Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 and G16 Review: Covert gaming

Early in 2024, I went hands-on with Asus’ ROG Zephyrus G16 gaming laptop and was quite impressed with what was on offer. With the hands-on, I wasn’t able to dig into performance much, so I spent most of it talking about the impressive design that allowed Asus to cram powerful components into a chassis that isn’t much bigger than a MacBook Pro.

I’ve now had an opportunity to spend more time with both the ROG Zephyrus G16 and its smaller brother, the G14. Since I had previously spent time during the hands-on with the G16, I spent more of my review time using the G14. Plus, I appreciated its smaller size (more on that below). However, not all of my positive feelings from the hands-on have carried through the review period and after spending more time with the Zephyrus G laptops, it’s clear there’s still room for improvement, even if Asus is on the right path.

Specs

Zephyrus G16

• Display: 16-inch 2560×1600 ‘ROG Nebula’ OLED with 240Hz refresh rate
• Processor: Intel Core Ultra 7 155H
• Memory: 32GB
• Storage: 1TB SSD
• Dimensions: 35.4 x 24.6 x 1.49 ~ 1.64 cm
• Weight: 1.95kg (4.3lbs)
• Camera: 1080p IR Camera with Windows Hello
• Operating System: Windows 11
• Battery: 90WHr
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3
• Sensors: n/a
• Ports: 1x Thunderbolt 4, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type A, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type C, 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x SD card reader, 1x 3.5mm combo audio jack
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU

Zephyrus G14

• Display: 14-inch 2880×1800 ‘ROG Nebula’ OLED with 120Hz refresh rate
• Processor: AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS
• Memory: 32GB
• Storage: 1TB SSD
• Dimensions: 31.1 x 22.0 x 1.59 ~ 1.63 cm
• Weight: 1.5kg (3.31lbs)
• Camera: 1080p IR Camera with Windows Hello
• Operating System: Windows 11
• Battery: 73WHr
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3
• Sensors: n/a
• Ports: 1x USB 4 Type C, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type A, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type C, 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x micro SD card reader, 1x 3.5mm combo audio jacl
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU

Note: the above specifications are for the specific models I tested. You can find all the G14 configurations here and all the G16 configurations here. Additionally, some configurations may be limited to specific retailers.

Gamers in disguise

Although the Zephyrus G14 and G16 have some subtle internal differences, from the outside, they look fairly similar aside from the size. The G16 I tried briefly back in January came in the darker ‘Eclipse Grey’ shade, while both the G14 and G16 I tried this time around came in ‘Platinum White.’ While I prefer the Eclipse Grey colour, both options look great.

As a whole, Asus’ ROG Zephyrus laptops sport fantastic design and generally don’t look like gaming laptops. For the most part, I think this is a good thing, especially for people who might want to buy one laptop for both work and play. The Zephyrus laptops wouldn’t look out of place in the office while packing the necessary oomph to slay out after work. And I find the G14 to be particularly impressive in this regard given its small, sleek form factor.

At the same time, I found the design wasn’t conducive to cooling, which is particularly important for laptops packing the specs that the Zephyrus laptops do. Both the G14 and G16 would get very hot even under medium loads consisting primarily of web browsing and some other apps, like Slack or Spotify. The heat was primarily concentrated above the keyboard, so typically, it didn’t interfere with using the laptops, but it still got worryingly toasty, registering temps around 45°C on non-gaming workloads and climbing even hotter when gaming. Of course, 45°C isn’t out of bounds for gaming hardware, but it was hot enough to be uncomfortable to the touch when I needed to pick up the laptop – my desktop might hit higher temps but at least I never need to hold it while it’s that hot. Plus, the larger size of my desktop enables better cooling to manage all that heat.

Flexing the muscle

Unfortunately, heat is a significant limiting factor for the Zephyrus laptops, and even with the hardware chops, I found that the performance wasn’t quite what I had hoped. For example, I booted up Helldivers 2 on the G14 for a few rounds with some buddies in hopes that the G14 would prove more capable than my old desktop PC that struggles with that game. However, despite the G14 having better specs on paper, it barely outperformed my desktop at the same graphics settings and resolution. It was also very hot to the touch.

This pattern followed in other games, with the Zephyrus laptops often putting out okay but not great performance. Depending on your expectations, I think the G14 and G16 can offer adequate gaming experiences. For my part, I value framerates over other aspects, so I was more than happy to turn down graphics settings to push my frames per second (fps) higher. Others might prefer to game at a lower fps with better graphics, which is totally fine too. I don’t prefer 30fps gaming but those that do can enjoy better-looking games on the Zephyrus laptops.

Outside of gaming, the G14 and G16 offer solid performance for work tasks, especially more intense photo or video editing, thanks to the beefier GPUs. Both laptops I tried had 4070 Laptop GPUs and 32GB RAM, but differing CPUs – the G14 had the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS while the G16 had the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H. For the most part, I didn’t notice any significant difference in CPU performance between the two laptops, though I will say the G14 had worse battery life (more on that below) but also a smaller battery, which is likely a bigger factor. Both laptops were more than capable of handling my usual workload, including photo editing tasks and some heavy web browsing activities with tons of open tabs.

In need of an outlet

Perhaps my biggest grip with the Zephyrus laptops is their battery life. As mentioned above, the G14 has a smaller battery as a result of its smaller size, and frankly, it doesn’t hold up for long computing sessions away from an outlet.

Much of my battery testing centred on the very real-world experience of using the laptop while on the train into the office. During my testing period, I was commuting into the MobileSyrup office twice per week, and I worked on the train on the way in and on the way home. I usually work for a bit at a coffee shop before I catch the train, so it works out to about an hour and 45 minutes in the morning and an hour and 15 minutes on the way home, or three hours total, where I’m often unable to plug in. I can recharge at the office, but I like to try and get through the whole day without plugging in as a real test of laptop battery.

Unfortunately for the Zephyrus devices, I could not get away with it on the G14, and the G16 was tight enough that I never felt comfortable skipping my at-office recharge.

Frustratingly, the G14 was often troublingly low on battery by the time I arrived in the office in the morning after less than two hours of use. On days when I left the house with a full charge, I’d be at 50 percent by the time I made it in. Sometimes, the G14 wouldn’t go to sleep properly and would drain the battery while it sat in my backpack, leading to even worse battery life. (When this happened, the laptop also got crazy hot and ran the fans like crazy. I’ve encountered this behaviour on several other Windows laptops, but the G14 was one of the worst because of how hot it could get.)

The G16 was better thanks to its larger battery, but not by much. I’d have maybe 65-75 percent battery when I arrived in the morning. On some occasions, I could make it through my day and the train ride home with the G16, but the laptop would be on death’s door by the time I got off the train. As such, I often charged it up while at the office.

It’s worth noting that there are tools included with the Zephyrus laptops to help with the battery. For example, there are options to deprioritize the discrete GPU in favour of the more efficient (and less powerful) on-board graphics from Intel or AMD, as well as low power settings to limit performance. In my experience, most of these settings noticeably impacted performance enough that it deterred me from using them.

Pricey but effectively a two-for-one

The Zephyrus G14 starts at $2,199, and the G16 starts at $2,299, though notably, these starting prices are for less powerful variants of the laptops than what I tested that sport 16GB of RAM and 4060 Laptop GPUs, among other differences. Depending on how intense you want to spec out the Zephyrus laptops, they can get as high as $4,499, though I’m not sure I’d recommend spending that much on a laptop.

The main argument I see for both the G14 and G16 is that the laptops, pricey as they are, are effectively a two-for-one deal. You get a powerful laptop that’s capable for work and gaming. It’s a tempting offer, especially if you can’t splurge on both a solid portable laptop and a tricked-out gaming desktop.

The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 is avalable on Asus’ website, Amazon and Best Buy. The G16 is also available from Asus, Amazon and Best Buy.