ASUS ROG Flow X13 and XG Mobile review: Unique and powerful

On paper, the ROG Flow X13 is already a decently powered laptop supposed to take general gaming and video editing. You can bring it around, work outside using it, and when you get home, attach its external XG Mobile GPU to give it an added boost and be able to work on more demanding tasks. 

This top variant carries an NVIDIA RTX 3080 graphics card inside and that is a lot of power. Let’s see how well these two work together and who could benefit from such setup. This is our ASUS ROG Flow X13 and XG Mobile review.   

Design

Let’s kick things off with the ROG Flow X13. It’s essentially a convertible with its 360-degree hinge that transforms and gives it different orientations for different usage.

Being under the ROG brand, this is a gaming laptop but it kind of doesn’t look like one. The overall design is very toned down and doesn’t have that aggressive look in terms of its form factor and even in color — the body is covered in a matte black finish and there are no glowing RGB lights here, folks. A series of diagonal lines act as texture for most parts of its body. 

ASUS says materials used are mostly made of magnesium and aluminum but it also comes with hard plastic in areas like the deck. Still, you get a premium look and a lightweight body at just 1kg.

The keys are comfortably spaced out and typing long pieces like scripts and reviews is an enjoyable experience. Again, unlike your usual gaming laptop, the keys just feature dimmable white backlight. And just below it, we see the trackpad. Unlike the ZenBook 14, this one doesn’t act as a secondary display. 

It’s a normal trackpad though the surface area is a bit small and we feel we’d benefit more if it were larger. Still, it works really well especially for quick edits outdoors or simply replying to emails. 

For connectivity, the right side has a single USB Type-A and USB Type-C with support for Power Delivery and DisplayPort. This side also houses the power button which, if you’re not used to, could lead to accidentally pressing it when attaching cables on the opposite side. Yup, it happened to me a couple of times. 

The left side carries a microphone/headphone combo jack, HDMI 2.0, and another USB 3.2 Type-C right beside the interface for the external GPU. It also has a small rubber plug to cover it up when not in use. 

Now while we’re on the subject of design, let’s quickly jump over to the ROG XG Mobile GPU. It’s basically this small shell just a bit larger than my hand (though I have big hands). It’s a bit thicker than the laptop and it comes with this built-in proprietary cable that connects to the Flow X13. 

On the other end are an array of available ports. You have four USB ports, an HDMI port, DisplayPort, Ethernet, and even an SD card reader on the top side. 

It also has this kickstand so you can have the ROG branding facing you and most likely improve heat dissipation as well. Oh, and it lights up when it’s powered so that’s the most ‘gaming’ design you’re gonna get. 

Display and multimedia

Together with its convertible form factor, its touch display is great as it adds a different experience of using the device — whether in tablet mode, tent, and stand mode. It also supports the ASUS Active Pen for taking down notes or digital drawing if you’re into that.

There are two available display choices for the Flow X13 — a Full HD resolution with a 120Hz refresh rate, or a 4K display with a 60Hz refresh rate which is what we have right here. 

4K or Ultra High Definition resolution is great, don’t get me wrong. Actually, when playing games and you look at the detail closely, you’ll really notice sharp lines and detailed edges. But right there is exactly where we have a slight concern. 

You’ll need to really look closely to appreciate details since it has a rather small 13.4-inch display. We’d actually prefer going for the Full HD variant and enjoy having refresh rates of 120Hz as the hardware can easily pump out graphics power to support it. 

And to complete the multimedia setup, it comes with dual Dolby Atmos-certified speakers underneath for a down-firing approach. Details are commendable and bass is actually decent. Of course, you can plug in your headphones but for its speakers, I feel like I’d be able to enjoy listening to music more if they could go louder.

Internals and performance

The Flow X13 is available in different processor variants from AMD. Powering our unit is the Ryzen 9 5900HS but a more powerful Ryzen 9 5980HS dubbed as ‘Supernova Edition’ is also available. They both carry 32GB of RAM with 1TB of SSD storage and a built-in NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q GPU. 

With real-life testing, it definitely could handle light gaming and editing of Full HD videos. But sometimes I also shoot 4K clips for other projects while Vikka edits heavy graphics. Obviously, the laptop’s built-in hardware won’t do.

This is where the XG Mobile GPU takes the spotlight.

It brings either an RTX 3070 or an RTX 3080 graphics into play which significantly boosts performance for rendering heavy graphics work or resource-heavy games. 

With these specs, you already have a desktop-level setup. And the fact that you can choose to bring the eGPU out as long as you have a power outlet to connect to, is like bringing an entire CPU to a coffee shop, for example. 

And the fact that it uses an exclusive interface based on PCIe 3.0 means it allows more data to be transferred between the two devices than the usual cables other eGPUs come with. 

Now, I want to talk about having this external GPU from our point of view as content creators who shoot a lot of videos both indoors and outdoors and edits them all after. Plus, of course, a little bit of gaming on the side. 

So with our workflow, the Flow X13 became a reliable companion especially during outdoor shoots as we could easily backup and preview files right after shooting, as well as do quick edits during downtimes. 

And as soon as we get back home (and after disinfecting our devices) I boot up the laptop, connect it to the display dock, and is instantly ready for even editing 4K raw footage and doing heavy motion graphics on After Effects. 

This combination of hardware made editing and rendering those tasks seem SO easy. And it definitely saves you time versus having to wait long loading times and apps crashing midway — editors and content creators, you know what I’m talking about!

When I’m done or taking a break, Vikka and I would be playing games — and gaming on the Flow X13 with its XG Mobile is just a really smooth and enjoyable experience. Achieving steady 60fps on different games is easy for this setup. 

Of course, it has its Armoury Crate where you can change the display’s picture modes, personalize your peripherals, and adjust system settings to limit or push the internals. 

We tried giving the GPU heavy loads and powered its fans all the way up, and they were between 74°C and 84°C. The rise in temperature, although still not too hot, is most likely due to its shell form factor with these small vents to move air in and out. 

Battery

The Flow X13 comes with a 62Wh battery. Using it for editing videos, web browsing, and streaming online videos in between, it was able to last for five hours and 13 minutes before we needed to plug it again — just right for accomplishing quick tasks on-the-go. 

Although this should matter if you’re only using the laptop outdoors since having it connected to the eGPU also charges the laptop. And for the most times that we’ve used it, it was plugged into the eGPU for rendering power ready at my disposal. 

Creature Feature

In our reviews, The Modern Creatures aims to find special features in devices that make them worth having. Something that would make a product stand out from its competition. For the ROG Flow X13, it obviously is the external GPU that delivers desktop-like performance in a really compact form factor. 

It’s better than others in its class in the way that it uses a more capable interface to be able to deliver data faster and avoid bottlenecks. And once you have the Flow X13 and XG Mobile working together, the setup can handle almost anything you throw at it. 

Final thoughts and pricing

But of course, a unique and powerful offering such as this one comes at a price — and a steep one at that. 

The ROG Flow X13 alone starts at PhP 89,995 with an AMD Ryzen 7 5800HS processor. And with the data that ASUS sent us, it seems like there will be no Full HD model for the Philippines. Meanwhile, the XG Mobile starts at PhP 69,995 for the RTX 3070 8GB GDDR6 and PhP 89,995 for the RTX 3080 16GB GDDR6.

[supsystic-tables id=45]

Though the full setup comes at a high price tag, we definitely see the appeal of going for this machine for content creators who are also particular about gaming. 

With it, you can easily transition from working outdoors to working indoors and even switch from work to play in an instant. 

But it’s not solely for content creators and gamers. The Flow X13 is very versatile with its convertible form factor and toned-down design, and can easily disguise and be used in office settings.

It’s a really tempting setup but the price tag might not be for everyone. Let us know what you think of this device!

Search
-

The Last of Us Part II Review: The good and bad things about the game

06/25/2020

Review may contain spoilers about the game

Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us which was released in 2013 is considered a masterpiece and was one of the critically-acclaimed games of the last generation. Naturally, for its sequel, fans have had very high expectations. So did I.

I’ve heard about a lot of negative comments about this game and let me tell you now that I understand them completely. I, too, was somewhat disappointed regarding some of its aspects but there’s a lot more to the game itself and allow me to talk about the game in its entirety.

Story

The story of the game picks up four years after the events that happened in The Last of Us. Joel and Ellie are now living in a peaceful community in Jacksonville County that Joel’s brother created. In this town, everything feels normal and you can easily forget the danger that lurks just outside the walls.

Here they grow food, take care of their own herd of horses, throw parties, movie nights, and even have children playing snowball fights in the playground. Things were ideal for Ellie, and I imagine that this is the life Joel wanted for her.

Although when the story progresses, an unfortunate event forces Ellie to leave this place and begin her quest for vengeance. As you go through the story, Ellie does nothing but kill her enemies. Bodies pile up and it kind of makes you think if she’s going too far and if all this is worth it to exact revenge.

Later on, you’re introduced to Abby who you also get to control. And just like Ellie, she shares her passion for vengeance so it’s basically a killing spree for most of the time that you’re playing.

As a player, I like that the game puts you in an internal dilemma that you begin to ask yourself if what you’re doing is morally correct or you’re just ‘enabling’ them to needlessly kill people. However, there were some parts when the main characters’ choices just didn’t make sense more so if you knew them from the first game.

I was disappointed by this because they seemingly made dumber versions of the beloved characters just to tell the story in a way that they wanted to. By compromising the traits that we loved from the characters before, the game felt forced and didn’t make sense at times.

Personally, the instances with Ellie’s mood swings are just all over the place and one might think she’s a crazy person. One moment she’s angry and just doesn’t care about brutally killing her enemies that her bloodlust will just take over. Then shortly after, she’s happy and flirting around with her partner. It just seems like the flow of some parts could have been done better.

Nevertheless, the voice acting was done really well and cinematography during cutscenes was so well-directed that I sometimes forget that I’m just playing a video game and not watching a movie. Ashley Johnson returned as the voice of Ellie and she really gave so much heart into the role that some parts of the game really get to your emotions.

Whether Ellie was happy, sad, frustrated, or mad, her emotions were done so well that you’d really want to know how she’ll turn out in the story and what she’ll become after the game. On the other hand, Troy Baker is still fantastic playing as Joel even though this game focuses mainly on Ellie.

Ellie taking a breather with Dina

I must also commend Laura Bailey for being an effective voice actor for Abby. Additionally, there’s simply a great team of supporting voice actors who made the game a lot more interesting.

Gameplay

The combat system for stealth, shooting, and melee combat is very familiar from the last game. Although at the same time, there were some improvements made using new elements resulting in gameplay that’s more dynamic. From jumping, climbing, and swinging to different platforms, the experience feels fresh and keeps enemy encounters interesting and fun.

Sneaking has been a huge part of the previous game and being loud often gets you into trouble. For TLOU II, the battlefield layout of the game remains enjoyable whether you’re silently going around enemies or taking them head-on with guns blazing. I found its combat system great and often makes you feel clever because the game constantly forces you to outsmart your enemies in every encounter.

The AI for enemies that are infected still feels the same as the original game. Although, I noticed that once they discover your presence they try to band together as a horde and attack you all at once.

The Shambler

The game also introduced a new infected type called the Shamblers. They are large and heavily armored mutants and if they get close to you, they’ll release a cloud of acid that quickly kills you. Whenever you encounter the Shamblers it throws you off of your strategy of staying silent because you can’t stealth kill them. It forces you to go loud and alert all the infected in the area so it makes you think of a better strategy each time you face them.

Human enemy AI are more intelligent. Whenever you’re in a gunfight they will often outflank you and force you to run and hide. Voice acting for them was also done well. Depending on what you do to attack them (cutting off a limb or attacking the neck) they will let out an agonizing scream sounds real it’s like you can almost feel their pain. Additionally, enemies usually cry out names like David or Rachel when they discover their dead bodies or when they call out for back up. These small elements add realness to the game.

Then there are dogs. These uninfected bloodhounds can really throw your game plan off as they can smell your scent and track you while you sneak around — forcing you to move to a different place as they can easily discover you.

Its Listen Mode, like in the original game, is still important to use in every enemy encounter. It gives you a strategic view on where your enemies are, which gives you the advantage to easily predict and plot your attack.

Exploration in the game was improved as well. The open areas make you explore important loot and items that are useful for your character. You also often find collectibles or important notes where there are supplies or a combination of safes. As I mentioned earlier, platforming was improved by letting you jump gaps and swing off ropes to get to certain areas of the game. It sort of felt like Uncharted: The Lost Legacy’s exploration system which is not a bad thing.

Crafting is still one of the main components of the game. You will often look for scraps, scissors, rags, and disinfectants to craft medicine, bombs, and weapons like the previous game. The game also still has workshop tables to upgrade and improve every firearm you carry similar to the original game. This time, though, while upgrading your gun, they added stunning animations every time you upgrade and craft a part for your weapon.

Graphics and Sound Design

The graphics of this game simply looks great. Seeing scenic areas of Jacksonville County and exploring the ruined city of Seattle just looks amazing. Every character design and voice acting looks and sounds so real. Even the infected looks and sounds terrifying that at one point in the game, you as Ellie need to go through a dark area with infected surrounding her.

Just hearing clickers with their weird sound can make you really nervous. Even when you get discovered and hearing the infected scream around Ellie will horrify you and will startle you into panic mode as you struggle to stay alive. Kudos to the team in this aspect.

Accessibility and Customization Options

It’s refreshing to see how Naughty Dog took its time in making all these customization options that help gamers to adjust aspects of the game to the user/gamer’s convenience. Some of these accessibility options are magnification and visual aids to help gamers who are colorblind or have a visual impairment.

It also has an option to use high contrast display which makes it easier to identify enemy threats, doors that you can go through, and items that are hard to find.

Another option is Navigation and Traversal which helps you find the way when you’re lost and do not know where to go in order to progress in the story. This game also has an option to skip puzzles if you’re not into solving puzzles. There is even an option to reduce camera shake for people who get motion sickness easily.

These are just a few examples of many customization options you can do to adjust the game to your convenience. I really commend Naughty Dog by making this array of options for us gamers.

Conclusion

I have completed the game roughly around 30 hours. Comparing this story to the original, I would say the original game still holds best than the sequel’s story.

Personally, I see the original story’s theme to be about hope and about Joel and Ellie’s journey. Until the end of the game, this story was effectively told and all the choices made by Joel were carefully thought out and easily made sense.

In the sequel, however, the theme was pretty much about forgiveness and again, in my opinion, they fell short of telling the story as effectively. Some of the choices of the main characters felt questionable and at the same time forced that it often didn’t make sense for the player. This is why I understand the collective disappointment that fans of the series have been expressing.

However, having said that, they introduced the characters so well through gradually developing their personalities throughout the game. This game also has a lot of good quality cutscenes that are very well-directed and with voice actors that gave every character role justice. Also, the gameplay and graphics still make the game stand out.

I would say that this game has its flaws but it also has a lot of strengths as well. After experiencing and finishing this game, I would say I still had a lot of fun playing it and it is definitely worth checking out.

REVIEWS