Asus Zephyrus M (GM501) vs Zephyrus 2nd gen (GX501-IG?)

I am about the pull the trigger on a GM501, but complaints about it being very loud under load (like, substantially louder than other gaming laptops -- I mean, I expect a gaming laptop to be loud and I'm coming from a Razer Blade 14 2016) make me worried.

Reviews of the last model, the GX501, sound like it was substantially quieter, and I'm wondering how much we think the noise in the M would be related to the 8th gen I7 6 core CPU vs. the thermals on the 1070 vs 1080 Max-Q (and the impact of having the keyboard layout be more normal on the Zephyrus M, at the expense of what I assume was a nice thermal layout for the original Zephyrus.)

Any opinions/thoughts? I am guessing very few people own the new gen of the Zephyrus (1080 Max-Q, but with the 144hz gsync display?)

 

I do not own either laptop, but I do plan on buying the GM501 later in the year. According to a review, the fan noise did get to 50 dB(A), but you do have fan control and can quiet it if needed, (at the expense of hotter temps, of course.) For me, the trade off is acceptable as my Alienware m18r2 is also loud under load. Here is a link to the review, maybe it will help: https://www.notebookcheck.net/Asus-...-GTX-1070-Full-HD-Laptop-Review.293956.0.html

 

I just received the GX501GI last week but unfortunately, I have nothing to test the fan noise.
But I'm proud of it ^^ The 1080 max-q is impressive oO

 

How's the noise at load? Does it seem loud? (I ask because I was trying in part to figure out if the louder noise of the GM501 was due to the 1070 vs the six-core 8th gen i7. But if your updated GX501GI feels like it's still quiet, it's probably more the 1070/thermal arrangement.)

 

This is a pretty new model, not a lot of us around the office have been able to take a look at it first-hand. More user-feedback would be awesome
If you ever post some sort of review, let us know!

 

From what I've read (please take this with a grain of salt) it does manage temperature correctly especially compared to the new razer 15 (94°C+ CPU according to another post) or the GS65 (I think with a repast undervolt the gs65 is great).

However don't neglect the fact that a 1080 max-Q is 25% faster than a 1070 max-Q and 10% faster than a 1070, and you have GDDR5X faster vram, on the other side the GM has optimus/gsync whereas the GX only has gsync. You're choice.


I'd go with the third option : wait for the computex then make a choice, according to Nvidia a lot of new GTX laptops are underway

 

Do you think it is wise to "downgrade" from 1st Gen GX501 to this GM501 ?

 

• The 1080 max Q is 10% strong than the 1070 ok it's a downgrade on that side but you can still overclock the 1070 (which is NOT max-Q in the GM) to compensate, I think with a repaste there's room for OC the 1070, even without.
  
  
• the i7 coffee lake is a 6 core processor stronger than the i7 7700HQ but it runs slightly hotter
  
  
• The cooling system in the GM501 is apparently improved compared to the first gen GX501.
  
  
• It has Optimus and GSYNC : the GX only has Gsync
  
  
• The GM501 has a 144Hz AHVA screen, the GX501 has a 120Hz last gen screen.

So no downgrade here, but why would you change your GX501 in the first place ? It is an expensive machine just like the GM, unless you plan on selling the GX first .

 

Thats what I meant by asking it worth selling the GX and buying the GM.. Do you guys think the new panel is that "extraordinary" when compared to a 120Hz panel? I mean can we really spot the difference between that 3ms response time with GX's somewhat slow panel?

Also if you OC the 1080 Max-Q you again get higher scores than the 1070.

 

I picked up the GM501 yesterday and am having a blast with it. So far just upgraded both drives in the machine. I'll probably throw some Gskills in there at some point and max out the memory.

It is very loud during demanding games, but no louder than the big clevo's or alienwares at full tilt. All I care about is it has no throttling at all with CPU at 3914mhz and GPU at 1849Mhz for hours of gaming at high 70's low 80 degrees. It has a very nice fan control toggle and you can run the machine virtually silent if you like when not gaming. It appears the cooling system along with the cracked open case bottom works well.

I'll be using it in the "board room", for content creation (both video and photography), and for gaming of course. And I'll probably bench the crap out of it and find various ways to void my warranty.

 

Did you notice the fan noise while having a headset on? Just curious.

 

I will try with headphones. I would assume you can't notice the fan noise as they are no louder than any other high end lap top with fans at full tilt.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

That is the trade off typically for high power, you need high power fans to keep it cool too. But with headphones it is typically not as noticeable.

 

It's possible to lower those temps and keep the funs a bit more under control.
Try undervolting the CPU via ThrottleStop. You can also lower the GPU voltage/frequency curve via MSI Afterburner by holding Ctrl + F. Just be careful!

 

Just unpacked my Zephyrus M today and I have to say the quality control is pretty poor.
I immediate noticed the my unit had a loose bezel on the bottom right corner and on both sides further up plus the lid along the right side isn't straight.
There's also a bit of play when I lightly tap on the track pad.
It's a shame cos the built quality and material used is great.

 

i have the gx501. You can def hear the fan working when playing games. It's louder than other laptops i've played with. But they weren't gaming laptops. So I cant really compare them. But the laptop is awesome! play all games on ultra without an issue.

 

And that right there is acceptable. I'll take loud fans any day over thermal throttling.

 

Where did you purchase your unit from?

 

That post has been awhile and it might had been just a bad unit, and perhaps he got it exchanged.