ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16 16" GU605CR-XS98-CA

The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16 is a beastly creator and gaming laptop with a best-in-class OLED display and 64GB of RAM. It's heavy and not very portable, but the performance is top-tier. At around $3,600, it's a solid deal if you find it at the right vendor, just don't expect all-day battery life.

This thing rips. The Core Ultra 9 285H sits in the 89th percentile for laptop CPUs, and paired with 64GB of LPDDR5X (99th percentile, basically best-in-class), it chews through 4K video timelines and 3D renders without breaking a sweat. The RTX 5070 Ti is a 90th percentile GPU, so you'll hit high frame rates at the native 2560x1600 resolution in most games, though you might need DLSS for the really demanding titles. The 2TB SSD is fast and spacious, landing in the 95th percentile. The standout is that 240Hz OLED panel, a 93rd percentile screen that makes everything from color grading to Cyberpunk look stunning. The weak spot is reliability, sitting at a mediocre 59th percentile, so long-term durability is a bit of a question mark.

Stacked against the Apple MacBook Pro M4 Max, the Zephyrus wins on raw gaming performance and RAM capacity, but loses badly on portability, battery life, and build quality. The Lenovo Legion Pro Series 7i Gen 10 is its closest rival, offering similar specs in a slightly more gamer-focused chassis, but the ASUS pulls ahead with that superior OLED panel. The HP OMEN Transcend 14 is a much more portable option if you're willing to sacrifice screen size and some GPU grunt. The MSI Prestige and Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro aren't even in the same performance league, they're thin-and-lights for productivity, while this ASUS is a mobile workstation that happens to play games.

Pricing on this model is a mess. We're seeing it listed anywhere from $3,599 all the way up to an eye-watering $178,290, which is clearly a placeholder or error on someone's part. Ignore the crazy high number. At the low end around $3,600, you're getting a ton of hardware for the money, especially with 64GB of RAM and that OLED panel. But you absolutely need to hunt for the best deal. Memory Express seems to be the retailer actually stocking it properly, so start there. If you pay much more than $4,000, you're getting into "just buy a desktop and a cheap ultrabook" territory.

ASUS packed an absurd amount of power into the Zephyrus G16 this year. You're getting Intel's latest Core Ultra 9 285H, a full-fat RTX 5070 Ti with 12GB of VRAM, 64GB of RAM, and a gorgeous 16-inch 240Hz OLED. On paper, it's a creator's dream that can also game its face off after hours.

But that power comes with a catch, and it's the same one we've seen from this line before. This isn't a thin-and-light ultrabook. At nearly 2kg and with a footprint that lands in the 20th percentile for compactness, it's a desktop replacement that you can technically move. If portability is your top priority, this chassis will feel chunky.

If you need all-day battery life or a laptop that disappears into your bag, look elsewhere. This machine is a desk anchor. Students running between classes or anyone who travels constantly will hate the weight and the constant hunt for a power outlet. Grab a MacBook Pro or an LG Gram instead.

Buy this if you need a single machine that can handle heavy creative workloads and serious gaming, and you don't plan on lugging it to a coffee shop every day. It's a desktop replacement that delivers top-tier performance, especially with that incredible OLED screen. Just be prepared for a laptop that feels more like a small all-in-one PC than an ultrabook.