WEBVTT 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:07.120 The ASUS Stris GL502 feels like it's 00:00:03.439 --> 00:00:10.320 part of a dying breed of laptops. It 00:00:07.120 --> 00:00:12.639 isn't thin. It isn't light. It doesn't 00:00:10.320 --> 00:00:21.039 feature fancy materials like carbon fiber or magnesium. And wait, what? No 00:00:17.320 --> 00:00:23.840 RGB. But was the old formula really that 00:00:21.039 --> 00:00:31.119 bad? Or did it just need to be tweaked a little? with its proudly displayed VR 00:00:27.039 --> 00:00:34.800 ready sticker. Is ASUS's latest stricks 00:00:31.119 --> 00:00:37.350 laptop ready for the 2017 consumer? 00:00:34.800 --> 00:00:40.490 Let's find 00:00:43.480 --> 00:00:51.360 out. Cooler Master's 25th anniversary 00:00:47.280 --> 00:00:53.920 edition Cosmos 2 features a unique dual 00:00:51.360 --> 00:00:59.559 curved tempered glass side panel. Check it out now at the link 00:00:56.440 --> 00:01:02.399 below. At just under an inch, the 00:00:59.559 --> 00:01:07.439 GL502VS is not exactly a thin and light, but that does seem to be the standard 00:01:04.559 --> 00:01:15.360 thickness shared by most gaming laptops these days. And at 5.2 lb, it is a 00:01:10.960 --> 00:01:19.040 whopping 1.4 lb less than the Alienware 00:01:15.360 --> 00:01:21.840 15, putting it more comfortably into the 00:01:19.040 --> 00:01:28.479 marginally portable category. The outer finish is a combination of brushed 00:01:24.040 --> 00:01:31.680 aluminum like plastic and real brushed 00:01:28.479 --> 00:01:33.920 aluminum that ends up looking good while 00:01:31.680 --> 00:01:39.280 avoiding feeling cheap. Though it does fall a bit short of feeling premium. 00:01:37.119 --> 00:01:45.360 There is some flex around the keyboard and trackpad and the screen and hinge 00:01:41.680 --> 00:01:47.200 are solid but could be better. So, in 00:01:45.360 --> 00:01:54.079 summary, although the Stricks doesn't have quite the robust build quality of 00:01:50.479 --> 00:01:56.920 the Alienware 15, for the same specs, it 00:01:54.079 --> 00:02:02.159 comes in at a whopping $645 less. So, I'm sure some folks will 00:02:00.079 --> 00:02:08.080 find themselves asking, "Well, did I really need that?" 00:02:04.360 --> 00:02:11.200 Magnesium IO is also strong with three 00:02:08.080 --> 00:02:13.040 USB typeAs and a high-speed USB type-C, 00:02:11.200 --> 00:02:18.160 although Thunderbolt 3 would have been really nice here, along with everything 00:02:15.520 --> 00:02:23.520 that most people will need to keep a dongle off their keychain for at least 00:02:20.319 --> 00:02:27.280 another year. The specs are highlighted 00:02:23.520 --> 00:02:31.280 by a quad-core Core i7 seventy700 HQ, a 00:02:27.280 --> 00:02:35.200 powerful GTX 1070 graphics card, and an 00:02:31.280 --> 00:02:38.400 NVMe boot drive that while small is 00:02:35.200 --> 00:02:41.040 fast. So, we should be getting a pretty 00:02:38.400 --> 00:02:45.680 awesome gaming experience out of this device, assuming it can keep all of that 00:02:44.160 --> 00:02:51.599 cool. One pit stain on this otherwise great 00:02:48.640 --> 00:02:57.360 laptop was that out ofthe-box thermals were awful. It does seem to be an 00:02:54.959 --> 00:03:02.000 isolated issue with our machine though, and it was solved by reseating the 00:02:59.360 --> 00:03:07.360 cooler. So, we aren't sure if it was a problem with ASUS's thermal paste 00:03:03.959 --> 00:03:09.680 application or perhaps a less than 00:03:07.360 --> 00:03:15.200 gentle shipping company, but at least we know that it doesn't overheat by design 00:03:12.720 --> 00:03:20.400 like some devices. With that said, under synthetic loads on 00:03:17.360 --> 00:03:22.400 both CPU and GPU, we did see a little 00:03:20.400 --> 00:03:27.959 bit of thermal throttling, but under realistic loads like gaming, there was 00:03:25.360 --> 00:03:34.000 no adverse effect on performance whatsoever, which is good because there 00:03:30.640 --> 00:03:37.280 is lots of performance in this guy. its 00:03:34.000 --> 00:03:40.239 GTX 1070 was able to smash through the 00:03:37.280 --> 00:03:46.480 60fps threshold in our AAA gaming benchmarks at very high details at the 00:03:43.440 --> 00:03:49.519 screen's native resolution of 1920x 00:03:46.480 --> 00:03:51.480 1080. And what's really nice is that 00:03:49.519 --> 00:03:56.319 when it does go over 60fps, you don't have to worry about 00:03:53.840 --> 00:04:00.720 those frames getting wasted. It runs at up 00:03:57.159 --> 00:04:03.120 to 120 hertz with G-Sync variable 00:04:00.720 --> 00:04:09.200 refresh rate technology. And thanks to ASUS's choice of an IPS panel, it's not 00:04:06.720 --> 00:04:13.920 just a delight to game on, but it's good enough for productivity, too. It's nice 00:04:12.000 --> 00:04:19.759 and bright, and although I wouldn't recommend it for professional color 00:04:15.920 --> 00:04:22.720 sensitive work, it trounces the 120 Hz 00:04:19.759 --> 00:04:28.400 TN display on the Alienware 15, making doing anything from watching YouTube 00:04:24.960 --> 00:04:32.160 videos to writing in Word to video 00:04:28.400 --> 00:04:36.080 conferencing with relatives just plain a 00:04:32.160 --> 00:04:37.919 better experience. And the keyboard is a 00:04:36.080 --> 00:04:42.320 contributing factor. It's one of my favorite things about the Stricks. Its 00:04:40.080 --> 00:04:48.080 scissor switches have a long travel distance and excellent tactile feedback 00:04:45.360 --> 00:04:53.759 for a notebook. And perhaps equally importantly, this feel is consistent 00:04:50.800 --> 00:04:59.120 across the whole deck. The red backlighting and tactile knobbyby on the 00:04:56.080 --> 00:05:01.600 W key are also nice touches. And unlike 00:04:59.120 --> 00:05:06.800 some gaming oriented keyboards, this is one that I wouldn't mind using to write 00:05:03.919 --> 00:05:11.120 up an essay. To top off the usability, ASUS has been kind enough to include a 00:05:08.880 --> 00:05:15.919 numpad, something that can no longer be taken for granted on a 15-inch laptop. 00:05:13.600 --> 00:05:19.759 So, the only minor gripe then is that it's a little bit easy to accidentally 00:05:17.759 --> 00:05:24.000 open up the ROG gaming center when you're aiming for the 00:05:21.400 --> 00:05:27.680 backspace. Now, the enthusiasm gets kicked in the head a little bit because 00:05:25.440 --> 00:05:33.120 the trackpad, I mean, it's usable, but it's not nearly as amazing. It's a click 00:05:30.320 --> 00:05:37.919 pad, but the force required at the top is much higher than at the bottom. The 00:05:35.919 --> 00:05:42.880 way it's recessed into the chassis makes two-finger operation um a little bit 00:05:40.479 --> 00:05:49.759 less comfortable than necessary. And it's high input lag gives it kind of a 00:05:46.600 --> 00:05:52.000 sluggish feel. So, forgetting a mouse on 00:05:49.759 --> 00:05:55.960 the go is a little unfortunate. Though, with that said, not nearly as bad as 00:05:53.520 --> 00:06:02.639 forgetting your charger. In fairness to ASUS, this is about what we expect from 00:05:59.520 --> 00:06:05.840 a high-powered gaming laptop. Though 00:06:02.639 --> 00:06:08.800 noise-wise, the Stricks remains at a 00:06:05.840 --> 00:06:14.000 comfortable volume while gaming and at no point got close to being obnoxious. 00:06:11.759 --> 00:06:18.800 And the speakers, while not the loudest that I've heard on a laptop, are 00:06:15.840 --> 00:06:23.520 surprisingly punchy and remain clear at full volume. So although you wouldn't be 00:06:21.440 --> 00:06:27.039 using them for your next house party, they're more than enough to throw on 00:06:24.960 --> 00:06:33.039 some tunes while you're fixing up supper. So then in summary, the Stricks 00:06:29.840 --> 00:06:35.840 is not a perfect laptop, but it gets 00:06:33.039 --> 00:06:41.360 what it needs to right, and it does so for a great price. The excellent screen 00:06:38.880 --> 00:06:47.919 and outstanding keyboard make using the Stricks a great way to be productive IRL 00:06:44.880 --> 00:06:50.400 or in games. So the bottom line then is 00:06:47.919 --> 00:06:54.479 recommended. Are you a small business owner or 00:06:52.160 --> 00:06:58.080 freelancer? Would you rather spend your time actually doing work instead of 00:06:56.560 --> 00:07:03.759 fussing around with complicated accounting software? Well, FreshBooks is 00:07:00.639 --> 00:07:06.720 built for you. It's the simple way to be 00:07:03.759 --> 00:07:12.240 more productive, more organized, and most importantly, get paid quickly. You 00:07:10.639 --> 00:07:17.120 can create and send professionallook invoices in less than 30 seconds. You 00:07:15.120 --> 00:07:20.880 can set up online payments with just a couple clicks to get paid up to four 00:07:18.720 --> 00:07:24.639 days faster. You can accept deposits through the platform and you can accept 00:07:22.639 --> 00:07:28.960 payments through the platform. And this is the biggest one for me. You can even 00:07:26.800 --> 00:07:33.520 see when your client has seen your invoice and put an end to that back and 00:07:31.440 --> 00:07:37.199 forth. Yeah, I didn't get it. Can you send me another one and then maybe I'll 00:07:34.960 --> 00:07:41.960 pay you in a while. No, no, no more of that. So, for an unrestricted 30-day 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:46.080 free trial, go to freshbooks.com/teips and enter Linus 00:07:43.759 --> 00:07:49.280 techtips in the how did you hear about us 00:07:47.080 --> 00:07:51.840 section. So, thanks for watching, guys. If this video sucked, you know what to 00:07:50.560 --> 00:07:56.319 do. But if it was awesome, get subscribed, hit that like button, maybe 00:07:53.840 --> 00:07:59.919 consider subscribing. Yeah, that's right. Wait, I already said that. Also, 00:07:58.720 --> 00:08:06.160 you can check out the link to where to buy the stuff we featured at Amazon in the video description and the other link 00:08:04.160 --> 00:08:09.520 to our community forum, which you should totally join.