This RTX 5050 gaming laptop with an 18” FHD+ display, 16GB RAM, and 1TB SSD strikes a “happy medium between performance and price”


Microsoft has recently showcased a ton of exciting games at the March 2026 Xbox Partner Preview that are also coming to PC, like SEGA’s Stranger than Heaven, Owlcat Games’ The Expanse: Osiris Reborn, and more.

If you plan on playing these upcoming games on the go, you’re going to need a high-end gaming laptop to achieve optimal framerates and resolutions, and one of the best laptops for the job is the ASUS ROG Strix G18, now available for $1349.99 at Amazon.

Here’s a highlight at some of the ASUS ROG Strix G18’s specs. (Image credit: ASUS)

Our friends at Tom’s Hardware highly favored the ASUS ROG Strix G18 by saying that “It’s an impressive gaming monster and all-around powerful laptop,” and for good reason.

This configuration of the ASUS ROG Strix G18 on sale is hiding some impressive hardware, which includes an NVIDIA RTX 5050 GPU, an AMD Ryzen 9 8940HX Mobile Processor, 16GB of RAM (DDR5), and a 1TB SSD.

Additionally, it sports an 18-inch FHD+ display with 144Hz refresh rates and 1080p resolution.

With these specs, the ASUS ROG Strix G18 can easily crush most recommended PC games’ spec requirements to run at framerates and resolution higher than the 60fps/1080p standard we’ve come to expect, while packing room for plenty of indie games and a couple of AAA titles.

The only drawbacks to consider are that the ASUS ROG Strix G18’s battery life lasts roughly over an hour when playing intensive games unplugged, and its large frame can be cumbersome when packing for long trips.

Plus, it can get extremely hot when in heavy use, reaching temperatures up to 131.7 degrees. The ASUS ROG Strix G18 is able to still function under such extremes, but make sure you sit this thing on a desk or table to avoid burning yourself while playing it.

Other than those bugbears, the ASUS ROG Strix G18 is a very capable gaming laptop that we highly recommend to any serious PC gaming fan.

$1349.99 discount on the ASUS ROG Strix G18 expires, here are a couple of alternative offerings you can use as backup options:

Is its SSD and RAM upgradeable?

The ASUS ROG Strix G18’s RAM and SSD are upgradeable. All you need to do is unscrew the bottom to access its two RAM slots and two SSD slots.

What are the max sizes it will allow for RAM and SSDs?

The ASUS ROG Strix G18 can support up to 64GB of RAM and 2TB of SSD storage per slot.


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