Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (Ryzen AI 9) review: A killer deal would make this a killer gaming laptop
It’s tough for a gaming laptop to hit all of the major qualities you’re looking for, but the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 comes pretty damn close.This machine packs incredible performance from the new AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 and the proven Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 into a svelte chassis. Pair that with a gorgeous 16-inch OLED display, a great set of speakers, and long battery life, you have yourself a recipe for success. However, the Zephyrus G16 didn’t cook long enough for its keyboard to rise to that same success. And with a price point of $2,299, it’s tough to recommend buying right now.Despite that, the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 is a star gaming laptop, maybe one of the best gaming laptops, and it’s especially worth your time if you can find it for under $2,000.Asus ROG Zephyrus G16: SpecsSwipe to scroll horizontallyPrice$2,299CPUAMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370GPUNvidia GeForce RTX 4070 8GBRAM32GBStorage1TB SSDDisplay16-inch, 2560 x 1600, 240Hz OLEDBattery9:14Size13.94 x 9.69 x 0.59~0.65 inchesWeight4.08 poundsAsus ROG Zephyrus G16: Price and configurationsI reviewed the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16, which has an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 8GB GPU, 32GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, and a 16-inch, 2560 x 1600, 240Hz, OLED display. It costs $2,299 at Asus, but you can get the 2TB SSD model for the same price at Best Buy. While the rest of the components are higher-end, its graphics card is tough to justify for the price point.The base model costs $1,899 and drops you to an RTX 4060, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. Paying nearly two grand for a gaming laptop with an RTX 4060 is a deal I’d tell everyone but my worst enemy to avoid.We also reviewed the Intel version of the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (which I’ll draw comparisons to later), but it had a similar pricing curiosities. However, it’s since dropped to $1,699 at Best Buy for the model with an Intel Core Ultra 9, RTX 4070, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB SSD. Regardless of the version you choose, I’d recommend waiting for a sale.Otherwise, you might want to check out the best gaming laptops under $1,500.Asus ROG Zephyrus G16: DesignI’ve loved the waves of redesigns Asus has carved since the initial launch of the Zephyrus G14 in 2020, and that remains true for the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16. There’s something about the gunmetal aluminum chassis that looks more svelte than the PC copycats trying to look like a MacBook. The silver glossy slash across the lid with LED lighting certainly elevates it to a more premium standard.(Image credit: Future/Rami Tabari)There’s something about the gunmetal aluminum chassis that looks more svelte than the PC copycats trying to look like a MacBook.The interior showed off more of the same machine look, which would’ve looked dull if not for how the keyboard and vents were carved into the deck like Michelangelo did to his “David.” The large touchpad bled into the edge of the keyboard, and the top of the deck was lined with discrete media keys and a power button. I was happy to see slim bezels on the display, but the chin was a bit thicker than the rest.At 4.08 pounds and 13.94 x 9.69 x 0.59-0.65 inches, the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 shocked me — I couldn’t believe this was a 16-inch gaming laptop. It’s rare to get a gaming machine at 4 pounds and rarer still to get to 0.6 inches thin. Here’s how it compared:Asus ROG Zephyrus G16: PortsDespite its slim stature, the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 rocks all ports you need to jump into your favorite game.(Image credit: Future/Rami Tabari)On the left, there’s the power jack, an HDMI port, one USB Type-C port, one USB Type-A port, and a headphone jack. On the right, you’ll find one USB Type-C port, one USB Type-A port, and an SD Card slot. The Type-C port doubles as a DisplayPort for VR and monitors.(Image credit: Future/Rami Tabari)Need more ports? Check out our best USB Type-C hubs and best laptop docking stations pages.Asus ROG Zephyrus G16: DisplayYummy; I love when a shiny new OLED display hops into my laptop, and the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 just delivered. Its 16-inch, 2560 x 1600, 240Hz, OLED display elevated my gaming and film-watching experience.(Image credit: Future/Rami Tabari)I jumped into Far Cry 6 and was met with a warm sunset cast over the jungles of Yara; the warm light and soft green-yellow hues gripped me into the world. Thanks to the high brightness, I could shoot my way through an enemy base at midnight with nothing but the moonlight and the blood spatter to guide me. Turning down the graphics, I got some to experience the pleasantly smooth panel as I slid past a wall of cover and then chopped my enemy in half.I watched the trailer for Secret Level (I can’t wait), and the screen immediately (and literally) exploded with a vivid blue neon that might’ve fallen flat on a standard LED display. The panel captured the sharp strands of the hero’s beard with a detail that made me feel like I could touch it. The balanced contrast revealed the highlighted wings of the dragon in the next scene and the high brightness kept the glossy display from being overwhelmed by the ambient light in my room.According to our colorimeter, the Zephyrus G16 covered 82.1% of the DCI-P3 color gamut. While that doesn’t quite make the 90.9% premium gaming laptop average, it’s impressive for a laptop competing in a category with laptops that cap out around $5K. For context, it’s more colorful than the Legion 7i (81.6%), Alienware m16 R2 (69.9%), the Intel version of the Zephyrus G16 (78%). (I’ll refer to it as the Intel Zephyrus going forward).At 388 nits of brightness, the Zephyrus G16 matched its Intel counterpart and crushes the Alienware m16 R2 (288 nits), but doesn’t quite outshine the category average (441 nits) or the Legion 7i (479 nits).Asus ROG Zephyrus G16: Keyboard and touchpadI was prepared to love the Zephyrus G16’s keyboard, especially with how neat it looks on deck. The keys are springy as well, which is a bonus. However, the spacing is short, and the size of the keys on the left side are smaller than the right, making my pinkie feel cramped as I type.(Image credit: Future/Rami Tabari)I managed only 78 words per minute on the 10fastfingers.com typing test (I got 76 wpm on the second go), which is slower than my usual 81-wpm average. If Asus wants to improve this keyboard, spread out the keys just a tiny bit and make keys like the Shift, Caps Lock and Tab bigger on the left side.I think part of the above issue is how big the touchpad is as well, as it doesn’t give the keyboard a lot of height. Despite that, the touchpad is fine. It’s soft for plastic, but can get a bit sticky if your hands are clammy. Its size also makes it the occasional challenge to right-click onto things, and by challenge I mean missing the mark and readjusting finger-placement.Asus ROG Zephyrus G16: AudioThe Zephyrus G16’s bottom-firing speakers were loud and well-rounded, keeping up with the beauty of the laptop’s OLED display.I slid around the corner in Far Cry 6 and planted one round in the skull of my enemy; with my silenced rifle, it produced a soft yet meaty sound that was sadistically pleasant. I chatted with one of the quest givers and his gruff voice had enough bass behind it to make it sound like he was right next to me. I drove down the road in my car and the engine roared like a threat to all who’d dare get in my way.I listened to “Visceral” by I Prevail and the opening guitar slapped bright and heavy against my ears. The vocals were crisp and the drums had enough oomph to back them up. There were some occasions where the sounds got a bit muddled, as all of the sounds came in strong, especially the electric guitar.You can adjust the sound with the Dolby Access app, which offers presets like Dynamic (automatic), Game, Music, Movie, and Voice. Within these settings are adjustments for Detailed, Balanced, or Warm sounds.Asus ROG Zephyrus G16: Gaming and graphicsDespite its luxurious price at the time of writing, Asus shoots for middle-weight graphics with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 GPU. However, that’s still strong enough to get me through a horde of baddies in Far Cry 6 at 65 frames per second on Ultra, 1600p settings.(Image credit: Future/Rami Tabari)On the Assassin’s Creed Mirage benchmark (Ultra, 1080p), the Zephyrus G16 averaged 94 frames per second, which is short of the average premium gaming laptop (119 fps). Keep in mind that the Zephyrus G16 is pricey, so it landed in a category against gaming laptops with RTX 4080 and RTX 4090 GPUs. However, all of its competitors share the same RTX 4070 GPU. The Zephyrus G16 still landed a bit lower than the Legion 7i (98 fps) and Alienware m16 R2 (101 fps) while making short work of the Intel Zephyrus (84 fps). At 1600p, the Zephyrus G16 scored 67 fps.The Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 averaged 35 fps on the Cyberpunk 2077 benchmark (Ultra, 1080p), matching the Legion 7i and outpacing its Intel sibling (30 fps). However, the Alienware m16 R2 (40 fps) ran smoother, and the category average (53 fps) was up there. At 1600p, the Zephyrus G16 managed only 19 fps (so maybe don’t play on the highest settings).On the Shadow of the Tomb Raider benchmark (Highest, 1080p), the Zephyrus G16 scored 104 fps, falling short of the Legion 7i (162 fps), Alienware m16 R2 (113 fps), and category average (144 fps). However, it did beat the Intel Zephyrus (94 fps). At 1600p, the Zephyrus G16 hit 61 fps.Despite that, the Zephyrus G16 came on top during the Red Dead Redemption 2 benchmark (Medium, 1080p), scoring 68 fps. It actually matched the Legion 7i, but sped past the Alienware m16 R2 (65 fps) and Intel Zephyrus (60 fps). The average was still higher, however (97 fps). At 1600p, the Zephyrus G16 got 40 fps.Asus ROG Zephyrus G16: PerformanceYou got your AI in my gaming laptop! That’s right, the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 is rocking the shiny new AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor. It was more than capable of speeding through the couple dozen Chrome tabs and handful of YouTube videos I threw at it. But what about the benchmarks?On the Geekbench 6.3 overall performance test, the Zephyrus G16 scored 15,408, toppling the average premium gaming laptop (10,857). The Alienware m16 R2’s Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (12,784) and the Intel Zephyrus’ Core Ultra 9 185H (13,299) didn’t stand a chance. However, the Legion 7i’s Intel Core i9-14900HX rocked up with a score of 17,261. The Zephyrus G16 transcoded a 4K video to 1080p in 3 minutes and 12 seconds on our HandBrake benchmark, hovering close to the category average (3:08) and Legion 7i (3:08). It completed the task quite a bit faster than the Alienware m16 R2 (3:46) and Intel Zephyrus (4:06).Asus’ 1TB SSD sported a transfer rate of 1,233 megabytes per second, falling short of the average premium gaming laptop (2,047 MBps). Barring that comparison, it’s still slower than the SSDs in the Legion 7i (1,705 MBps), Alienware m16 R2 (2,015 MBps), and Intel Zephyrus (1,396 MBps).Asus ROG Zephyrus G16: AI performance and featuresNo, the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 is not a Copilot+ PC, but it is an AI PC. That’s thanks to its AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor. Its XDNA 2 NPU is a processing unit specifically for AI. We’re still changing how we test AI PCs, especially with how new this technology is, so keep that in mind as you read along. But let’s see what the Zephyrus has to offer.On the Geekbench ML 0.6 AI performance test, the Zephyrus G16 got an ONNX/CPU score of 3,623, which beats the Alienware m16 R2 (3,189) and the Intel Zephyrus (3,255), but not the Legion 7i (4,222). For additional comparison, the Zenbook S16 features the same CPU as the Zephyrus and it scored 3,377. This test measures only CPU performance, however. On a proper NPU test, the Ryzen AI 9 would shine.Despite the lack of marketing as a Copilot+ PC, it benefits from the same Copilot features. There’s Recall, which you might’ve heard is controversial. It acts like the History button on your browser except it’s for your PC as whole. The information is designed to be stored locally, but I can’t blame you for being creeped out. You do have the option to adjust the type of information stored, and Recall is currently limited to Windows Insiders and disabled by default.There are still some other neat Copilot+ PC features, like Windows Studio Effects and Live Captions. More controversial features include AI-art-generating programs. It’s tough to use a technology that scrapes the internet for real artists’ work without their consent and use that to fuel its own “art.”Asus ROG Zephyrus G16: Battery lifeThere’s nothing I love more than a gaming laptop with a battery life that lasts a whole workday.The Zephyrus-series is among the first gaming laptops to offer long battery life, mostly due to AMD’s wild CPUs, and this is no different, with the Zephyrus G16 lasting 9 hours and 14 minutes on the Laptop Mag battery test. It cleaned up the Legion 7i (3:01), Alienware m16 R2 (6:13), Intel Zephyrus (4:46), and the average premium gaming laptop (5:27).Asus ROG Zephyrus G16: WebcamI wouldn’t plan on streaming with the Zephyrus G16’s 1080p webcam.(Image credit: Future/Rami Tabari)In my test shot, the majority of my window and parts of my ceiling were washed out due to the poor contrast. The color of my green shirt had a tinge of red that wasn’t there and the hairs on my head blended with my skin, so I couldn’t even tell where my hairline started. I recommend checking out the best webcams if you plan on streaming.Asus ROG Zephyrus G16: HeatWith great slimness comes great heat…ness. The Zephyrus G16 gets hot.After playing a game for 15 minutes, the underside climbed up to 117 degrees Fahrenheit, which is above our 95-degree comfort threshold. The center of the keyboard and touchpad hit 98 and 78 degrees, respectively. Meanwhile, it got the hottest on the right rear-center of the underside, hitting 131 degrees. Spicy.Asus ROG Zephyrus G16: Software and warrantyThe Armoury Crate app is the most important software shipped with the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16. You’ll find settings for performance, component monitoring, RGB lighting, and the display. There’s also a game aggregation section and an option to set up performance profiles. Meanwhile, the MyAsus app handles system updates and system diagnostics.The Zephyrus G16 comes with a one-year limited warranty. See how Asus performed on our Tech Support Showdown ranking.Bottom lineAsus threw an impressive piece of tech on my lap. There’s little I don’t adore about the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16. Yes, the keyboard needs work, but the rest of it is great, from the performance and design to the display and speakers. Not to mention that workday-long battery life. However, I cannot recommend buying it at its asking price.If you need something right this second, then try the Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 9 for $1,849 at Best Buy. It offers stronger overall performance, a brighter display, and a much more comfortable keyboard and touchpad.Otherwise, I would wait until the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 goes on sale. Long battery life and strong speakers are more rare than you might think.
