The 1989 film Field of Dreams offers one of the most memorable quotes in movie history. “If you build it, he will come” was, of course, a reference to a baseball diamond in Iowa, but for AMD, this same quote (gender removed) also succeeds in defining AMD’s success over the last couple of generations. Once the realm of budget-conscious devices, AMD-based products are now the premium in the market and are sought after by consumers looking for the ultimate in performance. With the launch of the Zen 3 based Cezanne laptop processors, AMD now offers the most powerful laptop CPUs available. But that is only a single portion of a successful product. AMD is today announcing the launch of their latest graphics architecture, RDNA2, into the laptop market. AMD has built it. Now they must see who will come.

 

ASUS has partnered with AMD to launch a premium gaming laptop based on AMD’s Cezanne and RDNA2 solutions. The ASUS ROG Strix G15 AMD Advantage Edition (G513QY) offers the top-tier experience that AMD customers have been asking for, with a great design, and powerful internals. The ASUS Strix featured today is outfitted some with the very best that AMD has to offer, with the AMD Ryzen 5900HX processor, and AMD Radeon RX 6800M graphics. Zen 3 with RDNA2 is a potent combination. The Ryzen 5900HX is an eight-core, sixteen thread processor with a maximum boost frequency of 4.6 GHz, and a 45-Watt TDP. The Raden RX 6800M is AMD’s latest GPU architecture with 40 Compute Units, 12 GB of GDDR6, and up to 145 Watts.  With 16 GB of DDR4 and a 512 GB SSD, this 15.6-inch device packs a lot of punch.

ASUS ROG Strix G15 AMD Advantage Edition
(G513QY)
Component Strix G513QY
CPU AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX
8-Core 16-Thread
3.3-4.6 GHz
Vega 8 / 2100MHz
45W TDP
Discrete GPU AMD Radeon RX 6800M
40 RDNA2 Compute Units
2300 MHz Game Clock
96 MB Infinity Cache
12GB GDDR6
Display 15.6-inch 1920x1080 IPS
300Hz Refresh
FreeSync
sRGB Gamut

Optional:
15.6-inch 2560x1440 IPS
165 Hz Refresh
FreeSync
P3-D65 Gamut
RAM 16GB DDR4-3200 Dual-Channel
Upgradable Memory
Storage 512GB M.2 PCIe SSD
2 x M.2 (1 free)
Network MediaTek MT7921 Wi-Fi 6
2x2:2 802.11ax
Realtek Gigabit Ethernet
Left Side 2 x USB 3 Type A
Headset Jack
Right Side No Ports
Back Power Connector
HDMI 2.0b
USB Type-C w/100W PD
USB 3 Type-A
Battery 90Wh Lithium Ion
280W AC Adapter
Dimensions 355 x 260 x 20.7 mm
14 x 10.2 x 0.81 inches
MSRP $1550 -  $1700

AMD has certainly struggled in the past to land design wins in the premium end of the market, but with new products come new opportunities, and it appears that those days are behind them. The tight product integration of processor and graphics is certainly a benefit that their competition does not yet enjoy. AMD has never really captured much of the gaming laptop segment but is clearly aiming to remedy that with this launch. AMD says that the Radeon RX 6800M should be able to compete with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080L, which will put them in a much better light than the previous mid-range market they targeted before. Coupling that with their Cezanne platform makes for a very strong combination. It also explains their effort to add Wi-Fi to the mix as Intel uses that as a key component of their platform.

As a proper gaming system, the 1920x1080 IPS display offers a refresh rate of 300 Hz, and is coupled with AMD’s FreeSync variable refresh rate technology. There is Wi-Fi 6, courtesy of MediaTek, and for expansion, there are three USB Type-A ports, and a single Type-C on the rear, which can deliver up to 100 watts of power delivery. For video out, ASUS has gone with a single HDMI port as well as DisplayPort via USB-C, and of course there is a headset jack. What is missing though is a webcam of any sort, which is an odd omission in today’s remote world.

The ASUS ROG Strix G513QY packs into this 15.6-inch chassis, without the device seeming heavy or bulky, especially by gaming notebook standards. First up, let’s take look at the design.

Design
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  • Retycint - Tuesday, June 1, 2021 - link

    Using a phone as webcam is still far superior to a webcam, though. A webcam is really only useful when travelling, when setting up a phone webcam isn't feasible. There are plenty of webcam apps available, and they can connect over USB or wifi. I really don't see the appeal of a shitty integrated webcam anymore
  • Alistair - Tuesday, June 1, 2021 - link

    100 percent agree
  • grant3 - Tuesday, June 1, 2021 - link

    It is basically mandatory to have a webcam on any machine used for work. Even pre-covid.

    The inexplicable lack of webcam on a laptop is basically telling people it can never be used for any professional purpose.
  • Spazosaurus - Tuesday, June 1, 2021 - link

    Too bad these machines have no way to add an external webcam if you need one. As we all know, webcams are super bulky and could never fit in a laptop bag along with the charger.
  • eastcoast_pete - Tuesday, June 1, 2021 - link

    Or you try to stuff it in and your webcam breaks and scratches your laptop in transport.
  • Spunjji - Friday, June 4, 2021 - link

    Laptop bags famously never have separate pockets for that...

    Seriously though, the same criticism applies to any laptop that has a charger brick - or an external mouse, which is basically mandatory on any machine used for work.
  • eastcoast_pete - Friday, June 4, 2021 - link

    True. Whoever designs these bags, and even some backpacks, often seems to skip the user testing. When I was able to travel with my laptop, I always took my charger and a mouse with me.
  • Tams80 - Saturday, June 5, 2021 - link

    Mate, literally over the last five or so years the electronics bag scene has exploded with options. Even before then there was an enormous selection of bags with more pockets than any sane person would know what to do with.
  • Spunjji - Monday, June 7, 2021 - link

    @Tams80 - if that reply was to me, I should stress that I was being sarcastic. Every laptop bag I've ever owned, from cheapo £20 jobs to a ridiculous £150 masterpiece I bought once, has had at least a few pockets for whatever stuff you might happen to be carrying - mice, headphones, smartphones, second laptop, games console (really), personal massagers (not really), etc.
  • eastcoast_pete - Tuesday, June 1, 2021 - link

    Agree. They are leaving potential sales on the table; but then, right now is a seller's market. However, omitting a 3-5 dollar webcam is a deal breaker for me. Too bad, specs look great.

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