Verdict
A superb if tremendously expensive laptop computer for gamers and creators , the redesign Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 ( 2024 ) mixes slick expressive style with strong public presentation and a dazzling 16 - inch OLED screen .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
If the prevailing wisdom is that a gaming laptop need to be a big , bulky ogre , the squad behind the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 ( 2024 ) seems to neither know nor care .
Like the 2022 and 2023 G14 devices and the belated simulation , the ROG Zephyrus G16 looks to be a gambling laptop computer that could well pass as a thin - and - light executive gimmick were it not for an teemingness of RGB lighting – and that ’s despite cramming in a whopping 16 in QHD screen .
Yet with specs running up to Core Ultra 9CPUsand RTX 4090GPUs , it should have all its gaming chopper in order . The purpose of the revamped design of the ROG Zephyrus G16 looks to be one aiming for something a bit more mainstream and gilded than the previous offerings , but that does mean a dire cost tag . Here ’s my full review .
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Design and Keyboard
The ROG Zephyrus G16 is easily one of the most stylish gaming laptops I ’ve ever looked at , particularly in Asus ’s new Platinum White finish . The CNC aluminum alloy shell has been treated to a pretty gorgeous matt near - livid ash gray finish , give way only by the speaker unit grills to the unexpended and rightfield of the matching keyboard , the slim pitch-dark bezel around the projection screen and the new slash lighting LED funnies that ladder diagonally across the hat . The desktop step of 354 x 246 mm is large , but a necessity given the size of it of the screen , and Asus has used the space wisely for the keyboard , medal rest and really massive touchpad .
With a maximum thickness of 16.4 to 17.4 mm and a weight of 1.85 to 1.95 kilo , depending on spec , it ’s both fair portable and a far cry from your middling games machine . In fact , with the RGB lighting effect flex off it looks more like what we now call a creator laptop computer than a play machine . Despite the ROG stigmatization , that reflects how Asus is market the Zephyrus G these days .
Still , where ’s the fun in turn all the lighting off ? On the one hand , the slash lighting strip on the lid is illuminated with dozens of tiny white horizontal bars , which either show off in predetermined patterns or in response to the beat of any music or game phone effects . It ’s a bit headache - inducing for anyone sitting opposite on a desk or table , but quite interesting if you have your desk against a wall . The keyboard , meanwhile , works with the now standard Windows Dynamic Lighting to give you the full range of breathing , gradient and wave effects .
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The thinner intention means there ’s less way for connectivity than on some big - silver screen laptops , but Asus has still been able to conform to in Thunderbolt 4 , HDMI 2.1 , USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type - A port and a 3.5 millimeter headset socket on the odd - hand side , with a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type C / DisplayPort port wine , a further USB 3.2 Type - A port and an Mount Rushmore State circuit board slot on the right . Some might be left wish for a Gigabit or 2.5GbE Ethernet port on top , but with Wi - Fi 6E progress - in the lack of one is no catastrophe .
The keyboard is better set up for creative apps and productivity than gambling , but with that in judgment it ’s excellent . The keys are large , flat and closelipped to silent in operation , with a 1.7 millimeter travel and fantastic haptic feedback . Yet the actual surprisal here is the trackpad . Measuring a little over 15 x 10 curium , it extends from just below the distance saloon to just above the bottom sharpness , return you a huge sphere to put to work with when you ’re making pick or precise adjustment in , say , image or video - redaction apps . Even as someone who reaches for a mouse as soon as potential with most laptops , I find it both exact and in effect .
Sustainability is n’t a central selling point for the ROG Zephyrus 16 . There ’s no obvious use of recycled material , and – like most play laptops – it ’s fairly ability - thirsty . However , the packaging is both ingenious and completely cardboard - based , so you wo n’t have any plastics to stash away or send to landfill there .
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Display and Sound
Even by the high standard of other mid - scope to high - end gambling laptop computer , the Zephyrus G16 ’s Nebula display is an absolute corker . The 16 - column inch sizing and 2560 x 1600 resolution are just about perfect mates , give you sensational clarity for just about anything . It ’s not the undimmed , with the maximum luminance topping out at around 436 nit , but it ’s more than bright enough to make both video and game count great , with the common perfect contrast we require from OLED technical school . The max 240Hz refresh rate is complete for fluid scrolling in Windows applications or running game at in high spirits frame rate , though you ’ll need to look to the high - death RTX 4070 , 4080 and 4090 interlingual rendition to get higher than 120Hz in anything beyond the least demand eSports title .
The Nebula display also confirm HDR , with ink-black shadows and vivid highlights in supporting films and games , and has impressive colouring reportage , strain 100 % of both the SRGB and DCI - P3 gamut , with a 119.5 % DCI - P3 color volume to boot . Add in strong colour truth , with an average Delta E of only 0.7 , and you have a show that can handle tight creative study as well as entertainment , peculiarly with the brightness levels pushed all the way up .
What ’s more , the audio recording is n’t a letdown , either , with two tweeter supported by two chunky woofer to give you a heavyset , more bassy note than you might normally expect from a laptop computer this slimline . I find oneself there were some times when the bass was really a little too pronounced , not quite sitting in with the rest of the track when listen to vintage rock-and-roll or more acoustical racetrack , but I ca n’t complain when the arrangement handles game and moving picture soundtracks so well . I find Resident Evil 4 a little too immersive for comfort even without my usual gaming headset on .
Performance
The bulk of laptops we see sent in for testing descend with specs near or at the top of the mathematical product range and this new laptop is no different . Our inspection ROG Zephyrus G16 number with a mid - range Core Ultra 9 185H and RTX 4090 spec , with 32 GB of DDR5RAMand a 2TBSSD . It ’s a spec that amount in at just under a cool £ 4,000/$4,000 and is our first chance to put a raw Meteor Lake fleck through its paces as part of a play laptop computer package .
With the late and greatest components you’re able to get from Intel and Nvidia in a laptop computer , expectations on performance are understandably gamey . However , across our celluloid and gambling benchmarks , it ’s clear you are n’t give-up the ghost to find oneself a immense parachuting between previous devices with an RTX 4090 and an Intel 13th Gen poker chip equipped compare with the new Core Ultra range . In fact , it is a mixed bag , with some exam showing better or very similar individual - core and multi - core performance .
We ’ve already seen the Ultra 7 155H deliver strong outcome in Geekbench 6 and PCMark 10 across theAsus Zenbook 14andAcer Swift Go 14laptops , and it ’s no different here , outperforming older laptop computer with the equivalent 13th generation Core i7 CPUs . But , the leap up to the Ultra 9 185H inside this laptop does not seem to be a Brobdingnagian one . Its scores hit 14870 in Cinebench R23 ’s multi - meander test and upwards of 2300 in the Geekbench 6 . As such , it some places it match its Ultra 7 sibling but in others it comfortably exceed it , thanks partly to higher power limits and a more powerful and effective vaporization sleeping accommodation chill system . Bring the GPU to conduct on rendering tasks , and you have an highly various originative creature .
When it arrive to games , the ROG Zephyrus G16 systematically and well exceeds 90fps at Ultra preferences at full HD resolutions . With ray tracing , Cyberpunk 2077 will run at Ultra options at close to 40fps . At QHD , Cyberpunk hits 19.91fps while you ’ll get 134fps in Rainbow Six Extraction and 104fps in Returnal .
Things change , however , as you up the closure or enable RT effects . Frame rate in Cyberpunk 2077 drop down to 42fps with RT Ultra preferences at FHD . you could , of class , improve things dramatically by engagingDLSS . With DLSS on balanced setting , you’re able to hit 50fps at 1440p / Ultra . The score are by no means poor but it is clear-cut that the ROG Zephyrus G16 does give up quite a bit of performance to heftier combining weight like theAlienware M18andAsus ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D , both of which sport the RTX 4090 but achieve eminent score across the board , even with an older CPU . The G16 furnish unattackable enough scores that it could match to a marvelous marriage of power , style and portable for you though .
Software
Asus has n’t gone overboard with bloatware on the ROG Zephyrus G16 , and what is installed is mostly utilitarian . The MyAsus app is the utility of the canonical system cut across software updates and diagnostics and has a slightly plaguey habit of throwing up obtrusive notifications to urge you to resume after less than urgent updates .
The more of the essence clobber – performance profiles , audio and display setting , ascendence for the animated Aura wallpaper – is handled by the Armoury Crate app , which remains one of the more straightforward and effective apps for managing a play system , even if some slightly superfluous setting are beginning to pussyfoot in . It ’s handy enough to have features to manage your biz collection across different services , but do you desire game deals and urge apps ?
Battery life
The one area where the ROG Zephyrus G16 shows any kind of impuissance is stamp battery life . The 90Whr shelling endure just under six hours in the PC Mark 10 Modern Office bench mark , and it ’s not going to get you through a working daytime without a recharge at some point – peculiarly if you ’re doing anything that pushes the central processing unit and graphics ironware . With the OLED panel at maximal brightness , an minute of streaming Netflix sees the battery belittle by 16 % , so you ’re looking at around six to six and a half minute of watching video before the juice runs out .
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Should you buy it?
The ROG Zephyrus G16 is a bit of a stunner , but it has the bioengineering , the screen and the performance to work as both a creative and gambling laptop computer . you’re able to find systems with the same kind of office for less , but they wo n’t look or feel anywhere near this commodity .
You ’re pay a steep premium here for trend and a big high - quality screen , so if you need the libertine play laptop for a given budget , you might be better off looking elsewhere . besides , if you ’re not so overprotect about GPU H.P. , there are cheaper slimline OLED laptop out there with the same CPU .
Final Thoughts
The ROG Zephyrus G16 puzzle out both as a fashionable gaming laptop computer and as a mellow - carrying out model for creators , tally potent ergonomics with fashionable looks , estimable performance and an excellent screen . Even if the battery life is underwhelming , everything else from the audio recording to the keyboard is top - notch .
Of naturally , all this good comes with a sky - in high spirits terms tag , especially for the Core Ultra 9 / RTX 4090 model . If you have £ 4000 to pass , other options are available , ranging from powerhouse creator laptops ( theApple MacBook Pro 16 - in M3 Maxor theMSI Stealth 16 Studio ) to mighty play monsters like theAsus ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D. Some come in at cheaper toll points while gasconade higher-ranking spectacles . But if you ’re looking for a laptop where dash , portability , ergonomics and operation all come together , it ’s hard to dismiss the ROG Zephyrus G16 . The price may put it beyond most people ’s budget , but it ’s something of a dream machine .
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How we test
Every laptop computer we refresh goes through a series of undifferentiated hindrance plan to gauge fundamental things include build tone , carrying out , cover quality and battery lifetime .
These include schematic synthetic benchmarks and scripted tests , plus a series of veridical world deterrent .
FAQs
If you ’re talking about raw power , you should look to the Asus ROG Strix range . Both reach provide a kind of machines so it is n’t a consistent operation win for ROG Strix but , at the high - end , Strix is focus on power above all . By comparison , ROG Zephyrus offer a proportion of power , portability and dash .
Test Data
Full Specs
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