The Asus ProArt Studiobook 16 is a sleek and powerful creator laptop with a gorgeous OLED display and some interesting design touches.
The Asus Studiobook 16 OLED is one of the best creator laptops we've had the chance to review. Not because it has a next-generation CPU (it doesn't) or the most powerful GPU (wrong again). It doesn't sport a super bright miniLED display, it's not HDR certified, and the AMD Ryzen version we're testing here doesn't even have Thunderbolt.
Because it delivers a balance of performance, build quality, portability, affordability, usability, and creative design that you just don't find in most 'creator' laptops on the market today. There is very little we didn't like about this well-rounded laptop, earning it the first 5 star rating we've given a PC since we started reviewing computers last year.
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Speaking of the few things we don't like, shopping for an Asus laptop is one of them. Since there's no Asus store where you can customize your build (understandable, but inconvenient) it's really difficult to figure out what model comes with what specs, or how much any given combination of specs is likely to cost.
The ProArt Studiobook 16 comes in OLED and non-OLED versions, with either 11th gen Intel or AMD Ryzen 5000 CPUs, a variety of possible enterprise and non-enterprise NVIDIA GPUs, and can support up to 4TB of PCIe 3.0 NVMe storage and 64GB of DDR4-3200 MHz RAM. All of them qualify as "NVIDIA Studio" laptops – so they all meet a certain standard of performance and screen quality and come with NVIDIA's Studio drivers pre-installed – but there's are still a lot of options to choose from.
If we limit our search to the versions with an OLED display, there are four main model numbers – two with consumer GPUs and two with enterprise GPUs – with a variety of possible configurations available for each. In the table below, any specs that say 'up to' can be downgraded for more affordable SKUs, while the rest of the specs are set in stone for each model:
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In general, it appears that the non-enterprise versions range in price from about $2, 000 to $3, 000 depending on the display type, the GPU, the amount of RAM, and the amount of storage that comes pre-installed. The version we're testing sports an AMD Ryzen 5900HX, NVIDIA RTX 3070, 32GB of RAM and 2TB of NVMe storage (2x 1TB PCIe 3.0 M.2 SSDs), and our contacts at NVIDIA – who provided this computer for review – told us this configuration will run you 'about $2, 200.'
In general, the non-enterprise versions range in price from about $2, 000 to $3, 000 depending on the type of display, the GPU, the amount of RAM, and the amount of storage that comes pre-installed.
However, pricing for the various OLED and non-OLED versions can range anywhere from $1, 600 for an affordable 'Amazon-only' version to $5, 000 for a fully loaded enterprise model with an Intel Xeon processor, NVIDIA A5000, 64GB of RAM and 4TB of storage.
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All in all, the consumer pricing is extremely competitive. It makes competitors like Razer's Blade 17, MSI's Creator 17, Dell's XPS 17 and, of course, Apple's new MacBook Pro 16 look pretty steep by comparison. Each of these competitors is better than the Asus ProArt Studiobook 16 in some categories and worse in others, but I'd argue that none of them can match the Asus once you factor in price.
Given its affordability, we expected the ProArt Studiobook 16 to sit somewhere in the middle of the 'build quality' pile. A little deck flex, middle-of-the-road trackpad, and a thicker design is par for the course if you're selling these kinds of specs for so little money. That is not what we found.
The Studiobook 16 is extremely well built, with practically no deck or screen flex and a surprisingly thin design given the number and variety of ports that Asus managed to include. On the left-hand side of the computer is a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port, the barrel plug for power, an HDMI 2.1 port that can support up to 4K 120Hz output, and two USB 3.2 Hen 2 Type-C ports with support for display and power delivery. On the right is a gigabit ethernet port, an audio combo jack, another USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port, and an SD Express 7.0 card slot.
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The only thing missing from our model is Thunderbolt, but that's a limitation of every AMD-based laptop currently on the market. If you go with one of the Intel models, one of the USB Type-C ports is Thunderbolt 4/USB-4.
On the left-hand side, you'll find a Kensington lock, a USB Type-A port, an AC power plug, an HDMI 2.1 port, and two USB Type-C ports with display and power delivery.
On the right-hand side, you'll find an SD Express 7.0 card slot, an audio-combo jack, another USB Type-A port, and a Gigabit ethernet port.
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Design and usability only gets better from here. Moving on to the keyboard deck, the Studiobook 16 has an excellent low-profile, full-sized keyboard with nice large key caps and a responsive glass-topped trackpad that feels great to the touch. In addition to these must-haves, Asus has also added two interesting features that make the Studiobook stand out: three physical buttons below the trackpad, and a mechanical dial.
The Studiobook 16 is extremely well built, with practically no deck or screen flex, and a surprisingly thin design given the variety of ports that Asus managed to include.
The middle button on the trackpad is meant to control things like pan, rotate or orbit in 3D applications. That probably doesn't apply to our audience, but it's nice to have the option. The mechanical dial, on the other hand, is extremely useful for both photo and video editing. Press it, and a context menu will pop up that shows you some of the controls available to you in whatever app you happen to be using.
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The default desktop controls are just Volume and Brightness, but once you're in an application like Photoshop, the menu expands to offer everything from zoom and rotate, to navigating layers, to adjusting brush size, opacity, and flow. I found it very handy inside Photoshop, especially when paired with a drawing tablet, and it has a very satisfying click and press mechanic.
The Studiobook 16 features a three-button trackpad for 3D applications and a physical dial that can be used to adjust everything from brightness to brush size in Photoshop.
It's rare that a company gets a 'gimmick' like this right. Apple notoriously missed with the Touch Bar, and Asus have made some mistakes of their own in the past, but this is a home run. A physical addition to the keyboard deck of a laptop that quickly feels second-nature once you begin using it.
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In Photoshop, the mechanical dial allows you to control everything from zoom and rotate, to navigating layers, to adjusting brush size, opacity, and flow.
Finally, it's worth mentioning the upgradability of the laptop. The underside is held on by 10 Phillips-head screws, with one screw sporting a discrete plastic add-on that notifies the factory if you've tinkered with your laptop (and voided your warranty). That's a little annoying, but once the back panel has been removed, you have easy access to both RAM slots and both PCIe 3.0 M.2 slots, making this laptop extremely upgradable.
This is a little better than the Dell XPS 17, which uses special Torx screws on the underside, and leaps better than the MSI Creator 17, which hides the RAM slots underneath the motherboard, forcing you to take the whole thing apart if you want to upgrade later.
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The Studiobook 16 gives users easy access to both RAM slots and both PCIe 3.0 M.2 slots, making this laptop extremely upgradable.
Asus deserves credit for building something that checks all of the most important boxes from the standpoint of a creator working with photos, videos, or 3D design. The laptop is sturdy without being heavy, features tons of I/O without being thick, and it puts a heavy emphasis on the quality of those features that you interact with on a daily basis: the keyboard, the trackpad, the mechanical dial and, of course, the display.
Given the affordable price and the ease with which you can upgrade the RAM and storage later, this should be a top choice for budget-conscious creators who don't want to sacrifice screen quality, screen size, or portability in exchange for performance.
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The Asus ProArt Studiobook 16 was extremely well-calibrated out of the box, with a white point pegged to D65 and an average Delta E of < 2.
Every time we review a laptop with an OLED display, we're reminded why this technology is almost certainly the future of wide gamut, color accurate monitors. There are definitely downsides, particularly where longevity and brightness are concerned, but the color and contrast is simply unmatched.
This is even more so the case with the Asus ProArt Studiobook 16 OLED, which (as the name suggests) features a glossy 16-inch Samsung RGB OLED display that has been factory calibrated
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