The test
In the world of laptops, the ROG Flow X13 is a bit of a UFO. With this new product, ASUS aims to succeed in squaring the circle, by offering a compact machine, light, but yet as powerful as a gaming tower when it comes to video games. The Taiwanese firm has therefore mixed several innovations in order to make a kind of large tablet capable of running Red Dead Redemption II in 4K. Is it finally the perfect PC for nomadic gamers (and necessarily a little wealthy)? Answer in our test.
If you’re an avid reader of our gaming laptop reviews, you should know that portability and raw power don’t mix. Indeed, the more powerful a PC, the more energy it consumes, and the more it consumes, the more it heats, which implies a cooling system of size which impairs portability. Moreover, in our opinion, the perfect balance is currently at the level of 15 “machines, thin and light enough to be walked without breaking your back too much, and with enough to run triple A games in 1080p, with a framerate honest. For more performance, we find ourselves in the radius of the machines more “transportable” than portable, because of their weight and their dimensions. Conversely, if you want a computer that is the size of an album of comic book, it will often be necessary to give up the video game, unless it is limited to Counter-Strike and Fortnite. To achieve its objective, ASUS has therefore developed a unique system, composed of an ultra-portable, overpowered PC, supported by an external box which contains a large graphics card.
Let’s start with the laptop. The Flow is presented as an ultrabook with reduced dimensions. With its 13.4 “and 15mm thick screen, it will have no trouble fitting into any bag, while its contained weight of 1.3Kg will be forgotten, even by the most nomadic of you. The object is particularly well finished with a mixture of plastic, aluminum, and even magnesium for a super premium look. The only problem is that we easily leave fingerprints on the surface behind the screen. Not to say, it is really a pretty PC. In addition, with its screen in 16:10 format, we have a look a little more square than usual, and the frame of the laptop therefore follows this shape which is quite original in 2021 (it was the great fashion in the mid-2000s). We see that everything has been assembled with care, in particular the ventilation vents which are under the machine, at the base of the screen, while the ‘a small grille occupies part of the right edge. Much like the Zephyrus models, the hinge allows the computer to be raised, in order to guarantee good air flow, and thus, maximize its performance. But here, that’s not all, because the screen rotates 360 °, in order to transform the Flow into a real tablet. It is also quite practical when playing in nomadic mode, since we can put the PC in a “pyramid” and thus enjoy optimal cooling.
A PC THAT HAS FLOW
Small specificity, the “power” button is located on the right edge, in the middle of the chassis, and it also acts as a fingerprint reader, which allows you to unlock Windows at the touch of a finger. Be careful, however, when handling the computer, it happens that the button is pressed without wanting to. Since we are talking about the slices, know that the connection is rather generous with a USB-C and a USB-A on the right side, while the left hosts a 3.5 jack, an HDMI 2.0 output and a large specific connector that includes a USB-C and a PCIe 3.0 8x (to connect the external GPU). It should be noted in passing that ASUS has chosen a PCIe connector where the competition prefers USB-C to connect its graphics card, which will allow a gain in performance, to the detriment of versatility (nothing else does not plug into it). In short, nothing exotic for this laptop, but connectivity enthusiasts can rest assured, the external GPU is well equipped as we will see below. The keyboard is still excellent, as is often the case with ASUS, even if it’s a simple membrane chiclet, without a numeric keypad of course. Note, however, that it has a backlight with three levels of intensity.
The 16:10 screen is available in two configurations: a 4K UHD (3840 x 2400) DCI-P3 at 60 Hz on our test configuration, and a Full HD (1920 x 1200) sRGB at 120 Hz which we recommend in as part of a video game use. Whatever your choice, it will be a Pantone certified IPS panel, and protected by a Gorilla Glass pane. The screens are of course touch screen, and as always, they have a glossy surface suitable for fingerprints. Unlike most ROG models of recent years, the Flow has a 720p webcam conventionally housed at the top of the screen. If the sensor will not allow you to become a streamer with its low image quality, it will nevertheless largely do the job for your Zoom aperitifs, or your professional visios.
LITTLE BUT STRONG
Despite its compact size, the Flow X13 contains heavy artillery, starting with its processor. The chassis indeed contains a large AMD Ryzen 9 5980HS offering 8 cores and 16 threads, supported by 32 GB of RAM, while a modest Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 is responsible for animating your screen. If on the processor side the power is largely sufficient to run any recent triple A, the onboard GPU will quickly show its limits. Cannot run a recent game, especially in 4K. At this resolution, even eSport titles offer an unsavory framerate. We will therefore have to return to 1080p to be able to consider running more greedy titles, such as DOOM Eternal or The Witcher, but here again, we will have to be content with a fairly low framerate, or make big concessions on the graphics options. .
On the other hand, no storage problem thanks to a large M.2 PCIe 3.0 SSD with a capacity of 1 TB. The disadvantage of this large CPU is that even with a modest GPU, the heating and autonomy become problematic. While we haven’t noticed a drop in frequencies when the temperature rises, the Ryzen does make the fans squeal, which are relatively loud. In terms of autonomy, the Flow is not at the party, since ASUS has chosen to opt for a light battery, and therefore small. In office automation, do not expect to exceed 5 hours of use between two charges. The advantage of a small battery is that it recharges quickly, with 80% recovered in a good hour of charging (PC off). Special mention to the 100W charger which is very compact, with dimensions reminiscent of the 60W transformers from Apple.
AN AD HOC DOCK
To send bold gaming level, you have to turn to the external GPU poetically called XG Mobile. Where Razer has opted for a large case that accommodates any desktop graphics card (which leaves a wide latitude to the customer), ASUS has chosen a closed and proprietary system. The XG Mobile is therefore a box with compact shapes that allows itself to be quite easily transportable (for once, we will avoid carrying it around permanently). This solution has the merit of offering a rather polished look, but also of providing a maximum of connectivity. The idea is of course to leave this module at home, to work during the day with the Flow under your arm, then to take advantage of a large PC when you come home at night. The XG Mobile therefore includes a power supply, and a large connection to plug in all our office peripherals. The dock offers on the back a power connector, an RJ45 port, 4 USB-A, an HDMI and a DisplayPort, while a memory card reader is discreetly placed on the top of the case. In short, you can leave your keyboard, mouse, wireless headset sound card plugged in, and plug in a nice gaming screen.
The choice of compactness has forced ASUS to move towards an Nvidia RTX 3080 in its mobile version, much less powerful than its cousin for desktop PCs.
Reception level, there is nothing to complain about. The small disappointment is finally inside the chassis. The choice of compactness has forced ASUS to move towards an Nvidia RTX 3080 in its mobile version, much less powerful than its cousin for desktop PCs. That said, although it is a mobile chip, the latter is clearly pushed to the limit in order to take advantage of its heat sink, and its power supply. This GPU has a cadence of 1810Mhz for a TDP of 150W, which is much more than any other 3080 mobile that can be found in the chassis of competitive laptops. To connect the XG to the Flow, nothing could be simpler, just plug in the dedicated connector, then accept the notification that offers us to activate the external GPU. From this moment, the system deactivates the GTX 1650 of the Flow (impossible to take advantage of both simultaneously), and pushes the Ryzen CPU to its maximum, the latter being able to now monopolize the entire cooling system of the laptop.
CA $ H IS KING
Now, the discreet ultra-portable turns into a downright honest gaming tower, with performance that has nothing to do with what we traditionally find in the laptop world. Now, we finally have the necessary horsepower to take advantage of the Flow’s 4K panel, even if it will be necessary to be measured on the graphics options in order to maintain a framerate worthy of the name. To give you an idea, Red Dead Redemption II sends around 40 FPS on its max preset in this resolution. If the figure seems honorable, the stability is not really at the rendezvous with peaks at 70 images per second, and drops around 20 images per second. On the other hand, as long as you have connected a 2K screen, nothing will stop the Flow / XG duo. Any triple A will go full (or almost), reaching the symbolic bar of 60 FPS, all on equipment that can fit in a backpack. We remain impressed. Same story with 1080p, except that here, competitive players will finally be able to take advantage of the fastest screens on the market (240Hz and more) to gratify their retinas with an avalanche of frames.