Asus’s ROG Zephyrus gaming laptops have always stood out from the crowd. Unlike many flashy gaming machines, they sport a subtle elegance that makes them equally at home in a professional business meeting as they are at an intense esports tournament. The Zephyrus series embodies a new era of thinner, lighter notebooks designed to deliver high-end performance without the bulky aesthetics typically associated with powerful gaming rigs.
Back in May, the Taiwanese tech giant updated its ROG gaming laptop range, introducing models equipped with Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 50 series GPUs across their 14-inch and 16-inch offerings. At the time of the 2025 lineup’s debut, Asus reported record-high pre-orders, signaling a strong market appetite for these cutting-edge devices, despite their premium average price point of around Rs. 2.5 lakh.
However, Asus continues to sell its 2024 ROG Zephyrus G14 and G16 laptops. These models boast impressive OLED displays, AI-ready processors, and the same elegant aluminum-body design. While the 2025 iterations undeniably bring graphical enhancements, the previous year’s models remain highly competitive in almost every other aspect. We put the 2024 Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 GA605 through its paces, using it for both daily productivity and demanding gaming sessions. Even more than a year post-launch, this laptop proves to be a remarkably versatile performer. But with newer models now available, is it still a wise investment in 2025? Here’s what our extensive testing revealed:
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 2024 Design: Elegance Meets Professionalism
- Dimension – 354 x 246 x 149 ~ 164 mm
- Weight – 1.85kg
- Colour – Silver
Visually, the 2024 Zephyrus G16 is nearly identical to its 2025 counterpart. Its compact appearance for a 16-inch laptop is surprisingly deceptive, and the aluminum construction contributes to its remarkably light weight of just 1.8kg. This slim and light design is complemented by a minimalist aesthetic, with the only overt gaming characteristic being a customizable diagonal lightbar. This distinctive lightbar is also present on the 2025 G14 and G16 models.
The diagonal lightbar, while a signature ROG element, feels somewhat out of place on the Zephyrus G16’s otherwise professional design.
Ultimately, the lightbar serves primarily as brand identification and doesn’t quite align with the laptop’s sophisticated, office-friendly aesthetic.
The ROG Zephyrus G16 includes a proprietary charging port alongside modern USB options.
The laptop boasts a robust build, allowing for easy one-handed lid opening. The spacious trackpad is flanked by ample palm-rest areas, ensuring comfort during extended typing sessions. Ports are thoughtfully arranged along the left and right sides: a proprietary charging port, an HDMI 2.1 port, USB 4 Type-C and USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, and a 3.5mm combo audio jack on the left; and a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port, and an SD card reader on the right.
Cooling vents are positioned on the back and rear edge, which restricts the hinge’s movement to 130 degrees. However, for a 16-inch laptop, this limitation is minor, as it’s unlikely to be used in deeply reclined positions.
The Zephyrus G16 features strategically placed vents on its back and rear edge for efficient cooling.
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 2024 Display: OLED Splendor
- Size and type – 16-inch OLED HDR panel, response time 0.2ms
- Resolution – 2.5K (2560 x 1600, WQXGA), 16:10 aspect ratio
- Refresh rate – 240Hz
The G16’s standout feature is undoubtedly its breathtaking OLED display. While its glossy finish can be reflective in bright environments, the screen’s ability to produce incredibly vibrant colors with 100 percent DCI-P3 coverage is truly exceptional. This 16-inch display is perfect for cinematic experiences and gaming, delivering profound blacks and exceptionally sharp visuals.
With a brightness reaching approximately 400 nits, particularly with HDR active, the display is more than sufficient for indoor use. Since a 16-inch laptop isn’t typically carried outdoors, its performance is ideal for both home and office settings. It also supports Dolby Vision HDR, G-Sync/Adaptive-Sync, and a fluid 240Hz refresh rate, making it an outstanding choice for serious gamers.
The Zephyrus G16’s 2.5K OLED panel is a major highlight, offering superb visual fidelity.
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 2024: Keyboard, Touchpad, Speakers, and Webcam
- Keyboard – Backlit chiclet keyboard with 1-zone RGB, Copilot key
- Speakers – Quad speaker (dual force woofer) system with Smart Amplifier technology, 2 tweeters, Dolby Atmos
- Webcam: –1080P FHD IR Camera with Windows Hello support
The full-size keyboard on the 2024 Zephyrus G16 exhibits minimal flex, providing an almost perfect typing experience for everyday tasks. The keys offer excellent travel and tactile feedback, all while maintaining a pleasantly quiet sound profile. This compact keyboard design features wide speaker grilles on either side, and there’s ample room to rest your palms beside the generously sized trackpad.
The Zephyrus G16’s keyboard features single-zone RGB lighting.
Beyond the standard keyboard layout, you’ll find dedicated keys for volume control, mute, and ROG functions at the top. The single-zone RGB LED backlighting on the silver keyboard body offers a more subdued effect. The expansive glass touchpad is highly convenient, though clicking near its corners required slightly more force than ideal.
The laptop’s speakers deliver rich, clear, and deep audio, making them perfectly suitable for watching movies without needing external speakers. The 1080p webcam performs as expected, and Windows Hello support ensures quick and secure logins.
The Zephyrus G16 boasts a generously sized glass touchpad.
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 2024 Software: The Windows Ecosystem
- OS – Windows 11 Home
- Other Features – MyAsus, Armoury Crate
The Windows experience on this device holds few surprises. Windows 11 comes pre-loaded with Copilot+ features like Studio Effects, Live Captions, and Cocreator, all powered by AMD’s XDNA Neural Processing Unit, which delivers up to 50 TOPS. Personally, I haven’t found much practical use for AI features on any device, be it mobile or PC. However, these tools could be invaluable for creators who have integrated AI into their professional workflows.
The laptop includes a preinstalled version of Office Home and Student, along with a three-month subscription to PC Game Pass for accessing a library of titles. Consistent with other ROG laptops, the G16 also features Asus’ Armoury Crate software. This robust utility offers extensive customization options, including lightbar configurations, RGB lighting adjustments, various power profiles, and more. Windows itself remains a mixed bag; the frequent updates, minor glitches, and occasional bugs are widely accepted trade-offs for the operating system’s unparalleled flexibility.
Armoury Crate provides powerful customization tools for the Zephyrus G16.
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 2024 Performance: Exceedingly Capable
- Processor – AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370
- RAM – 32GB LPDDR5X
- Storage – 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD
- GPU – Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 (8GB GDDR6)
The 2024 Zephyrus G16 truly excels in performance, thanks to AMD’s powerful Strix Point processor and a generous 32GB of memory. The Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 is more than capable of handling virtually any task. While the GeForce RTX 4070 is a mid-range GPU, it comfortably runs most new triple-A games at 2K resolution with low to medium settings, and effortlessly handles older titles at higher graphical fidelities. Here are some key benchmark scores:
| Benchmark | Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 2024 |
|---|---|
| Cinebench R23 single core | 1,999 |
| Cinebench R23 multi-core | 19,270 |
| Geekbench 6 single core | 2,903 |
| Geekbench 6 multi-core | 14,938 |
| Geekbench AI (quantised) | 5,570 |
| Geekbench GPU | 1,08,715 |
| PC Mark 10 | 7,608 |
| 3D Mark Steel Nomad | 1,837 |
| 3D Mark Speed Way | 1,919 |
The Armoury Crate app provides four distinct power profiles for the 2024 Zephyrus G16: Silent, Performance, Turbo, and Manual. In Turbo and Manual modes, the CPU can reach a maximum TDP of 80W, while the GPU is capped at 105W TGP. Turbo mode is perfect for demanding tasks and gaming, though the cooling fans can become noticeably loud. For typical light to moderate use, Silent and Performance modes offer a better balance.
When used on a flat surface, the laptop does experience thermal management challenges under heavy loads. Its sleek design means the G16 heats up rapidly and can throttle during intense gaming or benchmarking. Using an angled stand would likely improve heat dissipation.
The ROG Zephyrus G16 confidently handles even the most demanding triple-A games.
Despite featuring last year’s mid-tier GeForce RTX 4070 GPU, the Zephyrus G16 delivers impressive gaming performance. Across several triple-A titles, I consistently achieved framerates above 60fps by adjusting the graphics settings. For example, in Horizon Forbidden West, I saw 70-75fps at 2K resolution with ‘very high’ graphical presets. Reducing the resolution to 1440p and tweaking some of the most demanding settings further boosted performance, maintaining framerates consistently above 85fps. Shadow of the Tomb Raider, an older and less demanding game, ran smoothly above 90fps at highest settings and 2K resolution. Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut also performed well, hitting 70-75fps on Very High settings. For indie games, the G16 easily surpassed 120fps.
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 2024 Battery: Decent, Not Exceptional
- Capacity – 90Whr
- Charging –200W AC adapter
As expected from a gaming laptop, the 2024 G16’s battery life is its least impressive aspect. During gaming sessions in Turbo mode with about 75 percent screen brightness, I managed between 1 to 1.5 hours of use. In typical usage, with 50 percent screen brightness and Wi-Fi enabled, the laptop lasted approximately 4 hours while I worked with multiple tabs open in Microsoft Edge. A full charge with the 200W adapter took just over 2 hours. The laptop features a proprietary square charging port, but it also supports Power Delivery charging via its USB Type-C port.
The ROG Zephyrus G16 is equipped with a 90Wh battery.
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 2024 Verdict: Is It Still a Smart Buy?
So, the critical question remains: is the 2024 ROG Zephyrus G16 still a worthwhile purchase in 2025? The answer largely depends on your specific needs and budget. Last year’s G16 features an outstanding processor, which is even carried over into some of the 2025 ROG Zephyrus models. It also boasts the same brilliant 2.5K OLED display as the newer G16. However, its main drawback lies in the GPU department; the GeForce RTX 4070 is a significant step down from the 2025 G16’s RTX 5080 GPU. But this cutting-edge hardware comes with a substantially higher price tag.
The 2025 ROG Zephyrus G16 is priced at Rs. 3,49,990 in India. In contrast, you can acquire last year’s top-end 16-inch model for Rs. 2,39,990, with the GPU being the primary difference. If screen size isn’t a top priority, the smaller and lighter ROG Zephyrus G14 2025 offers a more powerful RTX 5070 Ti, a sharper 14-inch 3K OLED display, and the same AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor, all for Rs. 2,79,990. Despite these newer alternatives, the 2024 G16, with its expansive display and robust internal components, continues to be a strong contender for both creative professionals and avid gamers looking for excellent value.