ASUS ROG Zephyrus M16 (GU604, 2023) review – gaming devices can’t really get any better


Design and construction

Once again, the Zephyrus M16, this time in the GU604 configuration, comes with a sleek appearance. It has some minor giveaways that tell you this might be a gaming machine, but honestly, it might be confusing for a premium office device.

Nevertheless, the all-metal chassis provides great structural rigidity and a cool touch feeling. As you can see, our configuration is equipped with the AniMe Matrix lid, which features 18710 holes and 1711 LEDs (ASUS data, we didn’t really count all of them).

Interestingly, the weight and thickness differ depending on whether you get the AniMe Matrix or not. Having one means your laptop will weigh 2.30 kg, and will have a profile of 21-22.9mm. On the contrary, if you opt out, the device will be 200 grams lighter and will be 19.9-22.3mm thick.

Here, the lid opens easily with one hand. As with previous versions of this model, the backside of the base lifts up from the ground, and offers a comfortable typing angle, and a huge amount of air to the fans. This has the added benefit of the complete elimination of the bottom bezel.

Overall, the borders around the matte screen are really thin. The top one houses a Full HD Web camera, and an IR face recognition scanner, which enables Windows Hello functionality.

Moving to the base, we find a couple of speaker grills surrounding the keyboard. As you can tell, the latter lacks a NumberPad section but incorporates a set of multimedia keys. It also features either a single-zone RGB or a White backlight.

Its key travel is pretty long, but the feedback of the buttons is a bit too resistive. On the bright side, the touchpad is huge (129×84 mm), and has a glass surface. This provides a very smooth gliding experience. In addition, the unit has superb tracking and is super responsive.

Next, there is the bottom panel. There, you will find more speaker cutouts and a bunch of strategically-placed ventilation grills. Hot air, respectively, is being blown out of the laptop through four vents – two on the back, and one on either side of the device.

Ports

On the left side, there is the power plug, a Thunderbolt 4 port, an HDMI 2.1 connector, a USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 2) port, and an Audio jack. On the right, there is a security lock slot, a USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 2) port, a USB Type-C 3.2 (Gen. 2) DisplayPort 1.4 G-Sync Power Delivery port, and a MicroSD card slot.



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