Asus Rog Zephyrus G16 (2024) Review: An Amd Upgrade

Asus overhauled its ROG Zephyrus gaming laptops successful 2024, giving them sleek, aluminum bodies and superb OLED screens. The Intel type of nan ROG Zephyrus G16 looked for illustration a imaginable MacBook Pro slayer erstwhile it launched successful February; it is thin, light, and powerful, but nan Core Ultra 9 185H processor hampers artillery life. Now that Asus has reissued nan G16 pinch nan latest flagship CPU from AMD, it has yet spell an all-rounder pinch tin artillery life to tote to nan office.

This type of nan Zephyrus G16 has nan aforesaid Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 CPU that powers Asus’ Zenbook S 16 to awesome effect. The amended integrated graphics and improvements successful ratio and earthy horsepower complete Intel’s mobile Meteor Lake processors make nan AMD exemplary nan clear winner. If only it weren’t truthful dang expensive. 

Our $2,300 reappraisal unit, pinch an Nvidia RTX 4070 mobile GPU, is 1 of 4 G16 variants pinch nan Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 CPU. There’s different 4070 exemplary successful white, pinch 32GB of RAM and 2TB of retention for $2,300, while nan slightest costly type is $1,900 pinch an RTX 4060, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage. More GPU powerfulness is only disposable connected Intel models, pinch an RTX 4080 action astatine $2,700 and an RTX 4090 for $3,300. RAM is soldered to nan motherboard, truthful it’s important to spot earlier purchasing.

Apart from nan processor, and nan jump to Wi-Fi 7 from Wi-Fi 6e, nan AMD type of nan G16 is astir identical to nan Intel version. Both usage nan aforesaid 0.59-inch-thick unibody aluminum chassis, ports, and 200-watt charging brick; nan only visible value is nan Copilot cardinal connected nan AMD exemplary successful spot of nan right-hand Ctrl key. The AMD type is too an ounce lighter astatine a scant 3.99 pounds. 

I personification a coagulated crushed for comparing nan 2 G16s here. In hunt of a portable activity instrumentality I could too crippled on, I ditched my desktop and bought nan Intel type of nan G16, pinch an RTX 4070 and 16GB of RAM, successful August. Since then, I’ve utilized it not only to activity astatine location and successful java shops but too to play each nan games I’d usually play connected my tower.

Brilliant display, semirestrained lighting

Whichever processor and graphics insubstantial is inside, utilizing nan G16 is simply a rock-solid experience. There’s very mini chassis flex isolated from for nan expanse successful nan dormant halfway of nan keyboard, nan lid lifts easy pinch a azygous finger, and aboveground wobble is minimal. But nan 2560 x 1600, 240Hz OLED ROG Nebula Display steals nan show. Thanks to nan fantabulous mobility clarity, colour accuracy, and contrast, it’s conscionable astir nan champion aboveground you tin find connected a gaming laptop. The smaller Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 uses a 2880 x 1800 OLED panel, but it’s only 120Hz.

Asus mill calibrates nan aboveground successful each G16 and claims an mean Delta E of nether 1, a highest brightness of 500 nits, and 100 percent sum of nan DCI-P3 colour space. These are bold claims, but they mostly clasp up. I measured 100 percent sum of nan sRGB colour space, 97.2 percent of Adobe RGB, and 99.9 of DCI-P3. Although maximum brightness successful SDR only reached 397 nits, that’s plentifulness agleam tin to usage outdoors successful nan shade. HDR is moreover brighter, reaching 644 nits successful a 10 percent window. The mean Delta E, nan value betwixt an expected worthy and what was measured, came successful astatine only 0.17. This is an astoundingly meticulous show and bully tin for color-sensitive work.

Apart from nan floating measurement controls and dedicated Armoury Crate fastener supra nan F row, nan minimalist creation and keyboard layout are a alteration from nan 2023 exemplary and now look overmuch overmuch for illustration those of Asus’ ain Zenbook line. While nan keys aren’t mechanical, nan 1.5mm cardinal recreation is tin to stave disconnected fatigue during agelong typing sessions. The spacebar is simply a spot stiff and tin skip if tapped astatine nan furthest edges, but it doesn’t hap often tin to spell a problem.

The Zephyrus G16’s value has taken a move for nan demure, but Asus couldn’t defy keeping immoderate gamer flair. Gone is nan addressable matrix of LEDs antecedently splashed crossed nan backmost of ROG Zephyrus laptops, replaced pinch a diagonal information of lighting that runs crossed nan lid. Different Slash Lighting patterns are programmable successful Armoury Crate, but nan only colour disposable is white. 

The effect is underwhelming, and that extends to nan keyboard. Despite nan $2,000 worth tag, each versions of nan G16 are equipped pinch single-zone RGB backlighting, meaning that each keys will ever beryllium backlit pinch nan aforesaid colour and brightness. Competitors for illustration nan HP Omen Transcend 16 and Razer Blade 16 immoderate relationship per-key lighting. The removal here, mixed pinch nan Slash bar, feels for illustration Asus is trying to toed nan connection betwixt slim workplace laptop and afloat gaming aesthetic, but nan consequence feels improbable to please either crowd.

Gaming performance

Despite nan identical looks, nan Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 CPU pulls up of nan Intel Core Ultra 9 185H successful each azygous synthetic benchmark. In astir cases, it’s a mini betterment successful immoderate azygous and multicore tasks, but AMD takes a whopping 20 percent single-core and 10 percent multicore lead successful Geekbench 6.

That lead unluckily doesn’t modular uniformly to gaming. It’s existent that, astatine 1080p, wherever CPU differences are astir obvious, nan AMD type of nan G16 puts up a commanding capacity complete Intel’s chip. Results are amended crossed nan board, pinch nan Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 improving 14 percent successful Shadow of nan Tomb Raider, 13 percent successful Cyberpunk 2077, and 12 percent successful Returnal. 

Make nary mistake, immoderate nan AMD and Intel versions of nan G16 are tin gaming machines, and moving up to 1440p aliases nan autochthonal 2560 x 1600 solution erases immoderate value betwixt nan two. The bottleneck coming is nan GPU. While nan RTX 4070 is still a tin mobile graphics insubstantial astir 2 years aft release, it can’t alternatively deed 60 frames per 2nd successful each crippled astatine maxed-out settings. Less demanding titles for illustration Elden Ring will still tally astatine 60fps connected Ultra each day, but this midrange insubstantial shows its spot successful newer games.

Tweaking settings aliases enabling an upscaler for illustration Nvidia’s DLSS successful games that support it is simply a perfectly viable solution, and moreover nan astir demanding titles for illustration Alan Wake 2 are playable connected nan 4070 versions of nan G16, pinch compromises. Running astir Coffee World arsenic Saga midway done nan game, neither nan AMD aliases Intel type could ace 60fps astatine 1440p aliases autochthonal resolution, and enabling DLSS astatine nan Quality mounting only delivered astir 50 frames per second. The crippled becomes overmuch overmuch playable erstwhile settings are dropped to mean aliases model procreation is turned on. 

Ray-tracing enthusiasts and those pinch 4K outer monitors should spot nan 4080 and 4090 models. Asus limits nan RTX 4080 and 4090 to 115 watts of powerfulness necktie to support temps down, meaning a thicker laptop for illustration nan Razer Blade 16 pinch a 4090 successful it will group astir 10 percent higher successful Time Spy than a G16 pinch a 4090, owing to its beefier cooling solution and higher powerfulness allowance of 175 watts. This is simply a negligible value for astir people, but diehards looking to wring retired each ounce of capacity will want to look elsewhere.

Integrated graphics and artillery life

AMD consistently dominates Intel successful nan integrated graphics department, and that hasn’t changed pinch nan Ryzen AI 9 HX 370. The AMD Radeon 890M is nan astir powerful integrated GPU connected nan marketplace and tin coming coagulated 1080p gaming capacity moreover connected artillery powerfulness — it’s nary wonderment that Ayaneo and different manufacturers are utilizing nan spot successful their newest gaming handhelds. 

Playing Shadow of nan Tomb Raider astatine 1080p connected artillery powerfulness utilizing integrated graphics is simply a amazingly awesome experience. The benchmark returned 40 frames per 2nd pinch everything group to its maximum, and dropping nan settings to precocious and enabling Intel’s XeSS upscaling netted 47fps. The APU — arsenic AMD calls its CPUs pinch integrated graphics — pulls 42 watts pinch this setup, meaning astir an hr and a half of runtime contempt nan G16’s ample 90Wh battery. With a civilization powerfulness level scheme that limits nan APU to 25 watts afloat (more granular powerfulness is disposable pinch open-source Armoury Crate alternatives for illustration G-Helper), nan results were astir nan aforesaid but stretched nan artillery life to 2 hours. 

Even heavier titles for illustration Cyberpunk 2077 are playable connected integrated graphics. With nan 25-watt headdress successful place, I recorded 47fps successful nan benchmark pinch everything group to Medium and AMD’s FSR upscaler group to Balanced and nan aforesaid 1.5-hour runtime arsenic Shadow of nan Tomb Raider. The Arc Graphics connected nan Intel Core Ultra 9 185H will play 2D and lighter indie games conscionable fine, but it can’t ace 30fps successful nan supra games astatine nan aforesaid settings. 

This makes nan integrated GPU a compelling action if you’re distant from wall power. Running Cyberpunk 2077 connected nan RTX 4070 pinch precocious settings astatine 1080p sewage a model title of 60fps and a scant 45 minutes of playtime. Locking nan crippled to a 30fps headdress and mean settings astatine 1080p results successful 1 hour, 20 minutes of artillery life. Gaming connected integrated graphics mightiness beryllium nan solution for those who want to clip disconnected nan bulky 200W charger astatine location and recreation pinch a USB-C wall wart (up to 100 watts) instead.

AMD pushes artillery life further

Battery life extracurricular of gaming is nan main logic to spot nan AMD type of nan G16. The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H exemplary offers astir six to 7 hours of real-world use, which is bully for astir group but won’t make it done an afloat workday. The AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 is simply overmuch efficient, lasting astir 9 hours successful real-world use. That different 3 hours pushes nan G16 retired of nan realm of emblematic gaming laptops and personification to productivity machines for illustration nan Zenbook S 16 aliases nan Dell XPS 16.

A overmuch businesslike processor intends small heat, which was (and is) nan G16’s Achilles’ heel. Having lived with, gamed on, and typed overmuch articles than I tin count connected nan Intel version, I tin confidently opportunity that this is simply a spicy laptop — truthful overmuch truthful that nan underside gets uncomfortably basking erstwhile gaming connected nan 4070, moreover utilizing nan Silent powerfulness level scheme (which restricts powerfulness to nan CPU and GPU and cuts instrumentality sound accordingly), and nan area correct supra nan keyboard connected nan Intel type reaches a scorching 123 degrees Fahrenheit. 

The AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 thermal throttles astatine 95 degrees Celsius for illustration its Intel-based comparative erstwhile nether load, but nary constituent connected nan chassis registered complete 120 degrees during testing. Running astir nan titular metropolis successful Baldur’s Gate 3 utilizing nan Turbo powerfulness level scheme nary longer results successful a burned lap. Cooler temps mightiness fto nan CPU boost higher, but it would still beryllium constrained by nan comparatively humble 200-watt wide powerfulness limit. 

Asus falls down connected software

I’ve been singing nan G16’s praises for astir of this review, but nan sacrifices Asus undertook to make a gaming laptop this portable are glaring, moreover if they mightiness not effect day-to-day use. Repairability and upgradability are adjacent to nil. Storage is easy to upgrade, and there’s a 2nd 2280 M.2 slot, but nan RAM is soldered to nan motherboard successful each versions. (Which is unluckily nan norm successful laptops this thin. Look to thicker competitors pinch socketed DDR5 RAM, for illustration nan Alienware m16 R2, if you want nan action to upgrade later.) If nan 16GB offered by nan guidelines configuration isn’t enough, you’ll personification to pony up an different $300 astatine minimum for a exemplary pinch 32GB and can’t spell higher from there. 

Software has ne'er been Asus’ beardown suit, and Armoury Crate continues to beryllium Armoury Crate: laggy but serviceable tin for astir people. Manually disabling nan dedicated graphics successful Armoury Crate is nan champion measurement to optimize artillery life, but often, it requires closing each programs utilizing nan 4070, trying again, past closing and reopening Armoury Crate to really make nan change. I’ve too noticed that nan G16 sometimes fails to aftermath decently if group to hibernate while plugged successful and past reawoken connected battery. 

Speaking of nan battery, nan only measurement to alteration Battery Care mode, which caps nan artillery astatine 80 percent title to prolong its life, is done nan MyAsus app, an wholly abstracted powerfulness expanse you personification to registry for to use. Being prompted to mobility up and make an narration arsenic information of nan Windows 11 setup feels different intrusive.

The G16 is nan 1 to beat, if it’s connected sale

Asus succeeds successful delivering a awesome instrumentality for gamers who don’t want their laptops to unrecorded connected their desk, arsenic bully arsenic contented creators. The color-accurate, precocious refresh title aboveground looks awesome displaying immoderate type of content, nan speakers are conscionable astir nan champion you tin find connected a Windows laptop, and nan larboard selection, peculiarly nan full-sized SD insubstantial reader, is bully tin for photographers and video editors, though nan deficiency of an ethernet jack is conspicuous.

The worth remains nan biggest sticking constituent for either exemplary of nan G16. I’ve seen nan Intel type connected discarded for arsenic debased arsenic $1,400, which undercuts small expensive, chunkier competitors pinch akin specs for illustration nan Alienware m16 R2 aliases nan Lenovo Legion Pro 5i and moreover Asus’ ain ProArt connection aimed squarely astatine artists. A 16-inch ProArt P16 configured pinch an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 CPU, RTX 4070, 32GB of RAM, and 2TB of retention but a 4K, 60Hz aboveground and somewhat thicker chassis costs $2,300, while nan comparably equipped G16 has precocious been connected discarded for $1,999. 

Not that $2,000 for a laptop pinch an RTX 4070 incorrect is an objectively bully woody erstwhile 4080-equipped devices autumn beneath that group connected sale. The Intel type of nan G16 provides nan champion value, peculiarly erstwhile it drops beneath $1,500. Best Buy often lists open-box models for arsenic debased arsenic $1,100, moreover cheaper than nan smaller G14 pinch an RTX 4060. Whether nan different 3 hours of artillery life is worthy up to $900 overmuch is subjective and depends connected really often you travel, though astir group will beryllium amended served by redeeming that money and throwing a USB-C charger successful their instrumentality to support nan G16 topped off.

Of course, this mightiness beryllium a moot point. It’s rumored that Nvidia will debut its latest 5000-series RTX graphics cards astatine CES 2025, and manufacturers including Asus will motorboat revamped laptops soon after, though existent specifications haven’t been confirmed yet. If nan RTX 5070 isn’t a important betterment complete nan existent procreation and Asus launches a caller type of nan G16, support an oculus retired for dense discounts connected nan 2024 models. Both versions of nan G16 are objectively bully all-around laptops, but astatine worth parity, nan AMD exemplary wins out.