Suppose you have about $1,000 in hand and are looking for a laptop for work and study, especially those who are preparing to enter university. What will be your criteria for choosing a computer? Do you need a beautiful device, a laptop with an excellent configuration within its price range, or a laptop with a good battery? In this Asus V16 review, I want to introduce to you a gaming laptop model with a very “office” appearance, focusing on “configuration and experience” – Asus Gaming V16 2025.
In the entry-level segment of gaming laptops, Asus used to stand out with the TUF Gaming F15 models, but it has recently introduced the V16 model, which is not part of the TUF line. Still, it boasts the most powerful configuration in its price range, featuring a laptop with an Intel Core 5 210H, an RTX 4050, 16GB of DDR5 RAM, and a 512GB SSD with PCIe Gen 4 support.
With this configuration, you can use it throughout your school years without worrying about it becoming outdated.
Asus V16 Review
Design & Finish
Asus uses plastic entirely for the laptop, but the build quality feels solid. You won’t hear any creaking from the joints, hinges, or even during typing.
Asus V16 has a total weight of 1.95kg, not including the charger, and this number is not too light; the device is not “slim and fragile”; including the charger, it will probably be around 2.0kg.
You can completely open the laptop with one hand, as the device’s hinge has a maximum opening angle of 180 degrees. Although this hinge appears fragile, it functions pretty well in practice.
The connection ports on the Asus V16 are also complete for the learning needs of students and office workers, including a USB-C port, 2 USB-A ports, HDMI, a 3.5mm jack, and a DC charging port. The USB-C port supports 100W PD charging and image output.
The webcam has a 1080p resolution and a physical webcam privacy slider. The device only has a PIN or password to unlock.
Display
Asus equips the V16 with a 16-inch FHD+ (1920 x 1200 pixel) panel, a 144Hz refresh rate, and a 16:10 screen aspect ratio.
The Asus V16 has a 45% NTSC (~68% sRGB) screen with a brightness of 300 nits, which is very basic. With this color coverage, you will notice that the laptop’s colors are slightly lighter than those of devices with 100% sRGB color coverage. Therefore, when working on graphics, you should be aware of this difference, as this screen may not be ideal for the task.
The brightness of the laptop will also be slightly limited when you change your viewing angle.
Keyboard & Touchpad
The only gaming element you can find on the Asus V16 is the keyboard area, true to its name. The keyboard features a blue backlight LED, and Asus has designed the 4 WASD keys and the 4 navigation arrow keys in a transparent, gaming-style finish commonly seen on gaming laptops.
This keyboard has just the right amount of travel, good bounce, and a full-size layout with a numeric keypad, making it easy to get used to. The touchpad below is enormous, according to Asus, 40% larger than the previous generation, and it has good, smooth tracking ability.
Asus V16 review test
PC Performance Benchmark
Intel introduced the Core 5 210H processor with 8 cores and 12 threads as part of its Raptor Lake Refresh generation at CES 2025. It features 4 performance cores running at 4.8GHz and 4 efficiency cores at 3.7GHz, with a TDP of 55W. This chip currently handles all learning tasks with ease, regardless of your major.
In this Asus V16 review model, the Intel Core 5 210H processor has a maximum power consumption of approximately 70W and remains stable at 55W. When fully loaded, the laptop’s temperature reaches 97 degrees Celsius. The CPU only reaches this temperature when it operates at full capacity, such as during video rendering, build exports, or coding. You don’t need to worry about it during daily tasks, and you can adjust performance entirely through MyASUS or by using the Fn+F shortcut for quick tweaks.
The problem with undervolting is that not everyone can do it, and each device requires a unique undervolting solution. Therefore, most of the time, we adjust the performance level in MyASUS instead of running at full speed, choosing either performance or standard mode.
The 4.8 GHz single-core boost clock is sufficient for any of your learning tasks, whether it’s running Photoshop, browsing the web, or designing with Canva. The performance of the Intel Core 5 210H processor on the V16 is at a stable level. While it’s not pushing the chip to its limit, it delivers smooth performance for everyday creative work, making the V16 a solid contender among the best laptops for graphic design under $1000.
GPU Game Benchmark
Moving on to the RTX 4050, in mid-2025, the RTX 4050 still supports DLSS 4 for gaming, and in terms of learning, you can still use this GPU quite comfortably. If you do logo design, video editing for class assignments, or any other similar tasks, the RTX 4050 will still perform well.
On the V16, the RTX 4050 has a maximum TGP of 65W and achieves approximately 20% lower performance compared to the standard RTX 4050 version. The temperature, as checked with Furmark 2, is 71 degrees. The hotspot temperature ranges from 81 °C to 82 °C. This is not an excessively high temperature for the GPU, nor is it too low for a basic laptop like the V16.
The 3DMark score on the V16, compared to a proper gaming laptop running the same RTX 4050, shows that the V16 will be about 10% lower.
In terms of gaming, I can still play Black Myth: Wukong with reasonable settings, and the FPS remains around 140, of course, with the help of DLSS. That is also the weakest point of the RTX 4050 in terms of gaming performance due to its limited VRAM capacity. Therefore, you need to set it up properly to achieve the ideal FPS number, depending on each game title.
In short, this is a configuration option for multi-purpose needs, meaning that whatever you want to do, whether heavy or light, this laptop can meet your needs without requiring a significant investment. Of course, you get what you pay for. Within the under-$1,000 price range, it isn’t easy to find a laptop with the same or stronger configuration.
Cooling System
Asus is equipped with two 79-blade cooling fans and two copper heat pipes; with this system and Asus’s available settings, when playing games, the average temperature fluctuates around 75 degrees for the GPU, and 80-85 degrees for the CPU, besides the keyboard and palm rest areas are not affected by the temperature of the laptop, Asus does this very well.
Asus tried to design the D-side with two rubber edges to raise the laptop’s angle to the highest possible level, and at the same time, used many heat dissipation slots to help the device dissipate heat as quickly as possible, which also contributes to the laptop’s heat dissipation not being affected by the keyboard or palm rest.
Battery Life
The battery inside the device has a capacity of 63Whr. If you use it for basic tasks, such as web surfing, messaging, working with office suites, or tasks that do not require a discrete GPU, you can turn it off in MyASUS settings, and the battery life can reach 4 hours of on-screen time.
This number is also at a moderate level, neither too good nor too bad. After all, the device’s charger is relatively compact (150W), so you can bring it along to charge in case of an emergency.
Final Line
The Asus V16 is a multi-purpose laptop line designed to meet the diverse needs of users, with a focus on targeting students, as indicated by Asus’ marketing efforts. Except for the name, the gaming nature of this laptop is only seen in the keyboard, so if you tell your parents that this is a standard office laptop for school and not a gaming laptop, it will be difficult to distinguish.
The strongest point of the Asus V16 is, of course, the configuration and performance. It is sufficient for you to study, then go home to entertain yourself with games. Alternatively, if you want to learn more about graphics, filmmaking, or AI, this notebook can also assist you, thanks to its versatility and separate GPU.
This Asus V16 review model features an Intel Core 5 210H processor, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 GPU, 16GB of DDR5 RAM, and a 512GB SSD with PCIe Gen 4 compatibility. Pricing for the laptop starts from $849.99 on Amazon.com and £856.90 on Amazon.co.uk. Upgrading RAM and SSD components is currently not too expensive on the market. If you have higher demands in the future, consider upgrading both RAM and SSD, which will save you a significant portion of your initial investment costs.
