ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 and G15: AMD Ryzen 4000 Gaming on the Go
High-End Gaming Laptops Featuring AMD’s 7nm Zen 2 Mobile Processors
We already took a quick look at the new ROG lineup from CES 2020, but a particular standout from ASUS and their Republic of Gamers division has to be the Zephyrus G14 and G15 gaming laptops, powered by AMD’s new Ryzen 4000 mobile processors.
“Ultra-slim gaming laptops usually come with a premium price due to how difficult it is to get good performance and cooling in a sub-20mm chassis. ROG has worked hard to make the category more accessible, especially to students, freelancers, and creators who need powerful laptops they can carry everywhere. The latest examples debut at CES 2020 in the new Zephyrus G14 and G15, which wrap powerful processors in a compact chassis portable enough to go anywhere at a price that brings gaming and creation capabilities to an even wider audience.”
The AMD Ryzen 7 4800HS Debuts with the Zephyrus Laptops
AMD made another big leap on desktop in 2019 with their new Ryzen 3000 series processors, which feature the 7nm Zen 2 architecture. Last year’s mobile parts, though marketed under the same “Ryzen 3000” series name, actually made use of the previous-generation 12nm Zen+ architecture. And while we still saw some very good price/performance relative to Intel from AMD in 2019, the arrival of Zen 2 on mobile has been highly anticipated.
2020 is here, and with it the first of the laptops announced with Ryzen 4000-series mobile parts – including the ASUS ROG Zephyrus models in question. Both the ROG Zephyrus G14 and G15 feature up to an AMD Ryzen 7 4800HS processor – a 35W variant of the 8-core, 16-thread Ryzen 7 4800H that is exclusive to the Zephyrus laptops.
High-Refresh Displays, NVIDIA RTX Graphics, and More
As you might infer from the product names the ROG Zephyrus G15 is a 15-inch laptop with a choice of two high-refresh 1920×1080 panels, with a 240 Hz and 144 Hz option. Both panels feature variable refresh-rate via AMD FreeSync, with the 240 Hz version also boasting 100% sRGB coverage and PANTONE validated color.
The 14-inch ROG Zephyrus G14 is available with both 1920×1080 (120 Hz) and 60 Hz 2560×1440 (60 Hz) panel options, both featuring AMD FreeSync, 100% sRGB coverage, and PANTONE validated color.
Graphics horsepower is provided by discrete NVIDIA GPUs with both models, with the latest Turing-based architecture up to a GeForce RTX 2060 available on both the ROG Zephyrus G14 and G15. And while it’s not actually part of the system’s display output there is second display as well, with 1215 pixels of micro-LED goodness on the outside of the lid.
It’s a feature ASUS is calling the AniMe Matrix display, and it can be customized with GIFs and other graphics.
“The ROG splash across the lid comes to life with the AniMe Matrix display available on select models. This display uses 1,215 mini LEDs that emit a white glow with 256 levels of brightness control to give gamers a new medium to express their individuality. Users can import animated GIFs and other graphics, build custom animations frame by frame, and type text messages with different fonts. Visualizations react to music and other audio, creating a unique platform for DJs and other artists. ROG engineers were also careful to balance the number of mini LEDs to minimize heat, controller hardware, and power requirements.”
Cooling is also a focus of the design of both laptops, with the Zephyrus G14 the first ROG laptop to feature what ASUS calls the ErgoLift hinge; a design wherein the lid lifts up the back of the laptop as it is opened, allowing more airflow for the vents on the base. ASUS says that the cooling system in the Zephyrus G14 is also self-cleaning, accomplished by “using anti-dust tunnels to catch particles and direct them out the back of the chassis”.
ROG Zephyrus G15 I/O Ports
The larger Zephyrus G15 is equipped with the highest-density fan in an ROG laptop, with up to 17% more airflow than previous generations. It also features ASUS ROG’s “Intelligent Cooling philosophy”, which the company says will allow the G15 to extract more performance “with a strategic blend of hardware and software that optimizes and maintains performance and acoustics with a self-cleaning thermal module and anti-dust tunnels”.
Features common to both laptops include up to 32GB of 3200 MHz DDR4 memory, NVMe SSDs (PCI-E Gen3) up to 1TB, Intel WiFi 6 (802.11ax) with Bluetooth 5.0, USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C ports with DisplayPort 1.4 and power delivery, and HDMI 2.0b output. Additionally, the G14 offers a second USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C port and two USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A ports, and the larger G15 offers three of these standard 3.2 Gen1 Type-A ports.
Availability and Pricing
ASUS says the ROG Zephyrus G14 and G15 will be available in the Q1/Q2 range this year. No pricing information has been revealed just yet.
