ASUS Outs Crazy-Thin ROG Zephyrus Kaby Lake Gaming Laptop With Max-Q Enabled GeForce GTX 1080

The gaming notebook is just 0.7 inches thick and weighs in at under five pounds. The ROG Zephyrus features a 15.6-inch 1080p G-SYNC enabled IPS panel, which can pump its refresh rate up to 120Hz. Like the Acer Predator Triton 700 that we talked about this morning, the ROG Zephyrus also employs a rather interesting design, in which the Aura RGB-backlit keyboard is pushed all the way to the leading edge of the notebook, completely eradicating the palm rest. While that might make for some awkward typing for some people, it leaves more cooling room for the GTX 1080 GPU and the Intel Kaby Lake processor.

Speaking of cooling, the ROG Zephyrus uses ASUS’ Active Aerodynamic System (AAS), which is comprised of AeroAccelerator technology incorporating 3D-curved fans to efficiently expel heat. In an interesting twist, the bottom portion of the chassis actually opens up to 6mm when the display lid is raised, increasing airflow volume by 20 percent.

“Air is sucked in through the gap and through tiny holes above the keyboard before being pumped out of vents in the edges of the chassis,” writes ASUS. “The laptop’s raised profile works with slight ramps in the exhaust ducts to help direct warm air upward, away from the cooler layer of intake air. These improvements help reduce the temperature of air flowing into the fans by about 10°C compared to typical laptops.”

The ROG Zephyrus can be equipped with up to a Core i7-7700HQ processor and up to 24GB of DDR4-2400 memory, while up to a 1TB M.2 PCIe SSD can be installed (with reads speeds of up to 3,500MB/sec). Connectivity options are plentiful, as you’ll find 802.11ac and Bluetooth wireless options along with Thunderbolt 3, four USB 3.1 ports and one HDMI 2.0 port.

ASUS has not yet provided pricing for the ROG Zephyrus, but says that it will be available “soon” at a retailer near you.