ASUS ProArt PX13 review: portable powerhouse for creators

Review Summary

Expert Rating
7.5/10

Design
 
8.0
/10
Display
 
7.0
/10
Performance
 
8.5
/10
Battery
 
6.5
/10
Gaming
 
7.5
/10
Connectivity
 
7.5
/10

Pros

  • Premium 2-in-1 design with bundled stylus
  • Sharp 3K OLED
  • Reliable performance
  • Can be used for gaming

Cons

  • 60Hz refresh rate
  • Fans tend to get loud
  • Pricey

At Computex 2024, we saw ASUS introduce its new ProArt laptops featuring the latest chips and a revamped design tailored to creative professionals and enthusiasts alike. For those who don’t know, the ProArt series of products from ASUS primarily targets creative professionals and is touted as being made by creators, for creators. The lineup includes a variety of products, such as motherboards, graphics cards, PC cabinets, and laptops.

Among the laptop range, we have the ProArt PX13, a compact 2-in-1 convertible notebook that delivers impressive performance, thanks to the inclusion of AMD’s latest Ryzen AI 300 processor and Nvidia RTX 40-series graphics. Priced at Rs 1,79,990, I got a chance to test the machine and evaluate if it is actually worth the money.

Design

The ProArt PX13 might seem like a new product, but its design bears a striking resemblance to the ROG Flow X13 with some refinements. Constructed primarily from lightweight aluminium, it features an anodized “nano-black” coating, said to “create a microporous structure that reduces reflections” and lends the device a sleek, stealthy all-black appearance. While this design is visually appealing, it has a tendency to attract fingerprints.

The minimalist design and clean aesthetics make it versatile for various work environments. I particularly appreciate how ASUS has kept the lid understated, featuring only the ProArt branding in the bottom left corner. The laptop also includes a robust 360-degree hinge, allowing for versatile modes such as laptop, tablet, and tent, catering to different workflows. Weighing approximately 1.38kg and measuring just 0.7 inches at its thickest point, the ProArt PX13 is an excellent travel companion, especially for content creators who need to edit on the go.

Additionally, the laptop boasts MIL-STD 810H military standard certification, ensuring it can withstand extreme conditions. According to ASUS, it has been tested for resistance to dust, shock, humidity, altitude, and more, making it suitable for use in tropical climates with high humidity and extreme temperatures ranging from -32°C to 70°C. That’s quite impressive.

When it comes to connectivity, the ProArt PX13 offers a well-rounded selection of I/O ports to meet modern creative demands. It includes two USB 4.0 Type-C ports with support for display, power delivery, and data transfer speeds of up to 40Gbps. Additionally, there’s a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port, HDMI 2.1 for external displays, a microSD card reader, an audio jack, and a DC power-in. For wireless connectivity, the laptop features a tri-band Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 combo card.

The laptop also incorporates efficient ventilation, with visible fin stacks on the sides and additional exhaust vents at the back of the chassis. Air intake vents are located at the bottom, accompanied by two large horizontal rubberized feet for stability. Removing the bottom cover requires a Torx T6 screwdriver, with the bottom right screw being captive and one in the centre hidden under a rubber tab.

Internally, the ProArt PX13 includes a single M.2 SSD slot, limited to the 2230 format, which might restrict future drive upgrade options. However, the wireless card and the 72WHr battery are replaceable. As with most modern laptops, the RAM is soldered to the motherboard, which limits upgradability in this area.

Display

The display on the ASUS ProArt PX13 features a 13.3-inch OLED touch panel with a 3K (2880 x 1800) resolution and a 16:10 aspect ratio. It delivers up to 500 nits of brightness in HDR mode and close to 400 nits in SDR, making it well-suited for indoor usage. It isn’t the brightest panel, but gets the job done. The panel is VESA certified for HDR True Black 500, covers 100% of the DCI-P3 colour space, and achieves a Delta E < 1 for outstanding colour accuracy.

Visual performance is great, with vivid and true-to-life colours that are essential for content creation. At the same time, the display provides a great experience for content consumption, particularly when watching HDR-enabled movies. The 360-degree hinge further enhances versatility, allowing you to use the display in multiple modes.

ASUS highlights the OLED panel’s 0.2ms response time, which minimizes motion blur, making it a strong choice for video editing and animation tasks. However, the biggest downside is its limited 60Hz refresh rate. While this may not be a critical factor for the intended audience, it feels like a missed opportunity, especially considering the presence of a dedicated Nvidia RTX 4050 GPU capable of leveraging a higher refresh rate. It’s worth noting that there are laptops at nearly half the price that offer 120Hz OLED panels, making this an area where ASUS could have added more value.

The touchscreen comes with stylus support and ASUS bundles the ASUS Pen 2.0 in India, but that may differe depending on the region you purchase the laptop. It offers good functionality and all the features you expect from a modern-day stylus. There’s 4096-level pressure sensitivity, interchangeable tips, and USB-C charging. If you are someone who would benefit from a stylus for your work, this is a great value addition.

Keyboard and trackpad

The keyboard is very similar to the one I tested on the ROG Flow X13 in terms of layout, excluding the additional media keys at the top. The keys offer a comfortable 1.7mm travel distance, providing a satisfying typing experience. Additionally, there’s a dedicated Copilot key to activate Microsoft’s AI assistant. The keyboard features standard white backlighting with three levels of brightness. While I didn’t have any major complaints, I do wish the backlighting were more uniform.

Moving on to the trackpad, it provides a generous amount of surface area, especially for a 13-inch laptop. Responsiveness is excellent, and the left and right clicks feel satisfying. The new ProArt lineup also introduces the Asus DialPad, integrated into the trackpad’s top-left corner. This customizable and intuitive touch interface enhances productivity by allowing users to touch and rotate to select functions tailored to various applications.

For instance, in Adobe Photoshop, the DialPad simplifies tasks such as adjusting brush sizes. Managed via the Asus Dial & Control Panel software, it aims to streamline workflows by reducing reliance on keyboard shortcuts or mouse clicks. However, if you’re already accustomed to traditional key combinations and shortcuts, you might find yourself rarely using the DialPad.

Performance

The ASUS ProArt PX13 comes with AMD’s latest Ryzen AI 9 365 processor, which is a toned-down version of the HX 370 that we recently tested on the ASUS Zenbook S 16. It features 10 cores, 20 threads and boost clock speeds of up to 5GHz. AMD lists the CPU to to have a power draw range between 15-54W. However, in our testing, it went up to 65W. It should be noted that there is an HX 370 version of this laptop, but ASUS decided not to bring that model to India.

The processor also comes with a dedicated NPU (Neural Processing Unit) as well for AI-based tasks, offering a combined performance of 50 TOPS (Trillion Operations Per Second). This essentially means that the laptop also gets all of Microsoft’s Copilot+ features. This includes live captions, Windows Studio Effects, Cocreator, automatic super-resolution and more.

For memory, you get 24GB LPDDR5X RAM soldered memory that’s clocked at 7500MHz, along with 1TB PCIe Gen 4 M.2 SSD. The SSD offers excellent read and write speeds, although it doesn’t fully make use of the PCIe Gen 4 bandwidth. In CrystalDiskMark, the pre-installed SSD managed to offer read and write speeds of up to 5,200Mbps and 4,800Mbps, respectively.


The Ryzen AI 9 365 is an excellent CPU in terms of raw compute performance. It steers ahead of Intel’s latest Core Ultra 7 258V and even AMD’s own Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 (in certain scenarios) that we tested on thinner ultra-portable laptops.

During our testing, the ProArt PX13 proved to be a reliable everyday laptop that runs fast and smoothly while being able to handle everything from multiple Chrome tabs to gaming. The laptop offers plenty of performance for creative apps like Adobe Photoshop, Blender, and Adobe Lightroom.

When we ran synthetic benchmarks, the Ryzen AI 9 365 on the ProArt PX13 scored 832 points and 113 points respectively in Cinebench R24’s multi-core and single-core tests. This is comparatively better than Intel’s newly launched Lunar Lake-based Core Ultra 7 258V tested on the Zenbook S 14, which scored 582 points in multi-core and 105 points in single-core tests. Granted that the ProArt X13 is not as slim as the Zenbook, but considering the small size of the chassis, the overall performance is right up there.

BenchmarkASUS ProArt PX13
Cinebench R23 multi-core16900
Cinebench R23 single-core1956
Cinebench R24 multi-core832
Cinebench R24 single-core113
Geekbench 6 multi-core14175
Geekbench 6 single-core2793
PCMark 107572
PCMark 10 Extended9278
In terms of graphics performance, the ProArt PX13 is equipped with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 Studio version with 6GB of GDDR6 memory. ASUS has tuned the GPU to consume up to 80W of power to prolong battery life, although this GPU can be configured with up to 115W. For creative tasks like rendering quality graphics, smooth video editing, 3D modeling, and other demanding creative applications, the GPU offers adequate performance.

Notably, it doesn’t quite match the power of an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 found in a dedicated gaming laptop like the Gigabyte G5 MF. For instance, in 3DMark TimeSpy and FireStrike benchmarks, the ProArt PX13 with the RTX 4050 scored 7,503 and 15,803, respectively, compared to the G5 MF, which achieved 8,098 and 18,419 with the same GPU at 75W.

The ProArt PX13 is not meant for gaming, especially with that 60Hz display. But out of curiosity, I fired up GTA V, which ran at an average of 125FPS at native 1800p resolution, while Valorant saw impressive frame rates of over 280FPS. It can even deliver close to 60FPS performance in demanding AAA titles when set to low or medium settings. Essentially, you can game on this laptop, but it may not match the performance of a full-fledged gaming laptop.

In terms of thermals, the laptop comes with dual cooling fans and quad-exhaust channels. ASUS is also using Thermal Grizzly’s liquid metal thermal compound that is claimed to offer 14 times better thermal conductivity. Pushing the CPU to its limits, the temperature went up to 95 degrees and about 89 degrees while gaming, with the GPU peaking at 86 degrees. There wasn’t any noticeable throttling, but it is advisable to use a cooling pad, especially during long rendering tasks. The fans also get quite loud when the system is stressed, but ASUS has released a BIOS update addressing the issue.

The bottom-firing speakers can get muffled on a lap or desk, requiring higher volume for clear audio. However, flipping the display in its 2-in-1 mode turns the speakers into top-firing, improving sound clarity while watching movies or gaming when paired with a controller. The built-in full-HD webcam is adequate for everyday video calls and offers Window Hello face recognition for quick login. Video quality is slightly grainy, but on the flip side, the microphone performs well, delivering clear audio and filtering out background noise. The laptop also offers convenient function row buttons that allow users to mute the mic and disable the webcam for added privacy.

Battery Life

The ASUS ProArt PX13 features a 73Wh battery and a 200W charging brick. Battery life naturally varies based on the usage. For instance, everyday tasks like web browsing and document editing offer around 8 to 9 hours of use. Demanding tasks like rendering high-resolution footage is going to take a heavier toll, so expect the battery to last less than 5 or even 4 hours.


Testing with PCMark 10’s video battery benchmark at 80% screen brightness, it managed to deliver 11 hours and 15 minutes, which is good for a compact, performance-oriented machine. To summarize, the ProArt PX 13 offers good battery life for general use, but high-resolution streaming and demanding creative tasks significantly impact its longevity.

Verdict

The ASUS ProArt PX13 is a great choice for creative professionals thanks to its efficient AI-powered CPU, sharp 3K OLED touchscreen, reliable GPU, and other useful features. It may not be the most powerful laptop on the market, but for a 2-in-1 laptop, it manages to offer reliable performance for tasks like video and photo editing, graphic design, digital drawing, and even a bit of gaming.

The ASUS Dial integrated into the touchpad, as well as support for ASUS Pen 2.0, offers intuitive and convenient interactions with creative software, although they might take time to get used to. I really wish that laptop offered a display with a faster refresh rate , and maybe better battery life. But overall, the ASUS ProArt PX13 is a solid package.

The notebook currently sells for Rs 1,79,990, which isn’t what I would call attractive. If raw compute or graphics performance is all you need, there are other creator laptops on the market including ASUS’s larger ProArt P16, or the Apple MacBook Pro M4. But considering its form factor, the ProArt PX13 might be the best compact Windows creator laptop for you.

Editor’s rating: 7.5 / 10

Pros

  • Premium 2-in-1 design
  • Sharp 3K OLED
  • Reliable performance
  • Can be used for gaming
  • Bundled stylus

Cons

  • 60Hz refresh rate
  • Fans tend to get loud
  • Pricey

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