ASUS ROG Zephyrus and Strix, the 2020 line-up is official: features, prices, availability

ASUS updates its two families of ROG "gaming" laptops (although "gaming" is now a rather limited concept, as we will see later) Strix and Zephyrus. The common denominator are i new Intel "H" processors of the tenth generation, combined with NVIDIA GeForce RTX SUPER GPU, which finally land in the notebook world.

However, it would be unfair to call them simple refreshes of the previous year's models: there are many new technologies introduced, the interiors have been redesigned to ensure even more effective dissipation, but above all there is a greater differentiation between Strix and Zephyrus. The former remains bold, exuberant and impressive as the most hardened gamers like, while the latter adopts a more stylish, compact and discreet approach, winking at those in the world of work who need important performance – so think of the creators of content or developers.

• Liquid Metal – the cooling solution of Thermal Grizzly is provided on all laptops with Intel Core 10th generation CPUs.
• Proprietary GPU switch – G-SYNC and Optimus can coexist on the same laptop, thus guaranteeing a considerable optimization of consumption.
• Thunderbolt port on the whole Zephyrus range. The USB Type-C port includes the Power Delivery protocol, which allows the laptop to be recharged with any smartphone charger – or to recharge other devices and accessories in turn.
• Smaller feeders and compact
• Easier upgrades – In all models, the lower part can be easily removed thanks to a "pop-up" screw which, when unscrewed, releases the plastic joints. The screw is also designed to remain fixed to the bulkhead, so as not to risk losing it.
• Wi-Fi 6 across the range

The real star of the show is the 15 "ROG Zephyrus Duo, an evolution of the ZenBook 2 Pro with dual display seen last year; we have dedicated a separate article to that. Below everything else:

As we said, Strix remains the family with the most daring designs. Not only for the keyboard backlight, RGB LEDs are a key element of the design of all models. This year we also introduce some special colors, including a beautiful shocking pink (official name: Electro Punk) for the G15 – coordinated peripherals and accessories are also provided.

• SCAR 15 and SCAR 17 – Equipped with 300 Hz IPS panel and a response time of 3 ms (GTG), they mount up to Core i9 (in Italy, however, only the configuration with Core i7 octa-core will arrive). On the 17 "model it is possible to mount up to the RTX 2080 SUPER, on the 15 you have to" be satisfied "with the 2070 SUPER. They offer up to three M.2 slots for SSDs, and support Keystone 2 to easily transfer your configuration preferences – including those related to RGB lighting, of course.

• G15 and G17 – In our market the maximum configuration foresees the Core i7 octa-core, in combination with the RTX 2060 GPU (not SUPER) or with the GTX 16xx. The FHD display has 144 Hz refresh.

All the machines boast thin and compact chassis, and a very particular design. In addition to the traditional black coloring, there are two new ones defined "Prism", with a thin grid of iridescent dots whose effect varies greatly depending on the angle from which you look at them. Here are the details for the various models:

• Zephyrus S17 – very thin bezels on three sides, Pantone validated IPS monitors and calibrated one by one at the factory. For those who prefer gaming, there is a panel with frequencies of refresh up to 300 Hz and 1080p resolution with 100% coverage of the sRGB color space; for content creators, however, the ideal is the 4K 60Hz panel with 100% coverage of the Adobe RGB color space.
  CPU side can be mounted up to Intel Core i7-10875H, therefore octa-core, and combined with NVIDIA RTX 2080 SUPER GPU – which thanks to the ROG Boost technology it is able to consume more than the minimum required of 80W going up to 100, thus guaranteeing superior performance compared to other laptops with similar specifications.
  As in the previous generation, the RGB backlit keyboard it is positioned very forward, to ensure optimal air flow; next to it is the NumberPad – trackpad which, if necessary, can be "converted" into a numeric keypad. Interesting news is thegoodbye to the 2.5 "SATA SSD slot in favor of the M.2 PCIe ones: This saves space and mounts up to 2 drives, even in RAID 0 for maximum performance. The overall thickness remains contained in 18.7 mm.

• Zephyrus S15 – the substance is practically identical to S17, but of course the form factor is more compact. The keyboard and trackpad are positioned in the traditional way.

• Zephyrus M15 – for those who do not require too extreme a configuration and have a smaller budget. However, it remains a very powerful choice, with the Core i7-10875H octa-core, however, combined with the RTX 2060 GPU (not SUPER) or a GTX 1660 Ti. Here too there is the dual M.2 slot for PCIe SSD, and the Audio ESS Saber DAC.

Recall that at CES 2020 in Las Vegas ASUS also presented the Zephyrus G14 and G15; for more details, please refer to the dedicated article (with video preview) that we wrote then.

At the moment we have no details on prices and availability.