The game monster ASUS ROG Chimera G703VI and its younger brothers FX503 and X570 in Ukraine

ASUS held an event in which it showed three new laptops that have just started, or are about to start selling in Ukraine. Of course, the main culprit was the flagship gaming laptop ASUS ROG G703VI, also Chimera, which was shown on IFA 2017. He was made up of two interesting, more affordable models FX503 and X570. But to start a little statistics from the company. Following the results of 2017, ASUS remains on the first place in sales of notebooks in Ukraine. Ruler ASUS ROG - in the first place in the segment of $ 1500. Plus ASUS began to develop a new niche for itself, which it calls "Pseudo-gaming". In fact, it will be simpler and clearer to say that these are budget gaming laptops with the "necessary minimum" for playing not at the highest graphics settings and with some compromises in the form of fully plastic cases and so on. Thanks to the FX553 model, the share in this segment increased from 7% to 26%. In the future ASUS plans to increase its turnover both in general and in this segment. As noted in the company, ASUS has the lowest "reject" when replacing the device. In other words, a very small number of users decide to change ASUS to some other brand.

ASUS ROG G703VI

And now about the news. ASUS ROG Chimera G703VI is a top-end gaming laptop with the largest possible "mincemeat" at the moment, which is more suitable for desktop replacement due to its weight and dimensions: it is equipped with a 17.3-inch screen and weighs 4.7 kg, so every day you walk with it - pleasure is doubtful. Why so big and heavy? The metal case, inside the top iron with factory overclock, the heaped cooling system Anti-Dust Cooling which not only perfectly cools, but also deduces a dust and any garbage outside, so that radiators are not hammered. Four speakers and a large battery at 74 W * h. Although I think that battery life is by far not the most important indicator of a powerful gaming laptop.

According to the specifications: in the top configuration will be installed Intel Core i7-7820HK 2.9-4.3 GHz with the unlocked multiplier (in a more modest - i7-7700HQ), video card GeForce GTX1080 with overclocking from 1683 to 1975 MHz, up to 64 GB of DDR4 RAM 2,400 MHz , overclock to 2800 MHz. As a drive can be up to 2x256 GB PCIe SSD (in RAID0) plus a 1GB SSHD hybrid with 8GB cache. Display options: 17.3 inches IPS FullHD (1920x1080) with support for G-Sync 144 Hz or UHD (3840x2160), 60 Hz. Keyboard with RGB-backlight.

There are all necessary ports, including RJ-45 and Thunderbolt 3. The lower removable panel allows you to upgrade RAM and drives without losing warranty. The price starts from 97 300 UAH.

ASUS FX503VD / VM

Now let's move on to more affordable models. ASUS FX503VD / VM refers to the above-mentioned "Pseudo-gaming" segment and differ among themselves models of a discrete video card. The case is completely made of black plastic with a texture, the shape is made as flat as possible for convenient transportation in a backpack. Weight - 2.5 kg, and thickness - 2.4 cm. Inside will be used Core i5-7300HQ or i7-7700HQ, video card GeForce 1050 or 1060 with 4 or 6 GB GDDR5 respectively, RAM - 8 GB. The second slot will be free, so you can add it yourself. Theoretically, it is possible to 32 GB, but for this already have to disassemble the laptop to get to the complete bar. The screen is 15.6 inches FullHD, IPS, 60 Hz.

As a drive can be SSD SATA3 256 GB or SSHD for 1 TB with a cache of 8 GB. In the latter case, the M.2 connector is available, in which it will be possible to add an SSD. There is no optical drive. The laptop will be shipped without OS in order to reduce the cost. The keyboard is also backlit, but already red, not RGB.

Cooling the laptop with two coolers, there is an enhanced mode of operation of the SO Fan OverBoost. The price is from 25 000 UAH.

ASUS X570

And the latest novelty is ASUS X570, which is positioned as a model "for work and entertainment." The case is also made of black plastic, but ASUS slightly refreshed the appearance of the turquoise edging and logo. Weight - 1.9 kg, thickness - 2.2 cm. This is a 15.6-inch model with IPS-matrix FullHD and quad-core Intel Core 8 generation of the U series (i5-8250U or i7-8550U). RAM 8 GB DDR4, graphics - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 at 4 GB.

As a drive is installed HDD for 1 TB, in the top version it is added SSD SATA3 with a capacity of 128 GB. The keyboard is backlit, there is a fingerprint scanner on the touchpad. There are all necessary connectors: USB 3.1 Type-C Gen 1, USB 3.1 Type-A Gen 1, USB 2.0, microSD, HDMI and RJ-45. All configurations come with Windows 10 (I suspect that the Home Edition).

The cost is from $ 850 to $ 1050.