Asus is giving serious gamers and content creators some extra capable options in the new ROG Zephyrus S models announced at IFA 2019.
This includes a display panel with a 300Hz refresh rate for ultra-smooth gaming, which will be available in the company's ROG Zephyrus S GX701 at its release in October, and will eventually follow in other ROG laptops, like the ROG Zephyrus S GX502 and Strix models.
That 300Hz refresh rate pushes the limits of display speeds. Many esports pros are playing on 240Hz display panels, and 300Hz could be the new paradigm. Acer is also implementing the increased refresh rate in gaming laptops, starting with the Predator Triton 500.
To offer the frame rates needed to actually make use of the 300Hz panel, the ROG Zephyrus S GX701 will include an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 clocked at 1,230MHz in a 100W Turbo Mode. The Asus ROG Zephyrus S GX502 will use an RTX 2070 instead. But, both models will feature support for G-Sync modes, and can switch to a power-saving Nvidia Optimus mode as needed.
We don't have full specs on the laptops, but the GX502 model will include a 9th-Gen Intel Core i7-9750H with up to 32GB of RAM and PCIe NVMe SSD storage, so its a safe bet the GX701 will at least go that high as well.
- These are the best ultrabooks
- Save with the best cheap gaming laptops
- See how the best thin and light gaming laptops compare
A nod to creators with specs to match
It's not just gamers that will be able to take advantage of the powerful hardware on offer in the ROG Zephyrus S lineup. Content creators can similarly use the hardware to edit video, edit photos, and do graphic design. Toward that end, Asus is also custom calibrating the displays to meet Pantone validations, so content creators can be sure of their color accuracy.
That Pantone validation also comes to the ROG Zephyrus M series, which also have Full HD, IPS displays but lack the G-Sync feature of the S series. A number of ROG Strix G laptops get 100% coverage of the sRGB color space, making them suitable for web design work in addition to their gaming credentials.
Asus has also mentioned DisplayHDR 400 certification coming to special editions of the Zephyrus S GX531 and GX701, with local backlight dimming (which may be a first in a laptop) to power that HDR.
Unfortunately, no price or release information is available at the moment beyond the October release window for the 300Hz Asus ROG Zephyrus S GX701.
- These are the best graphics cards
- IFA 2019 is Europe's biggest tech show. The TechRadar team is in Berlin to bring you all the breaking news and hands-on first impressions of new TV, watches and other tech as they're announced.
