ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 Laptop Review
The Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 is the latest dual-screen laptop. It comes with top-of-the-line specs, making it the most powerful duo to date – ensuring it is a device enthusiasts will covet, but it comes at a hefty price – nearly $4,000!
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So, is it worth the money? Are two screens on a laptop better than one? Let’s figure it out!
Features Include:
- 16-inch 4K (3840×1100) Display
- Secondary Mini LED QHD (2560 x 1600) Touchscreen Display
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti With 16GB GDDR6
- ROG Nebula HDR Display with flicker-free, anti-blue light, and Variable Refresh Rate technologies.
- AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX Processor (8-core/16-thread, 20MB cache, up to 5.0 GHz max boost)
- 32GB DDR5 4800MHz RAM
- 2TB PCIe 4.0 Performance SSD
Performance
The ROG Zephyrus Duo 16’s standout feature is its two-screen setup:
- The main screen is 16-inches, bright and delivers all the features you’d expect on a $4k laptop.
- The secondary screen is smaller, roughly half the height of the main display, and is located on the upper part of the chassis. Asus calls this the ScreenPad Plus.
At first glance, the two-screen setup is spectacular. Popping with color and a million thoughts of its potential versatility. We’ve tested a previous Duo model out, called the Asus Zenbook Pro Duo UX582, which felt revolutionary at the time:
- However, this time around, the ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 felt safe rather than revolutionary. Don’t get us wrong, this laptop comes packing spec-wise. It will handle everything you can throw at it.
- For instance, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is a GPU that takes game graphics to the next level, and judging by our tests, it’s capable of powering ultra settings at a 4K resolution.
- Our test unit also packed a powerful Ryzen 9 6900HX CPU, 32GB of RAM, and a 2TB SSD. Everything from boot-up to video editing is silky smooth and lightning fast. A maxed-out ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 is definitely a powerhouse for professional content creators and gamers.
- For example, the laptop benchmarked at 145 fps in Shadow of the Tomb Raider and 85 fps in Metro Exodus on the highest settings in 4k.
- Additionally, both screens pop with color and vibrancy. You’ll have no issues with brightness, or experiencing the best visuals a laptop can offer. However, all this takes a hefty toll on the battery. During our streaming tests, we found that the battery goes from full to warning in just three episodes of Stranger Things when both screens are on. This is roughly 3 hours and 30 minutes.
So, the question is, why does it feel safe? Well, everything feels quicker and brighter, but there’s nothing that we haven’t seen before. And at just under $4k, there are countless cheaper devices that have great performance, brightness, and touchscreens that simply make the Duo 16 feel too pricey to be competitive.
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Build Quality
- The Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 is a cool aluminum. There is a unique texture finish on the lid, accentuated by the sleek design of the ROG logo placed on the left side. And we like the fact it doesn’t come with any flashy logos anywhere else, except for small ones on both sides.
- Another thing, the trackpad’s placement on the outside edge makes good ergonomic sense. However, the tall layout of keys and the inherent constraints of a relatively narrow device make everything look a little squashed.
- Despite this, the included palm rest does a fairly good job at allowing you to comfortably type for long periods of time, but it’s only useful if your keyboard is placed on a fixed surface like your desk or workstation.
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Is It Worth Checking Out?
We have definitely come across negatively in this review. We can’t dispute that this laptop is powerful, and it looks fantastic. However, you can now pick up an older Duo for less than half of this laptop’s price, and the specs will be more than enough to handle any creative task you throw at it.
Pros:
- Duo screen for content makers
- Heavy rig for performance seekers
- Higher MHz RAM and Storage
- Secondary touchscreen
- Can handle games at ultra settings in 4k
Cons:
- Massively expensive
- Built for a very specific audience, and if you are not it, your money can be better spent on other options.
- When using both screens, battery life is less than 4 hours, even when just streaming.
There are definite reasons to have a two-screen setup on your laptop. For instance, if you’re a programmer or a graphic designer, you can open the console log or color palette on the secondary screen for convenience.
Yet, if you want to game at 4k, we recommend avoiding two-screen laptops.
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If this laptop was closer to $3k, it would be Nerdable recommended, however at $4k and above, it is far too expensive, considering very few people will need two screens.
Find out more about the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 on Amazon now.
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