ASUS ROG Strix G15 G512 Review: Pink Punk

ASUS ROG Strix G15 G512 Review: Pink Punk

ASUS ROG Strix G15 G512 Back

Verdict: The ROG Strix G15 G512 is one of the most striking mainstream gaming notebooks we’ve reviewed from ASUS in recent memory, but you’ll be paying a premium for all those pretty lights. The dismal screen doesn’t help things either, and if you’re really hell-bent on buying an ASUS made notebook and don’t mind losing the RGB (and a few frames) you’d be better off buying their AMD-powered FX506II that retails for far less (Php 51,995) than the variant that we reviewed, ROG Strix G15 G512 priced at Php 64,995.

Pros of ASUS ROG Strix G15 G512

  • Striking design
  • Excellent keyboard
  • Good gaming performance

Cons of ASUS ROG Strix G15 G512

  • Expensive
  • Screen is dim and a little sub-par
  • Electropunk highlights is very polarizing

ASUS is revitalizing its Strix G15 notebook lineup with a brand-new processor as well as a striking new electro-punk color scheme for 2020. ASUS hopes that the new color trim and revamped internals will endear the new lineup to buyers, though its higher price VS similar AMD-equipped models might scare some buyers away.

ASUS ROG Strix G15 G512 Front

Design of ASUS ROG Strix G15 G512

The Strix G15 G512 follows the same design cues as last year’s Strix G531, with a few key differences in color trim and material choice.

The biggest change here is the shift to plastic for many of the components of the notebook including the chassis, though ASUS did try to make the notebook look less plasticky via the use of faux brushed aluminum texture all across the notebook’s body.

ASUS ROG Strix G15 G512

ASUS infused the Strix G15 G512 with electropop pink trim everywhere, including the lid border, the trademark ROG eye as well as the WASD keys. The color scheme is definitely polarizing – you’ll either love it or hate it, that’s for sure.

ASUS ROG Strix G15 G512 Closed

RGB is still one of the main selling points in gaming notebooks, and the Strix G15 G512 still comes with a bright RGB strip that runs along the bottom of the chassis.

ASUS ROG Strix G15 G512 Bottom

That RGB strip glows bright purple when you start up the PC, and like anything RGB-related in ASUS’ lineup, you can configure and change it via their Armory Crate software.

ASUS ROG Strix G15 G512 USB Ports

The laptop is a fair bit bigger than other devices in its class, and its 2.395-kilo weight isn’t ideal if you’re looking for a portable device to carry around with you.

ASUS ROG Strix G15 G512 Ports

There are a fair bit of ports scattered on the laptop’s body: there are 3 USB Type-A ports on the left side along with the 3.5mm jack, while the rear of the notebook holds the USB Type-C port, ethernet port, and an HDMI port.

ASUS ROG Strix G15 G512 Display

Display of ASUS ROG Strix G15 G512

Depending on the configuration you get, the Strix G15 series comes in two screen variants: an IPS panel with a 240Hz refresh rate with 3ms response time, and a 144Hz screen with an IPS-level panel. All of the variants of this particular model come with a 15.6-inch screen as well as full HD resolution.

We’ve become accustomed to excellent displays with ASUS’ ROG lineup, but the one in the Strix G15 G512 is not great. It’s a little dim, and its colors looked dull and awful compared to the other ASUS notebooks we’ve reviewed in the past.

It’s a perfectly usable display for gaming, but anyone looking to use the notebook for anything remotely requiring accurate colors might want to look at other notebooks instead.

ASUS ROG Strix G15 G512 Keyboard

Keyboard and touchpad of ASUS ROG Strix G15 G512

The keys on the keyboard are large and adequately spaced and have configurable RGB lighting much like most gaming laptops today.

You can change and configure the lighting of the keyboard and the attached RGB strips on the laptop via ASUS’ Armory Crate app, accessible via a dedicated key right above the function keys.

ASUS ROG Strix G15 G512 Keys

As for the actual keys themselves, they felt really good and requires a decent amount of actuation to engage. While they’re not mechanical keys, they still gave us plenty of feedback when we typed on them.

The touchpad is sensitive enough for daily use and supports two-finger scrolling and three-finger tabbing as well as other Windows 10 gestures.

Hardware and battery of ASUS ROG Strix G15 G512

The ROG Strix G15 G512 comes in two 10th generation Intel processor variants, as well as two GPU options depending on the price. Specifically, you’re looking at a Core i7-10750H and a Core i5-10300H processor, and an RTX 2060 and a GeForce GTX 1660 Ti GPU.

Our review unit also came with 8GB of DDR4 3200MHz RAM, as well as 512GB of SSD storage.

Benchmarks of ASUS ROG Strix G15 G512

The ROG Strix G15 G512 comes behind a similarly equipped laptop like the Machenike F117-V65 we reviewed earlier in Geekbench 5 and Cinebench tests, though the gap is noticeably lower in PCMark 10. Read and write tests on Crystal Disk Mark put the 512GB SSD of the notebook on the average side. Curiously the laptops’ other gaming-focused benchmarks like the 3DMark FireStrike and Unigine SuperPosition scores put it above the 10th gen Core i7-equipped Machenike F117-V65 which has the same GPU.

Take note though that just like the Machenike F117-V65, we ran the benchmarks for the ROG Strix G15 G512 on the performance preset, which overclocks the GPU a bit more. Aside from RDR2, the Strix G15 G512 beat the Core-i7 equipped Machenike F117-V65 that has the same GPU by one or two frames.

The notebook ran a little warm, but nothing too major, and the overall thermals weren’t too bad when playing games for extended periods.

Battery life isn’t as great as we expected, with the ROG Strix G15 G512 clocking in around 5 hours and 2 minutes on our regular YouTube battery drain test, with the power preset set to balanced and brightness set to 50%.

Wrap-up and conclusions of the ASUS ROG Strix G15 G512 Review

There’s plenty to like about the ROG Strix G15 G512, though like many of the products in the ROG lineup, you’re paying dearly for the RGB tax. If you’re a fan of pretty lights and that electro-punk pink colorway, you may not mind forking over extra cash for the option, but budget-oriented shoppers looking to pick up an ASUS-badged gaming notebook may want to look at the company’s other models instead, specifically their AMD-powered FX506II.

 

Share:

Facebook
Twitter

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *