Gamers on the go have been waiting with bated breath for news of the newest gaming laptops from Asus, the ROG G752, to say the least, and the manufacturer didn’t disappoint with its ROG Unleashed event on October 9th at DogPatch Studios in San Francsico.
Republic of Gamers, Asus’ PC gaming wing, is all about the above and beyond. These high-end components and machines don’t compromise on anything, offering up only the latest and greatest configurations, while bringing new products up to speed.
The flagship of the ROG line is the laptop, and with the G751 already finding its way onto desks from casual gamers to professional tournaments, it’s no surprise that Asus would follow it up with an equally impressive machine.
ROG G752
The G752 is built around a 3D Vapor Chamber, a cooling system that’s significantly more effective than copper alone, but is supplemented by copper heat pipes. It’s available with the newest Skylake chips, up to 64GB of RAM, and extra features like a dust-release thermal system, and an anti-ghosting keyboard with 30-key rollover. It’s available for pre-order now, starting at $1,500, although at time of publishing that version has sold out. Alternatively, the $1,800 version is available for an October 30th delivery, and includes a GTX 970M, 2.6GHz Core i7, and 16GB of RAM.
ROG GX700
But if you want something that kicks extra ass, Asus is also working on the world’s first liquid-cooled laptop, the GX700. This feat of engineering connects to a dock that provides liquid cooling. Because most users don’t actually move that far with their laptops, it allows you to scale up and overclock performance whenever you’re at home, and maintain portability when you do take it to go.
With a 200-watt TDP across the whole system, the GX700 is a beast of a laptop. It makes up for it by packing in the performance, with an Intel Core i7-6820HK, a GTX 980 GPU, but not just any GPU. The liquid cooling allows you to stretch an extra 18 percent CPU speed, and 12 percent GPU performance when docked. Asus says that enables real 4K gaming experiences at an average performance of over 40 frames per second. There’s no official word on pricing, but the company has hinted it will be around $4,000.
Asus didn’t just bring laptops to the ROG Unleashed event, however. The rest of the introductions were aimed squarely at the head of PC builders and tinkerers.
Maximus VIII Impact
The Maximus VIII Impact is an aggresively named Mini-ITX motherboard that doesn’t compromise on performance and functionality. Asus spent twice the time and resources on the Maximum that it has on any motherboard, and it shows. It features full ATX grade power, x4 PCIe, and built-in dedicated audio and 2 x 2, 802.11ac Wi-Fi with MU-MIMO. It boasts twice the component density of other Mini-ITX motherboards, and 1.3 times the PCB layers. When it ships in mid-October, it will cost $250.
ROG Swift monitors
There’s a pair of new monitors from the ROG Swift line as well. The TN-based PG278Q is seeing an upgrade to an IPS panel with the PH279Q, and the new PG27AQ takes the winning features of the PG279Q and ups the ante with a 4K UHD panel. No word on the 4K pricing yet, but the PG279Q wll sell for $799 when it launches in late November. Ensuring that people know it’s not just about monitors, Asus ROG is also one of the few companies selected for the debut of the Oculus Ready program.
ROG Matrix 980Ti
If you’re thinking there’s a new Asus graphics card around the corner, you’re right. ROG took the brand new 980Ti and put its own unique spin on it. It starts with the GPU itself, with Asus testing and selecting only the fastest chips for use in the ROG Matrix 980Ti. In addition to more advanced cooling, ROG’s 980Ti features RGB lighting that responds to the strain being put on the card. To top it off, the card features a built-in defroster for managing moisture when sub-zero overclocking – we’ve included a video of the feature on the Asus ROG 780 Ti because it’s cool. No word on pricing yet, but Asus says expect to see the card on shelves in late October.
RT-AC88U router
ROG shows its versatility with the new RT-AC88U, a dual-band router designed specifically for gaming. The built-in 1.4GHz CPU manages network bandwidth and prioritization, and integrates with the ROG software to allow a wealth of expanded features for gamers.
