Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 Gaming Laptop (2023) GU604 GU604VI-M16.I94070

The Asus ROG Zephyrus M16’s top cover has over 18,000 tiny perforations that you can light up in models that have the AniMe Matrix feature.

Display

As for visuals, the M16’s 2560 x 1600 screen is arguably a more important upgrade than its new CPU and GPU. Not only has the refresh rate been bumped up to 240Hz, because it’s a Mini LED panel, you also get way more dimming zones which help cut down on blooming. Its brightness is way better too. In normal use, the display tops out at around 600 nits, but thanks to its VESA DisplayHDR 1000 certification, things look even better when you’re playing games or watching movies. It’s an absolute treat.

My one gripe, and this is something that applies to all laptops with Nvidia’s Optimus tech, is that when switching between integrated graphics and the discrete GPU, the screen flashes and blacks out, which is just kind of clunky. On top of that, depending on your specific settings, when it changes modes you may need to reenable things like HDR or specific color profiles. This can get kind of tedious after a while, especially if you have Optimus set to switch automatically depending on if you’re plugged in or running on battery. So in the end, I set it to stay connected to the GPU all the time and never touched it again.

Performance and thermals

M16 solidly beat the Blade 15 in games like Shadow of the Tomb Raider when it hit 144 fps at 1920 x 1080 on highest settings compared to just 124 fps for the Razer. Additionally, in Metro Exodus the M16 exhibited a similar lead when it hit 101 fps on Ultra at full HD versus 86 for the Blade 15. Furthermore, if you want to enjoy the Zephyrus’ native 2560 x 1600 resolution, the laptop has more than enough oomph to maintain a rock solid 120 fps with all the graphical bells and whistles turned on in Far Cry 6.