ASUS G501 Lightning Review: If The MacBook Pro Could Game

require a tenuous gambling laptop ? We havea whole guide for that — but the ASUS G501 was n’t the best laptop computer on our list . In fact , I kind of terminate it with just three sentence . It deserves more . Let ’s take a more or less deeper facial expression .

https://gizmodo.com/the-best-thin-gaming-laptop-for-every-need-1699528863

What Is It?

symbolic of what maker seem to intend a fragile gaming laptop should be . Do n’t get me incorrect , it ’s a good political machine , but you could use the ASUS ROG G501 as a checklist for the class . sparse metallic element chassis ? You betcha . insidious colored accents ? Yup . Enough graphics power to get off with being called a gaming laptop computer ? Yes . A hardy , strong framing that looks just a little too much like an Apple MacBook ? Of course !

It ’s a laptop computer that ’s everything it ’s presuppose to be and not much else . And that ’s fine .

Who’s It For?

Anybody who finds the above list of trait appealing that does n’t see anything they like better in Gizmodo’sBest sparse Gaming Laptop template . You do it , ASUS fan .

It might also crop for folk seem for a thin laptop with a super high resolution projection screen who do n’t require a MacBook Pro with Retina display .

Design

This machine is about as simple as they come : a flimsy , 0.8 - in , four - Ezra Pound Al computing gadget draped in lustrelessness Negroid with red highlight . The standard cavalcade of personal computer ports run around the machine ’s edge , admit two USB interface , an audio jack , and an SD bill of fare reader on its right side , plus a mini DisplayPort ( Thunderbolt 2.0 , really ) , full - sized HDMI and a third USB hoopla on the left . Visually it looks almost on the nose like the MacBook Pro would if it had a full sized keyboard and a disgraceful frontage . So basically , a paint - by - issue tenuous play laptop .

That does n’t imply it ’s not gracious , though . The G501 has a solid , full - sized keyboard and a large mousepad that handles Windows 8 gesture with aplomb . Its screen door is n’t touch sensation - capable , but it is a 15.6 - column inch super high resolution 3840 x 2160 presentation with marvelously wide-eyed viewing angle . The speakers are n’t anything to write home about , so let ’s move on .

Using It

Performance is the deviation between a good gaming laptop computer and a outstanding gaming laptop . The ASUS Republic of Gamers G501 is just a honorable play laptop — and this is what keep it out of the winner ’s roach in our large Bests unit of ammunition - up . The GeForce GTX 960 M nontextual matter chip at the heart of the machine is a good GPU , but it ’s definitely a middle - chain performing artist . This means it can trifle everything on the market right now , but just not at their maximal background or the laptop ’s native 4 K resolution .

need to toy Far Cry 4 ? Go for it — as long as you keep the nontextual matter options at metier or lower with a 1080p resolution . Older games like Tomb Raider and Witcher 2 can philander with higher graphics , but neither are completely playable on maximal preferences . GTA V ran pretty well with a miscellany of high and very in high spirits nontextual matter options , but it did n’t get larder smooth until it dropped down to “ normal . ” Not bad at all — but it feel a little last yr in terms of performance .

The Best Part

Most gaming laptop fail to last more than two minute under a heavy workload . This one can last me five .

The Tragic Flaw

That big , beautiful 4 atomic number 19 display is means , room more than the laptop ’s mid - range graphics chip can deal . Sometimes it make unearthly poppycock happen : games configure to run full screen sometimes plunge at 1080p in a tiny windowpane on the screen background , and almost any game that tries to head for the hills at the screen ’s native resolution is totally unplayable .

We ’re just not ready for 4 K play laptop computer , guy . Maybe next time .

This Is Weird…

Remember that full - sized keyboard I mention earlier ? That was a pocket-size fib : all the buttons are here , but the num - pad on the right hand side looks a small deformed . All of its clitoris are about half as wide as every other key on the laptop . It ’s fine , but a mite unmated .

Review Notes

The intact touchpad clicks down for a left detent , but push down on only the right - hand - corner of the launchpad activate a right - click . That involve some getting used to .

The power button looks just like a even keyboard key , and is site above the num - pad . I forgot where it was multiple times .

ASUS has put a bonny amount of pre - installed software on here . All of it is unneeded , but most of it is at least complementary : an update usefulness , a ISP amphetamine exam instrument and a hotkey tool for convert the people of color temperature of the admonisher .

Dji Drone

There ’s also a Windows 8 ASUS softwood app . I uninstalled it on principle .

These keyboard clit definitely take a little more military force to depress than I expected . It ’s not bad per se , but it ’s dissimilar enough that I noticed it .

ASUS says the G501 is one of the cool , quietest laptop on the market . It definitely get lovesome , but I never got it so hot I was worried I was go to burn myself . I never thought it was too loud . This title checks out .

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Remember how I shrug off the laptop computer ’s built - in speakers ? It ’s not really that big of a deal : the G501 comes with a lightweight headset . It ’s fairly courteous : it can stretch wide enough to suit on my enormous head ( seriously , I ca n’t rule a unmarried lid in my size ) but does n’t wedge my melon at all . The ear cups are swelled and comfortable too .

It comes with avariable DPI mouse , too — substantive for almost any gaming laptop computer .

Should You Buy It?

Are ASUS Republic of Gamers machines your inviolable favourite brand of laptop in the whole world ? Then sure enough — but if your fandom is n’t as strong as your reason , hold off . The ROG G501 is a good machine that hits all the ripe notes to stand out as a character thin play laptop — but it ’s priced like a great car . It ’s respectable . Really just , even . It is n’t great .

For the same $ 2,000 the G501 would lay you back , you could have a 14 - in Razer Blade with a more herculean nontextual matter chip , a small frame and a slightly in effect mouse and keyboard — for a little more ( though I do n’t recommend this ) you could even get the Blade with a super high closure display . For less than the cost of the ASUS laptop computer , you could have a 15 - inch MSI GS60 Ghost Pro with expert internals and good speakers . Hell , you could even corrupt the Ghost ’s 17 - inch brother , the GS70 Stealth , and still come away with a more hefty , less expensive computer .

Okay , but what if you do n’t really need a play machine : you want a 15 - inch Windows laptop with a screen and chassis to equal the MacBook Pro with Retina that can still play game sometimes . Okay — you have something to believe about . The ROG G501 wo n’t get the same battery life as a Retina MacBook Pro , but it ’s just as thin and portable , has a higher resolution display and way more internal power . The ROG ’s 512 GB SSD is double as large as the similarly price MacBook Pro with Retina , too . That ’s pretty ferocious competition .

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Bottom line : the ASUS ROG G501 is a good gaming PC , but its mid - mountain chain GPU keeps it from being the best time value in thin gambling PCs today . As a general 4k Windows laptop with decent battery life the ability to moonlight as a gaming turnout ? It ’s definitely deserving your circumstance .

rectification : We originally misstated that the ROG G501 had a two disjoined storehouse discs and a mini DisplayPort . That was wrong : the laptop computer in reality have a single 512 GB PCIe SSD , a Thunderbolt 2.0 larboard and two accessories ( a headset and shiner ) we neglected to mention in the original inspection . The text of this review ( and the conclusion ) have been modified to reflect the correct information .

Display 15.6 - in 3840 x 2160 IPS UHD

Sonos Speaker Move 2

Processor : 2.6GHz Intel Core i7 - 4720HQ

graphic : NVIDIA GTX 960 M

lock System : Windows 8.1

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Storage : 512 GB PCIe x4 SSD

Memory : 16 GB DDR3L 1600 MHz SDRAM

Connectivity : 3x USB 3.0 , 1x Mini Displayport , 1x HDMI , 1x Coyote State board time slot , 3.5 mm audio recording jack , Integrated 802.11ac or 802.11 b / GiB / n , Bluetooth 4.0

Second Screen Portable 15 Monitor