ASUS ROG Zephyrus 16" GU605CM-BS74-CB, Core Ultra 7 255H, 16GB, 1TB SSD, RTX 5060, Eclipse Grey

The Zephyrus G16 nails the premium feel with a stunning OLED screen and a powerful Core Ultra 7 CPU. You'll just have to accept the soldered RAM and a severe lack of ports. It's a gorgeous, capable machine for someone who values build and display over raw expandability.

The Core Ultra 7 255H is a standout, landing in the 85th percentile for CPUs in our database. It chews through renders and multitasking without breaking a sweat. The RTX 5060 is also strong, sitting well above average, and it'll push that 240Hz display nicely in most modern games at 1440p. The weak spot is the 16GB of soldered LPDDR5X RAM, which is just middle of the pack and can't be upgraded later. For a $2800 machine, that feels a little tight for future-proofing.

Stacked against a Lenovo Legion Pro 7i, the Zephyrus loses on pure gaming grunt and port selection, but it absolutely demolishes the Lenovo on portability and screen quality. The HP OMEN Transcend 14 is a closer fight, offering similar OLED goodness in a smaller package, but the ASUS pulls ahead with a stronger CPU. And then there's the MacBook Pro M4 Max, which will outpace it in creator tasks and battery life while making the Zephyrus look port-starved, though the Mac can't touch it for native Windows gaming.

This is a tough one. The build quality and that OLED panel are genuinely best-in-class, but you're making real sacrifices. The port situation is a headache, and the soldered RAM limits the laptop's lifespan. For $2800, you're paying a huge tax for the slim metal design. If you just want raw gaming frames per dollar, you can do a lot better. If you want a gorgeous, portable machine that can also game, the value proposition starts to make more sense.

ASUS is sticking to its guns with the Zephyrus G16, and honestly, it's working. You get a gorgeous 16-inch 2.5K OLED display slapped into a CNC aluminum chassis that feels way more premium than most gaming laptops. The new Intel Core Ultra 7 255H and RTX 5060 combo is clearly aimed at people who want to game and get real work done without carrying a desktop replacement brick.

But there's a catch, and it's a familiar one for this slim line. That ultra-sleek design costs you in ports and raw compactness compared to chunkier rivals. At $2800, you're paying a premium for the build and that stunning screen, so you better really want the thin-and-light gaming life.

If you need a machine with a real port selection, skip this. You get a handful of USB-C and that's about it, so anyone using an external mouse, keyboard, and monitor without a hub will be frustrated. Also, if you're a power user who needs 32GB of RAM for VMs or heavy creative work, look elsewhere because this is soldered and capped at 16GB.

The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16 is for the gamer who cringes at RGB-laden plastic bricks. You want a machine that looks professional in a meeting but can fire up Cyberpunk at the hotel later. The screen is a joy, and the performance is solid. Just be ready to live that dongle life and accept that 16GB of RAM is all you'll ever get.