ASUS ROG Chimera G703 Gaming Laptop Review

Introduction

Ah gaming laptops. They’ve been around for ages and it has only been in the most recent times that the performance has backed up the claims. It is almost a given that you have to accept that the desktop equivalent will be both more affordable and better performing.

However, recent developments in GPU and CPU efficiency combined with improvements in design have meant that some recent GTX 10×0 based gaming laptops have matched up to their desktop brethren. It is with this knowledge that we take a look at the first in a range of ROG gaming laptops, the G703.

Sporting all of the latest hardware including a GTX 1080 GPU beating at the heart of it, and in a chassis befitting of the Republic of Gamers branding, we’re excited to find out if the trend towards genuinely powerful laptops is upwards and if the G703 can match the frame rates we’ve seen from the desktop Pascal GPU.

Technical Specifications

There are a few different hardware configurations available for the G703. Thankfully our review sample contained exactly the choices we’d make ourselves if it was our money, Core i7-7820HK, Windows 10 Pro, 1080P 144Hz GSYNC display. At only 17 inches any 4K display is almost entirely pointless or a guarantee of a trip to the optician. Whereas the benefits of 144Hz are readily apparent.

At 4.8 KG the G703 is one of the heaviest laptops we’ve reviewed, but as even the slimmest, lightest laptop is hardly something easily portable we’d definitely be willing to expend a tiny bit more energy lugging it about if it delivers the goods when we get down to playing.