The ASUS RoG STRIX GL702 Review is by Cameron, my 18yr old Head of Tech and Media (really, I have no business near this laptop, not knowing my League of Legends from my Battlefield Go; it seemed better I hand it over to Head Gamer). And this is what he thought…
Readers warning; this will be a nerdy review. And I’m not even sorry.
“Compact and Potent” is the leading selling point on the ASUS website, and frankly I’ve never heard such an accurate tagline. Honestly? I was sceptical before using this laptop, having been a big PC gamer over the years, building my own PC to a strong custom spec and upgrading the hardware steadily. So when a laptop claims to do the same without my enormous flame-spitting tower unit, I of course am going to be sceptical.
ASUS RoG STRIX GL702 Review
Unpacking the laptop was a treat in itself; ASUS paid real attention to detail in the packaging, which was sleek and smart – really making the unboxing of the product an event in itself, and even before turning on the laptop you notice a few things. The sheer size of the screen was my first shocker – it really is enormous for a laptop screen. The abundance of ports is an incredibly nice touch for a gamer, as we like to have our own accessories and peripherals.
Rest easy though – that huge screen does not mean it’s an incredibly thick device, even though it’s packing a whopping GTX 1060 which I’m sad to say outshines my own desktop PC’s GTX 980. This doesn’t add much to its weight. When I read about the specs and hardware online, I was expecting to be lugging around a mammoth in my backpack, but I was pleasantly surprised – maybe due to the weight being distributed nicely around the wide frame. With a profile measuring just 24.7mm and tipping the scales at a lightweight 2.7kg, ROG Strix GL702 has an ultra-portable design that fits snugly in a messenger bag or backpack (presuming you have one that’ll fit that 17″ frame!)
Boot up took seconds. And I mean it; even to this day after using this laptop as my main functionary laptop there has been no decrease in boot or OS speed. The Operating System is split onto a separate partition of the terabyte’s hard drive space they generously give you, which no doubt assists the speed to no end. But it’s down to the NVMe PCIe SSD which gives the superfast data access speeds – it simply boots up faster, loads apps quicker, and makes for far less in-game loading times. Bliss.
So I set about using this laptop for my daily needs – I tested it on everything from popping to the coffee shop with it to sit and write an English essay during my free periods, editing photos after shooting a gig, gaming during my downtime, late night Netflix binges and just general social media and YouTube browsing.
This laptop genuinely gave me freedom to do absolutely anything I would expect to be able to do at my powerful home computer, but anywhere.
The first game I tested on the hardware was the 2016 reboot of DOOM. A fast paced bloody shooter with stunning visuals. The laptop didn’t skip a beat, it ran the game like a charm (much to my surprise, I admit it). I didn’t notice a single drop in my framerate, no extended loading times and overall I was incredibly impressed with it. My one piece of advice would be to bring a mouse along, as nobody wants to game on a trackpad. But this newfound confidence brought me to try a roster of games. CSGO, Battlefield 1, League Of Legends, Rocket League, Fallout 4 and many more. I tried a different game from a multitude of genres and playstyles and the laptop kept rolling with the punches like a champion, handling everything I threw at it. This laptop can handle casual games like Sid Meiers Civilization, Esport games like CSGO or LoL and even flagship titles like Fallout and GTA.
The laptop does get warm when running these highly intensive hardware hogging software, but I’ve never felt it get unbearably scorching while resting it on my lap or on a table or even on my bed. It does heat up, even with the compact ‘hyper-cool, triple-copper thermal module’ which uses heat pipes and three fans to increase CPU and GPU performance independently. the ROG Strix GL702’s additional boost fan acts as yet another cooling trick to help the GPU run at full speed without throttling – even under extensive load during intense gaming marathons.Oh, and by the way? The sound is phenomenal. My usual experience with laptop sound is pretty awful, hence why I’m never seen without a beefy pair of headphones. This is the first laptop that I’ve ever had my hands on that provides an excellent speaker set. The speakers on the ROG Strix GL702 are powered by a beefy Icepower amplifier which not only makes the volume loud and proud, but crisp and clear – absolutely stunning when playing games like Battlefield 1.
The screen itself is big, as I said – a whole 17-inch panel with 178° ultra-wide viewing angle – but it’s also beautiful; just what any gamer wants, naturally. But gaming aside, I also found it incredibly useful for my own personal photography business. When I shoot live shows, it’s really important to process the images on a high resolution screen as I shoot in the largest file formats. This enables me to create the best possible end product. I now often feel more at home editing these images on the laptop than I do at home on my desktop. Which is why I now bring the ASUS ROG Strix GL702 (mine’s the GL702VM-GC003T) with me when I shoot gigs and shows, as I can move seamlessly from shooting the show with my camera to editing the images on lightroom on the laptop. Lightroom is also incredibly CPU hungry and has been known to run slowly on many devices, but once again the laptop proved to handle it like a pro. The SD card slot on the side also proving incredibly useful as there is no longer any messing around when importing my images, I can just take out the card and slot it in.
The tactile keyboard also features ASUS-exclusive ‘Overstroke technology’, a stylish red backlight, specially designed WASD keys, and a really comfortable 1.6mm travel distance. Knowing how gamers are never kind to the keys, ASUS have tested the keyboards for ultimate durability and reliability – and they consequently have an expected lifetime of 10 million key presses!
ASUS RoG STRIX GL702 Review
This laptop is honestly a pleasure to use and has become a daily must-have when I’m travelling or at college. It’s incredibly rugged, but slim enough to fit into a backpack (as long as you have one big enough to fit that 17″ screen in!). And whilst I’m not going to advocate you drop it, I’ve used it on buses, trains, outside and inside. And I’ll soon be taking it with me on a trip to Berlin and then along to Bordeaux as a means to manage my photographs and as portable entertainment. And I know I won’t have to worry about it as I do so, as the battery life is fantastic considering the sheer amount of hardware it’s powering. In fact I’ve become so attached to this laptop I’m even writing the review you are currently reading on it right now this second.
This is the best laptop I have ever had the pleasure of using. It’s not the lightest or the most portable. But it is by far and away the most powerful. You get your money’s worth with this device and I truly honestly would recommend it to anyone who can justify the cost. It is the perfect all round portable device.
The ASUS Strix GL702VM-GC003T 17.3 inch FHD Gaming Laptop is currently available on Amazon for £1130.
If you’re not sure if a GAMING laptop is the correct decison for your non-gaming teen, then please do read why a gaming laptop is the best, most practical purchase for every teenager here.
