Zephyrus – Tech Raman

Asus ROG Zephyrus M GU502 review | GU502GU model – i7-9750H, GTX 1660Ti

Lakshmi Rajan — Tue, 23 Jul 2019 13:55:06 +0000

Asus has a tradition to refresh their laptop portfolio and showcase them in the Computex Expo held annually. This year too they unleashed an updated range of ZenBook and VivoBook models and the talk of the town a new dual-screened laptop called the ZenBook Pro Duo. The ROG Gaming laptops also gets a refresh and one among the new list is the gaming ultraportable, the Zephyrus M GU502 which I got here. Within the Zephyrus series, there are a couple of sub-series and the M series sits between the top tier S series and the more affordable G series. Phew, that’s quiet a wide portfolio Asus has in their laptop section. If you are looking at a compact and light gaming machine with the latest hardware inputs and features, the M GU502 should get your attention on it but is it worth the buy? Go ahead read my review that would help you make the decision. The test unit I have has the following specifications:

	Asus ROG Zephyrus M GU502GU
Screen	15.6 inch, 1920 x 1080 px resolution, IPS, 144 HZ, matte, AU Optronics AUO82ED panel
Processor	Intel Coffee Lake-R Core i7-9750H, six-core
Video	Intel UHD 630 and Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660Ti 6GB 80W (GeForce 430.86)
Memory	16 GB DDR4 2666 MHz
Storage	512 GB SSD (M.2 80 mm PCIe x2 – Intel 660p SSDPEKNW512G8) + 1 extra M.2 80 mm slot
Connectivity	Intel 9560 AC 2×2 WiFi with Bluetooth 5.0, Realtek RTL8168/8111 Gigabit LAN
Ports	3x USB-A 3.1, 1x USB-C gen 2 with DP and charging, HDMI 2.0b, LAN, headphone/mic, Kensington Lock
Battery	76 Wh, 230 W power adapter, 65W USB-C adapter included in some regions
Size	360 mm or 14.17” (w) x 252 mm or 9.92” (d) x 18.9 mm or .74” (h)
Weight	1.91 kg, .80 kg power brick and cables

Build and Design:

The M GU502 GU is a work and play device and is obvious at the first look. You can camouflage it as your regular work machine in any serious work meetings without giving away the gamer in you. It’s sturdily helped by magnesium alloys construction of the main chassis and the underside. The lid has a brushed matte finish, very typical of many Asus laptops. There is the ROG logo on the lid, that glow RED while in use. It doesn’t get too bright and flashy and while I personally like it but if you want to turn it off there is no manual setting for it. The power button also has a small but prominently bright red LED indicator. There is a honeycomb metal construction beneath the trackpad and armrest to prevent any additional flex and gives a rock-solid feel to the machine yet make it relatively lightweight. Talking about the trackpad, its right on the middle and is large. The armrest gives a very relaxed feel while using, more on that when I talk about the keyboard. The choice of a mix of magnesium, aluminium and plastic at the right places helps to maintain the light weight yet provides the sturdiness and there is no flex whatsoever even when pressed harder. It weighs 1.91 kg, the power brick is a bit too hefty. There are also RGB LEDs hidden inside the AAS system, and they’re tied to the keyboard’s illumination, which means there’s no direct control over them and no way to turn them off independently, at least as far as I can tell. The GU502 does away with the AAS ((Active Aerodynamic System) an implementation we have seen in GX502, where a mechanical hinge lifts the back of the laptop to provide for extra roominess for fresh air to be sucked in and thus improving cooling. Still, the rubber footings at the back of the GU502 is slightly raised to give a bit of slant and airflow. Coming to the ports, there is a wide range of ports for connectivity and few omissions. On the left, there is the power port for charging placed in the middle, a placement I disagree with. Also, there is a LAN port, a full-size HDMI port, a USB-A 3.1 Gen 2 port and two separate 3.5mm audio jacks for headphone and a microphone. On the right side, there are two USB-A 3.1 ports and a USB-C 3.1 Gen 2 port, with DisplayPort 1.4 and features PD charging support. Yes, you can charge the laptop with a suitable power bank when in an emergency. There is also a Kensington security lock slot. Unfortunately, there is no fingerprint scanner for sign-ins and no face unlock since there is no camera on the laptop. You have to be satisfied with an external webcam. There is no Thunderbolt 3 support or card-reader.

Keyboard and TrackPad

I was quite at ease with the keyboard on the GU502 but that might be also due to the fact I been reviewing many of the Asus ROG lineups of late. Even for those who are new to the machine, they should find the layout convenient. It offers good feedback, has a neat layout and spaced out well. The layout has a nicely spaced keys of 15x15mm size, the function keys are slightly smaller at the top, the arrow keys are smaller in size compared to the main keys. The right also has a column of keys for Home, Page up and down, End and Function. The multimedia keys sit at the top for quick access to adjust the volume, control the microphone and launch the armoury crate. There is an LED light beneath individual keys. The markings also glow except for the function key markings. The LED illumination can be adjusted from the Asus’s Aura subsection of Armoury Crate where you can find close to 8 different lighting effects. You can also sync the lighting with external compatible peripherals and in-game scenarios. The trackpad is fairly large and is Elan touchpads. It’s a plastic surface and I have no nitpicks on the quality and working on the pad. It’s good, there is no sluggishness or any issues with it. [gallery link="file" ids="14796,14797,14798"]

Display of Zephyrus M GU502

The Zephyrus M GU502 has a 15.6-inch Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) IPS panel with 144Hz refresh rate and 3ms response time. A 6.2mm thin bezels surrounding the screen which translates to 81% screen to body ratio. There is a matte coating on the display, something I prefer personally. The bottom bezel flaunts the ROG Zephyrus etched on it. I had put the machine more for video editing than gaming and I really liked the display for it, thanks to the Pantone colour validation. It produces the entirety of the sRGB colour spectrum. It gives a true to life visuals which are very important for creators who work on illustrators or video editors. Even for gaming, the display comes good. There is no GSync. If you want a workaround, it would be possible with external monitors via USB-C >> DP adaptors if you are hell bend on it. Also, a point to note, when the system is unplugged, the screen’s refresh rate lowers to 60Hz and resets to 144 Hz when plugged back. This is programmed to save battery. There is a setting to turn the auto switch off each time.

Performance

Powering the machine is the powerful 9th generation Intel Core i7-9750H processor with 6GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660Ti graphics and 16GB RAM to kick off. My unit had 512GB SSD storage, if you want to increase further there is a second M.2 slot that can handle up to 1TB. As I mentioned earlier, I had put the machine intensely on many of my video editing projects on Premiere Pro during my travel and I never once missed my desktop back home. It was able to handle the heavy editing at ease. Even playing e-Sports titles like Apex legends or PUBG handled very well and you should be able to play Battlefield V and others too. Clearly, this laptop is a perfect blend for work and play. But when we pack such a hard ware in an 18mm thin body, there would be some compromises. I was using the laptop on a balanced mode, and the fan noise was quietly audible. The chassis also tends to heat when you burn it too heavy games. So intense gameplay on a long stretch might take a hit on the performance. To its credit, the heat dissipation doesn’t pass through the keys and you don’t fee any discomfort while using them in prolonged use. There is a silent mode though if you want a quieter use. But overall, the NVIDIA GTX 1660Ti should satisfy the gaming enthusiasts. The speakers are placed at the bottom. Thanks to the raised footings on a flat surface, they are quite loud. Everyday performance is butter smooth.

Asus Zephyrus M GU502 Internals

With 15 Frearson screws, it’s a laborious process to unscrew the back panel. Most of the space inside is occupied by a red Asus motherboard and the laptop’s 76Wh battery beneath it takes the big slice of the pie too. There are two speakers nested on rubber housing. The 16GB RAM is soldered to the motherboard. There is one extra RAM slot to pitch in another 16GB since the machine handles 32GB in max total. There is a space for an extra PCIe NvMe solid-state drive chip in case you want to add up more than the 512GB you get out of the box. There is also a network of the coiled thermal module. Since you are reading this, let me tell you not to open the back panel it would void the warranty. You can take it to the Asus service centre if you want to upgrade.

The battery life of Zephyrus GU 502

As noted in the previous section, the laptop comes with a 76Wh rechargeable Li-ion battery which Asus claims can last for up to 6 hours on web browsing. In my real use case, It was under 4 hours while just browsing and working on articles. But then in my experience, the gaming laptops never deliver incredible battery life at least not the machines I have come across till date. Still within the segment and considering the work and play positioning of the laptop, it’s a bit of a downer. Charging the laptop from near zero back to full took close to two full hours.

Verdict:

On a final note, the Zephyrus M GU502 is a great multi-purpose machine. For people like me who would want a power-packed machine that can disguise as a work laptop and also satisfy the gamer in me discreetly this is the kind of notebook to look at. Its a practical laptop with sturdy and solid built offers good portability for creators and avid gamers in them. ]]>

Asus Zephyrus M GU502 First Impression – Charmer for Work and Play

Lakshmi Rajan — Wed, 03 Jul 2019 18:18:01 +0000

Asus has a solid reputation for gaming laptops in their ROG lineup. Within the Republic of Gamers series, there are many sub-series including the Strix and Zephyrus. Between them, the Zephyrus offers slim yet powerful gaming laptops. They are designed for people who want a powerful work and play laptop on the go and yet have a relatively less weight and dimensions. The Taiwanese company has refreshed the ROG Zephyrus gaming laptops with new machines featuring 9-th Gen Intel CPUs, Turing-based Nvidia Graphics, RTX 20 series GPU, Pantone validated display. What I have today is the Zephyrus M GU502, which offers a potent mix of power and practicality for folks like me who want a work machine that seriously plays well, after all, who doesn’t want to fire the gaming adrenalin after a good day’s work.

Box contents:

Out of the box you get the,

GU502
Power adapter
Cable
Few documents

Zephyrus range gets a good treatment in terms of build quality and the GU502 follows the tradition. It’s encased in a metal chassis with a combination of magnesium, aluminium and plastic materials giving it a compact and lighter profile. It weighs 1.9Kg, measures 18.9mm in thickness and the moment I took it out of the box and unwrapped the plastic sheet, the build quality was reassuring. The finish is one of the better you can find in the market. The top lid gets the typical Asus matte brushed finish with their backlit ROG Logo glowing red when the machine is on. The design language, in general, is in sync with the Zephyrus lineup. An interesting addition to the GU502 is type C 3.1 Gen 2 with display port and PD charging support. Yes, the laptop can be powered by a power bank. It has an input rating of 20V/3A and 9V/2A output. Apart from this, there are in total 3 USB ports (two on the right and one at the left), one HDMI port and an RJ45 ethernet port. A Kingston lock, 2 audio jack one for headphone and another for mic completes the bells and whistles. There’s still no card-reader and no Thunderbolt 3. The power plus is placed in the middle of the left side, which I find a bit awkward. The Zephyrus M GU502 is well-spaced and promises a good experience, let me admit it’s early days for me and will talk about that more on the full review. It has a dedicated multimedia keys and an extra row of function keys at the right. The keys gets RGB illumination with Aura sync. Asus’s packs an Armoury Crate app for full control over the machine, you can do a lot there including creating different profiles. There is a fairly large trackpad but there is no fingerprint sensor for login. More on that in full review. The GU502 has a 15.6-inch Full HD (1920×1080) IPS-level panel. The display offers 144Hz refresh rate with 3ms response time and the colours are Pantone validated. So apart from gaming, if you are a content creator, the display would be apt for photo editing or video editing offering good colour accuracy. The bezels are relatively narrow for a gaming machine. Talking about the specifications, the machine is powered by 9th gen Intel Core i7-9750H with Intel HM370 chipset. The graphics are handled by NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660Ti with 6GB GDDR6 VRAM Optimus. You stash up memory up to 32GB with 16GB onboard. It comes with NVMe PCIE 3.0 512GB SSD storage. There is a quite a fat 230W brick included for charging the traditional way. The built-in battery is rated 76Wh lithium-ion polymer battery. Look forward to the review very shortly. ]]>

Asus ROG Zephyrus M GM501 Review – The Gaming Beast

Lakshmi Rajan — Fri, 12 Oct 2018 23:17:06 +0000

Gaming is a serious play for some. For hardcore gamers, the right equipment matters a lot. While desktop has always been preferred by gamers for their customization and easy configuration capabilities, for true gamers who would want to play on the go and everywhere they go, a good gaming laptop really matters. Asus has been one of the strong players in the gaming laptop segment with their Republic of Gamers (ROG) sub-brand. The ROG portfolio itself has a wide range of gaming machines and what I got here is Zephyrus GM501 which is manageable as an ultrabook but delivers the performance of a gaming PC to bring the best of both the worlds.

General Specifications of Asus ROG Zephyrus M GM501

Dimension \| weight	15.1 x 10.3 x 0.7~0.8 inches; 2.5kgs
Display size/resolution	15.6-inch, 1,920×1,080-pixel display
CPU	2.2GHz Intel Core i7-8750H
Memory	16GB DDR4 SDRAM 2,666MHz
Graphics	8GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070
Storage	512GB SSD
Networking	802.11ac wireless, Bluetooth 4.0
Operating system	Microsoft Windows 10 Pro (64-bit)

Design of ROG GM 501:

Gaming laptops are different breeds when compared to the regular laptops which focus more on aesthetics in a please-all way or being functional or thinner the better design language. On the other hand, the gaming machines need to have a unique DNA and more importantly be a powerhouse. The Zephyrus instantly catches our attention when you hold it or even touch the brushed aluminium chassis. It comes in what Asus calls Black Titanium colour. Most gaming laptops with muscles are comparitively chunky but GM 501 manages to be more portable as a day to day machine comparatively. The lid has two distinct panels with linear marks diagonally split – one has horizontal lines and other vertical lines. The brushed finish gives the machine a robust look and feel and it does feel robust when you hold it. A chrome ROG emblem sits boldly and gets lit in red when you open the lid with the machine powered on. It does mean a powerful statement of the brand with confidence. On the back of the lid towards the hinges proclaims Republic of Gamers which again is not garish in the branding but bold. The hinge part also sports the Zephyrus branding. A copper accent finish goes around the sides of the system to cut the monotonous of the alluminum finish. On the right, you find a type-A port and also a Thunderbolt 3 port along with a secure lock slot. On the left, you get an HDMI port, a combination microphone/headphone jack and a power jack along with another 3 USB Type-A ports. All the four type-A ports are 3.1 types. What I didn’t really subscribe to the design part is the power jack positioning which is at the middle rather than the top end which is the regular position in most laptops.

Display of ROG GM 501 Gaming laptop:

The Zephyrus GM 501 has a 15.6-inch matte display with full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution tailormade for gaming. How is it tailormade for gaming? It offers a seamless refresh rate of 144Hz, now your generall all-purpose laptops probably have a 60Hz which is considered decent in their world. This is possible with the Nvidia G-Sync technology which almost nullifies the latency and little to no screen tearing or latency. The display is also good for watching movies when you take a break from gaming. The 178-degree viewing angles mean sit around anywhere and you don’t find the display fading or dimming. Keyboard layout of GM 501: The Zephyrus has a traditional keyboard layout including a number pad at the right. The chicklet keys are well placed and there is also good palm rest for comfortable typing. The key travel is also pretty neat and also produces a nice clicky sound.

For the visual lightings what most gamers love, the keyboard lits up when you touch. You can sync your colour schemes with Asus-compatible monitors, mice and other peripherals via the cloud. You get the Auto core utility app for customization of the light elements with a 16.8 million colour wheel allowing to pick your own colours. You don’t get to individually program each key but four designated zones.

The trackpad is fairly large and has a 4.1 x 2.3 dimension.

The audio performance of ROG GM 501:

A good audio performance is a big advantage for a gamer to listen the direction of the sound and react to the opponents especially in shooting games. The included Sonic Radar 3 software pinpoints sound direction like footsteps and gunshots which helped me eat many chicken dinner in my PUBG gaming. Coming to the quality of the sound, the Zephyrus 501 delivers a deep bass which was of my liking. I love such bass and I enjoyed it. While am not necessarily going to spend my time listening songs on this machine, which my phone serves better the audio when watching movies or gaming is a winner for me. Of course with a predominant bass, the lows do get crowded a bit. The software also has four presets for music, movie, gaming and communication preferences and many effects like bass boost, treble boost, surround, clarity, smart volume and reverb which can be turned on/off.

Performance of ROG GM501:

Now let’s focus on the core competence of the machine – the gaming aspect of how it handles the graphics and the processing capabilities. With a Core i7-875OH and Nvidia GTX 1070 GPU, this machine is an absolute beast or at least amongst the top of the and can rival desktops rig of similar configurations. The six-core chipset is highly capable and hits the sweet spot for gaming. It will run at around 3.9GHz for brief periods, before falling back to 3.3–3.4GHz during workloads such as sustained rendering. Even the GTX 1070 GPU consistently hovers over 1700MHz even on a long run of gaming. The 144Hz refresh rate also aids in a butter smooth, slick gaming experience. Even the synthetic tests benchmarks are very impressive with a whooping 20,590 on Geekbench 4 for overall performance.

Battery life:

The machine lasted 2 hours and 50 minutes on our battery tests.

Does the ROG Zephyrus GM 501 heats up?

To be frank, all gaming machines worth its salt are bound to get hot, it is inevitable with all the desktop competing muscle power packed into a laptop format what matters is how the OEMs match this with proper thermal control. For Zephyrus, Asus has come up with few tricks. It has designed with Nvidia, an Active Aerodynamics System with hardware modifications for heat management. When you open the lid, you find a 0.24-inch gap. The gap draws air into the system, which is then blow out of vents along the sides. There is also 71 thinner blades in the system. Having said that the machine does heat up but not to the point of uncomfortable propositions, you can still play while resting on the lap. The fans do make a bit of sound when you start playing not at alarming levels though.

Verdict – Is this the perfect gaming machine?

I cannot say if this is the perfect gaming machine, I haven’t tried all the mighty beasts out there but what I can confidently say is that the Asus Zephyrus ROG GM501 sits right on top of best gaming laptops system. It is amongst the best high configuration desktop machines in laptop form. For intense gamers, the Zephyrus ROG is a great pick offering a slim yet powerful machine.

What works for Zephyrus ROG:

Excellent build
Beast of a configuration
Good audio performance
144Hz refresh rate
upgradable memory
Good thermal management

What is bad

Short battery life
no built-in Ethernet jack

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