{"video_id":"u6kdrfnzAMg","title":"The BEST 15” Gaming Laptop? Asus Strix GL502VS Review","channel":"Linus Tech Tips","show":"Linus Tech Tips","published_at":"2018-05-06T14:53:29Z","duration_s":489,"segments":[{"start_s":0.08,"end_s":7.12,"text":"The ASUS Stris GL502 feels like it's","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":3.439,"end_s":10.32,"text":"part of a dying breed of laptops. It","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":7.12,"end_s":12.639,"text":"isn't thin. It isn't light. It doesn't","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":10.32,"end_s":21.039,"text":"feature fancy materials like carbon fiber or magnesium. And wait, what? No","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":17.32,"end_s":23.84,"text":"RGB. But was the old formula really that","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":21.039,"end_s":31.119,"text":"bad? Or did it just need to be tweaked a little? with its proudly displayed VR","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":27.039,"end_s":34.8,"text":"ready sticker. Is ASUS's latest stricks","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":31.119,"end_s":37.35,"text":"laptop ready for the 2017 consumer?","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":34.8,"end_s":40.49,"text":"Let's find","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":43.48,"end_s":51.36,"text":"out. Cooler Master's 25th anniversary","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":47.28,"end_s":53.92,"text":"edition Cosmos 2 features a unique dual","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":51.36,"end_s":59.559,"text":"curved tempered glass side panel. Check it out now at the link","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":56.44,"end_s":62.399,"text":"below. At just under an inch, the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":59.559,"end_s":67.439,"text":"GL502VS is not exactly a thin and light, but that does seem to be the standard","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":64.559,"end_s":75.36,"text":"thickness shared by most gaming laptops these days. And at 5.2 lb, it is a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":70.96,"end_s":79.04,"text":"whopping 1.4 lb less than the Alienware","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":75.36,"end_s":81.84,"text":"15, putting it more comfortably into the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":79.04,"end_s":88.479,"text":"marginally portable category. The outer finish is a combination of brushed","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":84.04,"end_s":91.68,"text":"aluminum like plastic and real brushed","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":88.479,"end_s":93.92,"text":"aluminum that ends up looking good while","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":91.68,"end_s":99.28,"text":"avoiding feeling cheap. Though it does fall a bit short of feeling premium.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":97.119,"end_s":105.36,"text":"There is some flex around the keyboard and trackpad and the screen and hinge","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":101.68,"end_s":107.2,"text":"are solid but could be better. So, in","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":105.36,"end_s":114.079,"text":"summary, although the Stricks doesn't have quite the robust build quality of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":110.479,"end_s":116.92,"text":"the Alienware 15, for the same specs, it","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":114.079,"end_s":122.159,"text":"comes in at a whopping $645 less. So, I'm sure some folks will","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":120.079,"end_s":128.08,"text":"find themselves asking, \"Well, did I really need that?\"","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":124.36,"end_s":131.2,"text":"Magnesium IO is also strong with three","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":128.08,"end_s":133.04,"text":"USB typeAs and a high-speed USB type-C,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":131.2,"end_s":138.16,"text":"although Thunderbolt 3 would have been really nice here, along with everything","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":135.52,"end_s":143.52,"text":"that most people will need to keep a dongle off their keychain for at least","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":140.319,"end_s":147.28,"text":"another year. The specs are highlighted","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":143.52,"end_s":151.28,"text":"by a quad-core Core i7 seventy700 HQ, a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":147.28,"end_s":155.2,"text":"powerful GTX 1070 graphics card, and an","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":151.28,"end_s":158.4,"text":"NVMe boot drive that while small is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":155.2,"end_s":161.04,"text":"fast. So, we should be getting a pretty","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":158.4,"end_s":165.68,"text":"awesome gaming experience out of this device, assuming it can keep all of that","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":164.16,"end_s":171.599,"text":"cool. One pit stain on this otherwise great","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":168.64,"end_s":177.36,"text":"laptop was that out ofthe-box thermals were awful. It does seem to be an","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":174.959,"end_s":182.0,"text":"isolated issue with our machine though, and it was solved by reseating the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":179.36,"end_s":187.36,"text":"cooler. So, we aren't sure if it was a problem with ASUS's thermal paste","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":183.959,"end_s":189.68,"text":"application or perhaps a less than","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":187.36,"end_s":195.2,"text":"gentle shipping company, but at least we know that it doesn't overheat by design","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":192.72,"end_s":200.4,"text":"like some devices. With that said, under synthetic loads on","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":197.36,"end_s":202.4,"text":"both CPU and GPU, we did see a little","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":200.4,"end_s":207.959,"text":"bit of thermal throttling, but under realistic loads like gaming, there was","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":205.36,"end_s":214.0,"text":"no adverse effect on performance whatsoever, which is good because there","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":210.64,"end_s":217.28,"text":"is lots of performance in this guy. its","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":214.0,"end_s":220.239,"text":"GTX 1070 was able to smash through the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":217.28,"end_s":226.48,"text":"60fps threshold in our AAA gaming benchmarks at very high details at the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":223.44,"end_s":229.519,"text":"screen's native resolution of 1920x","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":226.48,"end_s":231.48,"text":"1080. And what's really nice is that","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":229.519,"end_s":236.319,"text":"when it does go over 60fps, you don't have to worry about","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":233.84,"end_s":240.72,"text":"those frames getting wasted. It runs at up","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":237.159,"end_s":243.12,"text":"to 120 hertz with G-Sync variable","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":240.72,"end_s":249.2,"text":"refresh rate technology. And thanks to ASUS's choice of an IPS panel, it's not","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":246.72,"end_s":253.92,"text":"just a delight to game on, but it's good enough for productivity, too. It's nice","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":252.0,"end_s":259.759,"text":"and bright, and although I wouldn't recommend it for professional color","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":255.92,"end_s":262.72,"text":"sensitive work, it trounces the 120 Hz","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":259.759,"end_s":268.4,"text":"TN display on the Alienware 15, making doing anything from watching YouTube","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":264.96,"end_s":272.16,"text":"videos to writing in Word to video","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":268.4,"end_s":276.08,"text":"conferencing with relatives just plain a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":272.16,"end_s":277.919,"text":"better experience. And the keyboard is a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":276.08,"end_s":282.32,"text":"contributing factor. It's one of my favorite things about the Stricks. Its","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":280.08,"end_s":288.08,"text":"scissor switches have a long travel distance and excellent tactile feedback","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":285.36,"end_s":293.759,"text":"for a notebook. And perhaps equally importantly, this feel is consistent","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":290.8,"end_s":299.12,"text":"across the whole deck. The red backlighting and tactile knobbyby on the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":296.08,"end_s":301.6,"text":"W key are also nice touches. And unlike","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":299.12,"end_s":306.8,"text":"some gaming oriented keyboards, this is one that I wouldn't mind using to write","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":303.919,"end_s":311.12,"text":"up an essay. To top off the usability, ASUS has been kind enough to include a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":308.88,"end_s":315.919,"text":"numpad, something that can no longer be taken for granted on a 15-inch laptop.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":313.6,"end_s":319.759,"text":"So, the only minor gripe then is that it's a little bit easy to accidentally","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":317.759,"end_s":324.0,"text":"open up the ROG gaming center when you're aiming for the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":321.4,"end_s":327.68,"text":"backspace. Now, the enthusiasm gets kicked in the head a little bit because","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":325.44,"end_s":333.12,"text":"the trackpad, I mean, it's usable, but it's not nearly as amazing. It's a click","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":330.32,"end_s":337.919,"text":"pad, but the force required at the top is much higher than at the bottom. The","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":335.919,"end_s":342.88,"text":"way it's recessed into the chassis makes two-finger operation um a little bit","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":340.479,"end_s":349.759,"text":"less comfortable than necessary. And it's high input lag gives it kind of a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":346.6,"end_s":352.0,"text":"sluggish feel. So, forgetting a mouse on","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":349.759,"end_s":355.96,"text":"the go is a little unfortunate. Though, with that said, not nearly as bad as","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":353.52,"end_s":362.639,"text":"forgetting your charger. In fairness to ASUS, this is about what we expect from","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":359.52,"end_s":365.84,"text":"a high-powered gaming laptop. Though","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":362.639,"end_s":368.8,"text":"noise-wise, the Stricks remains at a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":365.84,"end_s":374.0,"text":"comfortable volume while gaming and at no point got close to being obnoxious.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":371.759,"end_s":378.8,"text":"And the speakers, while not the loudest that I've heard on a laptop, are","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":375.84,"end_s":383.52,"text":"surprisingly punchy and remain clear at full volume. So although you wouldn't be","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":381.44,"end_s":387.039,"text":"using them for your next house party, they're more than enough to throw on","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":384.96,"end_s":393.039,"text":"some tunes while you're fixing up supper. So then in summary, the Stricks","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":389.84,"end_s":395.84,"text":"is not a perfect laptop, but it gets","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":393.039,"end_s":401.36,"text":"what it needs to right, and it does so for a great price. The excellent screen","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":398.88,"end_s":407.919,"text":"and outstanding keyboard make using the Stricks a great way to be productive IRL","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":404.88,"end_s":410.4,"text":"or in games. So the bottom line then is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":407.919,"end_s":414.479,"text":"recommended. Are you a small business owner or","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":412.16,"end_s":418.08,"text":"freelancer? Would you rather spend your time actually doing work instead of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":416.56,"end_s":423.759,"text":"fussing around with complicated accounting software? Well, FreshBooks is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":420.639,"end_s":426.72,"text":"built for you. It's the simple way to be","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":423.759,"end_s":432.24,"text":"more productive, more organized, and most importantly, get paid quickly. You","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":430.639,"end_s":437.12,"text":"can create and send professionallook invoices in less than 30 seconds. You","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":435.12,"end_s":440.88,"text":"can set up online payments with just a couple clicks to get paid up to four","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":438.72,"end_s":444.639,"text":"days faster. You can accept deposits through the platform and you can accept","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":442.639,"end_s":448.96,"text":"payments through the platform. And this is the biggest one for me. You can even","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":446.8,"end_s":453.52,"text":"see when your client has seen your invoice and put an end to that back and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":451.44,"end_s":457.199,"text":"forth. Yeah, I didn't get it. Can you send me another one and then maybe I'll","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":454.96,"end_s":461.96,"text":"pay you in a while. No, no, no more of that. So, for an unrestricted 30-day","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":460.0,"end_s":466.08,"text":"free trial, go to freshbooks.com/teips and enter Linus","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":463.759,"end_s":469.28,"text":"techtips in the how did you hear about us","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":467.08,"end_s":471.84,"text":"section. So, thanks for watching, guys. If this video sucked, you know what to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":470.56,"end_s":476.319,"text":"do. But if it was awesome, get subscribed, hit that like button, maybe","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":473.84,"end_s":479.919,"text":"consider subscribing. Yeah, that's right. Wait, I already said that. Also,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":478.72,"end_s":486.16,"text":"you can check out the link to where to buy the stuff we featured at Amazon in the video description and the other link","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":484.16,"end_s":489.52,"text":"to our community forum, which you should totally join.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0}],"full_text":"The ASUS Stris GL502 feels like it's part of a dying breed of laptops. It isn't thin. It isn't light. It doesn't feature fancy materials like carbon fiber or magnesium. And wait, what? No RGB. But was the old formula really that bad? Or did it just need to be tweaked a little? with its proudly displayed VR ready sticker. Is ASUS's latest stricks laptop ready for the 2017 consumer? Let's find out. Cooler Master's 25th anniversary edition Cosmos 2 features a unique dual curved tempered glass side panel. Check it out now at the link below. At just under an inch, the GL502VS is not exactly a thin and light, but that does seem to be the standard thickness shared by most gaming laptops these days. And at 5.2 lb, it is a whopping 1.4 lb less than the Alienware 15, putting it more comfortably into the marginally portable category. The outer finish is a combination of brushed aluminum like plastic and real brushed aluminum that ends up looking good while avoiding feeling cheap. Though it does fall a bit short of feeling premium. There is some flex around the keyboard and trackpad and the screen and hinge are solid but could be better. So, in summary, although the Stricks doesn't have quite the robust build quality of the Alienware 15, for the same specs, it comes in at a whopping $645 less. So, I'm sure some folks will find themselves asking, \"Well, did I really need that?\" Magnesium IO is also strong with three USB typeAs and a high-speed USB type-C, although Thunderbolt 3 would have been really nice here, along with everything that most people will need to keep a dongle off their keychain for at least another year. The specs are highlighted by a quad-core Core i7 seventy700 HQ, a powerful GTX 1070 graphics card, and an NVMe boot drive that while small is fast. So, we should be getting a pretty awesome gaming experience out of this device, assuming it can keep all of that cool. One pit stain on this otherwise great laptop was that out ofthe-box thermals were awful. It does seem to be an isolated issue with our machine though, and it was solved by reseating the cooler. So, we aren't sure if it was a problem with ASUS's thermal paste application or perhaps a less than gentle shipping company, but at least we know that it doesn't overheat by design like some devices. With that said, under synthetic loads on both CPU and GPU, we did see a little bit of thermal throttling, but under realistic loads like gaming, there was no adverse effect on performance whatsoever, which is good because there is lots of performance in this guy. its GTX 1070 was able to smash through the 60fps threshold in our AAA gaming benchmarks at very high details at the screen's native resolution of 1920x 1080. And what's really nice is that when it does go over 60fps, you don't have to worry about those frames getting wasted. It runs at up to 120 hertz with G-Sync variable refresh rate technology. And thanks to ASUS's choice of an IPS panel, it's not just a delight to game on, but it's good enough for productivity, too. It's nice and bright, and although I wouldn't recommend it for professional color sensitive work, it trounces the 120 Hz TN display on the Alienware 15, making doing anything from watching YouTube videos to writing in Word to video conferencing with relatives just plain a better experience. And the keyboard is a contributing factor. It's one of my favorite things about the Stricks. Its scissor switches have a long travel distance and excellent tactile feedback for a notebook. And perhaps equally importantly, this feel is consistent across the whole deck. The red backlighting and tactile knobbyby on the W key are also nice touches. And unlike some gaming oriented keyboards, this is one that I wouldn't mind using to write up an essay. To top off the usability, ASUS has been kind enough to include a numpad, something that can no longer be taken for granted on a 15-inch laptop. So, the only minor gripe then is that it's a little bit easy to accidentally open up the ROG gaming center when you're aiming for the backspace. Now, the enthusiasm gets kicked in the head a little bit because the trackpad, I mean, it's usable, but it's not nearly as amazing. It's a click pad, but the force required at the top is much higher than at the bottom. The way it's recessed into the chassis makes two-finger operation um a little bit less comfortable than necessary. And it's high input lag gives it kind of a sluggish feel. So, forgetting a mouse on the go is a little unfortunate. Though, with that said, not nearly as bad as forgetting your charger. In fairness to ASUS, this is about what we expect from a high-powered gaming laptop. Though noise-wise, the Stricks remains at a comfortable volume while gaming and at no point got close to being obnoxious. And the speakers, while not the loudest that I've heard on a laptop, are surprisingly punchy and remain clear at full volume. So although you wouldn't be using them for your next house party, they're more than enough to throw on some tunes while you're fixing up supper. So then in summary, the Stricks is not a perfect laptop, but it gets what it needs to right, and it does so for a great price. The excellent screen and outstanding keyboard make using the Stricks a great way to be productive IRL or in games. So the bottom line then is recommended. Are you a small business owner or freelancer? Would you rather spend your time actually doing work instead of fussing around with complicated accounting software? Well, FreshBooks is built for you. It's the simple way to be more productive, more organized, and most importantly, get paid quickly. You can create and send professionallook invoices in less than 30 seconds. You can set up online payments with just a couple clicks to get paid up to four days faster. You can accept deposits through the platform and you can accept payments through the platform. And this is the biggest one for me. You can even see when your client has seen your invoice and put an end to that back and forth. Yeah, I didn't get it. Can you send me another one and then maybe I'll pay you in a while. No, no, no more of that. So, for an unrestricted 30-day free trial, go to freshbooks.com/teips and enter Linus techtips in the how did you hear about us section. So, thanks for watching, guys. If this video sucked, you know what to do. But if it was awesome, get subscribed, hit that like button, maybe consider subscribing. Yeah, that's right. Wait, I already said that. Also, you can check out the link to where to buy the stuff we featured at Amazon in the video description and the other link to our community forum, which you should totally join."}