Can a 16-inch laptop be both a productive and lightweight tool for professionals? Let’s try to find out, because ASUS ProArt P16 (H7606WI) arrived for editorial review, which, in addition to design tools, is equipped with an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 graphics card, and a 4K OLED touchscreen display.
Content
| Screen | 16″, Touch screen, 3840 x 2400 OLED 16:10, 60 Hz, 500 nits, glossy, 100% DCI-P3, 10 bit |
| Processor | AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 Processor 2.0GHz (36MB Cache, up to 5.1GHz, 12 cores, 24 Threads); AMD XDNA NPU — 50TOPS |
| RAM | 64GB LPDDR5X (soldered) |
| Drive | 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD |
| Video card | AMD Radeon™ 890M Graphics + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop, 8GB GDDR6 |
| Wireless interfaces | Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be), Bluetooth 5.4 |
| Wired interfaces | 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C support for display connection / power delivery 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A 1 x USB 4.0 Gen 3 Type-supports display connection / power delivery 1 x HDMI 2.1 FRL 1 x DC-in SD Express 7.0 card reader 1 x 3.5 mm combined audio jack |
| Power supply | 200 W; 20 V, 10 A |
| Battery | 90 W*h, 4 cells, lithium-ion |
| Weight | 1.85 kg |
| Dimensions | 35.49 x 24.69 x 1.49 ~ 1.73 cm |
| Other | US MIL-STD 810H military-grade standard, VESA CERTIFIED Display HDR True Black 500, PANTONE Validated, TÜV Rheinland-certified, stylus support, FHD camera with IR function |
ASUS ProArt P16 arrived in a black box that reflects the laconic philosophy inherent in the laptop itself. The packaging is made in the traditional ASUS style — a black box with a minimalist design that reliably protects the contents
The package includes the device itself, a compact 200W power supply (weighing 472 g), and several useful accessories that emphasize its focus on creative users.
The first is an Ethernet adapter with a USB-A connector, which will be useful for those who need a stable wired network connection. The second is a proprietary rolltop backpack for transporting a laptop, making it a practical addition for those who sometimes work away from home or office
Such accessories are more common in ASUS gaming models, as 16-inch laptops do not always fit easily into standard bags. In this context, it looks like an appropriate and pleasant bonus.
The top-end configuration also includes an ASUS Pen 2.0 stylus that works with the touchscreen. However, it is not included in the basic package, and users who plan to use touch functions will have to buy it separately. In general, the package is well thought out and portable, although the lack of a stylus in the standard set is somewhat disappointing given the price of the device.
ASUS ProArt P16 design to some extent looks synonymous minimalism. The manufacturer has deliberately abandoned bright accents, such as RGB backlighting or glossy inserts, in favor of a restrained style. The case is made of aluminum in matte black Nano Black color
An outsider looking at the laptop from the outside would hardly know what kind of model it is if you cover the small logo at the bottom of the laptopThe matte aluminum coating partially hides fingerprints, although it won’t save you from dust.
The build quality does not cause any complaints: the case is sturdy, without backlash or creaks, and the keyboard section does not bend. The device complies with the military standard MIL-STD-810H So we have a potentially good solution for those who like to work in difficult conditions
However, I don’t recommend that you rely too much on luck and put your laptop through unnecessary tests, because anything can break. Despite its dimensions (354.9 × 246.9 × 14.9-17.3 mm) and weight of — 1.85 kg, the ProArt P16 offers serious hardware.
The edge of the display bezel has an unusual ribbed texture, and on the back of the laptop you can find activity indicators that are visible only when closed. On the one hand, this won’t distract the user with unnecessary blinking, but on the other hand, what’s the point of them?
When working on an unstable surface, the display starts to wobble and lacks stability in fixation. The bottom of the chassis has ventilation holes, rubber feet, and speaker grilles. The laptop is comfortable to carry, and the overall chassis provides a pleasant tactile feel
ASUS ProArt P16 inherits a set of ports from the ROG Zephyrus G16, making it versatile for various use cases. On the left side are:
On the right side are:
The SD card reader will be useful for photographers and videographers: in tests, it showed speeds of up to 230 MB/s when reading and 121 MB/s when writing. The only caveat is that the card doesn’t hide completely in the slot, which is inconvenient during transportation.The proprietary charging port requires a proprietary power supply, which limits its versatility, but this is justified by the high power of the systemAn Ethernet adapter is included for wired network connection, which is useful in places where Wi-Fi is not stable enoughRegarding wireless interfaces,
ASUS ProArt P16 is equipped with a MediaTek Wi-Fi 7 module (MT7925) with Bluetooth 5.4 support. Tests have shown a stable connection without interruptions, which is critical for working with large files in the cloud or streaming.
The keyboard in ASUS ProArt P16 is borrowed from ROG Zephyrus G16 with minimal changes (the top block of additional keys is missing). Their travel is 1.7 mm, which provides sufficient comfort when typing. The buttons are generally quiet, except for the space bar. The backlight boasts three levels of brightness. The layout is convenient for most tasks, although the small Enter key and miniature arrows cause discomfort and the desire to connect a separate keyboard
Right Ctrl has been replaced by Copilot to further integrate AI functions from Microsoft. In Windows settings, you can change its functionality, but unfortunately, you can’t return it to its classic function.
The 150 × 99 mm trackpad is quite sensitive and supports multi-point gestures. However, in terms of tactility, I’ve seen more pleasantly tactile glass-coated options from Asus
The main feature of the trackpad is the integrated DialPad in the upper left corner. This controller is activated by swiping from the upper right edge to the center and allows you to quickly adjust settings in professional programs (for example, Adobe Photoshop or Premiere) or control basic volume or brightness functions. Although, as for me, it would be better to allocate separate keys for this, rather than «multiply entities».
The touchscreen complements the input devices, working well not only with the ASUS Pen 2.0 stylus but also with third-party options. This is convenient for editing images, selecting objects, or creating sketches, although the lack of a stylus mount makes it difficult to store. In such a scenario, it is not enough that the laptop can be opened 180 degrees.
Display — is one of the key advantages and disadvantages at the same time. The 16-inch 4K (3840×2400, 16:10) Lumina OLED touch panel is covered with glossy Gorilla Glass. It provides 100% DCI-P3 coverage, perfectly reproduces blacks and offers high contrast. In SDR mode, the average brightness is 360 cd/m², in HDR — up to 605 cd/m² in selected areas (420 cd/m² when fully filled). The 0.2 ms response time makes the screen suitable for gaming, but the refresh rate of only 60 Hz looks like a compromise against 120 Hz competitors, such as the Zenbook Pro 16X.
In standard mode, the colors are slightly oversaturated, but this can be easily adjusted using the proprietary MyASUS software or ProArt Creator Hub. The Target Mode function dims inactive areas while maintaining the brightness of the working window, and protection against pixel burn-in is complemented by an ASUS replacement warranty.
The glossy finish creates glare in the sun, so only indoor use is suitable for comfortable work. The viewing angles are good, and the stylus support makes it possible not to stain the glossy screen with fingerprints. However, the 60 Hz frequency may disappoint those who are used to a smoother image. As for me, this is the main drawback for an expensive gadget
The 1080p front-facing camera supports Windows Studio Effects (auto-framing, background blur) and face recognition via Windows Hello thanks to the IR module. The image quality is average, but it’s good enough for video calls. Microphones with AI noise reduction effectively isolate the voice, eliminating extraneous sounds.The audio system deserves a separate mention. Two tweeters and four subwoofers create surround sound with clear highs and mids. For a laptop, this is an excellent result, suitable for music, movies, and work conferences, although it is no substitute for full-fledged speakers.
ASUS ProArt P16 offers an extended set of software:
Additionally, there is CapCut and three months of Adobe Creative Cloud. This suite is aimed at creative users, but not all programs are equally useful. Designers usually use their usual gentlemanly set of software and services and are unlikely to use the same MuseTree.
Performance is one of the key aspects that potential buyers of ASUS ProArt P16 pay attention to, as the laptop is positioned as a tool for creative professionals working with resource-intensive programs such as Adobe Premiere Pro, Photoshop, Blender, and others.
| Test | Result |
| CPU-Z (Performance) | Single — 805 Multy — 9 252 |
| CPU-Z (Economy) | Single — 514 Multy — 8 091 |
| Octane 2.0 Plus | Single — 120 150 Multy — 939 727 |
| WebXPRT 4 | 359 |
| GeekBench 6 | Single — 2940 Multy — 15607 |
| Realistic Interior Lightning (Render 2K) PSU | 7 minutes 43 seconds |
| Realistic Interior Lightning (Render 2K) battery | 15 minutes 17 seconds |
| GeekBenc AI Score | SPS — 4250 HPS — 1881 QS — 7887 |
| AIDA64, Memory test | Read — 88 023 Mb/s Write — 101,183 MB/s Copy — 80 668 MB/s Latency — 118.4 ns |
| Crystal Dysk Mark | Read — 5142 Mb/s Write — 4751 MB/s |
| Cinebench 2024 | Single — 117 Multy — 1 200 GPU — 11 516 |
| Cinebench R23 | Single — 2 006 Multy — 23 144 |
The editorial review tests the top-end configuration of the device, which is equipped with an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor based on the Zen 5 architecture. This chip has 12 cores (4 Zen 5 cores with up to 5.1 GHz and 8 Zen 5c cores with up to 3.3 GHz), 24 threads, and 36 MB of cache. With a power consumption of 80 watts in maximum performance mode, it demonstrates solid results in multi-threaded tasks.
It is paired with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 discrete graphics card with 8 GB of GDDR6 and up to 1655 MHz with a TDP of up to 105 W, as well as 64 GB of LPDDR5x RAM with a frequency of 7500 MHz and a 2 TB SSD.
The storage system is based on two M.2 2280 slots (PCIe 4.0×4 and PCIe 4.0×2). The 2TB WD PC SN740-SDDPNQE-2TOO-1202 SSD showed read speeds of up to 5142 MB/s and write speeds of up to 4751 MB/s in CrystalDiskMark, with 60% of the media filled. This speed will be useful for working with large RAW files or 8K video.
The RAM is soldered on, which precludes upgrading, but 64 GB in the top version is enough for any professional tasks for years to come. However, I would have liked to see better read, copy, and write speeds, given the price of the device.
In synthetic benchmarks such as Cinebench R23, Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 shows consistently high results: in multi-threaded mode, it scores about 23,000 points, which puts it on par with flagship desktop processors.
| Game + preset | RTX 4070 laptop |
| S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 (4k, High, DLSS + Framegenerator – OFF) | 24 |
| S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 (4k, High, DLSS + Framegenerator – ON) | 47 |
| S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 (QuadHD, High, DLSS + Framegenerator – OFF) | 42 |
| S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 (QuadHD, High, DLSS + Framegenerator – ON) | 83 |
| S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 (FullHD, DLSS + Framegenerator – OFF) | 58 |
| S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 (FullHD, High, DLSS + Framegenerator – ON) | 112 |
| Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (FullHD, Medium, DLSS + Framegenerator – OFF) | 88 |
| Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (FullHD, Medium, DLSS + Framegenerator – ON) | 92 |
| Remnant 2 (4K, High, DLSS + Framegenerator – OFF) | 25 |
| Remnant 2 (4K, High, DLSS + Framegenerator – ON) | 54 |
| Remnant 2 (QuadHD, High, DLSS + Framegenerator – OFF) | 48 |
| Remnant 2 (QuadHD, High, DLSS + Framegenerator – ON) | 78 |
| Remnant 2 (FullHD, High, DLSS + Framegenerator – OFF) | 71 |
| Remnant 2 (FullHD, High, DLSS + Framegenerator – ON) | 86 |
| Forza Horizon 5 (4K, Ultra, DLSS — OFF, Framegenerator – OFF, Ray Tracing – ON) | 68 |
| Forza Horizon 5 (4K, Ultra, DLSS — ON, Framegenerator – ON, Ray Tracing – ON) | 72 |
| Forza Horizon 5 (QuadHD, Extreme, DLSS — OFF, Framegenerator – OFF, Ray Tracing – ON) | 86 |
| Forza Horizon 5 (FullHD, Extreme, DLSS — ON, Framegenerator – ON, Ray Tracing – ON) | 102 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 (4K, Ultra, DLSS — ON, Framegenerator – 2x, Ray Tracing – ON) | 59 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 (QuadHD, Ultra, DLSS — ON, Framegenerator – 2x, Ray Tracing – ON) | 113 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 (FullHD, Ultra, DLSS — ON, Framegenerator – 2x, Ray Tracing – ON) | 162 |
| Silent Hill 2 Remake (4K, Epic, DLSS + Framegenerator – OFF) | 24 |
| Silent Hill 2 Remake (4K, Epic, DLSS + Framegenerator – ON) | 39 |
| Silent Hill 2 Remake (QuadHD, Epic, DLSS + Framegenerator – OFF) | 45 |
| Silent Hill 2 Remake (QuadHD, Epic, DLSS + Framegenerator – ON) | 63 |
| Silent Hill 2 Remake (FullHD, Epic, DLSS + Framegenerator – OFF) | 61 |
| Silent Hill 2 Remake (FullHD, Epic, DLSS + Framegenerator – ON) | 81 |
Based on the Ada Lovelace architecture, the RTX 4070 graphics card delivers good performance for a 105W power package in ray tracing and AI tasksThe RTX 4070 also supports 321 TOPS for AI tasks, far outperforming the CPU’s NPU (50 TOPS), making it a good choice for neural networking, such as in Fooocus or Amuse. In Realistic Interior Lightning, the video card shows results comparable to the desktop RTX 4060. The same trend is observed in gaming games.S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 will obviously not have enough performance for the RTX 4070 laptop in 4K, so we immediately set QuadHD, high graphics preset and use DLSS + Framegenerator to help. The output is about 80 fps.Cyberpunk 2077 in 4K, high graphics settings, DLSS «Quality» and frame generator demonstrates an average FPS in the benchmark of 59 fps. Dropping the resolution to QuadHD with the same settings raised the figure to 113 FPS, making ASUS ProArt P16 attractive to gamers looking for a versatile device. In Forza Horizon 5 at 4K with extreme settings, the result was 59 FPS.Indiana Jones and the Great Circle doesn’t even offer anything more than FullHD, because the game is very demanding on memory. Nevertheless, we can play with medium settings and see about 88 FPS on the screen.Silent Hill 2 consistently brings most graphics cards to their knees. So don’t expect smooth gameplay with 4K. But at QuadHD with supersampling enabled, you will get a stable 60 fps.Remnant 2 will also ask you to lower the resolution to QuadHD. By adding DLSS and FG, you can bravely confront the roots and their bosses at 78 fps in the most difficult scenes.In battery mode, performance is slightly reduced: the processor is limited to 65-70 watts. This allows you to comfortably work on the go with basic tasks such as photo editing or writing code The performance of Cyberpunk 2077 at 4K dropped by only 28% in the test. Rendering in Realistic Interior Lightning offline took twice as long — 917 seconds, compared to 463 seconds in the mode with additional charging.
Overall, the ASUS ProArt P16 offers good performance in its class, combining the performance of a gaming platform with the needs of professionals. The good news is that the laptop does not turn into a «vegetable».
ASUS ProArt P16 is equipped with a 90 Wh battery, which is a good indicator for a laptop with such characteristics. Watching a 4K video on YouTube at 50% brightness drained the battery in 10 hours of use
In an office scenario, working with a browser and documents, the laptop lasts about 7-8 hours. In maximum performance mode (rendering or gaming), the battery drains in 1.5-2 hours.
Charging is carried out through the included 200W power supply, which has standard dimensions for laptops in this class. A full charge from 0 to 100% took 93 minutes
The Tri-Fan cooling system with three fans and liquid metal on the processor effectively removes heat. During prolonged gaming, the CPU temperature remained at 75-85°C and the GPU — 75°C. If we load both the processor and the discrete graphics card to the maximum for a long time, we can see temperatures reaching 95°C. After that, the processor drops its frequencies slightly to avoid critical overheating.
The case in the keyboard area heated up to 46°C, but the temperature of the bottom panel reached 51°C, which is noticeable when working on your knees
When surfing the web or working with documents in quiet mode, the temperature stays within 50-55°C, which does not cause discomfort.
Noise depends on the operating mode configured through the ProArt Creator Hub. In Whisper quiet mode (up to 15 W of power consumption), the laptop is almost silent — the noise level does not exceed 25 dB, which is suitable for working in a library or office. In standard mode (up to 40 W), the fans produce 35-38 dB and are not distracting
Under maximum load (80 W for the CPU and 105 W for the GPU), noise reaches 45-48 dB, which is significantly quieter than flagship gaming models such as ROG Strix Scar (up to 55 dB). The ventilation holes are hidden, and hot air is directed back and down, which does not disturb the user.
In general, the battery life and thermal management of ASUS ProArt P16 for a device with such performance deserve high praise. It allows you to work all day in light tasks and effectively copes with heat dissipation under load while maintaining a comfortable noise level.
ASUS ProArt P16 strikes a balance between portability, performance and functionality for creative tasks. Thanks to its 1.85 kg weight and slim body, the laptop is easy to take with you, especially when we have the included backpack. Of course, I doubt that anyone will actually edit 4K video on the go or create illustrations on the touchscreen in a train.Therefore, the scenario of a productive tool that you can take with you to continue working elsewhere looks more realistic.The performance allows you to handle complex projects quickly, like a laptop. Render a scene in R5, encode a 4K video with effects, or batch process photos in Lightroom — we can do it all ASUS ProArt P16. For those who don’t use professional software, this feature may remain a rudiment, because it’s better to have separate buttons for volume control.The 4K OLED display boasts good detail, but it’s spoiled by glare, which makes it hard to see correct color models.The 60Hz frequency is noticeable in dynamic tasks: scrolling through long documents or watching animations seems less smooth than on screens with 120Hz. Similarly, deep blacks don’t make much sense if you always see your reflection on the display.The keyboard and trackpad are comfortable enough for typing and long work without additional manipulators. The DialPad requires an additional habit that will take time to get used to. Personally, I didn’t have any need to use it, although I also regularly work with Adobe Photoshop. Its settings are available through the proprietary ASUS Dial & Control Panel application.The laptop’s battery life allows you to use it all day for light tasks, but it requires a power supply for resource-intensive projects. Noise and heat are not distracting
ASUS ProArt P16 in the top configuration costs 139,499 UAH. This is an impressive amount that requires a comparison with competitors to understand how justified it is.