Gaming laptops have been around for a while and since they're targeted at hardcore gamers, they will always be a niche product. While they serve the purpose of a "normal" laptop, their core competence is to deliver solid performance for those who use these machines to play games. Asus's Republic of Gamers (RoG) Zepgyrus GX501 is the latest entrant in the category and claims to be the "thinnest gaming laptop". How does it score on performance, display, looks and other aspects which consumers look at before buying a gaming laptop? Read our review to find out more:
Design
The GX501 is certainly a head turner - thin, sleek and looks extremely stylish. It weighs around 2.25 kg but felt slightly heavier and comes with aluminium and plastic build. The striking bronze coloured chamfered edges add to the look of the laptop.
Lift the lid and you come across a Chiclet-style keyboard which is at the front of the laptop. This makes the laptop look "spacious" as the trackpad is situated on the right of the keyboard. It takes time to get used to the location of the trackpad but once you start playing games you get the logic behind it. The trackpad also has a virtual 10-key feature that looks pretty dazzling but we didn't end up using it much.
There are four USB 3.0 Type A ports on each side, HDMI 2.0, a Kensington lock and a 40GBps Thunderbolt 3 port. The bottom panel of the laptop opens up when the lid of the laptop is up. This design element impressed as it allows cool air to be sucked into the laptop and one doesn't feel any heating issues. What it also does is that it makes the GX501 a very quiet laptop - a feature that does stand out.
There's a 15.6-inch display which offers 1920 x 1080 resolution. It's a powerful display which produces some great colours and acceptable brightness levels.
Performance
Make no mistake, this is a powerful laptop when it comes to performance. The key feature in the GX501 is Nvidia's GeForce GTX 1080 powered by Max-Q technology. This technology helps the laptop produce more output. The GX501 is powered by 7th generation Intel Core i7 processor clocked at 2.8GHz, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD. There's 8GB of VRAM coupled with Nvidia's GeForce GTX 1080.
The games we played on the laptop - Asphalt 8: AirBorne, Call of Duty among others - were a delight to play with. You won't be disappointed at all with the performance of this laptop. The sound output wasn't extraordinary but delivered acceptable results. Asphalt 8 which is a graphic intensive game is a good enough test for this laptop and it doesn't disappoint. This is a ridiculously fast laptop which delivers some brilliant graphics. There's not much one looks for in a gaming laptop. You won't find any lags or stutters while playing games on the GX501. When it comes to performance, this is a laptop which deserves some serious praise.
We ran 3D Mark and PC Mark benchmark tests and the results were commendable. On 3D Mark, the GX501 got an overall score of 6272 whereas on PC Mark, the overall score was 23444.
The one - and big disappointment - with the GX 501 is its battery life. To put it bluntly, the battery life is terrible. As soon as the warning of low battery comes up, the laptop shuts down in two seconds. And no, we aren't exaggerating about this. Do note that this laptop doesn't run without the adaptor for more than two hours, that too if you're lucky. Having said that, battery is an issue which plagues most gaming laptops and isn't really a deal breaker for gamers. Most of them are accustomed to using it with the adaptor but still we expected better from Asus.
Verdict
If you're in the market for a gaming laptop, this will certainly make your consideration set. Barring the battery life, there's nothing much to complain in the laptop. Top-notch performance, attractive design and solid display - it really checks all the boxes. Priced at Rs 2,99,999, this is a premium product which, in all fairness, delivers premium performance. However, the price might just prove to be a deterrent to many hardcore gamers. You can be put off by the battery life but gaming laptops aren't renowned for this particular feature. Scan the market for similar devices and you will find that universally gaming laptops disappoint when it comes to battery life. Having said that, when it comes to performance, this is a product which looms large over competition. Asus has a winner on its hands with the GX501 and the Nvidia GTX 1080 heavily tilts the balance in its favour. MSI's Titan Pro 4K also boasts of similar specs but a better display costs around Rs 3.34 lakh. If you're fine with the price and the comparatively smaller display, you're better off picking the Asus GX501.
Design
The GX501 is certainly a head turner - thin, sleek and looks extremely stylish. It weighs around 2.25 kg but felt slightly heavier and comes with aluminium and plastic build. The striking bronze coloured chamfered edges add to the look of the laptop.
Lift the lid and you come across a Chiclet-style keyboard which is at the front of the laptop. This makes the laptop look "spacious" as the trackpad is situated on the right of the keyboard. It takes time to get used to the location of the trackpad but once you start playing games you get the logic behind it. The trackpad also has a virtual 10-key feature that looks pretty dazzling but we didn't end up using it much.
There are four USB 3.0 Type A ports on each side, HDMI 2.0, a Kensington lock and a 40GBps Thunderbolt 3 port. The bottom panel of the laptop opens up when the lid of the laptop is up. This design element impressed as it allows cool air to be sucked into the laptop and one doesn't feel any heating issues. What it also does is that it makes the GX501 a very quiet laptop - a feature that does stand out.
There's a 15.6-inch display which offers 1920 x 1080 resolution. It's a powerful display which produces some great colours and acceptable brightness levels.
Performance
Make no mistake, this is a powerful laptop when it comes to performance. The key feature in the GX501 is Nvidia's GeForce GTX 1080 powered by Max-Q technology. This technology helps the laptop produce more output. The GX501 is powered by 7th generation Intel Core i7 processor clocked at 2.8GHz, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD. There's 8GB of VRAM coupled with Nvidia's GeForce GTX 1080.
The games we played on the laptop - Asphalt 8: AirBorne, Call of Duty among others - were a delight to play with. You won't be disappointed at all with the performance of this laptop. The sound output wasn't extraordinary but delivered acceptable results. Asphalt 8 which is a graphic intensive game is a good enough test for this laptop and it doesn't disappoint. This is a ridiculously fast laptop which delivers some brilliant graphics. There's not much one looks for in a gaming laptop. You won't find any lags or stutters while playing games on the GX501. When it comes to performance, this is a laptop which deserves some serious praise.
We ran 3D Mark and PC Mark benchmark tests and the results were commendable. On 3D Mark, the GX501 got an overall score of 6272 whereas on PC Mark, the overall score was 23444.
The one - and big disappointment - with the GX 501 is its battery life. To put it bluntly, the battery life is terrible. As soon as the warning of low battery comes up, the laptop shuts down in two seconds. And no, we aren't exaggerating about this. Do note that this laptop doesn't run without the adaptor for more than two hours, that too if you're lucky. Having said that, battery is an issue which plagues most gaming laptops and isn't really a deal breaker for gamers. Most of them are accustomed to using it with the adaptor but still we expected better from Asus.
Verdict
If you're in the market for a gaming laptop, this will certainly make your consideration set. Barring the battery life, there's nothing much to complain in the laptop. Top-notch performance, attractive design and solid display - it really checks all the boxes. Priced at Rs 2,99,999, this is a premium product which, in all fairness, delivers premium performance. However, the price might just prove to be a deterrent to many hardcore gamers. You can be put off by the battery life but gaming laptops aren't renowned for this particular feature. Scan the market for similar devices and you will find that universally gaming laptops disappoint when it comes to battery life. Having said that, when it comes to performance, this is a product which looms large over competition. Asus has a winner on its hands with the GX501 and the Nvidia GTX 1080 heavily tilts the balance in its favour. MSI's Titan Pro 4K also boasts of similar specs but a better display costs around Rs 3.34 lakh. If you're fine with the price and the comparatively smaller display, you're better off picking the Asus GX501.
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