The Asus ProArt P16 (H7606) is a strong contender for what could be dubbed the “MacBook for gamers.” It offers impressive performance, sleek business aesthetics, and a stunning display. With an Nvidia RTX 4070 graphics card, it can effortlessly handle AAA games. Additionally, features like the Asus DialPad—designed for quick shortcuts in your favourite creative applications—and excellent battery life make it a highly appealing choice.
When compared to heavyweight models like the M4 MacBook Pro 16 and the Razer Blade 16, the ProArt P16 stands out as a solid Windows-based alternative. The MacBook Pro 16 is known for its outstanding battery life and consistent performance, while the Razer Blade 16 attracts creators who also game and have a substantial budget. The ProArt P16 aims to strike the best balance between these two options, and it largely succeeds.
Design and Build Quality
I love the design of the P16. Its sleek black chassis exudes professionalism, giving it a robust and premium feel. It looks like a blend between a Razer Blade and a MacBook Pro. The new Nano black finish is designed by Asus to resist fingerprints and smudges, as well as to endure the rigors of working in tough environments. While I can’t comment on its performance in a jungle, you will still need a good cleaning cloth to keep it looking pristine.
Measuring 0.68 by 13.9 by 9.7 inches and weighing around 2 kg, it strikes a perfect balance between portability and solid construction. Made through a CNC machining process, it’s quite durable and should last for years. Asus claims that the ProArt is capable of withstanding various conditions, including the humidity of the jungle, the cold of Alaska, and the heat of the Sahara, thanks to stringent MIL-STD 810H military standard testing.
The ProArt P16 boasts extensive connectivity options. It features USB-A, USB-C, HDMI 2.1, and two Thunderbolt 4 ports that support DisplayPort 1.4 output and power delivery, along with a full-sized SD card reader. This variety ensures compatibility with a wide range of peripherals, from 4K monitors to cameras and external SSDs, which is essential for any creator. I appreciate being able to connect my monitor with a single USB-C cable that carries both video and power to my laptop.
Other notable features include a 3.5mm headphone jack, an Ethernet port, and support for the new Wi-Fi 7 standard, providing faster connectivity. These ports make the ProArt P16 versatile for both mobile and desk-based workflows.
The keyboard on the ProArt is quite good, featuring large, flat keys that are easy to type on. While they do feel a bit soft, they are not overly mushy. Additionally, in this AI era, there is a dedicated Windows Copilot key, as well as a shortcut key for quick access to the ProArt Creator Hub—similar to Armoury Crate.
Beneath the keyboard, there is an excellent touchpad that occupies nearly 50% of the lower deck. It is smooth, responsive, and features a satisfying physical click. Notably, there is an embedded ProArt wheel located in the top left corner of the touchpad. This wheel is activated by a diagonal swipe from the top right to the bottom left of the touchpad. It can be used for quick actions within applications and can be customized through the ProArt Hub.
On either side of the keyboard, you will find sleek, blacked-out speaker grills that conceal a six-speaker stereo system certified by Harman Kardon. These speakers deliver clear, rich sound, making it easy to enjoy music or movies without the need for headphones.
Display
As a laptop designed for creators, the ProArt P16 features a stunning, color-accurate display. It boasts a 16-inch OLED touchscreen with a 4K resolution of 3840 by 2400 pixels, presented in a 16:10 aspect ratio. The colors are vibrant, demonstrating the deep blacks that OLED technology is renowned for. With 100% DCI-P3 color gamut coverage and Pantone validation, it delivers excellent color accuracy, making it ideal for tasks such as photo editing and color grading.
In my recent video editing and color grading project, the display’s precision allowed me to feel more confident that my edits were accurate. However, the screen’s 60Hz refresh rate may feel limiting for those accustomed to faster displays, as it prioritizes color fidelity over gaming performance.
Another noteworthy feature of this display is its touch capability, which works seamlessly with devices like the Asus Pencil 2.0 stylus. It supports 4096 levels of pressure, providing artists and digital illustrators ample precision. However, those primarily focused on digital drawing might prefer the ProArt P13, which offers a 2-in-1 folding form factor.
Additionally, if you’re a movie enthusiast, the ProArt P16 is VESA TrueBlack 500 certified for HDR (High Dynamic Range). Content looks stunning on OLED displays, thanks to their incredible 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, but HDR enhances the highlights even further. Bright areas, such as sun flares or muzzle flashes, are particularly striking. Overall, it’s an impressive panel, and I would find it difficult to part with it.
Performance
The ProArt P16 is specifically designed for creative tasks such as graphic design, video and photo editing, and 3D animation. It is equipped with a powerful AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor, 64GB of LPDDR5X memory, a 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD, and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070. With a total power output of 120W, the HX 370 processor strikes a balance between high processing power and energy efficiency, making it suitable for demanding tasks without sacrificing battery life.
In benchmark tests, the laptop achieved an impressive score of 21086 in Cinebench, which only dropped to about 17555 while running on battery. That’s just about 17% difference which means you can expect reliable performance even when away from a power outlet. Additionally, the RTX 4070 contributes to the ProArt P16’s high marks in 3DMark TimeSpy and SpeedWay, making it just as capable for gaming as it is for real-time video editing.
The laptop easily maintains smooth frame rates of around 60fps on ultra settings in games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Indiana Jones & the Great Circle. Much of this performance is due to DLSS 3.5 technology, which utilizes Nvidia’s AI techniques to reduce the workload for gaming laptops. In some titles, you may even exceed 100fps, although the limited 60Hz refresh rate may not provide the best gaming experience.
The ProArt P16’s ability to run AAA games smoothly sets it apart from the MacBook Pro. The combination of RTX hardware and Windows gaming options offers features that Apple currently cannot match. For gamers who are also content creators, this laptop presents a compelling overall package.
Now, this is still a thin laptop, so it does get quite hot under load, and the fans may produce noticeable noise. This isn’t a problem while working but if you are rendering a heavy 4K video, you probably don’t want it on your lap. While laptop cooling has significantly improved in the past few years, the ProArt cannot compete with the MacBook Pro in terms of silence under load. I suggest using the Standard or Performance modes to keep the fans relatively quiet without sacrificing overall performance. When using the laptop on battery power, switching to Eco mode will minimize fan noise significantly.
AI-Assisted Features and Asus DialPad
The ProArt P16 features several AI enhancements that improve usability, including noise-cancelling technology during video calls, which filters out background sounds for clear communication. It also includes advanced security tools, such as AI-powered facial recognition, which provides a secure and seamless login experience that I really appreciate.
Another standout feature is the Asus DialPad, which offers precise, customizable shortcuts in creative applications. It is compatible with programs like Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom, and Premiere Pro, allowing users to easily adjust settings such as brush sizes, zoom levels, or timeline scrubbing. For instance, during a video editing session, I found the DialPad made it significantly faster and more intuitive to refine transitions and effects compared to using a mouse or traditional keyboard shortcuts.
The tactile feedback and customization options of the DialPad make it an invaluable tool for professionals looking for efficiency and control in their workflows. However, I must admit that I wouldn’t prioritize it over the keyboard shortcuts I’ve already mastered—while it’s definitely an impressive feature, it might not be something I consistently use after the initial excitement wears off.
Additionally, the Asus ProArt Creator Hub includes a variety of AI tools designed for creators. These tools utilize the P16’s 70 TOPs of AI processing power to perform interesting functions beyond typical generative AI. For example, StoryCube uses AI to organize and classify your digital photos and videos, while MuseTree is a platform for generating images locally. While these features worked well during my initial testing, they are not ones I found myself regularly returning to afterward.
In most cases, the AI capabilities within the applications you’re already using will take full advantage of the dedicated NPU on the ProArt P16. An excellent example of this is CapCut, which I use to edit my YouTube videos and offers a wealth of AI features that can leverage the laptop’s power. Furthermore, Asus includes a 6-month subscription to CapCut and a 3-month subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud with every purchase of this laptop.
Battery Life
The battery performance is quite impressive. For standard tasks like web browsing, it lasted just over five hours. However, GPU-intensive activities, such as gaming or video rendering, significantly drain the battery more quickly, especially when using the Nvidia GPU. Fortunately, the P16 features a MUX switch that can disable the Nvidia GPU, allowing you to use only the integrated Radeon 890M graphics. By doing this, the effective battery life nearly doubles, and I was able to achieve over ten hours on a single charge. This duration is more than sufficient for a day of moderate workloads.
Additionally, the Radeon 890M can still run games reasonably well if you lower your expectations. While it cannot compete with the MacBook Pro M4’s impressive eighteen-hour battery life, achieving ten hours on a Windows laptop of this caliber is certainly noteworthy.
Conclusion
I’m not going to sugarcoat it — I love the Asus ProArt P16. It’s as close to my perfect laptop as it gets. It looks stunning in black, features one of the best displays I’ve seen, has fantastic speakers, and performs exceptionally well while still lasting a whole day on battery. The ability to jump into Cyberpunk 2077 with ray tracing at the end of my workday is the cherry on top.
The only downside I can think of is that to achieve such battery life, you have to sacrifice some performance. Unlike MacBooks, which allow creators to maintain performance even when not plugged in, the ProArt P16 requires you to forgoe the RTX 4070 to keep the laptop running long on battery. However, with new processors like the Ryzen 9 AI HX 395 Max set to be released this year, that could become a moot point.
Additionally, it’s important to note that at $4,500, the ProArt P16 is far from cheap. For context, a similarly specced Razer Blade 16 would easily cost about $500 more, while an M4 Pro MacBook Pro 16 with 48GB of RAM is just $100 more than the Asus. So, considering the market for creator-focused laptops, I believe it’s a solid option, especially if you love to game on the go. I wholeheartedly recommend this one to anyone who can afford it.
Asus Australia kindly provided the Asus ProArt P16 to PowerUp for the purpose of this review
