Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 Assessment: A High Gaming Laptop computer for Creators Too

8.3/ 10
SCORE

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GU605 (2024)

Professionals

• Glorious quick, calibrated OLED display
• Nicely designed
• Efficiency vs
• measurement moderately balanced
• Good port choice

Cons

• Battery life is simply okay
• Massive energy brick
• Backside and hinge space can get sizzling
• Settings in Armoury Crate software program can get complicated

One other laptop computer of the creative-slash-gaming style based mostly on Intel’s Core Extremely processors, the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 does stand out in some methods, together with its well-designed chassis, big touchpad, comfy keyboard and good efficiency given its trade-offs. (The Core Extremely cannot match the efficiency of the HX processors, however it’s thinner and has higher battery life than you will get with these.)

Like its smaller sibling, the Zephyrus ROG G14, it is technically thought-about an Nvidia Studio mannequin and ships with Nvidia’s Studio driver moderately than the extra frequent Recreation Prepared model. (You possibly can swap to the latter if you need the extra frequent and game-optimized updates.) 

In contrast to the G14, there are a ton of configurations of the G16, even should you do not depend the approaching mannequin, which can incorporate AMD’s forthcoming Ryzen AI 300 collection chips, slated to ship in mid-July. You may get the Intel fashions with 16GB or 32GB RAM; a GeForce RTX 4050, 4060, 4070, 4080 or 4090; an HDR OLED or 500-nit IPS show, each with a most refresh charge of 240Hz and 100% P3 gamut protection; as much as 2TB RAM and in darkish grey or white. White provides $200 to the value of an equivalent configuration (the method is extra sophisticated).

You possibly can’t get each mixture, although. For example, I want the $2,000 mannequin with the RTX 4070 got here with 32GB RAM as a substitute of simply 16GB; for 32GB, you need to bump as much as our $2,700 RTX 4080-equipped check configuration, which is bigger, heavier (by about 3.5 ounces/100g) and comes with an even bigger AC adapter. It is doubtless much less {powerful} however would nonetheless have good on a regular basis efficiency and a cheaper price.

Design and options

The truth is, the design and show have a ton in frequent with the G14; it is simply larger and beefier, for probably the most half. Equally properly designed, however it has extra ports as a result of it is larger. The membrane-switch keyboard feels nice for typing — it seems like there’s extra journey than there may be, with a pleasant bounce, a nice soft-touch floor and massive, hard-to-miss keycaps. (For gaming, you would possibly need to connect an exterior keyboard, although.)   

Just like the G14, it has a diagonal set of white LEDs on the highest that flashes in patterns, for instance, to sync with audio or for notifications. You possibly can flip it off and alter the brightness, and when it is off, it simply appears to be like reflective. I hate to say it, however I hold it off, as a result of the flashing will get actually annoying in a means I am unable to ignore. 

The Ceraluminum shell — Asus’ branded aluminum and ceramic floor — appears fairly hardy and smudge resistant, a minimum of the gray model. It even allowed for straightforward cleansing once I dripped some espresso on the wrist relaxation space. Oops. 

The secondary features aren’t brightly backlit — you may inform the LED is within the middle beneath the important thing — however they’re lit properly sufficient to make them out, which is essential should you work at midnight. In addition they keep cool when the laptop computer heats up. As you’d anticipate, there’s per-key RGB lighting.

As a result of it is bigger than the G14 and is Intel-based, it has a special set of ports and extra of them, together with a Thunderbolt 4/USB-C in addition to a slower USB-C port, a few USB-A ports, HDMI and combo audio. There’s additionally a full-size SD card slot.

It is comparatively skinny for a 16-inch mannequin with a discrete GPU, about the identical as a MacBook Professional 16 and Razer Blade 16. General, should you flip off the slash lighting on the quilt it offers off a extra severe vibe than you get from a gaming laptop computer however rather less stuffy than a enterprise slab. That features the respectable business-quality 1080p webcam.

It helps Nvidia’s Superior Optimus, which suggests you may drive it to completely use the discrete GPU with out rebooting through the Nvidia driver. And there are positively instances whenever you need to drive it; there’s the occasional app or recreation that confuses Optimus and you find yourself in a foul cycle of switching between the dGPU and the iGPU. It could possibly get annoying, although, as a result of Asus’ software program additionally permits you to drive discrete-GPU-only, however that makes use of the standard must-reboot MUX swap. Like loads of the choices in Armoury Crate, which have seemingly been changed elsewhere throughout the app or do not apply to a specific system, you should not use it.  

The 1080p webcam is enough and helps Home windows Hi there however is not nice. It has meh low-light high quality, the white stability is off in managed mild, it is too excessive distinction and the Studio Results are alright if the horrible masking — blurred hair and the background consistently peeking via — do not trouble you. You possibly can in all probability enhance it a bit with some tweaking or utilizing one other digital digicam (like Nvidia Broadcast), however most webcams are nonetheless fairly restricted and the automated/default settings are already optimum.

The mic has respectable pickup, and Armoury Crate has a bunch of various software program noise-canceling decisions, however lots of them sound actually processed (versus pure) when compensating for ambient noise. In case your solely concern is readability, then it should not be a difficulty. The laptop computer’s sound is healthier than standard, with just a little extra bass and broad soundstage, and it serves properly for video and music. So long as your recreation would not require locational cues, it is advantageous for gaming vocals and ambient sound as properly.

Quick OLED, average CPU

Asus manufacturers its flagship ROG laptop computer screens as Nebula and Nebula HDR. Our assessment unit got here with the brand new Nebula HDR OLED show. It helps the mid tier of VESA’s OLED DisplayHDR certification, DisplayHDR True Black 500 and will get comparatively vivid for an OLED laptop computer show at just below 400 nits in on a regular basis use and simply over 600 nits in a ten% window in HDR. As you’d anticipate from a show with its specs and Dolby Imaginative and prescient help, video appears to be like actually good. 

It did not clip blacks an excessive amount of in gaming, however you will need to use in-game changes for extra seen darkish areas if essential issues lurk there. it is bought the identical gaming modes because the G14 if you need an actual enhance within the deep shadows and do not thoughts significantly low distinction, like 300:1. The truth is, the Recreation Visible presets in Armoury Crate do not appear optimized for OLED in any respect; it seems like Asus by no means goes again to optimize them for brand new show applied sciences — or take away them so that you should not use them.

The laptop computer comes calibrated for sRGB, D65 P3 and DCI P3. Whereas it is fairly correct for all of them, the grey scale is inconsistent and will get worse as you decrease brightness. Nor are the profiles constrained to any specific brightness stage, so you might want some trial and error should you want color-critical accuracy.

It comes with a setting in Armoury Crate, OLED Flicker-Free Dimming, which ostensibly helps forestall flicker at low brightness ranges. However you may’t pin it anyplace, so if you wish to use it you need to hearth up Armoury Crate. And you’ll nonetheless use the system brightness slider. It is form of odd, although; all it appeared to do was does is decrease the brightness progressively in contrast with the system management, which I discover actually annoying.

One of many show’s extra notable capabilities is G-Sync help for adaptive refresh as much as 240Hz; Asus says it collaborated with Samsung and Nvidia to make it occur. As a result of OLED is self-emitting illumination moderately than backlight, every pixel must refresh consistently so that you can understand a selected brightness stage (a backlight simply has to remain on) — within the case of a 240Hz display, as much as 960 instances per second. It really works advantageous when it isn’t pressured to make use of the discrete GPU, however appears a bit much less steady on the dGPU: On the dGPU it is reported (by a number of websites, together with Blur Busters) at charges that fluctuate from roughly 172Hz to 181Hz, however it’s a rock stable 240Hz in any other case.

Did I discover any points whereas gaming? No, even with Home windows VRR, a lot much less DLSS. However that does not preclude any cropping up. Apart from 60Hz, there are not any different refresh choices, although. (On an unrelated be aware, the system periodically misplaced the power to carry up the context menu — both by proper clicking on the touchpad or mouse or utilizing the 2 finger gesture — however I think that is one of many myriad tantrums Home windows Replace throws when you do not let it have its personal means.)

The G16 is quick — for a Core Extremely system. Core Extremely is a processor you accept whenever you need longer (however probably not lengthy) battery life and a slimmer design with a discrete GPU and are prepared to sacrifice some processor pace. Battery life is fairly good for its class at virtually 9 hours and lasted longer than my consideration span (about 5 hours) in on a regular basis use and about 2.5 hours should you neglect to let it flip off the discrete GPU.

The RTX 4080 in our analysis unit supported boosting to about 115 watts (although the motive force stated 125 watts), with a typical energy draw of 95 watts, and also you get a considerable enhance switching from the default (efficiency) to turbo mode — round 10% to twenty%, relying upon what you are doing. Turbo would not enhance processor efficiency, although.

The underside can get actually sizzling when it is plugged in, even within the default efficiency mode, an issue I discover with all the air-intake-on-the-bottom designs typical of those thin-but-relatively-powerful Core Extremely methods. It will get just a little to sizzling to make use of on my lap whereas sporting shorts, and it appears to get actually sizzling on the underside when sitting on a giant gaming mousepad; I think it would not sit up excessive sufficient for the airflow.

The ROG G16 configuration we reviewed is expensive however a very good all-around system for each gaming and inventive work. If you wish to get monetary savings and haven’t got heavy energy necessities, go for a inexpensive configuration, although.