The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G15 Review
As any tech geek does, I was thinking the other day about my favourite pieces of tech that were released last year that I was lucky enough to get hands-on with, the GoPro Hero 10 came to mind as well as the Nanoleaf lines range, but for gaming laptops, I couldn’t get past the Asus Rog G14 which I felt was the most underated, solid machine in the range with an unbelievable X-factor about it, It was a machine I recommended to several people and they were happy with the result.
Fast forward to now where I’m given the opportunity to review the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G15 model and I’ve got to say I’m impressed with the upgrades and blown away by the style.
The new look in either White or Black is nothing short of stunning. The chassis is complete with a 15.6-inch QHD 240Hz display, a well-designed keyboard layout and a nicely-sized trackpad to get you started.
Spicks and Specs
It’s the shape of this device that will grab your attention, there are no sharp corners, everything is rounded and with the dot matrix design on the lid of the machine and a subtle gleam from the perforations, it says “gamer” confidently rather than screaming it.
The machine for review was spec’d out with a Ryzen 9 690HS CPU, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU, 32GB of RAM (but you can go to 48), and a solid 1 TB SSD which is really the bare minimum hard drive size you want.
Keeping it Cool
Having that type of power under the hood means you need the best technology to keep it cool, and using intelligent cooling does the job well. Liquid Metal is used as well as a self-cleaning thermal module to clear dust while the “Arc Flow fans provide airflow. As with most ASUS laptops, these days the ergonomic lift of the machine when you open the lid allows airflow underneath. It all sounds very impressive and in reality, it is, but the most impressive thing is probably not how cool it keeps it but more how cool it keeps it while remaining so quiet.
In Action with Spider-Man Remastered
I played Marvel’s Spider-man Remastered for a few hours using the keyboard layout and although the control system was difficult to manage, it wasn’t down to the keyboard layout that has excellent placement and spacing to accommodate gaming and productivity. TIP for this game though, grab a dual sense controller to really take advantage of the play.
Graphically it performed perfectly and the sound was like sitting in a cinema.
Making a Connection
Connecting your accessories is really simple with the Zephyrus G15 which has used the space along the sides to good effect. There’s USB-C with Display port 1.4 and Power Delivery 3.0, HDMI 2.0b allowing you to connect to an external screen or projector seamlessly, 2 USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A slots, RJ45, 3.5 mm Audio Jack and my favourite inclusion, the MicroSD (UHS-II). As a content creator on the go, having the SD reader built into the machine like this is a massive time saver.
Hands Down the G15 is The Best Sounding Laptop
This could be the best sound I’ve heard on a laptop. Six speakers power the Dolby Atmo technology with twin front-facing tweeters and pairs of force-cancelling woofers under the palm rests. From the moment you turn on the machine and get blasted by the sound accompanying the ROG logo you know you are dealing with Audio excellence.
I’m a big fan of using headphones while playing on a laptop, but I rarely went to them as the sound was so good. What I did find though was that my headphones even sounded better, and that just didn’t make sense until I did a bit of research into the Smart headset Amp build into the G15 that somehow improves clarity using automatic detection of the impedance of devices plugged in and enhancing them.
There’s even thought gone into the microphone which is kind of unheard of. The updated inputs add two-way noise cancelling and provide an extremely clear sound. But for the first time I’ve noticed in a machine like this, you can choose the 3D Mic Array depending on your sound needs. There are three choices of Cardioid Mode, Stereo mode and Omnidirectional Mode giving you more power over your productivity from recording conference calls, live stream gaming or recording music.
Blurred Lines
Although the sound of the device is next level the video is not. The webcam is still only a 720p. I am glad that this machine packs one as so many don’t these days, but I think it’s time to step it up as it has in so many other areas. They say people will forgive your live stream video if your audio is great, but I don’t see why we can’t have both. I assume the plan is to entice you to buy the recommended accessory, the ROG GC21 1080p 60fps cam.
Most Underrated Feature
I spend a lot of time with ASUS products and I genuinely feel a feature that doesn’t get enough credit is the in-built control system called “Armoury Crate”. Its “Iron-Man” ascetic aside, the power and control that this software gives you over your machine to manipulate it for various tasks and lighting (without breaking it mind you) is outstanding. I’d highly recommend that if you are new to the gaming laptop experience you take the time to truly understand this software as it really makes a difference.
Now they’ve introduced an App for Android or IOS that you can use to access your Armoury Crate without messing with your game, very cool.
Battery life is a funny metric to judge as I would never ever recommend gaming on battery, But as the Zephyrus G15 uses an AMD processor, and a 90Wh battery it’s actually really impressive, in some cases it’s almost double other machines with around 8 hours of actual use. Plus they’ve included Fast Charging. But seriously, if you are gaming, plug it in.
Final Thoughts
The Asus Zephrus G15 is an impressive successor to last year’s G14 and although it’s not perfect, I’m yet to find a device that is. Thanks to the outstanding sound, impressive visuals and stunning design, it’s undoubtedly my favourite machine of 2022 and the number one recommendation for PC gamers who also need productivity.
ASUS was kind enough to loan me a ROG Zephyrus G15 for a couple of weeks for review purposes.
