Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2021) - Review 2022

When the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 outset launched concluding yr, nosotros praised it for combining a 14-inch brandish (so, rare amongst gaming laptops) with Nvidia GeForce RTX 20-Serial power and AMD Ryzen processing at a sweetness price. The updated 2022 G14 (starts at $i,549.99) uses the same blueprint, but pumps things upwardly to RTX xxx-Series and newer Ryzen 5000 chips. Our $1,999 exam unit also includes a 1440p display and 32GB of retention, and so the additional toll of our model isn't as strong of a value equally the original G14, but the entry-point configuration (which still features an RTX 3060) is an bonny suggestion. As well, the market for 14-inch gaming laptops has expanded: Competing 14-inchers are at present popping up from virtually of the usual suspects (the Razer Bract 14 is our peak selection), making the G14 less of a unicorn. Only this new model is still a great packet.

It'south All About the Internals

The original Zephyrus G14 was i of the starting time killer 14-inch gaming laptops for its combination of size and functioning, and the old is the same here. The exterior design is unchanged, every bit this is chiefly a component upgrade, so we won't spend also much time on that aspect hither. I should note that nosotros also recently checked out a very unlike version of this laptop, the G14 Alan Walker Edition (geared toward fans of the European electronic music star), but volition concentrate here on this more standard entry for the main review and performance testing.

Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2021)

The fundamentals are however of import, though, and so allow's run through those. This laptop measures 0.7 by 12.75 by 8.7 inches and weighs 3.five pounds, easily more portable than the average gaming laptop. The quality materials and stylish white-and-argent wait complete an appealing parcel. This unit besides includes the AniMe Matrix lid, which we previously checked out equally an optional version of the original G14. The lid is inlaid with a grid of LEDs, which you can customize with furnishings and images. (Check out our original easily-on with the AniMe Matrix for more detail.)

Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2021)

The original G14's size was novel when it launched, but 14-inch gaming machines have become more than popular since. The Razer Blade xiv and the Acer Predator Triton 300 SE roughly friction match its thinness and footprint, though the G14 is the lightest of the three. Even if the G14 is no longer alone in its infinite, it'south nevertheless one of the best gaming laptops around that emphasizes portability.

One thing to note, though: Since times have changed since the original G14 launched (run into: the pandemic), it's extra important to know that this laptop has no webcam congenital in. Frequent remote video callers volition desire to expect elsewhere. (Asus' logic was that hardcore gamers and streamers would want to add their own high-functioning webcam and keep the bezels sparse.)

Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2021)

For complete thoughts on the residue of the build (including observations on the keyboard, ports, and extras), read the original G14 review.

Component Cheque: The Newest Oestrus From AMD and Nvidia

Side by side, on to the parts and features of our particular review model. There are a few flavors of the GeForce RTX thirty-Serial G14, merely our tester unit is priced at $1,999. For that, you go an AMD Ryzen 9 5900HS processor, 32GB of memory, the GeForce RTX 3060 GPU, and a 1TB SSD. The display besides features a ii,560-by-1,440-pixel native resolution and a 120Hz peak refresh rate.

Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2021)

It's worth noting that nosotros liked the original G14 in part for its dandy value, only the price of this configuration is much higher. The jump up to the RTX thirty-Serial is function of this, but the amount of retentiveness likewise bumped from 16GB to 32GB, and the display resolution to 1440p from 1080p. The new display is crisp and looks peachy; plus, it's a resolution that's adept for entertainment and gaming, so long as you have the hardware juice to push it—more than on that below.

Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2021)

That's not to say these upgrades aren't worth the added cost, only the price has moved the G14 into the high-end tier of gaming laptops rather than the midrange, and then the "value" aspect dissolves somewhat for this particular configuration. Not all G14 RTX 30-Series models are equally expensive; at this writing, a configuration at All-time Buy was priced at $1,549.99 for the same CPU, GPU, and storage equally this model, but with 16GB of memory and a full Hard disk drive (1080p) screen, a recipe closer to that of the original G14 we tested.

Operation Testing: Blazing-Fast Processing and 60fps Gaming

To gauge these updated components, we put the new G14 through our suite of criterion tests and stacked up the results to a grouping of competitive laptops. Yous can see their names and specs in the table below…

Productivity Tests

The principal criterion of UL'due south PCMark 10 simulates a diverseness of real-world productivity and content-creation workflows to measure overall functioning for office-centric tasks such every bit word processing, spreadsheeting, web browsing, and videoconferencing. We besides run PCMark 10's Full System Drive exam to assess the load time and throughput of a laptop'south storage. (See more about how nosotros examination laptops.)

Three benchmarks focus on the CPU, using all available cores and threads, to rate a PC's suitability for processor-intensive workloads. Maxon's Cinebench R23 uses that visitor'due south Cinema 4D engine to render a complex scene, while Primate Labs' Geekbench 5.iv Pro simulates popular apps ranging from PDF rendering and speech recognition to machine learning. Finally, nosotros use the open-source video transcoder HandBrake 1.4 to convert a 12-minute video clip from 4K to 1080p resolution (lower times are improve).

Our final productivity test is Puget Systems' PugetBench for Photoshop, which uses the Creative Deject version 22 of Adobe's famous image editor to charge per unit a PC's performance for content creation and multimedia applications. Information technology's an automated extension that executes a variety of full general and GPU-accelerated Photoshop tasks ranging from opening, rotating, resizing, and saving an image to applying masks, gradient fills, and filters.

Simply put, the new G14 is the fastest laptop in this group. It doesn't lead on PCMark, simply across the more enervating multimedia and processor stress tests, it boasts the best results. The margins aren't huge, but it's enough to note that this auto will requite you quicker editing capabilities than most gaming laptops, and won't leave you hanging in a pinch. Everyday apply is a breeze, information technology has speedy storage, and the 8 cores and 16 threads are set up for anything you throw at them.

Graphics and Gaming Tests

We exam Windows PCs' graphics with 2 DirectX 12 gaming simulations from UL's 3DMark, Night Raid (more minor, suitable for laptops with integrated graphics) and Time Spy (more demanding, suitable for gaming rigs with detached GPUs).

We besides run two tests from the cross-platform GPU benchmark GFXBench 5, which stresses both depression-level routines like texturing and high-level, game-like image rendering. The 1440p Aztec Ruins and 1080p Automobile Chase tests, rendered offscreen to accommodate different display resolutions, exercise graphics and compute shaders using the OpenGL programming interface and hardware tessellation respectively. In GFXBench, the more frames per second (fps), the amend.

Plus, nosotros run three existent-globe game tests via the in-game benchmarks of F1 2022, Assassin's Creed Valhalla, and Rainbow Vi Siege. These represent simulation, open up-earth action-adventure, and competitive/esports shooter games, respectively. Valhalla and Siege are run twice (Valhalla at Medium and Ultra quality, Siege at Low and Ultra quality), while F1 2022 is run twice at maximum settings, offset with Nvidia's functioning-boosting DLSS anti-aliasing setting turned off, and then over again with it on. All tests are run at 1080p resolution, though we'll exercise additional runs at a laptop's native resolution for anecdotal results if it'southward a 1440p or 4K screen.

Unlike the processor, the G14's GPU is not at the forepart of the pack, but that'due south to exist expected. Between some other RTX 3060 in a bigger laptop and the Blade xiv's RTX 3070, this was never the well-nigh potent GPU on paper. That said, functioning on the constructed tests is in a decent spot, plenty capable for 3D tasks and gaming. I will say that in isolation, the price tag is a fleck high for this level of raw GPU power, only a lot of the cost goes toward the other components and features. If yous're more than concerned with fps-per-dollar, this configuration isn't the best deal.

As for the real-globe game tests, the story is similar, but it gives a very articulate picture of the type of operation you can expect for gaming. On a very demanding AAA title similar Assassinator'south Creed Valhalla, medium-quality settings are more realistic for 60fps, but the game all the same looks peachy at those settings, and that'south overnice for a laptop this size. The G14 tin can as well make good utilise of its high-refresh (120Hz) screen, as shown on Rainbow Six Siege, and the F1 results show how much of a boost DLSS can provide a organisation on the edge of 60fps.

Of course, this is all at 1080p, as opposed to the laptop's native 1440p resolution. We ran all of these same tests at 1440p, too, and equally you lot'd expect, the frame rates dropped noticeably. On Medium and Ultra quality, Valhalla went down to 52fps and 36fps, while on Low and Ultra, Siege went down to 156fps and 114fps. Finally, F1 2022 dropped to 43fps with TAA on, and 60fps with DLSS on. That's quite a dip on boilerplate, and in titles like Valhalla, could make the divergence between maintaining 60fps and seeing some choppy gameplay. In games like Siege, that starts to eat into the loftier frame rate advantage you lot should be getting from your display. You lot tin e'er run less-enervating games at native resolution, and give the frame rate a boost on more than-demanding titles by dialing down to 1080p.

As mentioned, the price is a little loftier for that level of power, but you lot tin can also run into that information technology'southward very like to the Blade 14's functioning despite the (on-paper) superior GPU and college toll. On the other hand, the Alienware is much less expensive, but a better performer in part cheers to the larger chassis size allowing for freer thermals. All in all, the G14 comes in where information technology should given the price: non the all-time value purely for gaming frame rates, simply adequately priced as an overall bundle and notwithstanding a good gaming laptop.

Battery and Display Tests

Nosotros test laptops' battery life by playing a locally stored 720p video file (the open-source Blender movie Tears of Steel) with brandish brightness at l% and audio book at 100% until the system quits. We make sure the battery is fully charged before the examination, with Wi-Fi and keyboard backlighting turned off.

Nosotros as well use a Datacolor SpyderX Elite monitor calibration sensor and its software to measure a laptop screen'southward color saturation—what percentage of the sRGB, Adobe RGB, and DCI-P3 color gamuts or palettes the display can show—and its brightness in nits (candelas per square meter) at the screen's 50% and peak settings.

The battery life is great on this organisation, especially for a gaming laptop. Its portable size is a perfect partner for the 10-60 minutes runtime, allowing you to take it on the road without worrying nearly finding the adjacent outlet before long.

On the display-quality side, color coverage is solid. Even if this isn't a laptop designed for media professionals, this and the processing speed could practice them proud, if necessary. The screen too gets plenty brilliant at maximum for a gaming laptop, coming in at 325 nits.

A Perfect Laptop for Traveling Gamers

As far as the design and build are concerned, we dearest this laptop just equally much as we did the first time effectually. It'south portable, well made, and fully featured, even if the value aspect is lessened by our item configuration. The upside of that is improve performance, though, thank you to the RTX 3060 and 32GB of retentivity. And the 1440p brandish is a pleasure to scout and play on.

This xiv-inch machine may be less of a rarity in the market at present, just it'due south yet a fine pick in its own right. At the price of this config, nosotros requite the edge to Razer'due south Bract 14 for an even nicer build, a bit more power, and a very similar feature set. The 2022 Zephyrus G14 comes in a close 2nd, and if you become for 1 of the midrange configurations with an RTX 3060 instead, you lot're getting a great value.