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The Republic of Gamers division at Asus announced this week the upcoming launch of a new gaming laptop with dual GeForce GTX 1080 graphics chips in SLI mode, and an external liquid cooling dock to keep the overclocked components chilled inside. It’s called the GX800, and comes packed with an 18.4-inch screen backed by Nvidia’s G-Sync technology to provide the ultimate gaming-on-the-go at a 4K UHD resolution.
So let’s just get to the meat with a nice table:
| Display: | 18.4-inch LED-backlit with G-Sync |
| Resolution: | 3,840 x 2,160 |
| Processor: | Intel Core i7-6820HK |
| Chipset: | Intel CM236 Express |
| Graphics: | 2x GeForce GTX 1080 in SLI |
| VRAM: | 16GB combined |
| Memory: | Up to 64GB DDR4 @ 2,800MHz |
| Storage: | 3x 512GB PCIe Gen 3×4 SSDs (RAID 0) |
| Networking: | Wireless AC, Bluetooth 4.1 |
| Webcam: | HD |
| Audio: | 4x 3-watt speakers, array microphone |
| Ports: | 1x Microphone jack 1x Headphone jack 2x USB 3.1 Type-C 3x USB 3.0 Type-A 1x Ethernet 1x HDMI 1x Mini DisplayPort 1x SD card reader 1x Docking port |
| Battery: | 76 watt-hours (8-cell) |
| Size: | 18.03 x 13.30 x 17.87 inches |
| Weight: | 12.56 pounds |
| Hyro Overclocking System size: | 14.13 x 16.45 x 5.23 inches |
| Hydro Overclocking System Weight: | 10.36 pounds |
| Operating system: | Windows 10 Home or Windows 10 Pro |
The processor offered in this new Asus ROG laptop was released in the third quarter of 2015, thus it’s a sixth-generation “Skylake” processor, and not from Intel’s current “Kaby Lake” lineup of notebook processors. On its own, the i7-6820HK chip costs $378, and packs four cores, eight threads, and a max power requirement of 45 watts. The base clock speed is 2.70GHz and the max turbo speed is 3.60GHz while the integrated HD Graphics 530 component has a base clock of 350MHz and a max speed of 1.05GHz.
Backing this processor are two Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 graphics processors with a combined VRAM capacity of 16GB. Keep in mind that a single GTX 1080 costs $600, so expect to pay at least $1,578 solely based on the CPU and GPUs alone. This trio will provide one heck of a PC gaming punch, backed by up to 64GB of DDR4 system memory and a speedy SSD.
The new laptop will be paired with the company’s Hydro Overclocking System, an external device that connects to the laptop to liquid-cool the GPUs and CPU for “extreme” overclocking. This system will enable the processor to be overclocked up to 4.2GHz and the GPUs up to 1.9GHz thanks to the coolant pumped in and circulated around the three chips. The circulated air is then returned to the cooling module that consists of two radiators for dissipating the heat. To handle the cooling system, the laptop is packed with two 330-watt power adapters.
“Some may question this solution and ask why not put the graphics cards in the dock, quite simply put — GX800 is created for the ultimate experience whether you’re near the dock or not,” the company said this week. “No, putting the dock on your lap is absolutely not necessary. In addition, if using a dock with external graphics air-cooled, compromises are necessary when it comes to bulk and silent operation.”
Other notable features packed into the new Asus ROG laptop include a MechTAG keyboard that relies on mechanical switches. This keyboard offers 2.5mm of key travel, 100 percent anti-ghosting, a 30-key rollover, and RGB LED effects that can be customized for each key. The laptop is obviously ready for virtual reality, too, as it is capable of cranking out frame rates way beyond the required 90 frames per second.
As always, Asus didn’t provide any information on when this laptop will be available, or on how much the base configuration will cost. But it won’t come cheap given the added liquid-cooling dock, the ROG backpack, and the ROG suitcase.
