Monday, January 6, 2020

ASUS ROG Announces the Zephyrus G14 and the Zephyrus G15 for Powerful, Ultra-Portable Gaming


ASUS ROG Announces the Zephyrus G14 and the Zephyrus G15 for Powerful, Ultra-Portable Gaming

With an ultra-slim form factor, the Zephyrus G14 and G15 bring premium innovations and gaming-friendly features to a wider audience
LAS VEGAS, January 6, 2020 ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) today announced the new Zephyrus G14 and Zephyrus G15 gaming notebooks, bringing unprecedented power to an ultra-slim form factor for portable gaming and content creation.

Ultra-slim gaming laptops usually come with a premium price due to how difficult it is to get good performance and cooling in a sub-20mm chassis. ROG has worked hard to make the category more accessible, especially to students, freelancers, and creators who need powerful laptops they can carry everywhere. The latest examples debut at CES 2020 in the new Zephyrus G14 and G15, which wrap powerful processors in a compact chassis portable enough to go anywhere at a price that brings gaming and creation capabilities to an even wider audience.
“ASUS continues to drive innovation on Windows 10 with their latest ultra-slim laptops,” said Nicole Dezen, VP Device Partner Sales, Microsoft. “The Zephyrus G14 and G15 provide exceptional gaming and content creation experiences without compromising power or portability, and now at price points that will make them even more affordable for students, freelancers and creators.”

Despite a chassis only 17.9mm thin, the Zephyrus G14 has carefully customized cooling that brings out the best of its new AMD Ryzen™ 4000 Series Mobile Processors built on the groundbreaking “Zen 2” core architecture combined with industry leading 7nm process technology and up to an NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 2060 GPU with more than 10 hours of battery life charged by compatible Type-C power packs. Users can optimize for gaming or creative pursuits with a choice between high refresh and high resolution displays, both with Pantone® Validated colors and adaptive sync technology. Subtle styling in Moonlight White or Eclipse Gray is clean and professional, while the all-new, optional AniMe Matrix™ LED display deepens personalization, enabling users to show custom graphics, animations, and other effects across over a thousand mini LEDs embedded in the lid.

The powerfully versatile new Zephyrus G15 introduced at CES 2020 refreshes the best features of the previous generation Zephyrus GA502 and make them even better, putting premium features like an ultra-slim form factor at 19.9mm thin and weighing just 2.1kg, a 240Hz IPS-level gaming panel with Pantone Validation and compatibility with adaptive sync technology, Wi-Fi 6 connectivity, and the latest powerful processors in a package more affordable to a wide variety of gamers.

Small size with big impact in the Zephyrus G14 and G15

Packed into a much smaller footprint than other gaming laptop alternatives, the Zephyrus G14 is only 17.9mm thin and 1.6kg in models without the custom LED AniMe Matrix. The magnesium-aluminum alloy deck is precisely machined and finished for a professional polish that’s fingerprint-resistant, and its high durability and low weight make aluminum an ideal material for the lid, with a distinctive dot matrix design.

The ROG splash across the lid comes to life with the AniMe Matrix display available on select models. This display uses 1,215 mini LEDs that emit a white glow with 256 levels of brightness control to give gamers a new medium to express their individuality. Users can import animated GIFs and other graphics, build custom animations frame by frame, and type text messages with different fonts. Visualizations react to music and other audio, creating a unique platform for DJs and other artists. ROG engineers were also careful to balance the number of mini LEDs to minimize heat, controller hardware, and power requirements.

With the G14’s support for USB Power Delivery, it can handle lighter work powered by up to a 65W Type-C adapter that’s much smaller than the 180W unit required to unleash the discrete GPU. If the battery runs low, Type-C charging allows users to extend their life to keep users gaming. USB power flows in the reverse direction as well, with fast-charging support capable of supplying up to 3A to compatible smartphones and other devices.

The Zephyrus G15 also maintains its portability at only 19.9mm thin and 2.1kg, and its super-narrow bezels frame the 15-inch display on three sides, squeezing it into a 14-inch footprint. To keep it looking professional, the G15 forgoes RGB lighting for tasteful white backlighting.

Type-C charging extends the G15’s working time on the go. Support for USB Power Delivery and USB power packs like the ASUS ZenPower Pro PD give users more time to finish up work anywhere. For lighter tasks that don’t engage the discrete GPU, the laptop can also be run off smaller Type-C adapters up to 65W.

Both the G14 and G15 have superfast Wi-Fi 6 (Gig+) connectivity. When paired with a compatible router, Wi-Fi 6 (Gig+) boosts peak interface bandwidth up to 2.4Gbps and improves efficiency for busy networks. Lower latency leads to less lag for sensitive activities like online gaming, and expanded upstream capacity provides more bandwidth for live-streaming.

Immersive gaming visuals with top-notch GeForce RTX graphics

The Zephyrus G14 and G15 comes with up to a GeForce RTX 2060 augmented by ROG Boost up to 1298MHz at 65W. The discrete GPU is based on the latest NVIDIA Turing architecture, which melds dedicated cores for programmable shading, real-time ray tracing, and artificial intelligence. This combination enables improved lighting, shadows, and other in-game effects, and it also offers a diverse array of compute resources for accelerating demanding workloads like content creation, 3D modeling, and deep learning.

Turing’s dedicated video encoder is largely responsible for the G14’s ability to game and stream simultaneously. The specialized hardware allows higher stream quality with minimal performance impact, and it’s compatible with Open Broadcaster Software (OBS), a popular capture tool among burgeoning creators and aspiring Twitch streamers.

Nonstop speed with the latest AMD processors

For the Zephyrus G14, ROG and AMD teamed up again to create an exclusive series tuned specifically for the smaller chassis. The Zephyrus G14 uses a special CPU that generates less heat, enabling an unprecedented level of performance for such a compact chassis. The chips retain up to 8 cores and 16 threads to blast through demanding workloads, but are tuned to make thermals more manageable. There’s still ample power for demanding applications like video editing and 3D rendering, and for heavy multitasking like mixing gaming with streaming, recording and chats.

On the Zephyrus G15, an all-new AMD® Ryzen™ 7 4800HS mobile APU doubles the core count of the previous generation. With 8 cores and 16 threads based on the latest Zen 2 architecture alongside 7nm fabrication technology, it muscles through heavy multitasking, content creation, and other demanding work.

Both the G14 and G15 CPUs pair with up to 32GB of fast DDR4-3200 RAM divided between dual channels, enabling gamers to easily switch between tasks with enough headroom for bigger projects. Up to 1TB of superfast NVMe SSD storage offers ample space for a game library, personal portfolio, and media collection.

Stunning displays for high refresh, high resolution

The Zephyrus G14 offers a choice between two premium panels tailored for different needs. Users can select a faster Full HD display that goes up to 120Hz (doubling the speed of typical laptop displays for smoother, high-intensity action) or opt for a higher WQHD resolution.

Adaptive sync technology adds another level of smoothness by coordinating frame delivery between the GPU and display to eliminate visual tearing that can ruin immersion, and also minimize stuttering and input lag. Although adaptive sync technology has existed for years, it gains greater functionality with new AMD Ryzen™ 4000 Series Mobile Processors. Their integrated Radeon™ graphics allow adaptive sync variable refresh-rate technology to work with adaptive sync technology-enabled monitors and adaptive sync enabled devices.

Adaptive sync technology support extends to the WQHD display, and it can be even more effective at the lower FPS associated with the higher resolution. Thanks to smaller dimensions, the WQHD panel has a higher pixel density than typical 4K desktop monitors. Even the Full HD panel matches the PPI of a 28-inch Ultra HD display.

The Zephyrus G15 is available with refresh rates up to 240Hz—four times the output of standard screens. The panel’s 3ms gray-to-gray response time makes the picture especially sharp at speed, for lining up targets in a fast-paced shooter or scrolling through web pages, and adaptive sync technology makes the experience even smoother

The displays on the Zephyrus G14 and G15 are both factory calibrated and Pantone Validated for superb color accuracy. The IPS-level panels have wide viewing angles and cover 100% of the sRGB range and are framed by super-narrow bezels that create an expansive 85% screen-to-body ratio on the G14 and 81% screen-to-body ratio on the G15 respectively.

One-of-a-kind cooling design

The Zephyrus G14 is the first ROG laptop to feature an ErgoLift hinge that tilts the keyboard at a more comfortable angle – the bottom of the display lifts the back of the machine when the lid is opened, giving the vents in the base more room to breathe.

Self-cleaning cooling on the G14 helps to avoid accumulation of dust and other particles that can compromise performance and stability over time by using anti-dust tunnels to catch particles and direct them out the back of the chassis. Even the n-Blade fans are tweaked to optimize acoustics in the super small chassis.

On the Zephyrus G15, ROG’s Intelligent Cooling philosophy allows the G15 to get more from its silicon with a strategic blend of hardware and software that optimizes and maintains performance and acoustics with a self-cleaning thermal module and anti-dust tunnels. The G15 has the highest-density fan in our arsenal, and it improves airflow by up to 17% over previous generations.

Fan speeds on the Zephyrus G14 and G15 are controlled by an intelligent algorithm that responds automatically to temperature changes. Different tasks require varying levels of performance and cooling, so the G14 and G15 also use operating modes to adapt to those needs. Users can switch between modes on demand with a convenient keyboard shortcut, or let ROG Armoury Crate software change automatically with Scenario Profiles that can be customized to associate games and applications with specific modes and other system settings.

Flexible options on the go

For both the Zephyrus G14 and G15, a Type-C port with USB Power Delivery is also capable of driving an external monitor via DisplayPort 1.4. The HDMI 2.0b port makes it easy to game or watch movies on 4K monitors and TVs. There’s plenty of connectivity for external devices through a Type-C port focused on USB functionality, plus two Type-A ports for the G14 and three Type-A USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports for the G15 allow anyone to create the perfect gaming battlestation – no dongles needed.

Key switches with ROG Overstroke technology on the G14 and G15 actuate earlier in the stroke for quicker, more responsive input, while N-key rollover ensures that every press registers, even when entering multiple keys at once. Spaced keys mimic desktop layouts to let users fire off function commands more intuitively, and access essentials like volume and mic mute instantly with dedicated hotkeys.

The Zephyrus G14 is also the first ROG laptop to integrate fingerprint login into the power button.

Experience Dolby Atmos Immersive Audio

A leap forward from surround sound, Dolby Atmos brings moving audio that flows above and around you with crisper voice and greater depth to a wide range of audio experiences, and it can even provide a competitive advantage for gamers[1]. In the Zephyrus G14, Dolby Atmos enhances spatial immersion by delivering a breakthrough audio experience with sound that moves all around you in three-dimensional space whether listening via headphones or built-in speakers.

Dolby Atmos also creates breathtaking realism with optimized sound for greater detail and maximized loudness without distortion from the G14’s integrated speakers. A quad-speaker setup delivers perfectly balanced audio across the spectrum. With these technologies, users can pump up the volume on movies, music, and games without losing clarity or detail.

The Zephyrus G15 pumps sound through two front-firing speakers powered by Smart Amp technology that keeps them within thermal and excursion limits, so users can turn the volume up higher without distorting the output or damaging the cones. Hi-Res Audio certification ensures a richer acoustic experience for audiences that appreciate higher fidelity. Headphone experiences are made more immersive with 7.1-channel virtual surround sound powered by Sonic Studio III software.
 
[1] According to a recent study conducted by Dolby, players react more quickly on average with Dolby Atmos as compared to other audio solutions.


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