I don't really see how a CLC can improve a laptop's cooling over a large air/heatpipe system. In the end the limiting factor is the cooling surface area that air can be blown through. As far as I know, heatpipes are more effective at transferring heat than water or similar CLC liquids, especially over relatively short distances.
In case of a desktop PC and a videocard, CLC offers several advantages over the alternatives, in that it can dramatically increase the effective surface area where cool air can be blown through the system. CLC can blow the hot air straight out of the case, and you have some flexibility of placing the components. In a laptop, in a fixed case design these advantages don't really come up over what can be done with heatpipes.
That huge thing in the back of the laptop looks like it packs quite a nice radiator for a good amount of surface. And they could still use a heatpipe / fan / regular heatsink combo inside the laptop (to be portable on the go). So I don't see why it shouldn't be better cooled.
if that huge thing is indeed the CLC, then ofc, that would be an insane cooling perf increase. Though that raises a whole range of another problems, since there must be openings in the system where the external box attaches to the laptop.
I checked the links, OK, so it's actually just a water cooler. I'd be concerned over the risk of leakage, but provided it works, and doesn't break down over time, it's quite impressive. And as I said that 17.3 4K is wow.
Though seriously how does it even work? Is it an external GPU or is there actually a liquid cooling loop inside the laptop that connects with (what I have to assume is) the dock? The latter would be nuts and AnandTech should totally review it.
My best guess is that it's a dock with a separate GPU in it that is watercooled with a closed-loop cooler. The laptop has either a docking connector on the back/bottom to connect to the dock or there is a cable that needs to be plugged in to connect to it. It'll be like a watercooled version of Alienware's Graphics Amplifier or MSI's Gaming Dock for their Shadow laptops.
The other (less likely) option is that it could be some sort of quick-disconnect system for water cooling pipes connected to the CPU/GPU in the laptop. If you're familiar with Razer's Project Christine they used a similar quick-disconnect system for liquid cooling modular components in a desktop form factor. This would not only be an engineering nightmare in a laptop form factor but also put a ridiculous burden on the end user to connect and disconnect safely from the loop. It would make for a cool concept piece though.
Crazy. Hopefully it's not too difficult to get on and off the dock. I'm curious what impact the water sitting in the blocks will have on heat dissipation while it's off the dock.
I suspect the water loop is replacing the traditional heatpipes entirely, and that the laptop will have a pair of small internal radiators where the fins on the ends of a conventional cooler are.
Looking at how big the dock is, I'm wondering if we'll see a TDP boost when docked. It should be able to easily dissipate the combined ~200W of the CPU and the GM204 based GPU running at desktop desktop GTX980 clocks/voltages.
I suppose I'm just too stingy, but I can't mentally justify to myself spending $1500+ on a gaming laptop. What I would like to see are mainstream, non-gaming laptops for around $1000 that can run modern games at medium settings, 1080p, 30 FPS. Hopefully in a few more generations integrated graphics will be powerful enough that this is feasible, especially if Intel keeps adding more eDRAM to non-Iris parts.
True, but $1800 is quite a bit more than the $800-$1200 that will buy you a very nice ultrabook. Plus, you have to deal with the additional size, weight, heat, and noise of a gaming laptop, not to mention the mediocre battery life. I'm not knocking gaming notebooks for those who use them as their primary PC or who have extra disposable income, but for a lot of people such as myself it makes more sense to split that money between a nice ultrabook and a midrange gaming desktop. Since desktops are a lot more upgradeable than laptops, you save even more money in the long run.
Midrange gaming desktop costs $1K (usually more), and nice ultrabook costs $1K - it makes more sense to get $2K gaming laptop instead to me. Battery life only matters if you fly a lot - and I have android tablet for that.
WIth a pair with quick-disconnect self sealing fittings, like they are already using, but on the bottom of the laptop I think it would be possible to do it like a normal laptop cooler, just a slim-ish base that also raises the laptop a bit, integrating it over the air-cooler would be simple, 2-3 cooper-pipes bent and soldered over the air-cooled heatsinks, disconnect and ready to move, put it down and cool it down.
I'm broke as hell, but I have though and sketched about this, making some retrofit kits for the most common gaming laptopts doesn't look ultra complex, but the market would be very small.
How about Optimus? Lack of Optimus was the main drawback of G751 compared to G750. A part from that, G751 was a great gaming laptop, probably the best in the market...
Hardcore laptop gamers which is the target for big 17 inch gaming laptops have soundly rejected Optimus, so most of the companies are removing optimus from large gaming laptops based on customer feedback.
The mystery of the liquid cooling system seems to have been revealed. It is there to cool the brand new GTX 990m (in order to use it at full potential) which has virtually the same specs as the desktop GTX 980, so quite a boost compared to GTX980m
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meacupla - Wednesday, September 2, 2015 - link
I'm going to assume that CLC is removable, like a dock, otherwise that thing would be super clunky.zoxo - Wednesday, September 2, 2015 - link
I don't really see how a CLC can improve a laptop's cooling over a large air/heatpipe system. In the end the limiting factor is the cooling surface area that air can be blown through. As far as I know, heatpipes are more effective at transferring heat than water or similar CLC liquids, especially over relatively short distances.In case of a desktop PC and a videocard, CLC offers several advantages over the alternatives, in that it can dramatically increase the effective surface area where cool air can be blown through the system. CLC can blow the hot air straight out of the case, and you have some flexibility of placing the components. In a laptop, in a fixed case design these advantages don't really come up over what can be done with heatpipes.
Death666Angel - Wednesday, September 2, 2015 - link
That huge thing in the back of the laptop looks like it packs quite a nice radiator for a good amount of surface. And they could still use a heatpipe / fan / regular heatsink combo inside the laptop (to be portable on the go). So I don't see why it shouldn't be better cooled.sluflyer06 - Wednesday, September 2, 2015 - link
Apparently you didn't look at the picture...the CLC is a huge external box...it's not built into the laptop.zoxo - Wednesday, September 2, 2015 - link
if that huge thing is indeed the CLC, then ofc, that would be an insane cooling perf increase. Though that raises a whole range of another problems, since there must be openings in the system where the external box attaches to the laptop.DanNeely - Wednesday, September 2, 2015 - link
It is a dock, but only for cooling (no data connections). Windows central has a decent gallery and a more detailed writeup.http://www.windowscentral.com/asuss-new-rog-gx700-...
Gadgety - Wednesday, September 2, 2015 - link
Super clunky. Ha, ha, my thought, too. Super splashy or lappy. Looks like a water cooled GPU dock. That 17.3 screen will have its followers.Gadgety - Wednesday, September 2, 2015 - link
I checked the links, OK, so it's actually just a water cooler. I'd be concerned over the risk of leakage, but provided it works, and doesn't break down over time, it's quite impressive. And as I said that 17.3 4K is wow.SeannyB - Wednesday, September 2, 2015 - link
dat assSeannyB - Wednesday, September 2, 2015 - link
Though seriously how does it even work? Is it an external GPU or is there actually a liquid cooling loop inside the laptop that connects with (what I have to assume is) the dock? The latter would be nuts and AnandTech should totally review it.WithoutWeakness - Wednesday, September 2, 2015 - link
My best guess is that it's a dock with a separate GPU in it that is watercooled with a closed-loop cooler. The laptop has either a docking connector on the back/bottom to connect to the dock or there is a cable that needs to be plugged in to connect to it. It'll be like a watercooled version of Alienware's Graphics Amplifier or MSI's Gaming Dock for their Shadow laptops.The other (less likely) option is that it could be some sort of quick-disconnect system for water cooling pipes connected to the CPU/GPU in the laptop. If you're familiar with Razer's Project Christine they used a similar quick-disconnect system for liquid cooling modular components in a desktop form factor. This would not only be an engineering nightmare in a laptop form factor but also put a ridiculous burden on the end user to connect and disconnect safely from the loop. It would make for a cool concept piece though.
DanNeely - Wednesday, September 2, 2015 - link
It's a quick disconnect hookup, see the gallery at:http://www.windowscentral.com/asuss-new-rog-gx700-...
WithoutWeakness - Wednesday, September 2, 2015 - link
Crazy. Hopefully it's not too difficult to get on and off the dock. I'm curious what impact the water sitting in the blocks will have on heat dissipation while it's off the dock.DanNeely - Wednesday, September 2, 2015 - link
I suspect the water loop is replacing the traditional heatpipes entirely, and that the laptop will have a pair of small internal radiators where the fins on the ends of a conventional cooler are.Looking at how big the dock is, I'm wondering if we'll see a TDP boost when docked. It should be able to easily dissipate the combined ~200W of the CPU and the GM204 based GPU running at desktop desktop GTX980 clocks/voltages.
Vepsa - Wednesday, September 2, 2015 - link
I'm looking at the G572 and thinking, finally a gaming laptop not in red. Personally, I'd rather see blue but its a start.grammatonF - Wednesday, September 2, 2015 - link
Laptops are laughable.Stochastic - Wednesday, September 2, 2015 - link
I suppose I'm just too stingy, but I can't mentally justify to myself spending $1500+ on a gaming laptop. What I would like to see are mainstream, non-gaming laptops for around $1000 that can run modern games at medium settings, 1080p, 30 FPS. Hopefully in a few more generations integrated graphics will be powerful enough that this is feasible, especially if Intel keeps adding more eDRAM to non-Iris parts.nerd1 - Wednesday, September 2, 2015 - link
$1800ish gaming laptops with 980m can run most of current games maxed out at 1080p at around 50-60fps. That's a big difference.Stochastic - Wednesday, September 2, 2015 - link
True, but $1800 is quite a bit more than the $800-$1200 that will buy you a very nice ultrabook. Plus, you have to deal with the additional size, weight, heat, and noise of a gaming laptop, not to mention the mediocre battery life. I'm not knocking gaming notebooks for those who use them as their primary PC or who have extra disposable income, but for a lot of people such as myself it makes more sense to split that money between a nice ultrabook and a midrange gaming desktop. Since desktops are a lot more upgradeable than laptops, you save even more money in the long run.nerd1 - Thursday, September 3, 2015 - link
Midrange gaming desktop costs $1K (usually more), and nice ultrabook costs $1K - it makes more sense to get $2K gaming laptop instead to me. Battery life only matters if you fly a lot - and I have android tablet for that.keeepcool - Wednesday, September 2, 2015 - link
WIth a pair with quick-disconnect self sealing fittings, like they are already using, but on the bottom of the laptop I think it would be possible to do it like a normal laptop cooler, just a slim-ish base that also raises the laptop a bit, integrating it over the air-cooler would be simple, 2-3 cooper-pipes bent and soldered over the air-cooled heatsinks, disconnect and ready to move, put it down and cool it down.I'm broke as hell, but I have though and sketched about this, making some retrofit kits for the most common gaming laptopts doesn't look ultra complex, but the market would be very small.
Arulmani - Wednesday, September 2, 2015 - link
G751 series was incredible, and the G752 feels to be more incredible !digiguy - Wednesday, September 2, 2015 - link
How about Optimus? Lack of Optimus was the main drawback of G751 compared to G750. A part from that, G751 was a great gaming laptop, probably the best in the market...nerd1 - Thursday, September 3, 2015 - link
Optimus is always a big pain, and useless for 17+ inch rigs anyway.BMNify - Friday, September 4, 2015 - link
Hardcore laptop gamers which is the target for big 17 inch gaming laptops have soundly rejected Optimus, so most of the companies are removing optimus from large gaming laptops based on customer feedback.digiguy - Friday, September 4, 2015 - link
yeah, I see the point, though for part-time gamer that also want a desktop replacement to work on, it would have been nice...needforsuv - Friday, September 4, 2015 - link
i'd much rather have a 2 inch thick aircooled laptop than thisdigiguy - Friday, September 4, 2015 - link
The mystery of the liquid cooling system seems to have been revealed. It is there to cool the brand new GTX 990m (in order to use it at full potential) which has virtually the same specs as the desktop GTX 980, so quite a boost compared to GTX980m