Our quick take

Asus ROG Zephyrus S17 - 4.5 / 5

How big is too big? 

  • Dimensions: 394 x 264 x 199mm / Weight: 2.6kg  5-degree tilting keyboard All-metal case design

Connectivity

  • Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), Bluetooth 5.2 3x USB-A 3.2, 1x Ethernet, 1x 3.5mm, 1x HDMI, 1x SD card 1x Thunderbolt 4, 1x USB-C 3.2 ports with DisplayPort & PD

Display and media

  • 17.3-inch anti-glare panel, WQHD (2560 x 1440) resolution 165Hz refresh rate, 3ms response time 4K resolution 120Hz option available 6x Dolby Atmos speakers 720p webcam

  • 165Hz refresh rate, 3ms response time 4K resolution 120Hz option available

Gaming performance

  • 11th gen Core i9 processor, 32GB RAM 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD GeForce RTX 3080 GPU  90Wh battery

 Of course, what it can do is often limited to the mode you’ve enabled using the built-in Armoury Crate app. For instance, if you’re not gaming and not plugged into power, it’s automatically in ‘Silent’ mode and so ensures that the CPU and GPU aren’t being used to full capacity (which wouldn’t be possible given the power demands). That means two things: less battery usage, and less heat, so the fans don’t kick on that often in this mode, but you can still get your work done. 

To recap

This performance machine does everything that a powerful gaming laptop should do well. It’s fast, has a responsive and clicky RGB keyboard, and will devour any game you throw at it.