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It’s no over exaggeration to call the 2022 ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 – with its concoction of new AMD hardware – a fantastic laptop. The Ryzen 9 6900HS processor is fast and incredibly efficient, the RX 6800S GPU pushes out some impressive frame numbers – once again with strong power efficiency, and the inclusion of new technologies like DDR5, PCIe Gen 4, and WiFi 6E is good to see. Plus, that 14-inch, QHD+, 120Hz display is impressive to my eyes.
On the CPU front, multi-threaded performance from the new 35W Ryzen 9 6900HS is superb. That’s particularly true when viewed through the lens of performance output from its 35W TDP, albeit at 45W running for this laptop. The efficiency improvements with the new Zen 3+ architecture and 6nm process technology look to have delivered very well.
On the single-threaded side of the CPU equation, however, Intel still looks to have incredibly strong performance. That’s down to the fast new architecture for 12th Gen chips, as well as the uber-high power numbers allowed for short duration turbo.
This power curve approach is an area where AMD and Intel slightly diverge in their philosophies, and it works well for Intel’s single-threaded performance but clearly it suits AMD’s multi-threaded performance and power efficiency goals. Scaling up power though, that looks to be an area where Intel’s higher-TDP chips could prove strong, but we’ll have to wait for more samples to come through.
Gaming performance from the Radeon RX 6800S GPU was strong, especially when crammed into this 14-inch form factor and aided by SmartShift Max. You shouldn’t have any problems pushing even AAA titles well past 60 FPS when running at 1080p. And a reasonable QHD+ gaming experience is achievable too, particularly if you’re happy to drop a bit below the highest image quality settings.
On the downsides, there are some to highlight. The price will undoubtedly be very high – probably around £2.5K – but that is somewhat justified. Elsewhere, a few surfaces do get hot to touch under sustained load, there’s no Thunderbolt 4 support which is disappointing at this price point, particularly when comparing Intel competitors, and ASUS’ chosen SSD is vastly underpowered for this calibre of laptop.
Overall though, delivering great performance from the new AMD hardware, excellent battery life at 10 hours of PCMark 10, and a superb design implementation. There’s a heck of a lot to like from the 2022 ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14.
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Pros:
- Superb design approach and build quality.
- Smart balance of AMD CPU and GPU hardware.
- Tremendous battery life.
- Ample multi-threaded and AAA gaming horsepower.
- Strong connectivity, except the lack of Thunderbolt.
- Appealing 14” QHD+ 120Hz screen.
Cons:
- Price will be high.
- No Thunderbolt.
- SSD performance is sub-par.
KitGuru says: A superb 14” laptop with excellent build quality, ASUS has created a design that shows off AMD’s hardware in a highly appealing form factor.
