The best ROG gaming laptops for college students in 2022

High school is over, and it's time to gear up for college next fall. You’re a proud PC gamer, and you need to make sure that your next laptop has the horsepower to make your friends envious while also handling the boring stuff, like getting a degree. ROG has a wide range of high-powered machines to suit a wide variety of gamers, no matter your taste or choice of major. Let’s dive in and explore which of these laptops is the right fit for you or your graduate. 

For the commuter: Go lightweight and stealthy with the Zephyrus G14 

Not everyone lives on campus. If you’re frequently walking, riding a bike, or using public transit to get to class, you want something light and ultra-portable that you'll barely feel in your backpack. The ROG Zephyrus G14 is a great choice for the discerning gamer who wants to avoid herniated discs. Weighing in at just 3.8lbs, this 14-inch laptop can easily be slipped into a medium sized backpack, while leaving both room and weight capacity for the rest of your textbooks and daily essentials.  

The curb appeal of the machine is another critically important consideration. In the coffee shop, library, or packed lecture hall, flashy RGB lighting and bold styling might draw more attention than you’d like, so we carefully designed the chassis of the G14 to fit in anywhere. Whether you prefer the stylish Moonlight White or classic Eclipse Gray, the G14 radiates a premium and refined feeling. If you do want to flash some of your gamer credentials when in a more relaxed setting, the AniMe Matrix version of the G14 sports an integrated LED panel on the laptop’s lid that can be customized with status messages, animations, or messages. When you need to fly under the radar, this can be completely disabled for a stealthy look. The only limit is your creativity. 

Sometimes study halls and libraries get stuffy, and it’s good to get outside for a change of scenery. The Zephyrus G14 is the perfect companion for a visit to the park Its gorgeous and vibrant 1440p display with 500 nits of peak brightness ensures your screen never gets washed out in the sunlight. Take a stress-free break with confidence, knowing that the 76 watt-hour battery and USB-C charging support has the power to keep you topped up all day, even when miles away from a wall outlet.  

But what about when the paper is written, the school day is over, and you’re ready to relax for some games with your friends? The Zephyrus G14 is more than capable, thanks to the 120Hz refresh rate display, powerful AMD CPU and GPU, and impressive cooling solution. Despite its svelte and stylish design, the G14 is a true blue gaming machine, and you can easily keep up with your friends no matter how hot the battlefield. 

If you like the look of the G14 but want a slightly bigger screen or a bit more power, look at its larger sibling, the Zephyrus G15. Still thin and light as ever, the G15 adds a bit of extra screen real estate, perfect for research papers and games alike—while offering up to a GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU for more performance in both competition and content creation. 

	ROG Zephyrus G14	ROG Zephyrus G15
Where to buy (US)	Best Buy	Best Buy

For the creator: Take advantage of a large display and rendering horsepower with the Zephyrus M16 

Not that long ago, a creator’s best friend was a powerful desktop system. But things have changed. For aspiring digital artists, photographers and videographers in 2022, the ROG Zephyrus M16 is the ideal portable creation machine. Featuring a gorgeous 16-inch display and an extra tall 16:10 aspect ratio, the M16 has plenty of real estate to keep all of your current projects in view. With a similar chassis design to the smaller G14, the M16’s Prismatic Film looks stylish and refined across the lid, whether you're in a lecture hall or at a LAN party.  

The standout feature of the M16 is truly on the other side of the lid, however. The M16's Nebula Display is one of the best laptop panels around, with specs that professional creators look for on their own machines. Color correct your photo or video projects with confidence thanks to 100% DCI-P3 color space coverage. When your projects are finished, immerse yourself in your favorite games or video content with a nearly rimless 94% screen-to-body ratio. And it's all packed into a sleek laptop that weighs less than 4.5 pounds. 

Today’s professional production software shines when paired with powerful components, and long render times can sometimes make the difference between hitting your deadline or not. You’ll never need to apologize to your professor for a late assignment when using the M16, thanks to the flagship performance on tap from the Intel Core i-9 12900H and NVIDIA RTX 3080 Ti. This hardware also shines on the weekend, helping to drive plenty of frames to the 1440p 165Hz display. No matter what AAA or esports game your friends are all playing this weekend, the M16 is more than up to the task. 

If the M16 sounds great but you need even more screen real estate, consider the Zephyrus Duo 16. This model adds a built-in second screen with full touchscreen support, opening up tons of new productivity and streaming possibilities without requiring any additional monitors or software hassle. Packed to the brim with high performance components, the Duo 16 also features our incredible Mini LED-powered Nebula HDR Display, giving you access to HDR content and game experiences that simply aren’t possible on other laptops. 

	ROG Zephyrus M16	ROG Zephyrus Duo 16
Where to buy (US)	Best Buy ASUS	Newegg B&H Photo

For the hardcore gamer: Push performance and refresh rates to the max with the Strix SCAR 15 

Picture this: you have free time on the weekend, and all of your homework is done (or being put off another week). If your first thought on how to spend your break is to boot up Discord, connect with your friends, and spend the evening curbstomping noobs in Call of Duty: Warzone, the ROG Strix SCAR 15 is the laptop for you. 

This machine features bold ROG styling, including a Customizable Armor Cap and RGB lighting on all four sides of the machine. If you need to be more stealthy when in the lecture hall or cafe, you can easily black out the laptop with the touch of a button. With a profile that slips into most medium sized bags and backpacks, the SCAR 15 weighs just over 5 pounds, ensuring you can easily bring it around campus. While the SCAR 15 is a competent notetaker with a long 2mm key travel and an extra large trackpad, this machine really comes into its own when you’re done for the day, and need to unwind with a bit of AAA gaming or esports action. 

Featuring up to either a Full HD 300Hz or QHD 240Hz panel, the SCAR 15 was purpose built to give you every competitive advantage in your games. Seeing your opponents before they see you certainly helps, and the Intel Core i9-12900H CPU and up to an NVIDIA RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU ensure that the SCAR 15 is always drawing enough frames to give you a leg up on the competition. With up to 64GB of DDR5 4800MHz RAM and dual M.2 slots, both of which are accessible and upgradeable, the SCAR 15 has specifications that would make even the most diehard desktop PC gamer envious, all in a portable form factor. Just because you can take the SCAR wherever you go doesn’t mean you need to sacrifice any of the performance you would expect from a full desktop battlestation. 

If you’re a more budget conscious gamer, consider the Strix G15 instead. The SCAR's stylish sibling tends to be slightly less powerful and customizable, but not by much. Depending on the model you choose, the price point can be much more attractive, saving you money to spend on peripherals like a high quality mouse, keyboard, or external monitor. 

	ROG Strix SCAR 15
Where to buy (US)	Newegg Amazon Best Buy B&H Photo

For those who accept no compromise: Go ultraportable and ultrapowerful with the Flow Z13 

Sometimes life takes you places you don't expect. For those who are always on the move, smaller, thinner and lighter devices make carrying your tech around all day a breeze. With most devices, if you make the form factor smaller, you’re sacrificing battery life and raw horsepower. ROG's Flow series throws that compromise out the window. 

Weighing in at just over 2.5 pounds and nearly the same size as a sheet of paper, The ROG Flow Z13 tablet will easily fit into any of your bags that can accommodate a standard notebook for lectures. When being used to take notes, the screen protector pulls double duty as a foldout keyboard, and keeps the overall footprint of the machine easy to fit on even the smallest desks and workspaces. The 13-inch touchscreen is protected with Gorilla Glass, ensuring the machine is protected from everyday wear and tear. For the artists among us, the screen is also fully compatible with Wacom devices and pens, making it easier than ever for your digital art to come to life.  

What sets this tablet apart from its underpowered competition is the sheer performance we’ve packed under the hood. In this tiny 13-inch machine, we’ve managed to fit an Intel Core i9-12900H processor—an ultra high performance mobile CPU that can boost up to 5.0GHz—and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Laptop GPU, capable of playing the latest games and rendering your content projects. Backed up by LPDDR5 RAM clocked to an insanely fast 5200MHz, you'd be hard-pressed to find a machine this compact that competes on power. 

But if an RTX 3050 Ti isn’t enough horsepower for you, the Z13 has one last ace up its sleeve: full compatibility with the XG Mobile ecosystem. These svelte external GPUs pack up to an NVIDIA RTX 3080 Laptop GPU or Radeon RX 6850M XT, bumping the raw graphics power of the system up significantly. By utilizing a unique PCIe x8 connection to the Flow Z13, the XG mobile can also serve as a power supply and I/O hub for all of your peripherals and devices, including HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4, an ethernet port, 4x USB 3.2 ports, and an SD card reader. When you’re back in the dorm room, with a single connector your Flow Z13 transforms into the heart of a mighty desktop gaming and content creation system. The Flow Z13 makes no compromises, and neither should you. 

Perhaps the idea of the Flow Z13 appeals to you, but you aren’t sold on the idea of using a tablet as your primary computer. The ROG Flow X13 has all of the same portability and versatility, thanks to its full compatibility with the XG Mobile ecosystem, but in a transforming 13-inch clamshell design. Thanks to its 360° hinge, this more traditional laptop can be used in tablet mode when needed, but it retains the traditional typing and trackpad experience you would expect from an ultraportable notebook. 

	ROG Flow Z13	ROG Flow X13
Where to buy (US)	Newegg Amazon B&H Photo ASUS	Best Buy EXcaliberPC

Welcome to the Republic 

No matter which university or major you choose, ROG has the right gaming laptop for you. Whether you prioritize screen size, portability, or power, we have a machine that can fit your campus lifestyle. Just don’t forget to keep up with your dailies.