I finally got one!
I wanted a new laptop around the end of 2019, but decided to wait till CES announcements to see if something nice was coming out. And I did really like the Asus G14.
But the pandemic came, the G14 was nowhere available so I tried my luck with an MSI GS66 which I did not like and returned. Finally, in 2021 I managed to get a G14 2021 model and have been using for the last 8 months. The model features the RTX3060, Ryzen 7 5800H, 16GB RAM and a 2 TB SSD (upgraded). There are plenty of reviews and pictures out there to see, so I will stick to my experience.
My review
Why it is awesome
It is significantly smaller and lighter than my previous 15 inch laptop. Travelling during winter holidays with both the G14 and my 14″ work laptop in the backpack through multiple flights was a breeze, i can really appreciate the reduced weight.
Its silent for day to day operations. I can go through the majority of the usage on the silent profile with plenty of performance and the fans don’t turn on. Of course, it will need fans for gaming and tasks that have high CPU usage.
It is powerful enough for me, for both processing tasks and the little gaming I do.
Awesome battery life – I can grab it and enjoy 5+ hours of operation without worrying about charging, which means most of my trips with it can be without a charger.
USB-C charging is very useful – 1 charger for multiple laptops and phones.
What could be better
Webcam – i needed it dozens of times and would have appreciated having one. No idea why such a cheap and typical component was omitted by Asus.
Mine does not sleep. I tried all i found online and I cannot get it to go to sleep consistently so I changed to hibernation. It’s not a problem, since my usage in both fixed and mobile modes involves using it continuously for hours.
I have yet to find a use for the blinky lights and the “gamer” design of the laptop. Seriously Asus, it is awesome as it is, it does not need flashy stuff.
Poor component availability and soldered RAM means i cannot get >16GB of dual channel memory.
If it could be even more awesome
What the 2022 model has: webcam and 16:10 screen. Plus:
Standard 16GB soldered + free RAM slot – easy upgrade and no availability issues.
USB PD 3 – only using USB port for charging up to 240 W.
Get rid of the blinky lights and gamer design – make it plain.
One of the USB C ports supports charging and display directly to the GPU (current design) and the other supports USB C charging and display connected to the integrated GPU. That way I can choose if i want bit of performance in games but accept the laptop needs the fans all the time when using an external display because the discrete GPU is running all the time. Or, I lose a bit of gaming performance but the discrete GPU runs only when needed so I can enjoy my laptop connected to an external screen without constant fans.
Two M.2 storage slots.
Conclusions
The G14 2021 is one of my best purchases and I like most of it. There is a clear reduction in size while still providing a great deal of performance compared to older laptop generations. Meanwhile the laptop remains silent and energy efficient for most daily tasks. I highly recommend it, but the 2022 model should be even better.
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