The ASUS ROG Strix G15 (G513QY) Review: Embracing AMD's Advantage
by Brett Howse on May 31, 2021 11:00 PM ESTThe 1989 film Field of Dreams offers one of the most memorable quotes in movie history. “If you build it, he will come” was, of course, a reference to a baseball diamond in Iowa, but for AMD, this same quote (gender removed) also succeeds in defining AMD’s success over the last couple of generations. Once the realm of budget-conscious devices, AMD-based products are now the premium in the market and are sought after by consumers looking for the ultimate in performance. With the launch of the Zen 3 based Cezanne laptop processors, AMD now offers the most powerful laptop CPUs available. But that is only a single portion of a successful product. AMD is today announcing the launch of their latest graphics architecture, RDNA2, into the laptop market. AMD has built it. Now they must see who will come.
ASUS has partnered with AMD to launch a premium gaming laptop based on AMD’s Cezanne and RDNA2 solutions. The ASUS ROG Strix G15 AMD Advantage Edition (G513QY) offers the top-tier experience that AMD customers have been asking for, with a great design, and powerful internals. The ASUS Strix featured today is outfitted some with the very best that AMD has to offer, with the AMD Ryzen 5900HX processor, and AMD Radeon RX 6800M graphics. Zen 3 with RDNA2 is a potent combination. The Ryzen 5900HX is an eight-core, sixteen thread processor with a maximum boost frequency of 4.6 GHz, and a 45-Watt TDP. The Raden RX 6800M is AMD’s latest GPU architecture with 40 Compute Units, 12 GB of GDDR6, and up to 145 Watts. With 16 GB of DDR4 and a 512 GB SSD, this 15.6-inch device packs a lot of punch.
ASUS ROG Strix G15 AMD Advantage Edition (G513QY) |
|
Component | Strix G513QY |
CPU | AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX 8-Core 16-Thread 3.3-4.6 GHz Vega 8 / 2100MHz 45W TDP |
Discrete GPU | AMD Radeon RX 6800M 40 RDNA2 Compute Units 2300 MHz Game Clock 96 MB Infinity Cache 12GB GDDR6 |
Display | 15.6-inch 1920x1080 IPS 300Hz Refresh FreeSync sRGB Gamut Optional: 15.6-inch 2560x1440 IPS 165 Hz Refresh FreeSync P3-D65 Gamut |
RAM | 16GB DDR4-3200 Dual-Channel Upgradable Memory |
Storage | 512GB M.2 PCIe SSD 2 x M.2 (1 free) |
Network | MediaTek MT7921 Wi-Fi 6 2x2:2 802.11ax Realtek Gigabit Ethernet |
Left Side | 2 x USB 3 Type A Headset Jack |
Right Side | No Ports |
Back | Power Connector HDMI 2.0b USB Type-C w/100W PD USB 3 Type-A |
Battery | 90Wh Lithium Ion 280W AC Adapter |
Dimensions | 355 x 260 x 20.7 mm 14 x 10.2 x 0.81 inches |
MSRP | $1550 - $1700 |
AMD has certainly struggled in the past to land design wins in the premium end of the market, but with new products come new opportunities, and it appears that those days are behind them. The tight product integration of processor and graphics is certainly a benefit that their competition does not yet enjoy. AMD has never really captured much of the gaming laptop segment but is clearly aiming to remedy that with this launch. AMD says that the Radeon RX 6800M should be able to compete with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080L, which will put them in a much better light than the previous mid-range market they targeted before. Coupling that with their Cezanne platform makes for a very strong combination. It also explains their effort to add Wi-Fi to the mix as Intel uses that as a key component of their platform.
As a proper gaming system, the 1920x1080 IPS display offers a refresh rate of 300 Hz, and is coupled with AMD’s FreeSync variable refresh rate technology. There is Wi-Fi 6, courtesy of MediaTek, and for expansion, there are three USB Type-A ports, and a single Type-C on the rear, which can deliver up to 100 watts of power delivery. For video out, ASUS has gone with a single HDMI port as well as DisplayPort via USB-C, and of course there is a headset jack. What is missing though is a webcam of any sort, which is an odd omission in today’s remote world.
The ASUS ROG Strix G513QY packs into this 15.6-inch chassis, without the device seeming heavy or bulky, especially by gaming notebook standards. First up, let’s take look at the design.
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TheinsanegamerN - Thursday, June 3, 2021 - link
So I can’t have office work and games on the same machine? I have to have two separate laptops?What nonsense is this?
Fulljack - Thursday, June 3, 2021 - link
capitalism nonsense. oh you want to game on your laptop? here's a gaming laptop, also look at it's "coolness". also, gamer don't need webcam anyway, buy our dedicated laptop for your daily office task!seriously I like to game but I don't like the ridiculous design of a gaming laptop. plain and boring is fine, thanks.
Spunjji - Friday, June 4, 2021 - link
Nobody's preventing you from buying a decent webcam and using it with your gaming laptop.edwpang - Sunday, June 6, 2021 - link
Exactly! Those 1080p Logitech webcams are much better than built-in ones!Spunjji - Monday, June 7, 2021 - link
@edwpang And how. Hell, I got a £20 1080p cheapo webcam a few years back after switching back from a laptop to a desktop. It has a flexible stand that means I can clip it to the top of any display or stand it on a handy surface. It's not exactly smartphone quality, but the light gathering ability of its chunky lens is still superior to every built-in webcam I've ever used. I'll happily break it out of storage if the need arises.Beaver M. - Saturday, June 5, 2021 - link
ya. becuz peeps shudnt pleh gamez on deir work machins and nevr do anywayz.Ugh. Enough lost IQ points for today, just to think like you guys.
RC1900 - Saturday, August 7, 2021 - link
"nobody needs a crappy webcam". Just speak for yourself.I do work on play on my laptop and I DO need a built-in webcam - crappy or not. We're talking about laptop that costs 2k USD and to not have something so basic like a webcam is just ridiculous. And keep your dumb comments about using phone for calls to yourself as you have no clue.
snarfbot - Thursday, March 10, 2022 - link
I mean to me the absence of a Webcam is a feature. Its a refreshing and welcome change.Xajel - Tuesday, June 1, 2021 - link
It's not AMD.. It's ASUS weird thing with AMD laptops, the G14 & G15 both with AMD have no webcam, the M16 (Intel) has a webcam.I don't know how ASUS is thinking. But I would very much have a G16 with a 5800, RTX 3060/3070 in a thin chassis (18mm or less), two SO-DIMM slots (or at least 16GB soldered and one SO-DIMM), a 16" 1600p 120Hz+ with 400nits +, a webcam with IR for Windows Hello. Not a gaming machine but a content creation laptop.
nico_mach - Tuesday, June 1, 2021 - link
I'm sure what Asus is thinking is that they got a discount from Intel for screwing around with their AMD laptops.