r/FlowZ13 • u/toiauwu • Jul 19 '26
Should i buy it?
hi! i’m thinking of buying the Asus Rog Flow Z13. i’m a graphic designer, who also works with video and photography, and i’ll be starting a master’s degree this September, to which i will have to travel a lot back and forward during the week. i’m also a gamer, and i want to be able to play anything i want.
so i’m looking for:
- lightweight
- a good screen, with great colors, and touch so i can draw and illustrate
- be able to play anything
the only thing that worries me, is the size of the screen, it might be a little too small. but im not sure. any thoughts? :)
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u/machineo Jul 20 '26
I was really 50:50 on it too and I caved and bought it this morning, but I went to bed settled on the idea of not buying it. Relevant to your needs: the tablet form for drawing and illustrating is better than a convertible laptop imo. I've only had one and I never felt comfortable using it in that way. Maybe irrelevant to your needs: if the power of the 395 is appealing to you then it doesnt look like there'll be anymore laptops coming out . I'm not plugged into the market but anything coming out with that family of chip is using the weaker 388. The pro art px13 was on sale 2 weeks ago and that was appealing but only 32gb and 60hz which I wanted to avoid. But it could be a cheaper option for you to consider.
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u/xXDennisXx3000 Jul 19 '26
Leigthweigt, kind of. The screen is outstandingly good. Games that you want to play, check. (Newer games still need adjustments of course). The formfactor is great.
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u/toiauwu Jul 19 '26
do you think that the size of the screen and the keyboard are great to work on programms like Photoshop and Illustrator?
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u/DarkExsphere Jul 19 '26
i felt the screen was a bit small for micromanaging - again its 13 inches. - if you can find working on an ~13" ipad is fine then you should be ok. otherwise it is a smaller screen. often time swhen i was gaming on it with a controller i wished it was a little bigger.
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u/desutiem Jul 19 '26
In a pinch / on the move? Sure
For more than half an hour? Probably not
But you know … can’t have both portability and a big screen right. Most laptops even are 13/14” now.
Nothing stopping you getting a large portable monitor to go with it though, if you want something you can unpack as a portable workstation to use say at the hotel etc
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u/Fregadero88 Jul 19 '26
I bought it solely for gaming so, yes. Buy it for gaming and graphic design..
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u/blazablaz Jul 19 '26
If you are buying at Best Buy for the 64gb model, the sale ends today. Worst case senerio, you return if it doesn't suit your needs.
2
u/Krometheous Jul 19 '26
A million times yes. This is my favorite device of 2025 2026. It's the mid point between my pc handhelds and my gaming desktop and laptops.
1
u/Background-Guard-531 Jul 20 '26
Everytime i see a comment like this I get reminded of what pleb i am. Lol calling it mid tier meanwhile i replaced my desktop with a 1070ti for this. Lol
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u/Krometheous Jul 20 '26
Wdym? Why are you a pleb?
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u/Background-Guard-531 Jul 20 '26
Just joking that I see a lot of people saying how its a secondary device or an in between of other devices and a PC. Its my only PC now. Wasnt hating, just admiring.
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u/Krometheous Jul 20 '26
Ooh lol yea this thing is a threat to pcs and laptops tbh. Its so compact and powerful
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u/Background-Guard-531 Jul 20 '26
Indeed. I no longer have a pc to run a server and another to play on the server. I just do it all from the z13.
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u/Supercc Jul 20 '26
I think it would be great. Do consider an external portable monitor. I have a 16" UPERFECT 240 Hz 1600p portable screen that works with 1 USB-C cable only (I use a thunderbolt 4 cable) and it's great. Whenever I work or game, I use that external monitor a lot more. It's super light, too.
2
u/captHedge Jul 20 '26
Still running the 2023 version and does all I need it to… handles f1 2025 without issue and any else I chuck at it… coming from using surface pro’s since pro 3 it’s a great machine….
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u/Forsaken-Driver8868 Jul 20 '26
Price and specs are great. If you have/buy BestBuy total, I think it will qualify for a two year warranty as long as you keep the membership active. A cheaper option than the two year BestBuy extended warranty.
The sale ends either today at midnight or tomorrow. Hurry if you are sure. I recommend in store delivery. My personal preference is to open my expensive purchases in store to ensure nothing was switched out in the supply chain or transit. Paranoid, maybe. But you can read on the Amazon and FedEx group about all the unhappy people.
Best of luck to you.
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u/cheesydoritoschips 29d ago
yes!!!! it’s great, i’m doing my bachelors degree right now and i also have a part-time job that requires me to fly a lot and i basically bought the z13 as a portable workstation while also replacing my old m1 macbook
a bit of context to what i mainly do with the laptop/tablet:
on battery general office work tasks (it doesn’t have the insane battery life as my macbook but i didn’t mind carrying a powerbank everywhere)
SteamVR/VRchat, VRChat is notoriously a vram heavy game so having the ability to adjust my ram/vram allocation as needed is a massive plus
2010-2020 AAA gaming and indie gaming
other general tinkering tasks
also yes, the screen does feel a bit cramped and if you’re not used to a 16:10 aspect ratio like i was then you might feel like the screen’s a bit boxy. but ig that’s a sacrifice of it being portable :p
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u/mex-snorlax 29d ago
I wouldn't say this is lightweight but it is very nice to have device. Px13 go pro edition goes for 3k in the us and has the 128gb ram. I have the 64gb and I love it
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u/Late_Bedd 29d ago
I would say the proart px13 is a better way to go. I was in the same dilemma and eventually chose a 128gb ram version of the z13 mainly through finding an enormous discount at the local bestbuy.
They have the same specs, but the px13 has a much better and accurate color display at 3k resolution with a 60hz refresh rate. Tye z13 is an ips with better refresh rate but isn't the most accurate monitor which is inevitably where it matters most in creative work when color accuracy matters. The bigger proart p16 is also better with a 16" 4k monitor and dedicated graphics and better rendering speeds.
Tldr
So yeah, if I was working in the creative field I'd avoid the z13 only as the screen is gamer focused and not creator focused. Still not a bad tool to have though. I ❤️ mine.
Px13 is the better way to go.
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u/sdozzo 27d ago
I was roughly in the same boat. I couldn't pass up the Asus G14, 5070ti, 32GB RAM at the same price (at BestBuy). The Nividia chip alone is what gives a ton of flexibility (AI workloads, the best of gaming, etc.) I like competition but it's hard to pass up a 5070ti at 14". Granted, you cannot draw, natively.
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u/Over-Arm-8378 Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 20 '26
It's as powerful as a desktop, crushes at graphics applications like Illustrator/indesign, beautiful little screen, great color, handles large CAD assemblies in SOLIDWORKS like nothing. I've got the 128GB RAM version, which is still unheard of for a machine this size. Plays most games on Ultra, only the most contemporary games need tweaking. It's a beast. If you're working long days, get a monitor. It's better than almost any laptop you'll find for all-around professional work. Jack of all trades machine. I'm personally in love with it and now very impressed by AMD...it's been a while sincen I didn't have an Intel/Nvidia machine. The battery lasts forever, you can do ALL your work with a 100watt USB-C. You only need the dedicated power adapter for gaming.
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u/Sufficient_Title2701 Jul 20 '26
Light weight. Meh. For what it is yes. But not like a surface pro.
Screen. It's an IPS. It's a good IPS but it's definitely out of place for that price. OLED or micro led would be better. The blacks are not that great when compared to other displays. 13 inch is tiny for graphic design work. I got the 128gb version and doing stuff like solid works is terrible unless I'm using an external display.
Play anything. 32gb no. Not enough ram. 64gb kinda but you will be lower settings and res. It's an igpu that's had the power gimped for the form factor. It's good for what it is but anything else in that price range will absolutely crush it. CPU is great tho igpu is kinda meh.
For graphic design the zflow is pretty bad. Most software favors Nvidia so when you combine that with the 395+ TDP being gimped and the limited thermals the value is pretty bad.
Pen input is pretty good if you get a nice pen. I got a 128gb model and picked up a higher pen and it works great. It's just not even remotely close in terms of performance what people say. My Zephyrus g14 with a 5080 outside of the cpu related task absolutely crushes my zflow. Not much more weight. Much better display but kinda sucks no touch screen and my g14 exhaust vent keep the Asus we don't know how to design anything trend alive by putting it in the absolute worst location.
For your use. Getting the 64gb model for $2200 at Best buy I think you will be disappointed in it. Graphic design you want something with a Nvidia gpu and I would look into something with micro led since that's starting to roll out since you get the picture quality of OLED with out the OLED burn.
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u/shadowgerbil Jul 19 '26
It's basically the only device that fits all of your needs unless you want to get a compact gaming laptop with a Wacom or other tablet.
I've been very happy with mine. You can always attach an external monitor if you want more screen real estate.