ASUS ROG STRIX G531 – First Impressions

Asus ROG line up of laptops are very popular among gamers. The new generation 2019 ROG STRIX G531 is the latest gaming laptop that has the best specifications in its price segment. I have been using the laptop for about a week and here are my first impressions

Design

Asus ROG STRIX G531 is a sturdily built laptop. It is made of good quality plastic on all sides. There is no flex of wobbling in the body. It has a brushed metallic finishing on the top lid with ROG logo. The logo is not backlit, but the base of the laptop has RGB light strip running along the bottom on all sides. It has 3 USB ports and a 3.5mm jack on the left side. The HDMI port and ethernet ports are at the back. It does not have an SD card slot or a webcam. It has a self-cleaning dustless cooling fan with vents on the top and the back side. The base of the laptop can be easily removed, in case you would like to upgrade certain parts.

Keyboard and Trackpad

The keyboard is backlit. It has dedicated hotkeys for certain apps and shortcuts. It has full N Key rollover to ensure accurate multi-key presses. The keys a good feel when you strike and is made for fast typing. The backlight can be configured with the Aura Sync software. It does not have number keys, but the position of the keys and the spacing between each key are perfect for gaming. The trackpad is fast and accurate.

Here are the key specifications of Asus ROG STRIX G531

• Display: 5.6 inch FHD 120 Hz/3ms
• CPU: Intel Core i5 9300H
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX1650 GDDR5 4GB
• RAM: upto 32 GB
• Storage: SSD PCIe upto 1 TB / HDD upto 1 TB
• Battery: 48 WHrs
• Ports:3x USB 3.1 (Type A), HDMI 2.0, RJ-45 ethernet, mic/headphone combo
• Wireless: Gigabit WiFi 2×2 802.11ac
• OS: Windows 10
• Weight: 2.4 Kg

Display

The display is one of the highlights of Asus ROG STRIX G531. It has a fast 120 Hz refresh rate display. The display is bright and very responsive. The bezels are thin. But the display does not house a webcam. You would have to get an external webcam if you need one. It has 81.5% screen to body ratio.

Hardware

It has NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 GPU for graphics and a 9th generation Intel i5 processor. There is also a variant with the i7 processor which will in the market later this year. The laptop is equipped with state of the art cooling system to enhance the performance by avoiding throttling and keeping the temperature down.

What to look forward?

Asus ROG STRIX G531 is a mid range gaming laptop with a sturdy body and sensible design. The display is brilliant the GTX 1650 is a promising GPU. We are awaiting the pricing of this laptop in India. Once we have the numbers, we will post a full review of the ROG STRIX G531 with benchmark scores and experiential notes.

Stay tuned!