We don’t often times hear the words AMD and laptop bundled together. For a long time, having those 2 in a coherent sentence sends chills down ones spine (oh the old Kaveri days). However, that now changes as AMD’s new Ryzen CPUs prove to be incredibly competent in delivering. We got our chance on one such machine through the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14, a very eye-candy machine powered by a AMD’s flagship mobile processor, the AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS.
The G14 is available in several variants with 3 being officially available here in the Philippines. The one in this review is the ASUS ROG GA401IV-HE114T (LED) (the name’s a mouthful, I know). Also note that the one tested is the best version of this laptop and also the priciest one.
ROG Zephyrus G14 GA401IV Specs
| CPU | AMD Ryzen™ 9 4900HS |
| GPU | NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 2060 6GB GDDR6 VRAM (Boost Clock: 1285MHz, 65W) |
| OS | Windows 10 Home |
| RAM | 16GB DDR4 3200MHz SDRAM |
| Display | 14-inch Non-glare Full HD (1920 x 1080) IPS-level panel, 120Hz, 100% sRGB, Pantone® Validated, adaptive sync |
| Storage | 1TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 |
| I/O Ports | 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C with DisplayPort™ 1.4 and Power Delivery 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C
2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A 1 x HDMI 2.0b 1 x 3.5mm headphone and microphone combo jack |
| Connection | Intel® Wi-Fi 6 with Gig+ performance (802.11ax) Bluetooth 5.0 |
| Weight | 1.7kg |
| Dimensions | 324(W) x 222(D) x 19.9(H) mm |
| Power | 180W power adaptor Support Type-C PD 3.0 up to 65W |
| Audio | 2 x 2.5W speakers with Smart AMP technology 2 x 0.7W tweeter, Array Microphones
With Dolby Atmos technology |
| Others | Armoury Crate GameFirst VI GameVisual
Kensington lock |
ASUS ROG G14 – Three Variants
As per ASUS Philippines, the laptops that are currently available here in the Philippines are as follows:
- GA401IV-HE114T – powered by an RTX 2060, the one in this review
- GA401IU-HE137T – powered by a GTX 1660Ti, available in both black and white
- GA401II-HE058T – powered by a GTX 1650Ti and a Ryzen R7-4800HS, no AniME Matrix
Prices differ between the three with the GA401II-HE058T being the most affordable. You can check the other variant’s prices here.
ASUS ROG G14 Up Close
Looks & Design
ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14’s Rear & Sides
The ports are a bit bare compared to other laptops but the Zephyrus G14 is equipped with enough to deal with the modern grind. The right side is home to a 1 USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port, 2 USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-As, and a slot for a Kensington Lock.
The left side is home to the power jack, the HDMI 2.0 port, another USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C that can handle DisplayPort™ 1.4 and Power Delivery, and the 3.5mm headphone and microphone jack.
Note that the ROG G14 does not come with an RJ45 port for wired connections. You can however look for 3rd-party RJ45 to USB C or A converters to cover for that.
Easy To Use TKL Chiclet Keyboard
The ROG G14 uses a very clean looking LED-lit TKL Chiclet Keyboard. While it does not have any RGB options like its other ROG siblings, it does have that pure aesthetic that goes well with the device’s design.
In terms of feel, this laptop shares the same keyboard mechanism found on the ROG Strix G531 (review here). It has this tactile feel similar to that of a Macbook Pro and is very responsive and easy to use. The keyboard also doesn’t feel mushy when pressed and actually gives a bit of feedback.
As the ASUS G14 is a small 14-inch laptop, compressing the whole keyboard layout requires the axing of the numpad. You may need to resort to having a USB numpad or a keyboard macro to compensate for the lack.
AniMe Matrix – Perfect Headturner
You can configure the LED Matrix using the Armoury Crate’s AniMe Matrix tab.
Probably one of the main reasons why you’re here to see this review. The AniMe Matrix is the G14’s head turning feature that plots ANY design on its cover as a matrix of LED lights. You can load in custom text, images, and even GIFs for the world to see.
Although not something you’ll see when using this thing, it does have that subtle “Hey! I’m using an ROG notebook” kind of vibe. Perfect for flexing grabbing people’s curiousity.
ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 Performance
Gaming Performance
| Resolution | 1080p | Frame Rates | ||
| Games | Preset | Average | 1% | 0.1% |
| Assassin’s Creed Odyssey | Very High | 49 | 34 | 29 |
| Apex Legends | High | 91 | 57 | 51 |
| Rainbow Six Siege | Ultra | 173 | 122 | 60 |
| Ghost Recon: Breakpoint | Very High | 71 | 48 | 40 |
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare / Warzone | Normal | 83 | 44 | 35 |
| Overwatch | High | 185 | 60 | 53 |
| Dota 2 | Best Looking | 82 | 50 | 29 |
| Far Cry: New Dawn | Ultra | 57 | 41 | 34 |
| Valorant | High | 182 | 125 | 88 |
| PUBG | Ultra | 92 | 56 | 39 |
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | High | 69 | 41 | 24 |
| Borderlands 3 | High | 55 | 42 | 19 |
For the gaming benchmarks, we used presets that would allow the user to somewhat experience that sweet 60FPS without tinkering too much. Note that the laptop was run using the “Turbo” configuration to achieve maximum performance.
We also deemed it best to remove CS:GO from the benchmark list as that thing can run on almost anything. We instead used the more recent F2P FPS, Valorant, as its replacement benchmark title.
On a side note, you can check our review of Valorant here.
Go Low Or Med For Competitive Play
Same with the other laptop reviews, we do recommend that users take advantage of the 120Hz panel by setting games to the “Low” preset. This is especially useful if you need the extra edge when playing competitive titles such as Dota 2 and Call of Duty: MW / Warzone.
Synthetic Benchmarks
These benchmarks are meant to measure the device’s performance relative to other people’s machine. We plugged in a mix of CPU & GPU-intensive tests and other ones that measure the performance of both at the same time.
The numbers below will be quantified into an easy to read chart once we have compiled results from previous reviews. Please do check them out after some time.
3DMark Firestrike Extreme
3DMark Fire Strike Extreme is designed for multi-GPU systems and future hardware generations. In addition to raising the rendering resolution, additional visual quality improvements increase the rendering load to ensure accurate performance measurements for truly extreme hardware setups.
3DMark Time Spy
3DMark Time Spy is a DirectX 12 benchmark test for Windows 10 gaming PCs. Time Spy is one of the first DirectX 12 apps to be built the right way from the ground up to fully realize the performance gains that the new API offers.
Cinebench (Release 20)
Benchmark Score: 4103
Cinebench leverages the same powerful 3D engine found in the award-winning animation software Cinema 4D Release 20 to accurately evaluate CPU rendering performance capabilities across various systems and platforms.
Novabench
Novabench is a free benchmark tool that allows you to see your computer’s overall performance. Its tests CPU, GPU, RAM, and Storage speeds, and gives you an aggregate score that you can use for comparison with other similar setups.
PassMark
PassMark measures CPU, 2D & 3D GPU, Memory, and Disk speeds. Similar to Novabench, it gives you an aggregate score, giving you an idea on how your PC performs and how it ranks when compared to other computers around the world.
Unigine Superposition
Extreme performance and stability test for PC hardware: video card, power supply, cooling system.
ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 – Verdict & Final Thoughts
The Good – The Ultimate Compact Gaming Laptop
Despite its size, the ROG Zephyrus G14 blows mid-sized gaming laptops with its sheer performance. The combination of both the powerful AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS and the Nvidia RTX 2060 allows it to run modern titles. The 120Hz monitor does wonders and shows the full capability of the G14’s hardware.
ROG Eye
What strikes me most is the size. We’ve come a long way from the bulky laptop of yesteryears and the G14’s design shows that you can cram formidable hardware into a thin and cramped machine that weighs only 1.7kg. Yep, this laptop is way lighter than 2L of water. The power brick also got trimmed down, making this one something you really should consider if you’re thinking of using a very powerful hardware for on the go gaming study or work. The whole package also comes with a laptop bag, a gaming study mouse, and an ROG Eye webcam for streaming or online meetings. Perfect for the quarantine and work from home professionals.
The Bad
The top part of the laptop becomes too hot when playing hardware-intensive games like COD:MW
Despite heaping praises on the Zephyrus G14, we did find it incredibly noisy when running games. It’s so distracting that we have to recommend wearing headphones if you’re playing titles that are reliant on sounds such as footsteps. It might also annoy those near your vicinity. Also note that this thing gets hot. Like real hot. If you’re playing demanding titles such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, expect the top-mid part of the laptop to be too hot to touch.
Final Verdict
To sum it all up, we do find this laptop to be a must-have. We highly recommend it to power users or those looking for a multimedia, gaming, productivity machine. The ROG Zephyrus G14’s AMD processor definitely takes expectations to the next level. So, if you’re looking out for a new daily driver, this is something to look out for.
Zephyrus G14’s Models & Pricing In The Philippines
In the Philippines, all of the variants of the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 come with an ROG Impact Gaming Mouse (check out our Impact II review here), an ROG Eye USB camera, and an ROG Laptop Bag. The ROG Zephyrus G14 GA401IV is priced at PhP 109,995. All of the G14’s different versions are officially available for purchase in the Philippines.
For the prices of the other models:
- GA401IU – same specs except powered by a GTX 1660Ti 6GB (PhP 99,995)
- GA401IU – same specs except powered by a GTX 1660Ti 6GB, no AniMe Matrix (PhP 89,995)
- GA401II – powered by an R7-4800HS and GTX 1650Ti, no AniMe Matrix (PhP 74,995)
If you want a plain but sleeker design, you can check out our review of the ROG Zephyrus G15 here.