point.

And like the Zephyrus G15, the G14 boasts excellent battery life, a great keyboard, a responsive touchpad, and, unfortunately, no webcam.

ROG Strix Scar 18 Gaming Laptop (2023)

The fully loaded Strix Scar 18 is a true powerhouse and maybe even a desktop replacement. It features some of the fastest components available in a gaming laptop, with a potent CPU and GPU working alongside a whopping 32GB of RAM to deliver stunning performance on any video game.

Gamers swapping between several games will appreciate the two 1-TB SSDs loaded into this laptop, providing more than enough space for most libraries. Design-wise, the Strix Scar 18 is more eye-catching than the Zephyrus line, with tons of RGB lighting and more angular accents. Another pleasant surprise is the mechanical keyboard, which feels springier and clickier than Asus’s other laptops.

Several critics say this is one of the most powerful gaming laptops today and comment on its crispy display and superb speakers. Both critics and users say the fans whir loudly when the computer is working hard, though, so be mindful if you plan on playing Red Dead Redemption II anytime soon.

ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 (2022)

Do you enjoy the MacBook’s Touch Bar? ASUS’ ScreenPad Plus offers the same functionality with the ROG Zephyrus Duo 16, but even better. This laptop has a 14-inch 4K secondary touchscreen display that adds a convenient menu of shortcuts when you need it, making streaming, gaming, and editing more intuitive.

Of course, it’s also a powerful gaming machine thanks to an AMD Ryzen 7 6800H Mobile Processor. It comes with plenty of RAM and storage to handle massive gaming libraries and data dumps; plus, according to many user reviews, its refresh rate can smoothly run popular FPS games like Halo and Call of Duty at max settings.

However, some users say its second screen splits its processing power, which can stutter during more demanding gameplay. If you're looking for a work laptop you can also game on, this may be your best bet.

ROG Flow Z13 (2022)

Convertible tablets aren't commonly associated with gaming, but ASUS’ ROG Flow X13 is one of the few examples of a gaming-forward one done right. Especially compared to most of the laptops on this list, the Flow X13 is thin. It’s incredibly lightweight and feels great in a backpack or just moving around your living space. Its wide, immersive 16:10 aspect ratio is perfect for light gaming, and several users say it's surprisingly capable of running MOBAs and mobile-oriented games. And while the GPU and battery life aren’t as strong as more traditional gaming laptops, they can hold their own after adjusting your in-game graphics settings.

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