Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 (2022) review. Asus zephyrus m16 2022
A heavyweight gaming laptop with lightweight design.
Pros
- Slimline, portable design
- High-end gaming performance
- Attractive display and speaker system
- Lots of customization features
Cons
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Two-minute review
Here is the Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 (2022) configuration sent to TechRadar for review:
CPU: Intel Core i9-12900H 2.5GHz (14-core, 24MB cache, up to 5GHz) Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Laptop (8GB DDR6) RAM: 32GB DDR5, 4800MHz (16GB onboard, 16GB SO-DIMM) Screen: 16.0-inch, WQXGA (2,560 x 1,600), IPS, 165Hz refresh, 3ms response Storage: 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD Ports: 1x Thunderbolt 4, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, 1x HDMI 2.0b, 1x 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack, 1x Gigabit Ethernet, 1x card reader (microSD) Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6e, Bluetooth 5.2 Camera: 720p FaceTime HD webcam Weight: 4.4 pounds (2.0kg) Size: 13.98 x 9.57 x 0.78 inches (355 x 243 x 19.9mm)
We liked the 15.6-inch Zephyrus M15 that we reviewed a couple of years ago, which provided good gaming performance and an attractive slimline design at a competitive price. That model was succeeded by last year’s 16-inch Asus ROG Zephyrus M16, which has now received a Rapid update with this new 2022 edition.
The Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 (2022) is a little larger than its predecessor, measuring 19.9mm thick and weighing 2.0kg, compared to 18.9mm and 1.9kg for the M15. That’s still a good weight for a powerful 16-inch laptop such as this, though, so you shouldn’t have too much trouble carrying it with you when you need to leave home.
And when it comes to gaming performance, the Zephyrus M16 leaves its predecessor trailing in its wake. This 2022 model now steps up to a 12th generation Intel Core i9-2900H processor, which boasts no less than 14 processor cores, which includes eight ‘efficiency’ cores that run at 3.8GHz for less demanding tasks, and six ‘performance’ cores that can hit 5.0GHz for gaming and other high-end tasks.
That’s backed up by an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Laptop GPU, and an attractive 16-inch ‘Nebula’ display with 2,560 x 1,600 resolution, 16:10 aspect ratio and 165Hz refresh rate, which provides a really crisp, colorful image.
The display also supports Dolby Vision for games and video, and the M16 houses a six-speaker sound system that supports Dolby Atmos too. The built-in speakers do provide plenty of volume, and sound attractively full on mids and higher frequencies. The bass is a little thin, though, so it’s still worth using a good set of headphones or external speakers if you want to hear some big booming explosions during your online adventures.
The Asus Zephyrus M16 is well connected, with HDMI for an external display, along with one Thunderbolt 4 and one USB-C port, both of which also support DisplayPort video output as well. There are two USB-A ports, a combo audio connector, and a micro-SD card reader. The M16 includes the latest Wi-Fi 6E wireless technology, but there’s an Ethernet port as well if you prefer a lag-free wired connection for your gaming sessions.
Needless to say, this high-end gaming laptop is pretty expensive, with for the Intel Core i9 version of the Asus Zephyrus M16 starting at 2149.99 (approx. £1765).
To be fair, that’s still in line with rivals such as the Gigabyte Aorus 15P, although it’s disappointing to see that Asus only provides a rather grainy 720p webcam that seems a bit out of place in such a high-quality laptop.
Price and availability
The 2022 edition of the Asus Zephyrus M16 is available with 12th generation Intel i7 and i9 processors, and a variety of Nvidia GeForce RTX graphics cards.
Unfortunately, you can’t buy it directly from Asus, so you’re left to scour various online retailers to find a model with the specification you require. We reviewed the i9 model, which uses an imposing 14-core i9-12900H processor and starts at 2,149.99 (around £1,750, AU3,000) with 16GB RAM, 1TB solid-state storage and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Laptop GPU with 8GB video memory.
However, the main model currently on sale in the UK doubles up to 32GB memory and 2TB SSD, bringing the total to a weighty £2,598.98 (around 3,500, AU4,700).
It’s also worth noting that last year’s model, with 11th gen processors, is still widely available online, so you should double-check the specification before breaking out your credit card. And, at the time of this review, Asus’ Australian web site hadn’t yet updated the M16 at all, and was still selling the older model with 11th gen processors and Windows 10 Home.
Zephyrus M16 3070ti. Too hot and loud?
Design
The Asus Zephyrus M16 isn’t quite as sleek and stylish as the earlier M15. In fact, it initially looks rather sombre, with a matte-black casing and rigidly rectangular design that seem almost boringly functional.
But Asus gets the basics right, keeping the weight down to just 2kg, despite the powerful hardware and cooling system concealed inside. The narrow bezels around the screen also help to keep the size down, and at 355mm wide, 243mm deep and 19.9mm thick, the overall size of the 16-inch M16 is actually slightly smaller than that of the 15.6-inch M15.
And, of course, the Asus Zephyrus M16 has the obligatory flashing lights and eye-candy, required of a good gaming laptop. As well as providing a variety of lighting effects for the keyboard backlight, Asus’ Armoury Crate app also allows you to select a number of wallpaper images that have animated lighting effects, and can sync lighting with other Asus devices such as its gaming keyboards and mice.
The keyboard itself feels firm enough to cope with some pressure during hectic gaming sessions, but the keys also feel smoothly responsive when typing, so you can get some more serious work done when you need to. And, along with the usual set of Function keys, the M16 has a small set of four additional keys that you can program using the Armoury app.
Performance
Here’s how the Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 (2022) performed in our suite of benchmark tests: 3DMark: Night Raid: 50,790; Fire Strike: 23,656; Time Spy: 10,299 Cinebench R23 Multi-core: 18,030 points GeekBench 5: 1,964 (single-core); 14,340 (multi-core) PCMark 10 (Home Test): 8,020 points PCMark 10 Battery Life: 4 hours and 12 minutes Battery Life (techradar movie test): 7 hours and 2 minutes Total War: Three Kingdoms (1080p, Ultra): 80 fps; (1080p, Low): 281 fps Metro Exodus (1080p, Ultra): 72 fps; (1080p, Low): 200 fps
The Asus Zephyrus M16 (2022) is certainly expensive, but its combination of 14-core CPU and RTX 3070 Ti laptop GPU really delivers the goods when it comes to gaming performance.
Metro Exodus breezes along at 72fps even on the game’s ‘Ultra’ graphics settings running at 1080p resolution, while Total War: Three Kingdoms fared even better at 80fps on ‘Ultra’. And, as confirmation, the PCMark 10 test suite recorded a score of 8020, and pronounced the M16 to be a top-tier ‘premium gaming PC’.
It did, admittedly, slow down a little when stepping up to the display’s maximum 2560×1600 resolution, with Three Kingdoms falling to 46fps on ‘Ultra’. However, Metro: Exodus on ‘Ultra’ kept up a very respectable 54.5fps and it wouldn’t take too many graphical adjustments to get those scores back up to 60fps, so this really is a no compromise gaming laptop that can still fit into a backpack when you need to hit the road.
The display’s 165Hz refresh rate at 3ms response time works well too, providing a crisp, sharp image for the chaotic eye-candy of Lost Ark (even if it can’t do anything to make the games tedious levelling-up quests any more interesting). Admittedly, there were moments when the cooling fans could be heard right across the room, but that’s because we did allow the Asus Zephyrus M16’s fans to run in ‘turbo’ mode during our tests for maximum cooling.
The fans do their job, though, and we were impressed to find that the base of the laptop never became more than mildly warm even during the most demanding gaming tests. The Armoury app also allows you to configure the performance of GPU and fans to suit different tasks and environments. As well as the ‘turbo’ mode that we used for testing, there’s a ‘silent’ mode that reduces CPU and GPU performance in order to run as quietly as possible at night or when travelling. There’s also a more balanced ‘performance’ mode, and even a manual option that allows you to create your own performance profiles.
Battery
The downside of the Asus Zephyrus M16’s impressive graphical performance is rather lackluster battery life.
The Asus Zephyrus M16 lasted a mere four hours and 12 minutes when running the PCMark 10 battery test, and even our less demanding video test barely managed to reach the seven hour mark.
So while the M16 is light enough to carry around when you’re travelling, its power-hungry hardware will only manage a few hours of entertainment on long journeys.
Buy it if.
You’re an eSports expert Cruising through our most demanding gaming tests at well over 70fps, the Asus Zephyrus M16 is a no-holds-barred gaming laptop that will allow you to keep up with your online competition.
You want control The Armoury Crate app provides a wide range of options for fine-tuning CPU and GPU performance, along with the fans and cooling system, and some fancy ‘Aura’ lighting effects.
You need portability Despite its heavyweight hardware, the Asus Zephyrus M16 weighs just 2.0kg, so it’s a great option if you need a laptop that you can go travelling with.
Don’t buy it if.
You’re a casual gamer The performance of the Zephyrus M16 is certainly impressive, but it’s total overkill for casual gamers who just like a spot of Fortnite at the weekends.
You need all-day battery life The Asus Zephyrus M16 is light enough to carry with you when you’re travelling, but battery life is a little disappointing, lasting barely four hours for gaming and seven hours for video playback.
You’re a streamer Despite its high-end price and specification, the M16 bizarrely opts for a cheap and cheerful 720p webcam that provides only modest image quality.
Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 (GU604VY-NM042WS) Review
There’s always that debate about whether you should spend on a gaming laptop or build a powerful gaming rig instead. On the one hand, gaming laptops allow you to play games without issue and even do video editing, rendering, and more wherever you go. The only downside is that most gaming laptops tend to be heavy, and more importantly, very expensive.
On the flip side, for the price of a top-spec gaming laptop, you could have built an all-out gaming PC. This includes your peripherals, etc., and more, and afterward, you’ll probably even have some extra funds left over. But, the problem with a PC is that you can’t really bring your PC wherever you go.
I had that same dilemma when I first got my hand on this new Asus ROG Zephyrus M16. It’s undoubtedly a great gaming laptop, but I just couldn’t justify the price. But, I did have a change of mind after using it for this review. Before that, let’s check out what this laptop is capable of.
Design Construction
The design of the ROG Zephyrus M16 is one that is both subtle and loud at the same time. Subtle when you’re not using it since it features an all-black matte finish, which I really like. It helps the laptop fly under the radar, and if you don’t look at it closely, you won’t even think it’s an ROG laptop. The only distinguishing feature that it has (when powered off) is the small Republic of Gamers badge at the bottom left.
Once you turn it on though, all that subtlety is thrown out the window. The M16 features what Asus calls an AniMe Matrix array that allows users to create vivid animations that they desire. Instead of the traditional ROG logo, we setup ours to have the YugaTech logo flowing. It will certainly catch people’s attention when you’re using it in public.
It’s not limited to logos either. You can change it to match audio, show the system time and do other animations; the possibilities are almost limitless.
The design of the outer panel itself feels nice to the touch. The material Asus used is also smudge resistant, meaning you won’t leave any nasty fingerprints on the case. If you do, they aren’t too obvious unless you look closely.
Open it up, which you can do with just one finger, and you’re greeted by the 16-inch display. Unlike some previous ROG laptops, this one does come with a webcam included, built into the top portion of the screen.
If you’ve ever used an ROG laptop before, the keyboard feels identical to those. It’s nice to the touch, and easy to use. No need to change what isn’t broken anyway. The keys light up too and there are multiple color modes you can choose to fit your ambiance. What Asus did upgrade is the trackpad. It’s bigger than its predecessor, making it easier to use. However, I do wish there was a way to increase the DPI since it’s a bit too slow for my liking. Then again this does come bundled with an ROG mouse, so you can use that instead or any other gaming mouse that suits your hands or gaming needs.
Display Multimedia
The ROG M16 features a 16-inch display with 2K resolution and a 240Hz refresh rate and a 3ms response time. For a built-in monitor, it’s quite fast, making it perfect for those playing competitive games such as Warzone 2, MW2, or Valorant. You won’t really need to plug it into an external monitor, but you can do so if you find the 16-inch display too small for your liking. It also comes built in with NVIDIA G-Sync.
Like the previous ROG Zephyrus models, the screen can still be opened to a full 180 degrees. I found this function quite useful when working inside the car.
As for the display itself, the color is relatively accurate, and the backlight is bright too. In addition, they’re very vivid as well and have great contrast. Together, this makes it easy to game or work under the sun when using the Zephyrus M16.
If you do need to adjust colors, the color gamut can be adjusted easily too via a sub-menu under Armoury Crate. This is especially useful if you’re going to edit photos or videos, and want to get very accurate colors when using the built-in monitor.
What did surprise me while using the Zephryus M16 are the speakers. From my previous experiences, laptop speakers are usually average at best, but the ones on this are quite good. It comes with a 6-speaker setup featuring Dolby Atmos, and they’re quite loud too when on max volume. Although for a more immersive experience, I would recommend still using headphones or connecting it to your room speaker setup.
Performance
Asus offers the ROG Zephyrus M16 with a bunch of specs available, but the unit we have is the range-topping model. It runs the latest Intel i9-13900H chipset along with an NVDIA RTX4090 GPU, 32GB DDR5-4800 RAM x2, and 2TB PCIE 4.0 SSD storage. Essentially, it’s one of the most powerful laptops you can get from the factory today. Since it’s NVIDIA too, you can take advantage of all the NVIDIA functions you would find on your PC here as well.
There are even various GPU modes available via Armour Crate – Ultimate, Standard, Eco Mode, and Optimized (which automatically switches between Standard and Eco Mode for you).
As a result, it can run pretty much any game on the highest settings without any issues such as framerate drops, lags, or the like. For reference, I did play Ace Combat 7 and Need For Speed Unbound on the highest settings available, and I didn’t experience any issues whatsoever. Although the display is a bit smaller than my monitor at home, I did feel like Ace Combat gameplay was smoother here. With the DDR5 RAM and SSD, you also get faster loading times. I’m sure you can also play Warzone 2, and many more too. The best part, you can do so wherever you are.
To give you a better idea, here’s how it scored via 3DMark’s benchmark.
While Asus says the cooling system on the ROG Zephyrus M16 has been upgraded including more fans and larger heatsinks, the laptop still runs very hot when gaming. If you’re using it just to work, it’s fine. But when you’re playing a graphic-intensive game, it becomes very hot to the touch all throughout. It’s so hot you can’t even place it on your lap, so do keep that in mind.
At the same time, I noticed that gaming performance does tend to slow down when the laptop is running on battery power alone. I’m not sure if that’s because of a change in settings, but there was a bit of framerate drop when gaming on battery power alone as compared to being plugged in.
Connectivity Battery Life
If you do need to plug in your USB and more, the Zephyrus M16 comes with a host of ports available. On the left side, there’s a USB3.2 Gen2 Type A, 3.5mm audio jack, HDMI2.1, and even a Thunderbolt 4, while on the right side you’ll find another USB3.2 Gen2 Type A, a USB3.2 Gen 2 Type C, and a MicroSD card slot.
I do wish Asus added a full-size SD card slot along with the microSD slot. I believe videographers and photographers who will be using this laptop for editing will have similar Комментарии и мнения владельцев.
Other connectivity functions include Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2
The battery life on the Zephyrus M16 is a bit lacking for me. It does come standard with a 90WHRs battery pack, but for some reason when I’m not in battery-saving mode, it uses quite a lot of juice fast.
Thankfully, there are multiple ways to charge the laptop. One is through the factory fast charger, which does charge really fast. The other is through the USB-C port; perfect if you weren’t able to bring the charger and all you have is a power bank.
Conclusion
Going back to the question of gaming laptops vs high-end gaming PCs, it all boils down to preference.
If you’re someone who is always on the go, or you don’t have space in your room for a tower case, then you can’t go wrong with the Asus ROG Zephyrus M16. It’s one of the most powerful laptops you can get out of the box today, and it can run most games at the highest settings. At the same time, video editors, graphic designers, and even those in 3D rendering can maximize this laptop to its full extent. It also comes with 2TB of storage already, but if you need more, you can always buy an external SSD.
There is one thing you have to consider though – the price. This particular model GU604VY-NM042WS retails for PHP 339,995, and also includes an ROG backpack, ROG Fusion II 300 Headset, ROG Gladius 3, Type-C PD Adapter, and is pre-installed with Office Home Student 2021.
Yes, it’s a lot of money, but you are getting one fitted with the latest hardware available. That said, if you don’t need the NVIDIA RTX 4090, there are other variants available with only 32GB DDR5 RAM and paired with an NVIDIA RTX 4070 or 4080 for under PHP 250,000. But if you do have the space for a PC rig, and don’t need to game wherever you go, I would still recommend building a PC instead. At least that way, you have more flexibility in what parts to use and how to budget your rig.
Pros: One of the most powerful gaming laptops available today Fast loading speeds Nice, color-accurate display Large storage Multiple ports available
Cons: Very expensive Runs very hot when gaming Not the best battery life
details on the Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 here.
Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 (GU604VY-NM042WS) Specs: 16-inch LED ROG Nebula Display 2560 x 1600 resolution, 240Hz refresh rate G-Sync, Pantone Validated, Dolby Vision HDR Support 13th Gen Intel Core i9-13900H Processor 2.6 GHz NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU 16GB GDDR6 32GB DDR5-4800 SO-DIMM x 2 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD 90Whrs Li-On Battery w/ 280W AC Adapter Windows 11 Home 1x 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack 1x HDMI 2.1 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C support DisplayPort / power delivery / G-SYNC 1x RJ45 LAN port 1x Thunderbolt 4 support DisplayPort 1x HDMI 2.1 FRL 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C support DisplayPort / power delivery 1x Thunderbolt 4 support DisplayPort / power delivery Smart Amp Technology Dolby Atmos AI noise-canceling technology Hi-Res certification Built-in 3-microphone array 2x 2W Tweeter 2x 2W dual-force woofer with Smart Amp Technology 1080P FHD IR Camera Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2 35.5 x 24.6 x 2.11 ~ 2.29 cm (dimensions) 2.30 kg (weight)
Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 2022 – Touched up for the new year
The ROG Zephyrus M16 for 2022 has not changed too much from its 2021 edition, besides accordingly updating to a 12th Gen Intel Core Processor and the newer series of RTX 30 GPUs. Proudly calling itself the world’s first gaming laptop with 4-sided, Super-Narrow Bezels, what else does this laptop have for us?
DESIGN
The Zephyrus series has typically kept to its more low profile style, and it’s the same with the latest iteration of the Zephyrus M16. The RGB elements are kept to a minimum save for the keyboard, making it more subtle and more suited for a professional environment, or simply not wanting to attract too much attention.
The lid is divided by a diagonal line, the upper part bearing the dot matrix design coated in a prismatic film for a rainbow sheen. This also allows for minute colour changes depending on which angle you’re looking at it from. The branding is discreetly on the bottom left for an overall clean design. Simplicity can truly never get old.
The whole package is 1.99cm thick, weighing in at 2.0kg. The 180 degree Ergolift hinge raises the laptop to allow for more airflow and improving cooling performance.
HARDWARE
Connectivity wise, it’s a pretty standard selection:
- 1x 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack
- 1x HDMI 2.0b
- 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A
- 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C support DisplayPort / power delivery
- 1x RJ45 LAN port
- 1x Thunderbolt 4 support DisplayPort / power delivery
- 1 x card reader (microSD) (UHS-II)
There’s support for Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2, so apart from the HDMI being preferably 2.1 instead, it’s pretty satisfactory. You can have up to 2TB of PCIe 2.0 SSD storage, so just chuck everything on this one machine and it’ll be fine.
For visuals, you get a 2K 165Hz, 16:10 3ms IPS screen, with a 94% screen to body ratio. Additionally, its DCI-P3 colour range and Pantone validation, on top of ROG Nebula and Dolby Vision HDR, that’s one screen you can expect some of the most dazzling images possible. That experience is further enhanced with the 6 immersive speakers, dual noise-cancelling woofers and Dolby Atmos, allowing the Zephyrus M16’s audio performance far exceed most typical laptops.
MUX switches are finally available, while the keyboard itself is a Stealth-type with 1.7mm travel distance. The keycaps are bigger as there’s no numpad, which isn’t much of a gripe. The touchpad has increased 20% in size, with smooth controls and even better precision, definitely much appreciated.
PERFORMANCE
The previously mentioned Ergolift hinge adds to the cooling efficiency provided by the 6 heatpipes and liquid metal used for this laptop. However, Turbo mode does unfortunately make the fan go quite loud when you’re settling in for a gaming session, which is fairly typical for most gaming laptops. Fortunately, outside of that, the laptop is pretty silent. Overall, thermals are respectable.
Thanks to the 90Whr battery, non-gaming use will offer up to 6 to 7 hours of battery life. A 240W AC Adapter and 100W PD Charger are provided in the box, for options should you need to be more mobile. If necessary, the Type-C port will let you charge your laptop with a powerbank.
3D MARK:10,649
PCMARK 10: 7,293
If you somehow had any doubt of its performance due to a lighter-weight design, put those aside; this is still a definite powerhouse.
As for gaming, as powerful as it is, 2K 60 FPS isn’t guaranteed if you’ve maxed out All settings. DLSS with medium and/or high should be more than enough.
ASSASSIN’S CREED VALHALLA: 63 FPS (All Max)
Игровой ноутбук с Nebula дисплеем! Обзор ASUS ROG Zephyrus M16 2022
GOD OF WAR: 53 FPS (All Max)
DYING LIGHT 2: ~40 FPS (All Max), ~50FPS (All Max, DLSS Performance)
SPECIFICATIONS
| Windows 11 Home | ||
| 12th Gen Intel Core i9-12900H Processor 2.5 GHz (24M Cache, up to 5.0 GHz, 14 cores: 6 P-cores and 8 E-cores) | 12th Gen Intel Core i7-12700H Processor 2.3 GHz (24M Cache, up to 4.7 GHz, 14 cores: 6 P-cores and 8 E-cores) | |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU, ROG Boost: 1175MHz at 120W (1125MHz Boost Clock50MHz OC, 100W20W Dynamic Boost), 16GB GDDR6 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Laptop GPU, ROG Boost: 1085MHz at 120W (1035MHz Boost Clock50MHz OC, 100W20W Dynamic Boost), 8GB GDDR6 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, ROG Boost: 1475MHz at 120W (1425MHz Boost Clock50MHz OC, 100W20W Dynamic Boost), 6GB GDDR6 |
| ROG Nebula Display, 16-inch WQXGA (2560 x 1600) 16:10 anti-glare display, DCI-P3: 100%, Refresh Rate: 165Hz, Response Time: 3ms, IPS-level, Adaptive-Sync, Pantone Validated, MUX Switch Optimus, Support Dolby Vision HDR: Yes | ||
| 16GB DDR5 on board, 16GB DDR5-4800 SO-DIMM, Max Capacity: 48GB, Support dual channel memory | 8GB DDR5 on board, 8GB DDR5-4800 SO-DIMM, Max Capacity: 40GB, Support dual channel memory | |
| 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 Performance SSD | 1TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 Performance SSD | 512GB M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 Performance SSD |
| 1x 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack, 1x HDMI 2.0b, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C support DisplayPort / power delivery, 1x RJ45 LAN port, 1x Thunderbolt 4 support DisplayPort / power delivery | ||
| Backlit Chiclet Keyboard RGB, Touchpad | ||
| 720P HD IR Camera for Windows Hello | ||
| Smart Amp Technology, Dolby Atmos, AI noise-canceling technology, Hi-Res certification, Built-in array microphone, 2x 2W tweeter, 2x 2W dual-force woofer with Smart Amp Technology | ||
| Wi-Fi 6E(802.11ax)Bluetooth 5.2 (Dual Band) 22;(BT version may change with OS upgrades.) | ||
| 90WHrs, 4S1P, 4-cell Li-ion | ||
| ø6.0, 240W AC Adapter, Output: 20V DC, 12A, 240W, Input: 100~240C AC 50/60Hz universal | TYPE-C, 100W AC Adapter, Output: 20V DC, 5A, 100W, Input: 100~240V AC 50/60Hz universal | ||
| 2.00 Kg (4.41 lbs) | ||
| 35.5 x 24.3 x 1.99 ~ 1.99 cm (13.98″ x 9.57″ x 0.78″ ~ 0.78″) | ||
| BIOS Administrator Password and User Password Protection, Kensington Nano Security Slot /td> | ||
| ROG backpack, ROG Delta headset, ROG Chakram Core mouse P511, TYPE-C, 100W AC Adapter, Output: 20V DC, 5A, 100W, Input: 100~240V AC 50/60Hz universal | ROG backpack, ROG Chakram Core mouse P511, TYPE-C, 100W AC Adapter, Output: 20V DC, 5A, 100W, Input: 100~240V AC 50/60Hz universal | ROG backpack, TYPE-C, 100W AC Adapter, Output: 20V DC, 5A, 100W, Input: 100~240V AC 50/60Hz universal |
CLOSING THOUGHTS
You get the latest CPU and GPU in the market, a pretty good display with accompanying audio performance, good portability thanks to its lightweight design and subtle touches and MUX Switches, the Zephyrus M16 2022 edition is well suited for gamers wanting to be lower-key, and for creative works alike. The upgrades make this laptop a strong recommendation for its overall versatility.
Learn more about the Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 here.
Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 Review: Hit and Miss Performance in a Slim Body
The Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 laptop aces its compact chassis and beautiful screen but has issues when it comes to power.
Cons
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The Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 is Asus’ latest attempt to jump in on the 16:10 laptop display trend, and by that metric, it does an astounding job. Its screen is a large 16 inches diagonally, but the laptop’s chassis is otherwise built for a 15-inch model, which makes for extremely thin bezels and a thin, portable device. The bright screen’s 2560 x 1600 resolution is also beautiful to look at, but when it comes to performance, this laptop has problems with pricing and with living up to cheaper and similarly priced Ryzen competitors.
Despite having a high-power, 11th gen Intel Core i9 processor and an RTX 3060 laptop GPU in our configuration, this laptop was outperformed by rivals across about half of our game testing library. And that makes it a hard sell given that it’s pretty expensive, too.
Specifications
| Intel Core i9-11900H |
| Nvidia RTX 3060 GDDR6 8GB with 1,426 MHz boost clock and 95W TGP |
| 16GB DDR4-3200 |
| 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD |
| 16 inches, IPS, 2560 x 1600, 165Hz |
| 802.11ax Intel Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.1 |
| 1x Thunderbolt 4 |
| 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C |
| 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A |
| 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A |
| 1x MicroSD reader |
| 1x HDMI 2.0 |
| 1x 3.5mm combination headphone/microphone jack |
| 1x RJ-45 Ethernet Connector |
| 90 Whr |
| 240 W |
| Windows 10 Home |
| 13.98 x 9.59 x 0.78 inches (355 x 243.5 x 19.9mm) |
| 4.19 pounds |
| 1,849 |
Design of Asus ROG Zephyrus M16
According to Asus, the ROG Zephyrus M16 offers a 94% screen-to-body ratio with thin bezels and a 16-inch display built into a 15-inch chassis. That gives it slightly more screen space than other, similarly-sized laptops, which tend to opt for 15.6-inch screens. But it’s also still got plenty of ROG-style gamer design work on it, which can look a little cramped on this smaller chassis.
Most of this laptop’s lid is taken up by a diagonal pattern of dots that conceal a silver wave-like pattern that you can only see when looking at them from certain angles. Its sides have large and noticeable vents and also feature the I/O. There’s also LEDs across the back vents to indicate system status. The system’s back vents are also visible from the inside of the laptop, which also has a minor inlet that the keyboard sits inside of, plus top-firing speakers on either side. A bumper on the monitor also lifts the keyboard diagonally up off your desk when you open the lid.
That’s a lot of decoration, and it does run the risk of being gaudy. But this is also a laptop that, by default, flashes its keyboard’s lights every few seconds when asleep. It knows what it’s about, and if you dig that gamer aesthetic, all that extra detailing might appeal to you.
What’s appealing no matter what is the size of this thing. At 13.98 x 9.59 x 0.78 inches large, it’s smaller and much thinner than every similarly specced competitor we tested. The Alienware M15 Ryzen Edition R5, for instance, is 14.02 x 10.73 x 0.9 inches, while the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro is 14.02 x 10.41 x 1.07 inches. The Asus ROG Strix G15 Advantage Edition is a little less long than the Zephyrus M16, measuring 13.94 x 10.2 x 1.07 inches, but it’s bulkier everywhere else.
This is also a small laptop, weighing just 4.19 pounds. That’s easily lighter than the Alienware’s 5.34 pounds and the Legion’s 5.4 pounds. Plus, the ROG Strix G15 Advantage Edition is a hefty 6.61 pounds, which makes the Zephyrus M16 look even more lightweight.
This laptop also has a wide variety of ports, although most are relegated to the laptop’s left side. To start, the left side has the charging port, an HDMI 2.0 connector and an RJ-45 ethernet port that looks a little bulky here. It’s also got a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port, a 3.5mm headphone/microphone jack, a Thunderbolt 4 charging-capable port and a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C connection that can also handle DisplayPort. By contrast, the laptop’s right side has a single USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A USB port and a microSD card reader.
Gaming Performance of Asus ROG Zephyrus M16
The ROG Zephyrus M16 comes equipped with both an Intel Core i9-11900H high power CPU and an RTX 3060 laptop GPU with 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM, a 1,426 MHz boost clock and a 95W TGP. That leaves it in somewhat of a specs middle ground for RTX 3000 series laptops, as it’s got a high-end CPU but a mid-range Ampere GPU.
For instance, in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, the Zephyrus M16 only achieved 69 fps in the game’s pre-built benchmark running in FHD at its highest settings. By contrast, the Alienware M15 Ryzen Edition R5 (Ryzen 7 5800H/RTX 3060) hit 73 fps, and it only gets higher from there. The Lenovo Legion 5 Pro (Ryzen 7 5800H/RTX 3070) hit 80 fps thanks to its higher-end graphics card, and the Asus ROG Strix G15 Advantage Edition (Ryzen 9 5900HX/Radeon RX 6800M) jumped all the way up to 88 fps.
The Zephyrus M16 also ran a little slow in Red Dead Redemption 2’s benchmark running in FHD at medium settings, though it wasn’t our lowest performer. At 58 fps, it just edged out the Alienware M15 Ryzen Edition R5’s 53 fps. Still, the Legion 5 Pro edged it out with 66 fps and the ROG Strix crushed it with 70 fps.
Grand Theft Auto V’s benchmark running at FHD with very high settings saw the Zephyrus M16 running at 86 fps. That’s ahead of the Alienware’s 82 fps and the Legion’s 84 fps, if barely. The ROG Strix still took the lead here, with 98 fps.
Finally, Far Cry: New Dawn is where the Zephyrus M16 actually came out on top. Here, it ran at 84 fps. Meanwhile, the Legion only hit 71 fps, the Alienware pushed up to 79 fps and the ROG Strix barely trailed behind at 81 fps.
Essentially, performance was inconsistent, but typically the Zephyrus’ Intel processor was beaten by Ryzen competitors, even with similar GPUs.
We also ran the Metro: Exodus RTX benchmark 15 times in a row on the Zephyrus M16 to simulate an extended gaming session. Here, the laptop ran at an average 53.51 fps. The CPU clock speed averaged 4.35 GHz while the GPU clock speed averaged 1.40 GHz. The CPU’s temperature was an average of 72.82 degrees Celsius during this test, and the GPU’s temperature was an average 73.98 degrees Celsius.
For a more personal touch, I also played Control on the Zephyrus M16 for a half hour to see how it handles during actual gameplay. Here, I was able to test both FHD gameplay as well as how well the PC holds up at its maximum 2560 x 1600 resolution. Unfortunately, I wasn’t too impressed. At high presets, the game ran between 27. 33 fps at 2560 x 1600 resolution, and turning ray tracing on to its high preset reduced that to a slideshow-like 13. 17 fps. FHD performance was more within my expectations, topping out at 62 fps with ray tracing off and 42 fps with it on. On the plus side, heat was imperceptible through the laptop’s case, and the fan only occasionally got noisy, usually during moments of heavy action and only for a few seconds at a time. Granted, this laptop uses an RTX 3060 and this is a more punishing game, but to both get 60 fps and get the most out of that high resolution display, you’re going to need to adjust your settings down to low presets without ray tracing on. Luckily, while this laptop can’t push 2560 x 1600 medium settings at a consistent 60 fps, the low preset does hit between 70. 80 fps, so you might also be able to get away with a custom configuration that combines medium and low options.
Productivity Performance of Asus ROG Zephyrus M16
The Asus ROG Zephyrus M16’s Intel Core i9-11900H chip gives it exceptional prowess as a productivity machine, although its SSD ran towards the slower end in our tests.
In Geekbench 5, which synthetically benchmarks general PC performance, the Zephyrus M16 scored 1,646 points on single-core tests and 8,495 points on multi-core tests. That’s slightly ahead of all of its competitors. The Alienware M15 Ryzen Edition R5 (Ryzen 7 5800H) topped out at scores of 1,427/7,288, while the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro (Ryzen 7 5800H) was only slightly ahead of it with scores of 1,456/7,342. The Asus ROG Strix G15 Advantage Edition (Ryzen 9 5900HX) came closest to the Zephyrus M16’s numbers, hitting scores of 1,519/7,746.
Our file transfer speed benchmark, where we track how quickly a computer can move 25GB of files, is where the Zephyrus M16 started to slow down, although it wasn’t the most sluggish competitor. It transferred files at a rate of 567.06 MBps, which is much slower than the 832.66 MBps we saw on the Legion and the 874.14 MBps we saw on the Alienware. The ROG Strix was the slowest laptop of this bunch, hitting just 340.68 MBps.
The Zephyrus M16 was also slower than competitors in our Handbrake benchmark, where we track how quickly a computer can transcode a video down from 4K to FHD, though not by much. Here, it completed the task in 7:58, while the Alienware did so in 7:05 and the Legion in 7:06. The ROG Strix was the fastest here, and finished transcoding in 6:57.
Display of Asus ROG Zephyrus M16
The Zephyrus M16 is yet another entrant into the 16:10 laptop club, and gives it a gaming edge with a 2560 x 1600 @ 165Hz IPS panel. I’m a big fan of both this aspect ratio and QHD resolutions on laptops, and this screen was a great reminder of what I like about both.
To test viewing content on the Zephyrus M16, I watched the trailer for The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do it. Here, I found that colors were mildly vivid but that blacks were extremely deep (a must-have for a horror movie). I could see the screen clearly from almost any viewing angle, and I only encountered minor glare when I had the laptop perpendicular to my office window. Drawing my curtain and turning my lights off eliminated that glare entirely, although the screen was so bright regardless that I didn’t feel this was a necessity.
The 16:10 aspect ratio also gave me extra vertical space on my screen, which was convenient for scrolling through webpages to either research articles or even write this review.
Meanwhile, the 165 Hz screen meant I was able to see every one of the about 135.155 fps I was hitting in Overwatch on high settings at 2560 x 1600. Since I couldn’t hit 165Hz on this five year-old title without making some major graphics compromises, 165 Hz might actually have been overkill— a 144 Hz screen might have been more economical. But it should work better with even older titles like Team Fortress 2 or Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Or, if frame rate is always your top priority, you can always play at low settings or even a lower resolution.
Our color and brightness testing coincided with my anecdotal experience. The ROG Zephyrus M16 covered 75.8% of the DCI-P3 spectrum according to our colorimeter. That’s a respectable score, even if the laptop’s competitors beat it. The Alienware M15 Ryzen Edition R5 covered 87.3 percent of the DCI-P3 spectrum, while the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro had a more muted lead at 82%. The Asus ROG Strix G15 Advantage Edition had the closest numbers to the Zephyrus M16, with 76.7% DCI-P3 coverage.
As for brightness, the Zephyrus M16’s recorded 479 nits average only faced major competition from one other laptop: the Legion 5 Pro, which hit 472 nits. Meanwhile, the Alienware had an average 328 nits brightness and the ROG Strix took that number down to 280 nits.
Keyboard and Touchpad on Asus ROG Zephyrus M16
The ROG Zephyrus M16 has a tenkeyless keyboard with 1-zone RGB lighting. Most keys are full-sized, but the arrow keys are half-sized. The keyboard is also raised at an angle when you open the laptop’s lid, to make for a comfortable diagonal typing surface. There’s also dedicated media keys for volume and mic input that sit just above the keyboard, plus a programmable key that, by default, opens the Asus Armoury Crate app.
This laptop’s keycaps use a chiclet style with no detailing aside from on the W, F and J keys, which leads to flat surfaces that can feel slippery from time to time. Keypresses do feel cushiony on completion, though, and I was able to hit between 75. 79 words per minute on most of the 10fastfingers.com typing tests I took with this keyboard. Asus did not provide travel distance numbers, but key travel did feel generous, which made physical feedback more noticeable and typing by touch alone easie
The 5.1 x 3.4-inch precision touchpad is, for the most part, a joy to use. Its massive size and smooth surface make for easy scrolling, but it still has enough friction to make precise movements easy to input. Multi-touch gestures like three-finger app switching and two-finger scrolling work especially well, with none of the resistance or physical discomfort I tend to encounter on most other touchpads. The power button also doubles as this laptop’s fingerprint reader, so the touchpad doesn’t need to have a dead zone to make way for one.
My only problem with the touchpad was that its palm rejection could sometimes fail, as the touchpad would occasionally implement a tap-click or even a swipe if I wasn’t careful about my palm placement. Luckily, you can turn off touchpad input via a shortcut on the funcion row for gaming sessions with an external mouse.
Audio on Asus ROG Zephyrus M16
The Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 has two bottom firing and two top firing speakers that make for a quiet but high fidelity listening experience.
I tested this laptop’s speakers by listening to Butter by BTS, where I was impressed by how little the vocals and highs changed from when I was listening to the song on headphones. The bass had a little less impact, but didn’t lose any information, and I was easily able to distinguish between details like drum hits and cymbal beats.
The speakers were on the quiet end, though, with a comfortable listening volume at around 70%. 75%. I was easily able to hear the song across my home office, but not as well outside of the room. This shouldn’t be too much of an issue for most people, but if you’re hard of hearing, it might be difficult to make out dialogue scenes in film on this laptop. That said, changing to the “Voice” and “Movie” audio settings in the laptop’s included Dolby Access app can help with this just a little bit.
Upgradeability of the Asus ROG Zephyrus M16
Taking the bottom case off the Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 is a bit of an ordeal. First, use a Phillip’s head screwdriver (I used a P00 bit) to remove 9 of the laptop’s outer screws and loosen the pop-up screw that’s in what is the lower-right corner if you have the case’s label facing upwards. Then, use a flathead screwdriver and some force to twist off the rubber caps that cover the case’s three center screws. Don’t worry— I was able to get these back on afterwards. Finally, just remove the three center screws with your Phillip’s head screwdriver and pry off the case.
Once inside, you’ll see an admittedly cool red motherboard, the networking chip, an open M.2 SSD slot, an M.2 SSD slot that’s already in use and an 8GB DIMM of RAM. Since this system has 16GB of RAM, we’re guessing the rest is soldered in.
Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 Webcam
Despite having such thin bezels, the ROG Zephyrus M16 has still managed to fit a 720p webcam into its upper bezel. This is a big deal, because Asus had removed webcams from most of its laptops for the past few years with the expectation that gamers would bring their own if they wanted one. The last 18 months, however, have proven having one is necessary.
Unfortunately, while this webcam’s color is accurate if you have enough light, it leaves shots with plenty of artifacts regardless of lighting. It also had a tendency to make me look undead in dim light and like a tangerine in heavy light.
