ASUS has unveiled its new ProArt StudioBook laptops at IFA, taking on MSI, Acer, Apple and others in targeting creative professionals.
“Creator” laptops have been increasing in number and popularity over the years and are emerging as a key growth driver as the market for gaming PCs begins to level off.
MSI, Asus, Acer, HP and Lenovo are all expected to show off models targeting the creative space at IFA 2019, meanwhile Apple is tipped to soon announce a 16-inch variant of its MacBook Pro, possibly at an upcoming event next week.
According to The Verge, Asus has shown up at IFA with new laptops it claims are “the world’s most graphically powerful”.
Asus already has some laptops part of Nvidia’s RTX Studio program, including the dual-screen Zenbook Pro Duo.
The new ProArt StudioBook One and ProArt StudioBook X are being touted as providing “non-stop performance” by harnessing the power of their processors without having to throttle down during intensive applications like rendering and video editing.
Part of this is thanks to the One being among the first laptops using Nvidia’s new Ace reference design, which places heat producing components behind the display to stop excessive heat during laptop use.
The One will feature a 9th generation octa-core Intel i9 processor and Nvidia Quadro RTX 6000 graphics, with a 1TB SSD, 32GB of RAM and three Thunderbolt 3 ports.
Being targeted at creators, colour accuracy and reproduction is also a key focus.
The One comes with a 15.6-inch widescreen display, with 4K resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, and Gorilla Glass 5.
The StudioBook X will feature a 16:10, 1920 x 1200 resolution on its 17-inch display, but Asus claims the 92 per cent screen-to-body ratio makes the laptop feel closer to a 15-inch model.
Additionally, the X will feature Asus’s touchpad-display hybrid ScreenPad 2.0.
Consumers have a choice between an Intel Xeon or Core i7 hexa-core processor with Quadro RTX 5000 graphics.
Storage and memory can be configured up to 6TB and 128GB.
Connections include two Thunderbollt 3 ports, three USB-A ports, an SD card slot and an ethernet port.
The X also features Wi-Fi 6 while the One is limited to Wi-Fi 5.
The One and X will be complemented by four other ProArt StudioBook laptops, two with 15-inch displays and two with 17-inch displays.
Local pricing and release dates are still to be announced.
