Asus Zephyrus G14 Ryzen 9 GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q Laptop Review: Kicking Core i9 to the Curb

[Bruh]

Nearly perfect, but screen isn't the best and it runs too loud. For my money the Lenovo Y740 is still the best laptop around, since everyone refuses to use a display of the same caliber. Or make quiet laptops. It still has some issues because there is literally no such thing as a good laptop, but if you put in the extra cash and time (like with any laptop) and are willing to void your warranty they can be mitigated.

[Bruh]

That response time & idling power consumption are so weird, hope those can be fixed on stock version.

BTW, may I know if you guys did any test about the maximum power through USB type-c PD charging? I believe ASUS just claimed it can be charging through 65W PD charger, will it support higher input current so can be charging faster through some high-power PD chargers (like Apple 87/96W or MSI 90W)?

To my knowledge it does not support higher input current (The 65W is accurate)

Another question to the testers & editors, are both USB-C ports capable of PD laptop charging, or just the one you labeled with PD?

Just the one I believe.

Also, as an aside curiosity, does Freesync still work when using the Nvidia dGPU via Optimus?

I would imagine not, but I 2nd this question.

[Mukhzani Mustaffa]

normally i rely 100% on laptop reviews from your site. but something is really off especially about the battery

[anon]

I know AMD is to credit for their hard work on creating this CPU architecture with such short pipelines, but it is both a surprise and no surprise to me that this package first comes from Asus.

The Zephyrus M GU502GW (or another GU502 model) is what I would call second closest to this, as far as great GPU in a slim package great for travelling, though it is 15.6". These Zephyri also have USB PD charging over their type-C port. I adore my RTX 2070 laptop powered by a charger the size of a cell phone charger! I can actually use my ROG Phone II charger with it. Sure beats using a 1.5kg brick. I'll also confirm only 65W max, also supports down to at least 30W.

Just be warned that I once completely drained the battery by leaving it on sleep for long, with no hibernation, and type-C charging did not work until I charged via the barrel connector for a few percent. I had to ask nicely at an Asus store in China to use their charger for a few minutes (wasn't completely sure that was the problem at the time, but luckily that was it). Are you listening, Asus? It's a great feature, if you change this behavior you can make it even better!

[Aquila Imperiale]

Matebook d14 2020 (€650) has better response time.
That screen on G14 is an epic fail.

Response Time Black to White (Matebook)
28.8 combined   
16.4 ms rise   
12.4 ms fall

Response Time Black to White (G14)
34.8 ms combined   
20.4 ms rise   
14.4 ms fall

[RinzImpulse]

Same question as the other. Why did your battery test strange while the others reviewers have like 10+ hours battery life? Even my country reviewers said the same 10+ hours

[LHPSU]

Another review noted that the Nvidia GPU didn't deactivate, so it might be a bug.

[Valantar]

Certainly sounds like a bug with the dGPU not decrivating as it should, considering we're seeing 2x battery life in other tests of the same notebook. Even if the testing methodology isn't the same, that's too big a delta to explain. Looking forward to a follow-up on this.

[_MT_]

Certainly sounds like a bug with the dGPU not decrivating as it should, considering we're seeing 2x battery life in other tests of the same notebook. Even if the testing methodology isn't the same, that's too big a delta to explain. Looking forward to a follow-up on this.

It certainly could be a software or firmware issue. Even faulty hardware. However, there is also the fact that the laptop has a 76 Wh battery and reportedly lasted idling for 5:42. That works out to about 13 W average. Not 30 W. Clearly, the laptop wasn't really idle when they measured those 30 W. Or it has a much higher draw when powered from the charger. Or something funny is going on when plugged in.

[Daithi]

I've been waiting on this review since this laptop was announced earlier this year. 14" is the sweet spot in size for me and I've been waiting for a nice machine with a dedicated GPU to release. Unfortunately I don't know if I can spend this much money on a machine without TB3 or a webcam.

Will you be reviewing the more modestly specced SKU when it's released? I'm hoping it has better fan management and battery life. I doubt I'll ever max this CPU and 10 - 15% GPU performance would be easy for me to sacrifice for a quieter/cooler/longer battery laptop.

[pikachoo]

Misleading review, as always. Go one, rave about Intel and Dell.

[Eric]

You guys have gone from reliable to utterly useless morons.. Why didn't you reinstall windows and drivers when something OBVIOUSLY is off regarding idle/power ...? You're supposed to be pros at this, what a shame. (And btw when 90% of other reviews show totally different results, aiaia...)

[Omri]

Linus review shows 10hr battery life, more than dell XPS.

[KhangeeBowl]

The 10 hour battery life seems to do with performance mode selection.
According to CNET, they got the 10 hours using the "Silent Mode" but only 6 with "Performance" mode enabled.
This article says "4 hours of real-world WLAN use on the Balanced profile with the integrated GPU active".

The article could've benefited from using multiple modes for testing -- and what those modes do. 

[edcft]

How many external monitors are supported (probably 2) and what resolutions/refresh rates can drive?