Asus has finally got around to releasing its ROG Strix GL702ZC gaming laptop. This 17-inch laptop is of particular note as it is the first to come packing an AMD Ryzen 7 CPU, melded with the "ROG gaming design legacy". Moreover, the Ryzen 7 1700 8C/16T processor is joined in this machine by an AMD Radeon RX580 graphics with up to 4GB of GDDR5 VRAM paired with a FreeSync display panel.
We first saw the Asus ROG Strix GL702ZC showcased at Computex in the summer. Looking back at that story from almost six months back I've checked through the proposed specs and the actual shipping specs and there look to have been some adjustments. For example at Computex a wider range of Ryzen processors was proposed and the RX580 was said to come with 8GB of VRAM. The full final specs are listed below:
- Operating System: Windows 10 Home - ASUS recommends Windows 10 Pro.
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 1700 Processor,
- Graphic: AMD Radeon RX580 , with 4GB, VRAM
- Chipset: AMD B350
- Memory: 16GB in 2 x SO-DIMM socket for expansion, up to 32GB RAM
- Display: 120Hz (16:9) 17.3-inch with 72 per cent NTSC FHD Anti-Glare (1920x1080) with 178˚ wide-viewing angle display LED backlit Panel, (16:9), with IPS Technology, with FreeSync
- Storage: Hard Drives: up to 1TB 5400RPM SATA HDD, Solid State Drives: up to 512GB SATA3 M.2 SSD
- Keyboard: Chiclet keyboard with isolated Num key
- WebCam: HD Web Camera plus array microphones
- Networking: Wi-Fi, Integrated 802.11a/b/g/n/ac(2x2), Bluetooth, Built-in Bluetooth V4.2
- Interface: 1 x Microphone-in/Headphone-out jack, 1 x Type C USB3.1 (GEN2), 3 x Type A USB3.0 (USB3.1 GEN1), 1 x RJ45 LAN Jack for LAN insert, 1 x HDMI, 1 x mini Display Port, 1 x micro SDXC card reader, 1 x AC adapter plug
- Audio: Support Windows 10 Cortana with Voice, ASUS Sonic Studio, Sonic Radar
- Battery: 4 Cells Polymer Battery
- Power Adapter: Output 19.5 V DC, 14.36 A, 280 W, Input 100 -240 V AC, 50/60 Hz universal 3/ 2 pin compact power supply system
- Dimensions: 16.3 x 11 x 1.3 inch (415 x 280 x 34 mm) WxDxH
- Weight: 6.6 lbs / 3.1kg
In other details not provided within the tech spec list, we hear the cooling system uses a combo of heat pipes and dual fans to cool the CPU and GPU independently. Asus calls this its Hyper Cool Duo-Copper cooling system. While it has a wide range of storage configurations available with permutations of 2.5-inch and M.2 drives this laptop only uses SATA interface. Asus says the keyboard features 1.6mm travel keystrokes, red backlighting, specially designed WASD keys, 30 key rollover, and an expected lifetime of 10 million keypresses.
Users will benefit from the Asus Gaming Centre which helps you get the most out of this machine when gaming. The gaming centre rolls in apps such as ROG Game First IV, XSplit Gamecaster, and Splendid as well as letting you monitor system performance and so on.
You can buy the Asus ROG Strix GL702ZC, as outlined above with 256 GB SSD + 1 TB HDD for £1,449.99 from Amazon UK today.
