Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 2025: RTX 50-Series power in a slim 16"! ⚡🔥

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 2025: Hybrid Gaming/Working King? 👑💻

He Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 2025 offers the power and efficiency of the range of RTX 50-Series Mobile GPUs 🔥 in one of the most popular hybrid form factors for work and play. It's always been a sleek machine 🎯: it already had the compact size Razer sought to achieve with its new Blade, and last year's Zephyrus cemented that. This means that external changes in this new version are minimal. Instead, the focus is on cutting-edge components, for better or worse.

It will be difficult for the Razer Blade 16 strip off its crown 👑, thanks to its screen high-end, design luxurious casing and RTX 5090 benchmarks that I was able to test personally. It is, without a doubt, the best gaming laptop for those looking for a slim 16-inch format, a segment where both brands leave their indelible mark.

He Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 that I have had in my hands for the past few weeks shows some weaknesses in certain aspects. Its RTX 5080 GPU has a lot to offer 🎮, although its Intel Core Ultra 9 285H It doesn't stand out that much ⚙️. If you're open to listening, the proposal presented is solid and worth considering.

However, it's the little details that really make the difference in this price range 💸, and considering Asus isn't far behind Razer's high prices, that crown remains firmly on Sneki's head 🏆.

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Asus has opted for Intel for its G16 gaming laptops this year, sticking with the brand's Core Ultra range 🔥. I'm not entirely convinced by that decision 🤔. My experience with the previous generation Core Ultra 1 wasn't the best: they consistently performed worse than the more gaming-focused i9-14900HX 🎮 and AMD Ryzen 9 AI chips ⚡. With the Razer Blade 16 2025 taking the AMD side, the competition gets super interesting 🔥.

This time around, however, they’ve built in efficiency and a slight boost to the RTX 50-Series GPU power, with the G16 equipped with everything from the RTX 5070 Ti all the way up to the RTX 5090 🚀. At the cheaper end, that leaves you with a price tag of £2,799.99 / £3,399.99 💵 – a little cheaper than the Razer Blade 16’s £2,999.99 / £2,699.99 base price in the US and a fair bit more expensive (albeit with slightly different internals) in the UK 🇺🇸🇬🇧.

The model I’m testing sits in the middle of the pack, with an RTX 5080 GPU, 32GB of RAM, and a 2TB SSD 💾 – a configuration that isn’t exactly listed on Asus’ site, but is priced at $3,599.99 / £3,399.99 with a bump to 64GB of RAM 🔧. This is a hefty machine 💪, so there are no cheaper options with 16GB of RAM and only one 1TB SSD configuration available on shelves currently.

Overall, Asus is competing closely with Razer on price, which becomes problematic when we look at some of the build details and feature list 🛠️.

Design

There is very little to distinguish the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 2025 from its previous 2024 model on the outside. The new aesthetic that arrived to the line last year has been retained, with a sleek LED strip running down the center of the lid, replacing the traditional dot matrix that existed previously.

This «Slash Lighting», as Asus calls it, is still simple and smooth 💡 (and fully customizable in the Armoury Crate software), though I turned it off almost immediately. Like last year's model, it's infinitely better than the bright LED panel featured in previous releases, but it's still annoying as it flickers against any nearby walls. However, if that's your thing, it's a snazzy light show 🎆 with music pairing settings and notification flashes.

The similarities between the 2025 and last year’s model continue through the weight and form factor. This is the same streamlined chassis design we saw last year, with that Ultrabook/Macbook look and feel 🍏. Measuring 13.94 x 9.69 x 0.59-0.69 inches, it’s also the exact same thickness as last year’s model, and weighs the same at 3.4 lbs / 1.95kg.

Asus didn’t need to slim down its G16—it was already one of the slimmest machines on the market, matching Razer’s new Blade 16. 💻✨ It’s a sleek machine that can easily fit into productivity scenarios and also run your favorite games 🎮🔥. In fact, the only thing that separates the 2025 Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 from its predecessor at a glance is that Copilot key on the keyboard. 🤖🖱️

The keyboard sits atop a sizable touchpad, centered between the wrist rests to prevent accidental clicks when working at an angle. ☝️👌 There's a bit more flex in these palm rest areas than I experienced on this year's Razer Blade 16, though the keyboard itself feels snappy. 🎯⌨️

The overall build quality feels similar to Razer's, but not as luxurious. You get a CNC-milled chassis made of aluminum alloy, available in Eclipse Gray or Platinum White (I'm testing the former). 🏗️🎨 It's a solid machine, but the top lid has more flex than Razer's sturdy build, and the display wobbles considerably more when opened. 📱🔧

It's not lacking in build quality, and it doesn't command the same high price tag as a Razer machine, but it just doesn't reach the same ultra-premium level as its main competitor. 💰⚖️

Screen

Asus faces some stiff competition 🎮. The Razer Blade 16 claims to have the best display I've used on a gaming laptop, and the Zephyrus G16 fails to challenge that title. In isolation, this is still an impressive OLED panel, with 100% of DCI-P3 coverage, 500 nits of brightness, and a 1M:1 contrast ratio.

This comes in a standard 240Hz QHD+ display, with Dolby Vision HDR and Nvidia G-Sync built in. It's sharp, vivid, and lifelike in its color representation, but doesn't offer the same vibrant impact as the Razer display. However, I did notice less reflection on the Asus device, with a less glossy panel offering better glare resistance in brighter lighting conditions 🌞.

Also, I was surprised to see something I haven't seen in a long time: a moving screensaver 😮. This is part of the OLED protection of the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16, avoiding the image burn-in that sometimes occurs with these types of screens when they are left on a static image for too long.

It was nice to see a screensaver again after all these years, but there are more high-tech measures in place as well. The machine uses a pixel-shifting process to slightly shift elements on the screen when they're static, maintaining that protection even if you decide to keep your screen always on.

This is enabled in Armoury Crate, along with a setting to prevent the flickering sometimes seen on OLED panels when running in low light 💡.

Ports

In total, you have three options for a video connection 📺: a HDMI 2.1 and Thunderbolt 4 on the left, and a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C with DisplayPort on the right, along with two connections USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A (one on each side). These are complemented by a card reader UHS-II SD on the right and an audio jack of 3.5mm on the left 🎧.

It's great to have options USB-A and USB-C on both sides, although keep in mind that a docking station can only be connected on the left ⚡. Also, Thunderbolt 4 offers slightly faster and more reliable transfers compared to relying on USB4 of the Razer Blade 16, although you sacrifice one of the Blade's three USB-A connections in the process 🔄.

Keyboard and touchpad

Asus has slightly widened the key spacing on the new ROG Zephyrus G16, with a 1.7mm key travel distance that now perfectly matches the 1.7mm key travel, creating a more balanced and comfortable keyboard overall. 🎮 I had no issues with the tighter spacing of the previous model, and in daily use I didn't notice much of a difference. However, the arrow keys are still reduced by half, which limits precision when using them. ⬅️➡️

Beneath the keys, you'll find a set of very lively switches, which offer satisfying travel and crisp feedback. 🚀 I was able to maintain my usual laptop typing speed and appreciated the crisp feel. However, Asus falls a bit short of Razer's premium finish. The switches aren't as rich or satisfying as the Blade 16 2025's new scissor switches, lacking the firmness I appreciated so much in the Blade update. ✍️🔝

Additionally, the keyboard features per-key RGB backlighting, displaying bold, vibrant colors in a wide variety of customizable patterns. 🌈 While it's not as crisp or bold as Razer's and features a bit more keycap bleeding, it's still impressive, even with long keycaps. 💡

As with the previous model, we have dedicated volume buttons, a microphone mute button, and a separate launcher for Armoury Crate. These macro buttons can be customized with the laptop's software and are aligned with the glass power key on the right. 🔊🤫⚙️ This selection of additional controls is very useful, although it's important to note that the keyboard doesn't include playback options, which makes it a bit more difficult to listen to music while working with the Zeph. 🎧🎶

The generously sized touchpad feels smooth and responsive, with no drag or unwanted clicks. Its rebound is firm and controlled, with a satisfying click when pressed firmly, and tactile clicks always responded instantly in my tests. 🖱️👍

Performance

I will start this section by saying that the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 It offers enough speed and stability to play confidently in a slim form factor 🎮✨. However, it's not the best native performance on the market, not by a long shot.

The RTX 5080 Under the hood of my test unit it ran beautifully in lighter experiences, and achieved impressive frame rates when DLSS It was left completely free 🚀, but its native performance in more demanding activities was disappointing 😕.

To resolution FHD, the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 was positioned noticeably below the RTX 4090 Razer Blade 16 in the tests of Shadow of the Tomb Raider, although it impressively surpassed the RTX 5090 this year 🏆.

The same story was repeated in Total War: Three Kingdoms 🎮; The RTX 5080 couldn't quite beat the RTX 4090 in native rendering, but it did outperform previous-gen machines with similar form factors. However, its performance isn't as strong as the Razer's in benchmark tests.

The story changes when the GPU has something more substantial to process. Zephyrus G16 of 2025 sank to the bottom of the list in the tests of Returnal at 1920 x 1200p, barely managing to exceed 100 fps in Ultra settings 🌟.

Cyberpunk 2077 showed a 24% decrease in performance of the RTX 5080 compared to the RTX 5090, and the system struggled to keep up in Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered and Black Myth Wukong ⚔️.

I'm not surprised, I didn't expect a machine with an RTX 5080 to outperform one with an RTX 5090, but comparisons to last year's numbers warrant a little more attention.

I said in my Blade 16 review that this generation isn't about hitting higher TGPs and faster frame rates; it's about making the gaming experience more efficient and portable 🚀. That's where DLSS performance comes in.

In full native rendering at RT Ultra, he Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 is just around the 60fps in resolution QHD+ 🎮. If you activate Quality Super Resolution For extra shine, that figure drops to 48fps. However, I was able to have a much higher quality experience and achieve smooth frame rates of 136fps with the new generation of DLSS quick activation ⚡.

As in the Blade 16, there is a bit of ghosting around certain fast-moving neon signs, but this isn't the desktop market we're talking about 💻. For a gaming laptop that delivers such compelling graphics at these speeds, some sacrifices have to be made. The difference between gaming laptops and gaming PCs is that laptop lovers have chosen to prioritize the portability on pure performance; we're now starting to get closer to having it all 🚀.

Scores improved by DLSS do not exceed those of the RTX 5090 of the Razer Blade 16, but they give us a good insight into what the RTX 5080 can do in a slim chassis 🖥️. The Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 of 2025 suffered a fall of 22% in performance with a RTX 5080 compared to the score of Cyberpunk 2077 of the Blade 16. That compares to the two-run rates set for Super Performance and frame generation activated.

Still, it left me with frame rates hovering around 200fps, something that would not have been possible with the previous generation of mobile GPUs 🔥.

Unfortunately, I fear that some of the G16's true potential has been limited by the Intel processor under the hood ⚙️. While it achieves higher scores than last year's Ultra model 📈, it still falls far short of the benchmarks of the powerful and well-regarded i9-14900HX and AMD's specialized AI chips 🤖.

I ran all of the above tests in Turbo mode ⚡, a performance preset that unlocks everything to run at its best 🚀 – though it generally consumes more power 🔋 and increases fan noise 🌬️. These fans can speed up during high load, kicking on only when needed and turning off afterward, helping maintain a balance between power and comfort 🛠️.

While they aren't the quietest fans I've tested 🤫, they are less intrusive than other models and a bit more noticeable than Razer's 🎧. During testing, my CPU maintained an average temperature between 86 and 91 degrees 🌡️, while the GPU hovered between 70 and 74 degrees at its hottest point 🔥.

This performance is excellent for a machine that doesn't blow air directly into your ears and still offers smooth, uninterrupted operation 🎮✅.

Should you buy the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 2025?

The Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 is still one of the most expensive slim gaming laptops on the market 💸, but if you’re looking for an ideal hybrid for work and play, it definitely fits the bill 🎮💻. While the RTX 5080 I tested isn’t quite on the level of the Razer Blade 16’s RTX 5090 ⚡, it still delivers solid gaming performance on both native and DLSS-intensive rendering settings 🚀.

If you'd rather not use Nvidia's extra features to boost frame rates, the power of this 2025 generation may feel a little more limited 📉. On the other hand, the RTX 4080 and RTX 4090 configurations from the previous model maintain the same sleek aesthetics, compact design, vibrant OLED display, and good port selection 🔥. This means you may get a better value if you opt for last year's versions that are still available 🏷️.

Plus, the Zephyrus line tends to be a bit cheaper than Razer's Blade 16 range in the US 🇺🇸, so if you're looking to invest in a next-gen laptop with an OLED display and a slim, portable design, this option is definitely something you should consider 🤩.

Ultimately, if money is no object and you want the best possible gaming experience, especially with DLSS enabled to maximize performance, the Razer Blade 16 is still the best choice 🏆✨.

How the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 was tested

He Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 It was used both individually and integrated into a monitor set for two weeks. ⏳ During this period, it was possible to directly compare it with the new Razer Blade 16. 🆚

Mainly, titles such as Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and Fallout 4, but tests were also carried out with popular and demanding games such as Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Total War: Three Kingdoms, Returnal, Cyberpunk 2077, Black Myth Wukong and Horizon Zero Dawn: Remastered. 🎮🔥

In addition to these gaming performance tests, specific graphics tests were applied using 3D Mark and CPU-centric benchmarks with PC Mark 10, to provide a comprehensive and detailed assessment of the team's performance. 💻🚀