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  • Review body

  • About the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14

  • What we like

  • What we don’t like

  • Should you buy the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14?

  • Related content

  • Review body
  • About the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14
  • What we like
  • What we don’t like
  • Should you buy the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14?
  • Related content

Pros

  • Excellent battery life

  • Fantastic performance

  • Sleek form factor

Cons

  • Limited configuration options

  • 720p webcam

Review body

Asus’ newest all-AMD ROG Zephyrus G14 is simply phenomenal.

About the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14

Here are the specs of the laptop we tested:

  • Processor: AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS
  • Memory: 32GB 4800MHz DDR5 RAM
  • Operating System: Windows 11 Pro
  • Storage: 1TB SSD
  • Display: 120Hz @ 2560 x 1440p display
  • Webcam: 720p IR webcam with Windows Hello
  • Ports: 2 x USB 3.2 Type A, 1 x USB 3.2 Type C (non-charging), 1 x USB 3.2 Type C (100W charging), 1 x HDMI 2.0b, 1 x microSD card reader, 1 x Headphone jack
  • Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 6800S
  • Wireless: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2
  • Battery: 240-Watt power supply, 4-cell Lithium-ion battery
  • Weight: 3.64 pounds
  • Dimensions: 12.28 x 8.94 x 0.73 inches
  • Warranty: One-year limited warranty

We tested the highest-tier configuration available for the ROG Zephyrus G14, which costs $2,499. There are two other configurations available: the $1,649 model and the $1,899 model. The base model comes with 16GB of RAM, Windows 11 Home, and an AMD Radeon RX 6700S graphics card, while the $1,849 model upgrades to an AMD Radeon 6800S. All three models come with the Ryzen 9 6900HS processor.

What we like

Phenomenal performance without high power demands

laptop stickers
Credit: Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser

Both the AMD Ryzen CPU and Radeon GPU in the ROG Zephyrus G14 fare phenomenally against the competition.

The Zephyrus G14 specializes in providing lots of performance with relatively low wattage (for a gaming laptop, at least) in order to maximize battery life. In benchmarks, its Ryzen 9 6900HS processor bests most laptop processors we’ve tested even though its power consumption is only 35 Watts.

In Cinebench’s multi-core performance test, the laptop’s Ryzen 9 6900HS scored 10334 points, whereas the Razer Blade 14’s Ryzen 9 5900HX (the 45W+ version of last generation’s Ryzen 9) scored 11586 points. While the 6900HS isn’t quite on par with the older 5900HX, its 28% lower power consumption more than makes up for the 12% performance discrepancy.

While Apple’s M1 Max bests the Ryzen 9 6900HS with 12350 points in Cinebench, its M1 Pro only scored 9565 points, so this Ryzen 9’s performance sits firmly in the middle of those Apple chips.

Overall, the Ryzen 9 6900HS performs most similarly to the Intel Core i7-11800H, which scored 10571 points. This puts the Ryzen 9 6900HS among the highest-performing low-watt processors, but it falls shy of competing with this generation’s more power-hungry processors like the Intel Core i9-12900K or the Ryzen 9 6980HX.

The Zephyrus G14’s real-world performance reflects its benchmark performance: It delivers power when it needs to, but it knows when to conserve its energy. When encoding a 12-minute 4K video into 1080p, for instance, it took six minutes and eight seconds to complete the task. By comparison, the MacBook Pro 14 with an M1 Pro took a little over seven minutes.

Graphics pass most gaming tests

The graphics performance nails the sweet spot between raw potential and power consumption. In 3DMark’s Firestrike benchmark, the Zephyrus G14’s AMD Radeon RX 6800S GPU scored 22842 points, while the Razer Blade 14’s Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 scored 19852 points. However, the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro, also equipped with an Nvidia RTX 3070, scored 23793 points due to its higher power consumption. This puts the Zephyrus G14’s Radeon graphics card on par with the mid-to-high tier graphics processors from Nvidia.

Unsurprisingly, the Zephyrus G14 can push many games to their limit. In Shadow of the Tomb Raider, the laptop ran the game on its highest 1080p graphics settings at 111 frames per second (fps), while the Razer Blade 14 ran it at just 93 fps and the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro ran it at 110 fps. Other games also ran impressively fast, but games with ray-tracing have trouble pushing past the 60 fps mark.

Control on its highest 1080p settings (no ray tracing) ran at 65 frames per second, but its performance dipped to 45 fps with ray-tracing enabled. Meanwhile, Cyberpunk 2077 ran at 53 fps without ray tracing, and closer to 40 fps with it. While the Zephyrus G14 can easily run most games at high frames rates and maxed-out graphics settings, it’s best suited to 1080p or 1440p gaming on all but the most demanding titles of the past few years.

The display is vibrant and lightning-fast

closeup of bezel
Credit: Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser

The 2022 Advantage edition is focused on bringing as much performance as possible with as little power consumption as it can.

What good would a great graphics processor be without a display that can show off its prowess? Thankfully, the Zephyrus G14 takes this message to heart. Its 1440p 120Hz display is extremely bright and fast, allowing for a great gaming experience and work experience.

The display is bright enough to be legible in sunlight. At peak brightness, its display reaches 340 nits, putting it on par with the MacBook Pro 14’s 337 nits and the HP Victus’s 349 nits.

The colors were the most impressive and absolutely stunning part of the display. The colors pop, show excellent contrast and come calibrated out of the box. In our testing, we measured the Zephyrus G14’s display at 99% of the P3 color gamut, which makes it a great display for HDR content and as good as the Asus Vivobook 14 OLED and MacBook Pro 14’s screens. If you need a screen for professional content creation, the ROG Zephyrus G14 is fit for it.

Its three millisecond response time and 120Hz refresh rate also make it perfect for gaming. Shooters like Doom Eternal and Apex Legends play incredibly smoothly, and elements were easy to distinguish on-screen even in chaotic environments.

The Zephyrus G14 is loaded with features

side of laptop
Credit: Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser

The Zephyrus G14 comes loaded with ports and macro keys to simplify your setup.

While the Zephyrus G14 isn’t exactly cheap, it comes loaded with an incredible amount of premium functionality for its price. Because it runs on AMD’s latest-generation CPUs and GPUs, it can take advantage of DDR5 RAM, PCIe gen 4 solid state drives, HDMI 2.0b, and USB-C 4 just like the recent Intel 12th gen laptops. This means a faster computer that can boot faster, give higher-fidelity data, and generally do everything with more precision than ever. In a couple of years, these features will hopefully be the standard, but for now, many PCs are still transitioning from the older DDR4 RAM and PCIe gen 3 SSDs of the past.

Unique to the ROG Zephyrus G14 is its mind-boggling lighting customization. The lid of the laptop has a matrix of LEDs you can program to display custom images or animations. Through Armory Crate, changing the animation is simple, and the same software controls the extensive RGB lighting options of the keyboard. You can also set custom macros in this software, which might make it easier for those who’ve never made macros before.

The ROG Zephyrus G14 doesn’t skimp on the auditory experience, either. The speakers’ sound is bright, clear, and full. It’s not especially loud at max volume, but it’s loud enough to hear over the laptop’s fan noise. Of course, the fans aren’t as quiet as those on true ultrabooks like the MacBook Pro 14 or Microsoft Surface Laptop 4, but they stay silent when the laptop’s just web browsing or doing other low-intensity tasks common in workplaces and classrooms.

It’s stylish, not gaudy

Laptop closed on a table
Credit: Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser

From all appearances, this looks like a stylish ultrabook instead of a powerful gaming laptop.

This is more opinion than fact, but the Zephyrus G14 is one of the best-looking laptops on the market. The white metal chassis on our review model has a beautiful matte finish that catches the eye, and the lid’s LED matrix creates a fascinating visual on the laptop even when the LEDs are off. It doesn’t look like your classic gaming laptop with a rugged aesthetic, but instead it looks sleek enough to blend in with the MacBooks and Dell XPSes at the office while still retaining a lot of personality.

The thin profile and lightweight chassis also make it easy to travel with. If you use the ROG Zephyrus G14 on a table, the chassis shape actually helps keep it cool; the rear of the top lid extends a bit beyond the bottom lid, giving the laptop a little wedge to sit on so the bottom of the PC is elevated from the flat surface for more airflow. It’s a clever little detail. On a moderately intensive load, the CPU reached 86 degrees Celsius (186 Fahrenheit) and the chassis maxed out at a cool 40 C (105 F).

It has a great battery life

person uses trackpad
Credit: Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser

The Zephyrus G14 will carry you through an entire workday and then some.

Forget gaming laptops—this thing has a better battery life than many ultrabooks! When we ran our battery test, which simulates a typical user’s web browsing experience, it lasted for eight hours and 46 minutes.

MSI’s Delta 15 holds the crown for the best battery life on a gaming laptop, lasting for nine hours and 40 minutes, but the Zephyrus G14’s battery life will be more than enough to get through a workday. The Razer Blade 14, one of its closest competitors, lasted for just over seven hours. Unlike many gaming laptops, the Zephyrus G14 won’t have you feeling left out of the ultrabook club.

What we don’t like

Limited configuration options

laptop keyboard
Credit: Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser

The Advatange Edition only comes with an AMD Ryzen 9 processor, which while powerful, also drives up the price of this laptop beyond many people's reach.

The Zephyrus G14 is an awesome machine, but we wish it came with more CPU options in particular. Any Ryzen 9 is a beastly processor, but swapping it for a Ryzen 7 or even a Ryzen 5 would still make the G14 a powerful laptop and a more affordable option for anyone who doesn’t want to throw down over $1,600.

On the flip side, the Radeon 6800S is an awesome graphics card, but it does not beat out Nvidia’s flagship graphics cards (the RTX 3080 and 3080 Ti), meaning this laptop may not be viable for those needing a system for maximum performance. The Acer Predator Triton 500 SE and the MSI GE76 Raider would offer that extra power, so long as you don’t mind giving up battery life and portability.

It has a 720p webcam

Considering how much attention to detail was poured over the rest of this laptop, it’s a bit surprising that this laptop doesn’t have a 1080p webcam. That said, it’s a strict upgrade over the older Zephyrus G14, which had no webcam. It’s fine for zoom calls or catching up with friends, but you’ll want to invest in something better if you need a polished image from your webcam.

Should you buy the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14?

Yes, it’s a gaming laptop that excels at more than just gaming

laptop open and on
Credit: Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser

The ROG Zephyrus G14 is a spectacular laptop for gamers that need something practical for everyday use.

We loved the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 when it first came out, and the all-AMD 2022 version is an admirable upgrade to an already great product. It’s an excellent laptop for everyday use, with a nearly nine hours battery life, a 1440p display fit for artists, and a sleek form factor that makes it easy to stuff in a backpack. When the workday is over, the Zephyrus G14 provides performance matching many of its bulkier rivals. Resource hogging games like Cyberpunk 2077 won’t surpass 60 fps with nearly maxed-out graphics settings, while moderately intensive games like Shadow of the Tomb Raider will be pushing the display’s 120Hz maximum refresh rate.

Compared to other laptops in its price range, the ROG Zephyrus G14 fares well, but you may find one that fits your needs more specifically than this jack-of-all-trades. The MSI Delta 15 matches the Zephyrus G14 in performance and it has a battery life of almost 10 hours. Although its display isn’t as color-rich as the Zephyrus G14’s, it’s a little cheaper than the $1,649 base G14 at $1,599. We’ve already seen both laptops on sale for $1,400 or less at Best Buy.

The Razer Blade 14 is another popular choice for ultralight gaming laptops, although the comparatively specced model with the Ryzen 9 5900HX processor and Nvidia RTX 3070 graphics card will set you back $2,199 while offering slightly worse performance and a mere seven-hour battery life. If you’re just looking for a powerful ultrabook, the MacBook Pro 14 M1 Pro is $2,499, but its general performance is on par with the Zephyrus G14, it offers a GPU powerful enough for light-to-moderate gaming, and it has ten hours of battery life.

A lot of laptops try to emulate the ROG Zephyrus G14’s strong points: performance, portability, style, and long battery life. However, the Zephyrus G14 is among the best laptops all-around. Its biggest flaw is arguably the 720p webcam, but that’s a small sacrifice to make for a stellar gaming experience and great productivity experience in one lightweight chassis. Frankly, it’s the kind of gaming laptop that this picky PC writer would buy.

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Meet the tester

Adrien Ramirez

Adrien Ramirez

Staff Writer

@itsaramkat

Adrien is the PC staff writer for Reviewed with over 4 years of experience covering laptops, desktops, software, games, and more.

See all of Adrien Ramirez's reviews

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