Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 review: A compact gaming laptop, is still a rare breed

Hindustan Times

2 days ago

This set the benchmark in 2024 for gaming laptops, and the 2025 edition of the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 is primed to do the same. It is nigh impossible to find competition, in a similarly compact form factor, that can deliver these high levels of gaming performance. The generational hardware updates have taken things a couple of steps forward, but then again, you've to keep in mind the substantial price tag as well as the fact that powerful compact laptops do have some trade-offs otherwise. Two sides to any coin, as things are, but Asus' focused approach seems to have mostly worked.
The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 is priced at ₹2,79,990 and that's a significant jump from the previous generation's launch price of ₹2,11,990 (the current market price is around ₹1,64,990). There is more than one element across the proposition, that has been upgraded to keep pace with this generational pricing inflation. Under the hood is the latest generation AMD Ryzen AI 9 chip with the Nvidia RTX 5070Ti graphics, a redone cooling architecture, double the base memory (now 32GB instead of 16GB) and double the storage (2TB instead of 1TB).
On the outside, there are hardly any changes, and there needn't be any either. This chassis and the design elements looked premium 12 months ago, and do so even now. It is a decidedly balanced layout for ports, and though a bit heavier than the previous generation, that change really feels insignificant as a negative. Materials used are premium, it's built well, though that slash-esque lighting bar on the lid may elicit extreme opinions. My specific observation would be regarding the otherwise grippy rubber feet — they simply don't position the laptop high enough off the seated surface, for sufficient ventilation.
This 14-inch screen is what Asus calls a Nebula display and is an OLED panel with a decidedly non-glossy deployment. There is little doubt that it's a beautifully tuned display, with vivid and bright colours, deep blacks and very good contrast overall. The only shortcoming, and this may be true more for creatives and video editors taking advantage of the power under the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14's hood, is that the 400-nits brightness may struggle to replicate the finest of details if you're in an in-optimal ambient lighting scenario.
The configuration I'm basing my observations on, finds the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 chip as its beating heart, and this is a top-of-the-line chip from AMD, primed for the AI PC era. A significant step forward to last year's Ryzen 9 8945HS, and with all the software smarts Asus has integrated (Ultimate, Standard and Eco, for example) as part of the foundations, you'll be running most of the recent titles at close to maximum visual settings, at least when the resolution is set at 1080p. I will not get into the complexities of synthetic benchmarks, but the trump card is Nvidia's DLSS 4 multi-frame generation tech that really can add as much as 50% in frame rates for most games, with no impact on latency. In the case of a few, even more.
For an undeniably solid gaming slash creator focused laptop, there are two definite limitations that cannot be ignored. One more understandable than the other, but both unmissable. First is the heating, which is more than apparent on the underside within seconds of loading any title. Credit to the redesigned cooling system, because that does play its part in helping the AMD and Nvidia silicon hold performance. Yet, the table you keep this laptop on, will start to feel the heat soon enough. And in my case, even the stuff in the drawers immediately underneath. The focus of the heat-map is the middle of the chassis and spreads towards the lid hinge. Even with the fans whirring along at presumably the maximum speed, there is some discomfort that's apparent even on the keyboard deck.
The second, and perhaps that's to be expected all things performance and thermals considered, is limited battery stamina. If you are to use this as a typical work machine, for those unassuming documents, web browsing and everything that is part of your office routine, the best case scenario in terms of battery runtimes is close to 6 hours. Nothing more. That's where the massive power brick comes into the picture as well — you have no option but to lug it around. It's an 180-watt adapter with a proprietary connector — the logic here could be, it may be difficult to consistently get 180-watt via USB-C, during gaming.
The final thoughts around the 2025 edition of the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 revolve mostly around the significant steps forward in performance terms. While perhaps accepting limited battery life, and the fact that this laptop can run properly hot. Is that balanced out by a premium design, lots of ports, a comfortable keyboard and genuine AI-based software smarts? Perhaps. The uniqueness is about the form factor, a compact chassis with a 14-inch screen, that will appeal to gamers and creative workflows alike, and can still be moved around comfortably in a backpack. Not many gaming laptops, that genuinely have so much grunt, can claim as much. The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 can. And that's no mean feat.