Asus GM501 or GL703GS

Hi everybody and sorry for my bad English.
I've just sell my Alienware 15 R3 to buy a new gaming laptop, 8th Gen, with full GTX 1070, and I've done some research between Asus, Alienware, MSI, and in conclusion I hesitate a lot between these two models :

- ASUS ROG Zephyrus M GM501GS M00040
- ASUS ROG Strix GL703GS SCAR M00160 (does it exist in 15" ?)

I came here to hear your advices and critics about these two laptops, and what models would you choose ? Thermals are good on these two laptops ? Because my AW had horrible thermal issues (99°C in game) and that matter a lot for me because I hate throttling when gaming (not just me I assume)
Last thing : I can do a Liquid Metal Repaste but I heard that will affect the guarantee on Asus Models (and it's not good when you move your laptop in a backpack ???)
Thanks in advance !

 

I just got the GL703GS just like you linked above but the US version and it's great! Thermals seem to be fine. Fans are not too loud. The Zephyrus is in a different class and more expensive, so it really just depends on how much you want to spend.

I don't think you would have any troubles with re-pasting. There are just a ton of screws to remove but if you are reasonably talented it should be no problem for ya.

Good luck!

 

@Starrbuck I ordered the GL703GS, so that's good to hear. I couldn't find much info about it so far. Could you tell me if it has dedicated click buttons on the touchpad?

 

It does I've had mine for 3 days. I play fortnite and runs ag at good 80°C throughout. Fans can get a bit loud

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Good to know. The cheaper version (GL703GE) seems to lack the dedicated buttons for some reason. How is the screen?

 

It's so beautiful!! And games run smooth!!

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I recognize that picture! Would you happen to be the first reviewer of this laptop on Amazon? Honestly, you partially convinced me to get this laptop with that review.

 

That's me!

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One more thing (sorry for derailing the thread a bit, but maybe this will help other people deciding in the future) - have you tested the 8750H under full load / tried undervolting it? Does it throttle?

 

No I have not. I want to really undervolt it, but to be honest, I don't know how.

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That's a shame. I'd recommend using ThrottleStop (you can probably find some undervolting guides online or even on this forum). Thanks for the info, and time for me to wait impatiently for my laptop to arrive.

 

Well thank you for the tip and how long do you have to wait??

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Hello guys!

Just found and registered here while I was looking for some information in the net. Really great site and forum.

I'm just about to buy one of these two and would be great, if someone more experienced can make good recommendations. As I understand the only difference between Zephyrus M GM501 and GL703GS (both with highest specs) are the display size and design, am I right? Also, around that price range ($2000 +/-) is there anything better on the market?

Everyone's opinions and comments are welcomed.

Thank you in advance and wish all the best of experiences to the new owners of these machines!

 

Your spot on, only difference is the display size, and also the Zephyrus has better ventilation at the bottom. Other than that I do believe it's the same.

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@Br3adNButt3r It could be a couple more weeks before I receive mine.

@fitstud The Zephyrus also has a Thunderbolt 3 port, although that didn't really matter to me (what mattered more was its lack of an ethernet port and uncomfortable port placement). The only other option I found in this price range with a 144hz IPS panel and a full 1070 is the Clevo PA71ES, which is honestly a solid choice as well and worth looking into.

 

@Gnomesley I had to wait a while for mine as well. Kept being back ordered or out of stock

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Hey Guys,

Here is a review of GL703GS:

https://www.ultrabookreview.com/19927-review-asus-rog-strix-gl703/

What do you think about the comparison of thermals between the two? (GL703GS vs GM501GS)

Some websites say GL703GS is compatible with Thunderbolt 3, some say it is not.

It is confusing.

Thanks a lot, wish you the best.

 

I might have to return mine

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What happened?

 

Playing fortnite made my fans kick hard and next thing you know it gave me a blue screen saying sorry your PC ran into a problem and than immediately restarted. Not sure if it's because of heat issues, hardware malfunction, or drivers not updated. Second time it does this to me. Checking all possible outcomes

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Did you OC or undervolt the CPU or GPU? If you did, try lowering what your changes and test again. Have you done a fresh install of the OS and install drivers only, then test Fortnite? Does any other games cause a reboot? Use MSI Afterburner or something like that and turn on in-display for CPU & GPU temps then do testing with Fortnite and other games.

 

I haven't done nothing to the computer. Updating drivers now. Taking a while. Using easy driver. I'll download afterburner as soon as I'm done downloading drivers

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I've also played 2 games which have caused this. Black Squad and Fortnite. I know the laptop should run everything its specifically made for fps and long usage. I think I might have just got a defective one

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Thanks all for the comments. Looks like there isn't anything better (pure performance wise) within that price range on the market right now. A bit of disappointing to hear that Br3adNButt3r's laptop shows some issues. My local dealer offers the laptop with either Linux or Win 10 Home, where the Win option is ~$200 more expensive. Do you know how this works? Do they have all the laptops in stock with no OS or with Linux, and if you decide to pay extra for the Win 10 they will install it for you, or do they receive two versions (Linux and Win) directly from the manufacturer?!

 

I had to return mine, after driver updates and trying all I could, ran fortnite and started to hit 90°C. For a laptop build for fps and long play times. No way hitting 90 so fast was normal. I'm still very convinced i had a bad unit. My blue screen and saying your pc ran into a problem well have to restart was ********

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Thanks for sharing your experience Br3adNButt3r. There're some reviews in Amazon and NewEgg, which claims pretty much similar issues with the laptop. I'm really confused what to go with, since I'm really into getting a decent gaming laptop. Any opinion is welcome and what do you guys think about getting an i7-7700HQ + GTX 1070 + 16 GB instead of i7-8750H + GTX 1070 + 16 GB in terms of pure gaming performance?! Thanks!

 

I think you'll run into the same problem because the 7700 chip had different fans inside the laptop

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I also own the GL703 GS and have no problems with overheating or throttling at all. I get max 80° on both CPU and GPU while holding the full 3.9 Ghz on all cores. And that's on balanced fan mode. No need for overboost.
I did undervolt it with -160mV though. I bought this laptop as a replacement for my desktop (6700k + 1080ti) and i'm really happy with it. It could be a bit more silent, but yeah.. we all know that gaming laptops cant be "silent".

I think an 7700HQ + 1070 will perform not much worse than the newer one. Only on CPU intensive stuff the new 8750h shines. But on pure gaming its not so much difference.

 

What games have you played?

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Battlefield 1 and The Witcher 3.

 

I seem to be stricken with the same issues as many in the post. I purchased the GL703GS Scar Edition to replace an existing Asus G701JY which was rock solid but aging (battery is going and keyboard needs replacing). I received this laptop just 3 days ago and I have been experiencing crashing problems. Just starting the machine and setting up the machine for the first time crashed when I tried to select my wireless adapter. Yesterday I went as far as to reinstall Windows 10 (1803) from scratch, install all the latest drivers, and reinstall a few games. Still, the machine will crash randomly after sitting for a while with no activity (not resuming from suspend). Also, my CPU and GPU hover between 85-90 degrees when trying to play Call of Duty: WW2. I haven't tried to undervolt anything (don't know how), so I'm not sure if that will fix the crashes or not.

I'm not sure what to do here. I'm not sure if I reach out to Asus and open a support case or if I just contact Amazon and return it as a lemon and find something from a competitor. I've bought nothing but Asus (laptops, routers, etc.) for the last 10+ years.

 

Sorry and sad to hear but also glad to know it wasnt just my laptop having issues. I've already tried everything you said your try and tbh I feel it made it worse. I ended up returning mine and maybe settling with the idea that a gaming laptop isn't for me. I also agree with what a lot of people are saying they're trying to make these laptops so appealing that they keep making them smaller and smaller and no matter how good the fans are, that's still a lot of heat inside a small case. I also felt that if the laptop was already running things at 90°C, how bad would it get when it had age and things started to slow down and games become more demanding. When I reached out the people I got it from EXCALIBURPC one of the people I was talking told me maybe this computer isn't for you since hitting 85 to 90 is normal. The computer was untreated to be hitting up to 94-96°C. And I'm like dude.... the chip burns at 100... literally the limit.... but you're telling me that's normal? I might as well as dry the motherboard. A CPU running 90 is hot as ****. If I wanted an oven that breaks down a lot, I would have done with Alienware not Asus. If I where you, I'd return it and tell them the issues you're having before you get to a point where you cant return it and damage has been made

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Did you actually try undervolting your unit as one of the previous posters suggested?

 

Yes one of the guys I met on here suggested to use throttlestop and nothing. Also found on some other places with reviews of other people tempting to the undervolt and still no progress. I think the popular undervolt has been -160 and nothing

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Just a real quick question, when your machine crashed did it ever create a dump file? Every time mine crashes it says dumping 0% and then reboots. I'm wondering if this is a SSD issues as I'm seeing tons of root port errors with PCIe for that hardware.

A corrected hardware error has occurred.
Component: PCI Express Root Port
Error Source: Advanced Error Reporting (PCI Express)
Busevice:Function: 0x0:0x1D:0x0
Vendor IDevice ID: 0x8086:0xA330
Class Code: 0x30400
The details view of this entry contains further information.​

I noticed that the NVMe drivers were Microsoft from 2015 and I have since installed the Samsung 2.3 drivers. Not sure if it will make any difference but wondering if this is what people are running into.

 

I also upgrade my GL703GS to version 1803 and I also undervolted 0.160mV and I also experience crashing problems when idling(WHEA_UNCORRECTABLE_ERROR). At first I thought I was undervolting too much so I reduce it to -0.155mV but I still experience crashing. Is there a possibility that it is the window 10 1803 update that causes crashing? I know this may sound stupid but I am not familiar with computer tech stuff thats why I want to know how to solve it.

 

Try installing the Samsung NVMe drivers (version 3.0) from the link below:

http://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/ssd/download/tools/

I installed 2.3 last night and then 3.0 this morning (to stay current) and I haven't crashed as of yet. I'm not saying this is a fix as its to short of time to tell, but so far so good for me.

 

I also use the 3.0 drivers. No crashes so far. Give it a try!
But i have to correct my statement about the temperatures. I get 84° (not 80° max.) on the CPU while gaming. But again, that's with 3.9 ghz on all 6 cores.

 

That's how my high mine where hitting and the longer you play the hotter it got.

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@matzko

What tool did you use to undervolt? I tried throttlestop (couldn't find the option) and opened the BIOS (didn't see it there either). Did you notice performance increase by underthrottling vs normal voltage? I don't know that much about it to be honest as I've always just been a install and play kind of guy.

 

@Matthew Linsemier Just watch this tutorial on how to do it with ThrottleStop, conveniently uploaded just two days ago. Voltage controls are in the FIVR section. Most laptop BIOSes don't have undervolting options (or really any advanced options for that matter). I'm still waiting on my GL703GS, so I'll see how mine fares when I get it (hopefully no crashes).

 

I want to ask whether you people would recommend this Laptop or not?
and also if not then please mention its substitutes

 

So while I'm not crashing anymore, I am now seeing my GPU Perf Limited by Power and after I'm playing games a while I start seeing Voltage. I haven't made any ThrottleStop changes yet, but I feel like I shouldn't have to do this just to play games. I feel I should be able to fire up GeForce Experience, optimize my game for my hardware, and go. That's what I've done for every other Asus latop I've ever owned. I've reached out to Asus support about this and I hope I can avoid having to return this. Especially seeing Voltage warnings in GPU perf limited worries me. Thoughts?

 

As long as your GPU is performing up to spec (and its utilization is at 100%) you should have nothing to worry about. It's normal for the GPU to be limited by power (that's what mine is limited by 90% of the time).

 

Have you got it in yet? Since I returned mine, I decided to build my own rig again.

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Unfortunately I still haven't received mine.

 

Dang I'm sorry. It's taking long

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Yes, dedicated buttons on the touchpad, for sure.

I actually returned mine today. When gaming, the keyboard got way too hot underneath my left hand which I believe is near where the CPU is located.

I had undervolted the CPU which improved the temperatures but it still got too hot and loud.

I was able to nab one of the $999 EVGA SC15 units which arrived yesterday and it works great so far. Fans are nowhere near as loud and temps are lower, although it is an i7-7700HQ and GTX 1060, but that's really all I need, especially at that price!

 

Make sure to download the evga precision app on steam its really good for monitoring.

 

Did Gnomely ever get his?

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