Perhaps one of my biggest gripes with gaming laptops is how over-the-top they look and feel. I get it. Many of the best gaming laptops have tons of fans, often come with RGB lighting, and flash memory is a badge of honor for some. But flash storage doesn't make a laptop run any better, and for the multitaskers among us, the sleeker and often more streamlined designs of productivity laptops have a certain appeal, especially if you plan to carry your machine in public.
While I like what Asus has done with the heavier ROG Strix Scar 18, the smaller, more minimalist design of the Zephyrus G16 is a sweet spot for a solid all-around experience for gaming, work, and anything else you might put your mind to. It's mostly touted as a "creator" laptop, but it's also a great gaming performer. I've been using the G16 for the past few weeks and testing it as my daily driver, and it's one of the first Windows laptops that didn't make me miss my MacBook Air on day one.
ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16
A solid foundation for work and play
The G16 follows in the footsteps of this year's smaller ROG Zephyrus G14 model, offering a sturdy chassis that's thinner and lighter than the heavier ASUS ROG laptops on the market today. It comes with either a beautiful 16-inch Nebula OLED display running at 2560 x 1600 and 240Hz, or a cheaper and almost as beautiful Nebula IPS panel running at the same resolution and refresh rate.
All of this pairs perfectly with a slim and lightweight chassis that weighs just 4.29 pounds, which is impressive when you consider that it can be equipped with up to an Nvidia RTX 4090 graphics card. Both the trackpad and keyboard here are also very sturdy, although the larger size of the trackpad did take some getting used to when I first started using it. The keyboard feedback also feels great for typing, and the 1.7mm depth of travel should be perfect for most typing styles.
Here are the specs for the model that Asus sent me:
CPU: Intel Core Ultra 9 185H
Graphics: Nvidia RTX 4070
Memory: 16GB LPDDR5X 7467 RAM
Storage: 1TB NVMe SSD
Screen Size: 16-inch ROG Nebula OLED
Resolution: 2560×1600
Refresh Rate: 240Hz
These specs may vary depending on your model. You can compare the full list of available specs on the ASUS website.
The particular model ASUS sent me for testing only had 16GB of RAM and the RTX 4070, but that was more than enough for most of the games I played. You may want to sacrifice some of the higher settings for more intensive gaming (more on that later), and if you plan on playing a lot of games I'd recommend 32GB of RAM, but I never felt too limited by the smaller amount of RAM. The RAM is soldered into the laptop which means you won't be able to upgrade it, so make sure you get what you need when you buy.
The speakers on this laptop are surprisingly good and strong, not always the best but not bad if you don't want to wear headphones. The OLED display is beautiful, with rich colors and depth, but it can be a bit dark even at full brightness. Still, the 240Hz refresh rate allows for really smooth gaming, and fixing the brightness issue is easy in most cases.
Overall, ASUS has laid a solid foundation for the Zephyrus G16 build. The design is elegant and easy to carry around, and the metal chassis gives it a premium feel. And, if you prefer RGB, you'll also find what ASUS calls "slash lighting" on the lid, allowing for some RGB customization without going overboard.
Performance and battery life
Of course, one of the biggest compromises you can make with a laptop is performance. That's because a lot of the higher-end and better-performing hardware is too bulky to fit into a sleek and light machine. However, that doesn't have to be the case here, as ASUS has found a way to fit the RTX 4090 into the Zephyrus G16 (if you buy the right model).
While I didn't test the 4090 model, the 4070 in my test machine provided solid performance, although I did need to tweak the gaming settings slightly to take full advantage of the 240Hz refresh rate on the OLED panel.
Testing the laptop in 3DMark 13, I received the following results:
3DMark 13 - CPU profile: max - 8198, 16 - 7634, 8 - 5905, 2 - 1913, 1 - 957
3D Mark 13 Fire Strike (DX11): 26478 (Graphics - 30869, Physics - 28574, Combined - 12171)
3D Mark 13 Port Royal: 7294
3D Mark 13 Time Spy (DX12): 12076 (Graphics - 12186, CPU - 11508)
All of these benchmarks were captured using the G16's Turbo profile with the GPU set to standard mode and the screen set to native resolution. Benchmarks give us a good idea of what a laptop can do, but they don't really show the full picture of what you can expect in everyday use. This is where we must focus on individual games.
When testing one of the most intensive games on the market , Cyberpunk 2077, I was able to achieve a steady frames per second (FPS) of around 50-55 FPS when running the game with RTX turned off and using DX12's Ultra settings. When running in silent mode (which reduces performance to help minimize fan noise), the FPS drops to around 29-35, which isn't ideal but is still generally playable. I also tested Red Dead Redemption 2, and when running in Ultra Optimized mode with DX12 and TAA, the frame rate was around 62-70 FPS. silent mode achieved a solid 50-53 FPS at the same settings.
I also tested in-game benchmarks for Cyberpunk 2077 and Wild Dart 2, as I wanted to get a feel for how the real-time game and its benchmarks (if available) would perform. In my benchmarks, Cyberpunk averaged 52 FPS and RDR2 averaged 50 FPS. these numbers don't take full advantage of the higher refresh rates offered by the laptops, but if you want to experience the highest visual fidelity, then you'll see lower frame returns like these. Both benchmarks were conducted at the same settings as my real-time gaming tests.
Ultimately, if you plan on gaming, you may want to use a higher performance mode, especially if you want to utilize higher graphics settings. Keep in mind that the fans get louder in turbo mode, but as long as I was wearing headphones, they weren't too bossy.
Battery life is another important factor to consider, and when I was gaming in a less power-hungry model like the Silent, I was able to eke out four to five hours of battery life while working and browsing the Internet. However, gaming takes up a large portion of that, especially when playing more intensive games. That's not good, and it only happens when running the laptop at its most basic settings.
There are tons of features you can take advantage of, such as Eco Mode, which can save even more hours. However, if you run Performance Mode on battery, it can take two to three hours to find a charging station, especially when running more intense content like 4K video. For this reason, I would only recommend running Quiet Mode when using a battery-powered laptop unless you really like to tinker.
Is the ROG Zephyrus G16 worth it?
The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16 starts at $2,199.99, which isn't cheap at all. But at that price, the quality design delivers a lot of solid features. If you really want the best features the G16 has to offer, you'll need to opt for one of the more expensive options, which can cost up to $3,499.99. These higher-end models come with 32GB of RAM, and I would recommend upgrading to that, as more memory cannot be installed after purchase.
Overall, however, the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16 is a strong contender if you're looking for an efficient laptop with great gaming capabilities. It's lightweight compared to most other gaming laptops, and the aluminum chassis offers a premium feel that's hard to ignore if you're in the market for a Windows laptop you won't regret carrying around.
The higher-end model also comes with two separate power blocks: a larger one for when you plan to use the high-performance mode, and a smaller one that's perfect for when you don't plan on gaming and traveling. The 16GB RAM model that Asus sent me costs about $1,999.99 from Best Buy, and it's a solid laptop for gamers who don't need the highest frame rates in the latest games.
