The ASUS ROG Strix GL502VS Review: Mainstream GTX 1070 with G-SYNC
by Brett Howse on December 9, 2016 8:00 AM ESTDisplay
ASUS offers two displays on the 15.6-inch GL502VS. The standard model is a 1920x1080 FHD version, which is IPS and includes G-SYNC, and that is the panel in the review unit. They also offer a 3840x2160 UHD model, also with G-SYNC. Both displays are the standard 60 Hz refresh rate, but with G-SYNC available the UHD model would be a nice version to try. The display has a matte finish.
The displays cover “72% NTSC” per ASUS, but it would be nice if manufacturers would stop using NTSC as a measurement stick, since it’s not used at all in computing. 72% is sRGB though, which is the standard for computers.
To test the display accuracy, the X-Rite i1DisplayPro colorimeter is used for brightness and contrast readings, and the X-Rite i1Pro2 spectrophotometer is used for accuracy testing. On the software side, SpectraCal CalMAN 5 Business is used with a custom workflow.
Brightness and Contrast
Really high brightness values are most important in very well lit rooms, and the 344 nits output from the ASUS panel is plenty for most situations indoors. However, the black levels are a bit high, so the overall contrast ratio is about mid-pack. 1000:1 is decent for a mid-range laptop though, and it shows just how far laptops have come in the last several years. The minimum brightness is a bit of an issue though, at 38 nits, which is too bright for a very dark room, but for the average laptop on a desk, it shouldn’t be a big issue.
Grayscale Accuracy
ASUS does not do any sort of display calibration, nor do they ship with an ICC profile, so it has become a bit of an expectation to see they suffer in grayscale. The gamma is very low as well, and despite the CCT Avg being very close to ideal, it just shows how little that number means when you don’t consider all of the primary colors. The reds are far too high, and grayscale errors at 100% white are over 8, which is not ideal. It’s not the worst display around, but it is far from the best. It would be nice to see ASUS do some better calibration, even if it was per batch, to get a handle on their display errors, but they tend to value performance per dollar more, so there is always a trade-off.
Saturation Accuracy
Once again, the lack of calibration does not help the saturation results. Even at just 20% steps, it is very clear that the display is missing its targets. It does not quite cover all of the sRGB space, but it is pretty close, but the blue overshoots and the red falls a bit short. The overall score isn’t helped by the 100% white component which is over 8, but regardless the rest of the color targets have a dE2000 generally over three, and often well over.
Gretag Macbeth
The GMB score is the most comprehensive test, and focuses in on many of the skin tones. The results are not surprising, nor are they very good, with some of the orange, brown, and blue values having error levels approaching 10. The average is much better than practically any laptop from a couple of years ago, but this is a moving target and several of the vendors have focused quite a bit on display quality over the years, and it shows in their results. ASUS still does not factor this in though.
Display Conclusion
Overall the display could use some work, but in the end, it is an IPS display with G-SYNC, so for the gaming market they have the most important boxes checked. It would be great to see ASUS do some work on their displays, but at the same time this would likely add to the bill of materials for the device, possibly increasing prices, and on a value laptop like the GL502VS it is understandable to not see a calibrated display out of the box, but at the end of the day it is still well over $1000, and tablets costing far less do find room in the budget for better results here.
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mobutu - Sunday, December 11, 2016 - link
Look at those big fat ugly bezels ... pathetic @2016Nowadays I'm not even reading a review if bezels arent slim. No way I'm buying that shit.
This is valid for monitors too.
Mikuni - Sunday, December 11, 2016 - link
Fire the guy who keeps butchering the Insert key on their latest laptops; I returned my last Asus for that, won't buy again with this bullshit.sarth1 - Monday, December 12, 2016 - link
How about testing this laptop with recent games. Civ 6 fine, but seriously, Dragon Age 3? Try it with Witcher 3, Dishonored 2...seanh81 - Monday, December 12, 2016 - link
Bought this one and owned it for a month.ASUS ROG GL502VS-DB71 15.6" FullHD Gaming Laptop,Intel Core i76700HQ,NVIDIA GTX 1070,256GB PCIE SSD+1TB HDD,Windows 10,Black
Month into owning it the OS disappeared after plugging the laptop in. Re-loading OS not an option as Samsung SSD would not be read consistently so opened RMA and sent it back. Paid my own shipping to return it. Got it back and they reloaded the OS. OS installed on the IDE drive overwriting my data drive and the SSD is not being read in device manager or disk management. Asus will not refund my shipping. No information provided as to what they performed on the laptop except problem: error message. Asus manager says they perform qc/testing before sending laptops back but states that informational is internal and will not share. They wanted me to return the laptop again.. no confidence in there support. Returning it to retailer
sundragon - Friday, December 23, 2016 - link
This scares me as I've had mine a week and it's been performing well thus far.VirtualRay - Tuesday, December 13, 2016 - link
I bought this laptop a month ago or so, and I've been having a blast with it! It's worked great so far for the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift + Touch. I was actually able to run the Rift + Touch and a Kinect at the same time (using a type C adapter to plug in the Kinect).I've been able to simultaneously play WoW in 4k on my 4k TV while watching streaming video in my web browser, too, which was pretty sweet. This laptop is a real beast!
The only complaint I have about the laptop is that I ran into a lot of weird boot hangs when I had secure boot enabled. I didn't dig into it much though, so I'm not 100% sure whether it was Asus' BIOS' fault or mine.
Oh, and it gets a little wind-noisy when you run perf-heavy software like Gears of War 4 or VR games. It's not a problem for VR at all, obviously, since you're wearing headphones, but it could be a little annoying for flat-screened gaming. Lightweight games like WoW didn't tax the graphics card enough to make it spin up at 1080p, though.
Nephelai - Wednesday, December 21, 2016 - link
Did you test whether this laptop can be woken from USB external devices? I just bought the P35x v6 only to find it doesn't (not supported as per Gigabyte tech). This is disappointing for me as I often use the laptop as a day to day machine plugged into a monitor, KB and mouse and it's a pain to open the lid and press a key to wake up.I'd be interested to know if the Asus does wake up (so I could swap) or if disabling it is a thing with higher end laptops. Maybe to prevent ppl gaming and overheating with the lid closed?
sundragon - Friday, December 23, 2016 - link
So I've owned this laptop for about a week and I've got some observations and reservations so bare with me. I’ve also updated it to the most recent BIOS .300 and that corrected some of the issues with battery drain, keyboard, etc.I bought this along with a 2016 Razer 14 1060 to see which one I'd like better. I got the laptops because those of us who live in small apartments in the city don't have the luxury of building a desktop PC to game and not a console.
Why didn’t the review compare it to a 1060 laptop? That would benefit people trying to decide if they want to purchase a 1060 vs 1070.
1. The build quality is good but the materials are CHEAP and the logos/accents make it look like I'm a 16 year old and I live in my parent's basement because a Ko0l H@cKerb0i ... It's almost stereotypical /sigh... How about basic black or silver? (Yes this is totally a personal preference).
2. The little orange speakers work well compared to the Razer 1060's. They are louder but less clear. Where they fail is in ergonomics, my left wrist almost always covers the speaker and it's got a noticeable effect on sound quality. Mounting them higher on the deck (like the Razer) or on the front edge (like Alienware) would have taken care of this.
3. More ergonomic issues: How about a beveled edge on the deck so it's not digging into your wrists when you try to play? These reviews are great for components but holy crap, please spend a little time playing with the system to test out simple stuff like that. I've got to put it on a laptop desk at an angle to correct. The Razer1060 beats it in ergonomics hands down.
4. Graphics - It's absurdly fast. Like everything you throw at it currently is buttery smooth with everything set to ULTRA. Witcher 3 with all the setting set to ULTRA and hair turned on was pure joy. I will say the Razer160 plays everything as well but the 1070 will be more future proof in a year or two. Plus if you hook this up to a UHD or 4K monitor, you can actually play the same titles, just not on ULTRA
5. BLOATWARE - Really!?!? I love how this article says there wasn't any - I'm not sure if it's because they send it knowing it would be reviewed but I spent an hour uninstalling all sorts of BS from the computer that have NOTHING to do with gaming. I left the basic ROG software - Literally a few GB of data. Why is this an issue today? FWIW, the Razer had none, literally nothing aside from the basic drivers and Windows Defender for Virus protection...
6. Battery life… The screen flickers when I play Witcher 3 on battery, not sure what causes this but plugging it in fixes that issue. This thing is meant to be near power for any use thanks to G-Sync goodness.
7. 4.8 LBS?!? ASUS marketing lies!! LOL. I believe they are weight thinner 502 with the 1060 not the thicker 502 with the 1070. It’s 5.7 LBS – please weigh it before stating that in the review. OH and the power adapter weighs 1.3 lbs, and you won’t be leaving the house without it so the total package weight is important to note (at least with G-Sync laptop battery life). TOTAL package weight for me is 7lbs if I want to move it out of the house (which I probably won’t).
8. Storage and System performance: It’s is buttery smooth (and it should be). It’s got a 256GB SSD plus a 7200 TB HDD, which is a lot better than the measly 256 GB SSD in the Razer. The screen on the Razer is smaller but slightly better quality – really only noticeable when you’re looking at them side to side.
9. Fans are inaudible at idle and audible but don’t overpower the speakers when I’m playing Witcher 3. The Razer Blade 1060’s fans are audible at idle and sound like a small turbine when playing Witcher 3. Thermals – The razer being thinner and aluminum transmits heat to your hands. Temps are well within normal ranges when playing demanding games but the benefit of plastic plays out here where the heat isn’t transmitted to your hands. No throttling for either laptop.
It’s a great value, I bought it for $1399 before tax on sale at Microcenter. The Razer is $1799 with a “weaker” 1060 and only 256GB of SSD. But you get 4.2 lbs weight and the power adapter is tiny and .9lbs for about 5lbs total package weight. An overall 2lbs difference.
If you’re looking for a purely gaming machine, then it’s the one I’d recommend. If you plan on using the laptop outside and care about build quality, and what the aesthetics look like (yes I will be the first that this is subjective) then go with a Razer or a Gigabyte which are understated. You can cover up the Razer fanboy logo with a Dbrand skin to boot.
I'm still on the fence as to which one I'll keep. A lot to like about it but the ergonomics, and build materials apparently matter as much as the cost/build quality/better GPU.
Any questions or hate?
Hal422 - Friday, April 14, 2017 - link
I believe the flicker when unplugged is due to the 180 watt PSU the 1070 needs 200 at full power.inperfectdarkness - Tuesday, January 3, 2017 - link
I was unable to find any of these with 4k screen AND the 1070 GTX card. I ended up getting the Gigabyte P35X v6 instead. P35X is not only thinner, lighter & cheaper...if I'm going to be saddled with only 1 backlighting color on my keyboard...I'd rather have white.