That is the 14-inch gaming laptop computer to beat

ASUS’ ROG Zephyrus G14 has been one among our favourite for rattling close to half a decade. However the 2024 mannequin is on one other degree. That’s as a result of even with no contemporary technology of GPUs from NVIDIA, ASUS went and redesigned your entire factor anyway. And the result’s a pocket book with a beautiful aluminum unibody chassis with a extra mature design that doesn’t have to throw RGB lighting in your face to get some consideration. This version can be sleeker and lighter whereas nonetheless offering highly effective efficiency. Although ASUS made a couple of trade-offs when in comparison with its predecessor, with a beginning value of $1,600, the brand new ROG Zephyrus G14 shouldn’t be solely a greater worth than nearly all of its 14-inch rivals, it’s additionally merely among the best pound-for-pound gaming laptops round.

Design

In comparison with earlier fashions that had been awash in RGB or had dot-matrix shows constructed into their lids, this 12 months’s G14 is an train in restraint. It’s nearly like the road has grown out of its awkward teenage part and turn into a trendy however nonetheless fun-loving grownup. The lid is accented by a easy diagonal slash with white (not RGB) LEDs embedded down the center. In the meantime, on the within, there’s a sturdy deck with a big touchpad and surprisingly highly effective audio system.

The one factor I miss is per-key RGB lighting as a substitute of ASUS’ single-zone method. In spite of everything, it is a gaming laptop computer and in the event you’re going to supply a number of colours, it’d be good to have full customizability.

That mentioned, the G14’s redesign isn’t nearly model, it’s practical too. The change to a unibody aluminum body has strengthened the entire machine. There’s barely a touch of flex even on sometimes weaker elements just like the lattice between keys. However extra importantly, ASUS additionally diminished the laptop computer’s weight to simply 3.3 kilos, which is noticeably lighter than rival notebooks with related steel builds just like the (3.95 kilos). Plus, even with the smaller dimension, the G14 encompasses a wholesome choice of ports together with a full-size HDMI 2.1 jack, two USB-C (one among which helps Thunderbolt 4), two USB-A and a microSD card reader.

Show

One other glowing element of the G14 is its OLED display. Along with producing vibrant colours, it has a pointy 2,880 x 1,800 decision together with a 120Hz refresh fee and a coloration gamut that covers one hundred pc of the DCI-P3 spectrum. Lately, I’ve been watching Three Physique Downside and I’ve been completely loving the OLED panel’s wonderful distinction and deep blacks. Moreover, as a result of ASUS features a handful of color-calibrated settings for sRGB, D65 P3, DCI-P3 (however not Adobe RGB), the G14 is a really succesful photo- and video-editing machine.

The one small problem is that as a result of 2,880 x 1,800 is a considerably unusual decision, you might not be capable of play your whole video games at their native decision, which is a matter I encountered when enjoying Returnal.

Efficiency

An enormous change for the 2024 ROG G14 is that GPU choices now prime out with an NVIDIA RTX 4070 as a substitute of a 4080 like on the earlier mannequin. Which may be a bummer for some, however as I want laptops which can be simpler to hold round, I’m OK with buying and selling out just a little top-end oomph for enhanced portability. And with all fashions that includes an AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS chip together with no less than 16GB of RAM (or 32GB like on my evaluation unit) and 1TB of storage, you received’t be missing in velocity.

On Geekbench 6, the G14 matched the efficiency we noticed from a bigger XPS 16 with an Intel Core Extremely 7 155H chip. In video games, it hit 90 fps in Cyberpunk 2077 on extremely settings, which is simply shy of a way more costly Razer Blade 14 (101 fps). That mentioned, there are some essential particulars it’s best to know. Not like earlier fashions, the most recent G14’s reminiscence is soldered to the motherboard, so there’s no method so as to add additional RAM later. Moreover, whereas each ASUS and Razer’s 14-inch methods seem to have the identical RTX 4070 GPU, the G14’s is capped at 90 watts versus 140 watts for the Blade, which explains the small hole in gaming efficiency.

It’s additionally price noting that warmth will be a difficulty in sure conditions. In regular use, it’s not a giant deal because the followers not often have to spin up when shopping the net or watching films. However below load, as a result of the G14’s vents are on the underside of the pocket book, your lap can get toasty quick. Fortunately, this received’t be a significant downside in the event you’re gaming, because you’ll most likely need to be at a desk or desk to place an exterior mouse on anyway.

Battery life

Whereas the G14 doesn’t final fairly so long as a conventional ultrabook, it nonetheless carries sufficient juice to final practically a complete workday. On PCMark 10’s Trendy Workplace rundown check, it lasted 7 hours and 29 minutes which is barely higher than the Razer Blade 14’s time of 6:46. And, new for 2024, ASUS has added its proprietary Slim Energy Jack, which type of seems like a USB-C port in the event you squint (however it isn’t). Nonetheless, if you wish to actually journey gentle, the G14 helps charging through USB-C so you possibly can depart the adapter at residence. The one caveat is that USB-PD on this maxes out at 100 watts (versus 180 watts when utilizing the included brick), so the battery should still discharge whereas gaming or performing different intensive duties.

Wrap-up

Regardless that we already beloved its predecessors, the 2024 ROG Zephyrus G14 has managed to take one other huge leap. It’s bought an exquisitely crafted chassis together with a vibrant new show and boomier audio system – all whereas shedding practically half a pound in weight. On the within, you continue to stand up to an RTX 4070 GPU. Certain, it’s a contact slower than a equally outfitted Blade 14, however contemplating our evaluation unit prices $2,000 in comparison with $2,700 for the closest equivalently specced Razer, I’m completely happy to commerce a tiny little bit of efficiency to get a way more reasonably priced machine. And that’s earlier than you consider a beginning value of simply for one with an RTX 4060. My largest gripe is that ASUS’ Amoury Crate app nonetheless feels clunky, due to settings which can be exhausting to seek out or toggles that don’t work such as you’d anticipate. However make no mistake, the G14 is a superb laptop computer – for each players and content material creators – who need good efficiency in a transportable bundle. So whereas I respect what the Blade 14 and different high-end notebooks can do, ASUS’ newest creation is the one I’d purchase.