Joined on 04/25/05
Decent hardware, Software is a bit lacking
Pros: - Packed with RAM - 1TB NVMe with another slot for added storage - Beautiful IPS display - RTX 3070 on board
Cons: - Usual bloatware to uninstall - Armory Crate software can be buggy despite updates (sometimes forgetting how to find the RGB LEDs) - Only 2 USB 3 Type A ports on board (though that may be fixed with a hub/dock)
Overall Review: I was replacing an older gaming laptop with something more modern and had a good experience with ASUS in the past. The hardware for the machine is impressive and works quite well. I tested with the most recent release of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on Ultra settings with no issues. There's enough hardware that I didn't find any stuttering or lag while loading or playing the game, though I'm no e-sports pro so your mileage may vary. The screen is bright, beautiful and responsive (actually have to dim it a little it's that bright) and has some beefy hinges that don't feel like their going to break when you move them. The speakers are nice and have some bass to them. An improvement over my previous machine that came with a separate, detachable bass speaker unit. You may want headphones when gaming as the laptop does a pretty good impression of a fighter jet spooling up for takeoff. The extra NVMe slot is perfect for a second drive and I installed a 1TB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2 2280 drive for just game installs. The USB-C ports are nice and work well with my mini dock. Have not yet tried running displays of them yet. I also don't have a home network that supports 2.5G Lan or newer wifi standards, but even using just the gigabit in the house, it's plenty fast enough (with gigabit fiber). It comes with Windows 11 and other bloatware you'll want to uninstall (Office, McAffee, etc) but you knew that going in. ASUS Armoy Crate software is...fine? It does to job for customizing stuff but more recent updates can cause the software to lose it's ability to see the RGB hardware but uninstall/reinstalling the software seemed to "fix" it for now. The removable "armor caps" are ok and give a little appearance customization. ASUS does provide 3D printer files on their site for you to modify to make your own (3D printer not included, of course). The ROG Keystone bit is a gimmick, IMHO. It's only use to me is locking the desktop when removed, which saves me a single key combo, I suppose. Overall, I'm happy with the machine. Time will tell how long that happiness lasts!
Good game drive
Overall Review: Bought this for a new gaming laptop as a storage just for games. Load times were fast and felt a bit faster than the SSDs in my previous machines. Installs to the drive never lagged and I was mostly waiting on the servers to catch up (though I blame my wifi access point for that).
The colors!
Pros: - Spins - Lights up
Cons: None
Overall Review: Bought this to pair with my Cooler Master Hyper 212 RGB Black Edition, since the fan that comes with the cooler is the same model. Works flawlessly.
Good replacement for the Hyper 212X
Pros: - Matte black - RGB! - Extra fan hardware
Cons: - Very tall. Might not fit in some cases.
Overall Review: I recently upgraded to an AM4 socket motherboard, so my Hyper 212X would no longer fit. I decided to get this as a replacement and it worked perfectly. I also decided to get a second fan (Cooler Master MasterFan SF120R) that matches the one it comes with and was pleased to discover that they include all of the hardware needed to mount a second fan with this cooler, including a Y cable so both fans can be powered off the same header.It is a very large cooler, so beware if you have smaller case or one with fans in the case panel.
A little noisy for my desktop
Pros: Lots of storage for not alot of spend.
Cons: When idle, it makes a soft beep noise as it parks and unparks the heads. Was irritating initially, but you get used to it.
Overall Review: Got these to RAID them together in a RAID 10, but my motherboard's RAID controller can't do RAID AND regular disks. So, I put these together in a Parity Storage Space under Windows 10. Write speed tanks when using Parity Space but it's not terrible for what I use it for. I also have a pair of these in a file server for mirrored in Linux and they work flawlessly.
Great bang for the buck
Pros: - Runs all my games at their high/ultra settings with the lowest frame rates in the mid 30's. - Red LED "Sapphire" lettering on the side for that extra "cool" factor.
Cons: Not really
Overall Review: This replaces my Radeon R9 280. Runs all my games at high or ultra settings with the minimum frame rate in the mid-30's.
Divide and conquire
Needed to split power for a fan and a DVD drive. Works exactly as designed.
Delivers the power
Works as expected.