TL;DR
Asus listed the 2026 ROG Zephyrus G16 with an RTX 5080 at $4,799. The 2025 mannequin with a extra highly effective RTX 5090 sells for $4,599 on Amazon.
Asus has quietly added an RTX 5080 configuration to the ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) in the US, and the worth is $4,799. That is $200 greater than the 2025 ROG Zephyrus G16 with a extra highly effective RTX 5090 GPU and 64GB of RAM, which is at the moment accessible on Amazon and Newegg for $4,599. A more recent laptop computer with a weaker graphics card prices greater than its predecessor with a stronger one.
The new mannequin pairs Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 5080 with Intel’s Core Ultra 9 386H, the primary Panther Lake processor to ship in a gaming laptop computer. It comes with 64GB of LPDDR5X RAM, a 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD, and a 16-inch 2.5K OLED show working at 240Hz with 1,100 nits peak brightness. Asus lists the GPU’s complete graphics energy at as much as 160W in guide mode, 20W greater than the RTX 5070 Ti variant that was beforehand the one US possibility.
The RTX 5080 isn’t a small improve over the 5070 Ti. It carries 16GB of GDDR7 VRAM in comparison with the 5070 Ti’s 12GB, and unbiased benchmarks present it delivering roughly 15 to 23 per cent higher gaming efficiency relying on decision. The RAM additionally doubles from 32GB to 64GB on this configuration.
But the RTX 5080 isn’t the RTX 5090. Nvidia’s top-end laptop computer GPU carries 24GB of VRAM and roughly 10 per cent extra gaming efficiency than the 5080, in accordance with benchmarks run on Blackwell-generation {hardware}. In the 2025 Zephyrus G16, that sooner GPU got here paired with Intel’s Arrow Lake Core Ultra 9 285H and 64GB of RAM for $4,599 at third-party retailers.
The $4,799 price ticket for the 2026 mannequin represents an $1,100 bounce over the RTX 5070 Ti configuration of the identical laptop computer, a 29 per cent improve. Some of that premium is justified by the GPU improve and doubled reminiscence. But the truth that a purchaser can stroll onto Amazon at present and get final yr’s mannequin with a superior GPU at a cheaper price makes the worth proposition tough to defend.
There is context that partly explains the pricing. The $4,599 determine for the 2025 RTX 5090 mannequin comes from third-party sellers on Amazon and Newegg, not from Asus’s official retailer. Best Buy listed the 32GB configuration of the identical laptop computer at $4,400 at launch, and it has since been discounted to $3,799.
The comparability isn’t strictly apples to apples, however the sensible consequence for patrons is identical: the older, sooner machine prices much less wherever you discover it.
Intel’s Panther Lake platform can also be new, and new silicon carries a worth premium. The Core Ultra 9 386H is constructed on Intel’s 18A manufacturing course of, the corporate’s first sub-2nm node, and brings 16 cores throughout three tiers: 4 efficiency cores, eight effectivity cores, and 4 low-power cores. Whether that CPU improve justifies a $200 surcharge over a laptop computer with a greater GPU is a query every purchaser will reply otherwise.
The broader {hardware} market is working in opposition to customers as effectively. DDR5 reminiscence costs have surged dramatically in 2026 as Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron redirected manufacturing capability from client DRAM to high-bandwidth reminiscence for AI knowledge centres. A 64GB package of LPDDR5X that price below $120 a yr in the past now runs between $300 and $500.
That price is being handed by to each laptop computer that ships with high-capacity reminiscence.
Asus has already confronted scrutiny over pricing in its RTX 5080 product line. The ROG NUC 16 mini PC launched at $4,400 in China final month with solely a 2.3 per cent benchmark enchancment over its predecessor, prompting backlash from patrons who anticipated extra from a $1,200 year-over-year worth improve. The Zephyrus G16’s pricing follows the identical sample: significant part upgrades that don’t absolutely account for the fee bounce.
For patrons who prioritise uncooked GPU efficiency, the arithmetic is obvious. The 2025 ROG Zephyrus G16 with the RTX 5090 delivers extra graphics horsepower for much less cash, even when its CPU is a technology behind. The 2026 mannequin’s attraction rests on the newer Panther Lake processor, the silver color possibility, and the belief that the 2025 inventory will ultimately promote out.
Asus has not commented on the pricing disparity. The firm’s US retailer now lists three Zephyrus G16 configurations for 2026, starting from the RTX 5070 Ti at $3,699 to the RTX 5080 at $4,799. The RTX 5090 variant of the 2026 mannequin has not but been listed within the US, however early pricing from different markets suggests it should exceed $5,000.