ASUS ROG Zephyrus S GX502GW Gaming Notebook Review

 
Article index

• 1 – Overview
• 2 – Gallery
• 3 – CPU and GPU Info
• 4 – Benchmarks
• 4.1 – Unigine Superposition
• 4.2 – FurMark
• 4.3 – RhodiumLC
• 4.4 – CrystalDiskMark
• 5 – Burn-in Test
• Thermal Imaging
• 6 – Conclusion

 

1 – Overview

Here is a quick review of ASUS Zephyrus S GX502GW, a 15-inch gaming notebook released by ASUS some times ago… This Zephyrus S GX502 has a 240Hz G-SYNC monitor and comes with… an external webcam! Yes the thin frame of the GX502G monitor can’t cope with a built-in webcam. And honestly, I prefer an external webcam. The GX502GW features an Intel Core i9-9750H (6C/12T) and a Turing based GPU, the GeForce RTX 2070 (core clock up to 1540MHz).

Features of the model tested:
– CPU: Intel Core i9-9750H 6-core @ 2.60GHz
– GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 with 8GB GDDR6
– Memory: 16GB DDR4 @ 2666MHz
– Storage: M.2 NVMe PCIE 3.0 1TB SSD with RAID 0 support
– Display: 15.6-inch Full HD (1920×1080) IPS-level panel, 240Hz, 3ms, 100% sRGB, Pantone Validated, G-SYNC
– Input/ Output ports:
– 1 x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type C DisplayPort 1.4 and Power Delivery,
– 1 x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type A
– 2 x USB 3.2 Gen1 Type A
– 1 x HDMI 2.0b
– 1 x 3.5mm Audio Jack
– 1 x Audio Jack Mic-in
– 1 x RJ45
– 1 x Kensington Lock
– Wifi: Intel 802.11ac (2×2) Gigabit Wi-Fi
– Bluetooth: 5.0
– Power unit supply: 230W
– Audio: 2 speakers with Smart AMP technology

More information can be found on the GX502GW homepage.

 

2 – Gallery

The beast:

 
Right side connectors: power, RJ45, HDMI 2.0b, USB 3.2 Gen2 type A, mic-in and 3.5mm audio jack.

 
Left side connectors: Kensington lock, USB 3.2 Gen1 type A, USB 3.2 Gen1 type A and USB 3.2 Gen2 Type C, DP 1.4, PD (input/output).

 
Keyboard and touchpad. I tested some ASUS notebooks with horrible touchpad, but this one is correct and pleasant.

 
The chassis is really nice with its brushed black style.

Nice!

 
The monitor:

Exceptional color accuracy and responsiveness set this 15.6-inch panel apart from the competition. Fast-paced games run smoothly with crisp graphics thanks to the blazing fast 240Hz refresh rate and 3ms response time. Slim bezels surround the IPS-level display, expanding your visual immersion, while factory calibration with ProArt TruColor Technology ensures a Pantone Validated palette across the full sRGB color space for all of your professional pursuits and portfolio projects.

 
Bundle details:

 
Last thing in the gallery, the external webcam connected to the Zephyrus via an USB cable. More information on the CG21 Webcam (ROG Eye) is available HERE.

 

3 – CPU and GPU Info

CPU-Z:

 
The graphics hardware is the notebook version of the GeForce RTX 2070. There are three versions of the RTX 2070:

• for desktop: base clock: 1410 MHz, boost clock: 1620 MHz
• for notebook: base clock: 1210 MHz, boost clock: 1440 MHz
• for notebook with Max-Q design: base clock: 885-1080 MHz, boost clock: 1185-1305MHz

 
GPU Caps Viewer:

 
GPU-Z:

 

4 – Benchmarks

 

4.1 – Unigine Superposition – 1080p Medium – Direct3D

 

16001 (avg FPS: 119.7) MSI GeForce RTX 2070 Ventus 8GB – GeForce 417.01

13326 (avg FPS: 99) ASUS ROG Zephyrus S GX502GW – RTX 2070 – driver 431.87

13039 (avg FPS: 97.5) EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 FTW – GeForce 416.94

In Unigine Superposition, the Zephyrus RTX 2070 has the same performances than a desktop GTX 1070.

 

4.2 – FurMark 1.21

 

P1080 (1920×1080)

9270 (avg FPS: 154) MSI GeForce RTX 2070 Ventus 8GB – GeForce 417.01

6259 (avg FPS: 104) ASUS ROG Zephyrus S GX502GW – RTX 2070 – driver 431.87

6201 (avg FPS: 103) EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 FTW – GeForce 416.94

Once again, the Zephyrus RTX 2070 shows the same performances than a desktop GTX 1070.

 

4.3 – Rhodium LC

Rhodium LC (LC for Liquid Carbon!) is a new GPU pixel shader benchmark made with GeeXLab and based on this shadertoy demo. You can download RhodiumLC from THIS PAGE.

 

P1080 (1920×1080)

3461 (avg FPS: 57) MSI GeForce RTX 2070 Ventus 8GB – GeForce 417.01

2853 (avg FPS: 47) ASUS ROG Zephyrus S GX502GW – RTX 2070 – driver 431.87

2835 (avg FPS: 47) EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 FTW – GeForce 416.94

1484 (avg FPS: 24) MSI GeForce GTX 970 – GeForce 416.94

In this pure pixel shader test, no doubt, Zephyrus RTX 2070 = desktop GTX 1070.

 

4.4 – CrystalDiskMark

Test of the M.2 NVMe 1TB SSD with CrystalDiskMark:

Around 1700MB/sec is fast in reading but not enough for a NVMe M.2 storage unit (I can easily reach 3500MB/s with my Samsung 970 PRO NVMe M.2 512GB). Curiously, 1700MB/s is half speed of good NVMe M.2 unit. According to the Zephyrus GX502GW homepage, there should be two NVMe M.2 units running in RAID 0 (stripping). Looks like the RAID 0 is not configured in the factory settings…

 

5 – Burn-in Test

Quick burn-in test with one of the coolest tool ever made: FurMark!

At idle, the ROG Zephyrus S GX502GW is rather quiet (and I’m sure that after some tweaking, it can become quieter). After 3 minutes of stress test, the GPU temperature reached 80°C with some noise. The GPU core clock has been downcloked at 1200 MHz with is more less the base clock (1215 MHz).

 

UPDATE (2020.03.11)
I forgot to put these thermal imaging pictures I took with a FLIR E4 yesterday during the FurMark stress test:

 

6 – Conclusion

This gaming notebook has an impressive set of features: a 6C/12T CPU, a RTX 2070 GPU, an 1TB M2 SSD storage unit, 16 GB DDR4 system memory and a G-SYNC 240Hz monitor. But performances of the RTX 2070 (similar to the perfs of a desktop GTX 1070) is not impressive. Same thing for the 1TB NVMe M.2 SSD: not really impressive. For the RTX 2070, it’s due to the constraints imposed by the notebook: it’s thin (18.9mm height) and space for correct cooling is limited (that’s why the GPU core base clock is 1215 MHz while on a desktop RTX, the same speed is clocked at 1410 MHz). For the NVMe M.2 SSD, it’s likely a software (or BIOS?) configuration issue. I tested this gaming laptop very quickly in a showroom that’s why I didn’t have the time to look at this SSD slowness.

 
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I tested this notebook at Internex (here in Switzerland). Merci Xav!