Asus ProArt P16 (2025)

A brilliant laptop for creatives thanks to its top-end panel, AMD Ryzen CPU and RTX 5070 graphics

- TIM DANTON

There's always a risk when investing almost three grand in a laptop. Let's say you bought last year's top-end ProArt P16 (see issue 361, p51), with its then-new Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor and more aged RTX 4070 graphics: was there a chance that this year's model would blow it out of the water with far faster core components?

The answer is yes... and no. AMD is yet to release a successor to the HX 370 and it's once again accompanied by 64GB of DDR5 memory. But the graphics have jumped a generation, with Asus upgrading to Nvidia's RTX 5070 mobile GPU. You can still order the RTX 4070 version for £200 less, but that hardly seems worthwhile.

I had hoped that Asus would up the GPU to an RTX 5080 in light of Nvidia's switch to the more efficient Blackwell architecture, but no, you're stuck with the middle ground in terms of GPU power. That hands an advantage to rivals such as the Razer Blade 16 2025 (see issue 369, p58), which supports up to RTX 5090 despite a similarly slim chassis.

Slim design

As with the Blade 16, there is much to admire when it comes to the P16's design. Asus may be famous for its brash gaming laptops, but the ProArt P16 is all about understatement, from its matte black finish to its almost indiscernible "Asus ProArt" logo on the bottom left of the lid. There isn't a flicker of RGB to be seen, to the point where it's actually tricky to spot the black power button above the F12 key.

Despite its slim dimensions, Asus crams in the ports. The proprietary connector for its 200W power supply sits on the left, sensibly towards the back so it doesn't interfere with other ports and cables. Next comes an HDMI 2.1 output, then a USB-C 4 port, USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 port and 3.5mm jack. USB-C and USB-A ports again sit on the right, alongside an SD Express 7 card slot. There's no RJ45 port, but WiFi 7 is present alongside Bluetooth 5.4.