At the start of Tiger Lake-H45, Asus is adding four new gaming notebooks to its range. The ROG Zephyrus M16 with its particularly narrow bezels is 16 inches in a 15-inch form factor. On the ROG Zephyrus S17 with up to a GeForce RTX 3080, the keyboard is angled. And TUF Gaming F15 and F17 come in two sizes.
The ROG Zephyrus M16 inherits the ROG Zephyrus M15 introduced a year ago, which was equipped with a 15-inch display and back then It was also advertised with particularly narrow display bezels – but only on three of four sides and at the top with the compromise that a webcam could no longer be installed.
Narrow margins on all four sides
The new M16 (GU603), on the other hand, accommodates a 16-inch display in a 15-inch form factor by further reducing the edges and now being narrow on all four sides. Asus has nevertheless managed to integrate a webcam with 2 megapixels above the screen. Six loudspeakers and several microphones with AI-supported noise canceling should ensure good audio quality on Twitch, Discord and Co. The screen has a WQXGA resolution, works with 165 Hz, 3 ms and should cover 100 percent of DCI-P3. The notebook has dimensions of 355 × 243.5 × 19.9 mm (W × D × H) at 1.9 kg.
The design falls for a gaming -Notebook looks comparatively cautious, because matte black is the color of choice at Asus this year. The only color effect can be found on the outside of the lid, where, depending on the incidence of light, RGB-like stripes run in a pixel look, which are not actively illuminated with LEDs.
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Asus pushes the keyboard backwards
The new ROG Zephyrus S17 (GX703) with 395 × 264 × 19.9 mm, which also replaces last year's model, is one size larger. A gaming notebook with a 17-inch display that was as slim as possible was the goal a year ago, so the keyboard was pulled forward and all the hardware was housed in the rear area. Asus says goodbye to this construction method with the new S17 and relies on a classic arrangement again. Instead, the keyboard is now angled by up to 5 degrees when the notebook is opened to improve ergonomics and cooling. The keyboard comes with mechanical buttons and RGB lighting.
The S17 can be configured with 4K at 120 Hz or QHD resolution at 165 Hz – each with a 3 ms response time and G-Sync. Both panels have been certified by Pantone for color accuracy and should be up to 500 cd/m² bright.
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The panels are fired by up to a GeForce RTX 3080 (140 W). On the CPU side, Tiger Lake-H45 is also new here, with the Core i9-11900H being the most powerful option. The notebook has space for up to 48 GB DDR4-3200 and up to three PCIe 4.0 SSDs of unknown capacity. A variety of connections are provided by Thunderbolt 4, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type C, three USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type A, HDMI 2.0b, Ethernet, 3.5 mm jack and a card reader. A 90 Wh battery is responsible for the energy supply.
The new gaming middle class
TUF Gaming F15 (FX506) and TUF Gaming F17 (FX706) are offered – as the name already suggests – with screens in 15 and 17 inches. Full HD is always the resolution of choice, options are available with 60 (15 & quot; & amp; 17 & quot;), 144 (15 & quot; & amp; 17 & quot;) and 240 Hz (only 15 & quot;) but with the refresh rate. The housing offers connections for two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type A, one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type C, one USB 3.0 Gen 1 Type A, HDMI 2.1, Ethernet, and audio. There is also space for a 90 Wh battery in the chassis.
In the case of 15 inches 359.8 × 256 × 28.86 to 24.9 mm (plastic) or 22.86 to 24.7 mm (metal) or with 17 inches 399.2 × 268.9 × 23.3 to 24.8 mm (plastic) or 22.1 to 23.9 mm (metal) chassis are always hardware from the Tiger Lake-H45 series up to the Core i9-11900H and amps up to the GeForce RTX 3060. Up to 16 GB DDR4-3200 and 1 TB SSD memory can be configured.
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market start and prices
Asus wants them bring new notebooks onto the market in Germany in the course of the second and third quarters and has so far only given prices for the basic configurations, the compositions of which are not yet known. The ROG Zephyrus M16 (GU603) is planned for the third quarter from 2,499 euros, while the ROG Zephyrus S17 (GX703) will also come in the third quarter from 3,999 euros. The TUF Gaming F15 (FX506) and TUF Gaming F17 (FX706) from 1,299 euros and 1,099 euros respectively are planned for the second quarter obtained under NDA. The only requirement was the earliest possible publication time.