Zephyrus S17(GX703)

AMAZING! It shows the S17 (when working lol) is an amazing laptop. Quiet, high performance, nice screen and .... THE <3KEYBOARD<3 hehe! happy for you

 

BTW, upgraded to Windows 11 without any issue until now.

 

??

 

you can ignore the "until now". Worked perfectly

 

Thanks, I misunderstood, thought you now had issues.

 

The only issue that I have with my unit is the palmrest, otherwise I've the same temps in nearly every game I tested.

Thank you a lot

 

Only game that gets my temps into the 80's is new world max setting after a few hours of play and I normally play 5-7hrs.

 

My TimeSpy score is 12400 points in graphics and 10400 points in CPU. I have seen other devices with around 1000points more on CPU. It is the same in Turbo and Manual mode (maxed out power on CPU). Any ideas?

 

If you have less than 11k on CPU that mean you have the issue i had/have with armoury crate. Where armoury crate mess up the CPU power when both GPU and CPU is loaded. Not much to do than open ticket on the Armoury Crate feedback. Try to do a TimeSpy CPU only and see your score.

 

How did they help you though?

 

After some pause I see that the topic again alive

 

Btw, I have one with 4k screen. I have even worst issue with Time Spy, 10960 total score and CPU around 8400. But apart from this test everything looks okay, so I gave up doing any tries to raise the voltage on CPU in this test. I have one guess, that it is due to non UEFI VBIOS driver, probable the GPU control on the fly is not perfect as expected. As far I understood, on this test benchmarks tries to decrease the voltage on GPU and add more to CPU.

 

A few minutes ago Armoury Crate wants to update. Did the update and now I have 10700 CPU points. Please note that currently I'm in dGPU mode only and not advanced optimus.

Besides that when I was in hybrid mode I tried to flash the RTX 3080 with the MSI 150-155W VBIOS. Flash went trough but the GPU could not be enabled afterwards, so I rolled back to original VBIOS. Could be related to advanced Optimus. I did not try dGPU mode because I didn't want a black screen after reboot. So I will stay with 140W which is perfectly fine.

@DenysM Does the 4K versions has a MUX switch? If yes, try to bapass the CPU and enable dGPU only mode.

 

My CPU score always stays right at 11k or a little over. The times it drops is if I try to add OC to GPU it drops to like 9k with minimal increase to GPU score.
I leave mine in dGPU mode always and turbo always.

 

They didn't found a solution but i gave them logs and proof that it was Armoury crate.
On my unit without Armoury i was scoring 10600 but with Armoury installed in the low 9000... Then one day came an update of armoury i had 11000 points (as it should). Made the mistakes to update armoury again and got low 9000 again.

TLDR -> armoury crate affect how the CPU wattage boost when both CPU and GPU loaded. If you are scoring 11k DO NOT UPDATE ARMOURY CRATE. If you are scoring lower than 11k try reinstalling armoury crate.

You can find all the message that the ASUS dev tried to find as excuse that 9000 was a normal score here (scroll to the pages) -> https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthre...rate-v4-2-5-0-report-here-if-any-issues/page5

 

No MUX, unfortunately.

 

Asus Forum is even dodging my question. I have dropped in a reminder to them, regarding the 65W power limit on the CPU with the manual mode turned on in Armoury Crate which is absolutely ridiculous. I just can't get over the fact that Armoury Crate overrides any attempt to modify those absurdly low limits through XTU/Throttlestop. And given what's happening with Apple's M1 pro and M1 max, Asus' disinterest is just pissing me off at this point. Here's the link:

https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthre...re-if-any-issues&p=845426&posted=1#post845426

 

Guys I have just posted regarding the 65W power limit bug in manual mode. The situation is so bad, that even Flow X13 can outperform the S17 in the current state. Requesting your participation in condemning this bug and raising our voice against this, link given below:

https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthre...re-if-any-issues&p=845426&posted=1#post845426

 

Here's my reply to this troll, MasterC who's trying every attempt in his book to silence Intel Tiger Lake customers, justifying his partiality to allow more wattage through AMD powered laptops in manual mode than Intel. MasterC, here's an open challenge to you, come here for an open debate on Notebookreview forums. @Darkhan @vincent9669, me and all other S17 owners will beat the crap out of you.

 

This dude doesn't care, he is just an employe trying to gather data for bug fixes. But when there is a bug he says it's normal and everything is working as intended. He did say that:
- an 11900h scoring 9000 CPU on TimeSpy was "normal" and "intended".
- an 65w hard cap in Manual mode is normal but Turbo mode going 90w is intended
- that the multi wheel doesn't need a driver even though armoury crate doesn't let you customize it if you don't have the driver.

To be honest most of this are quality of life, the laptop it self is solid, but Asus isn't.

Anyway for me it's the last time i get a ROG product and most probably will sell my unit when i get it back. I can't live the "trauma" to press armoury crate update and loose CPU performance, press update bios and get my unit bricked, send my unit to repair and that they forget put thermal paste, send my unit to repair and get it in worse condition.

So far on the thread we had more RMA than working product

That's my two cents, of course i'm salty but a part of all i said is true.

 

Well, to be fair … I am glad with the machine. Only two points:

1. I wish I could customise the LED for every key like it is possible at Alienware or Razer …

2. I think, the fan curve is made badly in silence mode … so in some situations the fans will switch on and off every few seconds …

And no, the „custom“ mode is not the solution if you want to have a silent office Notebook … because in this mode the CPU runs always fast and gets so hot that you need the fans …

On the other hand: If I play games like Civ VI, Anno 1800 etc. it is not as loud as my Razer 17 with 2080 MaxQ … the display is a dream, the keyboard is much better, the speakers also …

I had also the Alienware X17 for one week … and no … maybe it may be a little bit faster … I do not care … the Alienware was much louder, the keyboard is worse, speakers are worse etc.

Also big point: It has three SSD ports … so I was able to put 2 additional Samsung SSDs into it … now it has 48 GB RAM and 6 TB SSD … great in this form factor.

So I have to say: In my opinion it may not be the fastest machine but nevertheless the best Notebook which can handle every game perfect in QHD …

 

Hahah silent profile is a joke, the fan kick in for 2 second then switch off for 1 min, then switch back on again.
If at least they would kick in quietly! but no they go crazy rpm :/

Even if you couldn't game on the laptop, just for the keyboard it's worth it haha

 

Hey Mythbuster, one question: You say CPU always runs hot (in silent mode) cause its on high speed.
Isnt it possible to limit the clocks to, say, 3,0 GHZ with trottlestop or is this option locked?

I ordered this fine machine 10 weeks ago and it will arrive in 1 week, but am concerned reading all those stories...
Armory Crate seems to be a real problem...

 

In Silent mode CPU goes down to 1,7 GHz … but in the manual mode, where you can set the fanspeed, there the CPU runs always around 3,3 GHz …

As I wrote before: In silent mode, you will come to the point, where the fans kick in (if you have more windows in Firefox open etc.) … but only for a few seconds, because they will switch off, if the CPU will cool down 2 or 3 degrees …. that is ********!

 

Which game you cannot play? Sorry, I have no idea what you are talking about! I have more than 300 games on my S17, from GTA 5 to Anno 1800, Hitman etc. … everything runs silent and fine!

And this is still the first and only gaming Notebook that gets 90% at Notebookcheck!

 

Honestly mine plays all my games fantastic. I can see why some are upset with not getting bragging rights on benchmarks and yes the manual low cpu score is fuched up but as I said before, I leave mine in turbo and I have no issues with any games on high.
If My temps were hitting in the 90's I would repaste myself. This is the only laptop in years that I have not repasted myself, well unless you consider me throwing some paste on the GPU when mine came back with none lol.

 

Switched to Lenovo Legion 7 16“ because of all this software armoury crate trouble.
Last time for me to buy a ROG laptop.

 

I also have an S17 and the fans always spinning up is getting on my nerves.
Do we think this is a firmware bug, Armoury Crate issue, thermal design?
Ultimately I'm wondering if it can be fixed.
Spending £3,500 is alot of money, but the laptop is amazing other than that.
I also cannot return it as I took a 7% work discount and got another £500 taken off when I argued with the retailer that the box had multiple holes in it.
I use the laptop for my music system with external speakers, so the fans are intrusive.

 

Am I a joke to you ??!!
Impostor x)

 

Just report the silent fan kick-in on the armoury crate feedback, wait few weeks and you will get a reply, that's the only way to make things change.

I was being sarcastic saying that even if you don't run or can't run game, the laptop is amazing just for the keyboard hehe

 

Anyone (crazy enough) tried the new BIOS v311 ?

 

I just put 3.11 so far I cannot see any change?

 

Wouldn't opening and repasting the laptop void the warranty?

 

There is a sticker in one screw of the heatsink. If this is damaged (which it is supposed to be) Asus sees that someone repasted. Sometimes this sticker is very lose attached so you can take it off carefully. Would not repaste GPU, just check the CPU liquid metal application. On my last device this was just a joke. See my picture in this topic here.

 

Any news regarding CPU performance on the s17? This device should reach 11K CPU score in TimeSpy "easily". Does the new BIOS change anything?

 

Hi, first post.
I’ve just received a GX703.
Two issues so far.
1. The fan switching on and off regularly when at idle as previously mentioned. Hopefully a fix arrives for that from ASUS.

2. Add on SSD issues:
- I added a 4TB FireCuda 530 SSD as 2nd drive
- in slot 2 it worked fine but never went above 3500 read write speeds slow compared to its spec
- In slot 3 it would not even appear as a drive in the bios/windows every 2nd or 3rd boot.
-This suggests to me 4TB and or Firecuda 530 is not yet compatible.
- Anyone tried one in the GX703 or seen a compatibility list? Or had success with another brand SSD pcie gen4
Thanks.

 

Mine has been in RMA(second one) for 3 weeks, waiting to replace the whole motherboard due to overheating issues.
Baby honestly here in this thread no one had any issues with Nvme in any of the slots i suppose the issue is maybe only the mail slot is PCIE 4, but i'm not sure at all, also 4tb capacity might be the issue but i really hope that your issue will be solved, the best thing is to send feedback to the support and they pull up the info up in the chain.

 

Thanks for the reply. What do you mean “mail slot”? Did you mean main slot? I read all three are PCIE4 not correct? I raised a support ticket via MYAsus asking what max size is. No reply yet.

 

I meant main slot sorry, but i believe they are all Gen 4 now that i think but maybe it's the 4tb! Hopefully they will fix it for you

 

So here we go again... have my 3rd try Asus S17 now and now its nearly perfect!!! Finally...

My first main issue was the backlight bleeding of the QHD panel on the 1st and 2nd unit. The 3rd unit has none till very very minor backlight bleeding. Pefect screen!

The second issue was the CPU performance in benchmarks on first an second device. Now I have some results which seem to be as they should be. Except TimeSpy which is 10.600 CPU points (should be a little bit higher).

Cinebench R23: 14550 Points
Cinebench R20: 5616 Points

Palmrest still gets a bit warm but this is fine. Until now the device is how I really hoped it would be

I'm on Windows 10, Turbo Mode and -80mv undervolt in BIOS, BIOS 311.

P.s. During playing New World yesterday a popup occured that my VBIOS was updated and I have to restart. Don't know what this update was.

 

Another finding is, that I have swapped the SSD from the primary to the second slot. Now the left palmrest is much colder to the tough. It is warming up just a tiny bit now. I guess this is a good solution

 

Initial reply from Asus suggests add on SSDs are limited to 2TB max size.

“I've had a look on my side it says slot 2 can support a 2TB SSD. as for a list of compatible devices the SSD needs to be an SSD M2 2280.”

 

Could you please tell me, where to undervolt in the BIOS? Thanks!

 

Access BIOS and Press F7.

Disable "overclocking lock" in BIOS and afterwards you are able to access the "voltage setting".

 

update: i installed two Samsung 980 pro 2TB SDDs. Appear in bios and windows fine. But do not operate at pcie 4 speeds (instead 3 speeds of 3300 or so for reads).

Has anyone installed a 6000/7000 speed SSD and gotten the correct speeds?

 

Yeah it confirms what i told you before, only the main slot is PCIE 4 i believe but once again i'm not sure.
I have the standard 2tb ss inside it cap at 5000mo

 

Their website implies PCIE 4 for all slots doesn’t it? I thought it did. I’ve asked ASUS to confirm and they said it supports PCIE 4 for add ons.

Your add on 2TB is pcie 4? Or do you mean the Pre installed 2TB works fine ? If the latter I agree, my asus installed drive shows around 6000 read speed just fine.

 

The product page isn't clear about it.
Pre installed 2tb i meant.
I haven't managed to get any other slot with PCIE 4, so i gave up and returned the nvme i bought and used some Gen3 drives.

 

Thanks - that’s helpful. I may do the same.