The ASUS Republic of Gamers G751 Review: G-SYNC Comes To The Notebook Computer
by Brett Howse on July 29, 2015 8:30 AM ESTGaming Performance
As a gaming laptop, this may be the only page of the review that matters to some people. The NVIDIA GTX 980M has graced our test bench several times already, and unsurprisingly it is very potent. ASUS has shipped the 4GB model, whereas MSI has the 8GB GTX 980M in the GT72 and GT80 SLI models. At the 1920x1080 resolution of these systems, 4GB should not be an issue for the moment, and as Ryan brought up in the R9 Fury X review, it is really when gaming at UHD where you may run into a VRAM limit. With the performance available from a GTX 980M though, gaming at UHD is going to be possible without some of the settings turned down. This shouldn’t be an issue though unless you are going to hook the G751 up to an external UHD monitor.
Our standard notebook GPU workload starts with some synthetics, then moves to our gaming tests.
3DMark
The G751 is off to a good start, scoring right in line with the other devices with a GTX 980M. As a synthetic test, it focuses several of the tests on the GPU and a couple of the physics test are handled by the CPU.
Bioshock Infinite
Bioshock Infinite is getting a bit long in the tooth now, but it is really a fantastic game so it will be sad to see it go. We like to keep a couple of older games like this around though in order to see performance trends over time. The G751 has no issues with this test at 1920x1080, scoring 90 frames per second as an average. This is well over the 75 Hz panel refresh rate, but G-SYNC might still be useful here in areas where there is a lot of action going on at the same time.
Tomb Raider
I am quite excited to see the sequel to this game, which was a fantastic reboot of the Lara Croft franchise. Our enthusiast settings for this game include TressFX, which can be fairly punishing to a lot of GPUs. The G751 scores quite well again though, coming in with an average of just over 77 frames per second. This is awfully close to the 75 Hz refresh of the panel though, so in this title, G-SYNC would be very useful. I spent some time running around the environment and came away impressed with how smooth the gameplay is with G-SYNC turned on.
GRID Autosport
This is a new addition to the test suite for 2015, and it is the latest GRID game from Codemasters. SLI doesn’t seem to help as much in this game, but the G751 scores very well, coming in close to the Clevo which is pushed ahead by its desktop CPU.
Civilization: Beyond Earth
Another new addition to the test suite for 2015 is the latest turn-based strategy game based on the classic Sid Meier’s Civilization franchise. Once again the G751 has a good showing, edging out the other single GPU based systems in this test.
Shadows of Mordor
With this game set at Ultra quality, it falls just under the panel refresh rate, so G-SYNC would be well suited to this game. The G751 once again outscores all of the other single GPU systems in this test, despite having less VRAM available. This game is certainly one that can chew through VRAM, but only if the resolution is quite high.
Dragon Age: Inquisition
Next up is the fantastic RPG from Bioware. On a side note, I just finished this game and for me, it ranks up there with the best RPGs ever. At maximum settings, the graphics can be fairly demanding, and the average framerate of just 50 frames per second is really the first that is well under the 75 Hz refresh rate of the panel. G-SYNC would be a big benefit in this game, allowing you to keep the settings at Ultra but still be nice to play.
DOTA 2
DOTA 2 was added to the test suite since it is a game that is well suited to being played on an integrated GPU, but those systems can struggle for framerate when you max out all of the quality settings at 1080p. A system with a dedicated GPU is going to be much better as you can see from the scores.
GPU Summary
Closing out the GPU results, the G751 scores right in line with the other GTX 980M systems despite it being the first one we’ve tested with 4GB of VRAM. At the lower resolution that large display notebooks seem to be stuck in, 4GB is likely not going to be an issue. The cooling system had no problems in any of these tests, allowing the CPU and GPU to maintain higher frequencies and edge out some of the other systems.
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boeush - Wednesday, July 29, 2015 - link
(The sad and rarely advertised/appreciated aspect of any kind of engineering or architecting, us that 50% or more of the time is spent on writing or reviewing of documentation.)douglord - Wednesday, July 29, 2015 - link
Has anyone seen a windows laptop with a 4 core cpu and Iris Pro with NO igpu?ingwe - Wednesday, July 29, 2015 - link
Isn't Iris Pro an iGPU?BMNify - Wednesday, July 29, 2015 - link
pointless question is pointless, Iris Pro IS igpu.Notmyusualid - Saturday, August 1, 2015 - link
+1Meaker10 - Wednesday, July 29, 2015 - link
Yes this model with the 4870HQ, also the GT72/GT80 with the 4950HQ and 5950HQ. However they can manually switch to it too.deeps6x - Wednesday, July 29, 2015 - link
I believe the author must have been referring to the Zenbook 303, as the Zenbook 305 is a cpu crippled piece of dung. But an otherwise nice piece of dung. 1080P (not some unusable in windows 3k or 4k BS), matte screen (which is the only way to go on a non-touch laptop), NON-TOUCH (which is also the only way to go imho), nice keyboard, nice case, nice weight, so-so connectivity. But the 303 doesn't gimp the CPU and that makes it a NICE ZENBOOK.As for this overweight (big steaming pile) mini-desktop (as nobody wants almost 9 lbs dropped on their laps, and certainly not 9 lbs of HOT laptop while gaming).... I will say this: I love that GSync is being included in laptops now.
Note to Asus, quit trying to 'check boxes' and start offering real value in some other form in your laptops. Does anyone need 24 or 32 GB of ram in a lower mid level desktop equivalent laptop used for gaming? Um... NOPE. 16 GB is overkill, but 8GB is underkill, so stick to 16. But don't cheap out on the SSD. These days, when you can get a 480-512 GB SSD for like $200, just put that in it and be done with it. Don't try to up sell your customers for $500 for something that should already be included for your bloated list price. BTW, stop overcharging for GPUs in laptops. If you take this 980M out of the laptop, what do you have? A laptop spec wise similar to something you charge $799 for? That is CRAZY! Does adding a GPU that is functionally equivalent to a $250-$300 desktop card mean you should charge $1200 (or whatever) more? Sure seems like you are milking your loyal customers instead of trying to expand your user base by offering a better bang for the buck than your competitors. Which sucks, because I personally think you are second only to Apple in design quality. I'm typing on a Zenbook now. Love ya. Try harder. Do better.
/end rant
WackyWRZ - Wednesday, July 29, 2015 - link
While I agree with most of your statements, I fail to see how they are "cheaping out on the SSD". Its an XP941 which is a PCIe SSD - not SATA and is known to hit 1.0Gbyte/sec+... They also cost about 2x the price of a SATA drive too.deeps6x - Thursday, July 30, 2015 - link
My mistake. I missed that the first time I glanced at the article. Came back to read it. I do love the PCIe SSDs. I have a small one in my MSI Ghost Pro and it is actually noticeably faster than the regular SSD in my Zenbook. Hopefully everything will start coming with the twice as fast PCIe version, from the lowest Zenbook to this massive gaming box.One other thing I'd add to my rant. Asus, you clearly have enough room on the keyboard, so could you PLEASE return the double wide zero key on the keypad? For people who actually use the keypad for number entry, the double wide zero key makes it so much easier. Especially since we are used to it on every desktop keyboard and calculator out there. Why do you insist on gimping your laptops this way?
PS, I looked at the picture of the back of the laptop, read the Pontiac Aztec comment, and laughed. Yup, both look quirky. Some people will love it, some will hate it.
boeush - Thursday, July 30, 2015 - link
At least the keyboard spans the width. What really gets my goat, is when laptop vendors stick a 13" keyboard into a 17" form factor...The fact that I feel a need to actually commend Asus on this matter, is a very sorry commentary on the state of the laptop market these days.