ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 Review After Using Some time My Opinion and Verdict.

Getting the right mix of powerful gaming capability and portability in a laptop is no easy task. ROG Zephyrus G14 However, Taiwanese electronics giant ASUS, last year came up with the right solution in the form of its ROG Zephyrus G14 (Review) laptop. Apart from packing extreme internals, while keeping the chassis remarkably light, the device sported a trendy look to please the gamers.

This year ASUS has added to the winning formula in the display department with some major upgrades that make the whole package even more attractive. The Zephyrus G14 2021 I got for review comes with AMD's Ryzen 9 5900HS CPU and NVIDIA's RTX 3060 GPU and will set you back Rs 1,57,990. ROG Zephyrus G14 Let's find out how good this new G14 is as a gaming machine, while still serving as a handy mobile workstation.

ASUS ROG ZEPHYRUS G14 GA401QH-BM072TS … FULL SPECIFICATIONS

Build, design and display

ROG Zephyrus G14 Laptop The basic design of the Zephyrus G14 hasn't changed at all, which is understandable as the original was more or less correct in this aspect. However, in this time of video call and work from home culture, keeping the webcam on is still a problem. The plastic chassis has blunt edges on all sides, provides an easy grip, and the palm rest doesn't cut into my wrist.

The anime matrix design on the back of the lid makes its way onto the new G14 as well and is as customizable as ever to add that extra touch of gravitas to your use. ROG Zephyrus G14 Laptop However, in terms of overall usability, Anime Matrix serves no purpose and adds to the bulk of the device. Still, the G14 weighs around 1.6kg and is less than 2cm thick, which is rare for a gaming laptop... making it easy to carry in your bag.

The speakers are located just below the keyboard on either side and are tuned for better audio performance than last time. ASUS has implemented the highly acclaimed ErgoLift hinge design which enables superior airflow, thermal, and typing experience. Moonlight White and Eclipse Gray color options also make a comeback and I'm very partial to the latter as the dark gray tones match so well with the keyboard's white backlighting.

The usual connectivity options seen on the G14 from last year are back for this year's upgrade. There are Type-C USB 3.2 ports on either side (with DisplayPort and Power Delivery support on the left), two Type-A USB 3.3 ports on the right along with a 3.5mm headphone jack, and an HDMI 2.0 port. There's no Ethernet port, but you do get Wi-Fi 6 capabilities with Bluetooth 5.1.

ROG Zephyrus G14 Laptop Asus has overhauled the G14's display to accommodate the WQHD (2,560 x 1,440) panel, increasing the refresh rate to 120Hz instead of 60Hz. For the more hardcore gaming enthusiasts, there's a 1080p panel option as well as a 144Hz refresh rate. As far as color accuracy is concerned, previous ROG devices haven't disappointed me and the 2021 G14's 14-inch LCD also has a fairly high DCIP3 color gamut coverage.

While the saturation was a bit high, the realism and dazzling visuals of Cyberpunk 2077 were executed perfectly in Shadow of the Tomb Raider. The anti-glare coating on the display helps prevent the reflection of light sources directly behind you. That being said, I was less impressed with the brightness of the panel which can hinder outdoor use in bright sunny conditions. While the Zephyrus G14 isn't the ideal machine for photo editing, gamers will be satisfied with the display quality.

Keyboard and trackpad

ASUS has kept the keyboard the same as last year, offering a six-row chiclet-style arrangement of keys with medium travel and a white backlight. The keys are quite sensitive and do not feel tight at all.

ROG Zephyrus G14 Laptop The hexagonal power button at the top is pretty distinctive while there are four separate buttons for volume, mic controls, and opening the ROG Armory Crate. The arrow keys could have been made a bit bigger, but since I rarely use them in the games I play, my complaints are limited.

The trackpad feels a bit small which can be a deterrent for users who are used to the wide surface area. Precise drivers allow for easy multi-finger gestures and the latency is sufficient for browsing through the Internet or working with Microsoft Office. ROG Zephyrus G14 Laptop However, since the G14's primary function, is for gaming, I'd really recommend investing in a high-quality wired mouse.

Performance and battery

ROG Zephyrus G14 Laptop AMD's Ryzen 9 5900H based on the new Zen 3 architecture leads the charge for all processor-intensive tasks on the Zephyrus G14. The octa-core CPU is probably the best chipset for the price and has a maximum clock speed of 4.6GHz with 16 threads. Benchmark numbers paint a blazing sharp picture for the Zephyrus G14, which also abandoned Intel's silicon in favor of AMD last year. You can also check out our ASUS ROG Strix G15 review which uses the same CPU.

On Cinebench's R23, the G14 scored 12,159 on multi-core, while the single-core result was 1,469. PCMark 10's simulation of real-world usage returned a score of 6,558 which is in line with the current ROG lineup sporting the Ryzen 9 CPU. You also get 16GB of DDR4 RAM along with 1TB PCIe SSD storage.

ROG Zephyrus G14 Laptop CrystalDiskMark's test for sequential read and write speeds showed scores of 3,597MB/s and 3,088MB/s which are again excellent for the price. From these benchmark numbers, you can get an overall picture of the processing capabilities that the G14 includes. Handling general user requirements such as handling multiple RAM-consuming Chrome tabs or Microsoft's Office suite is going to be a piece of cake for this laptop.

As far as graphical performance goes, NVIDIA's RTX 3060 packs more than enough juice for most of your gaming needs. However, a word of caution. I recommend that you run all heavy-duty AAA games only at FHD (1,080 x 1,920) settings, as running at full WQHD resolution puts a lot of pressure on the GPU. The Shadow of the Tomb Raider benchmark produced an average fps of 87 at FHD and high graphics settings.

The same score was 69fps for WQHD. While in general, I didn't notice any throttling, the base of the laptop does get quite hot after extended use. Ray Tracing and NVIDIA's DLSS will boost your gaming performance but not all games support it. Cyberpunk 2077 delivered a tremendous 64fps on high settings, with the fans running at full speed. Low-intensity titles like Call of Duty Warzone and Valorant ran without a hitch, but they still had the familiar problem of overheating.

Overall, the Zephyrus G14's thin chassis and limited vents can create a thermal bottleneck, but overall gaming performance is on par with other gaming-focused laptops in the same price range.

The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 also has two 2.5W regular speakers and two 0.7W tweeters, which aren't the fastest, but offer incredible clarity and Dolby Atmos support. As far as the software is concerned, ASUS' Armory Crate allows you to fine-tune your CPU and GPU performance to your liking and monitors thermals, clock speed, and more while gaming the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14.

Last year's Zephyrus G14 boasted amazing battery life, and it's not something you often hear when looking at a gaming laptop. It claimed 11 hours of single charge usage, which is on par with an Ultrabook with a significantly weaker CPU. The 76WHrs, 4-cell Li-ion polymer battery on this year's G14 is rated for 12 hours of use.

I started a regular workday on 100 percent battery, and by the end of about 7-8 hours, I had about 30 percent left in the tank. ROG Zephyrus G14 Laptop Keep in mind that this was with the screen set at WQHD resolution and 120Hz refresh rate, which makes it quite impressive. Of course, from a gaming standpoint, laptops need to be plugged into a power source for maximum efficiency.

Final verdict

The ROG Zephyrus G14 is a perfect laptop in almost all aspects, be it for your professional needs or gaming. Heavy-duty internals wrapped in a package that's light enough to fit comfortably in your backpack is rare, and it looks like ASUS has mastered the art. One concern is the absence of a Thunderbolt 4 port that's readily available with Intel-powered devices.

The lack of a webcam also means you'll have to buy an additional accessory if you want to make video calls. Lastly, it seems that there is some kind of heating issue on the device, but it has not affected my gaming experience. ROG Zephyrus G14 Laptop The Zephyrus G14 is my top recommendation for users who love to dabble in games but want to take the same machine to their office or college.