First Looks: ASUS’ ProArt StudioBook One is the world’s first notebook with a Quadro RTX 6000

The world’s most powerful mobile workstation has landed in the office (well, my home to be more accurate because #WFH) – the ASUS ProArt StudioBook One (W590). It takes that bragging right by virtue of its NVIDIA Quadro RTX 6000 GPU, which boast a whopping 24GB of GDDR6 memory, and is intended to help bridge the gap between powerful, but bulky, desktop workstations and laptops. It also cost an face-melting S$18,688. Clearly, this notebook isn’t for the likes of you and I. Rather, the ProArt StudioBook series are built to cater to very specific needs of graphics professionals, digital artists, animators, and more. To provide these creators with a portable system with workstation-class power, enabling them to take advantage of it wherever they go.

The ProArt StudioBook One (W590) model that ASUS sent to me is also the world’s first notebook with a Quadro RTX 6000 GPU, but that is not the only feature that makes this notebook a one of a kind.

For one, it eschews the traditional notebook design by housing most of the hardware at the back of the 4K display (and the lid), with the chasis housing only the keyboard and battery. This has a very practical benefit; suddenly you don’t feel the heat generated by the CPU, GPU and other components on your wrists or on your lap whilst typing. As I’m typing this article on it, it’s a very pleasant and surreal feeling for a change.

Then there’s the almost tank-like built. The aluminum-magnesium alloy chassis gives it added stiffness and durability, and even features diamond-cut edges. Ballast inside the chassis provides a balanced weight distribution, ensuring stability whether placed on a desk or on your lap. This is crucial, as the display lid with all the components in it makes it top-heavy and would otherwise tip over.

Speaking of lid, the StudioBook One took a leaf straight out of the ROG Zephyrus Series’ cooling tricks. You see, to cool the StudioBook One, the outer cover of the lid opens automatically by 4.57-degree to allow more air to enter and cool its internal circuitries. According to ASUS, the hot air outlet above the display takes advantage of convection for better heat dissipation while the CPU and GPU heatsink share a Titanium Vapor Chamber.

The CPU in question is an octa-core Intel Core i9-9980HK, although a Xeon option is also available. I thought the choice of a 9th Gen i9-9980HK, and not the more updated 10th Gen i9-10980HK mobile processor is a little odd as the latter certainly has better performance and power efficiency. Here's a look at the full specifications:

So, what can we expect from the ProArt StudioBook One (W590)? Stay tuned to my review.