ASUS GL502 (GTX 1060) Review - 45% Better Performance!

The Asus GL502 has undergone an update with the new Pascal-based chips. The laptop's dimensions and exterior casing have remained unchanged, still featuring an aluminum top panel with a polycarbonate body. The keyboard, trackpad, and speakers are also still present and perform well. Internally, the RAM, CPU, and cooling systems have not been updated.

However, there have been some changes to the graphics card and display. The new model comes equipped with the NVIDIA GTX 1060, which offers a performance bump of around 40-45% compared to the previous generation's GTX 970m. This is evident in its ability to handle moderately demanding games like Overwatch at 1080p, delivering around 95 frames per second on Epic settings. The GPU also performs well in more demanding games like Batman Arkham Knight, achieving mid-to-high frame rates.

The updated GL502 also features a new G-Sync display, which aims to smooth out frame rates and eliminate screen tearing from frame drops. However, this comes at the cost of losing Nvidia Optimus, a technology that allows laptops to switch between graphics cards for power efficiency. The G-Sync display is accompanied by a new panel with improved brightness but less color accuracy compared to the older model.

In terms of thermal performance, the updated GL502 has relatively quiet fans under load, but temperatures can still become warm, especially in hot environments. However, it's worth noting that there is no CPU or GPU throttling, ensuring smooth performance even at high loads. The laptop remains comfortable to use despite the increased heat.

Overall, the updated Asus GL502 offers improved performance and features a new G-Sync display for enhanced gaming experience. While some compromises have been made in terms of battery life and color accuracy, this model is an attractive option for those looking for a thin and light laptop with powerful performance at an affordable price point.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey how's it going guys this is Dave 2D so I did a review on the Asus gl502 a while back but Asus along with a bunch of other computer manufacturers have updated their laptops with the new Pascal based chips this is an updated video the old gl502 came in two variants the thicker VY and the thinner VT that's the one I actually did the video on the updated gl502 also comes in two variants the thicker VSS and the thinner VM which I have here and that comes equipped with the GTX 1060 let's first talk about what hasn't changed the dimensions and the exterior casing hasn't changed it's still an aluminum top panel with a polycarbonate body the keyboard trackpad and the speakers haven't changed either they're all pretty good especially the trackpad internally the ram the CPU and the cooling systems haven't changed it still has one slot of upgradeable RAM and two upgradable storage areas there's now support for HDMI 2.0 which is cool but there were rumors that the refresh would also support Thunderbolt 3 my model doesn't I'm not sure if it was just a rumor or if it's just a region thing but this particular model the 502 VM does not support it the things that have changed are the graphics card and the new g-sync screen so this is now rocking the NVIDIA GTX 1060 a really nice performance bump from the previous generation for moderately demanding games like OverWatch at 1080p you'll be around 95 frames per second on Epic settings something a little heavier like Batman Arkham Knight on Ultra it's just under 60 frames per second which are three on high will get you mid 60 frames per second on Ultra it's around 40 frames per second so in general it's about a 40 maybe 45% increase in performance over the 970m it's even better performing than the 980m this is a really nice card so with the GTX 1060 the gl502 can comfortably handle VR the 970m on the original gl502 I reviewed was on the cusp of handling VR and you could play some games with pretty smooth frame rates but with the 1060 in this one you're deep in the area of a comfortable VR experience video editing is also faster so render times for Adobe Premiere are around 5 to maybe 10% faster depending on your composition in terms of thermal performance under load the older 502 with the 970m had relatively quiet fans but the system ran a little warm with the 1060 the fan noise is still quieter than you expect for this kind of performance but load temperatures are still warm in fact I'm measuring slightly hotter temperatures than the older 502 fortunately there's still no CPU or GPU throttling even on benchmarks the laptop just runs warm it's not uncomfortable to use the contact areas aren't hot and it's not something that will destroy your laptop but if you live in a hot environment keep it in mind the screen is a new panel it's still an IPS 1080p panel and it's just as bright but I noticed that this new screen isn't as color accurate it's still pretty good but the old older screen had surprisingly good color accuracy the tradeoff is that this display now has g-sync and g-sync is the tech that basically smoothens out your frame rates if there's any kind of screen tearing from frame drops so there's a chip in the screen that'll maintain your frame rates and give you smooth gameplay well to the best of its ability the negatives to a g-sync display is the fact that you lose Nvidia Optimus and if you're unfamiliar with Optimus he's the leader of the Autobots no it's the technology that allows your laptop to switch between graphics cards so if you're playing games or you're doing 3D stuff it'll use your discrete graphics chip in this case the GTX 1060 but the moment you stop doing that the moment you're like typing an essay or just browsing the web it'll switch to the integrated Graphics chip to help save power and if you have g-sync you lose that feature and that brings up the last point in this video battery life on the older 502 wasn't amazing but it was respectable at around 3 and 1/2 hours of regular use the updated 502 has a measurably shorter battery life of 3 hours and this is with screen brightness equal between the two both at 250 nits okay the Pascal based refresh is a nice Step Up in performance the GTX 1060 just crushes games at 1080P and the g-sync panel is actually really nice to look at but keep in mind that you're getting a reduced battery life and the panel isn't as color accurate as the old one but if you're looking for a thin and light laptop in this form factor at this price point the new gl50 2 is a really nice option that's the end of this video hope you guys liked it thumbs if you liked it subs if you loved it and if you want to learn more about this laptop like you if you want to learn about the older features that I didn't mention in this video check out the old one I'll link it somewhere\n"