CES 2021 kicked off on Monday but due to Covid everything is online. But that hasn’t stopped ASUS from continuing to iterate on existing laptops while also coming up with a pair of really interesting surprises.

To start off with the entire ROG line is getting some interesting upgrades. First of all you will be able to choose from a couple of panels depending on what is important to you. If you prefer high refresh rates you can choose a panel that will give you 360Hz so lag won’t be an excuse for your horrible K/D ration anymore. However, if you want a high resolution panel, you may have some colour accurate work that you have to do as well as game, then the 4K panel that can “only” refresh at 120Hz with a 3ms response time is for you.

To handle the heat that the latest CPUs from AMD and Intel will output as well as the new RTX 3000 series mobile GPUs the laptops will all use Thermal Grizzly liquid metal instead of the usual thermal paste. I can hear the PS5 fans already crowing about how Sony mainstreamed liquid metal and that the PC guys are just now catching up. To improve airflow as well as acoustics, the laptop fans have been improved with additional fan blades. Asus claims that the redesigned fans will push more air over the heatsinks without increasing noise. However, if you are doing lighter workloads the laptops will have a zero RPM mode meaning that it will be whisper quiet.

Additional features will be a fingerprint sensor in the power buttons, except on the Zephyrus Duo, Dolby Atmos, Type C charging and interestingly a noise cancelling software solution that will eliminate ambient noise when you are on Zoom calls or chatting in game on both ends of the call. Unlike nVidia’s RTX noise cancellation this implementation is CPU based so should not result in performance hits in games.

Strix Scar and Strix G



The Strix line is getting more of a refresh than a brand-new line up. First off, the models will be slimmer than their 2020 lineup with the Scar getting an increased screen to body ratio of 85%. Aesthetically the laptops will have a laser etched pattern engraved on the lid to make it clear that the laptop is a gaming laptop. The edge of the hinge will be customisable with one of three pre-packaged caps, however you can 3D print your own. I can see streamers and influencers creating their own caps as part of their setup. My one concern here is how secure the cap will be and whether they will be lost in bags and how exposed the hinge mechanism will be making them liable to failure as dust gets into the mechanism.

The touchpad gets an almost two times size increase and will be made of glass. The keyboard will use optical mechanical switches and that is the best change to me as after using mechanical keyboards on my desktop the membrane keyboards on laptops are just functional.

The Strix laptops will be configurable with up to a RTX3080 and AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX CPU. Both will be available from the end of this month at an MSRP of R49 999 for the Scar and R32 999 for the G series.

Zephyrus Duo



The Zephyrus Duo is the premium gaming laptop with the second screen implementation that has become the envy of almost all laptop manufacturers out there. The second screen is a touch screen but will only be available as a FHD 1080p panel. The panel will be set on the AAS hinge that tilts the screen up for improved airflow and better viewing angles. Software wise you can swipe anything from or to the main display so one-use case is having Discord, Twitch chat or your other streaming software on the screen with the game on the main screen. Asus is also looking to create specific controls and software implementations for this screen but they didn’t share specifics as yet.

The main screen will come in either a 4K, 120 Hz panel of a FHD 1080p, 300 Hz panel. The laptop can be specced with up to an RTX3080, a Ryzen 9 5900HX and up to 32GB of DDR4 3200MHz SODIMM memory.

The Duo will be available from February at an MSRP starting at R59 999.

Zephyrus G14 & G15

These models have the fewest changes to their 2020 counterparts and what has changed is mainly aesthetic. The lid will sport the ascii style animated lid that was released last year in their design Zenbook. It will be customisable or you can just use the included Asus assistant animation. The Panels will be 144Hz panels.

Asus ROG Flow X13 & XG Mobile



The best was saved for last and that’s the new 13” gaming laptop that looks to be based on the Asus Flipbook S that we recently reviewed. Like that laptop it is a touchscreen panel that converts into a tablet and will be compatible with their stylus. Unlike that laptop though it will sport a GTX1650 GPU so will not rely on integrated graphics. Like the other laptops you can get a 4k/60Hz or FHD/120Hz panel. The laptop will feature a proprietary port and that’s important for what comes next.

While this is all well and good, it is not exactly a gaming powerhouse. That is where the XG Mobile comes into the picture. This is a compact charging brick and eGPU. It is slightly larger than the standard 280W charge brick but will include a full I/O that allows it to power and output to four displays. But what makes this remarkable is that this tiny package will have either a RTX3070 or RTX3080 built into it. Yeah, this laptop will be more versatile and more powerful than your desktop.



The Flow X13 will feature a Ryzen CPU up to a Ryzen 9 5980HS. The Flow X13 and XG Mobile will be available from February with a MSRP of R34 999 for the laptop and R69 999 for both the X13 and the XG Mobile.