Well, here it is. The laptop that haunts my dreams, the high bar that I've compared every other gaming laptop to since I first reviewed it. The magnificence that is the 2024 Asus ROG Zephyrus G16. Regular readers will know that I've recommended this laptop left, right, and centre over the past year whenever it's been on discount, but I've never seen it quite as cheap as the $1,440 asking price at Best Buy right now.
So why should this excite you? Well, for a start this is our top recommendation for the best gaming laptop overall right now. That's a hard fought position, but since the G16's release we've reviewed two different versions, and fallen in love with both.
I took the first review of the RTX 4090-equipped version, and found it to be a sublime daily-driver. With a sumptuous 240 Hz OLED display, a supremely slim and well-built chassis, and gaming performance to be proud of, I was absolutely smitten.
There's a fly in the ointment, though. That RTX 4090 is far too much GPU for its slender frame, and throttles back at every opportunity. So as a result, I had to knock a substantial number of points off the score, crying into my soup the entire time I did it.
Our Jacob Ridley, however, landed himself the RTX 4070 model and was similarly gushing in his praise. The main difference between his version and the one above is the CPU, which here is the still-very capable-Intel Core Ultra 9 185H. It might be a Meteor Lake chip, but it's still got plenty of power for gaming.
Pair that with the 105 W version of the RTX 4070, 16 GB of DDR5 and an OLED display, and you've got a potent combo of components squeezed into a chassis you can slip in your bag with ease.
It's worth noting, though, that the RAM is soldered to the board, so no 32 GB upgrades for you. That's a shame, and really the only major caveat worth talking about with this deal.
I'd say 16 GB of RAM is still fine for gaming in 2025, but 32 GB is much more like it. Still, concessions need to be made somewhere for that price, and here it's the RAM that suffers.
Otherwise? I'd say it's darn close to perfect. It's the gaming laptop I covet most, and the one I recommend to anyone who'll listen. Today, that's you. Aren't you lucky?
