The ASUS ROG Strix G16 is one of those laptops that holds its value because it was overbuilt to begin with: a thick vapour chamber, a real 16-inch screen with a fast refresh rate, and a chassis designed to dump heat under hours of load. That same engineering is exactly why buying one second-hand makes so much sense. A two-year-old Strix G16 still runs current titles at high settings, yet it sells for a fraction of what its owner paid. The trick is knowing what to inspect on a machine that was, by design, pushed hard.
The numbers that change the conversation
Top used asus rog strix g16s on eBay right now
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Why second-hand is not “second best”
A gaming laptop ages differently from a thin ultrabook. The Strix G16’s performance ceiling is set by its GPU and its cooling, and neither degrades the way people fear. The discrete graphics chip inside delivers the same frame rates on day 700 as it did on day one, because silicon does not wear out from gaming. What can change is the thermal paste and the fan dust, and both are a cheap, ten-minute fix that restores the machine to as-new temperatures.
ASUS also made the G16 unusually serviceable for a gaming laptop. The bottom panel comes off with standard screws, and most units expose two SO-DIMM RAM slots and an M.2 SSD slot, sometimes a spare one. That means a used Strix G16 is not a sealed appliance you are stuck with. You can drop in more RAM or a larger drive yourself, turning a budget purchase into a machine tailored to your needs. Buying used here is less about compromise and more about getting the heavy, expensive parts (the screen, the GPU, the chassis) for far less, then finishing the build to taste.
A gaming GPU does not get tired. The previous owner already paid for the depreciation, the heavy silicon, and the high-refresh panel; you just collect the value.
The savings are real
Gaming laptops take one of the steepest depreciation curves in consumer electronics, and that is good news for a second-hand buyer. The moment a new ASUS RTX-tier lineup is announced, the prior generation Strix G16 drops in price even though it still plays everything on the shelf today. A unit that sold new for a premium routinely changes hands later for 20-60% less, depending on the GPU tier, the screen, and the cosmetic condition. Because so much of a laptop’s environmental cost is locked in at manufacture, that price drop also means you are sidestepping the single biggest carbon hit of owning one. The cheaper option and the greener option are, for once, the same option.
New vs used, side by side
| Brand new | Used / refurbished | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Full retail | 20-60% less |
| Gaming performance | As advertised | Effectively identical for the same GPU tier |
| Battery health | 100% | Worth checking; gaming laptops mostly live on mains anyway |
| Warranty | Full ASUS warranty | Remaining warranty may transfer; ACL still applies from a business |
| Upgrades | RAM/SSD often add-on cost | Add RAM/SSD yourself for less |
| Carbon footprint | Full manufacturing hit | Reuses the ~80% already spent |
The five-minute checklist before you pay
- Listen to the fans under load. Ask the seller to open a game or a stress tool. Steady, even fan noise is fine; a rattle, a grinding tick, or a fan that does not spin signals a worn bearing or a blockage.
- Check the thermals. The G16 should hold its boost clocks without throttling to a crawl. If it hits the high 90s within seconds and frame rates collapse, the paste likely needs redoing (cheap) or the cooling is compromised (less cheap).
- Inspect the screen at a solid colour. Display a full white and full black image to spot dead pixels, backlight bleed, or pressure marks. On a 16-inch high-refresh panel these are the most expensive thing to fix.
- Test every key and the WASD cluster especially. Gamers hammer WASD and the spacebar; flag any sticky, dead, or worn-shiny keys, and confirm the RGB lighting still works across the board.
- Read the battery health. In Windows, run a battery report to see design versus full-charge capacity. A tired battery is acceptable on a desktop-replacement gaming laptop, but it should be priced in.
- Confirm the right charger. The Strix G16 needs its high-wattage barrel adapter to game at full power. A generic or low-watt USB-C charger will not feed the GPU; make sure the genuine brick is included.
You have more protection than you think
If you buy from a business, a registered dealer, a refurbisher, or a store on a marketplace, the Australian Consumer Law guarantees apply regardless of any “sold as-is” wording. The laptop must be of acceptable quality and match its description, which means a Strix G16 advertised as fully working but arriving with a dead GPU or a throttling fault is your problem to return, not yours to absorb. These rights sit on top of any remaining ASUS manufacturer warranty, which can sometimes carry over with proof of the original purchase date. Keep your receipt and the listing screenshot; together they are your evidence.
Ready to find yours?
Compare current prices and configurations across trusted Australian retailers below.
Red flags to walk away from
- “Runs hot but it’s normal.” Some warmth is expected; sudden shutdowns, burning smells, or instant 100C readings are not. That points to failed cooling, not a quirk.
- No photo of the laptop actually running. A genuine seller can show the desktop, the model number, and a quick benchmark. Stock images and refusals to power it on are warning signs.
- Mismatched or missing serial. If the model sticker, the BIOS, and the listing disagree, or the serial is scratched off, the machine may be stolen or previously claimed under warranty.
- Cracked hinges or a flexing lid. The G16 is a heavy 16-inch unit; a stressed hinge is a known weak point on big gaming laptops and an expensive repair.
- Cash-only, meet-now pressure. Urgency that blocks you from testing the machine usually hides something. Insist on powering it up first.
Frequently asked questions
Will a used Strix G16 still run modern games well? Yes. For its GPU tier it performs essentially the same as it did new, and the 16-inch high-refresh screen is built for fast titles. Match the GPU model to the games you play rather than worrying about age.
Can I upgrade the RAM and storage myself? In most configurations, yes. The bottom panel is screwed on, and the board typically offers two RAM slots and at least one M.2 SSD slot. This makes a budget used unit easy to grow into a higher-spec machine.
Is a worn battery a deal-breaker? Not usually. The G16 is a desktop-replacement style laptop that spends most of its life plugged in to draw full power. A reduced battery only matters if you need long unplugged sessions, and it should lower the price.
How do I avoid a unit that was thrashed in a gaming cafe or by a heavy streamer? Check the fan noise, the thermals under load, and the shine on the WASD keys. Heavy use shows up in those three places before it shows anywhere else.
The bottom line
A used ASUS ROG Strix G16 is one of the smartest gaming buys in Australia right now: the expensive, heat-soaked engineering is already paid for, the performance is intact, and the price has done its steepest falling. Inspect the cooling, the screen, and the keyboard, buy from a seller who lets you test it, and you walk away with a machine that games like new for a long way under new money. Less waste, less carbon, more frames per dollar.
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