Review: Asus ROG Zephyrus G14

On the laptop scene, Apple’s M1 devices have scooped up much of the praise reserved for innovative and exciting hardware over the past couple of years. But for Windows, some hype should be reserved for the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14.

The G14 entered the market in 2020 as an affordable, portable wonder. Unfortunately, as it has become more established, its price has risen significantly. The value offering may not be what it was, but it remains a great device, especially with this year's new aspect ratio, the addition of a webcam, and an all-AMD combination. The laptop is close to being the perfect all-rounder, except for its subpar battery life.

Photograph: Asus

The new 14-inch MacBook Pro (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is a remarkable laptop, specifically for creators. But for gamers, it just isn’t suitable. So if a portable powerhouse like the new MacBook Pro catches your eye but you’re a keen PC gamer, what do you go for? The ROG Zephyrus G14 is the obvious answer. This laptop offers a remarkable level of portability for a device that can game with the best of them—and creative chops, too.

The appealing portability comes in the form of a compact and astoundingly lightweight chassis—with a particularly standout look in its white variant. It doesn’t feel as high-quality as offerings from Apple or Razer, but it is eye-catching without being garish—thanks in part to its unique perforated lid design.

Looks aside, the G14 is a joy to interact with. The keyboard is the best I’ve tested on any 14-inch laptop, while the glass trackpad has increased in size this year and remains suitably responsive. Other upgrades include a webcam (finally!) and a squarer 16:10 aspect ratio. The new display and keyboard combination makes this a productivity device that's easy to feel at home with.

Photograph: Asus

For gaming, we tested the $2,500 model, which sports an AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS processor and AMD Radeon RX 6800S graphics card. This will get you performance that sits neatly between what you’d expect from an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 and an RTX 3080 graphics card. That’s a big step up from previous G14 iterations, which were capped at an RTX 3060 GPU. The result is frame rates of around 60 fps and above at Ultra settings on this 1440p 120-Hz display. For FPS titles like Apex Legends, you’ll have to opt for low/medium settings to get all 120 fps out of this laptop.

All those frames and pristine graphics are presented immaculately on the 16:10 QHD display. Realistic and stylized images look equally great, with accurate colors and vivid contrast. It isn’t perfect though, as this display lacks a bit of brightness. In many environments, you will barely notice, but away from gaming, this slightly hurts the laptop's portability.

The specs make it plenty capable as an editing machine, for those who want creative freedom alongside gaming power. For these creator types, this laptop holds its own with some of 2021's top-tier devices, as well as being not too far off the pace of larger powerhouses from this year. 

In short, all but the most power-hungry of professionals should do fine with this machine, although its read and write speeds don't match up to larger rivals. It is by no means slow, but it lags behind enough that someone who frequently transfers files should take note.

What really damages this laptop’s prospects as a high-end, jack-of-all-trades computing pal is the battery life. Make no mistake, for a gaming laptop—especially with this level of power—the battery life you get using this for ordinary non-gaming tasks remains good. But in an Apple M1 world, the five to seven hours you’ll get from this device look measly. 

When not on a charge, I often found myself mildly concerned about how long the G14 would last, and the battery appeared to be rapidly reducing even under a relatively mild productivity load. Gaming when not charging is pretty much a no-go, with around an hour average for many titles. Thankfully, 100-W USB-C charging is available to speedily top you up when needed, and at around six hours on average, it does keep this laptop as a capable machine for a decent day of work or a trip to a coffee shop.

The ROG Zephyrus G14 dropped jaws when it was first revealed two years ago as a mid-tier gaming machine with a surprisingly low price. Over the past couple of years, efforts to add more power have led to higher prices. The resulting value is less appealing across the board, with Asus' own Strix range, Lenovo Legion laptops, MSI machines, and more taking the G14 to task. 

The G14 partly earns its higher price tag by delivering power in an innovative small package. However, its price is creeping closer to its key 14-inch rival, the Razer Blade 14, which offers a sleeker and higher-quality design alongside a more powerful CPU and the option to cram in an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080. 

The G14 remains the king of 14-inch gaming powerhouses, for now … but the walls are closing in.