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PODCAST: ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 takes ‘wow factor’ to next level [Review]
With its dual-screen design, the ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 is a gamer's dream. But is it worth the price tag? Let's find out.
Photo: ROG, edited by Cheryl Kahla
Asus promised the ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 laptop is designed to elevate your game and boost your creativity, and they surely delivered.
The powerful multi-purpose device has a game-changing secondary touch display built for a variety of uses – we mention a few use cases in the podcast below.
ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 review
Podcast: Tech Check with K
Asus was kind enough to let us play with the Zephyrus Duo 16 (the GX650) for a while.
Was it all rainbow displays and sunshine fields? Yes and no, depending on who at The Citizen you ask.
Tune in to The Citizen’s newest podcast – Tech Check with K – as myself, Shaun Holland and Lyle Kruger discuss the pros and cons of using this mobile powerhouse.
This is our first episode of Tech Check With K. For the weekly series, bookmark this page or subscribe on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts, iono FM or Player FM (Coming to Podcast Republic soon).
ScreenPad Plus
Now about that screen…
The two displays are perfectly placed in line with each other, making it easy for the eye to move from one screen to the next.
The Citizen’s Production Manager, Lyle Kruger, was impressed with the perfect balance and how precisely the second screen and hinge was engineered.
“You can bring it up with one hand, and there is no lift from the bottom of the laptop. [The hinge and second screen] also helps with cooling”, Lyle said.
According to ROG, the Zephyrus Duo is fitted with Thermal Grizzly’s Conductonaut Extreme to reduce the CPU’s temperature by up to 15%.
This is fancy tech terms to say that your legs won’t burn to a crisp and the Duo 16 would keep cool, calm and collected while other laptops overheat.
Watch: Zephyrus Duo 16 unboxing
Keyboard and trackpad
I simply adored the keyboard and the trackpad, which also doubles as a full number pad to the right of the keyboard deck.
The caps have key travel of 1.7mm which ensure for a super comfortable typing (or gaming) experience, and the per-key RGB makes it beautiful to look at.
Look at it! Isn’t it pretty?
Performance
My personal benchmark for performance is how many browser tabs I can keep running without a laptop slowing down or freezing altogether.
Well technically, it’s more of a bad habit than anything else, but hey, such is life and the Zephyrus Duo managed the load with ease.
Other cool features include a 720P HD infrared camera for Windows Hello not fazed by low light conditions, an anti-glare display, and AAS Aura Sync Lighting.
The Nebula HDR display allows for a dazzling display of colours, and the immersive six-speaker setup is any audiophile’s dream.
I/O ports
A few niggles…
When we reviewed the Duo 16, it was listed as R59 999 – a price tag that puts it way out of your average consumer’s budget.
It’s also a bit heavy, meaning it won’t be ideal for travellers.
But unlike Shaun who believes it is “unnecessary to have such an expensive laptop”, I do understand the appeal.
Is it a life-changing laptop? No, but let’s not forget who it was built for: Gamers. More on that below.
But first, look at this nice touch – for those who dare:
Gaming experience
When we say it’s a gaming powerhouse, we mean a gaming powerhouse. Powered by an AMD Ryzen 9 (6000 series), the Duo 16 is equipped with a GeForce RTX 3080 Ti.
ROG says it’s the most powerful GPU they’ve put into a laptop to date: “This GPU can deliver both high resolution and high frame rates in the latest AAA games”.
Playing Dying Light 2 and Hitman was “a supreme experience” for Lyle, who said it definitely upped his gaming experience.
“I have no qualms about it, the keyboard felt super nice under my fingers”. Lyle also stress-tested the Duo 16; see results below:
And let’s not forget: it comes with Xbox Game Pass. Shaun, The Citizen’s senior graphic designer, connected his PS4 controllers for a few Fifa 22 matches:
“I’m an avid soccer lover. My son also loved playing Fifa. It was amazing. Nice and easy to download with the Xbox Game Pass and I can’t complain about the ease of use.”
Pros
- Dual touch screen for multi-tasking
- Powerful processor and graphics
- Amazing display and sound
- Beautifully engineered
- Gaming powerhouse
Cons
- Heavy, hard to lug around
- Average battery life
- Very expensive
NOW READ: Unleash your creativity: Asus Zenbook Pro 16X OLED a designer’s dream – Review
