Asus ROG Zephyrus GX501 Review

Slim with a powerful GPU. Asus has once again managed to have the slimmest device. For now. This time it is the ROG Zephyrus GX501 gaming laptop. Despite its height of just 17.9 millimeters (~0.7 in), the 15-inch notebook is shipped with an Intel Core i7 quad-core CPU and the Nvidia GTX 1080 with the brand-new "Max-Q" design. We have already had the chance to review the ultra-slim gamer.

How slim should gaming laptops be? The answer seems to be simple: As slim as possible. Who wants to carry around a bulky machine? But: How slim can gaming notebooks be? Obviously less than 18 millimeters (~0.7 in) right now, despite high-end components with i7-7700HQ CPU and GTX 1080 graphics card. Great, top-notch performance in an attractive super-slim chassis. As it is so often the case, however, there is a catch, and maybe even more than one.

The specifications of the 15-inch device are excellent. Besides the previously mentioned high-end hardware, our test model of the Zephyrus GX501VI is equipped with 24 GB of DDR4 RAM and a 1 TB PCIe SSD (German retail model comes with only a 500 GB drive). You also get a matte 120 Hz panel with the Full HD resolution and G-Sync support. The package is obviously not cheap: 3000 Euros (~$3405) is a steep price, even for a powerful gaming laptop.

Update 07/15/17: The manufacturer asked us to review another test model provided by them because they measured better results in their lab (primarily for temperature and system noise). Our additional tests actually showed lower emissions, so the temperature rating is increased by 5% and the noise rating by 4%. The effect on the final rating is one percent more from 84 to 85%. All corresponding values, screenshots, and text passages were adjusted.

Asus Zephyrus GX501 (Zephyrus GX501 Series)
Processor : Intel Core i7-7700HQ 2.8 GHz (Intel Core i7)
Graphics adapter : NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Max-Q - 8192 MB, Core: 1227 MHz, Memory: 2500 MHz, GDDR5X, ForceWare 382.22
Memory : 24576 MB, consisting if 8 GB + 16 GB DDR4-2400 SO-DIMM, dual-channel
Display : 15.6 inch 16:9, 1920x1080 pixel 141 PPI, AUO B156HAN04.2 (AUO42ED), IPS, 120Hz, G-Sync, Full-HD, glossy: no
Mainboard : Intel HM175
Storage : Samsung SSD SM961 1TB M.2 MZVKW1T0HMLH, 1024 GB, Samsung SSD SM961 (MZVKW1T0HMLH-00000), 1 TB PCIe 3.0 x4, M.2 Type 2280
Weight : 2.25 kg ( = 79.37 oz / 4.96 pounds), Power Supply: 670 g ( = 23.63 oz / 1.48 pounds)