ASUS laptops – TUF (The Ultimate Force) with powerful, rugged models for a reasonable price and ROG (Republic of Gamers) with top features in a stylish design. In turn, ROG is divided into three series: Strix (maximum performance, expensive and powerful), Zephyrus (striving for compactness without sacrificing performance), and ROG itself, here. You can see the unusual Flow X13 model, a kind of gaming ultrabook with decent performance.
The ROG Zephyrus M16 model; letter M refers to it as an intermediate solution between the top-end Zephyrus S models and slightly simpler Zephyrus G solutions. But this is all solely from the position of internal division. It showed itself very well while being remembered in including design features.
| PROS | CONS |
| Colour-accurate 16:10 panel | Only MicroSD card reader |
| Great CPU performance | Pricey for what you get |
| 2560 x 1600 resolution | |
| Nice keyboard and touchpad |
General Info
| ASUS ROG Zephyrus M16 | |
| Brand | ASUS |
| $ | CHECK PRICE |
| Model | ROG Zephyrus M16 |
| Processor | Intel Core i9-11900H, 8 cores, 16 threads, 2.5 GHz (maximum frequency 4.9 GHz, 24 MB cache), 10 nm process technology, Intel Core i7-11800H, 8 cores, 16 threads, frequency 2.3 GHz (maximum frequency 4.6 GHz, cache 24 MB), 10 nm process technology |
| Graphics | Intel UHD Graphics (integrated) NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti for laptops, 4 GB VRAM GDDR6 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 for laptops, 6 GB VRAM GDDR6 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 for notebooks, 8 GB VRAM GDDR6 |
| OS | Windows 10 Pro |
| Weight | 1.9 kg |
| Display | 14″ 1920 x 1080 IPS Display |
| Dimensions | 35.5 x 24.3 x 2.2 cm |
| Type | Laptop |
Design
After unpacking, the perforated surface of most of the laptop lid immediately attracts attention. A reflective prismatic film is visible through the holes, playing at different angles of incidence of light with a pleasant color gradient. Of course, this is not as impressive as RGB lighting, but it looks at least not as catchy; not everyone likes the bright gaming design. And the overall color scheme of the ROG Zephyrus M16 at the first quick inspection looks strict and solid.
The lid is made of metal, but many holes could not but affect the strength; it lends itself slightly to squeezing from the outside. The unperforated panel has a matte finish and collects traces of use, prints, and other dirt. In the corner of the lid, there is a neatly inscribed glossy plate with the line’s name.
The general exterior (before opening the lid) still carries a hint of a gaming affiliation: the rear panel of the laptop looks quite aggressive, large holes of the cooling system are visible, when the laptop is turned on, three indication LEDs, white and muted red, light up here. There are openings for hot air out of the case on the side panels as well.
The surface of the lid smoothly slides onto the back panel. When the lid is opened, it rests against the surface on which the laptop stands with two silicone feet and lifts it, providing additional airflow, ease of entering and viewing the display. The solution is not new for both office and gaming laptops ASUS, here it is visually different. Complementing the unusualness is the option of opening the display hinge by 180 degrees, which is definitely not expected from a gaming model.
Display
| Display Type | IPS |
| Display Size | 16-inch |
| Display Resolution | 2560 × 1600 |
| Display Features | 16:10, 189 PPI, 165 Hz refresh rate, 3 ms response time, non-touch, 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, Pantone certification, Adaptive-Sync technology |
| Dimension | 35.5 x 24.3 x 2.2 cm |
The black frames around the display fit organically into any game and do not draw attention to themselves. A 720p webcam is in place; no additional accessory is required.
Thanks to the comparatively thin side frames and the described design with the screen hinge, a WQXGA display with a diagonal of 16 inches could fit into a case with the usual dimensions for a 15.6 “laptop. In terms of resolution, this is an extended QHD, which is required by the aspect ratio of 16:10. This parameter gives a more pleasant experience from games and working with text; the increase of 0.4 inches is not so noticeable.
The display’s refresh rate is 165Hz. Combined with the anti-glare coating, the high resolution of the display and its wide color gamut give a lasting positive experience from first power-on and regular use of Windows to gameplay benefits from the standard specifications, especially in RTX games. Regarding the combination of performance characteristics and subjective sensations that are not transmitted from the photo, the ROG Zephyrus M16 display is one of the best laptops over the past year.
Performance
| Processor | Intel HM470 |
| Graphics | Intel UHD Graphics (integrated) NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti for laptops, 4 GB VRAM GDDR6 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 for laptops, 6 GB VRAM GDDR6 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 for notebooks, 8 GB VRAM GDDR6 (only configured with Intel Core i9-11800H, |
| RAM | 2 brackets DDR4 16 GB (maximum configuration – 48 GB), dual-channel, 3200 MHz |
| Storage | 512GB M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 SSD 1TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD |
Let’s move on to the fun part. In May 2021, a new processor from the Tiger Lake line entered the market, called the Intel Core i9-11900H. This chip is positioned as a productive solution for both gaming laptops and workstations. Apparently, this is the most powerful laptop chip from Intel for 2021, which will compete with solutions from AMD. The promising “newbie” is helped by 32 GB of RAM and the already familiar NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 graphics card for laptops from the ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo 15.
Cooling in the ROG Zephyrus M16 works actively, it stably rustles with fans at an average volume, but the thickness of the 22 mm case did not allow an engineering miracle to happen: the laptop is actively heating up, you can feel it by how the air around it begins to warm up. The main heating of the case falls on the area around the Esc key; it is felt both below and on the right.
Multimedia
| Webcam | Above the display |
| Webcam resolution | 720p |
| Audio | Adaptive Sync, six built-in speakers, support for Dolby Atmos, three-dimensional microphone array with three modes of operation, two-way noise cancellation, support for Hi-Res Audio, fast charging, fingerprint reader |
| Network | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), Gigabit |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth v5.2 |
| Ports | 1x USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 2 (DisplayPort, Power) 1x USB Type-C Thunderbolt 4 (DisplayPort, Power) 1x USB Type-A 3.2 Gen 1 1x USB Type-A 3.2 Gen 2 1x HDMI 2.0b Combo 3.5 mm, RJ45, microSD card reader |
| Keyboard Numpad | No |
The number of connectors also suggests that the laptop is not as simple as it seems. On the right-side panel, there is a Kensington lock, USB 3.2, and a card reader. Still, on the left, there is a whole scattering of ports: a port for a standard power adapter, HDMI, RJ45 for lovers of wired Internet, another USB 2.0, two Type-C, one of them with Thunderbolt support 4 with all the consequences and located closest to the user headphone jack.
Variety is always good, but aesthetically speaking, questions may arise: yes, the location of the ports will not interfere with the connection of many devices/cables, but purely visually, it would be better to remove the interface connectors to the rear panel. In any case, the engineers know better, since the layout required this, then, apparently, this is better from the position of cooling.
We open the lid of the ROG Zephyrus M16 in one motion with one finger and see the generally familiar layout of elements: a large trackpad in the center, a full-size keyboard without a numeric pad, located just below the plane of the main body and therefore does not touch the screen when closed, remote control keys sound and power button, it is also a well-functioning fingerprint scanner. On both sides of the keyboard, there are slots in the case; from here, air comes out of the case and partly sounds. On the bevel of the panel adjacent to the display are the already mentioned LEDs; in the closed state, they are visible thanks to a neat cutout in the laptop lid.
The surface of the case is matte, and from the visual elements, there are only two stickers from Intel and, of course, the keyboard backlight, albeit switchable. The width of the case on the sides of the touchpad is enough for a comfortable position of the hands. Both the keyboard and the laptop’s main body easily collect prints and other traces; they are easy to erase.
A system of 6 speakers is responsible for the sound in the laptop, two for high, medium, and low frequencies. We didn’t forget about streamers; they provided an array of three microphones that can capture sound from different directions. Two-way noise cancellation will also come in handy so that the sound purified from artifacts goes into the stream. The standard speakers resonate both with the surface and inside the case; part of the sound comes out of the slots on the sides of the keyboard. There are no complaints about the volume and clarity of reproduction.
Keyboard
The ROG Zephyrus M16 comes with a 1.7mm travel keyboard and virtually silent switches. The surface of the caps is slightly concave towards the center, the distance between them is convenient for entering, accidental pressing is scarce. In terms of the size of the keys, everything is standard; in fact, a full-size keyboard, perhaps a little less than the “arrow” and the Enter key. The keyboard case is very sturdy and difficult to squeeze.
The touch panel here is gorgeous, primarily due to the most pleasant glass coating and the increased size of the panel itself. It is a pleasure to use; gestures and presses are read perfectly.
Battery
| ASUS Chromebook Flip CX5 | |
| Battery Type | Li-ion |
| Battery capacity | 90 Wh |
| AC Adapter | 100W Type-C power supply |
In terms of battery, they promise up to 10 hours of playing games without connecting to an outlet. The 180-degree lid opening option will appeal to those who like to work while lying on the sofa. The ports allow you to use Type-C charging if, for example, you need to work with text or simple software. The test version included only a massive 240 W unit, which also loves to warm up.
Conclusion!
The ROG Zephyrus M16 has proven itself to be a fairly versatile work and play tool. A discreet minimalistic design combined with updated hardware and a display that is excellent in terms of smoothness and speed will be appreciated by those users who do not need visual attributes. Still, only performance is important, including in games.
At the time of this writing, there are no solutions on the mentioned processor on the market yet. The younger version of the ROG Zephyrus M16 starts at 1,881.47 USD. On the one hand, this is a lot, on the other hand, the combination of characteristics looks very worthy, there are models on the market with similar characteristics and for a lot of money. Information about the start of sales is expected shortly.
