The dream of a laptop without compromises has been just that for decades. Power, portability, and an affordable price are a trifecta that didn’t really exist until now. The Asus Zephyrus G14 is, on paper at least, an exceptional machine by any standard. I put it through its paces to find out if this Windows laptop is too good to be true.

The Asus Zephyrus G14 is remarkably understated as gaming products go, aside from the sci-fi keyboard font and a few flashy design elements. There’s no RGB or glowing red LEDs, but if you opt for the more expensive model the back of the screen does feature a programmable LED dot display. It’s thin and light, and incredibly portable considering all the power packed inside. Its 14-inch size is a great middle ground between portability and usability.

The Zephyrus G14 has a generous selection of ports for a laptop of this size. You get two USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A ports and two USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C ports, one of which supports DisplayPort 1.4 with power delivery. There’s an HDMI 2.0b port, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a Kensington lock. There’s no built-in SD card reader, however, which may be a problem for photographers looking to use this laptop as an editing tool.

The keyboard features the aforementioned sci-fi font, which I found occasionally confusing but not overly annoying, and the geeky gamer in me secretly loves the style. The keyboard feels spacious and the white backlit keys are quiet with excellent tactile feedback for fast, accurate typing. I had no trouble writing this review on the G14, and the trackpad was remarkably usable. I still prefer the keyboard and trackpad on my Dell XPS 15, but that’s a high bar to meet, and the G14 is easily the second-best Windows laptop I’ve used for typing and navigation.