ASUS ROG G703GX-XB96K 17.3” 144Hz G-Sync, Intel i9-9980HK, GeForce RTX 2080

Has anyone picked this model up yet? Hows it holding out on CPU thermals? The i9-9750H model reviewed below has good performance, was wondering how the 9980HK performance - comes pre-overclocked.

I haven't had an Asus laptop for a few years, and I have been interested in getting another one, nows as good a time as any what with AMD slow to roll out the desktop models of their CPU / GPU in laptops.

The Asus Mothership would be another option, but it's a limited edition, probably too expensive and only available in Asia.

MSI's GT75 9980HK 2080 model has a 4k screen only, I'd rather have the Full HD 144hz screen, but MSI currently isn't listing that variant:
https://www.msi.com/Laptop/GT75-Titan-9SX/Specification

And, the MSI GT76 has Optimus... sigh.

ASUS G703GX Overview Intel i7-9750H RTX 2080
XOTIC PC
Published on May 31, 2019
Product overview for the ASUS G703GX.
https://www.xoticpc.com/asus-rog-g703gx-xb76.html


ASUS ROG G703GX (2019) Gaming Laptop, 17.3” Full HD 144Hz G-Sync, Overclocked GeForce RTX 2080, Intel Core i9-9980HK, 32GB DDR4, 1TB SSD RAID 0 (2X 512GB M.2), Windows 10 Pro, G703GX-XB96K
https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-Overclocked-GeForce-i9-9980HK-G703GX-XB96K/dp/B07SHRYNTD
https://www.xoticpc.com/asus-rog-g703gx-xb96k.html
https://www.newegg.com/rog-metallic...-xb96k-gaming-entertainment/p/N82E16834235241

Asus G703GX-XB96K NotebookCheck
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Asus-G703GX-XB96K.426347.0.html

Asus ROG G703GX review (i9-9980HK, RTX 2080 200W, 144Hz screen with GSync)
By Andrei Girbea, June 28, 2019
https://www.ultrabookreview.com/27215-asus-rog-g703gx-review/

It looks like it gets good performance in Turbo mode out of the box, and allows for some OC past the out of the box settings with undervolting (details in the article).

Here's some benchmark results, looks good to me:

"...Asus provides three different power modes for this laptop, which you can use to juggle between performance, thermals, and noise:

• Silent – CPU limited at 45 W and 4.2x multiplier, GPU limited at 140 W, fans only ramp up to about 40-43 dB in games;
• Balanced – CPU limited at 90 W and 4.2x multiplier, GPU limited at 140 W;
• Turbo – CPU limited at 200 W and 4.7x multiplier, GPU limited at 200 W, fans ramp up to 55-56 dB in games.

Let’s touch on some out-of-the-box benchmark results first, though, on Turbo mode with default settings.

• 3DMark 11: 29806 (Graphics – 38325, Physics – 18010);
• 3DMark 13 – Fire Strike: 22607 (Graphics – 26241, Physics – 24926);
• 3DMark 13 – Time Spy: 10377 (Graphics – 10356, CPU – 10502);
• 3DMark 13 – Port Royal: 6074;
• Uniengine Superposition – 1080p Extreme: 6739;
• GeekBench 3.4.2 32-bit: Single-Core: 4196 Multi-core: 23108;
• GeekBench 4.1.1 64-bit: Single-Core: 5972 Multi-core: 33024;
• CineBench R15 (best run): CPU 2019 cb, CPU Single Core 205 cb;
• CineBench R20 (best run): CPU 4548 cb;
• x264 HD Benchmark 4.0 32-bit: Pass 1 – 216.65 fps, Pass 2 – 79.23 fps.

And here’s what we got on that Tweaked profile, with the CPU on Turbo, 47x multiplier, -120 mV and the GPU further overclocked at +160 MHz Core/+1000 Mhz Memory.

• 3DMark 11: 29976 (Graphics – 38848, Physics – 17936);
• 3DMark 13 – Fire Strike: 23507 (Graphics – 27148, Physics – 24671);
• 3DMark 13 – Time Spy: 10954 (Graphics – 11017, CPU – 10611);
• 3DMark 13 – Port Royal: 6256;
• Uniengine Superposition – 1080p Extreme: 6939;
• PCMark 10: 6929 (Essentials – 10600, Productivity – 9560, Digital Content Creation – 8911);
• PassMark: Rating: 7554, CPU mark: 20525, 3D Graphics Mark: 13614;
• GeekBench 3.4.2 32-bit: Single-Core: 5256 Multi-core: 23848;
• GeekBench 4 64-bit: Single-Core: 5981, Multi-core: 33521;
• CineBench R15 (best run): CPU 2034 cb, CPU Single Core 205 cb;
• CineBench R20 (best run): CPU 4861 cb;
• x264 HD Benchmark 4.0 32-bit: Pass 1 – 260.62 fps, Pass 2 – 118.22 fps.
• x264 HD Benchmark 5.0.1 64-bit: Pass 1 – 175.36 fps, Pass 2 – 43.41 fps.

As expected, the gains in CPU cores are only noticeable in those tests that simulate a 100% all-core load, like Cinebench, as the others are not taxing enough to thermally limit its performance in the default settings. Overclocking the GPU does translate in 5-7% gains in Graphics scores, as it allows the GPU to run at slightly higher clocks. Power Throttling most likely limits the GPU in this case, and further tweaking might be possible by undervolting the GPU, but we didn’t get the time to pursue this on our sample.

It’s also important to add that the Tweaked profile also leads to a 5-7 degrees Celsius drop in CPU temperatures, with little effect on the GPU, as you can see in the following 3DMark logs, as well as down below, in the gaming performance section."


The previous Intel i9-8950HK model was a trade off between much cooler running CPU temps even at OC, but much worse CPU scores due to having 2c/4t fewer compute engines going for it. This review from a while back shows the lossage in scores due to fewer cores, and he didn't OC it as far as the Ultrabook Review guys did the new i9-9980HK CPU.

Asus ROG G703GX Review w/ RTX 2080! $3499! Worth it? Here's My Honest Review!
GizmoSlipTech

Undervolting helped both CPU's, but for the i9-9980HK only enough to get the CPU to 4.7ghz all core OC without thermal throttling for extended 100% CPU loads, but for less heavy CPU loads 5.0ghz all core worked fine.

I don't want to re-paste the CPU, so I hope I get a good one...

 

I've only seen a couple of people in the owners lounge with this model unfortunately. It comes with LM from the factory though so I wouldn't worry too much about repeating.

Anyway they are great laptops. Built like a tank physically and no real software issues aside from the Asus software needing a bit more polish. The GPU is a highlight, 200W with excellent temps

And yes, it's a shame there are so few high end AMD laptops. You either need to be happy with the few models out there, or go Intel/Nvidia. I don't think we will see laptop parts for a long time, they can't even keep the desktop parts in stock due to demand

 

Yeah, Asus have been good systems for me - all of them - but I know others haven't been so fortunate. I didn't know it had LM from the factory, so I can't repaste for better temps, it's the cooling system at it's limits. That's ok as the other laptops with Intel 8c/16t CPU's aren't cooling any better at full OC / load.

Not in a rush, so I'll see what comes around - maybe some AMD Ryzen 3 CPU / Navi GPU laptops will show up, or maybe we won't see anything till Ryzen 4 / Navi 2...

 

Do we know if the GPU also has LM or some form of advanced paste? A lot of the mainstream resellers offer re-pasting for the cPU and GPU, so I'm wondering if that option now becomes obsolete and just opt for the Thermal Pads instead.

 

Not sure but it isn't an issue for GPUs. The Turing dies especially are so huge, LM has not found to give a whole lot of benefit. With Intel CPUs, the problem is quickly pulling the heat away from the die which is what LM does best but with GPUs it is more about removing a lot of energy from the PC (cooling system as a whole).

 

I'm not so sure about this. It seems there are two versions of the 2019 G703, the G703GX-XB96K version with 2x512 GB SSD (as listed in OP) and the GX703GXR with 3x 256/512 GB SSD and liquid metal cooling. What confuses me is both versions are identically spec'd aside from the extra SSD storage, yet when you read the product description on XOTICPC's website: https://www.xoticpc.com/asus-rog-g703gx-xb96k.html , you will notice that it makes no mention of the LM application from the factory; whereas the description on the ROG Global site here: https://www.asus.com/Laptops/ROG-G703/ does mention it. In fact the site says they use Thermal Grizzly LM which afaik is one of the better compounds out there...

I believe that the two versions are for the US GX model (listed on Amazon, as in OP), and the global GXR version which I have yet to see for sale here in the US. The frustrating part is, why the hell would Asus have one version of the laptop get LM right from the factory and outperform the other which does not? Especially since on their website, it claims a 13 degree difference in CPU temps, which is a big difference! It makes no sense, can someone with the specific G703GX-XB96K model verify if it comes stock with LM or not?

 

9th gen i9 models have LM. If it’s an i7, or it’s an 8th gen i9, it will not have LM. This is according to the G703 product page on the Asus website.

Xotic PC may not mention it, but that doesn’t mean it’s not there. Product pages on storefronts are pretty awful (and sometimes completely incorrect) in my experience. Email them and find out.

 

Yes, but on the ROG Global site it specifically mentions: "Liquid metal is only applied on 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i9 configurations of the G703GXR" which could mean that the non-"R" versions (like the G703GX-XB96K which lacks the "R" moniker). Anyways, I did e-mail them and currently waiting for a reply.

Another thing -- both XOTIC and HIDevolution have options to repaste this specific XB96K model with different thermal compounds -- but at extra cost. Why would they offer these options at extra cost if it already has the best possible compound, stock, from the factory? These sites even offer the option for non-conductive thermal paste which is significantly less effective than LM, so in theory one would be paying MORE for inferior thermals! That is, if it actually does come with LM...

 

Okay I got the final verification from XOTICPC. Apparently it is wrong on the Asus website and the XB96K Non-"R" version does come with LM from the factory. Here is what the rep said: "No problem at all, I did hear back and they confirmed that yes that model does come with LM from Asus, we just don't reapply it here if you ever needed a reapplication".

 

Just picked this one up. Thermals are indeed very impressive! Bigger and thicker than the G701VIK I had before. Very solid. Was able to undervolt mine -115mv. With the fans up in Turbo mode doesn't hit 90C under load.

 

Got mine yesterday, can confirm the i9 GXR has LM. There were a few small LM stains on the heatpipes (yikes).

The 3x512GB Raid0 is best to dismantle straight away as it will give problems in the future. It's a janky setup with 1x PM981 and 2x 760p all in raid0.
8GB/s sustained reads but 4k where it matrers, is not good. A single 970PRO is snappier than this.

 

I have it now approximately 4 months ( 30 days was at service after GPU burn out ) but I do love this machine
To today point of view is the best gaming PC/ Laptop ever ( is a desktop replacement )
I play everything at ultra settings and don't have any issues push out always 140 FPS and the CPU stay around 80 Degrees
Hope you will enjoy it too

 

The only thing I struggle with is that stupid armoury crate software. I do not want it because it interferes with Throttlestop but I don't see any other way to switch between G-Sync and Optimus or control the fans.
And still it sometimes throttles the CPU at 45W?!

 

Use XTU because Armory is beset on XTU software and I always use mine CPU at Turbo mode and via the XTU I l have enable all mine 8 cores at 4,7 GHz and there is no issue at all
As well I underwolted is by 0.90 (didn't try push it harder, because this working for me ) and as well I setup the max short power boost and max boost to maximum
Mine professor drew around 200 W at peak time and thermal head room is ok , max temps on one core is 85 Degree and that maybe for a few seconds normally stay at 79
Hope this help

 

And btw I never leave the CPU lock at 45 W that is no power at all, that is maybe enough for a i5 for a short boost on one core