The announcement for this super-powered ultrabook came with a superfluous laden press release. So let us skim the fat, enjoy the stock, and get to the meat of it.

ROG Zephyrus G14 series is a 14” gaming notebook with an AMD processor, an NVIDIA graphics card and a promise that it will play games really well. The cool thing about it is that it looks like an ultrabook and not like a hunk of extraterrestrial pride tech.

There are eight variants including two colours (grey and white). All of them are set to launch between August and September. Prices range from RM4,499 (one model) to RM,7,699 (four models) depending on the type of processor and graphics processor you pick.

The selection of chips ranges from the AMD Ryzen 5 4600HS processor to the AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS processor, and from the NVIDIA GeForce GTX1650 to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q.

There is also an option between an HD high refresh rate display (120Hz) or a WQHD display with a standard refresh rate (60Hz). Storage comes in 1TB or 512GB (SSD) and memory comes in 16Gb and 8GB.

ASUS, the folks who make the ROG stuff, claims that the notebook has a battery life of more than 10 hours. That claim needs to be put to the test. 

Except for that RM4,499 model, all ROG Zephyrus G14 notebooks in Malaysia will have the AniMe Matrix LED on its cover. It’s an array of 1,215 mini (white) LEDs that cover a little over half of the top cover (divided diagonally) that can be configured (with multiple levels of brightness) to show images and stuff. Because gamers have to flex I guess. But no rainbow here.

In fact, there are no RGB rainbows anywhere, not even the fast response keyboard. It is backlit, but only with white LEDs. So how is a gamer to show their pride? There is a fingerprint reader though.

How well does the notebook handle all that heat is another thing that has to be tested. All the jargon about the direction of the vents, the size of the heat sink, and the number of fan blades it has aside. This machine will cook when pushed and throttle when heated. To what extent, that is the test. 

The nice part is that the whole thing is made of metal: aluminium and aluminium-magnesium alloy. They conduct heat, which is good and also why they call this a notebook and not a laptop.

Oh, and it also does that lift up thing when you open the notebook cover. To be fair, a lot of notebooks do it. In this case, it will not only help with the cooling but also the four Dolby Atmos compatible speakers.

Before I forget, the ROG Zephyrus G14 series comes with a two-year warranty. I would prefer three with on-site service.

That said I can’t deny the attractiveness of a gaming ultrabook, and not just for gaming either. And the ROG Zephyrus G14 looks good. I bet some creatives would find this pretty sweet too. Again, I would spend a little extra on that warranty. I hope there are options for that.