Asus’ ROG Strix Scar 18 (starting at $4,299.99) is an example of abundance in the world of gaming laptops, built around an 18-inch display and the latest flagship silicon: a Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus with Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 5090 in our test unit. This machine makes a loud first impression, from its stellar (albeit tricky to configure) mini-LED display to the unique scrolling marquee lighting on its lid. But at this price - $4,999.99 as tested – the Scar 18 must prove it can hold the line against Razer’s Blade 18 before it can claim a spot at the top.

Design of the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (2026)

At 15.71 x 11.73 x 1.38 inches, the Scar 18 has the footprint of a cafeteria tray – this isn’t a laptop you’ll be getting out on a plane. And at 8.16 pounds, this is also one of the heaviest laptops on the market. But performance is the goal here, not portability. Razer’s Blade 18 (15.74 x 10.84 x 1.1 inches) is thinner and significantly lighter, at 7.06 pounds.

The vibrant Aura Sync lightbar around the base of the laptop also demands attention, as does the RGB-lit Republic of Gamers logo on the lid. Both are configurable with customizable lighting and patterns in the Armoury Crate app.

The lid also has a special feature called AniMe vision, a diagonally scrolling marquee of text via LEDs shining through holes in the lid backing. (This is extremely similar to the AniMe Matrix that debuted on the Zephyrus line years ago.) There are several preconfigured versions of the Republic of Gamers logo, and you can add your own text effects. Layered effects are possible and don’t always produce the desired effect — I had a “raining” effect enabled at the same time as my text, and the text was almost impossible to make out.

The bottom line is that the Scar 18 couldn’t do anything more to look like a gaming laptop – it is designed to be seen. Build-wise, it’s a solid machine, showing minimal flex no matter how I handled it. Only the lid is metal, with the rest of the construction thick plastic.

Connectivity is thoroughly modern: two Thunderbolt 5 (USB-C) and three USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports, HDMI 2.1, an audio combo jack, and 2.5 Gbps Ethernet. Internally, it offers Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 from an Intel BE200 networking card. The power connector is proprietary for the 450 W power brick.

Specifications

Gaming and Graphics on the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (2026)

We tested the ROG Strix Scar 18 in flagship form, featuring a Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus processor, RTX 5090 graphics card (175 W maximum graphics power), and 32GB of RAM. This is top-of-the-line gaming technology, though with one misstep: single-channel RAM. This might affect its performance as we’re about to see. The Task Manager confirms that only one SO-DIMM slot was used.

I put the Scar 18 through its paces playing 007: First Light at 3840 x 2400 with all detail settings maxed out. At first, this proved too demanding – I saw 26 to 32 frames per second (FPS) in most scenes. Enabling DLSS more than doubled the frame rate – I saw around 70 FPS or better, and the game was supremely playable.

Our comparison lineup includes Alienware’s 16 Area-51 (RTX 5080), MSI’s Raider 16 Max HX (RTX 5090), and Razer’s Blade 18 (RTX 5090). All laptops use a Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus and have GPUs rated for 175 W like our Asus. Their native screen resolutions, however, are different: Alienware and MSI are 2560 x 1600 while Razer has a unique dual-model display supporting both 1920 x 1200 and 3840 x 2400.

The Scar 18 was competitive across the board at 1200p, typically a few FPS ahead of the Alienware but a few FPS behind the MSI and particularly the Razer.

Bumping the resolution to 4K, the Scar 18 trailed the Razer in most games – the delta was at or almost 10% in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Far Cry 6, Cyberpunk 2077, and F1 23. (Red Dead Redemption 2 was the exception.) While those numbers won't make the difference between playability and unplayability, the price of these laptops makes it difficult to overlook.

Differences versus the Razer aside, the Scar 18 still demonstrates ample performance for gaming at 4K in most of the games we tested, though not all – it averaged only 21 FPS in Cyberpunk 2077 on ray tracing ultra, indicating that it won't be possible to play every game at maximum detail settings.

We stress test gaming laptops running 15 loops of the Metro Exodus stress test at RTX settings. During the test, the Scar 18 averaged 141 FPS with minimal variance between runs, starting at 141.5 FPS and finishing at 141.1 FPS. The Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus CPU averaged 4.59 GHz on its P-cores and 2.58 GHz on its E-cores while the RTX 5090 had an average boost clock of 1.98 GHz.

Productivity Performance on the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (2026)

We tested the Scar 18 with a Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus CPU, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD. Not including a PCIe 5.0 drive seems like a missed opportunity at this price, though Razer does the same thing.

In Geekbench 6, the single-core numbers between these laptops were almost indistinguishable as we might expect given they all use the Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus, though the Scar 18’s multi-core score of 17,629 points significantly trailed the others, which all scored over 20,000 points.

The Scar 18 landed middle of the road in our 25GB file transfer test, averaging 2,042.69 MBps, putting it ahead of the MSI (1,357.93 MBps) and Razer (1,670.53 MBps) but behind the Alienware (2,738.9 MBps).

The Scar 18 also proved competitive in our 4K-to-1080p Handbrake transcoding test, completing it in two minutes and 11 seconds to lead the Alienware (2:24) but trail the MSI (1:51) and Razer (2:01).

Display on the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (2026)

The Scar 18’s “Nebula” HDR display is its crowning feature. With a 3840 x 2400 (4K) resolution, mini-LED backlighting with 2,000 dimming zones, a 240 Hz refresh rate, and Nvidia G-Sync, this is quite advanced.

Tweaking is required to get this display to perform as intended, and it’s not simple. Out of the box, HDR is disabled, the refresh rate is capped at 120 Hz, and G-Sync is unavailable since Nvidia Optimus, which dynamically switches between the CPU’s integrated graphics and the RTX 5090, is enabled. To unlock maximum performance, the GPU must be put in “Ultimate” mode in Armoury Crate, which is effectively a MUX toggle that disables the integrated graphics. A restart is required for this to take effect. G-Sync, the 240 Hz refresh rate, and a special feature called “Extreme Low Motion Blur” (ELMB) then become available. The latter is aimed at esports players– it manipulates the pixels so that they turn off when switching colors, theoretically eliminating blur. (More on this in a moment.)

Those aren’t the only settings you’ll need to know about. You can toggle the mini-LED backlighting control between one zone, multi-zone balanced, or multi-zone strong. These settings produce very different images – one-zone provides the deepest contrast, multi-zone balanced is the dimmest but evens out the contrast to make dark scenes appear brighter, and multi-zone strong is the brightest and most vibrant. I stuck with the latter for nearly everything.

ELMB only works in one-zone mode without HDR. I tested it using the Blur Blusters UFO Test. It clearly made a difference – in the 240 fps scrollbar, the UFO looked crisp moving across the screen. Disabling ELMB caused it to become blurry, making it harder to see details. This feature can really matter for competitive esports.

But wait, there are even more settings! Armoury Crate includes many color modes through a feature called GameVisual — racing, scenery, RTS/RPG, fps, cinema, eyecare, vivid, and e-reading. On top of that, it also provides color temperature and gamut settings.

Then there’s the question of HDR. To get that working, it must first be enabled in the Windows Settings app. Back in Armoury Crate, you’ll find GameVisual, color temperature and gamut settings, Extreme Low Motion Blur, and mini-LED backlighting settings are no longer available. That’s the trade-off.

Complicating all this is that the settings I just mentioned are in different places in Armoury Crate. Some are in the display section, while others require going into the Devices section, selecting the Scar 18, and making changes there. It’s not straightforward, and those that simply use this laptop out of the box without tweaking won’t get the best visual experience.

After much experimentation, I played 007: First Light in GPU Ultimate mode, G-Sync enabled, a 240 Hz refresh rate, and True Color HDR enabled through Windows. The picture left little to the imagination – colors seemed to pop off the screen and the 4K resolution provided exquisite detail right down to the patches on Bond’s uniform. HDR effects from muzzle flashes and explosions were dazzling in dark environments.

When I watched Zootopia 2, I switched off HDR and used SDR multi-zone strong. Colors looked exquisite, and brightness was borderline excessive in a darker room. Bright objects like lamps almost seemed overexposed, but they weren’t – the display was simply that bright, and colors were so saturated that I found it hard to look away.

The Scar 18’s numbers are from its default out-of-the-box display settings. In color coverage, its 77.9% DCI-P3 coverage was last in the group – Alienware's OLED screen achieved 93.7% — but is still high enough to create vibrant-looking colors. Its 428.2-nit peak brightness was mid-pack, brighter than the Alienware's 368.6 nits but well back from Razer's 538 nits.

Also shown in our charts are the multi-zone strong settings, which produced 584.6 nits of brightness, with parts peaking at 625 nits. Enabling HDR, we measured an astounding 1,124 nits at 10%, 1,090 nits at 40%, and 943 nits at 100%. If you're looking for one of the brightest laptop displays around, the Scar 18 ranks high on the list.

Keyboard and Touchpad on the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (2026)

The Scar 18’s keyboard is great for gaming – the keys require enough actuation force that resting your fingers on WASD or the arrow keys won’t produce accidental presses. Key travel is communicative in the sense your fingers know exactly when a key is at the top or bottom of the stroke. The bright RGB backlight is sharp and easy to see.

The keyboard is less ideal for productivity. The tactile feel is rather lifeless, though I still managed 126 words per minute with 99% accuracy in my usual MonkeyType run. Layout-wise, a two-thirds-size number pad on an 18-inch laptop is a miss – there’s plenty of space to make it full-size. Additionally, the arrow key cluster isn’t separated out, resulting in no right Ctrl key, and there are no dedicated Home, End, Page Up, or Page Down keys. Asus does, however, provide five dedicated macro keys, a rarity on any laptop. These are configurable in the Armoury Crate app.

Asus’ mechanical touchpad is excellent, with an expansive surface and a smooth but fingerprint-resistant surface coating. Its clicking action is quiet.

Audio on the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (2026)

The Scar 18’s quad-speaker array delivers a decent, if not remarkable, audio experience. In 007: First Light, soft details like the footsteps of approaching enemies were easy to pinpoint, thanks to the expansive soundstage – there’s plenty of room to separate the speaker placement on a laptop this large. Bass is muted, though, resulting in explosions and gunfire that don’t stir up as much excitement as they could.

In Phil Collins’ “Don’t Lose My Number,” high hats on drum hits were sharp but missed low-end bump. Switching to the Chainsmokers’ “Summertime Friends,” I also noted the lack of bass, though the vocals were crisp. The overall sound signature is on the hollow side, but that can be sharpened up using the Atmos Detailed equalizer in the Dolby Access app. None of the equalizers made up for the lack of bass, though. Volume levels are also moderate – I found myself pushing at least 80% volume for most situations.

Upgradeability of the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (2026)

Getting inside the Scar 18 couldn’t be easier – simply slide the latch below the palm rest, slide the entire bottom panel forward, and lift it away. You don't even need tools.

Upgrade possibilities include two M.2 slots, two SODIMM slots, and the battery.

Battery Life on the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (2026)

Our battery test consists of web browsing, running OpenGL tests, and streaming videos with the screen at 150 nits while connected to Wi-Fi.

One minute shy of the five-hour mark, the Scar 18 demonstrates respectable battery life for an 18-inch gaming laptop. The Razer lasted half an hour longer (5:31) and the MSI Raider (8:34) clearly does a better job conserving power, but the Scar 18 did outperform the Alienware (3:33) by several hours.

Heat on the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (2026)

We measure the surface temperatures of gaming laptops while running the Metro Exodus stress test. Peak temperatures were 91 degrees Fahrenheit on the keyboard between the G and H keys, 90 F on the touchpad, and 108 F on the underside near the cooling vents. Internally, the Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus averaged 66 Celsius while the RTX 5090 ran at 64 C.

The laptop’s fans are well-behaved for daily use. Though fan noise increases while gaming, I had no trouble hearing footsteps and distant conversations in 007: First Light using the built-in speakers.

Webcam on the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (2026)

Asus’ FHD webcam has the minimum resolution expected on a modern laptop. The picture looks soft and washed out. Highlights aren’t handled that well – a window in the background appeared blown out – and I had trouble making out details on my face from just a few feet away. Gamers who value visual quality will want to invest in an external webcam.

Software and Warranty on the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (2026)

Asus includes a useful software bundle, starting with the familiar Armoury Crate. This app provides component monitoring, a macro editor, game library, an exhaustive amount of display settings, and lighting settings via Aura Sync and AniMe Vision. Accessing some settings is unintuitive since you need to go to the Device section and select the laptop. There you can access Windows key and Touchpad toggles and several display settings, including panel overdrive (240 Hz refresh rate). Most settings can be saved in profiles.

The MyAsus app is more generic. In addition to diagnostics and system updates, it provides a battery care mode, microphone noise cancelation, and networking preferences that allow prioritizing traffic to games or other apps.†

The Scar 18 also works with Asus’ GlideX app to share content across devices, including phones and tablets.

Asus includes a standard one-year warranty.

Configurations

Asus offers two Scar 18 configurations with only the GPU different between them – model G835LWG-DB96 uses an RTX 5080 for $4,299.99 while our review model, G835LXG-DB96, steps up to the RTX 5090 for $4,999.99. All other components are the same: a Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus processor, 32GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, and the 18-inch mini-LED display.

Pricing is slightly higher than Razer’s Blade 18 with the RTX 5080 – it was $4,099 at this writing. Razer runs $5,399 with the RTX 5090, but that price also includes a 2TB SSD.

Bottom Line

The Scar 18 is an undeniably impressive machine that goes all-in on visuals. Its mini-LED “Nebula” display looks breathtaking when properly configured, producing exceptional brightness. The AniMe scrolling marquee, dedicated macro keys, and easy serviceability also elevate its appeal.

However, when it comes to performance, the Scar 18’s single-channel RAM and lack of a PCIe 4.0 SSD are significant shortcomings on a $4,999.99 machine. Several of our gaming benchmarks and multi-core CPU performance showed meaningful dips against Razer’s Blade 18. Additionally, while its display is brilliant, the maze of settings required to unlock its potential means it doesn’t provide the best experience out of the box.

Overall, the Scar 18 is a formidable and visually stunning laptop with plenty of power and one of the best displays you’ll find in a laptop. It simply doesn’t perform consistently enough to displace the Blade 18 as our top recommendation among elite 18-inch gaming laptops.

Asus’ B850-Creator Wifi Neo motherboard is designed to serve the creator community (think 3D modeling and rendering, animation, and other media production). This community tends to use a lot of bandwidth, particularly for storage when you’re dealing with large files, either via physical connections to external drives (think USB-C) or via a NAS over Ethernet. With that, Creator boards tend to focus on faster networking, storage, and USB ports to speed up workflows.

The B850-Creator Neo is a ProArt-class board for creators that tries to serve that niche, offering dual 5 GbE ports and two PCIe 5.0 x4 M.2 sockets, neither of which is often found on a $299.99 motherboard. However, it doesn’t have any USB4/40 Gbps ports for connecting external storage (unlike the more expensive X870E-Creator Wifi), so any work that requires speed from your storage will have to come from the internal connections.

Outside of that, the X850-Creator Wifi Neo has enough ports and sockets to keep most budget users happy. On top of the 160 MHz Wi-Fi 7 and dual 5 GbE ports, you get eight total USB ports, though only six Type-A ports will leave some wanting. You also get three M.2 sockets (two PCIe 5.0) and a solid last-gen flagship-class audio codec. If you need more USB ports, you can use one of the two extra PCIe expansion slots for more, and even faster ports. Aside from the hardware specifications, the ProArt uses a clean, professional design with a black PCB and black heatsinks, along with metallic gold accents that spell out the ProArt branding on the VRM heatsinks.

Performance testing went as expected and was quite similar to most other boards we tested. Overall, it performed well across most of our benchmark suite. It was competent at gaming and also above average at most tests, including rendering (as we’ll see in detail later), so there's nothing to worry about in terms of performance, no matter how you want to use this motherboard.

Below, we’ll examine the B850-Creator Neo’s performance and other features, although as you have probably guessed from the score above, it won't make it to our list of the best motherboards. But before we share test results and discuss details, here are the specifications from Asus’ website:

Specifications of the Creator Wifi Neo

Inside the Box

Asus includes a few accessories to get you started, including the typical collection of cables, antennas, and guides, but not much else, as is typical for this class of motherboard. We’ve listed the accessories inside the box below:

• (4) SATA 6Gb/s cables
• Thermal pad for M.2 22110
• ASUS WiFi Q-Antenna
• Q-connector
• (3) M.2 Q-Slide package
• (5) M.2 backplate rubber packages
• ROG stickers
• ROG screwdriver
• Quick start guide

Design of the Creator Neo

The B850-Creator Wifi Neo is decidedly a ProArt board. With its all-black, 8-layer server-grade PCB design, gold accents on the heatsinks spelling out Pro Art in some form (Pro on the chipset heatsinks and Art on the left VRM heatsink. The M.2 heatsinks cover the PCIe 5.0-capable sockets, but I wouldn't call them sufficient for extended use of hot-running 5.0 drives without throttling. Outside of that, there isn’t much bling, like RGB lighting. So if that’s a part of your vision, it would need to come from the case and fans through the onboard headers.

Overall, I like the professional appearance. And what you see, a lot of motherboard showing, is typical for the price point. I just wish at least one of the PCIe 5.0 x4 sockets included a heavier heatsink.

Starting with the top-left corner, we get a better look at the two 8-pin ProCool EPS connectors (one required) to feed the processor. Next, we get a better look at the gold-accented ProArt design on the matte-finish VRM heatsinks. Moving past the socket area, the next feature we encounter is the four DRAM slots, with the locking mechanism located only on the top. Asus lists support for DDR5-8400 with 9000-series processors and higher, and DDR5-8600 for 8000-series APUs. We didn’t have any issues running our DDR5-6000 and DDR5-7200 kits with the 9900X. But, as is typical with our test hardware, we needed to break out the APU for our DDR5-8000 kit to work. If you want to get the most out of your RAM, you can use Asus’ AEMP (Asus Enhanced Memory Profile) functionality, which detects the memory ICs in the kit and provides optimized frequency, timing, and voltage profiles that you can easily apply to increase performance.

Above the DRAM slots are the first three (of seven) 4-pin fan headers. Each header supports PWM and DC-controlled devices. Each header outputs up to 3A/36W, which is plenty of output for any pump-and-fan configuration. You can even run a custom loop off the headers without worrying about power. Control of any attached devices is handled via the BIOS or Fan Expert 4 in the Armory Crate software suite. Or you can use ProArt Creator Hub to monitor PC status, switch fan profiles, and adjust performance modes.

Continuing right and moving down the long edge, the first thing we run into is the 4-LED debug header, which lights up during the POST process. If something goes wrong during this critical time, one of the LEDs corresponding to the problem (CPU, DRAM, VGA, Boot) remains lit, indicating where the hiccup is. Moving down the same edge, we then see the first two (of three) 4-pin ARGB connectors. The ProArt Creator hub or Armory Crate controls each. Next, we see the 24-pin ATX connector for board power, a front-panel USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) connector that also supports 30W PD/QC4+ charging, and a 19-pin front-panel USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) header.

Power delivery on the B850-Creator Wifi Neo is plenty capable, sporting 17 phases, with 14 dedicated to Vcore. Power heads from the 8-pin EPS connectors and onto the Digi+ EPU (ASP2205) voltage regulator. From there, it moves to the 80A DrMOS MOSFETs. The 1,120 Amps available isn’t a ton, but it will handle any CPU you throw at it, including the Ryzen 9 9950X or the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2.

At the bottom of the board, on the left, are the last-gen flagship Realtek ALC1220P codec and a couple of dedicated audio capacitors. This audio solution is typical for the price point, and most users won’t have any issues with it.

Next are four PCIe slots in the middle of the board. The top full-length slot uses reinforcement, connects to the CPU, supports PCIe 5.0 x16 speeds, and uses the PCIe Slot Q-Release to simplify removing a PCIe card from the motherboard. The other reinforced full-length slot also connects via the CPU and supports PCIe 5.0 x8 speeds. If both slots are in use, they run at x8/x8. The bottom full-length slot (not reinforced) connects via the chipset and supports PCIe 4.0 x4 (but it shares lanes with M.2_3). The tiny x1 slot also connects through the chipset and runs up to PCIe 4.0 x1 speeds.

There are three M.2 sockets, with the top two (under heatsinks) connecting to the processor and supporting PCIe 5.0 x4 (128 Gbps) speeds. The last M.2 socket, M.2_3 on the right, connects through the chipset and runs up to PCIe 4.0 x4 (64 Gbps) speeds. This socket shares bandwidth with the PCIe_3 slot. If either one is populated, the other gets disabled. So keep that in mind if you need to use that slot, as it will take away an M.2 socket.

Along the right edge, we find another 4-pin fan header and two (of four) SATA ports. If you need to run RAID, the SATA ports and M.2 sockets support RAID0/1/5/10 modes.

We also included images of several chips used on the board. Asus uses mainly Realtek (audio, networking), and it's own PWM ICs.

At the bottom are several headers, including front-panel audio and USB ports. A complete list of connectivity is listed below (from L to R):

• Front panel audio
• 2-pin thermal sensor header
• COM port
• 2-pin Clear CMOS
• 3-pin ARGB header
• (3) 4-pin fan headers
• TB/USB4 header
• (2) USB 2.0 headers
• (2) SATA ports
• Front panel
• Battery

The rear I/O on the B850-Creator Neo has all the basics, but lacks native 40 Gbps USB ports, which could be a concern for creators whose files are on an external drive. Outside of that, it does come with two USB-C ports, both running at 10 Gbps (USB 3.2 Gen 1), and one supporting DP Alt Mode (for video). You get two 10 Gbps and four 480 Mbps Type-A ports for a total of six, which can be limiting for some users (including me). Additionally, there are DisplayPort and HDMI for video output, a BIOS Flashback button, dual 5 GbE ports, quick-connect Wi-Fi 7, and three 3.5mm audio jacks (no SPDIF).

Note: this board uses a ‘slower’ Wi-Fi 7 that’s limited to 2.9 Gbps. It’s still plenty fast, and faster than Wi-Fi 6, but it's worth mentioning in case you’re one of the few who actually need the fastest Wi-Fi around and have the hardware to use it.

MORE: Best Motherboards

MORE: Best Motherboard Deals

MORE: Best RAM Combo Deals

MORE: How To Choose A Motherboard

MORE: All Motherboard Content

Firmware

Asus updated the BIOS layout and for the Creator Neo, using the familiar white/tan/gold that matches the ProArt theme and the mostly black board. EZ Mode is mostly informative, with system information and temperatures on the left, and quick settings for EZ Flash, Aura RGB, the Driver Hub for easy driver installation, and more in the middle. Fan control and access to full Q-Fan functionality are below. The right block displays DRAM and storage status, and Boot Priority is self-explanatory.

Advanced mode still has the headers across the top, but the shortcuts to Q-Fan and AI OC have been moved to quick settings and other locations. The right panel holds system information, including CPU frequency and temperature, in a colorful display. The main body has all the editable functionality.

Overall, I like the aesthetic update for the BIOS. It’s easy to read, and, as usual with Asus' BIOS, frequently used items are easy to find and not buried too deeply in their menus. Anything that’s a pain to access can be added to the customizable favorites screen.

Software

Armoury Crate has Several applications exist for various functions, ranging from RGB lighting control and audio to system monitoring and overclocking. It's also worth mentioning the included software. When purchasing this Asus motherboard, you get a one-year AIDA64 license – a helpful application for stress and performance testing; Asus’ Driver Hub (get your updated drivers here); Dolby Atmos (for audio); and a custom version of Hwinfo for real-time monitoring — all are helpful applications. We’ve captured a few screenshots of the applications below.

Test System / Comparison Products

We’ve updated our test system to Windows 11 (23H2) 64-bit OS with all updates applied as of late September 2024 (this includes the Branch Prediction Optimizations for AMD). Hardware-wise, we’ve updated the RAM kits (matching our Intel test system), cooling, storage, and video card. Unless otherwise noted, we use the latest publicly available non-beta motherboard BIOS. The hardware we used is as follows:

TEST SYSTEM COMPONENTS

• CPU - AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
• Cooling - Arctic Liquid Freezer II 420
• Storage - Crucial 2TB T705 M.2 PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD
• RAM - Kingston Fury Beast DDR5-6000 CL36 (KF560C36BBEAK2-32)
• RAM - Teamgroup T-Froce Delta DDR5-7200 CL34 (FF3D518G7200HC34ABK)
• RAM - Klevv Cras XR5 RGB DDR5-8000 (KD5AGUA80-80R380S)
• GPU - Asus TUF RTX 4080 16G
• PSU - EVGA Supernova 850W P6
• Windows 11 64-bit (24H2)
• NVIDIA Driver 561.09

Benchmark Settings

MORE: Best Motherboards

MORE: Best Motherboard Deals

MORE: Best RAM Combo Deals

MORE: How To Choose A Motherboard

MORE: All Motherboard Content

Benchmark Results

Our standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including any default boost/turbo) with all power-saving features enabled. We set optimized defaults in the BIOS and the memory by enabling the XMP profile. For this baseline testing, the Windows power scheme is set to Balanced (default) so the PC idles appropriately.

Synthetic Benchmarks

Synthetics offer a valuable method for evaluating a board's performance, as identical settings are expected to yield similar results. Turbo boost wattage and advanced memory timings are areas where motherboard manufacturers can still optimize for stability or performance, though, and these settings can impact specific testing scenarios.

Starting with our synthetic benchmarks, the Creator Neo was average to above average among the other tested boards. In some tests, such as 7-Zip compression, it was among the fastest. It was average elsewhere and rarely below. This is what we see from most boards—nothing to worry about so far.

Timed Applications

Timed applications also went well. It delivered the slower of the two times in LAME (9.0 seconds) but faster in Corona (41 seconds). Handbrake results were also good, running above average across both sub-tests. Nothing out of the ordinary here, either.

3D Games and 3DMark

Starting with the launch of Zen 5, we’ve updated our game tests. We’re keeping the F1 racing game but have upgraded to F1 24. We also dropped Far Cry 6 in favor of an even more popular game in Cyberpunk 2077. We run both games at 1920x1080 resolution using the Ultra preset (details listed above). Cyberpunk 2077 uses DLSS, while we left F1 24 to native resolution scaling.

The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used (and CPU/system-bound) resolution with settings most people use or strive for (Ultra). We expect the difference between boards in these tests to be minor, with most falling within the margin of error. We’ve also added a minimum FPS setting, which can affect your gameplay and immersion.

In our 3DMark and game tests, the Creator Neo was average overall. It scored slightly lower on the 3DMark Speedway test but slightly faster than average on Steel Nomad. In our games, Cyberpunk 2077 results were right around average, while F1 24 was slightly above average at 124/175 FPS (minimum/average, respectively). To summarize, this board has no issues running games or any productivity/creator-related activities.

Overclocking

Over the past few CPU generations, overclocking headroom has been shrinking on both sides of the fence, while the out-of-the-box potential has increased. For overclockers, this means there’s less fun to have. For the average consumer, you’re getting the most out of the processor without manual tweaking. Today’s motherboards are more robust than ever, and they easily support power-hungry flagship-class processors; We know the hardware can handle them. There are multiple ways to extract even more performance from these processors: enabling a canned PBO setting, manually tweaking the PBO settings, or just going for an all-core overclock. Results will vary and depend on the cooling as well. In other words, your mileage may vary. Considering all the above, we will not be overclocking the CPU. However, we will try out our different memory kits to ensure they meet the specifications.

For memory testing, we start with our fastest non-clock driver kit: Klevv 32GB (2x16) DDR5-8000. Per usual on this platform, it booted to Windows but wouldn’t pass a stress test with our 9900X. The Team Group DDR5-7200 kit worked without issue. Those speeds are well past the ‘sweet spot’ for the AMD platform, and with today’s RAM prices, we doubt many people are looking at these higher speeds in the first place.

Dropping in the Ryzen 5 8600G APU, we were able to run our Klevv DDR5-8000 kit without issue, which is a trend we’ve seen since we started using the APU (the IMCs on the APUs are generally better than those on desktop processors). Again, AMD’s sweet spot is around 6000-6400 MT/s, and this board (really any X870E board we’ve tested) can handle that and then some. Asus also offers AI Overclocking for the CPU if you don’t want to adjust settings manually.

Power Consumption / VRM Temperatures

We used AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU, cache, and Memory enabled for power testing, using the processor's peak power consumption value. The wattage reading is obtained from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter, capturing the entire PC (excluding the monitor). The only variable that changes is the motherboard; all other parts remain the same. We've moved to using only the stock power use/VRM temperature charts, as this section aims to ensure the power delivery can handle flagship-class processors.

Stress testing the Creator with our DDR5-7200 kit showed it to be less power-hungry than most boards. At idle, it sat around 81W and peaked at 256W. This averages out to 169W, which is again slightly lower than the average B850/X870/X870E-based boards.

VRM temperatures are good, peaking at just under 48 degrees Celsius on our sensor (internal sensor readings were off and not listed). Between the capable power delivery and large heatsinks, you won’t have any trouble running flagship-class processors or even overclocking.

Bottom Line

Asus’ B850-Creator Wifi Neo is an OK budget motherboard for Creators. Priced at $299.99, you get dual 5 GbE ports, three display output options, and several of Asus’ EZ DIY and AI Features that all help to make this a viable option for the budget-minded creator. That said, you are lacking in a couple of areas compared to the X870E version of the board, which offers faster USB (40 Gbps USB4 ports) and more USB ports. If you’re hung up on the port count, the next Asus Creator option costs almost $250 more ($549.99), and at that point, there are plenty of other options that would work for less.

One example, ASRock’s X870 Taichi Creator ($319.99), is arguably a better option in the creator space and a direct competitor to the Asus B850 Creator. For $20 more, you get 10GbE and 5 GbE, dual USB4 (40 Gbps) ports, and more USB Type-A ports, along with even more robust power delivery. If this isn't the board for you, check out our best motherboards article to see if one of our best picks are right for you.

MORE: Best Motherboards

MORE: Best Motherboard Deals

MORE: Best RAM Combo Deals

MORE: How To Choose A Motherboard

MORE: All Motherboard Content

Asus has started rolling out beta BIOS updates that restore Transparent Secure Memory Encryption (TSME) support to several AM5 motherboards, making it one of the first board vendors to implement AMD’s promised fix after the company was criticized for quietly removing the feature from non-Pro Ryzen CPUs.

According to VideoCardz, the beta BIOS files — which cover several ROG Crosshair, ROG Strix, TUF Gaming, and ProArt boards based on AMD’s X870, B850, and X670 chipsets — were reportedly shared through the ASUS ROG forum by overclocker SAFEDISK and include support for “GNR Transparent Secure Memory Encryption,” with GNR referring to Granite Ridge, AMD’s Ryzen 9000 desktop CPU family.

The BIOS updates are based on AGESA ComboAM5 PI 1.3.0.1b Patch A and appear to restore TSME support for non-Pro Ryzen 9000 processors earlier than AMD’s previously stated July timeline. X870 boards mostly move to BIOS 2401; B850 boards move to BIOS 1686; and X670 boards move to BIOS 3901 or 3886, depending on the model.

AMD officially confirmed to Tom's Hardware last week that it will reinstate memory encryption on Ryzen 9000 CPUs via a BIOS update, following “valuable community feedback.” AMD users had strongly expressed disapproval after the company silently removed TSME support from Non-Pro CPUs. TSME is a security feature that protects CPUs against physical exploits by encrypting the data stored in memory, making it unusable to physical attackers.

A user discovered that the feature was no longer available on his Ryzen 7 9700X system, even though it was enabled in the BIOS. Further testing involving MSI showed that consumer Ryzen chips could report TSME support under older firmware, but not after a newer AGESA update, while Ryzen Pro processors continued to support it. After countless reactions, AMD moved to fix the issue, setting July as the timeline for reinstating the feature via a BIOS update.

The Asus update now suggests the fix is beginning to arrive earlier than AMD’s July timeline, positioning the company as one of the first board makers to package the reinstatement into actual motherboard firmware. However, this is not yet the broad, stable rollout most users will be waiting for. The files are beta BIOS releases shared through the ASUS ROG forum, so users who specifically need TSME may want to track them closely, while anyone running a production or stability-critical system should probably wait for final BIOS builds.

What makes a monitor professional-grade? There are many things that pros need to get the job done, and most screens billed as “professional” don’t cover all the bases. You can always expect accurate color, flexible calibration options, and rugged build quality. But do you get a fast refresh rate? Adaptive-Sync? Multiple stand options? Self-calibration?

That’s a lot to ask for, but Asus has baked all those qualities into the ProArt PA27USD. It’s a 27-inch QD-OLED panel with 4K resolution, professional image modes, auto-calibration, 240 Hz, Adaptive-Sync, HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision, and wide gamut color. And it’s ruggedly built with two stands included, cable management, a light hood, an SDI input, KVM, USB, and internal speakers — jeez, what doesn’t it have? And it’s not super expensive as far as pro monitors go. Let’s take a look.

Asus ProArt PA27USD Specs

From an image quality standpoint, we can all agree that OLED is the best technology currently available. It offers deeper contrast than any other panel, along with wide gamut color, excellent screen uniformity, and repeatable accuracy. Self-emissive pixels render the picture with minimal polarization, which means wider viewing angles and better clarity.

The PA27USD has a Quantum Dot panel with gamut coverage up to 102% of DCI-P3. It won’t quite do BT.2020, but for any P3 or smaller color space, it is spot on. And selecting parameters is as easy as finding what you want from the seven SDR and five HDR modes, including support for HDR10, HLG, and Dolby Vision. SDR modes cover sRGB, Adobe RGB, BT.709 and 2020, plus Display and Cinema P3, and DICOM.

It’s rare for a professional panel to be game-worthy, but the PA27USD includes a 240 Hz refresh rate and Adaptive-Sync. You won’t find aiming points or sniper modes, but when paired with a fast video card, it delivers low input lag and the smooth response that only a fast OLED can provide.

For video pros, there are a host of features that cater to use in the studio or on set. There are screen-fit markers to aid composition. You get two different stands and a large metal grab handle, which makes the PA27USD great for location shoots. And here’s something I haven’t seen before, an SDI input. SDI (Serial Digital Interface) has long been an industry standard for cameras and professional video. I’m sad that it never made it to the consumer side, and that is because it doesn’t include copy protection. Here, it’s a 12G input, which is sufficient bandwidth for 4K at 60 Hz. I’ll talk more about this later.

The PA27USD also follows current trends with the inclusion of a built-in calibrator. A tiny colorimeter swings up from the bottom of the screen and, using internal patterns and software, calibrates a picture mode in about five minutes. You can adjust any existing mode or create three of your own. You can also calibrate with Asus’ ProArt Calibration app or third-party solutions like Calman and ColourSpace. The ProArt Color Center app lets you manage multiple monitors to keep everything in line.

There are pro monitors less capable than the PA27USD that cost $5,000 or more. Asus is offering this one for $2,199. While that’s a lot for a 27-inch OLED, it’s a bargain in the pro-video world, especially considering its huge list of capabilities.

Assembly and Accessories

The PA27USD comes in a clamshell box packed in fully recyclable molded pulp. Two stands are included, one with two rotating legs and a traditional telescoping type with full ergonomics. You also get cable management bits that attach to the panel sides and the upright. A rigid light hood features light-absorbing felt on the inside, easy toolless attachment, and holes for cabling and light meters. The cable bundle includes three USB, HDMI, and DisplayPort, plus IEC for the internal power supply.

Product 360

The first photo shows the PA27USD’s default stand option. The feet snap into the bottom of the panel and swivel for easy storage. They are ruggedly constructed from cast aluminum. If you want to use the traditional desktop stand, it has a heavy metal base with an equally solid upright. To install it, you first have to pluck the tiny rubber plugs from the 100mm VESA mount threads on the panel, then bolt it up with the included Phillips-head screwdriver. It includes a 5/23-degree tilt, a 30-degree swivel, and a 90-degree portrait mode. The height adjustment range is 5.2 inches. Movements are smooth and solid, making the PA27USD feel nearly indestructible.

The panel is designed for location use with a large metal handle on the back and ports on the sides. On the right, you get a DisplayPort 2.1, two HDMI 2.1, two Thunderbolt 4, which are chainable, and USB-C and A ports for the KVM function. On the left is the 12G SDI port. This means that you can hook a camera or signal distribution hub directly to the PA27USD in tether mode. If you’ve ever watched the guy behind roving cameramen at football games on TV, he’s carrying a coaxial cable. SDI is robust and has a locking bayonet connector.

The PA27USD also includes audio support in the form of a 3.5mm headphone jack and a pair of internal speakers, which play to a reasonable volume in the upper midrange frequencies.

On the bottom front of the panel is the integrated colorimeter. It swings up into place when activated by the OSD. Calibrations can be performed manually or scheduled for later. Also in the front is a row of buttons for quick access to input selection, picture presets and other functions. A joystick controls the OSD and it can be accessed from the Windows or Mac desktop using Asus’ DisplayWidget Center app.

OSD Features

The PA27USD has a comprehensive OSD that covers its multitude of capabilities. It’s divided into nine sub-menus. Calling it up takes two clicks of the joystick.

First up are the image presets, labeled to match industry standards. Native is the default, and it is the same as Display P3 but with a little extra color saturation. The other modes are nearly spot-on with their respective specifications, though I found slight gamma anomalies that I’ll tell you about later. SDR signals get seven modes, while HDR gets five, including HDR10, Hybrid Log Gamma (HLG), and Dolby Vision support. There are also three user memories, which can be anything you like. You start with a target spec, then modify it in the OSD and run the calibration to save it.

The Palette field shows the parameters for each mode including the target brightness. You can adjust the white balance with a two-point RGB slider if you wish. You also get hue and saturation sliders for all six colors.

Remaining image controls are in the Image menu where you get sharpness (edge enhancement), aspect control, input range (black and white thresholds) and a blue light filter.

Calibration is super easy, you just pick a target, or all the modes if you want, make sure the PA27USD is warmed up for 30 minutes, then execute. Or you can schedule it for later when you’re not working.

The QuickFit menu is a staple for ProArt monitors and includes preset and custom markers to aid in camera composition and design tasks. You can also put up a center marker and rulers on the screen.

The input list shows that the SDI port is shared with HDMI 1, which means the total connections can be four at most. There are two Thunderbolt ports, and they are for daisy chaining multiple monitors.

The Settings menu is a catchall for everything else and includes the Dolby Vision and Uniform Brightness toggles. In the second screen of options is Light Sync which refers to the front-mounted sensors that can adjust brightness and color temperature to match changing ambient light conditions. You can adjust the sensitivity or turn the option off. Screen Saver is where you’ll find the panel care options, which include pixel orbiting, logo, and perimeter dimming. The KVM setup is also here and allows the binding of USB ports to specific video inputs.

Finally, two of the keys on the panel’s bezel can be programmed to different monitor functions.

Asus ProArt PA27USD Setup And Hands-on

The PA27USD arrives ready to go out of the box. All the presets are factory-calibrated before shipping. For my review, I set about measuring every mode to verify its accuracy. You can see all the results on page four. For HDR signals, you must choose a specific HDR standard. HDR10, PQ in Asus’ parlance, can be rendered with either P3 or BT.2020 color. If you want to work with HLG or Dolby Vision content, just choose that mode. I noted that for P3, you could choose between D65 and D63 color temps and 2.2 or 2.6 gamma. This corresponds to Display P3 and Cinema P3, respectively. Other SDR modes include sRGB, BT.709, Adobe RGB and BT.2020. Here is a rundown of the SDR modes and their default gamut, color temp and gamma settings.

The calibration procedure could not be easier. In the calibration menu, you simply choose a target and select execute. The meter flips up into place, and the patterns appear beneath it. It takes around five minutes per mode. I tried one run for Display P3 and found that it improved gamma tracking from the default. More on that later. You can also calibrate using Asus’ ProArt Calibration app. Any custom configurations you create are stored in one of the three Calibration memories.

The PA27USD includes a rigid light hood with light-absorbing felt on the inside. It installs easily by snapping it onto the bezel. I noted that the inside fittings used to hold it in place were not covered by felt and they reflected the image. I suspect that there will be users covering them with black tape.

For daily use, I chose the Native preset, which conforms to Display P3 but with a little extra color. The PA27USD covers 102% of DCI-P3 which is a nice bonus for things like web browsing and watching video for entertainment. I noted good sound quality from the internal speakers and easy access to the headphone jack and other inputs from the right side of the panel.

Interacting with the PA27USD’s menus is intuitive using the joystick and buttons but I would like to see a remote included with any pro monitor. There will inevitably be times when you’re not sitting directly in front of it, but you’ll want to control it, perhaps in a group setting in a location tent or a post-production studio.

Gaming had the same addictive quality I find with every fast OLED. My RTX 4090-equipped PC maintained around 220 fps, which is a must for the smoothest motion and lowest input lag. The image was gorgeous, too, and it was nice to finally experience a pro screen that is also a premium gaming display. My Nvidia LDAT tests revealed slightly more input lag than other 240 Hz OLEDs, but this did not affect gameplay in the slightest. Every turn and slide was instant and precise. Moving backgrounds stayed clear while moving objects retained their detail at the fastest speeds. If I had to complain, I’d say include a frame counter, but honestly, that’s a tiny nit at best.

When you look at HDR on a screen this good, it takes on a very different feel. The depth and realism are incredible thanks to spot-on tone-mapping and color tracking. Though the PA27USD isn’t a BT.2020 monitor, it was beautifully saturated for all types of content from rendered games to video from YouTube, Apple TV or 4K Blu-ray.

A monitor like this is certainly overkill for anything but content creation. But it looks so good, I’d gladly make it my everyday screen.

Takeaway: The PA27USD is the most capable and versatile professional monitor I’ve reviewed to date. It covers every color standard currently in use plus every form of HDR signal except HDR10+. The image is bright, clear and colorful in every scenario with excellent out-of-the-box accuracy. It also games well thanks to a 240 Hz refresh rate and Adaptive-Sync. I also loved the side input panel and the inclusion of SDI support. And with two quality stands in the box, you have more installation options.

MORE: Best Gaming Monitors

MORE: How We Test PC Monitors

MORE: How to Buy a PC Monitor

Normally, I wouldn’t say much about a professional monitor’s speed and response because most of them top out at 60 Hz and don’t include Adaptive-Sync. The PA27USD has the latter and a 240 Hz refresh rate to go with it. It games just fine, extremely well in fact.

Pixel Response and Input Lag

Click here to read up on our pixel response and input lag testing procedures.

· Response Time Full black to white transition – 0.24ms

· Absolute Input Lag Full black to white transition – 20.4ms

The PA27USD has panel response typical of the 240 Hz OLEDs I’ve tested. They all transition from black to white (one-inch square) in 0.12-0.24ms, a minute difference. This means motion resolution is visually perfect, moving objects render with the same clarity as stationary ones.

In the lag test, the PA27USD proved a tad slower than other 240 Hz Ultra OLEDs, but only by a few milliseconds. The closest competitor here is Dough’s Spectrum Black, which measured 20ms. The current speed king amongst 240 Hz 4K OLEDs is Asus’ XG32UCWMG, which scored 14ms in my test.

Test Takeaway: The PA27USD is by far the most game-worthy professional display I’ve tested. It isn’t super speedy, but it is more than speedy enough for skilled gamers. It has the same perfect motion resolution as any OLED gaming monitor running at 240 Hz or higher.

Viewing Angles

I’ve noted that Quantum Dot OLEDs show a slight green tint in the 45-degree horizontal photo. The QD layer creates a slight polarization. The PA27USD maintains consistent gamma and brightness though. From the top, light drops by around 10% and there is a loss of gamma which washes the image out a bit.

Screen Uniformity

To learn how we measure screen uniformity, click here.

· Screen Uniformity Deviation From Center 0% Black Field – 6.62%

I have yet to find an OLED with a non-uniform screen. The PA27USD is about average with its 6.62% deviation from the center zone. There are no visible issues in any field pattern of any brightness level or color. This is excellent performance.

MORE: Best Gaming Monitors

MORE: How We Test PC Monitors

MORE: How to Buy a PC Monitor

To read about our monitor tests in-depth, please check out Display Testing Explained: How We Test PC Monitors. We cover brightness and contrast testing on page two.

Maximum Backlight Level

· Maximum White Luminance Native Mode – 446.755 nits

· Maximum Black Luminance Native Mode – Unmeasurable

· Maximum Contrast Ratio Native Mode – Unmeasurable

· ANSI Contrast Native Mode, Uniform Brightness off – Unmeasurable

· ANSI Contrast Native Mode, Uniform Brightness on – Unmeasurable

The PA27USD is certified for VESA DisplayHDR 400, and it delivers that same brightness for SDR content. Since it has the option for variable brightness, I measured a 25% window pattern to get 446 nits peak. Smaller windows would measure brighter. A full field pattern measured 301 nits. When uniform brightness is turned on, the brightness value in the OSD closely matches the actual light output. In other words, if you want 200 nits, set the slider to 200 nits. In all tests, the black level and contrast ratio cannot be measured by currently available methods.

Test Takeaway: The PA27USD delivers the same brightness and contrast performance as a typical Quantum Dot OLED display. It offers variable brightness which takes peak highlight values over 400 nits. Uniform Brightness delivers around 300 nits peak. The picture is stunning to look at thanks to deep contrast that is unmatched by any other display technology.

MORE: Best Gaming Monitors

MORE: How We Test PC Monitors

MORE: How to Buy a PC Monitor

The PA27USD is very easy to configure when creating content. Just pick the color standard you want from the list of presets. It’s calibrated at the factory before shipment and if you want to verify or modify any mode, that’s easy to do with the integrated calibrator.

Grayscale and Gamma Tracking

Our grayscale and gamma tests use Calman calibration software from Portrait Displays. We describe our grayscale and gamma tests in detail here.

Above are the grayscale and gamma charts for the PA27USD’s default Native preset and all other SDR modes. Grayscale tracking is very consistent from mode to mode with no visible errors anywhere. However, gamma isn’t quite as solid as I expected. It’s a tad light in general with some variation in the 80-90% brightness steps. These errors aren’t huge, but given the precision I saw in the color tests, there is room for improvement. Luckily, it took me just five minutes to improve one mode. I got the gamma for Display P3 in line with the reference at every point except 10%, which was still a tad light.

Color Gamut Accuracy

Our color gamut and volume testing use Portrait Displays’ Calman software. For details on our color gamut testing and volume calculations, click here.

The color gamut charts are the definition of professional. This is what one expects from a reference display. All measured points are on target in every mode except for BT.2020 and Adobe RGB. 2020 is an easy one because the PA27USD isn’t a 2020 monitor. It tops out at 102% of DCI-P3. But it hits every point it is capable of. Adobe RGB is also a bit short in green, which is also typical of Quantum Dot screens. A true Adobe RGB monitor is rare these days, thanks to the advent of LED backlights. In the past, Adobe monitors had a special CCFL (Cold Cathode Fluorescent) backlight, which gave the extra green required to meet the Adobe RGB spec. Modern-day LEDs and OLEDs can’t quite get there. But again, the PA27USD hits every target it can.

Grayscale, Gamma and Color Gamut Test Summary

Below is a table with all the measured results for grayscale tracking, gamma range and average, gamut accuracy and gamut volume. I tested the seven SDR modes that cover all signal formats currently used for video and game production

Test Takeaway: The PA27USD is extremely color accurate out of the box. Gamma was a little off the mark in all preses but could be corrected with the built-in calibrator in around five minutes per mode. I noted that P3 could be configured with either D63/2.6 cinema or D65/2.2 display settings. Gamut volume is nearly 100% for each mode except BT.2020 and Adobe RGB. The most colorful mode for non-critical use is Native with 102% coverage of DCI-P3.

MORE: Best Gaming Monitors

MORE: How We Test PC Monitors

MORE: How to Buy a PC Monitor

The PA27USD supports every HDR standard currently in use except for HDR10+. That includes HDR10 (PQ), Hybrid Log Gamma (HLG) and Dolby Vision. It’s certified for VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400.

Our HDR benchmarking uses Portrait Displays’ Calman software. To learn about our HDR testing, see our breakdown of how we test PC monitors.

HDR Brightness and Contrast

· HDR White Luminance – 452.1932 nits

· HDR Black Level – Unmeasurable

· HDR Sequential Contrast – Unmeasurable

The VESA DisplayHDR standards use a 25% window pattern to set their parameters and the PA27USD easily surpasses 400 nits with a score of 452 in my test. Smaller windows are claimed at 1,000 nits and I have no reason to doubt this. Black levels and contrast are immeasurable.

Grayscale, EOTF and Color

The PA27USD offers multiple EOTF options, including PQ Optimized, Clip or Basic. I found that Clip came closest to the reference when measured white and black levels are taken into account. This flexibility lets you master HDR for displays with less accurate tone-mapping. As expected, grayscale tracking is visually perfect. All the HDR modes can be calibrated with the built-in meter or outboard software just like SDR.

For the color test, I had the choice of P3 or BT.2020 gamuts. 2020 came the closest to all saturation targets for both P3 and 2020 references. The 2020 saturations remained linear so points over 50% appear undersaturated. This is a minor error. I also noted slight hue errors in magenta. All of these are easily corrected using whichever calibration method you choose. The BT.2020 chart tops out at 90% red, 75% green and 95% blue.

Test Takeaway: The PA27USD is very color accurate in all its HDR modes and can be calibrated to a high standard using the same methods as the SDR presets. It is a P3 monitor so it won’t fully cover BT.2020. You get three different EOTF options for HDR10, which is handy for content creation. It has a brightness similar to other 4K OLEDs I’ve tested, with effective variable brightness that pushes peak highlights up to 1,000 nits.

MORE: Best Gaming Monitors

MORE: How We Test PC Monitors

MORE: How to Buy a PC Monitor

I have reviewed many capable professional monitors that meet color standards and offer the flexibility necessary for all types of content creation. But I haven’t experienced one until now that could game well. A few have tried, but only the Asus ProArt PA27USD can truly call itself a high-performance gaming monitor. With 240 Hz and Adaptive-Sync, it stands head and shoulders above the competition.

As a professional content creation display, it excels. It delivers every color standard necessary for video, movie and game authoring. The built-in calibrator keeps it accurate with just five minutes needed to adjust and verify one preset. It also integrates with third-party solutions like Calman and ColourSpace so you can use it with the systems and hardware you already have. And with every possible video input, including SDI, you can connect to computers, distribution hubs, cameras and even gaming consoles.

The hardware is professional grade as well. You get two rugged stands in the box plus a large grab handle in the back and useful cable management with rubber and plastic looms. There’s a nice light hood too that installs and removes easily. I also loved the side inputs, making cable swaps super easy.

The best part here is that you get a tremendously capable and flexible display for $2,100. That sounds like a lot for a 27-inch OLED, but in the pro world, it’s a bargain. And the PA27USD has more features and abilities than any other pro monitor I’ve reviewed. If you’re looking for a do-it-all display for content creation, gaming, entertainment or workday tasks, and you have the budget, you should definitely check it out.

MORE: Best Gaming Monitors

MORE: How We Test PC Monitors

MORE: How to Buy a PC Monitor

AMD announced EXPO Ultra Low Latency at Computex this month, promising to bring it to most AM5 motherboards as part of the EXPO 1.2 update. We've known about EXPO 1.2 since April, when it first showed up in BIOS releases, and it has already been available on 800-series motherboards for a while. Now, the first batch of 600-series motherboards have begun receiving ULL support as well.

MSI and Asus have both just pushed out new AGESA 1.3.0.1b BIOSes to various X670 products. Asus has updated the X670E Hero, X670E Gene, X670 Extreme, X670E-A Gaming Wi-Fi, X670E-E Gaming Wi-Fi, X670E-F Gaming Wi-Fi, and X670 Creator Wi-Fi. The X670E-I Gaming Wi-Fi, X670E-Plus, and X670-E Plus Wi-Fi are missing their subsequent updates for now, but they should be coming soon.

These are all beta releases, so keep in mind they're not intended for most users. We also checked a bunch of B650 support pages manually (since they don't have a dedicated thread like X670), and no Asus motherboard seems to have been updated to AGESA 1.3.0.1b yet. They're all running the AGESA 1.3.0.0 or 1.3.0.1 releases from months ago, but don't explicitly mention EXPO ULL support being added.

Similarly, MSI has updated its X670-E motherboards to AGESA 1.3.0.1b, and the release notes highlight EXPO ULL, while X670 (non-E) boards also received Ultra Low Latency updates with AGESA 1.3.0.1 BIOSes during this or the past week. Some models like the MAG X670-E Tomahawk Wi-Fi actually added ULL support back on May 27th when they were updated to 1.3.0.1, but that news was missed by most of the community.

MSI has also updated their B650 lineup with AGESA 1.3.0.1b this week, with ULL support mentioned in the release notes for all models we checked, including budget A620 offerings. Gigabyte follows a similar pattern; all of its B650 and X670(E) motherboards have the latest AGESA release with Ultra Low Latency checked off in the patch notes. Lastly, we took a look at ASRock and, unfortunately, that was a bit of a confusing endeavor.

First of all, none of its motherboards, not even the highest-end X870E models, have been updated to the very recent 1.3.0.1b release; rather, they're all on 1.3.0.1. That's fine on its own, but the release notes only mention "Optimized Memory Compatibility," and we're pretty sure that doesn't refer to EXPO ULL, given the February/March release dates. At least even the entry-level units are updated with recent BIOSes, though.

The reason we dug this deep is that EXPO Ultra Low Latency can be very useful in eliminating the added latency penalty associated with modern AMD platforms. It can be particularly helpful if you're running a high-frequency kit that forces a 2:1 clock ratio, but even standard 6,000 MT/s CL30 kits can benefit. AMD says ULL profiles can help improve gaming FPS by up to 4% in non-X3D CPUs.

It doesn't help as much in chips equipped with 3D V-Cache because the large amount of SRAM reduces those CPUs' sensitivity to finer adjustments. Moreover, EXPO ULL is not just a software-side solution — you need new RAM kits compatible with the tech to use this feature since the tweaks are baked into the memory's physical SPD. It's not something you can update like your motherboard BIOS.

Technically speaking, AMD is simply codifying what overclockers have done manually for years into an official certification. If you don't want to buy new memory to get the one-click profile, which is understandable in the current RAMpocalypse, you can just mimic the subtimings one-by-one. Of course, going at it manually comes at the cost of potential stability issues.

Now that Wi-Fi 7 has been on the market for a few years and has matured, Wi-Fi 8 is the next logical step in the quest to advance wireless connectivity. TP-Link teased its upcoming Archer 8 Wi-Fi 8 router last week, and now Asus has pulled the wraps off its upcoming ROG Rapture GT-BN98 Pro gaming router.

At first glance, the ROG Rapture GT-BN98 Pro doesn’t look too far removed from the ROG Rapture GT-BE98 Pro Wi-Fi 7 router. They seemingly share the exact exterior design, right down to the eight antennas, front LED panel, buttons, exposed heatsink, and clear ROG panel. However, Asus is using an unnamed Wi-Fi 8 chipset inside.

Asus hasn’t provided any concrete performance figures we can compare to its existing Wi-Fi 7 routers, but it does offer some broad generalizations. It claims that the ROG Rapture GT-BN98 Pro offers up to a 2x improvement in median throughput and 2x greater coverage for IoT devices. Asus also claims that it will provide lower latency via Multi-AP coordination and allow higher performance in crowded wireless environments. These are all enhancements afforded by the Wi-Fi 8 standard, rather than anything that Asus is doing on its own to improve performance.

That’s not to say that Asus has sprinkled its own magic on the ROG Rapture GT-BN98 Pro. Asus has a collection of tools at its disposal that it lumps under the AI Game Boost feature. The ROG Rapture GT-BN98 Pro can automatically optimize and accelerate gaming traffic over the physical LAN ports and via Wi-Fi. There’s also adaptive QoS, which provides on-demand bandwidth allocation and network optimizations for specific online games using GTNet.

While all the major performance benefits come from the wireless side, the ROG Rapture GT-BN98 Pro also has relatively beefy wired networking capabilities. The router includes four 2.5 GbE LAN ports (one of which can be used for WAN), a 1 GbE LAN port, a 10 GbE LAN/Gaming port, and a 10 GbE WAN port. The two 10 GbE ports can be aggregated to form a single 20 Gbps link. In addition, the ROG Rapture GT-BN98 Pro has a single USB 2.0 port and one USB 3.0 port.

Although Asus hasn’t provided any further guidance, we expect the ROG Rapture GT-BN98 Pro to launch in Q4 2026 or possibly Q1 2027.

Computex 2026 is moving full steam ahead, like an AI train running down a track made of gold-plated DDR5 DIMMs. We’ve moved into the first full day of the trade show, and the announcements are really starting to fill in. You can catch our Day Zero coverage here and keep track of our dedicated Computex 2026 hub.

Arm PC chips are back in focus

Windows on Arm is not new; the first-generation Surface RT launched way back in 2012 with an Nvidia Tegra 3 processor. Since then, we’ve seen various other takes on Arm processors running on Windows, from the Surface Pro X with its Microsoft SQ1 SoC to a slew of laptops running Qualcomm’s PC-centric Snapdragon processors.

Now, we’re seeing an even more interest in the segment with Nvidia RTX Spark “Superchip” and the new Snapdragon C from Qualcomm. From all accounts, the RTX Spark targets the high end of the PC market with its 20-core Arm CPU, Blackwell RTX GPU, and 128GB of unified memory.

The Snapdragon C takes a different approach, instead aiming at the budget laptop segment. Laptops using Snapdragon C are expected to be priced as low as $300. However, that price point will be highly dependent on memory pricing, which remains a real pain point not only for OEMs, but also consumers looking to get the most bang for their computing buck. In fact, things have gotten so bad that even Intel has said that "something has to give” with memory prices.

• Nvidia's RTX Spark could capitalize where Qualcomm's Arm-based efforts have not
• Jensen Huang says Nvidia wants to 'reinvent the single most important tool of humanity' with RTX Spark
• Qualcomm aims the Snapdragon C laptop chip at the budget laptop segment, as manufacturers feel the DRAM squeeze
• Intel says 'something has to give' with memory prices

We get hands-on time with Asus’ latest hardware at Computex

Asus always has a large presence at Computex, and this year was no exception. The company had an extensive cast of new characters in the laptop field, with new Vivobooks, Zenbooks, Expertbooks, and Strix Scar gaming laptops. Of the new models introduced, the Zenbook 14 with an Intel processor and 14-inch 2880 x 1800 OLED display caught my attention.

Asus also had a rather cool-looking ROG 20th anniversary Harpe II Extreme Edition wireless mouse and the ROG Azoth Extreme Edition 20 mechanical keyboard. The devices are finished primarily in black, but feature 24-karat gold accents. The keyboard also includes transparent switches and keycaps. And we can’t get past its 3.5-pound heft, thanks to its all-metal chassis.

• Asus shows off updated Zenbook and Strix Scar laptops, along with a TUF-based Gaming desktop
• Hands-on with Asus’ ROG Harpe II Extreme Edition 20 gaming mouse
• Hands-on with Asus’ ROG Azoth Extreme Edition 20 mechanical keyboard

PCIe 6.0 SSDs are on the horizon

A year ago at Computex 2025, we saw prototype PCIe 6.0 SSDs capable of 30+ GB/s speeds. This year, we’re slowly inching towards production-capable hardware, with Phison showing off its latest PCIe 6.0 SSD controller: the X3. The X3 is a 16-channel design that is capable of 28 GB/s sequential read/write speeds and 6.8 million random read/write IOPS.

According to Phison, the controller will begin sampling to customers by the end of 2026, with volume production starting in mid-2027.

• Phison shows PCIe 6.0 X3 SSD controller with 28 GB/s of bandwidth and 6.8 million IOPS, supports 2 petabytes per drive

Everything else

We can’t get into detail on everything we’ve seen so far at Computex in this wrap-up — we’ll let the individual news stories speak for themselves. Here’s everything else we’ve covered for Computex 2026 Day One:

• Noctua announces new thermal pad for AMD chips in partnership with Carbice
• Gigabyte debuts fourth-gen Tandem WOLED and multi-mode Mini LED gaming monitors
• Gigabyte showcases new Infinity products for its 40th anniversary
• Cooler Master shows off new HAF 500 chassis, aluminum fans, and new air coolers
• AMD ‘had to re-engineer’ the Ryzen 7 5800X3D for a re-release

Here at Computex 2026 in Taipei, Asus held an early press event to showcase its updated Zenbook, Expertbook, and Strix Scar laptops, along with the new TUF T700 gaming desktop. The additions to the Zenbook and Vivo series, the Zenbook 14 (3 different models), and Vivobook Series (S14/S16 and S14/16 Flip) promise to, according to Asus, ‘elevate the everyday computing experience’ with an all-metal construction, updated branding (the shell will only say Asus now), and new colorways including Arctic Blue and Komodo Coral for a more personalized look. Meanwhile, the company’s compact TUF Gaming T700 desktop bumps up its specs and moves to a proprietary motherboard.

The Zenbook 14 laptops use Intel, AMD, or a Snapdragon processor, with up to 24GB of RAM (16GB for Snapdragon-based models) and up to 512GB of PCIe 4.0 NVMe storage (Snapdragon model, the others do not list 512GB as a maximum). The Intel-based SKU (UX3480AA) sports up to a 3K (2880x1800) 14-inch OLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, while the AMD and Snapdragon SKUs (UX3480GA and UX3480QA, respectively) use an FHD (1920x1200) screen with a 60Hz refresh rate. They all include Wi-Fi 6E and offer typical connectivity, including audio combo jacks, HDMI, USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, and Type-C – the latter supports PD and DP support for charging and display output. Each has at least one 40 Gbps Type-C port, with the Snapdragon-based Zenbook shipping with two. The Vivobook S14/S16 Flip, with its Snapdragon X (orX Plus) and flexible 360-degree design (laptop/tablet/tent), also receives new colorway options.

In addition to the Zenbooks, we also saw the new Expertbook B5 Flip G2, a 360-degree convertible designed for hybrid workflows for business professionals, students, and educators who are looking for flexibility, performance, and security. It even hides the stylus in its thin (0.58-inches) and light (2.9 lbs) chassis. Specs-wise, it’s powered by the Intel Core 7 350 processor, an 18 TOPS NPU, and Intel graphics. You can pack it with up to 32 GB of LPDDRX5 RAM and up to 1TB of PCIe 4.0 SSD storage, and it has plenty of connectivity, including TB4 USB-C ports, HDMI, and two USB 3.2 gen 1 Type-A ports, all in a Gentle Grey finish.

The Expertbooks, P5 (14-inch) and PM5 G2 (16-inch) are enterprise-grade devices and feature Asus ExpertGuardian and a NIST PSP 800--1930 compliant BIOS and other various safeguards, including a fingerprint sensor, physical webcam shield, and more. Performance-wise, both Expertbooks' NPUs exceed 40 TOPS.

Asus also showed off its ROG Strix G16/G18 and Strix Scar gaming laptops for 2026, with minor hardware updates. The Scar 18 now supports up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX processor with 200W sustained power (from the 275HX), along with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 laptop GPU with max power up to 175 TGP – a gaming beast, no doubt. Both the G16 and G18 get a bump in GPU performance, with the G16 offering an RTX 5080 laptop GPU and the G18 an RTX 5070 laptop GPU. The illuminated numeric keypad, which looks cool in person, I must admit, also made its way to the G16 and G18 (from the familiar ROG Zephyrus and Zenbook lines). I'm not sure how useful that will be on a laptop designed more for gaming, but it's a nice aesthetic touch. Pricing wasn’t listed, but you should see these, along with the updated Zenbook/Vivobooks, available early in the second half of 2026.

The TUF T700 Gaming PC is an updated version of the T500, with a different (and better-looking) chassis and access to more powerful CPUs. The new boards sport up to an Intel Core U9-275HX or an AMD Ryzen 7-8700F APU. The inside of the chassis includes a 240mm TUF-branded AIO, a PCIe 4.0 storage interface, up to 64GB of SO-DIMM DDR5-5200 MT/s RAM (we’d like to see faster spec-RAM), an efficient 80 Plus Platinum power supply, and up to an Nvidia RTX 5070 Prime graphics, an increase over the last generation T series that maxed out with an RTX 5060 Ti (16GB). Asus will also use a proprietary motherboard in these systems, with a proprietary form factor that resembles MicroATX, with an extra ‘tab’ protruding along the right edge to support additional USB ports.

The incremental, sometimes mostly aesthetic-only, updates on laptops aren’t exactly exciting, but when you’re in the middle of a CPU lifecycle from both camps and video card upgrades have also stalled (thanks, AI), there isn’t a whole lot laptop makers can do. That said, we’re told Asus’ booth at the convention center has something special they couldn’t share at this pre-briefing, so keep an eye out for additional coverage of Asus at Computex 2026 in the coming days to see what it and dozens of other companies will have to offer as the year progresses.

For most of the past 20 years, black and red have been the iconic colors of Asus’ ROG brand. But to celebrate two decades of the Republic of Gamers, the company has settled on a black-and-gold motif, which we’ve already seen on its RAM and other components in a Computex teaser. This also extends to peripherals, as seen with the Asus ROG 20th anniversary Harpe II Extreme Edition mouse and the Asus ROG Azoth Extreme Edition 20 wireless gaming keyboard that we’re looking at here.

The 75% clacker is a reimagining of the carbon fiber-adorned ROG Azoth Extreme we looked at in 2024, with a mix of transparent and partially transparent keycaps (the primary keys have traditional black crowns with transparent sides, while the rest of the caps are a smoky, glossy plastic. It’s also $100 more expensive than the launch price of the previous Azoth. There’s also a gold metal jog wheel, as well as gold accents along the back, magnetic gold feet (in two sizes), and even gold screws holding the whole thing together. And, naturally, the RGB backlighting under the switches defaults to a gold color out of the box. If nothing else, this is a much bolder design than the original ROG Azoth Extreme.

Asus ROG Azoth Extreme Edition 20 Specs

Design and features

At nearly 3.5 pounds with an all-metal chassis, the ROG Azoth Extreme Edition 20 feels a bit unnecessarily solid, and overkill definitely feels like part of the design at a fundamental level. The silicone-and-metal wrist rest adds an extra 1.3 pounds on its own, and doesn’t attach to the keyboard. But with silicon feet and so much heft, it’s not likely to move unless you want it to, just like the keyboard itself.

Asus says at least some of the accents are 24 karat gold-plated, as is the removable plate on the back. The chamfered edges on the top plate are also gold colored, as is the rocker knob to the right of the 1.47-inch color touchscreen.

The 2.4 GHz connection (Bluetooth and wired operation are also supported) supports 8K polling, but just like the previous Azoth Extreme, you’ll need to use the included Polling Rate Booster dongle to get the top refresh rate. The screen can play animations, show photos, and show system stats – there’s even a built-in keystrokes per second counter that Asus says is for music and rhythm games. Moving through the various modes is as easy as swiping horizontally on the screen.

The back is where you’ll find a nice chunky switch for the three connectivity modes (wired is in the middle, and the keyboard supports charging while tethered), with the USB-C port on the opposite corner. Presumably, the plastic section in the middle, apart from being a space to write out “Republic of Gamers” is there to allow wireless connectivity through the otherwise heavy metal chassis.

A lot is happening on the bottom of the ROG Azoth Extreme Edition 20, which is where you can attach one of two pairs of gold feet via magnets if you like a little lift in the back. There is also a name plate, which is gold-plated on one side, and a more ROG-traditional black, white, and red on the other.

The plate is also held on by magnets, and removing it reveals a slot for storing the slim 2.4 GHz SpeedNova dongle, as well as the two-way switch for adjusting the rigidity of the keyboard’s gasket mount. But just as I said when I saw the original Azoth Extreme at CES 2024, the difference in feel between the two modes makes less of a difference than moving between switch types. Both options feel pretty rigid. I suspect most owners will play with the gasket switch a few times, then leave it in one position for months or years.

Carbon fiber remains in the keyboard’s positioning plate, and the transparent linear ROG NX Snow switches are factory-lubed, resulting in a smooth feel and a pleasing clack while typing with no discernible ping. There is also a tactile NX Snow switch, but our model came with the linear option. This is one of the nicest-feeling and sounding gaming-specific keyboards I’ve used to date – given the price, that’s not particularly surprising.

Accessories

Aside from the keyboard, wireless dongle, and the backplate, Asus includes three extra switches (which is kinda skimpy, given the price), along with a metal switch puller and a plastic keycap remover. You also get a 2-meter braided cable, as well as the Polling Rate Booster, which you’ll need if you want a faster response time than the 1,000 Hz that’s supported by the keyboard itself. But since the switches here are mechanical rather than magnetic, 1,000 pings per second is probably enough for the majority of gamers.

Web-based adjustability

I’m not the biggest fan of Armory Crate (or any gaming peripheral software suite, to be honest), so I like that Asus makes heavy use of its Gear Link (https://gearlink.asus.com/) web app for keyboard control here. With the mouse plugged into your system, you can dig pretty deep into the settings via the site.

The settings here feel a little limited compared to theoptions with the 20th Anniversary Harpe II mouse. But you can assign keys and key combinations. Macro recording is supported on the fly by pressing the Fn and Left Alt key to start and stop macros, then pressing the key you want it assigned to.

There are also lots of options for adjusting the screen and the RGB lighting. I particularly like the Music Mode preset, which lets you display an animation and artist / track listing of whatever song you’re listening to. There’s also an option for displaying CPU and GPU stats, including frequency, temperature, fan speed, voltage, and use. There are enough options for the screen (and they’re easy to navigate, thanks to touch and the jog button) that I feel like the screen here is something I would use and fiddle with quite a bit if this were my main keyboard.

Gaming (and working) with the Asus ROG Azoth Extreme Edition 20

While I didn’t have as much time with the keyboard as I would have liked before jumping on a plane to Taipei for Computex, I did use it for work and gaming for about a week. While I generally prefer clicky switches for writing, lubed linear switches have either gotten good enough, or I have gotten used to them enough that I don’t mind using them for productivity tasks. And the linear NX Snow switches here, combined with the general overall quality of the rest of the keyboard, meant I was happy to work on this keyboard for hours – the somewhat muted and very solid sound (and feel) of the keyboard certainly helped.

And whether I was slicing through demons in Doom: The Dark Ages, racking up headshots in Borderlands 4, or checking out the new expansion pack in Dome Keeper, the Asus ROG Azoth Extreme Edition 20 kept my gaming fingers happy. I can’t say that the keyboard made me a better gamer, but it certainly didn’t make me worse, or require much in the way of adjustment. Some gamers may miss the extra programmable keys that would come with a larger key layout, but I’ve personally always found 75% the sweet spot for both work and play.

ROG Keycap Mystery Box Edition 20

Asus also sent along a case of blind box 20th Edition keycaps that it will also sell to commemorate two decades of ROG, which are priced at $24.99. They are tiny replicas of other ROG products, like mice, keyboards, and headsets. There’s a mystery cap that I didn’t get in my box, but of the six standard blind box keycaps, my favorite by far is the ROG Chariot gaming chair, because the chair spins, and I spent at least five minutes with it affixed to the Escape switch, snapping it and watching it spin. Either it’s a great momentary escape all on its own, or I really need a break after I get back from Computex. There must be a grass-themed keycap, right?

Believe it or not, it’s been 20 years since Asus launched its high-end Republic of Gamers gaming line with the first ROG Crosshair, back in 2006 (see our recent review of the commemorative Crosshair 2006 motherboard). And because the sub-brand has since branched out to encompass nearly every aspect of gaming hardware (and also… noodles), Asus is celebrating this platinum milestone with, among other things, new 24K gold-plated peripherals.

Here we are looking at the ROG Harpe II Extreme Edition 20 wireless gaming mouse, which sports a transparent rear section with a gold metal interior surrounding an RGB 20th anniversary ROG logo (which pulses in a gold color by default). It also features a gold metal scroll wheel and side buttons, gold-colored accents on the bottom Corning Gorilla Glass mouse feet, along with white and red lettering on the mouse itself, including a bold “ROG 06 ←→ ∞” graphic on the left mouse button, which implies the Republic of Gamers will outlive the heat death of the universe.

All of this sounds like manufactured opulence and gamer posturing – and it is, as Asus has priced this mouse at $259.99 USD. But Asus has spent the last two decades crafting generally well-designed high-end hardware around its ROG brand, and the ROG Harpe II Extreme Edition 20 is no exception.

Specs and Design

Those who dare to splurge on this mouse will also get the company’s SpeedNova 8K wireless tech (via a svelte USB-A dongle), nicely clicky optical switches, and the company’s latest AimPoint Pro 65K mouse sensor that, at least on paper, seems to match the best options from PixArt. It’s all wrapped up in an 82-gram package that, while far from the lightest mouse around, is certainly light enough for serious, long-haul gaming sessions.

Apart from the fancy triangular fold-out packaging, Asus also includes a plastic display case for the mouse, complete with a clear lid with a gold 20th Anniversary ROG logo, and a silicon bed for the mouse, with an included slot for the 8K transceiver (the mouse itself sadly has no housing for the USB dongle). Some will see this as extra unnecessary packaging, but this is the kind of mouse you might want to show off more than most – and the triangular pod looks like it could be a small cryogenic chamber, designed to get this mouse to infinity, and beyond – or at least help it last until ROG’s 40th anniversary while still looking good.

The exterior shape and design of the ROG Harpe II Extreme Edition 20 should feel comfortable and familiar to connoisseurs of high-end gaming mice, as it’s based on the second-gen Harpe Ace. It’s a mid-sized mouse that doesn’t break the mold in terms of hand feel, button layout, or button count. Aside from the left and right main buttons and the scroll wheel, you get the two gold buttons on the left side.

On the bottom of the mouse, aside from the glass glides and the fancy sensor, there’s a switch for the three modes (2.4 GHz wireless, wired, and Bluetooth), as well as DPI and Pair buttons, the latter for Bluetooth or for pairing the mouse to another compatible 2.4 GHz transceiver. As you would expect, the front edge houses a USB-C port for charging and / or wired use.

Accessories

The accessory box first greets you with a simple graphical tutorial about how to clean the mouse (a small cloth is included). And considering this is a glossy rodent with a see-through back, you should expect to be wiping down the Harpe II Extreme Edition 20 fairly often if you want it to look its best. I do have to wonder worry what the transparent palm area will look like after years of regular use – no matter how often you clean it.

Aside from said cloth, you get a braided 6.5-foot USB cable, a dongle extender to bring the transceiver closer to your mouse, an extra set of mouse feet, and some pre-cut (and ROG-adorned) grip tape. I’m not often one to add grip tape to my mouse, but this one is particularly glossy and slippery, so you might want to consider it.

Also in the box are a foil-adorned ROG 20th anniversary card and a set of similar stickers.

Web-based adjustability

I’m not the biggest fan of Armory Crate (or any gaming peripheral software suite, to be honest), so I like that Asus makes heavy use of its Gear Link (https://gearlink.asus.com/) web app for mouse control here. With the mouse plugged into your system, you can dig pretty deep into the settings via the site.

There are sections for button assignments, SpeedShift settings, and performance. The performance section is pretty deep, with angle tuning / snapping, DPI adjustments (in four presets, or adjustable on the X and Y axis via a slider or letting you punch in specific numbers), and debouce delay.

There are also sections for lighting adjustments, power settings, and calibration for specific mouse pad surfaces (with presets for several Asus products).

A separate Zone Mode section lets you adjust the polling rate (which, like most 8K mice, defaults to 4K out of the box), as well as select the frame rate of the sensor and whether or not the transceiver runs in a dynamic power mode or max power (for the best possible connectivity). I would expect that if you leave the transceiver at max power and the mouse running at 8K, you’ll likely have to charge your mouse quite often. But I didn’t have the Harpe II Extreme Edition 20 long enough to judge battery life in different modes.

Gaming (and working) with the Asus Harpe II Extreme Edition 20

I only had about a week to use the mouse before heading to Taiwan for Computex 2026. But in that time, I used it as my daily driver for work and gaming. And as I would expect for a mouse this expensive, I didn’t have any major complaints. Apart from the slick, glossy surface (which took some adjustment coming from the matte mice I’ve been using lately), the Harpe II Extreme Edition 20 pretty quickly felt like an extension of my mouse hand, letting me game and work mostly without thinking about it (to me at least, this is an important feature in a mouse).

Whether I was using an aluminum mousepad, a more traditional flexible mouse surface, or even the cherry wood of my desk, the sensor performed flawlessly. And the buttons were where my thumb expected them to be, with a cool metallic feel that’s subtle but appreciated (especially as temperatures get warmer).

The editor in me missed the dual-mode scroll wheel of my MX Master 4 for quickly scrolling through large documents, but this, of course, isn’t a productivity mouse. The gamer in me, though, would have liked to see a DPI button on the top of the mouse, when shifting between fast-paced FPS titles like Borderlands 4 and Doom: The Dark Ages, and RTS and casual titles that require a different level of cursor control. It’s not exactly difficult to lift the mouse up and cycle through settings via the button on the bottom, but having that button behind the scroll wheel would make things more convenient.

Bottom Line

The gold-and-black design of the Harpe II Extreme Edition 20, along with its busy graphics, is something you’re likely going to love or hate. But it’s hard to fault the internal components of this mouse, with 8K polling and one of the highest-DPI sensors on the market. How many of us actually need this level of hardware to get the most from our games is debatable. But the ROG brand tends to lean toward the high-end, so no one should expect mid-range components in ROG peripherals. This is a mouse for those who know what they’re after, appreciate ROG’s legacy, and aren’t afraid to splurge when it comes to their gaming gear.

Part of me would have appreciated a slightly lighter weight and a couple more buttons, but you can find those features in other mice from Asus (and its gaming peripheral competitors, of course). As a tech-upgraded, gold-emblazoned cursor controller that both feels and looks premium, the Harpe II Extreme Edition 20 reflects back to ROG’s past (borrowing its shell design from the Harpe II Ace), while reaching toward the future (with its 65K sensor and web-based interface).

It’s also a damn fine gaming mouse for the here and now, as long as you can afford it. And don’t expect to be able to save up forever to afford it. Asus says it will be available from June 2026 through the end of the year.

The Asus ROG gaming monitor family is expanding greatly today with four new entries, including a new OLED esports monitor capable of 540 Hz at 1080p. Not surprisingly, given the overall direction the gaming monitor segment seems to be pivoting toward, three of the four use OLED panels.

The ROG Swift OLED PG32UCWM features a 32-inch panel using LG’s RGB Stripe OLED technology. The panel features two light-emitting layers combined with an RGB stripe subpixel arrangement, resulting in sharper text (which is a sticking point for some with popular QD-OLED monitors). You’ll also be on the receiving end of up to a 27 percent boost in color volume, while a gloss finish for the display should help those colors look even more vibrant.

The PG32UCWM has a native 4K resolution with a 240 Hz refresh rate, but it’s also dual-mode capable, allowing it to operate at 1080p resolution with a maximum refresh rate of 480 Hz. On the connectivity front, you’re covered with DisplayPort 2.1a UHBR20 and HDMI 2.1 ports. You’ll also find USB-C connectivity with 90W PD.

Style-wise, the PG32UCWM has a stealth black finish with RGB lighting along the upright and base. There also appears to be an RGB display on the back that displays the ROG logo. Asus also employs a GAN in the monitor’s power supply to improve power efficiency and reduce heat.

For the eSports fanatics in the house, Asus presents the ROG Strix OLED XG259QWPG Ace. While this segment is currently dominated by TN and IPS panels promising 500+ Hz refresh rates, Asus is looking to give gamers unparalleled color performance to go with those blistering speeds. The XG259QWPG Ace addresses this market with a Tandem OLED panel, making it what Asus calls the “world’s first OLED esports monitor.”

It features a 24.5-inch 1080p display with a maximum refresh rate of 540 Hz and a 0.02 ms response time. It delivers those specs with the color performance and accuracy that TN panels could only dream of achieving (99.5% DCI-P3, 10-bit color, VESA DisplayHDR 600 True Black). And since Asus is targeting eSports players first and foremost, the XG259QWPG Ace even includes a QuickOSD, giving you instant access to frequently adjusted monitor settings without opening the full OSD.

The final two gaming-centric monitors announced today are the ROG Strix OLED XG32UQWMS and the ROG Strix 5K XG27JCEG. The XG32UQWMS is another 32-inch dual-mode that can operate at 240 Hz at 4K resolution and 480 Hz at 1080p. It features a Tandem WOLED panel with 99.5 percent DCI-P3 coverage and 1,500-nit peak brightness.

Finally, the XG27JCEG features a 27-inch “Fast IPS” panel that boasts a 5K (5120 x 2880) resolution. However, this is a dual-mode monitor operating at 75 Hz at native resolution (80 Hz with overclock) or 300 Hz at 2560 x 1440 (320 Hz with overclock). The XG27JCEG features one HDMI 2.1 port, one DisplayPort 1.4 port, and a USB-C port with DisplayPort Alt mode support, along with 15W PD. It also includes built-in KVM functionality.

To say Asus is going all in for the 20th anniversary of its Republic of Gamers brand would be an understatement. The company is launching a slew of gold-accented Edition 20 products here at Computex 2026, from components and peripherals to monitors and routers, and even a NUC. But to use most of the company’s new anniversary hardware, you’re going to need something to sit on, and Asus has you covered there, as well, with the ROG Destrier Edition 20.

Like most of the company’s Edition 20 products, the chair is an update on the original Destrier gaming chair we reviewed (and mostly liked) back in 2023. In fact, it seems to be more or less the same chair, with an Edition 20 logo on the head pillow, a gold spine, and gold accents below the top portion of the armrests. It’s a premium chair, with an aluminum frame, mesh back, PU foam, and synthetic (EPU) leather.

As we said about the original Destrier chair, the Edition 20 is highly adjustable, including the lumbar support, headrest, and arms. It will also almost certainly be expensive. While we don’t have an MSRP or release date yet, most (if not all) of the Edition 20 products seem to be priced higher than the original products they are based on, and the Destrier chair was $899 when we reviewed it. Aside from the price, the only other thing we didn’t love about the original Destrier was its “wobbly armrests.” It’s hard to say if Asus has tightened up those adjustments, but it has added gold to the parts directly under the armrests, so perhaps it tweaked the tooling for the better while making that change.

ROG Bags of Holding

The ROG SLASH Hard-case Luggage Edition 20 adds to the company’s luggage lineup (yeah, I didn’t know Asus sold luggage either), which continues the black-and-gold theme for the brand’s 20th anniversary. The company says the suitcase has a polycarbonate shell with an aluminum frame and “skateboard-inspired spinner wheels,” along with an interior gaming compartment, complete with an “exclusive 20th-anniversary-themed interior woven badge.”For those who dare to carry their wares on their back, there’s also the ROG SLASH Backpack Edition 20, based around the company’s SLASH Backpack 4.0. Aside from the requisite gold accents, it fits up to an 18-inch laptop (this bag is a big boy), with a roll top and a magnetic buckle. It seems like a nice enough bag, but if you’re seriously considering this backpack, you’re probably exactly the kind of ROG fan that Asus is talking to in its marketing materials when it claims this bag “transforms an everyday backpack into a wearable tribute to two decades of gaming culture.” Because the non-Edition 20 model of this bag sells for $219, and I would expect the Edition 20 to have an even higher price, since all of the Edition 20 products seem to have a higher price than their earlier counterparts in Asus’ product lineup.

Asus has used its Computex press event to showcase a huge celebration of its ROG gaming sub-brand. It's been 20 years since the first ROG gear arrived, and Asus Chairman Jonney Shih commemorated the first footsteps of “The Journey of Dare” with the announcement of products that will form the ROG Edition 20 collection. You name it, there’s a cool black and gold ROG Edition 20 collection edition of it. From the headlining ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5090 Edition 20 to motherboards, full PCs, PSUs, monitors, routers, peripherals, chairs, and even luggage, there’s an Edition 20 design being showcased in Taipei.

ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5090 Edition 20

For many, the most alluring new limited edition product celebrating the first 20 years of the Asus Republic of Gamers will be the ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5090 Edition 20. The Astral is a well-established flagship for Asus and has even formed the basis of opulent extravaganzas dripping in gold.

Again, there’s gold in the Edition 20 design, but it is contrasted with plenty of matte black, red accents, and here plays second fiddle to the striking curved AMOLED display used by this commemorative design. Asus says this screen can be used to deliver “dynamic 3D visuals, custom animations, and real-time hardware data that extend ROG’s immersive design language beyond performance alone.”

Beyond the significant frills (i.e. the screen, the design), it looks like the Edition 20 raises itself above ‘ordinary’ Astrals by leveraging boosted power delivery opportunities. Standout claims for this new graphics card include the provision of a dual-input power subsystem, with a detachable GC‑HPWR adapter, for providing up to 800W to the graphics card. We ran a comparison vs the ‘regular’ Astral RTX 5090 on the official Asus site and saw that the Edition 20 version also had faster clocks (OC mode 2,750 MHz vs 2,467 MHz), and is a 4.7-slot (rather than 3.8 slot) design with a hidden BTF connector with a recommended 1,200W PSU companion.

Other specs of the ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5090 Edition 20, like the quad-fan design, vapor chamber, and liquid metal GPU compound, appear to be in line with previous ROG Astral RTX 5090 models.

ROG Crosshair X870E Edition 20

Asus also sought to emphasize the commemorative special edition ROG Crosshair X870E Edition 20. In summary, this flagship motherboard wears all the anniversary garb possible and is paired with a matching ROG Ryujin 360 Edition 20 AiO cooler.

Buyers of these coordinated ROG Black, ROG Red, and ROG Radiant Gold components will have an excellent foundation for a system build, with a slick unified commemorative design. Moreover, a system built upon this foundation will benefit from a robust 24+2+2 power-stage design with copper heatsinks, alongside support for up to nine M.2 slots to provide exceptional expandability. The AiO adds another in-system display option for builders with its Swivel Dual 6.67‑inch AMOLED LCD.

Lots more ROG Edition 20 gear

As indicated in the intro, the Edition 20 line doesn’t end there. Asus also launched the ROG Thor 3000W Titanium III Edition 20 PSU. Yes, it has a detachable magnetic OLED display and extender, too.

Asus has also lined up full pre-built gaming PCs for those who would like to honor its ROG Edition 20 anniversary. Go large with the ROG G1000 Edition 20, which features top-tier hardware support up to an RTX 5090 GPU and a Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 processor, housed in a tri-zone cooling architecture case with up to 420mm AiO. Alternatively, go compact with the Asus ROG NUC 16 Edition 20. This diminutive design also features up to GeForce RTX 5090 (laptop) graphics. However, it maxes out at a combined CPU + GPU TDP of 300W due to its size.

DIYers can also jump aboard the Edition 20 commemorative train with the ROG GR20 Edition 20 premium open-frame, modular PC case. It looks pretty handsome in the red, black, and gold color scheme and is primarily constructed from aluminum.

Outside the confines of the PC case, there is no shortage of new ROG Edition 20 products, with the same design language. You can get the ROG Swift OLED PG27AQWP-G Edition 20 gaming monitor, which runs at up to 720Hz. Anniversary input peripherals include the ROG Azoth Extreme Edition 20 keyboard and ROG Harpe II Extreme Edition 20 mouse. Those on a tight budget but who want to join the celebrations can buy a ROG Keycap Mystery Box Edition 20.

Other ROG Edition 20 products include the ROG XBOX Ally X20 Bundle, ROG Rapture GT-BE98 Pro Edition 20 router, the ROG Destrier Edition 20 gaming chair, ROG SLASH Hard-case Luggage Edition 20, ROG SLASH Backpack Edition 20, ROG Saga: In Search of Lapuntu Edition 20 board game, and ROG OMNI Edition 20 collectable figure.

Last and possibly least, Asus says there is a “limited edition software experience” ROG Armoury Crate Edition 20 to monitor and control your gear. It is pre-loaded on Edition 20 systems and will be available through 2026. We aren’t sure if this will be a theme for existing users of this software suite.

It is day three of Computex here in Taipei! With most of the big-name keynotes out of the way, we're traversing the show floor non-stop to bring you the latest, greatest, and weirdest from all your favorite hardware vendors.

Computex 2026: Headlines so far

• Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra weilds Nvidia's RTX Spark superchip with 128GB of RAM
• Nvidia lays out RTX Spark roadmap for laptops and desktop PCs at Computex 2026
• Nvidia unveils RTX Spark Superchip for laptops and desktop PCs at Computex 2026
• Intel details long-awaited Crescent Island AI GPU at Computex, boasts up to 480 GB of LPDDR5X
• Intel Xeon 7 ‘Diamond Rapids’ CPUs officially launching in 2027 on Intel 18A-P
• Intel Xeon 6+ ‘Clearwater Forest’ puts 18A in the data center with up to 288 cores
• AMD’s formerly China-exclusive Radeon RX 9070 GRE goes global for $549 on June 2
• AMD confirms AM5 support through 2029
• AMD brings back Ryzen 7 5800X3D, launches Ryzen 7 7700X3D
• Dell XPS 13 targets MacBook Neo with Intel's Wildcat Lake
• Alienware debuts 39, 34-inch OLED gaming monitors

Computex 2026: Live updates

Well, good morning, and a very (very) warm (and humid) welcome to our Computex 2026 live blog. Stephen from the UK here to see you through the first few hours of Monday. As mentioned, it has already been a jam-packed first day!

There's really nothing like Taipei during Computex:

Nvidia enters the laptop and desktop market

If you're just joining us, then welcome. It is evening in Taiwan and there's a lot happening. Headlines from the first day of Computex include Nvidia's incursion into the desktop PC and laptop market by way of its new RTX Spark Superchip. RTX Spark is a Windows on Arm platform for laptops, which Nvidia claims is the most efficient every built. Top-spec chips offer 20 Arm CPU cores, a Blackwell GPU with 6144 CUDA cores, 128GB of LPDDR5X RAM, and up to 300 GB/s of memory bandwidth.

• Nvidia unveils RTX Spark Superchip for laptops and desktop PCs at Computex 2026

Surface Laptop Ultra

One of the first companies to get behind Nvidia's new RTX Spark, understandably, is Microsoft. The company has unveiled a new Surface Laptop Ultra, effectively its own version of the MacBook Pro. It features a 20-core CPU, Blackwell GPU, 128GB of unified RAM, and more. That's housed in a 15-inch chassis with a mini-LED display, replete with HDMI, USB-C, USB-A, and an SD card reader.

• Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra weilds Nvidia's RTX Spark superchip with 128GB of RAM, 20 Arm CPU cores, and a Blackwell GPU

Intel Crescent Island

Somewhat overshadowed by Nvidia, Intel has unveiled its new Crescent Island AI GPU, featuring up to 480GB of LPDDR5X memory. The data center GPU is "built for agentic AI," is built on Intel's Xe3P architecture, but details about raw specs are scant at this stage.

• Intel details long-awaited Crescent Island AI GPU at Computex, boasts up to 480 GB of LPDDR5X to combat memory shortages

Radeon RX 9070 GRE

AMD's China-exclusive Radeon RX 9070 GRE is going global, with a $549 price tag when it launches on June 2. This GPU sits right between the 9060 XT and the RX 9070, and you'll be able to catch benchmarks on Tom's Hardware very soon.

• AMD’s formerly China-exclusive Radeon RX 9070 GRE goes global for $549 on June 2

Jake is hungry!

"You ever get to the end of the day and realize you haven't eaten a thing." A quick look behind the scenes at Tom's Hardware, where CPU analyst Jake Roach has just realised that he hasn't eaten anything today. It's 8pm.

AM5 lives on

After previously only committing to supporting its AM5 platform through 2027, the company this week confirmed that it is actually going to support AM5 through 2029, with both Zen 4 and Zen 5 likely to see two further generations of CPU release. It's unclear if this is 2029 will mark the end of the line for AM5.

• AMD confirms AM5 support through 2029

The return of a legend

AMD has announced it will bring back its legendary Ryzen 7 5800X3D, and is also launching a Ryzen 7 7700X3D to fight the rising price of PC building. The latter is a downclocked version of the 7800X3D for AM5 platforms, but the real headline is the 5800X3D, which supports DDR4 RAM and, in theory, should give users a more affordable way to build a potent gaming PC on AM4.

• AMD brings back Ryzen 7 5800X3D, launches Ryzen 7 7700X3D to combat rising component prices

Dell comes after the MacBook Neo

This $699 XPS 13 laptop built around Intel's Wildcat Lake platform is the company's answer to the popular MacBook Neo. Featuring between 8-32GB of RAM, a 13.4-inch display, and up to 1TB of storage, it comes with either the Intel Core 5 320 or an upcoming Intel Core Ultra 7 355 variant.

• Dell XPS 13 targets MacBook Neo with Intel's Wildcat Lake — $699 starting price, $599 for students

DLSS 4.5

Nvidia has confirmed that DLSS 4.5 Ray Reconstruction, an advanced denoiser for better ray-tracing and path-tracing image quality when it releases later this year. Nvidia says it can process 35% more input data and uses 20% more paramaters using the same compute budget as the previous-generation.

• DLSS 4.5 Ray Reconstruction update arrives in August for better ray tracing visuals — broader training data set and second-gen transformer architecture combine for improved image quality

Qualcomm hands on

Qualcomm's new $300 and up ARM laptops come with a mystery eight-core CPU and active cooling. Rocking the new Snapdragon C chip, our very own Paul Alcorn made a discovery that perplexed even the Qualcomm representative on the floor...

• We went hands-on with Qualcomm's new '$300 and up' ARM laptop platform with mystery eight-core CPU — active-cooled Snapdragon C laptop surfaces in Acer Aspire Go 15

A big EXPO boost

AMD is launching a new automatic memory overclocking feature. EXPO Ultra Low Latency promises a 13% uplift in performance compared to standard DDR5 JEDEC speeds, and a 4% uplift over existing EXPO.

• AMD promises 13% uplift with new EXPO ‘Ultra Low Latency’ overclocking on DDR5 DIMMs — automatic memory overclocking delivers 4% improvement over standard EXPO, says AMD

Intel not resting on its laurels

Speaking to Tom's Hardware in response to news about Nvidia's RTX Spark, Intel says it treats all such developments with "a healthy does of paranoia," but touted the virtues of x86, warning of compatibility, DRM, and other issues that inevitably follow Arm CPUs entering the market.

• Intel warns it has 'a healthy dose of paranoia' over Nvidia entrance into PC market — company says RTX Spark is 'great for the market' while touting the virtues of x86

Supermicro makes an appearance

Computex isn't all about consumer hardware, with plenty of B2B and industrial hardware on display too. We got a look at Supermicro's new Vera Rubin NVL72 rack, replete with a new type of cooling that the company says offers 1,000 times higher electrical impedance than standard.

• Supermicro shows off Vera Rubin NVL72 rack with all-new type of coolant — company claims coolant offers 1,000 times higher electrical impedance over standard cooling

A staggering 5090 from Asus

To celebrate 20 years of its ROG brand, Asus has unveiled a monster new ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5090 Edition 20, which includes a wraparound AMOLED display. There's also a 3,000W power supply, a new NUC, a PC case, peripherals, a gaming chair, and more.

• Asus' monstrous ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5090 Edition 20 includes expansive curved AMOLED display — also debuts 3,000W power supply and striking PC case

See what happened at the show before the show

Computex starts before the show floor opens. While it's nighttime in Taipei, you can still take a look at everything we saw early with our Day Zero Wrap Up.

You'll learn more about chips from Intel and AMD, monitors from Acer and Alienware, and, of course, learn a ton about Nvidia's RTX Spark system on a chip.

That should hold you over until the show floor doors open and we get into even more of the nitty-gritty.

Read: Computex 2026 Day Zero Wrap-Up: Nvidia launches RTX Spark Superchip assault on laptop and desktop markets, Intel readies Xeon 6+

Vincent van Gogh, on a laptop

MSI is taking its Prestige 14 Flip AI+ and putting some prestige art on it. The company says the laptops are "inspired by The Starry Night and Starry Night Over the Rhône". That language makes it unclear if they're exact duplicates of the paintings, but either way, they don't look like anything else we've seen lately.

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 finally brings an OLED screen

Among the many twentieth-anniversary branded Asus ROG gadgets the brand is releasing is a new version of the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X.

The ROG Xbox Ally X20 bundle includes an updated version of the handheld, with a clear shell, OLED display, TMR joysticks, and a transforming D-Pad with four and eight-way movement. It still has the same AMD Z2 Extreme processor as its predecessor.

ROG XREAL R1 Edition 20 Gaming AR Glasses, with a 171-inch, 240 Hz virtual display at 4 meters.

No pricing information is available just yet.

Who ISN'T having a milestone anniversary?

Lots of companies and brands at Computex seem to have started in years that end with 6.

• Asus ROG has a 20th anniversary product line
• MSI is celebrating 40 years, marked by the Titan 18 HX Dragon Edition Draco Epic laptop (pictured above).
• Gigabyte marked 40 years at the end of May, and is celebrating with its Infinity Design lanauage, including a GPU with rounded edges.

So consider this your reminder to at least get a card for your or a loved one's anniversary. Clearly everyone is celebrating.

How Intel is reacting to RTX Spark

With Nvidia's RTX Spark announced, CPU manufacturers are sizing up the field.

When we sat down with Tom’s sat down with Nish Neelalojanan, senior director of product management for Intel’s Client Computing Group, he told us how Intel is reacting:

“Nvidia puts out great products, right? And they know how to do gaming, they know how to do all these different things. So we always take everything with a healthy dose of paranoia, but we are also very, very confident with our products." He also pointed out Arm chips for Windows have typically had compatibility issues.

Read more: Intel warns it has 'a healthy dose of paranoia' over Nvidia entrance into PC market — company says RTX Spark is 'great for the market' while touting the virtues of x86

An 18-inch laptop for the rest of us

Usually, an 18-inch laptop is a massive workstation or gaming rig. But at Computex, Acer has an 18-inch system, the Aspire 18 AI designed for everyday use. Above, it's pictured next to a 16-inch PC.

That 18-inch screen has just a 1920 x 1200 resolution, but for people who turn up the font size to read (no shame in it!), it may still help. The refresh rate tops out at 165 Hz.

Specs include a CPU up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 386H, up to 32GB of DDR5 RAM, up to 2TB of SSD storage, and Wi-Fi 7 support. Acer claims 22 hours of battery life. And hey, there's room, so you get a number pad.

Like much of what we're seeing at Computex, we don't have a price. But if you've been jonesing for a big screen without a discrete GPU, it is on the way.

AMD had to reengineer the Ryzen 7 5800X3D for a rerelease

AMD's David McAfee shared the story behind the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, and why it took so long to come to market. Apparently, AMD had plans to bring back the chip earlier, but the silicon bonding process TSMC had previously used was no longer available, McAfee says. That led to some additional development time in order to get the CPU into shape, which happened to line up with the 10th anniversary of the AM4 socket. - Jake Roach

Get ready for Intel's Computex keynote

Intel's CEO Lip-Bu Tan is set to take the stage at Computex in just under an hour, and we expect about a 45-minute keynote from the executive, followed by a Q&A session that Tom's Hardware is attending. Although we've already seen most of Intel's announcements, ranging from the G3 Extreme Range to a Diamond Rapids tease, it's possible Tan could drop some hints about next-gen Nova Lake chips during the keynote. - Jake Roach

• Watch Intel's Computex 2026 keynote here — CEO Lip-Bu Tan takes the stage in Taipei at 10:30pm PT on June 1

Intel's 3D V-Cache competitor?

Tom's Hardware attended a Q&A session with Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, as well as a panel of executives, including Alex Katouzian, a Qualcomm veteran who recently joined Intel's ranks. We asked Intel about its supposed 3D V-Cache competitor, rumored to be called bLCC or Big Last Level Cache, and Katouzian shared the following:

"When I first came in and started reviewing road maps for the team, I was very pleasantly surprised. So, stay tuned, a very strong roadmap coming, and we will be gunning for that section of the market as well. And so, please stay tuned," Katouzian told Tom's Hardware.

Phison has demoed its future PCIe 6.0 SSD controller in the past, but the earlier displays last year merely showed the chip on a large development. Development of the new X3 controller has obviously moved forward well, as the company had two reference SSDs on display in its booth here at Computex.

Phison says these new SSDs deliver up to 28 GB/s of sequential read/write throughput and an incredible 6.8 million IOPS, easily beating anything available on the market. Stay tuned for our full write up.

Stephen checking in

Well a very good morning from day 2 of Computex! Stephen here to see you through the next few hours.

Timing is everything!

Computex is just like comedy, timing is very important! Coordinating a team around the globe is pretty hectic, so here's some insight into how tricky it can be. It's 10:24am in the UK, but our team on the ground in Taipei have already been at it all day, where it's currently 5:24pm. Of course, our U.S. readership and staff are just waking up. Lots of companies are still working in Eastern or even Pacific time too. A lot of plates in the air.

Snapdragon makes an appearance

We haven't heard too much from Qualcomm this week, with Nvidia dominating the headlines thanks to RTX Spark. However, this Asus Ascent QN10 is a nifty new Mini PC with Snapdragon X2 Elite, which QC claims is the world's first to deliver 80 TOPS through its NPU.

Noctua's latest cooling efforts

For those who want to squeeze every last drop of power and temperature optimization from their CPU, Noctua has announced new thermal pads for AMD chips. Made in partnership with Carbice, these pads are for AM4 and AM5 Ryzen CPUs and are made from carbon nanotubes to improve thermal conductivity.

• Noctua announces new thermal pad for AMD chips in partnership with Carbice — product will work with processors in AM5 and AM4 sockets

Gigabyte's latest and greatest monitors

Gigabyte has unveiled a new series of Aorus Elite gaming monitors. Ranging in size from 27 to 32 inches, three of them feature fourth-generation Tandem WOLED technology for improved color and brightness. The fourth is a mini-LED monitor.

• Gigabyte debuts fourth-gen Tandem WOLED and multi-mode Mini LED gaming monitors — 27 to 32 inches, up to 480 Hz, and up to 5K resolution

Asus’ ROG Harpe II Extreme Edition 20 hands on

Asus is going big to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its Republic of Gamers brand. Alongside a monster RTX 5090 and a 3,000W PSU, there are new peripherals including this Asus ROG HArpe II Edition 20 gaming mouse. It features a gold logo and scroll wheel, as well as gold accents. A little garish for some tastes, it'll cost an eye-watering $259.99.

• Hands-on with Asus’ ROG Harpe II Extreme Edition 20 gaming mouse – 24K gold and a 65K sensor

Relive Intel's keynote

Intel held its Computex keynote overnight, with CEO Lip-Bu Tan taking to the stage. You can relive the keynote below!

The latest in cooling from Frore

Frore has been showing off its latest in solid-state cooling tech. Its AirJet Mini is out here cooling Intel's Wildcat Lake laptop reference design. With 15W of sustained power and just 11.3 mm in total thickness, could it give the MacBook Neo a run for its money?

• Frore System’s solid-state AirJet Mini cools Intel’s Wildcat Lake laptop reference design – 15W of sustained, fanless cooling helps MacBook Neo competitor reach a svelte 11.3 mm, remain silent

Take our quiz!

'The single most important tool of humanity'

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says the company wants to 'reinvent the single most important tool of humanity' with its new RTX Spark. The company unveiled its new chip for desktops and laptops at the start of this week.

• Jensen Huang says Nvidia wants to 'reinvent the single most important tool of humanity' with RTX Spark — Nvidia CEO touts support of 'literally every computer maker in the world' for its agentic AI PC platform

Favorite Computex announcement so far?

Cooler Master's MasterDimm

Unveiled ahead of Computex, this Cooler Master MasterDimm is a collaboration with G.SKILL that brings active cooling to DDR5 RAM. No word on just how big those sticks are yet...

New from Gigabyte

Gigabyte is another vendor celebrating a major anniversary at Computex, specifically 40 years in the game. There's new motherboards, GPUs, and a monster 1,600W power supply.

• Gigabyte showcases new Infinity products for its 40th anniversary — X870 Infinity Next halo motherboard boasts metal 3D-printed elements, Aero Wood goes dark, MicroATX Stealth boards, Infinity-style GPUs extend down the product stack

Phison shows off its new controller

Down at Phison, we took a look at its new PCIe 6.0 SSD controller, the X3. The company touts sequential speeds of up to 28 GB/s and 6.8 million IOPS in random read/write workloads. There were also benchmarks on display for a new DRAM-less PCIe 5.0 SSD controller. Get the details here:

• Phison shows PCIe 6.0 X3 SSD controller with 28 GB/s of bandwidth and 6.8 million IOPS, supports 2 petabytes per drive— also new power-sipping E37T SSDs for PCIe 5.0 systems consume a mere 4.5W

You don't know the HAF of it

More from Cooler Master, where we took a look at the company's new cases, fans, and coolers. The new HAF500 case supports up to E-ATX motherboards, dual-GPU setups, and plenty of cooling.

Asus ROG Rapture GT-BE98 Pro Edition 20 gets decked out in black and gold

Asus just launched the ROG Rapture GT-BE98 Pro Edition 20, the 20th-anniversary edition of its existing ROG Rapture GT-BE98 Pro. The overall design of the new router is identical, but the stealth black look is now accentuated with gold trimmings. You can even see gold plating beneath the clear plastic window on top of the router, along with a 20th anniversary badge finished in gold.

While you can expect the same blazing performance as the ROG Rapture GT-BE98 Pro, the ROG Rapture GT-BE98 Pro Edition 20 also includes an exclusive Signature Edition 20 web interface for configuring the router.

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ joins the growing number of handheld gaming PCs

There's a new competitor to take on the likes of the Steam Deck, ROG Ally, and Legion Go 2. The MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ is a fresh entry using a 14-core Intel Arc G3 Extreme CPU and an Arc B390 GPU. The handheld can also be decked out with up to 32GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage.

The design looks somewhat unorthodox, with the 8-inch 1080p IPS display jutting well below the flanking controllers. The display is spec'd for a 120 Hz refresh rate and maxes out at 500 nits. Rounding out the main features is an 80 WHr battery inside the 1.3-pound package.

Best Buy already has a product page for the Claw 8 EX AI+ on its website, listing the 32GB/1TB configuration at $1,699.99. However, the handheld is only shown as "coming soon" rather than being available for preorder.

Asus ROG Rapture GT-BN98 Pro will be among the first Wi-Fi 8 routers on the market

If you want to be on the bleeding edge in wireless networking, you won't have to wait much longer for Wi-Fi 8 routers. The first Wi-Fi 8 router coming from Asus will be the ROG Rapture GT-BN98 Pro, which is a gaming router aimed at the high end of the market.

We must caution that Wi-Fi 8 routers won't result in another huge leap in theoretical performance over existing Wi-Fi 7 routers. Instead, optimizations with the standard will make it so that real world performance and range will far exceed what's possible with current hardware. We should also see even longer range for IoT devices, epecially those sitting at the far reaches of the coverage for your home router.

The ROG Rapture GT-BN98 Pro will also include a wide range of LAN/WAN ports, including two 10 GbE ports and four 2.5 GbE ports.

• Asus unveils its first Wi-Fi 8 router — ROG Rapture GT-BN98 Pro offers up to 2x real-world throughput uplift over Wi-Fi 7

We go hands-on with the Acer Predator Atlas 8 Arc G3 gaming handheld

Last week, we brought you news that Acer was working on a Predator Atlas 8 gaming handheld. Well, we got a chance to get a hands-on with the device at Computex, and it's quite impressive.

The Predator Atlas 8 uses Arc G3 and Arc G3 Extreme processors paired with an Arc B370 or B390 iGPU. Systems come with an 8-inch 1200p 120 Hz variable-refresh-rate display rated for up to 500 nits of brightness. An 80 WHr battery should help extend your gaming runtime, and Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 are included in the mix.

At 1.79 pounds, the Predator Atlas 8 slots in between the Legion Go and the Steam Deck OLED in weight.

Intel's Xeon 6+ in the flesh

We stopped by Intel's demo suite, and the company had a Xeon 6+ chip, along with a wafer, hanging on the wall. This is Intel's first time using 18A in the data center, with Xeon 6+ now sporting up to 288 Darkmont E-cores. You can learn more about it in our Xeon 6+ write-up and go behind the scenes with our Xeon 6+ interview transcript on Tom's Hardware Premium.

Day 3

Good morning and welcome to day three of Computex! I say day 3, but as we've explained before timing is tricky here. In Taiwan day three is almost over, but for our global audiences in places like the UK and U.S., it's just beginning! - Stephen Warwick

Some highlights from Acer

We dropped by Acer to see what the company has to offer at Computex this year. We saw the new Acer Swift Spin 14 AI tablet, the new Predator Atlas 8, and more!

Jensen will sign anything

Everyone knows that if you see Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at Computex, chances are he'll sign something for you. How about this epic Nvidia GTX 1080Ti Founders Edition?

Noctua's AIO in all its glory

We've been hearing a lot about Noctua's entry into the AIO market for some time. The company is back at Computex 2026 and has finally revealed specs, pricing, and release date. Coming on June 16, pricing should be around $250 (It is listed at 220 euros), with more expensive 360mm and 420mm options available. The NL-LC1 features Asetek's Emma V2 pump and NF-A12/14 fans.

• Noctua's first-ever AIO features a silenced Asetek Emma V2 pump and NF-A12/14 fans — 240mm NL-LC1 starts at around $250, could cost $325 for 420mm cooler

The first 8K ultra-wideband gaming keyboard

Cherry's gaming branch Cherry XTRFY has unveiled the first 8K ultra-wideband gaming keyboard at Computex. With a 70% layout, the technology should be more reliable than 2.4GHz wireless. That means a more stable connection that is less vulnerable to interference from other wireless devices.

• Cherry XTRFY launches first 8K ultra-wideband gaming keyboard — featuring more compact 70-percent layout

Corsair's new mouse feat. Stream Deck

New from Corsair is this Nightsword v2 Wireless SD Stream Deck gaming mouse. Striking name aside, you can map its buttons to Stream Deck features, eight in all, so that you can control streaming functions without taking your hand off the mouse. It's a similar philisophy to the Scimitar Elite Wireless SE. However, the Nightsword also comes with a unique dedicated Stream Deck Launch button.

• Corsair shows off gaming mouse with dedicated Stream Deck launch button — wireless mouse also gets almost 50 hours of 8K battery life

New from NZXT

We stopped by NZXT to see what's news. The company showed off new RGB fans, cases, and more.

Counterfeit DRAM

Tom's Hardware spoke to G.Skill and V-Color at Computex. The latter confirmed to us that it has seen an influx of counterfeit DRAM hitting markets in China, to the extent that it is negatively impacting sales.

• Counterfeit G.Skill and V-Color DDR5 modules hit Chinese marketplaces, impacting company sales — cheap contraband memory using identical PCBs and heat spreaders almost impossible to spot

A long day for Jensen

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is one of the main attractions at Computex, and is often mobbed wherever he goes, shutting down booths or even entire floors here in Taipei. Here he is enjoying some brief respite at the Gigabyte booth with a beer and some barbecue.

Taipei drone show

The evening skies in Taipei lit up with a drone show to celebrate Computex, check it out!

Lian Li's new Edge PSUs

Take a look at Lian Li's new Edge Platinum V2 PSUs, equipped with LED dust indicator, magnetic filter, snap-on fan, and a USB header hub. There's also the trademark 90-degree power connector.

The claaaaaaw

The new MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ is an 8-inch handheld that features a 120 Hz display and new ergonomic grips. Bathed in a striking 'Void Purple' finish, our immediate hands-on yielded some impressive performance.

• MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ brings Intel Arc G3 Extreme to handhelds — 8-inch, 120 Hz display and new ergonomic grips

AMD reacts to Nvidia RTX Spark

AMD is acting confident in the face of Nvidia's new RTX Spark announcements.

"I’m really excited that Nvidia has joined the game. You know, we were the only game in town for almost two years now, and the large local memory is becoming super critical in the agentic AI [workloads],” said AMD’s Rahul Tikoo, senior vice president and general manager of AMD’s client business. at Computex “I'm actually happy to see Nvidia join the race for these great products.

Comparing the specs, he suggested that "Gorgon Halo, which is coming out in Q3, is going to be a better product.”

We'll see how these platforms shake out later this year.

Read more: AMD executives react to Nvidia’s RTX Spark — ‘you’re just wrong if you don’t get a Strix Halo notebook’

Sizing up the Dell XPS 13 and MacBook Neo

Which of these systems is thicker? Trick question: both are half an inch thick. At Computex, our own Jake Roach saw the two together at Dell's booth.

The Neo's bottom is thicker, while Dell's is a bit more equal. And the XPS has a slightly rounded bottom, making it appear slightly thinner than Apple's blockier design style. But both list the exact same height, and the spec sheets are identical.

The XPS, however, is lighter than the MacBook Neo, at 2.2 pounds, compared the Apple's 2.7 pounds.

See all of the photos in the gallery above.

MSI adds an internal SSD slot to its flagship Wi-Fi 7 router

Wi-Fi 8 is just around the corner, but there’s still plenty of life left in the Wi-Fi 7 standard. MSI is proving that with a new flagship Wi-Fi 7 router called the RadiX BE19000. At first glance, the RadiX BE19000 looks like any other high-end gaming router, complete with eight antennas that give it an arachnid-like appearance.

However, the RadiX BE19000 hides a secret within — it features a PCIe SSD slot, making the router what MSI calls “NAS Lite.” You can add your own M.2 SSD to enable PC backups or simply to share files across your network.

You still get all the usual trimmings, like tri-band Wi-Fi, dual 10 GbE ports, and four 2.5 GbE ports. In addition, MSI says that the RadiX BE19000 is compatible with its proprietary mesh standard, allowing you to expand your network with compatible routers and access points.

Read more: MSI unveils latest set of WiFi 7 gaming routers touting ultra-fast speeds — flagship RadiX BE19000 model comes with a built-in SSD slot for 'NAS Lite' experience and wireless speeds up to 19 Gbps

Do your science homework

We talked a bit about Noctua's new AIO cooler in this live blog, but one thing we didn't mention: just how much homework they show. The company is ready to defend its doctoral thesis.

If you're ever at Computex, need to rest and do some not-so-light reading to explain what a thermosiphon or a flooded condenser is, Noctua has your back. You can see some of it in the gallery above, and believe me, that is just some of it.

Here ends Computex

Good morning folks, Stephen here to announce that we are signing off our Computex coverage for 2026. At least, our live correspondence from the floor. There's still plenty of news and insight to come from our conversations, but we'll be winding up this live blog soon. It'll remain on the site so you can look back and trawl through any announcements you may have missed, but thank you for joining us for another great year!

Back in 2006, several Asus engineers and enthusiasts got together and announced a new division within the company, dubbed Republic of Gamers, dedicated to equipping gamers with high-performance, tweakable PC hardware that’s “...loaded with style and indulgent extras.” The first product to kick off 20 years and counting of ROG was the original ROG Crosshair motherboard. As you may have guessed by now, the original featured a huge copper heatsink connected via heatpipe for the VRMs, Northbridge, and Southbridge (remember, those were separate), ending with the first ROG symbol, the orange and white “G.” All of the slots, including DRAM, PCIe, as well as the ATX power, IDE connector, SATA ports, and some of the headers at the bottom used a blue and white color scheme on this old school ROG board.

Fast-forward to today, and in the lab is the limited edition ROG Crosshair 2006 ($799.99). On it, we clearly see the retro-inspired aesthetic has made its way to a motherboard with modern underpinnings – a "restomod" if you will. We see the copper-colored heatsink (not made of copper) for the VRMs, M.2, and chipset. The large plate-style M.2 heatsink on the bottom half brings back the original ROG symbol, and the company brought back the blue and white accents on the DRAM and PCIe slots, as well as the SATA connectors and some ports along the bottom edge. The design isn’t what we are used to these days, with many boards adopting a monochromatic look, but it has grown on me since we first saw it. When you have it in your hands, you’ll realize that the images don’t do it justice. If you were an enthusiast back then, the board really hits you in the feels and takes you back to a simpler time of overclocking, when gains were much more significant, and AI was more of a concept in a movie than a reality.

Outside of the throwback aesthetic, there’s high-end hardware underneath. In fact, it’s based on the ROG Crosshair X870E Dark Hero we reviewed earlier in 2026 that received 4/5 stars, and is a “...compelling premium choice for high-end builds.” Hardware-wise, this board is nearly identical and packed with premium features. You get five M.2 sockets (two PCIe 5.0), fast networking with 10 GbE and 5 GbE ports and Wi-Fi 7, a robust power delivery solution with 24 total phases and 110A MOSFETs, five USB Type-C ports on the rear IO (including two USB4/40 Gbps), and a flagship-class audio solution. Asus crams in several software features, like its AI (Overclocking, Cooling II, Networking II, Cacheboost, Advisor), EZ PC DIY features, and an updated BIOS, cementing the Crosshair 2006 as a well-rounded premium mid-range solution.

Performance testing went as expected and was quite similar to the Dark Hero; in fact, even with a newer BIOS and AGESA, a couple of benchmarks scored the same. Overall, it performed well across most of our tests. It was competent at gaming and also above average at most productivity tests (as we’ll see in detail later), so there's nothing to worry about in terms of performance.

Below, we’ll examine the Crosshair 2006’s performance and other features to determine whether it deserves a spot on our list of the best motherboards. But before we share test results and discuss details, here are the specifications from Asus’ website:

Specifications of the Crosshair 2006

Inside the Box

Inside the retail packaging, the Crosshair 2006 comes with several accessories, though fewer than the Dark Hero it’s based on. You get the typical collection of cables, antennas, and guides, but Asus does not include the ROG Assistant fan for cooling the memory or the DDR5 fan holder (nor the ROG VIP card or bottle opener). We’ve listed everything inside the box below:

• (4) SATA 6Gb/s cables
• Thermal pad for M.2 22110
• ASUS WiFi Q-Antenna
• Q-connector
• (3) M.2 Q-Slide package
• (5) M.2 backplate rubber packages
• ROG stickers
• ROG screwdriver
• Quick start guide

Design of the Crosshair 2006

The Crosshair 2006 and its retro-inspired copper-colored cooler design (it’s aluminum) look incredible against the multi-layer matte-black PCB. The heatsink uses fins (thicker than the original to prevent scrapes) to increase surface area, while a heatpipe connects the two copper-colored heatsinks. The primary M.2 socket also takes on the copper theme and adds a cool little OLED on top, a much better choice than the polymo lighting feature on the Dark Hero. Blue and white colored covers adorn the DRAM and PCIe slots, as well as the four SATA ports on the right edge and USB 2.0 ports along the bottom. The plate-style heatsink that covers multiple M.2 sockets looks a bit different, with the modern ROG symbol on the left and the retro “G” figure on the right, above the chipset.

Overall, the throwback appearance will look good in any modern chassis, especially with dark-colored builds. But it can be polarizing. There’s a reason that colorful style (blue PCB, anyone?) went the way of the dodo.

Starting in the top-left corner, we get a better look at the large, copper-colored heatsink for power delivery. Here we see the larger fins reminiscent of the original design, Crosshair branding, and special 20th ROG branding on the heatsink and I/O shroud. Above that are the two white (instead of the typical black) 8-pin EPS connectors to power the processor (one required).

Looking past the socket and before the DRAM slots is the new Asus Q-Connect feature. The proprietary 11-pad hub transfers power and control signals (think pump, ARGB, fans, and, on some models, the display) directly through the motherboard, eliminating the need for traditional, visible, individual cables that detract from a clean aesthetic. It’s compatible with the ROG Strix LC and SLC IV 360 AIOs announced at CES 2026. It’s a useful feature if you plan to use compatible Asus AIOs. But I would like Asus to include a simple rubber cover that matches the board’s appearance, so it doesn’t stick out when you’re not using it.

Next, the four DRAM slots (with Nitropath technology) are to the right, with locking mechanisms to secure the RAM on the top and bottom. Asus lists support for 256GB of RAM and DDR5-8600 speeds for 9000 series desktop processors, and even higher (DDR5-9200) for APUs. Though, unless you’re benching for Hwbot, I can’t see many using an APU on a $700 motherboard, unless you’re benchmarking competitively. Still, that’s plenty fast and way past AMD’s sweetspot.

Above the DRAM slots are the first four (of eight) standard 4-pin fan headers, each with a white header, compared to black on the Dark Hero (which also has them covered by a shroud). Per usual, each supports PWM and DC-controlled devices. Power output varies across headers: 1A/12W on most headers (CPU, Chassis, AIO, and the AIO_POGO), while the single W_Pump+ header supports 3A/36W. The Asus BIOS or Armory Crate software controls these attached devices.

In the upper-right corner are the two-character Q-Code LED and Q-LEDs that help troubleshoot POST issues. The Q-LEDs light up during the POST process and remain lit to give you a general idea of where the problem is (CPU, VGA, DRAM, Boot), while the Q-Code LED provides two-digit codes to indicate more specific issues and also displays CPU temperature when in Windows.

Looking down the right edge, we see the Start and Flexkey buttons; in this case, they are square rather than the round ones found on the Dark Hero, along with a small Retry button. Below that is another 4-pin fan header, the 24-pin ATX power connector, an 8-pin PCIe connector for supplemental board power (to support 60W charging - both in black), and one of the front-panel USB 3.2 Gen2x2 (20 Gbps) Type-C connectors.

Power delivery on the Crosshair 2006 is one of the most capable we’ve seen…just like the Dark Hero. With a total of 24 phases (20 for Vcore), only a handful of boards offer more capable power delivery. Power heads from the 8-pin EPS connectors and onto the Digi+ EPU (ASP2205) voltage regulator. From there, it moves to the Infineon PMC41420 110A SPS MOSFETs. The 2,220 Amps available will handle any CPU you throw at it, including the Ryzen 9 9950X, the recently released Ryzen 7 9850X3D (fastest gaming processor around), or the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2, even if you want to use extreme (sub-ambient) cooling methods.

At the bottom of the board, on the left and hidden under a black metal shroud, are the flagship Realtek ALC4082 codec and an ESS 9219Q DAC/HPA. This is the platform's premiere setup. If you want something better, you’ll have to buy a dedicated sound card.

Next are the two PCIe slots in the middle. Both of these reinforced slots connect through the CPU, offering PCIe 5.0 bandwidth. The top slot is for primary graphics and runs at x16 speeds, while the bottom slot is limited to x8 (or both at x8/x8). Note that this applies to 7000 and 9000 series desktop processors; APUs are different (see the specifications on Asus’ website for details). Thankfully, Asus moved away from its controversial PCIe latching mechanism and now uses a more traditional button to lock and unlock the top slot, reducing the risk of scratching the PCIe connection on your video card. The button is also blue with a copper-colored heatsink surrounding it. Be aware that when PCIEX16_1 runs at x16, the second slot runs at PCIe 3.0 x4, but you can change that in the BIOS.

Above the top PCIe slot is the first of five M.2 sockets. M.2_1, the top socket under the huge individual copper color heatsink (now with 2” customizable OLED and two 20th anniversary exclusive animations), connects through the CPU and is your first 5.0 x4 (128 Gbps) socket (*holds up to 110mm devices). Under the plate heatsink are three other M.2 sockets. M.2_2 is your other 5.0 x4 socket and holds up to 80mm modules. M.2_3/4/5 all connect through the chipset with 3/4 PCIe 4.0 x4 capable, and the bottom slot, M.2_5, PCIe 4.0 x2. That last slot is also limited to small, 30mm devices. M.2_2 shares bandwidth with the USB4 ports and both run at PCIe 5.0 x2 when a device is installed in the M.2_2 socket. You can switch to 5.0 x4 in the BIOS, but this disables the USB4 Type-C ports altogether.

Along the right edge is another USB 3.2 Gen2x2 (20 Gbps) front-panel connector, followed by a 19-pin USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) connector. Below that are four SATA ports (in blue!), with two using native chipset connectivity and two using an ASMedia controller that does not support RAID.

We've also included a few images of the active ICs for the board. The Crosshair 2006 uses several different brands, including ASMedia (USB), Infineon (VRMs), and Realtek (audio, network, VRM controller), similar to those on the Dark Hero.

At the bottom are several headers, including front-panel audio and USB ports. A complete list of connectivity is listed below (from L to R):

• Front panel audio
• (2) 3-pin ARGB headers
• (2) 4-pin fan headers
• PCIe mode switch
• 2-pin thermistor header
• 4-pin fan header
• (3) USB 2.0 headers
• 19-pin USB 3.2 Gen1 connector
• Front panel
• Battery
• LN2 mode

The rear IO on the X870E Crosshair 2006 is chock-full of buttons and ports, including 11 USB ports. On the left are two buttons, one for BIOS Flashback and the other for Clear CMOS. Below those, to the right, are three Type-C ports (10 Gbps). Continuing right, we run into an HDMI port for iGPU output, followed by two USB4 (40 Gbps Type-C) ports. Above that, in red, are six USB 3.2 Gen2 (10 Gbps) ports. Above those are the two Realtek-based Ethernet (5 and 10 GbE) ports, the quick-connect Wi-Fi 7 antenna connector, and the audio stack (2x 3.5mm for line out/mic in, and optical SPDIF out). There’s even the old ROG “G” symbol on the back.

MORE: Best Motherboards

MORE: How To Choose A Motherboard

MORE: Best Motherboard Deals

MORE: Best Motherboard Combo Deals

MORE: All Motherboard Content

Firmware

Asus updated the BIOS layout and color earlier in the year, and for the Crosshair 2006, adopted the familiar ROG black-on-white with red accents theme. EZ Mode is mostly informative, with system information and temperatures on the left, and quick settings for EZ Flash, Aura RGB, the Driver Hub for easy driver installation, and more in the middle. Fan control and access to full Q-Fan functionality are below. The right block displays DRAM and storage status, and Boot Priority is self-explanatory.

Advanced mode still has the headers across the top, but the shortcuts to Q-Fan and AI OC have been moved to quick settings and other locations. The right panel holds system information, including CPU frequency and temperature, in a colorful display. The main body has all the editable functionality.

Overall, I like the aesthetic update for the BIOS. It’s easy to read and, as usual with Asus BIOS, frequently used items are easy to find and not buried too deeply in their menus. Anything that’s a pain to access can be added to the customizable favorites screen.

Software

Armoury Crate here also follows the ROG-inspired theme. Several applications exist for various functions, ranging from RGB lighting control and audio to system monitoring and overclocking. It's also worth mentioning the included software. When purchasing this Asus motherboard, you get a one-year AIDA64 license – a helpful application for stress and performance testing; Asus’ Driver Hub (get your updated drivers here); Dolby Atmos (for audio); and a custom version of Hwinfo for real-time monitoring — all are helpful applications. We’ve captured a few screenshots of the applications below.

Test System / Comparison Products

We’ve updated our test system to Windows 11 (23H2) 64-bit OS with all updates applied as of late September 2024 (this includes the Branch Prediction Optimizations for AMD). Hardware-wise, we’ve updated the RAM kits (matching our Intel test system), cooling, storage, and video card. Unless otherwise noted, we use the latest publicly available non-beta motherboard BIOS. The hardware we used is as follows:

TEST SYSTEM COMPONENTS

• CPU - AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
• Cooling - Arctic Liquid Freezer II 420
• Storage - Crucial 2TB T705 M.2 PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD
• RAM - Kingston Fury Beast DDR5-6000 CL36 (KF560C36BBEAK2-32)
• RAM - Teamgroup T-Froce Delta DDR5-7200 CL34 (FF3D518G7200HC34ABK)
• RAM - Klevv Cras XR5 RGB DDR5-8000 (KD5AGUA80-80R380S)
• GPU - Asus TUF RTX 4080 16G
• PSU - EVGA Supernova 850W P6
• Windows 11 64-bit (24H2)
• NVIDIA Driver 561.09

Benchmark Settings

MORE: Best Motherboards

MORE: How To Choose A Motherboard

MORE: Best Motherboard Deals

MORE: Best Motherboard Combo Deals

MORE: All Motherboard Content

Benchmark Results

Our standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including any default boost/turbo) with all power-saving features enabled. We set optimized defaults in the BIOS and the memory by enabling the XMP profile. For this baseline testing, the Windows power scheme is set to Balanced (default) so the PC idles appropriately.

Synthetic Benchmarks

Synthetics offer a valuable method for evaluating a board's performance, as identical settings are expected to yield similar results. Turbo boost wattage and advanced memory timings are areas where motherboard manufacturers can still optimize for stability or performance, though, and these settings can impact specific testing scenarios.

Starting with our synthetic benchmarks, the premium Crosshair 2006 was average to above average among its peers, just like the Dark Hero it's based on. In some tests, like 7-Zip compression, it was one of the fastest, and in others, like Cinebench, it was above average. It was average elsewhere, and rarely below. This is what we see from most boards—nothing to worry about so far.

Timed Applications

Timed applications also went well. It delivered the slower of the two times in LAME (9.0 seconds) and Corona (42 seconds). Handbrake results were also good, just one second behind our fastest time in the x264 test and also one of the quickest we’ve seen in the longer running x265 test.

3D Games and 3DMark

With the launch of Zen 5, we’ve updated our game tests. We’re keeping the F1 racing game but have upgraded to F1 24. We also dropped Far Cry 6 in favor of an even more popular and good-looking game in Cyberpunk 2077. We run both games at 1920x1080 resolution using the Ultra preset (details listed above). Cyberpunk 2077 uses DLSS, while we left F1 24 to native resolution scaling.

The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used (and CPU/system-bound) resolution with settings most people use or strive for (Ultra). We expect the difference between boards in these tests to be minor, with most falling within the margin of error. We’ve also added a minimum FPS setting, which can affect your gameplay and immersion.

In our 3DMark and game tests, the Crosshair was average overall. It was average in the 3DMark tests and average to above average in our games. It’s clear from our testing that the Crosshair 2006 performs well across a wide variety of activities. From gaming to productivity and creativity, you’ll get everything out of your CPU with this board.

Overclocking

Over the past few CPU generations, overclocking headroom has been shrinking on both sides of the fence, while the out-of-the-box potential has increased. For overclockers, this means there’s less fun to have. For the average consumer, you’re getting the most out of the processor without manual tweaking. Today’s motherboards are more robust than ever, and they easily support power-hungry flagship-class processors; We know the hardware can handle them. There are multiple ways to extract even more performance from these processors: enabling a canned PBO setting, manually tweaking the PBO settings, or just going for an all-core overclock. Results will vary and depend on the cooling as well. In other words, your mileage may vary. Considering all the above, we will not be overclocking the CPU. However, we will try out our different memory kits to ensure they meet the specifications.

For memory testing, we start with our fastest non-clock driver kit: the Klevv 32GB (2x16) DDR5-8000. Per usual on this platform, it booted to Windows but wouldn’t pass a stress test with our 9900X, but the Team Group DDR5-7200 kit worked without issue. Those speeds are well past the ‘sweet spot’ for the AMD platform, and with today’s outlandish RAM (and video card and storage) prices, we imagine few people are considering them in the first place. Dropping in our Ryzen 5 8600G APU, we were able to run our Klevv DDR5-8000 kit without issue, as we can on most motherboards. There’s plenty of headroom for anyone who can afford faster speeds.

Power Consumption / VRM Temperatures

We used AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU, cache, and Memory enabled for power testing, using the processor's peak power consumption value. The wattage reading is obtained from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter, capturing the entire PC (excluding the monitor). The only variable that changes is the motherboard; all other parts remain the same. We've moved to using only the stock power use/VRM temperature charts, as this section aims to ensure the power delivery can handle flagship-class processors.

Stress testing the Crosshair with our DDR5-7200 kit showed it to be slightly more power-hungry than most boards. At idle, it sat around 92W and peaked at 268W. This averages out to 180W, which is again slightly higher than the average X870E/X870-based boards, and on par with the Dark Hero.

VRM temperatures are good, peaking at just under 49 degrees Celsius on our sensor and 54 degrees on Asus’ internal sensor. Between the robust power delivery and oversize heatsinks, you won’t have any trouble overclocking flagship-class processors, like the Ryzen 7 9850X3D.

Bottom Line

Asus’ ROG Crosshair 2006 ($799.99) is an awesome, premium mid-range motherboard with retro-inspired aesthetics from the original ROG motherboard released in 2006. Based on the venerable X870E Dark Hero, you not only get that throwback styling with blue and white connections and loads of copper colored heatsinks, you get everything that makes the Dark Hero great and even a bit more with the small OLED screen on the M.2 heatsink. But you get five M.2 sockets, robust power delivery, a high-end audio solution, dual LAN with a 10 GbE port (plus fast Wi-Fi 7), and various EZ PC DIY and loads of AI features.

There is competition in this space. MSI’s MEG X870E Ace MAX (currently $699.99 at Newegg) is also a good option, offering similar specifications but more USB ports on the rear IO and five 80mm-plus-capable M.2 sockets. But it is lacking a second Ethernet port like the others. The Gigabyte X870E Aorus Master X3D Ice ($599.99 at Newegg) is another quality competitor in the space with similar hardware and would make a great option for a white build. We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the Crosshair X870E Dark Hero ($699.99), as that’s what this board is based on.

In the end, the ROG Crosshair 2006 is a solid premium mid-range motherboard. If you’re already in the market for a higher-end motherboard, the deciding factor in purchasing this board (or not) comes down to whether you like the retro appearance and want to spend $100 more for the limited-run motherboard and a piece of PC history. Otherwise, there are similarly equipped options for less.

MORE: Best Motherboards

MORE: How To Choose A Motherboard

MORE: Best Motherboard Deals

MORE: Best Motherboard Combo Deals

MORE: All Motherboard Content

Over the years, I’ve tested several dual-screen portable monitors that aim to vastly increase the amount of real estate you have to work with while mobile. Most of these monitors have a central panel that sits behind your laptop’s built-in display and two displays that jut out from either side (like a pair of ears).

The Asus ZenScreen Duo OLED (MQ149CD) differs in that the two OLED panels are stacked on top of each other (in landscape mode) or lined up side-by-side (in portrait mode).

Asus offers all this flexibility in a thin, lightweight form factor, complete with USB-C (DisplayPort) and HDMI connectivity options, albeit with a hefty street price of around $500. Despite the price tag, the MQ149CD represents one of the best portable monitors available today.

Design of the Asus ZenScreen Duo OLED (MQ149CD)

The 2.36-pound MQ149CD offers a somewhat unorthodox (for a portable monitor) design. There are two 14-inch 1200p OLED panels (16:10 aspect ratio) joined together via two 360-degree hinges in a book-style configuration. When folded closed, the MQ149CD has the same footprint as any other 14-inch portable monitor, albeit twice as thick. However, when you open it, you also get twice the screen real estate (with roughly a 20-inch diagonal measured from corner to corner).

Build quality is good all around, with aluminum used for the display panel housings and hinges. Plastic is used for the black bezels around each panel. There are also tiny rubber feet strategically placed around the perimeter of the displays to provide some grip when using the MQ149CD in portrait or landscape orientation.

You can stand the two displays vertically (with each in portrait mode) using the open book footprint to keep the unit upright. You can also use the displays in landscape mode, where one display sits on top of the other. The bottom display features a kickstand that keeps the entire apparatus upright. The aluminum kickstand covers nearly the width of the display and provides a stable base when using both panels in landscape mode. The multi-position stand, along with the display hinges, allows for a wide variety of viewing angles.

Asus includes four ports aligned along the top right side of the MQ149CD (if you’re using it in landscape mode). The bottom port is a Mini-HDMI port, while the two middle ports are USB-C 1 and USB-C 2, both of which support DisplayPort Alt Mode. The final port is a dedicated USB-C port for power (a USB-C power brick is included in the box). Also on the right side of the MQ149CD are two OSD buttons and a jog wheel.

Two final additions are a small, 2.5-inch socket on the back of the unit, which can be used to mount the MQ149CD on a tripod, and a Kensington Lock. A well-padded carrying case is also included in the box.

Design of the Asus ZenScreen Duo OLED (MQ149CD)

Asus ZenScreen Duo OLED (MQ149CD) Operating Modes

Asus provides four distinct ways of operating the MQ149CD, all of which I tried. The first is Mirror Mode, which simply duplicates the image source from your laptop to each of the MQ149CD’s displays. Split Mode duplicates the source image, but spreads it across both displays.

Extend Mode allows each display to display content independently. For example, you could have a game playing on your laptop’s display, a movie playing on the MQ149CD’s top display, and a Word document open on the MQ149CD’s bottom display. Finally, Independent Mode allows you to exploit two separate display sources with the MQ149CD. You could have one laptop outputting content to the first panel and a second laptop outputting content to the second panel.

All four modes are accessible from the OSD. Additionally, if you install the Asus Display Widget Center (available on Windows and macOS), the MQ149CD supports auto-rotation when switching between landscape and portrait modes (and vice versa).

Asus ZenScreen Duo OLED (MQ149CD) OSD

The MQ149CD includes a rather comprehensive OSD, accessible by pressing the bottom OSD button or by pressing in on the jog wheel. Pressing the jog wheel once brings up a “mini” OSD: flicking up lets you control brightness, while flicking down gives you quick access to the four display modes.

Pressing in on the jog wheel twice brings up the full OSD. From here, you have access to Asus’ preset picture modes, image settings, color settings, input selection, and overall settings (e.g., OSD timeout, power-saving options, language settings, etc.).

In addition, the Asus Display Widget Center allows you to access picture modes, hot keys for specific monitor features/functions, and power management.

Display Performance on the Asus ZenScreen Duo OLED (MQ149CD)

The MQ149CD features two 14-inch OLED panels, each with a 1920 x 1200 resolution and 60 Hz refresh rate. Each display features a glossy screen coating, which was a magnet for reflections in my brightly lit home office. I was able to minimize the reflections somewhat by making slight adjustments to both the kickstand and the angle of the panels.

When it comes to dual monitors, there may be slight variances between the panels due to manufacturing tolerances. Although each panel should have identical specs, we noticed slight differences between the top and bottom OLED panels, as noted in the charts below. With that said, the differences weren’t enough that you would notice them side-by-side.

Color performance from the two OLED panels is exemplary, as we’d expect. The MQ149CD is rated for a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, and black levels are immeasurable. In the default, Standard display mode, we measured 145.9 percent DCI-P3 coverage with the bottom panel and 131.2 percent on the top panel. Our measurements pegged the bottom panel at 206 percent of sRGB, while the top panel was slightly higher at 213.5 percent.

There were also differences in maximum panel brightness, with the bottom panel reaching 350.6 nits in Standard mode, and the top panel topping out at 329.8 nits. However, both figures were well below the manufacturer's claim of 400 nits for SDR content. In our HDR testing, the top panel reached 503 nits with a 10 percent window, while the top panel was slightly behind at 493 nits.

I had no trouble fitting it into my workflow, connecting it to an HP OmniBook X via a single USB-C cable. I found myself using both landscape and portrait orientations equally. If I wanted to watch a movie or TV show while I worked, I’d stack the two displays, with the media content playing on the top panel.

When working with text-heavy content and looking up information in my web browser, I’d have the two panels side-by-side in portrait mode. Thanks to the Asus Display Widget Center software, I can switch from landscape to portrait automatically, without having to open Display Settings in Windows 11.

Bottom Line

The Asus ZenScreen Duo OLED (MQ149CD) is one of the best dual-screen monitors I’ve tested to date. It improves upon the dual IPS panels I’ve tested in the past with the vibrant colors and deep blacks that OLED provides. Build quality was excellent across the board, and overall brightness was competitive in this field.

Asus provides several operating modes for the MQ149CD, including the ability for two systems to each control one panel. In addition, you can use the two panels side-by-side (portrait) or stacked on top of each other (landscape), with autorotation supported via companion software.

There are only two dings that I would level against the MQ149CD, with one of them being major. The minor flaw is that it lacks built-in speakers, although that isn’t an unforgivable sin, given that most speakers on portable monitors are mediocre at best. However, the biggest downside is the price tag. While you can find dual-screen portable monitors from KYY for around $250 or less, the MQ149CD has an MSRP of $600. While Amazon regularly puts the MQ149CD on sale for $500, it’s still a hefty price to pay for dual screens.

Earlier this year at CES, Xreal and Asus announced a partnership to develop a rather ambitious pair of augmented reality glasses called the ROG Xreal R1. At the time, the two companies gave us a rundown on specs, but weren't able to quite nail down a price. However, Xreal announced that the ROG Xreal R1 will be priced at $849 with pre-orders opening later today from Best Buy. For people looking to buy directly from Xreal's online store, pre-orders will go live on May 17.

The ROG Xreal R1 first raised eyebrows at CES because of its 0.55-inch Sony Micro-OLED displays (maximum brightness of 700 nits), which feature a 240 Hz refresh rate and ultra-fast 0.01 ms response time. To put that in perspective, most of today's AR glasses max out with a 120 Hz refresh rate. However, to truly cater to the enthusiast end of the AR glasses, it's understandable why Asus and ROG would look to double that benchmark.

When wearing the glasses, you're presented with a virtual 171-inch viewable area, making for an incredibly immersive gaming experience. You'll also be treated to a relatively wide 57-degree field of view, which Xreal claims covers 95 percent of your "focused vision." In other words, you'll be able to see more of the viewable area in front of you without needing to scan your eyes around or move your head.

Xreal has incorporated the X1 spatial coprocessor, which is also found in its high-end One Series AR glasses. The chip powers the on-screen menu system, 3 DoF functionality (with support for 6 DoF), and helps to reduce latency and motion blur during your gaming sessions. The X1 was designed for use with Xreal's 120 Hz AR glasses, so it will be interesting to see if it is up to the task of handling 240 Hz gaming.

Unlike entry-level AR glasses that ship with plastic "shades" to block ambient light, the ROG Xreal R1 uses electrochromic dimming to shield your eyes from the outside world (three dimming levels are available). When it comes to audio, the glasses feature onboard Bose-tuned speakers.

In the months following the ROG Xreal R1's announcement at CES, additional optimizations have been implemented to improve overall performance and compatibility with Asus ROG accessories.

Speaking of accessories, the ROG Xreal R1 can connect to the ROG Control Dock. This device includes DisplayPort and HDMI ports for viewing content on the glasses from a PC, Xbox Series S/X, PlayStation 5, or Nintendo Switch console. There are also USB-A ports for connecting a mouse and keyboard.

Even without the dock, you can natively connect the ROG Xreal R1 to smartphones and tablets that support DisplayPort over USB-C. And as you might expect from an ROG-branded device, the glasses are fully supported by the ROG Ally handheld gaming PC.

The hardware behind the ROG Xreal R1 definitely sounds impressive, but the $849 asking price may be a tough sell, especially in this economic climate. We expressed skepticism about Asus' AirVision M1 glasses, which launched at $699, so the even higher price tag of the ROG Xreal R1 will need to deliver on performance and usability to justify its price.

Sticking with the budget side of Z890, the next board in our lab is the Asus Prime Z890-P Wifi ($229.99). The Prime series motherboards, according to Asus, are “...expertly engineered to unleash the full potential of the latest Intel Core processors.” The board itself offers robust power design, comprehensive cooling, and intelligent tuning options, such as AI-based overclocking, so it has the tools to get the most out of your system. In all, it’s a solid motherboard for Z890, but the competition in this space, between existing and refreshed motherboards, makes standing out among its peers difficult.

The Z890-P Wi-Fi comes generally well-equipped for the budget price. You get support for the latest processors, including the recently released Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and 250K Plus, It has capable power delivery that can easily handle flagship-class processors like the Core Ultra 285K, too. Connectivity-wise, there are eight total USB ports on the rear IO, including one Thunderbolt 4 (40 Gbps) with a Type-C connection, which may be limiting for some. Storage-wise, it has four M.2 sockets (one PCIe 5.0-capable) and four SATA ports, which should be plenty for most users. The audio section uses the basic Realtek ALC897 codec and, like its peers in the budget-class, does not include a fancy DAC or AMP. But it has all the other fixins. Basics? Check.

As far as aesthetics go, it’s certainly an inexpensive motherboard with a lot of black PCB showing. Outside of the VRMs, the only M.2 socket with a heatsink, a thin plate-style one at that, is the 5.0 X4 socket above the primary PCIe slot. The contrasting black-and-silver appearance won’t win any awards, but it looks fine in most dark build themes. Note that if you would like some RGB bling, you’ll have to add your own, as the board doesn’t include any onboard.

Performance on the Z890-P was good overall, landing somewhere around the Z890 Aorus Elite Duo X running default settings. In other words, it’s competent across a wide swath of PC activities, including gaming, rendering, encoding, and office-type work. It’s worth noting that these tests were conducted with our DDR5-7200 kit, as the DDR5-7600 kit did not play nice with this motherboard. That said, you may still see a slight performance bump on memory-sensitive applications, but as it stands, it performs very well across our testing suite.Below, we’ll examine the board's performance and other features to determine whether it deserves a spot on our list of the best motherboards. But before we share test results and discuss details, here are the specifications from Asus’ website.

Specifications of the Z890-P Wifi

Inside the Box

Inside the retail packaging, Asus includes a few accessories to help get your system running, hopefully, without a trip to the store. You get a quick-connect Wi-Fi antenna, some M.2 screws and mounting hardware, two SATA cables, and a quick start guide. There isn’t much here, but it is similar to other boards of this ilk.

Design of the Prime

When we look at the Prime Z890-P, it’s clearly not a high-end offering, with only a few slots and sockets visible. Here, almost the entire PCB is exposed with heatsinks and shrouds covering only the minimum, though that is normal for this price point. The black, six-layer PCB gives way to a couple of white lines traversing diagonally through the bottom half of the board to break up the design monotony. The large silver heatsinks on the VRMs connect to share the thermal load.

As for RGB lighting, the Prime Z890-P does not include any onboard, but it does have multiple headers to connect your own, with control over the light show handled through the Armory Crate software with the Aura RGB applet. In all, it’s a simple design aesthetic fitting for its class, and it should look good with any dark-themed build.

On the top half of the board, we get a better look at the VRM heatsinks, and we spy the two 8-pin EPS ProCool solid-pin connectors (one required) just above. The heatsinks themselves have a diode/slider-type design on top with a brushed aluminum finish. The two heatsinks are connected via a thermal pad. This is better than leaving them separate, but not as good as a heatpipe that distributes the load more efficiently. As you’ll see later, VRM temperatures were fine, so there’s nothing to be concerned about with that configuration.

Past the socket to the right, the first thing we run into are the four DRAM slots with a single locking mechanism at the top (where you have room to reach it). Asus lists support up to DDR5-8666 MT/s (OC), which is plenty fast for the platform. Curiously, our DDR5-7600 kit, the baseline for new Z890 tests, did not work, but the 8200 MT/s kit did. As per usual, stick with the memory QVL for your best chance of compatibility.

Asus’ Enhanced Memory Profile II (AEMP III) feature (a tuning feature that optimizes the clock driver, memory frequency, and timings), as well as DIMM Fit Pro, give you fixed and user-defined tuning options for full memory timing control for more advanced users, which is useful if you’re comfortable with tweaking; it could be overwhelming for novice tweakers. But just input the parameters you want it to change, reboot, and it works through the process. Once completed, the RAM will be set to its optimum values. It’s a good way to get the most out of your kit.

Above the DRAM slots are the first two (of seven) 4-pin fan headers. Each header supports up to 1A/12W. While this isn’t a lot compared to other boards, it’s enough for several fans, an AIO, or even a custom water loop. Control over these headers is handled through Asus Fan Xpert 4, found in the BIOS or Armoury Crate. Just be careful not to overload the headers.

Working our way down the right edge, we run into another 4-pin fan header (AIO_PUMP), and the first two (of three) 3-pin ARGB headers. Below that is the 24-pin ATX connector, a front-panel USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) Type-C header, and, finally, a 19-pin USB 3.2 Gen 1 header — nothing out of the ordinary.

Power delivery on the Prime Z890-P isn’t the most robust we’ve seen, but it is appropriate for this class. It has 18 phases, 14 of which are dedicated to Vcore. Power is supplied to the Digi+ (ASP 2442GQW) controller via the 8-pin EPS connector. From there it heads on to 14 Vishay SIc639 DrMOS 80A MOSETs. The 1,120A available can handle the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus, the Core Ultra 5 250K Plus, and the Core Ultra 9 285K. You can even overclock; just be sure to keep air flowing in your chassis, as the components here will get warm with sustained heavy use.

On the bottom half of the board, we’ll start on the left with the audio section. There, we see a couple of dedicated audio capacitors and the basic Realtek ALC897 codec. While this isn’t the best audio solution, it’s par for the course for most budget boards. You should still be happy with it, as it’s difficult to discern most of them without seeing the actual specifications.

In the middle of the board are multiple full-length PCIe slots, including M.2 sockets. Starting with PCIe, the topmost slot has reinforcement, which Asus calls Safeslot. It is your sole PCIe 5.0 x16 slot and connects through the CPU. The bottom three slots all connect through the chipset, and the middle two run up to PCIe 4.0 x4 and the bottom to PCIe 4.0 x1.

Among and around the PCIe slots are four M.2 sockets. The top socket, M.2_1 above the top PCIe slot and under the heatsink, is your CPU-connected PCIe 5.0 x4 (128 Gbps) socket. The other three M.2s all connect through the chipset and run at PCIe 4.0 x4 (64 Gbps), with M.2_4, the bottom-right socket, also supporting SATA-based M.2 devices. If you plan to use the others with hot-running drives, make sure they have heatsinks to prevent thermal throttling under sustained loads. But if you have a large video card, you won’t be able to use one with a large heatsink, as it will likely be under the video card with limited z-height.

All sockets support up to 80mm modules and can run RAID 0/1/5 modes for redundancy and/or increased speed (RAID is not a backup). Finally, moving past the chipset heatsink to the right edge, are two of the four SATA ports (supports RAID 0/1/5/10) - the other two are mounted vertically along the bottom edge.

Between the PCIe slots, M.2, USB, and SATA ports, there is no lane sharing. You can fill all the slots and sockets and still receive the full bandwidth from each. As great as that is, the compromise is fewer USB ports, many of which are slower (think USB 3.2 Gen 1 and 2.0). But you’ll find this in some flavor on all the boards without multiple USB hubs, as it’s a limitation of the Z890 chipset and the number of available lanes.

We've also captured several images of the IC's used to make this motherboard work consisting of a mix of Realtek for USB hub, Ethernet, and audio, and Vishay for MOSFETs.

At the bottom of the board are a slew of headers. It offers your typical set of connectivity in this area, with nothing missing or worth a specific mention. Below we’ve listed all the connections across the bottom of the board.

• 3-pin SPDIF out
• Front panel audio
• 9-pin COM port
• 2-pin Clear CMOS jumper
• (2) USB 2.0 (380 Mbps) headers
• 19-pin USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) header
• (2) SATA ports
• 13-pin TB(USB4) header
• 3-pin ARGB header
• 4-pin RGB header
• (2) 4-pin Chassis fan headers
• Front panel

Flipping the board around to the rear IO, the Prime Z890-P offers basic connectivity for the platform. You get everything, but the eight total USB ports could be a challenge for users who rely on many USB-based devices on the back. On the left, we spy the DisplayPort (v1.4) and HDMI (v2.1) outputs to use with integrated video. Next to it is the tiny BIOS FlashBack button. The next stack holds the 40 Gbps Thunderbolt Type-C port and the only USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) port. Next to that are four USB 2.0 ports, and the Realtek-based 2.5 GbE port stacked on top. Rounding out the USB ports back here are two USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) ports. Continuing right, we find the 3-plug (all 3.5mm - there’s an SPDIF header) audio stack and finally, the quick-connectors for the integrated Wi-Fi 7 (2.9 Gbps).

There’s nothing particularly notable here; please confirm you are comfortable with the USB port count and speeds.

MORE: Best Motherboards

MORE: How To Choose A Motherboard

MORE: Best Motherboard Deals

MORE: Best Motherboard Combo Deals

MORE: All Motherboard Content

Firmware

Asus uses its familiar BIOS configuration, and the Prime uses a black-and-light-blue theme that matches the black-and-silver board. EZ Mode is mostly informative, with system information and temperatures on the left, and quick settings for EZ Flash, Aura RGB, and Driver Hub for easy driver installation. Fan control and access to the full Q-Fan functionality are below that. The right block displays DRAM and storage status, and Boot Priority is self-explanatory.

Advanced mode still has the headers across the top, but the shortcuts to Q-Fan and AI OC are gone and moved to the quick settings and other locations. The right panel holds system information, including CPU frequency and temperature, in a colorful display. The main body has all the editable functionality.

Overall, I like BIOS. It’s easy to read and, as usual with Asus BIOS, frequently used items are easy to find and not buried too deeply in their menus. Anything that’s a pain to access can be added to the customizable favorites screen.

Software

Armoury Crate is Asus’ one-stop shop for all of its features. Several applications exist for various functions, ranging from RGB lighting control and audio to system monitoring and overclocking. It's also worth mentioning the included software. The Asus Driver Hub is another helpful application. We’ve captured a few screenshots of the applications below.

Test System / Comparison Products

We’ve updated our test system to Windows 11 (25H2) 64-bit OS with all updates applied as of late April 2026. On the hardware front, we’ve updated the RAM kits to ones appropriate for the platform. Peripherals, including cooling, storage, power supply, and graphics cards, remain unchanged. We also use the latest publicly available BIOS unless otherwise noted. The hardware we used is as follows:

TEST SYSTEM COMPONENTS:

• CPU - Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus
• Cooling - Arctic Liquid Freezer II 420
• Storage - Crucial 2TB T705 M.2 PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD
• RAM - Kingston Fury Renegade - 32GB DDR5-7600 CL38 (KF576C38RWAK2-32)
• RAM - G.Skill Trident Z5 CK - 32GB DDR5-8200 CL40 (F5-8200C4052G24GX2-TZZ5CK)
• RAM - V-Color 256GB (2x128GB) DDR5-8000 CL64 (TECQ5128G80Q864K)
• GPU - Asus TUF RTX 4080 16G
• PSU - EVGA Supernova 850W P6
• Windows 11 64-bit (25H2 - 26200.8037)
• NVIDIA Driver 595.97

Benchmark Settings

MORE: Best Motherboards

MORE: How To Choose A Motherboard

MORE: Best Motherboard Deals

MORE: Best Motherboard Combo Deals

MORE: All Motherboard Content

Benchmark Results

Our standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including any default boost/turbo) with all power-saving features at default. We set optimized defaults in the BIOS, then set the memory by enabling the XMP profile. If there are boosts enabled by the BIOS by default, it runs like that. The Windows power scheme is set to Balanced (default) for this baseline testing, so the PC idles appropriately.

Synthetic Benchmarks and Real World Applications

Synthetics offer a valuable method for evaluating a board's performance, as identical settings are expected to yield similar results. Turbo boost wattage and advanced memory timings are areas where motherboard manufacturers can still optimize for stability or performance, though, and these settings can impact specific testing scenarios. We’ve also combined our previous ‘timed’ benchmark applications into this section.

Since this is our second review using the Core Ultra 270K Plus CPU, we’re only comparing two direct configurations and the turbo modes from the Gigabyte board at this time. We’ll keep working through the pile in the lab and continue adding more data to the charts.

The results we do have match our 270K Plus review and compare well with the Gigabyte Z890 Elite Duo X (our first using the 270K Plus), so we know it performs well. It actually traded punches with the Gigabyte depending on the test. If it’s anything like our historical results, we won’t see a significant difference between boards that can run the same speeds.

3D Games and 3DMark

Starting with the launch of the Arrow Lake refresh chips, we’ve updated our game tests. We’re keeping the F1 racing game but have upgraded to F1 25. We’ll continue with the ever-popular and aesthetically pleasing Cyberpunk 2077. We run both games at 1920x1080 resolution using the Ultra preset (details listed in the table above). Both games are set to use DLSS.

The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used (and CPU/system-bound) resolution with settings most people use or strive for (Ultra). We expect the difference between boards in these tests to be minor, with most falling within the margin of error. We’ve also added a minimum FPS metric, which can affect your gameplay and immersion.

As has been the case with previous motherboards and CPUs, the 3DMark tests don’t show much separation from worst to first, and we see that again across our varied datasets. In games, the 270K Plus does well, beating out the 285K and our 9900X. They still don’t hold a candle to the 9800/9850X3D, but the refresh has improved gaming performance. Our RTX 4080-based system managed 144 frames per second in Cyberpunk 2077 and 197 frames per second in F1 2025 on the Texas track. These are a couple of percent slower than the Elite Duo X, although the minimums in F1 25 were a few frames faster, but nothing you’d notice without an OSD showing your frame rate.

Overclocking

Over the past few CPU generations, overclocking headroom has been shrinking on both sides of the fence, while out-of-the-box performance has increased. For overclockers, this means there’s less fun to have. For the average consumer, you’re getting the most out of the processor without manual tweaking. Today’s motherboards are more robust than ever, and an overwhelming majority support power-hungry flagship-class processors, so we know the hardware can handle them.

There are multiple ways to extract even more performance from these processors: manually adjust the settings or use some of the fancy AI overclocking board partners have been touting. Results will vary and depend on the CPU's cooling and quality. In other words, your mileage may vary. Considering the above, we’re not overclocking the CPU for these review articles. However, we will try out our different memory kits to ensure they meet the specifications.

The new Arrow Lake refresh CPUs have a maximum in-spec speed up to DDR5-7200. Anything above that would be considered overclocking for the IMC. However, the base kit we use for testing and benchmarking is the Kingston Fury Renegade 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5-7600 CL38, so it is overclocked. The second set of RAM we use to further stress the IMC is the G.Skill Trident Z5 CK 32GB DDR5-8200 CL40 kit.

Curiously, our Kingston Fury DDR5-7600 kit would not boot in this system, but worked fine with the slower Team Group DDR5-7200 kit and the faster G.Skill DDR5-8200 kit. A quick scan of the memory QVL list, and we couldn’t find the Kingston kit. As we said earlier, stick to the QVL for your best chance of compatibility.

Power Consumption / VRM Temperatures

We used AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU, cache, and Memory enabled for power testing, using the processor's peak power consumption value. The wattage reading is obtained from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter, capturing the entire PC (excluding the monitor). The only variable that changes is the motherboard; all other parts remain the same. We have moved to using only the stock power use/VRM temperature charts, as this section aims to ensure the power delivery can handle flagship-class processors.

Stress testing with our flagship-class 270K Plus and the Team Group DDR5-7200 kit at stock yielded a peak of 340W at the wall, which aligns with the Duo X's stock results of 338W. The Prime used less power at idle, 61W, compared to 69W from the stock Gigabyte. There’s nothing noteworthy, otherwise.

VRM temperatures weren’t a concern on this board. Throughout the 30-minute test, the system (excluding the monitor) averaged 243W, and our sensor located on the back of the board directly under the MOSFETs, recorded temperatures peaking at 48 degrees Celsius, while Hwinfo and the internal sensor showed temperatures peaking a few degrees higher at 55 degrees Celsius. That value is well within specification for the MOSFETs doing all the work below. We have plenty of confidence that the power delivery can handle anything you throw at it. Chances are, the CPU temperature will limit you before the board hinders overclocking.

Bottom Line

Asus’ Prime Z890-P ($229.99) is a worthwhile motherboard in the budget Z890 space. The EZ DIY and AI Features stand out at this price, though their value is subjective. It’s a well-rounded budget-class board specs-wise too, offering a (single) fast 40 Gbps Thunderbolt 4 Type-C port, Wi-Fi 7 (2.9 Gbps), and plenty of options for storage, be it SATA or M.2. The best part, if you can work around the lower USB port count, is that nothing shares bandwidth. Stuff it full, and it will all run at speed, but so will others.

Speaking of the competition, MSI’s Z890 Gaming Plus Wifi (currently $211.99), Gigabyte’s Z890 Aorus Elite Wifi 7 ($199.99), and ASRock’s Z890 Livemixer ($209.99) are all compelling options that cost a little less. The Livemixer offers more USB ports, including dual Thunderbolt 4 ports, while the Aorus Elite is probably the best-looking of the group (and includes RGB lighting, along with the ASRock). Granted, they don’t have quite the in-depth AI and automation that Asus does, but if you aren’t using those features (you probably should at least try them out…), the less-expensive options are probably the better choice. While the Asus Prime Z890-P Wi-Fi didn’t make our best motherboards list, it’s not a dud and should still be an option in the budget $200- $230 price range, but it would be positioned much better among its peers if the price were under $200.

MORE: Best Motherboards

MORE: How To Choose A Motherboard

MORE: Best Motherboard Deals

MORE: Best Motherboard Combo Deals

MORE: All Motherboard Content

Gaming laptops can be pricey, and in the past few years, they have only gotten more expensive. The components inside laptops have gotten more expensive, the market below $1,000 has effectively been decimated, and finding a good deal is harder than ever. But we're still testing, and while the goal posts of what defines a budget gaming laptop may be a bit more expensive than they used to be, there are still ways to save.

At Tom's Hardware, we test many gaming laptops every year at a range of prices with different features and parts, so we know what to expect at every price point, no matter what your budget. While even the budget gaming laptops may not be cheap, we can still point out where you get the most for your money. We thoroughly benchmark all of the best budget gaming laptops in numerous games, extensively measuring gaming performance under a wide range of graphical conditions to suss out the best cheap laptops on the market.

Most gaming laptops under $1,500 will use Nvidia's GeForce RTX 5050 and RTX 5060 graphics cards. Many of them will use the latest Intel Core Ultra or AMD Ryzen mobile processors, though sometimes you'll still find last-gen options. Above $1,500 (which, unfortunately, is still on the low end with all-new components these days), you should have the latest. That being said, don't cut corners so far that you settle for 8GB of RAM or just 256GB of storage. Those are outdated specs for gaming laptops.

With a budget gaming laptop, you'll be able to play most games — even graphically intensive ones — on medium or high settings, if not better. If you're playing lighter games, like esports, you should still be able to achieve high frame rates.

Best Budget Gaming Laptops You Can Buy

Best budget gaming laptop overall

The Acer Nitro V 16S AI is, as of this writing, typically selling around $1,500. This laptop is great for those who are willing to trade off some gaming performance for a bright and colorful screen and a ton of ports, including a microSD card slot.

Those ports, paired with a speedy storage drive in our tests, make the Nivro V 16S AI a solid productivity machine alongside one that can play most games. Acer is using an RTX 5060 with an 85W graphics card, so it's not the most performant system out there, but it's well-balanced if you're going to use just one laptop for gaming, work, or school.

The 16-inch, 1920 x 1200 IPS screen goes up to 180 Hz, allowing for smooth gameplay for esports and indie games. Our system came with a 1TB storage drive, which should hold a few games, and there's room to add another inside. It also came with 32GB of RAM, which should be a bit future-proof.

There is a bunch of bloatware that you'll probably want to uninstall, and the webcam is just 720p.

Read: Acer Nitro V 16S AI review

Best budget gaming laptop for work and play

We had previously seen this laptop as high as $1,800, but lately it's been on sale closer to $1,500. The machine is another good mix of productivity and gaming. Like many other budget systems, it's using an 85W GPU (in this case, an RTX 5070), which means you won't get the most powerful gaming performance.What it does allow for, however, is strong battery life, lasting 9 hours and 13 minutes on our test. We also found the keyboard and touchpad to be quite comfortable.

The Ryzen AI 7 350 is a recent chip, and one that offers strong productivity performance, should you be using this system for work other than just gaming.It would have been nice to see Wi-Fi 7 at this system's full price, though on sale, Wi-Fi 6E is more forgivable. That being said, the display and audio are both middling, so this may be best if you use a monitor or speakers to bump up your experience.

Read: Gigabyte Aero X16 review

Best for battery life

If you want something a bit more minimalist, the Alienware 16 Aurora, the gaming brand's stripped-down machine, may work for you. This one has been consistently available.

The Aurora has an attractive chassis that mixes its plastic body with an alumium lid. The indigo color seems almost black, but has a navy shimmer in the right light.

The biggest benefits we saw were in the 16-inch, 2560 x 1600 IPS display, which goes up to 120 Hz. That screen was brighter and far more vivid (112% of sRGB color volume, 312.2 nits) in our measurements compared to other budget machines.

We also appreciated the Aurora's 96 WHr battery, which helped the system last for 9 hours and 41 minutes on our battery test.

The 80W RTX 5060 is fairly low-power, which might help with the longevity, but means you'l have to set your expectations while gaming. Additionally, the storage could be faster, though you could consider swapping that out down the line.

Read: Alienware 16 Aurora review

Quick Shopping Tips

What to Expect From the Best Budget Laptops for Gaming

Motherboard sales are collapsing amid unprecedented shortages fueled by AI, causing prices for many major PC components to rise across the board during the past six months, with memory modules and storage drives leading the way.

Those shortages are being exacerbated by chipmakers like Nvidia, Intel, and AMD, which have reduced production of consumer chips so they can manufacture more AI processors. The AI infrastructure buildout is also causing shortages for Intel and AMD CPUs (and even high-end Macs), as interest in agentic AI rockets through the roof.

Because of this, users who lack deep pockets are putting off upgrading their PCs and holding on to their current devices longer. Motherboard manufacturers have begun to feel the effects of these delayed purchases, with Digitimes [machine translated] reporting that the four major firms are revising target sales downward.

Asus, which sold 15 million motherboards in 2025, has shipped only a little more than 5 million in the first half of 2026. The company will have to push hard to even move 10 million units by the end of the year, marking a 33% decrease in sales year-on-year. Gigabyte and MSI sold 11.5 million and 11 million motherboards last year, respectively. The companies have revised their internal forecasts for 2026 to 9 million (Gigabyte) and 8.4 million (MSI), a 22% drop for the former and a 24% contraction for the latter.

ASRock will be hardest hit by the situation: The company’s shipments are projected to fall by 37%, from 4.3 million in 2025 to just 2.7 million by the end of the year. This marks a contraction of 28% for the overall motherboard market, at least for the big four manufacturers.

AI’s demand for memory, storage, and processors is the primary driver for this drop in sales. Shortages that have been caused by their massive purchases have forced PC builders and enthusiasts to fight over a smaller pie of PC components, resulting in higher overall prices for these components.

Aside from this, AMD continues to use the AM5 socket for its latest processors, while Intel's Nova Lake, which will reportedly use LGA 1954, isn’t available until later this year. The situation is further compounded by Nvidia not releasing a refreshed RTX 50 Super series this year, while rumors claim that the RTX 60 series will not debut until 2028. This confluence of factors is discouraging PC builders from upgrading their current systems.

Despite this drop in sales, these companies aren’t exactly struggling. Asus, Gigabyte, and ASRock have pivoted some of their production towards AI servers, allowing them to capture some of the investments that hyperscalers are generously pouring into their data centers.

If you’re planning to build a completely new PC from scratch, you might be able to find good deals on motherboard combos, especially as retailers are keen on getting their inventories moving. Although these discounts might not be enough to offset the increased costs of memory, storage, and, to some extent, processors, it will at least save you a few dollars as you navigate the current chip crisis.

We’ve tested AMD’s Strix Halo platform in desktop form, and now it arrives in a 14-inch laptop courtesy of Asus’ TUF Gaming A14. This compact laptop delivers abundant CPU performance from its Ryzen AI Max+ 392 and proves well-rounded in many areas beyond raw speed, from battery life to input devices. However, for $2,199.99 as tested, the question is whether its integrated Radeon 8060S graphics can deliver the gaming performance needed to justify its premium price, let alone make it one of the best gaming laptops.

Design of the Asus TUF Gaming A14

All-black with a gunmetal lid, the TUF Gaming A14 looks understated without being drab. Up close, the TUF logo on the lid and stylized keyboard typeface mark it as a gaming machine. The laptop has no external lighting except for the keyboard.

The laptop feels sturdy, with a mostly plastic build except for the aluminum bottom panel and lid backing. It seemed impervious to flex even when I picked it up by a corner. Measuring 12.24 x 8.94 x 0.67 inches and weighing 3.26 pounds, the TUF Gaming A14 is similarly sized yet slightly lighter than the Acer Predator Triton 14 AI (12.68 x 8.84 x 0.71 inches, 3.5 pounds).

The practical port selection starts on the left with HDMI 2.1, USB4, USB-A (10 Gbps), and 3.5mm audio, plus the proprietary power jack for its rather compact 200 W adapter. The remaining ports on the right include a MicroSD card reader and USB-C and USB-A ports (both 10 Gbps). The only area for improvement is wireless; the Realtek 8852CE card supports Wi-Fi 6E, not 7.

Asus TUF Gaming A14 Specifications

Gaming and Graphics on the Asus TUF Gaming A14

We tested the TUF Gaming A14 with a Ryzen AI Max+ 392 processor with Radeon 8060S graphics and 32GB of LPDDR5X-8000 memory. The Radeon 8060S promises strong performance for an integrated GPU featuring 40 cores, though whether it stacks up to a dedicated card in an entry-level gaming laptop remains to be seen.

Playing Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order at a 2560 x 1600 resolution with Epic settings, I saw between 55 and 75 frames per second (FPS), with smooth performance throughout.

Our comparison lineup starts with Acer’s Predator Triton 14 AI featuring a “Lunar Lake” Core Ultra 9 288V and a GeForce RTX 5070 (110 W), which retails for $2,499. Lenovo’s Legion LOQ 15ARP9 follows, delivering a Ryzen 7 250 and RTX 5060 (115 W) for $1,299. The last spot is filled by the Framework Desktop, which seems like an unequal comparison, but it’s one of the only other Strix Halo systems we’ve tested. Its Ryzen AI Max+ 395 offers 16 cores and a 5.1 GHz boost versus the 12 cores and 5 GHz boost of the Max+ 392 chip in the TUF Gaming A14, though the Radeon 8060S GPUs in both chips feature the same number of cores and run at the same frequency. That said, The Framework Desktop offers a substantially more powerful 400 W power supply and has more thermal cooling capacity, differences we expect to show in the benchmarks.

Our charts focus on the 1080p numbers, but we also test at the system’s native resolution if different, which is 2560 x 1600 for the Asus and a slightly higher 2880 x 1800 for the Acer.

In Shadow of the Tomb Raider at the Highest detail preset, the TUF Gaming A14 averaged 67 FPS at 1080p, well behind the Framework Desktop (87 FPS) and significantly trailing the Acer (102 FPS) and Lenovo (105 FPS). Performance fell to 37 FPS at native resolution, which is only marginally playable.

The results worsened in Cyberpunk 2077 at Ray Tracing Ultra, where the TUF Gaming A14 managed just 16 FPS at 1080p. While the Framework Desktop fared slightly better at 22 FPS, neither system delivered a playable experience. The Acer (30 FPS) and Lenovo (32 FPS) performed much better thanks to their dedicated Nvidia GPUs.

Playability improved somewhat in Far Cry 6 at Ultra settings, where the TUF Gaming A14 reached 66 FPS at 1080p, though it still lagged the other systems: Lenovo (73 FPS), Framework (83 FPS), and Acer (84 FPS) all did better.

In Red Dead Redemption 2 at the Medium preset, the TUF Gaming A14 posted 49 FPS at 1080p, trailing the Acer and Framework (both 57 FPS) and falling well short of the Lenovo’s leading 68 FPS.

The TUF Gaming A14’s standings didn’t improve in Borderlands 3 at the “Badass” preset, where it delivered 54 FPS at 1080p – 34 FPS slower than the Lenovo’s 88 FPS, its closest competitor in this test.

Stepping back, the TUF Gaming A14 is capable of modern gaming in most titles at 1080p, though running games at its native 1600p resolution may require dialing back the detail settings for smooth performance. However, as the Lenovo LOQ 15 demonstrates, even entry-level gaming laptops can deliver substantially better performance.

We stress test gaming laptops running 15 loops of the Metro Exodus stress test at RTX settings. During the test, the TUF Gaming A14 averaged 49.8 FPS across all runs, starting at 54.2 before dropping to around 49 FPS by the fourth loop, where its numbers remained steady for the remaining iterations. The Ryzen AI Max+ 392 averaged 1.92 GHz while the Radeon 8060S averaged 1.84 GHz.

Productivity Performance on the Asus TUF Gaming A14

Our TUF Gaming A14 review sample features an AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 392 processor, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. With 12 cores, the CPU should deliver strong performance for any task.

In Geekbench 6, the TUF Gaming A14 delivered competitive single-core performance, scoring 2,867 points to slot between the Acer (2,806 with a Core Ultra 9 288V) and Framework (2,966 with a Ryzen AI Max+ 395) while the Lenovo trailed at 2,548 (Ryzen 7 250). It stood out in multi-core, posting 17,334 points, effectively matching the Framework (17,574) and decisively outperforming both the Acer (10,974) and Lenovo (9,713).

Storage performance was middle-of-the-road. In our 25GB file transfer test, the TUF Gaming A14 averaged 1,520.83 MBps, edging out the Acer (1,232.68) and Lenovo (1,378.45), though falling well short of the Framework Desktop’s 2,976.46 MBps.

The TUF Gaming A14 also showed strong performance in Handbrake, completing the 4K-to-1080p transcode in 2 minutes and 45 seconds. That result tied the Framework (2:45) and comfortably beat the Lenovo (4:56) and Acer (6:03).

Taken together, these results indicate the TUF Gaming A14’s value proposition is strongly skewed towards CPU performance. From a productivity standpoint, its Ryzen AI Max+ 392 CPU is substantially stronger than a standard Ryzen 7 laptop CPU based on the Lenovo Legion, making it highly capable for content creation and multi-threaded workloads.

Display on the Asus TUF Gaming A14

The TUF Gaming A14’s 14-inch display will satisfy most buyers. Its 2560 x 1600 resolution is well-suited for productivity yet not out of reach for gaming with its Radeon 8060S graphics. Its smooth 165 Hz refresh rate, anti-glare surface, and IPS wide viewing angles also earn it good marks.

The image quality is satisfactory but doesn’t stand out. Watching Blade Runner 2049, the display’s ample contrast allowed for good detail in shadowy scenes and enough brightness to make firefights immersive, though an OLED screen would have punchier contrast and greater color depth.

With a peak brightness of 390 nits, the TUF Gaming A14 easily outshined the Lenovo (315 nits) and the Acer (359 nits), though the latter’s OLED panel doesn’t require the same luminance to appear as bright as the Asus’ IPS. With 82.1% DCI-P3 and 115.3% sRGB coverage, the Asus practically tied the Lenovo in color reproduction. Neither could match the Acer, which covered an astounding 135.7% of DCI-P3.

Keyboard and Touchpad on the Asus TUF Gaming A14

Ample throw, a cushioned rubbery feel, and comfortable key spacing provides a satisfying typing experience on the TUF Gaming A14. The layout offers no surprises and includes convenient dedicated keys above the Function row for volume, microphone, and launching the Armoury Crate app. Its only real miss is lack of backlighting color customization. Though the white lighting is bright, adjustable in four levels, and offers breathing and strobing effects, this price point virtually mandates RGB customization.

Meanwhile, the touchpad is excellent, offering an appropriately sized surface and quiet, responsive physical clicking action.

Audio on the Asus TUF Gaming A14

The Asus’ downward-facing speakers produce a subpar audio experience. They sounded strained with the music I sampled, particularly bass-heavy dubstep, producing almost no bass. Volume is also sufficient only for personal listening. Additionally, there’s no app for tuning equalizers. They can suffice for basic gaming, but the lack of bass means the immersion factor isn’t there. For an entertainment-focused laptop, Asus has a lot to improve here.

Upgradeability of the Asus TUF Gaming A14

The TUF Gaming A14 offers moderate upgradeability: two M.2 2280 drive slots, an M.2 2230 wireless card, and the battery are all serviceable. The RAM is soldered.

The bottom panel is secured by 11 Philips-head screws. Oddly, the one under the corner of the right palmrest is retainer-style while the one on the opposite side isn’t, and both of those screws are shorter than the rest, all of which are uniform length. I didn’t need to use a pry tool to pop the clips securing the bottom panel, using just my fingers to pop the clips along the back edge and working my way around the edges.

Battery Life on the Asus TUF Gaming A14

Our battery test consists of web browsing, running OpenGL tests, and streaming videos with the screen at 150 nits while connected to Wi-Fi. The TUF Gaming A14 lasted 9 hours and 7 minutes for the longest runtime in the group, edging out the Acer (8:16) and leaving the Lenovo LOQ (6:50) far behind. While it lands a few hours shy of a premium ultraportable, the TUF Gaming A14’s impressive CPU performance is a worthy tradeoff.

Heat on the Asus TUF Gaming A14

Asus’ dual-fan cooling system exhausts air out the rear edge, producing steady streams of heat under load while maintaining an acceptable noise level – it didn’t become bothersome or distracting in my testing.

We measure the surface temperatures of gaming laptops during the Metro Exodus stress test. The peak temperatures on the TUF Gaming A14 were more than acceptable, peaking at 99 degrees F between the keyboard’s G and H keys, 77 F on the touchpad, and 108 F on the underside. Internally, the Ryzen AI Max+ 392 CPU averaged 58 degrees Celsius.

Webcam on the Asus TUF Gaming A14

The A14’s webcam offers a disappointing picture. Its 1920 x 1080 sensor produces a soft picture with muddy details and suffers from grain in low-light environments. It also struggled to handle background windows and light, underexposing my face. It offers an IR sensor for biometric facial logins but lacks a privacy shutter.

Software and Warranty on the Asus TUF Gaming A14

Asus includes two main apps on the TUF Gaming A14. The first is Armoury Crate, which provides performance profiles including Performance, Silent, Windows Default, and a manual mode.

By default, the system automatically switches to Performance when plugged in and Silent on battery. Manual mode is a technical deep-dive, with wattage settings for CPU power states and customizable fan profiles. The app also provides control over the amount of system memory dedicated to the GPU, which defaults to 4GB. Even if left at the minimum, the system can still requisition up to 14GB on demand. More memory can be allocated, but it reduces the amount available to Windows. With the default 4GB, Windows can access 28GB of the 32GB total memory.

Armoury Create also includes user preferences: toggles for turning the Windows and Armoury Crate keys and touchpad on or off, keyboard backlighting settings (four brightness levels and static, breathing, or strobing effects), display settings for color temperature and various profiles, such as FPS and RTS/RPG modes for gaming and an eyecare mode to reduce blue light. Most of these settings can be stored in profiles, which can automatically be applied when a specified app is opened.

The other app is MyAsus for diagnostics, support access, and system updates. It also provides a battery care mode to limit the charge to 80%.

There is some bloatware, namely a McAfee Premium + Individual app.

Asus includes a one-year warranty on the TUF Gaming A14.

Asus TUF Gaming A14 Configurations

Our TUF Gaming A14 review sample included a 14-inch 2560 x 1600 display with a 165 Hz refresh rate, an AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 392 processor, Radeon 8060S graphics, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. It was $2,199.99 at Best Buy as of publishing.

This is the only configuration available with the Ryzen AI Max+ CPU. Best Buy also offered a $1,699.99 model featuring a Ryzen AI 7 350, RTX 5060 and 16GB of RAM, which ought to provide superior gaming performance.

Bottom Line

The TUF Gaming A14’s ultimately succeeds or fails on the strength of its Ryzen AI Max+ 392 CPU. On the upside, it delivers exceptional CPU performance for demanding productivity workflows at a level rarely seen in a 14-inch chassis, yet still maintains respectable battery life. Paired with comfortable input devices, a competent if unremarkable display, and a solid selection of ports, it presents itself as a capable productivity machine.

The problem is that its Radeon 8060S, while impressive for an integrated solution, simply doesn’t deliver near the level of gaming performance expected from a laptop positioned and priced as a premium gaming system. Even entry-level models, such as the RTX 5060-equipped Lenovo LOQ we used for comparison, provide substantially greater performance at a significantly lower cost, making the TUF Gaming A14 a tough sell as a gaming-first laptop. While its strong CPU performance may suit niche workflows, gamers will find far better value in a laptop with a true dedicated GPU.

Gaming handhelds aren't affordable anymore. Many of them go for $999 or more. And, crucially, the Steam Deck OLED, the best handheld gaming PC and a price leader at $549, has mostly been out of stock as the component crisis continues.

That makes it a great time to look at the Asus ROG Xbox Ally, a $599 Windows-based option with, spoiler alert, a chip that looks a lot like the one in the Steam Deck – at least on paper. The Ally shares a lot in common with the far more expensive ROG Xbox Ally X, but it's still distant enough from the Steam Deck, and has a few technical issues that makes it still feels compromised.

Design of the Asus ROG Xbox Ally

The ROG Xbox Ally's design is effectively identical to its more powerful sibling, the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X. That's hard to complain about, as that machine had superior ergonomics compared to many other gaming handhelds thanks to prongs that feel like they're part of an Xbox controller.

There are, though, two major aesthetic differences. The first is that this handheld comes in white, while the Ally X is black. I owned white Xbox 360 controllers back in the day, and those got gross even in the best of circumstances. Granted, I'm now an adult who takes better care of his stuff, but I can't look at this and not worry about what will happen to this thing if I don't wash my handsevery time before I touch it. Despite my best efforts, it did get a bit dirty during my review period, possibly from my hands or just from sitting in my bag.

On the bright side, the cheaper model has colored buttons that match an Xbox controller, which the all-black X model doesn't.

The other difference is that at 1.48 pounds (670 grams), the Xbox Ally is slightly lighter than the Xbox Ally X at 1.58 pounds (715 grams). Putting them next to each other, I could definitely tell. The Steam Deck OLED is even lighter at 1.41 pounds (640 grams).

Unsurprisingly, the Ally has a controller layout very similar to an Xbox controller, including ABXY buttons, a D-pad on a disk, and offset joysticks, though it all has Asus' more angled look. Like the Ally X, you get rubberized texture on the control sticks, RGB lights, and clicky, tactile buttons.

The Ally's triggers don't feature rumble like the Ally X, but at this price, I'm not missing it. The bumpers are made out of cheap clicky plastic, and I would have liked to see those reinforced.

There are two macro buttons that you can customize on the rear of the device, down from four on the Steam Deck. On the front, there are a series of buttons for Asus and Xbox menus, including the Xbox button next to the left thumb stick, as well as Armoury Crate and Xbox library buttons. There are also Xbox-standard view and menu buttons.

On top of the handheld, Asus offers two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C ports, a microSD card reader, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. That's also where you'll find the volume rocker and a combination power button and fingerprint reader. (The Ally X replaces one of those Type-C ports with a faster USB4 port.)

Asus includes a little cardboard stand in the box. Considering the Steam Deck and Lenovo's Legion Go 2 handheld come with full-on carrying cases, Asus should consider better accessories next time around. If you want the official case, that will cost you $69.99.

Asus ROG Xbox Ally Specifications and Components

The Asus ROG Xbox Ally is powered by AMD's Ryzen Z2 A, a 4-core / 8-thread processor using AMD's Zen 2 architecture. On paper, it's significantly less powerful than the Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme in the ROG Xbox Ally X, but it's also in a cheaper system. The Z2A has a max boost clock of 3.8 GHz and a boost clock of 2.8 GHz.

The Z2 A's default TDP is 15W, though it is configurable up to 20 W, which Asus uses in the system's turbo mode. Here's how Asus uses that with its performance modes, with comparisons to previous models:

The Z2 A SoC has an 8-core GPU, using integrated Radeon RDNA 2 graphics, as opposed to RDNA 3.5 on the Xbox Ally X, putting it in line with the Steam Deck OLED. Asus has included 16GB of RAM and a 512GB M.2 SSD in a standard M.2 2280 form factor. The 60 WHr battery is significantly smaller than the 80 WHr battery in the Ally X, but is larger than the 50 WHr cell in the Steam Deck OLED.

Gaming and Graphics on the Asus ROG Ally

The Asus ROG Ally's 8-core integrated GPU with RDNA 2 graphics effectively ages this machine out of the box. The technology is very similar to the Steam Deck OLED, which also uses 8 RDNA 2 compute units, albeit on a slower processor. The CPU and GPU share 16GB of memory, with 6GB assigned to the GPU by default (you can change this in Asus Armoury Crate SE, but we tested with the standard settings).

The handheld runs at a 15W performance mode when unplugged and a 20W turbo mode when plugged in, though you can switch between them. We ran games at both 1080p and 720p. For the Steam Deck OLED, we tested at 1920 x 1200 and 1280 x 800 to fit its 16:10 aspect ratio.

Using the Xbox Full Screen Experience should free up some memory and provide performance advantages, as it doesn't load some Windows components. We benchmarked games through the FSE, with the exception of our stress test, which requires additional logging software.

I used the ROG Xbox Ally to play Resident Evil Requiem, a game I bought while I was reviewing the handheld. I played the game at 720p without upscaling, using low graphics quality and otherwise auto-configured graphics settings, including low lighting and shadow. The game ran between 32 and 55 frames per second as Grace Ashcroft ran from the early game monster called "The Girl." In a third-person action scene at Rhodes Hill, with Leon Kennedy fighting a wave of enemies with a chainsaw, the tame ran at 34-37 FPS.

Two patterns emerged from our benchmarks. The first is that despite the 1080p screen, this machine is meant to game at 720p. On each of our benchmarks, the system couldn't handle the higher resolution at a playable frame rate, whether plugged in or unplugged. Borderlands 3 wouldn't even let us switch to 1080p at all, which an Asus representative claimed was a feature to encourage higher performance, but it only ever happened on that game.

The other pattern was that to meaningfully beat Valve's Steam Deck OLED, the Ally had to be plugged in or running at turbo mode. Even then, in some games, like Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Borderlands 3, it was still very close. On Red Dead Redemption 2, the Steam Deck was superior no matter what.

On our Metro Exodus stress test, the Xbox Ally ran the benchmark 10 times to simulate about half an hour of gameplay. The handheld averaged 43.28 frames per second and was consistent with a frame or so between runs. The average clock speed of four CPU cores was 2.66 GHz during the test while the GPU ran at 1241.36 MHz.

Windows 11 and Armoury Crate

Like the ROG Ally X that shipped beside it, the ROG Xbox Ally ships with Microsoft's Xbox Full Screen Experience. While it's far and away better than using the standard Windows 11 desktop on a gaming handheld, there are still some hitches throughout.

You boot straight into the Xbox app, meaning that Windows doesn't load certain components of the OS that aren't used for gaming. This should make the OS lighter and save RAM, letting you put the resources towards the games that you're playing. It came with Steam installed, which I appreciated, and the library also lets you easily download Epic Games, Battle.Net, GOG Galaxy, and Ubisoft Connect.

But still, the launchers don't always play nice with the Xbox controller. Epic Games, for instance, really is designed for a mouse and keyboard, and I was largely forced to use it with touch controls to get it to work. In addition, games bought from launchers are treated as second class-citizens, without box art or analysis of how well the game plays on your system.

Even if you never touch the regular Windows 11 desktop, you'll still have to deal with User Account Control pop-ups.

Asus' Armoury Crate SE software is still there, and you can use it to change RGB lighting and install updates. But it's baked into the Xbox menu in the Full Screen Experience, and most performance-related settings are way easier to reach there.

I was hoping that Asus and Microsoft would have fixed some issues that reviewers found at launch. For instance, I had sleep/wake issues. The first time I put the system to sleep with a game paused, I woke up to a Direct3D error and a crash screen. A few other times, I found that the system wouldn't wake up at all, and ultimately booted back to the Windows desktop. I also had the system wake up to a notification that the controller, permanently attached to the system, had disconnected. So save your progress before you put this system to sleep. If you didn't, you may wish you did.

Asus suggested to us that for many users, switching the power button to hibernate, not sleep, could fix the issue. This was more reliable, though we had to deal with the startup animation and a login screen each time, and the controllers would often take a minute to be detected. While Asus says recent Windows builds should have largely addressed the issues we had, a rep also gave us this statement:"Our team is aware of the issue of wake/sleep and is working on improving the end-user quality of life, it’s a bigger task than most people expect. Requiring coordination and efforts between ASUS, AMD, Microsoft, and some game developers as well since the expectation is a bit different on Windows as opposed to console gaming that you’d find on a traditional Xbox home console."

The ROG Xbox Ally feels more like a PC than an Xbox, and that includes all of the tinkering that some enthusiasts love, but without the simplicity one hopes for in a console-style experience.

Display on the Asus ROG Xbox Ally

The 7-inch, 1920 x 1080, 120 Hz touch screen on the ROG Xbox Ally is surprisingly decent for a standard LED panel.

In Resident Evil Requiem, the screen, even at 40% brightness, was enough for me to see enough of the Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center's west wing to sneak around. And yes, there was plenty of crimson red blood when some Infected broke out the chainsaws.

On our meter, the Ally covered 85.4% of DCI-P3 volume and 120.6% of sRGB volume. Notably, both of those numbers are a bit higher than the screen on the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X, which is the same on paper. But the regular Ally measured 488.8 nits, which is a bit dimmer than the Xbox Ally X at 515.8 nits. These differences suggest that Asus might have separate sources of displays, with some differences.

Either way, the Ally doesn't touch the Steam Deck OLED's screen, which is way more vivid and, at a max of 597.2 nits, significantly brighter.

Battery Life on the Asus ROG Xbox Ally

Battery life on a gaming handheld will be heavily dependent on the games you play and the settings you play. I often try to keep settings pretty conservative to try battery life, but I did play some intense games on the ROG Xbox Ally. If you play 2D side scrollers, you'll have longer battery life than what I saw.

Perhaps the hardest challenge I threw at the Xbox Ally and its 60 WHr battery was playing a bit of Resident Evil Requiem on it. One night, I sat back in a relatively dark room and snuck through the Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center as Grace Ashcroft. I used auto-detected settings and low graphics quality at 720p, but with FSR on and the screen locked to 60 FPS and 40% brightness, along with the 15W performance mode that the Ally defaults to when unplugged. After an hour and 17 minutes of playtime, the system had a 45% charge left over. That suggests that, had I not needed to wind down if I wanted to sleep that night, I could have probably hit about two-and-a-half hours at those settings.

Audio on the Asus ROG Xbox Ally

In general, the dual speaker system in the Xbox Ally isn't going to beat some decent headphones. Still, it's good enough to play games without them. In Resident Evil Requiem, a boom of thunder was deep enough to surprise me. A shriek from the monster "the girl" was loud and clear, as was an infected chef's repeated meat chopping.

That being said, in dialogue-heavy games, like Marvel's Midnight Suns, I did find myself wishing for a bit more vocal clarity.

The system's front-facing speakers are definitely loud enough. Some games are just better with headphones. That's the case with a PC or handheld of any size.

Heat on the Asus ROG Xbox Ally

During our Metro Exodus stress test, we took measurements on the back of the system. The system stayed pretty cool, measuring 88 degrees Fahrenheit at the center of the system, and 89.5 a bit closer to the macro buttons. This is all completely acceptable. The hottest point was at the vent on top of the system, where the hot air exhausts; that hit 104.5 F, but you won't need to touch that portion of the system to play games.

The AMD Ryzen Z2 A SoC hit an average of 67.7 degrees Celsius inside the handheld.

Upgradeability on the Asus ROG Xbox Ally

If the 512GB SSD in the ROG Xbox Ally is feeling a bit cramped, I have good news: you can upgrade it. I also have bad news: It's kind of a pain.

The Xbox Ally is held together with eight Phillips-head screws: five on the back of the handheld and three on the bottom. The middle screw on the rear is captive, but every other screw comes out, so have something nearby to keep them organized.

With the screws out, you'll need a tool to pry from the top and all the way around the sides of the system, controller handles included, to separate the back from the rest of the handheld. You'll need to be careful not to damage a ribbon cable that connects the motherboard to the M1 and M2 buttons on the back of the system. It's enough of a hassle that I'd recommend most people just use the microSD card reader instead.

The only component that you can upgrade is the M.2 2280 SSD, which is right at the center when you open the system. The battery cable runs over the SSD, and while you should disconnect that before doing work anyway, you'll need to in order to get the SSD out and install a new one.

Asus is using modular thumbsticks here. These are potentiometers, so they'll be prone to drift eventually. While Asus doesn't sell replacements, other companies, like GuliKit, sell affordable TMR replacements that you can consider if you ever have an issue.

Asus ROG Xbox Ally Configurations

Asus sells the ROG Xbox Ally in just one configuration. The $599.99 model comes with an AMD Ryzen Z2 A processor, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, and a 7-inch, 1080p touchscreen. As of this writing, it can be found for as low as $499.99 on Amazon, making it cheaper than the Steam Deck OLED with the right deal.

Its more powerful sibling, the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X, has a black chassis and red buttons, and bumps up to an AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme, 24GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. It costs $999.99.

Bottom Line

There's no denying that gaming handhelds are getting expensive, with many at or over the $999 mark. That makes the Asus ROG Xbox Ally's pricing alone, at $599, a breath of fresh air. While it looks very much like the more expensive ROG Xbox Ally X, it doesn't have the polish or the power.

In terms of price, the Ally's only competition is the Steam Deck OLED, which starts at $549 for the 512GB model. But despite being 3 years old, that system still has a nicer screen, better performance on battery, and similar performance to the Ally when plugged in. That Deck also comes with a carrying case.

Still, the Xbox Ally can play games well enough, which might be all you need. But the fact that I'm still facing sleep/wake issues similar to early reviewers more than seven months after this thing was released suggests they may never be truly fixed.

And while the Windows Full Screen Experience is a huge improvement to the regular Windows 11 desktop, SteamOS is still simpler, smoother, and easier to use.

That would all make for an easy decision, except that, as of this writing, the Steam Deck OLED has been largely out of stock for weeks, with blips in and out. If you're patient, waiting might get you a superior device. But if you want to get a relatively affordable system and don't mind Windows 11 and some technical quirks, the ROG Xbox Ally is here, available, and feels great in the hands.

Editor's note: April 7, 5:30 p.m. ET: We reviewed the laptop at a promised price of $1,599.99, but late on launch day, we were informed it is actually priced at $1,699.99. We have updated pricing in the review accordingly. That doesn't change the score, but it does make us less enthusiastic about some of the features, given the higher price.

Qualcomm is back for round two of its attempt to bring Windows on Arm mainstream. This time around, its new top chip, the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme, is in a tier of its own. One of the first systems with that new processor is the Asus Zenbook A16 ($1,699.99 as tested).

The laptop is supposed to be the showcase for the chip, but it often feels the other way around. While the X2 Elite Extreme is speedy and has a whopping 48GB of memory on the package, the system's chassis feels cheap (especially at this price) and doesn't last as long as competitors on a charge.

You do get a lightweight system, especially at this size, and there are a bunch of ports. But while Windows on Arm has gotten a lot better with more native apps and improved emulation, there are still some hiccups.

Design of the Asus Zenbook A16

The Asus Zenbook A16 is plain. Very plain. You might associate beige computers with the 1980's, but Asus is bringing that color back here – the laptop looks a lot more “brown” under normal office lighting than it does under the bright lights of our photography setup. I'm not a fan of the hue, but some of my colleagues were thrilled to see something that wasn't gray.

The system is made largely of what Asus calls "Ceraluminum," a mix of aluminum and ceramic. But this time around, Asus has introduced magnesium into the mix, and it has a significant cheapening effect. On the one hand, it helps a 16-inch laptop weigh in at 2.87 pounds. On the other hand, the system feels far more like plastic than aluminum, including on the lid (which otherwise has a nice, sandblasted effect) and on the keyboard deck. I've seen Asus use the regular ceraluminum to marvelous effect on systems like the ZenBook Duo earlier this year. But this shouldn't be considered the same material.

In fact, the Zenbook's ceraluminum chassis is very prone to flexing. The lid pushes in with little force, and the entire keyboard deck bows in when you click above the halfway mark on the touchpad. The Zenbook is a premium-priced product, but it sure doesn't feel premium. Even the $599 MacBook Neo doesn't flex.

Other than the "Asus Zenbook" wordmark on the lid, the only other instance of branding is a small Zenbook logo above the keyboard. Otherwise, the design is Spartan. There's a thin bezel around the display, which isn't distracting.

The Zenbook has ports on each side of the system. The majority are on the left side, where you'll find an HDMI port, two USB4 Type-C ports, and a headphone jack. On the right, there's a single USB-A port and an SD card slot.

The Zenbook A16 measures 13.92 x 9.54 x 0.65 inches, making it thicker than the MacBook Air (0.5 inches thick), Acer Swift 16 AI (0.59 inches) and Dell XPS 14 (0.60 inches).

Asus Zenbook A16 Specifications

Productivity Performance on the Asus Zenbook A16

The Zenbook A16 is serving as our first look at Qualcomm's Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme system-on-a-chip. Specifically, this version, X2E-94-100, has 12 "prime" cores and 6 "performance cores, and can run up to 4.7 GHz in either single or dual-core compute. Multi-core performance tops out at 4.4 GHz.

The chip also offers 53 MB of cache and has a memory bandwidth of up to 228 GB/s. If you're the type of person who cares about NPUs, this version goes up to 80 TOPS, though a different version of the chip, the X2E-90-100, hits 85 TOPS and goes up to 5 GHz single or dual-core but offers less bandwidth.

On Geekbench 6, the Zenbook A16 notched a single-core score of 3,807, beating Intel Core Ultra Series 3-based rivals, but falling to the M5 in the MacBook Air (4,168 in a fanless design). But the Zenbook cleaned up on multi-core, with a score of 22,733. Part of that is because the X2 Elite Extreme has 18 cores. (Apple's M5 Max technically beats it at 29,430 with its own 18 cores, but given the cheapest laptop that system is in is $3,749, it's hard to actually put them next to each other, given the Zenbook is less than half of that price.)

On our file transfer test, the Zenbook A16 put in a fair showing, copying 25GB of files at a rate of 1,744 MBps. The Swift 16 AI was just barely faster (1,745.13 MBps), while the MacBook Air led the field (1,924.84 MBps).

On Handbrake, the Zenbook won decisively, transcoding a 4K video to 1080p in 2 minutes and 8 seconds. The next fastest, the Swift 16, took 4:25, while the XPS 14 lagged behind at 6:45.

To stress test the chip and the system, we put it through 10 runs of Cinebench 2026. The system started at a score of 6,309.72 before dropping to 5,996.52, and then hovering just over 6,000 for the rest of the test.

During the Cinebench test, the Prime cores ran at an average of 4.28 GHz, while the performance cores ran at 3.49 GHz.

Gaming and Graphics on the Asus Zenbook A16

On paper, the Adreno graphics integrated into the X2 Elite Extreme are impressive.

On 3DMark Steel Nomad, the Zenbook achieved a score of 1,262, falling only to Intel's top-end graphics offering with 12 Xe cores, in the Ultra X7 358H.

In reality, it's tougher. While the system ran through some benchmarks without issue, when I booted up Resident Evil Requiem, the game crashed when I changed settings. On a second try, I got into the game, and it played smoothly at low settings, but the walls kept disappearing. I chalk this up to issues with Microsoft's Prism emulation.

If your game works, Qualcomm has a decent integrated GPU here. Teh company is promising far more updates than customers received for graphics with the original Snapdragon X processors, so hopefully those create a more stable gaming environment.

How's Windows on Arm these days?

We are at a point where if your workload is largely browser-based or uses tools like Word, Excel, and an email client, then Windows on Arm is probably good enough for you.

There are more native apps than ever before, including all of the major browsers, VLC, Spotify, Slack, Microsoft Office, LibreOffice, Blender, Davinci Resolve, Dropbox, Visual Studio, Zoom, and more.

Most of Adobe's software, including After Effects, Photoshop, Lightroom, and Premiere, are Arm native. But InDesign, Illustrator, and Lightroom Classic are still running via emulation, so they may not be as speedy or stable.

Windows 11 includes an emulator, Prism, that runs apps built for x86 processors and converts the instructions, which does take care of a lot of the rest. But some advanced professional tools, like AutoCAD, aren't considered officially supported, though emulation may still work.

The other issue — which will probably never be totally cleared up — is for those who are using legacy peripherals that require drivers. The same goes for old software that is no longer updated.

For basic needs, this should be more than enough now. But some creatives and gamers may still see issues.

Display on the Asus Zenbook A16

Asus has a lovely 16-inch, 2880 x 1800 OLED display on the Zenbook A16. It supports frame rates up to 120 Hz and the DisplayHDR 1000 True Black standard.

The OLED screen really helped with pops of color in the trailer for Spider-Man: Brand New Day. In a scene where the wall-crawler fights Tarantula, his red and blue costume stood out on a metal boat with an enemy in a subdued maroon outfit. A few shots later, the same effect occurred in a dark, dreary prison. I've definitely seen brighter, more vivid OLED screens. This gets the job done, but it's nothing to write home about.

The screen covers 119.5% of sRGB color volume and 84.6% DCI-P3, in range of the LCD panel on the MacBook Air, but better than what Dell offers on the XPS 14. The OLED screen on the Swift 16 AI was dimmer than the rest of the field, but offered the best color volume.

Asus's panel measured 429.4 nits on our light meter. That's dimmer than the MacBook Air (458.8 nits) and XPS 14 (466 nits).

Keyboard and Touchpad on the Asus Zenbook A16

Asus' island-style keyboard offers 1.3 mm of key travel. On the Monkeytype typing test, I hit 120 words per minute at 97% accuracy, but it wasn't the most comfortable. I found the keys to be stiff, both pressing the key in but also with a forceful rebound. I did, however, like the smoothness of the keys themselves.

The touchpad is enormous, but it's just OK. It's smooth enough, and it's responsive to Windows 11 gestures, but you can only comfortably click on the bottom half of it. For a premium machine, I wouldn't mind seeing a haptic touchpad here. You can click a bit above the halfway point, but it requires way more force and also causes the entire palm rest and keyboard to noticeable buckle.

There are also touch strips on the sides of the touchpad. Swiping on the left side adjusts volume, while the right side adjusts screen brightness. Unless you use it constantly, you might not know it's there. I preferred to use the dedicated function row.

Audio on the Asus Zenbook A16

The Zenbook A16's speakers are perfectly tolerable, but nothing incredibly special. They're loud enough to fill a room. But when I played Metric's "Victim of Luck," I thought the sound was a bit flat. It ends up that the Dolby Atmos EQ was set to off. Moving to "detailed" helped separate the track's individual components, including the vocals, guitars, synths, and drums.

The drums, however, weren't terribly snappy, and like many thin laptops, there wasn't much bass at all.

Upgradeability of the Asus Zenbook A16

Ten Torx T4 screws hold the bottom of the Zenbook A16 onto the chassis. After removing them (the two closest to the hinges are longer), you'll need to carefully pry the base off.

There's not a ton to upgrade in here, especially with the RAM on the chip package. But the SSD is upgradeable, should you need more space down the line (though it's not exactly easy to get a new install of Windows on Arm). The battery is held in with screws, so you could replace that down the line, too.

The ports on the right side are attached to a daughterboard, separate from the mainboard. It's also notable that there's a fair bit of empty space around the battery. I would've preferred a bit more longevity over the savings in weight. Filling the space may also have reduced some of the flexing we saw on the case.

Battery Life on the Asus Zenbook A16

The Arm architecture is known for being efficient, so I was disappointed to see the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme, now on a 3-nanometer process, last only 10 hours and 26 minutes on average in our battery test. Our rundown has the screen set at 150 nits while the system browses the web, streams videos, and runs light OpenGL tests.

That's significantly less than the winner of this batch, the Dell XPS 14 with a Core Ultra 7 355, which went over 20 hours. Granted, that system's LCD screen also goes down to 1 Hz when idle. The MacBook Air, an Arm-based competitor, ran for 15 hours and 28 minutes in the newest M5-based model.

The Acer Swift 16 AI, with Intel's more powerful graphics in a Core Ultra X7 358H and its own OLED screen, lasted 12:12.

The Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme is powerful; powerful enough that Asus decided to ship this laptop with a 130W charger for fast charging. That got us up to 52% charge in half an hour. But for many, the point of these laptops has been that they last long on a charge. This system could use improvement on that front. It's usable, but in context, you see other laptop vendors and chipmakers have gotten more out of systems. It's unclear from a sample of only one laptop just how much of this is specific to power draw from the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme SoC.

Heat on the Asus Zenbook A16

We measured the Zenbook A16 for skin temperatures while running our Cinebench 2026 gauntlet, illustrating how warm this machine could potentially get under a heavy workload. It gets toasty.

The keyboard reached 104 degrees Fahrenheit between the G and H keys, while the hottest point on the bottom of the system measured 109 F. That's not terrible for the bottom, but the keyboard was noticeably warm. The touchpad remained cool at 81 F.

Usually, we also mention chip temperatures. However, HWInfo, the tool we use to measure, was not yet fully updated for the new Qualcomm chips, leaving us with broad temperature zones but no indication of what was being measured, specifically.

Webcam on the Asus Zenbook A16

The 1080p webcam on the Zenbook A16 generally impresses. Given that there are higher resolution webcams out there, we have to imagine some of this is simply Qualcomm's image signal processing. It has a lot of experience doing that for phones.

And video calls and photos on the Zenbook were sharp and remarkably clear. In our officeI, I could make out details like chipped paint in our industrial-style ceiling, and there were no issues with overhead lights blowing out the image. The only ding was that the colors were a bit oversaturated.For example, my skin had far more red tones than you see in real life.

Software and Warranty on the Asus Zenbook A16

Asus has a tendency to overfill its laptops with preinstalled software. Unfortunately, that's still the case here.

If you use one Asus app, make it MyAsus, which has options for fan profiles, screen adjustments to reduce OLED issues, and provides access to customer support services.

But Asus also packs on GlideX (a screen sharing and extending service), ScreenXpert (designed to help manage apps on external monitors or dual screen laptops), Virtual Assistant (a dancing gaming mascot that talks like it's in an early 2000's Budweiser commercial), and StoryCube (a multimedia management app that uses facial recognition to group photos and videos). All of this should opt-in rather than coming pre-installed.

On top of that, you get Adobe and Dropbox promotions included in the Start menu, and a link to McAfee LiveSafe in the Edge browser. For a premium laptop and a premium chip, this really feels unacceptable. It cheapens the whole experience. If Asus wants its Zenbooks to feel premium, it should cut down on bloat – from itself and its partners – dramatically.

Asus sells the Zenbook A16 with a one-year warranty.

Asus Zenbook A16 Configurations

We tested the Asus Zenbook A16 with a Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme (X2E-94-100) SoC, including 48GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD, a touch screen with a glass cover, as well as Windows 11 Home. This system is $1,699.99 and is sold exclusively at Best Buy in the U.S. I honestly have no idea how Asus and Qualcomm are maintaining that price with 48GB of RAM during a component shortage, but it's impressive.

A second model exists , with the ever-so-slightly faster X2 Elite Extreme (X2E-96-100), a non-touch screen, and Windows 11 Pro, but is otherwise basically the same as the one we tested. Without the glass, however, this model is lighter at 2.56 pounds. It sells on Asus' website for $1,999.99.

Bottom Line

The Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite Extreme is fast, powerful, and power hungry. If the applications you need run well on Windows on Arm, this chip is impressive, especially at the Zenbook Asus Zenbook A16's $1,699 price, including the 48GB of RAM on package. But the laptop isn't the company's best work. It may be light for a 16-inch system, but it feels flimsy. It's also overly filled with software, some of which originated on gaming or dual-screen systems. The OLED screen is just fine, and despite Asus's claims of up to 21 hours on a charge (for offline video playback, though just 12 hours of web browsing), the battery life trailed competitive systems with Intel's and Apple's processors.

Flagship chips should be in flagship systems. This doesn't feel like one. That being said, it's one of the very few ways right now to use the Snapdragon X Elite Extreme. If you want the latest in Windows on Arm, you'll get a decent machine, but also one rife with compromises. And don’t expect the same level of battery life we’ve mostly seen with lesser Snapdragon laptops.

We've reviewed a couple of outdoor-oriented Wi-Fi 7 satellite over the past year, both of which were made by TP-Link. The Deco BE25-Outdoor is a dual-band satellite, while the Deco BE65-Outdoor is its tri-band sibling. We now have a third product to add to the mix: the ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor.

The ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor is a dual-band Wi-Fi 7 satellite and, as its name suggests, is designed for outdoor use to blanket your yard with wireless coverage. The satellite is compatible with Asus wireless routers that support AiMesh. It also sells for around $140, making it a relatively affordable way to expand wireless coverage outside your home.

Design of the Asus ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor

The ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor has a simple tower design and is constructed of white plastic. There’s an Asus logo at the bottom front of the unit and a single status LED above. On the back of the unit, you'll find a power port and two 2.5 GbE ports that support Power over Ethernet (PoE).

Given that the ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor is designed for outdoor use, Asus includes a plastic mounting bracket, four mounting screws, and four plastic screw anchors for mounting to drywall. The bracket also features three weather-resistant rubber plugs that can be used to close off ports you aren't using on the satellite. Also included is a single 2.5-foot power cable.

The ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor measures 7.9 × 4.2 × 4.2 inches and weighs 2.3 pounds.

Asus ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor Specifications

Setting up the Asus ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor

For my testing purposes, I used the included bracket to mount the ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor to the same tree in my backyard that I used for TP-Link Deco BE65-Outdoor testing. The tree is located 25 feet from the main router, with one exterior wall separating the two. Since I already had an Asus ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai review unit on my desk, and it supports AiMesh, it served as the main router for this review.

Given the temporary installation for this review unit, I used a 50-foot extension cord plugged into an exterior wall outlet. I then plugged the ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor’s power plug into the extension cable.

Since the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai was already configured via the Asus Router app on my smartphone, adding the ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor was a simple affair. From the app home screen, you tap the “+” button in the top-right corner. Then you tap on “Add AiMesh node.” Next, the app will attempt to locate the ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor, which it did for me in about 30 seconds.

After the ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor was found, the automatic configuration process took another 5 minutes or so to complete. Once finished, it showed that it was connecting to the main ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai router with a 5 GHz uplink.

I also performed separate tests using a 100-foot CAT6e cable, connecting the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai to the ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor. When the two network devices are connected via a cable, the uplink automatically switches from wireless (5 GHz) to Ethernet.

Asus ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor Performance

There are two locations I use for our outdoor wireless satellite testing: my back porch and my fire pit, which is 20 feet farther away. I included baseline testing to measure performance when connected solely to the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai. I then performed tests with a laptop, wirelessly connecting to the ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor using wired and wireless backhauls.

Wireless testing relied on an HP OmniBook X (Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite) laptop with a Qualcomm FastConnect 6900 Wi-Fi 6E wireless card. Our venerable iPerf3 server was connected to the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai via a 10 Gbps Ethernet connection. I will note that Asus claims that the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai offers 3,500 sq ft of wireless coverage, while the ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor covers an additional 2,500 sq ft.

Baseline performance when connecting the OmniBook X to the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai was 222 Mbps on my porch and 124 Mbps at the fire pit on the 5 GHz band, using our iPerf3 throughput test. Switching over to the 2.4 GHz band, the numbers fell to 34 Mbps and 20 Mbps, respectively.

Interestingly, 5 GHz performance on the back porch was more than cut in half with the ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor, compared to connecting natively to the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai. The only thing I can think of is that the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai was already providing a good enough signal. Plus, there’s added latency involved in maintaining the 5 GHz uplink between the router and satellite, which can impact client performance. On the positive side, performance was only slightly less (118 Mbps) at my fire pit. Also in the plus column, 2.4 GHz performance was higher across the board, with 39 Mbps on my back porch and 43 Mbps at the fire pit.

Unsurprisingly, I observed the best performance when connecting the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai and ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor via a CAT6e cable. Using this setup, 5 GHz performance on the porch jumped to 470 Mbps, while I saw 196 Mbps at the fire pit. Performance on the 2.4 GHz band also spiked to an average of 84 Mbps on the back porch.

Bottom Line

Asus’s networking portfolio is vast, and the ZenWiFi BD5 Outdoor is the latest solution to hit the Wi-Fi 7 market segment. Although your mileage may vary with setting it up as a satellite using a wireless uplink to an AiMesh router, wireless performance in my testing was subpar and, in some instances, slower than when connecting directly to the main router (an ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai).

However, customers with the wherewithal to install a wireless satellite in their yard and plan to run an Ethernet line using PoE will experience much higher throughput. The ZenWiFi BD5 has an MSRP of $179.99, but it’s currently selling for $139.99 at B&H Photo. With the caveat that you plan on using a wired backhaul, the ZenWiFi BD5 is a worthwhile investment for adding outdoor coverage to your AiMesh network.

Asus' ROG Strix Scope II 96 Wireless has been at the top of our best wireless gaming keyboards list for a while, and it's not hard to see why — it's a well-made, hot-swappable mechanical gaming keyboard with a compact but versatile 96-percent layout and fantastic battery life.

The Strix Morph 96 is a wireless hot-swappable gaming keyboard with a gasket mount design and a compact 96-percent layout. It features bright per-key RGB lighting with lightbars along the sides, a side-mounted customizable rotary knob and button, and three forms of connectivity — 2.4GHz wireless, Bluetooth, and wired (USB-C). It's available now, and it retails for $139.99.

Design and Construction of the Strix Morph 96

The Strix Morph 96 is a wireless mechanical gaming keyboard with a compact 96-percent layout, which means it has alphanumeric keys, a full set of function keys, arrow keys, a 10-key numberpad, and five navigation keys (Home, Ins, Del, PgUp, and PgDn). It's got almost as many keys as does a full-size keyboard, but everything is squished together. There's definitely a learning curve with the cramped layout (I, personally, have never been able to fully get used to the 96-percent layout, even after months and months of using one), but if you don't mind having your arrow keys practically on top of your punctuation, it can definitely save some desk space.

The Strix Morph 96 measures approximately 15.67 inches (398mm) wide by 5.28 inches (134mm) deep, and is 1.54 inches (39mm) thick at its thickest point, including the keycaps. This is slightly larger than my favorite 96-percent Asus Rog Strix Scope II 96 Wireless, which measures 14.84 x 5.16 x 1.57 inches (377 x 131 x 40mm), but is still smaller than most full-size keyboards. The board weighs just under 2.5 pounds (2.48lbs / 1,125g), which is a little heavier than the Strix Scope II 96 Wireless (2.23lbs / 1,012g) but lighter than the original Asus ROG Azoth (2.61lbs / 1,186g).

The Strix Morph 96 Wireless is a nicely-built board, with a machined aluminum top case in matte gunmetal gray over a black plastic bottom case. The top case has sharp, clean edges and covers the top, front, and back of the board — the sides, which have LED lightstrips, are plastic. Asus' Republic of Gamers branding is subtle(ish) — for Asus, anyway. "Republic of Gamers" and the ROG eye logo is printed in white on the black spacebar; "Republic of Gamers" is also integrated into the lightbar on the left side (but not the right). On the back of the board, you'll see a larger ROG eye logo incorporated into the decorative texture.

Okay, it's not that subtle. But if you want it to be even less subtle, Asus includes three ROG-branded translucent keycaps to replace the Esc key and the two Enter keys (alphanumeric and numpad). It also includes an alternate Ctrl keycap for those who can't stand the look of the Copilot key.

The Strix Morph 96 Wireless comes with doubleshot ABS keycaps with white printed legends. The keycaps are low profile (Cherry profile, or close), with a lightly textured matte finish and sculpted rows. There are secondary legends printed on the sides of the keycaps for onboard media and lighting control, as well as for macOS users. The keyboard is macOS-friendly and you can easily switch between PC and Mac mode with a keyboard shortcut (Fn + Tab).

The keyboard also has a notched, clickable plastic rotary knob on the left side, near the top. It's paired with a small square button located right above it, which cycles through the various functions when clicked. The knob is semi-customizable — it comes with three preset functions that you can cycle through out of the box: Volume (click to mute), media track (click to play/pause), and keyboard brightness adjustment (click to set to 100% / 0%). These functions can be turned off in Asus' new web-based Gear Link app, but they can't be modified.

There's also a fourth customizable function, which is set to act as a scroll wheel by default (click for left mouse button functionality). You can change this to perform keyboard, mouse, and multimedia functions, or to quickly access an app or Windows shortcut (though your options are still pretty limited — it can open Copilot or perform about six basic shortcuts, such as copy/paste). This is a little disappointing, as the knob is somewhat unique — there aren't many left-side knobs. I'm not a big rotary knob person in the first place, but I did find myself using this one to scroll, occasionally. I'd like to see more customizability, however, as the preset functions are ones I won't use — I map my volume and media controls to my mouse buttons, and I don't really fiddle with lighting outside of initial setup.

On the back of the keyboard, you'll find two sets of plastic flip-out feet for adjusting the board's tilt. Along the top, there's a USB-C port for charging/wired connectivity, power switch that lets you toggle between 2.4GHz wireless and Bluetooth, and dongle storage for the board's 2.4GHz wireless USB-A dongle.

In the box, the Strix Morph 96 comes with a handful of accessories, including a 6.5-foot (2m) rubber USB-C to USB-A cable, a USB extender, a 2-in-1 keycap and switch puller, extra translucent accent keycaps, and a torx wrench for opening the case. The keyboard is designed so you can easily open it and tinker around inside — the top case is held on with five screws and the board can be disassembled without flipping it over.

Specs

Typing and Gaming Experience on the Strix Morph 96 Wireless

The Strix Morph 96 Wireless comes with your choice of Asus' NX V2 mechanical switches in Snow V2 (linear) or Storm V2 (clicky). Our review unit came with the Snow V2 (linear) switches, which the brand describes as "refined linear" — factory-lubed linear switches with a 40gf initial force (53gf total force) and an actuation point of 1.8mm. This isn't the first time I've used these switches, and they're pretty nice for linear switches: Smooth, stable, speedy, and lightweight — perfect for gaming, and surprisingly pleasant for typing.

Like most of Asus' gaming keyboards today, the Strix Morph 96 Wireless also comes with a hot-swappable PCB that accepts both 3- and 5-pin mechanical switches, so you can swap in your own switches if you don't find Asus' options appealing.

Typing on the Strix Morph 96 is a very pleasant experience — more pleasant than I was expecting, and I already had somewhat high expectations given Asus' track record with gaming keyboards. The linear switches are smooth and lightweight, which, combined with the low-profile, textured keycaps, makes it easy to type quickly for long periods without feeling any fatigue. The keyboard does feature a gasket mount design and a translucent PC positioning plate — it's comfortable to type on, and it gives off a crisp, clacky sound. There are two layers of dampening material in the case, but case ping was pretty minimal. It wasn't the most perfect-sounding keyboard I've used, but for a relatively budget-friendly mainstream gaming keyboard, it's impressive.

The NX Snow V2 linear switches are excellent for gaming, as they're smooth and swift with quick actuation so your fingers can fly across the board without any second guesses (or re-presses). The extra keys in a 96-percent keyboard are also handy for games that need extra keybinds (and it's not nearly as difficult to get used to the 96-percent layout when you're gaming, as opposed to touch-typing). This is still a mechanical keyboard, not a magnetic one — while Asus does have some gaming-oriented functionality you can turn on in its Gear Link app, including "Speed Tap," the brand's implementation of SOCD, you won't find Hall Effect-specific features such as RapidTrigger.

Features and Software of the Strix Morph 96 Wireless

The Strix Morph 96 is fully customizable via Asus' new online app, Gear Link. You can use Gear Link to customize the keyboard without plugging the keyboard in (provided the 2.4GHz dongle is plugged in), which is convenient (and unique — most web-based apps require a wired connection to work). You can use Gear Link to remap keys (though you only get one, limited secondary Fn layer), turn on and adjust Speed Tap, customize the rotary knob and lighting, and adjust the power settings.

It's not entirely web-based, however. Asus simply cannot stop itself from installing software on your PC — if you'd like to do things like record and setup macros or customize the rotary knob to open up a website or input a preset string of text when you turn/click it, you'll need to download and install the appropriate Gear Link Companion "extension" app. Gear Link Companion apps are smaller extension apps that let you access more of your device's functionality, but they need to be installed on your PC (and you do need to restart your PC upon installation). So close, Asus... so close.

The Strix Morph 96 Wireless offers three forms of connectivity: 2.4GHz wireless, Bluetooth, and wired (via USB-C). Asus rates the board's battery life at 590 hours over a 2.4GHz wireless connection with the lighting turned off; that number drops to around 100 hours with the lighting turned on. In Bluetooth mode, the battery is rated for about 750 hours with the lighting turned off (110 hours with the lighting turned on). This isn't quite as impressive as the Asus Strix Scope II 96 Wireless, which gets 1,500 hours of battery life over a 2.4GHz wireless connection with the lighting turned off (90 hours with the lighting turned on, though, so it seems like the Strix Morph 96 Wireless' lighting might be a tad more efficient).

The Bottom Line

The ROG Strix Morph 96 Wireless is everything I've come to expect from Asus' keyboards — it has a nice, clean build, it's comfortable to type on and excellent for gaming, and it gets excellent battery life. I'm a big fan of the move to this new Gear Link app (even if I felt slightly tricked when I still had to download an extra companion app), as it works well and doesn't add 75 unnecessary background processes like Armoury Crate does. At $140, the ROG Strix Morph 96 is also much more budget-friendly than the ROG Azoth line (the Azoth X debuted with a retail price more than twice this — $300 — last year).

But I'll also point out that at this exact moment, the pricier Asus ROG Strix Scope II 96 Wireless is currently selling for $129.99 at Best Buy. That's $50 off of its debut retail price ($179.99), $80 off its "current retail price" of $209.99, and still $10 less than the ROG Strix Morph 96 Wireless. The ROG Strix Scope II 96 Wireless also has a 96-percent layout, a hot-swappable PCB, a similarly-limited multi-function roller, and it feels and sounds great. It also comes with a wrist rest, double-shot PBT keycaps, and significantly better battery life (even though the ROG Strix Morph 96 Wireless' battery life is pretty impressive).

Keyboards aren't like other components — you don't need to upgrade every couple of years, and the tech is largely the same (just implemented differently), so the ROG Strix Scope II 96 Wireless is still a great buy. The ROG Strix Morph 96 Wireless will probably end up being a good option in the future, once the ROG Strix Scope II 96 Wireless clears shelves, but for now... I'd wait.

A 34-inch 21:9 ultra-wide WQHD monitor is the go-to format for immersive gaming without the large desktop footprint demanded by a television or jumbo monitor. While many of the best gaming monitors in this category are OLED, they give up a few things to traditional 16:9 flat panels, mainly in the category of refresh rate. 360 Hz and 500 Hz OLEDs have been available for a while, but the WQHD genre has remained at 240 Hz, until now.

Asus recently debuted its latest ROG Swift display, the PG34WCDN. It runs at 360 Hz but that’s not all. It also boasts a large color gamut courtesy of a Quantum Dot Layer and RGB Stripe OLED tech. That second moniker means sharper, brighter, and smoother imagery. You also get Adaptive-Sync, VESA DisplayHDR True Black 500, HDR10, and the usual suite of ROG goodies in the box, along with slick styling and LED lighting. Let’s take a look.

Asus ROG Swift PG34WCDN Specs

RGB Stripe literally refers to the shape of the RGB sub-pixels in the PG34WCDN’s QD-OLED panel. They are tiny, narrow stripes rather than lozenge-shaped dots. This makes fine detail and fonts visibly sharper because there’s no light bleed or color fringing across the pixel gaps. Asus pairs this with a Quantum Dot layer for wide gamut color and Black Shield tech, which increases the screen’s scratch resistance and blocks more ambient light for a boost in perceived contrast. All these bits add up to a display with visibly improved realism and depth.

There is plenty of color here, but not quite as much as a few other QD OLEDs I’ve tested. The PG34WCDN came just shy of 107% coverage of DCI-P3, where displays from AOC, Corsair, and Gigabyte topped 110%. The difference is small, and anyone looking at it will deem it very colorful. It’s also super accurate out of the box, with no need for calibration, and a datasheet stored in firmware that can be summoned from the OSD.

Ultra-wide panels are not always the brightest in the room, but the PG34WCDN delivers an honest 500 nits in SDR mode with Uniform Brightness turned off, measured at a 25% window. That’s more than the competition in SDR mode, and for HDR content, it’s only bested by Acer’s X34 OLED. Asus claims 1,300 nits for a 1.5% window, and my observations leave no doubts there.

Resolution is 3440x1440, WQHD, which means a pixel density of 109ppi, the same as a 27-inch QHD 16:9 screen. You get an ideal curve too, with a 1800mm radius, enough for a nice wraparound effect but not enough for image distortion. You can use the PG34WCDN for work or play in equal measure.

The 360 Hz refresh rate is accompanied by Adaptive-Sync, which works on Nvidia and AMD platforms. Asus includes OLED Anti-Flicker to prevent flashing during frame rate transitions. You can also use ELMB (black-frame insertion) to keep the action smooth at low frame rates. It works at 180 Hz and below.

Asus includes its full suite of GamePlus enhancements, including aiming points, sniper modes, a timer, a stopwatch, and FPS counters. There are nine picture modes in the GameVisual menu, and there’s an available app, DisplayWidget Center, that can control the whole thing from the Windows desktop.

There is no compromise on the outside either, as you get the full treatment of USB ports and LED lighting. The ROG Lite Brite logo appears on the back, along with the logo projector on the bottom of the stand and the backlit trim in the base. Inputs include DisplayPort 2.1, HDMI 2.1, and USB-C. The only thing missing is internal speakers, but make no mistake, this is a premium all-in gaming monitor. The price is premium too, around $1,500 at this writing.

Assembly and Accessories

Asus seems to be in transition with its packaging, sending some models in crumbly foam, but the PG34WCDN arrived in the recyclable stuff made from molded cardboard pulp. The three parts are well protected and assemble without tools. The logo projector comes with a selection of lenses and attaches to the bottom of the stand using magnets. It’s easy to swap out the logo when you wish. The ROG pouch came filled with an IEC power cord plus cables for HDMI, DisplayPort, and USB. You also get a nice sheet of ROG stickers with which to adorn your gear.

Product 360

The PG34WCDN’s screen is surrounded by a flush bezel, less than a half-inch wide, on the top and sides. A metal trim strip crosses the bottom edge. That metal construction extends to the back and edges of the screen, which are completely protected. It helps with cooling as well. The screen is shiny, but ambient light doesn’t affect the image much unless you have a bright source directly in front of it. The Black Shield tech works very well, and perceived black levels are clearly better than other screens.

The image is razor-sharp, even a bit more so than on other 34-inch WQHD screens. The RGB Stripe pixel array is a definite upgrade. The technology comes from Samsung, so I expect other companies to follow suit with their new OLED displays. In addition to the gorgeous image, the front of the PG34WCDN features lighting accents on the small protrusion at the bottom of the screen and the stand’s base. That protrusion is where you’ll find the joystick and its two flanking control keys, one for power and one to cancel the OSD. It also houses a proximity sensor that can blank the screen when you leave your desk.

In the back, there is more lighting, with the Lite Brite ROG logo featured on one side and a bit of the stand that says “Swift”. That lets your competitors know that you’ve spent a bit more money than if it said “Strix”. The stand is a very solid piece with a cast-aluminum base and a wide footprint. The upright has a large cable hole and offers 4.3 inches of height adjustment. The panel pivot is free of play and has a 3/20-degree tilt and a 30-degree swivel to either side. If you’d rather use an arm, the box contains a metal adapter with a 100mm VESA bolt pattern. The top of the stand has a tripod mount for things like webcams or microphones.

The I/O panel is up and under the center of the panel’s component bulge and includes two HDMI 2.1, a DisplayPort 2.1, and USB-C video inputs. The latter has 90 watts of power. The DP port is a full-bandwidth UHBR20 with 80 Gbps that supports uncompressed signals up to the PG34WCDN’s full WQHD 360 Hz. USB 3.2 is supported by one upstream and three downstream ports. And there’s a 3.5mm headphone jack.

OSD Features

Pressing the joystick opens the PG34WCDN’s OSD which can be placed anywhere on the screen. I moved it to the lower-right corner, away from the the test patterns. It’s divided into nine sections.

The PG34WCDN’s OSD layout is no different from other ROG displays and is very intuitive. Gaming starts the fun with a VRR toggle, ELMB, GamePlus play enhancements, GameVisual picture modes, and Shadow Boost. ELMB works at 180 Hz or below and cancels out Adaptive-Sync. GamePlus has a set of aiming points, sniper modes, timer, stopwatch and alignment marks. You can turn on a frame counter that’s either a number or a bar graph.

GameVisual has nine total modes, with Racing being the default and best choice. It’s fully adjustable, but calibration is not required. You can tweak the RGB sliders for a small improvement that takes the PG34WCDN to reference level. It can be used as a pro monitor for video mastering and photo editing. Shadow Boost is a way to brighten dark areas of the scene for better visibility. It has three fixed levels and a dynamic mode.

The Image menu includes the Uniform Brightness option, which enhances contrast for visual bits like games and video when turned off. Turning it on keeps brightness constant for less fatigue in workday tasks. OLED Anti-Flicker prevents brightness variations during frame rate transitions. It’s handy for running at lowered frame rates. In HDR mode, you get four specific modes and a toggle to open up the brightness, contrast and Uniform Brightness options. The PG34WCDN is one of the rare monitors to allow any kind of adjustment in HDR mode.

In the color menu are three gamut options for sRGB, DCI-P3, and wide gamut, which is the full native color space. If you want to use sRGB and retain image adjustments, pick sRGB from this menu rather than using the sRGB Cal mode in GameVisual. Here also are color temps, RGB sliders and gamma presets, plus a six-axis color control.

Asus includes a wide range of OLED care options, including logo and border protection, pixel refresh, pixel orbiter, and a proximity sensor. When turned on, it blanks the screen if you leave your desk. You can also track panel hours in this menu.

The PG34WCDN has full PIP and PBP functions to view two video sources at once. There are three PBP sizes and four positions for the PIP window, which can be resized. Each source can have its own color settings and audio source.

You can light up the PG34WCDN using Aura RGB, which plays effects and colors on the giant ROG logo on the back. Light in Motion coordinates the show with on-screen activity provided you’ve installed the DisplayWidget Center app and a USB cable.

The four joystick directions plus one control key are programmable by the user for quick access to functions like brightness, GameVisual and the like. It’s a great way to change inputs or activate GamePlus with a single click. You can also save settings to one of two memories for later recall.

Asus ROG Swift PG34WCDN Calibration Settings

The PG34WCDN doesn’t need calibration in its default racing mode. I found it was spot on for grayscale, gamma, and color with just a bit more than 106% coverage of DCI-P3. A few tweaks of the RGB sliders took the numbers to reference level, but the picture looks pretty much the same. I’ve provided my settings below for both states of the Uniform Brightness option. The brightness value is retained between the two modes, which is a nice touch that few other companies offer. HDR signals have their own four picture presets, and there’s a toggle for Adjustable HDR that opens up the brightness, contrast, and Uniform Brightness settings. I noted that making any changes skewed the EOTF tracking, but some users may want to tone down their HDR games for dark room play.

Gaming and Hands-on

The 27-inch 16:9 genre has long been the gamer’s go-to for the highest refresh rates and lowest input lag. And I have longed for the day when a 34-inch 21:9 monitor would be equal to that. That day is here thanks to the PG34WCDN. This is the first ultra-wide that can replace a 27-inch gaming monitor with something more immersive and engaging.

For my casual gaming skills, any OLED with 240 Hz will do. But to get serious about competition, you need perfect motion resolution and the lowest possible input lag. You’ll see in the next section that the PG34WCDN joins the ranks of the fastest monitors I’ve tested. That it is also in a 21:9 format is icing on the cake.

Motion quality and feel took on an addictive quality. It is a time machine in that you forget how much time has passed when playing. The PG34WCDN moves with precision in all areas, aiming, shifting, turning, and the bread-and-butter move, circle strafe. I could stop exactly where I wished, and high-motion resolution let me discern distant targets as easily as close ones.

I have to credit the RGB Stripe panel with that extra sharpness. OLEDs are already smooth thanks to their super quick panel response. The PG34WCDN is just a bit sharper. Textures are finer and more tactile, and small objects are rendered with higher clarity. I won’t say this is a revolutionary OLED, but it is an evolutionary one.

Though I noted slightly less color volume during testing, the PG34WCDN still lays down a vividly saturated palette with bright primary colors and pro-level accuracy. I played and worked both before and after calibrating and found that adjustment was unnecessary. It’s ready to go out of the box in the Racing picture mode. Just set the brightness to taste.

I appreciated the ability to turn Uniform Brightness off, which effectively enhances highlights. Peaks in HDR mode approached 1,300 nits, creating a significant impact. I could use this option for SDR content, too, which would greatly enhance content like movies or YouTube videos.

If you’re already using an ultra-wide monitor, the PG34WCDN is a terrific upgrade. Its 1800R curve sits in the sweet spot, delivering immersive quality without image distortion. You can easily see large parts of a spreadsheet or put two documents side by side for comparative editing. Photoshop tasks are made easier when you can arrange toolbars around the sides and have the image in the middle.

If you enjoy some bling with your gaming system, the PG34WCDN delivers excellent lighting with its logos and trim LEDs. The projector on the stand base is something unique to Asus ROG displays. When the DisplayWidget Center app is installed, you can create effects that sync with on-screen action. The only thing I wished for was internal speakers. Even timid ones are useful for system sounds or simple games. But I’m glad Asus still provides USB ports.

Takeaway: The PG34WCDN is a premium OLED with a gorgeous image. However, I say that about most OLEDs, this one is just a tad sharper than the rest. It also blows every other 21:9 monitor I’ve reviewed away with its record-low input lag and perfect motion resolution. Until others follow suit with 360 Hz, this Swift will sit atop the hill.

MORE: Best Gaming Monitors

MORE: How We Test PC Monitors

MORE: How to Buy a PC Monitor

The PG34WCDN is the first 360 Hz WQHD OLED I’ve reviewed, so I don’t have a truly fair comparison group available. I chose the most recent 34-inch ultra-wides in my database, which run from 175 to 240 Hz. They are Acer’s X34 OLED, Alienware’s AW3425DW, Corsair’s 34WQHD240-C, AOC’s AG346UCD, and Gigabyte’s MO34WQC2.

Pixel Response and Input Lag

Click here to read up on our pixel response and input lag testing procedures.

I just started using Nvidia’s LDAT to test panel response and input lag, so previous response test results don’t apply. After testing one LCD and three OLEDs, it is clear that the OLEDs are far quicker to draw a one-inch white square, and the refresh rate doesn’t necessarily go hand in hand with the response time. The PG34WCDN drew the square in 0.24ms, same as the 240 Hz PG32UCDM3. But the 280 Hz Gigabyte managed the feat in 0.16ms. As I gather more data, trends will become more apparent.

In the lag test, the PG34WCDN nearly broke my database record set by LG and Philips. It hit an average of 10.3ms for 25 mouse clicks, which is incredibly fast. Competition gamers will want to add this monitor to their toolkit, as it has a clear advantage in input lag over the other screens. The 360 Hz refresh rate is the primary contributor to this result. I look forward to testing future 360 Hz screens to see what trends develop.

Test Takeaway: The PG34WCDN is one of the fastest monitors I’ve ever tested. Its input lag is well below human reaction potential, and it keeps the action smooth with very fast panel response. It is fully qualified for pro-level competition and delivers an addictive quality to gaming of all kinds. At this time, it doesn’t really get better than this.

Viewing Angles

The PG34WCDN is a Quantum Dot OLED, but I can’t see the telltale tint in this example. There is something to the RGB Stripe tech here that has eliminated any polarization. I’m being very picky here, as you won’t see any change at 45 degrees horizontal from any OLED showing real-world content. But it’s worth noting that QD and Stripe together are clearly a winning combination. The top view is a tad green in tone with lighter gamma but equal brightness to the head-on photo.

Screen Uniformity

To learn how we measure screen uniformity, click here.

OLEDs, including the PG34WCDN, continue to ace my uniformity test. Asus is last with a 6.64% average deviation, but that is still among the best I’ve seen from any monitor. It’s safe to say that with years of testing behind me, it is extremely unlikely that you’ll find an OLED monitor with visible issues.

MORE: Best Gaming Monitors

MORE: How We Test PC Monitors

MORE: How to Buy a PC Monitor

To read about our monitor tests in-depth, please check out Display Testing Explained: How We Test PC Monitors. We cover brightness and contrast testing on page two.

Uncalibrated – Maximum Backlight Level

The PG34WCDN and its RGB Stripe tech deliver just a bit more brightness than the competition in SDR mode. This number, and that of the top four screens, comes from a 25% window pattern with Uniform Brightness turned off. The Alienware and AOC screens don’t have variable brightness, so they measure the same whether it’s a full field or a window. Black levels and contrast cannot be measured.

After Calibration to 200 nits

Calibration doesn’t affect black levels or contrast; they cannot be measured in either static or intra-image scenarios. To set the peak level at 200 nits, I used a 25% window with Uniform Brightness off and a full field with it turned on. This equalized the brightness between the two settings. The PG34WCDN retains both settings, so you don’t have to revisit the slider each time you switch. Asus is unique in this regard and it’s a nice usability touch. Uniform Brightness is helpful for productivity, while variable increases visual impact for gaming and video.

Test Takeaway: The PG34WCDN has black levels and contrast that are typical of OLED displays. But it has a bit more brightness and it has a Uniform Brightness option, which sets it apart from others like Alienware and AOC.

MORE: Best Gaming Monitors

MORE: How We Test PC Monitors

MORE: How to Buy a PC Monitor

The PG34WCDN is extremely accurate with or without calibration. Just leave it in Racing mode and set brightness to taste. A data sheet is saved in each sample’s firmware for recall from the OSD.

Grayscale and Gamma Tracking

Our grayscale and gamma tests use Calman calibration software from Portrait Displays. We describe our grayscale and gamma tests in detail here.

My default measurement run shows no visible errors with all grayscale values under 3dE. Gamma shows a slight dip (too light) at 90% brightness, but this will be hard to spot in real-world content. Since RGB sliders are available, though, I availed myself of them and got all but 90% under 1dE. Gamma is a bit tighter as well. This is pro-level performance.

I measured the sRGB mode by simply choosing that option in the Color Space menu rather than using the sRGB Cal mode. That way, calibration is still available. The third chart above shows the default measurement, which has no visible errors and the same slight gamma dip at 90%.

Comparisons

0.62dE is a superb result for the PG34WCDN, but clearly, the OLED category is a competitive one. I haven’t found a bad one yet. A few need tweaking, like the AOC and Acer screens, but they all become professional-grade after adjustment.

In the gamma test, the PG34WCDN stuck closest to the 2.2 reference with a 0.91% (2.18 actual) deviation. That’s solely due to the dip I found at 90% brightness. All other steps are perfectly on spec. The range of values is still small at 0.17 from bottom to top. This is excellent performance.

Color Gamut Accuracy

Our color gamut and volume testing use Portrait Displays’ Calman software. For details on our color gamut testing and volume calculations, click here.

The PG34WCDN covers more than 100% of DCI-P3 and that is reflected in its gamut test result. You can see some bonus red and green, which is slightly oversaturated against the reference. This pumps up color in a good way because the points are linear, so there’s no obscured detail, and fine textures are rendered precisely. All points are on or near their targets. Calibration tightens the hues a bit, but visually there’s no difference.

sRGB is as accurate as the best professional screens I’ve tested. Every point is spot-on with a tiny average error of 1.08dE. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Comparisons

Again, the PG34WCDN is up against excellent competition. It managed a second-place finish with 1.19dE, which is among the very best I’ve recorded. All the screens here would look the same in a direct comparison. In the volume test, the PG34WCDN lags just a little behind the top four panels. This surprised me a little given its new tech, but the difference is only slightly visible. It has a tiny bit less red than the others, which you’ll notice in content with a lot of warm tones. Green and blue are on par. sRGB covers a nearly ideal 95.48%.

Test Takeaway: Aside from having slightly less color volume than other Quantum Dot monitors, the PG34WCDN acquits itself well with superb accuracy and easy calibration to reference standards. Since most users are buying it for speed, a small sacrifice in saturation is worth the increase in gaming performance.

MORE: Best Gaming Monitors

MORE: How We Test PC Monitors

MORE: How to Buy a PC Monitor

Our HDR benchmarking uses Portrait Displays’ Calman software. To learn about our HDR testing, see our breakdown of how we test PC monitors.

The PG34WCDN switches automatically to HDR mode when an HDR10 signal is detected. It offers four specific picture modes and an option for adjustable brightness.

HDR Brightness and Contrast

One of the goals of RGB Stripe tech is higher brightness and the PG34WCDN delivers that. Only bested by the X34 OLED; it firmly beats the other monitors with over 504 nits peak and that’s a difference you can see. The AOC sticks with uniform brightness in HDR mode, so it has a bit less impact than the others. But Alienware turns the variable fun on for more punch. The PG34WCDN is one of the brighter HDR OLEDs I’ve reviewed. As usual, black levels and contrast cannot be measured.

Grayscale, EOTF and Color

The PG34WCDN doesn’t offer RGB controls for HDR content, but that’s obviously not a problem because I measured visually perfect grayscale with only 70% getting close to 3dE. The EOTF tracked closely to the reference, showing only a slight darkness below the 40% step. This was in the Gaming HDR mode with Adjustable HDR turned off. Turning it on lets you have Uniform Brightness plus the brightness and contrast sliders. You can dial back the intensity a bit if you want, but that will skew the EOFT chart. It’s a user preference. In normal room lighting, the default settings look best.

In the HDR color tests, the PG34WCDN oversaturates similarly to SDR, with just a little extra punch but a linear progression of points. This is like other HDR monitors, but Asus is a little closer to the mark than most. In the BT.2020 test, it runs out of color at 90% red, 75% green and 95% blue.

Test Takeaway: The PG34WCDN offers accurate color and plenty of brightness for HDR content. Its white level peak is higher than most, which gives it more impact. Color is spot on, so you’ll always see the creator’s intent when playing games or watching video content. And the addition of an adjustable option is nice. Very few HDR displays have that. The PG34WCDN is one of the better HDR OLEDs I’ve reviewed.

MORE: Best Gaming Monitors

MORE: How We Test PC Monitors

MORE: How to Buy a PC Monitor

The 34-inch 21:9 genre has long been gamers’ favorite for immersive play and a VR-like experience. But 27-inch 16:9 screens have dominated in the speed category. Bringing these two elements together was inevitable, and Asus has done it here with its ROG Swift PG34WCDN. Like all ROG displays, it makes existing premium technologies even better with evolutionary upgrades.

The two main points in the PG34WCDN’s favor are its RGB Stripe panel and 360 Hz refresh rate. OLEDs were sharp already, but this one is a bit sharper. It’s especially useful for productivity when small fonts and symbols are rendered more clearly. The high refresh rate is a welcome upgrade to the 21:9 category, which previously seemed stuck at 240 Hz. I expect to see similarly speedy screens from other companies soon. The PG34WCDN sits among the quickest monitors I’ve ever tested, thanks to its record-low input lag and super-fast panel response.

All this goodness doesn’t come at a budget price, but that’s not what ROG Swift products are about. The PG34WCDN delivers the latest technologies before anyone else in a fully engineered, sorted display. If you want the very best OLED monitor currently available in a 34-inch 21:9 WQHD format, definitely check it out.

MORE: Best Gaming Monitors

MORE: How We Test PC Monitors

MORE: How to Buy a PC Monitor

Remember when buying an OLED monitor meant taking out a second mortgage and living in constant, low-level anxiety about UI burn-in? Yeah, those days are (more or less) officially behind us. Users are finally upgrading to the instant response times and glorious, ink-black contrast of OLED in massive numbers, according to a fresh press release from market analysis firm TrendForce that reveals global OLED monitor shipments hit 2.735 million units in 2025. That is a massive 92% increase year-over-year.

The driving force behind this surge in organic LED display adoption? Well, according to TrendForce, it's mostly that brands are actually throwing their weight behind aggressive promotions combined with the explosive popularity of the current display sweet spot: 27-inch, 1440p (QHD) monitors with blistering 240Hz refresh rates. Throw in multiple highly publicized tests proving the durability of modern OLEDs as well as recent models sporting blistering 500Hz refresh rates and improved brightness versus older panels, and you've got a recipe for a market boom.

As for who is actually moving all these panels, ASUS has officially stolen the crown. TrendForce says that Team ROG secured a 21.6% market share for the year, successfully knocking Samsung (19.3%) down to second place. ASUS apparently managed this by blanketing the high-end gaming and creator spaces with genuinely competitive screens. Samsung didn't slouch, though; the Korean megacorp kept the pressure on with heavy year-end discounts on its own 27-inch panels and its ultra-high-end 49" ultrawide displays, like the Odyssey OLED G9.

MSI is sitting comfortably in third with 13.1%, which isn't a surprise; MSI has been incredibly aggressive with both design iteration and marketing over the last year, flooding the zone with rapid product iterations across multiple price tiers to tempt gamers on a budget while shouting from the rooftops about its latest models with smart advertising choices to reach PC gamers. LG (12.6%) and Dell (primarily through its Alienware brand, 9.9%) rounded out the top five, with LG leveraging its near-monopoly on massive 39-inch and 45-inch ultrawide form factors.

Here is the full breakdown of who owned the OLED space in 2025, according to the report:

1. ASUS: 21.6%
2. Samsung: 19.3%
3. MSI: 13.1%
4. LG Electronics: 12.6%
5. Dell/Alienware: 9.9%
6. Others: 23.5%

Looking ahead to 2026, TrendForce is projecting another 51% jump in total shipments. While the rest of the PC component market continues to be a rollercoaster of pricing anxiety, the monitor market is actively healing. If you've been holding out for the right excuse to ditch your aging LCD panel, the hardware gods are practically begging you to make the leap, and it might just be the biggest upgrade you make this decade.

IDC on Thursday sharply slashed its expectations for the PC and tablet markets, citing memory shortages, rising prices for 3D NAND, DRAM, and other components, and intensifying supply chain disruptions amid the AI sector boom. While unit shipments are expected to decline significantly year-over-year, higher average selling prices (ASPs) are projected to push total market value slightly upward.

The firm now expects global PC shipments to drop 11.3% in 2026 compared to 2025, a steep revision from the -2.4% decline projected in November 2025 and -8.9% in January 2026. In absolute numbers, this means PC sales will decline by 32.17 million units, from 284.7 million in 2025 to 252.53 million in 2026. To put the 32.17 million PC number into context: Apple shipped 25.6 million computers last year compared to 41.1 million systems for Dell.

Tablet volumes are also set to contract, and IDC forecasts shipments to fall 7.6% this year. Last year, vendors shipped 151.9 million tablets (up 5% compared to the previous year), with Apple leading the pack by a significant margin. If the new IDC forecast holds, then this year the market will decline by 11.54 million to 140.36 million systems. To put the number in context, Apple sold 17.1 million iPads in Q4 2025, while Samsung sold just 6.4 million units.

Even though unit shipments of PCs and tablets will decline, IDC expects market revenue to increase due to rising device prices. The firm estimates that the PC market will expand by 1.6% in value to $274 billion in 2026, while the tablet segment will grow by 3.9% to $66.8 billion.

"The era of bargain-priced PCs and tablets is behind us for now, as rising ASPs and component costs shift the market’s balance of power," said Jitesh Ubrani, research manager for IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers. "Memory shortages will persist well into 2027. While we anticipate some easing of prices beginning in 2028, the market is unlikely to return to the pricing levels seen in 2025. Instead, we expect a new normal defined by structurally higher ASPs and a corresponding softening in long-term demand."

IDC noted that, at the time it compiled its forecast, the conflict in the Middle East had not yet escalated to its current level, adding another source of risk for global technology supply chains and economic development. Therefore, the analysts may revise their forecast downwards.

"The overall tech industry, as well as many others, continues to face uncontrollable headwinds that, when compounded, result in massive disruption," said Ryan Reith, group vice president, Devices and Consumer. "The lists of industry and geopolitical events that continue to grow is making decision‑making — and even survival in some sectors — nearly impossible. What has turned all of this from a million‑dollar question into a trillion‑dollar question is the complete uncertainty around when these pressures will subside."

Asus co-CEO S.Y. Hsu said that the MacBook Neo was “certainly a shock to the entire market,” especially given that Apple devices usually came with premium pricing. Hsu said this during the company’s 4Q25 earnings call, when asked how the company views its impact on the 2026 PC market. The Asus executive said that it has heard about the product’s shipment as early as the latter half of 2025, and that it has already made some preparations for its arrival. However, it seems that the company — and the rest of the PC industry — did not expect the entry-level Apple laptop to launch at just $599.

Despite the initial surprise at the affordable pricing of the MacBook Neo, Mr. Hsu said that the cheap laptop has its limitations. “For example, the memory is not upgradeable, and it only has 8GB of memory,” the Asus co-CEO said. “This may limit certain applications. So, I think when Apple petitioned the product, it’s probably focused more on content consumption. This differs somewhat from mainstream notebook usage scenarios, because in that case, the Neo feels more like a tablet — because tablets are mostly for content consumption.”

Another thing mentioned is that many laptop buyers are already used to using Windows as an operating system, meaning they might balk at switching over to macOS. Hsu even questioned whether the low price of the Neo is enough of an incentive to cause buyers to switch over. Still, PC manufacturers cannot ignore the fact that Apple has released a new product that is an arguably better alternative to some cheap Windows laptops and Chromebooks. The Asus executive said that many vendors are already looking for ways to compete with the Neo, although he also said that “the actual impact on the overall PC market still needs some time to resolve.”

While it’s unclear what Asus or the rest of the PC vendors will release in response to the MacBook Neo, this would hopefully result in higher-quality models with a comparable price point. At the moment, most cheap Windows laptops feel exactly like that — they come with plastic shells, dim screens, and poor build quality that reflect the corners companies cut to reach a lower cost. Apple’s latest cheap laptop should light the fire under PC manufacturers, forcing them to build a model that could offer comparable aesthetics, craftsmanship, and performance at a similar price. Unfortunately, the situation is complicated by the ongoing memory and storage chip crisis, leading to high prices that could cause the end of the entry-level PC.

Asus’ special one-off ROG Astral RTX 5090 Real Gold Edition has been a great investment, and is currently worth an estimated $834,000 based on its GPU components and scrap gold value. VideoCardz noticed this outrageous inflation in both the price of gold and premium graphics cards, highlighting the unusual phenomenon of a ‘used’ PC part skyrocketing in value.

Let’s look at how we got to the $834,000 valuation for the Real Gold Edition which was auctioned off in August, after being pride-of-show at BiliBili World 2025 in China.

Starting with the relative small potatoes of the RTX 5090 GPU (review link) price. Nvidia and partners launched these halo graphics accelerator products at $1,999 and now, if they can be found in stock in the U.S., they are often listed at double that. There’s two models in stock at Best Buy, for example, and these MSI RTX 5090 and Gigabyte RTX 5090 samples are both being flogged at $3,999.

Moving on to the serious business of gold valuations, the chart embedded above shows that the price of Gold (Au) went up from about $108 per gram in August 2025 to $166 per gram today.

It was claimed that Asus’ 7.2kg Real Gold Edition graphics card included 5kg of actual gold. That means the scrap gold value of the card has risen from $540,000 to $830,000. In other words, the gold scrap value increased by $290,000, or approximately 54%.

The uplifts to both GPU and gold valuations indicate that the Asus ROG Astral RTX 5090 Real Gold Edition would raise a sum of around $834,000 today.

What about the ‘normal’ ROG Astral RTX 5090 Dhahab Edition?

The Asus ROG Astral RTX 5090 Real Gold Edition was an opulence taken to extremes re-spin of the Asus ROG Astral RTX 5090 Dhabab Edition. This Middle East-marketed card looks pretty similar to the one-off, but its gold quota is style over substance, purportedly weighing in at around just 6.5g.

If you could successfully scrape the 6.5g of gold off a Dhabab Edition, you could sell it for ~$1,080 today. However, it must be noted that these cards were known to sell for around $10,000 in the UAE. So, if you had one and removed the $1,080 of gold, you would definitely be devaluing it.

Asus and Noctua have been collaborating on ultra-quiet graphics cards for some time now by pairing Noctua’s most advanced 120mm fans with massive custom heatsinks. That collaboration has continued in the Blackwell generation with the Asus RTX 5080 Noctua Edition, an absolutely ginormous air-cooled graphics card that promises no-compromises performance and temperatures alongside the lowest possible noise levels. That’s an exceedingly high bar to clear in one product.

Making air-cooled computer hardware quieter is simple enough, in theory. Improve thermal transfer by adding a vapor chamber or heat pipes to the base plate of a heatsink, increase its surface area by adding more and larger fins to the fin stack, and take advantage of the improved heat dissipation by slowing down the fans cooling said heatsink. Eventually, you get imperceptible noise levels. Easy enough, right?

In practice, this recipe runs into all sorts of obstacles. Cases can only accept so large a heatsink without running into clearance issues. Sockets, slots, and PCBs can only take so much weight before they start to deform. The heatsink itself can only be so costly as part of the overall bill of materials. If you’re an engineer designing a typical graphics card for the typical PC, you have to balance all these concerns, and louder, faster-spinning fans on a smaller heatsink are typically one result of those tradeoffs.

The Asus GeForce RTX 5080 Noctua Edition embraces an entirely different set of constraints. This graphics card is all about low noise levels, and the two companies have spared no effort or expense in making the quietest possible GPU air cooler out there, size and weight be damned.

We’ve had the pleasure of reviewing some of Asus’s Noctua Edition cards in the past, and they’ve certainly provided both impressive noise levels and thermal performance. But this RTX 5080 marks the first time the duo has deployed three such fans on a Noctua Edition graphics card: in this case, NF-A12x25 G2s. As someone who got his start as a case and heatsink reviewer many moons ago, those fans immediately stand out as something different.

The NF-A12x25 G2s boast a list of engineering refinements that would make an aeronautical engineer blush. Everything from the curvature of each blade to the ridges on the fan hub to the winglets at each blade tip is said to be optimized to improve the distribution and evenness of airflow with typical Noctua obsessiveness. The impellers (or rotors) themselves sit so close to the fan frame that trying to slide a sheet of printer paper between them will make the impeller move. Crazy stuff.

To further refine the noise character of the card, Noctua has supplied Asus with two types of NF-A12x25 G2 fans, one of which runs slightly slower and the other of which runs slightly faster than the other. Noctua says this avoids “periodic humming or vibrations caused by beat frequencies.”

The fans are paired with a custom heatsink that pairs a vapor-chamber baseplate with 11 heat pipes running through a 14.5” long fin stack, which is certainly plenty of metal. But not all of the card’s four-slot height is dedicated to fins and heat pipes. About two slots are occupied by the full-size NF-A12x25 G2 fans themselves.

We didn’t take our Noctua Edition apart because it’s a loaner, but we can see that the huge vapor chamber at the base of the heatsink covers both the GPU itself and the GDDR7 memory that rings it for a complete thermal solution. The VRM power phases and inductors are also joined to the fin stack with their own metal contact plate and thermal pads.

All told, this is one of the largest and heaviest air-cooled graphics cards I’ve ever handled, weighing in at a whopping 5.9 lb (2.7 kg). It absolutely dwarfs the RTX 5080 Founders Edition.

For all its focus on quiet operation, the design of the RTX 5080 Noctua Edition is inescapably polarizing. The plastic fan shroud and metal backplate are all finished in a muted brown color with a subtle sparkle that only reveals itself under direct lighting. The NF-A12x25 G2 fans themselves are the brown-and-tan models that Noctua obsessives will love and the uninitiated may hate. I think it’s great, but other Tom’s Hardware staffers can’t stand it.

The Noctua faithful will find plenty of subtle nods to its brand on this 5080, and these touches are all done with the same subtlety and attention to detail typical of other Noctua products. Metallic accents on the face of the card suggest wings or eyebrows, and the flow-through cutout on the backplate borrows one half of Noctua’s owl logo.

The painted stripes on the backplate that suggest stampings or embossing are so well done that they made me do a double-take to ensure they weren’t actually part of the metal.

All told, this card will look fan-tastic in a Noctua-themed build, but many will be left wishing for a Chromax model that’s dressed entirely in black for better coordination in the average PC. Maybe a future Noctua Edition can cover both bases, but for now, brown is all you get.

Let's take a look at performance, power, and thermals on the following pages.

Specs

• MORE: Best Graphics Cards
• MORE: GPU Benchmarks and Hierarchy
• MORE: All Graphics Content

We compared the RTX 5080 Noctua Edition to the RTX 5080 Founders Edition using five games from our upcoming rounds of retesting for our GPU Hierarchy. Since this is just a brief test, we favored 4K gaming with a mix of RT-enabled and raster games alike.

Stock for stock, the Noctua Edition is just 4% faster than the Founders Edition, which obviously isn’t much given the Noctua card’s huge increase in size and weight compared to the dual-slot FE. But as you’ll see in our noise testing results, absolute performance isn’t really this card’s mission.

We’ve also rolled up our overclocking results into these charts, and you can see that the Noctua Edition is a strong overclocker indeed, thanks to its massive heatsink. We saw an 11% gain in performance from pushing core and memory clocks to the limit. But the Founders Edition is just 2% slower than the Noctua Edition if you raise its clocks in turn.

In the case of both cards, 10% or better gains from overclocking is a surprisingly large leap in the Blackwell era, and you should absolutely fire up Afterburner on your RTX 5080, no matter its make or model.

In any case, our performance results prove the Asus RTX 5080 Noctua Edition is a full-bore RTX 5080. The two companies clearly didn’t need to impose any power or thermal restrictions on the way to quieting it down, and that means you’re still getting all the performance you’d expect from the second-best gaming graphics card on the market.

Overclocking notes, clock speeds, and power consumption

Overclocking modern GeForce GPUs has followed a simple enough formula for a long time: increase power limits to the max, push core clocks until stability issues arise, and then pull back a bit. Since Blackwell GPUs generally don’t offer core voltage controls, we’re mostly interested in how much higher a power limit third-party cards expose and how high we can push core clocks as a result.

Firing up MSI Afterburner reveals that we have 25% of extra power limit headroom to play with, which is quite generous for a Blackwell card. Memory overclocking is still limited to a +375 MHz increase, however, which is common to all GDDR7 Blackwell cards. Since the Noctua Edition’s cooler is designed to cool both the memory modules and the GPU, we just max this offset out; there’s no reason to expect any instability that would require us to choose a lower memory clock.

After maxing out the power limit and memory clocks, we settled on a stable +436 MHz offset for core clocks, which delivered a mean clock speed of 3227 MHz across the games we tested. That’s 18% higher than stock and, along with the memory clock speed boost, was good for 11% real-world performance gains in our tests, as you’ve already seen.

Overclocking modern graphics cards usually incurs a large corresponding increase in power consumption, but we only saw about 20W higher power consumption from the RTX 5080 Noctua Edition with our OC applied.

• MORE: Best Graphics Cards
• MORE: GPU Benchmarks and Hierarchy
• MORE: All Graphics Content

Gaming performance is important and all, but c’mon, this graphics card—and this review—are really all about the noise levels. You’re here to see whether this card lives up to Noctua’s reputation for high performance and low noise levels.

We measure noise with a calibrated Triplett SLM-400 meter on a tripod placed one meter from our open test bench. Our testing environment is a typical carpeted room with no specialized acoustic treatment. All other possible noise sources in the room are shut down, unplugged, or otherwise minimized prior to testing.

The noise floor of our testing environment, as indicated by our meter, is 32.6 dBA. Both the RTX 5080 Noctua Edition and the Founders Edition stop their fans at idle, so they’re no louder than the ambient environment.

Fire up a gaming load, however, and the Noctua card increases the noise levels of our test environment by just 0.3 dBA, whether stock or overclocked. That’s an incredible acoustic performance, and while it’s not technically silent, it’s likely as good as you’re going to get from anything with fans.

Recall that dBA is a logarithmic scale, so small absolute changes here indicate large changes in loudness. The Founders Edition card is quite a bit louder to the ear than the Noctua Edition, especially when overclocked. To even hear the Noctua Edition’s fans, I have to place my ear right next to the side of the card, at which point you can hear the very slightest hum of fans spinning and a whisper of air moving.

But with noise levels this low, basically any other sound is going to be louder than the Noctua Edition 5080, especially if you’re gaming. Your breathing will be louder, HVAC systems will be louder, keypresses will be louder, mouse movements will be louder, airplanes overhead will be louder, passing cars will be louder, and birdsong will be louder. You get the point.

Unless you’re playing game audio through $10,000-a-side speakers in an acoustically treated room with your PC in the same space and demand the absolute lowest possible noise floor as a canvas for your audiophile gear, the satisfaction of a graphics card this quiet is an extremely particular one.

But if you’re hell-bent on building as fast and quiet a gaming PC as is possible, you will have the satisfaction of knowing that this RTX 5080 is delivering its incredible performance while remaining practically imperceptible to the ear in return.

It’s worth noting that Asus provides a dual-mode BIOS switch on this card that offers a Quiet vBIOS in addition to the default Performance, but we didn’t run it through our full suite of tests because we only saw a 0.1 dBA difference in its favor on our noise meter when we loaded up our gaming tests. If you have ears that sensitive, though, the option is available.

dBA readings alone don’t tell the entire story of what it’s like to use a graphics card, of course. Using a frequency analyzer, we can break down the components of a card’s noise character and show just how broad-spectrum or tonal it is – and where those tones fall on the audible spectrum.

The GeForce RTX 5080 Founders Edition’s noise character is generally broad-spectrum, but it exhibits a prominent spike around 170Hz on our analyzer that comes across as a low tonal hum. It also has quite a bit of high-pitched coil whine (potentially appearing around 5KHz) that varies with output frame rates.

By the same measure, the Noctua Edition RTX 5080’s sonic signature is essentially broad-spectrum, aside from some coil whine that is more perceptible than the card’s otherwise incredible SPL measurements would suggest (note the vast difference in Y-axis scale between the two cards here).

If Asus were somehow able to source inductors that were buzz-free at the switching frequencies demanded by a GPU VRM, this card would be practically silent. But that noise remains the one challenge standing in the way of sonic perfection from this card, and the buzz it produces would still be audible even if it were somehow passively cooled.

Thermal performance

With its default Performance vBIOS, the Noctua Edition RTX 5080 runs just 4 °C cooler than the dual-slot RTX 5080 Founders Edition across all of our gaming workloads. Frankly, we were expecting a bit more of a delta between these two cards, given the Noctua Edition’s massive size and weight. But that’s a mostly academic desire, since performance is already slightly higher and noise levels are so much lower than the Founders Edition at stock.

Our manual overclock also produces only a 0.5 °C rise in temperatures compared to the default vBIOS settings. Usually, overclocking requires tradeoffs in power consumption, noise levels, or temperatures, but in the instance of this RTX 5080, the performance gains you get are practically free.

If we normalize noise levels to 37 dBA at one meter between these cards by greatly raising fan speeds on the Noctua Edition with our manual overclocks applied to both cards, the true strength of the Noctua Edition cooler becomes more obvious. Load temperatures drop to just 51.3 °C under our manual overclock, or a full 14 °C lower than the FE card under the same conditions.

Overall, our thermal and noise test results are highly complimentary of Asus and Noctua’s engineering efforts here. To produce a card this quiet and fast while sacrificing nothing is an impressive achievement.

At the same time, these results show just how much it takes to improve on the RTX 5080 Founders Edition cooler. Sure, the FE is louder and slightly warmer-running, but it also weighs a kilogram less, occupies just one-third the volume, and delivers largely the same gaming performance as this Noctua Edition. If you demand better, you’re going to pay for it in size, weight, and a much larger price tag.

• MORE: Best Graphics Cards
• MORE: GPU Benchmarks and Hierarchy
• MORE: All Graphics Content

The Asus GeForce RTX 5080 Noctua Edition is a testament to obsession. It’s what happens when two companies thoroughly quash one engineering problem and let other constraints fall where they will.

Industrial design is a matter of taste, but the tan and brown palette of this card is incredibly polarizing. I’m fine with it, but other Tom’s Hardware staffers despise it. If you’re a Noctua diehard, though, you’re already down with the brown, and none of us are going to convince you otherwise.

If you hate fan noise, the RTX 5080 Noctua Edition is unquestionably the quietest graphics card I’ve ever tested. The noise floor of my testing environment is just 32.6 dBA, and this card only raises that by a mere 0.3 dBA under a gaming load.

This is incredible acoustic performance, and it doesn’t require giving up anything in the way of power limits or clock speeds to get there. This is a full-on RTX 5080 that delivers all of its formidable gaming performance in near silence.

The only thing holding this card back from sonic perfection is a bit of coil whine at high frame rates. Coil whine is notoriously hard to eliminate in any graphics card, and this card controls it better than most, but it is audible.

Despite its primary focus on quiet operation, the RTX 5080 Noctua Edition is a great overclocker, too. We got 11% higher performance from overclocking compared to stock, all with zero increase in noise levels and practically no increase in operating temperatures. That’s a first in all my years of testing graphics cards.

Silence comes at a cost. This is the largest and heaviest air-cooled graphics card I’ve ever tested, even larger and heavier than the notoriously massive RTX 4090 Founders Edition. You need a correspondingly large ATX mid-tower or larger enclosure to hold it, and I’d strongly recommend using a GPU support bracket or a vertical mount to help manage its bulk.

At its $1,699 list price in the States, this RTX 5080 is already one of the most expensive such cards around when compared to Nvidia’s $999 MSRP, and even considering the stratospheric street prices for partner RTX 5080s right now, the Noctua Edition is eye-wateringly expensive—if you can even find one in stock.

The thing about Noctua products and collabs is that if you want this, you already know it. Considerations of value don’t really apply. If you’re ready to put down this much money on an RTX 5080, you can be confident that this Noctua Edition isn’t just about looking quirky for its own sake. It has unparalleled acoustics coupled with strong gaming and thermal performance that all add up to an enviably well-rounded graphics card.

• MORE: Best Graphics Cards
• MORE: GPU Benchmarks and Hierarchy
• MORE: All Graphics Content

An interestingly timed update to the Asus ROG Ally with the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme APU has just been released. That in itself wouldn't necessarily be big news, but it follows recent reporting that suggested that AMD was deprecating the Z1 Extreme chip, leaving handhelds like the ROG Ally without further GPU updates as a result.

There hasn't been a lot of clear confirmation, from either AMD or manufacturers like Asus, about the status of the Z1 Extreme. What we do know, however, is that it had been several months since the ROG Ally received a major SoC update. With reports that other Z1 Extreme handhelds like the Lenovo Legion Go and Go S were also lacking new updates, and seemingly a confirmation from Lenovo's Korean branch that product updates were stopping for those handhelds, consumers with Z1 Extreme-powered handhelds have been left with uncertainty over recent days.

The update (h/t Videocardz) brings the latest available GPU driver for the Asus ROG Ally Z1 Extreme to version 32.0.22029.13001 and is available for download from the Asus website. With no release notes, it's difficult to determine the changes between this driver and the last, but the driver branch number (22029) matches the last minor driver release (32.0.22029.1019), which added support for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 back in November 2025. The last major release noted on the Asus website prior to that was back in August 2025 with driver 32.0.21013.11001.

The same batch number might suggest that this isn't a huge change, either, especially with no release notes, and also given that the main Radeon GPU driver branch has moved to 23xxx, but that isn't confirmed by Asus or AMD here.

Reddit discussion over the news does suggest a level of relief among Asus ROG Ally owners for a new update, but it doesn't necessarily confirm AMD's plans for this chip, or Asus' for the handheld. AMD has itself, so far, made no comment about its plans for the Z1 Extreme, and hasn't replied to a request for comment so far. Asus, too, hasn't made any public comments about the lifespan of the Asus ROG Ally or ROG Ally X with the Z1 Extreme APU, but a driver update would suggest it hasn't completely abandoned one of its major handhelds just yet.

One way or another, these handheld gaming PCs will continue to work, even without updates, although they will lack the optimizations for new game releases that new GPU drivers provide. A good alternative continues to be a switch to a Linux-based OS like Valve's SteamOS or Bazzite. These use their own open-source drivers, which don't rely on AMD and could be a lifeline as older handhelds become deprecated, as long as you're comfortable ditching Windows, even if like-for-like performance isn't something that can be guaranteed.

It seems as though artificial intelligence is invading every facet of the tech space, and no product is safe. Witness the latest Wi-Fi 7 gaming router from Asus, which goes so far as to put AI in its name: the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai. We first heard about the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai over a year ago at CES 2025, but it’s just now making its way to the retail market at the same time that Asus is talking up its Wi-Fi 8 ambitions.

What sets the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai apart from other consumer routers is its onboard Neural Processing Unit (NPU), which has its own firmware that can be updated separately. Alongside the traditional CPU, the router also features a separate Microcontroller Unit (MCU). Asus can use any combination of these chips to improve performance, reduce power consumption, and power a suite of AI-infused features.

Beyond that, the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai is also a high-performance tri-band unit, which can hang with the best Wi-Fi routers. It features a plethora of LAN ports, USB connectivity, RGB lighting, and eight adjustable antennas. All of this goodness comes at a hefty price, though: it retails for a staggering $899. Read on to see if Asus's feet-first leap into the AI gravy train is worth the effort.

Design of the Asus ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai

The ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai is an imposing beast of a wireless router. Its footprint is huge, dwarfing that of competitive gaming routers. It measures 13.8 x 13.8 x 8.69 inches (including the height of its antennas when fully upright).

A lot is going on with the design, with white dominating the main body and the eight antennas. There's a bit of contrasting black with vertical segments on each antenna, and a black inlay on top of the router, which sits beneath a clear plastic window. Further adding some pizazz to the design are a large vented area for cooling, a massive RGB ROG logo, and a row of status LEDs to keep you abreast of what's going on with the router at a glance. Just below the status LEDs are a WPS button and an additional button to turn off the LEDs.

The physical ports are scattered among two of the four vertical sides of the body. On the smaller side, there's the power port, an on/off button, and two USB-A ports. The longer side has all the network ports, and there are a lot of them. You'll find:

• 1 x 10 GbE for WAN/LAN
• 1 x 2.5 GbE for WAN/LAN
• 1 x 10 GbE for LAN
• 3 x 2.5 GbE for LAN
• 1 x 1 GbE for LAN

Whereas most routers offer one WAN port and four LAN ports, Asus goes above and beyond with the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai.

Asus ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai Specifications

Setting up the Asus ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai

The initial setup of the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai is made simply using the Asus Router smartphone app. After installing the app on your smartphone, you can scan the QR code on the bottom of the router to kick off the process. The setup program will prompt you to connect to the default/factory SSID, then start the configuration process. If you already have an Asus account and a previous Asus router that had its settings backed up to the cloud, you can transfer those settings to your new router and save quite a few steps.

If you don’t have a previous save file, you’ll go through the typical configuration options, such as setting an admin password, naming your SSIDs, creating a password for each SSID, and checking for firmware updates. A firmware update was available for our review unit, so I applied it right away before I began performance testing.

The setup process took less than 10 minutes (including the time it took to perform the firmware update).

After the initial setup was complete, I used the Router app to enable Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC) on the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai, which increases power levels on the 6 GHz band. By switching from the default Low Power Indoor profile to the Standard Power Profile (depending on regional restrictions), AFC increases the range of the 6 GHz band, allowing you to, in theory, enjoy higher performance at distances comparable to those of the 5 GHz band. I enabled AFC on the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai for all 6 GHz tests.

ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai Software

Although the Asus Router app is easy to use and feature-packed, I opted to use the standard Web GUI for further interactions with the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai. This is the first router we’ve tested using ASUSWRT 6.0 (version 3.0.0.6.102_40425). The default page for the router is the Dashboard, and you’ll notice the white theme, which is a departure from the black we’re used to for other ROG networking products. The Dashboard provides a lot of information at a glance, including internet connection details, the number of connected devices per wireless band, occupied Ethernet ports, the traffic monitor, and CPU/RAM utilization. You also have quick access to RGB controls, allowing you to change the color and pattern of the effects.

As is typically the case with Asus routers, there is an extreme breadth of configuration options, including setting up an AiMesh network with an additional wireless router/access point, adaptive QoS (you can choose AI Balance, which is on by default, Gaming, Streaming, Work from Home, or Office). You can enable a VPN directly from the router, rather than relying on software installed on each client device. Supported services include PPTP, IPSec, OpenVPN, and WireGuard (you’ll need to log in with your own accounts). There’s also an extensive set of parental controls that can be enabled per device.

Asus is really playing up the “AI” aspect of the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai, but it needs to justify using the onboard NPU. To that end, the NPU powers Asus’ free AiProtection suite to protect all of your network devices. The primary vectors for protection include malicious site/infected device blocking and isolation, automatic ad blocking for your web browsers, tracker blocking, and a two-way intrusion protection system (IPS) for guarding against DDoS attacks.

Going even further, the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai can automatically detect gaming devices that connect to the network, prioritize their traffic, and give top billing to ROG motherboards, desktops, and laptops. You can also leverage the Game Boost feature with Adaptive QoS and use GTNet to optimize your network route when gaming online.

There’s even a dedicated section in the WebGUI for the NPU labeled AI Board. You can control container platforms using Portainer.io, which runs on the NPU. Asus also lets you optionally install the open-source Home Assistant for controlling all your smart home devices locally (instead of relying on cloud partners), and the Frigate network video recorder, which uses real-time AI object detection. The AdGuard Home Docker app, which can also be installed from the AI Board interface, gives you even more granular control for your ad-blocking rules.

Asus also has a Router Assistant that lets you ask questions about the router and its features. I asked, “What is MLO?” and it replied with the correct definition. You can also ask things like “How many devices are connected to the network?” All of your queries to the Router Assistant are processed locally.

The NPU firmware is separate from the router’s firmware and can be updated from the AI Board section in the WebGUI. Unlike our router, there were no available firmware updates for the NPU.

Asus ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai Performance

We tested the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai with our venerable Wi-Fi client testing rig, featuring an MSI Pro B650M-A Wi-Fi motherboard, AMD Ryzen 5 7600 processor, 32GB of DDR5 memory, a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, an MSI Herald-BE Wi-Fi 7 adapter, and Windows 11 Home. Our Windows 11 Home server has a 10 GbE network card connected to one of the 10 GbE ports on the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai.

Our iPerf3 throughput tests are conducted at six feet and 25 feet, with and without network traffic. In the congested traffic tests, we add six wireless clients streaming 4K YouTube videos across multiple wireless bands.

Generally speaking, the router's close-range performance on the 6 GHz and 5 GHz bands was excellent. Even more impressive is that with AFC enabled, the performance drop-off at long range and with congested traffic on the 6 GHz band was minimal.

Testing iPerf3 on the 6 GHz band at short range (6 feet), the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai cracked the 3 Gbps mark, putting it on even footing with the previous Asus flagship: the RT-BE96U.

Performance was well above what we saw recently with the ROG Strix GS-BE18000, which barely crested the 2 Gbps mark and was comfortably ahead of the TP-Link Archer GE800. Even at 25 feet, the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai still topped 2.1 Gbps, putting it ahead of the other assembled Asus routers, but well off the pace of the Archer GE800.

The ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai also performed well on the 5 GHz test, nearly equaling the ROG Strix GS-BE18000 at 6 feet, but coming out comfortably ahead at 25 feet (714 Mbps versus 497 Mbps). However, the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai was no match for the Archer GE800, which hit 1.8 Gbps at 6 feet and 1.3 Gbps at 25 feet.

The ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai performed in line with the ROG Strix GS-BE18000 at 6 feet, and vastly outperformed its sibling at 25 feet. However, both the RT-BE96U and the Archer GE800 delivered 50 Mbps+ higher performance at close range, and up to twice the performance at 25 feet.

With congested traffic, the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai generally performed on par or better than the other two Asus routers at close range, and surpassed them at long range across all bands. The Archer GE800 remained the stronger performer across the board (except in the 6 GHz band at close range).

I also tested the 2.5 GbE and 10 GbE LAN ports to see how wired traffic fares. Using iPerf3, speeds were consistently at 2.37 Gbps and 9.49 Mbps, respectively.

Bottom Line

The Asus ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai is an interesting entry to the Wi-Fi 7 gaming router segment. The router definitely has impressive hardware specs, including multiple 10 GbE and 2.5 GbE ports. You’ll also find two USB-A ports and plenty of RGB lighting to spruce up your desk or bookshelf.

The biggest addition, however, is the AI functionality afforded by the NPU. You get dedicated hardware to support its onboard AI-powered software features (game acceleration, ad blocking, device protection, etc.). However, Asus’ routers without dedicated AI hardware also have the features; they just rely on the main CPU. The use of the NPU should technically free up hardware resources, ensuring your router’s CPU is unencumbered by AI requests. The NPU also powers the onboard Docker and Edge AI support. If you need greater expandability and control over your network without relying on cloud-based solutions, and don’t find the already versatile ASUSWRT 6.0 interface powerful enough, there’s not much else available on the consumer market to match the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai.

Overall performance was excellent, although it couldn’t quite touch the TP-Link Archer GE800 on the 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz bands. But where the Archer GE800 might have the advantage with 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz traffic, Asus runs the tables on software. You get Asus’ full AiProtection suite, parental controls, and ad blocking at no additional cost—TP-Link forces you to pay monthly or yearly for that privilege.

Even so, the $899 price tag of the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000Ai is hard to ignore as a significant barrier to entry. Unless the Docker support and onboard Router Assistant are must-haves for you, it’s hard to stomach the $500 price difference between the two (the Archer GE800 currently has a street price of $399). We understand that being on the bleeding edge can sometimes lead to a higher price of entry, but that $500 is better spent on one of the best gaming monitors or on securing some DDR5 in today’s climate.

German versions of the Asus and Acer websites are back offline after a patent dispute took them down late last week. German publication ComputerBase has been monitoring the situation and saw both websites come back just hours ago at the time of publication. Tom's Hardware was able to confirm Asus.de and Acer.de are accessible now, though with some limitations.

Asus' website has been almost fully restored. The German page loads and includes all of the support pages where you can download drivers, BIOSes, and other materials; one of the major issues with these websites being taken offline. However, Asus has removed the laptop and desktop sections from its main navigation, which were two categories affected by the patent dispute.

Acer's German website loads a page that reads, "We are currently performing maintenance," with a link to Acer's German support page. The Acer store is back online in Germany, as well, though with a decreased inventory and a banner across the website that states the following:

"Some Acer products are currently unavailable in Germany. Therefore, you will not find product information for these models on our German website at this time. If you are using such an Acer product in Germany, you will, of course, continue to receive future software updates. Many other exciting products are still available – discover them here now. We hope you enjoy browsing. If you have any further questions, our customer service team is always available to assist you."

Like Asus, Acer is not offering its laptops or desktops for sale through its official website at this time.

In statements to Tom's Hardware, both Asus and Acer confirmed that, following court order, they will no longer offer direct sales of products that infringe on Nokia's patents. Retailers are not impacted at this time, and both companies say they will continue to offer support to German customers.

Although Nokia is best known for its mobile prevalence in the early oughts, this dispute centers around the High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) standard. Otherwise known as H.265, Nokia is the patent holder, and a German court determined that Asus and Acer (along with TV brand Hisense) would need to purchase a license to continue to sell and import their devices in Germany.

The case isn't focused on specific products, but it ended up impacting laptops and desktops, as they carry HEVC support. Components like GPUs are unaffected.

Asus tells Tom's Hardware that it's "evaluating and pursuing further legal action to reach a fair resolution as soon as possible," and Acer echoed that sentiment saying, "we are reviewing additional legal options in order to reach a fair solution as quickly as possible." The German court issued a temporary injunction against Acer and Asus, leading to an immediate suspension of sales following the ruling.

It's hard to say where we go from here, but it's unlikely we've heard the last of Nokia's dispute with Asus and Acer yet. At the very least, the websites are back online, providing critical support to customers in Germany that have otherwise been blocked the past several days.

Flagship gaming monitors come in many shapes and sizes, so focusing on one category is impractical. But it is generally accepted that the best format for do-it-all displays is a large 16:9 flat panel. 32 inches used to be the realm of the exotic, but now you can find the best gaming monitors for less than $1,300.

On my planet, flagship means OLED, and this world’s newest resident is Asus’ ROG Swift PG32UCDM3. It’s a 32-inch Quantum Dot OLED with 4K resolution, 240 Hz, Adaptive-Sync, ELMB, and wide gamut color. HDR carries a VESA DisplayHDR 500 certification, and in addition to HDR10 support, you get Dolby Vision too. Asus has added a technology called BlackShield that makes the screen’s front surface harder and improves perceived black levels. Let’s take a look.

Asus ROG Swift PG32UCDM3 Specs