ASUS blog: Zephyrus G16 notebook, the Universal

Gamer notebook, business PC, multimedia workstation – this is the notebook that is really good for everything.

Even when the G14 was introduced, the ASUS Zephyrus G series tried to show that a “gamer” notebook does not necessarily have to be only target hardware, but a notebook that can be used for everyday tasks, even on business trips, can take its place on gamers’ desks. He succeeded in this: the G14 has been a particularly popular, portable powerhouse since then, and its bigger brother, the G16, is a workstation designed primarily for desktop use, but still relatively portable, with a high-quality 16″ OLED panel and such with hardware that can easily cope not only with the latest game programs, but also with the most demanding multimedia or engineering software.

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The G16 is available with Intel (GU605) and AMD (GA605) platforms, the former of which we tested earlier. Then we were quite impressed by the absolute high-end design, the beautiful screen, and of course the performance. Now it is for AMD version we take a look, which at first glance is indistinguishable from its brother, as it has the same first-class machine housing, with perfect assembly, and the Slash Lightning LED strip on the cover, which is not only a showy decoration, but also an indicator light, and various you can notify us of notifications even when the notebook is in standby mode.

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When held in the hand, the machine almost radiates the feeling of the premium category, both the machine housing and the display are stable, the latter does not shake, but it can also be easily moved with one hand. The lower cover, if not very simple (two screws are located under the rubber soles), can be opened, and we can expand the background storage, and we can also carry out the maintenance of the surprisingly quiet cooling, which is based only on traditional heat-conducting pipes in this machine.

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There is no shortage of connectors, the range can be said to be almost complete: USB4, USB 3.2 Gen 2 in Type-A and Type-C versions, HDMI 2.1 and 3.5 mm combo jack are also available. We also get an SD card reader, the only thing missing is Ethernet, but this can easily be replaced by the Wi-Fi 7 adapter that also offers Bluetooth 5.4.

Interior and performance

As for the device we visited, we can find the following hardware in it:

As you can see, this is a less “gaming-focused” configuration than its Intel counterpart, since instead of an RTX 4090, there is “only” an RTX 4070 in it, but we risk that the vast majority of those looking for a universal notebook will not notice this difference so much in daily use.

In any case, the numbers speak for themselves, the following results were obtained in the more general tests examining the knowledge of the system as a whole:

In the case of games, the numbers were as follows (we ran the measurements in native resolution and with maximum quality settings):

If you feel that these are a bit insufficient, you can speed them up by switching to the Turbo profile in Armory Crate. The difference is not so small, because it noticeably increases the performance range available for the CPU and GPU, so that a speed increase of up to 10% can occur with some programs.

Display and use

The 2560×1600 pixel OLED panel called ROG Nebula, otherwise manufactured by Samsung, offers a maximum refresh rate of 240 Hz, which, in addition to G-Sync, makes this notebook really suitable for gaming. The display is 405 cd/m² provides maximum luminance, practically infinite contrast ratio and excellent color rendering due to the technology. The latter is supported on the one hand by the huge color space (99% DCI-P3, 95% AdobeRGB) and on the other hand by the factory-calibrated, almost perfect color fidelity (average delta E < 0.5).

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During use, the Zephyrus G16 is a very friendly companion: it hardly tends to heat up, and its cooling works almost silently in most cases. The keyboard is comfortable – instead of a crowded version with a numerical section, ASUS decided to choose a more comfortable one without separate number keys (as it did with its close relative ProArt P16), with a travel of 1.7 mm , with firm, pleasant feedback and single-zone RGB backlighting.

All in all, the Zephyrus G16 is a truly versatile notebook that excels in all areas. Its execution is first-class, which is to be expected at this level. The 16″ size feels ergonomically ideal for both work and play, the only compromise is portability, but it’s still not to the point of being annoying. By the way, the operating time is particularly good, we were able to use the machine for more than 9 hours for office work, so it is possible to get through a “heavy” working day without a charger, which is not bad for a notebook designed primarily for gamers. Finally, as we have become accustomed to with ASUS’ high-end and high-end notebooks recently, the G16 is not only fast, but also has a first-class display, perfect for gaming, watching movies and creative tasks.

Wombath