Asus is expanding its gaming laptop line with no ordinary beast, and it's called the ROG Zephyrus.
Thanks to Nvidia's Max-Q design, the manufacturer managed to cram an Nvidia GTX 1080 into an ultra-slim form factor, pioneering what could be a new trend of slim gaming laptops.
The ROG Zephyrus: Thinness Emphasized, Performance Uncompromised
Unwrapped at the Computex 2017 event held in Taipei, the ROG Zephyrus is touted as the "world's slimmest gaming laptop powered by a seventh-generation Intel Core i7 processor and GTX 1080."
On that note, it packs a Core i7-7700HQ and up to 24 GB of DDR4 RAM under the hood. The GTX 1080 is paired with a 15.6-inch Full HD display (1,920 x 1,080). Storage-wise, its SSD options can go all the way up to 1 TB. It weighs only 2.2 kilograms or 4.8 pounds and measures at just 17.9 millimeters or 0.70 inches thick.
Since the ROG Zephyrus is a high-end gaming laptop, it doesn't come as a surprise that it sports a customizable RGB keyboard, but what does seem odd is it's not mechanical. It doesn't have much key travel either, which probably makes sense considering its ultra-slim profile.
Speaking of which, the keyboard is placed in the front of the laptop with the trackpad beside it, leaving a huge empty area below the display. That decision seems within good reason because gamers likely prefer to use mice instead of trackpads anyway.
Interestingly, the trackpad is unlike anything that's commonly seen among the current brood. That's mainly because it turns into a numpad at the tap of a button.
The ROG Zephyrus with a GTX 1080 will have a starting price of $2,699, but if that's too much, Asus is also offering a GTX 1070 version with a $2,299 price point.
Preorders are expected to go up on June 27 in the United States.
The Early-Bird Competitor: Acer's Predator Triton 700
The ROG Zephyrus isn't the first ultra-slim gaming laptop with a GTX 1080 inside, as the Acer Predator Triton 700 already made rounds back in April.
Compared with the Asus machine in question, it has a similar layout where the keyboard is positioned in the front, and it has a see-through trackpad that's covered with Gorilla Glass below the screen.
About the keyboard, Acer fitted the Predator Triton 700 with a customizable LED-lit mechanical keyboard, coming out on top between the two in this department.
It's also worth noting that the manufacturer didn't reveal the Max-Q design at the time it unveiled its new gaming laptop.
Another 'Thinnest Something' From Asus
Asus seems to be obsessed in making devices thin, and aside from the ROG Zephyrus, this is evidenced by the ZenBook Flip S, the "world's thinnest convertible laptop," which was also unveiled at Computex 2017.
Of course, this isn't anything like a gaming laptop, relying on integrated Intel HD to process tasks involving graphics.
At any rate, Asus appears to be embracing thin devices and redefining the market with the ultra-slim gaming laptop that is the ROG Zephyrus, pushing out GTX 1080-quality graphics in a small package.
