TheRetroArcade
Veteran
Posts: 12,385
Joined: Feb 2026
Joined: Feb 2026
I do like this laptop a lot, though there are some quality control issues with my review unit, and the volume of anti-cheat services still to add gives me some pause over recommending its gaming prowess. But it is a desirable device, with genuine gaming chops, excellent local AI support, and serious creative power. If your needs stretch beyond just gaming—and so does your wallet—then the ProArt P16 is a great machine.
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If you don't talk to me about the price, I will tell you the Asus ProArt P16 is an unbelievably good gaming laptop. It is beautifully slim, runs incredibly well gaming on battery, and has an absolutely stunning 16-inch OLED screen. And its Arm-based SoC is almost entirely transparent when it comes to running pretty much anything on Windows 11.
But this is no mere Snapdragon device, this the RTX Spark; Nvidia's first foray into the world of full Windows SoCs. It's pairing a relatively beefy RTX Blackwell GPU with a whole bunch of Arm CPU cores, and doing so with lots and lots and lots of LPDDR5X memory. Y'know, for AI.
Which, er, is why you might not want to ask about that price. Memory's expensive, and these RTX Spark laptops—of which the Asus ProArt P16 is, in my opinion, the most desirable—are likewise brutally priced. I have the 64 GB version, with the top Nvidia N1X SoC inside it, and it will set you back $4,400.
It is that price both for AI and because of AI, and is being sold as the 'One PC' that can do everything. It can game, it can run creative apps, and it can slam through local AI workloads like no other laptop before. But where you're probably expecting me to trot out the old 'jack of all trades, master of none' line here, that's not really the case. There are tradeoffs, sure, but it's really, really good at the lot. And did I mention it was pretty?
The real question here, however, is whether a PC gamer ought to be considering this machine for their next laptop. And if it's just to play games on, this would not be my first choice, however good a device I think it is. The performance, for an Arm-powered laptop, is impressive in terms of the experience, but not faultless. While Microsoft is working hard on Prism and opening up support for every anti-cheat software going, it is not complete. And checking against my back-of-the-napkin list of the 15 biggest PC games around right now you're looking at around half of them not being playable. Yet.
✅ You're a creator or local AI head who games on the side: If you're after an almost workstation style thin and light machine, but also want to play after dark, the ProArt P16 will cover all bases
❌ You just want a gaming laptop: There are other thin and light gaming machines that will cost a fraction of what this does, but perform as well in-game.❌ You have to ask the price: These are machines for the very well-off PC user.
I do like this laptop a lot, but there are some quality control issues with my review unit, and the volume of anti-cheat services still to add gives me some pause over recommending its gaming prowess. But it is a desirable device, with genuine gaming chops, excellent local AI support, and serious creative power. If your needs stretch beyond just gaming—and so does your wallet—then the ProArt P16 is a great machine.
CPU
Nvidia RTX Spark N1X
Cores
20 total(10 Arm Cortex-X925 + 10 Arm Cortex-A725)
GPU
Nvidia Blackwell RTX
Cores
6144 CUDA cores
Memory
64 GB LPDDR5X RAM
Storage
1 TB NVMe M.2 SSD
Screen
16-inch 3K OLED 100% DCI-P3 120 Hz Touchscreen
OS
Microsoft Windows 11 Home 64-bit
Colour
Nano Black
Warranty
ASUS 12 Month Collect & Return Warranty
Price
£3,900 | $4,400
There are many like it, but this one is mine: The 20-core N1X chip, with 10 performance and 10 efficient cores, and the 6144 CUDA core GPU component. Thi...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?
PC Gamer's got your back
Our experienced team dedicates many hours to every review, to really get to the heart of what matters most to you. Find out more about how we evaluate games and hardware.
If you don't talk to me about the price, I will tell you the Asus ProArt P16 is an unbelievably good gaming laptop. It is beautifully slim, runs incredibly well gaming on battery, and has an absolutely stunning 16-inch OLED screen. And its Arm-based SoC is almost entirely transparent when it comes to running pretty much anything on Windows 11.
But this is no mere Snapdragon device, this the RTX Spark; Nvidia's first foray into the world of full Windows SoCs. It's pairing a relatively beefy RTX Blackwell GPU with a whole bunch of Arm CPU cores, and doing so with lots and lots and lots of LPDDR5X memory. Y'know, for AI.
Which, er, is why you might not want to ask about that price. Memory's expensive, and these RTX Spark laptops—of which the Asus ProArt P16 is, in my opinion, the most desirable—are likewise brutally priced. I have the 64 GB version, with the top Nvidia N1X SoC inside it, and it will set you back $4,400.
It is that price both for AI and because of AI, and is being sold as the 'One PC' that can do everything. It can game, it can run creative apps, and it can slam through local AI workloads like no other laptop before. But where you're probably expecting me to trot out the old 'jack of all trades, master of none' line here, that's not really the case. There are tradeoffs, sure, but it's really, really good at the lot. And did I mention it was pretty?
The real question here, however, is whether a PC gamer ought to be considering this machine for their next laptop. And if it's just to play games on, this would not be my first choice, however good a device I think it is. The performance, for an Arm-powered laptop, is impressive in terms of the experience, but not faultless. While Microsoft is working hard on Prism and opening up support for every anti-cheat software going, it is not complete. And checking against my back-of-the-napkin list of the 15 biggest PC games around right now you're looking at around half of them not being playable. Yet.
✅ You're a creator or local AI head who games on the side: If you're after an almost workstation style thin and light machine, but also want to play after dark, the ProArt P16 will cover all bases
❌ You just want a gaming laptop: There are other thin and light gaming machines that will cost a fraction of what this does, but perform as well in-game.❌ You have to ask the price: These are machines for the very well-off PC user.
I do like this laptop a lot, but there are some quality control issues with my review unit, and the volume of anti-cheat services still to add gives me some pause over recommending its gaming prowess. But it is a desirable device, with genuine gaming chops, excellent local AI support, and serious creative power. If your needs stretch beyond just gaming—and so does your wallet—then the ProArt P16 is a great machine.
CPU
Nvidia RTX Spark N1X
Cores
20 total(10 Arm Cortex-X925 + 10 Arm Cortex-A725)
GPU
Nvidia Blackwell RTX
Cores
6144 CUDA cores
Memory
64 GB LPDDR5X RAM
Storage
1 TB NVMe M.2 SSD
Screen
16-inch 3K OLED 100% DCI-P3 120 Hz Touchscreen
OS
Microsoft Windows 11 Home 64-bit
Colour
Nano Black
Warranty
ASUS 12 Month Collect & Return Warranty
Price
£3,900 | $4,400
There are many like it, but this one is mine: The 20-core N1X chip, with 10 performance and 10 efficient cores, and the 6144 CUDA core GPU component. Thi...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?