ASUS ROG GL551JM Series (Gaming Laptop Review)

ASUS is a leading company for gaming laptops with their Republic of Gamers product line. ASUS continues to add to their lineup of computers designed with gamers in mind with the release of the ASUS GL551 series. We were fortunate enough to go hands-on with the ASUS GL551JM computer from the upcoming line, and we were very impressed with what the system had to offer. The ASUS GL551 is a perfect blend of power and style that any gamer can appreciate, and purchasing the new product takes all of the work out of making a custom rig, since the line is capable of playing any current generation games right out of the box.

The first thing we noticed about the ASUS GL551 series was its impressive look. The ASUS GL551JM comes packed in a brush-finished aluminum case that looks great and feels fantastic to touch. The smooth casing offers the perfect surrounding for the red Republic of Gamers logo that is proudly displayed on the top of the computer. The inside design is just as impressive and includes a large buttoned keyboard with red, backlit keys. The LED lighting is customizable and allows users to change the brightness to fit their own preferences. One thing we loved about the design of the laptop was the built-in mousepad. Rather than featuring clickable buttons for left and right clicks, the entire pad clicks in when either side is pressed down, which made using the touch pad incredibly easy.

Other design choices for the ASUS GL551 series are much more like we'd like to see out of a gaming computer. The large 15.6" FHD display is perfect for playing games in large scale resolutions with the highest definitions and frame rate settings. We never noticed any problems with the computer's display after adjusting the brightness settings of the monitor after first taking it out of the box. Audio is impressive for the ASUS GL551 series, especially when considering how poor the audio quality is for other laptops on the market. Republic of Gamers AudioWizard is built into the ASUS GL551 series and helps produce some fairly high quality sounds right out of the box. The sound design may not matter for some since most gamers will already have an expensive headset for listening to games and music while playing, but it's nice to know that ASUS didn't skip out on audio in their new gaming laptop line.

The ASUS GL551 series also boasts cooling technology and noise reduction perfect for gamers. The ASUS GL551JM definitely does a fantastic job of producing enjoyable gaming sessions with no noise and irritating racket from the computer itself. The computer line is fully capable of playing some casual games and indie games without ever running hot either. We did however notice the rig pumping out a lot of hot air during sessions with newer games and titles set to the highest graphical settings such as The Sims 4 or The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim but the computer never felt too hot during the sessions. It's really difficult to find a laptop that doesn't produce a lot of heat during gaming sessions though, so it was nice that the ASUS GL551 series didn't get too hot during playthroughs.

The biggest question on gamer's minds when looking for a new gaming laptop is in the specifications. The ASUS GL551 series comes packed with hardware capable of playing any game currently released or that will release in the next five years. The ASUS GL551JM seems fully capable of doing just that, and we were surprised with the computer's ability to maintain high framerates even during the most rigorous testing. Dead Rising 3: Apocalypse Edition is one of the games we played during testing to see how the computer would perform while playing one of the best looking video games to release in the last year. Despite the game's strict hardware demands, the ASUS GL551JM was able to perform well and keep us fully entranced in the new zombie survival game, instead of being distracted by dropped frames and performance drops.

The ASUS GL551 series will include the GL551JM and the GL551JK. The differences in the two models are in the specs; the GL551JM is the more powerful model that includes the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M 2GB GDDR5 harddrive with Optimus Technology and 16GB of RAM, while the more affordable GL551JK model offers the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M 2GB harddrive with Optimus Technology and 12GB of RAM. The drop in performance makes the GL551JK a bit cheaper while also making the computer more susceptible of becoming irrelevant in the future. We'd recommend gamers pay out a little extra for the GL551JM model to get the more powerful of the two, but we also can understand that many gamers need to live within a budget as well.

The ASUS GL551 series is one of the more impressive gaming laptop lines we've had a chance to try for ourselves. While some gamers will still choose to create their own gaming laptops built to their own specifications, it's nice to know that companies such as ASUS are offering gamers affordable and powerful gaming rigs capable of playing the best and most popular titles on the gaming market today. Not every gamer is capable of building their own computer, and the ASUS GL551 series takes all of the guesswork out of creating a custom gaming laptop and offers gamers a line of computers that offer decent options and are very stylish. We didn’t have any complaints while testing the ASUS GL551JM, and the overall experience we had with the computer will make it our PC gaming choice for the foreseeable future. ASUS GL551 series is set to release on September 18th in stores and online.

For more information on the ASUS GL551 gaming laptop series, check out the official ASUS website. Giveaway: We are giving readers a chance to win the ASUS ROG GL551JM gaming laptop that we reviewed. In order to participate, send an email to biogamergirlcontests@hotmail.com with the subject line "ASUS ROG Giveaway" for a chance to win.

Game Features:

• Intel Core I7-4710HQ Processor
• ASUS TurboMaster GPU
• Red, Backlit Keyboard
• Brushed, Aluminum Finish with ROG Design
• Impressive Audio with ROG AudioWizard

Score: 10 out of 10