Customer Ratings & Reviews

TLDR – This is one of the best pre-built systems I’ve used to date. This Asus pre-built offers great framerates, has exceptional airflow & cooling, is quiet, and most importantly is expandable. KEY SPECS Processor: i7-14700KF (20 Cores – 8 Performance, 12 Efficient, 28 Threads) Motherboard: Asus motherboard with Intel B760 chipset Cooling: 240mm Asus AIO Liquid CPU Cooler RAM: 32GB DDR5 @ 5600MHz SSD: 2 x 1TB WD SN560 Gen 4 NVMe drives Video: Nvidia GTX4070 Super with 12GB GDDR6 Intel AX211 Wi-Fi 6E (External Antenna Included) & Bluetooth 5.3 Power Supply: Minimum 750W PORTS 1 x PS/2 Keyboard Mouse 4 x USB 2.0 Ports 4 x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A Ports 1 x RJ45 LAN 2 x USB 3.2 USB-C Multiple 3.5mm Headphone / Mic / Line-In Options (Including 7.1 Surround Sound Output) PERFORMANCE There isn’t anything to complain about concerning the performance of the new Asus ROG Strix. The power of Nvidia’s new 40-series GPU’s are quite impressive. This new Asus replaces my well used gaming desktop from one of Asus’ primary competitors. At the time, my desktop was a decent mid-tier gaming rig. However, as time went on and games became more demanding, I was in need of an upgrade. The previous manufacturer offered just enough space to allow for some minor upgrades. After upgrades, my current configuration is as follows: i7-9700K (8 Cores / 8 Threads), 32GB DDR4 RAM, AMD Radeon 6700XT graphics card, and a Corsair 120mm AIO Liquid CPU cooler, a 750W Corsair 80+ power supply, along with numerous 120mm case fans to try to help with poor air circulation. My modest current set-up is adequate for a majority of my needs, but is no way considered a gaming powerhouse, not that it ever was. Using AMD’s default performance settings via their Adrenalin app for the graphics card, my current rig can barely muster the following results: Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege: 65.5fps Fortnite: 119.3fps Roblox: 58.3 Forza Horizon 5: 59fps Apex Legends: 60fps Counter Strike 2: 66fps Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3: 52fps Again, everything is playable, but nowhere near impressive. The 6700XT combined with the 9700, both the CPU and GPU hover around 90% utilization while gaming at 3840 x 1440p resolution and a 75Hz refresh rate. What was extremely disappointing about my current pre-built was that while it too, promised great gaming performance at the time, it didn’t deliver. When I first took delivery, it was entirely air-cooled and case air flow was atrocious. Temps immediately spiked to upper 90’s on both the CPU and GPU and the computer immediately thermal throttled. This was, no joke, with 10 minutes of firing it up for the first time. Gaming sucked. There were stutters, lag, overheating, and it was so noisy I could hear the fans screaming for mercy over my noise-cancelling headphones. It took several hundred dollars in upgrades to make it playable. I had to install 3 case fans, and an AIO just to keep temps in check. The whole design was lackluster and not well thought out. Having poor prior experience with gaming pre-builts, I still really wanted to give the Asus a shot. I couldn’t wait to try out an Asus PC with a modern graphics card. There has been a TON of hype about Nvidia’s ray tracing abilities and how their new DLSS tech increases frame rates and smoothes playback. I was just hoping the card and desktop could live up to the hype. I was also hoping I wouldn’t have to sink a bunch of money into it to make it usable and stable on a daily basis and stable like I had to on my last one. Asus did not disappoint. Even during my longest, most strenuous, and most demanding gaming sessions the Asus has NOT disappointed in any way. Case airflow is impressive. The desktop has maintained its cool no matter how long I’ve played or how much I’ve asked. You can hear the 4070’s fans while playing hard, but they are not obnoxious by any means. Same with the AIO, it does a great job at keeping CPU thermals stable and consistent. While temps will easily reach the 80’s, it keeps them in check and does it with no fuss. The ability to keep cool, fresh air moving into the case is key and Asus should be commended on their design. My small, room-sized air purifier is louder than the ROG Strix. Excellent work Asus. You should be commended for an excellent case design. Speaking of gaming, how does the new Asus ROG Strix perform compared to my previous build? It is a night and day difference. Results that were humble, at best, are now impressive and quite frankly so good, I had to re-run several benchmarks to make sure they were correct. Just, WOW. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege: 393fps Fortnite: 424fps Forza Horizon 5: 165fps Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3: 241fps What isn’t reflected in the FPS results are the behind-the-scenes settings. My previous gaming desktop mustered its numbers with modest settings. Not the Asus and its Nvidia RTX 4070. EVERY single game benchmarked at Max quality. Forza, CoD, R6, every game placed its quality settings to max. There was enough overhead to allow me to turn on ray tracing in CoD. It is hard to put into words how much better my games now look on the Asus. Even at identical resolutions (max my gaming monitor supports is 3840 x 1440), graphics are noticeably better. Like the old saying, the difference is in the details and these games are no exception. It’s not just the smoother frame rates, all the textures, shadows, lighting, EVERYTHING is clearer, cleaner, crisper. Visuals are MARKEDLY improved as is input lag. This is the first time I’ve EVER been able to enjoy all my favorite games at their maximum detail. It’s not just the eye candy, it’s also the fact I can have all the eye candy and play those games with up to quadruple the frame rates of my previous desktop without the PC whining like its about to be launched off an aircraft carrier. NEGATIVES The negatives are few. One is the choice of only average Western Digital SSD’s. The SN560’s return only average performance for a Gen4 drive. Not to mention that while Asus touts 2TB of storage (technically they are correct), it divided into two 1TB drives. Not ideal in my world. I swapped the 1TB storage drive to a 2TB Western Digital SN850X, leaving one of the SN560’s as my primary boot drive. Placing all my games on the SN850, made a substantial difference in loading times and responsiveness. Throughput went from approx. 5000 MB/s to well over 7000 MB/s. That’s really all the faults I can find. That’s impressive, as this is one of the few pre-builts I have nothing to complain about regarding the ton of bloatware installed. There is some proprietary Asus software that comes with the machine, like Armory Crate, etc., but it isn’t extreme and doesn’t hinder performance or boot times. FINAL THOUGHTS The new Asus ROG Strix is an awesome gaming rig. The entire PC feels like it was thoroughly and thoughtfully designed from the beginning, unlike my previous gaming PC. This is one of the few computers I’ve received that I didn’t feel the desire or need to upgrade parts to make it perform at its intended potential. Yes, I did swap game drives, but that was for my own OCD, allowing me to store all my current and future games in one spot. But, in reality, this desktop needs nothing to make it great. Everything works and performs exceptionally well out of the box. And, unlike some of Asus’ competitors, they make it user friendly for those of us that may want to upgrade in the future. Asus used standardized parts, power supply, and case dimensions, etc. Asus even threw in extra power cables to add additional PCIe expansion cards, SSD’s etc. The desktop is designed with the end-user in mind, allowing them to customize it to their wants and needs. Well done Asus. This is an outstanding desktop!! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

This is a solid build for the price. Bought it for my wife. Maybe could have built the same machine for slightly less if I built it myself but the difference is minimal enough that it’s not worth the headache.

It's has everything I need plus. I do desktop publishing, CAD, 3D printing, write code, design PCBs as well as play some games. It can handle all that with ease. It's well made, quiet unless I push it to the extreme. For the price it was a good deal.

It runs amazing and looks cool as ever. Plays any game on 120fps easy

So far I have had a greay experience with this desktop. If you are looking for something to upgrade to without breaking the bank i can firmly recommend this.

The employee was very quick to help me and informed me on other products that would help me compete my setup great service

ASUS has released their new ROG Strix gaming desktops, and the G16CHR is a great option. The box includes the gaming PC, keyboard, mouse, power cable, 6- and 8-prong power cables, HDD data cable, a wifi antenna, and paperwork. The PC comes with a manufacturer's 1-year warranty. PROS: ----------- * It's sleek & colorful when powered up. The colors can be customized with Aurasync - adjust lighting how you want it while you game. * The stowed-away "hook" on the left side can be used to hang your headphones easily. Keep in mind that this might not work well with some headsets that have memory foam as the hook could leave an imprint on the inside top part of your headphones. Use it to hang whatever weighs only a couple of pounds. * Plenty of horsepower for the latest games and video-editing program handling. Multi-tasking is a breeze with no hiccups. The 14th Gen Intel i7-14700KF processor works everything with ease. With the 32GB of DDR5 RAM (expandable to 64GB), games and apps load incredibly fast and doesn't strain to do anything heavy. * Cooling design and tech is great with this PC. Gaming can be intense, and heat is the enemy of performance. This PC allows for nice cooling design with the various fan airflows and liquid-cooled parts. ASUS appears to have gotten the cooling tech figured out here. * Abundant display options with 1 HDMI port and 3 DisplayPorts. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070S runs your games at high-res and high-refresh without a hitch. I had a game or two that previously had skipped here and there, but now they run incredibly smooth. On my 240Hz monitor, it's smooth beyond anything I have used before. * Sound is incredible due to Dolby Atmos audio support. Games sound incredible and have great depth if using higher end dolby atmos PC speakers. Certain headsets will also allow for an incredible sound experience. I personally stick with high-end PC speakers and am in the middle of the action when I crank it up. * AI Noise cancellation technology keeps background noise out of your external mic quite well. * 2.5Gb wired ethernet adapter. Need I say more? See SPEEDTEST screenshot. * The attachable wifi antenna has a rubber/magnetic bottom, so it can be attached to the back of the PC in multiple directions. It can also change antenna angles with regard to the base itself. CONS: ----------- * There are no USB-C ports on the back of the PC - I would have loved to have at least 1 or 2 Thunderbolt ports back there. * When you open the top of the box to remove the PC, the PC comes in a soft cover that opens from the bottom, and it's insanely difficult to pull it out of the box with no handles or ability to see what you're grabbing. ASUS should fix this immediately. Turn the black cover the other way, and add durable handles on the top (or something to pull it out) since it won't come out easy with the tight packing material around it. * The external Wifi antenna is fine, but but I'd rather have my antenna internal to the chassis for a cleaner look. Perhaps this was done for performance reasons in case the antenna needed to be adjusted. * The handle on the rear/back of the PC is nice, but I'd like to also have a handle on the front as well so it could be carried more securely if I need to pick it straight up. * When the RTX graphics module is installed, it covers up what looks like 1 PCIe port, so you can only access one if you need to add another model to the rear of your machine. * The 2 side covers are not easily removable without tools. You have to remove 2 screws on each side to remove the covers. I'd love to see a lever/lock combination to remove these without a phillips head screwdriver. OTHER OBSERVATIONS: ----------- * Comes with Windows 11 Home edition with some ASUS performance software applications that show fans, temp, and other technical specs while gaming. * The PC comes with a semi-basic gaming keyboard and mouse, but you may opt for more advanced versions. * If you remove the "not main" side cover, you can access the power supply area where a 3.5" HDD can be mounted to the bottom of the chassis (4 holes). It might be possible to install a very short-stack bracket that can hold 2 2.5" HDDs, but that may be dependent on what hardware you have available. There are already 2 series power supply hookups available in that area, and the data cable(s) can be run to the other side where the data connectors reside. * The primary C: SSD is located behind a small plate just below the processor. The D: DATA SSD is located below the RTX card and to the right. These are the only 2 slots for SSD. If you need more than those 2 and the HDD hookup in the power area, you'll have to find other external options or possibly get a internal PCIe SSD device. CONCLUSION: ===================== This gaming desktop is not just a purchase - it's an experience and keeps you "future-proofed". If you want to go to the next level, this is the PC for you. Between graphics, sounds, abilities for advanced hardware hookups and more, this may be the gaming PC for you. I have to say, I'm quite impressed so far and will definitely give ASUS a look in the future once this system becomes more obsolete.

My old gaming PC has been trucking along for some time now but it was time for a good upgrade. This is one upgrade I'm really happy about. I started with a i7 4770k and a GTX 1080. The CPU got upgraded to an AMD 3800X a few years back but the 1080 has been going strong for over 6 years now. It's been showing it's age and the 4070 Super was just what I needed to actually see and feel the difference. This configuration has an Intel Core i7 14700kf, 32GB of DDR5 5600 memory, 2 TB of NVME storage, an RTX 4070 Super, and all the colorful lights you can ask for (my old system had a nice fancy glass side panel but zero lights inside). I'll be saying a lot of nice things about this system, so for a change of pace, I want to lead with the things I think are a little strange. They're small and don't detract from the system or the performance but they were things I noticed pretty quick as someone who's worked on computers and knows about what's available. One of the first things I noticed when I looked inside was the plain old school looking green PCB board memory sticks. Don't get me wrong, this is nice memory. It's fast. It's DDR5. There's 32GB of it. But for a system with a lot of light inside and a clear side panel, I was surprised to not see some kind of heat exchange cover over the memory. This is purely an aesthetic complaint and it's barely a complaint at all. I just found it weird because I haven't seen a gaming PC with a side window and lights built with such plain (ugly) memory in a really long time. The other strange thing I noticed after booting the system up is the 2TB of storage is actually 2 1TB drives. Also not the biggest deal in the world but I found it strange because I'm pretty sure it almost all cases at this point in time you can get a single 2TB drive for cheaper than 2 1TB drives. The biggest drawback, in my opinion, is since this is a gaming machine and games take up a lot of space, having to decide which 1TB drive you want to install your next game just becomes a little annoying instead of just installing them all in the same place. The best part about those two small negatives is that they're also the two things in any computer that are the easiest and cheapest to upgrade in the future so as time goes on, they may not be issues at all anymore. Now on to setup. If you've worked with and put together computers before, this shouldn't be too difficult. Make sure you connect your monitor to the actual video card and not the ports on top. Plug in the keyboard and mouse. Plug in the wifi/bluetooth antenna. Plug in power. That should get you ready to turn it on. Booting up is quick and the initial Windows setup is fairly painless and standard. Even installing updates after the computer is done setting up was really quick compared to other systems I've worked with. I'll talk about the included mouse and keyboard real quick because I have my own mouse and keyboard already so I'm not using the included ones daily. If you don't have another mouse and keyboard that you like, the ones included aren't bad. The keyboard is a pretty standard membrane keyboard. Nothing crazy special but it works and doesn't feel terrible to type on if you aren't already used to a mechanical keyboard. The mouse is a pretty standard laser mouse with a nice braided wire. Again, it works if you're not used to another mouse you like more. ASUS does install a couple extra applications aside from device drivers. There's MyASUS which basically lets you check the health of your device, diagnose problems and get updates. Then there's Armory Crate which lets you tune your computer and tweak RGB settings. Then there's Aura Creator which lets your dive a bit deeper into customizing your RGB stuff. None of it feels too egregious or bloaty and it all has a purpose so I don't see much of a problem with any of it. The only bloat here appeared to be Windows stuff like Office 365 and OneNote. Performance is top notch. I know this isn't top of the line, but it's pretty close. Windows felt snappy at all times. Opening applications feels quick. Running multiple applications at once doesn't feel like you're running into a brick wall. Everything just works well out of the box. Cooling seems to be done well and I haven't noticed any getting out of hand on that front. And to top that all off, the whole system is pretty quiet. There's an initial burst before the system POSTs but then the fans get pretty whisper quiet and you don't really notice any noise at all. Let's talk about gaming performance! You're buying this computer to game on it so I tested out a couple games to see how well it performed. I was pleased with all of the results I got. Doom Eternal is just a staple benchmark game for me. It's really well optimized and I think it does a good job of showing what your system can do when you unlock the framerate since it's not really CPU limited at all. Maxing out every setting I could find and running on an ultra-wide 3440x2560 with HDR, I saw about 220-240fps. Maybe hitting a low of 190 at the lowest. And boy did it look pretty. CyberPunk 2077 is another staple benchmark game because it pushes the boundaries of what graphics can do. I tested various settings and ran the included benchmark. All tests were with the graphics settings all maxed out but with different DLSS and Ray Tracing settings. I was most impressed when I decides to just go crazy and max out ray tracing and then turn on path tracing and turn off DLSS entirely and still saw an average framerate of about 35. Playable for sure. I didn't notice any dips below 30 either. But my more practical tests with DLSS on and path tracing off, I got about 70-80 fps. That's still with everything maxed out just with DLSS helping a bit. I can't wait to dive back into this game with a computer that can actually play it the way it was meant to be played. The last game I wanted to test is my current go-to game. Helldivers 2. There wasn't a whole lot to tweak on this one because I maxed out every graphics setting I could and turned off the resolution scaling completely (so it was set to native rendering) and saw a nice 90-120 fps. Usually hovering around 110. If you're trying to max out your 144hz or 165hz monitor, I feel like it would be possible with some resolution scaling turned on and some other graphic setting tweaks but I'm happy with what I got right now. Reminder, all of these benchmarks were done on an ultra-wide monitor at 3440x2560 resolution. So greater than 1440p but not quite at 4k. With certain DLSS settings, frame generation and ray reconstruction, I'm certain this computer would be capable of some 4K gaming but I didn't personally test it at all myself. Overall, I'm really happy with the system. It's a huge upgrade from what I was running before and I can't wait to jump into some games that I've been putting off because I didn't feel like I could "properly" run them. Only you can judge your budget and how affordable this system is but I think it's pretty fair for what you get and definitely recommend it.

Has ran everything ive thrown at it amazing in 4k!

Excellent! Excellent! Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!

Out of the box this is the fastest computer I have ever tested, far exceeding my gaming laptops – of course a desktop does not have component size or power usage to consider. It has everything you need for gaming, but should be excellent for work, everyday processing and especially video processing as well. As such I do recommend it but since I have started building my own desktops, I look at these rigs with a slightly different lens. With an Intel i7-14700KF 2.5 boosting to 5.6 Ghz , with 20 cores – processing is fast. But this processor does not have onboard graphics (processors ending in KF – no graphics, K – onboard graphics) – requiring a GPU. The KF is slightly cheaper but if your GPU has issues you will have no video output. Make sure power mode is set to performance, mine was not. The CPU water cooler is very nice and has a small footprint over CPU – so no impact to other components fitting in. Also, the case has a cutout in back to allow easy access to bolts attaching cooler to board. No need to take the entire board out to access. Asus Armory Crate software is for performance tweaks and is easy to use. 32GB - 2 16GB DDR5 5600mhz with 2 slots open with a max of 64GB(?). My software couldn’t determine the manufacturer, so I popped one stick out. The bottom clip was a tad hard to open as it is tight to GPU, but I was able to wiggle out. They are SK Hynix 16GB PC5-5600B-UA0-1010-XT. I searched for these and could not find a match. So, if you were to add memory there is a possibility you will have to replace the existing 2 as well. You should not really mix different manufacturers as there could be compatibility issues between old/new. 2TB is stated but is 2 1TB PCIe 4.0 WD PC SN560 NVMe drives. Main ( C ) drive is just above GPU with 2nd positioned under GPU towards front of board. 2nd could be covered if you use bottom PCIe slot. They tested well but slightly slower than my WD - BLACK SN850. The 2nd drive can be used for data, cloning, etc. Raid is supported thru Bios. There are 4 PCIe 4x16 slots but the GPU uses 1 and block middle 2. The bottom is open but there is a power attachment to the board just below it that I am not sure will clear if you tried to use it.GPU is Nvidia Geforce RTX4070 Super GDDR6x 12GB memory (192 bits). Is double wide so covers 2 other PCIe slots. Requires 2 power connections and it is securely fastened by metal plate to case. Has 1 x HDMI 2.1 and 3 x DisplayPort 1.4. Maybe I am misreading but specifications seem to indicate - 3 x HDMI 2.1 and 4 x DisplayPort 1.4? That aside what is there to say – it is fast and tested extremely well and played anything I threw at it. There are 6 SATA connections on the motherboard - 2 just above GPU at front of board, 2 hidden behind the GPU and 2 at bottom of board. The issue is there is no slot/cage to dock either a 2.5- or 3.5-inch SATA drive. I have encountered this in the past and found using Velcro very carefully attached to drives and case work well. Very disappointing though. 750-Watt E80 component PSU. I had to add the SATA power connectors to test the SATA ports and it was easy to click into PSU. The case has lighting which looks good. Aura Creator is to control lighting effects. There is an Android/Ios app that you can use to tweak system on the fly and not have to toggle out of game you are playing. I did not try it. There are 2 Gen 2 USB-C (20Gbps) and 2 Gen 2 USB-A (10Gbps) connectors on front top of case as are separate headphone and microphone connections. On the back there are 4 USB-A 2.0 and 2 x USB-C Gen2 connectors. Disappointing no Thunderbolt and who needs 4 2.0? There is also as PS/2 Port on back. 7.1 audio connections Wireless is AX 6E and comes with an antenna that you can attach and move around. I didn’t care for the supplied antenna, and I had 2 screw-in antennas lying around that worked fine. Unit is 6 feet from my mesh node so will probably use ethernet connection anyway. I connected to Asus VG289 TUF 4k monitor. Desktop has run anything I have thrown at it. Running 2021 Adobe Photoshop and Premier (video) Elements editing is very fast as is moving files, word processing, excel, etc. It is very quiet too. The supplied wired keyboard and mouse are better than most I have experienced and RGB can be customized. If just getting started these are fine but most gamers, I suspect already have their own “favorite”. As I was doing all the Windows, Asus updates as well as installing my software somehow the boot drive got corrupted, and I could not “fix” it no matter what commands I tried. Even took drive out and tried running diagnostics on other desktop using external PCIe case. Hey it happens - this is not an issue with the desktop and the reason I mention it is I decided I had to re-install windows, etc. I found the MyAsus WinRE made it easy to do factory restore. I still had to redo all the updates but didn’t need to re-install Asus software, etc. I normally do a clone of drive before doing any updates but forgot! 1-year warranty. Headphone “cradle” is on the wrong side for me. Would have been nice to have one on each side. No front fans (but there is room) nor removable screens for easier cleaning. No reset button. The strap at the back of the rig does help move it around but would be nice to have something to grab onto in front of case as well. A few times the screen went blank and had to unplug the HDMI cable and re-insert to get signal. May just need a driver update…. And the biggest irritation for me is the side panels have little phillips screws that you need a screwdriver to remove. The main panel at least should have tool-less thumbscrews. I had a couple lying around so used them. Overall, a nice out of box desktop though and screaming fast….

I am pretty disappointed It was supposed to be Open Box Excellent with keyboard and mouse. I don't know who packed this computer this computer. It was loose in a torn box no keyboard no mouse. Front was hanging off. I heard a loose piece inside so took side off and a piece of plastic feel out. Right side is dented no shocked packed loosely. So disgusted I will see if it runs tomorrow. see pictures Beware off their open box took almost 2 weeks to get here. Not sure if I am going to keep it or take it back.

This ASUS ROG desktop is a great example of designing a system that is absolutely GREAT at what it's designed for - and a few other things - without breaking the bank (too badly). This PC, packing the latest Intel Core i7 14700KF and an NVIDIA 4070 SUPER with 12GB of VRAM and 32GB of DDR5 system RAM running at 5600 MT/s on an ASUS B760 motherboard - with two 1TB NVMe SSDs for good measure, is packed with the latest generation technology. And it provides outstanding gaming performance - I tested F1 '23, EA Sports WRC (World Rally Championship) and Battlefield V so far and it's outstanding in all of them - I'm playing on a high-refresh rate 1080P monitor and getting well over 100FPS in all of those games on ULTRA settings. Sometimes I'm hitting over 200FPS and it makes for buttery smooth gaming. You could certainly also play at 1440P at elevated refresh rates and likely even hold 60 FPS at 4K in many games (though maybe with High settings). I've included a screenshot of the 3DMark Time Spy run I did - and this was on the performance preset, not "Turbo", which even keeps the noise at a reasonably low level! Yet for all the power you get here, this is still a great VALUE too - sure, you could go for something with a 14900 or a 4090/4080 GPU, but then you'd be paying a LOT more for only incrementally more performance that you might never even notice. This PC gives you a high degree of usable performance - and with the water cooling, generous amount of RAM and two 1TB SSDs, it's quiet and livable enough to be your every day PC too. From a daily driver perspective, I love the ports - it has built in 2.5G ethernet, Wifi and Bluetooth along with two easily accessible USB-C ports on the top next to two USB-A ports as well. As far as durability goes, take it from someone that's been in IT / building PCs (and using those built by others) for over 20 years - ASUS is a name you can trust. This PC is well-built and, particularly given that it's a desktop that won't be moved around a ton, it should last you as long as you'd want - and probably the hardware will last until it's WELL past obsolete. Which will be a long time given the power this tower is packing! So if you're looking for a solidly built desktop that is awesome for gaming without being (or paying for) overkill, this ROG desktop is just what you're after. Give it a look today!

This is a very good prebuilt desktop PC. As far as I can tell it uses all standard non-proprietary parts that can easily be swapped out and upgraded in the future. For the price, it has a nice set of components and the RTX 4070 Super kills it at 1440p. I do think Asus skimped a little bit on the motherboard and the SSDs, but in general this is a great PC if you don’t want to go through the hassle of building your own, but still want the flexibility of upgrading in the future. The case itself looks nice, if a little generic. You get a glass side panel that shows all the internal components and there’s a nice array of RGB lighting that can be customized for various effects. I’m not usually a fan of the default rainbow color most RGB devices ship in, but I actually like what Asus has done with this desktop and it looks really nice in its default state. There is an adjustable handle towards the back of the case to help with carrying, which is nice for me as I occasionally take my PC between my monitor in my basement up to my TV upstairs. The side panels do require tools to remove, which is a bit of a bummer, but they come off and on easily enough. My first impressions looking inside of it were that the cable management was pretty good and it’s all tied up well behind the motherboard, though AIO cooler lines and GPU power connector do get a little mixed up with each other in a way that I don’t like the look of. The motherboard appears to be a microATX form factor and from what I can see is rather basic. You get 6 USB ports on the back, but 4 of them are USB 2.0, which is a little disappointing. The front USB ports are all high-speed USB 3 though, so you’re not completely out of luck. There’s also a PS/2 mouse/keyboard combo port and I’m not sure who is still looking for one of those, but it’s there. The motherboard does have Wi-Fi 6E built-in, but you need an external antenna that attaches to the case magnetically. The Ethernet port is only gigabit, which is more than fine for me, but it would have been nice to see 2.5G or 5G. The memory comes in (2) 16GB DDR5 5600 memory modules and I was able to overclock these automatically to 6600 MHz in the Asus BIOS using AEMP II. The GPU that’s used on this is the Asus RTX 4070 Super Dual. It’s tall enough in the case that it does need to utilize a right angle adapter for the power connection. This does use Nvidia’s 12-pin GPU connector, but unfortunately the connections from the power supply don’t have that connection and the PCIe adapter cable is needed, which adds some extra bulk. There’s a switch on the GPU for performance and quiet operating modes and there’s also a factory overclocked mode that can be accessed via Asus’ GPU Tweak tool. The 2TB of storage is spread across (2) 1TB Western Digital SN560 SSDs and they occupy both M.2 slots. I wish this was a single 2TB drive with space to add another SSD. I also wish the included drives were a little faster, but there’s nothing really wrong with them. I measured around 5,000 MB/sec read and 3500 MB/sec write. I did end up swapping one of the drives out with a Western Digital SN850X 2TB drive I already had in my previous PC. The power supply is a 750W Gold semi-modular that can peak at 800W according to Asus’ specs. It’s more than enough to run the RTX 4070 Super and i7-14700KF and should be able to support a further upgrade to something like an RTX 4080, but I do wish they’d made it 850W just to give a little more headroom. Getting booted into Windows 11 was pretty quick and there was about 45 minutes’ worth of updates and configuration for me to do after the initial boot. There was a little bit of your standard Windows bloat and some completely unnecessary stuff like Grammarly, but it was easy enough to clean off. I was previously using an RTX 3080 system paired with a 12th Gen i9. I was expecting this to be mostly a ‘sidegrade’ for me, but I was pleasantly surprised at the performance gains I saw, especially on ray traced games. Overall it was about a 15%-20% gain in most of my games with the 4070 Super set to its OC mode. And the CPU performance of the 14th Gen i7 is on par with my older i9. For 1440p I’m easily maxing out everything but the most demanding games and I was even able to pull off medium path tracing in Alan Wake 2 at a reasonable 40-50 fps, which was something my 3080 just wasn’t quite capable of. I certainly would recommend anybody ‘upgrade’ to this if you’re on 3080, but it’s nice to see a mid-range system beating out something that was considered high-end a few years ago. There aren’t any front intake fans, just a small rear exhaust and the 240mm radiator fans (and dual fans cooling the GPU). It still runs quite cool though and there are spots to mount additional fans, but I did not see any additional fan headers on the motherboard. The fan noise in general is low even under load. It’s audible, but I never noticed it with my headset on. Overall I’m very happy with this system. It’s a great mid-range mix of components and you aren’t boxed in by any proprietary parts. I do wish the motherboard and SSDs were a little nicer, but they definitely do the job and are easy to upgrade if you need to.

Just bought this PC this week. Already went back to exchange for anotehr one. However, neither works. Can’t find bluetooth device. Headset plugged and can’t hear anything. Downloaded drivers from Asus account and nothing changes. Not compatiable with the Steam game I just purchased. Done with Asus gaming PC.

Ready to go right out of the box. Nothing else needed to add. Great materials. Clean build. Low noise. Great performance. I came from using a Rog 30-series gaming PC, and this step-up improved in all the right places. The first small, but mighty add-on, is the carry strap on the rear of the case. It is often awkward shifting around a full-size PC while trying to keep it blemish free. As simple as it seems, the handle makes a big difference for mobility. 2TB SSD and 32GB memory. Plenty of space and RAM for any of my productivity and gaming needs. The included keyboard and mouse are actually noteworthy. My last system came with a basic ASUS keyboard and mouse for et-up. The combo in this system has matching RGB lighting and great tactile feedback. You actually want to keep these! Performance is top notch, which I expected. Handles all of my labor intensive editing and gaming. What has been surprising is the way in which these are handled. The Rog is quiet in comparison to my other systems, and the system ventilation keeps the system cool...so far. So at the moment, no need to add a cooler or lower decibel fans. I'm satisfied with the factory build. There are additional ports added to the top of the case. Two USB-C and two USB ports, both SS, with headphone and mic jacks for easy access. Another great touch is the case card adapter! They included the adapter so that my card power cord doesn't press against the case. I was absolutely expecting to buy that. Beautiful presentation, great accessories, and excellent performance right out-of-the-box!

The new Asus ROG Gaming Desktop from Asus is the complete package for all types of gamers. I am a gaming PC enthusiast and 99% of the time, I custom build my own machines. I honestly have to say, for the price and value of this system, I’m not sure what I could possibly do better with a custom build in this price range. Look at the specs below and tell me if you could put together a better package? CPU: Intel Core i7-14700KF GPU: NVIDIA RTX 4070-SUPER (12GB) SSD: 2x 1TB Western Digital SN560 NVMe drives RAM: 32GB DDR5 @ 5600MHz OS: Windows 11 Onboard WIFI 6 Maybe they could have gone with 64GB instead of 32GB, but it’s RAM, you can always upgrade later. This really is a supreme package especially with the 2x 1TB NVMe drives and the NVIDIA 4070-Super. Out of the box, setup was simple. You have to go through your standard Windows 11 account setup and updates etc. There wasn't much bloatware included. You get a couple of Asus branded applications but those are standard with any vendor. I'm extremely impressed with the performance and design of this desktop. The case is beautiful and the RGB placement is fantastic. The included handle is 100% functional. I use this handle frequently to carry this desktop between my dining room and my office. The handle was a great design addition resulting in easier transport. The case also features a headphone holder which is a very useful addition to the case and another very functional design. I commend Asus on these fine details because they are practical and functional with real world applications. Plenty of modern IO ports like USB-C both on the back of the case as well as on the top for convenience. I was concerned, because this case is smaller than most of my other systems, that there would be some cooling issues. So I made a point to push this system to the max. I've played hours of Battlefield 2042 at maximum quality settings and so far the highest I’ve recorded was 59 degrees Celsius on the GPU and 61 degrees Celsius on the water-cooled CPU. These are great temps under hours of heavy sustained load. Every modern game I've thrown at this system has performed fantastic. Great frame rates at both 1080p as well as 1440p which is what I typically game on. The 4070 Super can also handle 4k gaming quite well although I don't typically game in 4k. I also heavily use photoshop and lightroom which both perform excellent on this system. With the 2TB of NVMe storage, I don't have to worry about how many applications or games I have installed. 2TB is plenty of storage for most users. Overall, this is a fantastic gaming machine with the quality, features, and value this system provides, it's surely bridging the gap between wanting a custom built gaming PC vs a vendor pre-built system. This takes ALL of the hassle out and the unique features and amazing aesthetics of this system definitely make this a smart buy in my opinion!

Every year I am always looking forward to what latest offers and options the gaming PC and laptop industry is going to offer with their plethora of new features, specs and peripherals in an attempt to one up the competition. ASUS has always been one of my favorite manufacturers because of their quality builds, abundance of options for anyone and the overall performance of their rigs. The new 2024 ROG G16 gaming PC definitely does not disappoint coming in hot with the latest NVIDIA RTX4070 Super 12GB graphics card bolstering up to 2.48 GHz boost clock speeds using GDDR6X VRAM, 3rd Gen 82 TFLOPS Ray Tracing Cores, three display ports and one HDMI port for multiple monitors, amongst many other high end specs you can find on their website which also conveniently allows you to compare side-by-side to other graphics cards. The G16 also comes well equipped with 32 GB (16GB x 2) DDR5 RAM, two 1TB SSDs and more ports than you can shake a stick out including additional HDMI ports running off the internal graphics card (which I typically shy away from), six USB-A inputs on the rear of the machine as well as two more USB-A inputs and two USB-C inputs on the top of the rig for easier access. All these components combined complement each other well in the new ROG G16 gaming desktop which makes it capable of running games and/or video up to 4K at 240Hz or 8K at 60Hz. The only thing one might consider in the future is upgrading the OS’s SSD to the new faster model as the benchmarks weren’t as high in comparison to my previous PC. Upgrading the RAM eventually is another upgrade option however the G16 handled everything I threw at it, I believe could use a bump up to the faster DDR5 RAM. Neither one of these is necessary but they do leave room for improvement if you prefer. ASUS made performing upgrades to any of the components easy using the clear side panel as you’ll see on many gaming PCs. I would also like to say that even after gaming for several hours, the fans were surprisingly quiet and I was never in any danger of overheating the rig. The fans do get a little louder if you adjust the performance using ASUS’s Armory Crate, or similar, software to overclock the processors, however I never found it necessary to do so. Another expected compliment to the aesthetics of the PC is the RGB lighting you will find on the front and in the main chassis of the rig which you can customize using their software. After performing all the updates and downloading my favorite programs and games, I finally got around to running GPU, CPU and SSD benchmarks which were higher than I expected and well above many industry standards for gaming (see pictures). Some of the benchmarks, specifically the GPU ones, nearly doubled what I was running before on a gaming PC that was only a year old. After running several of my favorite AAA titles at max video setting, I could tell immediately how much more fluid the games ran with no effort at all. The games looked and performed incredibly on my ultrawide OLED screen even using the HDMI port instead of the Display Port only because I couldn’t find the cable I had. For a pre-built, out-of-box, plug-and-play, high-end gaming PC, ASUS again does a great job piecing together a beautifully designed and performance stacked rig for consumer gamers at a reasonable price using some of the latest technologically advanced parts, especially for those, like me, that want to skip the times and effort it takes to build a rig from the ground up. You also have piece of mind for the first year with their included warranty once you register the PC online. Considering the components ASUS has included in this model, I can see this gaming PC lasting a couple more years than my last rig that I decided to go a cheaper route on and have regretted it ever since.

As a former ASUS diehard, I’ve been excited for this review. I’ve used ASUS routers, motherboards, power supplies, and laptops over the years and always highly recommended them. It’s been 5+ years since I’ve used ASUS hardware in a desktop, and sadly, this experience left me with mixed opinions. Here are the key points to keep in mind for the ASUS ROG Strix G16CHR. BUILD QUALITY The ASUS ROG PC cases are quality. They are aesthetically pleasing from my perspective, not too “gamery”, and everything feels solid. Nothing on the case feels flimsy. It’s easy to take off the side panel and get access to the PC’s components. Is it easy to remove and re-add components without removing things? No, it isn’t, unless we’re talking about replacing an NVME SSD (Solid State Drive). You will have to remove the GPU (Graphics Card or Graphical Processing Unit) if you want to replace the RAM modules or case fans. This should be somewhat expected from a pre-built PC with a massive GPU installed, but it’s still a bummer for those who want to customize their new PC by adding their own hardware. AIR FLOW/COOLING The air flow on the case is perfectly adequate and I have no criticisms about it. The rear fan is an 80mm, and it helps exhaust any hot air the gets built up from the GPU. There’s an intake on the bottom for the power supply unit (PSU) to draw in open air – so please remember to not set this PC on the carpet, because your PSU needs to breathe! On the top of the unit there are 2 120mm fans with an AIO (all-in-one) liquid cooling loop. It’s great, but mine makes a slight ticking sound that I find annoying – and yes, I did fully replace the fans to ensure it wasn’t just a bad case fan causing this sound. I wanted to ensure that I knew where the noise was coming from for this review. And then on the front of the case, there is a full mesh layout, allowing for additional airflow for your ASUS ROG desktop. You can attach a 120mm case fan and hook it up to the motherboard if you are so inclined – just remember that you will need a fan header on the MOBO (motherboard) to attach your fan to. For this purpose, I recommend a Y-splitter – to give you 2 fan connectors off of 1 fan header, and I only recommend this for advanced users who need additional cooling on their ASUS ROG, or those who simply enjoy tinkering with their computers. HARDWARE From a hardware perspective, we’re looking at an Intel i7 14700HK paired with 32GB of SK Hynix DDR5 memory and an ASUS RTX 4070 SUPER. For storage, we have 2 1TB WD SN560 NVME SSDs, which are mid-range PCIe 4.0 SSDs which will perform perfectly in almost any workload. For connectivity, we have a Realtek Gaming 2.5GbE ethernet connection, allowing for super fast network speeds on this machine – on the wireless connectivity side, there’s an Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX211 WiFi module installed in here, plus a Bluetooth 5.3 wireless card for your wireless controllers and accessories. For USB inputs, we have 2 USB-C and 2 USB-A 3.2 ports on top of the machine, as well as 2 USB-A 3.2 ports and 4 USB-A 2.0 on the back. Let’s not forget there’s also a PS2 port on the back of this machine too – I do enjoy the option of having analog input in all honesty! And finally, there are 3x audio jacks to support 7.1 channel audio output. The PSU is 850W Gold-rated and perfectly suited for this power-hungry hardware included in this machine. Note: There are HDMI and Display Port outputs on the motherboard, but the processor doesn’t support video output without a GPU, so it doesn’t matter for this particular ROG model. Altogether – this is a beautiful mesh of hardware. The RAM modules are… basic, to put it kindly. The memory modules are installed on a single side of the RAM stick and the color is as basic green as the motherboard in your desktop from 2005. It’s not very pretty when compared with the rest of the unit, but I suppose that’s just how ASUS wanted to do things. Everything else in the case looks beautiful though, from the AIO liquid cooler to the chunky GPU and blacked-out motherboard. SOFTWARE I cringe at the software installed on this machine. I built my own high-end gaming PC in 2014 using an ASUS motherboard as the base and used AI-Suite from ASUS to configure every portion of my PC – whether that involved controlling the fan speed, CPU overclock, or just about anything else. ASUS’ new software stack of Aura Creator, Armory Crate, and MyASUS is absolutely horrible. Not only is the software incredibly invasive and interested in knowing every gosh-darn thing that you do or use on your computer – but it also functions poorly and it’s easy to get lost in – and I am a systems administrator who works in IT. I work in confusing systems, but this software is made for consumers. I would never ever install a piece of software that requires running 12+ processes in the background on my computer 24/7. It’s an invasion of privacy, and opening MyASUS or Armory Crate will show you the disclosures that clearly state – ASUS wants all of your data. They want to know everything going on with your computer. I understand that vendors want data from their customers, but I’ve owned and tested gaming PCs from the other major manufacturers, and they are not nearly as bad as this. There is no need to build an amazing and beautiful piece of hardware, only to degrade it with poor and highly-invasive software. Be advised – ASUS will also automatically re-install Armory Crate services on your PC if you uninstall them. It happened to me once already, but I haven’t seen it happen since. So there is some sort of mechanism on ASUS’ side or Microsoft’s side that is reinstalling this software – even on a fresh installation of Windows, because I did test that as well. I haven’t seen it happen beyond the one occurrence, and I sure hope it never happens again. I did uninstall it a second time, restarted my PC quite a few times, and it hasn’t reappeared… But that’s no guarantee that it won’t happen again. And note – I do not see any toggle for auto-installing ASUS Armory Crate in the BIOS, so I don’t know why those services automatically reinstalled. CONCLUSION It’s not easy to draw a conclusion from all of this. Great hardware in a great package is marred by poor software design and disturbing behaviors from ASUS. Someone who owns a computer should never witness unwanted software automatically install itself. It’s concerning from a security perspective, and for those who use their main PC for work purposes, it’s especially concerning. I am rating this computer as 4 stars even though it’s more deserving of a 3.5. Why? Because while many people will not be bothered by having ASUS services running in the background… My IT information security background makes me feel otherwise. And I don’t want that perspective to overshadow the fact that the hardware is solid. Yes, the radiator makes a small amount of noise, but that’s likely just by own AIO pump’s issue and not something other people will encounter. The system is solid and stays cool. I just have some concerns about ASUS’ software practices at this point. This experience hasn’t turned me back into an ASUS fan, but what I do know, is their hardware is still solid – and when I buy a PC, I buy it for the hardware. I usually fix/uninstall the software on my own. I’ll let everyone make their own determination with the information I’ve laid out here, but I hope it’s been useful for each and every one of you.

The ASUS ROG Gaming Desktop is a high-end gaming rig that boasts impressive specifications, including the Intel Core i7-14700KF over clockable processor, 32GB of DDR4 memory, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070S Super graphics card, and a 2TB NVMe SSD. The Intel Core i7-14700KF is a high-performance processor based on the Alder Lake architecture. With 16 cores and 24 threads, it offers excellent multi-threaded performance, making it ideal for gaming, content creation, and multitasking. The 32GB of DDR4 memory provides ample RAM for multitasking and gaming, ensuring smooth performance even when running multiple applications simultaneously. The 2TB NVMe SSD offers fast storage performance, with read and write speeds that far exceed those of traditional hard drives. This ensures fast boot times and quick loading times for games and applications. In terms of connectivity, the ASUS ROG Gaming Desktop is well-equipped, with multiple USB ports, including USB 3.2 Gen 2 and Gen 1 ports, as well as HDMI and DisplayPort outputs for connecting to external displays. Overall, the ASUS ROG Gaming Desktop with the Intel Core i7-14700KF, 32GB Memory, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Super, and 2TB SSD is a powerhouse gaming desktop that offers exceptional performance and features. It's a great choice for gamers and enthusiasts looking for a high-end gaming experience. In terms of design, the ASUS ROG Gaming Desktop features a sleek and modern look with customizable RGB lighting, allowing you to personalize the aesthetics to match your setup. The desktop is also equipped with ample connectivity options, including USB ports, HDMI, and DisplayPort, making it easy to connect to external devices and displays. The individual components and build quality really are a superb bargain given the current price. Bloat ware is limited and you can load or not load what you want during setup. With a top quality 2TB SSD I doubt you will lack for space and I have not unfortunately had time to check if you can add an additional SSD. The graphics card takes up two slots and basically eliminates the other slot due to where the graphics card has it cooling fans. Please note you must use the graphics card output slots for monitor support as the cpu/motherboard does not support graphics output. The RTX 4070S features a significant upgrade in CUDA cores, with 8960 cores compared to its predecessor, the RTX 3080. This increase in cores translates to a substantial boost in computational power, allowing for faster rendering, real-time ray tracing, and AI-based features. In terms of memory, the RTX 4070S is equipped with 24GB of GDDR6X VRAM, providing ample memory bandwidth for handling large textures and complex scenes. The increased memory capacity is especially beneficial for content creators working with high-resolution assets and 3D models. For creators, the 4070S is great at rendering and processing tasks. Whether working with high-resolution images, 3D models, or video editing, the 4070S handles demanding workflows with ease. The increased CUDA cores and memory bandwidth result in faster rendering times and smoother playback, making it a valuable tool for professionals. The 4070S is very well adept at professional applications such as CAD and simulation software. The performance computing capabilities enable complex simulations to run smoothly, improving productivity and efficiency for users in various industries. One of the standout features of the 4070S is its efficiency. Despite its impressive performance, the 4070S remains relatively power-efficient, reducing heat output and power consumption compared to previous generations. The cpu temperatures from my usage never exceeded 55c-65c, well within the specs of 100C. So the air cooling system was doing it job. The power supply is 750 watts rated 80 plus gold. Asus also included a box with lots of additional from what I can tell power supply and motherboard cables, no instructions though. The included mouse and keyboard are of decent quality unlike what you might think, given the price point more than acceptable. The including lighting software makes keyboard, mouse and tower light in unison and is very customizable. This is my go to tower given that powerhouse graphics card, storage and memory.