Game like a god: Asus ROG Zephyrus
14.6.2018
Translation: machine translated
Pictures: Thomas Kunz
A dream for the next LAN party - today on the test bench: gaming notebook with Intel Core i7-8750H, GeForce GTX 1080 Max-Q design, a 144 Hz wide-view display and G-Sync.
It's no secret that notebooks are less than ideal for gaming. The compact format makes it difficult to achieve efficient cooling for the GPU and CPU. ASUS has taken an interesting approach in this respect; when the notebook is opened, the rear section of the base rises by 6 mm. This increases the cooling capacity.
The most important data at a glance:
- Intel Core i7-8750H
- Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Max-Q design
- 16 GB RAM (DDR4-2666, 8 GB soldered and 8 GB built-in)
- Maximum supported RAM of 24 GB (only one slot available, which is already occupied)
- 512 GB SSD (Samsung SM961, M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4)
- 15.6" Full HD IPS display (anti-glare) with G-Sync and 144 Hz refresh rate
- Speakers (2 x 1.6 W) and microphone
- 720p front camera
- 4-cell Li-ion battery with 50 Wh
- Windows 10 Home
Design and connections
I have rarely been so impressed by the workmanship of a device as ASUS ROG has managed with the Zephyrus GX501GI-EI005T. The casing is made of a magnesium-aluminium alloy. The back of the display is divided diagonally into two sections. The lower section is brushed horizontally, the upper section is brushed diagonally. Together with the colour scheme Asus calls "Black Titanium", this looks really good. There is also a chrome-plated ROG symbol on the right-hand side of the back of the display, which lights up red when the device is switched on. When the display is open, two further LEDs on the right and left of the front base light up in red when the notebook is connected to the mains.
The notebook weighs 2.24 kg and is almost as thin as an Ultrabook at 1.79 cm. It measures 26.2 cm in length and 37.9 cm in width. When the notebook is opened, the rear part of the base rises by 6 mm to form a ramp. This is why there are no connections on the back.
On the left-hand side of the notebook, there are connections for the power cable, two USB ports (3.1 Type-A), an HDMI port and a combined jack connection for sound and microphone. On the right-hand side, there is a Kensington security slot as well as two further USB ports (3.1 Type-A) and a connection for Thunderbolt 3 or USB-C.
It's a bit of a shame that Asus hasn't included a DisplayPort. An RJ45 connection is also missing. To connect to the internet via cable, Asus has included a USB network adapter.
Display
In addition to the processor and graphics card, the 15.6-inch Full HD IPS display is particularly impressive. I'm already used to 144 Hz from desktop gaming. So I'm more than happy that the Zephyrus doesn't have to do without it. In addition, the anti-glare, matte display has natural colours, a good viewing angle of 178 degrees and very important for us gamers: Nvidia G-Sync (synchronisation of the refresh rate of the panel with the GPU).
Thanks to the vivid colours and wide viewing angle, the display is also ideal for watching films. You can position yourself almost anywhere in front of the laptop without the colours fading or inverting. Even in dark scenes, I was still able to make out enough details to be happy.
Keyboard and touchpad
When you open the lid, the first thing you notice is the positioning of the keyboard. It takes up around half of the base and is located directly at the bottom edge. The touchpad is positioned to the right of it, which takes some getting used to at first. To make typing as comfortable as possible, Asus has included a palm rest. This helps if, like me, you hit the keys every day.
Since the keyboard does not have a numeric keypad, Asus has installed a special touchpad. This can be switched to the numeric keypad using the corresponding button above the pad. However, blind typing of numbers only works after a long familiarisation period, as there is no haptic feedback.
The anti-ghosting chiclet keyboard is backlit and can display 16.8 million colours. Using the ROG Aura Core software, various "zones" can be adjusted in colour (entire keyboard, WASD, QWER and other keys). Otherwise, the keys have a very comfortable actuation point of 1.4 millimetres. Writing, as well as gaming, is a pleasure for me.
What Asus has done really well with the design of the base, by the way, is that the heat development is mainly greatest in the rear area. This means that you don't have permanently sweaty hands when pressing the keys, as is the case with other notebooks.
Audio
Zephyrus offers two speakers, each with 1.6 watts, which are mounted on the side next to the keyboard in the front area of the base. Although these are absolutely puny in size, as is standard for notebooks, they surprised me. They not only play the highs and mids of the sound clearly. The bass is also pleasing considering the small dimensions. Of course, it lacks a bit of oomph compared to a proper system or good headphones, but the sound is definitely more than okay for a notebook.
If you want, you can optimise the sound using the Sonic Studio III software. There are also presets that offer the modes "Music", "Film", "Games" and "Communication". Presets can also be assigned directly to programmes/games so that the desired mode is automatically activated at startup.
Battery - the Achilles heel of the notebook
The built-in 50 Wh battery does not last long, which is not surprising given the configuration. It lasts around one and a half hours for normal office work. For games, it runs out after around 50 minutes.
When I run the HeavyLoad stress test, which pushes the RAM, SSD, graphics card and processor to their limits, the notebook lasts exactly 32 minutes before it shuts itself down.
CPU
The Intel Core i7-8750H is a high-performance mobile 64-bit hexa-core high-end processor. It was introduced at the beginning of 2018 and is based on the Coffee Lake microarchitecture. It is manufactured using Intel's improved third-generation 14nm++ process.
The i7-8750H employees at a clock speed of 2.2 GHz and has a TDP of 45 W. It also has a turbo boost of up to 4.1 GHz. The processor itself supports up to 64 GB DDR4-2666 RAM (dual channel). The chip is also equipped with Intel's UHD Graphics 630 GPU.
Graphics card
Nvidia launched the GeForce GTX 1080 Max-Q in June 2017. It is manufactured using the 16 nm process, has a chip area of 314 mm² and offers 8192 MB of GGDR5X memory, which is connected via a 256-bit memory interface. The GPU operates at a frequency of 1290 MHz, which can be increased to 1468 MHz, while the memory runs at 1251 MHz. The maximum power consumption is 150 watts.
The performance of the card can vary greatly depending on the cooling system and housing used. The cooling system developed by Asus called Active Aerodynamic System (AAS) seems to do a good job with its "ramp". It enables a more efficient utilisation of power and ensures that the noise development remains relatively low. However, it cannot be described as quiet. The fans on the Zephyrus can be regulated in three stages (Quiet, Balanced, Overboost) using the FN + F5 key combination.
Gaming performance
Zephyrus and gaming - a perfect match! Given the high price of the product, this is to be expected.
Cinebench R15
Cinebench R15 from Maxon is based on the 3D software Cinema 4D and can test the performance of PC systems across all platforms. [[image:14641956]]
When rendering with OpenGL, the Zephyrus achieves a good 110.31 fps.
The CPU i7-8750H scored 1131 points in the tested system. This score roughly corresponds to that of an AMD Ryzen 5 1600X. If you are interested, you can find plenty of benchmark comparison tables on the internet. Such as this one from cpu-monkey.com.
3DMark Fire Strike
The DirectX benchmark Fire Strike from 3DMark can be used to test and compare gaming PCs. [[image:14668355]]
The ROG notebook achieves a score of 14,876. The result can be compared on the manufacturer's website. An average gaming notebook scores 10,850 points. The Zephyrus seems to be quite well positioned with its score.
A little warm-up exercise with Doom
Doom from 2016 runs smoothly on the Zephyrus with the best possible graphics settings and can even fully utilise the display's 144 Hz. The refresh rate fluctuates between 122 and 144 FPS while playing.
Current AAA title: Far Cry 5
Far Cry 5 can also be played smoothly with the best graphics settings. With 54 to 89 FPS, the game offers beautifully rendered forests, cinematic scenes and fluid combat. Great!
Conclusion
For around 3500 francs, the Zephyrus is not only a solidly built device, but also a really high-performance gaming notebook. Anyone who has become accustomed to a display with 144 Hz will not want to take a step back. Even if the difference to a panel with less Hertz is not always noticeable at first glance, it will become apparent at the latest when your eyes are still not tired after hours on a night of gaming.
The built-in GeForce GTX 1080 Max-Q design and the Core i7-8750H, together with the AAS cooling system and the built-in gaming keyboard, round off the gaming experience perfectly.
The only shortcomings are the connections and the built-in battery. You will search in vain for a DisplayPort. In addition, a network cable can only be used with the included USB adapter. It is not surprising that the battery dies after just 32 minutes in the stress test, as the power consumption is simply too high for gaming hardware.
Other than that, the notebook is impressive across the board. I am grateful to Asus for the test device, but I am extremely reluctant to give it back - I will definitely miss the divine gaming feeling. However, it's too expensive for me to buy. However, if I were to attend LAN parties more often, I would have to reconsider.
Martin Jud
Senior Editor
martin.jud@digitecgalaxus.chI find my muse in everything. When I don’t, I draw inspiration from daydreaming. After all, if you dream, you don’t sleep through life.
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