The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024) is a high-end 16-inch gaming laptop. It replaces the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16 (model GU603) from 2023. This 2024 GU605 model is available with Intel Meteor Lake CPUs and NVIDIA 40-series discrete GPUs, up to a Core Ultra 9 185H and RTX 4090, respectively. You can get up to 32GB of RAM and 2TB of storage—only the latter is user-replaceable. There's an IPS and OLED panel option; both are QHD+ displays with a 240Hz refresh rate and G-SYNC support. Ports include two USB-As, two USB-Cs (one Thunderbolt 4), an HDMI 2.1, a full-size SD card reader, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack.
See our unit's specifications and the available configuration options in the Differences Between Variants section.
Our Verdict
The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16 is good for school use. It's fairly portable for a 16-inch device, and it provides a great user experience with its sharp display, comfortable keyboard, and large touchpad. Available with Intel Meteor Lake CPUs and NVIDIA 40-series discrete GPUs, it has plenty of processing power to handle demanding tasks, making it suitable for students in fields like programming, game development, and 3D graphics. The main downside is its short six-hour battery life in light uses.
- Fairly portable for a 16-inch laptop.
- Sharp OLED display.
- Comfortable keyboard, large touchpad.
- CPU and GPU can handle demanding tasks.
- Wide port selection.
- Battery doesn't last through a typical eight-hour day of light use.
- OLED susceptible to permanent burn-in.
The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16 is an excellent gaming laptop. You can get this laptop with an IPS or OLED display; both have a 240Hz refresh rate, a fast response time, and G-SYNC support, giving you an amazing visual experience with clear images in fast-moving scenes. This laptop is available with powerful Intel Meteor Lake CPUs and NVIDIA 40-series discrete GPUs. Its overall performance is great; however, there are a few bugs causing lower-than-expected frame rates in some games (at the time of writing). RAM and storage max out at 32GB and 2TB, respectively; the former isn't user-replaceable, but the latter is.
- Delivers smooth gameplay in most games at 1080p or 1440p.
- 240Hz display with fast response time.
- VRR support to reduce screen tearing.
- Wide port selection.
- Fast, user-replaceable SSD.
- Inconsistent performance.
- Soldered RAM.
The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16 is great for media consumption. It's fairly portable, and its battery lasts over six hours of video playback. Its 16-inch display looks sharp and has a fast response time to deliver a clear image in fast-moving content. You can choose between an IPS or OLED panel; the latter is better suited for dark rooms, as it produces much deeper blacks. Both displays get bright enough for use in most indoor settings. The speakers sound clear and full, with a good amount of bass. They get very loud, though there are noticeable compression artifacts at higher volume levels.
- Fairly portable for a 16-inch laptop.
- Sharp OLED display.
- Battery lasts over six hours of video playback.
- Loud speakers.
- Speakers sound clear and full, with a good amount of bass.
- Speakers exhibit noticeable compression at high volume levels.
- OLED susceptible to permanent burn-in.
The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16 is outstanding for use as a workstation. It's available with high-performance Intel CPUs and NVIDIA GPUs that can easily handle demanding tasks like video editing and 3D graphics. Its 16-inch display gives you plenty of screen real estate for multitasking, and it's suitable for color work, sporting full DCI P3 and Adobe RGB coverage. Its wide port selection includes plenty of USB ports, an HDMI 2.1, and a full-size SD card reader, allowing you to easily connect peripherals and external displays. The SSD is user-replaceable, and there's even a second slot if you want to add more. Unfortunately, you can only get up to 32GB of soldered RAM, which might not be enough for highly demanding workloads.
- CPU and GPU can handle demanding tasks.
- Display is suitable for content creation.
- Wide port selection.
- Fast, user-replaceable SSD.
- Inconsistent performance.
- Can only support up to 32GB of soldered RAM.
- OLED susceptible to permanent burn-in.
The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16 is great for business use. It feels very well-built and provides a great user experience with its large display, comfortable keyboard, and large touchpad. Its Intel CPU and discrete NVIDIA GPU can easily handle productivity tasks like web browsing, text formatting, and spreadsheets. You can even edit photos and videos, which is great for small business owners needing to do a little bit of everything. It has a wide port selection for peripherals and external displays and a facial recognition IR camera for quick logins. It isn't overly bulky or heavy for a 16-inch device, though you'll need to carry a charger, as the battery lasts only around six hours of light use.
- Fairly portable for a 16-inch laptop.
- Sharp OLED display.
- Comfortable keyboard, large touchpad.
- Wide port selection.
- Decent 1080p webcam.
- Battery doesn't last through a typical eight-hour day of light use.
- OLED susceptible to permanent burn-in.
Changelog
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Updated Aug 12, 2025:
Added mention of the Gigabyte AORUS MASTER 16 (2025) as an alternative with NVIDIA 50-series GPUs in the GPU section.
- Updated May 07, 2025: We've updated this review to Test Bench 0.8.3, which removes the viewing angle tests and adds a GPU Total Graphics Power comparison in the GPU section. The Pen Input test in the Extra Features section has also changed, as it now shows whether the laptop supports pen input rather than the inclusion of a stylus in the box. See the changelog for more details.
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Updated Oct 18, 2024:
Added mention of the Razer Blade 18 (2024) as an alternative with a larger display in the Screen Specs section.
- Updated Sep 26, 2024: Added mention of the ASUS ROG Strix G16 (2024) as an alternative with more powerful CPU options in the CPU section.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16 (model GU605MI-DS91-CA) with a 240Hz QHD+ OLED display, an Intel Core Ultra 9 185H CPU, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 discrete GPU, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage. The display, CPU, GPU, RAM, and storage are configurable; the available options are in the table below.
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See our unit's label here.
Popular Laptop Comparisons
The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16 is an excellent gaming laptop overall. It stands out for its sturdy build, nice OLED display, comfortable keyboard, and wide port selection. However, its performance is inconsistent due likely to software issues (at the time of writing). Also, it's only available with up to 32GB of soldered RAM, which might not be enough if you want to use it as a workstation for highly demanding tasks.
See our recommendations for the best gaming laptops, the best budget and cheap gaming laptops, and the best laptops for video editing.
The HP OMEN MAX 16 (2025) and the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024) GU605 are both excellent 16-inch gaming laptops. If you're only looking to play games and want the best performance possible, the OMEN MAX 16 is the one to get, as it can deliver smoother gameplay in demanding games. The Zephyrus G16 is more of a hybrid device, meaning it has a more compact design that makes it more suitable for other uses, like video editing and general productivity. Its slimmer design comes at the cost of some performance, though, as its NVIDIA 40-series GPUs can only run up to 115W. The OMEN MAX 16 is also a better choice if you want to upgrade the RAM yourself, since the Zephyrus G16 uses soldered memory.
The ASUS ROG Strix G16 (2024) and the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024) GU605 are both high-end gaming laptops. Both offer excellent performance and have complementary features. The Strix has a faster CPU, which means it's better for workstation applications, while the Zephyrus has a better user experience overall with a superior OLED display, keyboard, and touchpad. Unfortunately, the Zephyrus suffers from a hardware bug; it isn't able to fully utilize its GPU even though it's never CPU-limited.
While the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M4, 2024) and ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024) GU605 are powerful 16-inch laptops, they're designed for different purposes. The ASUS is a gaming laptop with gaming-focused features, while the Apple is a premium mobile workstation. The Apple laptop's user experience is better overall, thanks to its superior build quality, a brighter and more color-accurate display, a larger haptic touchpad, and better-sounding speakers. The ASUS is still well-built; it can't compete with Apple's industry-leading design and build. While the M4 Max SoC is faster than the Intel Meteor Lake CPUs found on the ASUS, the ASUS has the Apple beat in terms of discrete GPU options; it comes with up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 laptop GPU that vastly outperforms the M4 in gaming. Otherwise, the ASUS's 240Hz OLED display has a much faster response time than the Apple's 120Hz Liquid Retina XDR display, giving you a clearer image in fast-paced games, and it supports G-SYNC to minimize screen tearing.
The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024) GU605 and the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024) are both great gaming laptops. The main difference is that the G16 is a larger model available with more powerful GPUs (up to an RTX 4090) and a higher-refresh 240Hz display, while the G14 is a more compact and portable model configurable with up to an RTX 4070 GPU and a 120Hz display. As for performance, although the G16 is better overall (higher wattage GPUs, superior cooling system), there are a few bugs at the time of writing, causing lower-than-expected frame rates in some games.
Test Results
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