Asus introduces a new line of ROG gaming notebooks at CES2021

Small Flow X13 with its own and external GPU, powerful Scar 15 or 17 series and, of course, traditionally maximally inflated Zephyrus Duo 15 with two screens.

This year’s CES, like many other events for the public, is only virtual, so instead of wandering among the stands in Las Vegas, you can watch all the presentations over the Internet. This is no different with the introduction of new Asus laptops.

Asus ROG Flow X13 (GV301)

New among ROG game machines is tiny thirteen inch laptop with 360 degree rotating screenwhich offers maximum mobility and play on the go. In a small body of thickness 15 mm a weight 1.35 Kg but there are powerful components hidden, so even if you’re in the field, you can play basically as well as at home on a powerful machine. You can choose between two variants of the 13.4 ”screen. For maximum performance in games is here FHD panel se 120 Hz refresh rate. If you are more likely to create value on the go, it is here for you 4K 60 Hz screen with better color rendering (116% sRGB). Both variants are touch, covered with durable gorilla glass glass and have an aspect ratio of 16:10.

The processors will ensure sufficient computing power AMD R7 and R9 of the new generation Cezanne, the installed memory is up to 32 GB (2x 16 GB) fast 4266Mhz LPDDR4X. For data storage, there is a fast M.2 SSD s 512 GB or 1 TB capacity. The extra-large 62Wh battery should take care of up to 10 hours of easy surfing or video watching.

But I deliberately kept the most interesting thing about this little one in the end. It is equipped with integrated graphics as standard Nvidia Geforce GTX 1650 Ti. Which would be great for an FHD screen and easy playing regular games in medium detail. But. For those who want to really enjoy the latest hits on the go, for example on a large 4K TV and nicely with maximum settings, there is an external graphics module.

A small, compact and unobtrusive box called XG mobile eGPU it hides in itself mobile Geforce GTX 3070 or 3080. In a miniature package with its own built-in 280W power supply, forget about the massive eGPU cubes with chubby adapters. This is what a mobile graphics card should look like. It is therefore connected to the notebook via a special connector, in which Asus has a direct connection to PCIe. Although the proprietary connector prevents the eGPU from being used on other machines, it will offer up to twice the transfer rate compared to the commonly used Thunderbolt 3. A full-fledged HUB with USB, HDMI and LAN port for use as a solid docking station.

You will also enjoy the standard 100W PD power supply supplied with the notebook with a USB-C connector, which can charge 60% of the battery in just 39 minutes. There is also one classic USB-A 3.2 Gen2, one separate USB-C supporting PD and DP, audio jack and HDMI 2.0. Finally, if you do not use eGPU, you will get one more USB-C with PD and DP, which is part of the proprietary port.

Asus Strix SCAR 15/17 (G533 a G733)

If you’re looking for something with a classic screen size, rather than a miniature pocket machine, where you don’t have to use a magnifying glass to target enemies, here’s a new generation of Strix SCAR laptops. They will again offer the latest generation of processors AMD Cezanne, in addition, provided with a straight layer instead of the classic heat – conducting paste liquid metal. In combination with newly designed heatsinks with asymmetrically shaped blades to suppress unpleasant resonances, they should have a more refined cooling sound. Not that you won’t hear them under load, but it will theoretically be a bit better than previous generations. Asus claims.

Assembled memory up to 64 GB dual channel DDR4 3200 GHz. M.2 SSD drives up to capacity 1 TB including the RAID 0 connection variant.

The installed graphics cards are from the latest generation Geforce RTX 30x up to the 3080 model. You will especially appreciate it in combination with both monitor variants. You can choose between versions with higher WQHD resolution with a refresh rate of 165 Hz and Adaptive Sync or FHD resolution with extreme reflection 300/360 Hz. All variants have a little compared to the previous generation reduced frames (7% say Asus).

Built-in speakers should also be better, with four speakers supporting the new standard Dolby Atmos. For the microphone, Asus offers advanced AI to suppress ambient noise.

Compared to the previous generation, it is larger battery with capacities up to 90 Wh. Again, you get 60% of the battery after the first 40 minutes of charging. Then it slows down, but it’s enough to quickly recharge in a time pressure. Pleasure support charging via USB-C PD, apparently for all variants of laptops in this series. As standard, they will come with classic chubby adapters that can charge the battery even at full load. But for selected (understand more expensive) models, a second smaller USB-C PD 100W adapter will be included. It is suitable, for example, on the road, it is much smaller, more compact and even recharges a mobile phone. Although it will not keep the laptop at full load and the battery will slowly discharge, but as a mobile solution it is an interesting option.

The trackpad, which is even 85% larger, has also been improved. The optomechanical keyboard has an RGB backlight for each key separately and boasts a 1.9 mm high stroke.

You will be pleased to be equipped with a module with WiFi 6 standard in terms of ports, so you can connect peripherals via up to 3 USB-A, one USB-C, combined (4pin) audio jack, LAN and HDMI 2.0b.

Two ASUS ROG SW 15 (GX551)

If you don’t know what to do with money and want only the best and most powerful, here is a new generation laptop with an innovative design and two Zephyrus Duo 15 displays. We reviewed the older model last year. The concept remains the same, a brutally powerful gaming laptop with a main 15 “screen, complete with a second” tilt “display ROG ScreenPad Plus below it, at the same time hiding air intake openings for better cooling. A novelty of this year is, of course, the most powerful processor AMD Cezanne R9 with 8 cores and 16 fibers. Asus uses it again in the cooler liquid metal instead of heat-conducting paste, has improved the air intake hidden under the second display and promises to 10% more efficient cooling.

The new mobile will provide sufficient 3D performance for games or work Geforce RTX 3080. Its task will be to move the pixels on some variant of the 15 ”display. You can choose either the resolution panel 4K, refresh rate 120 Hz and 100% AdobeRGB coverage color space. It will be more suitable for work, it will be better for games FHD model with a refresh rate of 300 Hz and Adaptive Sync support. Both variants are Pantone certified for true color rendering and are matte. The additional display will now be either UHD (3840×1100) or cheaper FHD, in both cases it is a touch screen and supports the stylus.

You can use the second screen either as another classic display in Windows and open a browser or IM communicators on it, or you can display useful information from supported games thanks to the Overwolf program. Xplit Gamecaster support is also useful, where you can watch information about streamed content. With Adobe, Asus is preparing further support for the most used graphics tools.

The memory is in a slightly strange configuration, it’s fixed on the computer 16 GB DDR4 3200 MHz and one free position. So 32 GB will run in dual channel and offer full performance. However, if you install a free position with a module with a maximum supported capacity of 32 GB, you will get a total of 48 GB of memory, but it will not run in two channels. Disk capacity goes up to two M.2 slots up to 2 TB with RAID 0 support arrangement.

Battery with a capacity of 90 Wh you can charge either with a standard massive adapter with a power of up to 280 W or you can optionally buy a 100W model with USB-C designed for travel. There are four speakers in the magnesium body of the notebook that offer support Dolby Atmos. The microphone again supports AI reduction of ambient noise.

Expansion ports offer 1x USB-C with PD and DP, 2x classic USB-A Gen2, 1x USB-A Gen1, HDMI 2.1, audio jack, LAN and MicroSD card reader.