ASUS - ROG Zephyrus G14 14" Gaming Laptop - AMD Ryzen 9 - 16GB Memory - NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q - 1TB SSD - Moonlight White

Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 is a premium slim super powerful gaming laptop that ASUS has built with no compromise on build quality or performance. This laptop features AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS Series with 8 Cores/16 Threads. HS series processor is targeted towards gamers and content creators with high performance and great battery life. There are 2 other models with low- and high-end specifications compared to this model. Higher end model which is slightly expensive ($1999) has anime matrix LED & QHD 60Hz display and lower/base end model ($1050) has Ryzen 7 4800 HS, 8GB RAM, 512 GB SSD. I suggest to get this model if you are looking for better performance and to me the higher end model with QHD is an overkill for 14inch laptop. What is in the box: Asus ROG ZEPHYRUS G14 laptop, 180W Power adapter, Manual/warranty sheets. Measurement & Weight: It measures 12.8 x 8.7 x 0.7 inches (32.5 x 22.1 x 1.8cm) and weighs 3.5 pounds (1.6kg). Display: 14 inch Full HD (1920 x 1080) IPS-level panel, 120Hz. Color: Comes in 2 different colors. Moonlight white & Eclipse Gray. I received the Moonlight white color and its made of magnesium alloy which looks very cool and durable. Design: Lid on this laptop is unique, with a diagonal cut separating two portions and a series of small holes. There is also an emblem at the left of the lid for “Republic of Gamers, Est 2006”. This 14 inch display has a thin bezel with white backlighting on the keyboard. It lacks RGB backlighting unlike other gaming laptops. Also, the keyboard and trackpad is of silver color and not white as exterior. Not sure why ASUS went with 2 colors for this laptop but it looks good. Asus also used the same ErgoLift hinge that was in Zenbooks where the bottom of the laptop lift up at a slight angle when opened fully. This is a great design to open the laptop in one hand and very useful for typing both ergonomically and for air flow/heat expulsion. Couple of grills on the top, bottom and both sides of laptop for great ventilation to reduce heat due to gaming. Windows 10 was preinstalled and upon initial boot and with few questions like country and keyboard selection it asked to login to my Microsoft account and once done, it started downloading firmware and updating windows. Performance: This is great laptop with mind-blowing performance on a small 14 inch form factor for gamers. With 8 cores and 16 threads this AMD Ryzen 4900 HS CPU is designed for gamers in mind and for users with multitasking/content creators. During my daily usage for the past week, no issues working with multiple tabs on the chrome browser and also on the Microsoft IE browser. It automatically switches to modes when it’s not connected to power source and working on battery for efficient battery life. I have attached my benchmark pictures from Cinebench and as you can see it clearly boasts in performance compared to other laptops in test. Performs the best in multicore test compared to single core test but its performance on a portable 14 inch is never seen before on any gaming laptops. Great work by AMD and ASUS for achieving this great performance. Also, this laptop comes with 1TB of SSD storage that is plenty for content creators or for gamers. Armoury Crate software is easy to load with the dedicated hotkey on the top of the keyboard and its very convenient to change the performance mode of the windows from silent, performance, turbo and manual. Software provides a great dashboard of the system performance from CPU Stats, GPU Stats, Fan Speed, Memory and Storage details at a quick glance and tweak if required. Also, it has various settings and profiles(see attached pic). Charger/Ports: On the left side of the laptop you have the power port, HDMI 2.0 port, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port and headphone jack. On the right side you have a Kensington lock slot, 2 - USB 3.1 Gen Type-A ports, USB Gen2 3.2 Type C Port. You can also use USB C to charge the laptop battery using a 65W power adapter (not included) for greater flexibility and to charge any compatible smartphones or portable devices. I used my Dell XPS 13 inch laptop USB C power adaptor and charges well and will come handy during travel where you don’t need to carry the power brick 180w charger. If you need fast charging then recommend using the 180 W charger that comes with the laptop to save time. Also, it lacks Thunderbolt 3 ports and it may be due to Intel proprietary issues. Battery: It is advertised that battery will last up to 10.7 hours video playback and up to 9.5hours web browsing. In my testing, it was pretty close to 10 hours of video playback under minimal brightness and it lasted close to 9+ hours on standard web browsing without the need to charge or connect to power source. Very impressive and didn’t expect a phenomenal battery life on a gaming laptop. Also, another great feature is to charge from portable battery packs when you are on the road where you don’t carry the huge adapter. Keyboard and Trackpad: G14 has a great full functionality chicklet keyboard with some dedicated hotkeys for volume buttons, microphone mute and ROG Armoury Crate software button. Also, another cool feature this laptop features is the fingerprint login on the power button. This is one of the best feature that all laptop in the coming days should implement for the ease of use. Once fingerprint is configured for various users, just with the power button it recognizes the fingerprint and logs in to that windows user profile. Great security, peace of mind and ease of use N-Key switches. Touchpad (4.1 x 2.4 inch) is surprisingly good and has good right/left click. One negative is the backlighting on the keyboard. Not very bright. It may be due to silver color blending with white lighting but it does lack the RGB lighting as other gaming laptops on the market. Also, a mute button for speaker would have been a great add-on. Speaker & Mic: Compared to other laptops I own, this one has the best audio due to the virtual 5.1.2 channel surround sound. It has 2 front facing 2.5 W speakers on both sides below the keyboard. Due to Dolby Atmos technology, sound quality is greatly optimized and sounds great when watching movies on Netflix or prime videos or playing games. Great job by Asus on the placement design of the speaker/tweeters firing directly at the user. It has got array microphones and works great for calls. Camera: No camera on this device. Not sure why Asus decided not to have a camera on a gaming laptop. If you are looking for a laptop with front facing camera for gaming or for video calls (zoom/skype) then you are out of luck and have to use external camera. Pros: Great Battery life (approx. 9.8 - 10 hours); Excellent Performance for gaming in slim sleek portable design; Great 120Hz display; Dolby Atmos audio; Fingerprint sensor power button; dedicated hotkeys for volume buttons, microphone mute. Cons: Missing Camera/Webcam & Ethernet port; not effective Keyboard backlight. Verdict: This is a great slim portable gaming laptop on the market with excellent performance, high quality built, audio, display, screen size and battery life. If you are in the market for a gaming laptop that delivers better performance then you will not be disappointed at the price point it offers except that it misses the webcam feature. Highly recommend for its performance, price and compact size over other brands in the market.

You already know the hype. I’ll try not to hype it up. I have every gaming system. Name it and I either have it or had it. The only thing lacking was an updated gaming laptop. I was in search of a desktop originally to handle VR games done through my Oculus Quest. I travel so I didn’t have a desire to build a two foot tower gaming rig. I have a Nitro 5 with a GTX 1050. I’ve also owned the giant legendary 17.3 inch asus rog laptops that were the best at thermals and low fan noise. I’ve returned MacBook Pro for heat and fan noise. I’ve returned a similar MSI 14 inch gaming laptop that sported a 1060. It was plastic and the fan noise was terrible. Point is, I’m a stickler for Fan noise, I hate it. So lacking a modern laptop, I figured I’d bite the bullet and try this out. If not, I have 30 days to return being an Elite Member. right out the box, this screamed quality. Solid metal, not cheap plastic and metal. But then I worry, fan noise. No way can this be good. I install Forza 4. Ran it on the highest settings. It’s gorgeous! The heat? Yes the keyboard is hot but I’m on an Xbox controller. Fan noise? You can hear air flow but it’s not a cool whine nor does the chassis vibrate from the fan, unlike a MacBook or that MSI. It’s noticeable but I’ve heard much worse. PS4 Pro fan is either on par with the loudest of this laptop or even louder. So based on those simple items, not being loud fan noise and being so tiny but powerful, this is a keeper. If you don’t like the small fan noise it makes, the. Under volt it or manage the power. It’s not as bad as people say it is, and you are looking at a mobile cpu that rivals the fastest desktops in a tiny package that you can travel and play the best of games and VR. No returning this one, but it’s only been 2 hours. I’ll update if I see something bad. I’m gonna test the crap out of this one

14 inches on a 16:9 screen works really great for me. 13.3 is too small, and 15.6 is too big. This laptop is the perfect size, weight, power, everything. The 120HZ is amazing really blew me away. The power is ridiculous, the Asus software works really well. The is one of the best, the magnesium chassis feels nicer than aluminum, the fingerprint sensor is great. Only real con is the fan will run and run often and can be load. Use headphones if your doing serious work. For everyday stuff the fan isn't an issue. Buy this laptop it is perfect.

There are many things you have to do so that you can take full advantage of the laptop's battery and power. It will not perform at it's best straight out of the box. Also, occasionally there are popping noises that come out of the speaker (about once every hour or so). Also, the keyboard backlighting is very weak on models with an older manufacturing date. So essentially, this becomes a bit of a gamble because if you get a model that is before May or June then you can expect some backlighting issues with they keyboard. I have an April model and I'm unfortunately stuck with it. If keyboard backlighting isn't a huge issue then this laptop will be great for all around use. It is one of the best portable and compact laptop you can buy for it's price. It's very thin and lightweight, great at converting 4k videos, and can run most games at decent settings.

Seriously the reviews complaining about this he laptop are cliche and not original. “Oh no camera” well this is a gaming laptop deal with it. Don’t buy it then complain about the camera. This laptop is meant for gaming and that’s what it does. Super powerful can play basically the new Triple A titles out and then some. The laptop does get a bit hot but if placed on performance mode you won’t even notice. Keyboard light are crap I will admit just disable the lights and surprisingly they are more legible but nothing to rate lower because of. Great purchase for sure.

Right out of the gate, I just want to say that Asus and AMD really killed it with this laptop. It’s difficult to pack this much power and performance in a 14” chassis, but Asus delivered. Unboxing and Design Unboxing this laptop is truly an experience. As you lift the lid of the box, the cardboard base that the laptop sits on props up in a way that presents the laptop to you. Others have described this display as being like a Hallmark card and I think that’s super accurate. This first thing that hit me when I saw the G14 in person is that it’s disguised as a normal daily-use laptop. I personally really appreciate this. Whether you purchase the Eclipse Gray or Moonlight White version, it’s never going to scream “gamer.” The laptop has no intense neon color accents and is thin enough (0.7”) to support this disguise. The magnesium-aluminum alloy deck and aluminum lid are well constructed and machined precisely. The dot matrix design on the lid is beautiful with 6.536 holes that are CNC milled. These metal choices do well at resisting fingerprints and smudges. They also keep the weight down to a mere 3.64 pounds. Port selection on this laptop is plenty adequate. To the left, you will find your 180W power input, HDMI 2.0b, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type C with DisplayPort 1.4 and power input delivery, and a 3.5mm audio jack. To the right, you will find a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type C (does not support power input), two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type As, and a Kingston lock. Bootup The power button on the G14 doubles as a fingerprint scanner. When you push this button to power up the laptop, the scanner captures your fingerprint and presents it to Windows once ready. This feature is intuitive and efficient, just like a smartphone. Bootup itself is extremely fast - probably the fastest bootup I’ve seen on a Windows laptop. Screen The lid of the G14 doubles as a lift with Asus’ ErgoLift hinges. This does two things - it lifts the keyboard making for a more ergonomic typing position and it also lifts the deck to provide space for air intake into the fans. The screen on my model is 1920x1080 with a 120 Hz refresh rate. While you can step down to a 1080p 60 Hz or up to a 1440p 60 Hz monitor, I think the 1080p 120 Hz version is best if you’re going to be using this laptop for gaming. 1080p resolution is plenty on a 14” device and that 120 Hz refresh rate is going to be mighty helpful while gaming. The screen to body ratio is 85% with thin bezels along the sides and top, with a pretty thick chin below. It has a matte finish to limit glare and is Pantone validated to ensure color quality. Keyboard and Trackpad The chiclet keyboard and trackpad work very well, in my opinion. The keys are quiet when pressed and key travel is fine. You’ll find hotkeys for volume, microphone mute, and Asus’ ROG Armoury Crate software. All keys are backlit with an adjustable white light. There is no numpad, but I wouldn’t expect it on a 14” laptop. The trackpad on this guy is standard in size and responsive. Speakers The G14 shines in speaker quality. With two Smart Amp woofers bouncing sound down off of your table and two tweeters directing sound at you, I think you’d be hard pressed to find another laptop of this size that can put out the audio quality that this machine does. Of course it isn’t party speaker level, but you get nice bass and crisp mids/ highs. I’m seriously impressed! The laptop also has a 3.5mm jack as I mentioned before, which is nice. You don’t have to reach for any dongles to convert your 3.5mm plug into USB C. Of course the laptop also has bluetooth for wireless headphone use. Software, Hardware, and Performance The G14 comes with Windows 10 Pro pre-installed. Armoury Crate is also already on the laptop and can be accessed via the hotkey mentioned previously. This software adjusts CPU, GPU, and fan speed settings to match the tasks you’re throwing at it. You can switch between Silent, Performance, Turbo, and Manual modes. Turbo can only be activated when plugged into power. Every time I game, I plug the computer in and switch it to Turbo for the best performance possible. Hardware specs for my G14 are as follows: CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS with 8 cores and 16 threads Alternate model has AMD Ryzen 7 4800HS GPU: NVIDEA GeForce RTX 2060 Max Q 65W with 6GB VRAM Alternate model has NVIDEA GeForce RTX 1660Ti 60W with 6GB VRAM 16GB DDR4-3200 dual channel RAM Up to 32GB 1TB NVME M.2 SSD Alternate is 512GB Intel WiFi 6 Bluetooth 5.0 4-cell Lithium Ion battery that can be charged via 180W power brick or USB C Asus claims up to 9.5 hours of web browsing and 10.7 hours of video playback With these specs, the G14 cut through everything I threw at it with ease and pumped out buttery-smooth graphics at high settings, minimum. Games that I have personally played on the G14 so far have been Call of Duty: Warzone, Overwatch, Heroes of the Storm, PUBG, XCOM 2, Factorio, and GTFO. Instead of me listing out FPS for games, I’d highly recommend watching Jarrod’s Tech on YouTube. He put the G14 through its paces and has benchmarks for the 20 games he threw at it. Link is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiv1USXl9PE. Considering the G14 was built for gaming, it also handles daily tasks like a champ. No issues with boatloads of tabs open, Word processing, or editing photo/ video content. Is There Anything Not to Like? It’s honestly quite hard to nitpick a laptop that looks this clean and performs so well in a 14” form factor. With that being said, I do have a couple of insignificant gripes. Power port placement is a bit odd. Because it sits right in the middle on the left side of the deck, if your cable is draped toward you, it will block your HDMI, USB C, and 3.5mm ports. Though it can be a nuisance moving cables over one another, I think from an engineering perspective, it probably makes sense. This laptop has a lot of cooling components internally. The engineers likely didn’t have many options when placing the power port given the demand for cooling in order to protect hardware components from overheating. Speaking of temperature, this laptop gets HOT. Even with 7 heat pipes, two efficient fans, and a raised deck due to it’s ErgoLift hinges, my laptop was consistently running at 81-84°C (177.8-183.2°F) while gaming. The cooling system drives hot air away from the WASD keys so it’s comfortable to game for long periods of time, but do NOT touch near the power button for long periods of time. You could absolutely burn yourself. I would highly recommend getting a cooling mat for this laptop. While this laptop does have built-in microphones, it does not come with a built-in camera. Something to consider if you also want to use this device for streaming or video conferencing. Asus did develop a portable and attachable camera called the ROG GC21 specifically for this laptop, but it does come with an added cost. Final Thoughts Overall, I think the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 is a monster device in a small, portable form factor. At just 14” and 3.64 pounds, you can game pretty much anywhere given this laptop’s specs. Despite a couple engineering qualms, I think this device is well worth the investment if you are a serious gamer and/or need power on the go.

If you dont have one. Get one. 14" screen is perfect. Doom is killer on this laptop. Not really anything worth complaining about. Certainly well worth it.

It’s great if you’re always on the go. The cpu gets really hot but still performs well. The 2060 Max Q performs worse than a 1660 Ti in other laptops. Not bad just restricted by chassis size and power limits. The backlit keys are utterly washed out by the screen. There’s almost no reason to have white backlit keys on a silver keyboard. The 120hz display is nice but the 40ms delay cripples it. Yes. 40ms! Overall great battery life and much better than Razer’s offering for the money.