Gamelaptops with a 17.3 “screen have been around for years, but these are often thick and heavy machines.Does a large screen appeals to you, but you do not like the thick screen?, then there is good news: at the CES show different manufacturers showed laptops that are thinner, lighter and smaller. The more compact format while retaining the same screen size is due in part to the arrival of screens with thinner edges. Laptops that use such a screen also have a smaller chassis, which in turn brings weight savings.

Asus has a 17.3 “version of the Zephyrus and MSI has the GS75 Stealth, a 17.3” variant on the GS65. These two models are about 19mm thick. Alienware, the game brand from Dell, also comes up with a thin 17.3 “gaming laptop, the Alienware m17 is 23mm thick, the MSI is by far the lightest with a specified weight of 2.25kg, while the Asus and Alienware weighs 2.6. and 2.7 kg These are the weights specified by the manufacturers in their specifications, which may differ in practice, for example due to differences in configurations.

Dimensions and weight are interesting data on paper, but such specifications doesn’t say everything about the laptop.

MSI GS75 Stealth Asus ROG Zephyrus GX701 Alienware m17 Thickness 18.98mm 18.7mm 23mm Width 396.1mm 399mm 410mm Depth 259.5mm 272mm 292.5mm Specified weight 2.25kg 2.7kg 2.6kg Cpu (maximum) Core i7-8750H Core i7-8750H Core i9-8950HK Video card (maximum) RTX 2080 Max-Q RTX 2080 Max-Q RTX 2080 Max-Q Screen 17.3 “, 1080p, 144Hz 17.3 “, 1080p, 144Hz, hdr 17.3 “, 1080p or 4k, 60Hz

Asus ROG Zephyrus GX701

Asus released its first Zephyrus laptop in 2017 . That 15.6 “model stood out because of the thickness of only 18mm and was also the first thin laptop in which a GTX 1080 Max-Q video card was concealed, the design also stood out, the keyboard is at the bottom of the case, the top part contains a grate which allows the components to be cooled better, and there is a hinge on the bottom of the housing, this opens the breathing space at the bottom when you open the screen.

The new Asus ROG Zephyrus GX701 has a keyboard at the bottom and also the hinge construction returns. Although the GX701 is very thin, the weight with 2.7kg is a lot higher than that of the MSI-laptop. Also, the weight on paper is higher than that of the Alienware laptop, which is thicker and larger than the Asus.

Besides a larger screen and new hardware, Asus has implemented several other innovations. The manufacturer has invented new fans, among other things. They now have 83 sheets and are made of a plastic that has to withstand high rotational speeds. The fans are controlled with 12V, so they can run faster than 5V units. However, Asus does not mention the actual rotational speed.

The 17.3 “screen that Asus uses comes from AU Optronics and has a refresh rate of 144Hz and support for HDR playback, with a high brightness level and panel similar to ips the viewing angles are excellent and the color rendering looks good too.

The Zephyrus GX701 has G-Sync support. With most laptops, this means that the GeForce GPU can not be switched off, but Asus has devised something new. The manufacturer has developed its own gpu switch, which can be switched between igpu and GeForce-gpu. This benefits the battery life in scenarios that do not require a lot of graphical computing power.

In the thin screen edges of the GX701, there was no room for a webcam according to Asus. This is why the manufacturer supplied a separate webcam, which you can possibly stick on top of the screen. The camera must be connected via USB-c and can also be placed in other positions. According to Asus, the image of a separate camera is a lot better than that of built-in webcams. The camera captures images in 1080p resolution with 60fps.

At the left above the keyboard, Asus has added a scroll wheel. With which you may adjust the volume and with a push on the wheel you can completely mute the sound. It is a small skill that works fine. Asus has worked it out well. The keyboard has a rgb-led per button and a touchpad is placed on the right. You can also use it as a number pad, with a push of a button, digits are displayed via LED lighting.

The Zephyrus GX701 is equipped with powerful hardware, so an adapter is needed that can supply a lot of power. Asus supplies a 230W adapter and that’s a pretty big block. However, Asus also supplies a much smaller 65W USB charger. It is not powerful enough to charge the laptop when you play heavy games, but it is much easier to carry. If you go on the road with the laptop and do not plan to play games, that offers a solution. Also it says Asus has added compatibility for all kinds of usb-c-chargers. With a simple 5V charger you may be able to charge the laptop. That will take a very long time, but it is the solution if you forget the adapter and have a smartphone charger at your disposal.

Asus has not yet announced what the ROG Zephyrus GX701 is going to cost, but we expect that you have to dig deep into the pouch to get the thin top model in the house. The GX501 version with 15.6 “screen costed around 3700 euros at the time of its launch, it will not be a surprise if Asus would raise that price for the larger 17.3” version with RTX 2080 Max-Q-gpu. There are also versions with RTX 2060 and RTX 2070 Max-Q, which may be cheaper. The laptop will be on the market in the first quarter of this year.

MSI GS75 Stealth

MSI has previously made thin and light 17.3 “gaming laptops, but the GS75 Stealth is the thinnest and lightest so far. The model is similar to the GS65 Stealth , a 15.6” version.The larger version that MSI presented at CES weighs only 2.25kg and for a laptop of this size that is impressive, especially with the powerful hardware in it. The difference in weight with the Asus and Alienware is considerable and can be clearly felt in practice.

The housing is about 19mm thick and made of aluminum. To keep the weight down, MSI probably made the parts of the housing as thin as possible. The whole setup is firmly fixed in each other, but feels a bit fragile. With normal use you probably do not feel much about it, but it is something to be reckoned with.

As far as video cards are concerned, there is a choice in the GS75 from the RTX 2060, 2070 and 2080. The latter two are the Max-Q versions, which are more economical than the counterparts for desktops. Initially the laptop comes on the market with the Core i7-8750H as processor, but later on, MSI also wants to deliver versions with the Core i9-8950K. The manufacturer claims that the cpu and gpu will not throttle , a cooling system with three fans and seven heatpipes will ensure this.

MSI plugs a 82Wh battery into the laptop and so the capacity is comparable to that of the GS65, which has an 80Wh battery. The 17.3 “screen in the MSI GS75 is a panel with ips-properties and a resolution of 1920×1080 pixels The matt panel has a refresh rate of 144Hz The manufacturer does not mention maximum brightness in the specifications, but on the eye the brightness is not particularly high and comparable to that of laptops reaching about 300cd / mÂ².

MSI has made upgrading the SSD easier. This was virtually impossible with the GS65, because you had to dismantle almost the whole laptop. With the GS75 you get access to the m2-ssd if you screw open the bottom of the housing .

As usual in the MSI gaming laptops, the keyboard is a copy of SteelSeries and equipped with RGB lighting. The touchpad underneath is large and is easy to operate because of the smooth finish with glass.

It is not yet clear when the GS75 Stealth is coming on the market and MSI has not yet spoken about prices. Models in the GS65 series costed between 2000 and 2700 dollars, depending on the video card. Presumably the price of the GS75 models is slightly higher than that.

Alienware m17

The Alienware m17 is the largest of the three laptops in this round-up. The screen edges on this Dell model have not shrunk as much as with Asus and MSI. The manufacturer is also a little more reluctant to thin the housing, although with 23mm it is far from thick. The slightly bulky housing feels very solid and sturdy. With a weight of 2.6 kg, the Alienware is, despite its thickness, slightly lighter than the Asus GX701. The laptop is finished with a kind of plastic that feels stiff. Appearance of the laptop is more exuberant than MSI and Asus models. Dell makes a red and a silver-colored version of the Alienware m17.

The keyboard typing is comfortable thanks to the 1.4mm travel keys. There is RGB backlighting, but it is divided into four zones; it is not a complete RGB lighting with an LED per key. Thunderbolt 3 and display port 1.3 are located under the connections on the laptop. At the back is also a proprietary connection, the so-called Alienware Graphics Amplifier Port, on which you can connect an external video card from Alienware.

Of course, as a serious gamer, you can not say no to an RTX 2080 Max-Q video card in your gambling laptop, but that powerful gpu does push up the price. Dell provides many configurations of the Alienware m17, also with cheaper video cards. You not only have a choice from the RTX 2080, 2070 and 2060, there is also a version with the GTX 1050 Ti. The processor is at least a Core i7-8750H in all versions, but in the most expensive copies Dell will stop the overclockable Core i9-8950HK. The extent to which the cpu offers added value compared to the Core i7-8750H will mainly depend on how well the cooling can do its job and how much power is available.

Fast 144Hz screens are becoming increasingly common on gamelaptops; MSI and Asus also opt for such a panel on their thin 17.3 “models, but Dell does not want to, because with the Alienware m17 you only have a full-HD panel and a 4k panel, both with a refresh rate of 60Hz Both panels are of the ips-type, but the high-resolution variant has better color rendering and can display one hundred percent of the srgb color space The 4k panel is also brighter and supports hdr playback , with a maximum brightness of 400cd / mÂ², with the 1080p panel being 300cd / mÂ².

On the US Dell website , the Alienware m17 is priced at $ 1650; that is a configuration with the GTX 1050 Ti. The price increases to a maximum of 3800 dollars for implementation with RTX 2080 Max-Q and Core i9 processors. In the US the laptops are for sale from February.

Finally

In recent years, gamelaptops have undergone a major metamorphosis. Since the GTX 10 series of Nvidia, the gpu’s in laptops are almost the same as the counterparts in desktop PCs, while laptops have not grown any bigger. On the contrary, there is more and more choice of thin and relatively light gamelaptops. Until recently, these were mainly models up to 15.6 “, but the supply with a 17.3” screen is growing.

The arrival of thin and light 17.3 “gamelaptops does not mean that the thick and heavy specimens will disappear, as is evident from the extreme gamelotopes that are doing good like the Asus ROG Mothership and the Acer Predator Triton 900. Also the Dell’s Alienware m51 is just a model that does not pay attention to the weight or size, but such products serve a different target group, because they are not or hardly suitable to take with you.

The GS75 from MSI impresses with its low weight, even at the expense of the robustness of the housing. Asus makes its Zephyrus GX701 an absolute top model with all sorts of extras, such as an external webcam, several chargers and a 144Hz panel with hdr support. Although no price is yet known, this will probably be the most expensive of the three laptops in this round-up. Dells Alienware m17 is a bit thicker and more bulky than the other two, because the screen edges are still quite wide. On the other hand, the housing feels firmer. Another plus is that there are many configurations, even with less expensive video cards.