Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2023) Review

Asus ROG Zephyrus G14

The Zephyrus G14 has been a crowd favourite, especially among gamers and creators. But Asus had a tough job to update it to take it to the next level. We got a chance to test out the latest generation of the G14 which is suped-up with the new generation of Ryzen chipsets and much more efficient NVIDIA GPUs. But is it really worth the price? Let’s find out.

Size and Design

The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2023) is a compact gaming laptop, as compact as it gets when it comes to machines that can perform. Despite its compact 14-inch form factor, it manages to pack a punch in terms of performance and features. Most of the design is the same. We get the Anime Matrix and a squeaky clean white colour option to make the laptop still stand-out. The keyboard layout and the rubberized texture on them are just a pleasure to type on. Overall, there’s nothing to really complain about the design. However, there’s a slight tint to the keys, that make it look slightly off-white when compared to the rest of the area around the keys.

Zephyrus G14 branding on the rib of the laptop

The Asus Zephyrus G14 variant we tested came with four speakers. They are loud enough but are still lacking in comparison to the quality and volume of MacBook Pros.

The trackpad on the G14 is similar to its predecessor, offering a large and accurate surface for smooth navigation. The sturdy build and unique yet understated design make it a powerful combination.

Performance

One of the standout features of this laptop is the GPU. Asus has opted for the Nvidia RTX 4080, which delivers impressive performance. While it may not perform at the same level as it would in a larger laptop, it certainly holds its own and provides an excellent gaming and content creation experience.

The laptop can be configured with up to an AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS CPU and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop GPU, ensuring good performance for demanding tasks.

This is the segment where the laptop shines. You can’t expect the same performance as the larger Strix laptops but despite the compact form factor, you’ll be surprised by what the laptop can achieve.

For even demanding games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Dead Space, you can go all the way to over 100 FPS with Ultra settings with raytracing switched on. However, you may not be able to reach 120FPS on the RTX 4080 model due to the limited output.

Regarding heat dissipation, Asus has improved the cooling system in the G14. It features a custom vapor chamber and liquid metal support for 0dB Ambient Cooling. The laptop may not remain completely cool to the touch during casual gaming sessions but the cooling system does help limit it to an extent where it doesn’t hamper the performance. The laptop managed sustained performance without thermal throttling.