XOTIC Asus GL502VM-DB71 – 15.6 gaming laptop

XOTIC Asus GL502VM-DB71 –  15.6" gaming laptop - my review

XOTIC Asus GL502VM-DB71

In today’s review we will take a look at an Asus model for a very well executed gaming laptop with target mid to high range budget clientele. This is the XOTIC Asus GL502VM-DB71 – a FHD G-Sync Gaming Laptop with Intel I7 6700HQ, Nvidia GTX 1060, 16GB Ram, 1TB SSD and a 1TB HDD. The laptop sells at around $1750 and you’re about to understand why.

Specifications:

·         15.6" FHD (16:9) Matte Type Screen (1920x1080) w/ G-Sync
·         6th Generation Intel® Skylake™ i7-6700HQ (2.6GHz - 3.5GHz, 6MB Intel® Smart Cache) Processor
·         NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 (6GB) GDDR5 (Pascal) DX12 Graphics Card
·         RAM: 16GB (1x8GB+1x8GB) DDR4 2133MHz Dual Channel Memory / M.2:
·         1TB SSD (Pre-Configured as OS Drive)
·         1TB 7200 RPM Hard Drive
·         Wifi: Dual Band Wireless-AC 802.11 AC/A/B/G/N - Stock Wireless Card + Bluetooth 4.1
·         Mobile Intel HM170 Express Chipsets
·         2 x DDR4 SODIMM Slots - Upgradable (24GB Ram Max)
·         3x USB 3.0 ports, 1x USB3.1 Type C (gen 2), 1x mini Display Port, 1x HDMI, 1x Headphone-out jack (S/PDIF), 1x Microphone-in jack
·         Card Reader (SD, MMC)
·         1x RJ45 LAN Jack for LAN insert, 
·         Backlit Chiclet Style Keyboard
·         1.2MP HD Camera
·         180W AC Adapter (Output : 19V DC, 9.5A, 180W / Input : 100~240V AC, 50/60Hz universal)
·         4-cell Li-ion Polymer Battery Pack

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Asus have been investing in their gaming notebooks range – pumping up the processing power, giving fancy look to their range and overall quietly targeting the gaming audience. The XOTIC is an especially good member of the range with its sleek looks and terrifying processing power.

The laptop’s case quality is excellent – surfaces do not creak and both the textured aluminum palm rests and plastic bottom feel rigid and of high quality. The hinges are sufficient enough to prevent teetering when typing up to their maximum supported angle of about 130 degrees.

Connectivity

There is a large number of available ports from its dual video-out options, 3x USB 3.0, and USB Type-C supporting speeds of up to 10 Gbps. The HDMI port does not appear to be version 2.0, so native 4K output must be done via mini-DisplayPort. The ports are conveniently situated on the left and right side of the laptop, not on the back.

Keyboard

The keyboard is a bit softer with its key travel of 1.6 mm and the clatter is at the minimum. The dark red font does not contrast very well with the black keys so it’s a bit hard to see the keys if the backlight is disabled. There are no dedicated macro keys.

Touchpad

The touchpad (10.5 x 7.25 cm) is reliable for simple cursor control and multi-touch gestures. The trackpad surface is equally responsive around its edges and corners as it is towards the center. Its gliding properties, however, are not ideal as smaller and more precise cursor movements are less smooth and would often result in finger slips.

Display

There are two display options for this Asus model – the 4K UHD and standard FHD. The screen is clean with very little graininess (which is otherwise a common issue with non-glossy displays). There is minor uneven backlight bleeding of the upper and lower right corners, but it’s barely noticeable.

Outdoor visibility is average on a cloudy or overcast day due to the wide viewing angles of the IPS panel and the decent 300-nit backlight. Brighter ambient lighting or direct sunlight will wash out colors and make onscreen text and images difficult to see

Performance

The CPU and GTX 1060 GPU are soldered onto the motherboard and not upgradeable, so SKU options are more limited. The 8 GB of DDR4 RAM is also soldered onto the motherboard with a single SODIMM slot for expansion for up to 24 GB total.

The i7-7700HQ processor runs at 2.8 GHz base clock rate and 3.3 GHz Turbo Boost. As a whole, the system is very responsive during testing and there are no issues related to software.

Storage

A total of two internal storage bays are available – a primary 1 TB Samsung SSD and a secondary 1 TB Toshiba HDD.

Gaming Performance

The target audience for this laptop is gamers who want 60 FPS on their native 1080p displays. Users will be able to run most games on High to Extreme graphical settings while still averaging 60 FPS, although newer or more demanding titles will require lower settings for the same frame rate results.

Battery Life

Runtimes from Xotic PC notebooks shorter than average – we’re talking about a runtime of just 1:44 hours with fairly power saving settings. Charging from near empty to full capacity will take 2 to 2.5 hours.

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