Asus’ entry-level ROG Zephyrus G14 is the one to buy

Devoted Verge readers will keep in mind that I used to be not the most important fan of the newest ROG Zephyrus G14. The mannequin we acquired had a number of nice issues about it — Asus had improved the facet ratio, added a webcam, enlarged the touchpad, and glued mainly each different grievance I’d had about G14s of the previous.

However the unit I had for assessment was the highest SKU, and it was simply too costly.

Particularly, the Radeon RX 6800S / Ryzen 9 6900HS mannequin I acquired was priced at $2,499.99. That put it in the identical value class as among the market’s most premium 15-inch gaming rigs, together with Razer’s Blade 15 Superior — and method above the value of the bigger and better-performing G15. It was not a great deal. However I did word within the assessment that Asus supposed to promote cheaper fashions of the G14 and that these fashions, in the event that they produced related body charges, could possibly be phenomenal buys.

Properly, I’ve lastly gotten my arms on a type of cheaper fashions. I’m typing this proper now on a $1,649.99 mannequin of the Zephyrus G14 that has the identical Ryzen 9 6900HS processor however swaps that 6800S GPU out for a barely much less highly effective 6700S. I’ve strongly suspected for months that this configuration would provide very related efficiency to its $2,499.99 counterpart.

And people, that suspicion has confirmed appropriate. The distinction in body charges, whereas extant, is nothing price paying for. The 6700S mannequin’s battery life is healthier. It’s thinner and lighter. The one factor it lacks, which the 6800S has, is a flowery animated mild show on the lid. The sunshine show could be very cool, and you’ll go forward and pay $850 further for it if you need, however I’ll say that most individuals ought to get the $1,6499.99 mannequin as a substitute. It’s hands-down a greater deal.

For every little thing associated to the G14’s chassis, please see the assessment of the 6800S G14 that I revealed in February. There, I detailed the keyboard, touchpad, webcam, display, and different design and {hardware} facets. These are all the identical on the 6700S mannequin, so I’ll simply be discussing the efficiency variations right here.

The cheaper G14 averaged 189fps on Counter-Strike: World Offensive at most settings and native (2560 x 1600) decision. The earlier mannequin averaged 202fps. This distinction won’t be noticeable to anybody utilizing these machines because the highest refresh price the G14’s 120Hz display can show is 120fps.

You might even see an impression on different titles — however not one that’s price $850. The 6700S had some hassle with ray tracing, which nearly lower body charges in half — however that’s precisely what we noticed from the 6800S as effectively. The cheaper mannequin averaged 63fps with ray tracing off and 32fps with ray tracing maxed, the place the older mannequin averaged 70fps and 37fps, respectively. Like I mentioned, small potatoes.

And, on Purple Useless Redemption 2 with all sliders manually maxed, the cheaper mannequin averaged 45fps the place the dearer SKU averaged 49fps. I promise 4 frames won’t impression your life in any capability.

Fan noise and warmth have been just like what I noticed from the 6800S mannequin, which is to say that they have been tremendous. Noise wasn’t significantly annoying throughout gameplay and didn’t impede recreation audio; after I put the gadget on the Silent profile for normal work, it did certainly turn out to be silent. Even throughout a good workload that included an exterior show, there was by no means greater than a bit of heat on the keyboard. Palm rests have been scorching throughout gameplay however not fairly uncomfortably so.

The place I did see one thing of a distinction was battery life. The 6700S mannequin averaged eight hours and 55 minutes of normal use at medium brightness, a strong hour over the 6800S. This metric places the G14 again on the map as one of many longest-lasting gaming laptops of latest years. Gaming battery didn’t present fairly the identical enchancment. I obtained 46 minutes of Purple Useless Redemption 2 play with about 39 minutes of playable time, whereas I eked 54 and 46 minutes out of the dearer unit, however gaming battery life is tough to attract conclusions from. Charging time was precisely the identical: 60 p.c in 41 minutes.

The one different distinction between this mannequin and the 6800S is the scale. It’s barely lighter (3.64 kilos to the 6800S’s 3.79 kilos) and thinner (0.73 inches to 0.77 inches). That is clearly not the most important distinction on the planet, and it’s fairly a light-weight gaming laptop computer both method. However it’s yet one more slight benefit the cheaper mannequin has. It’s that a lot lighter than the Razer Blade 14 and that rather more compact than bigger machines that may ship these body charges. I introduced this gadget on a world journey and beloved how mild of a load it was in an in any other case packed backpack.

So, the Zephyrus G14 is, as soon as once more, one of many higher gaming laptops you should buy. You may simply go forward and purchase this 6700S mannequin except you’re actually into fairly animated lights. This mannequin is price-competitive with the premium sphere in a method the animated mild mannequin isn’t: the closest Razer Blade 14 can be $2,599.99 ($950 extra, although with the next refresh price display) and a comparable Alienware X14 (with a lower-resolution display) can be $1,949. And, it’s very a lot undercutting bigger opponents: the Blade 15 Superior with an RTX 3070 Ti is at present listed for $2,999.99 ($950 extra) as is the RTX 3070 Ti Blade 15 Base (with a decrease decision).

And that’s not even making an allowance for the opposite benefits the G14 has over a lot of the competitors, together with its light-weight chassis, category-topping keyboard, and (particularly) 16:10 display. The $1,649.99 value level makes it a lot simpler (and extra justifiable) to understand the true improvements that Asus has made, and continues to make, on this house.