48 PCWorld MAY 2020REVIEWS ASUS ROG ZEPHYRUS G14
performance with laptops that weigh 10
pounds.
Obviously the star of the show is the Ryzen
9 4900HS CPU, which we review in detail
separately (go.pcworld.com/49hs). But the
Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 as a whole package
is nearly as impressive, so keep reading to
find out more.SPECS AND FEATURES
The ROG Zephyrus G14 model we reviewed
($1,450 from Bestbuy.com; go.pcworld.
com/gg14) has the following configuration:
CPU: 8-core AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS
GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q
RAM: 16GB DDR4/3200 in dual-channel
modeSSD: 1TB Intel 660P
NVMe SSD
Networking: Intel
AX600 WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.0
Display: 14-inch “IPS-
like” Full HD (1920x1080)
@120Hz, which we measured
at 280 nits’ maximum
brightness
The G14 gives you a
decent array of ports. The
right side features two USB-A
ports and one USB-C, along
with a Kensington lock port.
The right side features a
barrel plug for the 180-watt
power brick, and a full-size
HDMI 2.0b port (hooked to the CPU’s
Radeon port). There’s also another USB-C
port with support for DisplayPort (through the
GeForce RTX card) and USB-PD (Power
Delivery). While you can’t really run the laptop
hard on a 100-watt USB-C charger, the idea is
to give you a lighter-weight option than the
included 180-watt brick when you’re on the
road (and not pushing it hard).
Thunderbolt 3 and gigabit ethernet are
notably absent from the port array. While we
understand why Thunderbolt 3 is more
difficult to obtain (given that the technology
emanates from rival Intel), it does feel like
onboard ethernet is important.
The other glaring omission is the lack of an
onboard webcam. You can see where itAlthough our unit does not feature the Anime Matrix LED, it’s worth
highlighting. Part of the lid essentially features embedded LEDs that
let you scroll or flash messages on the laptop lid.