ASUS add two big powerhouse laptops to their 2021 line up
Overnight, ASUS revealed two big updates to their ROG line up of gaming laptops, the Zephyrus M16 and ROG Zephyrus S17, each featuring the latest Intel 11th gen CPU’s and options from the Nvidia 30 series of GPU’s.
Starting off with the Zephyrus S17, it not only comes with the new Intel 11th gen CPU’s up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU that reaches 140W with Dynamic Boost. But for me, the most important part is that the keyboard lifts up at a 5° angle, improving typing comfort and opening wide vents that allow the innovative AAS Plus cooling system with new Arc Flow fans to quietly pull cooling air into the laptop.
Cooling is a big deal with this laptop, which given the levels of power you can reach, is a good thing, so while the keyboard lifts, there are also additional cooling options that bolster the S17’s thermal capacity. ROG’s latest Arc Flow fans move air quietly and efficiently; the blades vary in thickness to maximise flow, and they’re capped by a special aerodynamic wave pattern to minimise turbulence and noise. When component temperatures drop below 50°C, the fans automatically spin down to 0dB mode for completely silent operation.
Plus if that wasn’t enough, the all new liquid metal thermal compound, to replace the traditional thermal paste, reduces the temp by an additional 10°C.
Finally, there are also six speakers, to bring your games or media to life in ways unheard of, on a laptop, complete with Dolby Atmos support.
As for the Zephyrus M16, things are looking smaller, while the CPU is still an optional 11th gen Intel core, it also supports up to a GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU, but that is not the big selling point here.
No, that honour goes to the Zephyrus M16’s streamlined design, that fits a 16” display into a slim chassis that’s 5% smaller than last year’s 15” Zephyrus M15. With new ultra-narrow bezels measure only 4.6mm on all four sides, thanks to a redesigned display cable that allows the bottom bezel to be as slim as the others. This means you should only ever notice the screen and not the case holding it in place.
Much like the big brother above, this also comes with the new liquid metal thermal paste, along with six heatpipes transfer heat away from the CPU and GPU to dense heatsinks in the flanks, where it’s pushed out by airflow from dual Arc Flow fans. This new fan design has 84 carefully tapered blades with a special aerodynamic wave pattern on the outer edge that reduces turbulence, enabling more airflow with less noise. With 0dB Technology, the fans turn off completely for silent operation when temperatures dip below 50°C.
This laptop brings all that, in a form factor that is less than 2cm thick and 2kg in weight, making it a real portable powerhouse and given that you can charge the laptop off USB-C, it makes it very attractive. It needs to be noted though, that the fast charging that gives 50% of the battery, in 30 minutes, requires the standard charger.
