ASUS have a lot new gaming laptops at Computex 2019, we’ll start off by looking at the
new Strix G, Hero III and Scar III, followed by the new Zephyrus GA502, GU502, and GX502
gaming laptops. I’ll also get hands on with a 4K 120Hz gaming laptop for the first time
and see what all the hype is about.
Let’s start with the new Strix G, which is available in both 15 and 17 inch models,
and they’re available with the latest specs, including Intel i5-9300H or i7-9750H CPUs,
or Nvidia GTX 1650, 1660 Ti, RTX 2060 or 2070 graphics. The 15 inch is available with a
120Hz IPS-Level screen, while the 17 inch goes up to 144Hz.
It’s made of brushed plastic, and has an RGB light bar running around the left, front,
and right sides giving it this sort of underglow effect. Interestingly there is no I/O on the
right at all, so right handed mouse users can rejoice that cables won’t get in the
way while gaming. The left has three USB Type-A USB ports and a 3.5mm audio combo jack.
The lid is also brushed plastic and the ROG logo has a mirrored finish. Underneath is
pretty clean, just the air exhausts towards the back half of the device. The rest of the
I/O is on the back, and includes ethernet, HDMI 2.0b, and power input. The only air exhausts
are on the back corners too, so no hot air blowing on your hands.
The Strix G also seems to be available in their new glacier blue, so black isn’t your
only option.
The Hero III is the successor to the older Hero II, and this one can be specced up quite
high. We’ve also got the same i5 or i7 CPU options as the Strix G, however you can also
get the i9-9880H, which has 8 cores and 16 threads, pretty crazy. Otherwise the GPU options
are similar, you can pick from GTX 1660 Ti, or RTX 2060 or 2070. We’ve got 15 and 17
inch options available here, however the screen choice is larger, as both are available with
144Hz or 240Hz 3ms panels.
The overall design is quite similar to the Strix G, but you’ll notice we have an optional
numpad on the touchpad if you need it rather than with the keyboard. Again like the Strix
G we’ve also got the same light bar running along the left, front and right hand sides
giving that underglow effect. I/O is similar too, nothing at all on the right ensures no
cables will get in the way of your mouse hand, though we’ve got side air exhausts now which
should help with cooling. The right is also the same, with 3 USB Type-A ports and 3.5.mm
audio combo jack. It’s got ethernet port, HDMI 2.0b output, and USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C
port with DisplayPort. The top has the familiar brushed plastic design, while the bottom is
again just air intakes towards the back half.
Next up we’ve got the Scar III, and just looking at the spec sheet on the ASUS website
it’s the same as the Hero III. Not only that, but the overall design is pretty much
identical to the Hero, at least as far as I could tell at the booth. Same 3 USB ports
and 3.5mm jack on the left, with no I/O and just air exhaust on the right, and ethernet,
HDMI, and Type-C port with Displayport on the back. Same design on the lid, and underneath
as well, if you know that the difference is between the Scar III and Hero III definitely
let me know in the comments, it was subtle between the Hero II and Scar II already, so
if the III versions are even more similar it’s hard to see what the point of having
the two is.
The Strix G, Hero III, and Scar III all have this section that sticks out the back behind
the screen which is meant to help improve thermals, so we’ll have to see how that
goes when I get these machines in for testing. The fact that you can get them all without
Max-Q and up to the full RTX 2070 is excellent, like the older generation these should offer
plenty of power for gaming and other tasks.
The ASUS TUF FX505DU with AMD Ryzen 7 3750H and Nvidia GTX 1660 Ti was also on show, but
I didn’t focus on it as I’ve got it back home and will be finishing the review when
I return from Computex, so make sure you’re subscribed for that one.
Let’s move onto the Zephyrus series, which has traditionally been on the more expensive
and premium side in the past, however ASUS have introduced some interesting lower end
options.
I’ve received a huge amount of requests to check out the Zephyrus G GA502, and I can
see why. It’s available with AMD Ryzen 7 3750H CPU, Nvidia GTX 1660 Ti graphics and
15.6” 60Hz or 120Hz screen, making it a nice budget friendly gaming laptop. The overall
design is similar to other Zephyrus laptops, with a little air intake towards the back
of the machine. Unlike the higher end options though, the bottom does not lift up, so it’s
got air intake vents underneath as well. I can only assume the cooling must be good like
others in the Zephyrus series, as it’s still under 2cm thick, but we’ll find out when
I get it to review. The top on the other hand is the familiar brushed texture with ROG logo
like all of the others, and on the back there are just air exhaust vents toward the corners.
The Zephyrus M GU502 appears to be very similar, except that it’s based on an Intel processor
instead of AMD. In this case we’ve got the 6 core i7-9750H, and considering the i5-8300H
beats the Ryzen 3750H this should be a big boost in CPU power. For the GPU it’s also
available with GTX 1660 Ti, but you can go to the next level with RTX 2060 too. The 15.6”
1080p screen is also faster, at 144Hz or 240Hz, so in terms of specs a bit better all round
when compared to the GA502 shown just before. It’s also got per key RGB lighting, and
overall the finish just looks a little nicer in my opinion.
On the left from the back there’s an air exhaust, power, ethernet, HDMI 2.0b, USB Type-A,
and 3.5mm audio jacks. On the right there’s a USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C port with DisplayPort
1.4, two USB Type-A ports, air exhaust, and Kensington lock.
The back is just air exhaust vents towards the corners, and the bottom is air intakes
towards the back, similar to the GA502 in that regard, and again the same brushed lid
with ROG logo as well.
Next up was the Zephyrus S GX502, another one that has been pretty heavily requested
on the channel. They’ve also got it in the new glacier blue colour too, so not just black
only. It’s a bit hard to properly see the colour on the show floor due to all the coloured
lighting in the booth.
Unlike the GA502 and GU502, the GX502 has the traditional Zephyrus design where the
back rises up to improve cooling when you open the lid. The I/O on both the left and
right of the GX502 appears to be the same as the GU502, so I won’t bother repeating
it. The lid has the same design as the others, though I think it does seem to look a bit
better than the black ones, or maybe it’s just good to look at something a bit different.
No big air intakes on the bottom of the GX502, as they’re not needed, the bottom panel
towards the back comes down when the lid opens, and again just air exhausts towards the corners
on the back. The keyboard and touchpad are in the traditional position, a nice change
from the older GX501 which had the keyboard down the front and air intake towards the
back, so it will be interesting to see how thermals go with this design considering it’s
available with higher specs now too.
As for those specs, it’s available with the i7-9750H CPU, and RTX 2060 or 2070 graphics,
they don’t list it as using Max-Q, and other sources seem to indicate the 2070 is Max-P,
so that’s pretty crazy for a 1.9cm thin machine, but based on what I’ve seen from
other Zephyrus laptops I am expecting the thermals to be under control. The GX502 also
has a 15.6” 1080p 144Hz or 240Hz screen, both with 3ms response time and 100% sRGB,
and to top it all off you can switch between Optimus mode for better battery life, or G-Sync
for improved performance, so this one is looking quite good.
ASUS were also showing off the new 4K 120Hz panel in the GX502 that was announced at the
Nvidia event, they had Overwatch up for you to play, which is a game that can actually
still get high FPS at 4K, and it looked great, still extremely smooth, and I guess more pixels,
but I admit I can’t really notice 4K at 15 inches that easily myself. This could be
a great option for someone that needs a 4K panel for say photo editing, then runs games
at 1080p for higher performance while still getting the benefits of 120Hz from the same
machine, unless you’re playing esports titles forget running most games at 4K with laptop
hardware.
They had another GX502 with the new 15 inch 4K AMOLED screen, and it looked excellent,
though you’ll be limited to 60Hz with this version, but could be great for content creators
that are fine with 60Hz gaming.
Other than that, ASUS were also showing off a portable 240Hz screen attached to a Nintendo
Switch, if you’re after more info on that one check the card in the top right corner
for the video by Hardware Unboxed, but it made me realise I should look into external
screens more, as video editing at Computex with just one could be improved with something
like this.
Let me know which of these laptops you want me to review on the channel first down in
the comments, and if you’re new get subscribed for those upcoming videos as well as for the
rest of my Computex 2019 coverage.