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00:00Hey, how's it going? Dave2D here. So Asus announced two new laptops today. Their Zephyrus S, as
00:10well as the 17-inch Strix 2. So the Zephyrus S is their thinnest gaming laptop they've
00:15ever made. It's remarkably thin. It's 15.7 millimeters thick. So last year we had the
00:21Zephyrus, like the regular Zephyrus, and we saw devices from Acer, like the Triton 700,
00:26which were really thin. Those were like 18, 19 millimeters thick. This thing is 15.7.
00:30It feels noticeably thinner. So the design is similar in the sense that it's got like
00:35the same kind of design language as the other Zephyrus models, and it's made really well.
00:39So they've changed a few things. It has an aluminum bottom panel. So the original Zephyrus
00:43had a plastic one. I don't know if I like the metal. It feels more premium. It looks
00:48more premium. But when you actually use it, the metal plate still has a little bit of
00:51flex. So I'm not sure if they did for engineering reasons or marketing reasons or aesthetics,
00:56but it is a metal plate on the bottom this year. So when you open it up inside, the biggest
01:01change is actually the screen. The original Zephyrus had some pretty thick bezels. These
01:05are significantly thinner, and the panel has improved. It's a 144 hertz, 3 millisecond
01:10screen. It's fast. It's smooth. It's a really nice looking screen. I think it has 100% sRGB.
01:16This is an engineering sample, right? So I wasn't able to run the full gamut of tests
01:19that I'd like to, but it's a good looking screen. The webcam's still up at the top,
01:23which is nice, and there's a chin. I don't love the fact there's a chin, but if I'm going
01:28to have a bezel anywhere, I'd prefer it on the bottom other than the top and the sides.
01:31But there is a chin. If you'll notice, the whole keyboard is shifted down again. So the
01:36original Zephyrus had a keyboard layout like this, where the keyboard's on the bottom and
01:40the trackpad's on the right. And it's something that you just have to get used to. It looks
01:43really weird, and in terms of usability, everyone's going to be a little bit different. I personally
01:47have no issues using a keyboard like this. The trackpad's not in an ideal position, like
01:51if you're left-handed, you're screwed. But even for right-handed people, it's not the
01:54best location. It's not so much the positioning for me, it's the fact that I don't like my
01:59trackpad having no kind of like rests, like a wrist rest for it. But my keyboard, I'm
02:03okay with. The keyboard actually feels like a regular desktop keyboard. Like if you have
02:07one of those small compact keyboards where the keys are butted up right to the edge of
02:11the chassis, it feels like that, at least for me. But everyone's going to be a little
02:14bit different. Now the reason why they do this, the reason why they have this entire
02:17shift in the first place, just like the original Zephyrus, is they're trying to optimize cooling
02:21for the components at the top. So when you shift it down like this, you can put your
02:24thermal solution directly on top of the hottest stuff, like your CPU and GPU. You can cool
02:28it more aggressively, but it does require you to shift it down like this. So the thermal
02:32solution they're using this year has slightly thinner blades and more blades, which is supposed
02:36to help with cooling it down. And it also has that lift, like when you lift the laptop
02:41screen, that hinge lifts up to kind of increase airflow. I always wondered if this was some
02:45kind of gimmick. The truth is, I'll never be able to tell, I'm not a thermal engineer,
02:48but my guess is that if you're opening a hole on the side of the device like this, how can
02:52it not help with thermals, right? I think it's a good thing. I was able to run 3DMark
02:56a couple times on this and the thermals are really good. It is just an engineering sample
03:00and I was expecting it to throttle a little bit. None of it. I mean, if they're able to
03:05cool something like this, this thin, then I feel like other companies should be able
03:08to do the same thing. Biggest disadvantage I see with this thing though is the battery
03:12size. It's a 50 watt hour battery. Wasn't able to run any tests on it, but logic would
03:16dictate that this is probably, what, a four hour battery at best. So if you need it for
03:19the full day, you'll have to bring a charger with you. But yeah, super thin gaming laptop
03:24that honestly has no real compromises. And that's, that's a nice product. Pricing, I'm
03:30not sure. Maybe my guess is like two grand, maybe a little bit less. It comes in a 1070
03:35Max-Q version. I didn't even talk about the graphics card, but it's a 1070 Max-Q and you
03:38think you can get a 1060 variant for a little bit less, but that's that. Okay. Strix 2,
03:4417 inch. Real quick, I did a review of the 15 inch model. Love that device. One of the
03:49best cool devices on the market right now for that 15 inch kind of mid tier premium
03:53segment. It's not cheap, but it's made really, really well. I mean, these are built, they're
03:59built to last. I think that's the big thing about the Strix devices. Like they're gaming
04:02laptops, but they're built a little bit better than a lot of the other devices. They cost
04:06a little bit more, but you're getting some premium components. This device, I think the
04:10thing that makes it special is the 17 inch 144 Hertz, three millisecond screen. So I
04:14think it's the first of its kind. Really fast, really smooth. Like if you're into competitive
04:19gaming and you have to use a laptop, this is like a, it's a nice screen for that. Good
04:25laptop. I haven't really used it much. Obviously these are both engineering samples, but that's
04:29basically it. Two devices from Asus that I think are pretty interesting ones, particularly
04:33this thing. I would, I would consider using this as my daily. I mean, once the review
04:37units come in, I'll check it out, give a more thorough examination on it, but I like it.
04:42Okay. Hope you guys enjoyed this video. Thumbs if you liked it, subs if you loved it. See
04:45you guys next time.