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The ROG Strix G17 offers an appealing design.
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It features Ryzen 9 processor and RTX 3070 Ti GPU.
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The G17 has a punchy and snappy QHD 240Hz screen with a 2K display.
The Asus ROG Strix G17 drops some high spec with bold design and a funky appearance. It is available in 3 colours eclipse grey, electro-punk and a volt green. The one I’m using for the past few weeks is eclipse grey and I must say it looks very good for a gaming laptop. The matrix dot pattern and exterior RGB lightning bring character and uniqueness to the laptop.
The ASUS ROG Strix G17 is powered by an AMD Ryzen 9 6000-series APU based on the 6nm process. To enhance your gaming experience ASUS has packed it with the latest RTX series GPU from Nvidia. It has 17-inches QHD display with 240Hz refresh rate.
With over two weeks of usage, I can safely say that the premium laptop is ideal for gaming, streaming, video editing and multitasking. Of course, it does come at a premium price, so it’s better to consider all the important factors before investing. Read on the review as I make it easier for you to decide if this is the machine you need.
Asus ROG Strix G17 performance overview
The ROG model which I received for review is powered by AMD Ryzen 6000 R9-6900HX. It is one of the most powerful CPUs you can get in this price segment. You also get a dedicated graphic card — Nvidia RTX 3070Ti which is just the cherry on the top. All these high-end specifications make it a gaming powerhouse. I have played graphically demanding games and Ryzen 9 has done a good job so far.
The G17 has 4800MHz of DDR5 RAM which means you get lower lag, faster processing, higher transfer speed, and increased performance while playing heavy games or in general usage.
Furthermore, it comes with the Asus Armoury Crate app which is loaded with a bunch of features like quick system performance adjustments such as CPU & GPU performance, noise reduction, energy-saving, and cooling adjustment. By using the app you can use five different modes — Windows, Silent, Performance, Turbo, and Manual.
Windows mode: In this mode, the laptop works according to Windows operating system giving an ideal performance.
Silent Mode: The fan will keep on low speed for noise reduction, but the performance will be limited.
Performance Mode: The performance is a balance between silent and turbo.
Turbo Mode: This mode keeps high performance, but remember it is only available in charging mode. The fan noise in turbo mode is skyrocketed as CPU and GPU give peak performance. I only used this mode with heavy games like Days Gone and GTA 5.
Manual Mode: If you want to adjust the CPU and GPU performance accordingly then Manual mode is perfect.
Armoury Crate also allows you to set customizable hotkeys. It also includes Aura wallpaper which turns the entire laptop into an RGB device. You can set exclusive wallpaper and set up RGB lighting according to mood and gaming atmosphere.
Design and build
There is a lot to talk about the design. It has a design that screams out that it’s a gaming laptop, and that’s done quite well. The laptop looks bold and vibrant when you first see it. The ROG backlit logo and the dot matrix pattern on the aluminium lid make this laptop eye-catching. To give it a distinctive appearance, Asus has added a coloured armour cap and rubber foot at the bottom, which not only looks good but also keeps it stable on a platform.
The Strix G17 is wrapped with an under-glow light bar that can be customized according to users’ preference. The Aura SYNC provides a selection of preset lighting patterns which allows you to create a unique light settings. Aura SYNC facilitates the synchronization with other RGB peripherals and even with the new ROG Aura wallpapers.
Coming to exterior, aluminium is used in the lid cover along with a mix of plastic. The black and dark-grey area around the touchpad will show smudges easily while gaming, which means you have to clean it constantly. The build quality is sturdy but it is very hefty. While that’s a common trait on gaming laptops, it’s still something that may bother some users who have to carry their laptops for long.
The slim 4.5mm side bezels and 85% screen-to-body ratio gives uninterrupted gaming visuals. The rubber foot below provides great stability when pressing keys aggressively. In addition, it comes with dedicated hotkeys and a large touchpad which is pretty smooth to touch and allows seamless control.
Display
The 2022 G17 comes with 2K IPS display that supports up to 240Hz refresh rate. The screen has a maximum brightness of 300nits which is decent while gaming but is just average in day light. The G17 2022 also comes with 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut that aims to enhance colour grading, accuracy and tone, which does appear in real life usage. It’s among the best displays on a gaming laptop.
The bezels on the sides of the laptop are pretty thin as a result, it lacks a webcam. But I personally feel it’s better to have a thinner bezel than a bad webcam. If you are a streamer, it’s anyway recommended to have an external cam. But you can’t deny that it’s convenient to have an in-built web cam for quick video calls.
The 240Hz refresh rate is a treat for games with fast paced graphics, and also for movies and videos. A higher refresh rate is always a must have for gamers that play fps games.
Asus ROG Strix G17 — gaming review
This laptop comes with a Nvidia RTX 3070Ti paired with Ryzen 6000 series CPU to deliver the top notch gaming performance. The GPU is equipped with new RT Cores, Tensor Cores and streaming multiprocessors delivering realistic ray-traced graphics.
I played Days Gone, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon, GTA 5 and Sniper Elite 4. The gaming experience is treat on this laptop. I played all the games at high settings and there was no lag although I was a little disappointed with the heating and fan noise. If you want to enjoy the sound while gaming, I will suggest you use headphones because of the daunting fan noise.
Also, I tested a bunch of games with AAA titles that can hit 90 frames per second at ultra setting. The result was commendable. Without any doubt, the laptop can handle games like Far Cry 6 and Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy at ultra settings.
Additionally, the 2022 Strix G17 features DDR5 RAM, a gorgeous 2k display, liquid metal cooling, and a lot of other stuff which makes it a future-proof gaming laptop for at least two years from now.
Audio and battery
The G17 features speakers with 2 Smart Amp technology that provide decent sound under most scenarios. Speakers are paired with Dolby Atmos that gives presets equalizer settings that can be also tuned according to your preferences.
A large 90Whr battery and fast Type-C 100W power delivery charging (PD) technology allow users to minimize the time they remain tethered to a plug. Fast charge PD technology can charge the Strix G17 battery from 0 to 50% in just 30 minutes. Well, it took me 34 minutes to reach 50%. Battery life has been a concern on gaming laptops unless you’re doing regular office or college work. You can’t game without a charger but it can last 4-5 hours with normal work.
Keyboard and trackpad
The ROG G17 keyboard has nothing special but Asus didn’t ditch the numpad like on the TUF series of laptops. While playing games and multitasking numpad comes in super handy.
It has rubber-dome keys which feel soft while playing games. Each key are independently illuminated with RGB which gives an all-new gaming experience in dark. I am not a fan of keyboards with high key travel and it may take some time for you to get accustomed to it. But if you have to type a lot you’re most likely going to be impressed.
The touchpad is sensitive and snappy but it’s not tactile and demands extra efforts for clicks and swipes. I expected a much premium trackpad from a laptop of this price. The feedback from the trackpad is annoying at times as it doesn’t feel uniform.
Thermal performance
For thermals, Asus has equipped an cooling system with components and dedicated software which are tuned to maintain device temperature under all scenarios. Asus claims the liquid metal gives 14x better thermal conductivity. In my usage, I felt the laptop to get very warm, especially during prolonged gaming with high settings. The keyboard doesn’t get unbearably hot but the sides do get heated up.
Asus has placed the exhaust vents near the WASD key to maintain airflow and keep the cool during prolonged usage, but it doesn’t work as well as intended.
Final thoughts
After using it for over 15 days and knowing the high end specifications it offers, it doesn’t seem overpriced. It looks good, offers top notch gaming performance and a beautiful display, which fits well for any gamer who wants to move around with its gaming machine. It’s good for intensive tasks like video editing, music production or graphic designing as well. It’s best suited for professionals and enthuhsiasts who want the ultimate best in laptop form factor. Those who can do away with ocassional gaming and just need a good laptop that can run high end games, there are cheaper alternatives in the market.