Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 2024 review - The gaming/multimedia laptop with Ryzen 8000 and G-Sync OLED

The new ROG Zephyrus G14's design is the same as the larger G16 model and its unibody aluminum case is clearly reminiscent of devices such as the Apple MacBook Pro 14 or the Razer Blade 14. When handling the laptop, there is no doubt that it is a true premium device. Our test device is the dark-gray variant (Eclipse Gray) and you can alternatively get the device in white (Platinum White). The white model is a little less of a fingerprint magnet, whereas the gray model is a little more inconspicuous.

Asus has done without the extensive dot-matrix display on the lid of the new model and in turn, it features a thin white diagonal lighting strip (Slash Lighting) which consists of 28 mini LEDs and 7 different zones. It can be programmed (for example, as a notification light) or it can be completely deactivated if you don't want to draw attention to the device. Aside from its backlit keyboard, the laptop doesn't feature any other lighting elements.

The base unit's build and stability are impressive and even using a lot of pressure, we couldn't press in the keyboard area. Creaking noises are also foreign to the Zephyrus. The thin display lid is a little more flexible but we noted no issues here, either. The lid can be opened easily with one hand and compared to the larger G16, it doesn't wobble as much when adjusting the angle. The new hinge design at the back limits the device's maximum opening angle to 135 degrees to avoid having warm air directed toward the bottom display edge by the cooler openings at the rear. 

Our test configuration of the new Zephyrus G14 only weighs 1.478 kg, making it the lightest device within the comparison field and together with the MacBook Pro 14, it is also one of the most compact models. In this aspect, you can notice a big difference to the much thicker 2023 G14 and the new model is much easier to take with you on the go. The 180-watt power supply adds an additional 559 grams onto the scales.

Despite its smaller case, the G14's connectivity options are nearly identical to the larger G16—only its SD card reader now accommodates smaller microSD cards. Of course, it doesn't support Thunderbolt but in turn, the laptop features a full USB-4.0 port and thanks to its good mix of USB-C and USB-A ports, you likely won't need to reach for an adapter in everyday use. Its ports are spread out well along both sides, too, and gamers will be happy to see that a mouse can be connected on the left as well as on the right side. Alternatively to the 180-watt power supply, the G14 can also be charged via USB-C (max. 100 watts, a 65-watt power supply also worked in our test). Its USB-4.0 port is connected via the iGPU, which means you can power an external monitor without the Nvidia GPU necessarily being active.

The microSD card reader on the right side takes in cards completely and features a spring mechanism. Surprisingly, its performance is better than on the larger G16 and in combination with our reference card (Angelbird AV Pro V60), we measured transfer rates of over 190 MB/s and when copying image files onto the laptop, we still noted great ~150 MB/s speeds.

The 1080p webcam housed within the upper display frame takes decent pictures in good lighting conditions and it also supports features such as facial tracking or soft focus. In addition, it has an IR camera for facial recognition via Windows Hello.

The new touchpad is very large, measuring 12.7 x 8 cm (16:10 ratio) and Asus makes use of the space beneath the keyboard completely. It is nice to operate thanks to its smooth surface and its clicking noise is pleasantly muffled, giving the touchpad a high-quality feel.

The 2024 ROG Zephyrus G14 can only be had with the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS, either with 16 or 32 GB RAM. As the RAM is now soldered on, we would have liked to see all models featuring at least 32 GB and in this respect, the old 2023 G14 is at a bit of an advantage. When it comes to graphics cards, you can choose between the GeForce RTX 4050/4060/4070 Laptop.

Within its Armoury Crate software, Asus offers a variety of energy profiles as well as a manual mode that lets you individually set the GPU/CPU performance. We put together the energy profiles' values in the following table.

After several tests, we decided to run the following benchmarks and measurements using performance mode. Although you might not get the maximum performance, the fans remain bearable when playing games. Thanks to its great speakers, you can even get away with playing without headphones with performance mode selected. Even so, if you require the maximum performance possible, then you can easily switch modes with the push of a button (however, turbo is only available when connected to the mains). During simple tasks, you should select quiet mode.

The G14 is equipped with the new AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS (Hawk Point) processor. It is a Phoenix Refresh model that, unfortunately, only shows slight improvements and it continues to rely on Zen4 cores in combination with the integrated Radeon 780M. However, as the clock rates have also remained identical, its total performance is comparable to the old Ryzen 9 7940HS and its performance gain in turbo mode is too low to justify the louder fans. For a comparison of performance and efficiency with the new Intel Meteor Lake processors, please take a look at our analysis article on the new Ryzen 8000 processors which will be published soon. In battery use, its multi-core performance is a little lower (-10 %), as its consumption falls to 45 watts more quickly. Further CPU benchmarks can be found here.

During the synthetic benchmarks, the new Zephyrus G14 may have come behind the comparison devices, however, you won't notice a difference between the devices in everyday use and the G14 is a very fast-reacting device. We also never had any issues with the system during our test. Due to its Advanced Optimus function, it hangs ever so slightly when switching to the dGPU (e.g. when booting up games), but this is completely normal.