ASUS ProArt Studiobook 16 Review: Top-Of-The-Line Productivity

MicroCenterOfficial · August 2023

Written by @Julia_V

The ASUS ProArt Studiobook 16 has been one of my most anticipated laptops to test and write about. I have been a huge fan of ASUS’s ProArt product line since I started building my own systems, with their creator-centric sleek aesthetic and features. The Studiobook is one of the most beautiful, unique, and powerful machines I have ever tested. I love the fully-programmable ASUS dial and incredible pen support for both the main screen and the trackpad in particular–and that’s just the beginning of what this laptop can do. This laptop integrates all the essential creator features into one package, suitable for any hobbyist, professional artist, or content creator. As always, ASUS never ceases to amaze me with their innovative and bold design choices in both PC components and laptops.

Specifications

The ASUS Studiobook I got to test features a top-of-the-line mobile processor, the Intel i9-13980HX. The 13th Generation of Intel Processors continues to utilize the impressive hybrid architecture introduced with the 12th Generation Intel Processors. There are both dedicated Performance cores for intensive foreground tasks, as well as Efficiency cores for background processes such as video rendering. With 24 cores (8P and 16E) and 32 threads, this processor packs some incredible power. More specifically, this chip can turbo up to 5.6GHz and draw up to 100W of power. That's a higher power draw than some desktop processors. I’m really impressed by this ceiling of power, as it means that this machine can truly be used as a mobile desktop replacement workstation.

It also comes with 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR5 memory, which is upgradable to 64GB. The memory upgrade would serve as a very solid improvement later down the line, and I like that both slots are upgradable. I tend to open a lot of Chrome tabs all at once and have lots of other applications running in the background. With all that I am throwing at this machine, 16GB seems to be doing just fine for now. Storage is also easily upgradable, as there is a 2nd empty NVMe slot inside. Since the laptop already comes with 1TB, there is plenty of space to go around until an upgrade is required.

One thing that I am very impressed with on this model is actually the performance of the GeForce RTX 4060 8GB Mobile GPU. With the new Ada Lovelace Architecture of the 40-series chips, features such as DLSS 3 and AV1 encoding are available on this already powerful workstation. The Accelerated AI features on the 40 series GPU can greatly benefit artists and creators by automating and speeding up their workflows, whether it’s for live streaming, 3D modeling, or video editing. Even for gamers, the AI-upscaling frame generation feature is also great for boosting performance in demanding titles.

Display

When it comes to creator laptops, the display is probably one of the biggest, if not the biggest feature that matters. The ASUS Studiobook I am testing comes with a 16”, 16:10, 3.2K (3200x2000) OLED SGS Eye Care 120hz Touch Screen display. It is worth pointing out that compared to last year’s model of the Studiobook, this year’s StudioBook features a slightly lower resolution (compared to last year’s full 4K) but double the refresh rate - from 60hz to 120hz. This improvement is such a huge upgrade to the overall viewing experience, as the added motion clarity works extremely well with the extremely low response times of the OLED panel. While maintaining true blacks, the monitor can get as bright as 550 nits.

This OLED display is also VESA DisplayHDR True Black Certified, with 100% DCI-P3 industry standard color. In addition, the color accuracy of the screen is ensured with Calman Verified and PANTONE Validated certifications. Creators can use the built-in monitor that comes with the laptop and be assured that they are getting the highest caliber of color accuracy possible.

Another really cool feature of the display is that it supports a stylus, which means it’s possible to directly draw or notate on the screen itself. The StudioBook is compatible with the ASUS Pen 2.0, which is an MPP 2.0 Stylus that supports 4096 pressure levels. This feature makes it easy to use drawing software such as Clip Studio or Photoshop to create fast sketches and renders. The touchscreen on this laptop also makes it so much easier to navigate to different pages and open different tabs to speed up productivity workflows. Not to exaggerate, but everything about this OLED display is awesome.

With the ASUS ProArt Creator Hub Software included with the laptop, there is a built-in color management tool that can be used to calibrate the screen. Which means we don’t have to use 3rd party software to calibrate the screen, as the built-in software can already be used for that exact purpose.

Connectivity and Peripherals

From blazing-fast Wi-Fi 6E to HDMI 2.1 ports, the ASUS Studiobook has got it all. There are twin Thunderbolt 4 ports on the right side of the laptop, as well as a USB 3.2 Gen 2 port on each side. These Thunderbolt ports actually support 100W charging and DP video signal, which means two things: one, we can use Thunderbolt displays and charge the laptop through the monitor. Two, for travel, we can use smaller chargers than the 240W AC adapter that comes with the machine. There is also a real HDMI 2.1 port on the back I/O. With that, the laptop can use up to three external displays at the same time. Wireless connectivity is also extremely impressive, as the Studiobook features the latest Wi-Fi 6E and a 2.5GB LAN RJ-45 port on the back as well. In addition, there is also an SD Express 7.0 reader conveniently built into the left side of the laptop. I cannot express how much I love not having to use an adapter in order to read the SD cards from my camera on my computer.

Hands-On Experience: First Impressions

The laptop box has the signature ASUS ProArt black-and-gold accents on it. This is my personal favorite ASUS design, as it looks extremely minimalist and sleek. Inside the box, there is a separate box for the laptop and the charger. The version I was testing didn’t come with a separate ProArt backpack, but the higher end model of the Studiobook does. All the packaging, according to ASUS, can be recycled, and that just goes to show the attention to detail that was put into the entire laptop–even the cardboard box.

This model comes with anti-fingerprint coating and I was curious to try that out for myself. I started setting up the machine and testing out the keyboard soon after I took the laptop out of the box. Immediately, I was genuinely impressed by the lack of handprints from my palms resting on the lower half of the machine while I was using the keyboard. Without actually trying to find the handprints at a micro level, there was nothing that was noticeable at all from a normal distance.

After I got it set up, I took a closer look at the aluminum magnesium alloy laptop chassis. This is apparently a new version of the Studiobook chassis compared to last year’s model. Some improvements include better cooling with the addition of liquid metal and increased heatpipes. The screen is moved slightly forward to the user, and the hinge is able to lay flat at 180 degrees. Despite being a bigger laptop, it maintains a sleek and thin appearance, and I did not feel as if I had to strain myself to pick it up. With the amount of power that it packs, I feel like 5.29 pounds is a reasonable weight for a workstation laptop like this.

Of course, I also had to test the 4-way stereo speaker system. I can feel the power of the speakers on max volume through the subtle vibrations on the laptop itself. Physically, you can actually feel the 4 speakers on the corners. The sound is clear and the bass is deep, and I can absolutely use the built-in speakers for gaming. The speakers are Harman Kardon Audio and are Dolby Atmos certified.

General User Experience, Keyboard and Trackpad

I initially imagined that the large trackpad and the ASUS Dial might get in the way of typing on the keyboard. However, those fears proved unfounded. The Dial works really intuitively. For example, in Chrome, I can use the dial to shuffle through tabs, or turn down the volume of my music without having to open the apps while I am working on projects like this article.

This laptop features a close to full-sized keyboard with the number pad on the side. Not only does it feel nice and snappy to type on, I also really appreciate that it can be backlit in the dark. I can use the F-keys on the top row to adjust the brightness of the screen, mute my microphone, turn off my webcam, and so on. My favorite F-key feature on this laptop has to be F12, which is to take a screenshot. Normally I would search up “snipping tool” in my Windows search bar, manually find the app, and then activate the screenshot feature. With the amount of reference creators can collect sometimes, having this feature handy on the F-keys is incredibly useful. I also really like that I can feel the active cooling while typing on the keyboard. In the WASD area, there’s a cool breeze coming out from the laptop. While the middle part of the machine gets a bit warm, as that is where the CPU is located, the part where your hands would normally rest stays cool and breezy.

The ASUS Studiobook trackpad is truly one of its kind. While last year’s model featured three separate buttons to simulate mouse buttons, this year’s model features a brand-new haptic trackpad that makes every click feel responsive and fast. Another detail is the 16:10 ratio of the trackpad, which matches the screen 1:1. Now here is my favorite feature: the trackpad can actually be used as a drawing tablet when paired up with the ASUS Pen. I find that this feature very naturally mimics a drawing pad.

Benchmarking and Testing

The first thing I tried out on the laptop is the battery life. While working on this article, I had the laptop unplugged with music playing in the background. I generally open a lot of tabs while I work and run a lot of different background applications such as Discord and Spotify. During this test, I opted to not disable the GPU and ran the machine with the sub-optimal battery settings intentionally to see how it would perform. My test started at 7:27 PM with the battery at 100% and concluded at 9:39 with the battery at 23%. For 2+ hours of non-stop work, I found this to be quite satisfactory.

I then tested the CPU with Cinebench for its rendering capabilities. The first thing I noticed was that the cooling and noise levels on the laptop were extremely impressive. In the ProArt Creator Hub, I was given the option to change my fan curve. There were three modes: Standard mode, Performance mode, and Full Speed mode. In Standard mode, the CPU stayed around 70C while the usage was at 100%. In Performance mode, the internal laptop fans spun up to 5700 RPM, and I could feel the air blowing out of the sides and back of the machine. Personally, I found this mode to be a bit too loud for my liking, so I left the machine on Standard mode while I left the test to continue running. The Studiobook scored an impressive 23021 on the multi-core test, and 1627 on the single core test.

Performance

I tested Destiny 2 in both PvE and PvP modes on this laptop. During the entire test, noise levels were low, performance was excellent, and I was getting a consistent 80-100 FPS on the 3.2K resolution I was gaming on. At first, I expected the laptop to start feeling hotter as I ran the game for longer, but actually where my hands were resting stayed completely cool the entire time. The 120hz screen is a real game changer for this laptop compared to last year’s model, as it makes gaming extremely smooth. After running the game for around 30 minutes, I checked and the CPU temperature was around 67 degrees, which is very impressive for an i9 processor. During the entire gaming session, I felt the active airflow going through the keyboard of the laptop. While the Studiobook isn’t technically a gaming laptop, it is one of the quietest laptops I have used for gaming. I’m absolutely blown away by what this laptop was able to output for gaming performance.

The other software I was able to test on the laptop is Blender and I have to give a quick shout out to the number pad. Camera controls are much easier with a number pad in Blender, and I was able to take advantage of that. Blender is a really demanding piece of software also because there are real-time ray-tracing rendering tasks in the live viewport–this is called the Cycles rendering mode. While using this rendering mode, I found that the laptop stayed extremely responsive and quiet. With the fully programmable ASUS Dial, I also imagine that creators can personalize the way the dial works for them in Blender and speed up their workflows.

The opportunity to test and write about the ASUS Studiobook 16 OLED has been one of my favorite experiences as a Community Champion. I can’t recommend this laptop enough to any serious or hobbyist creators that want to boost their on-the-go editing capabilities.

Looking for more reviews, news, and guides for laptops? Check out our Platinum Collection guide over here, as well as our Intel Evo Guide and Essential Creator Laptops! And if you're looking for more fantastic computers, be sure to visit us in person for even more options!

Rye_Bread · September 2023

This is one of my favorite laptops we sell! Hopefully one day I'll be able to add one to my arsenal. Great write-up c:

ricardo_ortega · September 2023

The pro art laptops are few favorites as well! The chassis of this model looks great as well and smooth. Glad you were able to experiment it and review it!