Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024): The MacBook Pro of gaming laptops | J5XA32F | 2024-03-13 10:08:01
Yeah, I stated it. The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 is the MacBook Pro of gaming laptops. But the distinction is that the battery life is far worse (as one would anticipate from any gaming laptop).
And, throwing some playful shade to MacBooks, you'll be able to truly recreation to your heart's want on it together with your favorite envelope-pushing triple-A titles. Plus, the ROG Zephyrus G14 is surprisingly mild. Once I first picked it up, I used to be expecting a whole lot of heft — solely to be met a surprising featherweight design.
Nevertheless, thin-and-light gaming laptops face one major hurdle: heat. Though the ROG Zephyrus G14 struggles to beat this, it delivers an honest gaming expertise at a practical worth point.
Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 worth
The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 is $1,599 via Best Buy. This is the most cost effective configuration you will get (the same configuration I tested for this evaluate) — and it comes with the following specs:
AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS CPU
Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU
16GB of RAM
1TB of SSD storage
120Hz, 14-inch show with 2560 x 1440-pixel resolution
Home windows 11 House
If you need extra RAM and higher graphics — 32GB of reminiscence and a 4070 GPU, to be actual — you possibly can upgrade to the $1,999 model.
</div> <a class="font-bold leading-6 text-center hover:underline" href="https://zdcs.link/7XNOP?pageview_type=RSS&template=review&module=deal-card&element=offer&item=buy-button&element_label=Get%20Deal&object_type=review&object_uuid=03uv5rL6k2RUZDhEmPlFlnF&short_url=7XNOP&u=https%3A%2F%2Fmashable.com%2Ffeeds%2Frss%2Fall" rel="nofollow sponsored" target="_blank" data-ga-action="buy-link" data-ga-item="buy-button" data-ga-label="$text" data-ga-element="offer" data-ga-module="deal-card" data-ga-click title="(opens in a new window)"> <button class="inline-block px-5 mt-3 w-full font-sans text-base font-bold tracking-wide md:w-auto md:text-lg btn btn-secondary">Get Deal</button> </a> </div> What I like about Asus ROG Zephyrus G14
The ROG Zephyrus G14 is ideal for many who need to convey a good, MacBook Pro-esque laptop to the workplace — before gaming at night time with a beastly gaming rig.
MacBook-like design
From the dual speaker grilles flanking the keyboard to the "Platinum White" chassis, it is no marvel the ROG Zephyrus G14 is the MacBook Professional of gaming laptops.
</div> The ROG Zephyrus G14 is wrapped in a sturdy, strong CNC aluminum unibody chassis along with a silvery hue and rounded corners that is fairly MacBook-esque.
Hell, it even weighs as much as a MacBook Pro, too. For example, the 14-inch M3 MacBook Pro weighs 3.4 pounds, which is just barely heavier than the 3.3-pound ROG Zephyrus G14.
Adding more credence to my MacBook Pro-esque claim, the ROG Zephyrus G14 is 0.62 inches thick; the 14-inch M3 MacBook Pro is 0.61 inches thick.
Nevertheless, what differentiates the ROG Zephyrus G14 from the MacBook world is the enormous slash design on the lid that has programmable LED lighting (you possibly can play with it by way of the pre-installed Armoury Crate app).
Nice variety of ports
One factor that is not very MacBook, in a great way, is the ROG Zephyrus G14's extensive number of ports. On the left aspect, you will discover a USB4 port, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Sort-A port, an HDMI 2.1 port, and a headset jack.
</div> On the appropriate aspect, you will find a USB Three.2 Gen 2 Sort-C port, one other USB 3.2 Gen 2 Sort-A port, and a microSD card slot (a nod to you creators out there).
No, there is not a Thunderbolt four port on this laptop computer. (That is an AMD-based laptop computer, so as a consequence of licensing hindrances relating to Intel, USB4 is the most effective you will get.)
Respectable OLED display
I watched the Deadpool & Wolverine trailer on YouTube to test the ROG Zephyrus G14's 14-inch, 3K (2560 x 1440-pixel resolution) show. The picture was crisp, virtually too crisp, as I watched Ryan Reynold's character prance around the display with reptilian-like pockmarks and scaly, ugly pores and skin.
</div> The colors are and textures are rich, too, displaying off Deadpool's forest-green jacket and the vivid Hawaiian shirt, full of tropical designs on it, beneath it. Whereas enjoying Cyberpunk 2077, I marveled on the sheen that emanated from robo-secretary with a gold-plated face.
Nevertheless, as you will discover in the "What I Do not Like" section, the display does have a notable flaw.
Awesome keyboard format
Have you ever experienced a second during which you are shortly trying to find the mute button, but as it's sandwiched between a row of different keys, you end up scrambling to press it?
</div> The ROG Zephyrus G14 rectifies this challenge by isolating the mute button, the quantity up/down keys, and the pre-installed Armoury Crate app (for quick assess to gaming settings), putting the four keys above the perform row.
Within the words of Agnes from Despicable Me, the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14's keyboard is so clicky I'll die! These aren't keys. These are mini trampolines built for my fingers, allowing them to leap from symbol to symbol with sleek ease.
Sure, this gaming laptop features RGB backlighting, but understand that it isn't per-key RGB backlighting. In other words, for those who change the RGB backlighting (which you can do by way of the pre-installed Armoury Crate app), it's going to affect the whole keyboard. You'll be able to't make per-key changes.
Surprisingly good audio
The ROG Zephyrus G14's will never come near the honeyed sound of a MacBook Professional, nevertheless it's not half dangerous.
</div> I fired up Benson Boone's "Lovely Things" on Spotify. His gritty, moody voice sounded crisp, full, and well-rounded on the G14's stereo speaker system, which includes a double-tweeter and dual-subwoofer setup. It's sufficiently loud, too, at max volume.
Gaming laptops sometimes have so-so audio. In any case, most players grab one of many best gaming headsets to pair with their gaming laptops. Nevertheless, Asus does not make that assumption with its shoppers, which is a breath of recent air.
Spectacular performance
We examined the ROG Zephyrus G14 with the Cyberpunk 2077 benchmark and it blew past 100 frames with ease. See our performance section to see how nicely it dealt with one of the crucial graphics-intensive PC video games.
What's 'eh' concerning the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14
There isn't any means round it. The internals inside a gaming laptop computer are quite highly effective, which produces lots of warmth.
A superb thigh warmer
One approach to circumvent warmth points is to discover a strategy to exhaust scorching air away from commonly touched areas.
</div> Nevertheless, whereas operating Cyberpunk 2077, it looks like a lot of the warmth escapes from the ROG Zephyrus' G14 underside. This may be a problem if you wish to use it on your lap. Nevertheless, in the event you plan on putting the Asus gaming laptop on a desk or desk, you ought to be wonderful.
On the plus aspect, the ROG Zephyrus G14 will make for a superb source of heat through the thick of winter; it may well double as a thigh hotter for positive.
Battery life is OK
Sure, I do know that battery life on a gaming laptop computer isn't all that great. Nevertheless, in comparison with the opposite gaming laptops I've tested, the ROG Zephyrus G14 isn't the worst, nevertheless it's undoubtedly not one of the best both.
</div> While it beats the gaming laptops that couldn't final more than an hour, the Asus gaming rig struggled to meet up with extra power-efficient rivals. Take a look at the battery life section for our results.
What I dislike concerning the ROG Zephyrus G14
As somebody who travels rather a lot and sometimes sits next to shiny windows, one in every of my largest pet peeves is a dim display. I would not say the ROG Zephyrus G14 is "dim," however it might stand to be brighter.
Show might be brighter
Asus claims that the ROG Zephyrus G14 has 500-nit display, which ought to be adequate, nevertheless it appears slightly dimmer than anticipated.
</div> While navigating darker scenes in Cyberpunk 2077 or moody Netflix exhibits, I discovered myself reaching for the brightness button — only to seek out that I've already reached max brightness.
Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 battery life
We examined the ROG Zephyrus G14's battery life with PCMark 10's gaming battery life check. It lasted 1 hour and 17 minutes. Examine this to the HP Victus, for instance, which survived for 1 hour and 56 minutes, almost two hours.
For what it is value, the HP Victus we examined has the identical GPU because the ROG Zephyrus G14 (i.e., Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU).
Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 Geekbench 6 and different performance scores
Full of an AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS chip and an Nvidia RTX 4060 GPU, listed here are the numbers we acquired from operating Cyberpunk 2077 (High preset, 1080p).
102 frames per second
Examine this to the HP Victus, which has an AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS processor and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU. With the same settings, it delivered 95 frames per second.
On the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14, we ran Geekbench 6, which checks for processor prowess. It delivered a multi-core score of 12,170.
For reference, this beats the M3 chip contained in the 14-inch MacBook Pro, which delivered a rating of 11,998 on the same benchmark.
Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 webcam
Webcams on most general-purpose laptops stink, however on gaming laptops, they're even worse. The ROG Zephyrus G14 is not any exception. Outfitted with 1080p webcam, the shooter seems hazy, unclear, and muddy.
</div> On the plus aspect, it is an IR digital camera, which suggests it supports face unlock for Windows Hey logins.
Is the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 value it?
The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 is value it if you need a modern, thin-and-light gaming laptop that can be disguised as a laptop for work by day — while unleashing its true, beastly powers by night time for triple-A gaming.
Nevertheless, it's value noting that its rival, the HP Victus, is currently less than $1,000. It packs the identical Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU and plays Cyberpunk 2077 at a mean of 95 frames per second, which is just barely behind the ROG Zephyrus G14's 102 frames-per-second score.
Still, the ROG Zephyrus G14 undeniably has the higher chassis, with a MacBook Pro-esque, premium design. Its $1,599 price tag will get you an uptick in performance, a slim, featherweight design, top-notch audio system, and an awesome keyboard. What's to not love?
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