ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16 review: Impressive visuals and power in one

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Intelligent industrial design and the ability to tailor the power of the CPU and GPU create the perfect blend of performance and portability for gamers and power users alike.

Let me explain. The ‘oomph’ is the visceral but not unwelcome thud I feel in my brain each time I fire up ‘Black Myth: Wukong’ with settings cranked. ‘Schwing’ is the sound of anodized aluminum alloy as it’s deftly unsheathed from the folds of my laptop bag. In both cases there is little doubt that this machine has been purpose built to yield the best experience for professionals with little room for compromise between power and portability. 

After spending the last few weeks with the 2025 Asus Zephyrus G16, I’ll dig into a few of the technical details where it really succeeds, but I’ll also touch on some of the areas where there is still room for improvement.

What: ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) Gaming Laptop
Release date: February 25, 2025
Price: starting at $4,799.00 CAD ($5,299 CAD as tested)
Colours: Eclipse Grey, Platinum White (tested)
Where to buy: ASUS | Best Buy | Amazon

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Notable impressions

Alright, to begin, a few admissions. By day, I spend my time working on a MacBook Pro. By night I can be found gaming on a PS5 Pro. I’m not your typical PC gamer, but my history in gaming spans both years and platforms, and my fondness and appreciation for technology has given me a keen eye for quality. With those truth bombs out of the way, we can make way for the real ordinance; the G16.

Key features of the ROG Zephyrus G16

The screen

I game in 4K consistently, though what I now realize is that I actually haven’t really lived. 4K at 60 fps technically is nice, but let’s be honest. When you double, or more than double that fps, and add in the OLED display, you realize the kind of visual experiences you’ve been missing. The 2.5K, 240Hz display on the G16 is a straight stunner and needs to be experienced. With 100% DCI-P3 color coverage, Pantone Validation, and Dolby Vision HDR support, colors are vibrant, deep and true-to-life. For gaming or creative work, it’s fantastic.

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Another fancy thing about the display that continues to wow since it first laid its eye on me is the built-in infrared facial recognition camera that lets you login to the G16 via Windows Hello without a pin or even fingerprint. A welcome feature that works quickly and reliably even during dark, late night gaming sessions.

‘My CPU is a Neural Net Processor, a Learning Computer’

This is exactly the line from Terminator 2 that I think about every time I boot up the G16 thanks to the Intel Core Ultra 9’s AI Boost technology, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 series GPU’s Blackwell architecture. Both use AI to enhance content and improve performance and battery life in a number of ways. As an example, for supported games, DLSS 4 (Deep Learning Super Sampling) turbo-charges gaming content by analyzing the pixels in every frame, and dynamically upscales it. DLSS 4’s Multi Frame Generation can create and insert up to three frames of content between every traditionally rendered frame, boosting FPS significantly. 

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Combined with other features like enhanced Super Resolution and improved ray tracing, this will make gameplay and cinematic scenes feel smoother and far more realistic.

For those who create as well as play, NVIDIA Studio harnesses the power of the RTX 50 series silicon to make working with AI more accessible as well. This gives you the ability to host large language models (LLMs) locally as well as augment the performance of cloud-based AI services. Through services like NVIDIA NIM, you could host an AI instance right on your G16’s GPU architecture and build your own AI model, agents, or simulations.

Staying cool

The Zephyrus G16 needs to manage a lot of heat from both the CPU and the GPU, and in my testing, it was actually the CPU that needed the most help. The machine’s aluminium chassis is the most visible way the G16 beats the heat, but when you pop it into Turbo mode using the fan button (FN+F5), you can instantly hear the three fans spin up. The fans draw that heat past the liquid metal that replaced the thermal paste, on to the vapor chamber, then to the heat sinks and out past the dust filter to the large exhaust vents. It sounds like I’m describing a nuclear reactor or a Starship, but it’s the guts of this laptop all crammed into a 1.6cm thick main body. For those quiet movie nights, you can pop the G16 into silent mode and rely on the passive, ambient cooling to watch in silence.

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Sleek design

The raw power within the G16 is carefully nestled within the CnC machined, sand blasted, polished and anodized aluminium alloy chassis that had me feeling instantly at home as a guy accustomed to a MacBook Pro. There is a thinness to the aluminum compared to the MBP which I know is a decision made to reduce weight and bulk while also acting as a heat sink, but I do worry about how much flex I can feel when held flat in one hand. The construction does feel premium though, and not at all concerning.

In terms of size, while carrying it in my bag I hardly noticed the weight difference between a 14” MacBook Pro (1.6Kg) and the 16” Zephyrus. At 1.95kg, and with some models measuring as thin as 1.49cm thick, it’s downright dainty despite what it packs inside.

On the lid of the Zephyrus you’ll find the Slash Lighting, a diagonal bar of white LEDs that are configurable in Armoury Crate. Many reviewers have commented on how it’s ‘fully customizable’ but it’s worth knowing some of their limitations. First off, they’re only white, so if you’re hoping to incorporate them into your Aura setup, only the keyboard backlighting will be able to take part. Second, there are six themes and five animation patterns. You select one of each to create a different display. Each of these 30 combinations will produce different results, and you can alter the brightness and the interval at which it repeats. I’m not usually one to use lighting for lighting’s sake, so I was pleased when I found that you can automatically disable the Slash Lighting when certain apps are in use, so I set it to turn off whenever the Netflix or Steam apps were active.

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Sound

The four-speaker system with dual woofers and Smart Amp Technology delivers some pretty rich, immersive audio for a laptop, and the max volume is significant. 

The G16 boasts AI noise-canceling technology for clear communication during online gaming, but I will confirm that my squadmates could hear themselves speaking as an echo through my built-in mic while playing Fortnite. So even though it may be effective at cancelling out the game audio (they confirmed it was), it isn’t yet distinguishing between my voice and those of fellow gamers, so it lets the sounds of other voices through, meaning headphones are still recommended. 

Another reason to stick with some decent cans while you stress the processors is the noise. There’s a lot of heat to move as I mentioned earlier, and I was thankful to have noise-cancelling over-ear headphones to avoid the hush/hiss of the triple fan setup. If you do game with the speakers or you’re having a cheeky movie night in bed, Dolby Atmos and Hi-Res Audio certification make for a pretty enhanced laptop listening experience.

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Battery life

After a couple weeks of use, I was a bit concerned with the battery. It’s got 90Wh capacity, but I would charge it up, watch an hour or so of Netflix before bed, close the lid, and I’d wake up to the battery below 10%. I was a little worried. After a bit of digging, I realized that I had kept the laptop in ‘Ultimate’ GPU mode in Armoury Crate, and I’d changed the Performance Mode from ‘Windows’ to ‘Performance’ or other options depending on my use via the fan button (FN+F5). Without knowing, I’d bypassed the Windows power and sleep settings, and was now idling my GPU far higher than it needed to for just watching movies or other casual tasks.

Once I’d sorted that out I was seeing completely reasonable battery usage, and the laptop would lose maybe a percent or two while asleep overnight. While gaming though, with full CPU, GPU and cooling engaged and game settings cranked, that 90Wh capacity gets chewed up in 2-3 hours depending on the game.

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The A/C adapter is a beefy 240W brick with a proprietary connection. Both of these I grew to live with since they grant 50% charge in 30 mins with fast charging. It turns out Thunderbolt 4 can handle up to 100w, so there’s actually an option for you if you’ve got another charging brick and quality USB C cable. I repurposed another 60w laptop charger I had with a USB C connection, a cable I got off Amazon, and I was able to get pretty solid charging out of it. Probably about half speed, and no fast charging obviously. I don’t know what effect that may have on the battery long term, but I’d assume it’s minimal given it’s charging slower than with the stock charger.

Armoury crate

With powerful hardware comes a desire for control, and that’s where Armoury Crate (AC) comes in. It’s not just a way to monitor performance and make little tweaks, it’s like performance tuning software for a race car. There’s honestly too much to get into, but this is where you can manage everything from Aura lighting to cooling and GPU performance via discrete modes. ‘Ultimate’ mode even engages the MUX switch which bypasses the CPU for graphics processing to push frames right from the dedicated GPU directly to the display to boost frame rates and reduce latency.

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AC also lets you remap the 4 customizable hotkeys above the keyboard, though frustratingly, there isn’t an option to map any to enable/disable the Slash Lighting on the lid. A gripe shared by a number of folks online who eventually turned to GHelper, a popular 3rd party alternative billing itself as a lighter weight option; though there’s sure to be some tweaking to manage both hardware and windows compatibility.

There’s a lot to be discovered and tinkered with in AC, and that’s part of its value, but it’s also part of its downfall. The user experience is not ideal, and it took me hours to actually find the GPU modes and slash lighting settings because they were buried in sub menus or only revealed after clicking a ‘System Settings’ button which is a totally different UX than the rest of the menus on the left of the screen. 

Game on: Testing games on the ROG Zephyrus G16

I tested a few AAA games with the ROG Zephyrus G16, as well as an old favourite just to see how it might change solely based on hardware, and each time I was blown away.

Black Myth: Wukong 

This was the first game I tried, and right out of the gate in the first battle where you’re introduced to Wukong and face-off against some towering gods up in the clouds, the particle physics and the lighting actually made me pause the game and restart just to play the intro again. The lighting and effects were staggering.

I’ve uploaded a quick clip of the game to show some of the lighting effects in motion.

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Cyberpunk 2077 

Cyberpunk has the benefit of being one of the ~700 titles that can take full advantage of all the new features in the NVIDIA RTX 50 series GPUs. There’s full support for frame generation, and other DLSS features I’ve been talking about earlier. It was clear even in the games’ internal graphics benchmark that they were able to shine. 

Both the light and dark scenes popped and looked super realistic. Reflections too were stunning and mirrored the landscape nicely as you moved through a scene. The contrast and textures on offer in the gritty dystopian setting of this game were particularly striking on the OLED display. 

No Man’s Sky 

Perhaps because I am such a fan of the game, but also since I’ve been playing it since launch day in 2016 on PS4, PS5, and then PS5 Pro, I was particularly floored with the look and feel of No Man’s Sky when I tried it on the Zephyrus G16. I was surprised to see that the game supported DLSS, frame generation, up to 240 fps in certain situations like the galactic map, and just generally looked drop dead gorgeous. Details I never knew existed were suddenly rendered before my eyes, and it’s brought new life to the game.

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Final thoughts 

The 2025 Asus Zephyrus G16 does indeed make good on its promise of being a master of all it was designed for. A premium gaming or creator experience while still pushing the boundaries of portability, power and visual excellence. Combining the latest Intel and NVIDIA technologies, a stunning OLED display, massive memory and storage capacity and cutting-edge cooling solutions make it the ultimate choice for gamers and creators who want a high-performance laptop that’s also easy to carry around.

There are aspects of enjoying a game you can’t share with others via videos or screenshots since they’re only ever going to be able to experience them through their own hardware. In a way, that’s the true magic of a powerful and portable gaming laptop. You can bring that experience anywhere you go, and share it with those who’ll appreciate it as much as you do.

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Whether you’re a console gamer like me looking to make the leap into the world of PC gaming or a seasoned enthusiast seeking a portable, powerful machine, the Zephyrus G16 delivers a top-tier experience that’s hard to match.

What: ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) Gaming Laptop
Release date: February 25, 2025
Price: starting at $4,799.00 CAD ($5,299 CAD as tested)
Colours: Eclipse Grey, Platinum White
Where to buy: ASUS | Best Buy | Amazon

ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) specs summary 

Operating system: Windows 11 Pro
Processor: Intel Core Ultra 9 Processor 285H 2.9 GHz; Intel AI Boost NPU up to 13TOPS
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Laptop GPU
ROG Boost: 1550MHz* at 120W (1500MHz Boost Clock+50MHz OC, 100W+20W Dynamic Boost); 16GB GDDR7
Neural Processor: Intel AI Boost NPU up to 13TOPS
Display: 16-inch 2.5K (2560 x 1600, WQXGA) OLED 16:10 aspect ratio
Refresh Rate: 240Hz
Memory: 64GB LPDDR5X 7467 on board(Actual memory speeds may vary by CPU configuration.)
Storage: 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD
Expansion slots (includes used): 2x M.2 PCIe
I/O Ports: (1) 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack; (1) HDMI 2.1 FRL; (1) Thunderbolt 4 support DisplayPort/power delivery; (2) USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A; (1) USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C; (1) card reader (
Camera: 1080P FHD IR Camera for Windows Hello
Audio: Smart Amp Technology; Dolby Atmos AI noise-canceling technology; Hi-Res certification (for headphone); Built-in 3-microphone array; 4-speaker (dual-force woofer) system with Smart Amplifier Technology
Battery: 90WHrs, 4S1P, 4-cell Li-ion
Power supply: Rectangle Conn, 240W AC Adapter, Output: 20V DC, 12A, 240W, Input: 100~240C AC 50/60Hz universal
Weight: 1.95 Kg (4.30 lbs)
Dimensions: 35.4W x 24.6D x 1.49H ~ 1.74 cm

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