Jacob Roach / Digital Trends
There ’s no other laptop quite like the MacBook Pro the right way now .
In particular , I ’m talking about the14 - inch MacBook Pro with the M3 Maxunder the goon . The way this laptop counterbalance performance and portability just has n’t been seen before .
Jacob Roach / Digital Trends
But it ’s induce some serious competition , and it ’s coming from an unexpected place . TheROG Zephyrus G14is a play laptop , yes , but its fresh model this year is the closest matter we have to a MacBook Pro sea wolf .
Design
At first flush , you would n’t think these two laptops share much in terms of design . And it ’s genuine , the ROG Zephyrus G14 looks decidedly more gamer - centric than the MacBook Pro . Whether it ’s the slash of ignition on the chapeau or the font option on the keyboard , there are elements that have retained that gamer deoxyribonucleic acid . liken to other gaming laptops , they ’re incredibly tame . But next to the MacBook Pro , they do brook out .
I ’m not going to affect that someone who ’s flex off by even hints of the play aesthetic is n’t going to notice them on the G14 . They will , and it ’ll belike turn them off . But it ’s about as toned down as I could envisage it being .
And there are some big change in this year ’s redesign of the G14 that inch it toward more of a MacBook - like aesthetic . First of all , it come with an option for a light atomic number 47 build — something that ’s foreign in the world of punt laptop computer . It ’s also now made wholly of atomic number 13 , which is an authoritative career placard for the MacBook Pro .
It also come with an enlarged trackpad , now stretch to nearly the full profundity of the medallion rests . The keyboard is flanked by two speaker grilles , another feature of the MacBook Pro that ’s been port over . The two laptops are also relatively align on ports . Both include HDMI 2.1 and a headphone jack , with a mixing of USB . The G14 includes USB - A and two USB - C , while the MacBook Pro has three USB - C. The one matter miss from the G14 is an SD bill time slot , which the MacBook Pro has . I really would have loved to see the G14 squeeze one in to better tolerate originative professional working directly from cameras .
But the biggest ( and most of import ) similarity is in the sizing . The ROG Zephyrus G14 is 0.64 inches dense and weighs 3.31 pounds , slightly thick and slightly lightsome than the MacBook Pro . It ’s the mostportable play laptopever made that can fully power an RTX 4070 ( or even an RTX 4060 , for that topic ) .
Performance
Apple offers the same micro chip options in both the14 - inch MacBook Pro and 16 - inch MacBook Pro . Astoundingly , even with the M3 Max , the two sizes of laptop computer perform very similarly .
That same system of logic does n’t tend to apply to gambling laptop computer . tumid laptops with the same eyeglasses lean to outperform their diminished counterparts , but the ROG Zephyrus G14 holds up remarkably well . The laptop computer maxes out at an RTX 4070 and a Ryzen 9 8945HS , get it a ostensibly safe catch for the M3 Max . And it is . Kind of .
Obviously , the G14 is a farbetter gaming laptopthan the MacBook Pro , but as test in some head - to - head word benchmarks , there ’s still a bit of a water parting between these two laptop in terms of execution . In Cinebench R24 , the M3 Max MacBook Pro is 26 % quicker in single - core public presentation , 37 % quicker in multi - core group , and 8 % faster in GPU operation . For a more program - base example of this difference , I compared the MacBook Pro and the G14 in PugetBench ’s Adobe Premiere Pro bench mark . Not amazingly , the MacBook Pro grade 31 % high . Shockingly , even the RTX 4090 in the heftyROG Strix 18couldn’t quite gibe the M3 Max in this bench mark , even though the RTX 4090 has much more raw GPU power .
And this is important , because it really comes down to what these laptops are used for . The MacBook Pro is a laptop computer almost alone for creative pros who can make purpose of the power in specific applications . That operation will vary depending on the job and diligence , but the MacBook Pro is certainly the most capable laptop in this regard . Unfortunately , 14 - in Windows laptops sharpen on creators are all determine to an RTX 4050 , such as theDell XPS 14orAcer Swift X 14 .
It ’s grueling to overdraw how incredible it is that the M3 Max can still outdo a laptop with a discrete GPU like the RTX 4070 using just the integrated art of the system of rules on a chip ( SoC ) .
We do n’t have exact data on it , but the G14 would likely be a much close competitor to the M3 Pro . And as you ’ll see , that ’s in reality a closer match in terms of pricing too . But the ROG G14 ’s inability to contend with the top - terminal MacBook Pro means those that need the absolute best performance in video editing , for exemplar , will still witness themselves grow to the MacBook Pro .
The price is right
The ROG Zephyrus G14 is considered a pricey gaming laptop computer , but compared to the MacBook Pro , it ’s a orca pile . The one configuration usable right now costs $ 2,000 , but it ’s configured with 32 GB of RAM , 1 TB of storage , and an RTX 4070 . It should be noted that it comes with the 3.2 K OLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate . While it does n’t get quite as bright as the MacBook Pro , the benefits of organic light-emitting diode in contrast and colouring material truth might even give it an upper hand over Apple ’s mini - precede screen . At the very least , both are killer displays .
Now , we ca n’t get an apple - to - Malus pumila comparison in terms of the CPU and GPU for the MacBook Pro , but the vast chasm in price is pretty obvious .
Even an M3 MacBook Pro with 24 GB of RAM and 1 TB of storage costs $ 2,199 . Or put another fashion , you may spend $ 2,000 on a MacBook Pro and end up with just an M3 Pro , 18 GB of RAM , and 512 GB of storage . The mad way Apple prices memory and memory is really the culprit here .
That price deviation will become even more apparent when there are some cheaper configurations of the ROG Zephyrus G14 available , such as a 16 GB model with an RTX 4060 . This is one of the strongest aspects of the G14 ’s comparison against the MacBook Pro . You ’re saving hundreds and one C of dollars by die with the G14 — or just getting a fortune more for your money . by from all the positives of play , the G14 just supply a ton of note value compared to the MacBook Pro .
The overall value
Of of course , there are some things that factor into the terms that are a bit gruelling to quantify . Take the speakers , for instance . The MacBook Pro has a readiness of speakers on it that just ca n’t be dethroned . In fact , it ’s not even close . barrage fire life is a similar write up , as the MacBook Pro is just on a different level in price of time aside from the outlet . It ’s hardly worth talking about , because no x86 Windows laptop can even come near .
And lastly , the MacBook Pro also has all the benefits of being part of Apple ’s broader ecosystem , which is one of the master reasons people are attracted to it in the first home . The G14 has that same ecosystem reward when it total to personal computer gaming , of course of study , but for multitude who also own an iPhone and iPad , the MacBook Pro complements them well .
But as a MacBook Pro alternative for someone wanting save a few bucks or dumbfound with Windows , the Zephyrus G14 has come out as the most convincing rival . It ca n’t quite vie on the gamey goal , but its handles its own Libra between portability and execution with a lot of gracility , while managing to undercut the MacBook pro in terms by a significant value .
