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Bitnet · ‎05-21-2017

=So sorry to the admins for reposting, but I previously posted in the wrong forum when this one was so much more appropriate (honest mistake sorry 😞 )=

*Hi! I'm looking to buy an ASUS Strix GL502VS by this week and I just had a few questions I needed to ask before buying it.

*1. Can you charge it with a powerbank? If so, using what powerbank? And can you charge it using its USB-C port?

**Here's the aforementioned laptop: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01NALTGWN/ref=dp_ob_nev... Ideally the powerbank should be able to last me an entire day (or probably a maximum of 7-8 hours) of mild usage (ex. Word/Excel/Web Browsing) not hardcore gaming.

There was an article on here that mentioned a powerbank that could charge this laptop (see here: *https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0116BX968...AAAAAAGTb&th=1) however the author didn't mention how long it extended the laptop's battery life by.

2. If I were to replace one of the hard drives with a 1 TB Crucial SSD (not Samsung pls it's too expensive), which would be better? (the 128 GB M.2 SSD or the 1 TB 5200 RPM HDD--leaning towards replacing the HDD right now)

*3. The cost to buy all of this currently stands at $2150.35 (without a case, please recommend a cheap case hehe), is all this expense really worth it? Or am I better off buying something else (was originally going for the Dell XPS 15 but the GTX1070 is tempting) I'm aiming for portability, battery life and performance but especially a laptop that won't turn into a brick 4-5 years from now.

Thank you so much for your time!! 🙂

*P.S. I have to make a decision in the next 2-3 days, your urgency would be GREATLY appreciated

EDIT: I just read an article on this forum about the discharging battery (while in charge) on the 6th Gen GL502, is that problem still on the 7th Gen GL502? Thanks!

German_Expat · ‎05-22-2017

You will not find a powerbank (except if you like a good workout carrying a huge weight) that will bring this laptop through the day. The power loss with the conversion from the powerbank to the laptop adapter is way too high.
The question is more why do you want to carry a bulky gaming laptop to run Microsoft Office and web browsing?
I would get a light laptop with long battery life for my regular day to day tasks and then buy a gaming laptop or desktop for heavy gaming either at home or at a friends house.
We use the Asus for gaming (mainly our 11 year old sun) and have a Surface for light usage. This then also has a usb c input and is easy to recharge. It is slow and will not run any games well (tried steam on it) but is perfectly fine for web browsing and taking notes.

Added: 4-5 years for a laptop is very optimistic, batteries degrade (with luck you can still find replacements) and technology progresses. I would rather buy a laptop that fits your needs. What do you need the GTX1070 for? VR? Heavy gaming?

WillyB1337 · ‎05-22-2017

German Expat wrote:
You will not find a powerbank (except if you like a good workout carrying a huge weight) that will bring this laptop through the day. The power loss with the conversion from the powerbank to the laptop adapter is way too high.
The question is more why do you want to carry a bulky gaming laptop to run Microsoft Office and web browsing?
I would get a light laptop with long battery life for my regular day to day tasks and then buy a gaming laptop or desktop for heavy gaming either at home or at a friends house.
We use the Asus for gaming (mainly our 11 year old sun) and have a Surface for light usage. This then also has a usb c input and is easy to recharge. It is slow and will not run any games well (tried steam on it) but is perfectly fine for web browsing and taking notes.

Added: 4-5 years for a laptop is very optimistic, batteries degrade (with luck you can still find replacements) and technology progresses. I would rather buy a laptop that fits your needs. What do you need the GTX1070 for? VR? Heavy gaming?

There's also the option to get a laptop with Thunderbolt 3 port and buy an eGPU dock and a GTX1070 for possibly cheaper than this laptop.
For the discharging issue, I'm not experiencing this issue with my Strix GL502VW I bought the end of March for 1950$ CAD.
This laptop is lighter than my earlier ROG, the GL552VW.

The larger power brick is not really heavy.

Bitnet · ‎05-28-2017

Update: Whoever you are Kimberly Koenig, damn you.

So I went ahead and bought the Asus GL502VS and I don't think I have anything bad to say about the laptop itself I like it a lot.

However, I went into this thinking that its battery life of around 2 hours and 50 minutes (on power saving mode) could be extended through an external battery pack recommended by none other than ROG in one of its FEATURED articles. (over hereeee): https://rog.asus.com/articles/g-series-gaming-laptops/gaming-around-the-world-with-the-rog-strix-gl5...

Well...the 180 dollar powerbank doesn't work and now I've spent over 2 thousand dollars for a laptop that I believed would be able to last me maybe 5 or so hours. (Basically it doesn't work because the laptop draws 230W whilst the Powerbank shuts off the AC outlet when a device goes above 85W.)

I'm not really mad because this laptop supposedly has great gaming performance (haven't tried it yet)

I'm upset however, that ROG would say something in one of their articles that would ultimately turn out to be false.

To all you Asus/ROG admins out there, I ask that you take that post down before anyone else gets hurt (or edit that third point/benefit to using the laptop as a coffee heater because it could do that hehe)

(and please reimburse me my 2150 dollars so I can buy a surface hehe jk)

Thank you for bearing with my 1/2 rant post

P.S. If this powerbank really does work and maybe Ms. Koenig did some magic with the powerbank to make it work please contact me because I really REALLY need a solution to this dismal battery life. (I'm thinking a better powerbank or maybe a way to only draw only 85W and not 230W from the Powerbank so the outlet won't shut off, I'm fine if it'll drain while in charge, as long as it charges slowly)

Any suggestions are appreciated!!

xeromist · ‎05-31-2017

I think the only way you could use that power bank is to turn off the laptop and let it charge. That might be how this Kimberly person used it but it would have been better if she had said so.

FWIW, this is not a recommended use case for a gaming laptop, nor that power bank. However, since you already have both items it's worth a try.

For anyone else that is considering such a purchase, I would first hook your laptop up to a power meter like a Kill-A-Watt meter and see how much it draws under various loads. Likely the only load under 85w would be powered off charging.

Never attempt to draw more than 85w and if the batteries start to get hot, disconnect it immediately.

A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a train stops. On my desk, I have a work station…

Bitnet · ‎05-31-2017

xeromist wrote:
I think the only way you could use that power bank is to turn off the laptop and let it charge. That might be how this Kimberly person used it but it would have been better if she had said so.

FWIW, this is not a recommended use case for a gaming laptop, nor that power bank. However, since you already have both items it's worth a try.

For anyone else that is considering such a purchase, I would first hook your laptop up to a power meter like a Kill-A-Watt meter and see how much it draws under various loads. Likely the only load under 85w would be powered off charging.

Never attempt to draw more than 85w and if the batteries start to get hot, disconnect it immediately.

Do you mean the case mentioned in the article?

I actually tried charging it with the laptop off---it didn't work. I think the power brick (or whatever you call that box attached to the charger) automatically draws 230 Watts which is well above 85, turning the powerbank's AC outlet off automatically.

Kimberly Koenig please tell me your secret*

xeromist · ‎05-31-2017

It's not going to draw 230w when powered off. That's the peak rating for gaming. Charging is going to be somewhat less because batteries get hot if you charge them too fast. Unfortunately I do not know what the draw rating for charge only would be. Also, an empty battery is going to rapid charge and draw more current, so it varies. The only way to be sure would be to use a power meter.

It's also possible that the power bank is faulty or became damaged due to the high load so it might not even deliver the rated 85w. I would try connecting some smaller devices to the outlet and see if it even still works at all. Maybe plug in a lamp with a 60w light bulb. If that does not work then you know the bank is broken.

A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a train stops. On my desk, I have a work station…

Questions about the Asus GL502VS