Asus GL502VM GTX 1060 mini review

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sprout2287

Gawd
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Jul 30, 2007
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So, I was shopping for a new laptop for the past few months and I narrowed it down between two. This one and the Clevo variant with the same GPU. I've had very good luck with Asus laptops over the past few years, so I went with it.

Last time I bought a laptop was 6 years ago, with the the asus n61jq with the i7 720qm and the ati 5730. Played BF2142 pretty well, back then, but after that crisis came out and it was never able to hang with newer games...

I wanted something I can game on when I travel for work. But, also small and light enough to fit in my messenger bag comfortably. The second criteria was that it be as inexpensive as possible at the same time.

I decided on the gtx1060 variant after thinking hard about the 970m version previously (a month ago). As soon as the new series came out, the decision was made.

It came with the 1tb hitachi 7200rpm spinny drive, which was promptly removed for a Samsung 850 evo m.2. I also repasted, which isn't as huge an ordeal as I read elsewhere. Took about 10 mins after the bottom cover was off. On the 850 evo m.2, I reinstalled a clean version of win 10 and installed the drivers from the asus site, except for the gpu, which I grabbed from NVidia directly.

Temps seem to be the primary concern between this and the clevo. I've read a few threads where folks complain about how hot the asus runs. I think they're acceptable. Got up to 76c in timespy and 75c in firestrike. Full load on the cpu, with IBT yielded 82c max. Way higher than normal use would ever take it, IMHO. This is all in about 73f ambient, on a desk, flat, with no additional airflow.

Here's a few pics:

Hynix ddr4 2133:



bottom cover removed, 850 evo installed:



Firestrike #s (scored 9603) and log of temps (max 75c):



timespy #s (scored 3560) and temps (max 76c)



IBT result with realtemp showing max of 82c:



All in all, I am very happy with the laptop. The screen looks amazing, compared to my qnix 1440p. Even though it's about half the size. keyboard lighting is very nice. Keystroke isn't "clicky" but has good feel and is easy to use when gaming or typing.

The layout is pretty easy, IMO, for upgrading ram, repasting, or HDD installs. All the screws around the permiter of the base are removed and you pry it off with your fingernail. One piece. You have access to basically everything you need right there.
 
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Update:

I replaced the TIM with Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut. Results are below:

No real gains seen with the TIM upgrade.:(

Ambient temp still 72f, still sitting flat on a desk with no additional airflow.

firestrike #s (scored 9606) and temps (max 76c) +1c?



timespy #s (scored 3594) and temps (Max 72c) -4c



IBT result with realtemp showing max of 81c (-1c) but noteworthy that the speed is slightly faster



I also tried running the oculus rift and it performed well (no benches yet). One issue I did have was a message that says that my hardware does not meet the required specs for the rift. Still runs fine though. Played some eve vaklyrie and lucky's tale to confirm. No noticeable decrease in experience as compared to my overclocked 980ti/ 6700k desktop.
 
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I'm considering picking up one of these. How much RAM do you have in this? This is one of the i7 models, right? Have you tried running it with more demanding rift games? I'm trying to get rid of my SFX PC since I would prefer a laptop for travel, and this seriously looks great.
 
It came with 8gb soldered and 8gb replaceable. IIRC it said you can do up to 24gb, maybe it was more.

Yup, i7 6700hq

I haven't really pushed it too hard with the rift. I tried it out and put an hour or so on it. Just enough that made me comfortable it would do it. No notable stutter, slowness, or anything.

Carried it back and forth, to work, all this week. It wasn't too bad on the shoulder, even with the power pack in my bag.

Also watched a movie on the airplane. About 2 hours and the laptop reported 3 hours remaining battery. I didn't run it all the way down, so no telling what it might have done with back to back movies.
 
I just got the 502 VS (similar specs just 1070 gtx instead and 256gb SSD + 1TB HD setup). I just pulled off the bottom plate this afternoon to replace the 1TB spinner with a 1TB SSD and the VS comes with ram 2 sockets, 1x 16gb sodimm, 1x empty - I have another 16gb on the way. 32gb should keep this PC humming for the next year or two.

I've only had it a few days, but so far, I'm pretty impressed. The SSD that came with it is only 256gb but it's a PCIE drive and pretty speedy. I haven't run any benchies yet but from the web reviews the new 1060+ mobile GPUs are crazy fast compared to the prior 9xx gen GPUs.

Glad to hear about the good stock thermal paste job though - so I don't have to waste my time redoing that. All of my previous Alienwares had notoriously bad 'blob all over the place' paste jobs which I had to redo.
 
Would you say it's solid enough to replace your desktop as a daily use machine? Looking at this laptop as a potential replacement for my i5 2500k + 970 + 16gb ram setup.


EDIT: I also just read that it uses HDMI 1.4a so I couldn't push 4k @ 60hz with 4:4:4 with it :'(
 
For me, the 1080p screen takes some getting used to. My main rig (sig specs) at home is a 4K screen and both my work machines are 2560 width displays (one is x1600 and one is x1080) - so the 1920x1080 loss in width takes some getting used to (as an Excel jockey).

The keyboard is good for a membrane type, good travel distance and actuation but for me (just a few days in) the non-standard arrow + numlock key is taking some getting used to and the bright neon orange WASD keys can be distracting.

Hardware-wise, it seems to be as good as / better than my previous laptop (Alienware 18, 4940 i7 + 2x 980m SLI + 500msata + 2x1tb Samsung EVO RAID0 + 18.4" 1080p) in terms of general usability. The 1060-1070 gtx is more than powerful enough for any basic task and at 1080p resolution should be 60-100fps in almost any game on max.

This 502 does come with GSync but no Optimus (for the energy conscious types) and all without the headaches of worrying about SLI support. Keep in mind the LCD GSync is capped at 60fps, so it's not the best laptop screen out there, but you can output to an external GSync display as well (I've read, I don't have one to test on though).

The storage (as I said earlier) is a PCIE M2 and is faster than the RAID0 SATA3 or the single msata I had in my previous machine. The fact that they threw in a 256gb PCIE m2 is what made me buy this over the MSI 43 or 63 (14" and 15.6" with 1060gtx), which are maybe 100 bucks or so difference in price but give you normal SATA3 M2 drives (though some people on the web have gotten PCIE drives and some haven't so who knows how they decide on who gets what). The Asus comes with 2 year warranty + 1 year accidental coverage, where as the MSI comes with just 1 year normal warranty and no accident coverage.

I really wanted to get the MSI laptops since they were thinner (though YouTube reviews say the 'under one inch' thin-ness causes the fans to run longer and louder) and the 43 is 14" - which is what I originally was looking for to supplement my Alienware 18 for mobile gaming - but the better specs on the ASUS for about the same / just a little more money, made me change my mind.

Bottom line: Can it replace your current rig with your current specs? The Asus storage isn't as good as your current 500gb SSD but if you do a drive swap or upgrade the Asus stocker drive (s) that should solve that issue. All the other specs will be better than your current (sig) specs - CPU, GPU, RAM (DDR4).
 
dvsman said:
For me, the 1080p screen takes some getting used to. My main rig (sig specs) at home is a 4K screen and both my work machines are 2560 width displays (one is x1600 and one is x1080) - so the 1920x1080 loss in width takes some getting used to (as an Excel jockey).

The keyboard is good for a membrane type, good travel distance and actuation but for me (just a few days in) the non-standard arrow + numlock key is taking some getting used to and the bright neon orange WASD keys can be distracting.

Hardware-wise, it seems to be as good as / better than my previous laptop (Alienware 18, 4940 i7 + 2x 980m SLI + 500msata + 2x1tb Samsung EVO RAID0 + 18.4" 1080p) in terms of general usability. The 1060-1070 gtx is more than powerful enough for any basic task and at 1080p resolution should be 60-100fps in almost any game on max.

This 502 does come with GSync but no Optimus (for the energy conscious types) and all without the headaches of worrying about SLI support. Keep in mind the LCD GSync is capped at 60fps, so it's not the best laptop screen out there, but you can output to an external GSync display as well (I've read, I don't have one to test on though).

The storage (as I said earlier) is a PCIE M2 and is faster than the RAID0 SATA3 or the single msata I had in my previous machine. The fact that they threw in a 256gb PCIE m2 is what made me buy this over the MSI 43 or 63 (14" and 15.6" with 1060gtx), which are maybe 100 bucks or so difference in price but give you normal SATA3 M2 drives (though some people on the web have gotten PCIE drives and some haven't so who knows how they decide on who gets what). The Asus comes with 2 year warranty + 1 year accidental coverage, where as the MSI comes with just 1 year normal warranty and no accident coverage.

I really wanted to get the MSI laptops since they were thinner (though YouTube reviews say the 'under one inch' thin-ness causes the fans to run longer and louder) and the 43 is 14" - which is what I originally was looking for to supplement my Alienware 18 for mobile gaming - but the better specs on the ASUS for about the same / just a little more money, made me change my mind.

Bottom line: Can it replace your current rig with your current specs? The Asus storage isn't as good as your current 500gb SSD but if you do a drive swap or upgrade the Asus stocker drive (s) that should solve that issue. All the other specs will be better than your current (sig) specs - CPU, GPU, RAM (DDR4).
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Certainly convinced me. Shame I missed the $300 off deal at Microcenter three days ago, but I'm making the switch.

I do hope that someone will make a laptop without such obnoxious gamer aesthetic, though. A 1060 Dell XPS would be the dream.
 
Here's the Crystal Mark of the stock PCIE M2. When I took it apart, it turns out the drive is a Samsung SM951 (PCIE/AHCI) drive. Not bad for a stocker!

ASUS GL502 VS

256gb PCIE M2 drive (Samsung SM951)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskMark 5.1.2 x64 (C) 2007-2016 hiyohiyo
Crystal Dew World : Crystal Dew World
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
* MB/s = 1,000,000 bytes/s [SATA/600 = 600,000,000 bytes/s]
* KB = 1000 bytes, KiB = 1024 bytes

Sequential Read (Q= 32,T= 1) : 1945.879 MB/s
Sequential Write (Q= 32,T= 1) : 1248.424 MB/s
Random Read 4KiB (Q= 32,T= 1) : 471.486 MB/s [115108.9 IOPS]
Random Write 4KiB (Q= 32,T= 1) : 352.580 MB/s [ 86079.1 IOPS]
Sequential Read (T= 1) : 1835.269 MB/s
Sequential Write (T= 1) : 1242.256 MB/s
Random Read 4KiB (Q= 1,T= 1) : 44.929 MB/s [ 10969.0 IOPS]
Random Write 4KiB (Q= 1,T= 1) : 153.507 MB/s [ 37477.3 IOPS]

Test : 1024 MiB [C: 41.4% (98.3/237.7 GiB)] (x1) [Interval=5 sec]
Date : 2016/10/06 20:41:13
OS : Windows 10 [10.0 Build 10586] (x64)
 
BTW: I'm right there with you on a semi-gamer XPS laptop. I wanted a thin form factor that I can carry into the office that doesn't scream gamer, but can still take on the road and play some games. Given how bulky the Alienware series laptops have become I hope they delegate the thin and light duty to the XPS series.
 
dvsman said:
The Asus comes with 2 year warranty + 1 year accidental coverage, where as the MSI comes with just 1 year normal warranty and no accident coverage.
Click to expand...

I think you have this exactly backwards. The MSI comes with the 2 year warranty and 1 year accidental, where as the ASUS only comes with a 1 year normal and no accidental. Source: Newegg warranty info page
 
Woops, you're right. I did switch those up. Sorry for the mis-info! Been reading so much about these things, got the info all jumbled up in the noggin.

Just re-factchecked myself and posted updated info on the warranty.
 
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Just a headsup for folks interested in buying either an MSI or ASUS machine, specifically the MSI GS63VR or ASUS GL502VS- I happened to be rereading the specs on the ASUS (GL502VS) and Asus DOES offer ASUS ADP for one year (Accidental Damage Protection). I wanted to add this just in case anyone does a search later and comes across this thread. Asus= 1 Year warranty + 1 year accidental coverage.

From Amazon (scroll down)

From Newegg (scroll down)

  • YOUR ALWAYS ON-CALL PC MEDICS
    One-year Accidental Damage Protection

    It's a fact -- accidents happen to all of us. ASUS ADP program2 is created to bring you peace of mind and help protect your devices against damages such as: liquid spills, electrical surges, and drops.*ASUS ADP program applies only to select ASUS branded notebook and tablet products sold within the United States and Canada from select Authorized ASUS Resellers. Products must be purchased in brand new factory sealed condition and not of refurbished or open-box condition. Units sold and purchased outside of the United States and Canada are not eligible.For more details and a list of excluded Resellers, please visit http://adp.asus.com.

    Comprehensive Coverage
    1-Year International Warranty
    30 days Zero Bright Dot Guarantee
    Free 2-way standard shipping
    24/7 Technical Support
On the MSI (GS63VR) it has a 2 year warranty + 1 year international warranty (no mention of accidental coverage).

From MSI website

I know I'm senile, but I knew I wasn't THAT senile.
 
One more thing - (according to the web sources) the MSI offers a 120hz TN (?) panel vs the 60hz only panel, in the Asus - so if that is something that might influence your buying decision (i.e. you are really into the fast twitch games, etc.), keep that in mind.
 
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sprout2287, how did you go about re-installing Windows 10 on the M2 as the primary drive? I tried to do the install by creating a recovery drive but this didn't work. Also, did you need to make any changes to the BIOS? Thanks.

sprout2287 said:
It came with the 1tb hitachi 7200rpm spinny drive, which was promptly removed for a Samsung 850 evo m.2. I also repasted, which isn't as huge an ordeal as I read elsewhere. Took about 10 mins after the bottom cover was off. On the 850 evo m.2, I reinstalled a clean version of win 10 and installed the drivers from the asus site, except for the gpu, which I grabbed from NVidia directly.
Click to expand...
 
I just used a generic MS Win10 Home iso. It detected the serial number in the firmware and activated itself. I did have to hunt down the drivers from the Asus website but the base Windows installed without issue. EDIT: You can use an external CD drive or a jump drive (I used a jump drive I had laying around with Windows ISOs on it).
 
Yup, me too. It detected the prior activation.

sorry, didn't get an email on my thread subscription.

I replied to the other thread, just now.

I uninstalled the hdd and installed the m2. then installed fresh, from a usb stick with the w10 x64 installer on it. I can't remember if i had to edit the boot options in the bios or not. I don't think.
 
Thanks dvsman and sprout2287, that worked. Does anyone notice that the space key is difficult to hit/requires more pressure than normal? I am wondering if I got a faulty key.
 
I had the 970M version of this laptop, returned it due to poor speakers and ir had a cheap chimei tn panel.
 
This one has a cheap-ish IPS (G-sync 60, too) panel. Nothing wrong with it, but it is super flimsy, so definitely have to be careful opening and closing it. It's a necessary tradeoff for thin laptops I suppose.
 
I keep looking at this machine but the soldered RAM is a huge turn off for me. I have a 32GB kit I want to use in whatever I get. Why would they even do that? I get it on a $199 netbook but a $1300+ gaming laptop?
 
Only the low end base model has soldered ram. The 1070 16gb 256gb+1tb version has 2 sockets. I'm running 2x 16gb = 32gb in mine right now.
 
dvsman said:
Only the low end base model has soldered ram. The 1070 16gb 256gb+1tb version has 2 sockets. I'm running 2x 16gb = 32gb in mine right now.
Click to expand...

Wow that is good news. Do you happen to know which models have two slots? All of the i7 ones?

I'm actually looking at the 17" model now that is pretty much the same price, just a slightly bigger screen.
 
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