Asus ROG Strix G17 Review — A Gaming Laptop to Rule Them All?

Asus has been pushing its ROG gaming lineup in recent years, with the Taiwanese company managing to establish itself as one of the big players in the PC gaming market. The brilliance of the ROG line is that it offers something for everyone, and just about every budget, but if you want something with some serious ‘oomph’, the ROG Strix G17 is a beast of a portable gaming option, and we got our hands on one for some thorough testing.

Under the hood

So, what’s the G17 packing? Well, the 17.3-inch laptop houses an AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX running at 3.3GHz, along with an Nvidia RTX 3070 GPU which gives the device more than enough graphical power to run just about any game under the sun at high to ultra settings. Testing it with Codemasters’ Dirt 5, the Strix G17 runs smoothly on its 300Hz screen and looks glorious in action. The display itself is super crisp and offers a high-end TV-like experience, all from the convenience of a laptop in front of you.

Design

The ROG design is strong, bold, masculine, and in-your-face, and definitely carries that rugged look, however, this is nicely balanced out with some dancing RGB lighting across the device, most notably under the edges, which make you feel like a badass street racer with an underglow. There’s no denying that it’s one of the heavier gaming laptops (coming in at just over 2.5kgs), but nothing that will hamper taking it away for the weekend or moving it in a sturdy laptop bag.

The plastic build of the body is sturdy too, and the feeling of opening and closing the screen doesn’t feel like you’re performing a heart-transplant with eggshells, as is the case with some other devices on the market.

Experience

Playing games and utilising the Strix G17 is a pleasure. From opening applications to pushing whatever game you’re playing to the max, it seems to just handle any task thrown at it. Furthermore, the device features impressive sound, with built-in speakers in front and behind of the display delivering an almost surround-sound type experience (or at least, the illusion of it).

Verdict

The R47,999 price-point may turn some gamers away, but what you’re getting with the Asus ROG Strix G17 somewhat justifies it. It may not be the sleekest laptop on the market, but it’s not trying to be. If you’re looking for a well-performing, well-built powerhouse that doubles-up as a great work PC, the ROG Strix G17 is something to consider.