ROG Zephyrus G14
This is one heck of a diminished gambling laptop computer that forgather or beats expectations in all areas salvage for upgradability .
You ca n’t go haywire with the Zephyrus G14 if you ’re looking for a gaming laptop without compromising too much in performance for its portability . The new redesigned framing looks better than ever and is uncompromising enough to take with you everywhere . It would be a perfect laptop computer if it were n’t for the minuscule concession made to operation and how you ’ll need to opt for the more expensive reading to ensure you’re able to dally current and future titles at the near options . Starting at $ 1,600
The 2024 version of the ROG Zephyrus G14 still reigns supreme in the pint-sized portable gaming laptop space.Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
Pros
con
If I could , and if physics would permit me , I would happily vaporize away on my Zephyr(us ) . From the time I opened the box on thenewly - redesigned ROG Zephyrus G14to finally sit down down to compose this revaluation , I was always surprised by all the way I liked the Asus - owned brand ’s dry pint - sized gambling laptop computer . For somebody who has long see 16 inches the best form factor for a laptop computer , gaming or otherwise , 14 inches never feel so grand ( get out your chuckles now ) .
Over the age , theZephyrus G14 has routinely get along upas one of thebest gambling laptops you’re able to buy . And yet , I still chance myself surprised with the 2024 model . It feel slim , it expect good , it do well , and it ’s just so damn Inner Light while seeming to fix many of the regretful heating issues born by belittled - package gaming laptops . I ’m not one to get overly excited by CPU cores , clock speeds , or base stats , and I would rather exemplify ease of function , comfort , and a quality exploiter experience . The Zephyrus G14 does n’t seem to fail in any of those categories . My overly decisive head wants to find a bigger break with the overall design , but I simply ca n’t .
Are there issues ? Yes , mostly due to the soldered memory , relieve oneself it unacceptable to upgrade . Instead , one singular form PCIe 4.0 express time slot is available for computer storage upgrades . It ’s all the more rank when there are fewer hardware option to pick and prefer from , at least for now . While I ’m slaked with the number of ports on whirl , I would have liked to see a full - size Coyote State card slot , even if that is n’t distinctive of 14 - inch laptops , not even in high spirits - remainder ones that cost upward of $ 2,000 . That , coupled with the stats on the CPU and GPU , means the laptop is n’t very future - proof , specially if you have a bun in the oven you ’ll keep playing the latest claim .
See at Best Buy
The back panel now sports a monochromic light-emitting diode strip show far more reserved than the previous “ AniMe Matrix ” light - up panel . It ’s now an OLED screen with 3 K resolution ( 2880 x 1800 ) supporting up to 120 Hz refresh rate . And hell , it looks dainty in white , more than the silver grey I also saw earlier this twelvemonth before CES .
There are fewer variations on offer compared to premature years . Among versions frisk the AMD Ryzen R9 - 8945HS , you will spend $ 1,600 for a version with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 and 16 GB of RAM . example with an RTX 4070 will set you back closer to $ 2,000 , depending on the allocator and your desired specs . Last year ’s G14 with an RTX 4090 GPU would operate up to nearly $ 3,300 , but there ’s no selection for that bigger card on the new 14 - column inch . If Asus ever decides to create an uber - powerful version of the 2024 alteration , you could look to pay a act more for it .
The Zephyrus may have turned me into a 14 - column inch convert , specially as the high temperature dissipation is better than many 16 - inch gaming laptops I ’ve used so far this year . I ’m go for to compare ROG ’s latest to HP ’s small gaming laptop computer with the newOmen overstep 14 , which , too , looked very courteous in person with the white frame and RGB keys . I did n’t even be intimate I had until I saw how that one genuinely , the Zephyrus , so dead conforms and patches up the 14 - in mess in my warmheartedness .
ROG Zephyrus G14 Design and Heat Dissipation
The Zephyrus Redesign Belies a Lot of Smart Engineering
The2024 model G14has lead through some major renovations . First of all , it ’s thinner by about .58 inches compared to last yr ’s mannikin . It ’s a small but very noticeable difference that makes all the other enhancements to the chassis caliber that much more significant . If you need a direct comparison , it ’s a hairsbreadth ’s breadth small than a MacBook Pro , which is say something consider how much is packed in this 14 - inch laptop computer with all the OEM part . It ’s drop .5 pounds in weightiness to 3.3 pounds , and yet it feels solid whether you ’re actively using it or carrying it around .
Gone are the days of the old “ AniMe Matrix ” cover dialog box that would let user make their own miniature light shows for any curious onlookers while you punt . To an extent , it was a neat – or at the very least unequaled – feature that was still over the top , especially conceive users themselves would n’t in reality see it .
alternatively , now there ’s a single “ Slash Lighting ” board that cuts recession to tree on the outside panel . It glows up with sealed app notifications , and user can change the radiation diagram with the built - in Armoury Crate app . My ducky was setting it to mimic the basso frequency of whatever you ’re listening to . It ’s certainly less boisterous than ROG ’s previous G14 role model . Still , it ’s also gentle to guess taking the laptop out at a cafe without cark everybody around you with your swim unaccented - up cat figure of speech on the back of your PC . Still , you would in all probability invalid the light feature if you ’re give out anywhere in world , so how much you ’ll miss AniMe depends on just how much you want your laptop computer to hollo “ gamer ” at the top of its lung .
That ’s specially true since the G14 is still not the quietest laptop around when under accent . There are three fans blowing pretty much all the spicy tune out the back of the laptop . We ’ve previously complained that the small Zephyrus modelling can get live in the bad ways . It ’s surd to take a little laptop and dissipate rut well when under load . I was skeptical when Asus state me their new machine ’s Modern heating plant pipe and heatsink fins would keep thing coolheaded , but I never feel anything extreme . The keyboard is hold open coolheaded on both ends while getting hot in the centre , where your hand wo n’t sit too long . An infrared thermometer shows the laptop computer is hotter the closer you get to the blind , and I saw a soap of 116 degrees Fahrenheit on the rearward exterior when it was under stress .
It ’s within range of what other gaming laptops experience , but it ’s also so well designed it keeps the heat forth from where you ’re using it most often . The warmest part of my desk was direct behind the laptop computer , where I was not expected to interact with it . That ’s just a smart design .
Despite the Modern rut role model , it ’s a very tough gadget overall . The full aluminum shape is stiff when carry it around close or when typing . ROG cite that fashion designer increase the key size by about 12 % , with both a 1.7 millimetre gap and travel distance . It ’s one of the better laptop computer keyboards I ’ve used , particularly compare to the 2024 variation of theRazer Blade 16 . It ’s not Apple MacBook Air levels of precision for the 14 - column inch family , but I would n’t feel at all put out carrying this laptop computer around , especially thanks to the kick upstairs screen door .
ROG Zephyrus G14 Display and Sound
This Small Laptop’s OLED Panel is Made Better with Small Bezels
The other big upgrade for the 2024 rendering of the Zephyrus is the move out from mini - LED to OLED . It ’s passably much the new name of the game for both game andnon - gaming laptops . At this level , it ’s middling much dogma that OLED displays are slightly more index effective while give respectable color contrast and deeper blacks . To not put too all right a point on it , the Zephyrus ’ new 14 - in OLED screen is very nice and well deserving the upgrade , but it ’s made even better thanks to minimum bezels and secure base brightness .
The 3 K , 16:10 blind maxes out at 500 nits of peak HDR brightness , which is dear enough for both oeuvre ( AKA bollix up off work by watching Netflix ) and gaming labor . The display hits a maximum refresh pace of 120 Hz with a 0.2 ms reply clock time , which is good enough for most gaming academic term . It ’s a VESA straight Black 500 - license screen that seems almost indulgent on a screen of this size of it . The screen also supports Nvidia G - Sync , which should reduce screen tearing and stuttering . Though I did experience a few rarefied stuttering issues on Warhammer 40 honey oil : Darktide , the rest was smooth sailing , no matter which biz I ran .
None of that was truly surprising based on the specs I ’d seen beforehand , though what did jolt me into my best rendition of a aghast Pikachu belief was the surprising sound quality from this little laptop computer . It ’s not a full spatial experience , but in - game , it ’s surprisingly immersive . There are four 2W woofers packed behind the two side speakers , which seemed to me to eclipse the sizing difference between it and other , bigger laptop .
ROG Zephyrus G14 Performance
About What You Expect, Though With Some Concessions
It ’s hard to ignore how much the new G14 is still very much a gamer laptop . Every time you turn it on , you ’re subjected to a steel - like “ schwing ” noise stick to by the Republic of Gamers logotype . My review version amount with the base of operations AMD R9 - 845HS central processing unit and the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 plus 16 GB of RAM . It ’s currently the cheapest model from the 2024 card , but the next footstep goes to an RTX 4070 and 32 GB of RAM .
I ca n’t compare precise metrics between this laptop computer ’s 4060 and 4070 versions , but it ’s what you believably look . I can get bonnie chassis rate across the motley of postulate games in my library , but I ’m most implicated about the minimum RAM include . The memory is soldered onto the motherboard so that you wo n’t be upgrading that anytime presently . That 16 GB is the very minimum of what you require for gaming now , and I have slightly long load clip for programs and game than what I ’ve come to expect from laptop computer at this price range . I would paint a picture opting for the versions with 32 GB , as soon enough , 16 will be too few for most applications .
Still , I could n’t complain about my time with the Zephyrus on the AMD chipset . The R9 - 8945HS is notoriously equivalent to the R9 - 7940 serial , though feature slightly higher absolute frequency and clock speeds up to 5.2 gigacycle . All my CPU benchmarks on programs like Geekbench and Cinebench put it in blood or just under some of the recent fourteenth - generation Intel Core i9 or Core Ultra 7 C.P.U. in both exclusive - center and multi - core tests , but it ’s generally solid for a 14 - inch laptop . While this is n’t inevitably go to be your go - to pluck for hard-core rendition project , it still manages to harbor its own on Blender trial .
One affair to mention about the newfangled G14 is the minor compromises made to quail the overall footprint . The GPU ’s TGP , or its total artwork ability , is 65W in Turbo Mode . Add in the 25W from Nvidia ’s Dynamic Boost shifting some power from the CPU to GPU , it ’s still not reaching its full normal detonator , which is 115W on a 4060 .
With an RTX 4060 , you ’ll necessarily find yourself swear on subtle tricks to ticktock 60 FPS on in high spirits setting for the more demanding titles . Games like Warhammer 40 K : Darktide wo n’t manage to ticktack 30 FPS on gamy setting without beam of light tracing enable . However , with DLSS , you’re able to break 60 FPS , and the biz still looks corking , though with very occasional stuttering . I saw a alike performance from Control , which also shin to beat 40 FPS on the high-pitched preferences , even with DLSS .
In Baldur ’s Gate III , I could get 60 FPS in national scene and between 30 and 40 FPS out on the streets of Baldur ’s Gate in Act III . If you enable Nvidia ’s super shader curriculum , you ’ll double the frames in both areas .
hacker 2077 was a dainty surprise . I was reach 45 average FPS on high setting with Ray Tracing , though try on to include ray - traced reflection or sun shadows will tank performance , probable in part due to the lack of RAM . I could beat 60 FPS with DLSS on high on crowded street .
The newfangled Zephyrus also allows you to switch between the fluid GPU and or else work on the distinct graphics on the AMD chip without require to restart the microcomputer . This will drastically reduce noise when you ’re using the PC for non - gaming tasks .
All this manages to meet the bare lower limit of expectations for play the most late game on the highest options , which evoke that the G14 with RTX 4060 and 16 GB of RAM wo n’t hit all you may need from the most demanding games , especially those that do n’t support Intel or Nvidia graphic booster . Again , as much as it pains me to say it unless you ’re utterly sure you necessitate to stay within your budget , you should swear more for the version with an RTX 4070 and 32 GB of RAM , at the bare minimum .
ROG Zephyrus G14 Battery
It Won’t Last You a Full Workday
Gaming laptop computer are meant to be played plugged in . That being say , the Zephyrus does have a modicum of stay powerfulness despite its small size of it . It ’s a 73 Whr barrage fire that is well charged with the included 180W adapter , which I found could get from 50 % to full in about 30 to 40 arcminute . It also supports USB - C tear up to 100W , which acts as a dandy backup I wish well more gaming laptops would consort to include .
I wrote this revaluation on the Zephyrus G14 , and it dropped by 40 % after two time of day of constant use under normal work conditions . The battery lasted just under five hours overall before going into the red , which is about what I expect from a laptop computer of this size without putting it into any power economy mode .
Sure , you ’ll likely get double the 60 minutes of bombardment life on low brightness level with a telecasting playback loop , but that ’s not what you need the Zephyrus for anyway . If this were to become your pint - sized productivity laptop , there ’s no reason you would need to dip everything and ready it in king savings mode . Overall , you ’ll want to make use of its beautiful OLED blind ; the bombardment life is okay but not bang-up .
Verdict
Not a Rebel or Liberator, Though a Truly Friendly Aviator
If I had one laptop computer to take with me and minimum size essential , I might still reach for thelatest MacBook Airsif all I needed was a productiveness - minded automobile . However , I would sense far more happy to have the 2024Zephyrus G14by my side for anything demanding a bit more respite and pleasure . In all the ways that matter , it ’s as close to dry pint - sized perfection as we ’ve get so far from a gaming laptop computer . It ’s clear than ever , smaller than ever , and wo n’t stir too many eyebrows if you take it out at the deep brown shop or set it up on the airplane ’s tray table .
Asus did have to make some concessions to make up for the slimming down , yet it makes up for those with general intelligent engineering , which get me think other makers should take off taking notes . Consider me a convert if this is the prototype of what 14 - in gaming can be .
Want more of Gizmodo ’s consumer electronics picks ? Check out our guidebook to thebest laptops , safe telecasting , andbest earpiece . If you desire to read about the next big affair , see our pathfinder toeverything we live about the iPhone 16 .
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