Asus has revealed a whole load of gaming hardware at CES 2020, with both desktop PCs and laptops, the latter of which are headed up by a model the firm claims is the world’s most powerful 14-inch gaming notebook.
That would be the Asus Zephyrus G14 which certainly packs a decent amount of power into a pretty slim chassis which is 17.9mm thick, and the device weighs in at a palatable 1.6kg.
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The G14 runs with one of AMD’s new mobile chips, and it’s powered by up to a Ryzen 7 4800HS with 8-cores and 16-threads. That’s partnered with up to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 graphics card (boasting 6GB of video RAM).
On the memory front, Asus provides up to 16GB of 3200MHz DDR4 RAM, and storage comes in the form of an M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD of up to 1TB capacity.
There are a few options for the 14-inch screen, the top one of which – at least for gamers – has a Full HD resolution with a 120Hz refresh rate, plus AMD’s adaptive sync, 100% sRGB coverage, and it’s Pantone-validated.
You can also opt for the same display but with a 60Hz refresh rate and no adaptive sync, or a 2,560 x 1,440-resolution panel which again is 60Hz (but does have adaptive sync). All of these are IPS-level panels, and sport very thin bezels.
Asus claims that the G14 offers 10 hours of battery life, and it offers charging via one of the USB Type-C ports (although the other Type-C connector isn’t power delivery capable).
The laptop also benefits from Wi-Fi 6 support, and a backlit keyboard with an ErgoLift hinge that tilts the keyboard to a more comfortable angle.
Asus also notes that the G14 has an innovative cooling system, and an ‘AniMe Matrix’ display on the laptop lid of certain models. The latter uses a matrix of 1,215 mini LEDs which can be used to display graphics such as animated GIFs or messages.
DJs can potentially use the AniMe Matrix to display visualizations which react to the music being played, for example, and eventually Asus plans to add further practical aspects such as the ability to display the current battery level, or new email notifications.
We’re certainly keen to see how the 8-core Ryzen 7 4800HS drives this apparently nippy 14-inch gaming laptop, and it looks commendably compact for the levels of power on offer, with some neat extras.
The good news is that the launch date isn’t far off, with the Asus Zephyrus G14 expected to go on sale in late March (in the UK). No pricing has been announced yet, though.
When the going gets TUF
Not content with the Zephyrus G14, Asus also revealed a bunch of new TUF Gaming laptops, with a pair of 15-inch models, and a pair of 17-inch notebooks.
The initial products being pushed at CES are the TUF Gaming A15 and A17, which use AMD Ryzen 4000 chips, and these models should also be available in late March, just the same as the G14. TUF Gaming F15 and F17 notebooks will be released later in 2020 with 10th-generation Intel Core processors.
So, with the A15 and A17 you’re getting a choice of Ryzen 4000 APUs (up to 8-cores, 16-threads), which can be paired with up to 32GB of 3200MHz DDR4 RAM.
If you plump for the TUF Gaming A15, you’ll be getting a 15.6-inch Full HD screen with a refresh rate of 144Hz, and AMD’s adaptive sync technology, plus on the GPU front, you can specify up to an RTX 2060. Storage can be had in the form of up to a 1TB NVMe PCIe SSD.
As for the TUF Gaming A17, that runs with a 17.3-inch Full HD display with a 120Hz refresh rate, again with adaptive sync. For a graphics solution, you can have up to a GeForce GTX 1660 Ti, and storage is again up to a 1TB PCIe SSD.
As ever, the TUF laptops are designed to be robust and durable, manufactured to meet the meet MIL-STD-810H standard, meaning they should happily survive a few knocks and short drops.
These models are also more compact than their predecessors, with the 15-inch variants being 7% smaller, and the 17-inch models shrinking a little further by 8%, according to Asus. Pricing is still to be confirmed.
Gaming desktops
Finally, away from gaming-on-the-go, Asus introduced some new gaming desktop PCs, including the ROG Strix GA35 and GT35 which can be equipped with some serious firepower.
We’re talking about gaming PCs configured with up to a Ryzen 9 3950X in the case of the GA35, which will be available from late April in the UK (with the GT35 to follow later on equipped with 10th-gen Intel Core processors rather than Ryzen).
And for the graphics card, you’ll be able to specify up to a GeForce RTX 2080 Ti, backed with up to 64GB system RAM, and storage of up to a 1TB NVMe PCIe SSD, alongside either a 1TB or 2TB hard disk for extra capacity.
Nifty cooling is provided by a multi-zone chassis which Asus says is optimized for airflow, utilizing its Wind Shear design which includes elements such as widened air vents.
Those high-end models are coming alongside a new ROG Strix GA15 and GT15, which are designed to be compact and portable – so you can easily take them to a LAN party – but still maintain a good level of performance.
The GA15 will offer a choice of AMD’s Ryzen 7 3700X or Ryzen 5 3600X processor, with up to an RTX 2070 Super graphics card, and 16GB system RAM. Storage comes in the form of up to a 512GB NVMe PCIe SSD, alongside either a 1TB or 2TB hard disk.
Despite the relatively compact case – which measures 17.8 x 34.3 x 42.7cm and weighs in at 10kg – Asus promises impressive cooling, with a similar take on the airflow design as seen in the GA/GT35.
Asus says that the GA15 will be available from late February in the UK, and the GT15 will follow with 10th-gen Intel Core processors, just as with the GA/GT35. Again, all these machines are still to have pricing confirmed.
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