ROG Zephyrus M vs. MacBook Pro 15” (2018): Which is better?

Here is a side by side comparison between ROG Zephyrus M and MacBook Pro 15” (2018) specs including CPU, RAM, storage, battery, display, and more.

ROG Zephyrus M Pros

Reasons that ROG Zephyrus M is better than MacBook Pro 15” (2018).

Newer manufacturing

2019 vs. 2018

Supports faster memory

ROG Zephyrus M supports a faster memory speed than the MacBook Pro 15” (2018). It supports up to 2666MHz versus 2400MHz of system memory on the MacBook Pro 15” (2018).

Memory type and speed
ROG Zephyrus M - DDR4
2,666 MHz
MacBook Pro 15” (2018) - DDR4
2,400 MHz
Upgradable memory

ROG Zephyrus M comes with one SODIMM slot that allow you to replace or upgrade when needed. On the flip side, you can't upgrade RAM on the MacBook Pro 15” (2018) since it has onboard memory.

MemoryROG Zephyrus MMacBook Pro 15” (2018)
Slots
x1
Onboard
TypeDDR4DDR4
Upgradable storage

ROG Zephyrus M comes with two M.2 slots that you can easily upgrade and install an additional SSD to expand the storage on the device.

SlotsROG Zephyrus MMacBook Pro 15” (2018)
M.2
Yes x2
Onboard

MacBook Pro 15” (2018) Pros

We couldn't find any advantages of MacBook Pro 15” (2018) over ROG Zephyrus M.

Key Similars

Similar characteristics share between ROG Zephyrus M and MacBook Pro 15” (2018).

Similar CPU performance

Both laptops has a similar multi-core CPU performance score.

Geekbench 5 multi-core score
ROG Zephyrus M - Intel Core i7-9750H
4,880
MacBook Pro 15” (2018) - Intel Core i9-8950HK
4,806
MacBook Pro 15” (2018) - Intel Core i7-8850H
4,497
MacBook Pro 15” (2018) - Intel Core i7-8750H
4,470
Supports the same maximum memory size of up to 32GB

Both laptops supports up to 32GB of system memory.

Max system memory size
ROG Zephyrus M
32 GB
MacBook Pro 15” (2018)
32 GB

Prices

Here are the latest price updates and offers for both devices.

ROG Zephyrus M Price
ROG Zephyrus M Thin and Portable Gaming Laptop, 15.6” 240Hz FHD IPS, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070, Intel Core i7-9750H, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB PCIe SSD, Per-key RGB, Windows 10 Home, GU502GW-AH76
ROG Zephyrus M Thin and Portable Gaming Laptop, 15.6” 240Hz FHD IPS, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070, Intel Core i7-9750H, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB PCIe SSD, Per-key RGB, Windows 10 Home, GU502GW-AH76
By ASUS
$1,645.00
ASUS ROG Zephyrus S15 Gaming Laptop, 300Hz 15.6" FHD 3ms IPS Level, Intel Core i7-10875H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Super, 32GB DDR4, 1TB RAID 0 SSD, Wi-Fi 6, Per-Key RGB, Windows 10 Pro, GX502LXS-XS79
ASUS ROG Zephyrus S15 Gaming Laptop, 300Hz 15.6" FHD 3ms IPS Level, Intel Core i7-10875H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Super, 32GB DDR4, 1TB RAID 0 SSD, Wi-Fi 6, Per-Key RGB, Windows 10 Pro, GX502LXS-XS79
By ASUS
$1,298.00
ROG Zephyrus M Thin and Portable Gaming Laptop, 15.6” 240Hz FHD IPS, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti, Intel Core i7-9750H, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 512B PCIe SSD, Per-key RGB, Windows 10 Pro, GU502GU-XH74-BL, Blue
ROG Zephyrus M Thin and Portable Gaming Laptop, 15.6” 240Hz FHD IPS, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti, Intel Core i7-9750H, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 512B PCIe SSD, Per-key RGB, Windows 10 Pro, GU502GU-XH74-BL, Blue
By Asus
$899.00
$1,699.99 47% OFF
MacBook Pro 15” (2018) Price
2018 Apple MacBook Pro with 2.2GHz Intel Core i7 (15-inch, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage) Silver (Renewed)
2018 Apple MacBook Pro with 2.2GHz Intel Core i7 (15-inch, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage) Silver (Renewed)
By Apple
$481.30
$529.00 9% OFF
Apple 15in MacBook Pro, Retina, Touch Bar, 2.9GHz Intel Core i7 Quad Core, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, Space Gray, MPTT2LL/A (Renewed)
Apple 15in MacBook Pro, Retina, Touch Bar, 2.9GHz Intel Core i7 Quad Core, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, Space Gray, MPTT2LL/A (Renewed)
By Apple
$479.00
$547.39 12% OFF
Apple 15.4in MacBook Pro Laptop (Retina, Touch Bar, 2.2GHz 6-Core Intel Core i7, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage) Space Gray (MR932LL/A) (2018 Model) (Renewed)
Apple 15.4in MacBook Pro Laptop (Retina, Touch Bar, 2.2GHz 6-Core Intel Core i7, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage) Space Gray (MR932LL/A) (2018 Model) (Renewed)
By Apple
$507.99

Availability

ROG Zephyrus MMacBook Pro 15” (2018)
Released20192018
Release Date-Announced on July 13, 2018
Pricing-
  • $2,399 - Intel Core i7 | 16GB RAM | 256GB SSD
  • $2,799 - Intel Core i7 | 16GB RAM | 512GB SSD
Generations

Exterior

ROG Zephyrus MMacBook Pro 15” (2018)
Dimensions14.17” x 9.92” x 0.74” (360 x 252 x 18.9 mm)13.75” x 9.48” x 0.61” (349.3 mm x 240.7 mm x 155 mm)
Weight4.18 lbs (1.9 kg)Starting at 4.02 pounds (1.83 kg)
Colors
Brushed Black
Space Gray Silver
Keyboard and Trackpad
  • Backlit chiclet keyboard
  • N-key rollover
  • RGB lighting
  • Aura Sync
  • Hotkeys (Volume down, volume up, mute, Armoury Crate)
Backlit Magic Keyboard with:
  • 64 (U.S.) or 65 (ISO) keys including 4 arrow keys
  • Touch Bar with integrated Touch ID sensor
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Force Touch trackpad for precise cursor control and pressure-sensing capabilities; enables Force clicks, accelerators, pressure-sensitive drawing, and Multi-Touch gestures

Display

ROG Zephyrus MMacBook Pro 15” (2018)
Size15.6 Inches15.4 Inches
Info
  • 15.6-inch Full HD (1920x1080) IPS-level panel, 144Hz, 3ms, 100% sRGB, Pantone® Validated
  • 15.6-inch Full HD (1920x1080) IPS-level panel, 240Hz, 3ms, 100% sRGB, Pantone® Validated
Retina display
  • 15.4-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 2880-by-1800 native resolution at 220 pixels per inch with support for millions of colors
  • Supported scaled resolutions:
    • 1920 by 1200
    • 1680 by 1050
    • 1280 by 800
    • 1024 by 640
  • 500 nits brightness
  • Wide color (P3)
  • True Tone technology

Ports

ROG Zephyrus MMacBook Pro 15” (2018)
ROG Zephyrus M Ports
Image Source: ASUS
  • 1 x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type C
    DisplayPort™ 1.4 and Power Delivery.
  • 1 x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type A
  • 2 x USB 3.2 Gen1 Type A
  • 1 x HDMI 2.0b
  • 1 x 3.5mm Audio Jack
  • 1 x Audio Jack Mic-in
  • 1 x RJ45
  • 1 x Kensington Lock
Left (2)
  • 2 x Thunderbolt 3
    40 Gpbs, USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), Charging, Displayport
Right (3)
  • 1 x headphone jack
    Headphone/Microphone
  • 2 x Thunderbolt 3
    40 Gpbs, USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), Charging, Displayport

Internal Specs

ROG Zephyrus MMacBook Pro 15” (2018)
Processor
  1. 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-9750H
    6 cores, 12 threads, 2.60 → 4.50 GHz, 12MB SmartCache, 45W
  1. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8750H
    6 cores, 12 threads, 2.20 → 4.10 GHz, 9MB SmartCache, 45W
  2. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8850H
    6 cores, 12 threads, 2.60 → 4.30 GHz, 9MB SmartCache, 45W
  3. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-8950HK
    6 cores, 12 threads, 2.90 → 4.80 GHz, 12MB SmartCache, 45W
Integrated Graphics
  1. 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-9750H
    Intel® UHD Graphics 630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1150 MHz
  1. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8750H
    Intel® UHD Graphics 630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1100 MHz
  2. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8850H
    Intel® UHD Graphics 630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1150 MHz
  3. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-8950HK
    Intel® UHD Graphics 630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1200 MHz
Memory
8GB 16GB 32GB
DDR4 2666 MHz SDRAM.
8GB or 16GB on-board memory.
16GB
configurable to 32GB of 2400MHz DDR4 onboard memory
Discrete GraphicsROG Zephyrus M GU502GW
  • NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 2070 with 8GB GDDR6 VRAM
ROG Zephyrus M GU502GV
  • NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 2060 with 6GB GDDR6 VRAM
ROG Zephyrus M GU502GU
  • NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1660 Ti with 8GB GDDR6 VRAM
  • AMD Radeon Pro 555X with 4GB of GDDR5 memory
  • AMD Radeon Pro 560X with 4GB of GDDR6 memory
  • AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16 with 4GB of HBM2 memory
  • AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 with 4GB of HBM2 memory
Storage
  • Single
    • 512GB 1TB
      M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD
  • Dual
    • 512GB+512GB 1TB+1TB
      M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD
      Supports RAID 0.
256GB 512GB
configurable to 1TB, 2TB, or 4TB SSD

Connectivity

ROG Zephyrus MMacBook Pro 15” (2018)
Wi-FiIntel® 802.11ac (2x2) Gigabit Wi-Fi
  • 802.11ac Wi‑Fi wireless networking
  • IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n compatible
BluetoothBluetooth 5.0Bluetooth 5.0 wireless technology
Ethernet
  • Gigabit LAN
    Speed: 10/100/1000 Mbps.
-

Battery

ROG Zephyrus MMacBook Pro 15” (2018)
Size-83.6 Wh lithium‑polymer battery
Battery Life
  • Up to 7 hours and 47 minutes
    Web Browsing.
  • Up to 8 hours and 41 minutes
    Video Playback.
  • Up to 10 hours wireless web
  • Up to 10 hours Apple TV app movie playback
  • Up to 30 days of standby time
Power Supply
  • 230W power adaptor
    Propriety charger.
  • Supports charging via USB-C
    Supports USB Type-C PD 3.0 up to 65W.
87W USB‑C Power Adapter

Software

ROG Zephyrus MMacBook Pro 15” (2018)
OS
  • Windows 10 Home
  • Windows 10 Pro
Shipped with macOS Catalina
Built-in Apps
Armoury Crate GameFirst VI GameVisual
Photos iMovie GarageBand Pages Numbers Keynote Siri Safari Mail FaceTime Messages Maps News Stocks Home Voice Memos Notes Calendar Contacts Reminders Photo Booth Preview Music Podcasts TV Books App Store Time Machine Find My QuickTime Player

Camera & Audio

ROG Zephyrus MMacBook Pro 15” (2018)
Camera
  • No Built-in camera.
720p FaceTime HD camera
Audio
  • 2 speakers with Smart AMP technology
  • Array Microphone
  • Stereo speakers with high dynamic range
  • Three microphones
  • 3.5mm headphone jack

Misc

ROG Zephyrus MMacBook Pro 15” (2018)
Sensors-
  • Touch ID sensor
Security-
  • Touch ID sensor
  • Apple T2 Chip
In the box-
  • 15‑inch MacBook Pro
  • 87W USB‑C Power Adapter
  • USB-C Charge Cable (2 m)
Warranty-Your MacBook Pro comes with 90 days of complimentary technical support and a one‑year limited warranty. Purchase AppleCare+ for Mac to extend your coverage to three years from your AppleCare+ purchase date and add up to two incidents of accidental damage coverage, each subject to a service fee of $99 for screen damage or external enclosure damage, or $299 for other repairable damage, plus applicable tax.
More-
Video Support
Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at millions of colors and:
  • Up to two displays with 5120-by-2880 resolution at 60Hz at over a billion colors
  • Up to four displays with 4096-by-2304 resolution at 60Hz at over a billion colors
Thunderbolt 3 digital video output
  • Native DisplayPort output over USB‑C
  • VGA, HDMI, DVI, and Thunderbolt 2 output supported using adapters (sold separately)

Key Features

ROG Zephyrus MMacBook Pro 15” (2018)
At Glance
Released in
2019
16:0
15.6”
1080p 240Hz
Weight
4.18 lb
1.90 kg
Powered By
Intel Core i7-9750H
6C/12T, 2.60 → 4.50 GHz
Geekbench 5
1,044
Single Core
Geekbench 5
4,880
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® UHD Graphics 630
24 Execution Units, 350 → 1150 MHz
Upgradable up to
32GB
2666 MHz DDR4
ROG Zephyrus M Ports
Nvidia GeForce
RTX 2070
8GB GDDR6
Released in Mid
2018
16:10 Retina
15.4”
1800p 60Hz
Weight
4.02 lb
1.82 kg
Up to
Intel Core i9-8950HK
6C/12T, 2.90 → 4.80 GHz
Geekbench 5
1,066
Single Core
Geekbench 5
4,806
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® UHD Graphics 630
24 Execution Units, 350 → 1200 MHz
Configurable up to
32GB
2400 MHz DDR4
AMD
Radeon Pro Vega 20
4GB HBM2

Comparison Summary

ROG Zephyrus M vs. MacBook Pro 15” (2018)

ASUS has released the ROG Zephyrus M, a 15.6-inch machine, in 2019. It is powered by a hexa-core Intel Core i7-9750H with a boost clock speed up to 4.50 GHz. The laptop has a dedicated GPU option up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 with 8GB GDDR6.

On the other hand, we have the 15.4-inch MacBook Pro 15” was introduced by Apple about a year earlier in mid-2018. It comes with up to a hexa-core Intel Core i9-8950HK with a boost clock speed up to 4.80 GHz. It has a dedicated GPU option up to AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 with 4GB HBM2.

Geekbench 5 Single Core

ROG Zephyrus M1
9th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-9750H1,04497.94%
MacBook Pro 15” (2018)1
8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8750H97591.46%
2
8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8850H1,00694.37%
3
8th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-8950HK1,066100.00%
01,066

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

ROG Zephyrus M1
9th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-9750H4,880100.00%
MacBook Pro 15” (2018)1
8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8750H4,47091.60%
2
8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8850H4,49792.15%
3
8th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-8950HK4,80698.48%
04,880

The ROG Zephyrus M has a 15.6-inch display which is quite similar size to the 15.4-inch MacBook Pro 15” (2018). In addition, the ROG Zephyrus M weighs 4.18 lbs. about 3% heavier than the 4.02 lbs. MacBook Pro 15” (2018). Moreover, measured at 14.17” x 9.92” x 0.74”, the ROG Zephyrus M is much bulkier than the MacBook Pro 15” (2018) at 13.75” x 9.48” x 0.61”.

ROG Zephyrus MMacBook Pro 15” (2018)

Moving over to upgradability, ASUS claims that the ROG Zephyrus M supports up to 32GB 2666 MHz DDR4 memory that you can upgrade with memory module slots on the motherboard. It also comes with two M.2 slots that users can easily upgrade and install an additional SSD to expand the storage on the device.

For MacBook Pro 15” (2018), it supports up to 32GB 2400 MHz DDR4 memory. Unlike ROG Zephyrus M, it has an onboard memory module that is not upgradable by the users. Furthermore, it also has an integrated storage module and has no M.2 slots for replacement.

Comments

Ask questions or share your thought and experience about the comparison between ROG Zephyrus M and MacBook Pro 15” (2018).

Loading Comments...