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The ROG Zephyrus S GX701 and GX531 from Asus bring ray tracing to laptops

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Gamers who want Nvidia’s latest RTX graphics in a more mobile laptop form factor will soon be able to experience all the promises of ray tracing on Asus’s ROG Zephyrus S GX701 and the GX531 models. Despite packing in the performance, both laptops maintain a slim profile by using Nvidia’s Max-Q design. The main difference between the two models will be screen size, with the GX701 sporting a 17-inch panel, while the GX531 trims things down with a 15-inch display. Asus claims that the slim bezels will make the laptops feel smaller than they actually are, which is a great thing for mobile gamers.

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The new ROG Zephyrus S GX701 announced at CES features a 17-inch screen that supports fast 144Hz refresh rates, super-narrow bezels, and support for both Nvidia G-Sync and Optimus display technologies to help reduce screen tearing while playing fast action games. Multitaskers who opt to stick with the GX701 for productivity purposes will be happy to know that the display is also Pantone Validated for accurate colors.

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The laptop is also equipped with an 8th-Generation Intel Core i7-8750H processor and can be configured with up to 24GB RAM. For everyday tasks, the GX701 can be powered with a more compact 65W USB-C charger, but serious gamers who want to max out on gaming performance can utilize the regular charger.

Like its bigger sibling, the GX531 boasts a very slim footprint, measuring just 15mm thick. Much of the specifications from the GX701 are carried over to the GX531, so you’ll get some top-level performance but in a more compact package if you opt for the smaller model, including Nvidia’s mobile GeForce RTX 2080 graphics with 8GB of dedicated GDDR6 video RAM. The GX531 features a 15.6-inch Full HD display with 144Hz refresh rates and 3ms gray-to-gray response time, and the IPS panel covers up to 100 percent of the sRGB color space if you upgrade to the Pantone Validated model.

The laptops feature a backlit keyboard with customizable LED backlight colors. A new heatsink system helps to prevent dust from getting stuck in the cooling system via a special anti-dust tunnel. Fan speeds automatically adjust depending on temperature changes and usage scenarios.

Both laptops will be available in the first quarter, but information on pricing and a specific release date was not available.

Chuong Nguyen
Chuong Nguyen
Former Computing Writer
Silicon Valley-based technology reporter and Giants baseball fan who splits his time between Northern California and Southern…
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