VS
Smaller gaming laptops are a rare breed for consumers lately. Their sleek and light-weight design can have consumers believe that they are lacking the power of a traditional gaming laptop. For the past few years, the ASUS G14 was one of the most powerful 14-inch gaming laptops. Recently, the Razer Blade 14 just stepped into the competition just a few weeks ago. Today we look at both laptops and answer the obvious: which should you buy?
Design
The ASUS G14 is a lightweight, slim and portable laptop. For a gaming laptop, it is surprising to see such gaming prowess shoved into this 14-inch chassis. Weighing at 3.5 pounds and measuring 12.8 x 8.7 x 0.7 inches, the G14 is close to being the smallest gaming laptop on the market.
On the other hand, Razer has always been known for creating sleek laptops. The Razer Blade 14 comes in a solid aluminum chassis and weighs 3.92 pounds, making it a little heavier than the Asus 14. It measures in at 12.6 x 8.7 x 0.66 inches, making it just a few hundredths of an inch thinner than the ASUS G14.
The G14 and the Razer 14 have parallel ports. The G14 has two USB-A PORTS, 2 USB-C PORT, two power delivery DisplayPort 1.4, an HDMI 2.0b port, a kessignton lock, and a 3.5mm audio jack. The Razer 14 has two USB-A PORTS, 2 USB-C PORT, power delivery DisplayPort 1.4, an HDMI 2.1 port, Kensington lock, and a 3.5mm audio jack.
Round Overview: Design
- ASUS is the lighter weight
- Razer’s aluminum chassis makes it feel sturdy
- Razer is barely thinner than the ASUS model
- Each have identical ports
- Winner: Razer 14
Display
The G14 comes in a 14-inch 1080p 120Hz display and only offers its 1440p WQHD. Although a higher resolution panel would have been better, this laptop comes with a refresh rate of 60Hz. The Razer 14 comes in both a QHD, 165Hz screen or a HD 144Hz screen. It has an efficient GPU and CPU, which makes for a superfast refresh rate.
The G14 has an anti-reflection coating, making it easy to use in the sun. However, the Razer 14 does not come with an anti-reflective coating. They both have an LED-backlit display.
Round Overview: Display
- ASUS G14 has less reach with its limiting 1440p WQHD.
- ASUS G14 does have a fast refresh rate
- Razer 14 has massive range with QHD, 165 Hz screen or a HD 144Hz screen
- Razer’s GPU and CPU makes for a lightning refresh rate
- Anit-reflection of ASUS but not for Razer
- Winner: Razer (very close call)
Keyboard and Touchpad
The G14 has an easily spaced keyboard with a tiled QWERTY layout. It has fast keyboard travel and is highly responsive to touch. The 4.1 x 2.4-inch glassy touchpad comes with a smooth surface with good clicks. Its multi-touch gesture is soft, and its two-finger precision is flawless.
The Razer 14 has a cramped keyboard, which can make it hard to type on or play games. It has shallower travel and spongier keys. The 11.1 x 7.6 touchpad compensates for it. It is only a few inches from the spacebar, so thumbs cannot mistakenly rest on it, preventing mis-clicks and typos.
Round Overview: Keyboard and Touchpad
The ASUS G14 is a class act
- Tiled QWERTY layout
- Responsive to the touch
- Smooth touchpad w/good clicks
- Soft to the touch and precise
The Razer 14 is a scrapper
- Cramped keys
- Shallow travel with spongy keys
- Yet, great spacing
- Touchpad has great distance from the spacebar
- Winner: ASUS 14
Performance
When it comes to performance, the Razer 14 outshines the G14. This could be because despite being a solid laptop, the G14 is an older model. At 1080p, the Razer 14 gives at least 60fps.
Due to the 16GB memory and AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS processor, the G14 makes an excellent performance laptop. It runs well for multimedia playback or gaming. When tested on the web browser and many tabs opened at once, the system did not hang or slow down.
When you put gaming into consideration, the Razer Blade 14 shines again since it can be configured with the 100W RTX 3080, unlike the G14 that is limited to 80W GeForce RTX 3080.
Round Overview: Performance
Razer 14 gives the heavy blows
-
- 1080p at 60 fps
- 100W RTX 3080
- Great for gaming
ASUS G14 is no slouch
-
- AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS
- No hang or slow down web browsing
- Great performance
- Winner: Razer 14
Battery
The battery life for both laptops is not exactly impressive; this could be due to their weight or build. The battery life of the Razer 14 lasts for a little over an hour during gaming. Still, during tests for web browsing, it went as far as 6 hours and a little over 3 hours for multimedia playback. You want to plug the Razer 14 whatever chance you get if you have plans of using the laptop for a long time.
The G14 shines bright in performance and gaming speed, but the battery life is below par, albeit better than the Razer 14. When you are not charging it, the G14 still can last more than a few hours more than the Razer 14. Making it a well rounded machine for productivity.
Round Overview: Battery
- Both lack what it takes to go the distance
- Razer 14: 1 hour+ while gaming
- 6 hours while web browsing
- 3 hours multimedia playback
- ASUS G14: lasts longer than Razer 14
- Can go longer without being connected
- Spreads battery life well
- Winner: Split
- Razer 14: 1 hour+ while gaming
Final Verdict
You can’t go really wrong with either one. And if you do, you can sell laptop that you don’t like to us for cash and use it to buy your dream machine.
The Razer 14 and the G14 almost have the same features. They are both 14-inches gaming laptops, although the G14 looks lighter and the Razer is thinner. For gaming purposes, most people will want to consider the Razer 14 because of its smooth and fast performance. The Razer 14 have a better design too, this could be because it just came out, unlike the G14 that has been around for almost two years. The Razer is more expensive than the G14, but the G14 speakers are to die for. Despite the high-performance level of the Razer Blade 14, it runs on a very cool engine. The reviews show that the Razer Blade 14 is better in terms of performance, temperature, and size. But in terms of battery, weight and keypad feedback, the ASUS G14 is better.
