Asus rog gx500

Damn it, this laptop should have come out already. The 100% + color gamut on this display is basically the only thing that is making me sad that I'm getting a Clevo.

 

What I'm referring to is the class & style of the machine Asus have presented. Granted it is a ROG model, it is a modern travelers semi-gaming notebook / ultrabook competing with the likes of the high-end Macbooks for work and the likes of Razer, MSI & Clevo for gaming.

But let's not fool anyone on the gaming end, the slimness of this laptop will create overheating issues when playing the newest titles on the GTX 9 series. No matter how many vents it may have, the math does not work out, it just won't be able to offset the heat produced fast enough. But that's a different point that I have no supporting empirical evidence at this time, I'll have to wait until it has been reviewed officially. I still hope to be pleasantly surprised.

My point is this laptop is trying to look good and perform well. I would expect only the best internal hardware even as options for a product that I am willing to spend the maximum on.

• Slim Design
• Aluminium Chassis
• GTX 9**M
• 4GB of VRAM - I expected 16GB / 32 GB as an option
• No Optical Drive
• Intel Core i7 Processor - Up To 16GB
• 1 x 2.5" 512GB SSD or 1TB HDD

Obviously the price determines that 1TB HDD seems more appropriate to the average consumer, but to offer only 512GB SSD to the high end consumer baffles me. Would it be a dramatic increase in price for a 1TB SSD; without a doubt yes. It bothers me that the 1TB HDD is equal in physical dimensions as the 512GB SSD, but for high-end consumers they may not get the option of 1TB SSD.

Why would I want to spend the maximum for the 512GB SSD model just to void the warranty and insert a 1TB SSD, when I can be offered the option by Asus? It's not exactly the type of machine I would like to have a voided warranty on 1 or 2 years down the line, especially given it's cost.

Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike this laptop, I'm just making an observation based on facts. I'm looking for a replacement for my Qosmio X875-Q7380 and I can afford to wait 2 quarters, this laptop comes out on top every time due it's aesthetics and specs apart from my previous comments on the screen size and bezel.

 

I highly doubt that this product is only for the Australian market. Their may be a model specifically for Australia that differs slightly to the North American or European model, but the general makeup of the ROG G501 package is one that would go out internationally.

 

If you grab it from a reseller your warranty will be intact with any upgrades you want.

No current mobile GPU supports 16GB or 32GB of VRAM, partly this would be pointless on a single GPU machine especially of the class that this machine could support.

 

I can't tell whether you are in the UK as per your location or the USA as per your signature banner. Either way, I have never encountered any of the above names in both the UK & USA that are willing to upgrade the laptop on site and guarantee the warranty is not voided.

I live between Europe & USA.

Trusted resellers that have purchased from historically.

USA: J&R | New Egg | Best Buy
UK: PC World | Curry's

The closest I came to upgrading was choosing to buy a similar Qosmio model in Ireland from the official Toshiba reseller & repair service center. They offered to upgrade the HDD to SSD's but noted that I would still lose the warranty as the machine was not in it's physical factory condition.

My understanding of a notebook warranty is based on previous experience with both Toshiba USA & Toshiba Europe on two separate laptops. This may not be the case with other manufacturers, I just want further information and opinions.

Once any new item of hardware is inserted into the machine that did not come from the original factory built notebook your warranty is automatically voided. This includes an SSD unless the manufacturer - Asus, implemented the upgrades themselves. Do you have any examples of resellers that do or have done in the past? I just want to maximize tmy investment if I have to upgrade.

Thanks for the correction on the VRAM, I was not aware of the limitation in notebooks. What is the theoretical and practical maximum VRAM size for a high-end notebook?

 

8GB is the current maximum with the 980M and is more than enough for any game and any game for some time, this is an equal amount of vram than any single core desktop card to give you an idea (the mutli card ones have to share half each GPU and per GPU have no more than 8GB either).

In our configuration pages (We ship all systems from the US) you can buy upgrades at the time of purchase and the warranty remains intact through us.

 

8GB is rarely used, the optimal size is 4GB for pretty much all of the titles out there.

 

Agreed.. I've got 6GB vRAM and have never seen more then 2.2GB being used... Honestly as long as desktop GPU's are going to be limited to 3/4GB vRAM, you;ll be fine with that amount on laptops too..

 

8GB is mostly for SLI configurations in my opinion but the topic has been a little hot.

 

8GB can be helpful in some "texture heavy" titles, including SLI setup.

 

Hooking up to a large resolution external display or not can also change the equation but still you want SLI to really drive that anyway.

 

So is the G501 just a refresh of GX500? or refresh of the G551 series?

 

No it's bigger than the GX500 more akin to the G551.

 

Even more reason to make it a 17.3"

 

15.6" is more popular at the moment over all I believe.

 

Understandably so

 

Well 17.3" can be a bit awkward on public transport and obviously are heavier. If there is demand you can offer both of course but Asus are always cautious about demand.

 

13~15.6" are good for transportation.

 

Can't wait for this, build quality of a MBP, 4K screen, Gaming power, awesome black & red finish all in an Ultrabook chassis. Asus please please don't mess the release of this up like the NX500; too way too expensive and not widely available. Just because the MBP is ridiculously overpriced doesn't mean this has to be, uni-body chassis or not.

 

I gave up waiting for this notebook, just ordered the new 2015 Razer Blade 14. It's not 4k but still an amazing package.

I only wish quad core Broadwell chips were out, but I'm done waiting!

<edit>
Looks like the GX500 is being replaced by the G501:
http://rog.asus.com/399392015/g-ser...light-15-inch-gaming-laptop-with-4k-pcie-ssd/

 

I'm just not expecting much from broadwell with intel being so cagey around the release.

 

With theese new info and announcement, I had already decided to buy the GS60, but now I'm starting to doubt again, between buying the GS60 2QE now, or wait for the G501. Damm you Asus!

 

What I really want is the new Razer Blade, but they don't sell in Europe nor offer warranty here. I almost bought an MSI GS60 2QE, but now think I'm going to wait for this, just hope for not too long!

 

Wait for 3 months until this will be selled in Europe, and maybe 15-30 days for a good review, so I can see it deserves my money? No thanks, the MSI GS60 2QE fits 95% of my expectations.

 

I sincerely hope not, I want to be able to fit the thing in a messenger bag. 17" would be like having a dinner tray on your lap

 

This will be available in the UK, right? Unlike the Razer Blade...

 

Did you look at the chassis size and where the screen actually meets the bezel and the distance to the edge of the lid. It's a lot larger than 15", also it would provide more area for cooling. Granted portability may be affected, but not by much. The cooling would be of greater benefit than issues with portability because of an extra 2.3". I can promise that this laptop will not remain cool with the GPU in it.

 

It's not hard to cool a GM107.

 

That may be true, but it will be very hard to keep it cool consistently with 30+ mins of continual use of a texture heavy title such as FC4 on high or ultra settings. The slim form factor is amazing, but something has to give in this scenario, either the performance of the graphics or the hardware.

High-end graphics in a slim chassis regardless of the dual fan system will overheat, the larger chassis holds the advantage in terms of cooling and I don't mean making it 17.3", I mean in terms of the thickness of the laptop. Simply put, you cannot have high graphics performance continually without the overheating issue due to it's size. It's not possible.

 

The heatsink looks plenty, people have overclocked the 860M on smaller systems. I know nvidia tend to go a bit heavier on the voltage when upping stock clocks but it should not be that bad.

 

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...ign=pcm/skinflint-couk&campaign=affiliate/tag

Will the battery be removable? Every article I have found on this model quotes the weight with and without the battery. What are your thoughts? I would like a removable but I'm not expecting one.

 

I very much doubt it, would go against the design philosophy this laptop seems to be taking

 

It wont be removable.

 

I'm in Singapore on a business trip and went to the famous funan digital mall (only electronics). Every store from Alienware to MSI to ASUS had some cool material. Came across the ROG G501-JW. It is amazing looking to hold and feel, they have it displayed against the G551 for comparison in all stores. Did a firestrike extreme test on it, it did get quite hot on the top right corner but you could still touch it. I have my own reservations about how prolonged use may destroy the insides of this ultrabook. The vents are at the back underneath where the screen folds. The guy in the ASUS store told me that when he opened it up he could only see PCI x2, and said maybe the other 2 were located under the keyboard. It's retailing for 2698 SGD not including GST (VAT) over here. It also came with only 500 GB SSD. All store reps agreed it was cool, but not worth the price and most thought an MSI with the 970m was better. Just thought I'd let you know it was released exactly one week ago in Asia.

 

That's strange, usually they release new products (flagship variant) in North America first, and then the rest of world.

 

Amazon says it has been available since 12 March on their site, I don't know how true that is. But Asia was always getting this model first according to the reps in the ASUS store.

 

It's true, models usually hit asia first since that is where they are produced, it then takes a little while on container ships to get everywhere else.

 

Usually, Americas & Europeans countries get them first, other regions varies.

 

I've really not seen that trend since they are made in Asia and there is a real market for the LATEST tech there, they want it straight away.

 

Perhaps, but they still won't have the greatest SKU.
Even if they do, they won't have the highest allocation.
Therefore, you will still find abundance of the top SKU in the US and Europe.