Review Summary
Expert Rating
ASUS has long been a strong contender in the affordable gaming laptop market, especially with its TUF Gaming lineup, which caters to budget-conscious gamers looking for solid performance. However, in recent years, the TUF series has started creeping into the upper mid-range price bracket, leaving a gap in the market for a truly budget-friendly gaming laptop. Other brands have stepped in to fill this void with models like the Acer Nitro V, Lenovo LOQ, and Gigabyte G5—laptops that offer respectable gaming performance at competitive prices. Seeing this, ASUS had to respond, and thus, the ASUS Gaming V16 Laptop was born.
Priced around Rs. 85,000 in India for the Intel Core 5 210H and RTX 4050 configuration, the laptop offers the latest processor from Team Blue while opting for a dated, but still capable, GPU. That said, given that the GPU is limited in power, it raises questions about whether it can truly deliver a great gaming experience. So, how does it hold up in real-world usage? Let’s find out in our in-depth review of the ASUS Gaming V16.
Table of Contents
Design and Display
Starting with the design, at first glance, the ASUS Gaming V16 exudes an air of understated simplicity. It’s a far cry from the flashy, RGB-laden gaming laptops that often dominate the market. The matte black finish is practical, allowing you to carry it to meetings or lectures without drawing undue attention.
It’s a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” aesthetic, if you will. There’s a single, subtle ASUS logo on the lid, offering a touch of brand identity without being overly ostentatious. However, this understated design comes with its own set of minor quirks. The matte black finish, while practical, is a magnet for fingerprints.
Thankfully, the build quality, although plastic, is decent. The hinge is sturdy, and while there’s a slight wobble, it passes the one-handed opening test. Despite its 16-inch form factor, the ASUS Gaming V16 boasts a commendable level of portability, weighing in at a relatively manageable 1.95kg. This makes it a viable option for those who need a gaming laptop that can be easily transported between locations.
The laptop has a 16-inch WUXGA display with a 1920x1200p resolution. The taller 16:10 aspect ratio provides more vertical screen real estate, significantly enhancing productivity tasks like document editing and web browsing. Additionally, the 144Hz refresh rate ensures smooth visuals during gaming sessions, a crucial aspect for any gaming laptop. In fact, in my testing, the panel’s gaming performance was pretty good and in line with what the competition offers.
However, the display isn’t without its limitations. The 300 nits of brightness, while adequate for indoor use, falls short in brightly lit environments or outdoor settings. Colour accuracy is another area where the display falters. While it delivers decent visuals for gaming and casual content consumption, at just 45% NTSC colour gamut, it lacks the vibrancy and colour fidelity required for professional colour-sensitive work.
Ports, Audio, and Connectivity
Connectivity is a crucial aspect of any laptop, and the ASUS Gaming V16’s port selection is a mixed bag. Most of the ports are clustered on the left side, including the DC-in, HDMI 2.1, a USB-A 3.2, a USB-C 3.2, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
The lone USB-A 3.2 port is on the right side. There’s no microSD card reader here, which is not common on most laptops, and trust me, I am not complaining.
However, one glaring omission is the absence of an Ethernet port, a significant drawback for a gaming laptop. Gamers often prefer wired connections for their lower latency and greater stability. Not to forget, most gamers at this price point will be eyeing this laptop to play titles like Valorant, Apex Legends, or Marvel Rivals, all of which would greatly benefit from a proper LAN connection.
Additionally, while the HDMI 2.1 port is a welcome addition, allowing for maximum bandwidth, it’s worth noting that the RTX 4050 isn’t exactly a powerhouse GPU that demands such high bandwidth. There’s also the lack of Thunderbolt 4 support, though it’s somewhat expected at this price point.
As for the audio experience, the V16 comes with dual bottom-firing speakers that deliver a functional audio experience. While they don’t creak at maximum volume, which is a plus, the sound is generally hollow and lacks depth. There’s a hint of bass, but it’s not particularly impactful. For casual movie watching, the speakers are adequate. But in some instances, vocals can be suppressed, making headphones a preferable option for an immersive audio experience.
The V16 also comes with a 1080p webcam with a physical privacy shutter, which is a welcome security feature. Unfortunately, the webcam suffers from significant graininess, resulting in subpar image quality.
Not to mention, the laptop also lacks Microsoft Studio Effects, so there is no AI-powered background blur or auto-framing. On the other hand, the microphone performs admirably, capturing clear audio. The MyASUS app provides customization options for the microphone, allowing users to fine-tune the audio settings.
Keyboard and Touchpad
The full-sized keyboard offers a comfortable typing experience with well-spaced keys and a responsive feel. It took me no longer than 5 minutes to get accustomed to the keyboard layout, and I was back to averaging over 90 words per minute while swiftly typing on this keyboard.
It does get a bit clicky, but in a good way, so I am not complaining. ASUS has also added a nice Turbo Blue backlighting underneath the keys that compliments the matte black finish quite well. However, I personally would have preferred a white colour backlight since that would match the “functional” aesthetic a bit better. Right now, the blue colourway feels a bit out of place as it doesn’t really go in sync with the non-gamery design of the laptop. Again, that’s a personal preference. You might actually like the blue tone. A better way to go about it, though, would be to offer a single-zone RGB backlight, something that most competitors offer.
I have zero complaints about the touchpad. With budget gaming laptops, you have to set your expectations low, but the good news is that the V16 surpasses them. The touchpad is quite spacious, making it ideal for users with larger hands.
In addition, gestures are accurately registered, and the basic haptic feedback is satisfactory. While most brands prefer to opt for a basic touchpad to get the job done, especially in this segment, it’s nice to see that ASUS didn’t cheap out on a good touchpad at the very least.
Performance and Battery Life
Moving on to performance, our unit here comes equipped with the Intel Core 5 210H processor, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 with a 65W TGP, 16GB of DDR5-5200 RAM, and a 512GB PCIe Gen 4 SSD. The SSD delivers average read/write speeds, falling slightly short of ASUS’s claimed 6000MB/s and significantly below the expected 7000MB/s from a Gen 4 SSD.
Day-to-day performance is smooth and responsive, with no noticeable lag or stutters. However, app launch speeds could be slightly faster, which might be due to the SSD. As such, I’d strongly advise users to upgrade the storage down the road. 512GB is anyway not enough for modern games, so upgrade to a 1TB Gen 4 SSD later on.
As for benchmarks, the ASUS Gaming V16 scores quite respectfully in our suite of synthetic tests, including Cinebench R23, R24, GeekBench, and PCMark 10. Additionally, the GPU also scores well in 3DMark Time Spy and Fire Strike benchmarks, showcasing that the V16 is a very capable gaming laptop.
However, you’ve got to put things into context, so for comparison, I pitted it against the Gigabyte G5 MF and Colorful P15. Both of these laptops are powered by the much older Intel Core i5-12450H processor with the RTX 4050 GPU, although at higher TGP of 75W and 100W respectively. As a result, you can see that while the Core 5 performs well, it doesn’t offer a significant performance leap over older-generation processors, such as the 12th-gen i5. In some instances, the older processors even outperform the Core 5. It’s a similar story in the GPU department as well, with older configured laptops outscoring the ASUS Gaming V16 with ease.
We see a similar story unfold in gaming performance as well. While the laptop is adequate for 1080p gaming, achieving 60fps in AAA titles often requires significant tweaking and lowering graphics settings to a combination of Medium and High.
Again, that’s to be expected from a 4050 laptop GPU, but the performance is behind the competition. Cyberpunk 2077, in particular, exhibits poor performance compared to other RTX 4050 laptops, even with DLSS enabled. Forza Horizon 5, on the other hand, offers decent performance despite being behind the competition.
To test creative workloads, I also ran DaVinci Resolve on this laptop. With a Puget Bench score of 4923, the ASUS Gaming V16 is a capable content-creation machine. However, the display’s limited colour accuracy might hinder professional colour grading. As such, it should be fine for editing on the go, and you then plug in a good monitor to the HDMI 2.1 port for proper colour grading.
As far as thermals go, it’s decent, with the dual fan setup staying relatively silent. How you perceive it depends upon you. If you prefer a silent operation on a laptop, that’s great. However, with the CPU temps reaching a peak of 96 degrees and the GPU touching 65 degrees, I’d have preferred the fans to be a bit louder if that meant lower temps.
Compared to the previous generation of Intel processors, the Core 5 doesn’t offer any significant performance boosts. However, its true USP is its efficiency. While most budget gaming laptops last around 3.5 hours, the ASUS Gaming V16 managed 10 hours and 48 minutes in the PC Mark 10 Video Loop test—which is insane for a gaming laptop.
This feature alone makes it ideal for students and professionals who need long battery life. The laptop comes with a bulky 150W charger, though you can also use the USB-C port for power delivery charging.
Verdict
The ASUS Gaming V16’s starting price of Rs. 85,000 is a double-edged sword. While it’s not exorbitantly expensive, the performance offered by the Intel Core 5 and RTX 4050 combination might not satisfy hardcore gamers. Gamers wanting the best performance at this price should consider alternatives like the Acer Nitro V, Gigabyte G5, or Colorful P15—all of which offer higher-wattage RTX 4050 GPUs for better gaming performance. Older 12th or 13th-gen Intel laptops should offer similar, if not better, performance than the Core 5 processor here, at a much better value.
However, the same configuration, when coupled with the functional design of the V16, makes it a unique proposition for college students and professional users who want to carry a gaming laptop alongside their daily workloads. The design doesn’t attract many eyeballs, and the exceptionally long battery life means you don’t need to carry a charger in the backpack. Sure, the gaming performance is a bit of a compromise, but it’s not like you can’t game on it at all. The slight compromise in FPS for a significant boost in battery life is something that will appeal to a specific kind of user, and if that’s you, the ASUS Gaming V16 is a pretty good option.
Editor’s Rating: 7 / 10
Pros:
- Exceptional battery life
- Relatively portable for a 16-inch gaming laptop
- Decent FHD gaming performance
- Professional design and sturdy build
Cons:
- Weaker RTX 4050 GPU
- Display’s color accuracy could have been better
- No Ethernet port