ROG Zephyrus G15: Stylish high-end laptop

Adrian Ovalle
Notebooks for gamers often come with a certain type of design. Sharp angles and RGB-lit dragons should convince gamers, but not every gaming enthusiast sees that. Asus ‘Republic of Gamers’ Zephyrus laptops are made with a different sense of style, such as the new Zephyrus G15. High-end performance combined with a sleeker and more sober chassis.

This article is an Asus ROG affiliate post. Exactly what that means can be found on our partner content page .

As part of Asus latest line-up of laptops , the ROG Zephyrus G15 is equipped with brand new hardware. Republic of Gamers is also largely switching to the RTX 3000 generation from Nvidia and exchanging the Intel monopoly for AMD’s processors from the Ryzen 5000 range. Internationally the layout of components may vary, but in the Netherlands the Zephyrus G15 is initially sold in three settings, each featuring the ‘Moonlight’ white color scheme.

A fancy bucket of hardware

This particular GA503QR-HQ017T model of the ROG Zephyrus G15 forms the mid-engine, priced at $ 2,399. For that price you get a 15.6 ”laptop that is mainly equipped with the AMD Ryzen 9 5900HS (3.1 GHz) and the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 (8GB GDDR6).

The GPU in question can in turn be boosted by laptop manufacturers – a opportunity that Republic of Gamers has apparently seized with both hands. This RTX 3070 can increase with Asus’ own clock frequencies, with tdp values ​​up to 100 watts. On paper, these next-gen cores thus already roll about the performance of, for example, a PlayStation 5.

ROG Zephyrus G15 (GA503QR-HQ017T) – Specifications

· Display : 15.6 ”WQHD @ 165Hz, 100% DCI-P3, FreeSync

· Processor : AMD Ryzen 9 5900HS @ 3.1 GHz (up to 4.5 GHz)

· Video Card : NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 (8GB GDDR6, 100W tdp)

· Memory : 2 x 8 GB DDR4 @ 3200MHz (expandable to 24GB)

Storage : 1TB PCIe 3.0 ssd

Keyboard : Tenkeyless chiclet keys, backlit

· Speakers : 4 x 2 watt woofer (Smart AMP), 2 x 2 watt tweeter

Ports : 2 x USB-A 3.2 (Gen 2), 2 x USB-C 3.2 (Gen 2), HDMI 2.0b, 3.5mm (combo) audio jack, RJ45 , microSD slot

· Wireless : Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.1

Power Supply : 200 Watt, support for Type-C PD 3.0 to 65 Watt

· Battery : 90 WHrs 4-cell Li-ion

· Weight : 1.9 kilograms

· Target price : 2,399 euros

Brand new chipsets aside from that, the Zephyrus G15 has the remaining components you would expect from a high-end laptop. The RAM is 16 GB of DDR4-3200 (expandable to 24 GB) and the PCIe 3.0 ssd has a neat 1 TB of fast storage with space for another disk. As is now standard for many ROG notebooks, this model also has Wi-Fi 6 support and the option to refuel the 90Wh battery over USB-C.

On the top of the whole there is a chic 15.6 ”WQHD display (2560×1440 pixels), powered by an ‘IPS level’ screen panel. The latter may sound like an empty marketing term, but the color reproduction appears to be more complete than was long the norm for notebooks.

This new display covers one hundred percent of the DCI-P3 color gamut, while not compromising on luxury. With 165 Hz refresh rate, three millisecond response time and support for FreeSync, the Zephyrus G15 is also equipped for competitive gaming sessions.

Icy style gaming beast

Despite the lack of dragon shapes and rgb- lighting, the Zephyrus G15 does contain that targeted gaming DNA. This notebook is rich in next-gen components and can benefit from Asus accumulated experience in cooling and efficiency, but in a streamlined whole. The chassis is also not to be called ‘businesslike’, but the Zephyrus G15 mainly distinguishes itself with a few idiosyncratic design choices.

First of all, there is the cold white jacket, which seems to be are made of robust plastic. Not only does the surface provide extra grip for wrists and palms; it also ‘shimmers’. At first glance it appears plain white, but as soon as the light hits it well, the material takes on a soft sparkling effect. The phenomenon is reminiscent of the sparkle of a thick layer of snow, which seems to enhance the icy image.

On the top plate sparkles what is left of Zephyrus’ unique AniMe Matrix panel. Where previously hundreds of white LED lights could be fully animated – for many with minimal added value – we now find a sleek hole grid with a holographic reflection inside.

The extent to which that looks good depends on taste, but without a doubt it gives the Zephyrus G15 its own slice of flair. Also from afar, something about this laptop stands out, but with this chassis ROG avoids the fixed and often screaming gaming clichés.

Next-gen performance

High-quality hardware in a more sober style, but how does that perform? For the sake of convenience, we have unleashed 3DMark’s usual Time Spy test on the Zephyrus G15, as well as a few other equally relevant benchmarks.

With the switch to AMD’s new processors, Republic of Gamers is making a nice new return. The octa-core Ryzen 9 5900 HS turns out to be a particularly efficient CPU, as underlined in Cinebench. The raw, single-core performance is in the downright top segment, with an excellent spread of that efficiency as well.

At the other end is one of Nvidia’s first Ampere chipsets for gaming laptops. The RTX 3070 on board gets a big boost from Asus thanks to the proprietary ROG Boost and Dynamic Boost.

On 100 watts of full power are pumped to the GPU, good for clock frequencies around 1500 MHz. This does not make it a ‘full-fledged’ RTX 3070 as you would find it in a desktop, but the performance is great.

In Time Spy the complete system scores a score of 6336, while in the ray tracing-targeted Port Royal test it scores 3673 points. Read: enough horsepower to play quite a few games nicely at 1440p or higher frame rates. In newer games that also support Nvidia’s smart DLSS upscaling, an Ampere GPU will get you all the more results.

Space for cooling efficiency

In the heavier benchmarks and longer playing sessions, the cooling of the Zephyrus G15 to be praised. While the CPU is almost constantly running Cinebench tasks, the component barely exceeds seventy degrees. In more gaming-oriented activities, both CPU and GPU are moving more towards the sixties as standard – very cool, especially considering the performance.

The six heat pipes and two relatively flat fans manage to dissipate the heat efficiently. The hot smoke is blown away at the rear by large air holes, which usually prevents sharper screams. At times, the pair of fans produces a slightly louder hum, but even in most stress tests it is rarely noticeable – let alone disturbing. Also in this relatively flat model you notice how ASUS ‘cooling heat is the master.

Another advantage of this spatial arrangement appears to be the audio production. With six separate speakers, the Zephyrus G15 produces a pleasant sound. First of all, it appears louder than many laptops of this thickness, but the tones themselves also sound fuller than you would expect.

Who is the Zephyrus G15 suitable for?

Those looking for a new gaming laptop should usually ask themselves whether your heavy performance or a chic looking for a buddy for on the road. If you have trouble making that decision, the Zephyrus G15 may offer a unique solution: plenty of horsepower and some sense of style too. Offering Ryzen 5000 processors and RTX 3000 GPUs, you can count on next-gen gaming performance without slipping into an overly bulky chassis.

Republic of Gamers’ experience in the field of thorough cooling and battery efficiency, assisted by beautiful sub-components, make the approach of the Zephyrus G15 complete. The Zephyrus line exceeds many budget laptops in suggested retail price, but it comes with all the horsepower, luxury and reliability that entails. If you want to keep gaming grueling on the go, but don’t want to see that too cliché in the design of the device itself, then ROG’s new Zephyrus G15 is worth considering.

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