ASUS does not arrive empty-handed at CES 2023. Just under two days before the official opening of the American show, the Taiwanese giant is unveiling a slew of new features on its ROG range… some expected, others less so.
In addition to the transition of most of its models to the latest processors from Intel and AMD as well as the new RTX 4000 from NVIDIA, the manufacturer is redesigning more extensively several of its products to allow them to integrate more efficient components. ASUS is also taking advantage of this edition of CES to lift the veil on a new display label that allows you to distinguish at a glance the wheat from the chaff in terms of screens.
Nebula Display, a label to flatter the retinas
Let’s start with this novelty that we didn’t necessarily see coming from ASUS. Called Nebula Display, this label designed by the brand aims to certify that a screen has very specific high-end specifications that immediately give it everything it needs to offer excellent display quality. If, for the moment, ASUS mentions this Nebula Display “badge” only for its laptops, we can imagine that they will materialize in the future on other products, and in particular the group’s gaming monitors.
We want ” save users from having to wade through countless specs to ensure their laptop screen is of pristine quality “Explains ASUS in its press release. And to do this, the brand explains that each Nebula Display screen “ must have a high refresh rate with a response time of 3ms or less, a brightness of at least 500 nits, and 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 color space for fast, bright, and vibrant images “.
In order to act as a showcase for this novelty, ASUS is counting on several models, including the ROG Flow X16. If the device is content with a simple hardware evolution compared to last year (no design change in sight), it can thus count on a 16:10 Nebula Display HDR, Mini-LED, QHD + and 240 screen Hz. This includes 1,024 dimming zones and is capable of increasing to a maximum of 1,100 nits of brightness. What an eyeful without neglecting performance. In its most high-end version, the machine notably includes a Core i9-13900H and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 (130 W), all cooled by a dissipation system based on three separate fans.
ROG Flow X13, slight aesthetic evolution and nice increase in power
Tested by us almost two years ago, the ROG Flow X13 returns this year in a new version benefiting from a slightly redesigned chassis. If the aesthetic developments are not necessarily obvious compared to previous models, the 2023 vintage of the Flow X13 is carrying out a major internal revision to allow it to accommodate the latest components from AMD and NVIDIA. On the menu this year, only beautiful people and a very welcome upgrade on the GPU level. Farewell to the GTX 1650, make way for a GeForce RTX 4070. To make it fit in the very small chassis of the Flow X13, ASUS, on the other hand, takes care to lower the TGP to “only” 60 W. An element to take into account, since it partially reduces the potential of the card.
© ASUS
On the CPU side, ASUS is currently talking about the presence of a latest generation AMD Ryzen 9 processor (Zen 4), without saying much more. It will come with up to 32GB of 6400MHz LPDDR5 and up to 2TB of M.2 SSD. Obviously, these specifications will concern the high-end versions of the device. For the rest, ASUS promises two display options: either a QHD+ 165 Hz, 500 nits IPS screen with 100% DCI-P3; i.e. a 120 Hz, 500 nits Full HD+ IPS panel with 100% sRGB. The set will be powered by a 75 Wh battery anyway and will not exceed 18.7 mm thick for 1.3 kg.
The ROG Flow X13 will hit the market in the first quarter of 2023, starting at 1,499 euros.
ROG Zephyrus M16, the aggressiveness of an assault rifle
Largely remodeled, the Zephyrus M16 2023 once again seeks to appeal to both gamers and creative users with a relatively sleek design and a refined magnesium alloy chassis (20.9 mm maximum thickness for 2.3 kg ) while sporting a 16-inch diagonal. Similar to the ROG Flow X16 in terms of technical data, the device also ships up to a Core i9-13900H coupled to a maximum of 64 GB of RAM (via SO-DIMM DDR5 at 4,800 MHz) and cooled by a triple fan system. In its high-end configuration, this model can also count on an RTX 4090 (up to 160 W) and a maximum of 2 TB of storage.
© ASUS
On the display side, there is the Nebula Display label with a 16-inch QHD+ Mini-LED panel rising to 240 Hz. This has a maximum luminance of 1,100 nits and covers the DCI-P3 spectrum at 100%. The device is powered by a 90 Wh battery and supports USB-C charging up to 100 W for more convenience, its 280 W charger being quite large.
The ROG Zephyrus M16 will be available in the first quarter of 2023, starting at 3,199 euros.
ROG Strix SCAR 16 and 18, size matters…
This year, ASUS is dropping the 15.6 and 17.3 inch formats for its ROG Strix under Intel processors. The brand now wants to hit harder by adopting 16 and 18 inch screens for its two flagships. With these XXL formats, the two acolytes now also rely on a three-fan dissipation to keep Intel’s latest high-performance mobile processors (up to Core i9 13980HX) and new RTX 4000 (up to the RTX 4090, with 175 W of TGP).
© ASUS
On the display side, ASUS does not squander either. The 16-inch model is thus armed with a Mini-LED and QHD panel which goes up to 165 Hz, while the 18-inch model goes on a Nebula Display HDR, QHD and 240 Hz panel. Of course, more affordable options will be available. also topical (Full HD and 165 Hz in 18 inches for example, at the cost of a much lower image quality). In any case, we find a maximum of 64 GB of DDR5 at 4,800 MHz, up to 2 TB of M2 SSD and a 90 Wh battery compatible with USB-C charging up to 100 W. power supply varies this time between 280 and 330 W depending on the configuration chosen.
A point on the dimensions of the two products, finally: count on 30.1 mm thick and 2.7 kg for the Strix SCAR 16, against 30.6 mm and 3.3 kg for the Strix SCAR 18. In the immediate, ASUS France is not yet able to send us the pricing of these various new features. Again, this article is intended to be updated as information is received.
The ROG Strix SCAR 16 will be available in the first quarter of 2023, starting at 4,099 euros, compared to a starting price set at 3,999 euros for the SCAR 18, which will arrive at retailers over the same period.
Sources: ASUS press briefing, ASUS press releases
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