Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

You can finally pre-order Asus' massive liquid-cooled gaming laptop

While we’re no strangers to Asus’ ROG gaming family, its rapid expansion into new areas has been causing quite a stir, and nowhere more than with its liquid-cooled, overclockable laptop. Asus shared a few details surrounding the watery laptop at its ROG Unleashed event back in October, but some of the specifics were still a little wishy-washy. Now, it appears those final bolts have been tightened up, as Asus’s product page has been updated to include more information, as detailed in a press release posted to Windows Central.

We already knew the Intel Core i7-6820HK powered these massive laptops, as well as a desktop Nvidia GeForce GTX 980, which is now confirmed to have 8GB of GDDR5 memory. While there are technically two machines, the GX700 and GX701, the latter is simply the same laptop without the cooling dock. The GX700 boasts up to 64GB of 2,400MHz DDR4 memory, which should be more than enough, to say the least. The display is a 17.3-inch IPS panel with G-Sync in choice of 1080p or 4K, but no word on its maximum refresh rate. For storage, Asus includes a pair of 512GB NVMe SSDs in a RAID 0 array.

Apart from its liquid cooling dock, which enables CPU, GPU, and RAM overclocking, the GX700 packs in three USB 3.0 ports, Ethernet, HDMI, MiniDisplayPort, Thunderbolt, and the now obligatory USB 3.1 Type-C port, which there are actually two of. Since the machines are fairly large, at about 8.6 pounds for the laptop and 10.14 pounds for the dock, there’s room for a pair of 2W speakers and a 3W subwoofer. Its 94Wh battery is sizable, but don’t expect to travel too far with hardware this powerful. No official word on pricing, but Asus’ press release says the systems will be available in limited quantities in late June and early July. The GX700 is also listed on B&H Photo for $5,000, and is listed as “Coming soon” with an option to pre-order.

If portability is a little more important, Asus is also unveiling a new slim gaming laptop, the GL502. Unlike the show-stopping GX700, the GL502 is a bit more modest with its internals. That doesn’t mean it’s a slouch though, as its powered by an Intel Core i7-6700HQ (or i5-6300HQ), paired up with anywhere from 8 to 32GB of RAM. There are also two screen options for the 15.6-inch panel, 1080p and 4K, and a third 1080p IPS option if that’s more important. For storage, the standard 1TB and 2TB data drives are available, plus 128, 256, and 512GB SATA SSDs, or the choice of 256 and 512GB PCIe SSds.

Of course, the GL502 is an ROG computer, part of Asus’ gaming wing, so there are actually a few discrete graphics options. The GL502VT features a GTX 970M with 3 or 6GB of memory, where the GL502VY upgrades to a GTX 980M with 4 or 8GB. The GL502 is actually already available for purchase, with the most basic model starting at $1,399 and the top end reaching just $2,069, although there’s no sign of a 8GB 980M model just yet.

We’ve reviewed a number of Asus ROG laptops in the past, and will hopefully be able to spend time with these two vastly different systems to see how they work in the real world.

Editors' Recommendations

Brad Bourque
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Brad Bourque is a native Portlander, devout nerd, and craft beer enthusiast. He studied creative writing at Willamette…
This is the best Dell gaming laptop you can buy
Dell G15 series on desk.

The G-series of gaming laptops from Dell represent a balance between performance and affordability. While it is positioned below the Alienware gaming laptop lineup, it manages to incorporate some of the standout features from its more expensive counterpart. It takes inspiration from its pricier cousin in terms of design and build quality, and also offers commendable thermal and graphics performance.

The company officially unveiled the 2023 G-series back in January at CES, and if you have decided to purchase a new Dell gaming laptop, then we recommend going for the latest G16 7630.

Read more
5 things you should never do with your gaming laptop
Doom Eternal running on an Alienware x14 R2.

You finally settled on the best gaming laptop, but how do you take care of it? There's the routine maintenance of installing Windows updates and updating your GPU drivers, but there are some critical mistakes you should avoid to keep your gaming laptop running smoothly.

I've reviewed dozens of gaming laptops and used them for years, and I've learned that some basic preventative steps can keep your gaming laptop performing at its best. Here are the things you should pay attention to.
Let it get dirty

Read more
Why I refuse to buy a gaming laptop, even though I need one
A game playing on the Razer Blade 14 gaming laptop.

I've had a few gaming laptops in my life, but I really can't see myself ever buying another one -- even though there are definitely times when I could use one. That's not to throw shade to some of the best gaming laptops, because I know those are great for those who can appreciate them. I simply can't bring myself to trust another one again.

I'm not against buying a laptop for gaming, but here are some of the reasons I've continued to resist picking one for myself.
Once burned, twice shy

Read more