ASUS ROG Strix G700 Extreme 2024, Core Ultra 9 285K, 128GB, 2TB SSD + 20TB HDD, RTX 4060 Ti, black

The ASUS ROG Strix G700 is a workstation masquerading as a gaming PC. With 128GB of DDR5, 22TB of storage, and a 24-core Core Ultra 9 285K, it's a virtualization and productivity monster. But the RTX 4060 Ti holds it back for gaming, and at $3,099 to $3,299, you're paying a premium for compute power most gamers won't use. Buy it for the RAM and storage, not the frame rates.

The Core Ultra 9 285K is the star here, and it earns its keep. With 24 cores and a 6.0GHz turbo clock, this thing sits in the 96th percentile for CPU performance among all desktops we track. That's best-in-class territory. For CPU-bound workloads like rendering, simulation, or running multiple VMs simultaneously, this machine will chew through tasks that would bring lesser systems to their knees. The 128GB of DDR5 RAM backs that up nicely, landing in the 99th percentile. You can allocate 32GB to a VM, keep 64GB for your host OS, and still have room to spare. That's not normal for a consumer desktop.

The RTX 4060 Ti is where things get more grounded. It's a solid card, sitting around the 70th percentile for GPU performance, which means it's above average but nowhere near the top. For 1080p gaming at high settings, you'll be fine. 1440p is doable with some settings tweaks. But if you're eyeing a 4K monitor or want ray tracing at high frame rates, this card will struggle. The 8GB of VRAM is the limiting factor, especially with newer titles eating through memory like it's free. The storage setup is interesting too. The 2TB SSD is fast and snappy for your OS and frequently used apps, but the 20TB HDD is a spinning drive. One customer review mentioned a slight delay on first reads from the secondary drive, which is just how mechanical drives behave. It's fine for bulk storage, but don't expect SSD speeds from it.

Stacked against the HP OMEN GT22-3080 and Lenovo Legion Tower 7i Gen 10, the G700 takes a different path. The OMEN and Legion are more traditional gaming desktops, typically pairing strong GPUs with capable but less extreme CPUs. You'll get better frame rates from those machines in most games, but they won't touch the G700's RAM capacity or storage headroom. The Legion Tower 7i Gen 10 in particular is a well-rounded machine that balances gaming and productivity more evenly.

The Apple Mac Studio M5 Max is an interesting alternative if you're in the creative space. It's dramatically more compact, sips power by comparison, and the M5 Max is a beast for video editing and 3D work. But you're locked into macOS, RAM is soldered, and storage upgrades cost a small fortune. The G700 gives you Windows 11 Pro, user-upgradeable components, and that massive 20TB HDD for local storage. The Dell Aurora Gaming and Horizon Pcs Autherium Dragon are closer in spirit to the G700, but neither matches the RAM or storage capacity. If you need raw compute and memory headroom in a Windows box, the G700 is in a class of its own. If you want gaming performance per dollar, look elsewhere.

Pricing on this is a bit of a moving target. We're seeing it listed between $3,099 and $3,299 USD across a few listings, which puts it firmly in premium territory. For that money, you're getting a CPU and RAM configuration that would cost a fortune to build yourself, plus storage capacity that's genuinely hard to match in a prebuilt. The 128GB of DDR5 alone is a significant chunk of change these days.

But here's the rub: the GPU. At this price point, most gaming desktops are shipping with RTX 4070 Supers, 4070 Ti Supers, or even 4080s. The 4060 Ti feels out of place. If you're buying this for gaming, you're overpaying for CPU and RAM you won't fully use while underpaying for graphics. If you're buying it for workstation tasks, the value proposition flips entirely. Try pricing out a system with a 24-core Ultra 9, 128GB of DDR5, and 22TB of storage. You'll find the G700 starts to look reasonable. It's all about what you need it to do.

The ASUS ROG Strix G700 is a weird one, and I mean that in the best way. On paper it looks like someone took a workstation parts list and slapped a gaming badge on it. You've got a 24-core Intel Core Ultra 9 285K boosting to 6.0GHz, a frankly absurd 128GB of DDR5, and 22TB of total storage split between a 2TB SSD and a 20TB spinning drive. Then you look at the GPU and it's an RTX 4060 Ti with 8GB of VRAM. That's a midrange card sitting next to a flagship CPU. It's like putting a V8 in a Corolla and leaving the stock tires on.

Who is this for? Honestly, it's for the person who runs virtual machines, edits 8K footage, compiles massive codebases, or treats their desktop like a small datacenter. The 128GB of RAM puts this in the top 1% of all desktops we track, and the storage capacity is literally the best we've seen. The gaming angle is there, sure, but the 4060 Ti is going to hold you back at higher resolutions. This is a productivity monster wearing a gamer's jacket.

What makes it interesting is the mismatch. Most prebuilts at this price point pair a high-end GPU with a decent CPU and call it a day. ASUS flipped the script. You're getting workstation-class compute and memory headroom with a GPU that's fine for 1080p and 1440p gaming but won't blow anyone's socks off. If you know exactly what you need this for, it's a compelling package. If you're just looking for max frames per dollar, keep scrolling.

If you're primarily a gamer looking for the best frame rates per dollar, skip this. The RTX 4060 Ti is a midrange card, and at $3,099 to $3,299, you're paying workstation prices for gaming performance you could get from a $1,500 system. Look at the HP OMEN GT22-3080 or Lenovo Legion Tower 7i Gen 10 instead, both of which pair stronger GPUs with more balanced specs for gaming.

You should also skip this if desk space is tight. The compactness score of 27.8 puts it near the bottom of the pack, and at nearly 15kg, this is not a machine you'll be moving around. If you need something small and quiet, the Apple Mac Studio M5 Max is dramatically more compact and sips power. The G700 is a big, heavy tower that wants to live in one spot and stay there.

For the virtualization crowd, data hoarders, and anyone running memory-hungry workloads, the G700 is a compelling buy. The 128GB of RAM and 22TB of storage are genuinely best-in-class, and the Core Ultra 9 285K gives you workstation-level CPU performance without stepping into actual workstation pricing. The Windows 11 Pro license is a nice touch for anyone running Hyper-V or needing domain join support. This is a machine that will happily run a dozen VMs, transcode video, and still have room to browse Reddit.

For gamers, though, this is a harder sell. The RTX 4060 Ti is a fine card for 1080p and decent at 1440p, but at $3,099 to $3,299, you're paying flagship money for midrange graphics. You could build or buy a system with a 4070 Ti Super or better for the same price and get dramatically better gaming performance. The G700 is a workstation that happens to have RGB lighting. If you know that's what you want, go for it. If you're chasing frames, this isn't your machine.