Asus ROG Zephyrus GX501 (15.6-Inch, 2017)

Super-thin GTX 1080 laptop. Tasteful design with innovative, quiet thermal solutions. 120Hz G-Sync display. Plenty of ports, including USB-C with Thunderbolt 3. Top-end performance.

Short battery life. 1080p-screen resolution. Bottom panel isn't sturdy when venting. Skinny right-aligned touchpad.

The Asus ROG Zephyrus is an excellent first representation of what's possible with the Max-Q design. The partnership between Nvidia and Asus has yielded a new high watermark for performance in a thin, 15.6-inch laptop, even if there are a couple...

The first gaming laptop that's also thin and fairly light ; G-Sync 120Hz panel for great refresh rates ; GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q can yield near-GTX 1080 performance.

Dismal battery life. ; GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q can occasionally be no faster than a fast GTX 1070 ; The single M.2 slot is disappointing for a performance laptop

quieter fan noise than other super-thin gaming notebooks ; relatively low GPU temperature when under load ; very high performance considering the size ; excellent CPU Turbo Boost sustainability ; attractive chassis design ; Thunderbolt 3

no SD reader, RJ-45 port, secondary HDD, or Optimus options ; unique design sacrifices comfort if not working on a flat desk ; spongy keyboard keys; no dedicated NumPad or Macro keys ; average display response times for a gaming notebook ; very warm...

The GX501VS is currently retailing for $500 cheaper than the $2800 GX501VI. Gamers who can cope with the ~15 percent performance drop from the GTX 1080 Max-Q to the GTX 1070 Max-Q will find a more compelling lower barrier to entry on this latest...

high-contrast 120 Hz panel with wide viewing angles ; nice case with sophisticated materials ; powerful gaming center ; slim chassis ; high-capacity PCIe-SSD ; Thunderbolt 3 ; comparatively light ; G-Sync

display response times could be better ; hard to maintain and upgrade ; test model with some build quality issues ; high temperatures under load ; no switchable graphics ; short battery runtime ; keyboard flexing ; very expensive

The verdict about the 3000-Euro (~$3405) ROG Zephyrus GX501 mainly depends on two things: 1) Does price matter? And: 2) How important is the mobility aspect? Users willing to pay a lot for an extremely slim and powerful notebook get a very stylish and...

Aura ; backlit keyboard ; Good audio system ; Good cooling system ; Good quality screen ; Comprehensive connectivity options

Unusual location of the trackpad ; No optical drive ; Screen has thick bezels ; No separate numeric keypad ; Pricey

Good build quality;Clean and sophisticated design;Incredibly thin and portable;Excellent IPS panel with G-Sync support and 120Hz refresh rate;The screen doesn’t use PWM across all brightness levels;Well-designed cooling system – keeps the heat away...

Lower than usual maximum brightness for an IPS panel;Limited upgradability (only one M.2 SSD slot and one RAM slot);Shallow keyboard, small touchpad;Poor battery life

NVIDIA MAX-Q GTX 1080 ; Extremely portable ; Great display

Underside is a bit flimsy

The ASUS ROG GX501 Zephyrus bridges the gap between performance and portability. At Digit, we simply can’t count the number of times that we’ve been asked for recommendations that could not only provide great portability but also not compromise on...