Fantastic performance
Gorgeous OLED screen
12-hour battery life

Soldered on memory
Fewer graphics card configurations than previous years

The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 is a master of productivity and performance without compromise.

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About the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024)

The 2024 Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 is a 14-inch gaming laptop that comes in 3 major hardware configurations and two colors: silver and black. We tested the silver unit.

The cheapest model comes configured with a mobile Nvidia RTX 4050 graphics card (it’s not currently available in the US), while the RTX 4060 model costs $1,600, and the priciest model has an Nvidia RTX 4070 graphics card and retails for $2,000. While the RTX 4050 and 4060 models have 16GB of soldered DDR5 memory, the 4070 model has 32GB of DDR5 memory.

Unlike the 2023 models, there are no variants with RTX 4080 or 4090 graphics cards (that privilege has been reserved for the 2024 Asus ROG Zephyrus G16). However, you can still buy the 2023 models since Asus will continue producing them throughout the 2024’s life cycle. The 2023 version comes in black and white chassis configurations, and you can choose between an RTX 4050, 4060, 4070, 4080, or 4090 graphics card.

Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 specs

The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 and it's accessories. — The 2024 Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 and G16 come with a new unibody aluminum design, including a simplified RGB slash on the back.

Price as configured: $1,600
Processor: AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS processor (8 cores, 16 threads at 4GHz (up to 5.2 GHz))
Graphics: Nvidia RTX 4060 mobile (discrete), AMD Radeon 780M integrated graphics
Memory: 16GB DDR5 at 6400MHz (non-replaceable)
Storage: 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD
Display: 14-inch, 2880 x 1800 at 120Hz OLED panel, 500 nits (rated), 410 nits (measured), 100% DCI-P3, 0.2ms response time, Nvidia G-Sync compatible, supports Dolby Vision HDR
Webcam: 1080p
Ports: 1x Type C USB 4 with power delivery, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, 1x HDMI 2.1 FRL, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 1x card reader (microSD) (UHS-II), 1x 3.5mm combo audio jack
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3
Battery: 73Whr battery
Weight: 3.30 pounds (1.49 kilograms)
Dimensions: 12.24 x 8.66 x 0.63 inches
Warranty: 1-year limited warranty
Special Features: Windows Hello facial recognition, included GPU overclocking software

What we like

Stunning performance in a small form factor

The laptop displaying gameplay of Overwatch 2. — It can run new games at high resolutions and frame rates.

The 2024 ROG Zephyrus G14 refresh may only be 0.3 pounds lighter than its 2023 predecessor, but it’s just as good for gaming and multimedia. The 2024 model’s AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS processor is as beefy as last year’s AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS processor but more power efficient.

For both single- and multi-core processing benchmarks, both processors scored within 10% of each other (with most victories weighted in favor of the 8945HS). It ranks among the fastest laptops we’ve tested for both gaming and productivity—only the Apple MacBook Pro 16 M3 Max can best it on the productivity side.

Among gaming laptops, it consistently landed in the top 10 for every benchmark we threw at it. In Geekbench 6’s single-core benchmark, it scored 2553 points, only 350 points shy of the current leader, the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17. In the multi-core version, it scored 12222 points—only the Asus ROG Strix G18, ROG Strix Scar 17, and Razer Blade 16 manage to beat it by any noticeable margin (they each scored between 14500 points and 18500 points).

However, the laptops that outperform the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 are also larger and heavier. More portable gaming laptops like the Razer Blade 14 and the Lenovo Legion Slim 5 scored on par with the ROG Zephyrus G14.

The graphics performance is more humble, as this year’s lineup only includes laptops with mobile Nvidia RTX 4050, 4060, and 4070 graphics cards (the 2023 model includes RTX 4080 and 4090 as options, as does the 2024 Zephyrus G16). Even so, the Zephyrus G14 crushes the competition when it comes to graphics performance in such a small chassis.

The only other gaming laptop that can match the Zephyrus G14’s slim profile is the Razer Blade 14—a laptop with similar performance to the ROG Zephyrus G14 that costs almost $1,000 more.

If you opt for the middle-of-the-line Zephyrus G14 with an RTX 4060, expect to see a little over 70 frames per second in Cyberpunk 2077 at 1080p ultra graphics settings with ray tracing disabled (and 33 fps with ray tracing enabled). Total War: Warhammer 3 runs at 67 fps at 1080p ultra graphics, and less graphically intense games run even faster; Shadow of the Tomb Raider, an older game from 2017, runs at 133 fps at 1080p with maxed-out graphic settings.

That puts the Zephyrus G14’s graphics performance on par with other gaming laptops in its price range like the Lenovo Legion Slim 5 and HP Victus 16, although some thicker laptops like the Lenovo Legion Pro 5i can eke out more performance from the same graphics card due to a higher power limit and more aggressive cooling. In the Legion Pro 5i’s case, it put out about 20 fps more than the Zephyrus G14 on average across our test suite.

However, the ROG Zephyrus G14 is not meant to replace the gaming laptops that put performance above all else. The Zephyrus G14 has enough power to provide a great gaming experience and enough optimization to keep power consumption as low as possible for more mundane tasks like web browsing. It outperforms the MacBook Pro 14 M2 Pro and the Asus Zenbook 14 OLED but at the same size as those laptops.

Its battery lasts as long as a MacBook’s

With battery life just shy of 12 hours, the 2024 ROG Zephyrus G14 is a standout among gaming and productivity laptops alike. The 2023 model’s battery life hit a respectable 6 hours, but this year’s lower-powered graphics card options, more efficient processor, and power-efficient OLED display push the battery life to new heights.

The Ryzen 8000-series processors have neural processing units (NPUs), which offload common machine learning tasks like image upscaling and webcam facial recognition from the CPU and GPU. In short, these dedicated processors are more power-efficient than a CPU or GPU would be at performing AI-dependent calculations and can help manage how power is allocated while in use.

Compared to the 2023 model, the 2024 model’s CPU is just as powerful when it needs to be, but it also knows when to conserve energy (i.e. during our battery test, where the laptop cycles through web pages until it dies). The NPU is likely part of the secret, but the Zephyrus G14’s overall power management is overall more refined and better at suspending inactive tasks.

When we compare the 2024 Zephyrus G14 to the other best gaming laptops out there, it’s not a competition—it’s a landslide victory. It smashed our records for longest battery life in the category; the HP Victus 16 (2022) comes in 2nd with 26 minutes less, and the Asus ROG Strix G18 comes in 3rd with over 2 hours less battery life.

If you want a 14-inch laptop with more than 12 hours of battery life, you’ll have to settle for one of the newer MacBooks or a Windows laptop without a discrete graphics card like the HP Dragonfly Pro.

Great ergonomics and build quality

A side shot of the laptop. — Its slim and lightweight design provides excellent portability.

The ROG Zephyrus G14 has been a consistent standout for great product design, and this new refresh is no different. The brushed aluminum body, ginormous trackpad, and responsive keyboard add up to a user experience as pleasant as that of a Lenovo Yoga or an M3 MacBook Pro. The chassis does not flex and feels rugged enough that I’d trust it to survive a rough daily commute.

The keyboard is practically the same as the older ROG Zephyrus G14, and that’s a good thing. However, this year’s model has a larger trackpad—it’s bigger than my hand. Swiping from one end to the other strains my wrist because it’s such a wide surface. Thankfully, it wasn’t an issue to just rest my palm on the trackpad since palm rejection is top-notch.

The port selection this year is also fantastic, as it includes a dedicated full-sized HDMI 2.1 port, a USB-C 4 port, and a microSD port. I wish it had more than two USB-A and USB-C ports and an ethernet port, but most laptops coming out in 2024 persist on 2 to 4 total ports.

On the other hand, you won’t need to use up a USB-C port just to charge the Zephyrus G14. The laptop has a new dedicated power delivery port that can fast-charge the battery from 0 to 50% in 30 minutes.

But despite all the smaller upgrades, the change that stands out the most is the weight. At 3.3 pounds, the Zephyrus G14 is easy to slip into a backpack and forget about. It is no different in form factor or convenience to the standard productivity notebooks we’ve gotten used to this decade, slim enough to fit in laptop pockets and stylish enough to proudly display on a conference table.

The new body has a diagonal slash running across the lid, a changeup from the diffusing light grid that made the original Zephyrus laptop so visually distinct. However, I wouldn’t say the slash is subtle, as the glossy metal finish and LED lighting draw attention to it in a way that few productivity laptops would ever dare.

If you’re not a big fan of aggressive lighting, you can change the lid and keyboard lighting in Armoury Crate. There are 15 pre-programmed modes and you can create custom modes or turn the LEDs off altogether.

What we don’t like

The cheaper models are held back by 16GB of RAM

Close-up shot of the laptop's different ports. — The port selection will likely be good enough for most people.

While the RAM on both the 2023 and 2024 models is soldered to the motherboard, the 2023 model includes a discrete SO-DIMM slot so you can add your own RAM should the included 16GB prove insufficient. The 2024 model nixes the SO-DIMM slot, so the only way to get 32GB of RAM on your laptop is to shell out for the RTX 4070 variant.

This is a disappointment for such an expensive laptop since it impacts performance. We tested the RTX 4060 variant with 16GB of RAM, and despite having the same processor as the RTX 4070 variant, we saw lower processing benchmark scores across the board compared to the RTX 4070 model (although in most cases it was under 10%).

Similarly, the 2024 ROG Zephyrus G14 performed worse in our benchmarks than the 2023 unit despite the 2024 unit having a technically better processor. The 2024 model (which has 16GB of RAM) outscored the 2023 model (with 32GB of RAM) in single-core processing benchmarks by about 7%, but scored worse on multi-core processing tasks by up to 10%. Our 2024 unit would likely have outperformed the 2023 unit if its RAM matched to the 2023 unit, but we’ll never know for sure since there is no way to add more.

The OLED screen is the best ROG Zephyrus display yet… mostly

I loved the display on the 2023 ROG Zephyrus G14, but this year’s display is somehow even more breathtaking to witness. The Zephyrus G14’s 3K display is denser, crisper, and with higher contrast than last year’s 2K display. Maybe it’s the contrast that comes with OLED panels or the ultra-vibrant colors under the glossy display, but it made me bummed to return to my MacBook Air.

The ROG Zephyrus display can hit true black, and it covers more than the entirety of the DCI-P3 color spectrum—in other words, it’s more than HDR capable. It registered 0.00 nits luminance on black levels thanks to the ability of OLED displays to turn individual pixels off when not in use.

While it’s becoming more common to see 3K OLED displays on laptops like the HP Spectre x360 14-inch and the Asus Zenbook 14X, many gaming laptops still use regular IPS displays that have a bit of backlight bleeding in the black zones.

The snag with this year's display is its maximum brightness and refresh rate. While the display is rated for 500 nits of peak brightness, my unit’s display peaked at 410 nits. Other reviewers had the same issue. It’s a bit of a bummer that it doesn’t deliver on its promised specs, especially when the 2023 model has a peak brightness of 608 nits (although it does have lighter black levels than the 2024 model).

If you’re an online competitive FPS player, you might have noticed that the 2024 display caps out at 120Hz, but the 2023 model’s display maxed out at 165Hz. That’s still plenty fast for most games (and even for VR), but when a millisecond is the difference between victory and defeat, a 240Hz or higher panel is preferred.

Should you buy the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024)?

Yes, it’s amazing for long business trips and weekend gaming raids alike

A person typing away at the keys of a 2024 Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 with the Reviewed homepage on display. — Overall, the 2024 Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 is one of the, if not the singular, best laptops you can buy right now.

The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 is no longer the Razer Blade 14’s cheaper alternative—it is the Blade 14 killer, and it should make MacBook loyalists reconsider their allegiance. The OLED panel is one of the most vibrant and accurate displays on the laptop scene, the chassis is one of the most aesthetic bodies out there, and its performance is enough to rank among the best gaming laptops, too. The Zephyrus G14 is $1,999 for the RTX 4070 version with 32GB of memory, and the cheaper RTX 4060 model sits at a sweet spot of $1,600 (and we’ve already seen it go on sale for $1,350).

Maybe the 2024 Razer Blade 14 will wow us, but for now, the 2024 ROG Zephyrus G14 blows away the 2023 Blade 14 in every way possible: battery life, portability, performance, and price. The Zephyrus G14’s 12 hour battery life is exceptional for any laptop, but if you need something that will last you 24 hours non-stop you should take a look at the MacBook Pro 14.

The Zephyrus G14’s OLED panel is accurate enough for HDR content and professional color work, but the relatively low 410-nit brightness max could be a problem for some, in which case the Lenovo Yoga 9i or the Dell XPS 17 are worth considering. Unfortunately, if you want a laptop that’s more powerful than the ROG Zephyrus G14, you’ll have to look at bigger gaming laptops like the Asus ROG Strix G18 or the Lenovo Legion Pro 5i.

It’s really, really hard to imagine anyone who wouldn’t be happy with the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14. It’s an exceptional laptop by every metric, and the best-in-class laptops sacrifice more than they gain to beat the Zephyrus G14 in their niche.

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Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024) Review