A Portable Editing Workstation: We Review the Asus ProArt Studiobook 16
This unique laptop from Asus offers more than just a powerful computer. Let’s take a look at how the ProArt StudioBook 16 can contribute to your post-processing and retouching workflow.
Over the past few years, leading tech brands have been focused on creating devices (computers, monitors, laptops, and mobile phones) that are geared toward being used by creatives. This includes photographers, graphic artists, filmmakers, colorists, and video game creators. These devices often come with enhanced graphics capabilities as well as unique features that could aid the workflow of the users that whom they were made for. The Asus ProArt sub-brand first entered the market through various professional-grade monitors that have remarkable color accuracy among many other features. However, in more recent years, the brand has expanded this to an entire ecosystem of devices that are tailored to creatives and this laptop is one of the latest to join that line.
External Features, Build, and Size
The ProArt StudioBook 16 comes in an all-black body with a matte anti-fingerprint finish that is different from Asus’ usual circular brushed steel aesthetic. This black slate is topped by a simple chrome ProArt logo right smack in the middle. This 16-inch laptop comes in at 2.40 Kilograms with a relatively slim 0.78-inch width when closed. All of this within a 14.5 x 10.3-inch body. This US Military-grade build does come in quite large compared to most creative laptops though this is mostly due to the 16-inch display. The only downside for photographers would mean having to use a bigger camera bag (since most camera bags have laptop compartments up to 15.5 inches) or use an entirely separate laptop bag altogether.
Connectivity and Ports
For a portable device to be considered an on-the-go workstation, it would have to at least offer most connectivity options that a creative would need. The ProArt Studiobook 16 has both sides packed with various connectivity ports for additional hardware, AV input and output, and storage media. The left side comprises a safety lock, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 USB-A port, the DC port in the middle, an HDMI 2.1 compatible port, a Thunderbolt 4 USB-C port, and another USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 port capable of power delivery, DisplayPort, and VR support. On the right is a 1Gbps RJ45 ethernet port, another USB 3.2 Gen 2 type A port, a 3.5mm combo audio input-output jack, and a full-sized SD Express 7.0 card reader.
Both sides are also equipped with three large vents for the Asus Icecool Pro thermal solution that is optimized for heavy graphics use to keep the device as cool as possible. Inside, the laptop is also equipped with Dual-Band Wi-Fi 6 22 and Bluetooth 5.2.
Display
The 16 Inch 4K OLED screen contributes the most to the size of this laptop. It comes with a 16:10 aspect ratio with a glossy glass surface. Maximum brightness is at 550 nits. This OLED screen can display 100% of the DCI-P3 color space, has a VESA HDR rating of 500 with a contrast ratio of 1M:1, and a response time of 0.2. This display has both Pantone validation and Calman verification for color accuracy which is rated Delta E
Internal
The Asus ProArt Studiobook 16 comes in multiple variants depending on the installed processor and GPU among others. This particular model is the H7600H which is can be considered the entry-level of the ProArt Studiobook 16 line.
This particular model uses a 2.4 GHz 11th Gen Intel Core I7 8-core processor (an I9 option is available), with 1 Tb of storage (available up to 4Tb), and 32Gb DDR4 RAM (available up to 64Gb). This device also packs an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 laptop GPU with accompanying NVIDA Studio Driver optimization for a wide selection of photo, video, and 3D processing software.
Creative Tools
The ProArt Studiobook 16 isn’t just a computer with significant graphics processing capabilities and a reliable display. In addition, it has some unique hardware features that photographers might find handy for photo editing and retouching workflows.
The ProArt Dial is a fully customizable shortcut dial that can be used for editing functions as well as system-related adjustments. This physical dial rests on the upper left corner of the trackpad and is embedded into the bottom frame making it non-obstructive to closing the laptop. The dial simply has to be rotated to scroll through selections and manipulate sliders and pressed once to select specific functions. The ProArt Dial can be customized to include functions from a wide selection of compatible editing apps and is particularly optimized for Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop, and Premiere. Customizing the functions is done through the Asus ProArt Creator hub that gives full access to the functions of the dial and other custom buttons available on the keyboard.
Alongside the dial is a relatively larger-than-usual touchpad. While it seemingly looks like a regular function touchpad, it does have some unique features. For one, it has an additional button that can be customized for extra functions. On top of that, this touchpad actually doubles as a portable graphic pen tablet. With a sensitivity of 1024 pressure levels, the touchpad is compatible with various versions of the Asus pen. This pen function can be quite useful in making local adjustments and retouching photos when the photographer is outside of usual office or studio environments. While the size of this built-in tablet is not equivalent to the function and ergonomics of a full-sized graphic tablet, having it on-the-go can be beneficial.
The additional creative functions on the touchpad and dial definitely offer a lot of benefits to the workflow of photographers and other creatives, especially when working on location. With the available extra space on the surface of the laptop, it might be a good idea to add a few more customizable buttons alongside the dial. While the pen compatibility is definitely a huge advantage, it would have also been great if a storage slot for the pen was put on one side or at the bottom of the laptop.
Application
Using the ProArt Studiobook 16 for photo editing and post-processing definitely has its advantages both in the aspect of software performance and overall ergonomics. This particular variant, H7600H, is the unofficial base model for this series with an Intel I7 processor, 1 Terabyte of storage, and 16Gb of RAM. However, in using it for photo editing, raw processing, and retouching, the performance is definitely more than enough for what is needed and the supposed GPU acceleration offered by the NVIDIA Studio optimized drivers give a smooth and lag-free experience. GPU acceleration is also felt with processes such as building panoramas, merging HDR images, and raw file enhancement (boosting size and resolution) through Adobe’s “enhance detail” function. I also did test the performance on rendering 360 panoramas which resulted in about 30-50% decrease in total processing time.
The combination of the ProArt dial and the hybrid touchpad offers additional efficiency when working on-the-fly. The dial gives an easily accessible shortcut to most (if not all) functions necessary for global adjustments as well as shortcuts to system-related functions. The trackpad gives a certain level of detail-accurate inputs when it comes to retouching and manual composite work on photoshop. Considering that this comes with a 16-inch OLED screen with significant color accuracy, one can see this laptop as a worthy mobile workstation for photographers.
What Can Be Improved:
D OLED laptops: ProArt StudioBook Pro 16, Asus ZenBook Pro 16X
In this article we’re discussing Asus’s premium lineups of creative laptops for 2023, the Asus ProArt StudioBook Pro 16 3D OLED (H7604) and the Asus ZenBook Pro 16X 3D OLED (UX7602).
Among other things, these are both available with an optional 3D OLED glass-free display (this article covers OLED laptop technology more thoroughly). I got to see it in action on both and, WOW, it’s actually cooler and way more realistic than I was expecting. Still somewhat gimmicky past the initial wow impression, and expensive for now, but a feature that perhaps some potential buyers would find useful in their work, and regular users would enjoy for movies and gaming. We’ll further touch on this screen after the intro.
As far as the two products go, the 2023 Asus ZenBook Pro 16X is a slight refinement of the 2022 ZenBook Pro 16X reviewed here, built on the same complex chassis, but now available with updated and more powerful specs, as well as the 3D OLED display.
The Asus ProArt StudioBook Pro 16 is a new design for this 2023 generation, and is meant to tackle heavyweight competitors in the creative space such as the Dell XPS 15/17 series or the Apple MacBook Pro. That won’t be easy, even with a significant advantage in performance on its side. It is a beautiful minimalist design, though, perhaps even Asus’s best so far.
For now, I got to spend a little time with preview samples of both these laptops. Down below I’ve gathered my first impressions on the designs and their important features, and I’ll follow up with detailed reviews later in the year.
Asus Zenbook Pro 16X UX7602, ProArt StudioBook Pro 16 H7604 with 3D OLED
But first, here’s a full specs sheet of these two creator-targeted notebooks.
| Asus Zenbook Pro 16x UX7602BZ | Asus ProArt StudioBook Pro 16 H7604 | |
| Screen | 16.0 inch, 16:10, glossy, touch, 2D or 3D OLED 3.2K 3200 x 2000 px, 120 Hz 0.2ms, 550 nits, 100% DCI-P3 | 16.0 inch, 16:10, glossy, touch, 2D or 3D OLED 3.2K 3200 x 2000 px, 120 Hz 0.2ms, 550 nits, 100% DCI-P3 |
| Processor | Intel Raptor Lake 13th gen, up to Core i9-13905H, 6C8c/20T Supernova SoM design | Intel Raptor Lake 13th gen, up to Core i9-13980HX, 8C16c/32T |
| Video | Intel UHD up to Nvidia RTX 4080 12GB (??W), with MUX, Nvidia Studio drivers | Intel UHD up to Nvidia RTX 4070 8GB (up to 95W), with MUX, Nvidia Studio drivers |
| Memory | up to 32 GB LPDDR5x-7500 (soldered) | up to 64 GB LPDDR5-4800 (2x DIMMs) |
| Storage | 1x gen4 M.2 2280 slots | 2x gen4 M.2 2280 slots |
| Connectivity | Wireless 6E, Bluetooth 5.2 | Wireless 6E, Bluetooth 5.2 |
| Ports | 1x USB-A 3.2 gen2, 2x USB-C with Thunderbolt 4, HDMI 2.1, SD Express 7.0 card reader, audio jack | x USB-A 3.2 gen2, 2x USB-C 3.2 with Thunderbolt 4, HDMI 2.1, LAN, SD Express 7.0 card reader, audio jack |
| Battery | 96 Wh, 200W USB-C charger with quick-charging | 90 Wh, 200W charger USB-C charging |
| Size | 355 mm or 13.97” (w) x 251 mm or 9.88” (d) x 21-27 mm or 0.82-1.06” (h) | 356 mm or 13.97” (w) x 271 mm or 10.66” (d) from 21 – 24 mm or 0.82” – 0.94″ (h) |
| Weight | ~5.3 lbs (2.4 kg).6 kg (1.32 lbs) for the chargercables, | ~ 5.3 lbs (2.4 kg) charger |
| Extras | WRGB backlit keyboard, haptic touchpad with pen support, physical DialPad, FHD webcam with IR Hello and ALS/RGB sensor, 6x speaker system, AAS vapor chamber cooling module | white backlit keyboard, haptic touchpad with pen support, physical DialPad, FHD webcam with IRILS, stereo bottom speakers |
These two are quite similar laptops, about the same size and weight, with similar inputs and DialPads and the same 16-inch screen options, but at the same time with a few distinct design and hardware particularities.
I’ve already covered the ZenBook Pro 16X in-depth in our review, so I’ll mostly FOCUS on the ProArt in this preview.
Regardless, the 2023 ZenBook Pro 16x does get a few important updates that I’ll briefly summarize below:
- The 4K OLED display was replaced with the 3.2K 120Hz 3D OLED panel.
- Specs wise, this generation has been updated to 13th-gen Intel Core i9 H processors and up to Nvidia RTX 4080 12GB graphics.
- Asus redesigned the motherboard and implemented what they call the Supernova SoM (System on Module), which combines the CPU with the memory on a single chip. This way, the Pro 16X utilizes LPDDR5x memory running at up to 7500 MHz, a notable increase from the standard DDR5 memory on the previous Pro 16X generation, or the ProArt model.
- The redesigned motherboard allowed for a higher-tier and more powerful RTX 4080 dGPU to be implemented in this chassis.
- Asus haven’t shared the exact TGP numbers, but they did mention the system runs up to 155W combined CPUGPU sustained power. For comparison, the 2022 ZenBook Pro 16x only ran at up to 140W of combined power.
- Despite this, the cooling hasn’t changed, with still an AAS intake system under the keyboard tray and an internal Vapor Chamber module. The 6x speakers, the IO, or the inputs haven’t changed either.
We’ll have to see whether these changes are enough the enhance the value proposition of the Zenbook Pro 16x series in this 2023 update.
D OLED laptop technology explained
I watched a Blender project and a sequence of Avatar on these 3D screens and they’re actually … 3D. The content has depth and perspective and you don’t need any glasses to see it. But the experience is impossible to put in worth, you pretty much have to see it to understand it.
So how does this work? The technology is called Autostereoscopy and is explained in this Wikipedia article here.
And then on this dedicated page on Asus’s website and in the video down below.
And in this Dave 2Ds video:
Now, I’ll need to spend more time with these 3D laptops to better understand how useful this feature actually is for watching movies or playing games. Sure, the demos looked cool, but we get past the WOW first impressions, is this something that you’ll end up actually using?
As for real 3D work, that’s out of my league, so perhaps some of you graphic artists or engineers can share your thoughts on how useful this feature is. I know some 3D artists use a separate headset in their projects, and I wonder if that could be replaced for your work with this sort of 3D functionality on the main display?
Before we move on, I will also point out that the 3D functionality is optional on these screens and can enabled/disabled when needed. When disabled, the lenticular lens layer is switched off, and the screen looks just like a regular OLED. Furthermore, these Asus laptops are going to be available with regular 2D OLED displays as well, especially in their mid-specced and more affordable configurations. That’s because the 3D OLED is going to come at a significant premium in this first generation.
From what we know so far, the 3d OLED functionality will be available on these top-tier ZenBook Pro 16x and ProArt StidoBook Pro 16 models, as well as the mid-tier Asus VivoBook Pro 16X K6604 design.
ProArt StudioBook Pro 16 H7604 3D OLED
Unlike the ZenBook Pro 16X, the ProArt StudioBook Pro 16 is a more traditional clamshell design. That means it’s somewhat thinner, but still fairly heavy at 2.4 kilos, at least in comparison to other thin-and-light 16-inch designs such as the ROG Zephyrus M16.
The StudioBook, on the other hand, implements 13th-gen Intel Core HX processors on this generation, with up to the beastly Core i9-13980HX 24C/32T CPU, up to 64 GB of RAM, 4 TB of gen4 SSD storage, and up to RTX 4070 dGPUs. However, the GPU is only a 95W design from what I can tell right now, despite the fact that the system handles up to 150W of combined CPUGPU power – that’s on par with the 2022 generation of the Zenbook Pro 16x.
Furthermore, a rather beefy thermal module is implemented on this series, and I’d expect that could handle the GPU at higher power. Still, Asus tries to optimize the performance while keeping the fan noise low on these creator laptops, and perhaps that’s why they’re limiting the GPU power allocations. The target is sub 40 dBA on the mid-tier profiles and sub 45 dBA on the top profiles – most ROG laptops are running louder, but there are some exceptions with the newer tri-fan thermal modules implemented in the ROG Flow X16 or Zephyrus M16 GU604 series, and they don’t gimp the GPU capabilities.
Looking past the performance of this system, I am a fan of the overall design of this ProArt StudioBook series. It’s a dark theme with very muted branding elements, and the entire chassis feels sturdy and very well made.
The laptop is practical as well, with good inputs, a beautiful display that can lean back flat to 180 degrees, and all the needed ports around the sides. The PSU and the HDMI connector at placed on the back, out of the way.
Of course, I’ll have to spend more time with this for a proper review, but from the little I’ve used it so far, I couldn’t fault it in any way. This is surely one of my favorite Asus designs ever.
Here are some preview high-res pictures.
And a few real-life shots from my time with it, including details on the camera system required by the 3D OLED display.
That wraps it up for now, but look for our reviews in the months to come, and in the meantime, get in touch in the Комментарии и мнения владельцев section and let me know what you think about this glass-free 3D technology and about these two Asus creator lineups discussed in this article.
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Asus ProArt StudioBook 16 OLED (H7604JV-DS96T) 16″ 120Hz OLED (100% DCI-P3) Touchscreen Laptop w / NVIDIA Geforce RTX 4060 8GB GDDR6 (Core i9-13980HX)
Asus ProArt StudioBook 16 (H7604JV-DS96T), Intel Core i9-13980HX (2.2GHz. 5.6GHz) Processor, 16″ 120Hz OLED (3200 x 2000) Glossy 100% DCI-P3 (Bend 400 nits HDR Brightness) Touchscreen Dislplay, 32GB (1x 32GB) DDR5 4800MHz Memory, 1TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 (8GB) GDDR6 Graphics Card, Microsoft Windows 11 Home, Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) (Dual Band) 2×2, Bluetooth 5.3, HDMI 2.1, 2x Thunderbolt 4, 2x USB 3.2 Type A (Gen 2), FHD IR Camera, Backlit Chiclet Keyboard w/ Num-Key, FingerPrint Reader, Backpack: Included, Asus Pen 2.0: Not Included
The new ProArt Studiobook 16 OLED is a powerful mobile workstation that exceeds all expectations and goes far beyond the extraordinary. Its unstoppable 13th Gen Intel Core i9-13980HX processor, up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU, vast amounts of memory and ultrafast storage will supercharge your content creation workflow and let your imagination do what it does best. The certified color-accurate 16-inch 3.2K 120 Hz OLED touchscreen will do full justice to your creative vision, and you’ll enjoy unrivaled precision control of your apps with the large, stylus-compatible haptic touchpad and intuitive Asus Dial rotary control. Take your creativity to the next level with ProArt Studiobook 16 OLED.
power to you on the go
Performance is the essence of ProArt Studiobook 16 OLED, putting desktop-grade content-creation capabilities in a take-anywhere package. The 13th Gen Intel Core i9-13980HX processor makes light work of compute-intensive workloads, and it is teamed with a professional-grade NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU, two of the latest, fastest SSDs, and up to 64 GB of high-performance RAM. Finally, there’s a mobile workstation that truly deserves the name.
Tackle the heaviest workloads
Even the heaviest compute-intensive workloads are no problem for the latest 13th Gen Intel Core i9-13980HX processor. It has an unprecedented 24 cores for effortless multithreading performance, a Turbo Boost speed of up to 5.6 GHz, and its 110 W maximum TDP makes light work of CPU-heavy tasks, so you can enjoy desktop-grade performance wherever you are.
Create the future, fast
Creating the future is easy when you have the awesome graphics power of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU on tap. Built with the latest Ada Lovelace architecture, it enables ultrarealistic ray-traced graphics, cutting-edge AI computing and programmable shading — lifting all visuals to the next level. In short, no matter how heavy your demands, from product design and model rendering to video encoding, the RTX 4070 Laptop GPU delivers all the performance needed for top-end content creation. ProArt Studiobook 16 OLED is also supplied with NVIDIA Studio Drivers, ensuring every creative task is able to perform at its best.
It’s cool to be quiet
The advanced Asus IceCool Pro thermal technology in ProArt Studiobook 16 OLED gives it the edge when it comes to performance and quietness. Liquid metal thermal materials on the CPU, five heat pipes and larger 102-blade dual fans ensure optimum cooling performance. The new per-key keyboard lighting with air-intake design also helps maximize airflow, too. All this technology helps keep noise levels below 40 dBA in Standard cooling mode, or you can unleash the full 160 W combined CPU/GPU TDP whenever you need to. Cool, quiet, and powerful: what more do you need?
World-leading 16” 3.2K 120 Hz OLED HDR 16:10 touchscreen
For serious creative work, you need a seriously good display, and ProArt Studiobook 16 OLED won’t disappoint you. Its 3.2K 120 Hz OLED HDR7 touchscreen is simply superb, with truly photorealistic visuals that are VESA DisplayHDR True Black 500 certified for ultra-high contrast and deep blacks, and a 100% DCI-P3 industry-standard color gamut for vivid, true-to-life colors. It’s also Dolby Vision certified for realistic, ultravivid HDR visuals. Color accuracy is ensured with Calman Verified8 and PANTONE Validated certifications, along with a remarkable Delta E color-accuracy value of less than 19. To protect your eyes during long late-night sessions, it has 70%-lower blue-light emissions than LCD models10, and it’s certified for eye care by TÜV Rheinland. For intuitive, natural input, the touchscreen also supports the latest MPP 2.0 styluses with up to 4096 pressure levels.
The professional touch
The new 28%-larger14 haptic touchpad on ProArt Studiobook 16 OLED is a boon for efficient creativity. It’s the world’s first haptic touchpad with stylus support, making it even more versatile, and it uses linear resonant actuator (LRA) technology to provide the most precise and responsive haptic feedback.
The touchpad has underlying pressure sensors that allow you to click anywhere and receive the same satisfying haptic feedback when navigating apps.
The 16:10 touchpad aspect ratio matches that of the main display, making navigation and stylus input much more intuitive, without on-screen distortion.
The touchpad is stylus supported, giving you natural-feeling input for drawing or writing.
Make magic happen with Asus Dial
Discover new ways to work with the exclusive Asus Dial, an intuitive physical controller that gives you instant and precise fingertip control over parameters in your creative apps. You can easily change brush size, or rapidly undo actions to make your creative workflow smoother. It’s fully customizable — and works with a wide range of apps!
Enjoy more intuitive, creative operating functions with your favorite Adobe apps.
Personalize your productivity app settings with Asus Dial to maximize your creativity.
Jog through video timeline, quickly adjust audio, and enjoy seamless entertainment experience.
Personalize your creativity
ProArt Creator Hub is a personal portal where you can monitor your device’s status, personalize settings, or optimize your workflow for endless creativity. It features an overview Dashboard, Fan Profiles to customize cooling performance, and Control Settings for Asus creative components personalization. There’s also a new Color Control that helps you optimize color tools: we’ve collaborated with Pantone to provide digital color data that will help you express your wild creativity.
Crafted for professionals
ProArt Studiobook 16 OLED has a new stepped hinge design that improves heat dissipation, as well as enabling a slimmer all-round NanoEdge bezel that maximizes the display area. The 180° lay-flat hinge makes it easy to share ideas and designs with clients or colleagues. There’s a high-tech anti-fingerprint nano-coating that helps keep the Mineral Black low-reflectivity finish of your ProArt Studiobook 16 OLED spotless. This tough, durable coating also feels silky to the touch.
Break the sound barrier
For unrivaled audio quality, ProArt Studiobook 16 OLED has a stereo sound system certified by the audio experts at Harman Kardon. It delivers powerful, immersive sound that’s crystal-clear.The immersive Dolby Atmos technology indulges you in your favorite entertainment with sound that moves all around you, adding breathtaking realism to music, movies and TV.
High fidelity, high-standard headphone DAC
Bring your music and audio to life with the audiophile-grade ESS SABRE DAC, featuring Hi-Res Audio certification for the highest possible audio playback quality and the ability to drive the world’s most sophisticated high-impedance headphones. The expanded dynamic range and lower distortion lets you enjoy richer, clearer highs and deeper bass, so you can immerse yourself in virtual 7.1-channel surround sound.
Thoughtful, innovative design
We go the extra mile to give you a more effortless and joyful experience, at create or play.
All the ports, all the productivity
There’s no shortage of I/O ports on ProArt Studiobook 16 OLED, so it’s easy to connect your studio peripherals, display devices and networks wherever you are to maintain your full productivity. There are two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports with Power Delivery, DisplayPort and VR support; two USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports; a 2.5 Gbps LAN port; the latest HDMI 2.1 FRL port; and an SD Express 7.0 card reader. ProArt Studiobook 16 OLED also includes ultrafast Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax), so you can easily connect, create and the go.
World’s most strictly tested US military-grade laptop durability2
Asus laptops15 are engineered with extraordinary toughness meet the exacting US MIL-STD-810H military-grade standard, undergoing 12 rigorous test methods and 26 punishing test procedures — exceeding industry standards. The upshot is a range of products that are renowned for reliability and durability. These factors also inherently benefit longevity and thus sustainability, so you can work, travel or relax with the confidence that your Asus laptop is ready for the real world — today, and long into the future.
| General |
| Asus |
| H7604JV-DS96T |
| Mineral Black |
| Asus ProArt StudioBook 16 (H7604JV-DS96T), Intel Core i9-13980HX (2.2GHz. 5.6GHz) Processor, 16″ 120Hz OLED (3200 x 2000) Glossy 100% DCI-P3 (Bend 400 nits HDR Brightness) Touchscreen Dislplay, 32GB (1x 32GB) DDR5 4800MHz Memory, 1TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 (8GB) GDDR6 Graphics Card, Microsoft Windows 11 Home, Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) (Dual Band) 2×2, Bluetooth 5.3, HDMI 2.1, 2x Thunderbolt 4, 2x USB 3.2 Type A (Gen 2), FHD IR Camera, Backlit Chiclet Keyboard w/ Num-Key, FingerPrint Reader, Backpack: Included, Asus Pen 2.0: Not Included |
| Processor |
| Intel 13 Gen Raptor Lake Core i9-13980HX Processor |
| 24 |
| 32 |
| 2.2 GHz |
| 5.6 GHz |
| 36 MB Intel Smart Cache |
| Operating System |
| Microsoft Windows 11 Home |
| LCD |
| 16″ 120Hz (0.2 ms) OLED Touchscreen Glossy Narrow Border (100% DCI-P3) Display w/ Stylus SupportPantone Validated70% less harmful blue lightBrightness : Bend 400nits (HDR)Refresh Rate: 120HzResponse Time: 0.2 ms |
| 3200 x 2000 (16:10) |
| Graphics |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 (8GB) GDDR6 Graphics CardUp to 2370MHz Boost Clock 130W Maximum Graphics Power w/ Dynamic Boost |
| Memory |
| 32GB (1x 32GB) DDR5 4800MHz |
| 64GB |
| Hard Drive Optical Drive |
| 1TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 Performance SSD TPM |
| N/A |
| 2x DDR5 SO-DIMM slots2x M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0×4 |
| Audio |
| Smart Amp TechnologyBuilt-in speakerBuilt-in array microphoneharman/kardon (Premium)w/ Cortana and Alexa voice-recognition support |
| Communication |
| Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) (Dual Band) 2x2Bluetooth 5.3 |
| Slots / Interface |
| SD Express 7.0 |
| 2x Thunderbolt 4 [Supports Display / Power Delivery]2x USB 3.2 Type A (Gen 2)1x 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack1x HDMI 2.1 FRL1x Headphone / Headset1x RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet1x DC-in1x SD Express 7.0 card reader |
| Webcam Resolution |
| FHD camera w/ IR function to support Windows Hello w/ Privacy Shutter |
| Input Device |
| Backlit Chiclet Keyboard w/ Num-Key (1.4mm Key-Travel)Precision Touchpad |
| HDD User Password Protection and SecurityBIOS Booting User Password ProtectionTrusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0Trusted Platform Module (Firmware TPM)BIOS setup user passwordSecurity LockMcAfee LiveSafeIR webcam with Windows Hello support |
| Power |
| 90WHrs, 4S1P, 4-cell Li-ion |
| ø6.0, 240W AC Adapter,Output: 20V DC, 12A, 240W,Input: 100~240V AC 50/60Hz universal |
| Physical Spec |
| 14.02″ x 10.67″ x 0.82″ ~ 0.94″ |
| 5.29 lbs |
| Warranty |
| 1 Year International/Eligible for 1YR free Domestic ADP upon registration with 1-way free shipping/2-way FREE shipping for standard hardware warranty repair |
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The Asus ProArt StudioBook 16 OLED is a stroke of innovative genius.
Our Verdict
The Asus ProArt Studiobook 16 OLED is one of the best portable workstations for creative professionals, breaking away from the boring, traditional designs to provide genuinely useful and innovative solutions to streamline your experience using the device.
For
- 16-inch 4K OLED display
- Incredibly powerful components
- Unique Asus Dial for use in Adobe apps
- Great variety of ports
Against
Why you can trust Creative Bloq
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The new Asus ProArt Studiobook 16 OLED might look quirky at first glance, but every design choice has been meticulously thought out to create the ultimate portable workstation for creatives.
Asus proves itself frequently to be very capable of creative devices that serve a target market well, from its Republic of Gamers (abbreviated to ROG) brand for luxury gaming devices, to its VivoBook range of laptops that are best optimised for graphically demanding creative applications. The ProArt Studiobook has had previous iterations, but this new OLED flavoured beast is in a league of its own.
The Asus ProArt Studiobook 16 OLED hasn’t officially hit the shelves yet, and several of the planned specification variants won’t be available until early 2022, so if you’re desperate to get your hands on one then you might be disappointed, But if you have the patience, then this really is worth the wait.
The inclusion of an OLED display is perfect for video and photo editors who want precise colour accuracy and brightness, while the ‘Asus Dial’ offers an innovative way of using Adobe creative suite applications without the need for additional peripherals.
There’s nothing quite like it on the market, giving it the edge over other OLED laptops optimised for the creative industry (such as the Gigabyte Aero 15 OLED) and while it’s on the pricey side, we certainly don’t think it’s overpriced for what you’re getting.
It’s also surprisingly portable for such a large device, measuring up at 109.2 x 264.1 x 20.3MM and weighing 2.5KG. That’s fairly heavy compared to some rival products, but we managed to carry it around all day in a standard-sized backpack with no issues at all.
Looking for more ideas for laptops? Be sure to check out our list of the best laptop for graphic design, and the best laptop for video editing.
Asus ProArt Studiobook 16 OLED review: price
Both pricing and availability are a little spotty, with release dates scattered depending on the specifications you’re looking to buy. Our review model features an RTX 3070 graphics card, an AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX processor, and 2TB SSD and 32GB of RAM, but won’t be available until December 2021. When it does appear, it’ll set you back £2,499.
US pricing for specific models has yet to be confirmed, but it’s currently listed as starting from 1,999, which is likely for the lowest specifications that feature an AMD Ryzen 7-5800H, RTX 3060 GPU, 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. As the official UK price for this variant is £1,999, we can also assume that the US price for the fully decked out model we tested will be around 2,499.
This places it in a similar bracket to the recently released MacBook Pro 16-inch (2021) with an M1 Pro SoC, though unless you’re devoted the macOS, there’s a strong argument that the Asus ProArt Studiobook 16 OLED might be a better deal for creative professionals, especially as you’re not getting the full M1 Max silicon unless you spend considerably more cash.
You can also get other OLED creative devices like the Gigabyte Aero 15 OLED with an Intel Core i7-11800H, RTX 3070, 32GB of RAM, 1TB of storage, and a 15.6-inch 4K for £2,199 / 2,099, but this lacks many of the features that make the new ProArt Studiobook 16 so desirable.
Asus ProArt Studiobook 16 OLED review: power and performance
Creative applications are known to be among the most demanding software that a laptop or desktop computer will have to run, but the Asus ProArt Studiobook 16 OLED handled everything we chucked at it like a dream.
The model we’ve reviewed has an AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX processor, which is one of the most powerful CPUs currently available on the market without needing to jump into desktop territory. This eight-core processor is typically seen in high-end gaming devices, which shouldn’t come as a surprise as many creative applications (especially 3D ones) share the same hardware demands as a AAA game. If you’re looking for processing power, there are very few options that would achieve better results across both benchmarks and real-world performance.
Paired with the RTX 3070 graphics card and 32GB of memory, the ProArt Studiobook 16 OLED ate through every application we tested, with smooth performance across Maya, Blender and Adobe Photoshop. If you wanted to you can even play games on it, and it handled Cyberpunk 2077 just fine with the highest settings thanks to the inclusion of DLSS, which really allows you to push raytracing to its limit.
It uses Nvidia Studio drivers to help further optimise applications used by artists and creators to ensure you’re getting the most out of your hardware, though you can easily switch between these and Nvidia Game Ready drivers should you want to spend a few days with your Steam account rather than with your head buried in Autodesk.
We ran the ProArt Studiobook 16 OLED through some benchmark tests, where it achieved 48.8FPS (frames per second) in handbrake and 79FPS in Metro Exodus set at Ultra quality. The display is only 60Hz, so you won’t be able to physically see any of the additional frames beyond 60, which is one of the few criticisms we had.
We also ran a couple of popular Blender benchmarks, with ‘Fishy Cat’ coming in with a render time of 1 minute 28 seconds and ‘Classroom’ rendering in 2 minutes 1 second. Beyond using a desktop PC or a fully specced out MacBook Pro, nothing is coming close to these scores in the mobile workstation market, which makes this a great choice for photo and video editors, 3D artists and graphic designers alike.
Battery life is where things start to fall down a bit, but only if you didn’t go into this with realistic expectations. The Asus ProArt Studiobook 16 OLED managed to trundle on for around 6 hours and 4 minutes in a synthetic PCMark 10 simulation of every day tasks, while we saw an average of 5 hours and 50 minutes from doing various graphics-based tasks.
That might seem low, but the internal components and OLED display are all especially hungry, which makes this an expected run time on battery power alone. Without adding a larger battery to the device and adding to its bulk and weight, it simply isn’t possible to extend the battery life while also powering all that demanding hardware.
The included webcam is 720p, which is fine but we’re seeing an increasing amount of 1080p webcams in laptops, and they offer much better detail. Still, it comes with a built-in privacy shutter for anyone who likes to cover their webcam when not in use. The quality is a tad grainy and it’s clear that the sensor struggles in low-light environments, but it’ll do just fine for work meetings or the occasional family call.
Asus ProArt Studiobook 16 OLED review: display
It really is difficult to put into words how beautiful the display is on the Asus ProArt Studiobook 16 OLED, from the darkest blacks and vivid brights. The 4K resolution has 100% DCI-P3 and sRGB colour gamut coverage, as well as 97% AdobeRGB, so you can enjoy strikingly accurate colours on any images and video footage you’ll be editing on the device.
It can also achieve around 550 nits of peak brightness, though the 7,000 hour warranty for OLED burn-in is calculated at 200 nits. If burn-in concerns you then put your mind at ease. the device has built-in pixel refreshers and it even ships out with Dark Mode already enabled.
Slap on a typical 4K showcase video and you’ll wish you had made the switch to OLED sooner. The richness and depths achievable never failed to blow us away, even after a solid week of using the Asus ProArt Studiobook 16 OLED as a daily driver. The screen is also 16:10, which is quickly becoming a new standard thanks to the boost to productivity that the additional height can bring, giving you more room to work with various applications.
A real cherry on the proverbial cake would have been to bump that 60Hz refresh rate to 120Hz (or even 90Hz). Increasing the refresh rate would result in a noticeable smoothness, but it wouldn’t have much application outside of gaming, which the Studiobook isn’t optimised for.
Asus ProArt Studiobook 16 OLED review: features
Let’s address the big selling point: the Asus Dial is equal parts wonderful and disappointing, but we’re hesitant to believe that our feelings will stay that way. Located to the left of the touchpad and embedded into the chassis to avoid being brushed when typing, Its application allows users to quickly change between different tools and controls within certain applications.
Pressing down on the dial will open a menu where you can select screen brightness or audio volume, adjusting your choices by rotating the dial itself. In Adobe Creative Suite applications this feature really shines through, with pre-set menus and actions such as a custom brush options group in Photoshop that contains options for opacity, layers and brush sizes.
If you can get these memorised then using the dial is much quicker than using keyboard shortcuts, and even if you typically save macros or commands to a graphics tablet device, the Asus ProArt Studiobook 16 OLED has another trick up its sleeve.
Not only does the touchpad feature a third, central button that acts as a ‘hold’ function for 3D artists, but it can recognise touch gestures and even be used as a tiny built-in drawing tablet thanks to its ability to be used alongside a stylus. We would comment on how well that works, only the laptop doesn’t ship with one, nor does it state exactly what stylus it supports, which is frustrating.
Support is also a huge issue with that innovative dial, as only four Adobe applications can use its functionality at the time of writing: After effects, Photoshop, Premiere Pro and Lightroom Classic.
You can customise the functions in the pre-installed ProArt Creator Hub software, but outside of the four Adobe apps, you can only use the dial to switch between apps and virtual desktops, and scroll up and down. With any luck additional functions will be added for users of other software like Affinity and Divinci Resolve in the future, otherwise this is a huge perk limited only to users of the Adobe creative suite.
If you’re concerned about ports, don’t be. On the left side of the laptop you’re getting two USB-C 3.2 gen 2 (or a single USB-C and a Thunderbolt 4 if you opt for an Intel model), a USB-A input, an HDMI port, a lock slot, and an AC adapter for charging, while on the right you’ll find an SD card slot, a USB Type-A, a standard headphone jack and an ethernet port. This is plenty enough to plug in all the additional peripherals and displays you might need, and until very recently, was more than the MacBook Pro was offering up.
Should you buy the Asus ProArt Studiobook 16 OLED?
If you’re looking for the ultimate portable workstation for creatives then you’ve found it (though as we’ve said, the MacBook Pro 14 (2021) and the MacBook Pro 16 (2021) are both up there too). While the Asus dial might lack support for other applications outside of the Adobe creative suite for now, there’s nothing to say it won’t be added in the future, especially given the laptop hasn’t actually been officially released yet. As it stands, the current functionality covers four of the most commonly used creative applications so even if it’s restrictive, chances are you use at least one of them.
The price is also subjective. It’s high yes, but there are more expensive laptops on the market that don’t meet the creative optimisations and features of the Asus ProArt Studiobook 16 OLED (we’re looking at you Apple), and while the asking price is steep, you really are paying for what you get, so it’s by no means an unreasonable price tag.
The Asus ProArt Studiobook 16 OLED is for industry professionals or students with some cash to spare who are looking for a condensed desktop workstation rather than some slim, lightweight ultrabook, and given its near-desktop level of performance, it certainly fits the bill. If you can get your hands on one, we doubt you’ll be disappointed.
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Asus ProArt Studiobook 16 Review – The go-to Laptop for creative Professionals?
AMD and Intel have been one-upping each other for the last couple of years with impressive mobile processors, while Nvidia has been doing the same with mobile GPUs. The Asus ProArt Studiobook marries powerful hardware (albeit a gen older) with an elegant design to create quite a potent performer – especially one that’s portable.
A Look at the ProArt Studiobook 16’s Design
At first glance, the Asus ProArt Studiobook doesn’t stand out. And to be clear, that’s not a knock on its overall aesthetic.
It features a straightforward, sleek design that focuses on blending into its surroundings. It’ll fit right in, whether you’re setting it up on your desk or have it propped open at the airport!
The laptop isn’t what I would call ‘bulky,’ but it ain’t thin and light either.
If I can’t get desktop performance anyway, I’d much rather get something way more portable. – Alex Glawion (Editor, CGDirector and Freelance CG Artist)
But to be fair, if you account for the hardware packed into it, you could argue that it’s quite portable. Gone are the days when lugging around a 16″ laptop was downright comical. You’ll find that the Asus ProArt Studiobook 16 is pretty convenient to use, whether you need to get some work done on the move or just have to carry it around frequently.
Asus ProArt Studiobook Specifications and Price
You can configure the Asus ProArt Studiobook to meet a variety of budgets and performance tiers. There is plenty of CPU, GPU, and memory to run circles around most professional workloads. Again, the presence of last-gen CPUs when newer processors from both Intel and AMD are now available is a shame.
You can find this laptop (depending on how you spec it) priced at up to 3000 in the United States.
Here are the core spec options:
- Processor
- AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX Mobile Processor (8-core/16-thread, 20MB cache, up to 4.6 GHz max boost)
- AMD Ryzen 7 5800H Mobile Processor (8-core/16-thread, 20MB cache, up to 4.4 GHz max boost)
- AMD Ryzen 5 5600H Mobile Processor (6-core/12-thread, 19MB cache, up to 4.2 GHz max boost)
- AMD Radeon Vega 7 Graphics, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU, Boost up to 1410MHz at 90W (110W with Dynamic Boost)
- AMD Radeon Vega 7 Graphics, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, Boost up to 1530MHz at 90W (105W with Dynamic Boost), 6GB GDDR6
- AMD Radeon Vega 7 Graphics, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Laptop GPU, Boost up to 1695MHz at 80W (95W with Dynamic Boost), 4GB GDDR6
- 16.0-inch, 4K (3840 x 2400) OLED 16:10 aspect ratio, 0.2ms response time, 550nits peak brightness, 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, 1,000,000:1, VESA CERTIFIED Display HDR True Black 500
- 16GB DDR4 SO-DIMM x 2
- 8GB DDR4 SO-DIMM x 2
- 32GB DDR4 SO-DIMM x 2
- 32GB DDR4 SO-DIMM
- 1TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 Performance SSD
- 1TB 1TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 Performance RAID0 SSD
- 512GB M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 Performance SSD
- 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 Performance SSD
- 1TB 1TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 Performance SSD
- 512GB 512GB M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 Performance RAID0 SSD
Specifications of Our Review Unit
The review unit boasts an 8-core, 16-thread AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Max-Q Laptop GPU – making it an excellent candidate to test CG workloads.
Nvidia Studio Laptops – What are They?
Nvidia certifies the Asus ProArt Studiobook 16 as an Nvidia Studio Laptop. If you’re wondering what this means, here’s what I understand – it’s a program that ‘vets’ and certifies laptops as Studio-ready.
To qualify for this program, laptops need to meet minimum hardware requirements and display specifications (you can find those requirements here). Manufacturers making laptops that meet these criteria can apply for validation to show off that shiny Nvidia GeForce RTX Studio badge.
Is it worth it? And is it useful?
Honestly, it depends. Although it’s nice to have some certification that tells you whether a laptop is powerful enough or has a screen good enough to handle professional CG work, its practicality depends on the requirements of that certification itself.
It looks pretty generic if you go through Nvidia’s minimum requirements for a Studio certification.
- GPU: GeForce RTX 3050, RTX A1000 or higher
- CPU: Intel Core i5 (H Series) latest gen, AMD Ryzen r5 (H Series) last gen, or higher
- RAM: 16 GB or more
- SSD: 512 GB NVMe SSDs or larger
- Display: Factory calibrated IPS displays with wide color gamuts (available in 4K and 1440p)
If a laptop with an RTX 3050 and one with an RTX 3080 can both display the same badge, the ‘Studio’ moniker doesn’t tell us anything about what that laptop CAN handle. Similarly, the minimum display requirements don’t seem well-defined enough for creators.
The premise of stability might sway professionals, but as far as I can see, the stability on offer comes from using the GeForce Studio drivers (which we already recommend doing for anyone handling CG workloads, even on a desktop). We voiced our concerns to Nvidia, and here’s a quote from their response about the Nvidia Studio badge:
“What we’ve tried to do with the NVIDIA Studio badge is identify that it meets the specs for a segment of creators. In other words, it provides a starting point for selection, then a 2D artist can look at products in the lower end and identify which model best fits their needs; while a 3D animator will be looking at a higher end system that’s capable of running graphics-intense rendering loads in real-time.”
Although I get what Nvidia is going for here, I’m not convinced that this badge is something you need to factor into your buying decision. If you can pick from such a broad selection of Nvidia Studio laptops, you would most likely be comfortable finding laptops that meet your professional requirements.
The Nvidia Studio certified laptops tell you that those specific models are being marketed to creators, which isn’t entirely useless information. But it isn’t too helpful either.
The Asus Dial
One of the first things you’ll notice when you open this laptop is a dial sitting under the keyboard. Although there’s nothing wrong with the idea of that dial for Pro apps, the problem is usability.
So, what does it do exactly?
It’s a physical dial that you can use within apps like Photoshop to handle functions like setting parameters, changing brush sizes, etc. The best use case that we could think of was navigating lengthy video editing timelines with ease; it’s not exactly an intuitive experience with a trackpad.
You can assign over 60 functions for Adobe apps to the dial using the ProArt Creator Hub app. I can see the appeal of using this Dial within Adobe apps. For example, it’s pretty neat for Photoshop tasks like moving between layers, adjusting brush sizes, zoom levels, opacity, etc.
However, for CG-related apps like Cinema4D, we couldn’t land on a solid use case for it.
Fine-tuning object and scene parameters with the dial is convenient, but attaching a mouse and scrolling is just so much more intuitive. And if you’re working in a viewport, you’ll almost always have a mouse connected to get work done.
Sure, if a laptop is your primary workstation, you could begin to integrate the dial into your workflow. But all in all, we couldn’t use it with CG-related apps without forcing it.
It reminds me of the Apple MacBook Pro’s infamous Touch Bar. It has some niche uses, but it doesn’t seem too relevant for CG professionals.
The Display: 100% DCI-P3 Factory Calibrated 4K 16″ OLED Panel
One of the most advertised features of this laptop is its display. You’ll find words like OLED, color accuracy, 4K, etc. peppered all across its product page. Don’t get me wrong; it IS impressive considering the fact that this is a laptop.
Although this gorgeous OLED display delivers precisely what professionals need, it’s still… a laptop display.
Geez. What a hot take, right? Hear me out, though.
A single 16″ screen is nowhere near enough to get work done, especially because most professional workflows include multiple displays. On the other hand, if you’re used to working on a laptop, this is one of the best displays in a portable package.
The Asus ProArt Studiobook 16 also supports the latest HDMI 2.1 standard for display out, which should make adding a second monitor to your setup relatively straightforward. It’s an excellent option for those who need a hybrid workstation that they can carry around.
I wouldn’t recommend the ProArt Studiobook 16 to professionals who aren’t going to be using the laptop screen. Why? Much better, cheaper options with similar hardware exists. It’s just not worth paying a premium for a fancy OLED 4K panel if it’s going to sit closed on your desk and connected to a monitor half the time. Makes no sense.
Display Brightness
Although the ProArt Studiobook 16 display is top-notch in an ideal setting, it’s in real working conditions that issues begin to present themselves. One of the worst things about this display is its inability to handle any sort of lighting behind it. The glossy screen reflects everything and destroys any detail you could hope to see in a 16″ form factor. Here’s a short video that illustrates the issue (screen at max brightness, max power/perf mode)
As you can see, if you’re facing natural light – it’s nearly impossible to get any work done. The display just isn’t bright enough to handle working outdoors, or even in front of outward-facing Windows/doors.
So, is indoors an improvement? We tested it out with dimmed indoor lighting to see how it fares.
It’s certainly an improvement, but still not great. If you’re working on this display, make sure you’re not facing any kind of light source.
Asus ProArt Studiobook Ryzen 9 5900HX and RTX 3070 Laptop: Performance Run
Although the specifications alone are enough to get a general idea of how this laptop would handle intensive CG workloads like renders and 3D viewports, we still wanted to get some solid numbers for comparison.
In every heavy-use scenario, performance on battery drops dramatically as expected. So, if you’re looking to use this on the move without plugging in, I’d recommend going for a thinner and lighter laptop because you’ll end up with that level of performance either way.
On the other hand, if you CAN plug in wherever you’ll use this laptop, it throws out some impressive benchmark numbers and chugs through heavy renders quickly!
Octane Benchmarks
If you pit the Studiobook 16 against other RTX 3070 laptop GPU scores on Otoy.com, you see how the whole Max-Q vs. Max-P marketing angle adds to the confusion.
Our review unit needs the fans to go full throttle to get anywhere close to reported RTX 3070 laptop scores, and it’s not exactly a pleasant experience at that noise level.
Still, in Auto Fan mode, it does manage an impressive level of performance – handily beating even a desktop RTX 3060. Its performance sits bang in the middle of a desktop RTX 3060 and an RTX 3070.
Those reported average scores on Otoy.com are muddied because several RTX 3070 laptop GPUs at max power also show up as the same GPU. The RTX 3070 in a 115-130W power envelope outperforms an 80-95W RTX 3070 by an entire performance tier. But yes, both those GPUs are still officially called an RTX 3070.
Sidenote – It’s a shame that both these GPUs are somehow called ‘RTX 3070’s, and customers have to wade through a boatload of technical specifications and reviews to find what GPU performance they’ll get. Thankfully, Asus clearly lists the power envelope on the laptop’s specifications page. Anyway, I digress. Back to benchmarks!
If you’re plugged in and don’t mind the fan going full-tilt, Full (Max) Fan mode does help improve performance. However, I’d recommend Auto Fan for most users as the performance uplift isn’t significant enough to warrant that much extra noise.
On battery, it’s painstakingly slow and certainly not usable from a rendering point of view.
Cinebench R23 – Single and Multi
While the single-core Cinebench score indicates how well a processor will handle complex scenes and geometry within a viewport, the multi-core score reveals its rendering prowess.
A quick look at the numbers shows that while the AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX is no slouch, it doesn’t boast class-leading performance anymore. Instead, Intel’s 12 th Generation top-tier 12900H laptop CPU convincingly outpaces its AMD competitor’s multi- and single-core scores.
Even so, take a closer look at the scores here!
The Ryzen 9 5900HX offers similar performance to an Intel Core i7 10700K or Ryzen 7 3800X (desktop CPUs) to put these performance numbers into perspective. Also, the best AMD laptop CPUs you could buy just a few years ago boasted a paltry Cinebench R23 multi-core score of just 2586.
Now, desktop-class performance in laptops has become much more accessible, and the Asus ProArt Studiobook offers it in spades.
Even at this performance level, multiple CPU renders didn’t cause overheating, thermal throttling, or crashes. It’s impressive how far laptop performance has come in the past few years.
If you’re looking for a render workhorse that you can carry around, the ProArt Studiobook 16 is a great option. It can also handle a variety of viewport workloads without running into significant performance limitations.
Keep in mind that it’s still no desktop workstation. Also, it now has last-gen hardware when it comes to CPUs. Both Intel and AMD have released newer mobile processors that easily outperform even the Ryzen 9 5900HX.
But it’s close enough if you absolutely need the upside of portability.
V-RAY Benchmarks
Thanks to the Nvidia RTX GPU and 8-core, 16-thread AMD CPU, the Asus ProArt Studiobook 16 offers excellent V-RAY performance across the board. So whether you need CUDA, Ray acceleration, or plain ‘ol CPU rendering, it can handle it with ease.
Although the GPU-related render performance doesn’t change too much if you switch from Max Fan to Auto Fan, CPU performance is a different story. You can get nearly 10% additional performance if you’re rendering using the CPU or running complex simulations with fans at Max.
The RTX 3070 in the Studiobook 16 again seems to perform worse than average scores for this GPU in other laptops (1794) in the public V-Ray database. It’s probably the same story as Octanebench –RTX 3070 Laptop GPUs with max power have muddied those numbers.
Getting this kind of performance on a laptop is a boon to professionals who need to get work done without being tied down to a desktop workstation. For reference, the best last-gen desktop GPU, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti, managed a score of 1455!
Blender BMW Benchmark
If you absolutely must use a laptop for Blender, the Studiobook 16 is an excellent option. While Nvidia’s RTX presence ensures great Optix and CUDA performance, AMD’s Ryzen 9 5900HX is more than up to handling CPU renders too.
However, this last-gen AMD CPU is starting to trail Intel’s newest offerings by a significant margin. Just check out that Intel Core i9 12900H laptop CPU beating out a desktop Ryzen 7 5800X in this workload!
Adobe Photoshop, Premiere Pro, and After Effects: PugetBench
Adobe Photoshop performance doesn’t usually change too much according to the hardware used. The ProArt Studiobook 16 sits firmly in the middle of the pack of laptops offering similar CPUs and GPUs.
The Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 sporting Intel’s 12 th generation 12900H is a far better choice for Photoshop. But we can’t just pick the best hardware available when it comes to laptops, and the ProArt Studiobook 16’s creator-focused features like a factory-calibrated display will come in handy for professionals.
In Adobe After Effects, there’s a massive gulf between the performance offered by the ProArt Studiobook 16 with the Ryzen 9 5900HX vs. the ROG Strix Scan 15 with the Intel Core i9 12900H.
I know I just said that you shouldn’t only consider hardware when buying laptops, but this big a difference does warrant consideration. To be clear, that’s close to 38% more performance!
It’s a similar story with Premiere Pro as well. Unfortunately, Intel’s 12 th Gen CPU is too far ahead for me to recommend this laptop primarily for Premiere Pro (or, in general, Adobe) workloads.
Upgradability
The laptop’s back is only held together by 10 Philips head screws. Once you have it open, it offers fairly straightforward access to both M.2 slots as well as both RAM slots.
If upgradability factors into your buying decision, the Asus ProArt Studiobook won’t disappoint.
Working on the Asus ProArt Studiobook 16
Instead of just reviewing the product, Alex decided to use the laptop for a day – integrating it into his 3D and Motion Design work.
As expected from an Nvidia RTX 3070 (even in a laptop), the performance was top-notch. It could handle complex scenes, zoom around the viewport, and even get a few renders done without hassle.
Here’s a note from Alex himself –
I was surprised by how well the RTX 3070 performed in such a small form factor. I regularly advise readers on what kind of crazy PSUs, fan setups or blower-style GPUs they need to make their GPU-focused 3D Workstations work, but the Studiobook seems to have it figured out right out of the box.
While working on real-world projects and rendering some frames for client projects, the Nvidia GPU didn’t draw crazy amounts of power and steadily delivered very close to desktop RTX 2080 ~ RTX 2080Ti performance, without the fans spinning up too much. For a performance boost, the manual ramp-up of the fans is certainly an option, but I wouldn’t want to continue working near it at those noise levels.
An interesting possibility is integrating it into your home render farm and supplementing it (especially with GPU as high as they were a few weeks ago).
I tested this out when final-rendering a 3D animation at crunch time and was able to squeeze out quite a few extra frames before the deadline. For this task, I set the fans to Max because I just couldn’t risk a crash in the middle of a render. To my surprise, the RTX 3070 in this laptop integrated into my render farm and chugged through hours of overnight renders without any issues even during this sustained workload.
Although hardware-wise this laptop didn’t leave him wanting more, it was still almost impossible for Alex to be efficient in the true sense of the word — compared to a desktop workstation setup.
When you’re working on a scene, you’ll often switch back and forth between references, look for textures, adjust materials, add layers, adjust lighting, and switch back and forth between compositing, editing, rendering, and texture packing apps. Professional workflows like Alex’s require significant screen real estate, which is a physical impossibility on a laptop.
Also, since the laptop felt bulky enough, it wouldn’t be his first choice when he’s traveling. If you’re not going to get work done efficiently anyway (because of a lack of screen real estate and proper input devices), you might as well bite the bullet and opt for a thin and light laptop that at least offers the upside of excellent portability.
Verdict: To Buy or Not to Buy
Asus has readied quite a compelling package indeed. A powerful mobile CPU from AMD, an incredible laptop GPU from Nvidia, a 100% DCI-P3 4K OLED screen, reasonable portability, and a sleek look, do tick several boxes for professionals who need a portable workstation.
You could even forgive its 2.4 Kg (5.29 lbs) weight when considering the hardware it packs inside.
But for those who need uncompromising portability, anything over 2 Kg is too much to lug around. What’s more, a few competitors (including a couple from Asus’ own stable) have lighter options with similar or more powerful hardware.
That said, this won’t matter too much to professionals who need a movable workstation that’ll spend most of its time sitting on different desks.
Here’s what Alex has to say about this:
The fact that we’re going so far as comparing the Studiobook to Desktop Workstations already is a win for the Laptop in itself. Yes, it falls short in a lot of areas that separate professionals from highly efficient professionals, but those areas all have to do with available size- and weight-constraints (more Monitors, Mouse, Keyboard, larger case, more weight) that it can’t breach without loosing the Laptop form-factor.
Yes, you could opt for an even higher tier of GPU, but this creator-focused product ticks too many boxes for us to write it off just because it doesn’t offer an RTX 3080. The RTX 3070 sitting inside the Studiobook 16 is more than capable of handling most creative tasks.
Now, the CPU. Of course, the AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX is an impressive processor. However, with the launch of Ryzen 6000 mobile parts and Intel’s 12 th Gen CPUs, the Ryzen 9 5900HX is just falling behind.
If you’re heavily reliant on CPU-related workloads like renders or flicking through complex scenes in 3D viewports, I’d recommend hunting for a laptop with current-gen CPUs. They’ll give you far better performance at a better price.
All said and done, can the Studiobook 16 REPLACE a desktop workstation?
If you need a laptop and want to handle GPU-accelerated or even ray-accelerated workloads, the Asus ProArt Studiobook 16 is great. For these kinds of workloads it gets our recommendation:
But if you want to get professional 3D work done without compromising on efficiency, you need a proper setup with multiple monitors and even multiple GPUs for rendering, etc. —
Build a desktop workstation!
Over to you
Are you thinking of buying the Asus ProArt 16 Studiobook, or do you think there are better options out there in April 2022? Let us know in the Комментарии и мнения владельцев!
