Asus ROG Zephyrus G GA502DU (Ryzen 7 3750H, GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q) Laptop Review

[Redaktion]

The Zephyrus G GA502DU wants to redefine what a budget gaming laptop should be. Its rare pairing of an AMD H-series CPU with an Nvidia GeForce Max-Q GPU is something we wish could have happened years ago. It offers a superbly balanced gaming experience at 1080p30 or 1080p60 in a chassis the size of a flashy flagship all at an affordable price.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Asus-ROG-Zephyrus-G-GA502DU-Ryzen-7-3750H-GTX-1660-Ti-Max-Q-Laptop-Review.421577.0.html

[DeepskyScorpion]

I was very excited about this laptop, since it uses a new combination of hardware in the thin/light gaming notebook category, and it offers a unique combination of a thin/light form, good battery life and decent gaming performance in the 1100 price point. Well, as it turns out, corners were cut and especially the screen and the WiFi NIC makes it very hard to recommend. If Asus iterates this, I feel like an option of a Ryzen 5 processor, the non-ti 1660 graphics, a brighter screen with better colour, and a decent WiFi nic could be a much better compromise. 1x1 WiFi and a screen that dim makes its portability null in practice. That said, I'd want much more feature than what is present, including direct dGPU -> display link setting akin to what is available on Gsync laptops, a video out port directly linked to the dGPU, and the removal of the rightmost column of keys. Put those in FN keys.

[Sid]

I think the lack of Thunderbolt 3 should not be in cons since the laptop is using AMD processors and the surrounding ecosystem. Thunderbolt 3 might become USB 4, but until then AMD based laptops which lack this feature should not be penalized.

On a side-note, Asus is still treating AMD poorly - just having something for the sake of it is not good enough. 

[gc]

removal of the rightmost column of keys. Put those in FN keys.

I vote to keep the navigation column with Home and End keys.  Positioning the cursor with one hand and then typing Shift-End (or Shift-Home) with the other, to select and replace the rest (or prefix) of a text line, is a frequent edit for me and quicker without two-handed fn-chord combinations.

[Malcolm Mason]

I really wonderful what the bottleneck was when it came to the overall performance. I feel like it was the single-channel ram, allthough other variables could be to blame.

[LHPSU]

and the removal of the rightmost column of keys. Put those in FN keys.

Absolutely not. It's how I wish every laptop manufacturer would do it. The lack of those keys is precisely why I'll never consider the Razer Blade.

[DeepskyScorpion]

I see people saying they want the rightmost nav column -- that was my personal preference, but to elaborate I also wouldn't mind if it didn't push the touchpad/alphanumeric keys off centre. Centered alphanumeric area is pivotal for me when I game, and the nav column on my pavilion caused me months of trouble. For web browsing, document editing and such it is a godsent, however pushing it further off or putting it above/beneath in order to preserve the centered location of the alphanumeric keys would be ideal for me. Or they can take that trackpad display tech and put the nav keys there with a large trackpad.

[william blake]

oh, here we go again
manufacturers hates us
no sunlight/headphones only(and no people around)
industry standard
fn keys? you are joking right?

[jeremy]

Mostly as a curiosity, may you use HWINFO to reveal the PCIe lane/port allocation?

We know there are 12 lanes from the CPU (max port # unknown).

From the article, we know 2x and 2x for the NVMe. This leaves 8 lanes.

From Realtek RTL8821CE, we know the WiFi part uses 1 lane (I'm assuming the M.2 slot is still wired for 2 lanes). This leaves either 7 or 6 lanes.

Since a power of 2 is mandatory, this means the Nvidia GPU is working off of 4 lanes. This leaves either 2 or 3 lanes. What is using those remaining lanes?

[Doctor Hue]

I wonder why Asus is still handicapping Ryzen CPUs with single-channel RAM (it's soldered even) when dual-channel memory is proven to increase those 0.1% and 1% lows significantly. Meanwhile in Malaysia I'm still seeing single stick of 4GB RAM in gaming notebooks...... *facepalm*

[jeremy]

I wonder why Asus is still handicapping Ryzen CPUs with single-channel RAM (it's soldered even) when dual-channel memory is proven to increase those 0.1% and 1% lows significantly. Meanwhile in Malaysia I'm still seeing single stick of 4GB RAM in gaming notebooks...... *facepalm*

It's not capped at single channel...

In the US, it's sold with 16GB dual channel and 120Hz panel. Here, you'd have to go our of your way to get an 8GB single channel model with 60Hz panel (that is unlikely to be cheaper than what's already on the market).

[Adailton]

I was very excited about this laptop, since it uses a new combination of hardware in the thin/light gaming notebook category, and it offers a unique combination of a thin/light form, good battery life and decent gaming performance in the 1100 price point. Well, as it turns out, corners were cut and especially the screen and the WiFi NIC makes it very hard to recommend. If Asus iterates this, I feel like an option of a Ryzen 5 processor, the non-ti 1660 graphics, a brighter screen with better colour, and a decent WiFi nic could be a much better compromise. 1x1 WiFi and a screen that dim makes its portability null in practice. That said, I'd want much more feature than what is present, including direct dGPU -> display link setting akin to what is available on Gsync laptops, a video out port directly linked to the dGPU, and the removal of the rightmost column of keys. Put those in FN keys.

When I connect through the HDMI port it uses the AMD card, but when it is through the type c port it connects to the nvidia card (dGPU)

At least that's what appears on the nvidia panel rs

[Eddisone]

I know it is kind of old article, but need to ask - if I insert additional RAM module in the free slot, am I going to get dual channel (soldered + inserted RAM)?

Thank You.