Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 Mini-Review Back
Photos: 8
Photo source: Asus
A 14-inch gaming laptop with desktop-like CPU performance and very long battery life. The best demonstration of the Ryzen 4000 so far.
Written: 04 June 2020, Updated: 10 April 2021
- Desktop-class CPU performance in a 14-inch laptop
- Good gaming performance
- 120Hz display
- Day long battery life
- Solid selection of ports
- No webcam
- Fans can get noisy under load
Specifications
| General | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Asus |
| Name | ROG Zephyrus G14 |
| Type | Clamshell |
| Operating System(s) | Windows 10 Home |
| Size & Weight | |
|---|---|
| Weight | 3.64lbs, 1.65kg |
| Width | 12.76", 324mm |
| Depth | 8.74", 222mm |
| Thickness | 0.7", 17.78mm |
| Performance | |
|---|---|
| Gaming Score | 77 |
| Processor(s) | AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 MaxQ |
| Storage (GB) | 1024 |
| Battery | |
|---|---|
| Mobility Score | 56 |
| Capacity (Wh) | 76 |
| Wifi (hours) | 10:05 |
| Video (hours) | 10:10 |
| Load (hours) | 1:35 |
| Average Runtime | 8:51 |
| Memory (RAM) | |
|---|---|
| Size (GB) | 16 |
| Type | DDR4 |
| Display | |
|---|---|
| Resolution | 1920x1080 |
| Size | 14" |
| Type | IPS |
| Aspect Ratio | 16:9 |
| Brightness (nits) | 260 |
| Glare | Matte |
| Refresh Rate | 120 |
| Touch | Yes |
| Stylus | No |
| Ports | |
|---|---|
| USB-C | 2 |
| HDMI | 1 |
| USB 3 | 2 |
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Case, design, and build quality
The case of Zephyrus G14 looks unique, functional and a bit boring. At least when compared to other gaming laptops that seem to have RGB lights everywhere in every color. On the plus side, this lack of a "gamer-look" is a huge plus if you want to get work done in a professional setting. And if you really cannot live without any lights, Asus also offers the Zephyrus G14 with a so called AniMe Matrix-pattern with included software that offers quite a lot of customization.
Ports
Left: AC adapter, HDMI, USB-C, 3.5mm audio jack
Right: USB-C, 2x USB-A 3.1, Kensington Lock
The Zephyrus G14 bucks the trend of hardly any ports: There are ports to plugin pretty much anything that is still relevant without requiring dongles, while still providing a modern USB-C port on each side that can be used for data, display and charging.
However, USB-C may not provide enough power for demanding tasks like gaming, so Asus also added a barrel charger. The only minor nitpick is the lack of a card reader, although that is probably not going to be a problem for most buyers of the Zephyrus G14.
However, USB-C may not provide enough power for demanding tasks like gaming, so Asus also added a barrel charger. The only minor nitpick is the lack of a card reader, although that is probably not going to be a problem for most buyers of the Zephyrus G14.
Processor
- Name: AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS
- Cores: 8
- Threads: 16
The 4900HS is one of the fastest laptop processors available at the moment and about the same speed as the 4800H (which is a 45 watt CPU instead of 35 watts). You can get similar performance with an Intel laptop, but then you are looking at something much larger, heavier and power hungrier with a fraction of the battery life. Linus Tech Tips has a YouTube video that demonstrates the difference between AMD and Intel well.
Display
- Size: 14
- Type: IPS
- Resolution: 1920x1080
- Aspect ratio: 19:9
- Brightness (nits): 260
The display is often a weak point of AMD laptops. Fortunately, Asus used a pretty good panel for the Zephyrus G14. It is a matte IPS panel with more than 300 nits of brightness, so it can also be used in brighter environments. Unfortunately, the response time is quite slow for a gaming laptop, so even with 120Hz and FreeSync it is not actually all that optimized for gaming. It is still a good panel overall and better than typical gaming laptop displays at tasks beside gaming.