ASUS ROG Strix 15.6" G513RC-ES73 Gray 2022

The ASUS ROG Strix G513RC-ES73 has a great CPU and a smooth 144Hz screen, but the RTX 3050's 4GB VRAM holds it back in modern games. It's heavy, the storage is cramped, and battery life is short. Only worth it if you snag a refurb deal under $800 and mostly play esports or older titles.

The Ryzen 7 6800HS is a strong performer, landing in the 72nd percentile for gaming laptops. It chews through everyday tasks and CPU-heavy games without breaking a sweat. The RTX 3050, sitting at the 74th percentile, is fine for esports titles and older AAA games at 1080p, but that 4GB VRAM buffer is a real limit. You'll be dialing textures down to medium in newer, demanding games. The 16GB of fast DDR5 RAM helps keep things snappy, but the 512GB SSD is a letdown at the 40th percentile. You'll be playing storage Tetris after installing a couple of modern games.

Stacked against something like a Lenovo Legion Pro 7i, the Strix gets outclassed in raw GPU power and build quality, but it also costs way less. The MSI Prestige and HP OmniBook X Flip are thinner, lighter ultrabooks that can't touch this ASUS in gaming, even with the weak RTX 3050. The real wildcard is the Apple MacBook Pro M5. It's in a different universe for creator work and battery life, but if your main goal is Windows gaming on a budget, the ASUS is the only one of these that makes sense. Just know you're trading portability and storage for that gaming ability.

Pricing on this refurb is all over the place, ranging from $770 to $1017 depending on the vendor. At the low end, around $770, it's a decent deal for a 1080p gaming machine with a great CPU and a passable GPU. At the high end, over a grand, you're getting into brand-new RTX 4050 or 4060 laptop territory, which would run circles around this. If you're buying, hunt for the best price from Newegg and don't overpay for last-gen performance.

The ASUS ROG Strix G513RC-ES73 is a 2022 gaming laptop that's still kicking around, mostly as a refurb. It pairs a solid AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS CPU with an RTX 3050, which tells you right away this is an entry-level 1080p gaming machine, not a powerhouse. The 144Hz screen and DDR5 RAM are nice touches, but the 4GB of VRAM on the GPU is the bottleneck you'll feel first.

We pulled the numbers on this one, and it lands in a weird spot. The CPU and GPU are both above average for the category, but the tiny 512GB SSD and chunky 4.63kg weight drag it down. It's a capable budget gaming rig if you find it at the right price, but you need to know what you're signing up for.

Skip this if you need any kind of portability. At 4.63kg, it's one of the least compact laptops we've seen, and the 56Wh battery won't last through a movie, let alone a workday. Also, if you want to play the latest AAA games at high settings, the 4GB RTX 3050 will frustrate you. Look for a deal on an RTX 4060 laptop instead.

This is a budget gaming laptop for someone who mostly plays esports, older titles, or isn't afraid of the medium settings menu. The CPU is fantastic, the screen is solid, and the cooling is overbuilt in the best way. But the limited VRAM, tiny SSD, and back-breaking weight mean it's a niche pick. If you need a desktop replacement that stays on your desk 90% of the time and you find it for under $800, it's a smart buy.