The primary time I left Vox Media, again in 2020, I made a decision to deal with myself to a gaming laptop computer — one thing compact I may convey on travels however with sufficient energy to play video games as demanding as Cyberpunk 2077, which stays an important efficiency benchmark. I settled on the 2020 Asus Zephyrus G14, and truthfully, it rapidly grew to become my favourite of all time. Now, on my new final day at Vox Media (editor’s be aware: what the hell, Ross?), I’m shopping for one more gaming laptop computer, and this time… yep, I’m going with the 2024 version of the Zephyrus G14. It’s not as a result of I refuse to discover the competitors, it’s simply that the competitors must attempt tougher for my cash.
You may seize it on sale for $1,199.99 (was $1,599.99) from Greatest Purchase for Black Friday. I’m not saying that is the best laptop computer for you — not essentially, at the very least — however I’ll inform you why it’s precisely the laptop computer I’ve been searching for.
Each individual has a spec that issues above all else, and for me it’s measurement. I wish to be on the highway as a lot as I may be, and to be blunt, I would like the smallest type issue I can discover for touring. At this level, a 14-inch laptop computer strikes the candy spot between “matches in most backpacks comfortably” and “most likely has an honest graphics card.” This model of the Zephyrus G14 ought to have greater than sufficient efficiency to deal with PC video games which can be additionally designed for the PlayStation 5 / Xbox Collection X technology — it touts an AMD Ryzen 9 CPU, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU, 16GB of quick DDR5 RAM, and 1 TB storage. If there was a 12-inch laptop computer with an RTX card, I could be writing a few totally different machine, however value-wise, the G14 strikes the best stability.
Display-wise, the Zephyrus G14 has 2880 x 1800 decision, which is a lot sharp given the precise display screen actual property, and extra importantly, it’s OLED, and anybody who’s upgraded to an OLED Swap, Steam Deck OLED, or to an OLED TV or monitor can inform you, it’s fairly dang good.
Clearly I can’t definitively vouch for one thing that’s but to come back in — I solely simply ordered it this morning — so my enthusiasm is a mixture of previous expertise and trusting different reviewers. To wit: PC Magazine, PC Gamer, and Wired all gave it very optimistic opinions, with the large throughline concern being battery life — mainly, it’s positive when not gaming and fast to empty when doing something demanding. It could cost through USB-C, however you’ll want to make use of the proprietary charger for substantial duties. The Verge notes that this 12 months’s G14 suffers from extra warmth, which was the case for the 2020 mannequin as nicely, however I’ll take it.
All that’s to say, no, I received’t be enjoying Shadow of the Erdtree from a laptop computer throughout any flights — at the very least not for greater than an hour or so. However I can use it for YouTube, looking, and work whereas I’m in transit, and after I get to the place I’m going, I do know that I’ll have greater than sufficient energy to play no matter I’d like. All these tradeoffs are legitimate issues, and for a lot of, they could be a dealbreaker. However for what I would like, and for $1,200, the G14 seems to be just like the winner.
