ASUS ROG Zephyrus GX501 Review: A Thin, Powerful Max-Q Gaming Laptop


ASUS ROG Zephyrus GX501: PCMark and 3DMark Performance

Futuremark benchmarks have been go-to system and graphics tests since the late ‘90s. We run the ASUS Zephyrus through PCMark 8 v2, which is a cross-platform testing suite, to gauge the notebook’s overall performance in everyday use scenarios, while 3DMark tests its graphics chops.

PCMark 8 Benchmarks
Productivity And System-Level Benchmarking

We run PCMark 8 with OpenCL acceleration enabled so it leverages available CPU and GPU resources.

ASUS Zephyrus PCMark8

The ASUS Zephyrus performs right in-line with the powerful Alienware 17 R4, when it comes to home and work tasks, like photo editing, video production and office productivity.

3DMark Fire Strike Extreme And Sky Diver
Synthetic DirectX Gaming And Graphics Testing

The various 3DMark tests are designed to bring desktop GPUs to their knees. However, since many gaming notebooks pack desktop-grade graphics now, notebooks like the Zephyrus can handle the toughest of 3DMark tests.

ASUS Zephyrus 3DMark Sky Diver
ASUS Zephyrus 3DMark Time Spy

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design must sacrifice some performance to fit into the slim form factor of the ASUS Zephyrus. There’s about a 15% reduction in performance between the regular GTX 1080 and its Max-Q variant. The GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design is faster than the GTX 1070 in the full-size ASUS ROG G752, but the hit it takes versus the standard 1080 is the trade-off required to fit such a powerful GPU into a slim 15.6-inch notebook.


Related content