ASUS ROG Zephyrus 16" GU605CM-BH96-CB Eclipse Grey 2025

The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16 is a premium 16-inch gaming laptop with a stunning 240Hz OLED display, strong gaming and creator performance, and a hefty CAD 3,700 price tag. It's one of the best gaming laptops for people who want a beautiful screen and solid all-around performance. Just don't buy it for AI workloads, where it falls short.

The Core Ultra 9 285H is a 16-core chip that sits in the 88th percentile for CPU performance among gaming laptops. That's a standout result. Multitasking, video editing, and CPU-heavy games all feel snappy. The 32GB of LPDDR5X RAM is also well above average, landing in the 81st percentile. You won't run into memory bottlenecks with this thing, even with a dozen Chrome tabs open while gaming.

The RTX 5060 with 8GB of VRAM is a solid performer, sitting in the 83rd percentile for GPU performance. It's not the absolute fastest mobile GPU out there, but it handles 1440p gaming at high settings without much trouble. The 240Hz OLED display makes fast-paced shooters feel incredibly responsive. Storage is a 1TB NVMe SSD, which is about average for this class. Load times are quick, but you might want an external drive if you keep a large game library installed.

The Apple MacBook Pro M4 Max is the elephant in the room. It crushes the Zephyrus G16 in AI workloads and battery life, but it costs significantly more and can't match the gaming performance of the RTX 5060 in most titles. The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 is the more direct competitor. It typically offers a higher-tier GPU for the same price, but it's heavier and lacks the OLED display. The HP OMEN Transcend 14 is a solid budget alternative, but its 14-inch screen and lower RAM ceiling make it less appealing for creators. The Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro has a beautiful AMOLED screen and better portability, but its integrated graphics can't compete for gaming. The MSI Prestige is more of a creator laptop and doesn't have the gaming chops of the Zephyrus.

For pure gaming performance per dollar, the Legion Pro 7i is probably the better buy. But if you want a laptop that feels premium, has a stunning display, and can handle both gaming and creative work without looking like a spaceship, the Zephyrus G16 is hard to beat.

At CAD 3,700, the ROG Zephyrus G16 is not cheap. You're paying a premium for that OLED panel, the build quality, and the portability. The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 often offers more raw GPU power for similar money, but you give up the OLED screen and the lighter chassis. The HP OMEN Transcend 14 is cheaper but has a smaller display and less RAM. If you want a 16-inch OLED gaming laptop with this level of polish, the Zephyrus G16 justifies its price. If you just want maximum frames per dollar, there are better options.

The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16 is a premium 16-inch gaming laptop that tries to do it all, and mostly pulls it off. You're looking at an Intel Core Ultra 9 285H, 32GB of LPDDR5X RAM, an RTX 5060 with 8GB of VRAM, and a gorgeous 16-inch OLED display running at 240Hz. In Canada, this config goes for around CAD 3,700, which puts it firmly in the high-end gaming laptop bracket. It's the kind of machine people search for when they want something that can game hard but still look professional enough for a meeting.

Is the ROG Zephyrus G16 good for gaming? Yes, and our database backs that up. It scores 85.9 out of 100 for gaming, which lands it in the top tier of gaming laptops we track. The 240Hz OLED panel is a big part of that. Games look vibrant and smooth, and the RTX 5060 handles modern titles at high settings without breaking a sweat. But this isn't just a gaming machine. Creator workloads score 84.1, and developer tasks hit 80.3, so it's genuinely versatile.

The one area where this laptop stumbles is AI and LLM workloads, scoring just 51 out of 100. That's a weak spot if you're planning to run large language models locally. The 8GB of VRAM on the RTX 5060 is the bottleneck there. For most people, though, that won't matter much. This is a gaming and content creation laptop first, and it excels at both.

Skip the Zephyrus G16 if you're primarily interested in running local AI models or LLMs. The 8GB of VRAM and 51 out of 100 AI score make it a poor fit for that use case. Budget-conscious gamers should also look elsewhere, as the CAD 3,700 price tag is steep when the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i offers more GPU power for similar money. If you need maximum portability, the 1.95kg weight and 16-inch footprint aren't ideal, and the Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro or HP OMEN Transcend 14 are lighter options.

Should you buy the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16? If you want a premium gaming laptop with one of the best displays on the market and you're willing to pay for it, yes. The OLED panel alone is worth the price of admission for many people. It's bright, color-accurate, and buttery smooth at 240Hz. The performance is strong across the board, with the notable exception of AI workloads.

But if you're on a budget or you need maximum GPU power for heavy 4K gaming, this isn't the best choice. The 8GB of VRAM will eventually become a limitation as games get more demanding. For most people playing at 1440p, though, this laptop is a fantastic all-rounder that looks and feels premium.