Asus offers a variety of gaming laptops under its sub-brand ROG (short for Republic of Gamers), which are designed to deliver epic gaming performance with the best technology and specifications. Indeed, we have already reviewed many laptops from this series, such as ROG Zephyrus M16, ROG Zephyrus Duo 15, ROG Flow X13, ROG Strix Scar 15, and others.
Perhaps the thing that combines these devices is the slim and light design, as well as the extraordinary and exceptional performance in games to this day, despite its launch a long time ago, let alone the performance of the latest laptop in that series! Asus has already launched a new laptop in the ROG category, specifically the Zephyrus series, a device that carries the maximum that can be offered to gamers in particular in terms of capabilities and internal hardware to easily dominate the title of "best gaming laptop in the world" - welcome with us the ROG Zephyrus S17, where brutality at its best picture!
A true one-of-a-kind device, a model in which Asus has flexed its muscle offering a large 17-inch screen and armed with the latest CPU and GPU from Intel and NVIDIA respectively. We got the device for review recently and we are very curious to see if it will live up to our expectations, after passing enough tests let us share with you our experience and whether it is worth buying. if you dare!
ROG Zephyrus S17 Laptop Specifications:
- Processor: Intel i9-11900H Octa-core, clocked at 4.90GHz and 24MB cache.
- RAM: 32 GB with the ability to expand memory up to 48 GB, DDR4 type at 3200 MHz.
- Storage: M.2 NVMe 2TB, PCIe Generation 4
- Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 with 16GB GDDR6 video memory supported by ROG Boost technology.
- Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) with ROG Range Boost support.
- Bluetooth: Bluetooth 5.2 (Dual-band.
- Battery: 4-cell Li-ion, with a capacity of 90 watts per hour.
- Screen: 17.3 inch IPS with 165Hz refresh rate at 2K resolution and 500 nits brightness, powered by Adaptive-Sync.
- Camera: 720p, HD camera powered by ASUS 3D Noise Reduction technology.
- Laptop weight: 2.60 kg only.
- Operating System: Windows 10 Pro, eligible to upgrade to Windows 11.
- Additional Features: 6-speaker Dolby Atmos audio system and Smart Amp Technology support.
- Available ports on the laptop:
- One Thunderbolt 4 USB-C port with DisplayPort or PD support.
- 3 USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports.
- One RJ45 Ethernet port.
- One HDMI 2.0b port.
- SD input supports the UHS-II standard at speeds up to 312MB/s.
- One USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port that supports DisplayPort and Power Delivery.
- One USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port that supports DisplayPort, Power Delivery, and G-Sync.
- 3.5mm external port.
ROG Zephyrus S17 laptop design
Without exaggeration, Asus is currently one of the best manufacturers that can make laptops that look elegant and out of the ordinary. Over the past years, we've seen some really cool designs from Asus, and it's not much different from the ROG lineup is designed to be as thin and light as possible to Maintain your strong performance. With the ROG Zephyrus S17 laptop, the design has taken to another level as the device comes with many aesthetic touches.
More generally and comprehensively, the design is unlike most gaming laptops, whether from Asus or others, where the external structure does not contain any RGB illuminated elements, whether the logo or the bottom edges and this is frankly very good as it makes the device suitable for environments other than “gaming” given its superior specifications that allow Using it for a lot more than gaming, it's built for literally every use you can imagine!
The absence of RGB lighting will not diminish the beauty of the design of this laptop at all. It comes in a dark black color that does not look very shiny or attractive at least, but it has great additions. On the top cover, we find that the chassis is divided into two parts diagonally so that the ROG logo is engraved in a large size on The top while the bottom has beautiful decorative perforations that add a creative flair to the design.
In terms of manufacturing quality, the top screen cover is made of all metal while the rest of the parts are made of high-quality plastic to maintain the lightweight and make it more portable, as the weight of ROG Zephyrus S17 is about 2.6 kg which is very light compared to the rest of the gaming laptops available in the market.
With a 17-inch screen, ROG Zephyrus S17 is naturally a huge laptop, and you can easily notice it before you even take it out of the box. But this form factor has enabled ASUS to include everything you can expect of internal hardware in a high-quality gaming laptop, without compromising on top-of-the-line features and capabilities.
The interior of the laptop is also innovative as the keyboard is automatically raised and separated from the main body as soon as the screen is opened to end up with the keyboard tilted slightly towards the user, at an angle of approximately 5 degrees, which positively affects the experience of typing or gaming. This design also helps keep components cool while gaming, and since cooling is an important factor in a device with this specification, we'll talk about it more in detail in a special section later.
The overall design is luxurious and distinctive, matte and very calm, and also provides a soft feel. But if we had to remove a defect in the design, it would be the speed of attracting fingerprints, as the surface of the keyboard is made of a rubber material that is easy to stain with fingerprints after using it for a short time, so you may need to clean it constantly to maintain its luxurious appearance.
Keyboard and touchpad in ROG Zephyrus S17
The ROG Zephyrus S17 laptop comes with a full keyboard, that is, it contains the number keys for the calculator. It is an Optical Mechanical keyboard that we have previously seen in many ROG laptops such as the ROG Scar 15, and it is considered one of the best mechanical keyboards that you can find in a laptop Today's games, with superior responsiveness thanks to ASUS carefully designed switches that only take 0.2 milliseconds to register each press! This is very fast, which reflects a smoother and better control experience within different games compared to traditional consoles.
The keyboard here offers per-key RGB lighting with the ability to customize the lighting in all kinds of creative ways. With the first use, you will notice that the feel of the keys is soft and gives the feeling that it is a “premium” keyboard, as it is made of high-quality materials, while Asus says that it has strong durability that makes it last up to 100 million keystrokes! Hence, it is ideal considering the main use of this laptop which is gaming. The power button is also equipped with a fingerprint reader for compatibility with Windows Hello so that the laptop is turned on and your identity is verified with the same click!
Another notable addition to this board is that it has a scroll wheel! Asus compensates for the lack of Media keys with this wheel to perform more functional tasks according to user preferences, and its size is about 3 times larger compared to the previous version of ROG Zephyrus S17, it is also more solid and has technology that allows it to scroll faster when it detects that you are scrolling quickly. The wheel is easily customizable with the Aura control app and can be used to control the volume, mute the microphone, change screen brightness, switch between open windows, and more.
As we indicated in the design point of the device, the chassis for carrying the keyboard in the ROG Zephyrus S17 laptop has special hinges to be raised after opening the screen, and thus the keyboard becomes tilted forward 5 degrees. This innovative design is called "AAS Plus" by ASUS with two main goals: comfort while typing and gaming, and better cooling for internal hardware.
Of course, raising the keyboard improves wrist and hand positioning, something I personally appreciate, as the typing and gaming experience becomes incredibly comfortable! Especially since the part of the keyboard is made of rubber materials, which makes it a suitable wrist rest without feeling tired even during long work/play sessions. Moreover, thanks to this design and the separation of the keyboard from the internal components located under it, your fingers will not be affected by the high temperature that results from playing games or performing heavy tasks, so the keys remain cool to the touch for more comfort.
The design idea of the AAS Plus is very genius and we hope to find it in more laptops. If not, heat in ROG Zephyrus S17 would be a major performance drag, but thanks to it, it's easier to quickly dissipate heat produced by components like the processor and graphics card, improve cooling, and reduce fan noise even under heavy workloads.
The only drawback in this design is often the possibility of dust and dirt entering and infiltrating quickly towards the cooling outlets, but Asus says that the cooling unit is equipped with Self-Cleaning Cooling technology that makes the cooling fans self-clean! This means that the fan blades themselves, as well as the paths through which the heat flows, are designed in such a way that they combat dust build-up over time. The goal is not to keep the fans or the cooling area in general clean but at least to prevent dust build-up to ensure consistent cooling performance.
The keyboard in general is very excellent and perfectly suits the level of gaming, but the layout of the keys takes some time to adapt as the first days of use usually require looking at the panel to press the desired key.
As for the touchpad, it is made of glass, but coated with a matte layer to make the movement more smooth and accurate, and its area is very large, even 125% larger than the previous generation, and may dispense with the use of the mouse in some cases, except for games of course.
The screen on the ROG Zephyrus S17 laptop
The screen in this laptop gives gamers what they deserve to have the perfect experience as if they were using a portable desktop! ROG Zephyrus S17 comes with a huge 17.3-inch IPS screen, but there are two versions of the laptop, one that comes with a 4K screen resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate supported by Adaptive-Sync technology. The second version, which is currently in our hands for review, has a WQHD screen (384,02160 x pixels), which offers a 165Hz refresh rate and 3ms response time for a smoother gaming experience.
It is clear that the screen in ROG Zephyrus S17 is intended not only to be designed to display a high level of graphics and detail in gaming but also in other works of video and photo editing where the screen comes with 100 percent cinematic-grade DCI-P3 coverage and it is enough that it is certified by Pantone This ensures amazing color accuracy for a more realistic level of in-game visuals or at least that's what content creators need to make more professional videos.
However, the screen here, and specifically the version that we are reviewing, is supported by many technologies to serve the gaming experience in particular. Initially, there is support for Dolby Vision technology, which improves the viewing experience significantly and significantly, in addition, to support for G-SYNC technology to eliminate the problem of stuttering in games and make the FPS frame rate more consistent with the refresh rate of the screen and this you will see clearly in most modern AAA games, providing a style Fun, smooth and highly stable gameplay.
Even for normal daily use, this is a flawless screen that has unique technologies to get a better picture in games, and it offers a great experience in terms of picture quality and color accuracy. Not only that, but it's also one of the brightest IPS screens I've seen on a gaming laptop! In addition, it is equipped with an anti-glare layer to maintain clear vision under various lighting conditions.
The screen in ROG Zephyrus S17 has very thin bezels on all four sides, a feature rarely found in gaming laptops in general. Meanwhile, unlike some previous Zephyrus versions, this model has a webcam along with microphones located in the usual spot above. By the way, the camera here is equipped with 2DNR and 3DNR technologies together to reduce noise during video calls and get a smooth picture.
ROG Zephyrus S17 laptop performance in gaming
We tested the performance of the device in some of our games and it achieved the expected results as it is intended for games. In the game Shadow Of The Tomb Raider at 1080p, the average FPS reached 137 on the highest settings.
In Shadow Of The Tomb Raider at 1440p, the average FPS was 102 on the highest settings.
We also tested the laptop with Far Cry 5 at 1440p quality, so the average FPS number reached 104 on the highest settings, while on 1080p quality, the average FPS number reached 123 on the highest settings.
ROG Zephyrus S17 laptop performance
The laptop has the latest 11th generation Intel i9 octa-core processor, clocked at 4.90GHz and 24MB cache, and it scored 5336 points in the Cinebeanch R20 test, and this result is unmistakable.
Audio in ROG Zephyrus S17
Honestly, the ROG Zephyrus S17 is somewhat of an anomaly among laptops of all kinds in terms of audio performance, as it produces pure, multi-layered sound whether it's connected to the charger or not. Of course, the reason is that Asus has equipped the device with high-quality speakers with the support of the best audio technologies available to provide an immersive experience like never before on any other laptop.
ROG Zephyrus S17 comes with 6 speakers that sound clear and not muffled, 4 of which are below the keyboard while 2 are below the screen, all powered by Dolby Atmos technology and also Smart Amp to enable the user to get the high-quality sound and "spatial sound" experience often seen in phones The sound seems to be coming at you from different directions while watching movies but you'll really appreciate it in games, and the speakers provide an incredible bass level that can be seen when the volume is turned up. All in all, this laptop offers one of the best audio systems you can find on any gaming laptop these days!
This audio system also comes with a set of high-resolution microphones in picking up your voice that can be set in two different modes through the device’s software represented in the Armory Crate app with the ability to spin background noise with the help of artificial intelligence techniques where unwanted side sounds such as The sound of the fan or the pressures of the keyboard and isolate it from the sound of the microphone.
Ports and Connections in ROG Zephyrus S17
There's just about every I/O port you'd want to be placed on either side of the ROG Zephyrus S17 laptop to connect as many external devices and accessories as possible. 3 USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A ports provide fast and flexible data transfer when connecting external storage devices. There is also a full-size SD card reader with transfer speeds of up to 312MB/s so if you are a photographer you will appreciate this very much. It makes transferring photos and videos smooth, especially since some of the uses of this laptop are intended for content makers and creators.
There is also support for a 3.5 mm headphone or microphone input, although gaming laptop manufacturers have dispensed with it in the latest versions, the vast space of the chassis of this laptop has allowed ASUS to add all the ports that can be provided to gamers, including the LAN RJ port. 45.
And the matter does not stop here, of course, the device comes equipped with the latest technologies, so there is support for the Thunderbolt 4 port, which provides the possibility of a high-speed connection, whether when connected to TV screens or computer screens with a resolution of up to 8K, you do not have a problem at all, and it can also be used to charge the laptop at high speed, which is What we'll talk about later. This is in addition to the presence of two USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 2 ports, one of which supports direct connection to an external graphics card and thus can be used to connect an external monitor while enjoying the G-SYNC technology supported in it. Finally, there is an HDMI port, but the 2.0b version, not 2.1, but the difference is not huge between both versions, and this port may exceed your needs throughout the period o your use of the ROG Zephyrus S17.
So, the number of ports in the laptop meets a large number of purposes and uses, but the only comment we have is that most of the ports are on one side, which is the front left side where the charging port, HDMI, LAN, headphone input and USB-C port are located. This negatively impacts the user experience when connecting many peripherals as this aspect becomes crowded, so I would have preferred to see a balance between the number of ports on both sides as in the previous models tried in the ROG series.
ROG Zephyrus S17 laptop battery
The relatively large form factor allowed Asus to support this laptop with a 90Wh battery which is definitely a big battery. But as usual with any gaming laptop, battery performance remains the number one weak point, and this we currently see clearly on the ROG Zephyrus S17. We wouldn't say the battery performance is bad, but it's just not the best or fully in line with our expectations.
Summary of the results of our tests indicated that the battery lasts about 7 hours with normal use such as watching movies and videos or browsing the Internet, and so on. But as soon as it enters the line to run games, we notice a huge decrease in battery life, as it will not exceed the three-hour barrier at the latest, but it will decrease to one hour with graphics-requiring games.
As we mentioned, the results are not the best, especially when compared to competing for gaming laptops with fairly similar specifications. But the situation may improve later through the periodic updates that Asus pays for the software from time to time, and we do not need to remind you that playing games while relying on the battery (without connecting the charger) is not the best choice because you will sacrifice the strong performance of the graphic processor and the experience will not be fruitful.
It is worth noting that the laptop comes with a variety of battery-saving technologies such as Advanced Optimus that work to provide a dynamic viewing experience for more efficient battery life preservation.
In a clearer sense, Advanced Optimus technology determines if there is a need to take advantage of the performance strength inherent in the laptop, so if it turns out that you are performing heavy tasks such as playing a game or editing 4K or 8K video, this technology automatically transfers all operations to the external Nvidia graphics card to handle If you are doing simple things like watching videos, then the internal Intel graphics card handles the processing of frames which helps to preserve battery life, which is important if you are using the laptop outdoors most of the time.
ROG Zephyrus S17 comes with a large 280W charger, but in terms of size, it is a relatively small charger with a thickness of only 19.9 mm, but it is somewhat heavy but still good enough to take with you to move easily. As for the charging speed, we are talking about two hours to reach 100% if the battery is completely discharged, knowing that the charger here supports fast charging technology, which allows charging half the battery within 30 minutes. The laptop can also be charged via a Type-C port with a power delivery capacity of 100 watts.
Perfect warranty, laptop price, and stores available for purchase
Like all Asus or ROG devices, the ROG Zephyrus S17 laptop comes with a two-year Perfect Warranty against misuse, meaning that if the laptop falls from your hand by mistake and the laptop screen breaks, Asus will service or change the screen for you for free, and certainly this type of warranty is provided For the first time and exclusively from Asus, where there is no like it so far in the laptop market from competing companies.
The price of the ROG Zephyrus S17 laptop, specifically the GX703 version that we have, starts at $3,399.99 and is available for purchase in many authorized stores. You can view it from the Where to Buy page, or you can also review more details about the device from the official website.
In conclusion, is it worth buying?
In my opinion, the ROG Zephyrus S17 is legendary in all respects, it is a laptop with the power and performance of a gaming desktop, but the difference here is that it is “portable” as you have a large screen that helps you immerse yourself in games, watching movies or implementing engineering designs, in addition to the latest and most powerful hardware from the two giants Intel and NVIDIA, a tilting mechanical keyboard, and a six-speaker audio system make this laptop the best choice to meet all the requirements of users of different classes.
The review here seems rather long, but this is not for nothing, but we tried to carefully look at all the details of the laptop to make sure whether it is worth this large amount of money or not, and we say regarding this point that if you have the sufficient budget, buying this laptop It will keep you from thinking about buying a new laptop for many years to come. Simply put, ROG Zephyrus S17 is the best gaming laptop we reviewed and tested this year.
