The result of a design collaboration between Asus and BMW, the ROG Strix G15 G512L comes with 10th Generation Intel processors and is one of the budget ROG gaming notebooks with many of the key ROG features included.
Our test unit for the review is the Electro Punk edition (black-and-pink theme with a RGB light bar) equipped with a Core i7-10750H, GTX 1650 Ti, and a 144 Hz panel with 1TB SSD.
The high-end version can be configured with upto a Core i7-10875H, RTX 2070 Super and a 240Hz 1080p display panel.
Specifications
| CPU | Intel Core i7-10750H |
| RAM | 16GB DDR4 3200MHz RAM |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Ti with 4GB GDDR6 VRAM |
| Storage | 1TBB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD |
| Display | 15.6-inch Full HD (1920×1080) vIPS-level panel 144Hz |
| Ports | 1 X USB3.2 Gen2 Type-C support DisplayPort 3 x USB3.2 Gen 1 Type-A 1 x HDMI (HDMI 2.0b support 4K HDR), HDCP SPEC 2.2 1 x Audio combo jack: Mic-in and Head phone 1x LAN RJ-45 jack |
| Connectivity | Intel 802.11AX (2×2) + BT Gigabit Wi-Fi support Bluetooth 5.0 |
| Camera | N/A |
| Audio | 2 x 4.2W speakers with Smart AMP technology |
| Battery | 3-Cell Li-Polymer 48Wh 230W W adapter |
| Dimensions | 360(W) x 275(D) x 21~25.8(H) mm Weight: 2.30 kg |
The model we’ve received for this review is the G512LI-HN162T
Packaging
The the ROG Strix G15 G512L comes in a large, ASUS ROG branded black cardboard box. Inside are two smaller boxes, one with the battery and accessories and one with the laptop itself. The packaging also includes the ROG Sheath Electro Punk Gaming Mouse Pad.
Design, Build Quality & Ports
ROG Strix G15 is available in three color choices: Original Black, Glacier Blue and Electro Punk, which is our review model. In terms of design, the ROG Strix G15 has a unqiue look and feel as result of the collaboration between the ROG and the BMW Designworks Group.
The body has a brushed metal finish that cuts the top surface diagonally into two areas with the ROG logo in a striking pink color. It looks very sporty, feels high-end and sturdy although almost the entire body is made of plastic.
The rear body is larger than many other gaming laptops and features a asymmetrical cut-out design which packs a number of ports and the airflow system. Just like other ASUS ROG series, there is an Anti-Dust cooling feature on this laptop.
With dimensions of 360(W) x 275(D) x 21~25.8(H) mm, you’ll find it hard fitting the Strix G15 into a standard backpack. Fortunately, it’s feels light to carry around with a with a weight of just 2.3 kg.
Moving on to the display, the screen is surrounded by a thin bezel but there is no webcam on the frame. The display is a 15.6in IPS-level panel with full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and a refresh rate of 144Hz.
The hinge of this screen is quite unique, they emerge when the lid is lifted move inside the laptop when the screen is closed. ASUS says this design is inspired by gullwing doors and provides additional space for venting and cooling around the heatsinks at the back.
On the left side there are three USB-A 3.2 (GEN1) ports and a 3.5mm audio combo jack.
The remaining ports are located at the back, between the two airflow vents and consists of a HDMI 2.0b that supports 4K HDR resolution, RJ45 LAN Jack, USB-C 3.2 (GEN2) which also functions as DisplayPort, and an input for power.
There are no ports at all on the right side, to provide more space when using an external mouse. Wireless connectivity is powered by an Intel 802.11AX module (Wi-Fi 6) and there is Bluetooth 5.0 on board.
At the base of the chassis are the diffused RGB LEDs illuminating the front and side edges with customizable colors and effects via Aura Sync. They look really cool, especially in dark rooms.
Display
The Asus ROG Strix G15 G512LV has a anti-glare 15.6 in IPS-level panel with a screen-to-body ratio of up to 81.5%. The display offers full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and a refresh rate of 144Hz and a 3ms grey-to-grey response time with roughly 60% sRGB color coverage. There is also a 1080p 240Hz variant available.
Image quality, colors and viewing angles are good. For content creation, photo or video editing, an external monitor is recommended. Sunlight visibility is mediocre at best.
Keyboard & Trackpad
ROG Strix G15 G512LV has a backlit 4-zone RGB chiclet keyboard with ROG Overstroke technology. The typing experience is pleasant with good tactile-feedback
The WASD keycaps are highlighted in pink and the rest of the keys are in black. The keyboard also features N-key rollover and anti-ghosting technology which detects all keystrokes no matter how many keys are pressed together simultaneously.
There are an additional five dedicated hotkeys above the function key row for quick access to the volume and mic mute controls, operating modes, and Armoury Crate.
The function keys that are spaced and the arrow keys are isolated for better accuracy. The spacebar key is also extended and reshaped for better comfort. The RGB backlit lighting effect can be customized via the Armory Crate software.
The touchpad is quite large with a smooth surface and two separate physical left and right buttons. There are no complaints here, cursor control is good, it’s to navigate, multi-touch gestures are recognized and handled properly.
Instead of a physical numpad, the Strix G15 features a digital one on the touchpad available at the press of a button.
Performance & Benchmarks
The ASUS ROG Strix G15 G512L is powered by a 10th Gen Intel Core 10750H processor with 6 core and 12 threads, NVIDIA GeForce 1650 Ti graphics with 4GB GDDR6 VRAM and 16GB DDR4 3200MHz RAM which can be further upgraded to 32GB.
For storage, there is 1TB of M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD onboard with an additional M.2 expansion slot. In total, there are three M.2 slots available.
CPU, GPU & RAM
The Core i7-10750H performs on par with other laptops in with the same processor while being slightly slower than the competing Ryzen 5 4600H. The 10750H has 6 cores and 12 threads, 12 MB of L3 cache and a frequency of 2.60 GHz that goes up to 5 GHz and a TDP of 45W.
Graphics is powered by a dedicated GDDR6 Nvidia 1650 Ti. It has 1920 shader units and a default clock frequency of 1350 MHz, as well as 4 GB of GDDR6 memory.
The Strix G15 is equipped with 16 GB of DDR4 RAM at a frequency of 3200 MHz.
Our review unit came with a 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD. However, depending on the region, there may be different SSDs. The SSD offers read speeds of up to 1,771MB per second and write of up to 1,749MB.
The Strix G15 supports up to three M.2 SSDs, which is more than most other budget gaming laptops have to offer.
In Cinebench R20 tests, the i7 10750H scored 395 in single core benchmark and 2,750 in multi-core benchmark. In PCMark 10 Benchmark, the Strix G15 scored 5,126.
| BENCHMARK | SCORE |
|---|---|
| Cinebench R20 single core | 395 |
| Cinebench R20 multi core | 2,750 |
| PCMark 10 Benchmark | 5,185 |
| 3DMark Time Spy | 4.051 |
| 3DMark Fire Strike | 9,563 |
| 3DMark Sky Diver | 24,892 |
The Nvidia 1650 Ti is able to play modern games smoothly on 1080p, with the details set to medium to high settings. Demanding titles like Shadow of the Tomb Raider can run at 1080p and 50-70 FPS at Full HD as long as most of the graphics settings are adjusted.
We recommend the variants with the GTX 1660 Ti or RTX 2070 as the 1650 Ti is not capable of high FPS gaming (unless the graphics are lowered to minimum). However, this is sufficient enough for esports gaming, which ASUS intends it to be.
Temperatures
Temperatures are never too high even on load, while some spots can get as warm when gaming, these are located towards the back, away from the keyboard and palm rest.
The cooling system is complemented by a new a liquid metal thermal compound on the CPU, instead of the standard thermal paste. This liquid metal is able to conduct heat better so that the cooling system can work more optimally. ASUS promises lower CPU temperatures as much as 12°C while improving noise levels.
Fan noise is quiet on idle but audible even on slight load compared to other gaming laptops. While gaming, the fan noise is comparable to other laptops in this category.
To adjust fan speed, there is a dedicated keyboard button on the top row.
Upgradeability
In terms of upgradeability, the Strix G15 can be equipped with upto 3x M.2 SSDs and upto 32GB of RAM.The bottom panel can be easily removed with a simple Phillips screwdriver.
Battery & Audio
The ROG Strix G15 G512L has a 48 Wh 4-cell Li-Polymer battery.
On a full charge, based on the usage and screen brightness, the Strix G15 lasts between four to five hours. When browsing the internet, you can expect around four hours of battery time.
In terms of charging, it took 1 hour 40 minutes to charge back from 0% to 100%.
| Idle (one third brightness, no WiFI) | 5h 40 min |
| Web Browsing (one third brightness) | 4h 14 min |
| Video Playback (one third brightness) | 2h 52 min |
| Gaming (50% brightness) | 1h 35min |
Given the large amount of RGB lighting and hardware, the battery life is sufficient. For longer battery, you can turn off the RGB lighting through Armory Crate.
In terms of audio, there are 2 x 4.2W side-firing speakers, with Smart AMP technology. The sound quality is good and loud enough.
Software
The Asus ROG Strix G15 G512LI comes with several software’s such as GameVisual, Aura Creator, GameFirst VI and Armory Crate, which provides information on the hardware performance, helps switching between profiles and control the RGB lighting. You can control the fans with different performance profiles.
There are also options to switch between different display modes depending on the content being played.
The Asus GameFirst VI software helps prioritize WiFi connectivity and network bandwidth to reduce delays when gaming.
Conclusion
Overall, the ASUS ROG Strix G15 G512LI is a capable gaming laptop. The 144Hz screen, support for 3x M.2 2280 SSDs and the abundant RGB lighting are the highlights here.
For a gaming laptop, the GTX 1650 is a bit of letdown in terms of performance as the card is not really made for high FPS gaming on the 144Hz display. However it can play most games on low to medium settings on the 1080p display at 50-70FPS on average.
Upgrading to the GTX 1660 Ti, RTX 2060, or RTX 2070 Super is highly recommended for to take better advantage of the high refresh-rate 144Hz screen.
