Whereas some laptops are going for greater screens, Asus has been providing a special answer: extra screens. The Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 ($3,999.99 as examined, beginning at $3,499.99) is the most recent replace to its line of dual-display gaming laptops, offering room on your chats, guides or different packages whilst you play video games.
Asus has bumped as much as the most recent chips from AMD and Nvidia, together with the Ryzen 9 7945HX “Dragon Vary” CPU and GeForce RTX 4090 laptop computer graphics card. They work nicely sufficient, however to get most efficiency, we discovered that it is price switching efficiency modes to those that use essentially the most energy.
The brand new important mini LED display is colourful and intensely shiny, rivalling the panels on most of the finest gaming laptops. They give the impression of being incredible. Paired with a strong six-speaker system, video games and nearly every thing else look and sound nice.
However the keyboard and mouse, even just a few generations in, are nonetheless awkward. It’s a very good factor that Asus features a wrist-rest within the field.
Design of the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 16
At first look the Zephyrus Duo appears like a traditional, if barely thick, 15-inch laptop computer. In reality, the lid makes a beautiful first impression. Asus has eschewed RGB lighting for purple and pink holographic coloring that also suggests it is a gaming laptop computer (Asus’ massive ROG eye continues to be there) however with a little bit of subtlety in opposition to the black aluminum lid and magnesium alloy physique.
From a purely mechanical standpoint, the Zephyrus is gorgeous. It opens in a single easy movement, revealing the first 16-inch show, surrounded by skinny bezels, in addition to the secondary ScreenPad Plus. The ScreenPad lifts up from a flat place to a 13-degree angle, serving to to shut the hole between it and the primary show and permitting for extra air to enter by way of consumption followers. The 16-inch display is matte, whereas the 14-inch touchscreen is shiny, which is a bit odd.
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When the Display screen Pad lifts, it additionally reveals a chunk of glass that allows you to check out the PCB. It is a cool impact, however a bit distracting to have that space, with its trace of RGB glow, proper beneath the secondary display.
Under these screens are the keyboard and touchpad, jammed on the very backside of the keyboard. It is not a really perfect place, and you will study extra about that in our Keyboard and Touchpad part beneath.
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The left aspect of the laptop computer has a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Sort-C port, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Sort-A port, a microSD card reader (UHS-II) and the three.5 mm audio jack. These are all jammed up in opposition to the aspect of the keyboard. The proper aspect boasts a single USB 3.2 Gen 2 Sort-C port.
On the again are three extra ports: the Ethernet jack, HDMI 2.1 and yet another USB 3.2 Sort 2 Sort-A port.
At 13.98 x 10.47 x 1.17 inches and 6.17 kilos, the Duo can slot in a bag, despite the fact that it is on the heavy aspect. The competitor RTX 4090 programs we’re contemplating right here had bigger 18-inch screens. The Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 is 15.71 x 11.57 x 1.21 inches and 6.83 kilos (that one didn’t slot in my backpack), whereas the MSI Titan GT77 HX is 15.63 x 12.99 x 0.91 inches and a whopping 7.28 kilos, relegating it to a desk.
Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 Specs
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX (5.4 GHz increase, 16 cores / 32 threads) |
| Graphics | Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 (16GB GDDR6, 175W max graphics energy, 1,815 MHz increase clock) |
| Reminiscence | 32GB DDR5-4800 |
| Storage | 2TB PCIe M.2 SSD |
| Show (Major) | 16-inch, 2560 x 1600, Mini-LED, 16:10, 240 Hz, Nebula HDR |
| Show (Secondary) | 14.09-inch, 2560 x 734 half-height touchscreen, 60 Hz |
| Networking | MediaTek Wi-Fi 6E MT7922, Bluetooth 5.2 |
| Ports | 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Sort-A, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Sort-C, HDMI 2.1, Ethernet, MicroSD (UHS-II) card reader, 3.5 mm headphone jack |
| Digital camera | 1080p, IR |
| Battery | 90 WHr |
| Energy Adapter | 330 W |
| Working System | Home windows 11 Professional |
| Dimensions (WxDxH) | 13.98 x 10.47 x 1.17 inches (355 x 266 x 297 mm) |
| Weight | 6.17 kilos (2.8 kg) |
| Value (as configured) | $3,999.99 |
Gaming and Graphics on the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 16
With its RTX 4090, the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo will play nearly any recreation you throw at it on excessive settings. Right here, it is paired with AMD’s Ryzen 9 7945HX “Dragon Vary” CPU. Whereas the video games do play nicely for most individuals, different RTX 4090 laptops appeared to outperform it. There’s quite a few potentialities right here; the Duo’s RTX 4090 has a decrease clock pace than the one used within the different two laptops. It is also getting used to energy the second display. That is additionally the primary machine we have seen combining that GPU with AMD’s Ryzen 9 7945HX. We noticed these ends in two models, although the numbers do improve in case you push to larger energy settings, corresponding to turbo mode and supreme GPU mode, so you need to do this for finest efficiency right here (we sometimes check laptops out of the field).
Management continues to be considered one of my favourite video games to play on new {hardware} to get a way of what they will do. Even just a few years after launch, it is difficult. I set the sport to excessive settings, excessive ray tracing settings and the Duo’s native 2560 x 1600 decision. In an intense boss battle in opposition to a flying Hiss enemy, the body charge danced between 46 and 50 frames per second. Quickly after, within the recreation’s puzzle-focused Oceanview Motel, it ran between 59 and 62 fps.
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On Shadow of the Tomb Raider (extremely settings), the Duo ran at 151 frames per second at 1080p and 96 fps at 2560 x 1600. That is decrease than the MSI Titan GT77 HX and Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (180 and 181 fps at 1080p), and even at larger body charges, the Duo lagged behind.
On Grand Theft Auto V (very excessive settings), the Zephyrus Duo reached 158 frames per second at 1080p and 100 fps at native 2560 x 1600. The Titan and Strix once more gained out, although at 1080p it was extra comparable at excessive energy mode.
Far Cry 6 is the place the Duo confirmed it may play with the larger laptops. It ran the benchmark at extremely settings at 98 fps at 1080p and 90 fps at 2560 x 1600. That is nearer to the opposite machines — particularly the Strix Scar 18’s 94 fps at 2560 x 1600. It is nonetheless decrease, however to a extra forgivable diploma. Once more, excessive energy settings pushed these up in step with the opposite programs, round 102 fps at 1080p and 97 fps at 2560 x 1600.
Pink Useless Redemption 2 at mediums settings can nonetheless be punishing at larger resolutions. At 1080p, the Zephyrus Duo hit 107 fps, however reached 75 fps at its native 2560 x 1600. That is decrease than the Strix Scar 18 at each resolutions, in addition to the Titan at their widespread 1080p.
On Borderlands 3‘s “badass” preset, the Zephyrus reached 135 fps at FHD and 97 fps at 2560 x 1600. Once more, the opposite laptops beat it right here by a big margin. Turning on excessive energy mode bought us nearer to 160 fps at 1080p and 108 fps at 2560 x 1600, the latter of which appears extra affordable (it is doable the decrease decision is held again by the CPU).
In video games with DLSS help, corresponding to Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Pink Useless Redemption 2 and Metro Exodus, high quality mode upscaling can usually enhance efficiency by 30–50 p.c, generally extra, and the ensuing picture high quality usually competes nicely in opposition to native rendering. DLSS 3 Body Era, the place supported, can artificially increase the speed of frames despatched to your show by 50–one hundred pc, however it causes further latency and the precise really feel of video games with DLSS 3 would not enhance almost as a lot as the upper FPS would point out. It is not a foul choice to have, however private desire turns into an actual think about what Body Era does to the general expertise.
To emphasize check the Zephyrus Duo 16, we ran Metro Exodus on its RTX preset 15 occasions in a loop, which takes about half an hour. The sport ran at a mean of 105.3 fps, which was surprisingly steady all through, minus a barely quicker first run. Throughout that check, the Ryzen 9 7945HX ran at a mean pace of three.42 GHz and a temperature of 82.98 levels Celsius. The GeForce RTX 4090 ran at a mean of 1,730 Mhz and measured 72.22 C.
Productiveness Efficiency on the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 16
Whenever you’re not busy gaming, the AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX, together with 32GB of DDR5-4800 RAM and a 2TB PCIe M.2 SSD must be a lot good for getting some precise work accomplished. (It finally ends up that work can profit from a number of shows, too. Who knew?)
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On Geekbench 5, the Duo earned a single-core rating of two,117 and a multi-core rating of 19,446. That single-core rating is ever-so-slightly forward of the MSI Titan GT77 HX (Core i9-13950HX) and Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (Intel Core i9-13980HX), whereas the Titan had the very best multi-core rating at 20,602.
Asus’ laptop computer transferred 25GB of recordsdata at a charge of 1,947.37 MBps, beating the Scar 18 (1,885.81 MBps) however falling behind the Titan (2,299.26 MBps).
On Handbrake, by which now we have laptops transcode a 4K video to 1080p, the Zephyrus Duo 16 completed the duty in 2 minutes and 50 seconds, neck and neck with the Scar 18, although the Titan got here in quicker at 2:38.
Show and ScreenPad Plus on the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 16
The highlights – the explanations for this whole laptop computer to exist – are the Zephyrus Duo 16’s two shows. The principle one is a 16-inch mini LED 16:10 panel with a 2560 x 1600 decision and a 240 Hz refresh charge. Asus refers back to the mini LED panel as a Nebula HDR show, and it provides Dolby Imaginative and prescient help and is DisplayHDR 1000 licensed.
The underside display, dubbed ScreenPad Plus, is held at an angle to make it seem as one show is below the opposite. It is a 14.09-inch touchscreen with stylus help. It is roughly half the peak of a regular PC show — I would not be shocked to see a display of this measurement in a automobile console.
The 2 look decently seamless, contemplating the truth that they don’t seem to be bodily connected. However the prime show is matte, whereas the touchscreen is shiny, which breaks the phantasm. I will not lie, I bought used to touching the underside display, and ended up touching the primary show, which is not a touchscreen, just a few occasions.
There are some oddities to get used to. For example, the brightness keys on the keyboard regulate the primary show, however not ScreenPad Plus. That’s managed by ScreenXpert, a touch-based piece of software program that lives on the aspect of the underside display. That software program additionally permits you to swap home windows between the 2 screens, reduce purposes and rapidly choose apps. It would not really feel like a part of Home windows, however it works. I did get tripped up, nonetheless, when ScreenXpert required me to do one thing on the highest display, which meant switching again to the touchpad.
Is the display helpful? Sure, it’s. I am an advocate of extra display actual property. In my day-to-day work, it is a helpful place to stash chat apps like Slack and music gamers corresponding to Spotify . I may do the identical with Discord on the underside and a recreation on prime. Asus has made the suggestion of placing tracks for video or music enhancing on the underside whereas doing different enhancing on prime. I needed to regulate window and font sizes to see some issues clearly on the small display, however it works.
If you happen to do not wish to use that second display, you’ll be able to flip it off. It could be a simple solution to save battery.
The principle, mini LED display appears nice. I streamed the 4K trailer for The Flash on YouTube (extra film studios ought to add trailers in 4K!), which is larger than the display’s decision, however it appeared nice. The trailer has loads of shiny objects in darkish spots, like avenue lamps because the hero rushes down the street, that are extraordinarily shiny. The various crimson and blue tinted scenes (with accompanying highlights) additionally appeared wonderful. Nevermind the numbers for a second — my eyes actually love this display.
It additionally made Management, a great-looking recreation, look its finest. That recreation has a variety of reds (blood, rugs, particular results filters), which have been all wealthy and vibrant. Shiny whites and deep blacks helped lots with the sport’s moody lighting results; not OLED deep, however fairly good.
However yeah, in fact now we have numbers. The principle show covers 83.5% of the DCI-P3 gamut and 121% of the sRGB spectrum. Whereas that is lower than the MSI Titan GT77 HX (114.5% and 162%, respectively), which makes use of the identical mini LED expertise, the Duo wins in brightness at an unimaginable 684 nits on our lightmeter. The Titan got here in at 511 nits, whereas the Strix Scar measured 402 nits. None of these are dangerous, however that luminosity helps this display look its finest.
The ScreenPad would not actually compete with the primary show. It topped out at 351 nits of brightness, and lined much less of the gamut than the primary show.
Keyboard and Touchpad on the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 16
The keyboard and touchpad on the Zephyrus Duo are by far the worst components of its design. They’re positioned on the very finish of the chassis, with no room for a wrist relaxation. (This has been a factor since Asus first launched the Zephyrus Duo). The touchpad is instantly to the suitable of the keyboard (sorry, lefties). Whereas which may be the place most individuals preserve an exterior mouse, it takes getting used to with a trackpad connected to a laptop computer.
Asus clearly is aware of this is not perfect, because it features a rubberized wrist relaxation within the field. If you happen to’re utilizing the Zephyrus Duo 16 as a desktop substitute, which may be an honest answer. However in case you’re taking it anyplace (and in contrast to the ROG Strix Scar 18, that is sufficiently small to journey), remembering to schlep a wrist relaxation alongside is a little bit of a ache.
The keyboard, which Asus claims has 1.7 mm of journey, is barely stiff for my style, however that is not disqualifying. It did not trigger any points in my typing, and I hit 119 phrases per minute on the monkeytype.com typing check with a 97% accuracy charge, which is fairly commonplace for me.
It is arduous to get on board with the trackpad. It is taller than it’s extensive, which I am not used to on a laptop computer. And the press mechanism feels and even sounds low cost; it feels tacked on, and would not stand as much as the standard of the remainder of the laptop computer. A small contact delicate button activates a touch-sensitive quantity pad, which is pointless as a result of there is a a lot better touch-based numpad that you should utilize onthe ScreenPad Plus. It really works, however I am undecided it is at residence on a gaming pocket book.
Audio on the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 16
Asus’ six-speaker system, with two tweeters and 4 woofers is a lot appropriate, particularly in case you like your sound loud.
Chvrches’ “Over” simply crammed my condo with sound means earlier than getting near 100% quantity. The drums have been snappy, and the synths have been clear, although a number of the vocals sounded a bit extra hole than I anticipated.
When operating Management, the system actually pumped up the amount. I used to be high-quality with it beneath 60%. Protagonist Jesse Faden’s internal monologue was clear as day, and gunshots rang out with a pop.That being mentioned, you may want to show the amount up fairly excessive if you wish to overcome the whirring of the Duo’s followers.
You can also make changes to the Dolby Atmos audio system within the Dolby Entry software program that is preinstalled on the laptop computer. It comes defaulted to music mode and a “balanced” EQ. I discovered the “detailed’ setting helped a bit with these vocals and made the drums even snappier.
Upgradeability of the the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 16
There are 13 Torx screws between you and the within of the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 16. 12 of them are simply seen — I took care of them with a Torx T6 screwdriver head. The ultimate screw is below a small rubbery pad within the heart of the underside casing. I used a flathead screwdriver to elevate it (there’s some adhesive below it) after which switched again to the T6 to get the screw out.
A lot of the screws are the identical measurement, however the two closest to the rear ports and the one below the quilt are longer, so preserve them separate. The underside proper screw is captive, so it will not come all the best way out.
If you happen to begin from the pure hole that the captive screw makes, you will not have to do a lot in the best way of prying to get the underside off. A number of light nudges and I had the underside case off very quickly.
With the case off, you’ll be able to simply entry the battery, RAM, SSD and Wi-Fi card. The RAM sticks are stacked one on prime of the opposite . The SSD has thick thermal pads above and beneath it. On our assessment unit, there was a second slot so that you can add one other SSD, in addition to pointers for the place so as to add thermal pads.
The Wi-Fi card is beneath the inventory SSD, so you may have to take away that if you wish to change that card.
When you can entry the battery, evidently Asus would like you did not. A sticker on the top-right of the 90 Wh battery reads “Don’t disassemble” in all caps, and one of many screws holding it down is roofed with a warning sticker.
Battery Life on the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 16
Gaming laptops haven’t got a repute for excellent battery life, and that is once they simply have one display. It should not come as a shock that the Duo, with two shows, lasted simply 3 hours and 23 seconds on our battery check, making it the laptop computer with the least endurance from our check pool.
Our battery check has laptops hook up with Wi-Fi, stream video, run by way of web sites and run OpenGL checks within the browser with the show set to 150 nits. With the secondary display off, the Zephyrus climbed to 4:07. The Titan lasted 3:48, whereas the Strix Scar 18 ran for 4:26.
Warmth on the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 16
We took warmth measurements on the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 whereas operating our Metro Exodus avenue check.
The middle of the keyboard measured 35.2 levels Celsius (95.36 levels Fahrenheit). The keyboard and mouse, by being so removed from the vents in the back of the laptop computer, handle to remain moderately temperate.
On the underside of the machine, the most popular half measured 54.6 C (130.28 F), which was on the very again of the machine, close to the exhaust. For gaming, preserve this on a desk.
Webcam on the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 16
The 1080p webcam on the Zephyrus Duo is definitely respectable. Even in a difficult lighting situation, it caught particulars in my face (like luggage below drained eyes after an evening I did not get a lot sleep) and the proper colours of my shiny crimson hoodie and blue eyes. On the micro LED display, a few of these colours appeared exaggerated, however that wasn’t the case on different shows I considered the digicam output on.
The webcam additionally options IR sensors to help Home windows Whats up so you’ll be able to sign up with facial recognition. I set this up and it labored easily all through my time with the laptop computer.
Software program and Guarantee on the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 16
There isn’t any scarcity of preinstalled software program on the ROG Zephyrus Duo.
The first app is Armoury Crate, which reveals part stats, fan pace, primary RGB lighting and a recreation library, amongst different issues. Asus doubles down on RGB within the Aura Creator app, which helps you to create extra detailed lighting profiles. I want Asus would mix these two items of software program.
MyAsus is a simple place to examine your guarantee info and see buyer help choices, however it’s additionally bloated with promotions for Asus’ companions.
Digital Pet has made its means from some ROG gaming laptops that Asus’ AniMe Matrix shows on the skin of the lid. On this case, the digital companion cannot do a lot, and largely simply walks across the desktop (or stands nonetheless if flip off scrolling mode). There are no video games or actions to do with it.
The system additionally contains XSplit VCam, which may change your background on video calls, however you may should pay to take away a watermark out of your picture afterwards. This has an Nvidia GPU – give Nvidia Broadcast a strive without spending a dime as a substitute (or no matter is constructed into Zoom, Groups, and many others).
Asus sells the ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 with a one-year guarantee.
Configurations of the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 16
We examined the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 in a $3,999.99 configuration with an AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX, 32GB of RAM, a 2TB SSD, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 and a 2560 x 1600 mini LED show.
An alternative choice retains the identical CPU, however drops the storage to 1TB, adjustments the show to straightforward LED, and a GeForce RTX 40080 for $3,499.99.
Backside Line
For the entire multi-taskers on the market who want extra display house and haven’t got an exterior monitor, the Zephyrus Duo 16 will examine a variety of bins. It is expensive, sure, however it comes with premium elements, a stunning show and robust audio system.
I do want that Asus would provide you with methods to make the keyboard and touchpad really feel a bit extra pure. It is good that the corporate features a wrist relaxation, however it additionally feels prefer it’s admitting a flaw. You may need an exterior mouse and keyboard once you’re at your desk.
Your different choices with top-end graphics that we have examined to this point are greater, 17 and 18-inch laptops. In our testing, we discovered these machines had RTX 4090s with larger clock speeds, however the Zephyrus can sustain in case you increase it to its highest efficiency modes.
Two screens nonetheless looks like a distinct segment for now. However with the enhancements to Asus’ ScreenPad Plus software program and higher high quality screens, those that need some extra pixels have a simple suggestion.
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