Let’s start the week with a test of the Asus ROG Strix GL703GE, a 17-inch laptop built for the game that takes advantage of the power of the new Hexa Core Coffee Lake processor. It is praised for its solid shell, relatively fine and well thought (connectivity, maintenance) and for its good management of heat and noise.
Here are the technical Specs of the tested model (GL703GE-DB74):
Slab | 17.3 ” Full HD LED IPS 120 Hz (1920×1080, anti-reflective) |
Processor | Intel Core i7-8750H Coffee Lake (2.2GHz, 6 cores) |
RAM installed (max) | 16 GB (1 x 16 GB) DDR4 2666 MHz (32 GB), 2 slots (1 free) |
Storage space | 128GB SSD M.2 (NVMe PCIe) 1TB at 5400rpm |
Graphic card | NVIDIA Pascal GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB GDDR5 Dedicated, Intel UHD 630 and Optimus |
Optical reader | – |
Audio system | 2 Sonic Studio speakers |
webcam | Yes, with microphone |
Network | Wi-Fi ac Gigabit Ethernet |
Bluetooth | Yes, Bluetooth 5.0 |
Card reader | SD / MMC |
Video output (s) | HDMI 1.4, mini DisplayPort 1.2 |
Fingerprint reader | – |
Entries exits) | Headphone / Mic Combo |
USB | 4 USB 3.0 1 USB 3.1 Type-C (Gen2) |
Operating system | Windows 10 64-bit |
Drums | Li-Polymer 4 cells 64Whr |
Autonomy announced | 4 hours |
Dimensions (mm) | 415 x 280 x 23.9 |
Weight | 2.8 Kg (with battery) |
Guarantee | 2 years |
Other | RGB 4-zone backlit chiclet keyboard with numeric keypad and N-Key rollover (1.8mm stroke), touch-sensitive multi-touch touchpad |
software | Asus applications |
The comments on the chassis, connectors and input devices are taken from the test GL703VM / GL703VD performed by the tester some time ago.
Chassis / Aesthetics
The tester is formal, the Asus ROG Strix GL703GE is according to him one of the most beautiful gamer PCs on the market. The brushed aluminum covered lid has a textured finish and a beveled diagonal band with the prominent ROG logo on one side. At first glance, the latter seems to be chrome but it is actually backlit in red when the PC is turned on. Also note that the entire lid holds fingerprints and stains, even if you are very careful. Inside, we find a screen border rather thin and the same textured effect at the back of the screen. Overall, the Asus ROG Strix GL703GE is well assembled and remains sober compared to its direct competitors. The base is pressure resistant and the lid twisted while the hinges are firm enough to hold the screen at a 135 degree angle. Point of view measurements, the GL703GE has a chassis slightly more compact than the competition and its finesse (23.9 mm) is beaten only by the MSI GS73 (at the time of the test).
Connectors
The connection is decent with four USB 3.0 ports and a Type-C 3.1 USB port. The presence of a faster Gen2 port would have been more adequate but since some competitors still have USB 2.0, it is not detrimental. The Strix GL703 also comes with a mini DisplayPort in addition to its HDMI port. The location of the interfaces is well thought out, most being located on the left edge of the chassis, so that the right-handers will not have to worry about any cables that interfere with the use of a mouse.
Maintenance
Evolving the PC components is facilitated by the presence of a maintenance hatch that opens on the second RAM slot, on the M.2 port (PCIe NVMe) and on the 2.5-inch bay. Access to the rest (ventilation, 1st slot RAM …) requires to completely disassemble the hull but the maneuver is not insurmountable.
Keyboard / Touchpad
The AURA keyboard inherits a customizable RGB backlight (3 brightness levels off) and allows the user to set different colors and effects on the four colored areas. The comfort of typing is correct with a relatively short race (2 mm) with a retro-action a little too sweet to the taste of the reader. The set of keys is relatively discreet but the bar space is noisier. The touchpad lets slip your fingers and handles multitouch gestures.
Screen
The slab installed on this model (GL703GE-DB) marks a real improvement over the old GL703. The refresh rate is still high (120 Hz) but the accuracy and color coverage are much better. The GL703GE manages to capture almost the entire RGB spectrum (99.81%) and about 75% of the AdobeRGB space with a Delta E of less than 3. The brightness (312.4 cd / m²) and contrast (1068: 1) are satisfying them too
performances
Built around a Hexa Core i7 Coffee Lake, 16 GB of RAM and a 1.1 TB hybrid storage, the model tested is not short of resources. Heir to the Quad Core i7-7700HQ, Intel\’s new flagship processor offers six logical cores (Hexa Core) as well as a rise in visible performance. Overall, there is more speed in executing CPU tasks, especially those that require multiple threads (processes). This translates into a complete management of current usage, multimedia and versatile with greedy tasks such as video editing, complex 3D, engineering … What is more, the RAM (DDR4 2666 Mhz) is present in number to ensure a good fluidity in multitasking.
The GeForce GTX 1050 Ti is responsible for the graphic processing here. If it is rather recommended to favor a GTX 1060 for the range of the game, the GPU is still able to ensure a good level of 3D game in Full HD with an average of 60 FPS on the majority of titles with graphic details lowered for the most demanding.
Temperatures / Noise
In order to keep components cool, the Asus ROG Strix GL703GE must expel heat from its thin chassis. As a result, the noise of ventilation can reach peaks on this type of PC. If the GL703GE reaches a notable 49 dB when it is in the stress test phase, it remains less noisy than most of its competitors. Regarding the temperatures, they climb significantly on some areas of the shell (in the center of the keyboard and the back of the base) but it does not logically come into contact with the fingers during the game.
Autonomy
Autonomy is certainly the biggest weak point of this Asus ROG Strix GL703GE. Although game PCs are not naturally the best candidates on this point, some new kids like the Aero 15X v8 have shown us that combining performance and endurance was possible. Here, it will not take more than 5 hours to make weapons in Internet browsing via Wifi.
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