ASUS has announced a full refresh of all their current products that belongs in the Republic of Gamers branding for laptops.

The laptops up for refresh will come with the latest RTX GPUs and 9th generation Intel coffee lake processors. Below are the details of the laptops made available from the press release:

  • ROG Mothership: The desktop replacement form factor reimagined, with display options for both gamers and creators
  • ROG G703: Mothership performance in a traditional design, with cutting edge features and specifications
  • ROG Zephyrus S: GX701, GX531, and GX502 feature the Active Aerodynamic System (AAS), a choice of display sizes, and ROG Boost
  • ROG Strix Scar III & Hero III: Up to Intel® Core™ i9-9880H, up to 240Hz display, up to NVIDIA GeForce RT 2070 with ROG Boost
  • ROG Strix G: The essentials at the right price, up to 144Hz display, up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070, and up to Intel Core i7-9750H CPU

Specifically, they have also streamlined the way their model numbers work to more easily differentiate each class of laptops from one another; this is good news for consumers who don’t really know what kind of laptop to get and just want to get one that fits their requirement.

“There are different levels to match performance requirements and the appetite for more engaging gaming experiences. S-class laptops offer a premium experience fit for professionals, while M-tier designs scale back slightly to find the sweet spot for savvy users. The new G series focuses on core essentials to improve affordability and welcome more gamers into the brand.”

ASUS Press Release

Due to the lengthy nature of the press release, I’ll be pointing out the most interesting pieces of information that I am able to gather.

Points of interest

Zephyrus S GX 701

For this particular 17” laptop, we will be seeing a return of a MUX switch that is essentially a GPU toggle so that both G-Sync and Nvidia Optimus can be used at the same time. Hopefully this will improve the battery life of this larger model together with a slightly larger battery capacity of 76Wh that this will ship with.

Interestingly enough, there would also be a model of the GX701 that is HDR-ready but lacks the GPU toggle as HDR only works within Optimus mode. This is a good move from ASUS to give the consumer more choices to choose between a better gaming experience or a better content viewing experience, depending on your needs.

Zephyrus S GX531

The refreshed model of the Zephyrus GX531 will also come with an upgraded display from the current 144Hz rate to a whopping 240Hz refresh in the new model. While not specifically stated as to the kind of panel used, another display will be available for this laptop that will sport better dynamic range for content viewing.

Please look forward to our own GX531 model review as that would be posted very soon.

Zephyrus S GX 502 – Dream laptop?

Good news everyone! It seems like ASUS has finally heard us consumers and reviewers loud and clear; this new variant of the GX series laptop will feature a traditional keyboard design while retaining (presumably) the premium quality and sleek design of the Zephyrus series laptops.

This series of laptops will also feature a MUX switch much like the GX 701 that we’ve covered just right above and will also come with the same 240Hz refresh screen like its larger sibling. While the compromise in less efficient cooling (compared to the GX531) means that they were only to put a RTX 2070 in this chassis, that should still be more than enough for current and future titles.

Not to mention, this new model will come with two SSD slots! This is exactly what has been missing on the GX531. It is good to see the additional storage being provided as games are becoming larger and larger in capacity.

Availability & pricing

While both availability and pricing are not explicitly stated, expect the pricing to be announced soon. Slated to be released in “Spring 2019” (first half of 2019), you can expect to get your hands on one of these laptops in a month or two at the most.

Expect more details to come next month as well as ASUS will also have a presence during Computex.

Chia is the horse-author from the far flung year of 2153. While not grazing on grass pastures or reviewing old time-y games and technology from the early 21st century pretending to not know what comes next (as to not disturb the space-time continuum), he can be seen exchanging vast quantities of Earth currency for parts needed to fix his damaged space ship.