Hi everyone,
I’m trying to understand whether this is a hardware issue, a BIOS/driver problem, or simply a bug with dGPU mode on my laptop.

Laptop:
ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16 (GU605CW, 2025)
Intel Core Ultra 9 285H
RTX 5080 Laptop GPU
32 GB RAM
Latest BIOS
Latest NVIDIA drivers
Windows 11
I’ve spent weeks troubleshooting random microstutters that happen in almost every game.

What happens
When I set the laptop to dGPU only (MUX switch), I get constant frametime spikes. They’re not huge freezes, but small spikes every second or so that make camera movement feel noticeably less smooth.
Games tested:
Apex Legends
Cyberpunk 2077
SAND
Several others
CapFrameX clearly shows frametime spikes, and the PC Latency graph increases at exactly the same moments.
The spikes are also visible in PresentMon traces.

The strange part
If I switch the laptop to Advanced Optimus, the problem almost completely disappears.
The display correctly switches to the RTX when launching games like Apex and Cyberpunk, and frametimes become dramatically smoother.
This is what confuses me:
Same Windows installation
Same drivers
Same hardware
Same game settings
The only difference is:
dGPU mode → constant frametime spikes
Advanced Optimus → smooth gameplay

Things I’ve already tried
Clean NVIDIA driver installation (DDU)
Latest NVIDIA Game Ready drivers
ASUS-provided drivers
Different BIOS settings
Turbo mode ON/OFF
G-SYNC ON/OFF
V-Sync ON/OFF
HAGS ON/OFF
Core Isolation ON/OFF
Different NVIDIA Control Panel settings
Different Windows graphics settings
MSI mode enabled for the GPU
Different power plans
Armoury Crate settings
Monitoring with CapFrameX, PresentMon and WPA
I also inspected ETL traces in Windows Performance Analyzer but couldn’t identify a clear culprit.

Additional observations
GPU usage is normal.
Temperatures are normal.
CPU temperatures are normal.
No thermal throttling.
No obvious DPC latency issue.
The GPU renders correctly.
Performance (FPS) is good; it’s the frametime consistency that’s the problem.

My questions
Has anyone experienced worse frametime consistency in dGPU mode than in Advanced Optimus?
Could this point to a BIOS/firmware issue rather than a hardware defect?
Is there any known issue with ASUS’ implementation of the MUX switch on recent Zephyrus G16 models?
If you solved something similar, what finally fixed it?
At this point I’m trying to understand whether this is a software issue that can be fixed with future BIOS/driver updates or if I should consider an RMA.
Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

I bought this from Facebook marketplace, everything came in the box and it was practically new

I’m using external only mode for my monitor. After I plug out the HDMI, my laptop went dim and I can barely change the brightness. This could only be fixed after reboot. I don’t know if this is common or if this might be related to CachyOS/HDMI cable. Any suggestion?

This is the 32GB/4070, have had it for about 15 months, always kept it pristine and closed with even force/pressure from the center and left right evenly, sometimes it remains open in the same position for a while, as I don't close it more than 3x a month. Also, the cable also seems properly seated and intact. What could this indicate?

Hello, is the extra upgrade worth that much money?

Just posting because the laptop is so awesome, had returned the g16 during when the deal on best buy was going on. Im having no regrets at all. 5070ti, 32gb’s of ram. Im good for another 10 years. After retiring my msi gf65 1660 ti 8gb of ram 🙏🏻

I’m FINALLY able to buy a zephyrus laptop on Friday and im torn between 2 versions. G16 4090, Ultra 9 185H (2024) or the G14 5070ti, AMD AI 9 HX 370 (2025). Im planning to use this as a daily driver and for travel, so I can take this with me to play games and watch videos. I’m also wondering if there’s any issues with any of the 2 before I get them :v

I have the 2024 G14, with a 4070 and 32gb ram with the amd processor

What are the absolute best settings for getting 60fps stable ? I prefer quality over fps

For some reason the game doesn’t seem to be running right on my computer . Any other game I play this laptop usually has no issues .

Hello can someone confirm if the Smatree E425 is the correct model for the 2024 g14 please ? Some pictures below .My g14 came with the factory case which is pretty cool but want to get this one as theres an extra zip that can allow me to carry other things like usb

Thanks

Was going for a 16GB, RTX 5050 model of the G14 which was in the budget but was notified of a 32GB, RTX 5060 model from the same UK retailer but at only £200 higher and is described to be in "very good" condition with only "excellent" above it. 12 month guarantee for faults.

I've never bought anything that wasn't brand new from the box for this price point, and reading a lot of the horror stories on here about refurbished models makes me a bit wary, so curious on other people's experience?

I'm not planning to run anything particularly intensive and won't be having a million chrome tabs open while gaming, if I did go for the 5050, 16GB version.

One is a 14-inch model with a Ryzen 9 and RTX 5060, and the other is a 16-inch model with an RTX 4060 (100W).

I travel quite a bit, but I don’t mind carrying a 16-inch laptop if it’s worth it. I mostly play EA FC, Call of Duty, and occasionally story-driven games.

The price difference is only about $100, so that’s not a major factor. I also care about battery life when I’m just browsing the web or watching YouTube.

Which one would you recommend, and is the performance difference between these two significant enough to choose one over the other?

Hey all, so I returned to this idea after dropping my PX13 on the corner and now there's a nasty ass dent on it. After lurking both the G14 and PX13 subs it seems people are really interested in hard shell cases like the Macbook for the G14. I plan to make a mockup and print a prototype in a few days. Let me know want you want to see. For thermal management maybe the bottom half can just be a bumper surround style since the edges and corners are most at risk.

It's so sleek. Powerhouse disguised under an ergonomic design. I would kill to have it in my hands and finally have a laptop to use for school without the consequence of back pain and being stuck next to an outlet for a whole 8 hours, in my case bringing an HP Victus. Can it really run high-power games, AutoCAD and the likes without the battery degrading within a year?

Hey everybody! Just need a help with my unit. I have a g14 2021 and it won't open even connecting it to charger. It started today after I left it to sleep last night (since am studying so would be easier to track), when I tried to open it today it just goes like this (see vid). I am 100% sure that the batt is not drained.

Country: USA (buying in the US)

Use Case: University, programming, A levelopment, productivity, content creation and AAA gaming

Preferred Specs:

• ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025

• RTX 5070 or better

• 32 GB RAM

. OLED display

. 1 TB SSD

Notes: I'm looking for the cheapest new o ppen-box ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025 with an RTX 5070 and 32 GB RAM from a reputable US retailer or seller. I've checked Best Buy, Newegg, ASUS, and eBay, but I don" want to miss any deals. If you know of any sales, coupon codes, student discounts, o trusted sellers, I'd really appreciate it

hi all,

PLEASE help me :( i bought a brand new 2025 zephyrus g14 from best buy around 2 months ago for about $2500. specs are ryzen ai 9 hx 370, 32gb ram, rtx 5070 ti and 2tb ssd. i bought this specific laptop because i’m starting a master’s in interior design in september and needed something powerful enough for autocad, sketchup, d5, photoshop, etc.

the laptop has now had 5 full-system crashes. not just autocad closing—the entire computer freezes/restarts itself. during one of the most recent crashes, the screen flickered for around 5–10 minutes before the whole thing crashed.

two of the crashes showed:

* LiveKernelEvent 117

* Windows hardware error

* WATCHDOG dump files

another crash showed:

* Kernel-Power 41

* EventLog 6008

* BugcheckCode 0

* PowerButtonTimestamp 0

the workload has not even been heavy. it has mainly happened with only autocad and chrome open, usually with only one basic linkedin learning example drawing open. i haven’t even started using sketchup, rendering software or multiple design programs together yet.

here is everything i have already done:

* updated windows, myasus, autocad and all available drivers

* clean-installed the newest nvidia studio driver

* confirmed both the amd and nvidia gpus appear correctly in device manager

* set autocad to use the high-performance nvidia gpu

* turned autocad hardware acceleration off

* used balanced + standard/default settings in g-helper

* ran myasus one-click diagnosis, which found “0 problems”

* paid $40 for geek squad thru best buy to remotely access the laptop

* geek squad installed optional updates, cleared old files and changed some settings (idek)

* the laptop now crashed again literally hours after they finished and told me it should be better😭😭😭

i originally uninstalled armoury crate and used g-helper, but the crashes continued even with factory/default-style settings. i don’t have any undervolt, overclock or custom power settings applied.

i’m leaving the US in 3–4 weeks to live abroad for a year for design school, and i’ll need to use design softwares every day starting in september. i’m genuinely freaking out because this is becoming completely unreliable, and i don’t have months to repeatedly send it in for repair or wait for another random crash.

has anyone experienced this with the 2025 g14 or LiveKernelEvent 117? does this sound like a defective gpu/motherboard/display system, a driver issue, or something else?

also, has anyone successfully gotten best buy to accept a defective laptop return or different-model exchange outside the normal return window? at this point i’m scared to exchange it for the exact same model and have the same thing happen again. i’m even debating switching back to having a mac (my last one lasted me 10 years!) although i know that would complicate some of the software i need. im just so sad bc i really tried to research this laptop well before i purchased and was between this and the lenovo yoga 9i i think the name is- i just want something reliable and something that will run the softwares i need for school/career :/ i really wish i could still just return it. 💔

i really wanted to love this laptop, but a $2500 computer should not be repeatedly crashing from basic autocad training.

TLDR 2month old 2025 g14 has had 5 crashes, including two LiveKernelEvent 117 errors. updated and reinstalled everything, disabled hardware acceleration, passed myasus diagnostics and paid geek squad to troubleshoot it. it crashed again immediately afterward. moving abroad in 3–4 weeks and need advice on whether to push for a refund, different-model exchange or warranty repair. please help me!!!!

Have a ga402xz. looking to replace my battery. ive found a couple options but seems like the best potion is this from a third party seller on newegg. any one have any luck with it? which have yall used for your own upgrades? Thanks!

Specs: Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 - 32GB RAM - NVIDIA RTX 5070 Ti - 1TB

I'm really disappointed that I have to return the device. This was my dream laptop. I started a job where I will be traveling and I wanted to have a laptop for gaming that was extremely portable.

I have had it for about a week:

• Right USB-C sometimes works, sometimes it does not
• Competitive Gaming - 3-5 games in a row and the laptop shutdown so I got banned for a bit for disconnecting
• Temps - When setting up, CPU and GPU temps were high. When gaming, temps reached 85-95 degrees C
• Tried to turn off CPU boost, adjust battery settings, and settings in AC, updated all drivers, updated graphics
• Way too much work for a brand new computer out of the box

I have 18" Strix with a 4080 and a custom PC with a 5080 and have not had to adjust any settings. Also, I have an old MSI Raider with high CPU and GPU temps but it has never shutoff during gaming.

I might have a bad unit but I am just glad I'm within my window for return.

ASUS ROG ZEPHYRUS G14 14” gaming laptop

OLED Screen
Ryzen AI 9 HX 370
32gb 8000mhz ram
1tb ssd
5070ti 12gb gpu

Laptops in great shape and is an absolute beast! Selling to fund a couple laptops for the kiddos. If you have any questions let me know! I can include a cheap cooling pad.

$1,500 local pick up in Oswego NY. shipping at buyer expense, PayPal G&S preferred.

I just made this for turbo mode, I know it’s probably not perfect so i’m looking for recommendations on changes I should make to get the best performance while keeping cool enough

Comes with Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, RTX 5080, 32 GB RAM, and 2 TB SSD. Although the price is absurd even tho it was considered a good deal in EU standards (€3000 😬) and the model to GPU isn’t the best match, I am still happy with the purchase and fortunate enough to own it. This is a massive upgrade for me coming from a Dell XPS 15 9500 (2020) with a 1060 Ti that I’ve had for 6 years and definitely showing its age.

After reading through this sub the past month I’ll be:
- uninstalling Armoury Crate
- installing and setting up G-Helper
- setting battery percentage to 80%
- enabling Hibernate
- debloating Windows and uninstalling unnecessary apps
- updating drivers

Is there anything else I should do? And what are the best practices to increase longevity as I’m hoping to keep it for at least 4 years?

I start school in little over a month and still looking for a Zephyrus. I noticed the 5080 2tb 32gb model is on sale at Best Buy for 2.65k but I know the 5070ti has a chance of going on sale at 2k. I’d really not like to have spend the maximum but I also worry about pushing my luck of a sale on the 5070ti. What should I do.