The ROG Zephyrus G14: A Look Back and a New Chapter

The ROG Zephyrus G14 is a laptop that has been a part of our studio since its release in 2020. Its sleek design and impressive features have made it a staple in our workspace. Recently, we were approached by the manufacturer, ROG, with an exciting offer - to sponsor a video showcasing their brand new version of the G14 for 2024.

We couldn't resist the opportunity to work with this talented team. As a result, we found ourselves sitting down to review the latest iteration of the Zephyrus G14. And what did we find? A laptop that truly feels like a book. Literally.

Upon closer inspection, we discovered that the device comes in a stunning bound-together package. The design is sleek and sophisticated, with a sturdy construction that exudes quality and craftsmanship.

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- This is the ROG Zephyrus G14.If this looks familiar,it's because it should.We've been using this laptop in the studioever since it came out back in 2020.So, when our friends atROG reached out and askedif they could sponsor a videoon the brand new versionof the G14 for 2024, I couldn't say no.Open...Oh, my God, it's a book.It's, like, bound into it.This doesn't even comeapart, like, it is a book,"A new horizon, ROG Zephyrus G14."Also, I know this is like a nerdy detail,this is like one of those, you know,like, those real fancy books.You're gonna walk into aCongressperson's office,who you're probably surehas been bribed in the pastwith some very fancy things,well, this is the kind of quality of paperthat they would have on the booksand their dining room tables or desks.(clears throat) Sorry, did I? (chuckles)It kind of just shows the waythey've actually designed it,so they show the colorways,they show that it's alsonow made out of aluminum,which is actually kind of interesting,because with the previous G14s,and, honestly, like mostASUS and ROG laptops,they're in, like, sort of atraditional multi-piece design.So, immediately I get the ideathat this is going tobe a more premium setupfor the G14 this time.What?Look at this, look atthat, that's so cool.You got a triple fan set up.Look, there's a lot of stuff in here,and we've got the laptop itself.That is a really unique unboxing.Oh, snap, that's thin!Holy. And we've alsogot, look at this sizeof that trackpad, too.The trackpad pretty much takes upthe entire bottom of the chassis.I liked the original G14.Don't get me wrong, I don'twanna make it seem likeI'm complaining about this,'cause this has been themain laptop in the studiofor the last three years for a reason,but this, if you handedthis to me and just said,"Oh, this is, like, thenext Zenbook," or something,I would be like, "Oh, neat,"but the fact that this isa full-on gaming computerwith what I assume are quite decent specson the inside, that is cool.Let me be real, if you're Razer,you're like, "Oh, (duck quacks)"Is there anything else inhere? (soft electronic music)Is this supposed to do something?I think this is supposed to do something.- There is aUSB-C port on the side.- Do we plug in our box?Do we plug in our book?- Maybe follow the,you know.- Yeah, you know what,that's fair, that's fair, I could do that.I feel like this issupposed to do something.By the time you watch thisvideo, I'll be at CES.I will ask ASUS whatthis is supposed to do.Is that a backpack?(backpack thuds)Ah!No!No, not the G14!(crew laughing)I'm sorry.(crew continues laughing)He hasn't even...(crew continues laughing)Take a moment and calm down a little bit.Well, it says, "Zenbook," on it.Wait, what?What is this?(box rattles)They sent Legos again, didn't they?I'm trying to reviewlaptops here, what is, oh,(soft intriguing music)- That's gotta be you.- But my concern is whyam I in so many pieces?We also have what I assumehas gotta be the G16, right?It does have the same design language.It certainly is made out ofthe same kind of aluminum.One of the big upgradeswith both of these laptops this year,in addition to the build quality,which I'll say is probably oneof the biggest differences,is the fact that they bothupgraded to OLED displays.So, Matt,- Austin can't put together,like, two Lego pieces.- No, no, no, here's the thing, okay?They sent me a Lego of myself,but it came in a few pieces.Like, I'll be real,I didn't have plans oftrying to daily the G14.Like, I was like, "Oh, you know,"like, I don't typically need to carrya gaming laptop with me every day.(soft upbeat music)The thought is currently crossing my mindthat maybe this is my daily.- Your butt straps.- Not butt straps,it's just called a littlebit of support, man.That's pretty good.(soft upbeat music continues)- Do you remember the kidfrom, "Polar Express,"- Okay.- Who's like, "Um, actually,"that's who that grew up to be.(Alex laughing)- Let's take a close look atthe G14 and the G16, shall we?Well, the new G14 looksdramatically different.There are actually no newgraphics cards this yearto cram inside of it,which means that the ROGteam can't just throwa 5090 in here and call it a day,which means they had to usea lot of clever engineeringto make it thinner, cooler,and in my opinion,better across the board.Let's start out by talkingabout the Ryzen 9 8945HS,which is a new CPU that'sjust been released.We're talking eight Zen 4 CPU cores,the max boost clock of 5.2 gigahertz,and new for this generationare the Ryzen AI cores,which deliver 16 TOPS of performance.Now, look, you're gonna heara whole lot about AI at CES,throughout the rest of this year,largely because it is a big, big upgrade.So, being able to do on-deviceAI is an important thing,especially when you considerthat if the rumors are true,Windows 12 is going toheavily be relying on devicesthat have some real AIperformance on board.The most important part of the new G14is really just how muchsmaller and lighterthey managed to make it.So, they shaved abouta third of a pound offand almost 2/10ths of an inch.That might not sound like much,but you can absolutely feel it.It's funny, this actuallyhas very similar dimensionsto a 14-inch MacBook Pro, whichis absolutely a compliment,considering the kind of hardwarethat they were able to cramin this form factor.Now, you might thinkthat with all of that,and being so thin, itwould overheat like crazy.They've got liquid metalcooling, not one, not two,but three of theirbrand new Arc Flow Fans,and I will say that whileit loses out on a very smallamount of performance comparedto last year's versionof the G14 with the same GPU,we're talking a couple percent,but it is way quieter,especially from sortof the normal distance,and, also, I just wanna emphasizehow much more livable the G14 is.I mean, the G14 has alwaysbeen a very good daily laptopwith the size and its form factor,but with this G14, it is so niceas far as the hardware goes.It also has their new ROG charge port,which means that you can fast-charge it.Now, keeping in mind that this is runningpre-production hardware and software,I can't do any benchmarks of this device.What I can do is giveyou some general thoughtson what it's like to game on.So, there are a few thingsthat are interestingabout using this laptop for gaming,one of which is while when you're gaming,you certainly can hear some fan noise,and it gets very warm toward the top,the keyboard, and especiallyat the trackpad area,feel relatively cool to the touch.Now, the screen itself isanother place where ROGhave stepped it up.So, it's been upgraded from eitheran IPS or mini-LED, last generation,to an incredibly sharp3K OLED with G-SYNC.Let me emphasize that it is a very,very different experience gaming on OLED.Sure, on paper, it isnot a complete upgrade.I mean, last year'smodel ran at 165 hertz,where this one tops out at only 120,but I would absolutely takeit on the OLED in a heartbeat.Not only are you gettingthe amazing contrast,the great colors, and you've also gotthe excellent response time.It is clear that, like,especially with G-SYNCand everything, it is smooth as butter.The experience of gaming on this laptopis also just terrific.I mean, not only is it incredibly smoothand sort of responsive,but I'm talking about thespeakers absolutely kick ass.Like, they really, really do sound great.I could just walk around, butI'm committed to the bit now.(upbeat electronic music)That sounds pretty good, right?Yeah, that's 30% volume.(upbeat electronic music grows louder)(upbeat electronic music continues)(chuckles) As I try tolook for my glasses,I think, and I'm notexaggerating in any way,the G14 is now among my, like,top two or three laptop speakers, period.Even comparing it to larger devices,the G16 also has terrific speakers,it's a little bit bigger, but, like,what they're pumping out of a laptopof this size is unbelievable.So, it's so good, I lost my eyeballs.I just couldn't handle it.You know what I like aboutthis G14, not only the size,which feels very sort of daily drivable,but also the fact that there's nota lot of other compromise.You know, the screen, like,everything that makes it abright, smooth, contrasty screengreat for gaming also makesit a great everyday laptop.The webcam's pretty good.It's got Windows Hello Facial Recognition.It is really rare for meto take a look at a deviceand have essentially no criticism.I already love the G14,and this one is just better in every way.(gun firing on laptop)Okay, well maybe I'll use the G14to get a little more practice in.And all this also segues over to the G16.So, the G16 is, of course,the 16-inch versionof the same laptop, and it haspretty much all the upgradesthat I love from the G14.I will say, though,it does have a few extratricks up its sleeve.The G16 ships with theIntel Core Ultra 9 185H,which is a monster of a mobile chip.It's got 16 cores,which is split this yearbetween six performance, eight efficiency,and two high efficiencyor high-power efficiencythat can also hit a maxturbo of over five gigahertz,5.1 on this side, compared to 5.2,but look, no noob will ever thinkthat you're gaming on a laptopif you're rocking oneof these new Zephyruses.The G16 does have a choice of display,but there should be only one you pick,and that is this OLED.It is slightly actually lower resolutionthan the G14 at 2.5K,but it has a crazyrefresh rate of 240 hertz,and on top of that, it has a960 hertz pixel emission rate.Essentially, the OLEDpanel itself is refreshingseveral times for every newframe you get in the game,to make that truly wildresponse time a reality,or you could just gowith a regular TFT panelif you wanna save a few bucks,but honestly, don't even bother.The OLEDs on these are terrific.Now, the G16 does have slightlyhigher-end GPU options,where the G14 for 2024tops out at an RTX 4060,or specifically an RTX 4070,and this model, this onewill go all the way upto an RTX 4090, but let's be real,if you care about the maximum performance,you're gonna get a beefiergaming laptop.Well, the Zephryus line isabout striking a balancebetween portability and performance,and personally, I prefera device like this.I value tons of raw horsepowerand something that's an inch thick,that'll go into turbo mode, but,look, I want somethingthat I can carry aroundevery day with me,and something that feelsnice and premium to use,and that's really wherethe Zephyrus line sort ofhas its sort of sweet spot.Now, as we're recording this video,I don't actually know theprices of these laptops.You probably will by the timeyou're watching this video,and if I have it, I willput it up on screen.It is almost certainlygonna be more expensivethan the 2023 models, sincethese have that brand newaluminum chassis and whatnot,but look, I mean, it's super simple.The G14 is one of my favoritepieces of laptop hardwarethat I have ever tried.Like, it is rare thata single device checksso many boxes for me personally.I love the form factor and size.I love how thin and light it is,the trackpad, keyboard,screen, performance, ports,I mean, pretty much everythingyou could ask for in alaptop, it checks the boxes.So, thank you very much to ASUS and ROGfor sponsoring this video.If you wanna learn anythingelse about the Zephyrus G14or G16, I'll have thoselinked in the description,and make sure to stay tunedand subscribe to the channel.This CES, there is an enormousamount of very cool tech,and I'm gonna be coveringas much as I can,and when I finally take a napat some point in February.