ASUS ProArt P16 Review: 128GB RAM Pushes Price to $7,000

ASUS has released the ProArt P16, the first laptop to feature NVIDIA's RTX Spark system-on-a-chip. A review published on October 23, 2026, found that while the machine is a premium device, it is designed specifically for local AI workloads rather than the general consumer market. The laptop departs from traditional Intel or AMD processors, instead using a chip that Microsoft and NVIDIA have positioned as a reinvention of personal computing hardware.

The price tag reflects this specialized focus. The base model starts at $2,800, but the cost rises sharply with memory upgrades. The review unit, equipped with 128GB of RAM, carries a price of $7,000. For comparison, a dedicated gaming laptop with similar graphics performance, such as the ASUS Zephyrus G16, is available at Best Buy for $2,124. The reviewer noted that gamers would pay a substantial premium for the ProArt P16 without receiving a performance advantage in that specific category.

The hardware inside the P16 combines a 20-core Arm CPU, a Blackwell GPU, and up to 128GB of unified memory. This architecture mirrors designs previously seen in Apple's M-series chips. The aluminum chassis weighs 3.9 pounds, making it lighter than the 4.7-pound 16-inch MacBook Pro. The display is a 16-inch OLED panel capable of reaching 1,600 nits. The device includes three USB-C ports, a USB Type A port, HDMI, a headphone jack, and an SD card reader, but lacks an Ethernet port.

Benchmark results show a mixed performance profile. The P16 scored approximately 3,000 points lower than the ASUS A16 with a Snapdragon X2 Elite chip in PCMark 10 Applications tests. However, it outperformed a MacBook Pro with an M5 Max chip in graphics tasks, leading by 4,700 points in Geekbench 6 GPU testing. In Procyon's AI Computer Vision 2 test, the P16 recorded a score of 3,895 compared to 3,267 for the Apple device. It also handled the Qwen3.8 27B model, which requires 42GB of RAM, with ample memory remaining for other tasks.

Gaming performance is acceptable but dependent on compatibility. The laptop achieved 70 frames per second in Control: Resonant at 1440p with ultra settings, medium ray tracing, and 4x frame generation. Lowering the settings increased the frame rate to 120 fps. Most games rely on Microsoft's Prism emulator for the Arm CPU, which can reduce performance and cause issues. Native Arm64 builds exist for titles like Fortnite and DOTA 2, and NVIDIA is working with anti-cheat developers, though some multiplayer games may still encounter problems.

Battery life was a notable weakness. In the PCMark 10 Applications test, the P16 lasted ten hours and 51 minutes. This is well below the 15-plus hours typical of many premium laptops. Performance did not drop when the laptop was unplugged. The black finish also attracts fingerprints. The reviewer concluded that AI professionals are the primary target audience who can justify the expense, while general users and gamers should wait at least a year before considering the RTX Spark platform.