G20AJ Gaming Performance

The G20AJ is ROG's small form factor system that condenses a full gaming rig into a tiny 12.5 liter custom designed chassis. The 'AJ' features up to an Nvidia GTX 980 GPU, which we're testing here, in addition to an Intel Core i7 4970 quad-core CPU, 16GB DDR3 of memory and SSD/HDD storage. To complete the package and further differentiate the experience from making your own DIY box, for the serious system tweakers there are also several ROG softwares pre-installed covering networking, audio and systems stats:

Aegis

Aegis is an ASUS-exclusive application for monitoring system performance through a gamer-friendly user interface. It is launched from the blue triangle in the taskbar. Clicking on areas around the center ring loads different stats: either real-time CPU, memory and internet usage, configuring alerts or checking system stats.

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Other programs can be run on top of the desktop overlay or the whole thing can even be shrunk to sit on the edge of your screen as a Sensor Gadget, allowing you to glance at the live stats.

AudioWizard

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Through a unique mix of hardware and audio tuning software, ROG AudioWizard sound processing provides with an additional layer of audio enhancement, with up to five customizable EQmodes you can easily switch on-the-fly; War Room, Soundscape, Battlefield, Multimedia and Action. Try them out, see how each affects your game and which is best for your game. Their EQ changes are designed to highlight different sound frequencies, like bullets firing, heavy armor rumbling, footsteps, etc.

If you still want more fine-grained control though, simply hit the circle to pop out the extra controls.

GameFirst II

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Another ROG exclusive app - GameFirst II lets you control your network hardware (either wired or wireless connection), tweaking application or game priority and tracking live bandwidth use or history. Like AudioWizard the main app offers quick settings between VoIP, Games, Media Streaming or File Sharing based on popular settings but there's also fine-grained control within the options menu.

GameFirst II sits in the notification area as a little red circle.

ASUS Command Center

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Launched from the ROG logo in the taskbar, the Command Center is a central control hub split into six sections for major PC functions, driver updates and links to ASUS support, should you need it.

It contains ASUS AI Suite III functions like power management and AI Charger control, and also unique items such as PC Cleanup with Secure Delete and there's control of the three lighting sections too.

The G20AJ can be spec'd with different levels of graphics cards, depending on your gaming needs and budget. We're testing the premium GTX 980 model, which, when combined with its Intel Core i7 4970, delivers full-desktop level gaming performance from a tiny 12.5 liter package. We set the system to High Performance from the Command Center before testing.

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Tested Spec:

• CPU: Intel Core i7 4970
• Graphics: Nvidia GTX 980 (reference GPU and memory frequency)
• Memory: 16GB of DDR3 1600MHz (dual channel)
• Storage: Kingston 256GB SSD and Toshiba 1TB HDD
• Peripherals: ROG Gladius Mouse
• OS: Windows 8.1
• 4K testing: ASUS PB287Q

Far Cry 4

• 1920 x 1080 - Ultra Settings, SMAA: 75 FPS average, 67 FPS min
• 3840 x 2160 (4K): We found the difference in FPS between Medium to Ultra settings is smaller than the variation per scene. After several tests we found 35-42FPS average, with mins in low-30s and highs in the 50s.

Civilization 5

• 1920 x 1080 - Every graphics option on maximum settings: >200 FPS average, 160 FPS min.
• 3840 x 2160 (4K): Every graphics option on maximus settings, no AA: 159 FPS average, 129 FPS minimum. As the pixels are so small we found AA was not required, although there's certain enough GPU power available to turn it on.

Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes

• 1920 x 1080: Every graphics option on Extra High/Maximum: 60 FPS average (vsync lock), 55 FPS min.
• 3840 x 2160 (4K): Every graphics option on Extra High/Maximum: 53 FPS average, 46 FPS min

Unigen Heaven

• 1920 x 1080 score: 3231. 128.3 FPS average (32 min/250 max)
• 3840 x 2160 (4K) score: 723. 28.7 FPS average (16.4 min/66.8 max)

3DMark 11

• P14338 Marks (default settings)

3DMark Fire Strike

• 10964 Marks (default settings)

As you can see there's ample gaming performance for Full HD gaming and even at 4K there's very playable FPS in most gaming titles. The system performance matches any high-end gaming desktop, yet the G20AJ takes up a fraction of the space. Let us know your gaming experience with the G20AJ in the comments!