Asus ROG GL503

I had the hero for maybe a few days and screen look okay, but it did seem cloudy certain times. I didn't really pay to much attention to it, I sent it back for other reasons and ended up getting the gl503vs.

 

Well, the saga continues. I received the SCAR a few hours ago and it confirmed the issues with the HERO display. The SCAR has a fantastic display, which is visibly brighter than the HERO's and has great colors. That said, the backlights on the left of the keyboard are significantly dimmer than the lights in the center and right sides. The "i" key is mushy to the point it makes a clackity sound different from every other key on the board. UUGGHH!

So, some thoughts (before I return the SCAR, too). The SCAR feels much better in hand because of the aluminum lid. Definitely higher end feeling and more non-gaming looking in my opinion. It also feels smaller because of the different materials, (maybe it's me, not you). The HERO track pad makes a clicking noise and sinks a lot when tapped and the SCAR track pad is dead quiet, non-moving and much smoother in operation, though it's apparently the same drivers and materials. I appreciate the SCAR's dedicated right and left buttons on the track pad, but I suppose there is some argument for going without on the HERO. This is probably one of the biggest differences outside of the different GPU's. The SCAR feels more premium, as it should when people throw down another $300, even if it's predominantly for a better GPU and a Thunderbolt port.

All that being said, I'm giving it one last shot with Amazon and ASUS. At this point I honestly couldn't tell you if the differences in the trackpads are because of manufacturing issues or they're just engineered differently. If I received two HERO's with manufacturing issues, I would never order a third. I'm in the crappy situation of of having two different ASUS gaming laptops with issues, the HERO's being either UPS and or the factories. The SCAR's issues are fit and finish, period. You just can't have issues like these on laptops over $1000 (or even $400). Amazon is overnighting a SCAR and I'll give it a go again on Saturday. The parts are there to have a phenomenal laptop, they unfortunately, but hopefully not, seem to be put together poorly. More to come....

I added some side by sides of the HERO and SCAR to my photo gallery.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/v2vznmfApskYU4bk2

Oh, one last thing. As far as charging bricks go, the SCAR's is literally a brick. Jokes aside, it's noticeably bigger and heavier than the HERO's, obviously to run the GTX 1070 instead of the 1060. It also does not have a fancy "ASUS" emblazoned on it. You're pushing 10 pounds of weight with charging and laptop combined, which starts challenging portability or so some wiser and learned folks say is the case.

 

sounds like a firmware issue then.
You'll need to beg asus for a firmware update, after giving them sample images to replicate the banding issue.

 

So a friend of mine bought the Best Buy version of the GL503 and I was shocked to see it was immediately hitting 95c on the 3rd core. Took it apart and noticed that that was a massive air pocket on the CPU where the paste wasn't even touching the die at all. Wow. By far the worst quality paste job i've ever seen this far on any laptop.. Explains why the fans were on full blast entire time.. I was like who would want to buy this machine?!?

Anyways, repasted it with some Arctic Silver 5 (or something, it was his) and the temps went down to about 75c and the fan noise was literally nearly cured.. It just purrs under gaming and never actually gets loud to the point of being annoying. GPU only got up to 72c (1060).

That being said, I would say these machines REQUIRE a repaste but YMMV..

After experiencing the overall build quality and 120hz screen though and now that i've sold off my Razer Blade.. I'm thinking about picking one up.. That screen is AMAZING.

Edit: After the repaste, the GL503 is WAY quieter than my Razer Blade 2017 could ever be. However, it is obvious that the Razer Blade will get superior battery life due to Optimus.

 

I thought the body size was identical between all the GL503's? I'm getting mixed info though.. Best Buy is claiming 5.1 lbs for their 1060 model... and Asus is claiming 5.6 lbs for the 1060 model and the same 5.6 lbs on the 1070 Scar edition.

 

Update, I picked up a GL503VMF from Best Buy and liquid metal'ed it.. Dropped 20c average on benches.

 

After lurking around this thread, I feel the need to share my experiences with my Asus GL503VS since i've also learned a lot from people giving their insights on their products.

After extensive tinkering with this elegant yet powerful laptop, here are the things that i've observed:

-Laptop feels and looks premium. I love the simple design at the front panel. You can push down and flex the front panel but it doesn't make contact with the LCD. There are some flexes in the middle of the keyboard, still feels solid though.

-Keyboard is a bit fair for my taste. I've come from a steelseries laptop keyboard and that was moderately superior compared to the asus'. I'm using an external keyboard anyway, so I don't really get annoyed with the mushy feeling of the keystrokes.

-Sounds are good, but i'm not really the one to ask for opinions regarding sound quality. I connect it to the speakers and i've noticed that its built-in speakers lack base.

-The main reason I chose this is because of its slim design and portability with a powerful gtx 1070 to cater to my gaming needs. However, temps are hot. After some data gathering and multiple benchmark tests, here is what I've found out so far (Note: room temp is usually 30-32 deg.C in my country):
--Idle temps: usually 41-50 deg.C..
--At stock paste and no undervolt, my GPU would hit 84 deg.C max temp and CPU 87-89 deg.C max temp.
--At stock paste but with undervolt, GPU 83. Still high imo. CPU can reach 82 max temp.
--With Thermal repaste (Kryonaut) and undervolt, GPU still hovers around 79-80 max temp but averages around 77. CPU now only reaches 79 max temp but averages around 77
--I know overclocking in a laptop is not really ideal but I've figured that undervolting the GPU did little to no improvement so i'd just make the most of the processing power of the GPU. After thermal repaste and OCing the GPU with CPU undervolt, spikes at 81 but usually hovers at 79-80. CPU still the same as before.
If not for MSI's warranty voided (Yes, it's voided in my country if that sticker is tampered with regardless of having a global warranty) if you open up the back panel to access the motherboard, then maybe I would've gone with the GE63VR or GE73VR since they are almost similarly priced with GL503VS. Though I'm not sure if the MSI Raider would perform a better job at cooling the GPU [Ideally it should because it has 7 heat pipes and a well-ventilated back panel].

-Screen is really vibrant and I can 'feel', or rather, see the smoothness of the 144 Hz + GSync feature when playing PUBG. Hands down to the screen, but there are some minor backlight bleeding that I can ignore.

Now, I'm not sure if overclocking the GPU is a good idea, despite that the temps are basically the same even when it runs at stock clock. Can anybody tell me how many years would the GPU(overclocked) hold up to its 100% performance when I'll be playing, let's say, 4-6 hours a day?
-Also, boot time is really fast!

 

Uhh ... because G-Sync.. can't have it with Optimus. Therefore bad battery life because the GPU is idling at higher watts than a iGPU does. The only thing that probably makes a good compromise will be a Freesync laptop with the new Intel + AMD Vega on same pcb.

 

so ~80C on simultaneous furmark+prime95 ??

 

I'll make that test shortly, i was only comparing my results with the Throttlestop test built in.. I was in the low 80s stock and now low 60s.. I'll report back shortly after I do the prime95 + furmark test. Are you running Blend or SmallFPU in Prime95? Since SmallFPU will generate the most heat, i'm assuming that's what you're looking for.

 

whatever you want. Do both even, just to see if there's a difference.

 

So, after post liquid metal repaste these fans are ridiculously loud... About as loud as the upper limit on my previous Razer Blade 2017.. The Blade had a bit of a higher pitched note over this, but this is still incredibly loud. Witcher 3 ultra settings I only get to 72c gpu and 70c CPU on the 1060. I feel like if we could control the fans better, they don't need to run that fast..

I had a peek at the Embedded Controller and identified the registers for the CPU and GPU temps... as well as the fan controllers. There are 4 fan speed steps and Overboost turns on an additional separate register so that makes 5 steps. Overboost is pointless, it just makes more noise for about a -1c decrease overall.

So then I went on to working on Notebook Fan Control and sadly, the EC in these new Asus machines aren't supported by it.. Although I can easily read and modify the EC using Read Write Utility NBFC just simply doesn't have these newer controllers in yet... I have reached out to the author of NBFC in hopes he can easily make an addition.

However, my overall thoughts on the GL503VMF is that it's a really great machine IF you can score a decent price.. I was able to get this open-boxed from Best Buy for $1100~ plus tax. I feel for this price it's a great machine..... I've been spoiled by MUCH MUCH quieter gaming machines but the fact of it is, for something this thin, it seems there's nothing that's exactly quiet. It's a trade off I can't shake at times.. But I absolutely also hate carrying around a 7+lb 2" gaming laptop just to get quieter fans.. This machine fits in my relatively small backpack and packs a bunch.. The 120hz screen is gorgeous even though it's not perfect and has obvious pressure points causing some backlight bleed.

Honestly, if I can figure out a way to hard-code these EC registers to control the fans, the 3rd step up in fan speed is perfect in "sound" while allowing the CPU and GPU to "hopefully" only heat up a few more degrees.

If anyone knows of a way to hardcode and or know of an application that can persistently push write settings to the EC (this is how Notebook Fan Control works) let me know!

 

Here you go, I just went with the SmallFPU for max heat.. this thing still gets hot but the repaste did made a reasonable improvement in temps even under this kind of test:



In contrast, Witcher3 Ultra everything, etc.. CPU: 70c GPU: 73c

 

yeah, there's some improvement.

no throttling and under 90C is good.

Is that stock voltage ?

 

Whats the make/model of the panel used in GL503VM (IPS 60 hz)?

 

No, I undervolted to -130mv to manage it.. No amount of fan speed or pasting job will overcome that sort of scenario on this machine. It's obvious they designed a thermal capacity of around 80-100 watts it seems at ridiculous loud volumes of fans.. However, the good news is I also undervolted the GPU and now i'm peaked at 68c in Witcher3 and 68c CPU and it never goes above.. maybe a degree or two here and there but it's not hitting the loudest fan settings anymore and is a lot more tolerable.

I'm still trying to figure out how to control the fans and at the cost of more temps, using lower fan speeds is more ideal for me. I got rid of my Blade 2017 for this machine and while it's sort of a side-grade.. The fans are a bit quieter after all of my tweaking over the Razer at the moment.

 

How does the GL503VS compare with the GE63VR in terms of heat and noise?
The GL503VS should be cooler and quieter than the GL502VS due to the updated lid?

 

Hi guys

I'm not English/American, so I'm sorry for the incorrect language eventually.

I bought a GL503VS in Christmas, it is a beautiful machine, really.
I runned heavy softwares, and it manages them greatly.

Now, in these last days I began to use it for game, the first one is the witcher 3.

My problem is the frame rate, I can't get over 40fps with mid-settings, Hairwork disabled, I also tried to use the modality "In Window without edges", to disable the G-Sync, but I didn't meet any differences.

I've uninstalled in Safe Mode the driver of the GPU with Display Driver Uninstaller, and then I've reinstalled them from the NVidia site; then I redo the same and I tried also with the desktop drivers, but nothing.

The clock of the core is ok, it is around 1640MHz, the temperatures around 60° C.

I don't know what I can do, I'm sure that the frame rate is too low for a machine like this, so there is at least a problem.



Two important curiosities:
1) in december, when I was searching a computer to buy I saw this computer on the official page; the page is this: https://www.asus.com/it/Laptops/ROG-Strix-SCAR-Edition/Tech-Specs/ , but there was also the GL503VS model, now it is not there! A similar thing in the US page.

2) going in the Support section of Asus website, and searching the model, not only the section of the model has not any preview picture (all recent PCs have a preview picture!), but also the last BIOS version is the 300, while the other models of the same family (GL503VM and GL503VD) have the 304.


It's like Asus "retired" this PC, almost as it forgot it, maybe they realized that it has a problem. It is very strange.

Do anyone of you meet the same problem? Eventually have a game to check this thing, or if I can try another thing to do?

 

My GL503 is just a noise nightmare. The lower right area just turns on randomly even when idle. And the top left area does as well. They are 2 different sounds. One is like a whine while the other is a fan noise. I removed the battery and the HDD. It runs on an SSD. What the hell is wrong with you computer! Calm down I'm not even stressing you with applications! 1400 Euro into trash or what ... I don't want to be wearing earplugs just to browse the web on it.

 

Witcher 3 is one of the most demanding games right now? If you have maxed all settings, 30 fps on a 1050 ti is standard.

 

Yes, but I didn't put at max settigs. Considering however that on Youtube there a video of Witcher 3 on this device running at over 100fps at low-setting and 55-60 at maximum settings with hairworks.

Furthermore I have a 1070, else if it is the portable one it would be ok for playing more or less all the games at 60fps at high-ultra settings. Mine doesn't reach 60fps at LOW settings and with completely disabled the heaviest filters.

And another thing, I also made a test with 3DMark (Timespy), and I obtained very bad results compared to the average of 1070; the program itself says this and that there is a problem with the driver.

Unless there is particular procedure to uninstall and reinstall ("deeper" that one with Display Driver Uninstaller), I think that the only thing that I can do is formatting the PC.

 

about that..the traditional GL503VM and the hero edition does not have neither G-Sync or optimus. The VD version however, does have optimus.

 

Hi. I was having the same FPS issue. The problem was solved when I changed the display scale settings in Windows 10 down to 100% from 125%.
Hope it helps.

 

I've tried playing witcher 3 with it and get an average of 60fps on ultra settings. I'm not sure how to solve the problem of yours but just sharing what my experience was with it.
It also seems that your temp is relatively very cool. I've played witcher 3 and GPU temps usually runs 77-80c.

 

1) Try when ingame full screen, alt tabbing into your Nvidia settings. And switch between the onboard graphics card and the 1070m. Check whether there is a difference in fps using same ingame graphic settings for both cards.

2) 1070m is indeed very powerful. You paid a lot of money for it probably. My guess, considering I have owned ROG laptops and also this GL503, is that Asus quality went seriously downhill.
The place where I buy my laptops indicated that the sales for the Lenovo Y520 outperform the Asus GL series by nearly a tenfold factor. That must mean something.

 

I tried your advice, and something strange happened... practically the cutscene (one of the first, before the very first battle after the witcher's dream) ran at 20-30 fps as usual, but three times for some seconds it had a peak of 80-90 fps, and then returned to the 20-30. Very very strange.
But all this happened only one time, the following ones it went always at 20-30

Yes, mine it is not so high... strange, because I used MSI Afterburner and it said to me that the GPU is used at 100%.

In my PC it is not possible to switch between the 2 graphic cards, unless you uninstall the driver of NVidia one.
However I don't think that the integrated Intel GPU is capable to execute a game as The Witcher 3 at 30 fps.

For the quality, well, I don't think so, from an episode I can't extend the situation in general. I had an Asus K50IJ for more than 7 years, and I had a great experience. This episode with the (driver of) GPU doesn't change anything for me, the computer is wonderful and has an excellent quality in building and in balancing of the hardware.

I don't think that we can discuss in general the quality of Asus products, an imperfect product can happen to everyone.

The sales of the Lenovo I think that are higher for a question of price.

 

Hi guys, finally i solved my problems of gl503...now i have a gl703vm that works just perfectly.

A notice for all of you... someone have installed the new bios 309? i don't find any changelog about it

 

Can you please post your RAM make and model? Thank you

 

.

 

Go to Nvidia control panel. In there select the tab "3d settings". There you can switch between the cards, to test for fps difference.

Does your Device manager show any exclamation marks?

You have downloaded all the latest updates on Windows? And your Nvidia driver is the latest one from the Nvidia website?

Finally, the game is installed through Steam I presume..

 

Nope, I can't, there is not any possibility to switch to the integrated GPU from the NVidia control panel, you should know it if you had a GL503 as you said.
But I think that in general we all should know that the Intel GPU can't execute The Witcher 3 at a decent framerate, without any doubts.

Yes, I have all the updates of Windows and the last drivers on NVidia site... I already made all the "obvious" thing, I already said it in my first message.

The game comes from my original physical version. In every case the problem is surely not the game itself, I also obtained bad results with GTA 5 and a very low scores in Userbenchmark and 3dMark-Timespy.

 

Apacer 16gb pc4-19200 ddr4 sdram

Part number:
76.D305G.D390B

On the first gl703vm that i had an returned (a broken key) i had a samsung module instead of this apacer but specs are the same.

Guys news about the new bios 309? no one have info about it?

 

IS there a way to manually control fan speed on GL503VM? ROG wont let me to control the speed. It only allows overboost or auto...

 

You didnt say whether your Device manager is free of exclamation marks.

In the Nvidia control panel make also sure the 'Adjust image settings with preview' is set to 'Quality'. NOT on 'Performance', as you can see in the 2nd screenshot. And dont forget to press apply when testing both graphic cards.

 

gl503-703vm/vs have the integrated gpu forced off by asus (and is not possible to enable in bios).

You have a vm/vs? i don't think so

 

Well this is the GL503 thread and I have never encountered an Asus laptop with 2 graphics cards, which could not be activated upon will, through the Nvidia control panel.

 

I already had that option activated, but... How have I to tell you that it is NOT possible to switch to the Intel GPU? I can NOT test the Intel GPU WITHOUT uninstalling the drivers of NVidia GPU; it is "invisible" by default when the Nvidia GPU is installed, which is the only recognized GPU. And however, I repeat you, the Intel one is NOT absolutely capable of execute a modern game at a decent framerate.

Before you said that you had a GL503, in reality it seems that you never had

 

In that case I would have sent it to Asus for technical repair as part of the warranty. Would take a long time though before you get it back.

Execute it can. Even on just 5-10 fps. Older Windows versions like in the 2000s wouldnt launch a game if the computer wasn't capable of running it.

I suggest looking closer at the first screenshot in case you still dont see the model I own and type from right now.

 

If I will not solve the problem I will try to format the PC first... also because it is strange that a GPU works parcially... or it works or it doesn't completely work I think... Eventually, for the time I know, but if I have to send it I will.

Yes, it can, but it would not be playble... with my 1070 the framerate is not excellent, but however it's possible to play.

Oh yes, sorry, I didn't see the right part of the screenshot. But did you ever format the PC?

 

Formatting will give no permanent result. Some times you get improvement for like few days with fps and then it drops back to low again. Reinstallation cant fix it permanently.
Too bad you didnt notice the problem when you bought it so the shop could have exchanged the unit fast, instead of wait for repair.

 

you have the gl503VD (VD)... your vd have optimus. 503VM or 503VS don't have optimus, so the nvidia gpu is the only card that's possible to use.

I think that the guy have some other problems...

 

I hope, is my last solution.
Even if I did noticed it, I could not have sent it anyway, because I had to go in Spain after the Christmas period and I needed the computer.

 

Hi, you can post your undervolt voltage screen table for gpu's? i'm interested...

 

Which 703 you’ve got? DB-71/DB-74? And where did you find bios 309???

 

no, i have gl703vm-ba015t, here in italy.

Asus live update show me a critical update, v309. Nothing on asus site, and no description of changelog in live update.

 

I see. Yours is probably not a SCAR version. I’ve bought a 703VM DB-71 version , but had to return it due to the IPS screen glow that I cannot stand. Currently waiting for DB-74 SCAR. I did noticed that live update was stuck on downloading new bios, but it never finished downloading it, for like 3 days, and then I’ve returned it. Have no idea what it’s all about.

 

Hi all, i am gong to buy this model:

Asus GL503VM-ED032T Notebook da 15.6", i7-7700HQ, RAM 16 GB, HDD/SDD 128 GB/1000 MB, NVidia GeForce GTX 1060 [Layout Italiano]

replacing original ssd with a new one, bigger and faster. Is it easy to open the notebook? Will i have to change thermal paste in order to have normal noise and temperature?

Ty a lot

 

Have you found a way to manually control fan speed? When i play GPU and CPu temps are around 68 degrees. And im ok if they reach to 80 but with much less noise...

 

Update 14/02/2018:

2 keys on my keyboard got stuck in addition to the random noise issues. On top of that the touchpad, somewhat frequently, doesn't seem to register my fingers gliding over it. This is very frustrating.