ASUS ROG GX531 Zephyrus S Preview

We first saw ASUS ROG's Zephyrus laptop last year, when the first model launched with GTX 1080 Max-Q. Ahead of Gamescom 2018, we got to look at the newest model – Zephyrus S. This laptop is even slimmer than before and sports the latest Intel 6-core processors. With a 144Hz display and GTX 1060 graphics, it looks great for the gamer on the go.

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Somehow ASUS has made the Zephyrus S even slimmer than its predecessors and ASUS claims it is now the worlds thinnest gaming laptop, coming in 14.95mm at its thinnest point. Reducing the thickness while keeping all the components cool proved to be a challenge, though, as ASUS had to redesign its heat pipe configuration from the inside out.

The weight has also been reduced down to an impressive 2.1KG without sacrificing build quality. The lid of the laptop is now made of CNC machined aluminium, which can be time consuming to produce, but it means that even though it's very thin it retains a lot of strength and a premium feel. Other materials used include zinc alloy hinges and an aluminium & magnesium body.

In terms of the display, it's a 3ms 144Hz AHVA panel, which is lightning fast. ASUS told us that to achieve this fast response time – when many laptops have a response time of over 20ms – they worked closely with AUO, the panel manufacturer, to get the response time as low as possible. In essence, this is possible thanks to overdrive – where each pixel ‘aims’ for black as it refreshes, and stops at grey, rather than aiming for grey and stopping there. This allows the GTG response time to be fast as possible.

Elsewhere, we all know gaming laptops aren't renowned for having great battery life so we asked ASUS if it made any battery improvements for the Zephyrus S. They explained that by ditching G-Sync support – which requires the continuous use of discrete GeForce graphics – they were thus able to utilise Nvidia Optimus technology which automatically switches to Intel HD graphics to save power. This means when users are out and about and using the laptop for less demanding tasks, the integrated graphics are doing all the work to power the screen, instead of using the more demanding discrete graphics.

As you would expect high end tech in a tiny chassis doesn't come cheap and the UK model of the Zephyrus S we took a look at has a MSRP of £1999. We don't have a confirmed release date at the moment but we are expecting this laptop to be available around October time this year.

Unfortunately the Zephyrus S in this sneak peak was an engineering sample so we weren't able to do any testing. However we look forward to getting our hands on a review sample of the Zephyrus S and seeing if it is as good as it sounds! 

UK specifications for the Asus Zephyrus S GX531: 

• Model Name: GX531GM-ES009R
• Weight: 2.1kg
• GPU: NVidia GTX 1060 – 6GB
• CPU: Intel Core i7-8750H 2.2GHz (9M Cache, up to 3.9GHz)
• Display: 15.6’ FHD IPS-Level panel. 144Hz refresh. 3Ms response time. Slim Bezel
• RAM: 16GB DDR4
• Storage: 512GB SSD
• Dimensions: 36.0cm(W) x 26.8cm(D) x 1.49 ~ 1.57cm(H)

ASUS ROG has also launched the 17.3in Strix Scar II today. You can read/watch a preview of that laptop HERE.

KitGuru says: Is the worlds thinnest gaming laptop on your wish list? Stay tuned for a full review.

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