Asus ROG Strix GL702ZC / G702ZC / S7ZC with Ryzen 7 1700 8-core CPU and a Radeon RX580 GPU

Yep you're better off on a forum trying to get any real information from ASUS. They figured that out when they opened their own ROG forum. Their CS people are generally pretty useless in my experience, but not much different than any other major brand. This is another case where you're better off just asking a retailer that actually knows what they're doing and has experience with the hardware variations.

 

If there was another all AMD laptop with comparable specs, I'd request a refund and get that one.
Unfortunately, that's not an option for several reasons:
1 There are no all AMD laptops with comparable hardware.
2. Asus has a policy that they might consider a refund or a replacement if the 4th repair goes wrong.
3. The re-seller can't refund me because Asus controls the warranty... and everything goes through Asus (who have the final word).

Considering the same problem happened twice now, I am reluctant having Asus trying to repair the existing unit. I'd prefer them giving me a replacement unit that was manufactured at a later date.
But I can't get in touch with anyone at Asus UK central (or wherever) because they don't have any numbers for those places.
The repair center is not even listed on the map... its somewhere down in England, and the person at the customer support couldn't tell me anything useful.

 

Doesn't the Acer Predator Helios 500 have a 2700X and RX 580 configuration

Sent from my OnePlus 1 using a coconut

 

Unfortunately, I don't think it's released yet. At least, not in the US as far as I can tell.

https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/predator-series/predatorhelios500

I can only find the the intel/nvidia variant.

 

I'm not sure if there is an ASUS repair center actually in the UK. From what I remember they were in NL, PL, and CZ. You can do an internet search to find their phone numbers (or if you can't, PM me). Here is the info I've found for ASUS UK:
https://www.asus.com/uk/support/CallUs
https://www.asus.com/uk/support/Service-Center/United Kingdom

 

Acer Predator is not released yet, and will come with Vega 56... not RX 580.
On top of that, the laptop is expected to sell well in EXCESS of £2000 (something along the lines of £2400 if I remember correctly).
That's about £850 more than what I paid for GL702ZC.
Now, technically speaking I 'could' afford that, but I'm not sure I'd be willing to drop another £850 onto a Ryzen+ and Vega 56 (even if I get offered a refund) since Zen2 and Navi on 7nm (a FAR more efficient and superior process node actually designed for high clocks and efficiency) are due to come out next year (though admittedly, we aren't likely to see mobile products on that process until the very end of 2019 or sometime in 2020).

And sticking with an obviously failed design is also not an option - though admittedly, that could be an early production unit issue (and one or more of the hardware components which were in the laptop originally, were likely slapped onto the new motherboard when Asus replaced it... in that case, the old components could have caused a slow cumulative damage that resulted in the same thing, only this time, it escalated into something much worse).
That's why a replacement would have been better.

I tried calling Asus support... the guy sounded as if he was an outsourced worker (though I could easily be wrong) and all he kept saying was: 'sir I understand and I apologize for all the problems you have been experiencing, but you can only initiate a return procedure with Asus so they can repair the unit'.
I mentioned I'd prefer avoid Asus trying to repair it and instead give me a replacement as the issue is likely to occur again like this... only this time, it could happen outside the warranty period... which admittedly is still 14 months away, but regardless, if it does happen outside the warranty, then I won't be in a good position at all.
He said that (again) he sympathizes and understands my problems (which of course doesn't help me at all) and said that Asus has an official policy which says they can't replace the unit unless the 4th repair was unsucessful.
I told him a few people (from here - which I didn't mention) already got their replacements by being fortunate of living near repair centers... he said that this would be a breach of Asus protocols and that they aren't allowed to do that (go figure... in which case I assume that these people lied when they said that).

I am apparently nowhere near an Asus Repair center (and from the looks of things, none of them exist in UK - or if they are, they might be down close to Manchester), and as a result I'm at the mercy of RMA and regular 'repair attempts'.
I don't want a 'repaired unit' I want a NEW one.

LaptopsDirect was no better since they said that if I RMA'd the laptop with them, they would have to send it to Asus anyway and that since the procedure is going through them it would take extra 2 to 4 weeks to get the laptop back (so instead of a month, I'd be waiting 2 months instead).

This is obscene.
I'd need to contact an Asus repair center in Europe in that case and speak to someone directly over there as clearly, standard RMA procedure won't do the trick.

The engineers clearly ignored my report on the problem and my request to check the cooling design and other things while they are repairing the unit.
So, what's the point in them replacing the motherboard again and slapping all the old/original hardware onto the new one?
One of those components could be causing the problem,

 

I think I might know where my laptop went for repairs and where it might go again if regular RMA procedure is involved.
The Delivery Note from the first RMA says:
LetMeRepair UK Limited
1 Langlands Court Kevin South Business Park, G7f 0YB, East Kilbride

Yeah, so it seems Asus is using LetMeRepair company as a 'service center in UK' (of sorts).
Asus simply appear to have a contract with that company though, nothing more.
I could try getting in touch with them and see what they say.about a replacement (though if they are just a servicing depot for Asus, then they wouldn't have any replacement units on hand - they didn't even have the motherboard and had to order it in likely from an external source - which is probably why I waited a month to get my laptop back originally).

But in that case... that doesn't really help me, does it?
The repair company might have a contract with Asus, but they wouldn't necessarily try and request a replacement, especially since this would only be the second time I'd ask for RMA.

Though I don't understand something.
The guy whose GPU got fried on his GL702ZC shortly after mine did originally initiated RMA and he got a replacement on the very next day when Asus sent a courier to pick up his non-functioning unit.
So, why was he given a replacement and they tried to 'repair' mine even though the guy submitted for RMA for the first time?

 

See if you can work out what Asus repair depot is supplying your local contractor and try to establish communication with them. I wouldn't complain about the contractor, but instead ask them to honor a full replacement with a new construction / production unit that you can have confidence in for the long run.

You could give the examples of others getting replacements if you like, the scripted response from the Asus guy's run book is policy, but obviously has exceptions.

It's too bad you are being directed to a contractor site that doesn't have full stock and replacement units, so you need to climb up the chain to the depot that does, and will work with you directly, if possible.

 

Tried calling letmerepair uk ltd.
Their response was they cannot do anything.
Do i spoke to customer service, and requested different numbers they could give me.

One was for letmerepair uk ltd, the other was for repair centre near London apparently (maybe for business).
When calling that second number, i was given a mobile number because she said they recently moved offices.
Mobile number goes to voicemail after ringing a few times.

 

Well, i got in touch with someone at the business centre who is a line manager or head of department.
Anyway, he said given what happened he can give the laptop special attention once I RMA it again and could patch me through to the engineer as well once the laptop is there. In case the laptop cannot be repaired, then they will likely replace it.
But otherwise I will mention the issues that happened and also the crackling sound. I also mentioned that other usera managdm to get full replacements as opposed to repaired units and he took tjst into consideration.

My only option is to initiate RMA and then let him know when dpd picks it up so we can stay in contact and see ehst can br done to prevent the issue from happening again.

If I do get to speak to the engineer, I could ask them to try and see what they can do to see if there's a design flaw or is it judt early production adoptoad issue (or one of the other components that could be causing these issues - namely resulting in fans no longer cycling and ultimately the laptop dying).

I can also mention that others received units with slightly different cooling assembly which doesn't have two pipes running above the ram slots and an extra heatpipe that connects to the chip on the motherboard)

 

Scratch what I said earlier.
When the guy examined my previous repairs he noticed it was sent to a different company for repairs.
Again, he advised me to initiate RMA, detail the fault into it, potentially request a replacement (instead of repairs)... and request to be kept in contact with the department dealing with the repairs.
And that I should give them a call while the laptop is there and ask to speak to the engineer(s) working on it (that way I could ask them directly if they could quickly grab a look at my notes and ascertained what the problem is).

He definitely agrees that just replacing the mobo won't do much to resolve the situation since those parts have a 90 days warranty... so if they fail after 180 days, you need to send it back to RMA... and if it happens outside the warranty period, then, you're in a proverbial pickle (and of course he wants to avoid that from happening because he said I did pay a large sum of money for the laptop in question and that I definitely deserve better treatment).

Anyway... we'll see what happens.

 

@Deks

A **** situation that you're in unfortunately... the quality of these seems to differ wildly. I've still not run into any issues, and I've used this machine for what I would consider heavy use.

I modded the bottom of my case this morning and have managed to reduce idle temperatures to ~41 deg C on stock fan curve, voltage etc. Undervolting and custom fan curve reduces it even further. I haven't tested it out under heavy load yet, but will report back.

 

Cool.
Its possible I simply got a lemon with inferior cooling assembly and bad silicon.
In my notes to Asus, I requested a replacement and detailed 5 out of 5 problems.
The more problems I list (and considering this was a repeat of the same problem which resulted in something worse - namely complete death of the laptop), I figure they might just cave and send me a replacement unit of a later make with an upgraded cooling assembly as requested and better silicon quality as opposed to trying to repair it (because they already did once).

 

I sent the RMA request and the website says that the courier will pick up the laptop the next working day from issuing the RMA number.
Whoops.
It looks like that I misunderstood that as 'next working day from raising the request'.
Great... now it will be a ridiculous challenge to arrange it since my friend can come over and take care of this today... but not sure if that's the case tomorrow.

 

Well, this is turning into a needless drama.
Asus rejected my RMA because I requested a replacement in the form (based on previously failed repairs and the premise I don't have confidence in their ability to correct the underlying issue that caused the problem in the first place).

Instead, they said that any replacements have to be dealt with the reseller.
The reseller on the other hand says that since my warranty with them has expired, after that its Asus that would be liable to deal with it because the 2 year warranty is ultimately theirs.

But then, Asus knew I already had the thing fixed, so they could have said 'we will accept your request only if you send it back to us under RMA for repairs, not a replacement request'... but no, they didn't do that (figures).

Its only if Asus deems the unit as 'unfixable' that I'd be issued with an 'uplift number' which I would give to the reseller (namely, LaptopsDirect) and that I could be issued with a replacement... but the reseller made it sound a bit weird... they also implicated Asus as the one that might send a replacement.

So I seem to be getting conflicting responses... with each company 'covering its rear end'.

So I raised another RMA request... again, detailing 5 problems (hopefully enough for Asus to deem it unrepearable so I can be given a replacement - and I mentioned that I noticed from early reviews that my model has an outdated cooling assembly which Asus since upgraded in later production units, but mine never received that - so hopefully that would get their attention to upgrade that too and not just try to replace the mobo).

We shall see what happens.

Also, Asus changed the RMA procedure... you can no choose 5 problems, but the problem field is weird... I don't know if there's an each field that acts for each problem individually, or is it just 1 field for everything?


This is what I described in new RMA:
The laptop fans started running at maximum during web browsing and refused to cycle down irrespective of restart, shutdown/startup. 45 minutes later, I heard a popping sound and the laptop died completely - refusing to start up again - this is the second time the same problem occurred since Asus repaired the unit

Sound speakers constantly produce crackling/vibration noise - this issue has been ongoing since day 1.

GPU produces a black field filled with green dots in web browser occasionally.

Wifi intermittently loses connection to the router several times a day.

Cooling assembly in the laptop appears outdated. Asus apparently upgraded the assembly recently, but mine never received that.

 

RMA request was accepted and got the number.
They will probably pick it up on Monday.

 

DPD courier picked up my laptop today.
Once I see the laptop has reached the repair depot... I'll give them a ring (probably later in the week) and try to speak to one of the engineers there.

 

I received an email this morning informing me the laptop reached the repair center, so I called them shortly afterwards and spoke with someone there.
Also requested to be put through to the team or an engineer who will/or works on the laptop, but was told they work in a separate building (which I found odd) and can't put me through them.

Anyway, I told this individual that this is the second time the laptop came in for repairs with same problem (only far worse outcome), and that I felt that the last time the laptop was in there that my notes were apparently just ignored (which he took under consideration).

I explained the problems in detail to this guy... not just the concerns about the cooling, but also the vibrating speakers, display issues which are admittedly rare, plus occasional Wifi dropping its signal. He seemed understanding and I requested that he makes sure the engineers do read my printed notes this time and express my worries about potentially inadequate cooling assembly which Asus apparently upgraded on later production models (which he said he will put a note in to see about upgrading the cooling) along with other components that might be causing this malfunction.

I also mentioned that despite that, the last time only the mobo was replaced, and they couldn't tell me what caused the problem, which of course didn't help me because I was afraid at the time it would just result in a repeat of the problem... which it did. He did say that this kind of approach was not admittedly good... and I explained I tried requesting a replacement as that would probably solve the issues (As opposed to continuous attempts at repairs), but mentioned that Asus has a policy which states a laptop/unit has to go through 4 unsuccesful RMA's before they consider replacing it or giving a refund ... and I mentioned that this particular approach seems ineffective when compared to a full replacement if a unit has a fundamental design flaw (which he agreed with)..

Shortly after the conversation, I got another email saying that the engineer was now looking at my unit and that I should give them a ring if I neglected to mention something (maybe this means that NOW I could request to speak to the engineer? Though I doubt it).

If someone has anything to add which should be mentioned to them, I'd appreciate your suggestions.

 

This is an invitation to call back and ask to speak with the engineer / tech assigned to your laptop, as the previous guy might not remember all the details in the right order of importance you care about.

Now you have a chance to explain it to the actual guy working on your laptop clearly and slowly so he gets it directly from you.

If it turns out to be the same guy, it's still worth the call to make sure.

 

Well, I received another email saying they will need to order the needed parts to repair the laptop.
I also called, and I was told that there is no possible way to speak to the engineer.
It was suggested to give a ring to Asus technical support, but it only turned out to be their customer support (who have little to no actual technical training).
The lady however (at Asus) did confirm what the guy at the repair depot said.... that they ordered the components for the laptop.. a new motherboard, Wifi card and Thermal module assy (in this exact lettering).
Now, the thermal module does sound like a cooling assembly, and I tried several times to confirm if this Thermal module/assembly is an upgraded version, or just the same version as before (just new)... alas, they couldn't give me this info.

Again, it was suggested that I could try escalating the matter by trying to speak to a manager at Asus... but at the time of the call, they were apparently at lunch (at 10:42am - but was told that they are 2 hours ahead).
So, I had no time due to work.

I guess I could try speaking to the manager on another occasion tomorrow... but, when I called the repair depot again to try to ask for an engineer to call me back so I can relay some info to them about the laptop, again, was told that its impossible to speak to the engineers as they simply don't do this.
Though, the guy did mention that I will be notified in an email when the parts are received and the laptop is being tested so that I can call back and check with him (or someone else who answers the phone) about more detail about the thermal module assy.

 

You are doing all you can, so I'd keep up the contact, don't let it lapse - don't assume they are working on it - stay in contact.

Talking to the manager can help, he is the guy that can get you to the engineer - you can't get to an engineer directly from front line support - they go through their manager to his manager, so it's a multi-step process.

At least they have the parts ordered, and hopefully that is enough to fix it for good this time.

It used to be 3 failed RMA's was enough, they've added the 4th I guess since I worked on an RMA - it's been a while - so all you can do is go through the process and work the system.

You might ask for a warranty extension of 6 months or a year when you talk to the manager - given all this lost time on RMA's. It might be too early to get it, but it's good to start that conversation now, at the 2nd RMA.

Thanks for giving us the blow by blow reports, it really helps give us all fresh perspective on the process.

 

I'm sure more countries than Norway use same practice... The seller has the right to repair an error twice. If the object fails a third time, you can request to cancel the purchase. But it must be the same mistake/flaws each time with the product Forbrukerkjøpsloven (Current law - Norway).

 

G

Glad to be the proverbial guinea pig.

Yeah, speaking to the manager would be the next step. I'll have to see about catching them either today or Monday.

Hopefully the unit will be repaired properly this time.
I might have listed something wrong with the cpu so they would replace it with a better silicon version maybe... But, alas, couldn't think of anything.

If the thermal module is indeed the cooling assembly, lets hope its the better one and it solves the problem for good this time.

I like this machine, but asus really should have paid more attention to the cooling design and overall quality.

 

Called the asus support center and spoke with the guy that I talked with before (which he mentioned). He said all the notes were passed on to the engineer and I tried asking him to see if he can determine which cooling assembly was ordered... Namely the upgraded one or just a replacement which is identical... To which he said they have no way of verifying that.

That however was the repair depot. I thought I was calling asus support... Meh... IllI see about doing thst after work (since I finish early)

 

In this morning's email, I was notified all the parts arrived and that they will integrate and test them.

At around 15:45 I was notified again via email that they encountered some further difficulties with the unit... but when I called them, they just said they were having issues with a system hanging on a recovery.
I tried explaining that the recovery was broken from the moment I first got the unit (described what happened and how Windows 10 fall creator update ended up completely breaking the recovery partition), but they just said something about restoring the recovery partition, etc.

I did ask them if they could verify if the cooling assembly they got was an upgraded one... and what I was told by the guy was that Asus provided them with the upgraded part since they discontinued the older ones a while ago... but he couldn't check inside the unit (As it was closed) to see if the new assembly still had 2 heat pipes running above the RAM slots (and obstructing my ability to upgrade it - trust me, I tried removing the RAM stick I installed without touching the cooling assembly, but the RAM stick refused to budge... it couldn't maneuver nearly enough to be removed), but said that since the unit was closed, he couldn't check... and that I can look this up myself when I get the laptop back.

He did mention I can call back tomorrow around 4pm to check with them on the unit status as they will have more information then.

 

Just got another email this morning saying they needed to order new parts for the laptop. Confused, I gave them a call and they said that they discovered a fault with the speakers (the very issue I wrote in my notes to them).

At this point it would have been simpler and faster to just give me a completely new unit.

Oh well. It will take them up to 5 working days to receive the needed parts and then test it, so, another week of waiting .

At least this time I hope everything will finally be fixed without breaking down anymore (good thing I noted all those faults with it - but why hadn't they ordered the speakers prior to this? There's no reason I'd lie to them about it. And it would mean having the needed parts just in case the original does show a fault as I described it).

Asus really needs proper repair centres in UK with needed parts.

At least both the repair depot and myself are keeping in touch and I'm trying to stay on top of things.

 

I feel like Asus and the likes, want to distinguish themselves with custom parts, but with little foresight that they'll need to service and honor their warranty for a few years.
Smaller laptop companies who aren't obsessed on being unique will go miles on covering a big part of the market.

 

On the potential bright side, if they HAD given me a replacement, they could have ended up giving me another lemon.
In a way at least, I'm kinda ensuring that they do replace the existing parts with ones that will perform their function as intended (this time without breakdowns and ensured durability) and an added bonus of an upgraded cooling assembly?

 

I really want(ed) this model but at this point might as well wait for the new Helios 500. I hope they pick up the trend in supporting Ryzen in laptops as there's a lot of demand for professionals etc.

 

It would have been even better if Zen 2 was an option (though its about a year away for laptops likely)... and I had good experience with Acer... there might be a possibility that they could end up integrating BIOS support for Zen 2 (in which case it would be pretty good).
Plus, you get an added bonus of Vega 56 in the laptop.
Make sure to undervolt both the GPU and CPU when you get the Helios 500... as I think that both will likely allow it.

AMD should hopefully gain significant traction in the mobile market due to Intel's 10nm issues... but we will see.

 

Given the price going low on this model, I may still get it as it still outpaces all of intel's line. (The i9 8950hk isn't sustainable on big workloads)

 

You mean the gl702zc?
With Helios 500 all AMD hardware, you'll definitely get more performance out of the cpu and also the gpu of course.
Plus, the price would be around £1800 here in Uk for helios... i think. But it might also depend on the configuration

 

If you can afford the Helios with all AMD hardware, go for it. It's certainly more powerful than GL702ZC.

 

Got another email this morning saying they received the needed parts in stock (aka the speakers - yay, hopefully, no more vibrating sounds and the laptop ceasing to function after a certain amount of time).
Heh.. well that was certainly quick.

Another email later this afternoon which said they are in the process testing the unit, and once complete, they will ship it via DPD.

 

Props to them to keeping you in the loop. Issues happen, but if there being conscious about it, i see that as a positive (imo)

 

Agreed.
Plus I try to keep in the loop by giving them a ring.

 

Another update.
This morning I got another email saying they discovered another fault. After phoning them just a few minutes ago, I was told the new motherboard which Asus provided failed in the middle of testing.
They said that the manufacturer can indeed provide malfunctioning mobos.
And I mentioned: 'you know, at this point it would have been easier to just replace the whole unit'. The guy agreed but ultimately its not up to them, but Asus.

They are doing final stress tests to see whether everything is working.

I don't get this .. how can Asus supply a malfunctioning motherboard right off the production line?
Don't they have quality control of any kind?

You know... This repair fiasco probably won't work.
I'm leaning towards asking asus for a refund and get the acer Helios instead or some other machine as opposed to a replacement.

Either uk has a very bad batch of these units or asus simply doesn't care about it to provide quality parts.

Sigh...

 

They probably won't give you a refund. They'll either replace it or give you another model of equal value. I know its sucks dude :/. Thanks for keeping us updated! Hopefully they get their act together and come to a speedy solution that doesn't leave a customer waiting.

 

You are discovering what most people never see, parts can break down even in well tested hardware and even with well built and tested hardware if one component batch is bad it can cause many failures over time.

I had more than one instance over a long time where I tested final board builds before system integration tests where large percentages of batches of boards would fail, and when debugging to the component level finding the bad part sent it to re-work for replacement - and when it can back the same component tested as bad...at times taking 3 passes to get a good result.

After most re-work passing and a few failing, eventually all the bad parts would be found, and the project would be done and we would move on to the next.

After this happened with a 2nd project, I contacted the manager of the assembly group and the parts QA group to retest the particular components on the floor, and they all passed.

But, components were still coming through failing board level tests...

So I walked to the QA department and asked to run through the incoming acceptance test for those components, and found the test was inadequately testing the components.

After remaking the test, and retesting the components, more than 30% failed, which is enough to have failed acceptance of the shipment and reject them for return en masse.

Unfortunately it was months after the delivery and acceptance, so all we could do was a 100% re-test of all components on the floor and kitted components waiting for builds - lots of hours of re-work, and boxes of junked failing components.

This could be happening to Asus, or something similar, with a component or components not meeting spec being passed through acceptance, or more likely in this case failing in use - not long enough burn in testing? - evidently a bad batch of parts.

It can happen to any build, not just new designs...those badly tested components I mentioned above were kitted out in new designs and long established products. At the last I remembered those parts would also be in the engineering design labs too - which were causing a problem for engineers trying to build prototypes.

You might mention this to Asus, letting them know they should check the acceptance QA testing for the failing components, and to trace where those components have been used - so Asus can verify they are also failing in other products. Hopefully it's just this model that uses those bad components.

This kind of failure in the field can also happen with improper component handling during assembly that reduces component reliability, but that's another story.

 

I meant in the sense that if Asus offers a refund or a replacement, I would sooner opt for a refund and get myself the Acer Helios instead.

Good idea, but wouldn't it be better to call the repair depot and Asus (and demand to speak to the manager) and mention to check the acceptance QA testing for the failing components and trace where they were used?
Asus by themselves won't be able to do much since the unit is at a repair depot just outside Glasgow... but the repair depot might...

The technicians do seem to be a bit more diligent at testing my unit this time around... or it could be a case of getting bad components that fail very early.... or both.

I'll ring them tomorrow morning and mention about what you said and later on try to get hold of some of the managers at Asus 'technical support'.

 

You can start pretty much anywhere in the chain of use, and work out to the root cause from there.

Spoiler: Continuing the story

I started at the re-work station with consistently failing re-work's, knowing the person well I knew it wasn't their work - it was the components, so I asked the QA person I brought with me to pull the drawer of suspect parts and take them to the intake QA to run them through the test again.

I was thinking at first that the parts simply skipped the incoming test, this happens sometimes - the tester getting distracted just before checking off the test for a testing bin they forget whether it was tested or not...or some variation of a bin getting through without testing.

At that point I though it was a bad component specification that caused a too wide of tolerance part to be purchased - yes this ended up in the purchasing department, then back to the component design selection paperwork which lead to specifying a more narrow tolerance part on the purchase order sheet, which of course cost more, the whole reason the wrong part was ok'd through purchasing, because it cost a lot less.

And, yes tracking down the root cause of this situation was a nice overview of the entire design through manufacturing process.

"A resistor colored White-Violet-Black would be 97 Ω with a tolerance of +/- 20%. When you see only three color bands on a resistor, you know that it is actually a 4-band code with a blank ( 20%) tolerance band."

Resistor Color Codes | Color Codes | Electronics Textbook
https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/textbook/reference/chpt-2/resistor-color-codes/

The QA test had been written correctly for testing 20% tolerance parts, but when the test was corrected to test for 1% tolerance parts a large majority failed.

Placing an Urgent order for the 1% tolerance part to re-kit and re-work the units in house was done as I followed through the process to track down the root cause of "where things went wrong".

As soon as the real problem was found - purchasing asked an engineer (while they were busy and distracted) if they could substitute a cheaper 20% tolerance part for the specified 1% tolerance part - all the 20% tolerance parts were pulled from the floor and from binned kits.

When the urgently ordered 1% tolerance parts arrived they replaced the 20% tolerance components, and all units in house were re-worked to replace 20% components with 1% parts... but some completed and tested units had made it out into the field.

Over time we got back some of those boards back, as RMA's, as the 20% parts aged out of spec for the design and started to fail in systems. As part of the incoming test spec for those RMA units a check was added to see if the unit had the out of spec 20% tolerance component and if so replace it with the correct 1% tolerance part.

Never cheap out on the parts!! Spend what you need to spend for the right part for the job! 20% tolerance parts don't work 100% in 1% designs!

You can alert several points in the chain of support and Asus directly, hoping at least one pursues the issue and meets up with the other areas you alerted earlier to compare notes and solve the overall problem(s).

 

This was first time Asus implemented LGA socket hardware in their notebooks. Maybe it will work better with next model. Looks more like teething problems with new tech.

 

Perhaps, but you'd think they would test the design to make sure it works properly and avoid those 'teething problems with new tech'.
Besides, Ryzen 1 was half a year old when GL702ZC was announced... that's plenty of time to work with the technology... but not sure just what 'teething' issues there could be since all of the technology is based off desktop hardware that was remade to work in a laptop.
Polaris as a GPU is even older than Ryzen... and Asus should have used better implementation.

Since the motherboard seems to be the primary reason this unit fails (at least it seems to be the case for me)... its based off the desktop B350.
Are there any intricate issues with these mobos in desktop space?
I know they are cheaper than B370 versions, but not by too much (depending on which one is gotten).

 

That was my first estimation when he had the first unit die on him. I would have thought Asus would fix it and that would be the end of it. Apparently not, and so it's possible to entertain other possibilities.

He asked:

"I don't get this .. how can Asus supply a malfunctioning motherboard right off the production line?
Don't they have quality control of any kind?"

I tried to answer as best I could with an example of how it can happen. There are lots of other possibilities as well. It's amazing how well mass produced electronics work given all of the potential for failure in design, construction, QA, and use.

Quite often I see new owners amazed at minor imperfections and minor flaws. I'm far more amazed that is all that is wrong with units shipped, from any manufacturer.

It sounds like this 3rd party repair place is taking their time this go around to find all the problems so a 3rd RMA isn't needed. I hope they are successful.

It's always good to explore all possibilities when they come to mind, otherwise you have to remember them all again for the next repair session.

 

Mass produced electronics shouldn't fail, period. Not in this day and age of sensors, and testing methods that would in all fairness be capable of detecting potential faults well ahead of selling.

We know that OEM's love to cheap out on various things by utilizing low-grade ('monetarily cheap') materials so they would reduce their own operational costs.
Here's my thought on it: The OEM's are too cheap to improve their quality control and use equally cheap but superior materials in construction (which in itself would likely benefit from an upgrade). Would it require reworking of existing production lines? Probably, but we're talking about multi-billion companies that can easily afford this and would probably end up getting better reputation and more revenue down the line for improving themselves as much.

These days it would be a simple matter to install various sensors throughout the various stages of manufacturing/assembly, and use automation as much as possible (which can realistically be implemented everywhere - and no, this isn't a joke) along with adaptive algorithms that would test individual components before they are brought together to make the whole unit (again, by automation).

I'm not hard pressed about minor imperfections and minor flaws when it comes to laptops... but when it comes to motherboards (or other components) failing repeatedly (or not performing as they should) ... that's not something I would describe as 'minor'.
Besides, I don't really find anything intricately wrong with GL702ZC in principle. It was the manner in which it was all executed.
Asus has a 17" chassis to work with, and they installed relatively weak cooling. Can it handle the hardware?
Apparently so, but realistically, for such a large laptop, the temperatures at maximum load for both CPU and GPU (individually) should not really exceed 65 to 70 degrees Celsius.

Now, if the B350 motherboard has a weakness, such as lets say weak voltage regulators that keep failing (just proposing a possible problem), then they should be replaced with ones that are better (aka, create a new motherboard with improved VRM's or just de-solder and re-solder the new ones if doable).

To minimize costs, OEM's should just reclaim older motherboards and components (or basically old laptops) for raw materials (disassemble them into base elements and reconstitute them into new ones).
You'd be surprised just how matter reclamation can benefit in this instance. You could simply slightly alter the chemistry of the older element to just include microscopic quantities of say carbon derivatives which would improve overall properties (a minor addition at best) of existing components. And there you go... you just re-make the new motherboard which was basically made out of the old one, but this time the new one probably won't break.

AI algorithms can easily analyse critical fault points in laptops and suggest a solution.

 

Also, another update:
Looks like the unit passed the testing and the repair center arranged with DPD to send it to me.

I tried giving Asus and the repair center a ring though and suggest about testing the individual parts, but the repair center said that Asus provides them with needed testing software and they just carry it out.
Asus on the other hand... or should I say, their 'technical support' manager said they cannot answer any of my questions because they aren't qualified for anything like that (nor do they have such answers) and that my best option would be to raise a support ticket on Asus website about it.

I mentioned to the manager at the call center that the support ticket option is unreliable and often results in no relevant replies from Asus itself, or no replies at all.
And the waiting times for them to get back are... quite high.

I suggested he could escalate the issue, but he said he can't do that as he doesn't have anyone to escalate it to.
I told him 'Well, wait a second, you DO work for Asus, correct? (To which he said 'Yes') So, by that logic, you should be able to notify someone in the organization about all of this'.
Again, he just repeated the previous statement. I was polite through the conversation, calm, etc. and finally, he said he can guide me to the Asus website where I could potentially raise a complaint if I wished.

If I do raise a complaint and a support ticket, I'd need to set up something relatively short and concise, but also to the point.
HMscott... if you can supply some input on that, I'd appreciate it.

 

Put all the money on external design/materials will always come in front instead of use them on High-quality components and cooling. People eat with the eyes. And only on the exteriour.

 

Yes, but most people don't have an engineering background, or understanding of science (and by extension, the scientific method) or how the natural world works (which also includes those in positions of powers - and it is downright terrifying when you think about it because in reality, its a bunch of incompetent fools who run the world).
They also aren't exposed to relevant general education, which makes them prone to manipulation by others.

That aside, this still doesn't justify a half-rear ended execution when it comes to the internals.
With all the issues people have experienced over the years with their units, we should probably sue OEM's for bad quality control, and poor implementation.

And besides, if they are worried about aesthetics, they likely don't even spend as much money as one might think on it.
Cosmetic options for chassis are available/set in the production, so that will likely be cheap to implement... and I'm not hard pressed about how a laptop looks on the outside (though there's no excuse for it to look ridiculous either or to compromise on what they deem to be 'aesthetics')... my main priority is for a laptop to function properly.

 

It is all based on a fallible human process.

 

It is always about cost, but they can't really cut costs like cut corners although you may think they are (perhaps to a reasonable extent), else they are going to get themselves into endless lawsuits. Electronic components can be recycled, but the cost may not be cheaper compared to new material. It's cheaper, easier to use brand new components. Note that newer components nowadays are way more reliable/efficient than older components. We don't know the exact details of failure so even with multiple motherboard replacement it is really hard to say what failed without going in depth.
Remember in the old days when some companies got sued because of inferior quality of capacitors that break down over time? An issue has to be massive enough to qualify to be called a major design flaw.
Otherwise, as the common expression says, anything that can break will break.