ASUS is on a streak.
With prices for computer parts inflated across the board and some manufacturers, like NVIDIA, supposedly bringing back older cards to address the ongoing situation, it’s particularly hard to want to invest in a new PC. My main desktop is nine years old and still runs smoothly, despite a dated 1070 graphics card. But it’s also showing signs that I need to let it go soon, with some stuttering, slowdown, and freezes making it abundantly clear I need to upgrade in the near future.
I’ve never been a gaming laptop guy, often preferring the excitement of building out a desktop tower with my friends, cross-referencing parts on PC Part Picker for the best prices, and finally pulling the trigger with Newegg or Memory Express for the final build.
Now, though, I’m finding my time is more limited than before, and despite knowing I can allocate time to focus on a new build, the market has changed to the point that pre-built and gaming laptops are readily available and sometimes offer more bang for your buck.
The ASUS Zephyrus G16 Holds Its Own Against Newer Builds
While I’ll always prefer a shiny desktop, the Zephyrus G16 (2024) gives me reason to move on. It’s a powerful slab of technology filled with the bells and whistles that make anyone who wishes to play games happy. Whether it’s the beautiful OLED display, the crisp 1TB of storage, or arrays of customizable RGB lights, you can make your device feel wholly your own with tons of features to impress anyone.
The market for gaming laptops has expanded, and there are some impressive machines available today, but ASUS’s flagship is one of the best and most remarkable devices I’ve recently used. Specifically, each year I look at the most recommended devices and consistently see the Lenovo series at the top.
ASUS’s latest laptop isn’t too bulky, and it’s beautiful, and you won’t regret owning one. The 16-inch screen is massive, and the device is more powerful than ever. It feels premium and comes with tons of ports to keep all your devices happy.
Ports:
The 10th generation iteration comes with an Intel Core Ultra HX-series processor and is powered by an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 graphics card. It’s got an OLED screen with up to 240Hz refresh rate, 500-nit brightness, and Dolby Vision. If you want more from your laptop, ASUS also offers the Zephyrus G16 with 4070, 4080, and 4090 options. Each one also comes with up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 185H, up to 32GB of RM, 1TB of SSD storage and an additional slot for NVME memory.
Display
The OLED (2,560 x 1,600) screen is impressive and uses Nebula technology to look so good. The 240Hz screen works wonders for games, making anything you play feel smooth. The 500 nits make it easier to see things without any issues, too. Of course, I’d recommend not sitting in direct sunlight, as it’ll make the screen impossible to see.https://i.imgur.com/SManu0u.jpeg
What I appreciate about the G16 is its form and how easy it slips into my backpack. It’s surprisingly slim and packs enough hardware to tackle most games with ease. Compared to some of its contemporaries, which weigh a ton and feature more powerful hardware, the trade-off feels like a no-brainer if you’re looking for a laptop that can support your lifestyle while also giving you the power to play the latest games and still look great. I’ve switched over exclusively to the G16 and sometimes forget it’s even with me. On days when I have to use other laptops for testing, I miss the lightweight chassis because it feels better in a backpack.
My biggest disappointment with the Zephyrus G16 is its keyboard. It’s a condensed QWERTY keyboard that I don’t like. Writing on it is harder than it needs to be, and despite trying my best to be patient while typing, I’ve abandoned any serious writing in favour of my desktop. I attempted to write this review on the device, but whenever I needed to press the A key, my finger would hit the caps lock key instead because of the way the buttons are placed. See, typing doesn’t feel as natural as it does on a standard laptop or even on a separate keyboard on a desktop.
The touchpad is larger than a standard touchpad, and it’s easy to use for navigating webpages. The sad thing about it, though, is that it lacks haptics, which I’m used to with my Surface Laptop 7. Haptics are my favourite addition to a lot of newer tech, so I welcome having them in most devices. Thankfully, what matters is that the touchpad performs well, and it clicks nicely. Nothing beats a proper mouse, but as far as built-in touchpads, the Zephyrus G16 feels nice.
The Zephyrus G16 also has a built-in 1080p FHD IR camera for anyone who uses Zoom, Teams, or whatever app you use for meetings. I’ll always advocate for a dedicated camera you can plug into your device, but in a pinch, the built-in camera offers enough to help you get the most out of the meetings you need to attend.
The mic has noise-cancelling and works well for meetings, but it’s serviceable for anyone who wants one as a single voice in a public space or coffee shop.
Armoury Crate
Many companies have their own proprietary software baked into their devices, but few are actually worth using. Of the few, ASUS’s Armoury Crate is one I prefer, thanks to its ease of use and intuitive menus.
The Armoury Crate software lets you do a lot of under-the-hood changes without fuss. If you want to change your device’s profile, you can do so at the press of a button. You can choose from Silent, Performance, and Turbo modes depending on what you want to do with your laptop, and the Manual mode lets you adjust performance to your preferences.
Additionally, for those who like to play with RGB lighting, the controls are built into the software, allowing you to adjust the lighting patterns on the front and back, as well as the keyboard, with ease.
When playing games, the Zephyrus G16 can hold its own against most games. However, the price of admission is that your device will run hot when playing taxing games, and it’s hard to alleviate the heat. There are toggles in the Armour Crate that let you find the optimal balance between CPU and GPU, and you’ll want to adjust settings on the fly to get the best performance and experience out of the gate. At the expense of extra heat, you do get better power draw, but it’s rarely worth it.
Verdict
In a time when AI has bastardized memory and graphics cards, it’s wild to recommend tech that’s been out for a few years now. However, ASUS has some impressive devices, and despite launching in 2024, the Zephyrus G16 is worth considering as an alternative if you don’t want to go broke on something entirely new. As more and more people find themselves priced out of their hobbies, ASUS offers a good product that feels future-proof for at least the next few years.
[ASUS provided a launch retail unit for this review.]
