Asus ROG Strix SCAR Edition GL503VS review – GTX 1070 & 144Hz GSync display

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Specs Sheet
Design and exterior
Keyboard and trackpad
Screen
Hardware and performance
Noise, heat and speakers
Battery life
Price and availability
Final thoughts
Comments

By Andrei GirbeaAsus ROG Strix GL503VS Scar Edition, last updated on May 17, 2021

Asus ROG Strix GL503VS Scar Edition

Summary: The Asus ROG GL503VS improves on one of the most popular GTX 1070 laptops of the last year, the GL502VS. It gets a cleaner design, a high-refresh rate screen you won't find on other notebooks, and a more efficient cooling solution, among others, so it performs well with everything you'll throw at it and is overall one of the better balanced devices in its class. It's not without flaws though, as you'll find out below, but should definitely be on your list if you're shopping for a sub $2000 gaming machine.

Our score: 4.25 / 5
Price when reviewed: $1899

THE GOOD

nice build and aesthetics, despite still inheriting some gaming accents
unique 144 HZ IPS screen with GSync
excellent clickpad
easily serviceable
runs flawlessly and coolly with everything you will throw at it, including games
punchy and loud speakers

THE BAD

potential color and brightness uniformity issues
TB3 x2 only (to be confirmed)
loud cooling system in demanding loads
potential Wi-Fi issues at longer ranges
limited battery life (average battery size and GSync)

Table of Contents

The specs sheet
Design and exterior
Keyboard and trackpad
Screen
Hardware and performance
Noise, Heat, Connectivity, speakers and others
Battery life
Price and availability
Final thoughts

There are a lot of good gaming laptops out there, but this article is about one of those than stand out of the crowd: the Asus ROG GL503VS, also known as the ROG Strix Scar Edition.

The GL503 is Asus’s latest series of mid-range gaming notebooks launched in Q4 2017, with updated designs and features, improved screens and most importantly, improved cooling over the older GL502 lines. We talked about the entry level GL503VD in a previous article, and in this one I’ve gathered all my impressions after spending about 10 days with the high-end variant, the GL503VS.

Its main selling points are the GTX 1070 graphics chip inside and a 144 Hz IPS-level screen with GSync, which make it one of the most interesting 15-inch gaming laptops with a fairly decent price ($1899 for the mid-range configuration as of November 2017 – probably less in the future) and portable size-factor.

We’ll talk about the laptop’s strong points and quirks below, and we’ll also take a detailed look at its performance and the new cooling that’s in charge with keeping temperatures at bay. Spoiler alert: it does an excellent job at it, but it’s also noisy. Keep reading to find out more.

The specs sheet

	Asus ROG Strix GL503VS Scar Edition
Screen	15.6 inch, 1920 x 1080 px resolution, IPS, 144 HZ, GSync, matte
Processor	Intel Kaby Lake Core i7-7700HQ, quad-core
Video	Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 (8GB GDDR5 vRAM)
Memory	32GB DDR4-2400 (2x DIMMs)
Storage	256 GB SSD (M.2 80 mm NVMe) + 1 TB HDD (2.5″ bay)
Connectivity	Intel 802.11AC WiFi 8265 Tri-Band with Bluetooth 4.2, Realtek RTL8168 Gigabit LAN
Ports	4x USB-A 3.1, 1x USB-C Thunderbolt 3, HDMI 2.0, miniDP 1.2, LAN, SD card reader, headphone/mic, Kensington Lock
Baterry	62 Wh, 230 W power adapter
Operating system	Windows 10
Size	384 mm or 15.11” (w) x 262 mm or 10.31” (d) x 25.4 mm or 1” (h)
Weight	2.52 kg (5.6 lb), .92 kg (2.0 lbs) power brick
Extras	RGB backlit keyboard – 4 zones, stereo speakers, HD webcam

Asus offers the ROG GL503VS in a few different configurations, with various amounts of RAM and types of storage options. Our test unit comes with 32 GB of RAM, but I’d reckon most people should be fine with just 16 GB of RAM, thus would end up getting the configuration that’s most widely available: i7-7700HQ CPU, GTX 1070 GPU, 16 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD + 1 TB HDD – $1899 in the US and 2099 EUR in Europe at the time of this post. Follow this link for updated configurations and prices at the time you’re reading the article.

Design and exterior

Let’s talk about the build and aesthetics first.

I for one am not a fan of gaming-designs with bright LEDs, sharp edges and aggressive color accents, and thus I appreciate that this new ROG Strix is more tamed down than the older models. There’s still a big red ROG logo on the lid, backlit by the screen’s panel, which means it can’t be switched off or controlled manually in any way. You can however cover it up with a decal. This aside though, the GL503VS is pretty clean.

The outer lid is made of a dark brushed aluminum, with a subtle Republic of Gamers branding on the lower edge and a plastic bar at the top, for the wireless antennae. The design lines remind more of the ROG Zephyrus than of the older ROG Strix laptops, which I’d reckon most people will like.

The interior on the other hand is made from what looks like plastic with a carbon-fiber finishing (or perhaps it is carbon fiber after all, I can’t tell). We’ve seen similar interiors on the Dell XPS lines, but on this Strix the material is a bit harder than on my XPS and not as rubbery. The edges are also a little sharper, as the carbon-fiber doesn’t wrap-around them as on the XPS, but ends abruptly into a plastic frame that encircles the sides.

Overall though, there’s very little to complain about here. Yes, the dark materials show smudges and fingerprints, but that would have been the case with metal as well. And given the fact that the main-body is fairly sturdy, with no flex noticeable with everyday use and typing, I’d say Asus made a good decision going with this approach that I’d reckon helped keep the weight at bay as well, to some extent.

The branding on the interior is even more subtle than on the outside. Yes, there’s a gray ROG logo beneath the screen and ASUS, Strix and Republic of Gamers logos embossed in the main-deck, but these latter ones are black and blend in well with the surfaces around. You’ll notice however that always lit power-button when you’ll use the laptop in a dark room, and you might also notice the status LEDs that are placed beneath the screen. I sure wish they weren’t there, but at least they’re not very bright and I can expect to learn to ignore them after a while.

There’s one more element to mention here: that grill above the keyboard. It doesn’t hide speakers beneath, as it’s actually a cooling grill meant to improve air intake, alongside with the large intakes on the bottom and the intake/output grills on the back edge. There are even intake cuts on the front edge, something I don’t think I’ve ever seen on an ROG before, so unlike with some of their other laptops, Asus actually made sure enough air can get inside this one, which corroborated with the internal cooling solution actually do a great job at keeping the device cool in high loads. More about that in the dedicated section down below.

Back to the overall build quality of this computer, I’d say it’s one of the sturdiest out there, but keep in mind the lid is a little weak and you should probably use a sleeve when carrying it in your backpack. There’s no noticeable effect on the panel when pressing on the lid, but better safe nonetheless. That aside though, this laptop is tough, with the sides and bottom made from hard-plastic that looks like can take a beating.

The GL503VS feels quite practical and comfortable to use as well. It sits firmly on the desk, thanks to the multitude of small, but grippy, rubber and plastic feet on the bottom, the screen can be easily grabbed and lifted with a single hand (goes back to about 140 degrees) and the palm-rest is spacious. The front lips are rather on the sharp side though and the laptop’s front profile is fairly tall and will put unwanted pressure on the wrists.

On the belly you’ll notice those multiple air vents mentioned earlier, as well as the quick-access bay that let’s you get to the internals. The speakers have been moved and no longer fire underneath the laptop, but towards the sides, which help with their volume, audio quality and makes them more difficult to cover and muffle.

The sides also host the IO, and there’s pretty much everything you’ll need on this laptop, with 4 USB-A slots, an USB-C with support for Thunderbolt 3, HDMI 2.0 and miniDP 1.2 for video, as well as a LAN port, a card-reader (an SD card will stick half-out) and Kensington lock. On top of these, most of the connectors are on the right side, including the PSU, so cables won’t get in your way when using a mouse (if you’re a rightly, that is).

Just a heads-up, the Thunderbolt 3 port seems to be hooked up via 2x PCIe lines as far as I can tell from HWInfo. I don’t have an eGPU to properly test this though, so take it as it is until someone else can provide more details on the matter.

All in all, this is one of the nicest ROG laptops I’ve tested in the recent years, and the icing on the cake is the fact that the GL503VS is actually not as bulky or as heavy as you might expect from a GTX 1070 laptop. It weighs 5.6 pounds, it’s 1 inch thick and while the bezels around its screen aren’t minuscule as on the XPS 15 or Zenbook UX550, they’re not that big either. In conclusion, good job Asus, even with those gaming accents that are still left here and there.

Keyboard and trackpad

The keyboard hasn’t changed that much from the previous ROG Strix lines and I’d reckon most people will get along well with it, but if you’re coming from an ultraportable with short-stroke keys you’ll need some time to get used to its feedback.

The layout is mostly fine, but the NumPad area and the directional keys are cramped. Personally I don’t care much about the NumPad, but the directional keys are important on a gaming laptop and I consider that Asus should have better implemented them.

While we’re talking about the layout, I should also mention there are four extra keys on the top of the main-deck, for Volume UP/DOWN, Mic and the ROG Center app, as well as a dedicated Power button towards the right, with a Power Logo that’s always lit in red. There are no Macro keys though, which I’d reckon gamers would have want, and those existing 4 buttons cannot be remapped as far as I can tell from the included software (please correct me if I’m wrong).

You can however control the backlightning from the AURA software that comes preinstaled, as this keyboard gets RGB backlightning with 3 intensity levels and 4 zones that can be individually configured (different colors and some effects). This is nice, but at the same time at least standard for a gaming laptop of this period.

As far as the typing experience goes, this keyboard is not right down my alley, but it’s still a fairly good typer. The keys feel nice to the touch and have a slightly concave keycap. They also travel 1.8 mm into the frame, which should help the overall typing experience, but they are a bit mushy and require a firm stroke to actuate, which for me lead to an awkward feeling of uncertainty that translated in higher than average error rate, which in all fairness got better with time.

Those interested in gaming on other hand should know that the keys support N-key rollover (explained here) and according to Asus, are guaranteed for 20-million presses, so they’ll perform well and reliably in games.

On the other hand, I don’t have much to nag about the trackpad. It’s a well sized and positioned plastic surface made by Elan, but with Precision drivers, and it performs well with all the standard activities. It’s not a clickpad and thus not clickable, instead Asus implemented some awesome dedicated physical buttons that are a pleasure to press and are also basically noiseless.

Screen

The screen is perhaps this laptop’s primary selling point: a IPS-level panel with 144 Hz refresh rate and GSync. There’s just no other laptop with such a screen out there and if you’re into gaming, this will make a huge difference on your experience.

If you’re not into gaming, well, fist of all perhaps you shouldn’t look at this computer in the first place. But let’s say you’re not and still interested in the GL503VS, well, then you should know this panel is fairly good, but not the best you can get on a 15-inch laptop in terms of either brightness, sharpness, uniformity or color accuracy. I’ve added my readings below, taken with the Spyder4 sensor:

Panel HardwareID: AU Optronics AUO70ED (B156HAN07.0);
Coverage: 92% sRGB, 72% NTSC, 76% AdobeRGB;
Measured gamma: 2.3;
Max brightness in the middle of the screen: 284 cd/m2 on power;
Contrast at max brightness: 760:1;
White point: 8400 K;
Black on max brightness: 0.37 cd/m2.

It’s definitely not bad though, with 285 max brightness (and keep in mind the Sypder records lower levels than other sensors) and fairly good contrast as well. The white point is skewed out of the box though and there’s also a small gamma deviation that you can address with this calibrated profile available here. Still, the uniformity issues might be the biggest concern, yet for me those were not visible with the naked eye, and there’s a fair chance I have a pre-production sample and those final retail units might not experience the same inconsistency. We’ll see.

As far as flickering and PWM goes, I don’t have the tools to properly test it, put I didn’t notice anything unusual with the naked eye or using a video camera.

Hardware and performance

The hardware is the other reason you’ll want to buy this laptop. We got to test a high end configuration with an Intel Core i7-7700HQ processor, Nvidia GTX 1070 8GB graphics, 32 GB of DDR4-2400 RAM, a 256 GB M.2 NVMe SSD and a 1 TB 5400 rpm spinning HDD. Except for the RAM, this is pretty much identical to the models available in stores that come with just 16 GB of memory, which is enough for games these days, but can also be upgraded, as the configuration should get a 1x 16 GB DIMM and leave the other DIMM free.

The storage options and RAM slots are easily accessible through a dedicated access-bay on the back of the laptop. In order to get to the cooling you’d have to unscrew the entire back panel though, which is still a fairly easy task, as it’s hold in place by a handful of screws. Most of them are visible, but there are also screws beneath the access bay and you’ll also have to remove the HDD as well in order to be able to take out the back.

As far as the performance goes, this laptop breezes through everyday activities and multitasking. Since it comes with GSync, the Intel graphics is disabled, but both the CPU and the Nvidia GPU clock down to where they need to in order to offer a good balance between performance, temperatures and noise. More about that in the next section.

Our GL503VS did very well in benchmarks and demanding loads too, with the CPU and GPU working at full-speed in all our games and tests, with no sign of throttling or performance loss, as long as it was plugged into the wall.

Performance plummets on battery though, as you can see in some of the pictures below, and while this might be addressed with further software updates, I think it’s safe to assume you’ll want to keep this laptop plugged in when playing your games. BTW, GSync doesn’t work while on battery either.

Even if the GL503VS doesn’t throttle or overheat with benchmark and games, I did undervolt my test unit (details in here) just to see what that would translate in.

This sample was unstable at -100 mV, so I dialed back to -90 mV (normally I’d expect the i7-7700HQ to be stable at -125 mV, but this one wasn’t), which as expected didn’t result in any improvements in benchmark results, but did result in lower temperatures in Cinebench and other CPU intensive activities (about a 4-6 degrees drop), as well as in games (smaller difference of 2-4 degrees for the CPU, and a marginal difference for the GPU). Details below.

As far as the gaming performance goes, I’ve tested a few games at the native FHD resolution and Ultra settings. Keep in mind I’ve disabled VSync for the tests, but in reality you should keep VSync on in order to benefit from GSync and that 144 HZ refresh rate. All in all though, you’ll be able to run pretty much every recent title with at least High settings on this laptop.

	FHD Ultra
Shadow of Mordor	152 fps
Grid Autosport	118 fps
Tomb Raider	139 fps
Bioshock Infinite	128 fps
FarCry 4	100 fps

Given the fact that the GPU averages around 80 degrees in games with no performance loss, I’d reckon there’s even room for some slight overclocking on top of the default clock speeds offered out of the box, especially when paired with an undervolted CPU and perhaps a repasting of the CPU/GPU, as stock pastes aren’t usually that good. I didn’t get to do it on this test sample though, so can’t share any findings.

Noise, Heat, Connectivity, speakers and others

Asus implemented a new cooling solution on the GL503VS and you can check it out in the pictures below.

It’s not complex or complicated by any means, but its seems to be working fine. It consists of 2x 12v fans with dedicated heat-sinks, as well as three heat-pipes: one for the CPU and VRAM, a dedicated one for the CPU and a dedicated one for the GPU. The improved air circulation also helps to some extent.

All in all though, this implementation is able to keep the laptop cool with everyday use and long gaming sessions.

*Daily Use – 1080p Youtube clip in EDGE for 30 minutes
*Load – playing Far Cry 4 for 30 minutes

As far as the noise goes, both fans are active pretty much all the time, as both the CPU and GPU are active all the time as well. I’ve mostly used the Auto fan profile from the ROG control center and it kept the fans at slow speeds with daily use, to the point where they’re barely audible in a normal room (about 37 dB, 33dB room noise), but you’ll hear them in a quiet environment. You’ll also hear the spinning HDD if you’re running content from it, otherwise it’s shut of. I didn’t notice any electrical noise or coil winning on my sample though, but as you know, that’s a lottery these days, and there’s no guarantee yours won’t get some.

With games the fans spin faster and are noisier than on most other gaming laptops I’ve came in contact with, averaging 54-55 dB at head level. They can get even louder if you switch the fans manually to their maximum speeds, but that never happens while they’re on Auto and I don’t think there’s any reason you’ll want to do it yourself, as temperatures are not a concern on this laptop. Fan noise is though and although the speakers are fairly nice and can cover it to some extent, you’ll probably want to use headphones most of them time when playing games.

The two speakers Asus implemented on the GL503VS are punchy and loud, averaging up to 86 dB at head level. They don’t distort and barely push any vibrations into the frame at high volumes, and thanks to they’re placement on the edges, aren’t easy to cover and muffle when using the laptop on the lap. The sound quality is only average though, yet decent, with good mids and lows noticeable from 85 Hz in the available speaker frequency tests from Youtube.

For connectivity Asus went with an Intel Wireless AC 8265 chip for wireless and Bluetooth, as well as a Realtek chip for Gigabit LAN. I’ve mostly used my sample on wireless, but for some reason the included module did not perform as well as on other implementations of the same chip, especially once stepping further away from the router. Take the findings with a grain of salt, there’s a fair chance our sample came with early immature drivers and further software updates would fix this issue, but there’s also the chance this doesn’t get the best antennae layout, so it’s something to keep in mind and properly check on your unit.

The last aspects to mention here are the webcam and microphones placed on top of the screen. They’re decent for occasional calls and perhaps some occasional streaming, but they’re definitely nothing to brag about.

Battery life

The GL503VS gets a 62 Wh battery, much like the previous ROG GL502VS. That’s average sized for this class, but given the GSync monitor and thus the lack of Optimus, you shouldn’t expect much from this laptop on a charge. Check out the data below for more info (the screen was set at 30% brightness, roughly 120 nits):

20 W (~3 h of use) – text editing in Google Drive, Balanced Mode, screen at 30%, Wi-Fi ON;
22.6 W (~2 h 40 min of use) – 1080p fullscreen video on Youtube in Internet Explorer, Balanced Mode, screen at 30%, Wi-Fi ON;
20.2 W (~3 h of use) – 1080p fullscreen .mkv video in the Movie app, Balanced Mode, screen at 30%, Wi-Fi ON;
25.7 W (~2 h 20 min of use) – 4K fullscreen .mkv video in the Movie app, Balanced Mode, screen at 30%, Wi-Fi ON;
31 W (~2 h of use) – browsing in Edge, Balanced Mode, screen at 30%, Wi-Fi ON;
40 W (~1 h 30 min of use) – gaming on battery, High Performance Mode, screen at 30%, Wi-Fi ON.

Asus pairs the laptop with a 230 Wh power brick, required to properly power the hardware inside. It’s fairly chunky and weighs around 2 lbs (.9 kg) in the European version, with the included cables. A full charge takes about 2 hours.

Price and availability

The ROG Strix GL503VS Scar Edition is available in most regions of the world as of mid-July 2018.

The most widely spread configuration and the one that makes the most sense to buy gets you the i7-7700HQ processor, 16 GB of RAM (1 stick), the GTX 1070 graphics, a 256 GB SSD and a 1 TB HDD, as well as the 144HZ matte screen, for $1899 in the US and 2099 EUR in Germany.

I’d expect this to get cheaper as time goes by, follow this link for updated configurations and prices at the time you’re reading the article.

Final thoughts

There’s little not to like about this Asus ROG GL503VS. It’s built well, it looks nice, it offers almost all the right features and traits and it performs excellenty while plugged into the wall. Its main selling point is the screen though and perhaps the single most important reason you’ll want to go with this unit over the competition, since nobody else offers such a screen right now.

Otherwise though, if you don’t care that much about that 144 Hz GSync screen, the GL503VS’s flaws might make you wonder if it’s the best buy for you. The typing experience is subjective, but is not that great imo, the cooling system is noisy under load, and then there are also the potential issues with the screen’s uniformity and wireless performance to keep an eye on. On top of those, there are quite a few other good 1070 15-inch laptops out there, many of them with larger batteries, TB3 x4 and some actually more affordable than this ROG Strix:

Dell Alienware 15 – GTX 1070 overclocked chip, FHD 60 Hz IPS GSync screen, 99 WH battery, TB3 x4, 7.5 lbs – starts at around $1700;
Acer Predator 15 G9-593 – GTX 1070, FHD 60 Hz IPS GSync screen, 89 Wh battery, no TB3, 8.2 lbs – starts under $1500;
Asus ROG GL502VS – GTX 1070, FHD 60 Hz IPS GSync screen, 62 Wh battery, no TB3, 5.6 lbs – starts under $1600;
Aorus X5 v7 – i7-7820HK, GTX 1070, 3K IPS GSync or QHD 120 HZ GSync screen, 4x RAM slots, 94 Wh battery, TB3 x4, 5.5 lbs – starts at $2299.

These aren’t the only alternatives, there’s a greater list of good 1070 laptops here, as well as one of 1070 MQ devices over here. Each option has its own fair of quirks though, so make sure to document your decision so you’ll know exactly what you’re buying into.

All in all though, I believe the Asus ROG Strix GL502VS is a nicely balanced gaming laptop in its segment, and it should get more competitive down the line with the discounts that will surely follow. As of November 2017 it should be on your map primarily if you’re interested in a computer for gaming with excellent performance and a high-refresh rate screen, but don’t mind paying the premium for it, while sacrificing a few other aspects.

That’s about it for this review of the ROG Strix GL503VS Scar Edition, but I’m looking forward for your opinions in the comments section below, as well as your feedback and questions, if any.

Disclaimer: Our content is reader-supported. If you buy through some of the links on our site, we may earn a commission. Terms.

Review by: Andrei Girbea
Andrei Girbea, Editor-in-Chief. I've a Bachelor's in Computer Engineering and I've been covering mobile technology since the 2000s. You'll mostly find reviews and thorough guides written by me here on the site, as well as some occasional first-impression articles.

66 Comments

Bobby

November 23, 2017 at 12:37 pm

What’s the response time of the screen? I thought I had seen somewhere it was 3ms or 5ms but I don’t see that anywhere now. Thanks

Reply
- Andrei Girbea
  
  November 24, 2017 at 10:44 am
  
  I don't have the tools to measure that. Should be good according to Asus, I'ved read something about 7 ms (GtG – i think)
  
  Reply
- Amshuman G
  
  March 29, 2018 at 12:49 am
  
  The response time is 7ms as written on the ASUS website thanx to its IPS-like that is VA panel.
  
  Reply
Nilay

November 23, 2017 at 3:25 pm

Hi. Can you compare this against MSI Raider GE63VR 7RF?
I believe they are perfect competition of each other.

Reply
- Andrei Girbea
  
  November 24, 2017 at 10:45 am
  
  I didn't review the Raider, so can't share any insiders about it
  
  Reply
- grapejuice
  
  December 20, 2017 at 11:34 pm
  
  I agree on this. Hopefully someone will send you a unit so you can compare them
  
  Reply
Matt

November 23, 2017 at 3:28 pm

Thank you so much for being the first to do a detailed review. A lot of us have been waiting on this model and haven't purchased yet!

Questions:

–I'm a bit saddened by the contrast ratio on the display, despite the ultra high refresh. Was this noticeable to you? Did you enjoy the 144hz?

–G-Sync and throttling when unplugged: Did you notice that they had a custom power profile to toggle G-Sync on/off automatically?

–Battery discharge: did the battery discharged while gaming? (This was a well known issue on the GL502VS that hopefully they've addressed)

Reply
- Andrei Girbea
  
  November 24, 2017 at 10:47 am
  
  1. The SYpder4 sensor that I use records lower brightness and contrast then other sensors. I'd say in reality it's probably better than what I got.
  2. Hmmm, no. Didn't look into this.
  3. Wasn't aware that was an issue and actually I didn't check. I played games for a couple of hours at a time and didn't get any low battery warnings, but again, I didn't specifically check if it discharged or not. I already returned the laptop and can't check anymore
  
  Reply
- Amshuman G
  
  March 29, 2018 at 12:54 am
  
  I did purchase this laptop couple of months ago, and I have to say- I thoroughly enjoy the 144Hz display and there is none like it at this price point. There is no on/off for G-SYNC, its always on and hence the poor battery backup. Third, battery doesnt discharge when plugged in and gaming. It charges fairly good while gaming too that is for example : I started playing Overwatch at 40% battery and after about 3 hrs I saw it to be full.
  Hope this helps you making a purchase. Glad to help
  
  Reply
mystiq

November 24, 2017 at 11:49 pm

good review, and the first review GL503VS on the entire internet hahaha,

andrei, is that true that thunderbolt 3 has no support for 4 lane 40gb/s ?

Reply
- Andrei Girbea
  
  November 25, 2017 at 4:57 am
  
  As far as I can tell, it only has a 2x PCie lines port, but I don't have an eGPU to properly test it out
  
  Reply
  - mystiq
    
    November 25, 2017 at 11:56 am
    
    would you mind to test the MSI GE63VR Raider please ? the unit has come with (GTX1060 or GTX1070).
Wulf

November 28, 2017 at 2:21 am

i actually picked this up for about 1700 USD (about the price of the other slim, 1070 laptops) since some websites offered a small discount on Cyber Monday/ Black Friday with free shipping. This review actually helped me pick this one out, since i was thinking "whats the point of getting a 60hz display with a 1070?" and at the discounted price, i think its worth it. Even if the price drops down the line, for what i paid for, i wont even be mad :D THANK YOU M8

Reply
- Andrei Girbea
  
  November 28, 2017 at 6:58 am
  
  nice, let us know how you feel about it if you have the time.
  
  Reply
  - Wulf
    
    November 29, 2017 at 1:13 am
    
    I wont be getting it till the 8th of next month, but i'll let ya know how it goes once i get it
  - Wulf
    
    December 12, 2017 at 3:00 am
    
    So I've had the laptop for over a week now, and some updates on it. It's quite good, while doing school work like docs and what-not it's pretty silent and getting about roughly 3 hours on the battery, a little bit more at times when its at the lowest brightness settings (library lights are really bright, with almost no glare in my experience so far) . While gaming, i keep it plugged it to take advantage of the 144 hz (since on battery it's gotta be configured to run at full power) but when I'm out, like say school the balanced settings is really nice for light gaming. With the ASUS Gaming center I can keep the laptop running a little bit hotter while keeping it at like 20% fan speed. Haven't experienced any thermal throttling even at almost 70C on both the CPU and GPU, in my experience it's really great. Thanks again for this review m8, it got me to purchase this laptop since it's the only actually review with this hardware
  - Andrei Girbea
    
    December 12, 2017 at 11:15 am
    
    Great it works for you and thanks for the feedback.
Vendoz

December 14, 2017 at 6:44 am

I bought this laptop a week ago. The laptop is really a great and beautifull machine, but i think is too much louder. CPU and GPU temps never reach the 80°, but the lapton remains fresh.

I hope some bios update to improve my fan's situation… i don't know if i will keep this machine, only for noise!

Reply
Bram

December 23, 2017 at 5:11 am

Hello,

Your honest review caused me to buy this laptop. I will get it tomorrow and i'm so excited. I will let you know more once he has arrived!

Thanks in advance :)

Reply
- Andrei Girbea
  
  December 23, 2017 at 6:56 am
  
  Let us know how you like it.
  
  Reply
foodle

December 31, 2017 at 9:38 pm

I've had one for about a month. A couple of days ago, in the middle of a gaming session, it suddenly shutdown. Now it won't boot on battery or AC. Completely dead. Great specs, but build-quality and reliability are problems.

Screen was really nice. 1070 performance was good. Fans were very loud. You'll want to use headphones. Keyboard was not great. Also, unlike the review, I found the trackpad really bad. Did not track finger movement well. Two finger scroll worked poorly.

Reply
- Haziq
  
  February 21, 2018 at 6:27 am
  
  Is it still not working? Was it the black screen of death or was there just no power at all?
  
  Reply
Steven Colin

January 3, 2018 at 12:59 am

Does it drops fps while playing game??? I hear temparature of Asus gl503vs is 90 degree and will it okay if i play game 4-5 hours a day??? Thanks for read my comment. Hope you feedback to me!

Reply
- Wulf
  
  February 20, 2018 at 12:22 am
  
  I haven't had a single issue with it so far. I had a lan party with my friends that lasted about 10 hours and i didnt have a single performance drop. The fans did kick up pretty high but didn't thermal throttle at all. but of course mileage will vary sometimes.
  
  Reply
- Amshuman G
  
  March 29, 2018 at 12:57 am
  
  No it will not. Just as Wulf said Ive played hrs continuously and never has it reacher more than 77C and throttled. But the fans do get loud.
  
  Reply
Sam

January 4, 2018 at 11:46 am

I'll be replacing my awful Clevo P775DM3 with this as soon as I can. I was looking at the GE63VR Raider but the ASUS looks much better and benefits from an IPS display over the MSI's TN panel. This review, the display and the looks of the ASUS have me sold. Thank's for a great write up!

Reply
Giuseppe

January 11, 2018 at 7:13 am

Hi guys, i have a gl503vm1 with a strange problem of banding. I give you some screen. Is this normal (i don't think so). I will appreciate an answer, please, and thank you so much.

imagebam.com/image/226292714594633

imagebam.com/image/41db09714594683

Reply
- Andrei Girbea
  
  January 15, 2018 at 1:04 pm
  
  Hmmm, no, that's not normal. Send it back and ask for a replacement.
  
  Reply
  - Giuseppe
    
    January 17, 2018 at 12:51 pm
    
    Hi… amazon send to me a new unit and this have the problem too… i think it's a fault series at this point. I really don't know what to do…
  - Andrei Girbea
    
    January 17, 2018 at 2:40 pm
    
    well, personally I wouldn't keep a unit with a defective screen. But, can you upload some pics of the entire screen though, with different solid-color backgrounds? I can judge accurately the issue base don those pictures you sent earlier.
  - Giuseppe
    
    January 17, 2018 at 3:10 pm
    
    Thank you for your reply. Here some pics with both defective units.
    
    imagebam.com/image/4b942c721807433
    
    imagebam.com/image/9f96e3721807653
    
    The last one is a comparison with my tv connected with hdmi, that show a correct blacks.
    
    My pc have an auo53ed panel, both pc's.
    
    My only option is to give them back even the new one and buy a gl703vm hoping in a good screen… What you think?
  - Andrei Girbea
    
    January 18, 2018 at 5:27 am
    
    But is that a movie? Did you try with other sources and other players? And does it do the same with static high resolution images? Perhaps it's a codec/movie-source issue, and not a faulty screen?
  - Giuseppe
    
    January 18, 2018 at 8:19 am
    
    I can't reply on your comment below… anyway i tried the display with every content, games, movies, videos, images… basically it seems to do this problem with black and grey gradients, and searching on web it seems a problem of nvidia that doesnt supporto dithering… the only way to fix this in monitor that have this problem is to force on control panel 6bcp color profile, but this is not possible on my asus (only 8bcp) and the trick to force 6 bcp doesnt work.
    
    I already contacted amazon to send back both pc's… when they refund me with cash, i will buy a gl703vm (the same pc in 17 inch) that not suffer from this problem… i know this because i contacted a guy that own this a couple of days ago and not have any problem).
    
    I hope this story will end next week because those pc's send me to hell… worse experience ever. Anyway other region (i live in italy) seems to have a different display that is good.
  - Andrei Girbea
    
    January 19, 2018 at 12:56 pm
    
    weird, I didn't notice the same issue with my sample over here in Romania. Too bad you had to go through this and I hope the 703 works well for you.
  - Giuseppe
    
    February 8, 2018 at 8:49 am
    
    Hi, i just wanted to update you… gl703vm (italy) have a perfect screen finally (except for a small bleed on dx low corner on black pattern and max brightness).
    
    Finally i have a working pc after 1 month of patience and 3 pc's sended back. Just to laugh a little, even the first gl703vm that amazon sended to me was defective (spacebar not working). I think that asus have just a bad control-quality when assembly.
    
    This actual (working) pc is the 4 unit… never happened in my life such a thing. In other aspects this laptop is just awesome, solid build quality and feedback, good screen, 1060 push very well (even 4k 30fps).
  - Andrei Girbea
    
    February 8, 2018 at 4:46 pm
    
    Hopefully this one will do good for you. Sry to hear their QC is so crap, one more reason to buy from big stores that handle returns well.
Mike

January 15, 2018 at 11:00 am

Can I turn G sync off for better battery life? And how long would the battery life be if I were to code on it?

Reply
- Andrei Girbea
  
  January 15, 2018 at 1:11 pm
  
  No, that's not possible. The integrated chip within the CPU is disabled and the Nvidia chip always active, hence the shorter battery life. For coding, I'd say battery life should be similar to what I got in my browsing tests, but that depends on how taxing the programs you're using are on the CPU.
  
  Reply
  - Almas
    
    February 26, 2018 at 4:31 pm
    
    Andrei Girbea, please tell me who is the best in fiability and temp?
    Asus gl503vs
    Msi GE63vr 7rg
    Msi Gs63vr
    Clevo p950
    Thank You!
  - Amshuman G
    
    March 29, 2018 at 1:01 am
    
    Hey man, I have not used the Clevo but have used the MSi GE73VR and ROG GL503VS, I say you go with the ASUS cuz MSi has super bad customer support, not that ASUS has good suport but its much better than MSi. Glad to help. Check for the Clevos QC and CS online. :)
- MJJ
  
  January 16, 2018 at 8:33 pm
  
  Hey I assume you were/are looking for a notebook to code and game on as well — as I'm looking for just that too, what did you end up going with?
  
  Reply
  - colosh
    
    January 27, 2018 at 2:35 pm
    
    Hey hello I'm just looking for a laptop which is usable for both gaming and programming on it.. Had you already made your decision? Please tell me if you found anything!
OldLadle

January 25, 2018 at 9:50 pm

Do you happen to know if this laptop is capable of having 2 ssd's?

Reply
- Andrei Girbea
  
  January 30, 2018 at 4:43 am
  
  Yes, an M.2 and a 2.5" one
  
  Reply
Abdurrahman

February 11, 2018 at 3:36 pm

Are the viewing angles good? Because that's mostly what I'm looking for, I watch a lot of videos when I'm not gaming and having to look at it from a certain angle to get the best colours is very irritating. Most matte displays tend to drastically change colour when viewed slightly off angle. Can you recommend some laptops with good displays which have wide viewing angles? Thanks

Reply
jony

February 13, 2018 at 3:34 pm

I received my GL-503 VS in December after some wait for inventory online. Runing plugged in its great. However, on battery its got pretty serious issues. I get around an hour on battery, but its almost unplayable as the system down throttles really bad, and I start to encounter all sorts of lag, sound issues and more.
The REALLY bad part is some simple text editing and web browsing work will drain the entire battery in just over an hour and half. While it’s a gaming spec machine, being able to use as a work machine during the day is a big thing for me on a laptop for $1900+
I’ve been in touch with Asus about the power issues (as well as Xoticpc, who I bought the PC from, and followed their fixes – resetting drivers, and the board etc), but no changes so far.
Guess I’ll see what they have to say from there….

Reply
- Andrei Girbea
  
  February 16, 2018 at 4:02 am
  
  That's the case with laptops with GSync, like this one, with the always on dedicated graphics. 1.5 hours seems very short though, perhaps you can try to keep it on Power Saving and lower the screen's brightness? Could also use HWConfig and monitor the battery drain during your use. You'd have to launch he app in Sensors mode and scroll down to the Battery section.
  
  Reply
Davmar

February 15, 2018 at 8:44 am

Great review! I purchased this laptop partly because of this review!

Reply
Davmar

February 22, 2018 at 2:02 pm

I received my GL503VS yesterday. I ordered it through HIDevoultion, I got the thermal upgrades and reinstalled windows. No bloat ware problems, machine runs great smooth as butter. Screen is amazing and a 1070 with i7 Kaby lake crushes games on a 1080p /144hz panel. I’ve played CSGO, PUBG and For Honor, on high settings the games are buttery smooth with FPS fluxations between 150-200 respectively. As for noise. If your not gaming it’s silent. After a few hours of gaming you do hear the fans but nothing that is distracting. I played about 3 hours of CSGO and in a lull in the action I heard a slight humming sound, I removed my headphones and listened for a bit, sitting there and listening to the fans, it was not that annoying as for noise level. I was expecting louder from the reviews I read. Got up and walked around the room and went into another room, just to see if the fans were actually noticeable. And they were not bad, yeah you can hear what sounds like a fan, but it’s not overwhelming. Like i said you hear the humming sound. Sitting at the desk, yeah, you will hear fan noise but it’s not really that bad, and with headphones on you barely hear anything. I love the keyboard. At first I was afraid I would not like it. I found the left cntrl key to be a little small but that’s my only gripe. The keys feel great and responsive, and it’s enjoyable to play on. My hands or palms never felt any warmth while gaming. Was quite cool. The computer itself it thin, sleek and light. I love the look. I highly recommend.

Reply
- Ayush
  
  February 24, 2018 at 8:10 am
  
  Hey can you pls post cpu and gpu temperatures of your gl503vs because that is what preventing from buying this instead of the msi ge63vr raider( both have almost everything same except for the per key rgb and 7 heat pipes on msi while the Asus has thunderbolt 3 and ips/gsync display) also pls comment on the battvery life aswell
  
  Reply
- Almas
  
  February 26, 2018 at 3:16 pm
  
  I want to buy this laptop but i don't know how is the temps in Games?
  
  Reply
  - Davmar
    
    February 27, 2018 at 9:38 am
    
    my cpu and gpu thermals are repasted, so my temps may not be an accurate picture of stock performance. Yesterday I played about 3 hours of Black Desert Online and when I logged out I hit the ROG button to view gpu and cpu cores temps. My cpu temps were fluctuating between 70-74. I think this computer does a good job on heat displacement regardless.
  - Ayush
    
    March 1, 2018 at 8:19 am
    
    Well thanks for the reply but I anyways ordered the MSI ge63vr raider.
  - Krl
    
    March 1, 2018 at 7:30 pm
    
    I play Black Desert Online, I was seriously buying this laptop due to the fact that I move around and I'm just waiting for Nvidia 20 series to come out to build a decent desktop. Do you do node wars? What are your FPS settings in wars on medium vs high. Thanks a lot.
Skarm

February 28, 2018 at 6:49 pm

Is this laptop compatible with liquid metal paste for a repaste? If you are unaware you know a way I can find out? (to be specific Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut)

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- Davmar
  
  March 1, 2018 at 10:01 am
  
  Yes, it is.
  
  Reply
  - Skarm
    
    March 8, 2018 at 3:21 pm
    
    You did it to your own system? how well does it fair?
Steve

March 13, 2018 at 12:10 pm

anyone confirm if the TB3 is x4 or x2?

Thanks!

Reply
Sadique

March 31, 2018 at 4:42 am

Can anyone please tell me what is the manufacturing date or release date of this laptop?

Reply
Tuan

April 24, 2018 at 1:11 am

This is such a well written and detailed review. Good job man, people should be writing at this level when reviewing products.

Reply
Agado

August 31, 2018 at 5:21 am

Did it get power limit throttling ? Because my GL503GE is having that issue? And is there any way to improve it?

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draeke

August 4, 2021 at 11:56 pm

I bought this pc in December 2017 but unfortunately now, in August 2021 the screen (or gpu) let me down. It's true it has been an amazing computer and still holds to this day with the gtx1070 but the cooling system has never been the strongest point for ASUS. Before this 2 others laptop failed me and had gpu issues. Whenever one buys a computer with a high end graphic card, the priority should be the cooling, and tbh, I believe this one has failed on the spot. I'd be curious to know how many others have had the same experience as me. It's too bac because the computer is awesome and i really loved the performance and the screen resolution and now with the gpu shortage it's a nightmare to find a competitive machine at a similar price.

Reply
- Andrei Girbea
  
  August 5, 2021 at 9:30 am
  
  does it still work on an external monitor?
  
  Reply
  - draeke
    
    August 5, 2021 at 8:45 pm
    
    it kind of does but only tried on a TV screen with 60hz refresh, I will have to try with a proper monitor, sometimes when i am back at home where i have a desktop pc, not holding my breath as i said before 2 previous asus failed me with the gpu, i have always been buying ROG with high end gpu and it always somehow fried after a few years of gaming and photoshop use. But thanks for the tip, i have to try that too. If that is the case though, i wonder if it's gonna cost a lot to replace the monitor and if it's advisable to do so.
  - Andrei Girbea
    
    August 6, 2021 at 10:50 am
    
    might not cost much, depends on the problem. worth checking out in a proper service imo, if the monitor is the culprit
- breakfastdude
  
  January 4, 2022 at 12:40 am
  
  Well that's unfortunate. Did you manage to get it fixed? Mine has been in use since 2018 for both work (embedded electronics design) and games, and has never missed a beat. Upgraded to 32GB RAM and replaced the 1TB HDD with a 1TB SSD. I've never repasted, though I see to it that the fans and vents get cleaned at least once a year. I find that after a year, the vents are almost clogged up, so ideally cleaning should probably be done twice a year. The downsides of gaming laptops I guess. While gaming (SOTR), max temps are at 85'C CPU (undervolted) and 78'C GPU (overclocked).
  
  Reply

Asus ROG Strix SCAR Edition GL503VS review – GTX 1070 & 144Hz GSync display

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