Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024) review

Our Verdict

Asus has crafted a fantastic 16-inch gaming laptop with the ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024). Its aluminum chassis and OLED panel make it a cut above its predecessor and many competitors. It's not quite as slick when it comes to performance, particularly with the RTX 4090 configuration, but it still manages to carry itself with style.

Reasons to buy

• OLED display with Nvidia G-Sync
• Great design and build quality
• Decent value for money

Reasons to avoid

• Soldered RAM
• Power-starved RTX 4090
• No RTX 4060 model in some regions

Aiming to secure the 16-inch gaming laptop crown, the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024) has the solid build quality, good looks, and fantastic screen that you expect from a champion. Frustratingly, its positive qualities come with a few caveats that can become substantial, depending on which configuration you buy, but this smart gaming laptop is nevertheless a cut above its competitors for the most part.

Having spent weeks with the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024), I can confidently say that it easily ranks among the best gaming laptops on the market. Sharing much in common with its smaller, fantastic sibling, the ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024), including its gorgeous, well-built design and OLED screen, it naturally has plenty going for it. It does have a few unfortunate shortfalls, however.

Specification

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024) specification:

Features

Alongside its fresh, new exterior, the ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024) specs and features are also markedly different compared to last year. The laptop now sports a single processor model and display across all configurations, while graphics options have been rejigged to include higher-end GPUs. RAM capacities and speeds have also been upgraded, with Asus also finally swapping to a 1080p webcam.

Regardless of which ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024) you pick up, it will be equipped with an Intel Core Ultra 9 185H CPU. This is the latest, and most powerful processor in Intel’s Meteor Lake series of processors, as well as the first to sport a Neural Processing Unit (NPU).

While it’s not as powerful as the Core i9 14900HX, as found in the likes of the Razer Blade 16 (2024), it’s much more efficient, requiring less power and running far cooler, which is a boon when it comes to battery life and fan noise. Comparisons aside, its 16 cores, 22 threads, and maximum clock speed of 5.1GHz are plenty powerful for gaming and other CPU-intensive tasks.

Previously topping out at a GeForce RTX 4070, the Zephyrus G16 (2024) is also now available with GeForce RTX 4080 or 4090 Laptop graphics. While GeForce RTX 4060 and 4050 versions do exist, their availability is annoyingly dependent on your region. While I welcome the addition of a GeForce RTX 4080, the inclusion of the GeForce RTX 4090 is puzzling given that Asus has limited its TDP to 115W, leaving it power-starved and falling behind in its performance potential.

While the RAM is now soldered on the ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024), the memory does have some benefits over the RAM in older models of this laptop. This time, you get 7,467MHz LPDDR5X RAM, in place of the older, slower, albeit upgradable, LPDDR4 sticks in last year’s model, with maximum capacities doubling from 16GB to 32 GB.

However, configurations with 32GB of memory are only available with GeForce RTX 4080 and 4090 GPUs, as less-powerful options are stuck with 16GB. Both capacities are enough for games today, but 32GB will serve you better in the long run for future proofing, and working with multiple browser tabs and applications open at the same time.

There are some specs of the ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024) that remain the same across all configurations, though, as Asus does away with multiple display types, as it did processors, in favor of a single OLED panel across all configurations.

It offers the same 1440p resolution and 240Hz refresh rate as last year’s top-end option, but with markedly improved response times (rated at 0.2ms), contrast, and HDR capabilities. Better still, this is one of the only OLED laptop screens to support Nvidia G-Sync, netting you a stellar, stutter-free viewing experience.

The port selection remains unchanged on the ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024), save for the new charging port. Connecting to the best gaming monitors is a breeze, with a choice of HDMI 2.1 or DP-Alt via either of the laptop’s USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C ports, and one of the two also provides Thunderbolt 4 support.

Naturally, a few USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports are in the mix too, with a 3.5mm combo audio jack and SD card reader as well. You’ll need to use the proprietary power connector to get the most performance out of the laptop, but 100W charging is possible via the USB Type-C ports as well.

Despite Asus shaving a few centimeters off the ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024) chassis, it’s also managed to cram the same 90Whrs battery from last year’s model into this one. This isn’t the largest battery out there, with the Razer Blade 16 (2024) sporting a 95.2WHr battery, but it is a match for competitors such as the Alienware m16 R2 and x16 R2.

SSD capacities have also been given a welcome bump on the Zephyrus G16 (2024). Now, you can expect to get at least 1TB of PCIe NVMe 4.0 storage with all configurations, but those with a GeForce RTX 4090 GPU get double the space at 2TB. Finally, Asus has ditched the 720p webcam it’s been using for years now, with a much sharper 1080p replacement that retains Windows Hello support.

Design

As with the smaller Zephyrus G14 (2024), Asus has made several notable changes to the ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024)’s design compared to last year’s model. It’s both thinner and lighter, enhancing its portability, and this reduction in size and weight thankfully hasn’t come at the expense of features or performance.

At first glance, the most obvious but inconsequential difference is the replacement of the ‘Prismatic Shine’ dot-matrix effect on the lid, which has been swapped for Asus’ new ‘Slash Lighting’ design, with a diagonal line of RGB lighting on the lid. I’d like Asus to simply scrap the idea of having LEDs on the lid to create a clean finish, but your aesthetic preferences may vary. Taking a closer look at the laptop, though, it’s clear that the Zephyrus G16 (2024) is markedly different from its 2023 predecessor.

Its aluminum CNC-machined chassis is a welcome upgrade from the plastic base found on last year’s model, firmly establishing the ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024) as a wholly premium device. Its expensive appearance isn’t skin-deep either, with the feel of the improved materials combined with better ergonomics.

Asus has enlarged the keycaps from 2023 by 12% and the enormous touchpad now runs from the bottom of the keyboard to the edge of the chassis, both of which contribute greatly to a comfortable user experience, both generally and while gaming.

Visual and performance improvements have also been made to the speaker array in the Zephyrus G16 (2024). The system now sports a more traditional speaker grille in place of the garish, angular cutouts on last year’s model, but the biggest difference between the two is in volume.

This laptop can get loud, to the point where I spent most of my time with the volume set between 20-40% and was more than satisfied. This loudness doesn’t compromise fidelity either, as the array of tweeters and woofers delivers satisfyingly detailed and punchy tones.

The design of the ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024) is difficult to fault, but there is one drawback that stops it short of a clean sweep. Sadly, Asus has opted for soldered RAM modules in place of the modular kits found in previous versions of the laptop. While the device isn’t alone in making this switch, it does harm its longevity in terms of repairability and upgradability, making the 32GB configurations a much more sensible buy for future-proofing than the cheaper 16GB alternatives.

Performance

For our ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024) benchmarks, we have a top-of-the-line configuration at our disposal, with Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 graphics, 32GB of RAM, and 2TB of storage. While these specs impress on paper, though, the power limits quickly lead to solid but disappointing results.

Using 3DMark, we can draw some parallels between the capabilities of the Zephyrus G16 (2024) and desktop components. In doing so, we reveal that the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 GPU and Core Ultra 9 185H combo on offer here performs similarly to a Radeon RX 7800 XT paired with a Ryzen 7 7800X3D. This isn’t a bad result in isolation, but it loses its luster when comparisons are made to the Razer Blade 16 (2024) or the larger ROG Strix Scar 18 (2024), which enjoy better performance due to higher GPU TDPs.

Results from gaming benchmarks paint the ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024) in a middling light, with playable frame rates that fall well short of what its specs sheet and price point indicate.

The most damning result in our tests is Cyberpunk 2077, which turns into a slideshow using the game’s RT Ultra preset if you don’t use any upscaling features to boost performance. However, enabling both DLSS Frame Generation and Super Resolution (in Balanced mode) sees CD Projekt Red’s RPG become playable on the laptop, with an average frame rate of 77fps, massively up from the woeful 17fps result.

Both F1 23 and Total War: Warhammer 3 enjoy average frame rates of 49fps and 46fps, respectively, which could no doubt improve if we dropped the resolution to 1440p or employed DLSS Super Resolution. Their minimum frame rates pass the 30fps threshold too but, again, we’ve seen better graphics performance on other laptops.

Turning to Cinebench 2024 sheds some light on the limits of the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H in comparison to the Core i9 14900HX, with markedly lower multi-core and single-core scores. This is to be somewhat expected, given the significant difference in core and thread count between the two CPUs, but it’s hard not to wonder how the Zephyrus G14 (2024) would perform if equipped with the Core i9 14900HX Raptor Lake chip found in the Razer Blade 16 (2024). On the plus side, the Meteor Lake CPU runs cooler and is more power-efficient, meaning it runs a bit quieter than the Blade 16 at full load.

Battery

Using the ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024) as my primary system for work, I was able to comfortably get through most, if not all, of my day before needing to reach for the charger. To quantify this, we’re talking in the region of 7-8 hours of general use, with the screen brightness set fairly high, while also listening to music through the internal speakers or via Bluetooth headphones.

However, battery life is decidedly less long-lasting when it comes to gaming. The ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024) was only able to endure PCMark 10’s Gaming benchmark for a mere 55 minutes, with the laptop enduring real-world gaming in system-intensive titles like Alan Wake 2 for about as long too.

I suspect that ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024) configurations with Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 or lower GPUs will fare better in this regard, given their lower power draw. Regardless, I wouldn’t seriously entertain playing on any gaming laptop without the charger in tow.

Price

Starting at $2,000, the ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024) offers surprisingly strong value for money. There’s no escaping the fact that this is an expensive device but, relative to competing gaming laptops, it emerges as the most inexpensive 16-inch option.

Its biggest competitors are the Alienware m16 R2 and x16 R2, which typically cost $100-400 more than a similarly specced ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024). While both of these laptops can be specifically configured to your liking via Dell’s storefront, neither are available with OLED displays and are instead limited to IPS panels.

Some may prefer the piece of mind offered by the m16 R2 and x16 R2, in that the screens won’t be at risk of burn-in, but the improvement in image quality from the Asus’ OLED screen cannot be overstated – its color vibrancy, contrast, and responsiveness are way better than what you get from a standard IPS panel.

However, the Alienware m16 R2 can be bought for as little as $1,600, equipped with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU and a Core Ultra 7 155H processor. While this combination will provide slower performance than the base ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024), Asus doesn’t have a similarly specced or priced 16-inch gaming laptop in the US and other regions for more budget-oriented gamers. Meanwhile, the Alienware x16 R2 pumps the GPU wattage in its Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 and 4090 configurations up to 175W, to maximize performance, which leaves the ROG Zephyrus G16’s 115W feeling paltry by comparison.

The other major alternative to the ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024) is the Razer Blade 16 (2024) but this would-be competitor is shockingly expensive. Price differences between the two laptops range between $900-1,000, with the only notable advantages offered by the Blade 16 (2024) being its Core i9 14900HX processor and higher GPU TDPs, which offer higher levels of performance. The Blade 16 (2024) is also really well built and has a truly premium design, but there’s no doubt that the ROG Zephyrus (2024) offers massively better value for money.

With all this in mind, ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024) models equipped with Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 or 4080 graphics are a no-brainer at their MSRP. The same, unfortunately, can’t be said for those with Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 graphics, as Asus’ TDP limits are simply too drastic to justify the extra cost.

Verdict

Bigger isn’t always better, as the ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024) isn’t as much of a slam dunk as its similar, albeit smaller sibling, the ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024), but it’s still a great machine if you buy the right spec configuration. The design and build quality are superb, it looks lovely, the price offers great value for money, and the OLED screen is gorgeous.

Either the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 or 4080 GPU options are best suited to the ROG Zephyrus G16, given the 115W limit Asus places on GPUs in this laptop. More performance can be had from the likes of the Razer Blade 16 (2024), of course, but only if you’re willing to pay the extremely high asking price, and most people would be better off saving that money and going for the ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024) instead.

With all this in mind, the Zephyrus G16 (2024) edges out the competition in terms of value and leads the way in terms of build and display quality. However, Asus would do well to move away from soldered memory in the future, and also accommodate more powerful graphics options in future successors, while focusing on nailing a midrange spec.

Alternatives

If the ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024) isn’t the right gaming laptop for you, check out these alternatives:

Alienware M16 R2

With higher GPU TDPs, the Alienware M16 R2 can outperform the ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024) in spec-for-spec comparisons. While its screen does sport the same resolution and refresh rate as the Asus laptop, it uses an IPS panel in place of the OLED screen, and it also costs more money.

Razer Blade 16 (2024)

Performance across the board is faster on the Razer Blade 16 (2024) than on the ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024), and the OLED screen on this Razer laptop is also gorgeous (if overly reflective). Razer’s latest Blade 16 also offers upgradable RAM for improved repairability and longevity, but this premium laptop also carries a much higher price tag than the Asus for the equivalent spec.