Hi, this is Wayne again with a topic “They’ve gone TOO far.”.
This is the ROG Zephyrus G14.. If this looks familiar it’s because it should. We’ve been using this laptop in the studio ever since it came out back in 2020.. So when our friends at ROG reached out and asked if they could sponsor a video on the brand new version of 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 come apart, 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 gon na walk into a Congressperson’s office who you’re probably sure, has been bribed in the past with some very fancy things well. This is the kind of quality of paper that they would have on the books and their dining room tables or desks. ( clears throat. ) Sorry did I ( chuckles ).
It kind of just shows the way they’ve actually designed it. So they show the colorways. They show that it’s also now made out of aluminum, which is actually kind of interesting, because with the previous G14s and honestly, like most ASUS and ROG laptops they’re in like sort of a traditional multi-piece design..
So immediately I get the idea that this is going to be a more premium setup for the G14, this time.. What Look at this? Look at that? 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 also got look at this size of that trackpad too., The trackpad. Pretty much takes up the entire bottom of the chassis.. I liked the original G14. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t wan na make. It seem like I’m complaining about this ,’cause.
This has been the main laptop in the studio for the last three years for a reason, but this, if you handed this to me and just said “, Oh, this is like the next Zenbook ,” or something I would be like “, Oh neat, ,”. But the fact that this is a full-on gaming computer with what I assume are quite decent specs on the inside that is cool.. Let me be real. If you’re Razer you’re, like “, Oh (, duck quacks )”. Is there anything else in here, ( soft, electronic music )? Is this supposed to do something? I think this is supposed to do. Something. [ Joanna ], There is a USB-C port on the side..
Do we plug in our box? Do we plug in our book [ Joanna ], Maybe follow the you know. Yeah. You know what that’s fair, that’s fair! I could do that..
I feel like this is supposed to do something. By the time you watch this video I’ll be at CES.. I will ask ASUS what this 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 review laptops here. What is oh, ( soft, intriguing? Music ) [ Joanna ], That’s got ta be you., But my concern is: why am I in so many pieces? We also have what I assume has got ta be the G16 right. It does have the same design language..
It certainly is made out of the same kind of aluminum. One of the big upgrades with both of these laptops this year. In addition to the build quality which I’ll say is probably one of the biggest differences is the fact that they both upgraded to OLED displays..
So Matt [ Joanna ] 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 of trying to daily the G14.. Like I was like “, Oh, you know ,” like I, don’t typically need to carry a gaming laptop with me, every day., ( soft upbeat, music ). The thought is currently crossing my mind that maybe this is my daily., Your butt straps., Not butt straps. It’S just called a little bit of support. Man., That’s pretty good.
( soft upbeat music continues. ). Do you remember the kid from “ Polar Express, ,” Okay. Who’s like “ Um, actually ,”? That’S who that grew up to be.
( Alex laughing ). Let’S take a close look at the G14 and the G16 shall we Well? The new G14 looks dramatically different.. There are actually no new graphics cards this year to cram inside of it, which means that the ROG team can’t just throw a 5090 in here and call it a day, which means they had to use a lot of clever engineering to make it thinner cooler. And, in my opinion, better across the board., Let’s start out by talking about the Ryzen 9 8945HS, which is a new CPU. That’S just been released.
We’re talking: eight Zen 4 CPU cores the max boost clock of 5.2 gigahertz and new for this generation are the Ryzen AI cores, which deliver 16 TOPS of performance.. Now look you’re gon na hear a 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-device.
Ai is an important thing, especially when you consider that if the rumors are true Windows, 12 is going to heavily be relying on devices that have some real AI performance on board.. The most important part of the new G14 is really just how much smaller and lighter they managed to make it.. So they shaved about a third of a pound off and almost 2/10ths of an inch. That might not sound like much, but you can absolutely feel it..
It’S funny this actually has very similar dimensions to a 14-inch MacBook Pro, which is absolutely a compliment, considering the kind of hardware that they were able to cram in this form factor.. Now you might think that with all of that and being so thin, it would overheat like crazy. They’ve got liquid metal cooling, not one, not two, but three of their brand new Arc Flow Fans, and I will say that while it loses out on a very small Amount of performance compared to last year’s version of the G14 with the same GPU we’re talking a couple percent, but it is way quieter, especially from sort of the normal distance and also I just wan na emphasize how much more livable the G14 is. I mean the G14 has always been a very good daily laptop with the size and its form factor, but with this G14 it is so nice as 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 running pre-production hardware and software, I can’t do any benchmarks of this device.. What I can do is give you some general thoughts on what it’s like to game on.. So there are a few things that are interesting about 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 especially at the trackpad area, feel relatively cool to the touch.. Now the screen itself is another place where ROG have stepped it up.. So it’s been upgraded from either an IPS or mini-LED last generation to an incredibly sharp 3K OLED with G-SYNC.. Let me emphasize that it is a very, very different experience, gaming on OLED. Sure on paper. It is not a complete upgrade.. I mean last year’s model ran at 165 hertz, where this one tops out at only 120, but I would absolutely take it on the OLED. In a heartbeat., Not only are you getting the amazing contrast, the great colors and you’ve also got the excellent response.
Time.. It is clear that, like especially with G-SYNC and everything, it is smooth as butter.. The experience of gaming on this laptop is also just terrific.. I mean not only is it incredibly smooth and sort of responsive, but I’m talking about the speakers absolutely kick ass.
Like they really really do sound great.. I could just walk around, but I’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 to look for my glasses, I think, and I’m not exaggerating 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 laptop of this size is unbelievable., So it’s so good. I lost my eyeballs., I just couldn’t handle it..
You know what I like about this G14, not only the size which feels very sort of daily drivable, but also the fact that there’s not a lot of other compromise.. You know the screen, like everything that makes it a bright smooth, contrasty screen great for gaming, also makes it a great everyday laptop., The webcam’s pretty good.. It’S got Windows, Hello, Facial Recognition..
It is really rare for me to take a look at a device and 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 G14 to get a little more practice, in. And all this also segues over to the G16..
So the G16 is, of course the 16-inch version of the same laptop, and it has pretty much all the upgrades that I love from the G14.. I will say, though it does have a few extra tricks up its sleeve., The G16 ships, with the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H, which is a monster of a mobile chip.. It’S got 16 cores, which is split this year between six performance, eight efficiency and two high efficiency or high-power efficiency. That can also hit a max turbo of over five gigahertz 5.1 on this side compared to 5.2. But look no noob will ever think that you’re gaming on a laptop if you’re rocking one of 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 resolution than the G14 at 2.5K, but it has a crazy refresh rate of 240 hertz, and on top of that it has a 960 hertz pixel emission rate.. Essentially, the OLED panel itself is refreshing several times for every new frame you get in the game to make that truly wild response time a reality or you could just go with a regular TFT panel. If you wan na save a few bucks, but honestly, don’t even bother. The OLEDs on these are terrific.
Now the G16 does have slightly higher-end GPU options where the G14 for 2024 tops out at an RTX, 4060 or specifically, an RTX 4070, and this model this one Will go all the way up to an RTX 4090, but let’s be real if you care about the maximum performance, you’re gon na get a beefier gaming laptop.. Well, the Zephryus line is about striking a balance between portability and performance and personally I prefer a device like this.. I value tons of raw horsepower and something that’s an inch thick that’ll go into turbo mode. But look I want something that I can carry around every day with me and something that feels nice and premium to use and that’s really where the Zephyrus line sort of has its sort of sweet spot.. Now, as we’re recording this video, I don’t actually know the prices of these laptops.. You probably will, by the time you’re watching this video, and if I have it, I will put it up on screen.. It is almost certainly gon na be more expensive than the 2023 models, since these have that brand new, aluminum, chassis and whatnot. But look I mean it’s super simple..
The G14 is one of my favorite pieces of laptop hardware that I have ever tried. Like. It is rare that a single device checks so 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 everything you could ask for in a laptop. It checks. The boxes., So thank you very much to ASUS and ROG for sponsoring this video..
If you wan na, learn anything else about the Zephyrus, G14 or G16 I’ll have those linked in the description and make sure to stay tuned and subscribe to the website.. This CES there is an enormous amount of very cool tech and I’m gon na be covering as much as I can and when I finally take a nap at some point in February. .