Asus GL702VM-GC102D Notebook Review

[Redaktion]

Slim gaming laptop. Asus packs a lot of gaming power into a slim 17.3-inch notebook. Even so, the laptop doesn't produce too much noise or heat. Due to the deactivated integrated GPU, the laptop consumes more power while idling than necessary.


http://www.notebookcheck.net/Asus-GL702VM-GC102D-Notebook-Review.186918.0.html

[Paul_]

Looks like a very well balanced machine, I'll likely end up buying one if it comes out in a version with a 1070 (like the GL502) and retina/higher PPI display (3K-4K).

Per-key RGB backlighting would be great too + dropping the orange keycaps.

[Matthew Ainsworth]

I purchased the upgraded model with the 16GB Ram and 256GB SSD. It flies through Doom on Ultra and the G-Sync is excellent. The problem is the placement of the speakers means that my arm naturally covers the left speaker when reaching for the WASD keys. Also the lip of the laptop is quite sharp and digs into my arm while gaming, so not the best placement of assets.

The best part of this machine for me is the potential for future upgrades. The Ram, SSD and even the graphics can be updated via the Thunderbolt 3 port.

[SeanWOT]

What about the temperatures of the CPU and GPU when idle and under load? Am I missing something, or did the reviewer seriously not include that information?

[Xoxor]

I don't understand how your written review relates to your scoring system. For example you criticised the trackpad yet gave it a much better score than the one on the clevo p670 http://www.notebookcheck.net/Nexoc-G734III-Clevo-P670RS-G-Notebook-Review.174030.0.html of which you said nothing wrong.

Also could you review and/or compare this to the Clevo P670RP-G which seems it's only close competition price and features wise.

[onja]

Please update your stress test scenario.

I own this unit. Your stress test is wrong. When it runs Furmark, it severely limits GPU frequency (and hence voltage, probably safety feature in driver). Run some games with vsync off or aida stress test with FPU/GPU checkboxes enabled and you'll get HEAVY throttling on CPU and GPU. Cooling system sucks on this unit. Many games stutter a lot due to overheating.

[dtrrr]

I 've got one of these (exact model : Asus ROG GL702VM-GC026T-BE bought in The Netherlands). Based on the review here I was hoping for good thermal and fan noise performance, compared to other GTX1060 laptops. I'm not seeing it though, much like onja reported already.

Running Prime95 (blend, 8 processes) and Furmark in parallel will push the CPU temps to 92°C and GPU to 85°C in 10 minutes or so. At that point the CPU will throttle down. Ambient temp +/-18°C.

Running a more conservative test closer to what my use will be (live audiovisual media performance, not gaming) the CPU will also push up to the 90's. Test is Prime 95 blend with 2 processes and Unigine Valley.

Undervolting the CPU by -0.125V will keep it at 90°C, just under throttling. This is with a room temp around 18°C so a hotter environment will push it to throttle. And this machine will see hotter environments...

Strangely, Furmark will make the GPU throttle down to +/-1260MHz instantly whereas Unigine Valley will run it at the expected boost of +/-1660MHz. I guess this is due to the synthetic test nature of Furmark. I wasn't able to push the GPU into throttling with Unigine. At 100% load without P95 running alongside it doesn't overheat. With P95 alongside the CPU overheats first, not the GPU. Maxes at 85°C.

All this said, when you look for it, all laptops with GTX1060 and up have cooling issues. I'm personally trying to find the most optimal one that's relatively silent, has Thunderbolt3 and doesn't break my back. 

I'm disappointed that the review here led me to believe this one could be it but now I'm not so sure.

Other notes:
- screen shows noticeable edge bleed, haven't decided yet if it bothers me enough to return it, this being a workstation for me and not a movie/game/entertainment machine.
- apart from that I like the screen, not super bright as noted elsewhere but I mostly work in dark environments anyway
- touch pad feels great (coming from an ultra cheap crappy laptop though)
- don't like the gamer styling and keyboard layout, replacing numlock and end keys for it is dumb. i can live with it but i wish non-gamer styled laptops with GTX1060 and up would come out. 
- plastic case is not very stiff. i didn't expect the toughest build quality as it is relatively cheap.

Hope this info will be useful to others.

[dtrrr]

In addition to my previous post: in the review's screenshot of the stress test you can see that the max CPU temp is 92°C. This is the temp at which it throttles down. So yes, I guess it passes the test by not going up in flames but it doesn't pass the test giving full performance. The reviewer should not let this go unmentioned in a review that appears to be thorough throughout.

[Donkanonji]

Hi! Should you help me? so what you think. is it a good notebook with a verx good cooling system or it has a bad cool system? i want to buy a notebook with 1060m graphics and i can choose. could you help me? the most important to me the good cooling and the durability because i dont want to buy another machine about 2 years later

i hope my eng is understandable :D

[dtrrr]

I returned the GL702VM and got an MSI GS63VR. I'm happy with that one although the fan sound is annoying. GPU never overheats or throttles but the CPU still can. I don't think there's any slim laptop in this class that will not throttle either CPU or GPU or both under extreme testing.

[JJ]

What about Asus GL702VS with a Nvidia GTX 1070?

[neuville]

man, i have an issue with this product and maybe one of u guys can help me out.

so i was playing naruto uns 4 on batteries and it's run smoothly at 60fps. but after the batteries goes under 50%, the fps drop significantly ( around 35-45fps) i don't really know what is happening but i'm sure it's not about cpu throttling. is this normal? or something is wrong ? thank you

[Henrik]

Hi, Neuville! It is because of the default power management in your laptop, it is set to go into battery saving mode after it drops to a certain battery level, it's not because of the throttling issue, mate. It can be solved by going to battery properties, or graphic properties (I forgot) and set from balanced mode/ battery saving mode to full performance. I would recommend next time whenever you play games on your laptop, you should plug it in in order to get the full performance. Hope you find this helpful, mate :)

[timoat05460]

So, where is this "color profile we provide" to download?