Asus’ entry-level ROG Zephyrus G14 is the one to buy

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I wasn't a big fan of the most recent ROG Zephyrus G14. The model we received had a lot of great things about it, including improvements to the aspect ratio, an enlarged touchpad, and a newWebcam.

The unit I had for review was too costly.

The price of the model I got was $2,499.99. It was the same price as some of the market's most premium 15-inch gaming rigs, including Razer's Blade 15 Advanced. It was not worth it. I noted in the review that the cheaper models of the G14 could be great buys.

I finally got my hands on a cheaper model. I am typing this on a model of the Zephyrus G14 that has the same Ryzen 9 6900HS processor but has a slightly less powerful 6700S graphics card. I believed this configuration would offer the same performance as the $2,499.99 counterpart.

That suspicion has proved correct. There is nothing worth paying for. The 6700S model has a longer battery life. It is light and thin. A fancy animated light display on the lid is what it lacks. The light display is cool, and you can pay an extra $850 for it, but most people should get the $1,6499.99 model. A better deal is hands down.

The review of the 6800S G14 that I wrote in February can be found here. The design and hardware aspects were detailed there. Performance differences on the 6700S model are the same as on the other models.

On Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, the cheaper G14 averaged 189 frames per second. The previous model ran at an average of 202 frames per second. The G14 can display 120 frames per second, which is the highest refresh rate the machine can display.

There is an impact on other titles, but not one that is worth $850. The 6700S had some trouble with ray tracing, which cut frame rates in half, but that is exactly what we saw from the 6800S. The older model averaged 70 and 37 frames per second, whereas the cheaper model averaged 63 and 32 frames per second. Small potatoes.

The cheaper model on Red Dead Redemption 2 averaged 45 frames per second while the more expensive model averaged 49 frames per second. Four frames won't affect your life in any way.

The fan noise and heat were the same as what I saw from the 6800S model. When I put the device on the Silent profile for general work, it became silent, despite the noise it made. The keyboard was always warm even during a decent workload that included an external display. During the game, the palm rest was hot but not uncomfortably so.

The 6800S averaged eight hours and 55 minutes of general use, while the 6700S averaged seven hours and 55 minutes. The G14 is one of the longest- lasting gaming laptops of the last few years. The improvement of the gaming battery wasn't the same. I got 46 minutes of Red Dead Redemption 2 play, but I only got 54 and 46 minutes out of the more expensive unit, so it's hard to say how long the game will last. Sixty percent of the time was the same.

This model is larger than the 6800S. It is thinner (0.72 inches to 0.77 inches) and lighter (3.64 pounds to the 6800S's 3.79 pounds). This isn't the biggest difference in the world and it's a light gaming laptop either way. The cheaper model has a few advantages. It is more compact than the larger machines that can deliver these frame rates. I brought this device with me on an international trip and was impressed with how light it was.

• WQXGA (2560 x 1600) 120Hz, non-touch
• AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS
• 16GB DDR5
• 1TB SSD storage
• 720p camera
• Wi-Fi 6E 802.11ax 2x2
• 75Whr battery
• 240W adapter

The Zephyrus G14 is one of the best gaming laptops on the market. Unless you like animated lights, you can just buy the 6700S model. The closest model to the premium sphere would be $2,599.99 and a comparable Alienware X14 would be $2,499.99. The Blade 15 Advanced with an RTX 3070 Ti is listed for $950 more than the Blade 15 Base.

The other advantages the G14 has over most of the competition are not taken into account. The price point makes it easy to appreciate the real innovations that Asus has made, and continues to make.

Every smart device has a set of terms and conditions that you have to agree to before you can use it. It is not possible for us to read and analyze all of them. We started counting the number of times you have to agree to use devices when we review them since these are agreements most people can't negotiate.

With other Windows computers, you are presented with a number of things to agree to or decline.

There are mandatory policies for which an agreement is needed.

• A request for your region and keyboard layout
• Microsoft Software License Terms and Asus Notice
• Sign in to a Microsoft account
• Create a PIN

There are a lot of things that can be agreed to.

• Connect to Wi-Fi network
• Name your device
• Set up Windows Hello
• Device privacy settings: Find My Device, Inking and Typing, Advertising ID, Location, Diagnostic data, Tailored experiences
• Customize your device for personalized tips, ads, and recommendations (you can choose between entertainment, gaming, school, creativity, business, and family)
• OneDrive backup
• Microsoft 365 free trial
• Xbox Game Pass Ultimate free trial
• Provide your name, region, email address, and phone number to save to your device and autofill in the Asus member registration form in the MyAsus app

There are mandatory and optional agreements.