Disclosure: Some links on this page are monetized by the Skimlinks, Amazon, Rakuten Advertising, and eBay, affiliate programs, and Liliputing may earn a commission if you make a purchase after clicking on those links. All prices are subject to change, and this article only reflects the prices available at time of publication.
The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 line of gaming laptops have earned a reputation in recent years for delivering excellent bang for the buck in an attractive, compact package. In January the company announced a 2023 refresh, bringing support for AMD Ryzen 7000 series processors, NVIDIA RTX 40 series graphics, and optional support for mini LED displays.
Now the first Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 models are available for purchase, and it looks like a whole bunch of additional configurations could be coming soon.
The 3.64 pound notebook has a 14 inch display, support for up to 32GB of DDR5-4800 dual-channel memory, and comes with up to a 1 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD.
Entry-level models feature AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS processors (Zen 3+ CPU cores and RDNA 2 integrated graphics) and an NVIDIA RTX 4050 discrete GPU.
But Asus also offers higher-priced configurations with up to an AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS chip (Zen 4 CPU cores + RDNA 3 integrated graphics) and NVIDIA RTX 4090graphics.
Display options include:
- ROG Nebula HDR: 2560 x 1600px mini LED display with 165 Hz refresh rate
- ROG Nebula (mini LED): 2560 x 1600px mini LED display with 165 Hz refresh rate
- ROG Nebula (IPS LCD): 2560 x 1600px IPS LCD display with 165 Hz refresh rate
- FHD (IPS LCD): 1920 1200px IPS LCD with 144 Hz refresh rate
Asus says its 2560 x 1600px, 165 Hz displays all support NIVIDIA G-Sync technology and all of the displays are Dolby Vision certified and Pantone validated. The Nebula HDR mini LED displays feature 504 dimming zones and support for up to 600 nits peak brightness.
So far at least three models are listed at Best Buy:
- ROG Zephyrus G14 w/Ryzen 7 7735HS/RTX 4050/16GB/512GB for $1430 – Best Buy
- ROG Zephyrus G14 w/Ryzen 9 7940HS/RTX 4060/16GB/512GB display for $1600 – Best Buy
- ROG Zephyrus G14 w/Ryzen 9 7940HS/RTX 4070/16GB/1TB for $1850 – Best Buy
All three models have 2560 x 1600 pixel, 165 Hz displays, but the cheapest model has an IPS LCD screen while the others have Asus ROG Nebula mini LED displays (but not ROG Nebula HDR screens, as far as I can tell).
It’s also worth keeping in mind that the Ryzen 7 7735HS is a barely upgraded version of last year’s Ryzen 7 6800H, and the RTX 4050 GPU is NVIDIA’s entry-level mobile graphics solution for 2023. So if you’re already willing to spend $1430 on a laptop, it’s probably worth spending a little more to upgrade to one of the higher-priced configurations.
Or you could wait for prices to drop. Last year I managed to pick up a ROG Zephyrus G14 with a Ryzen 9 6900HS chip and Radeon RX 6700S graphics for about $1000. That model still has a list price of $1650, but it’s gone on sale for much lower prices a bunch of times.
via The Verge
Does anyone have health concerns about “liquid metal” used as a thermal interface material in high-end Asus models? I.e., I wonder if it is possible that this liquid metal partly evaporates. If so, the laptop would emit a constant stream of nano or similar sized particulates into the surroundings with unknown long-term health effects.
Liquid metal is very, well, liquid and needs to be sure to be contained within the small gap between the CPU and cooler. Especially so for laptops that get moved around and positioned in various angles. I doubt it’s able to evaporate any kind of harmful gas but even if it did, it would be entirely contained in that small area, essentially air tight because liquid metal getting on other components is essentially death to them since it’s electrically conductive.
But your concern is pretty valid. LM has been around for a long time in the enthusiast market but it’s only more recently being used in more average consumer markets like the PS5 and gamer laptops, so…. who knows. I imagine they have to undergo safety testing and stuff but if something slipped by we probably won’t be seeing results of that for another few years maybe.
Just wanted to say, I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for AMD and Asus because they were my very first build so long ago (Asus P5A, anyone?). Asus has been around a long time and are well established.
I’ve never owned any of their laptops before, but I don’t like the hinge placement on Asus laptops that I’ve seen lately (like this one). Seems to be that space in the back could be used for additional cooling vents.
I wonder if they’ll make a version with an AMD GPU like the previous generation. I’d be curious to see what kind of battery life they would get from an AMD Advantage version.
Only the 4070 equipped model has an appropriate cost-performance ratio. The 4050 model is particularly overpriced. I suspect big sales for those on a consistent basis.
That’s typical pricing for this line. Asus positions the Zephyrus G14 higher with its build quality, and better components.
If you’re someone who wants to avoid the cheap gaming laptops that are made out of paper-mache, and have crappy trackpads, or flexy keyboards, this is the laptop I recommend.
If you shop for gaming laptops with the mentality of “4050 laptops should be priced at $xxxx”, you’re going to end up with something with compromises in quality everywhere you look.
As much as Asus tries to do with cooling in this laptop (metal liquid/vapor cooling/the lifted design) it was still pretty thermally constrained in all the versions so far. Getting the top tier GPU model is just asking for a super hot, loud system.
As for pricing, their mid-range versions (so probably the 4060 in this case) get deep discounts less than a year after their release. As the author mentioned he got his model, the middle range one for that gen, for $1000 which I think is a very solid deal. I skipped that one though because I prefer an AMD CPU + Nvidia GPU combo which is what they did this gen and I’m very excited to see the reviews.