Pros & Cons
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- Powerful processing
- AMD Ryzen AI Max+ unified memory delivers gaming aptitude with integrated graphics
- Sharp, bright screen
- Sturdy design with seamless detachable keyboard
- Long battery life
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- High starting price
- Expensive dollar-to-gaming-performance ratio versus laptops
- Small screen for gaming
Asus ROG Flow Z13 (2025) Specs
| Boot Drive Capacity (as Tested) | 1 |
| Boot Drive Type | SSD |
| Class | Detachable 2-in-1 |
| Class | Gaming |
| Dimensions (HWD) | 0.51 by 11.81 by 8.03 inches |
| Graphics Processor | AMD Radeon 8060S Graphics |
| Native Display Resolution | 2,560 by 1,600 |
| Operating System | Windows 11 Home |
| Panel Technology | IPS |
| Processor | AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 |
| RAM (as Tested) | 32 |
| Screen Refresh Rate | 180 |
| Screen Size | 13.4 |
| Tested Battery Life (Hours:Minutes) | 13:17 |
| Touch Screen | |
| Variable Refresh Support | None |
| Weight | 2.64 |
Would you pay $2,000-plus for a detachable gaming tablet? That's the basic question you face with the Asus ROG Flow Z13. To be clear, there's a basic selling point: The latest Flow comes loaded AMD’s Ryzen AI Max processors, boosted by unified memory that lets the machine turn regular RAM into VRAM for stellar graphics performance without a dedicated GPU. It's a much more capable gaming machine than previous X13 Flow versions, which leaned on external GPUs to do the heavy lifting.
In a nutshell, the new edition is nicely built and fully featured, delivering fast processing and midrange gaming performance in a compact package. That doesn't answer the underlying question, though: Does the Z13 justify the price tag? True, the Z13 might be an appealing option for, say, a niche subset of demanding gamers who need a tablet. But with a starting price of $2,099.99 ($2,299.99 as tested), the Flow Z13 is hardly the best value around. If high frame rates are your priority, you’ll get more for your dollar from larger systems like the Alienware m16 R2 and Lenovo Legion Pro 5i Gen 9, or portable options such as the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024).
Components: Ryzen AI Max Makes the Flow Really Go
The calling card of the new Flow Z13 is the processor: AMD's Ryzen AI Max, which reinvents the tablet's capabilities without adding a separate graphics chip. Thanks to unified memory, up to 96GB (of a possible 128GB) of RAM can be converted to VRAM for graphics-based applications. With no discrete GPU, the chip-and-memory combo is key for this device’s gaming performance.
First, the chips themselves. All models of the Z13 run an AI Max 300 processor (with integrated Radeon 8060S graphics), in one of two variants: the AI Max 390 or the AI Max+ 395. Most will use the latter; the Max 390 only comes with the $2,099.99 base model, alongside 32GB of memory and a 1TB SSD. The Max+ 395 is a Zen 5 chip with 16 CPU cores and 32 threads, 40 GPU compute units, and a neural processing unit (NPU) rated up to 50 trillions of operations per second (TOPS).
From there, the various Max+ 395 models differ only in price—$2,299.99, $2,399.99, and $2,799.99—and memory capacity, ranging from 32GB to 128GB. All four models boast a 1TB SSD and a 13.4-inch 1600p screen with a 180Hz refresh rate.
We tested the $2,299.99 Max+ 395 unit with 32GB of memory, which of course meant we were going to see a lower performance ceiling than the top-end models. Still, this is already an expensive machine, and in theory the premium processor should provide the Flow with plenty of power. Did it deliver? More on this in the testing section later.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)The previous Flow Z13 ran with a Core i9 chip and an RTX 3050 Ti GPU—a discrete graphics chip, but a limited one. Instead of leaning on the chip, though, you were expected to connect with a proprietary external GPU to power the system. (When you were back at your desk, of course, not on the go.) The new Z13 can still connect to an eGPU with its USB-C connection if you'd like. But the Ryzen chip and unified memory make the new Flow more capable than the previous generation without relying on an eGPU.
Design: A Rare Versatile Gaming 2-in-1
The Z13’s design sticks close to the previous model we reviewed, although there are some important differences. You still get a slim and compact convertible tablet (not to be confused with Asus' Flow X13, a rotating-screen convertible), albeit slightly thicker than the last model, at 0.51 by 11.81 by 8.03 inches (HWD). It's also a very portable 2.64 pounds. The aluminum chassis feels high quality, with a sturdy rear kickstand and a strong hinge.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)The back panel of the tablet keeps the visual flair of the previous edition, but remixes it. As in the last model, you get a window that lets you peek at a slice of the mainboard, enhanced with some RGB lighting. But the window gets repositioned in the new model and picks up some diagonal stripes.
The Z13's detachable keyboard, meanwhile, stays the same as the last version's. It's built almost exactly in the style of Microsoft’s Surface Pro devices, but unlike the Surface, the Z13's keyboard is included with the tablet. (The base model is much pricier, though.) The Z13's keyboard and tablet lock together easily with a magnetic connection.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)The keyboard attaches at a slight angle for more comfortable typing, and it's a bit stiffer and sturdier than the Surface solution. You won't quite get a laptop typing experience, but it's comfortable enough, and the keys have some nice travel—not always a given for this type of slim detachable keyboard.
The display—shared across all the Z13 models—looks great, with. It delivers sharp 1600p (2,560 by 1,600) resolution and gets plenty bright, and the 13.4-inch size feels roomy enough for this type of device.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)Port selection distinguishes the new Z13 from previous editions. The new Flow Z13’s left side holds a microSD card slot, the power connector, an HDMI connection, and two USB Type-C ports with power delivery. Previously, the left edge had no HDMI port or SD slot, just one USB-C port and a proprietary connection for an external GPU enclosure; newer eGPUs connect over USB-C. The right side is the same as before, with one USB Type-A port and a headphone jack.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)Performance Testing: A Win for Unified Memory
Solid design and portable form factor are one thing. Let's get down to brass tacks: What kind of performance do you get out of the processor platform and its unified memory? We put the Z13 through our usual test suite to find out.
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The Flow Z13 is an unusual type of device, so I gathered a wide mix of other systems for comparison. Asus’ own ProArt PX13 is another 13-inch 2-in-1, and while it’s a creative tablet rather than a gaming machine, the parts are similarly capable. The Alienware m16 R2 ($1,849.99 as tested) and the HP Omen Transcend 14 ($1,699.99 as tested) show the power difference between the tablet and traditional gaming laptops (at two different sizes and for less money). Finally, the MSI Claw 8 AI+ handheld—another peak-portability option—also serves up an uncommon build and its own integrated graphics solution. (Note that the ProArt will be absent from a few of the gaming-specific tests, and the Claw can't run the higher-resolution tests.)
Productivity and Content Creation Tests
Our primary overall benchmark, UL's PCMark 10, tests a system in productivity apps ranging from web browsing to word processing and spreadsheet work. Its Full System Drive subtest measures a PC's storage throughput.
Three more tests are CPU-centric or processor-intensive: Maxon's Cinebench 2024 uses that company's Cinema 4D engine to render a complex scene; Primate Labs' Geekbench 6.3 Pro simulates popular apps ranging from PDF rendering and speech recognition to machine learning; and we see how long it takes the transcoding freeware HandBrake 1.8 to convert a 12-minute clip from 4K to 1080p resolution. We normally run an Adobe Photoshop-based test with a script as well, but it was failing to complete on the Z13.
The Flow’s processor easily clears the others, even the full-size laptops, most of the time. That shouldn't be a huge surprise with a top-end chip, but you still have to admire a tablet that can deliver that kind of performance—not just for gaming but media editing and content creation, too. That said, I doubt many creative professionals are looking to get real work done on a tablet, given all of the options out there, especially at this screen size. The speed is definitely there, though.
Graphics and Gaming Tests
We challenge all systems’ graphics with a quartet of animations or gaming simulations from UL's 3DMark test suite. Wild Life (1440p) and Wild Life Extreme (4K) use the Vulkan graphics API to measure GPU speeds. Steel Nomad's regular and Light subtests focus on APIs more commonly used for game development, like Metal and DirectX 12, to assess gaming geometry and particle effects. We also turn to 3DMark's Solar Bay to measure ray tracing performance in a synthetic environment. This benchmark works with native APIs, subjecting 3D scenes to increasingly intense ray-traced workloads at 1440p.
Our real-world gaming testing comes from in-game benchmarks within Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Cyberpunk 2077, and F1 2024. These three games—all benchmarked at the system’s full HD (1080p or 1200p native) resolution—represent competitive shooter, open-world, and simulation games, respectively. If the screen is capable of a higher resolution, we rerun the tests at the QHD equivalent of 1440p or 1600p. Each game runs at two sets of graphics settings per resolution for up to four runs total on each game.
We run the Call of Duty benchmark at the Minimum graphics preset—aimed at maximizing frame rates to test display refresh rates—and again at the Extreme preset. Our Cyberpunk 2077 test settings aim to push PCs fully, so we run the game on the Ultra graphics preset and again at the all-out Ray Tracing Overdrive preset without DLSS or FSR upscaling. Finally, F1 represents our DLSS effectiveness (or FSR on AMD systems) test, demonstrating a GPU’s capacity for frame-boosting upscaling technologies.
There are a few takeaways here, so first, some general observations and reminders. The Flow outperforms the Omen 14, but remember that Asus’ tablet runs $600 more. Conversely, the Alienware totals $450 less than the Flow, but delivers more power; a larger laptop with a higher thermal ceiling quickly outscales the limited tablet, and at a lower price.
Even though the Flow is pricier, it’s still impressive that the tablet—running an integrated graphics processor (IGP)—even approaches the Alienware system and its RTX 4070. The performance is eye-catching for an IGP-based system.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)FSR is needed to run more demanding titles at high settings, but it took our test games above or near that 60fps mark at maximum settings. Less strenuous games will run smoothly on this system, more so if you dial down to 1200p. Naturally, an equally priced laptop (especially with an Nvidia RTX xx80-clsss or xx90-class GPU) would blow the Flow out of the water, but if you’re considering a portable solution roughly in this price range, the Flow holds its own. It performs far better than the MSI Claw, as well, and you could do real work on the Flow and its larger screen (plus faster processing). Of course, the Flow is much more expensive.
Battery Life and Display Tests
We test each laptop's battery life by playing a locally stored 720p video file (the open-source Blender movie Tears of Steel) with display brightness at 50% and audio volume at 100%. We make sure the battery is fully charged before the test, with Wi-Fi and keyboard backlighting turned off.
To gauge display performance, we also use a Datacolor SpyderX Elite monitor calibration sensor and its Windows software to measure a laptop screen's color saturation—what percentage of the sRGB, Adobe RGB, and DCI-P3 color gamuts or palettes the display can show—and its 50% and peak brightness in nits (candelas per square meter).
The battery life is a definite win for this category and device type. It’s not an outlier for how long it lasts among this group, but the Flow doesn’t suffer for being a tablet, nor for having an advanced and bright screen. It’s important the battery is long lasting, given the portability is a big draw in the first place.
This display offers strong color coverage, a win for those professionals who may want to do real visual work on this device. The brightness rates very well too, which I can tell just by looking at it—the screen is quite bright at maximum, and the test shows it fares much better than the others at 50% brightness, too.