ROG Flow Z13 Review: A Tablet Laptop For An AAA Gaming Experience

The ROG Flow Z13 is the company’s latest hybrid laptop, an iPad-esque tablet which a detachable keyboard that can be used like a small laptop. In the past, these kinds of laptops were known for their great portability and accessibility when it came to aspects like work or drawing thanks to the touchscreen however they weren’t exactly known for gaming.

It’s clear however that ROG is hoping to change that with the latest gaming hybrid laptops, including the Flow Z13 which is able to bring in high-end standard PC gaming to a light and portable system that can easily fit in a small bag and be played on a train. For those that wish to game during a busy lifestyle, the Z13 may work wonders.

Design

With a design inspired by the 20th-century Space Race, the ROG Flow Z13 has numerous nods to retro-futurism. The chassis is covered with spacecraft-inspired machining, carved right into the high-density aluminum alloy itself. It even comes with a premium anti-fingerprint coating that repels and reduces the appearance of fingerprints, making cleaning the surface a breeze.

In addition, the laptop retains that cool glass space window that allows gamers to not only see the parts of the tablet directly but also the RGB lighting effects.

The built-in kickstand can be opened up to 170 degrees which is a good range, allowing for optimal viewing angles to see the screen, no matter where you use the tablet. There’s also no sacrifice on portability, at only 1.1 kg and only 12mm thick, you can carry the Z13 around easily.

I/O Ports

Because the device is essentially a tablet, there are only a few important I/O ports. The left side of the tablet has a Thunderbolt 4 support DisplayPort/ power delivery, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, and a ROG XG Mobile Interface. The right side has a power button, volume buttons, USB 3.2 Type-A, and a 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack. The speakers are on the lower left and right sides of the tablet.

One standout feature is that the FLOW Z13 didn’t compromise the Audio experience. The device comes with 2 Smart Amp speakers on both sides of the screen (1 on each side), assuring the audio volume won’t become a minus when enjoying games/entertainment. Dolby Atmos and Hi-res audio technology provides a clearer and more immersive audio experience.

If you look closely, you will also find that there are some hidden ports under the kickstand. The bottom right corner is for you to extend your storage. On the left side, you’ll find a slot for a Mirco SD card, which allows you to store or transfer your work or videos pretty easily, much like a more traditional laptop. 

Screen and Camera

The ROG Flow Z13 comes with a 13.4-inch 165Hz Nebula touchscreen screen that is PANTONE Colour Accuracy Certified. This allows users to see more vibrant and accurate colors. Moreover, the screen is capable of outputting 2560 x 1600 QHD+ resolution in a 16:10 ratio, which enables gamers to see every detail while playing games. The screen can be as bright as 500nits and is made with special anti-glare Gorilla Glass DXC, making it easy to use both indoors and outdoors.

The machine has dual cameras. Video chat with friends and family using the 3DNR+IR 5M front-facing camera (support up to 1080P 30FPS video quality) or take high-quality photos with the rear-facing 13-megapixel camera (shooting films up to 2160p 30fps quality). 

For the microphone, the Hi SNR 3 array mic next to the webcam captures your sound easily, while AI-noise cancellation does well to keep your voice crisp and clear even in noisier environments.

Keyboard and Pen

The ASUS PEN 2.0 magnetic stylus that comes with this tablet is very convenient for drawing and designing, feeling comfortable to hold and natural to use.

There is a POGO Pin connector on the bottom of the tablet that allows you to link the ASUS Flow magnetic keyboard. The keys are fitted with RGB lighting that lets you adjust the color scheme and although it is an external keyboard, it feels like a mechanical keyboard, making it very comfortable to use.

Like with other tablet laptops, the keyboard is not just an ordinary keyboard, but also a protective case that will automatically put the device into sleep mode. The only downside to the keyboard is that the back of the tech uses a fabric-like material, meaning that it is more susceptible to getting dirty and will be harder to clean. 

The keyboard of this tablet does not contain numeric keys, and the arrangement is not too different from the general laptop keyboard, so players should be able to quickly adapt to it. I personally think that the distance between the keys is just right and well comfortable to use although those with bigger hands may find it a little bit on the small side.

Battery

The ROG Flow Z13 comes with a 56Whrs battery and a 130W fast charging charger. When set in Silent and Power Saver modes, the tablet lasts about 6 hours when used for work which is pretty good for a tablet.

When in performance mode and connected to a keyboard and mouse for gaming, the tablet can be used for 1 to 2 hours. Thanks to the fast charger though, it only takes 30 minutes to charge up to 50% of the battery which is very convenient for those that plan to use it out of the house. 

Cooling System

The ROG design team applied Liquid Metal thermal paste to the processor, paired it with dual ARC Flow fans, and added a thermal equalization plate between the CPU and GPU to allow for balanced heat dissipation for each covered part. The result is that the system never gets too hot even when running more taxing programs. 

In addition to the powerful cooling hardware, there is software that lets you customize your table setting, that is ROG Armoury Crate. This software can unify the system and lighting controls to put essential settings at your fingertips in a single utility. 

You can also easily customize Scenario Profiles which will automatically make adjustments when you launch your favorite titles or apps, like Silent Mode, performance mode, turbo mode, or manual mode allowing you to alter the tablet to better suit your needs. 

Benchmark

In order to allow gamers to experience the 3A game smoothly, the ROG Flow Z13 is directly upgraded to a stronger processor, as well as the 40 series graphics card. the ROG Flow X13 is equipped with the latest Intel Core i9-13900H action processor, RTX4050 6GB GDDR6 mobile graphics card, and LPDDR5 16GB of RAM. 

• 3DMark – 8,146
• PCMark 10  – 8,337
• Cinebench – 1,996 for single-core and 18,144 for multi-core

Game Testing

I chose 4 games to test, including Apex Legends, Atelier Ryza 3, Hogwarts Legacy, and Horizon Zero Dawn. The game graphics were tested at 2560×1440 resolution while Turbo mode was turned on. Here is what we got:

Apex Legends

High Setting:

• Average framerate: 91.3 FPS
• Minimum framerate: 44.3 FPS
• Maximum framerate: 143.5 FPS
• 1% low framerate: 57.8 FPS

Low Setting:

• Average framerate: 125.6 FPS
• Minimum framerate: 2.8 FPS
• Maximum framerate: 165.0 FPS
• 1% low framerate: 27.2 FPS

Atelier Ryza 3

High Setting:

• Average framerate: 47.1 FPS
• Minimum framerate: 39.7 FPS
• Maximum framerate: 63.7 FPS
• 1% low framerate: 38.2 FPS

Low Setting:

• Average framerate: 79.6 FP
• Minimum framerate: 68.3 FPS
•  Maximum framerate: 114.7 FPS
• 1% low framerate: 63.1 FPS

Hogwarts Legacy

High Setting:

• Average framerate: 45.1 FPS
• Minimum framerate: 34.6 FPS
• Maximum framerate: 55.0 FPS
• 1% low framerate: 26.4 FPS

Low Setting:

• Average framerate: 47.4 FPS
• Minimum framerate: 29.9 FPS
• Maximum framerate: 59.7 FPS
• 1% low framerate: 17.8 FPS

Horizon Zero Dawn

High Setting:

• Average framerate: 76.8 FPS
• Minimum framerate: 69.9 FPS
• Maximum framerate: 85.5 FPS
• 1% low framerate: 54.0 FPS

Low Setting:

• Average framerate: 91.3 FPS
• Minimum framerate: 81.2 FPS
• Maximum framerate: 102.4 FPS
• 1% low framerate: 27.6 FPS

Each game had fairly high frame rates all around. Perhaps not as high as your top-end gaming desktops or laptops but still, it’s more than acceptable which is impressive for a tablet laptop.

Verdict

From what we’ve seen the ROG Flow Z13 is one of the most powerful tablet laptops nowadays, both in terms of design and hardware. It succeeds in allowing the user to access high-end gaming which good resolutions and framerates while still keeping the portability that makes tablets so appealing. 

The laptop is priced at RM8,999 in Malaysia which is allow fairly reasonable for such a strong device. Overall if you want to take PC gaming on the go while also keeping all the strengths and efficiencies of a tablet, the ROG Flow Z13 may be what you’re looking for. 

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