Asus ROG Strix G18 featuring Intel’s i9-13980HX and Nvidia’s RTX 4080 dGPU blows competing laptops out of the water with unbeatable US$2,499.99 launch price

BestBuy has the Asus ROG Strix G18 gaming laptop on sale right now for US$2,4999.99. The configuration includes the most powerful mobile processor from Intel’s Raptor Lake-HX series - the i9-13980HX - coupled with 16 GB of DDR5-4800 RAM and a 1 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD plus the Nvidia RTX 4080 mobile GPU with 12 GB VRAM. Granted, it is not exactly a bargain, but compared to other similar configurations from competing OEMs, this is by far the most affordable.

For reference, the closest competitor would be the Alienware M18 at US$2,900, followed by the Acer Predator Helios 18 at US$3,000, while the Razer Blade 18 looks way overpriced at US$3,800. Also, all three competitors sport slightly less powerful processors. Not to mention that the Strix G18 completely destroys all mobile RTX 3080 Ti configurations (on average 25-30% slower) that still sell for more than US$3,000 currently.

A price this low could be indicative of some compromises. However, this does not seem to be the case with the Strix G18. Although some would argue that DDR5-4800 could be significantly slower than the DDR5-5600 modules, youtuber Dave2D claims that the difference is not really noticeable. The screen is not bad at all, either. In fact, Dave2D thinks this could be one of the best 18-inch 2560 x 1600 240 Hz IPS panel out there, as it is very bright at 489 nits, has decent color reproduction with 99% DCI-P3 and also features a MUX switch.

Admittedly, there are a few shortcomings with this model, but nothing that could affect the overall performance. Dave2D points out that biometrics are completely missing here, and the 18-inch size together with the hefty 330 W adapter might detract from the portability aspect. For people with sensitive hearing, the Strix G18 could exhibit some coil whine coming from the GPU VRM when under load.

Buy the Asus ROG Strix G18 gaming laptop from BestBuy