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A major redesign for the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 2024 transformed it into a high-end, multifunctional laptop with a tendency toward a more sophisticated, portable style. Because of its limited size, it won’t be able to get the best performance out of its technology, but it will still perform admirably when it comes to both gaming and business use. Asus has met a demand for this revamped PC at a time when many individuals are searching for a single laptop to do it all.
Rather of going up against gaming laptops specifically, it’s more comparable to devices like the MacBook Pro 16 or the Dell XPS 16 (2024). Although the Zephryus G16 has a MUX switch for the GPU, 240Hz frame rate, Nvidia G-Sync compatibility, and a sizable cooling system to keep the hardware operating during gaming, it’s easy to see this laptop as a creator or developer tool.
- Display: 16" 2.5K (2560x1600) 240Hz 0.2ms OLED ROG Nebula Display (100% DCI-P3)
- Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 8GB GDDR6 Graphics Card w/ ROG Boost up to 2105MHz at...
- Processor: Intel Meteor Lake Core Ultra 9 185H 16 Cores (2.3GHz-5.1GHz, 24MB Intel Smart Cache)
Last update on 2024-12-04 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon.
Key Takeaways
- Performance: Intel i9-13900H, RTX 4070
- Display: 16″ QHD+, 165Hz
- Design: Sleek, lightweight.
- Cooling: Advanced liquid metal.
- Battery: Long-lasting.
- Audio: Dolby Atmos.
- Keyboard: RGB backlit
- Storage: 1TB PCIe Gen4 SSD.
- Ports: Thunderbolt 4.
- Software: ROG Armoury Crate.
ROG ZEPHYRUS G16 2024 OVERVIEW
It’s thin, the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 2024. Remarkably, almost remarkably thin considering the hardware therein. I took it out of its box and gave it a questioning glance while rubbing it around in my palms. With a machined aluminum chassis that gives it a subtle appearance, excellent tolerances, and a premium feel that emanates quality and careful design, it is exquisitely well-built.
Description
Asus overhauled its ROG Zephyrus G16 for 2024, resulting in a laptop that's well suited for any creators or designers who split time between work and gaming. It's thin, it's packed with high-end features, and the OLED display is stunning.Positives
- Redesigned aluminum chassis is beautiful
- QHD+ OLED panel with 240Hz refresh rate, G-Sync
- Speakers provide booming, clear audio
- Massive touchpad, 1.7mm key travel
Negatives
- RTX 4090 is capped at a reduced TGP due to the laptop's size
- RAM is soldered, tops out at 32GB
- Keyboard gets hot
- Battery life is still typical of a gaming laptop
In fact, it was so professional-looking and slender that its frame alone made me hesitate. Why, it does indeed. In addition to packing the most potent Nvidia mobile GPU albeit with a restricted 115W TGP into that tiny chassis, this specific thin-film.
Asus model also matches it with the most advanced of Intel’s new Meteor Lake CPUs, the Core Ultra 9 185H, which has 16 cores and a rated P-core Turbo Boost frequency of 5.1GHz. In addition, you receive a 16-inch ROG Nebula OLED display, 2TB of storage, and 32GB of LPDDR5X-7467 RAM.
KEY SPECIFICATIONS
CPU | Up to Intel Core Ultra 9 185H |
GPU | Up to Nvidia RTX 4090 Laptop GPU (115W) |
Display type | 16 inches, OLED or TFT, 16:10 aspect ratio, G-Sync, Pantone validation |
Display (Size, Resolution) | Up to 2560×1600 (QHD+), OLED, 240Hz, 100% DCI-P3, 0.2ms, VESA DisplayHDR True Black 500, Dolby Vision |
RAM | Up to 32GB LPDDR5x-7467MHz |
Storage | Up to 2TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD |
Battery | 90Wh |
Ports | Thunderbolt 4, USB-C 3.2 (Gen 2), two USB-A 3.2 (Gen 2), HDMI 2.1, SD card (UHS-II), 3.5mm audio jack |
Webcam | 1080p + IR |
Wi-Fi connectivity | Wi-Fi 6E |
Bluetooth | Bluetooth 5.3 |
Dimensions | Up to 13.9 x 9.7 x 0.63-0.67 inches (354mm x 246mm x 14.9-17.4mm) |
Weight | Up to 4.29 pounds (1.95kg) |
Speakers | Four 2W woofers, two 2W tweeters, Dolby Atmos |
Among the finest laptops I’ve tested is the ROG Zephryus G16 (2024), which is extremely well-built and shows excellent attention to detail everywhere you look. Apart from the soldered RAM and lower GPU power, it has no significant blind spots and should be a popular option for hybrid users who don’t want to devote too much to one area of their lives, be it gaming or work.
DESIGN & FEATURES
Despite a major overhaul for 2024, the ROG Zephyrus G16 is still positioned as the Asus laptop for those who travel between business and play. This is especially evident in the new Zephyrus G16’s streamlined design, which is about 25% thinner than its predecessor because to its CNC-machined aluminum body construction. Despite having a few special features and coming in Eclipse Gray and Platinum White color options, it looks a lot like the Razer Blade 16.
A notable design feature of the laptop is the “slash” on the lid. The seven LED lighting components that make up this steel strip can be arranged to suit your preferences. Though that merely contributes to the laptop’s more polished appearance, it is not RGB. It’s a pleasant accent that doesn’t go too far.
Beneath the broad cover with three system status lights and a Zephyrus emblem on the back border of the laptop are its four hinges. Furthermore, the exhaust of the laptop is concealed here. Compared to the typical gaming laptop, this one is more streamlined and elegant, measuring only 14.9mm at the front and 17.4mm at the back when closed. Its robust chassis, which doesn’t really flex or creak under strain, is indicative of its obviously excellent construction quality.
When you open the lid, you’re met by a large touchpad, thin bezel-less display, and speaker grilles on either side of the RGB keyboard. This area also conceals the hinges of the display, giving it a very tidy appearance. Because of their small bevelling, the laptop’s edges won’t cut into your forearms when you’re typing or gaming.
Sound comes booming out of this setup, even with stock tuning in place.
A 2W tweeter on either side of the laptop’s top-firing speakers is connected to four additional 2W woofers on the bottom. Even with default adjustment, this configuration produces a ton of sound. The audio is detailed, has a loud enough volume to block out fan noise, and manages highs and lows with equal skill. Depending on the work at hand, the Dolby Access app adjusts Dolby Atmos. This speaker system is excellent whether you’re playing games, conversing with coworkers, or listening to music.
Almost as amazing as the speakers is the FHD camera. Although rival laptops provide a better resolution (HP, for example, has begun including 9MP cameras in its high-end Spectre x360 laptops), the FHD camera excels at managing exposure to produce sharp, grain-free images. Is it suitable for online streaming? Most likely, especially if you’re just getting started. It’s definitely adequate for video conferences with coworkers. An infrared sensor connects to the camera to enable Windows Hello facial recognition; an optical shutter is still missing.
The ROG Zephyrus G16 eliminates ports from the rear edge thanks to its hidden-hinge design. This could irritate people who like a neater connection arrangement when connecting to a docking station or external display because it means you’ll be dealing with cords out the left and right sides of the laptop. However, there are USB-C 3.2 (Gen 2) and USB-A 3.2 (Gen 2) connections on the laptop’s right side in addition to a UHS-II SD card reader for portable storage. A laptop meant to be used by professionals at least occasionally would benefit greatly from having this functionality.
HDMI 2.1, Thunderbolt 4, USB-A 3.2 (Gen 2), 3.5mm audio, and the exclusive charging port for the 240W power brick are all located on the left side. Although the USB-C port supports DisplayPort 1.4, G-Sync, and up to 100W of power delivery, the HDMI 2.1 port can be used for an external monitor. It’s the next best thing, but it’s not a second Thunderbolt port.
- Display: 16" 2.5K (2560x1600) 240Hz 0.2ms OLED ROG Nebula Display (100% DCI-P3)
- Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 8GB GDDR6 Graphics Card w/ ROG Boost up to 2105MHz at...
- Processor: Intel Meteor Lake Core Ultra 9 185H 16 Cores (2.3GHz-5.1GHz, 24MB Intel Smart Cache)
Last update on 2024-12-04 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon.
KEYBOARD & TOUCHPAD
Asus maximized the area beneath the keyboard by blowing up the touchpad by 37% in comparison to the previous model. Even though it’s not tactile, it’s difficult to distinguish. There’s a lot of room for movements, a hard click, and no rattling when tapped. Although the majority of gamers will add an external gaming mouse or gamepad, this is still a good pointer for other tasks and leisure use.
The keyboard of the Zephyrus G16 is likewise excellent. Compared to its predecessor, it features larger keycaps and flawless key spacing. This allows for comfortable typing and gaming, especially with the 1.7mm key travel taken into account. The RGB lighting may be adjusted to your preference, and you can set up four macro buttons for further control over your games. These keys can also be used to manage the volume, microphone, and other apps.
DISPLAY
The Zephyrus G16’s 16-inch OLED display, which Asus went all out to create, is excellent for both specialized work and gaming. It has a 240Hz refresh rate, 0.2ms reaction time, and Nvidia G-Sync for gaming, so there’s no shortage of area for performance gear to boost framerates. Asus collaborated with Nvidia and Samsung, the manufacturer of the display, to enable G-Sync on the OLED panel, a feature that is incredibly uncommon in laptops.
Asus went all-out with the 16-inch OLED display in the Zephyrus G16, making it ideal for gaming and specialized tasks.
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Regarding professional use, its VESA DisplayHDR True Black 500 certification, support for Dolby Vision, Pantone color validation, and robust color reproduction enable it to handle tasks such as photo and video editing, creative design work, and greater. Every game on the laptop felt like it wanted to jump out of the screen as I was having fun editing pictures with Lightroom.
The image quality is excellent, with good color reproduction and flawless contrast. Using a SpyderX Pro colorimeter, I was able to obtain 100% sRGB, 94% AdobeRGB, 99% DCI-P3 color, and a brightness of up to 401 nits when HDR was disabled. The glass covering causes some glare, although it appears that Asus used an anti-reflective coating to keep it from being very glaring.
lt 5 Power Delivery, many laptops will only need a single connection for data and charging up to 240W of power. This is in addition to the previous minimum of 140W provided via Thunderbolt 4 Power Delivery. Even the Blade 18 may function flawlessly with just one Thunderbolt 5 connection if you’re not overloading the machine with taxing activities like gaming.
PERFORMANCE & BATTERY
An Intel Core Ultra 9 185H CPU, an Nvidia RTX 4090 Laptop GPU, 32GB of soldered LPDDR5x-7467MHz RAM, and a 2TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD are all included in the ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024) that I’m now reviewing. Thanks to the chip’s integrated Neural Processing Unit (NPU), you can expect standard CPU increases in AI performance. On the GPU side, you get robust support for ray tracing, compatibility with DLSS 3.5, and a MUX switch that supports Nvidia Advanced Optimus to complement the G-Sync display.
The vapor chamber, which appears to be exclusive to the RTX 4080 and RTX 4090 models, thick heat pipes, three fans, and a sizable air intake and exhaust system all work together to keep the setup cool. For added protection against system blockage, the fans include dust screens.
Overall, the system is amazing, with three fans, a vapor chamber, thick heat pipes, and big air intake and exhaust ports to keep things cool.
With its Armoury Crate software, Asus offers several different power profiles. In addition to the Windows power profile, you have the option to use the Silent, Performance, and Turbo modes. Additionally, there is a Manual mode that is uncommon in gaming laptops that allows you to customize performance.
I used Windows 11’s Best Performance option with the Asus Performance mode to test both benchmark and real-world gaming performance. You can use the turbo mode to really kick things up, but if you keep the laptop closer to the middle of what Armoury Crate has to offer, the fan noise stays at approximately 52 dBA and the performance is still decent.
When in Turbo mode, the RTX 4090 Laptop GPU inside the Zephyrus G16 is capped by Asus at 115W of power; in Performance mode, that power drops to 90W. You can see how the Asus ROG Strix Scar 16, which we also evaluated, performs differently from the 175W RTX 4090.
Benchmark (Higher is better) | Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024), Core Ultra 9 185H, RTX 4090 (115W) | Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 (2024), Core i9-14900HX, RTX 4090 (175W) | Alienware M16 R2, Core Ultra 7 155H, RTX 4070 (140W) | Dell XPS 16 (2024), Core Ultra 7 155H, RTX 4070 (60W) |
---|---|---|---|---|
PCMark 10 | 8,779 | 8,583 | 7,187 | 6,830 |
Geekbench 6 | 2,486 / 14,441 | 2,961 / 17,488 | 2,308 / 12,349 | 2,424 / 13,814 |
Cinebench 2024 | 107 / 1,038 | 126 / 1,508 | 93 / 853 | 104 / 983 |
3DMark Time Spy | 14,305 | 19,684 | N/A | 9,187 |
3DMark Time Spy Extreme | 7,039 | 10,653 | 6,032 | 4,036 |
I ran a long stress test on the system to see how well it could handle heat and cold. The CPU peaked at 91 degrees Celsius and leveled off at 89 for the duration of the test. Roughly 64°C was the GPU’s constant temperature. Furthermore, because to the deft power balancing between the CPU and GPU, throttling is prevented even when the system is completely loaded. The outside of the laptop gets hot, especially around the keyboard, so if you’re running heavy games or apps, I recommend keeping it on a desk.
I tested the system’s performance in real-world gaming by running several taxing games at the highest settings. The capped TGP on the RTX 4090 Laptop GPU is once again noticeable, but there’s plenty of room to adjust in-game settings to increase frame rates. These figures would increase if the power profile was increased to Turbo, but again, this would result in significant additional fan noise. As previously noted, you should definitely look into something like the Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 if you want the highest GPU performance available. Additionally, I would probably choose an RTX 4070 or RTX 4080 laptop GPU instead of spending as much money if I were purchasing this laptop for myself.
Game | Average framerate at QHD+ (Higher is better) |
---|---|
Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty (Ultra, RT on, DLSS on) | 71.46 FPS |
Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty (Ultra, RT off, DLSS off) | 52.7 FPS |
Far Cry 6 (Ultra) | 83 FPS |
Red Dead Redemption 2 (Max Quality, DLSS off) | 65 FPS |
Red Dead Redemption 2 (Max Quality, DLSS Balanced) | 82 FPS |
Shadow of the Tomb Raider (Highest, DLSS off) | 116 FPS |
Shadow of the Tomb Raider (Highest, DLSS Balanced) | 138 FPS |
Even while the 90Wh battery is getting close to the maximum capacity that is permitted for commercial flights, it still can’t keep up with gaming technology. In PCMark 10’s Gaming Rundown test, I was able to get roughly an hour of runtime. If you’re gaming or using other demanding apps, you should have your AC adapter close at hand. After reducing the refresh rate to 60Hz and optimizing the performance to a more balanced profile, the system provided me with approximately four hours of runtime.
ROG ZEPHYRUS G16 (2024) VERDICT
You should buy the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024) if:
- You want a sleek 16-inch laptop for work and for gaming.
- You want an OLED display with quality color and contrast.
- You want a comfortable keyboard and massive touchpad for easier productivity.
You should NOT buy the Asus ROG Zephryus G16 (2024) if:
- You want to maximize GPU performance.
- You want a laptop with upgradeable RAM.
- You can’t justify spending $2,000+ on a laptop.
With its sleek design and excellent performance, the Asus ROG Zephryus G16 (2024) is a laptop that is equally at home for professional or gaming use. Asus made a really good job with the redesign, making it difficult to discern that this laptop is meant for gaming. Impressive speaker arrangement, crisp image provided by the FHD camera, and optimal use of available space for the keyboard and touchpad.
A stylish and potent laptop, the Asus ROG Zephryus G16 (2024) is equally at home playing games as it is in more formal settings.
With Dolby Vision incorporated, the 16-inch OLED display boasts a fast refresh rate of 240 Hz, support for G-Sync, and excellent HDR quality. Your games will appear amazing because to the fantastic color and contrast, and you may use the laptop for design and other creative activities because of the precise color reproduction.
You won’t get the best performance out of the components inside because the laptop is so slim. Since my review unit’s RTX 4090 Laptop GPU isn’t operating at its best, I advise most users to stick with the RTX 4080 (or lesser) option. It should, however, prove to be a strong laptop that performs well for work during the day and gaming at night.
- Display: 16" 2.5K (2560x1600) 240Hz 0.2ms OLED ROG Nebula Display (100% DCI-P3)
- Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 8GB GDDR6 Graphics Card w/ ROG Boost up to 2105MHz at...
- Processor: Intel Meteor Lake Core Ultra 9 185H 16 Cores (2.3GHz-5.1GHz, 24MB Intel Smart Cache)
Last update on 2024-12-04 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon.
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Berry Alex has been evaluating, testing, and reviewing tech, Household and travel items for several decades. He compiled all of the testers’ input, conducted extra research to assess each phone mount’s essential features and overall functioning, and reviewed professional profiles and verified customer reviews for each product.