Asus ROG Zephyrus M GM501 (i7-8750H, GTX 1070, Full-HD) Laptop Review

[Redaktion]

Premiere for Coffee Lake. After Intel's new CPU architecture had its debut in the desktop segment a few months ago, Coffee Lake is now finally available for notebooks. Gamers can look forward to devices such as the ROG Zephyrus M GM501 from Asus, which we have taken a closer look at in this review.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Asus-ROG-Zephyrus-M-GM501-i7-8750H-GTX-1070-Full-HD-Laptop-Review.293956.0.html

[LWT]

Way, way, waaaay too loud.

Was really hoping they wouldn't mess the refresh up.

[Marcus K/S]

How is the battery life not significantly better if they made it thicker and heavier than the previous model? And why for the love of God does it only have a GTX 1070? The Zephyrus was built to showcase the capabilities of the GTX 1080 Max-Q, so why neuter the GPU options for this refresh?

[toby111]

Yes, definitely disappointing. My Asus Zenbook has a nice large Apple-style trackpad, why does this one have a smallish trackpad? I like their intention behind additional storage, but I think the majority of users would prefer enhanced battery life over additional storage options. There must be something about Max-Q design which prevents them from retaining a thin-styled laptop without sacrificing keyboard/trackpad placement and retaining optimal fan/cooling design. One thing I couldn't find in this review was whether the Optimus switching was automated or had a manual keypress for it. From what I've read, notebooks with G-Sync and >60hz displays tend to have poorer battery life. I would prefer a 60hz display and Optimus over 144hz and shorter battery life (I could use an external monitor for that) but I suppose Asus doesn't want to create multiple variants of this laptop.

[Sorin]

If you can switch between optimus and g-sync on this model, do you guys think they may add this feature to the original zephyrus with a bios update? I though you can only get one of the technologys not both. Also, I think the cpu is a great update! But I feel like a zephyrus x is going to show up with a volta graphics card.

[LWT]

Yes, definitely disappointing. My Asus Zenbook has a nice large Apple-style trackpad, why does this one have a smallish trackpad? I like their intention behind additional storage, but I think the majority of users would prefer enhanced battery life over additional storage options. There must be something about Max-Q design which prevents them from retaining a thin-styled laptop without sacrificing keyboard/trackpad placement and retaining optimal fan/cooling design. One thing I couldn't find in this review was whether the Optimus switching was automated or had a manual keypress for it. From what I've read, notebooks with G-Sync and >60hz displays tend to have poorer battery life. I would prefer a 60hz display and Optimus over 144hz and shorter battery life (I could use an external monitor for that) but I suppose Asus doesn't want to create multiple variants of this laptop.

I'm not so sure about this Toby. For a lot of us, these are strictly portable gaming machines.. we stick to Thinkpads etc for work. I mean, who wants to take something with "REPUBLIC OF GAMERS" with them to the office, or a lecture?

I'm a gaming laptop addict, but honestly could count the times I've used them unplugged on one hand.
I was very impressed with the original Zephyrus. Light, portable... but still a proper gaming machine with 120hz and G-sync.

There has always been a heap of options for people who want lightweight optimus (non-gsync) machines.

[Sem]

Great review as always.

Just curious..
(i think this applies to your previous reviews.)
For the Cinebench multicore test, it is mentioned that the score drops 10% after first run and goes on that way for the consecutive runs due to not keeping the boost clocks etc. But in the chart, only the first run score is given, not the average (or something like that.)
Isn't this approach a little faulty or misleading? You could easily provide the average scores in the charts.

Thanks..

[Lee W.]

How is the battery life not significantly better if they made it thicker and heavier than the previous model? And why for the love of God does it only have a GTX 1070? The Zephyrus was built to showcase the capabilities of the GTX 1080 Max-Q, so why neuter the GPU options for this refresh?

The other Zephyrus with the 1080 Max-Q is still available, now with the new CPU.

This one is meant to be a cheaper option.

[Dear Staff]

If you're reading this, please review the Ideapad 720s 15 with gtx 1050 Ti max q. I realize that it is not very widely available in EU region so the NBR team based in germany would not be to but perhaps someone on the team based in US could?

[Damien]

Is this supposed to be a successor to the current GL503VS "Strix Scar Edition", or an entirely separate lineup? Because the CPU update seems to be the only major difference between the two.

[Bleemo]

For the battery testing was the correct 'mode' engaged? i.e. switch on optimus/switch off g-sync? As I understand you are required to select the option in the asus software and reboot before the changes come into effect.

Just very strange that wattage was similar to the non-g-sync switchable version

[Clnt]

The retail version of this laptop doesn't ship with dual channel memory installed so this review and the performance scores here don't accurately reflect the retail purchasers experience.

[TheRyGuy]

"In theory, the GTX 1070 would have enough power to support 1560x1440 pixels."

Do you mean 2560x1440?

[V4vdoo]

How come that Acer Triton with 120hz display has such a slow response times?

[DonGod]

How come that Acer Triton with 120hz display has such a slow response times?

Because only in this generation AUO and LG provide IPS displays with faster ("TN like") response time.

Acer Triton 700 is not yet refreshed with the new CPU.