The ASUS Zephyrus G14 and G15 are both thinner, but which should you get?
I’ve compared both to help you decide!
As you can probably tell by the names, the G14 has a smaller 14 inch screen, while the
G15 has a larger 15 inch screen.
This results in the G15 being a physically bigger laptop, but it’s still relatively
thin compared to a lot of other gaming laptops out there.
Bigger size means more weight.
The G14 is definitely a lighter more portable package, but a smaller size does have other
negatives.
The big one is less upgrade options.
The G14 can only take one M.2 SSD, while the larger G15 can fit two.
Both laptops are limited to just one memory slot though, with either 8 or 16 gigs of DDR5
memory soldered to the motherboard.
The G15 also has more room for a larger 90Wh battery, however I found that the G14 was
actually lasting longer in my standard YouTube video playback test, despite both laptops
having the same 6900HS CPU and running their screens at 200 nits brightness.
Smaller size also means less room for ports.
On the left both laptops have the power input, HDMI 2.0b output, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port
and 3.5mm audio combo jack.
The larger G15 also fits in 2.5 gigabit ethernet, a second Type-C port and a Type-A port here.
They both have a UHS-II MicroSD card slot on the right, and the G14 has two USB Type-A
ports here and a Type-C while the G15 just has one Type-A
So if you add up all the ports, the only difference is the smaller G14 does not have ethernet,
so you’ll either have to stick to Wi-Fi or use a USB dongle if you really need that.
Both of the Type-C ports on the G15 can be used to charge, but only the one on the left
of the G14 does that.
And both Type-C ports on both laptops can also connect to external screens.
One goes to the iGPU and the other to the dGPU.
HDMI ports on both connect to the dGPU, but as ASUS aren’t using HDMI 2.1, they max
out at 4K 60Hz 8-Bit.
Both the G14 and G15 are available with light or dark finishes, I just happen to have a
dark G14 and light G15 here.
The overall design aesthetic is very similar between them, though the G14 has the option
of a lid that lights up and can be customized with varying effects.
Build quality of both laptops feels great, but the G14 seemed a bit more solid, probably
simply because it’s smaller, there’s less surface area to flex.
Both laptops also have front facing speakers, and I thought the G14 sounded better.
The G15 gets louder and sounds clearer, but the G14 isn’t far behind and it’s got
more bass which I preferred.
The interior layout looks very similar, but they’re a bit different when you actually
use them.
Despite both keyboards having a single zone of RGB backlighting and 1.7mm of key travel,
the G15’s keyboard felt a bit mushier to type on.
If we look closer we can see surrounding keys get pressed down too, which isn’t happening
on the smaller G14.
The G15’s touchpad is slightly bigger, but the G14’s is a little louder to press.
Both feel nice and accurate to use though.
Although the G14 has a smaller 14 inch screen, it’s got a taller 16:10 aspect ratio, while
the G15’s is standard 16:9.
The G14’s screen gets brighter, at least when compared to the G15’s 240Hz screen.
The G15 also has a 165Hz option though, so expect different results with that.
Color gamut was extremely close, basically no practical difference, but again results
will vary with different panels.
The screen response time was a little faster with the G15, but realistically, both are
great results compared to a lot of other gaming laptops out there.
The total system latency shows how long it takes between a mouse click and when a gun
shot fire appears on the screen in CS:GO, and again the G15 was a little faster, but
there’s really not much difference.
It’s worth noting that the G15 only has adaptive sync with optimus on, as that’s
handled by the Radeon integrated graphics, part of the CPU.
It does not have advanced optimus or G-Sync with the Nvidia graphics, so if you turn optimus
off and reboot for maximum FPS in games, expect screen tearing.
The G14 on the other hand offers FreeSync both with the integrated Radeon graphics and
discrete Radeon graphics, so whether optimus is on or of off, and that’s just a bonus
of an all AMD system.
The G15 can do G-Sync over HDMI while the G14 offers FreeSync over HDMI, it doesn’t
do G-Sync as it doesn’t have Nvidia.
Both laptops have a 720p camera above the screen in the middle, and they both have IR
for Windows Hello face unlock.
One of the bigger differences between these two laptops is the specs.
They’ve both got AMD’s Ryzen 9 6900HS CPU, DDR5 memory and a 1TB SSD, but the main
difference is that the G15 uses Nvidia’s GeForce graphics while the G14 uses AMD’s
Radeon graphics.
Now generally speaking, the RTX 3070 Ti graphics in my G15 perform better in games compared
to the 6800S in the G14.
You can also get the G15 with lower tier RTX 3060 graphics which might change things, as
the 6800S was ahead of at least one of our lower powered 3060s found in Lenovo’s Legion
Slim 7i.
Some games just straight up perform better on AMD’s Radeon graphics, like Red Dead
Redemption 2.
The 6800S in the G14 was actually a little ahead of the RTX 3070 Ti in the G15 in this
one.
Of course there are other games like Control that heavily favor Nvidia graphics, which
is why now even the lower powered 3060 in that Slim 7i was ahead now.
I mean the average FPS is basically the same, but the G14 has a lower 1% low, so more dips
in performance and less stable gameplay.
Don’t forget that both Nvidia and Radeon graphics can make use of FSR in supported
games, but only Nvidia graphics get you DLSS.
Multi core CPU performance was a little better with the 6900HS in the G15, while single core
was a little ahead on the G14, but ultimately these small differences are within the margin
of error range and likely come down to silicon lottery.
If we unplug the charger and run entirely off of battery power though, the G15 drops
back further.
Single core scores aren’t much different, but the G14 was offering better multi core
performance when running on battery.
The Nvidia and AMD GPU difference usually matters more in content creation tasks.
Nvidia often seems to perform better, as seen here in video editing tests.
The G14 had an edge in Adobe Photoshop, as that test relies on single threaded performance,
so again results may vary a bit there based on silicon lottery, as they both have the
same CPU.
I think going for Nvidia makes more sense for creators, as it’s ahead in more cases
than not.
Again I am using a 3070 Ti here, but take Blender for example, even lower tier 3060s
are scoring far ahead of the 6800S.
Although both laptops have the same Wi-Fi 6E card, the G15 was a little faster, perhaps
its larger size allows for more optimal antenna placement, but I’m just guessing.
Both laptops also came with 1TB SSDs, the one in my G15 was faster, but this sort of
thing might vary between regions, and don’t forget the G15 can take two SSDs while the
G14 can only fit one.
As for thermals, generally the G14 was running warmer, which might not be too surprising
as a smaller machine simply means there’s less room and materials for cooling.
However that said, the fans were also running louder with the G15 too, so presumably faster.
Let’s have a listen.
The G14 was reaching higher CPU clock speeds in manual mode and with the cooling pad.
Remember both laptops have the same 6900HS CPU, so these are comparable.
The GPU clock speeds are less comparable though, as there are differences between AMD and Nvidia.
Similarly, the way both measure TDP is different too, so I’d really only compare the CPU
power limits in the blue bars and not pay a whole lot of attention to the green bars.
The G14 that I’ve tested with Radeon RX 6800S graphics goes for $1900 USD, but there’s
also the lower tier 6700S for $1650.
For comparison, the G15 with RTX 3060 graphics is less than both of these, even if it didn’t
have its current sale.
The configuration I’ve tested with 3070 Ti is $2000 though, so $100 more expensive
compared to the G14 that I tested.
Though you can also get the G15 with higher tier 3080 graphics for even more money.
So these configurations that I've tested are only $100 apart, and these Zephyrus laptops
often go on sale too, so check the links below the video for current prices and sales.
And speaking of sales, if either of these laptops do go on sale, I’ll be sure to add
them to my new website gaminglaptop.deals, so make sure you check that out regularly
to get the best deal on your next gaming laptop!
Alright so G14 or G15, which should you get?
Generally speaking in most cases, the G15 was the better machine.
There’s just more things you can do with more physical space.
It’s still on the thinner side for a 15 inch gaming laptop, so definitely portable,
but if you’re after ultimate portability then the G14 might be the way to go.
Of course the G15 wasn’t always coming out ahead of the G14.
For instance, the G14 lasted longer on battery, the performance on battery was better, and
the keyboard was also nicer to type on.
The G15 can be cheaper if you go for the 3060 option, which honestly should still be very
capable.
If I was picking, personally I’d probably go for the smaller G14 laptop, because when
I use laptops I’m actually traveling, I need the portability, that’s most important
to me, and the fact is the performance on offer from this machine is going to be plenty
when I’m out and about.
But at the same time, I do like the extra screen space of the G15, and it isn’t that
much bigger.
Honestly I’d probably be leaning more towards ASUS’s Zephyrus M16 over the G15, and you
can find all the reasons why in this video next.
The M16 is very similar to the G15, but it’s got an Intel CPU and a bigger screen, which
can be advantages depending on what you’re using your laptop for.
Otherwise if you are definitely sold on a smaller 14 inch laptop, check out this one
next instead, maybe it’s worth spending more money on Razer’s Blade 14.