ASUS - ROG Zephyrus 14" Gaming Laptop - AMD Ryzen 9 - 16GB Memory - NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 - 1TB SSD

Pros: - Plays all modern games I've thrown at it on Ultra (Doom Eternal, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Forza Horizon 4) - Has fantastic audio, much better than my macbook pro - The screen at 144hz is very nice - The keyboard is good and doesn't feel so chicklet-y - Overall build quality is great Cons: - Too few USB ports, and they poke out on the right side, so if you put a mouse on the right side it collides with wires from anything else - The keyboard is silver and lights up, in some lighting conditions it makes seeing what key is what very difficult. - This baby gets hot! I highly suggest a lap desk and a cooling pad - Although it has decent specs, clock speed on the gpu and cpu are clocked at lower frequencies likely for heat managment.

Originally wanted this laptop, but I didn't want to pay the extra $600 at the time (believe it was $1499 at the time), so I bought a Dell Inspiron 14 7000 with a Ryzen 7. That machine crashed in programs so often and had issues with sleep mode, trackpad glitching out, and a poor quality display, that I did a return/exchange and was able to get this on sale for $1199. This is the best laptop I have ever tried or owned, and for the price I paid, it's a no brainer. Smooth 144Hz display, Wi-Fi 6, loud speakers, GREAT battery life especially for something this powerful, fast Ryzen 9 and RTX 3060 performs the same in titles as my custom built Ryzen 7 3700x + desktop 3060 build, and it's a 14 inch laptop, so it's not a large, heavy brick to carry around. Good keyboard solid trackpad...really have no complaints so far about this machine and hope it stays that way. Couldn't recommend it enough. Only minor complaint is the lack of a webcam, so that's something to keep in mind before purchase. But I don't use it often enough to care. Hope this computer will last me at least 5-7 years, and with how well built it feels, I believe it will. Finally found a machine worthy of retiring my old ThinkPad T460p.

Performance: This is truly a powerful machine. For my usage(Schoolwork, light gaming, youtube), it is more than enough. When I play valorant, it runs at a constant 144fps(I limited it) and rarely drops at all. The same is true for when I play Splitgate. Genshin Impact is also very smooth at high graphics 60fps. However, this performance comes with fan noise and keyboard heat. The WASD keys stay cool compared to the rest of the keyboard when gaming, but it does still get warm. But, this is a small laptop, so there is limited cooling space. Keyboard: I love typing on this thing. Period. Travel distance is great, and the ergolift makes my hands feel comfortable while typing my essays. Touchpad: The glass trackpad on this thing feels great. Others may feel that the trackpad is too small, but I personally have no problems with the size and it works for my usage. Battery: I'm sure that you guys already know this, but the battery life is impressive. After an hour of usage doing college work, I used 10%. After 4 hours, I've used 40%. I guess that means that this laptop actually lasts 10 hours like others have said. Speakers: Comparable to a Macbook's speakers. That says a lot. Now, lets move on to the cons. Connectivity: My model comes with the Mediatek Mt7921. Idk if this is normal for the 2021 g14, or maybe it's just a BestBuy thing. The wifi speeds on this computer are SLOW. On my OnePlus 8T, when I'm downloading at 40mbps, the g14 is downloading at around 10mbps. When my phone is downloading at around 10-20mbps, the laptop is downloading at 1-3 mbps. This means that when downloading large games, it took hours before I was able to finally open it up and play. Quality Control: This is probably one of the G14's biggest issues. The QC is horrendous. I haven't seen many people talk about the power button, so I'm not sure if it's just my unit, but there are gaps and it isn't even. Not a huge problem, but may be irritating to some. Additionally, when I first pulled the computer out of the box and set it on my table, the computer base wasn't even and would wobble if I pressed on the corners. If the screen was closed, the computer would wobble when I pressed on the top left corner of the laptop. When the screen was open, the computer would wobble if I pressed on the right palm rest. I could fit my watch's wrist strap between the rubber feet and the table. To fix this, I took off the bottom panel/base and reclipped it firmly and rescrewed all the screws back in. Boom. Problem fixed. No more wobble. I suspect that one of the pressure clips wasn't fit in, resulting in an uneven base. MORE Quality Control: My left fan rattles. The fan under the WASD keys. I'm not sure whether that's the CPU or GPU fan, so I just said WASD keys. You guys have no idea how I felt when I sprinted upstairs after receiving my delivery from the FEDEX driver, then opened the box, booted it up, just to hear rattling sounds. For some reason, the fans only rattle at low speeds, and don't seem to rattle when it gets to 2900 RPM and above. The uneven base only made it worse. The rattle was a bit quieter after I fixed the uneven base. But it was still there. Overall, this would've been a great computer if not ruined by quality control.

It is amazing how the power of a high end desktop gaming PC from two years ago can fit into a 14inch laptop under 4lbs. The Ryzen 9 5900HS cpu in this thing has enough power to be relevant for at least 3 years. The RTX 3060 is a good balance of speed and power efficiency, although the 6GB may require realistic graphic detail adjustments in near future games. I do not think any gpu more powerful or higher wattage would be possible in this chassis. The RTX runs through Radeon iGPU which does reduce performance in cpu bound games, but allows freesync adaptive sync to eliminate stutter and tearing. The usb-c port on left side of unit supports displayport/hdmi directly from RTX 3060 with optional adapters. I verified Gsync works through usb-c port with displayport adapter to my external monitors. I have seen a lot of complaints that the HDMI port is not connected directly to RTX but I actually feel this is a good thing because it allows longer battery life when hooking up to projectors during business presentations where the power of RTX is not always needed. For simple slides and video, the Radeon is sufficient and the RTX can be used via Optimus if presentation requires more graphical grunt. The cooling system is about as good as physically possible in a chassis this small without using a more expensive vapor chamber design. The liquid metal thermal interface on cpu helps minimize cpu thermal throttling issues. If running simultaneous cpu + gpu stress for prolonged periods, expect some mild throttling on either gpu or cpu as they share heatpipes. The VRMs seem to have dedicated cooling plate and pipe. Asus engineers seem to have found best balance between power and thermals. The touchpad is small but very smooth and responsive. The keyboard has good layout. The backlight is improved in uniformity compared to last year, but still difficult to see in medium light conditions (especially at low keyboard light brightness). I put a 2021 G14 black keyboard cover on system and I think it makes system look better in medium/bright light rooms. The speakers are loud and actually have some low frequency response. Probably the best speakers outside of a Macbook Pro. The screen on my unit had minimal light bleed and good black levels. For text and videos, I had no complaints. Unfortunately, I do notice ghosting from the relatively lower response time. It is definitely better than last year’s model, but resembles a fast VA panel more than a fast IPS. Anybody sensitive to ghosting/response time should consider something else or use external monitor when not traveling. The single m.2 slot and single SODIMM slot is disappointing but understandable. There is literally no space to fit additional slots due to small system. I wished all 16GB was soldered with open slot for user to add more. But I suspect more than 90% of users will find the 8GB soldered + 8GB SODIMM sufficient. At least there is option to increase RAM to 8 soldered + 32 sodimm in future even if only first 16GB will be dual channel. Overall is probably the most processing/graphical power in the smallest/lightest laptop available on the market (Apple ecosystem users should also seriously consider Macbook Air or Pro M1). It is easy to carry around and allows use of up to 100watt PD USB-C charger to reduce need to take 180watt brick on trips. Just remember to get external webcam or learn how to use phone camera as webcam because there is no builtin webcam on this laptop.

As I do not wish to poison the well on this product, I'll start by stating that this is quite possibly one of the finest mid-range products that you can purchase for Best Buy in regards to a high performance, mid-range productivity/entertainment laptop. The size, weight, aesthetic and performance all punch well above the price point in this current market of scarcity. However, there is a very big downside specific to the 144Hz model of this particular product. The 144Hz FHD panel is a low quality panel with a high response time. This high response time leads to noticeable ghosting, even when performing simple tasks such as word processing or scrolling up or down on websites. For those of you who have sensitive eyes, this can definitely cause eye strain and fatigue and is most noticeable while gaming. For the record, I'm coming off of an Asus Zephyrus M15 (2020) with an i7 10750H and 8GB RTX 2070 Max Q (also from Best Buy). In terms of raw performance I'd rate this product (2021 G14) about 5%-15% better in terms of GPU performance and around 15-25% better in CPU performance from last years very good M15 model. But that depends on the titles you play and how you adjust your manual fan curve, cpu wattage and gpu clocks. I strongly suggest lowering the CPU wattage to 25 watts, this will allow the RTX 3060 to perform closer to it's tdp cap (80 watts) and it will perform nearly as well or better than last years RTX 2070 Super Max Q. In terms of actual desktop equivalency, this is somewhere between a GTX 1080 and RTX 2060, so adjust your games settings accordingly. You should have little to no issue maxing out most games from last gen at 1080p, but you may find that you'll have to reduce certain features or graphics settings in more modern titles. The 6GB of vram further hurts this as you'll have to decide if you want better textures and fewer graphical niceties, or more graphical niceties and lower textures. As far as heat goes, this laptop performs about as well as last years M15 model, you're looking at temps between 60c and 81c depending on the title and ambient room temperature. If you have a blower style cooler, you'll be able to keep this product at or under 80c in the majority of titles available. If you're just running the laptop with it's own cooling, you'll have to expect the laptop to become uncomfortably warm and cause your hands to sweat. I would suggest gaming with a controller in those instances and limit your game time to a couple hours so you don't wear out the components. As far as gaming in silent mode, that's completely possible with this product and even better than with last years M15 model. You can expect 60 fps in less demanding titles even with higher settings. You'll just have to decide as to whether or not you're going to be able to deal with the ghosting problem. But if you plan to hook it up to a monitor or tv, then that isn't an issue, is it? Games Tested Monster Hunter World - 1080p, Max Settings, Constant 60 FPS Fallout 4 - 1080p, Max Settings, Constant 60 FPS outside of Boston Center, 50-60 FPS inside Boston Center Rainbow Six Siege - 1080p, Max Settings, TAA, 100% Render Resolution, 90-129 FPS Valheim - 1080p, Max Settings, 60 FPS Minecraft Bedrock RTX (Truly Vanilla RTX Textures by CubeIR) - No issues, splendid performance I will be returning this product and exchanging it for the QHD version whenever that's back in stock. That said, I'm only returning it because I cannot deal with the ghosting, beyond that, this is a top grade product for it's price class and I strongly recommend it.

Great notebook. The keyboard is amazing, it gives such a pleasant feeling when typing. It should be noted that in daylight, if the keyboard lighting is turned on, it can make it hard to read the keys as its white, such as the keyboard deck. The trackpad is great although on the smaller side. Regarding the screen: its okay. Its not bright, there is considerable ghosting and 1080p on a 14", despite what some reviewers say, is not that crisp (I would certainly not recommend going for the QHD model of this notebook as the price difference is frankly ridiculous. Despite all of this, I must admit that having a 1080p screen, makes it a lot easier to play older games as 4K panels create some issues. Speakers: they are amazing. There are four: 2 facing up and 2 more downwards facing. There is a considerable amount of base, the highs sound pretty good as well and there is little to no distortion. The best speakers on any of the laptops I have had. Battery life is great too, expect around 6 hours of casual use (by this I mean: having a couple of tabs open in Chrome, and a few other apps open in the background: Spotify, word, power point, etc). Finally, lets talk about performance: what do you expect from an eight core CPU and a 3060? Well, the G14 delivers that. All recent games run in ultra settings with a reasonable framerate and older titles will work even better. All in all: its a power beast in a lightweight chassis with a really sober looking appearance and a battery that wont disappoint.

I'll keep this review fairly simple. This is an excellent all purpose laptop. It's thin, light, has a style that isn't outlandish for a workplace setting, and at the end of the game you can comfortable and effectively game on it. The Pros: - Ryzen 5900HS is an absolute monster and destroys the current Intel offerings on price/performance. It's not even close. Even when lowering the CPU to 15W power limit to lower temperatures it still pulled an impressive 7400 total score on 3DMark Timespy - Screen is decent, did notice some ghosting but the viewing angles were good and brightness could be better, but overall acceptable for the price range - The keyboard is excellent. The keys have good actuation, they have a nice feel to them, and they are spaced perfectly on my opinion when you compare to other laptops like the Omen 15 that are too close/small keys - Battery life is excellent, I got close to 9 hours with display brightness lowered and light web browsing, but from what I hear YMMV Now, the Cons: - This thing can run very hot on the stock settings. We're talking 94C +. This is because of how the Thermal Velocity Boost works. You'll want to use a cooling pad if you use this on your lap (if you want to have kids anyway), but I found limiting the TDP in the Armory Crate software to resolve this without a substantial impact to performance. - Fans can be loud, though on a device this size this isn't really abnormal or worth detracting from the rating. - Key lighting is... Meh. On maximum brightness it is fine, but the keys can be hard to make out with the lighting on. - Only 1 ram upgrade slot, other is soldered. This is expected in most laptops this size, but doesn't mean we have to like it. - As mentioned in the pros, there is some ghosting still that they didn't fix from the 1st generation of this laptop. Overall, this is an amazing value at MSRP and if you can catch it on sale or open box it's unbeatable.

So happy with the purchase. This small beast of a laptop packs a lot of power. It feels very sturdy in hands and feels very expensive. The performance is as excepted, its mind blowing fast! Also, it has so many features to switch GPUs or slower the gpu volts to reduce heat and power intake. Its flexibility is insane. Previous to this I used Asus ROG 17 inch which was great for 5 years but was big and heavy so I decided to get a small lappy this time. Excited to explore more and use this laptop to its potential.