Asus’ ROG Zephyrus have been some of our most recommended gaming laptops for years – and now for CES 2024, the Zephyrus G14 and G16 get slimmer, faster and more versatile for non-gaming tasks. I’ve been testing them for a few weeks now and so far this seems to be a winning update.
For 2024, Asus is redesigning the G14 and G16 with new aluminum builds, a smaller and sleeker hinge that doesn’t lift the deck, and 16:10 OLED screens (2880 x 1800 / 120Hz for the G14 and 2560 x 1400 Hz for the G14). G16), larger trackpads and keyboards, a new fast charging port with a reversible plug (separate from USB-C charging), new six-speaker audio units (even in the smaller 14-inch), new chips from AMD’s Ryzen 8000 to the G14 series All the way up to Intel’s Meteor Lake on the G16, up to 32GB of DDR5 RAM, and a very bright strip of customizable white lighting on their lids.
Not new to the Zephyrus G14 and G16 are their GPUs, which still use last year’s Nvidia discrete graphics cards. The G14 can be configured with up to an RTX 4070, and the G16 with up to a 4090. That’s totally fine, because I’m sure we’ll be waiting a while for Nvidia’s 40-series Super GPUs and laptops of this quality. -The lifetime benefits of the Zephyrus redesign outweigh most chip upgrades over the years. The 40 series cards in both laptops support DLSS 3.5, Frame Generation and Ray Reconstruction.
I had a chance to spend some time with preview models of both the ROG Zephyrus G14 and Zephyrus G16 (both configured at or near their high-end specs) and found the new designs to be very impressive. Both laptops are built better than previous models, look even better and are much, much sleeker – with noticeably slimmer dimensions that at first glance don’t make any worrisome sacrifices in terms of heat or usability. The G14 weighs just 3.31 lbs/1.5 kg, while the G16 weighs a very manageable 4.3 lbs/1.95 kg in either a 4080 or 4090 configuration (thanks to the special vapor chamber used in these GPUs).
The respective 14-inch and 16-inch OLED screens on both laptops are vibrant and sharp. The new line of speakers surprised me with how good they sound (especially coming from a 14 inch). The keyboards used to be very good, but now they feel like some of the best around. The trackpads are very good – they’re big and wide, if a little stiff, and not too clicky towards the top third. I even dig the slash lighting above the lid, which turns off when you’re running on battery, but you can fine-tune it in Asus’ built-in Armory Crate app. It’s a nice unobtrusive ability, and I’d bet you could even sneak into some in-office meetings without anyone noticing you’re on a gaming laptop (unless someone’s looking closely, of course, with the REPUBLIC OF GAMERS stamp on the lid).
Port selection on both new Zephyrus laptops is adequate for such thin laptops (the G14 is 0.64 inches / 1.59 cm at its thickest point, while the G16 is also 0.69 inches / 1.64 cm). The G14 has one left-mounted USB 4 port (which you can use for lower-speed charging), one USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 on the right, two USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 (one on each side), HDMI 2.1, 3.5 mm audio jack and microSD card slot. The larger G16 is largely the same, but its USB port on the left is Thunderbolt 4, USB-C on the right also has Power Delivery, and the card slot is full-size SD with UHS-II speeds.
At the Asus press briefing, I heard some grumbling about these laptops opting for a dedicated charging connector instead of a barrel plug, but as someone who doesn’t like the latter, I’m happy with the slim and reversible power cable here. I’ve mostly used USB-C to charge both laptops while just working or looking at them, and it’s been perfectly fine. The big 180W and 240W power bricks can be kept in reserve until it’s time to run some graphics-intensive games.
The games in question look and perform well on both the G14 and G16. Like previous Zephyrus models, firing up some graphics-intensive titles feels like you’re waking up a sleeping beast, both in terms of performance and audibility. For years, one of the best tricks of these laptops is that their somewhat ungainly appearance can make them look closer to productivity laptops that aren’t capable of such gaming performance. And then, they just sing with both the graphics on the screen and the fans. Many. Yes, fans of the new Zephyrus pair can get really loud, but it’s always been invaluable for a thin and light design.
While these are far from the final review-ready models, it looks like Asus is ready to hit this model out of the park pending final pricing. (Asus declined to share exact pricing for the new models ahead of publication.) Usability and feature set are excellent, and gaming performance looks very good. We’ll have to see how they fare in full reviews (and more modest configurations that more people can buy) when they launch in February.
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Photo: Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge
Elsewhere in the Republic of Gamers, Asus is rolling out more modest updates to the ROG Strix and Strix Scar. The new 2024 Strix and Strix Scar, each with 16-inch and 18-inch models respectively, are now equipped with 14th Gen Intel processors up to 14900HX. They’re the same as last year’s models, with 16:10 QHD screens at 240Hz and Nvidia GPUs that can be configured up to RTX 4080 (Strix) or 4090 (Strix Scar). They’re fairly large laptops, available in late January, with the high-end Strix Scar starting at $2,899.99 for the 16-inch and $2,999.99 for the 18-inch. But of course it can be returned to the stars and prices above $4000. (Asus did not share pricing for the ROG Strix prior to publication.)