Verdict
The Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 ( 2023 ) fork up unbelievable velocity thanks to Nvidia ’s latest nontextual matter core . And elsewhere you get a robust , wanton figure and one of the best gaming laptop display ever – but forthcoming rigs will be quicker , and in several areas the M16 is too ordinary .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
Asus usually pushes the envelope with gambling laptops , and the Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 ( 2023 ) shy away from innovation – because it mug up an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 into a surprisingly small soma .
That ’s not the only surprisal you ’ll find here . It ’s got one of Intel ’s strapping meat i9 CPU , and the lid is filled with customisable LEDs .
The pattern will charm any gamer , but it will also be $ 3499/£4099/€5099 . And no matter where you live , that ’s a intelligent chunk of change .
With theRazer Blade 16and Alienware m16 R1 arriving soon , and be laptops like theAsus ROG Flow X16offering plastered contest , it might be tricky for the M16 to secure a slot on ourbest gaming laptop 2023chart .
Design and Keyboard
Asus has n’t made bad changes to the outside – this GU604 fashion model looks interchangeable to the GU603 from 2022 . But when the rig utilize matte aluminum alloy , black airfoil and sleek lines to craft a fashionable figure that ’s not needfully a problem .
You ’ll find loudspeaker system grillwork on each side of the keyboard , cool vents below the CRT screen and an ergo flexible joint that campaign the keyboard upwards to improve typing angles and internal cooling .
Build quality is impressive , with hardly any give in the panels , and the RTX 4090 version of this laptop weighs 2.3 kg and is 22.9 mm thick-skulled . That compares well to the Razer and Alienware laptops , which will weigh 2.45 kg , although the Asus ROG Flow X16 sofa bed is slimmer and lite .
The AniMe Matrix lid is the M16 ’s boldest design feature : it ’s got 1,711 LEDs that sit behind 18,710 CNC - mill about hole . They ’re customisable with animations , textbook , a practical darling or info like your assault and battery life and e-mail numeration . It ’s a gimmick , though , and only runs in white – and the LEDs impart 200 thou to the outfit ’s weighting . Thankfully the AniMe Matrix is only available on the RTX 4090 model .
There are other region where the design hesitation . The status lights baby-sit beneath the cover and they ’re essentially impossible to see . And while the Asus has computer storage slots and SSD connectors for component upgrades , it ’s passing unmanageable to get inside – it feels like Asus has made it unnecessarily severely .
The keyboard is crisp , quick and reliable , so it ’s well - suited to tight - paced gaming , but it omits the numberpad and only has single - zone RGB lead lighting . The Alienware is available with mechanical rising slope and the Razer has per - primal RGB LED . The trackpad is mediocre , too , with soft buttons that wo n’t fill necessitate gamers – use a USB computer mouse instead .
And while connectivity is fine , other laptop computer are better . The Asus has two USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports , a USB 3.2 Gen 2Type - C portand oneThunderboltconnection alongside a microSD slot andHDMI 2.1 output . Internally it ’s gotWi - Fi 6E , Bluetooth 5.2 and a 1080p webcam withWindows Hellosupport .
The Alienware and Razer trucking rig both have SD card reader and 2.5Gbps Ethernet , the Alienware has two Thunderbolt ports , and the Razer has three full - size USB connectors .
Screen
The AniMe Matrix may be silly , but the genuine exhibit on the Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 is one of the in force laptop computer screens ever . It ’s aMini LEDpanel with a 2560 x 1600 resolve , 16:10 aspect ratio and 240Hz refresh rate with G - Sync , and it ’s got 1024 dimming zones , a quoted brightness stage of 1200nitsand a 3ms reception time .
That ’s fearful . The Mini LED ironware and the identification number of zones means you ’ll get more depth and contrast than any IPS blind , the answer and view proportion extradite unanimous sharpness and height , and the 240Hz refresh pace will sate anyone except topeSportsplayers .
The benchmarks pad the M16 . In SDR mode the vertex brightness of 618 nit is huge , the black stratum of 0.027 nits is lilliputian , and the dividing line ratio of 22,888:1 is fantastic – you get eye - scorch depth and punch that ’s only scarcely beaten by OLED hardware . The panel also strike its in high spirits luminance level in HDR mode , so HDR games have arresting profundity .
The Delta E of 3.65 is fine , and the panel give 100 % and 98.6 % of the sRGB andDCI - P3colour spaces but only 87.2 % of the Adobe blank space , so the screen ca n’t quite treat baffling content instauration .
For mainstream content innovation , media viewing and any gaming post , though , this is the best show you ’ll find on any gaming laptop computer .
It does remain to be seen if other laptops will outpace the M16 ’s panel . The Alienware will have three IPS configurations with a 480Hz option for eSports . The biggest contender will be the Razer , which will have a Mini lead panel that switches between a high - firmness of purpose 120Hz mode and a lower - settlement 240Hz choice .
The sound is decent , too , thanks to pair of 2W tweeter and woofers . The M16 has punchy bass part , solid three-fold and plenty of eminent - final stage detail , and the speakers are safe enough for any plot or media position . The top - end is a little bum , but that ’s a minor criticism .
Performance
The GeForce RTX 4090 is Nvidia ’s latest mobile flagship , and theAda Lovelacearchitecture show up with 9728 stream processors and 16 GB of memory . In this svelte laptop computer , though , it ’s come a height big businessman level of 145W with dynamic boosting , which is 30W short of Razer and Alienware ’s carriage .
Alongside the GPU there ’s an Intel Core i9 - 13900H , which has six carrying out cores that speech twelve togs with a 5.4GHz top swiftness , and there ’s 16 GB ofDDR5 memoryand a 1 TB SamsungSSDwith solid read and spell speeding of 7049 MB / sec and 5152 MB / sec .
InHorizon Zero Dawnat 2560 x 1600 and Ultimate options the M16 averaged 101fps , and it playedBorderlands 3at 73fps . A 260fps leave inRainbow Six Siegemeans you ’ve got plenty ofeSportsgrunt . You ’ll be able to handle virtually any gambling situation on this notebook , from any single - participant title withray tracingto output to 4 K screens and VR headsets with scarce any setting tweak .
There ’s a seam in these results , though , because the M16 ’s default Performance mode only runs the GPU with an 85W great power grade , so its pace scarcely differs from the RTX 3080 Ti I tested in the platter - breakingMSI Raider GE77 .
To get the most out of the GPU , switch to Turbo mode . In this fashion that 73fps Borderlands grievance ameliorate to 94fps , and the Rainbow Six outcome soared to 297fps . The swindle ’s initial Time Spy upshot of 14,298 rise to 18,195 .
Turbo way has a caloric impact . In Performance mode the M16 you ’ll notice the fan noise , but the Asus is quieter than most rigs at this level – for certain pretty achievable in everyday gambling state of affairs . Switch to Turbo mode and it makes a dissonance and you ’ll need a headset .
Also , think of that while the Turbo mode unleash the full 145W might of the GPU , you ’ll still get more king from the Razer and Alienware notebook .
TheRaptor Lake - establish i9 - 13900His excellent , with Geekbench results of 1946 and 14,459 that almost outpace the MSI ’s Core i9 - 12900HX despite the chip rarely operating at full speed in the M16 . Its Cinebench R23 result of 16,415 trounces the 12,938 score gleaned from the Core i7 - 12700H , which augur well for creative workloads , and it ’s far faster than the AMD check inside the Asus ROG Flow X16 .
There ’s not much this poker chip wo n’t do , from editing photos and 4 K videos to multitasking and running loads of browser app tab . And outside of the Turbo style , where interference levels remained high , the M16 was quieter when sue than when play .
That ’s great , but the forthcoming Razer and Alienware will be even faster thanks to Core i9 - 13950HX chips and other high - end selection . Most citizenry wo n’t postulate that power , but it ’s deserving bearing in intellect .
It ’s also significant to regard the dissimilar theoretical account of the M16 . In the UK , the RTX 4090 version is slated for release at a £ 4099 damage and the RTX 4080 rigging costs £ 3299 , so there ’s a crowing disparity there .
There ’s more pick in the US , where RTX 4070 model will be build up too . The RTX 4070 rig will have an IPS cover , and only the RTX 4090 semi will have AniMe Matrix . Asus has n’t confirmed specific US pricing but has said its M16 models will cost between $ 1949 and $ 3499 .
In Europe , Asus currently lists RTX 4090 and RTX 4080 good example with prices at € 5,099 and € 4,599 , but there ’s no word if an RTX 4070 version will appear .
That ’s a high damage , but the M16 does n’t necessarily map bad note value . If you need a Blade 16 with an RTX 4090 it ’ll cost you $ 4299/£4399/€4999 , so the M16 is cheaper in the US and the UK . The Blade also starts at $ 2699 in the US , so its more low-priced models are pricier than the M16 . Alienware ’s laptop will likely be more expensive than the M16 , too .
Of course , those motorcar will have sound mainframe and graphics cards and advantages elsewhere , but the M16 may terminate up as one of the cheapest and lightest RTX 4090 laptop on the market .
Battery
If you do shell out for the Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 , do n’t require great battery life . With the screen brightness reduced , we draw 1hr 25mins of stake from the M16 , but that material body dove below one hour with the cleverness increase .
In a minor office test we got five hour of use from the M16 , but that will throw off to three or four hours if you push the hardware and ramp up brightness .
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Should you buy it?
:
The Asus is n’t quite the libertine RTX 4090 laptop computer , but it ’s plenty tight enough – and the screen is incredible . It ’s slight , scant and smart - looking , too .
Forthcoming laptops from Razer and Alienware will be even faster and will probably have better bioengineering and connectivity , even at a high price
Final Thoughts
The Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 ( 2023 ) pair fantastic gaming and processing yard alongside one of the ripe screen you ’ll find in any gaming laptop computer – and all inside a saucy , weak chassis . But it ’s ordinary in several arena , and good laptop computer will in all likelihood emerge in the coming months
Trusted Score
How we test
Every gaming laptop computer we review goes through a series of undifferentiated check designed to judge key things include physical body timber , performance , cover character and battery life .
These admit stately synthetic benchmarks and scripted test , plus a series of real world checks , such as how well it melt down when hunt down a AAA secret plan .
FAQs
This model of the Zephyrus M16 will cost $ 3499/£4099/€5099 .
Yes , this is a very sinewy laptop for gaming .
Test Data
Full Specs
