It's no secret that I'm a big fan of the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14. It's one of the best gaming laptops on the market right now, and has held its popularity for most of its life. The 2023 iteration was spectacular, but 2024 holds something different.
Asus unveiled its new redesigned Zephyrus lineup at CES 2024, with both the G16 and G14 getting some special treatment. The new machines are now kitted out with all-aluminum CNC chassis' with a seriously thin and light form factor. I fell in love with the way the Zephyrus G14 paired power with portability back in the day - now I'm all but married to the device. The 2024 G14 shaves 200g off the weight of the 2023 device, with a 4mm reduction in thickness.
Of course, there's a downside to this super lightweight design. As we saw in the new HP Omen Transcend 14, Asus has cut down the top end of its GPU offering in the G14. Last year's 2023 Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 was capable of running an RTX 4080 or RTX 4090 in its chunkier underbody, whereas 2024's entry is limited to an RTX 4070 at the most. That's certainly not as restrictive as it may sound, though. The vast majority of everyday players are going to tap out at this 4070 position - it's a sweet spot between affordability and performance that keeps the new Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 super streamlined.
While the G16 takes things up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 processor, the G14 sticks with its AMD roots as it has done for the last two years. The newly announced AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS is the crown jewel here, but the biggest change comes up top. I first saw Asus's Nebula HDR Mini LED display on the Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 last year - and it was a revelation. While the same tech was injected into 2023's G14, I was disappointed to find it was a watered down version.
Asus heard me crying. We're still not up to the 1,100 peak brightness of the M16's Nebula, but with an OLED panel, 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, and 3K resolution this is still a major step up.
Asus has hit Razer where it hurts here. The recipe looks familiar - a unibody design keeping things slick and stylish while offering a high end display and the latest components, it all sounds very Sneki. While we don't have any specifics yet, it's safe to assume the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 could well be a lot cheaper than the Blade 14 - if previous years' releases and that classic Razer tax are anything to go by.
The expensive, heavy LED matrix lid is gone, the whole unit looks incredibly sleek, and there's still some upgrades under the hood. This is one Asus gaming laptop I'm particularly excited to get my hands on in 2024.
In Association with ROG Ally
Of course, if you're still between brands we're also rounding up all the best Razer laptops and the best Alienware laptops on the market right now. Or, if you're after something more permanent, check out the best gaming PCs.
