Huzzah! ASUS‘ Greek god has arrived on our shores. Meet the ROG Zephyrus, one of the more interesting Max-Q laptops to have launched so far. Now that it’s in Malaysia, you’re probably wondering: How much will it cost?
The short answer? A lot.
But then again, are you really surprised? The Zephyrus is packed to the brim with power. It’s got an Intel Core I7-7700HQ processor, a GTX 1080 Max-Q with 8GB of GDDR5X VRAM plus 24GB of DDR4 2,400 MHz memory. Storage comes in the form of a 1TB M.2 PCIe SSD. This is a 15.6-inch laptop with a Full HD 120Hz display with support for NVIDIA’s G-SYNC technology.
Beyond just hardware specs, the laptop is also drawing attention because of its unique form-factor. Being a Max-Q laptop, ASUS has managed to keep size to a minimum as the ROG Zephyrus measures 16.9mm at its thinnest and 17.9mm at its thickest point.
That’s less than 2cm thick — which is incredible considering the amount of power sitting under the hood. It also weighs just 2.2kg which is almost ridiculously light for high-powered gaming laptops.
You see, the reason why gaming laptops have traditionally been big hulking machines is partly because they need space for all the hardware, but also breathing room to cool them all. So, if the body is just 16.9mm, how does the Zephyrus cool itself?
Well, ASUS has employed a special cooling mechanism that lifts the laptop’s chassis away from its bottom panel when the lid is opened. This adds 20% more airflow to the laptop when you’re using it. It looks a little like loading doors deploying on a cargo plane — super slick.
One other thing I like about the Zephyrus is how it looks. Despite being near the top of ASUS’ ROG gaming lineup, the laptop doesn’t look gaudy when its closed.
The only showy bits are on the keyboard which means when the device is shut, it looks pretty stealthy. You can read more about what I think of the laptop at my full first impressions post.
However, all these fancy cooling tech and high-end components do come at a price point — a pretty big one at that. The ASUS ROG Zephyrus is priced at RM15,999 for the configuration above.
Yep, time to prepare your “WTS: Kidney BNIB” posts.
In any case, it is worth pointing out that the Zephyrus does launch at a lower retail price that ASUS’ last insane ROG GX700 laptop. AND, they’re also throwing in a limited EPIC 12 bundle for the first 12 customers that pre-order the ROG Zephyrus. This bundle includes an ROG Centurion 7.1 Headset, an ROG Gladius II gaming mouse and two ROG Masters International Grand Final VIP tickets @ KLCC valued over RM2,000.
