➤ The review of the ASUS ROG Strix GL502VM 🎮

The ASUS ROG Strix GL502VM is the little brother of the GL502VS and shares a philosophy that, while geared towards power, does not completely renounce portability. At the heart there is always an Intel Quad Core i7 7700HQ with 2.8GHz base clock and maximum Turbo 3.8GHz clock, but the video card drops a step from the GeForce GTX 1070 to the 1060GB GTX 6. However, the ventilation system does not change with the Hyer Cool Duo-Copper in charge of preventing the confined space of the notebook, inside which there are also 16GB of DDR4 memory, from turning into a furnace. The icing on the cake, very interesting, is represented by the 15.6 "IPS G-Sync 1080p 60Hz panel, also available in the 4K variant, encased in a chassis full of finishes that shows off two stereo speakers placed at the sides of the touchpad, at the below the keyboard. For ASUS all this represents an entry-level VR-Ready gaming laptop, but it is clear that we are faced with a device that prizes itself some more luxury and that not surprisingly ends up costing 1500 euros, net of the (fortunately) inevitable offers.

A special feature

The ASUS ROG Strix GL502VM comes with a metal cover, in our case characterized by the Titanium Gold livery, a satin plastic chassis with a metallic look, a very robust plastic belly and all the finishes of the ROG family, with the symbol clearly visible in the right area of the interior and the illuminated logo on the shell. As for the keyboard we find the inevitable anti-ghosting, the complete numeric keypad and the equally inevitable backlight, now a constant for this type of product, with the transparent WASD keys also laterally and therefore highlighted by the light of the LEDs. The keys, large and rather precise, are of the chiclet type and are quite distant from each other, which may not suit everyone's tastes, and are rather soft. The same goes for the touchpad, not particularly resistant to pressure but still precise, large, comfortable to use and embellished with an orange frame that reflects the colors of the logo. The two Icepower speakers placed on the sides of the latter are noteworthy, closer to our ears than what happens with most laptops and therefore more effective while not shining, which left us dumbfounded given the attention. dedicated to the position, for power and quality. There is nothing to complain, however, regarding the 15.6-inch IPS screen. With a full 100% sRGB color space, the 60Hz Full-HD panel enjoys good brightness, features NVIDIA G-Sync technology, and boasts a 178-degree wide viewing angle. Just enough, in short, to take full advantage of the 1060GB GeForce GTX 6, obtaining smooth images even when the video card cannot keep the 60fps nailed down. Finally, to complete the picture, we find the inevitable 720p resolution webcam, a system of microphones equipped with a filter for environmental noise and almost everything you need in terms of connectivity. The ASUS ROG Strix GL502VM can in fact count on HDI 1.4, mini DisplayPort 1.2, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, 3-in-1 card reader and four USB ports one of which 3.1 Type-C, unfortunately devoid of the technology Thunderbolt 3 and therefore unable to carry a video signal. To close the equipment, at least as regards the model in our possession, we find the classic combination of 128GB SSD, dedicated to the operating system, and a terabyte mechanical hard drive.

Performance and temperatures

At the heart of the laptop is the Core i7-7700HQ mobile processor, a quad core with eight threads rather hot like all Kaby Lakes but capable of guaranteeing noteworthy performance, hitting the 754 points in Cinebench R15 that place the ASUS ROG Strix GL502VM on top of a Core i7-3770K. The value, among other things, is a few points higher than the average of laptops equipped with the same CPU, in the face of very similar temperatures during normal desktop operations. In this case the processor temperatures fluctuate between 45 to 55 degrees, with the ambient temperature at around 20 degrees, while the GPU, which is rarely called into question, does not exceed 41 degrees. In idle, however, the processor travels around 36 degrees, three less than those recorded by the GPU which is obviously unused. Occasionally some background operation raises the temperature to around 39 degrees, but overall the ventilation of the ASUS laptop seems to work remarkably well. And a partial confirmation comes to us by loading The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt bringing the settings to the maximum, NVIDIA Hairworks included, with the CPU that sometimes touches 79 degrees but which generally oscillates between 75 and 77 degrees, resulting slightly colder than what it happens with other laptops featuring the same hardware. Instead, the GPU turns out to be slightly warmer than average, with 73 degrees in front of a 98-99% workload, but in both cases we are within very acceptable limits, with the temperature being a constant problem of gaming notebooks like the fan, which is quite noisy when the hardware is put under strain. However, things are better with light games like DOOM, with the id Software title that sees the CPU stop at 73 degrees and the GPU at 69 degrees, all in the face of excellent performance given the over 120fps peak and 100fps on average. in the second mission of the campaign. Nothing strange to detect, therefore, excluding the fact that once the game is closed and the desktop returns, the frequencies continue to oscillate, bringing the idle temperature of the CPU and GPU above 50 degrees. Values of this kind are certainly not worrying, but the fact that the frequencies remain high during normal use of the PC can compromise the battery life.

Consumption and portability

In terms of performance, the ROG Strix GL502VM is in line with laptops featuring the same hardware and in some cases it is superior, albeit slightly. But this is a fact that takes on greater relevance when evaluating the size and weight of the device. With 2.2KG the Asus notebook is lighter than several other models characterized by the same hardware, also distinguished by the thickness of only 23.5 millimeters. They are instead average, always considering devices characterized by the same hardware specifications, width and depth that amount respectively to 390 mm and 266 mm, forcing the panel to be housed in the middle of a thick black frame. The good brightness of the panel, however, distracts from the outline and draws the eye to what really matters in such a laptop. A device that also allows us to increase the frequencies of the GPU by a good 10% without approaching the limit of 180W and without the laptop catching fire. The performance increase, it must be said, does not scream a miracle, but in some games it is worth the effort that is minimal by resorting to the intuitive ROG Gaming Center software. All this, of course, in the presence of a power outlet, given the limits of the battery which still represents a significant problem for gaming laptops. With around an hour and a half of battery life under load, the GL502VM's four-cell lithium-ion battery packs a punch at 64 watt-hours which guarantee decent runtimes even when the screen is at maximum brightness. But, unlike other similar devices, the ROG Strix GL502VM loses ground when it is not under stress, most likely due to imperfect frequency management, running out in less than four hours sailing with EDGE and reaching just over five at idle.

Comment

Digital Delivery Official site Price 1500 €

The ASUS ROG Strix GL502VM is cooler and lighter than its predecessors and is capable of excellent performance that allows it to take full advantage of the rather good Full-HD screen equipped with G-Sync. A peculiarity, the latter, which translates into a higher than average price, with us of about 1500 euros even if it is possible to find it for less, but which paradoxically justifies it by overshadowing the doubts about the keyboard, the speakers and the battery. . The latter, among other things, gets along decently under load, merging into a set of ups and downs that make the ASUS laptop a good product, imperfect but discreetly cared for, with some peculiarities not to be underestimated and undoubtedly robust. , although only the lid is made of metal. The problem, more than anything else, concerns the actual longevity of such a system, the purchase of which risks appearing reckless with the imminent arrival of low-power CPUs with six cores.