A host of new Asus laptops for gaming have been unleashed, all of which are powered by Intel’s newest 8th-gen Core processors, along with a couple of fresh desktop PCs aimed at churning out solid frame rates as well.
Heading up the pack is the impressive sounding Asus ROG Zephyrus M (GM501), which the company notes is the slimmest gaming notebook in the world that packs an 8th-gen (up to) Core i7 processor twinned with GeForce GTX 1070 graphics.
This 15.6-inch notebook features an IPS display with a 144Hz refresh rate and 3ms response time, as well as Nvidia’s G-Sync technology for combating stuttering and tearing.
It boasts 16GB of DDR4 2666MHz system memory, with storage provided courtesy of a 256GB NVMe PCIe SSD backed up by a 1TB SSHD (a hybrid hard drive featuring 8GB of flash cache to speed it up a bit). A nifty ‘Active Aerodynamic System’ has also been implemented to help keep this notebook cool.
Asus also announced the ROG Zephyrus (GX501GI), a beefed up spin on the Max-Q packing Zephyrus GX501 we reviewed last November. It’s also a 15.6-inch model with a slim profile and the same IPS panel as the aforementioned Zephyrus M, plus the nifty cooling system.
Performance has been turned up a notch with the incorporation of an 8th-gen (up to) Core i7 CPU alongside the GPU which is a powerful GeForce GTX 1080.
Next up we have a fresh version of the Asus ROG G703, which again sports Intel’s latest 8th-gen CPUs, except in this case you can bag yourself a factory-overclocked Core i9 processor, running alongside a GeForce GTX 1080.
This machine has a 17.3-inch anti-glare IPS screen, again with a 144Hz refresh rate and 3ms response time, plus G-Sync technology. Storage is blazing fast, too, with RAID 0 SSD speeds of up to 8700MB/s promised by Asus, which the company observes is the fastest ever seen in a notebook.
Asus further revealed a fresh spin on the ROG Strix SCAR Edition, which is aimed at esports types who enjoy a spot of Overwatch or Counter-Strike. This model now packs an 8th-gen (up to) Core i7 processor with a choice of Nvidia GeForce 10-series graphics, and features that IPS display with a 144Hz refresh rate, 3ms response time and G-Sync.
Holding out for a Hero
The ROG Strix Hero Edition, which Asus crafted with MOBA addicts in mind, has also been juiced up with 8th-gen (up to) Core i7 processors, although otherwise the spec remains the same as the previous (current) version.
On the desktop gaming PC front, Asus revealed the ROG Huracan (G21), which you won’t get any prizes for guessing is driven by an 8th-gen Intel Core i7 processor, with a GeForce GTX 1080 GPU.
This PC boasts a 2.5-inch hot-swap bay for an SSD, meaning you can easily switch your solid-state storage around without turning the machine off, should you wish. It also has a slide-open chassis with a side cover that can be easily opened to generate better airflow and cooling.
And finally, the ROG Strix GL12 is another desktop which features up to an 8th-gen Intel Core i7 processor plus GTX 1070 graphics, again with a hot-swap bay for an SSD.
Asus says that all these gaming systems will be available from the end of April, with pricing to be confirmed.
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