2025 Asus ROG Strix G16 and Strix G18 with AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX3D (Fire Range)

In this article we’re briefly going over the AMD-based version of the 2025 Asus ROG Strix G16/G18 series.

It’s a weird lineup that doesn’t make much sense to me.

These AMD-based Strix G16 and Strix G18 are not the new 2025 chassis designs offered by the Intel-based Strix G variants, instead are the previous designs from 2023/2024, but with refreshed hardware. And then that makes even less sense, as Asus pair here the latest enthusiast AMD Fire Range HX platform with only mid-tier Nvidia GeForce RTX 5000 graphics, up to an RTX 5070Ti 140W. We know that the existing Strix G chassis can handle a 175W 4080 fine in the 18-inch model, yet they only offer up to a 5070Ti 140W here. So that means they’re pairing what’s potentially the best gaming mobile platform of the moment with only mid-range graphics, instead of high-tier current graphics that would benefit the most from the Ryzen 9 9955HX3D processor. Bummer.

In the past, Asus still used an older chassis for their Strix Scar X3D AMD model, but at least paired it with an RTX 4090 on that model, in what was the faster gaming notebook of its time, faster than the Intel-based Scar 18. With this generation, though, it looks like Asus wanted to make sure there’s no competition for the Intel Arrow Lake variants if you’re after high-tier GPU performance, since those are the only ones available with RTX 5080 and 5090 GPUs.

I understand that each OEMs have their partnerships and I could perhaps get past the fact that there’s no 2025 Scar with AMD Fire Range hardware, but at least put this AMD hardware in a new-generation Strix with at least a xx80 GPU. Perhaps I’m overreacting and the Ryzen 9 9955HX3D isn’t going to outmatch the Core Ultra 9 alternatives in games, but I don’t think that’s going to be the case.

I look forward to testing this hardware combo, although I might have a hard time getting a sample from what I’m hearing. Anyway, here are the specs for this Strix AMD series.

I suggest going over our reviews of the ROG Strix G16 and ROG Strix G18 models for a better understanding of these two chassis.

The 2025 AMD models are the same as the previous Strix G models, with a gray color scheme and somewhat different graphical markups, alongside some bright green color accents if you choose the Volta Green variant, or more subdued gray accent on the Eclipse Gray model, which I prefer.

Functionally, these G16/G18 chassis are a mixed bag, but they’re still well-built mid-range laptops with good inputs, plenty of ports and excellent cooling capabilities in mid-ranged GPU configurations. Asus also updated a few aspects for these 2025 variants, implementing USB-C 4.0 ports and good-quality IPS panels with 500-nits of brightness and 100% DCI-P3 color coverage.

But that pairing of a an AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX3D with RTX 5070Ti and 5070 dGPUs doesn’t make sense to me. Perhaps this would be a viable option if you’re after a laptop with a very fast processor and don’t care as much about graphics, but then the X3D memory in this Ryzen 9 has an edge in games, where graphics processing matters the most. So it would benefit most from being paired with a 5090, while in the mid-range, I’d expect you’d be better off with a lesser processor with a more affordable cost. Perhaps there’s something that I miss about this sort of hardware combo, so I’d gladly take your feedback in the comments section.

For what is worth, at least Asus are not the only ones implementing these sorts of specs on their mid-range performance notebooks (to be updated with further examples once the NDAs expire).

Asus mention this series is expected to start at $1899, for a 5070 configuration, but it’s unclear if that’s alongside a Ryzen 9 processor or a lower tier CPU option. That’s $100 less than a similar Intel-based Strix G model.

All in all, I’ll have to give this a proper spin before drawing any clear conclusions. But so far, I’m not happy with the way Asus segmented this AMD side of their Strix 2025 lineup. It looks like all the goodies are on the Intel models, while this AMD subseries is rather neglected, as merely a hardware refresh of a 2-years old chassis in a bizarre configuration with a top CPU and only middling GPU. What do you think?