I spent a month with the RTX 5080-equipped Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 — here's why it falls short

To say that I was hyped to finally get my hands on the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 with its super-powered Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 is an understatement.

You see, I've always been a fan of ROG's slick and slim 16-inch gaming laptop lineup, and even while last year's Zephyrus G16 missed the mark, its previous M16 models I've tested have always had a special place in my gamer-centric heart. With this year's beast, I expected a big comeback.

Sporting the latest Intel Core i9 285H processor, the might of an RTX 5080 GPU, an always handy 32GB of DDR5 RAM and a spacious 2TB of space, what's not to like? On paper, this machine should blast through AAA games and demanding creator apps alike — and for the most part, it does.

But as I was happily slaying demons in Doom: The Dark Ages on Ultra settings with frame rates peaking over 200 FPS alongside the MSI Stealth A16 AI+ with an RTX 5070 Ti, it hit me: there was a minimal gap in performance.

For a high-end gaming laptop that will set you back $3,399 / £3,399, a far higher cost than many other gaming laptop options with great performance (*ahem* Asus ROG Zephyrus G14), this isn't a good look. And the testing I've done so far backs this up.

Let me be clear, this is one powerful rig that can keep up with the best gaming laptops, but from what I've seen so far, it falls short of expectations. Let's dive into it.

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025): Cheat sheet

• What is it? A 16-inch premium gaming laptop boasting the latest RTX 50-series power.
• Who is it for? Die-hard gaming enthusiasts and creators who have money to burn.
• What does it cost? The Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) will set you back a hefty $3,399 in the U.S. and £3,399 in the U.K.
• What do we like? This is one stylishly sleek and portable 16-inch gaming laptop with a gorgeous OLED panel, with great audio to boot. It offers plenty of power to breeze through multiple demanding tasks...
• What don’t we like? ...but for the its high price compared to other laptops that offer similar performance, it's not enough. Plus, I expected its keyboard to feel a tad more premium.

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025): Specs

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025): The ups

As I expected, Asus has nailed nearly every aspect of its 2025 ROG Zephyrus G16. Hardly a surprise, seeing as it brings over all the best parts of last year's model, including its stellar minimalist design (with a dash of that gaming aesthetic), fantastic OLED panel and more.

A design that's still on trend

That smokin' utilitarian aesthetic of the ROG Zephyrus G16 makes a welcome return in the latest model, and I'm not complaining. It's a unassuming style for a gaming laptop I wish I'd see more of compared to some of the gaudy look of other gamer-focused machines.

It means I'd happily take this out in a public setting or office without being stereotyped as a "gamer who dares," as Asus puts it. Whether it comes in its slick Eclipse Gray or Platinum White colorway (I'm a fan of the former), this is one of the best-looking laptops I've got a hold of.

Yes, its aluminum alloy, matte finish and silver LED-riddled streak on its lid that lights up with pre-programmed animations make for a premium-looking (and feeling) chassis, but its sleek, lightweight approach makes this an amazingly portable 16-inch laptop.

I took the Zephyrus G16 on my trip to to Taipei for Computex 2025 and I had no problems slipping this in and out of my laptop bag or carrying it around with me everywhere. I mean, it weighs even less than the 16-inch MacBook Pro, and that says a lot considering that's made to be a portable powerhouse.

The Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 is as slick and stylish than ever, and I hope it's a design the continues to trend.

Big, glorious OLED

The gorgeous 16-inch ROG Nebula OLED display also deserves high praise, with eye-catching details thanks to its WQXGA (2560 x 1600) resolution and super-smooth visuals that its 240Hz refresh rates show off. Playing graphic-intensive games and watching blockbusters on this panel is a treat.

I decided to throw on Netflix's sci-fi anthology series "Love, Death and Robots," a favorite of mine with episodes that boast some of the best visual animations I've seen in a show, to put the Zephyrus G16's display to the test.

After watching "Spider Rose," I was blown away by the lifelike details of the tech-enhanced Rose, along with lighting that exposed her mechanized body, and the bulging, alien-looking dark eyes of the cute Little Nose for Profit.

It helps that colors on display are true to form and the screen offers a good amount of brightness (rated at 500 nits). This also came across in the games I played, including the cybernetic-fueled skyline of Night City in Cyberpunk 2077.

It's a game that shows off Nvidia's RTX 50-series at its finest, with DLSS 4, Multi Frame Gen, ray tracing and the like showing off glorious, smooth veiws. But that's all for naught if a display can't capture it, but the laptop's OLED panel and 240Hz refresh rate can match what's being processed.

Oh, and its four-speaker setup also enhances your entertainment of choice, with a good "thump" in the bass and distict mids and highs.

All in all, this is one of the finest displays you'll find on a gaming laptop — so much so that I didn't need to use one of the best gaming monitors to give visuals a boost.

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025): The downs

This is a tricky one. While this is definitely one of the more powerful "next-gen" laptops I've used this year, it's not by much. Factoring in its price, the benefit of the latest Intel processor combined with the power of an RTX 50-series GPU doesn't deliver the performance gains that make it work it.

A less-than-satisfying keyboard

This isn't a big pain point, as the ROG Zephyrus G16's keyboard does a fine job for typing long-form articles and gaming, and I adore the large touchpad with a smooth glass surface.

But the keyboard should feel more premium and less, well, plasticky at this price. Apparently, this is a redesigned board, one that makes the chassis cooler and keeps your fingers more comfortable for longer game sessions, along with 12% larger keycaps.

That last bit may have slightly worked against it. At first, typing felt off, as I was making typos and missing keys that I wouldn't normally do, even on the best gaming keyboards. I got better over time, but it s small nuisance worth noting, especially on a board that doesn't have the satisfying premium feel on a laptop at this price.

All this for how much?

Considering its only the next step down compared to an RTX 5090-powered laptop, like the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 and HP Omen Max 16, I didn't think it could match that kind of performance, but I also thought it wouldn't be too far behind.

Yes, this system allowed me to blaze through work and entertainment all at once, with over 20 Chrome tabs open while I listening to music on Spotify with Cyberpunk 2077 running in the background. All without fan speeds taking off, too.

Apparently, though, the combined strength of an Intel Core Ultra 9 285H and an RTX 5080 doesn't fare much better than what's found in the MSI Stealth A16 AI+ — which is a sorry sight to see.

Going through the Geekbench 6 benchmark, it falls behind in the single-core results but at least makes up for it in the multicore numbers. That's especially true when compared to the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370-equipped Stealth A16 AI+, but not by much. As you'll find in the HP Omen 16 Max with an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX, there's a significant gap.

This may show that the "HX" in Intel's chip does make a staggering difference, but even when moving onto the GPU AI benchmark, the RTX 5080 pales in comparison against the RTX 5090-powered ROG Strix Scar 18, and isn't much better than the RTX 5070 Ti.

Sadly, it even falls behind in the handbrake test, being the slowest out of the lot. Again, this aren't terrible results, but you'd be forgiven to think that numbers should be a lot higher.

These results are reflected in gaming, too, as I tested Doom: The Dark Ages at Ultra Nightmare settings at 1600p on both the ROG Zephyrus G16 and Stealth A16 AI+. Whether it was with DLSS off or switch on with x4 multi-frame generation, the difference in frame rates are minimal.

More games need to be tested, but at the very least, the ROG Zephyrus G16 pumped out commendable results when testing Cyberpunk 2077 at Ultra settings with DLSS turned off. Still a significant drop compared to an RTX 5090's raw power, but a step up from an RTX 5070 Ti — as it should be.

With DLSS switched on, I got an average benchmark of 113 FPS. That's great power for a gaming laptop to pump out, especially at maxed out settings on one of the most demanding games out there. And yes, competitive shooters like Marvel Rivals saw FPS skyrocket well past the 200 FPS mark.

But here's the kicker: this laptop costs $3,399 / £3,399. Compared to the MSI Stealth A16 AI+ (from $2,899) and ROG Zephyrus G14 (from $1,799), it looks like your money could be better saved on similar performance elsewhere.

Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025): Verdict

It appears the past is repeating itself. Much like last year, the 2025 Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 can't seem to bring out the potential of what it boasts under the hood. Don't get me wrong, this is still a powerful laptop, but not as powerful as I would hope for premium laptop that costs this much.

Asus still strikes gold in terms of its wonderfully eye-catching and portable design, amazing 16-inch OLED display and overall usability, as this machine has the performance to handle everything you throw at it. But in terms of value, you'll find similar performance in much more affordable machines.

My fan boy days over the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 aren't over, as there's still a lot to love about this laptop that gamers and creators alike would enjoy. But it may be worth setting your sights on the even more impressive Asus ROG Zephyrus G14.