Asus ROG GL702ZC owners lounge

Would I recommend it?
Yes, but it depends on what you want/need to use it for.

As for people asking me in public if I pull out the power brick... lol... I hadn't been using the laptop in public (honestly, it's too expensive and big for that). I use it at a friends place for example and he was quite surprised to see how big/heavy the power brick actually was...

 

I think Freesync will work with newest drivers if you don't select a clean install when running the Radeon settings..
Also... how the heck are you getting such low idling temperatures?
My flat is relatively cool as well, but my idling temperatures are about 20 degrees higher than yours.
I have yet to update the BIOS to 303 though... was supposed to do that before, but ended up with other issues (such a broken tooth that needed to be sorted). Will probably use a Windows flash utility in a few hours.

 

I did the regular upgrade install and while Freesync worked fine, I noticed that the drivers were old, didn't update them for some odd reason, in a second try, it did updated them but then Freesync stopped working. So I removed all AMD drivers, rebooted in safe mode and use Display Driver Uninstaller, rebooted, then installed the Chipset drivers with no Videocard drivers, rebooted, then installed the latest Adrenaline drivers, Freesync still didn't work, but then chose the Radeon (TM) RX 580 driver manually and then Freesync worked fine. Well, my laptop was idling that low cause my room was like around 54F (11C) and I left it idle doing nothing, but during web browsing was on the low 30's. But according to my findings, the latest 303 BIOS improves the cooling performance by using a more refined fancurve, also allows the fans to be turned off once they go around 35C or less (Not exactly sure which number is), something that didn't happen with the previous BIOS. I haven't done any changes with the cooling, all that I did was just swapping the RAM into two sticks of 8GB at 2,400MHz.

 

I plan on taking this thing to class and back, would you say that would be hard to do?

 

It shouldn't be difficult at all.
Mind you, the laptop is not exactly light with the power brick, but it's more than manageable.

If you place it in an adequately sized backpack, it should be fine... however, if I was in your position, I'd also make sure to have adequate space for the laptop in class along with being close to a power socket.
Also make sure no one tries snatching it.

 

I've read through the thread but I need clarification on idle temps, temps when stress testing, web browsing/watching videos, and temp examples when gaming. Also please comment on fan noise while doing these things. Are the fans pretty audible at idle under normal room temp conditions(70-77c ambient).

It just feels like Asus has really been sub par when it comes to their cooling, trying to appease people by making their gaming laptops more like a macbook. Back in the day the G73 had great cooling...the more recent g752 has had great cooling as well. I had the g752 with the gtx970 and it performed great. But I'm noticing a trend lately that they are making these gaming laptops thinner and lighter and temps / noise levels are bad.

 

Asus has indeed been subpar with their cooling... especially in GL702ZC.
This is a 17" machine, and to think the fans get ridiculously loud wile running at maximum is... unwarranted.
I opened the laptop to install another 16GB RAM and enable dual-channel and I had to remove the cooling assembly to do it as 2 copper pipes are running above the RAM slots.

Asus had more than enough space to integrate bigger/better (and much less noisy) fans with a better implementation of cooling pipes... also, I don't think their thermal paste (type and application) is particularly efficient.

The RX 580 in this laptop is limited to 68W. It's more efficient than mobile 1060 limited to 80W while giving same or better performance... technically, such a low power limitation for a GPU shouldn't be producing 85 degrees C at maximum during gaming, and the CPU shouldn't get up to 85 degrees C either (or higher) while maxed out in a 17" chassis.

At best, I'd expect 70 degrees C at maximum when the GPU is fully stressed, with CPU maybe producing 75 degrees C on full stress (these temps should apply to when both the CPU and GPU are stressed at maximum at the same time).

AMD made rather efficient hardware... but Asus managed to royally mess up the implementation of the said hardware in this unit.
They provided an inadequate battery, run of the mill SSD (though I can easily let that one slide as any SSD is better than not having one), 16GB RAM in single-channel mode (I mean, come on, they should have given us 2 x 8GB to run dual channel, or 2 x 16GB), a measly 1TB HDD (5400RPM) while the cooling ended up a mere afterthought, or being designed by an amateur, and asking £1600/$1600 for the laptop.

For $1600/£1600 I'd expect at least a double capacity battery, far superior cooling (that's much quieter), 32GB RAM running in dual-channel mode, 512GB SSD and 2TB HDD along with an unlocked BIOS for voltage modification (so we can play with undervolting the CPU and GPU much like on a desktop).
And guaranteed BIOS update for Ryzen+, Ryzen 2 and Ryzen 3.

This laptop could have been great... but it almost feels like a 'poorly implemented prototype'.
Mind you, most Asus laptops (of the ROG variety) seem to be suffering from cooling issues as well... which means, Asus needs better engineers.

 

Thank you very much for this update.

Seems I'll be skipping Asus for the foreseeable future.

 

The temps you are expecting requires real cooling in a slightly beefier laptop, like the old GL752VS.

If you are gaming try putting vsync on(although kind of defeats the purpose of having freesync possibly) to reduce the gpu load in most games...is it still climbing in the 80s?

Your comments pretty much sums my overall suspicion after seeing most review. But the intel version, or GL702VS with the 7700 and gtx1070 also had issues with bad temps and noise. So it's not like they didn't mess up on the intel version either. They are simply trying to have more mass appeal by making these beasts more compact...and lighter for those that desire to really use this on the go. For me I don't mind a little extra weight and size if it means the cooling is a bit more robust. I thought the gl752vs may be a tad bulky because of the nice bigger rear vents, but to me, the cooling made it the most ideal gaming laptop. I'd like to see the specs of the GL702VC in this GL752vs chassis:



^ Put a amd 1700x in that, and a rx580 8gb and now we are talking about the perfect laptop that I would definitely pay extra for.

I almost pulled the trigger too and bought the gl702vc. But I really can't stand excessive noise and ridiculous temps. If I wanted thin, light, and noisy fans I'd get a macbook pro.

 

I don't think the thickness of GL702ZC is the problem... as there's enough space in a 17" chassis alone to include bigger and higher quality fans and better cooling assembly.

But, Asus may have intentionally made the battery non-removable and lower capacity to make it appear 'thinner' (which also doesn't keep track with some reviewers who claim that it's on the bulkier end... it's actually on the thinner end of 17" laptops).

All in all, I like the laptop, but I also can't forgive Asus' negligence in hardware implementation.
If my unit breaks down again, I'll probably ask for a refund and might opt for an Acer Nitro 5 instead (the upcoming one with Ryzen APU and RX 560). Not as powerful, but it probably won't be plagued with many design issues that Asus put in this unit, and it will be about £500/$500 cheaper than GL702ZC.

Btw... I noticed that after updating the BIOS to 303 version (latest one), the Asus ROG gaming center installation gets broken in the sense you cannot remove it from the system. Same thing with Ryzen Master.
The programs still work, but you just can't remove them as the OS gives me an error. This happened before when I updated the BIOS to 208 version as well.... but only the gaming center, and Ryzen master seem affected.

 

The machine is still quite powerful and really good as a workstation and gaming laptop... but, it likely needs a proper repaste on the CPU, GPU, and VRM's to lower the temps.

Apart from that, if you are adamant about skipping Asus until they improve (which is not a bad idea), I'd either get the upcoming Acer Nitro 5 that will have the Ryzen APU with vega iGP and RX 560, or wait a bit longer for Ryzen refreshes and dedicated Vega GPU's from other vendors this year (probably around summer, or possibly after the summer).
The Acer Nitro 5 will be released in just under 3 months.

 

We get, you're a staunch AMD loyalist. But why downgrade yourself that much? That Acer Nitro 5 won't play recent AAA games at anything but the lowest settings, and CPU-bound productivity/DCC workloads also take a massive hit. The HP Omen 17" also comes with a mobile RX 580 (an actual proper TDP and clock speed one), albeit paired with a quad-core mobile i7.

 

I am hardly an AMD loyalist. I just want a machine with all AMD hardware for a change. I used an Acer 5930G with Intel CPU and Nvidia GPU for almost 9 years... and I want to support AMD due to Intel's anti-competitive practices... plus AMD's hardware is pretty great in itself compared to Intel and even Nvidia if you ask me.
Aside from poor cooling implementation and poor battery life, performance has been excellent on the CPU and GPU end in GL702ZC.

This GL702ZC is currently working, so I'll just have to wait and see how it behaves.

As for the Acer Nitro 5... well, I have been considering it due to the (probably) much higher battery life and comparable performance to an i7 7700HQ (at least on the CPU end, and in some Dx 12/Vulkan games, it would be possible to use both the Vega iGP and Polaris together to improve performance if need be, plus it's an all AMD laptop).
Also, Intel's security negligence is something I want to avoid. AMD may be susceptible to Spectre (which is dealt with through an OS patch), and AMD is not susceptible to Metldown.
Overall AMD has better security implementations and is likely to minimize performance loss.

In my view, I think AMD is better this time around and certainly deserves to be supported (obviously, this makes things difficult if OEM's completely mess up implementation in laptops though).

 

Putting these sentences next to each other seems contradictory to me. Because reading between the lines, you're essentially saying that you will only buy a laptop with both CPU and GPU by AMD, even if the laptop as a whole (since they are integrated systems after all) is garbage, overpriced, or inferior to the competition. That's not a rational consumer centric motivation, which is getting the best value for your money irrespective of brand. That's why I call it brand loyalty. And your next sentence "I want to support AMD due to Intel's anti-competitive practices" further reinforces it.

 

Yes, but now there is the added good reason to avoid Intel because of their 5x-over broken-security Intel CPU's!!

It's pretty obvious now that AMD is the go to solution.

If you are going to sacrifice that small smidgen of raw performance difference with Intel anyway due to security performance neutering, why not go with AMD CPU's in the first place?

Why spend another penny on Intel Broken CPU's?? If you are an Intel fanboi, wait until Intel redesigns the CPU's and brings them to market + wait another year after that before buying for the inevitable re-design to the re-design.

Then we might as well forget Intel CPU's altogether, and get an awesomely better AMD CPU instead, so we can all reward Intel for their long and well documented "anti-competitive practices".

 

Wow, not good!

 

Let's see... the GL702ZC has desktop grade hardware inside and the CPU side of it beats any mobile Intel on the market out for the time being... plus it has 8c/16th.
The RX580 may be downclocked by 20% from the desktop, limited to 68W but 'somehow' manages to deliver same performance as mobile GTX 1060 6GB limited to 80W and surpasses 1060 in Vulkan and various DX12 titles.

As for the laptop being garbage while asking a high price... you could say the same for Intel+Nvidia laptops that ask for same price tags that have 4c/8th and GTX 1060 inside.
Besides, I didn't know about Asus relatively poor cooling implementation in the laptop... if I have, I would have rethink my purchase and waited longer. Alas, I missed my window to return the laptop initially.
So, if this unit breaks down again, I will ask for a refund and wait for a better system or possibly opt for a desktop... but I'd prefer getting a laptop as I don't want to switch between 2 systems and it's useful to bring it (and my work) with me when I leave the house.

I wanted an all AMD system because I wanted a change of pace, and Ryzen + Polaris fit the bill for a lot of the stuff I'm using the laptop for whereas Intel/Nvidia would not.. and as I said, Ryzen has better security implementation, plus the platform would support ryzen refresh, 2 and 3 upgrades if Asus releases an updated BIOS.

As for wanting to support AMD due to Intel's anti-competitive practices...
You think its ok to support a company with a history of blocking the competition out of the market by bribing OEM's and charging premium prices even when the competition delivers equally capable hardware at a lower cost?
Now who sounds like a brand loyalist?
If Ryzen hadn't delivered, I probably would have gone with Intel and Nvidia... but since it did deliver and I know that Polaris and Vega can be efficient with voltage tweaks and excel at workloads I use... then what's the issue here?

Plus, you obviously ignored me saying that I would request a refund if my Gl702ZC breaks down again. We wanting an all AMD system has more to do with it's capabilities rather than brand loyalty.
AMD is a better/smarter decision... plus, Intel doesn't allow same platform upgrades of the CPU... AMD does... so there's another reason to go with AMD.
If that makes me a brand loyalist in your view... I couldn't care less... but my decision isn't based on brand loyalty alone... there's performance, specific workloads, cost, etc to take into account... and even with this price-tag... the GL702ZC does deliver on those grounds... and I tore deep into Asus for the cons I mentioned before... not that they would necessarily listen, but as I said, I won't tolerate another breakdown if it happens... so... no, I wouldn't keep a defective unit even if it has an all AMD hardware inside.

 

Disregarding the rest of the post, you've mentioned a couple of times now expecting to be able to get a refund from Asus down the road, but that will never happen - just trying to save you some inevitiable expectation disappointments.

In all the years I've been helping people on Asus's ROG support site, hundreds of people interacting with Asus, not one has ever gotten a refund.

At best after a few returns they will get offered a new laptop model replacement - like when their model is EOL'd and the new replacement is all that is available.

Just thought I'd give you a heads up about that. You'd do better to sell it outright and keep the cash for your next laptop if you think you aren't going to be happy with it long term.

When that happens, I always recommend getting out from under it immediately, as the price it's worth on the used market will continue to drop as long as you hang on to it.

 

Again, I sense that internal conflict going on. You badly want to support AMD, but at the same time you've admitted that Asus screwed up many aspects of this laptop's design. Did you miss my remark about laptops being an integrated system? Having the best hardware means little in a laptop if the overall package is subpar. Trust me, I see this all the time with Clevo--good pricing for bleeding edge hardware, ruined by throttling firmware, sloppy QC, and overheating.

 

It's happening with Intel and Nvidia laptops (which aren't of Asus make) as well... it wasn't until AFTER the purchase that I discovered that Asus (and their ROG line) apparently have issues with cooling.... by then the window of opportunity to get a refund from LaptopsDirect has passed.

As I mentioned before, me wanting to support AMD is because I think they deserve it (based on Ryzen and Polaris capabilities)... but I also won't ignore Asus for messing things up (that would just make me willfully ignorant and hypocritical).
As I mentioned before, this isn't an AMD issue, it's an OEM/ASUS issue... and I also mentioned I wouldn't keep the laptop if it kept breaking down regardless if it had AMD hardware inside because I obviously need a system that works.
If the GL702ZC breaks down again, it looks like I will be stuck with Asus for RMA and won't be able to get a refund... but a replacement. If however I could wriggle out a refund out of Asus instead, I'd likely opt for a Ryzen desktop until OEM's do a proper implementation of AMD hardware in laptops, or potentially get myself the Acer Nitro 5 or another all AMD laptop hardware if the cooling is implemented properly.

The thing with integrated components is that they can easily function fine if hardware implementation is done accurately. Asus hadn't done that... or they have done the bare minimum and not fully used the 17" chassis to maximize the laptop's capabilities (again, early reviews of this machine prior to my purchase never covered any of this, and I had to learn from first hand experience).

I suspect the cooling in this unit can be managed in 2 ways:
1. Repasting with GeLid GC extreme (obvious) - though this risks voiding the warranty if Asus finds out.
2. Getting a laptop mesh stand that would raise the laptop off the flat surface and allow for far greater airflow - this alone (without an active fan) could easily reduce the temperatures by a good amount.

 

I also wanted to post a solution to an apparent Asus ROG Gaming Centre and Ryzen Master software refusing to be uninstalled after a BIOS upgrade.
It seems that updating the BIOS for some reason messes up a certificate for these programs in Windows.

Anyway...running this program solved the problem for me:
https://support.microsoft.com/sk-sk...lock-programs-from-being-installed-or-removed

I searched for this issue before (because I thought that if Asus releases an updated version of gaming centre and AMD updated Ryzen Master, it would be good to have latest versions) so someone had an apparently same issue and suggested the above solution.

I think you need to select the option that say you have trouble installing a program... select the program that you're having issues with (such as ROG gaming centre and Ryzen Master) and once the program finishes, just run the respective installers/uninstallers yet again and it should work (it worked for me).

It's a minor issue, but an irritating one that you obviously want sorted without resorting to a Windows reset.


I also wanted to ask, are there any decent laptop mesh stands (without a fan) that could be used to raise the laptop and allow for a greater airflow?
The reason I am asking is because raising the laptop's back can be helpful indeed, however, it would likely be better if we had a ventilated mesh stand that can support this machine.
I have been looking on Amazon, but they only have small ones.

I could look into making my own though, but obviously, it would be easier to just buy a proper stand (not an actual active cooler).
Incidentally, after looking into potential coolers that might be more effective, I think I found the following one:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kootek-Laptop-Cooling-Cooler-Adjustable/dp/B01537M98K

But as you can see, it's not available for purchase, and I'm not particularly fond of getting it internationally and paying more in the process - that's why I thought getting a simple ventilated mesh stand would be better, but as I said, Amazon only has small ones... the laptop would be protruding well outside the stand and given the position of the air vents, I'd rather find a stand that can hold the entire laptop at an angle.

Btw, been playing ME: Andromeda and it seems the GPU temps were in the 66 degrees C. They occasionally spiked to 78 degrees C.... but they seem to run mainly on 66.
CPU was in a similar temperature range (that's with the bottle caps raising the back of the laptop).

 

Excellent analysis.

One of these issues that are easy to overlook.

With what's coming next with Intel+AMD's hybrid chip, this Asus notebook looks to be getting weaker and weaker with time, done in by poor quality control.

 

Hm... the upcoming hybrid chips are in a league of their own... but bear in mind that the GPU capabilities of that hybrid are not the same like my GL702ZC (that integrated Vega reaches for now 1050 level of perfomance... it could go higher after we see better drivers though).... all the while with a CPU that comes with less cores and frequencies I can easily match with a simple overclock and an undervolt.

However, that hybrid and some of the new AMD APU's seem to have a better execution in terms of hardware... and possibly cooling.
We don't know though if they will be upgradeable though.

Bear in mind that if Asus does get off their rear ends and releases an updated AGESA for GL702ZC Bios/UEFI... those of us with this machine will have a clear upgrade path for Zen+, Zen2 and Zen3.
Zen 2 could feature a proper full power CPU with an updated Vega iGP (infinity fabric and all connecting 2 Vega's for example)... though it's too early to speculate on that.
At the very least, we should be able to get a much more powerful CPU with a lower power draw... which could make a difference to those of us working with content creation.

The RX 580 in this laptop being soldered to the motherboard (aka, non-removable) would be an obvious issue preventing us from upgrading the graphics, but that could be mitigated by DX12 games that allow the use of AMD Vega igp and Polaris (and if of course the Ryzen 2 and 3 have Vega iGP's as standard) which enhance performance.
Though by the time Ryzen 3 is released, that iGP could easily end up being more powerful than RX 580/GTX 1060....

I don't think we have to worry about that though just yet.
GL702ZC is quite powerful and will remain that way for the time being.
Plus, when you take into account the fact behind many GPU's being horribly overpriced on desktop right now... it makes me lucky I got a laptop instead with a near desktop grade RX 580.

 

I tried installing 18.1.1 from the AMD website and it broke my start menu. I reverted back to the original drivers and everything is working fine.

 

That's weird to say the least.
How did you install the latest drivers?
Was it just the GPU drivers you downloaded and installed, or did you do it via chipset drivers?
What kind of installation was it?
Clean install or not?

Also, have you tried updating your Windows?
Better yet, if you are running an out of the box Windows install, I may know why the drivers broke the start menu:
For the same unknown reason I kept experiencing issues with games refusing to produce save games, or some games installing on the OEM Windows install.
It wasn't until I did a clean WIndows install that everything worked without issues.
My guess is the issue with this can be traced to OEM's doing something in the OS that breaks it by installing their own (outdated) software.

What I'd suggest to you is the following:
1. Make a copy of your Windows OS image as it is right now (with original drivers).
2. Then you can wipe the SSD clean of OEM Window install and do a clean Windows install (that might just solve your problem - thought make sure you download all the drivers for the laptop first).

 

I'm using the pre-loaded Windows 10. The first thing I did was update Windows and the BIOS to 303. I was having trouble with OpenGL in one of my applications, so I decided to try to update the graphics driver.

I went to the AMD website and downloaded what it told me to. Initially it was just the GPU drivers, but after I had troubles with them I tried the chipset drivers which also didn't work.

I ended up resolving my issue by reverting to stock drivers and using DirectX instead of OpenGL.

I'm not sure I want to bother with a clean re-install. I was just posting in case someone else ran into the same problem so they would have another data point.

 

I have been using preloaded Windows as well at first, but when I installed latest drivers at the time (17.0.8 I think), it did not create issues with the start menu... but, I have lost FreeSync functionality.
Also, with the preloaded OS, I had issues with some games installing properly or producing save games.
I would imagine the preloaded OS is wrecked with issues thanks to Asus.

Ok.
I would suggest again downloading the latest chipset drivers first and updating only those (but not the GPU drivers) - again don't do a clean driver install.
After that, try to download and install only the RX 580 drivers from AMD website (using an express install - again don't select a clean install).

See how that goes... if that doesn't help, then the only viable thing I might suggest is that you could eventually backup the OS as you have it and then just reset Windows to default without any programs on it. That's practically the same as doing a clean install.

Also, here's what Caretaker01 suggested for FreeSync:

"Follow up to Freesync option express installation upon my current setup disabled my Freesync and Vray not recognizing my GPU.
However uninstalling with AMD driver clean uninstall tool and running in windows commander the following commands:
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
And
SFC /SCANNOW (which fixed some corrupted files)
Afterwards installing ASUS drivers 17.6 back I could regain Freesync function back and installing 18.1.1 drivers using AMD chipset driver with express installation kept my Freesync and Vray GPU rendering.......... Major win
Interesting enough is that this method I have already tried last week with no success, however the only difference is that now I had installed and used the Ryzen master utility. Maybe this had something to do with the successful installation of drivers."


If you install Ryzen Master btw, make sure to select the Threadripper version

 

Have you tried my method?

When you install AMD's official drivers for the GPU, it would automatically recognize it as AMD RX 580 series and Freesync will stop working. It would detect the videocard with no problems. After several troubleshooting steps, the fix was to install the drivers like any other GPU, and once you are done, go into the Device Manager, Display Adapters, double click on the Radeon and select update drivers, then select the driver manually, remove the Show Compatible Hardware checkmark so you can have more options, then look for the Radeon (TM) RX 580 and select it, don't choose AMD Radeon RX 580, Radeon RX 580 series or AMD Radeon RX 580 series, otherwise Freesync will never work, does not make any sense lol.

 

Word of advice on doing a fresh Windows install and making bass fully functional on this machine with latest audio drivers:
First install Asus provided Audio Drivers... after that download the latest Realtek High Definition Audio drivers from their webpage.
Unpack those drivers using 7Zip or another tool like Winrar to a separate location.
Following that, go to Control Panel > Device Manager > Sound, Video and game controllers.
Right click on Realtek High Definition Audio and select 'update driver', followed by 'Browse my Computer for driver software' and direct it to the extracted directory of newest drivers.

There you go.
You now have latest drivers with bass/subwoofer fully functional.
This technique worked on my old Acer 5930G too, since the drivers alone from Realtek website wouldn't activate the subwoofer it would seem. It would be interesting to note what is it that Asus and Acer put into the drivers to activate the bas/subwoofer.

 

I've been updating some older software on my external HDD and I ran latest HWinfo out of curiosity.
Guess what peaked my interest:

Hint: Look at the highlighted section.

AMD AGESA Version: 1.0.0.7

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this Agesa version supposed to enable future Ryzen CPU compatibility such as Ryzen+, Ryzen 2 and Ryzen 3?

And if it is... WHOOHOO!!!

But, still, Asus never mentioned anything to me when I asked them about updated AGESA version - they kept silent.

If this is indeed the 1.0.0.7 Agesa version that AMD released for future CPU compatibility... then, I guess we should be able to upgrade our CPU's.


One thing I don't know if we had a previous agesa version on an older BIOS (I don't remember checking).
Could anyone with original BIOS version 208 check what their HWinfo says about their AGESA?

 

Bought a Ryzen 5 version a month ago, I'm using it with linux, everything runs and no closed source drivers are needed.
The touchpad sometimes stops working, but there is already a fix in upstream, I use a mouse so I haven't bothered applying it.

I even flashed the rx 580 bios with mining timings with polaris bios editor, hashes at 740 h/s in monero and 280 sols in zcash. Also added a 1250Mhz turbo bin at 1.025v.

The only thing missing is ECC ram, no one wants to test it?
In linux at least you can just force ECC to activate if the bios doesnt enable it.
Maybe I will buy some sticks...

 

I SO want to pull the trigger on this puppy, but the lack of TB3 support and not knowing if I can upgrade to future Ryzen processors is cramping my index finger. For a while you couldn't find one of these machines at a U.S. retailer, now they're begininng to pop-up again...and I'm wondering why it happened this way...

 

Since this is an AMD machine, it will never support Thunderbolt (though I'm sure you knew that already).

I know what you mean about this system being tempting. I'd only order from HIDevolution, though. It'll cost more because I want some upgrades, but it would be well worth it.

 

Check out my post on the previous page (last post).
The AMD AGESA version with the latest bios is 1.0.0.7 - AMD stated at one point that this AGESA version is needed for future Ryzen CPU's support... meaning that we probably might have the option to upgrade the CPU.
Plus, more BIOS updates might be coming, along with AGESA updates possibly if Asus continues to update/refine it.

 

Thanks Deks. What's the story on the warranty being voided for self-upgrading components? Would want to go dual channel, and would want to repaste the CPU and GPU anyway so if the heatsink needs to be removed for the RAM upgrade it wouldn't be a big deal. Also would want to upgrade the SSD to a 960...?

Also wondering about possible non-TB3 eGPU solutions. I'm not a gamer, so having the rough equivalent of a 1060 doesn't bother me...but I'd like to have the option to upgrade externally for future-proofing. I know there are solutions for expresscard-slotted laptops, but I haven't been able to find a USB 3.1 solution...any ideas?

 

I have been doing some thinking on that.
In order to be able to keep the warranty (should you ever need to RMA the unit), you'd need to return the machine to stock - meaning, removing any extra components you might have put in yourself and putting back the original ones - so, in the case of RAM, you'd remove that extra stick, in the case of CPU, you'd put the original one that shipped with the unit, etc.

In terms of repasting... if you don't want to give Asus indication that you have removed the heatsink and repasted (and voided your warranty in the process), if you need to return the unit to Asus, you'd likely need to repaste the unit again using a non-conductive paste that's most similar in appearance to what Asus used - on CPU, GPU (the VRAM chips) and voltage regulators - that is if you decided to use something like liquid metal on the CPU and GPU (I wouldn't recommend suing LM on VRM's or VRAM).
Basically, restore the unit to how it shipped from the factory and don't let Asus know you 'tampered' with the innards.

I hadn't put much/any thought on this particular subject, so I can't help on that.
But if it helps... if our machine will/does support future Ryzen CPU's... then upgrading to Zen2 (on 7nm) would likely be the best bet as we'd probably get a Vega iGP with the CPU on the same die with smaller voltages and higher operational frequencies in the same TDP range.

With that, you could use the iGP along with the RX 580 in some DX12 and Vulkan titles to enhance performance, as they would allow cross-architectural GPU use (if programmed to do so).

External GPU's are a bit of an issue due to the fact you'd need to use an external monitor or a TV (in which case a desktop might be a better option for future upgrades and get a lower powered laptop of say all AMD variety with Ryzen 2700u for example), and also make sure the connection is fast enough to ensure bandwidth isn't limited.

 

Well I'm not sure how different the GL702VS is with the 7700hq and gtx1070, but I got a great deal on one, significantly cheaper than the GL702ZC which I was kind of waiting to come in stock, and I really feel I owe Asus an apology here. I actually like the chassis, the quality of the keyboard and touchpad, and I also feel the IPS/75hz Gsync screen on my GL702VS is stellar. Now I do hear the fans but it's not really an obnoxious fan noise whether at idle or load. There are some fans that have a really bad pitch to them, and the Asus fan on mine...sounds like an Asus gaming laptop fan I'm accustomed to. Haven't gamed that much on it yet, so still need to put it to the test. Fans do get loud on 3dmark though. I still need to do more testing but I'm pretty impressed with the build quality.

Why would you want to remove the gaming center? I actually like that feature on mine any way. One problem that I have is that I have no fan control through msi afterburner on mine. I'm assuming the latest bios locks me out of the fan control through 3rd party apps some how. I didn't experiement with the bios that it came with, but msi afterburner fan control is disabled on mine.

I think the fan noise and heat is simply a trade off for how light and thin(in comparison to other gaming laptops) this gl702 series is.

But idles temps are not bad on mine, about 40c cpu, 43c gpu at idle when browsing the web, email, etc. And I find the laptop fans at idle to be quiet. I'm assuming yours is around the same seeing that these laptops are similar I gather.

One way I do control temps so far without repasting, undervolting, is limit the refresh rate to the monitor, or in my case, I lock it at 75hz. I also noticed that when I turn down the graphics from Ultra to say...Normal preset the temps droped a dramatic 10c and up...and I can honestly not tell the difference in quality while playing at all. Fans are noticeable in the 70s but I don't find the noise they make that annoying at all. It doesn't have an annoying drone that some laptops have. The speakers do sound good, but on this I'd just wear noise cancelling ear buds which sounded great.

I haven't undervolted, changed paste, or any of those yet, which I do plan to do. But I think you got a quality rig. I just think your Ryzen setup is probably buggy since it is the first ryzen gaming laptop to come out. Intel/Nvidia definitely got their stuff together for the most part as far as performance and drivers go.​

 

Hey everyone, could i flash the bios on this RX580 to overclock? Im ready to pull the trigger on one of these. But i need a little bit higher boost on this rx580. Maybe 1300? That would be awesome!

Is it possible to replace the cpu, and install a Ryzen 1800X, or 1700X undervolted and run higher boost?

Or is the ryzen 1700 soldered?


Also, can i swap the mxm rx580 out? For a RX580 8gb mxm with 1266mhz gpu?

This laptop is beyond incredible, theres one at my local micro center for $1299

But i really need more gddr5 memory, so maybe swapping my rx580 out for a hp oem mxm model with 8gb gddr5 and faster clocks.

 

It should be possible to flash the bios on the RX 580 using proper utilities, but I hadn't looked into it. I'd rather look into undervolting the thing, but for that, I think we need an unlocked BIOS/UEFI.
Ryzen 1700 is not soldered... it's removable.

But, I wouldn't recommend any of the things you mentioned.
Mainly because Asus designed poor cooling for this laptop and it simply wouldn't be able to handle what you're proposing.

The GPU can easily reach 88 degrees C when stressed to the maximum on stock, and if you overclocked it, your power consumption would shot up to really high levels as a result (bear in mind that this laptop comes with a 300W power brick - and the system can already pull close to 280W on stock without voltage adjustments) and those temperatures would likely cause a GPU or VRM failure... or possibly both.

1800x is a 95W TDP CPU... the cooling simply wasn't designed for 95W TDP hardware.... it can barely cool existing 65W... and there's no guarantee how good of an undervolt you can get on 1800x.
Sure the voltages might be possibly in the same ballpark with an undervolt, but this is pure speculation.
If you can test it with a friends 1700x or 1800x, then you might see if it's doable and worth it.
1700x might be more viable in that case, but even if you'd be successful, I don't think you'd benefit a lot from that.

What I would recommend to do is (if you get the machine) :
1. Repaste the CPU and GPU with Gelid GC extreme, or if you are feeling bold Conductonaut (but make sure to use insulating thermal tape on the surrounding areas of the GPU if you do that as you want to prevent spillage - and similar with the CPU - though that would be trickier).

2. Remove thermal paste from VRM's and GPU memory chips, and replace them with FujiPoly Thermal pads (preferably the extreme version with 17 w/k for the VRM's and for the GPU chips, use the same if you have enough leftovers or use other thermal pads of good quality like Thermal Grizzly - I think 0.5 thickness will do).

3. Install Ryzen Master for Threadripper and overclock the CPU to 3.6 Ghz and set it's voltage to about 1.175V or lower... experiment to see what's your threshold, but also make sure you can run these clocks sustainably over long periods with acceptable temperatures).
Theoretically, Ryzen 1700 might also be able to run on 3.7GhZ across all cores on stock voltage (1.185V). The 1700x might be able to undervolt better, but again, that's a 95W CPU and there's 0 guarantee the GL702ZC will be able to cope with it.

Again, don't bother overclocking the GPU. Unless we can gain Wattman or the ability to radically reduce the temps from existing ones, overclocking the RX 580 in this machine shouldn't really cross your mind.
If the temps drop substantially and gain voltage control, we might be able to increase core clocks to 1100MhZ with an undervolt... dunno, it really depends on whether it would be stable enough to do that.
Flashing GPU bios with settings that might not work could result in a very expensive non-operational laptop... that's why you're better off doing an undervolt and managing the temperatures by trying to reduce them.

 

Thankyou very much, for the reply. This laptop is just a destroyer lol. And for the money, is just incredible.


If the rx580 embedded!? Is it soldered to the motherboard ?

I really want this laptop, and ive got a oem mxm3.0 rx580 150 watt 8gb card on hand to put in it. It runs at 1,268mhz i believe. And would clock near 1,400mhz core reliably. And 9400mhz memory. It was pulling around 15,000 in firestrike graphics with tesselation off.


This would be around a 40-55% boost. If we had the power.

But it woukd run 1368mhz heavily undervolted drawing minimal power.

 

I imagine your getting much better performance. That is like a 200mhz overclock. If i buy this machine i will definitely copy the rx580 bios, edit it for a much higher boost and re flash it. This stock rx580 is mega gimped..

Do you think it has full 8gb? And flashing 8gb bios could possibly unlock it like the desktop rx480? Can anyone confirm this!

 

There's physically only 4GB of VRAM on the board. Feel free to flash an 8GB vBIOS and brick it, though.

And yeah I agree, an RX 580 downclocked to 1077 MHz is mega gimped.

 

The RX 580 is embedded/soldered to the motherboard... or basically not removable.
The GPU also comes with 4GB VRAM, not 8GB... I wouldn't risk flashing an 8GB version bios onto a 4GB version... especially since this RX 580 was modified to be used in a laptop.

As for extracting the Video Bios and modifying it... as I said, it should be possible to do this... but you'd need to be careful with that.
The closest you could probably get away with is finding a BIOS for desktop RX 580 with 4GB and work with that.
But keep in mind that each gpu will have it's own voltage threshold, so just because one voltage works on the dekstop card, doesn't mean it will work in this laptop.

And for clocks being 'gimped'... it was necessary to limit the GPU to 68W (as such, don't think the laptop can handle more)... and as I said, Asus cooling leaves a lot to be desired. You'd be hard pressed running the GPU at higher clocks if you can't at least maintain existing voltages (and you'd be better off doing an undervolt yourself).

 

UPDATE:

I was seemingly able to undervolt the GPU using latest MSI Afterburner.
I used Furmark for quick testing... I know I know... it stresses the GPU beyond measure, but regardless (t's a quick and dirty way of doing things).
The temperatures seemed to have hovered in the 78 degrees C area.
The dips that occur seem to be a result of the GPU dropping its core and memory clocks temporarily for some reason during the burn-in test (it's as if the GPU cannot sustain 100% load after it reaches about 77 degrees C - at least in FurMark).

I'll have to use different benchmarks to test the GPU and make sure the voltages are being applied properly and the temps are better.
We'll see.

Could anyone test FurMark themselves with the Afterburner settings I used and see how it works for them and post the results?

 

Use Firestrike Graphics Test 1 on a loop & use GPUz to monitor what the clocks are doing - if you look at the Sensors graphs after the run. Firestrike is less severe than Furmark, Firestrike Graphics Test 1 is worst case scenario for gaming power draw in my experience.

 

IME 3DMark11 GT1 pulls more from the wall (measured using Kill A Watt) than at any point in FS.

 

Yes, I agree (I also have Kill-A-Watt and HWInfo GPU power consumption data), but I was referring to Firestrike Graphics Test 1 being a worst case scenario for highest power consumption during gaming, which has been my experience.

 

I've seen games that hammer both the CPU and GPU, like Crysis 3 and PlanetSide 2, draw more power than Fire Strike as well. I'm not really a fan of FS for anything but the score it outputs at the end.

 

Yes, I'm talking more about GPU power consumption alone, which is more relevant to what he was talking about - as he was talking about Furmark, which is a GPU centric load.

 

Oh yeah PlanetSide 2 is crazy on the GPU, it's like a power virus due to the taxing Scaleform UI. Only game where I've seen 120% TDP at only 80% GPU usage on my desktop.