Asus Zephyrus GX501
Specifications

Price comparison
Average of 29 scores (from 62 reviews)
Reviews for the Asus Zephyrus GX501
Slim with a powerful GPU. Asus has once again managed to have the slimmest device. For now. This time it is the ROG Zephyrus GX501 gaming laptop. Despite its height of just 17.9 millimeters (~0.7 in), the 15-inch notebook is shipped with an Intel Core i7 quad-core CPU and the Nvidia GTX 1080 with the brand-new "Max-Q" design. We have already had the chance to review the ultra-slim gamer. Update: Higher rating thanks to second test model.
Source: T3

A superbly engineered new benchmark for premium gaming laptops. The Asus ROG Zephyrus is insanely fast, remarkably quiet and ridiculously thin. It also boasts a genuinely innovative design.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 11/14/2018
Rating: Total score: 100%
Source: Tech Advisor

The Asus ROG Zephyrus GX501 is currently the best very slim laptop with enough power to satisfy serious gamers. A lot of thought has gone into making the tech work as best as it can in a slim form and performance is insane when you consider the laptop is under 20mm.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 07/19/2018
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: Stuff TV

A near-perfect blend of portability and performance, the Zephyrus is what other gaming laptops should aspire to be.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 03/21/2018
Rating: Total score: 100%
Source: Think Digit

The ASUS ROG GX501 Zephyrus bridges the gap between performance and portability. At Digit, we simply can’t count the number of times that we’ve been asked for recommendations that could not only provide great portability but also not compromise on performance. Often, the answer was an either-or but never could you have an option with both. The ROG GX501 gives you great portability thanks to its 18 mm thickness and low weight of 2.25 kg. However, it’s still a 15.6-inch laptop which will dissuade some buyers. On the performance front, the Max-Q enabled GTX 1080 can easily handle every single AAA game running at Ultra settings. The downside is that the battery doesn’t last long and that was never a concern while gaming.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 01/15/2018
Rating: Total score: 83%
Source: Toptenreviews

The Zephyrus is undeniably beautiful to look at and unprecedentedly powerful for such a thin and lightweight laptop. It’s far from perfect, with short battery life, a variable display and throttled performance on-battery, and these detract from the initial thrill. Despite this, I recommend it if you’re after the very best gaming laptop. CHRISTOPHER MINASIANS
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 12/05/2017
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: eTeknix

I am blown away by how fast the storage is on this system. When it comes to a cold start, you’re looking at the desktop in just a few seconds. Even the biggest games we tested booted in record times. You’ll be wasting very little time looking at loading screens. Throwing in a cool USB mouse, and a rubber wrist rest sweeten the deal too. As it make the overall user experience that little bit more enjoyable.
Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 11/22/2017
Source: Lowyat.net

The Asus ROG Zephyrus is a solid first effort from Asus; particularly considering that this is the sort of thing we would never have thought possible. However, its shortcomings feel like the work of engineers still getting used to the idea of having to build smaller and thinner, while still being locked into the idea of bigger is better. Nevertheless, there is promise; it is the first Max Q laptop from Asus, after all.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 10/26/2017
Source: B2G

Ultimately, we prefer to look at the ASUS ROG Zephyrus as a solution. It delivers gaming performance enough to satisfy highly-discerning gamers whilst still being extraordinarily portable all the while brandishing the Republic of Gamers elite status with its premium build quality.
Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 09/13/2017
Rating: Total score: 94% price: 91% performance: 94% workmanship: 98%
Source: V3.co.uk

A good-looking, thin, fast and quiet machine, that really wants to remain tethered to the wall.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 09/12/2017
Rating: Total score: 100%
Source: Techradar

The Asus ROG Zephyrus sets a high bar for powerful, thin gaming laptops with exceptional performance, whisper quiet operation and a truly innovative design.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 08/27/2017
Rating: Total score: 90%
Source: The Verge

At the end of the day, I’ve got very mixed feelings about the Zephyrus. As it stands now, it’s a pricey gaming machine in an ultrabook’s clothing, but with none of the benefits of a more conventional laptop besides for size. Asus doesn’t even make any real effort to hide the fact that this is meant for gaming — the glowing LEDs and edgy design are still front and center (and on the bottom and the sides — Asus really likes its logos). And at the price, you can almost buy a Razer Blade for gaming and a Surface Laptop for regular use and still come out at roughly the same cost.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 08/25/2017
Rating: Total score: 65%
Source: Ausdroid

The Zephyrus laptop by Asus is without a doubt and engineering marvel, it’s a gorgeous piece of hardware with the Ferrari of gaming engines inside it. It will handle anything you choose to throw at it with power to spare. It’s got a really nicely calibrated screen which is easy on your eyes and when work stops, play can begin.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 08/25/2017
Source: Toptenreviews

The laptop sounds like a lot for its level of performance (by comparison, the RoG Strix GL502VS that it barely outperforms). But in this case, you’re paying for the convenience of a sleek, tiny frame, and the engineering required to keep everything cool and quiet.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 08/22/2017
Rating: Total score: 90%
Source: Laptop Media

Finally, we have a new generation of ultra thin gaming notebooks without sacrificing too much performance. The ASUS ROG Zephyrus is one of the first of its kind and impresses with high-quality build (although a bit flexible at times but given the thickness of the case, it’s quite understandable), unmatched portability and desktop-like performance. What we didn’t like about the design, though, is the shallow keyboard and Numpad/touchpad hybrid solution. Also, due to the design limitations, ASUS wasn’t able to put a monstrous battery inside the chassis, so battery life suffers quite a lot as a result.
Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 08/10/2017
Source: CNet

Asus has created a surprisingly slim Nvidia 1080 gaming laptop in the Zephyrus. It's expensive and has a few design quirks, but it's also very portable and just plain fun to use.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 07/27/2017
Rating: Total score: 82% performance: 80% mobility: 60% workmanship: 80%
Source: PC Mag

Thanks to Nvidia's Max-Q initiative and a clever design, the Asus ROG Zephyrus is the new benchmark for powerful, thin gaming laptops.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 07/26/2017
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: T Break

We have always known that there would one day be a time when slim and lightweight gaming laptops would match up with the high-end gaming desktops. The NVIDIA Max-Q design technology helps to deliver gaming performances from slim notebooks that can rival desktop graphics cards with good battery efficiency. While we were certainly surprised that the performance didn’t drop when playing on battery mode, the battery can still get drained quickly.
Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 07/25/2017
Rating: Total score: 90% price: 80% performance: 85% workmanship: 90%
Source: Techradar

The Asus ROG Zephyrus sets a high bar for powerful, thin gaming laptops with exceptional performance, whisper quiet operation and a truly innovative design.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 07/25/2017
Rating: Total score: 90%
Source: PC World

If you're now scratching your head wondering just what is the point of a very powerful, very portable laptop that has dismal battery life, you're probably not alone. But take a step back and hear me out.
Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 07/24/2017
Rating: Total score: 90%
Source: Good Gear Guide

You almost have to think of the ROG Zephyrus GX501 as the laptop for those who typically would buy a big, fat gaming laptop because it was the only way to get performance in a semi-portable device. The GX501 lets those folks finally have the performance they crave without the weight and bulk penalty.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 07/24/2017
Source: Engadget

No matter how you look at it, the ASUS ROG Zephyrus is remarkable. It marks a new era for gaming laptops, one where you can expect a thin, 5-pound notebook to pack as much power as an 8- to 10-pound machine from a few years ago. It could conceivably be the answer to all of your gaming needs, even on your television, since it's easy to move around your house. It's a shame that the battery life stinks, but that's a decent compromise for a gaming laptop unlike any other.
Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 07/22/2017
Rating: Total score: 85%
Source: PC Perspective

For gamers looking for a portable gaming machine, that they can take from location to location, set on a table, and start gaming, the Zephyrus is a great option. In this scenario, there is little trade off between a traditional gaming notebook form factor and this Max-Q design. You gain portability while maintaining acceptable performance levels for the integrated 1080p display. Even though performance of the GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design seems to more closely mimic the performance of a desktop GTX 1070, that is still a lot of power for a 1080p screen. And it is possible that other OEMs Max-Q implemenations may fare better.
Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 07/21/2017
Source: Hot Hardware

Overall, the ASUS ROG Zephyrus is an excellent gaming notebook if you've got the budget and like its design, but it could use a bit more refinement and a couple of tweaks before we'd consider it the perfect gaming ultrabook.
Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 07/18/2017
Source: Computer Shopper

We expected the GTX 1080 Max-Q chip in the Asus Zephyrus to perform better than it did. According to our real-world game testing, it was barely 10 percent faster than the standard GTX 1070 that you can find in 15.6-inch notebooks for several hundred less. Based on that, we might be tempted to conclude that the Zephyrus puts form over function. But, that would be a conclusion you’d arrive at only if you didn’t see or handle this notebook in person.
Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 07/12/2017
Rating: Total score: 70%
Source: Hardware Zone

However, the Zephyrus isn’t quite a utopian fantasy yet. There’s been scant mention of battery life, both on ASUS’ and NVIDIA’s end. The Zephyrus packs a 50Wh battery, which seems painfully small, so we’ll really have to test it out to see how good (or bad) it is.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 07/08/2017
Source: Techradar

The Asus ROG Zephyrus sets a high bar for powerful, thin gaming laptops with exceptional performance, whisper quiet operation and a truly innovative design.
Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 06/30/2017
Rating: Total score: 90%
Source: Unbox

Powerful gaming notebooks are not hard to find nowadays – ASUS and their competitors are all offering hard-hitting Pascal-powered gaming notebooks. Thin and light gaming notebooks, however, are harder to find and the ROG GX501 Zephyrus is one of the thinnest gaming notebooks around that has a GTX 1080 graphics card, and it won’t break your back when you carry it around with you.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 06/29/2017
Source: Unbox

As you can see, the ROG Zephyrus manages to post high numbers in all of our benchmarks so far. Despite being a hair thicker than the latest MacBook, the ROG Zephyrus delivers desktop-grade performance. We’re about to finish our full review within the week along with our gaming benchmarks, so stay tuned till then.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 06/28/2017
Source: CNet

Maybe you really do need a hidden riser under the bottom panel in order to get a powerful Nvidia 1080 GPU inside a 5-pound, 15-inch laptop. In practice it looks a little silly and certainly doesn't make the body feel sturdier or more damage-resistant. But it didn't take away from my overall experience while gaming with the oddly named Zephyrus.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 06/27/2017
Source: PC Mag

The Asus ROG Zephyrus is an excellent first representation of what's possible with the Max-Q design. The partnership between Nvidia and Asus looks to have yielded a new high-water mark for performance in a thin, 15.6-inch laptop, even if there are a couple caveats. The Zephyrus' design is aesthetically tasteful, it weighs under 5 pounds, costs less than several GTX 1080 laptops, and can play games on maximum settings comfortably above 60fps like a high-end gaming laptop should. We've seen some of what's already on the way with Max-Q, but I'm very intrigued to see what other manufacturers will do, and if the Zephyrus' bottom panel vent innovation will remain a thermal solution given its pros and cons. Max-Q looks likely to stick around, and the Zephyrus is a good demonstration of the performance and design possible with the approach.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 06/27/2017
Source: Laptop Mag

Asus' $2,699 ROG Zephyrus marks the beginning of a new era in gaming laptops, one where power isn't sacrificed in the name of portability. Packed into the Zephyrus' svelte frame is a Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 GPU, a once-impossible feat made reality, thanks to the company's new Max-Q design.
Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 06/27/2017
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: Kitguru

Asus has delivered on the promise of Nvidia Max-Q. Nonetheless we cannot get away from the thought that a GTX 1080 Max-Q that runs 300MHz slower than a regular GTX 1080 should probably have a name that reflects the lower performance.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 06/25/2017
Rating: Total score: 85%
Source: Stuff TV

Gaming laptops that you could comfortably carry away from a desk have been a long time coming. The Zephyrus is the closest we've come yet, thanks to an industry-wide partnership with Nvidia that'll also see models from other manufacturers getting the slimming treatment.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 06/01/2017
Source: Tech Advisor

There's very little to dislike about the Asus ROG Zephyrus. As one of the first Nvidia Max-Q devices, this thin and light laptop has incredible specs including a full-blown GTX 1080. It might be expensive but it's cheaper than Acer's rival, but we want to know things like battery life still.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 06/01/2017
Source: Hardware Zone

As it turns out, you can have your cake and eat it too. When you have something as thin as ASUS’ ROG Zephyrus GX501, and still have it pack an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080, you start to wonder how you ever put up with thick and bulky gaming notebooks of the past.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 05/31/2017
Source: Unbox

We played a little bit with the Zephyrus during the ROG event, playing Forza Horizon 3 on the highest setting possible. Gameplay was generally smooth, though we did hit a few rough spots here and there. We’re going to attribute that to the beta software drivers running in the Zephyrus during the event. ASUS Reps assure us that final software drivers will be used when the unit ships later this year.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 05/31/2017
Source: Techradar

Thin, light and incredibly powerful – the Asus ROG Zephyrus is easily one of the most impressive gaming laptops we've ever seen.
Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 05/30/2017
Source: Trusted Reviews

As an example of a Max-Q laptop, the Zephyrus is brilliant. Its design is both attractive and clever, while performance isn’t compromised one bit. It’ll be a niche product, sure, but it’s mighty impressive all the same.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 05/30/2017
Source: Pocket Lint

This really appears to be an innovative device and we are really looking forward to getting our hands on it to put it through its paces.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 05/30/2017
Foreign Reviews
Source: Gamestar

Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 12/13/2017
Source: Blick

Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 10/20/2017
Source: Tech Stage

Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 09/19/2017
Source: HardwareLuxx

Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 08/04/2017
Source: Chip.de

Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 06/27/2017
Source: Xataka

Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 09/26/2017
Rating: Total score: 78% performance: 93% display: 88% mobility: 55% workmanship: 85% ergonomy: 65%
Source: Noticias 3D

Positive: High performance; slim size and light weight; nice design; good connectivity. Negative: High price.
Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 11/09/2017
Source: Geeknetic

Positive: Compact size and light weight; nice performance; good cooling system; elegant design. Negative: Poor display; overheats while using; easy getting fingerprints.
Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 10/23/2017
Source: Comprar Tec

Positive: High mobility; slim size; light weight; silent system; nice gaming performance.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 07/19/2017
Source: PC Guia

Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 12/06/2018
Rating: Total score: 75%
Source: Leonardo.it Tech

Positive: Powerful hardware; high gaming performance; slim size; light weight. Negative: High price.
Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 08/20/2018
Source: Tweakers

Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 08/07/2017
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: 01Net

Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 07/28/2017
Rating: Total score: 84% performance: 100% mobility: 70%
Source: Komputerswiat

Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 10/02/2017
Rating: Total score: 70% features: 70%
Source: 3DNews.ru

Positive: Slim size; powerful hardware; high gaming performance. Negative: Noisy under loads; uncomfortable keyboard; high price.
Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 08/25/2017
Source: Laptopkalauz

Positive: Compact size; light weight; powerful hardware; large screen; nice display.
Single Review, online available, Very Short, Date: 05/30/2017
Source: CNews.cz

Positive: Slim size; high gaming performance. Negative: Uncomfortable keyboard.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 12/07/2017
Source: Zing

Positive: Slim size; light weight; powerful hardware; high gaming performance. Negative: Expensive.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 05/13/2018
Source: Jagat Review

Positive: Slim size; light weight; high performance; powerful hardware; nice display; backlit keys; good connectivity. Negative: Short battery life; uncomfortable keyboard.
Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 08/21/2017
Source: Tek.no

Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 08/25/2017
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: M3 PC för alla

Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 07/31/2017
Rating: Total score: 70%
Source: Unlimited Tech

Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 11/21/2017
Rating: Total score: 90%
Source: Go4it.ro

Positive: Slim size; decent hardware; nice performance; good ergonomy.
Single Review, online available, Very Short, Date: 05/31/2017
Comment
Model:
With Nvidia recently announcing their Max-Q design, third party manufacturers have gone to ludicrous lengths to pack even more power into a thin and light design. One result is the Asus Zephyrus GX501. The days of the big and chunky gaming notebooks of the previous decade are almost gone with the Zephyrus GX501 packing heat. Let us start by peeking under the hood: Sporting an Intel Core i7-7700HQ and up to 24GB of memory, this remains quite an impressive laptop, especially considering how thin the Zephyrus GX501 is at only 17.9mm. Of course, the actual star of the show is the Geforce GTX 1080 crammed into the thin chassis. It is safe to say that most gamer’s concerns of heat being an issue will be eliminated by a uniquely designed ventilation system called “Active Aerodynamic System”. However, this design entails that the keyboard is placed lower than conventionally expected. Speaking of the keyboard, let us take a look at the input devices: Because the keyboard had to be shifted lower, the keys are rather flat without much key travel, but still remain comfortable to type on, even when playing games.
The keyboard is also RGB backlit by Asus’ Aura lighting system which can be tweaked with the preinstalled software. Furthermore, due to the keyboard occupying the bottom half of the chassis, the touchpad had to be moved to the right of the keyboard, which might seem awkward at first, but the touchpad can be turned into a number pad, should the need arise. And, as with most bottom-positioned touchpads the tendency of hitting it accidentally can be quite a nuisance, it is actually better for the touchpad to be right-mounted. Naturally, for users who will be gaming on this, a mouse is an absolute must. As for the display, the Zephyrus GX501 sports a 120Hz FHD display with G-Sync support, which equates to butter-smooth frame rates and is actually worthwhile seeing in person. Moving to IO, one would expect a thin and light notebook to lack sufficient ports, but this is not the case with the Zephyrus GX501. It features four USB-3.1 ports, one USB Type-C port, HDMI and a 3.5-mm audio-combo jack, which is nice. However, all this talk about the design means nothing if the chassis is unable to hold up to the rigors of daily use. The chassis in this case is quite sturdy, although users should realize that when the lid is open, the bottom of the Zephyrus actually extends slightly to improve airflow, which is another plus point for its innovative design. The takeaway of this is the following: With 2017 seeing the introduction of slimmer and higher-powered gaming notebooks, gamers will certainly be delighted to see what else Nvidia has in store with their Max-Q design collaboration with various manufacturers.
Hands-on article by Jagadisa Rajarathnam
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Max-Q: Efficient high end graphics card with 8 GB GDDR5X-VRAM based on the Pascal GP104 chip. Equipped with 2560 shader units and offers about 10-15% lower performance than a regular GTX 1080 due to lower clocks, but the power consumption is much lower in return.
With these GPUs you are able to play modern and demanding games fluently at medium detail settings and HD resolution.
» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Graphics Cards and the corresponding Benchmark List.
i7-7700HQ: Quad-core notebook processor based on the Kaby Lake architecture. Besides four CPU cores (including Hyper Threading), the chips also integrates the HD Graphics 630 GPU and is manufactured in an improved 14 nm process.» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Processsors.
15.60":
15-inch display variants are the standard and are used for more than half of all laptops.
The reason for the popularity of mid-sized displays is that this size is reasonably easy on the eyes, often allows high resolutions and thus offers rich details on the screen, yet does not consume too much power and the devices can still be reasonably compact - simply the standard compromise.
» To find out how fine a display is, see our DPI List.Asus: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. is a major Taiwanese computer hardware manufacturer based in Taipei, founded in 1989. Under the Asus brand name, the company manufactures a wide range of products, including laptops, desktops, motherboards, graphics cards, monitors, smartphones and networking equipment, complete systems and PC components for end users.
Under the ROG (Republic of Gamers) brand name, ASUS manufactures gaming laptops known by gamers for their powerful specifications, dedicated graphics cards, high refresh rate displays and advanced cooling systems.
Beyond gaming, a wide range of notebooks are offered for different needs and budgets, from ultra-slim and lightweight ultrabooks to versatile 2-in-1 convertibles and budget-friendly options. In 2023, Asus had a 7% global market share of the PC market.
Customer satisfaction with ASUS notebooks concerns performance, the features, and the good price-performance ratio of ASUS notebooks. However, as with any brand, there are occasional reports of problems such as overheating, driver compatibility, or build quality issues.
83.99%: This rating is slightly above average, there are somewhat more devices with worse ratings. However, clear purchase recommendations look different.
» Further information can be found in our Notebook Purchase Guide.