ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 (GX650, 2023) review – double the screen, double the fun

It's been a long time since we have tested a dual-screen ASUS laptop and the last one was the ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 SE (GX551). Now it's time to torture the ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 (GX650, 2023). This one is full of modern hardware and yes, it has a second screen that can be very handy for most of us, no matter if you are a gamer, a regular user, or a content creator. The machine has just one processor option but it's one of the most powerful Zen 4 chips - the AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX. This Dragon Range-HX product has 16 cores and 64MB L3 cache so we don't mind the absence of other CPU variants. The AMD chip is a direct competitor to Intel's 13th Gen Raptor Lake-HX products. You can choose among four GPUs. If you want to lower the price of the notebook, you can get the GeForce RTX 4060 with a 140W TGP, or if money isn't a problem, the 175W GeForce RTX 4090 is the top-tier variant. The 2023 device has a Mini LED display with 1600p resolution which is suitable for a 16" panel with a 16:10 aspect ratio. The panel also supports FreeSync Premium Pro, NVIDIA Optimus, and Dolby Vision HDR. ASUS claims 100% DCP-P3 coverage - we'll talk about that in a minute. The notebook has a lot of extras including a backlit chiclet per-key RGB keyboard, a touchpad that doubles as a virtual NumberPad, six speakers, Wi-Fi 6E, etc. You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/asus-rog-zephyrus-duo-16-gx650-2023/ Specs, Drivers, What's in the box Drivers All drivers and utilities for this notebook can be found here: https://rog.asus.com/laptops/rog-zephyrus/rog-zephyrus-duo-16-2023-series/helpdesk_download/ What's in the box? The laptop is well-protected in a sturdy box. When you open it, the backside of the gadget is already raised high enough so you can take it out comfortably. You will also find a big 330W adapter that is more compact compared to the one that can be found in the HP Omen 17 (2023, 17-ck2000) box. Design and construction The design isn't too gamer-ish, the laptop lacks the crazy amount of RGBs like some other machines from the same brand. The well-known ROG ("Fearless Eye") logo is placed on the lid so you will know that the device is meant for gaming. The laptop looks a bit bulky because of the high-end hardware and the second screen. The machine isn't light and thin - it weighs 2.67 kilos and has a profile of 2.05 ~ 2.97 cm. Yeah, there are some 17-inchers that weigh less than this fella. The build materials are premium - aluminum for the lid and magnesium alloy for the body. The bottom plate is made of plastic but it seems durable and the finish feels rather nice. The coating of the chassis isn't a fingerprint magnet which is good. The lid opens effortlessly with a single hand. This also reveals the second display (named ROG ScreenPad Plus) that is placed in between the main one and the keyboard. While opening the laptop, you'll see how the smaller panel raises and slides back in order to match perfectly with the lower side of the big screen. The lid can be bent in the middle and you can also flex it (but not by much). The base is built like a tank and it's super sturdy. The bezels around the display are very thin except for the "chin". Above the panel is placed a 1080p IR Web camera with Windows Hello support. When the smaller screen reaches its maximum 13-degree level of opening, you can have a look at the motherboard through four small windows in between the keyboard and the display. The area is well-lit with RGBs so you can see clearly the PCB. This touchscreen panel with stylus support is a great tool for multitasking thanks to its custom UI. You can play a game on the bigger display while you can place some chat apps on the smaller one, a music player, or a Web browser. When the little screen is lifted, this allows more fresh air to reach the internals. You can find a slider for fast brightness adjustment, and a Mouse Locker that prevents the cursor from reaching the second display. There are virtual hotkeys for handwriting, NumberPad (yes, you can "summon" another one on the display), Armoury crate, Settings, etc. For better battery life, you can turn on the ScreenPad battery saver function, or you can lower the resolution. The small display can be used for photo or video editing (you can place the timeline on it), or you can view the HUD of some games there (which is very useful for RPG and RTS titles). The keyboard has a per-key RGB backlight and it comes with N-key rollover so ghosting during work shouldn't be a problem. The unit is near-silent during typing. The key travel is average while the feedback is clicky. The Arrow keys are half-sized and you can find three dedicated keys placed above the touchpad (a shortcut for the Armoury Crate app, a ROG ScreenPad Plus On / Off switch, and an Arrow keys/Page Up(Down) toggle. Next to it, you can see the Power button. The keyboard is positioned at the end of the laptop's body - not great for ergonomics while typing. The touchpad doubles as a NumberPad. It's tall but narrow. Still, it's very accurate and smooth. Unfortunately, you'll need some time before getting used to it because of the unorthodox shape. On the bottom plate, we can see the cutouts for the speakers, two ventilation grills placed right below each cooling fan, and another one right below the central rubber feet. The hot air is guided through four vents - two on the back and two on the sides. Ports Most ports are on the left - a power plug, a USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 2) port, a USB Type-C 3.2 (Gen. 2) port (with a DisplayPort 1.4a, power delivery, and G-Sync capabilities), a MicroSD Card reader, and an Audio combo jack. On the back, we can see a 2.5G LAN, a USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 2) port, and an HDMI 2.1 FRL. There is another USB Type-C 3.2 (Gen. 2) port with DisplayPort 1.4a and G-Sync support on the right. Display quality, Health impact (PWM), Sound The main display of the ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 (GX650, 2023) is a WQXGA (Wide Quad Extended Graphics Array) Mini LED panel with 1024 dimming zones, model number BOE NE160QDM-NM4 (BOE0BC4). It comes with a 240Hz refresh rate. Its diagonal is 16.0" (40.6 cm), and the resolution - 2560 x 1600p. Additionally, the screen ratio is 16:10, the pixel density – 189 ppi, and their pitch – 0.13 x 0.13 mm. The screen can be considered Retina when viewed from at least 46 cm (from this distance, the average human eye can’t see the individual pixels). The second display of the ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 (GX650, 2023) is a touchscreen panel, model number BOE NV140XTM-N52 (BOE0A68). It comes with a 60Hz refresh rate. Its diagonal is 14.1" (35.8 cm), and the resolution - 3840 x 1100p. Additionally, the screen ratio is 3.5:1, the pixel density – 283 ppi, and their pitch – 0.9 x 0.9 mm. The screen can be considered Retina when viewed from at least 31 cm (from this distance, the average human eye can’t see the individual pixels). Viewing angles are good. We offer images at different angles to evaluate the quality. Also, a video with locked focus and exposure. The brightness of the main display depends on the content of the picture and the settings in the "Armoury Crate" application - screen and machine performance. When "GPU Mode - Standard" or "GPU Mode - Eco mode" is enabled, it is only possible to change Luminance using the Brightness slider if HDR is On. Therefore, the data below is with "GPU Mode - Ultimate" on, the backlight mode set to "One zone" and the selected picture mode is "Native-Default". When choosing "One zone" mode, the laptop is comfortable for accurate color work, while "Multi zone" is for gaming (in "Multi zone" mode, white window with 7% fill on a black background has a maximum brightness of 990 cd/m2). The maximum measured brightness екрана („GameVisual – Native – Default“, Backlight control „One zone“ in the Armoury Crate app) is 460 nits (cd/m2) in the middle of the screen and 461 nits (cd/m2) average across the surface with a maximum deviation of just 4% (HDR Off). The Correlated Color Temperature on a white screen and at maximum brightness is 6770K (average). The illustration below shows how matters are for operational brightness levels (approximately 140 nits) – in this particular case at 32% Brightness (White level = 140 cd/m2, Black level = 0.12 cd/m2, „Backlight control – One zone“, HDR – Off)). Values of dE2000 over 4.0 should not occur, and this parameter is one of the first you should check if you intend to use the laptop for color-sensitive work (a maximum tolerance of 2.0). We measured a good contrast ratio - 1190:1 („Backlight control – One zone“). In „Backlight control – Multi zone“ mode, the contrast ratio is excellent - 34000:1 ON/OFF и 7050:1 ANSI. To make sure we are on the same page, we would like to give you a little introduction to the sRGB color gamut and the Adobe RGB. To start, there’s the CIE 1976 Uniform Chromaticity Diagram that represents the visible specter of colors by the human eye, giving you a better perception of the color gamut coverage and the color accuracy. Inside the black triangle, you will see the standard color gamut (sRGB) that is being used by millions of people on HDTV and on the web. As for the Adobe RGB, this is used in professional cameras, monitors, etc for printing. Basically, colors inside the black triangle are used by everyone and this is the essential part of the color quality and color accuracy of a mainstream notebook. Still, we’ve included other color spaces like the famous DCI-P3 standard used by movie studios, as well as the digital UHD Rec.2020 standard. Rec.2020, however, is still a thing of the future and it’s difficult for today’s displays to cover that well. We’ve also included the so-called Michael Pointer gamut, or Pointer’s gamut, which represents the colors that naturally occur around us every day. The yellow dotted line shows ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 (GX650, 2023)'s color gamut coverage. Its display covers 100% of the sRGB/ITU-R BT.709 (web/HDTV standard) in CIE1976, and 100% of DCI-P3, ensuring a super vibrant and attractive picture (HDR off, „GameVisual – Native“ in the Armoury Crate app). The "GameVisual" setting in "Armoury Crate" emulates the DCI-P3 and sRGB color gamuts. We tested the accuracy of the display with 24 commonly used colors like light and dark human skin, blue sky, green grass, orange, etc. Below you can compare the scores of the ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 (GX650, 2023) with the default settings (Armoury Crate“; „GameVisual – sRGB – Default“; HDR off, compared to sRGB color space (Illuminant white point – D65, sRGB encoding curve). Also, you can see the default accuracy results in Armoury Crate“ – „GameVisual – Display P3 – Default“; HDR off, compared to P3-D65 (Display) color space. Response time (Gaming capabilities) We test the reaction time of the pixels with the usual “black-to-white” and “white-to-black” method from 10% to 90% and vice versa. We recorded Fall Time + Rise Time = 10 ms. Health Impact: PWM (Screen flickering) Pulse-width modulation (PWM) is an easy way to control monitor brightness. When you lower the brightness, the light intensity of the display is not lowered, but instead turned off and on by the electronics with a frequency indistinguishable to the human eye. In these light impulses, the light/no-light time ratio varies, while brightness remains unchanged, which is harmful to your eyes. You can read more about that in our dedicated article on PWM. The backlight of the main panel of the ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 (GX650, 2023) has significant pulsations. Their frequency is high, but the filling coefficient is very low. The last segment of the chart below is from another display, which has a similar maximum brightness but does not use PWM. This display might not be very comfortable for the more sensitive users. The backlight of ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 (GX650, 2023)’s secondary display doesn’t use PWM at any brightness level. Health Impact: Blue light emissions Installing our Health-Guard profile not only eliminates PWM but also reduces the harmful Blue Light emissions while keeping the colors of the screen perceptually accurate. If you’re not familiar with the Blue light, the TL;DR version is – emissions that negatively affect your eyes, skin, and your whole body. You can find more information about that in our dedicated article on Blue Light. Health Impact: Gloss-level measurement Glossy-coated displays are sometimes inconvenient in high ambient light conditions. We show the level of reflection on the screen for the respective laptop when the display is turned off and the measurement angle is 60° (in this case, the result is 61.3 GU). Sound ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 (GX650, 2023)'s Dolby Atmos speakers produce a sound of very good quality. Its low, mid, and high tones are clear of deviations. Buy our profiles Since our profiles are tailored for each individual display model, this article and its respective profile package are meant for ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 (GX650, 2023) configuration with 16.0" BOE NE160QDM-NM4 (BOE0BC4) (2560x1600) Mini LED panel. *Should you have problems with downloading the purchased file, try using a different browser to open the link you’ll receive via e-mail. If the download target is a .php file instead of an archive, change the file extension to .zip or contact us at bg.laptopmedia@gmail.com. Read more about the profiles HERE. Performance: CPU, GPU, Gaming Tests CPU options At least for now, ASUS offers this laptop with just one CPU option. Since it's the powerful AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX with 16 cores and 32 threads, we have no complaints here. GPU options The dGPU options are the following - NVIDIA Geforce RTX 4060 (140W), Geforce RTX 4070 (140W), Geforce RTX 4080 (175W), and Geforce RTX 4090 (175W). We bought a notebook with an RTX 4080 because it looks like the sweet spot - it has 12GB VRAM and it's not too far behind the RTX 4090 performance. Inside the CPU is fitted the AMD Radeon 610M which is an entry-level iGPU. Gaming tests Assassin's Creed Valhalla Full HD, Low (Check settings) Full HD, Medium (Check settings) Full HD, High (Check settings) Full HD, Ultra (Check settings) Average FPS 240 fps 210 fps 175 fps 153 fps Borderlands 3 Full HD, V.Low (Check settings) Full HD, Medium (Check settings) Full HD, High (Check settings) Full HD, Badass (Check settings) Average FPS 233 fps 203 fps 167 fps 142 fps Far Cry 6 Full HD, Low (Check settings) Full HD, High (Check settings) Full HD, Ultra (Check settings) Average FPS 152 fps 122 fps 114 fps Gears 5 Full HD, Low (Check settings) Full HD, Medium (Check settings) Full HD, High (Check settings) Full HD, Ultra (Check settings) Average FPS 269 fps 207 fps 196 fps 179 fps The Geforce RTX 4080 (175W) is a true beast for gaming. It can show more than 153FPS on Ultra in Assassin's Creed Valhalla. The laptop has a MUX switch, to take advantage of it, you have to select the "Ultimate" GPU mode in the Armoury Crate app. [eBook Guide + Tools] How to MAX OUT your Laptop Temperatures and comfort, Battery Life Max CPU load In this test we use 100% on the CPU cores, monitoring their frequencies and chip temperature. The first column shows a computer’s reaction to a short load (2-10 seconds), the second column simulates a serious task (between 15 and 30 seconds), and the third column is a good indicator of how good the laptop is for long loads such as video rendering. Average core frequency (base frequency + X); CPU temp. AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX (55W TDP) 0:02 - 0:10 sec 0:15 - 0:30 sec 10:00 - 15:00 min ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 (GX650, 2023) 4.32 GHz @ 75°C @ 120W 4.35 GHz @ 87°C @ 122W 4.21 GHz @ 98°C @ 118W The AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX is no joke with its 32 threads, 55W base TDP, and 64MB of L3 Cache size. We are impressed by the performance of the ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 (GX650, 2023). The cooling system allows almost the same CPU clocks in short and medium loads (~4.3 GHz) - great! In longer periods of heavy stress, the processor can maintain a 4.21 GHz frequency and 118W power limit which is a minimal drop compared to the other two scenarios. So, you always have full power at your disposal at the expense of high CPU temperatures. It's worth mentioning that liquid metal is applied to the CPU and GPU die (Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut Extreme). Real-life gaming NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 GPU frequency/ Core temp (after 2 min) GPU frequency/ Core temp (after 30 min) ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 (GX650, 2023) 2035 MHz @ 81°C @ 150W 2017 MHz @ 84°C @ 151W The TGP of the GeForce RTX 4080 inside our laptop is described as 140W+15W Dynamic Boost in Turbo Mode and it can be bumped to 150W+25W in Manual Mode. Since we are using the Turbo preset for this review, the shown core clocks and power limits (~150W) after 30 minutes of gaming are good. Comfort during full load The two fans are loud in "Turbo mode". If you want to decrease the noise under heavy loads, you can use the "Performance" preset. On the outside, the hotspot is in the middle of the keyboard, but it doesn't feel hot to the touch. In "Silent" mode, the fans aren't spinning at all even while Web browsing. We observed 2200 RPM in "Performance" and ~2900 RPM in "Turbo" scenario. During gaming or heavy CPU usage, the rotation speed is 5000 RPM. You can also set different fan modes for DC and AC usage. Battery Now, we conduct the battery tests with the Windows Better performance setting turned on, screen brightness adjusted to 120 nits and all other programs turned off except for the one we are testing the notebook with. This notebook's 90Wh battery lasts for 4 hours and 10 minutes of Web browsing, or 2 hours and 30 minutes of video playback. Disassembly, Upgrade options, and Maintenance For opening the laptop, you have to unscrew 13 Torx-head screws. The central one is hidden beneath a small rubber pad. You have to use something like a flathead screwdriver to lift it up. The bottom right screw is captive and it'll slightly raise the panel up so you can start the opening process from there. Here's how the bottom plate looks on the inside. The battery is a 90Wh unit. To take it out, you have to detach the connector from the mainboard. You also need to move away the speakers' wiring. After that, you have to unscrew 5 Philips head screws. One of them has an ASUS sticker on it so pull it gently. The capacity is enough for 4 hours and 10 minutes of Web browsing, or 2 hours and 30 minutes of video playback. Here we have two SODIMMs. They can handle up to 64GB of DDR5-4800MHz in dual-channel. For storage, there are two M.2 slots for Gen 4 SSDs. RAID 0 is also supported. The preinstalled NVMe has a thermal pad from below. The cooling solution seems capable. It comprises two thick heat pipes shared between the CPU and the GPU and one more for each chip. The last one is cooling down the VRMs and the graphics memory. We can spot four heat sinks and some heat spreaders. Storage performance Our laptop is equipped with a 1TB SAMSUNG MZVL21T0HCLR-00B00 SSD. This is a Gen 4 NVMe with TLC memory and a Samsung Elpis S4LV003 controller. The temperatures during stress are normal - 50°C. Verdict Bigger screens or more screens? Why not both? The ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 (GX650, 2023) can be a wet dream for wealthy enthusiasts who need a second display for work but they lack extra space on their desks. The main display is a real treasure. This 1600p 240Hz Mini LED panel (BOE NE160QDM-NM4 (BOE0BC4)) is bright, it has a 16:10 aspect ratio, and it covers fully the sRGB and the DCI-P3 gamuts. When you add the potent hardware in the mix, this makes the device suitable not just for gamers but also for content creators, and artists. One curious fact - the main display is matte, while the smaller one is glossy. That looks a bit weird in real life. The only real con of the 16" panel is the PWM usage. The second display (BOE NV140XTM-N52 (BOE0A68)) takes the multitasking to the next level. Its custom UI offers plenty of customization options for work or entertainment (functioning together with the ScreenXpert app). You can play a game on the big screen and you can open a Web browser on the other, or Spotify, or play a video. The smaller panel offers a crisp image because its resolution is 3840x1100 and it's PWM-free, unlike the main screen. Now, the input devices are a bit of a mixed bag. The keyboard has a per-key RGB backlight that can be controlled via the Armoury Crate. The unit is near-silent while typing but it's positioned at the bottom of the base which isn't optimal for comfortable usage. The touchpad is smooth and accurate, but using it feels a bit strange because of the taller and narrower shape. It doubles as a NumberPad and this can be useful for some users. We prefer to use the NumPad on the second display because it has much bigger virtual buttons. The build quality is very good except for some flexes on the aluminum lid here and there. The base is made of magnesium alloy and it's very sturdy. The matte black finish feels premium to the touch and the surface isn't a fingerprint magnet. We want to point out that the hinge mechanism of the smaller panel is stable and fine-tuned - bending, flexing, or moving the second screen when it's lifted is mission impossible. This ASUS machine brings high-end hardware to the table. The Ryzen 9 7945HX can give the Raptor Lake-HX CPUs a run for their money. The Zen 4 chip is great for multitasking with its 16 cores and 32 threads. The cooling solution is doing a great job because the AMD CPU can sustain high CPU clocks and power limits in any kind of load. The downside here is the 98°C temperature in longer stress. The GeForce RTX 4080 can maintain 151W and 2017 MHz clock after 30 minutes of gaming - all look good here. The comfort under load depends on your work. In Silent mode, the two fans aren't spinning until the CPU reaches a certain temperature. If you need the full power of the laptop, the Turbo mode is the way to go but the fans will punish your ears with 5000 RPM. In this preset, they are audible even in idle. On the other hand, the keyboard and the touchpad feel just a bit warm even when the CPU or the GPU are max stressed. Of course, the notebook isn't perfect. We would like to see faster RAM and SSD considering the high price of this machine. Because of the dual-screen setup, the laptop is thick and heavy. The I/O features a lot of ports but it lacks a Thunderbolt 4 / USB4 connector. Last but not least, the battery life is short. Still, the ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 (GX650, 2023) offers two displays combined with perhaps the latest and greatest mobile tech on the market. It's hard to categorize this device because you can use it for whatever you like thanks to the powerful internals. No matter if you are a gamer, streamer, content creator, or an artist, the ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 (GX650, 2023) got you covered due to its high-end hardware and great display complemented by the second screen for full-blown multitasking. You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/asus-rog-zephyrus-duo-16-gx650-2023/