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KiteWatcher · ‎08-21-2016

So I just picked up a GL502VS and love almost everything about the laptop, but apparently it doesn't have a thunderbolt 3 port. I see that the lower spec 502VM has it as well as many of the other Pascal-enabled laptops. Any idea why Asus would leave it off of this model? I"m not sure of the underlying hardware, but would it be possible to upgrade by chance? I really think this is the only thing keeping me from being 100% satisfied with the laptop so far.

Thoughts as to the seemingly odd omission?

Thanks,
Eric

Bahz · ‎08-21-2016

Hi Eric,

That is strange but I can certain to tell you that if the model didn't come with the port then there won't be an option to upgrade to have this added.

I'll pass this information over to our notebook team and will check to see why there's no Thunderbolt 3 port this model.

Best Regards,
Bahz

Link2999 · ‎10-17-2016

Bahz wrote:
Hi Eric,

That is strange but I can certain to tell you that if the model didn't come with the port then there won't be an option to upgrade to have this added.

I'll pass this information over to our notebook team and will check to see why there's no Thunderbolt 3 port this model.

Best Regards,
Bahz

Wouldn't TB3 use the USB Type C port? In which case the option could be added in the future, no? Did you find anything out about why the VS models didn't have TB3 added and the VM models do? Could it have been an oversight? Also slightly unrelated, but any news on a GL702VS model? Been delaying my purchase until I find out.

Edit: For whatever reason only the first three messages appeared when I opened this topic so I didn't see you had already answered the question. However, the answer that product marketing gave seemed a bit like a runaround in that the VM models of the laptop have the correct TB3 compatible port and that no other models of the VS (the more expensive models of the two - regional or not) have TB3 capabilities.

jamreal18 · ‎08-22-2016

Im also looking at this laptop.

Im thinking if its comparable with G752... Are they only the same? Is their only difference the screen size or many more?

Bahz · ‎08-22-2016

They're definitely comparable in terms of performance but the GL502 has smaller screen size and is much lighter than the G752. The G752 is of course expected to have slightly better performance and has more premium feel but GL502 is designed to be light so material wise might not be as solid as the G752, so depends what you need it for. I would definitely pick the GL502 if you're a University student or something who's always on the go, but if you're not and most of the time you're gaming at home then the G752 would be a good choice for that kind of scenario.

W_B · ‎11-20-2016

Bahz wrote:
They're definitely comparable in terms of performance but the GL502 has smaller screen size and is much lighter than the G752. The G752 is of course expected to have slightly better performance and has more premium feel but GL502 is designed to be light so material wise might not be as solid as the G752, so depends what you need it for. I would definitely pick the GL502 if you're a University student or something who's always on the go, but if you're not and most of the time you're gaming at home then the G752 would be a good choice for that kind of scenario.

In what countries doest Gl502VS supports thunderbolt 3 ? is there any plans to update it with Thunderbolt 3 for US version? (considering kaby lake is coming out and supposed pascal refresh coming mid 2017 )

peggy · ‎12-03-2016

Has anyone figured out what controller GL502VS uses?
I'm still waiting for mine to arrive.
If it uses the Intel Alpine Ridge controller which provides USB 3.1 gen 2 and TB3, I see no reason for GL502VS not to support TB3?*

Bahz · ‎08-23-2016

So I checked with our product marketing team for notebooks and it appears that different model notebooks in some countries are different, the requirement for what features are needed on the notebooks are based on retailer feedback and local sales. It appears that for that specific model in your country they decided to not go with the Thunderbolt 3 port. An example that was given to me was that in some countries the major retailers requested for only notebook models with ODD but most of the newer model notebooks don't come with optical drive so instead they decided not to carry the newer notebook models because of that requirement request. Majority of the time by adding or removing certain features on a specific notebook model will influence the MSRP.

WillyB1337 · ‎03-26-2017

Bahz wrote:
So I checked with our product marketing team for notebooks and it appears that different model notebooks in some countries are different, the requirement for what features are needed on the notebooks are based on retailer feedback and local sales. It appears that for that specific model in your country they decided to not go with the Thunderbolt 3 port. An example that was given to me was that in some countries the major retailers requested for only notebook models with ODD but most of the newer model notebooks don't come with optical drive so instead they decided not to carry the newer notebook models because of that requirement request. Majority of the time by adding or removing certain features on a specific notebook model will influence the MSRP.

Seems logical.

Do you know about the specifications for the GL502 in Canada?
I recently bought this laptop in a Canada Computers Store on March 17th, 2017.
The Keyboard is actually US. It probably came from USA.
The manufacture date is 12/2016 (January 2016, possibly mean is a 2017 model)

In the ASUS Installation Wizard, There's a driver for Thunderbolt. Could this mean I have Thunderbolt Capability?

Bahz · ‎03-26-2017

Canada and US will share the same stock so it means that if the US models listed with Thunderbolt 3 then it will also have it but if it doesn't list it in the specs then it won't have it.

GL502VS No Thunderbolt 3?