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MagyarAsus ROG Flow X16 laptop review: 2-in-1 gamer with mini-LED
A 1,100 nit-strong mini-LED display makes its debut in the Asus ROG Flow X16, which also derives its uniqueness from its convertible design. An RTX 3070 Ti with a 125 watts of TGP makes it a real gaming notebook with high-end multimedia features hotly anticipated by many.
We have been able to thoroughly examine a pre-production sample device in detail. Since this review model is representative of the production model (according to Asus), we have taken the liberty of giving it a rating. Minor changes to the device are expected until the final production version, which will be reflected accordingly in updates to this review. We are also reviewing the ROG XG Mobile graphics dock (available separately) with its GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU on the Flow X16 (a similar test was also carried out with the ROG Flow X13 last year), and will provide the results as an update in this review soon.
The Asus ROG Flow X16 forms Asus' 2-in-1 gaming laptop series together with its popular and almost just-as-unique sibling, the ROG Flow X13 from last year, as well as the ROG Flow Z13 (2-in1 tablet). The 16-inch QHD display in a 16:10 format offers an OLED-like black level thanks to mini-LED and also advertises DCI-P3 color space coverage for professional image editing. The touchscreen with pen input support is conceivably useful for creative work, and AMD's Ryzen 6900HS also promises a lot of potential. While all these specs read wonderfully on paper, our review reveals to what extent this raw power can be fully utilized in the compact Asus convertible and what any drawbacks might be.
Our sample model of the Asus Rog Flow X16 with a Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti, 32 GB of RAM and a 1 TB SSD does not yet appear to be widely available. Depending on your location, identical (i.e. identical hardware with a region-specific keyboard layout) or slighly different configurations may be available at varying prices, usually starting around US$2500.00. See "Price and Availability" at the end of this review for further details.
Direct competitors for the unique, compact 16-inch convertible are far and few in between. Nevertheless, the Asus Rog Flow X16 is primarily designed for creative tasks, multimedia and gaming, so we compared it to the following notebooks: Gigabyte Aero 16, MSI Stealth GS66, Lenovo Legion 5 Pro, Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme, MacBook Pro 16 (2021), Microsoft's Surface Laptop Studio, Dell's compact XPS 17 and Asus' in-house Zephyrus M16.
The latter is similar to the ROG X16 Flow in many ways, which we point out at various points in our review. The comparison to the smaller ROG Flow X13 is certainly interesting, as well as the comparison to traditional, thick gaming behemoths such as Asus' ROG Strix Scar 15. The HP Spectre 16 convertible with an Intel Core i7-12700H, mid-range Arc graphics and a 3K OLED touchscreen will be available around the end of August and could also be of interest for a target group not primarily interested in gaming. Lenovo's Legion Slim 7i will also reportedly use mini-LED.
Update 9-30-2022: The author of this article had corrected an error right after the original German review was published. Unfortunately, it did not change for the English review, which readers pointed out. The second M.2 slot is standard size, i.e., M.2 2280 and not M.2 2242, as previously described.
Possible Competitors in Comparison
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 89.5 % v7 (old) | 08 / 2022 | Asus ROG Flow X16 GV601RW-M5082W R9 6900HS, GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Laptop GPU | 2.1 kg | 19.4 mm | 16.10" | 2560x1600 | |
| 85.6 % v7 (old) | 07 / 2021 | Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU603H i9-11900H, GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU | 2 kg | 20 mm | 16.00" | 2560x1600 | |
| 86.3 % v7 (old) | 05 / 2022 | Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 G533ZW-LN106WS i9-12900H, GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Laptop GPU | 2.3 kg | 27.2 mm | 15.60" | 2560x1440 | |
| 84.7 % v7 (old) | 03 / 2022 | Gigabyte Aero 16 YE5 i9-12900HK, GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU | 2.3 kg | 22.4 mm | 16.00" | 3840x2400 | |
| 88 % v7 (old) | 03 / 2022 | Lenovo Legion 5 Pro 16 G7 i7 RTX 3070Ti i7-12700H, GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Laptop GPU | 2.6 kg | 26.6 mm | 16.00" | 2560x1600 | |
| 84.5 % v7 (old) | 02 / 2022 | MSI Stealth GS66 12UGS i7-12700H, GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Laptop GPU | 2.2 kg | 19.8 mm | 15.60" | 2560x1440 | |
| 93.2 % v7 (old) | 11 / 2021 | Apple MacBook Pro 16 2021 M1 Pro M1 Pro, M1 Pro 16-Core GPU | 2.2 kg | 16.8 mm | 16.20" | 3456x2234 | |
| 88.3 % v7 (old) | 12 / 2021 | Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme G4-20Y50040GE i9-11950H, GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU | 1.9 kg | 18.2 mm | 16.00" | 3840x2400 | |
| 88.8 % v7 (old) | 05 / 2022 | Dell XPS 17 9720 RTX 3060 i7-12700H, GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU | 2.5 kg | 19.5 mm | 17.00" | 3840x2400 | |
| 89 % v7 (old) | 03 / 2022 | Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio i7 RTX 3050 Ti i7-11370H, GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Laptop GPU | 1.8 kg | 19 mm | 14.40" | 2400x1600 | |
| 84.7 % v7 (old) | 02 / 2021 | Asus ROG Flow X13 GV301QH R9 5980HS, GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q | 1.4 kg | 15.8 mm | 13.40" | 3840x2400 |
Case - Stable gaming laptop from Asus
In principle, the ROG Flow X16 is a mix of the smaller Flow X13 and the Zephyrus M16: The distinctive fluting on the iron-gray plastic lid of the former has been replicated, as well as the general shape and silhouette, which are only in a larger size. The base unit, including the baseplate, resemble the Zephyrus M16.
Asus uses a lot of magnesium, so the device feels very high-quality overall. However, the lid and base plate are made of soft plastic and are especially susceptible to scratches. This reduces our initially positive impression somewhat.
Targeted pressure on the back of the display does not cause image distortions and the baseplate is held in place by 13 screws. When detached from the unit, however, the baseplate turns out to be a flexible piece of plastic.
The workmanship is at a high level, the base unit cannot be twisted and the display also leaves little room for torsion. Haptically, the slightly roughened surfaces feel very good. The patterning of the lid is also replicated in an exclusively optical form on the palm rest, including the touchpad. Fingerprints are immediately visible, but the final version of the Flow X16 is not expected to adopt the corrugated pattern, instead using a special coating to keep fingerprints at bay.
The two hinges of the convertible allow for 360° rotation of the display and hold it firmly in position. The fact that the display of a convertible bobs a little cannot always be completely avoided. Overall, a good balance between smoothness and stability has been achieved. The ROG Flow X16 can also be opened with one hand. Small spacers protect the base unit in tablet and tent mode.
With the ROG Flow X16, Asus manages to create a laptop with the smallest dimensions among the 16-inchers, even outclassing some 15-inch laptops in our comparison field, although the Gigabyte Aero 16 and the MSI Stealth GS66 are already very compact models. The 14.4-inch Surface Laptop Studio is obviously more compact, but is not a real gamer either.
Only the ThinkPad X1 Extreme is superior in terms of weight among the devices with a potent GPU, but its 80 W of TGP requires a less elaborate cooling solution. Asus' Zephyrus M16 is roughly on par due to the similar case.
Equipment - Asus' Flow series offers special eGPU
The Asus ROG Flow X16 offers four USB 3.2 Gen2 ports, two of which are Type A, while the other two are Type C and both support DisplayPort and Power Delivery up to 100 watts. The DisplayPort of the USB-C port in the xGM port is connected to the dedicated Nvidia GPU, while the other USB-C port is connected to the Radeon GPU, as is the HDMI 2.0b port, which supports G-Sync. Later in the year, Asus may provide a software upgrade for USB 4.0.
An SD card reader is only available in the micro version and a LAN port is absent. The ROG Flow series features the xGM port for an optional graphics dock (eGPU) that accommodates a GeForce RTX 3080 (laptop GPU). This is the only option for the dock so far, is more compact than conventional eGPUs, and is connected to twice the bandwidth (64 GBit/s @PCIe 3.0 8x versus 32 GBit/s @Thunderbolt 3/4).
Of course, gains in performance are likely to be marginal in our model with an integrated mobile RTX 3070 Ti, and it remains unclear whether the dock will receive updates in the future. Nevertheless, we will measure any differences and report them soon. In addition, the ROG XG Mobile (that we have previously reviewed) offers additional ports, such as GBit LAN and a full-size DisplayPort.
Furthermore, there is also a 3.5 mm audio jack, as well as the power socket for the 240 watt power supply. The spacing between the ports is adequate, but the power button on the right side sits loosely in the case in our pre-release version. The fingerprint reader has been omitted.
SD Card Reader
The UHS-II microSD card reader achieves very good results of 158 MB/s in the copy test and ~183 MB/s in sequential read with our reference microSD card (AV PRO microSD 128 GB V60). Particularly in copying, the ROG Flow X16 is far ahead of the competition. Only Dell's XPS 17 achieves higher copy rates (~205 MB/s).
| SD Card Reader | |
| average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs) | |
| Dell XPS 17 9720 RTX 3060 (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
| Asus ROG Flow X16 GV601RW-M5082W (AV Pro SD microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| Apple MacBook Pro 16 2021 M1 Pro (Angelbird AV Pro V60) | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU603H (AV PRO microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| Average of class Gaming (19 - 202, n=90, last 2 years) | |
| maximum AS SSD Seq Read Test (1GB) | |
| Dell XPS 17 9720 RTX 3060 (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU603H (AV PRO microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| Asus ROG Flow X16 GV601RW-M5082W (AV Pro SD microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| Average of class Gaming (25.8 - 269, n=91, last 2 years) | |
Communication
The installed WiFi 6E module comes from MediaTek and delivers decent speeds in both directions. The MT7922 is thus twice as powerful as the MT7921 in the Zephyrus M16 and the MacBook Pro 16.
Webcam
A 720p variant (1280x720) is used as the webcam, but it offers better sharpness and less distortion than usual. There is no mechanical shutter, but there is infrared for Windows Hello.
Accessories
In our review package, Asus provides a 240 watt power adapter as well as the Asus SA201H stylus for touchscreen input (included in scope of delivery). We also received a ROG BP4071 laptop backpack. We ordered the external graphics dock and the ROG 100 watt USB-C power supply separately.
Maintenance
13 Phillips screws have to be loosened in order to remove the plastic baseplate. In addition, some clips have to be loosened with a spatula or a pick. Three fans (1x CPU, 1x GPU and 1x system fan) await us inside, which can be cleaned. The battery is screwed and can thus be replaced.
Furthermore, the RAM (two slots) can be upgraded and a larger SSD can be used in the M.2-2280 slot (PCIe 4.0). Another M.2-2280 slot is free for another SSD.
Warranty
In Germany, Asus provides a 24-month warranty with a pickup and return service for the ROG Flow X16. This may vary according to location, so be sure to check with your supplier before purchasing.
Input Devices - RGB backlit keyboard with 1.7 mm travel
Keyboard
Asus installs a 6-row chiclet keyboard in the ROG Flow X16, whose keys are somewhat smaller at 15 x 15 mm. The lettering is even larger and features a special typography. Typical gaming laptop.
The travel of 1.7 mm is generous and the pressure point noticeable with clear strokes, but the key resistance may be a little too low for some people, which subjectively feels slightly spongy. The keys are not concave, unlike some business notebooks, but nothing stands in the way of fast typing after a short period of familiarization. Basically, the same keyboard is installed as in the Zephyrus M16. N-key rollover is supported to allow for the correct registering of multiple keystrokes simultaneously.
The RGB lighting can be adjusted in three intensity levels. However, the keys cannot be individually programmed (i.e. per key RGB). The layout is good and without surprises. The arrow keys are half the size, the enter key is split, and the usual double assignments have been allocated.
Touchpad & Touchscreen
The large glass touchpad measures 13 x 8.5 cm and offers excellent gliding properties. Response and precision are at a high level. Multi-touch gestures and scrolling function without issue.
The integrated keys click quietly, have a short stroke and a satisfactory feedback. However, the touchpad failed after a short time and could not be reactivated. We suspect that this is due to a driver problem that only applies to our pre-production model.
All models of the ROG X16 Flow come with a touchscreen. The response and accuracy are good - scrolling is especially fun with the 165 Hz refresh rate. The included stylus (Asus SA201H) has 4,096 pressure levels and is powered by an AAAA battery. It glides quickly and precisely over the touchscreen and the pen tip offers adequate feedback, as do the two integrated buttons on the bottom side.
Best gaming display? Mini-LED with HDR 1000
The ROG Flow X16 can be ordered either with or without a mini-LED backlight. Some features remain unchanged: the resolution of 2560x1600 in 16:10 format, a refresh rate of 165 Hz and a glossy touchscreen with stylus support.
The mini-LED installed in our variant support DisplayHDR 1000 for the first time in a gaming notebook, alongside Asus' own Zephyrus Duo 16. However, the latter model also offers a matte non-touch variant.
Content looks even more appealing with DisplayHDR 1000 enabled, compared to previous laptops which only supported HDR 400 with significantly lower image enhancements. The only other laptops with DisplayHDR 1000 so far have been the MSI Creator 17 (2020) and Apple's MacBook Pro 16 (2021). Lenovo's Legion Slim 7i with a mini-LED display should also be available later this year.
Subjective picture perception is excellent. Colors are displayed very well, the peak brightness of ~1,100 nits with HDR enabled (also works in normal desktop mode) is outstanding, and the black level of 0.11 nits is almost as rich as in OLED, while the contrast ratio of 4,527:1 is very good, as is typical for mini-LED. Our measurements were carried out in SDR mode. In HDR mode, the contrast ratio is typically much higher, particularly due to the 512 activated local dimming zones of our display: Individual pixel areas completely turn off as soon as black is displayed, or areas glow very brightly with HDR content. There are no halos, which also explains the very solid illumination homogeneity of 95%. Average HDR brightness is typically around 20 percent below peak brightness (not measured).
Together with a frame rate of 165 Hz and good response times of 11 ms each (gray to gray and black to white), the display is unrivaled in HDR gaming. Adaptive Sync is supported. Only those who play mostly fast-paced shooters are likely look for alternatives with even higher frame rates and lower response times, such as the MSI Stealth GS66, and may prefer a lower Full HD resolution, since maximum FPS and speed have absolute priority in fast-paced shooters. But since the ROG X16 Flow is also designed for creators, it is not only ideal for HDR content in gaming, but also in editing.
Overall, only Apple's MacBook Pro 16 with its own Mini LED display comes close to the display quality. OLED panels, such as in Gigabyte Aero 16, are not bright enough for DisplayHDR 1000. On the other hand, mini-LED exhibits "blooming" (that is, the light of bright LEDs shines into surrounding, darker content, similar to backlight bleeding, since local dimming zones are larger than pixels) in our review device, but this is somewhat less pronounced than in the MacBook or the iPad Pro 12.9 with the M1 chip. PWM is something we have always observed in mini-LED displays so far, but the very high frequency of 7,400 MHz should not pose any problems, even for sensitive users.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 94 %
Center on Battery: 502 cd/m²
Contrast: 4527:1 (Black: 0.11 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 1.87 | 0.5-29.43 Ø4.93, calibrated: 1.94
ΔE Greyscale 3.15 | 0.5-98 Ø5.2
90.21% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
99.99% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
99.82% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 330.95
| Asus ROG Flow X16 GV601RW-M5082W AUO B160QAN02.S, Mini LED, 2560x1600, 16.1" | Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU603H AU Optronics AUOC199, IPS, 2560x1600, 16" | Gigabyte Aero 16 YE5 Samsung SDC416B, AMOLED, 3840x2400, 16" | MSI Stealth GS66 12UGS Sharp LQ156T1JW04 (SHP153C), IPS-Level, 2560x1440, 15.6" | Lenovo Legion 5 Pro 16 G7 i7 RTX 3070Ti NE160QDM-NY1, IPS, 2560x1600, 16" | Apple MacBook Pro 16 2021 M1 Pro Liquid Retina XDR, Mini-LED, 3456x2234, 16.2" | Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme G4-20Y5CTO1WW (3050 Ti) LP160UQ1-SPB1, IPS LED, 3840x2400, 16" | Dell XPS 17 9720 RTX 3060 Sharp LQ170R1, IPS, 3840x2400, 17" | Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio i7 RTX 3050 Ti LQ144P1JX01, IPS, 2400x1600, 14.4" | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | -3% | -18% | -1% | -3% | -4% | -11% | |||
| Display P3 Coverage | 99.82 | 96.4 -3% | 68.7 -31% | 99.1 -1% | 84.3 -16% | 92.9 -7% | 80.6 -19% | ||
| sRGB Coverage | 99.99 | 99.7 0% | 97.6 -2% | 100 0% | 98.3 -2% | 100 0% | 99.9 0% | ||
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 90.21 | 85.6 -5% | 70.9 -21% | 88 -2% | 97.8 8% | 85.3 -5% | 78.5 -13% | ||
| Response Times | 51% | 20% | 35% | -15% | -307% | -364% | -293% | -194% | |
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 11 ? | 4.8 ? 56% | 2.4 ? 78% | 6 ? 45% | 17.6 ? -60% | 42.8 ? -289% | 60 ? -445% | 51.2 ? -365% | 58.4 ? -431% |
| Response Time Black / White * | 11 ? | 6 ? 45% | 2 ? 82% | 8.4 ? 24% | 7.6 ? 31% | 91.6 ? -733% | 42 ? -282% | 35.2 ? -220% | 24 ? -118% |
| PWM Frequency | 7400 ? | 60 ? -99% | 14880 101% | 5000 ? -32% | |||||
| Screen | -61% | 104% | -57% | -32% | 82% | -32% | -90% | -5% | |
| Brightness middle | 498 | 448 -10% | 368 -26% | 272 -45% | 502 1% | 514 3% | 639 28% | 512.7 3% | 497 0% |
| Brightness | 502 | 446 -11% | 368 -27% | 253 -50% | 491 -2% | 497 -1% | 612 22% | 463 -8% | 491 -2% |
| Brightness Distribution | 94 | 86 -9% | 93 -1% | 87 -7% | 91 -3% | 95 1% | 84 -11% | 85 -10% | 92 -2% |
| Black Level * | 0.11 | 0.48 -336% | 0.01 91% | 0.25 -127% | 0.37 -236% | 0.02 82% | 0.47 -327% | 0.32 -191% | 0.29 -164% |
| Contrast | 4527 | 933 -79% | 36800 713% | 1088 -76% | 1357 -70% | 25700 468% | 1360 -70% | 1602 -65% | 1714 -62% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 1.87 | 2.76 -48% | 2.33 -25% | 3.73 -99% | 2.7 -44% | 1.4 25% | 2.2 -18% | 5.98 -220% | 1.2 36% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 6.15 | 7.09 -15% | 4.34 29% | 9.43 -53% | 4.5 27% | 2.8 54% | 5.3 14% | 12.09 -97% | 2.8 54% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated * | 1.94 | 2.86 -47% | 0.98 49% | 1.4 28% | 1.4 28% | 0.8 59% | |||
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 3.15 | 3.1 2% | 0.8 75% | 6.5 -106% | 2.7 14% | 2.3 27% | 1.7 46% | 7.2 -129% | 1.9 40% |
| Gamma | 330.95 1% | 2.153 102% | 2.119 104% | 2.172 101% | 2.44 90% | 2.27 97% | 2.31 95% | 2.54 87% | 2.14 103% |
| CCT | 7294 89% | 6826 95% | 6569 99% | 6485 100% | 6326 103% | 6792 96% | 6390 102% | 6914 94% | 6821 95% |
| Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998) | 87 | ||||||||
| Color Space (Percent of sRGB) | 100 | ||||||||
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | -5% /
-41% | 62% /
81% | -8% /
-32% | -22% /
-26% | -75% /
-19% | -133% /
-73% | -129% /
-101% | -70% /
-44% |
* ... smaller is better
In our test field, the ROG Flow X16 is the only notebook that covers more than 90% of the Adobe RGB color space (90.2%). sRGB and DCI-P3 are covered up to ~100%. Therefore nothing stands in the way of demanding image and video editing.
The DeltaE-2000 values of the factory-calibrated mini-LED display (Pantone certification) are below the threshold of 3 for colors and for grayscale. However, blue deviates with a value of 6.15, which we were unable to improve via calibration. The balance of red, green and blue can be described as perfect. So there is absolutely no color cast.
As always, the calibrated color profile is available for download next to the illumination graphic.
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 11 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 1 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 10 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows good response rates in our tests, but may be too slow for competitive gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 26 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (21 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 11 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 1 ms rise |   |
| ↘ 10 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows good response rates in our tests, but may be too slow for competitive gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.165 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 21 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (33 ms). | ||
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
| Screen flickering / PWM detected | 7400 Hz | ≤ 100 % brightness setting |    |
The display backlight flickers at 7400 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) Flickering detected at a brightness setting of 100 % and below. There should be no flickering or PWM above this brightness setting. The frequency of 7400 Hz is quite high, so most users sensitive to PWM should not notice any flickering. In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 8799 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 343500) Hz was measured. | |||
The display reflects very strongly, so that even 500 nits of brightness is necessary for use in (partial) shade. The use of HDR with a maximum brightness of up to 1,100 nits remained deactivated in battery mode for power-saving purposes.
OLED displays still have a slight advantage in viewing angle stability, but as is typical for IPS, the screen of the Asus ROG Flow X16 is on a high level.
Performance - RTX 3070 Ti with 125 W in a compact gaming laptop
Our configuration is equipped with an AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS octa-core processor and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti with 125 watts of TGP (including Dynamic Boost). A MUX switch has also been integrated.
Cheaper models feature an RTX 3060 or an RTX 3050 Ti. The latter always comes with a Ryzen 7 6800HS (200 MHz lower clock).
The ROG Flow X16 is shipped with 8 to 32 GB of DDR5-4800 RAM. Our review unit has 32 GB of RAM (2x 16 GB modules in dual-channel mode) and accommodates a 1 TB SSD, which is the minimum capacity offered. A maximum of 2 TB can be ordered and up to two PCIe 4.0 SSDs can be operated.
Testing Conditions
Asus' Armoury Crate software offers four different performance modes: Silent, Balanced ("Performance" since version 5.2.12), Turbo and Manual, of which Manual allows you to set your own fan curves and adjust TDP settings as well as overclock the dGPU.
There are also four GPU modes: Ultimate, Standard, Energy Saving and Optimized. "Ultimate" enables the MUX switch, which keeps the RTX 3070 Ti as the active GPU at all times and connects it directly to the internal display instead of detouring through the Radeon iGPU. Activating it requires a reboot (no Advanced Optimus). In Standard mode, you can switch between the integrated and dedicated graphics unit as required (Optimus / "MSHybrid"), while in Energy Saving mode the Nvidia GPU is deactivated (also in mains operation) and the iGPU is used. Optimized mode corresponds to Standard mode, with the difference that the Nvidia GPU is completely deactivated in battery mode.
The effects of the different modes on TDP/TGP, clock rates, temperatures and fan behavior are discussed in the corresponding sections "Processor", "Graphics Card" and "Emissions". We carried out our performance-related benchmarks in Turbo mode and in Standard mode for the GPU. Tests of the other modes are discussed throughout the review. The battery runtimes in WLAN mode were determined in Balanced mode and with the GPU Energy Saving mode enabled.
A lot could be done to improve Amoury Crate, the performance values and the battery runtimes until the release. Our review device runs on version 5.1.8 (Update: In order for Armoury Crate to remain usable, an update to version 5.2.12 had to be installed), BIOS version 307 and GeForce driver 512.78.
Processor
The AMD Ryzen 6900HS is an octa-core CPU with a 8x 3.3 GHz base clock, as well as a Turbo of 4.9 GHz on 1 core and a measured 4.36 GHz on 8 cores. Of these, 4.26 GHz are permanently maintained in Turbo mode while the CPU continuously consumes 74 watts and heats up to 91 °C.
The 35 W CPU is thus very well utilized. The initial consumption is around 90 watts at 4.36 GHz. The short-term power limit "SPPT" (called "PL2" by Intel), set at 100 watts, is thus not reached, nor is the long-term power limit "SPL" (PL1) of 90 watts. AMD still has FPPT (Fast Package Power Tracking) with 125 watts set here.
In Balanced mode, the CPU clock drops slightly to 4.1 GHz, which reduces the performance by only 3%, but improves fan noise noticeably: 35.7 db(A) versus 45.1 db(A). The power limit is lowered by 10 watts to 65 watts and the CPU stays around 2 °C cooler.
In Silent mode, the clock drops to 8x 3.8 GHz after 50 seconds and power consumption falls from an initial 65 to 45 watts. The fans then become very pleasant at 32 db(A) and the CPU temperature is significantly cooler at 80 °C. Long-term performance is around 15 percent lower.
In battery mode, there is no boost at all and all power limits are restricted to 35 watts, which leads to a performance reduction of around 20%. Intel counterparts often see a much more significant drop in performance in battery mode, especially with a 35 watt limit (50% and more). The fans are even quieter under load.
In CBR15, the Ryzen 9 is thus able to beat Alder Lake rivals, such as the larger Dell XPS 17. The thinly built Stealth GS66 and Aero 16 are 20% faster, since Alder Lake benefits strongly from high power consumption. Thicker gaming laptops like the Scar 15 or the Legion 5 Pro are even faster.
In the overall rating, our test device falls in the midfield. The Apple M1 Pro is 36% faster in Geekbench 5.4.
| Power Mode | CPU Clock (GHz) | CPU Temperature (°C) | CPU Power Consumption (W) | Loudness in db(A) @Blender |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manual (Max) | 4,2 | 89 | 70 | 50,6 |
| Turbo | 4,26 | 91 | 75 | 45,1 |
| Balanced / Performance | 4,1 | 89 | 60 | 36 |
| Silent | 3,8 | 80 | 45 | 32 |
| Battery | 3.5 | 72 | 35 | 26,7 - 30,7 |
Cinebench R15 Multi Sustained Load
Cinebench R23: Multi Core | Single Core
Cinebench R20: CPU (Multi Core) | CPU (Single Core)
Cinebench R15: CPU Multi 64Bit | CPU Single 64Bit
Blender: v2.79 BMW27 CPU | v3.3 Classroom CPU | v3.3 Classroom CUDA
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 | 7z b 4 -mmt1
Geekbench 5.5: Multi-Core | Single-Core | OpenCL Score
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
V-Ray 5 Benchmark: CPU | GPU CUDA | GPU RTX
V-Ray Benchmark Next 4.10: CPU | GPU
Mozilla Kraken 1.1: Total
WebXPRT 3: Overall
WebXPRT 4: Overall
Octane V2: Total Score
Jetstream 2: Total Score
Sunspider: 1.0 Total Score
Speedometer 2.0: Result
| CPU Performance Rating | |
| Average of class Gaming -1! | |
| Lenovo Legion 5 Pro 16 G7 i7 RTX 3070Ti -7! | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 G533ZW-LN106WS -11! | |
| Gigabyte Aero 16 YE5 -3! | |
| MSI Stealth GS66 12UGS -10! | |
| Dell XPS 17 9720 RTX 3060 -10! | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU603H -12! | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme G4-20Y50040GE -9! | |
| Asus ROG Flow X16 GV601RW-M5082W | |
| Apple MacBook Pro 16 2021 M1 Pro -11! | |
| Asus ROG Flow X13 GV301QH -5! | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio i7 RTX 3050 Ti -7! | |
| Blender / v3.3 Classroom CPU | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (378 - 469, n=3) | |
| Asus ROG Flow X16 GV601RW-M5082W | |
| Average of class Gaming (138 - 962, n=195, last 2 years) | |
| Blender / v3.3 Classroom CUDA | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (42 - 116, n=2) | |
| Asus ROG Flow X16 GV601RW-M5082W | |
| Average of class Gaming (16 - 175, n=187, last 2 years) | |
| 7-Zip 18.03 / 7z b 4 -mmt1 | |
| Average of class Gaming (4199 - 7581, n=194, last 2 years) | |
| Gigabyte Aero 16 YE5 | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 G533ZW-LN106WS | |
| Lenovo Legion 5 Pro 16 G7 i7 RTX 3070Ti | |
| MSI Stealth GS66 12UGS | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (5538 - 5958, n=5) | |
| Asus ROG Flow X16 GV601RW-M5082W | |
| Dell XPS 17 9720 RTX 3060 | |
| Asus ROG Flow X13 GV301QH | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU603H | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio i7 RTX 3050 Ti | |
| HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2 / 4k Preset | |
| Average of class Gaming (6.72 - 38.9, n=194, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo Legion 5 Pro 16 G7 i7 RTX 3070Ti | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 G533ZW-LN106WS | |
| MSI Stealth GS66 12UGS | |
| Gigabyte Aero 16 YE5 | |
| Asus ROG Flow X16 GV601RW-M5082W | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (14.2 - 17.9, n=5) | |
| Dell XPS 17 9720 RTX 3060 | |
| Asus ROG Flow X13 GV301QH | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU603H | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme G4-20Y50040GE | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio i7 RTX 3050 Ti | |
| V-Ray 5 Benchmark / CPU | |
| Average of class Gaming (3562 - 26944, n=123, last 2 years) | |
| Dell XPS 17 9720 RTX 3060 | |
| Gigabyte Aero 16 YE5 | |
| Asus ROG Flow X16 GV601RW-M5082W | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme G4-20Y50040GE | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (8067 - 9648, n=3) | |
| Apple MacBook Pro 16 2021 M1 Pro | |
| Asus ROG Flow X13 GV301QH | |
| V-Ray 5 Benchmark / GPU CUDA | |
| Average of class Gaming (120 - 2797, n=117, last 2 years) | |
| Gigabyte Aero 16 YE5 | |
| Asus ROG Flow X16 GV601RW-M5082W | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme G4-20Y50040GE | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (210 - 1224, n=3) | |
| Apple MacBook Pro 16 2021 M1 Pro | |
| Asus ROG Flow X13 GV301QH | |
| V-Ray 5 Benchmark / GPU RTX | |
| Asus ROG Flow X13 GV301QH | |
| Average of class Gaming (171 - 3824, n=115, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme G4-20Y50040GE | |
| Gigabyte Aero 16 YE5 | |
| Asus ROG Flow X16 GV601RW-M5082W | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (538 - 1510, n=2) | |
| V-Ray Benchmark Next 4.10 / CPU | |
| Average of class Gaming (5413 - 37629, n=153, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo Legion 5 Pro 16 G7 i7 RTX 3070Ti | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 G533ZW-LN106WS | |
| MSI Stealth GS66 12UGS | |
| Gigabyte Aero 16 YE5 | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU603H | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (13527 - 15533, n=4) | |
| Asus ROG Flow X16 GV601RW-M5082W | |
| Asus ROG Flow X13 GV301QH | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio i7 RTX 3050 Ti | |
| V-Ray Benchmark Next 4.10 / GPU | |
| Average of class Gaming (54 - 1334, n=153, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo Legion 5 Pro 16 G7 i7 RTX 3070Ti | |
| Gigabyte Aero 16 YE5 | |
| MSI Stealth GS66 12UGS | |
| Asus ROG Flow X16 GV601RW-M5082W | |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU603H | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 G533ZW-LN106WS | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio i7 RTX 3050 Ti | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (75 - 427, n=4) | |
| Asus ROG Flow X13 GV301QH | |
| WebXPRT 4 / Overall | |
| Average of class Gaming (157.9 - 328, n=160, last 2 years) | |
| Asus ROG Flow X16 GV601RW-M5082W | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (184.4 - 225, n=3) | |
| Octane V2 / Total Score | |
| Average of class Gaming (69893 - 113875, n=57, last 2 years) | |
| Gigabyte Aero 16 YE5 | |
| Lenovo Legion 5 Pro 16 G7 i7 RTX 3070Ti | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme G4-20Y50040GE | |
| Asus ROG Flow X16 GV601RW-M5082W | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS () | |
| Asus ROG Flow X13 GV301QH | |
| Apple MacBook Pro 16 2021 M1 Pro | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio i7 RTX 3050 Ti | |
| Jetstream 2 / Total Score | |
| Average of class Gaming (215 - 369, n=87, last 2 years) | |
| Gigabyte Aero 16 YE5 | |
| Lenovo Legion 5 Pro 16 G7 i7 RTX 3070Ti | |
| Dell XPS 17 9720 RTX 3060 | |
| Asus ROG Flow X16 GV601RW-M5082W | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (223 - 236, n=2) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme G4-20Y50040GE | |
| Apple MacBook Pro 16 2021 M1 Pro | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio i7 RTX 3050 Ti | |
| Asus ROG Flow X13 GV301QH | |
| Sunspider / 1.0 Total Score | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (94 - 119.2, n=2) | |
| Gigabyte Aero 16 YE5 | |
| Asus ROG Flow X16 GV601RW-M5082W | |
| Apple MacBook Pro 16 2021 M1 Pro | |
| Speedometer 2.0 / Result | |
| Average of class Gaming (29 - 446, n=49, last 2 years) | |
| Apple MacBook Pro 16 2021 M1 Pro | |
| Gigabyte Aero 16 YE5 | |
| Lenovo Legion 5 Pro 16 G7 i7 RTX 3070Ti | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS () | |
| Asus ROG Flow X16 GV601RW-M5082W | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme G4-20Y50040GE | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio i7 RTX 3050 Ti | |
* ... smaller is better
AIDA64: FP32 Ray-Trace | FPU Julia | CPU SHA3 | CPU Queen | FPU SinJulia | FPU Mandel | CPU AES | CPU ZLib | FP64 Ray-Trace | CPU PhotoWorxx
| AIDA64 / FP32 Ray-Trace | |
| Average of class Gaming (4986 - 60169, n=191, last 2 years) | |
| Asus ROG Flow X16 GV601RW-M5082W | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (14212 - 16072, n=5) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme G4-20Y50040GE | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 G533ZW-LN106WS | |
| Lenovo Legion 5 Pro 16 G7 i7 RTX 3070Ti | |
| MSI Stealth GS66 12UGS | |
| Gigabyte Aero 16 YE5 | |
| Dell XPS 17 9720 RTX 3060 | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio i7 RTX 3050 Ti | |
| AIDA64 / FP64 Ray-Trace | |
| Average of class Gaming (2540 - 31796, n=191, last 2 years) | |
| Asus ROG Flow X16 GV601RW-M5082W | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme G4-20Y50040GE | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (7530 - 8981, n=5) | |
| Lenovo Legion 5 Pro 16 G7 i7 RTX 3070Ti | |
| Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 G533ZW-LN106WS | |
| MSI Stealth GS66 12UGS | |
| Gigabyte Aero 16 YE5 | |
| Dell XPS 17 9720 RTX 3060 | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio i7 RTX 3050 Ti | |