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TechTranscript
00:00Hey, how's it going guys? This is Dave2D. So, I did a review on the Asus GL502 a while back,
00:13but Asus, along with a bunch of other computer manufacturers, have updated their laptops with the new Pascal-based chips.
00:20This is an updated video.
00:22The old GL502 came in two variants, the thicker VY and the thinner VT.
00:28That's the one I actually did the video on.
00:30The updated GL502 also comes in two variants, the thicker VS and the thinner VM, which I have here,
00:36and that comes equipped with the GTX 1060.
00:38Let's first talk about what hasn't changed.
00:40The dimensions and the exterior casing hasn't changed.
00:43It's still an aluminum top panel with a polycarbonate body.
00:46The keyboard, trackpad, and the speakers haven't changed either.
00:49They're all pretty good, especially the trackpad.
00:51Internally, the RAM, the CPU, and the cooling systems haven't changed.
00:55It still has one slot of upgradable RAM and two upgradable storage areas.
01:00There's now support for HDMI 2.0, which is cool, but there were rumors that the refresh would also support Thunderbolt 3.
01:06My model doesn't. I'm not sure if it was just a rumor or if it's just a region thing,
01:10but this particular model, the 502 VM, does not support it.
01:14The things that have changed are the graphics card and the new G-Sync screen.
01:18So, this is now rocking the NVIDIA GTX 1060, a really nice performance bump from the previous generation.
01:24For moderately demanding games, like Overwatch, at 1080p, you'll be around 95 frames per second on epic settings.
01:31Something a little heavier, like Batman Arkham Knight on ultra, it's just under 60 frames per second.
01:36Witcher 3 on high will get you mid-60 frames per second.
01:39On ultra, it's around 40 frames per second.
01:42So, in general, it's about a 40, maybe 45% increase in performance over the 970M.
01:47It's even better performing than the 980M. This is a really nice card.
01:51So, with the GTX 1060, the GL502 can comfortably handle VR.
01:56The 970M, on the original GL502 I reviewed, was on the cusp of handling VR.
02:01And you could play some games with pretty smooth frame rates,
02:04but with the 1060 and this one, you're deep in the area of a comfortable VR experience.
02:09Video editing is also faster.
02:11So, render times for Adobe Premiere are around 5 to maybe 10% faster, depending on your composition.
02:17In terms of thermal performance under load, the older 502 with the 970M had relatively quiet fans,
02:24but the system ran a little warm.
02:26With the 1060, the fan noise is still quieter than you'd expect for this kind of performance,
02:30but load temperatures are still warm.
02:32In fact, I'm measuring slightly hotter temperatures than the older 502.
02:36Fortunately, there's still no CPU or GPU throttling, even on benchmarks.
02:40The laptop just runs warm.
02:42It's not uncomfortable to use, the contact areas aren't hot,
02:45and it's not something that will destroy your laptop,
02:47but if you live in a hot environment, keep it in mind.
02:50The screen is a new panel.
02:52It's still an IPS 1080p panel, and it's just as bright,
02:55but I noticed that this new screen isn't as color accurate.
02:58It's still pretty good, but the older screen had surprisingly good color accuracy.
03:02The trade-off is that this display now has G-Sync,
03:05and G-Sync is the tech that basically smoothens out your frame rates
03:08if there's any kind of screen tearing from frame drops.
03:11So, there's a chip in the screen that'll maintain your frame rates
03:14and give you smooth gameplay, well, to the best of its ability.
03:17The negatives to a G-Sync display is the fact that you lose NVIDIA Optimus,
03:21and if you're unfamiliar with Optimus, he's the leader of the Autobots.
03:24So, it's the technology that allows your laptop to switch between graphics cards.
03:29So, if you're playing games or you're doing 3D stuff,
03:31it'll use your discrete graphics chip.
03:33In this case, the GTX 1060, but the moment you stop doing that,
03:36the moment you're, like, typing an essay or just browsing the web,
03:39it'll switch to the integrated graphics chip to help save power,
03:42and if you have G-Sync, you lose that feature,
03:44and that brings up the last point in this video.
03:46Battery life on the older 502 wasn't amazing,
03:49but it was respectable at around three and a half hours of regular use.
03:52The updated 502 has a measurably shorter battery life of three hours,
03:57and this is with screen brightness equal between the two, both at 250 nits.
04:01Okay, the Pascal-based refresh is a nice step up in performance.
04:05The GTX 1060 just crushes games at 1080p,
04:08and the G-Sync panel is actually really nice to look at,
04:10but keep in mind that you're getting a reduced battery life,
04:13and the panel isn't as color accurate as the old one,
04:16but if you're looking for a thin and light laptop in this form factor at this price point,
04:20the new GL502 is a really nice option.
04:23That's the end of this video. Hope you guys liked it.
04:25Thumbs if you liked it, subs if you loved it,
04:27and if you want to learn more about this laptop,
04:29like you want to learn about the older features that I didn't mention in this video,
04:32check out the old one. I'll link it somewhere.