This past week, I received the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024). I didn’t know what to expect. Was another mistake about to drop on my doorstep, or would the Zephyrus G14 finally redeem itself? Well, like most relationships, it’s complicated.The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 courted me in 2020, debuting as the longest-lasting gaming laptop ever. As of this writing, I have reviewed dozens of gaming laptops, and this is my one and only 5-star laptop review. I loved that machine so much that I bought it myself.I was so hyped for the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2022) model to show me a good time, but the relationship quickly nosedived. The graphic performance was a mess and the display was as dull as the rating—3.5 stars. However, it still had great battery life and remained a viable option.Then the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2023) came along — yikes. It was like getting a cold text from an ex you haven’t talked to in years saying they still love you. Not only were the graphics still poor, but the battery life took a turn, dropping down to under 5 hours.Jump to the present—the new Zephyrus G14 is here. Where does it rank? It’s not a 5-star laptop, but it doesn’t score as low as its predecessors. The new Zephyrus G14 gets a solid 4-star rating, not 5, because the graphics don’t perform well. It’s a big factor for a gaming laptop. Despite this, I’d still buy this laptop. And here’s why.The Zephyrus G14 has what it takes to be in your shopping cartLet’s rip the bandage off — the gaming performance isn’t ideal. Not just because it has an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU but also because it’s slightly worse than its predecessor with the same GPU. If you want to see the numbers, dig into our review. But if you plan to buy a gaming laptop with an RTX 4060, you’re not getting the best performance anyway. As long as you’re comfortable with tuning down graphics settings, the Zephyrus G14 will grace you with the top qualities of the best gaming laptops.Get our in-depth reviews, helpful tips, great deals, and the biggest news stories delivered to your inbox.(Image credit: Future)Display — You jump into every game with a 14-inch, 2880 x 1800, 120Hz OLED panel. That provides sharper details and smoother visuals on top of the more vivid and vibrant colors you’ll see, thanks to the OLED technology. This is your window into the vivid worlds of Dragon’s Dogma 2 and Diablo 4. The display is always at the top of my priority list for gaming, and the G14 nails it.Battery life — 8 hours, 16 minutes. That’s a whole workday. Makers of gaming laptops long ago sacrificed battery life for better performance, which has made them impossible to use without being plugged into the wall. The Zephyrus G14’s battery makes it usable outside of a purely gaming focus.The body — Yep, the choice to click that “add to cart” button comes down to size. The Zephyrus G14 weighs in at 3.3 pounds and measures 12.3 x 8.7 x 0.6 inches. It’s light for a gaming laptop, but the size is more impressive. The important numbers there are 8.7 x 0.6 inches. That’s quite thin—we’ve seen it before, but it’s great when it happens. I haven’t seen the 8.7-inch depth—at least not since the original 2020 model. And that model was still heavier and thicker.When ranking the most important factors in buying a gaming laptop, many choose display as more important than battery life or its design (same). But when a gaming laptop excels at battery life and design, it can rocket a gaming laptop near the front of the line. That’s what happened with the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14. Its display, battery, and design are very impressive.Convinced yet?The 2024 Zephyrus G14 is a true ultraportable gaming laptop — a rig that you can carry around without breaking your back. That would certainly explain its decreased performance as well as its heat-management issues. (If you’re planning on gaming in your lap, don’t get this machine.) As long as you’re using the Zephyrus G14 in a well-ventilated area, it’s more than worth the price.The model we reviewed costs $1,599 at Best Buy. If you have a problem with the performance but love all of the other features, check out the $1,999 model at Best Buy—it comes with an RTX 4070. But as our sister site, Tom’s Hardware, noted in its review, the battery life drops to 6:45.The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 is designed as a gaming laptop, and it fails at the gaming part, so it’s not for everyone in its targeted audience. But if you’re looking for something more than the highest fps possible, this laptop could be for you. In terms of raw performance (via AMD’s Ryzen 9 8945HS CPU), the G14 crushed its competitors. The Zephyrus G14 will work well for creators and professionals who need high-performing computers with a dash of graphics.
