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The ROG Zephyrus G16 is a long-running creator- and professional-focused device from Asus. The latest launches offer the RTX 5080 and 5090 graphics chips, bringing flagship-grade hardware in a thin-and-light form factor. Despite their size, these devices bundle high TGPs for their graphics chips, don't bundle a power-constrained CPU, and are filled to the brim with the latest hardware. The G16, for example, ships with a 2.5K OLED panel, 32GB LPDDR5X-7467 MT/s, and a 2 TB SSD with options for upgradability. This versatility makes them lucrative for professionals who need power but don't want a bulky device.
I tested the Zephyrus G16 GU605 for a few weeks and have some thoughts on the device. Read on to find my full review of the laptop.
The ROG Zephyrus G16 RTX 5080 laptop brings high-end components in a MacBook-like form factor
The Zephyrus G16 is offered in several variants, starting from an RTX 5070 laptop GPU all the way up to RTX 5090 variants. You can find both black and white finishes in stock. The specific variant we tested is the GU605CW-G16.U95080.
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This laptop ships with the Intel Core Ultra 9 285H chip. It packs 16 cores spread in this configuration: six performance-rated "P," eight efficiency-rated "E," and two low-power efficiency-rated "E (LP)." The processor has a base speed of 2.9 GHz, with the P cores supporting boost speeds up to 5.4 GHz. Hyperthreading is disabled on the chip.
In terms of memory, you get 32 GB LPDDR5X @ 7467 MT/s set on a dual-channel configuration. Given the compact build of the laptop, you lose expandability. In case 32 GB might not be enough, consider buying the 64 GB GU605CW-XS98.
The graphics chip is the RTX 5080 Laptop GPU. It has a boost speed of 1550 MHz, with a 50 MHz overclock on the base chip. You get 16 GB GDDR7 graphics memory based on a 256-bit bus. The graphics chip has a 120W TGP, which gives it room to perform in demanding tasks.
The display is a 16-inch Nebula OLED with a 2560 x 1600 resolution (16:10 aspect ratio). It is 240 Hz, ensuring silky smooth usage. You get Pantone-rated 100% DCI-P3 coverage with support for Nvidia G-Sync and Dolby Vision HDR. With a four-speaker system with stereo tweeters and support for Dolby Atmos, the laptop's audio-visual system is cutting-edge.
Here's the detailed specs:
The model we tested is priced at $2,799. The 64 GB variant costs $3,600, and the 5090 G16 costs $4,599. The prices are competitive when compared to M4 Pro MacBooks.
Read more: Nvidia RTX 5070 vs RTX 4090
A closer look at the ROG Zephyrus G16 RTX 5080 laptop
A first look at the Zephyrus G16 will immediately hook you with the brilliant display. The 16-inch 240 Hz OLED is a spectacle. It feels incredibly smooth to use, has brilliant contrast and separation, and looks quite sharp thanks to the 2.5K resolution.
The Zephyrus G16 features an all-metal build, with the only use of plastic being in the hinge. Do note that there might be some creaky sounds in the hinge when you press down on the material, especially when the laptop is new — this is normal. The sound slowly fades away after a few weeks of usage.
That said, the corners of the device are rounded, leaving no pointed surfaces or design cues, unlike the regular Asus ROG design lingo. The laptop feels incredibly sturdy to the touch, with the build quality easily rivaling that of the MacBook.
The keyboard, however, has room for improvement. You don't get low-profile mechanical switches, common with devices of this calibre. Instead, Asus has opted for chiclet-like membrane switches with added travel distance. While they are okay for regular usage, long typing sessions reveal that they could have utilized a more premium solution.
That said, the trackpad is incredibly built. It's sturdy, large, and is made of the same metal, helping it to stay conspicuous while offering strong usability. While clicks do require some added effort, they feel responsive.
Looking at the rear of the laptop, we find large air vents. This is necessary given the compact build of the device and the high-end components it packs. The rear does look quite aesthetic, given how Asus has laid out the vents. However, there isn't much to look at apart from the rubber feet and the metal backplate.
The Zephyrus G16 bundles four speakers laid out in a stereo mode with dual tweeters. Two speakers are placed on the sides of the keyboard to offer a well-rounded audio experience. The remaining two are bottom firing to add to the fullness of the sound.
The speakers ship with Dolby Atmos support out of the box. They are quite loud and offer a wonderful experience for content consumption.
Besides the keyboard, the Zephyrus G16 also features an LED strip mounted on the back. However, this isn't "RGB," and you can only choose from a few pre-defined presets from within the Armory Crate software. It adds a bit of flair to the device, making it stand out. However, given the device's target audience, most users might keep it turned off.
Performance benchmarks
We conducted a few standard synthetic tests and gaming benchmarks on the device. Read on to find how it fared.
CPU test
Starting with a test for the Intel Core Ultra 9 285H chipset, we recorded scores in the 3DMark CPU Profile test. The chip scored 1,232 points in the single-thread test, putting it in the league of Ryzen 9 desktop chips. However, multi-core performance can't keep up due to the less capable E-cores bundled with the chipset.
Read more: Dell Alienware X16 RTX 4080 review
GPU benchmarks
We choose 3DMark scores for the GPU benchmarks as they represent a gaming-focused test that encompasses both the CPU and the GPU. Starting with Fire Strike, a DirectX 11 benchmark, we note the RTX 5080 LT scores 32,443 points, placing it between the RTX 4060 Ti and 4070 from the last generation.
In 3DMark Time Spy, a DirectX 12 test, the 5080 LT scores 15,568 points, making it slightly faster than the 5060 Ti desktop GPU. However, it is still slower than the RTX 4070 desktop card and significantly trails behind the RTX 4080 LT. This pattern is observed across the 50 series laptop GPUs, where better efficiency and power draw optimization often comes with a raw performance cost. A reduction in performance with a new generation is never welcome.
The 3DMark DirectX Ray Tracing test also reveals a similar pattern where the 5080 LT manages to beat the 5060 Ti desktop GPU by a slight margin but still trails the 4080 LT by a similar margin. The performance of the Zephyrus matches that of the AMD RX 9070 and RX 7900 XTX, revealing AMD's severe bottleneck in ray tracing workloads.
3DMark Steel Nomad is a new DirectX 12 Ultimate benchmark. Our sample size for this test is still pretty small, and we can only compare it against other current-gen GPUs. The 5080 LT scores 3,726 points, making it significantly slower than the RX 9070 and slightly better than the 5060 Ti desktop.
3DMark Port Royal is a real-time gaming-focused ray tracing benchmark that gives us a look into how gaming performance will scale across the GPUs. The Zephyrus G16's 5080 LT is slightly behind the 5060 Ti in this test, with performance clearly lagging behind the 4080 LT from the last generation.
Lastly, we ran 3DMark Speed Way as a reproducibility check for the benchmarks above. Similar patterns continue here as the Zephyrus G16 scores slightly less than the 5060 Ti, with both the RTX 4070 desktop GPU and the 4080 LT pulling ahead.
In the DLSS feature test, the 5080 LT on the Zephyrus G16 also remains behind the last-generation counterpart. Nvidia's counter-argument of offering DLSS 4 as a solution to the culled-down performance capabilities falls apart here. While the 4080 Alienware does get the opportunity of a more robust cooling solution and more power headroom, no argument can justify a consistent 10-15% performance delta between the generations.
Gaming benchmarks
Although the Zephyrus G16 isn't a gaming device, you can expect it to do fairly well in the latest titles thanks to the 5080 laptop GPU. We tested performance in the native 2560 x 1600 resolution in some of the latest titles, such as Monster Hunter Wilds, Black Myth Wukong, Cyberpunk 2077, Forza Motorsport, GTA V: Enhanced Edition, Counter-Strike 2, and Indian Jones and the Great Circle.
At native resolution without ray tracing and DLSS, we record a geomean of 85.3 FPS, which is good enough given the laptop's high-resolution experience.
With ray tracing turned on, the geomean drops to 50.6 FPS, with all games remaining playable across the board.
Turning on DLSS cranks up the performance to 83.4 FPS, matching native resolution performance but with ray tracing turned on.
Multi-frame generation is a mixed bag. Performance numbers do increase significantly; however, note that your GPU isn't rendering any more frames. The latency remains similar across the board, which leads to a jagged experience, especially when the base rate to multiply is low.
This problem is particularly noticeable in Path Tracing-heavy workloads. The base framerate across video games remains low on the 5080. Hence, turning on frame generation keeps response time extremely high, while on paper, you might be getting a playable framerate.
AI tests
The biggest feature advertised with the RTX 50 series devices is AI capability. We tested this with inference speed across a few state-of-the-art large language models on the Zephyrus G16. The device runs sub-15B models flawlessly with 8-bit quantization. The device offers enough performance to run such capable models on-device as a daily assistant.
Smaller sub-2B models run at high speed, making the device ideal for development purposes. Since most edge devices run compact models, performance on small models is more relevant for developers.
CPU thermals and power draw
The combination of compact form factor and high-end components means interesting things for operating characteristics and temperatures. We conducted a few torture tests on the device to analyze how the components hold up.
The CPU has a base power of 45W with maximum turbo draws up to 115W. When stressed with AIDA64 torture, we noticed an initial spike to 76W, following which the chip settled around 45W. There is some variance involved in the power draw characteristic throughout, with a range between 39 and 46W.
Clock speeds remain fairly respectable as well, with no dips throughout the test. We notice the P-cores averaged around 3.56 GHz while the E-cores stayed around 2.79 GHz. The clock speeds stay in control, with only monumental spikes to 4.92 GHz.
The temperatures on the chip remain in check as well. We notice the chip maintained 81°C on average, with the P-cores staying around 83°C while the E-cores stay around 77°C.
GPU thermals and power draw
The Zephyrus G16 GPU is equally well-behaved. We tested it with the Furmark stress test, where it maintained around 86°C — fairly respectable for the compact device. The temperature was consistent throughout the test, without any major spikes, reflecting sturdy component design.
In terms of the power draw, the chip goes up to 120W for a short period, before dialing down and drawing about 105W for the majority of the test. This is because of the new AI algorithm these 50 series GPUs are using, where they can intelligently dial down power usage while maintaining optimal performance in the task. This ensures longer battery life, less device wear and tear, and better noise and thermals.
The GPU clock speeds give us more insights into how the Zephyrus G16 maintains a decent balance of performance and thermals. For the most part, the effective clock stayed around 1520-1550 MHz, which is in the ballpark of the advertised number.
Value and conclusion
The Zephyrus G16 GU605 is a premium device with top-of-the-line components. What sets it apart from the competition is the compact form factor that ensures portability and convenience. The device maintains competitive performance across the board, performing as well as established desktop GPUs. While the RTX 4080 LT is taking a consistent lead over the device, this could be how the 5080 graphics chip has been designed and not a problem with the laptop.
Overall, given the form factor that the Zephyrus G16 ships with, the performance is on point, which makes it a superb alternative to MacBooks. Sticking to Windows might be important for certain developers, creative professionals, and AI enthusiasts, all of whom the Zephyrus can satisfy pretty well.
