Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2023) laptop review: High-end gaming performance without the bulky build

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Over the past few years, Asus has become a titan in the gaming PC world. And its flagship gaming brand, Republic of Gamers (ROG), offers a range of graphics cards, desktop towers, monitors, and more — including laptops, like the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14.

The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 is a gaming laptop that packs premium performance into a lightweight package. It weighs in at less than four pounds, and it's less than an inch thick when closed. Despite this, every 2023 G14 laptop is equipped with an Nvidia RTX 40-series GPU, which are the best graphics cards on the market right now.

Four G14 versions are available for 2023: the GA402NU ($1,430), GA402XI ($1,850), GA402XZ ($2,500), and GA402XY ($3,300). Each edition has the same overall design but they all come equipped with a different graphics card. Some also have display and CPU variations. 

I've spent weeks with the GA402XY version of the Zephyrus G14, which is the top-of-the-line model, using it as my daily work laptop and gaming machine. It's easily one of the best gaming laptops I've ever used, and has handled every task I've thrown at it with ease.

The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 looks and feels amazing

The G14 is lightweight, thin, and amazingly easy to carry. I don't usually take laptops with me on vacation — especially gaming laptops, which tend to be bulky and heavy — but I've carried the G14 on two international flights and barely lost any luggage space. It offers a level of portability that's nigh impossible to find in the gaming laptop space.

That said, the G14's 240W charger is still pretty chunky. But luckily the G14 also supports smaller USB-C chargers, including my personal favorite, the Nekteck 60W.

There are a decent amount of ports, including an HDMI port, a microSD card reader, and two USB-C ports, one of which can be used for charging. There are only two USB-A ports, which is slightly frustrating, but makes sense considering the limited space.

The G14's keyboard is RGB-enabled and customizable, and includes built-in keys for changing the laptop's performance mode on the fly. The trackpad is smooth and big enough that you can play games without struggle. Some editions also include an "AniMe Matrix" grid of LEDs on the laptop's lid that lets you design short animations that will play on the computer's casing.

But my absolute favorite part of the G14's design is its screen. The G14's 14-inch QHD+ screen has vivid colors and is incredibly bright — it's 600 nits, which is double the typical industry standard, and supports both HDR and P3 wide color. It's also got a smooth 165Hz refresh rate and 3ms response time, which makes it perfect for fast-paced games like Valorant. At long last, we have a gaming laptop screen that actually lets you see what you're playing!

Keep in mind, however, that the specific version of the G14 I reviewed (GA402XY-XS96) uses a Mini LED display. Mini LED screens can produce better contrast than displays with regular LEDs. Other G14 configurations use an IPS LED screen, which are rated for a lower peak brightness of around 500 nits.

Despite its small size, the G14 is surprisingly powerful

The Zephyrus G14 isn't just one of the slimmest gaming laptops I've ever used, but also one of the most powerful. 

The 2023 G14 models are all equipped with an Nvidia RTX 40-series GPU. The model I tested has an RTX 4090, which is essentially the best graphics card available to general consumers right now. This model costs around $3,300, but for only $1,430 you can snag a model with an RTX 4050, which is still a juggernaut of a GPU that'll play nearly anything. 

Considering its specs, that G14 priced at $1,430 can be thought of as the lineup's budget model. It only has an AMD Ryzen 7 processor, but that Ryzen 7 is still incredibly reliable. And every other 2023 G14 model, including the version I tested, has a newer AMD Ryzen 9 processor, which is difficult to improve on. Again, it's hard to believe that they've stuffed such powerful hardware into this small package.

I ran Cyberpunk 2077 at a solid 60 frames per second, even with ray tracing on. Totally Accurate Battle Simulator, which can put massive stress on the CPU, barely slows down. And my nephew and cousin, pictured above, both loved playing Fortnite at 165 FPS while we were on vacation. The G14 can sometimes run hot, and putting the computer on Turbo mode makes the fans sound like a jet engine, but this is rarely an issue.

And you can't forget the G14's super fast solid state drive, and relatively good battery life. If you turn down the brightness and turn on Battery Saver mode, the G14 can last for between four to seven hours, depending on what sort of apps or games you're using. That's great, considering the hardware.

The G14's biggest flaw is its preinstalled apps

Like all Windows laptops, the G14 comes prepackaged with a lot of bloatware. These are the sorts of apps you'll never really use, but which insist on taking up space or attention anyway.

The worst of these is McAfee Antivirus, which floods your computer with notifications and even tries to install browser extensions without your knowledge. It's difficult to remove or even turn off, despite the fact that Windows 11 comes with its own antivirus software — Windows Security — that works just as well. 

MyAsus, a simple app that's supposed to make contacting customer service easier, is buggy and filled with ads. And Armoury Crate, the app that lets you switch performance modes and track your G14's internal status, has a confusing user interface. 

But compared to the G14's strengths, these small drawbacks don't mean much.

Asus ROG Zephyrus G14: Specs

Asus produces a variety of different G14 models, each with different specifications. In the table below, I've put together the specs for all four 2023 models. The short code after some specifications represents which G14 model it belongs to, and the bold text represents the specs that my review model had.

Should you buy the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14?

Absolutely. The G14 is thin, light, and powerful. It's not like most gaming laptops, which are so heavy that they're not worth taking off your desk. If you're looking for a great slim laptop, it's hard to find something better.

The Zephyrus G14's bright screen, great performance, and portability make it a perfect match for gamers or creative professionals on the go. Even as I move onto reviewing other laptops, I'm considering buying a G14 for myself. It's just that good.

When it comes to price, the G14 ranges from midrange to high-end, depending on model. I'd personally recommend the model that offers a powerful Ryzen 9 CPU, RTX 4070 GPU, and a terabyte of solid state storage for only $1,850. But if you have the money, you also can't go wrong with the RTX 4080 model ($2,500), or the top-of-the-line RTX 4090 model I tested with a Mini LED screen ($3,300).