PC_Advisor_Issue_264_July_2017

Reviews
£1,129 inc VAT
Laptop
Asus ROG Strix GL702VM
Buy from
• tinyurl.com/myzwqmm
Specifications
17.3in (1920x1080, 127dpi)
IPS matt anti-glare;
Windows 10 Home 64-bit;
2.3GHz Intel Core
i5-6300HQ (3.2GHz boost)
4 cores, 4 threads; Nvidia
GTX 1060 6GB GPU; 8GB
2133MHz DDR4 RAM; 1TB
5400rpm SATA HDD;
802.11b/g/n/ac single-band
2x2 MIMO; Bluetooth 4.1;
USB 3.1-C port; 3x USB 3.0
port; RJ45 LAN Ethernet;
HDMI; Thunderbolt
compatible mini Display
Port; SDXC card slot; stereo
speakers; HD webcam;
single mic; 3.5mm headset
jack; backlit UK-tiled
keyboard with numberpad;
two-button trackpad;
76Wh lithium-ion battery,
non-removable;
415x280x24mm; 2.7kg
Build:
Features:
Value:
Performance:
the asus RoG Strix GL702VM is the
kind of laptop you need if you’re
a serious gamer, but don’t have
the cash to spend on the very best
processors and graphics cards. It’s
not cheap, but is far less expensive
than the latest MacBook pro.
Don’t think it’s riddled with
compromises either: its Nvidia GtX
1060 is significantly more powerful
than the previous-generation GtX
980M, and you’d have to spend
almost £2,000 to get a laptop
with one of those.
Price
You can buy the entry-level asus
RoG Strix GL702VM for £1,129 from
amazon. as we’re talking about a
gaming pC, and one released as the
pound if weak, that only gets you
mid-grade core specifications. It has
a high-power variant of Intel’s Core
i5 CpU, 8GB RaM, a 128GB SSD and
1tB hard drive. You may find gaming
laptops with more RaM and a faster
CpU at a similar price, but to buy
one would probably be a mistake.
For gamers, GpU power means
more than almost anything else.
asus also offers a higher-end
version of the GL702VM that
upgrades the RaM to 16GB and
the CpU to an Intel Core i7. It costs
£1,349, a £150 upgrade. Both
variants come with a one-year
collect and return warranty.
Design
For the past couple of years, asus’s
G752-style laptops have provided
models easy to recommend.
the RoG Strix GL702VM we’re
reviewing here isn’t necessarily
worse, but it is quite different.
this is a much slimmer and
lighter laptop than the G752. this
makes handling heat and noise
trickier, and leaves the GL702VM
with a shallower keyboard,
but many people may find this
laptop far easier to live with.
Its 17.3in screen will seem
imposing if you’re used to 13in
models these days, but its weight
and thickness are not. at around
2.7kg, it’s too heavy to carry
around all day, not to mention
too large to fit in most rucksacks.
However, moving it from room to
room isn’t something to dread,
which can be the case with
some 4kg gaming beasts.
that’s not to suggest the
GL702VM is ashamed of its gaming
habit, though. the slimmer frame
rules out any truly outlandish fan
outlets, but you do get plenty of
flourishes from asus’s Republic of
Gamers (RoG) series handbook.
the logo and a pair of decorative
slashes into the lid light-up red,
as does the keyboard backlight.
there are similar non-lit flashes
of red on the keyboard itself,
and even the underside.
typical of almost all high-end
gaming laptops, the GL702VM has
a metal lid but the rest is plastic.
there’s a brushed-like finish to the
keyboard surround, but the main
design intent here is moody-looking
red on black. No-one is trying to
pretend this is a gaming ultrabook.
Connectivity
the asus doesn’t have an optical
drive, which you will still find
on the firm’s largest gaming
laptops, though connectivity is
comprehensive. the sheer breadth
of sockets a laptop has to include to
get this coverage is significant. on
the left side are a mini Displayport
with thunderbolt, HDMI, USB-C an
Ethernet ports, and a USB 3.0. on
the right are two additional USB 3.0
sockets and a full-size SD card slot.
Keyboard and touchpad
there’s a well-spaced but fairly
conventional laptop keyboard,
July 2017 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews 31