ASUS ROG G20AJ: Boutique performance gaming PC
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Introduction
(Pre)Built for Gamers
The ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) brand wears its heart on its sleeve. From motherboards and graphics cards to gaming laptops and desktop systems, the design, features and hardware found in ROG products are catered exclusively for those among you who would rather spend the day wrecking mayhem on the streets of Los Santos in Grand Theft Auto V than soak up the sun on the beach.
The ASUS ROG G20 is no exception. It is marketed as a high-performance gaming system fitted in a small form factor (SFF) 12.5L chassis. Measuring just 10.4 x 35.8 x 34cm, the ROG G20 won’t take up a lot of room on your desk. First launched last June as a SteamOS box and equipped with a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780, ASUS has since updated it with the latest Maxwell-based NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970.
If you’re a gamer looking for a desktop gaming system, you’re probably deciding between a pre-built boutique system and a DIY PC which allows you to pick out the individual parts, all the way down to the RAM modules. Ultimately, it all comes down to a few key factors: performance, price, ease of installation and looks.
So how does the ASUS ROG G20 measure up as a gaming system? Should you choose this over a fully custom DIY PC? We decided to take the updated model for a spin to deliver you our verdict.
The Hardware
In addition to the new NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970, the ASUS ROG G20 features the high speed quad-core Intel Core i7-4790. Overclockers will probably notice the lack of the "K" suffix - no, this is not an omission on our part as the ROG G20 is not overclockable.
The system is also fitted with a H97-class motherboard, which is pretty much expected given the non-K CPU. Clearly, ASUS is angling the ROG G20 at gamers who simply want to be able to push the power button to power up the PC for a fuss-free and fluid gaming experience.
The ROG G20 also has a rather unique internal layout, with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 lying flat against the motherboard, as opposed to interfacing with it at right angles as you would expect in a typical desktop system. Closer inspection reveals that it does so via an additional connecting bridge sticking out from the motherboard below, and ASUS has clearly gone to lengths to tweak the internal layout to maintain the ROG G20's slim form. Key to this are the cooling systems for the motherboard, RAM and CPU, aided by the blower style fans. It's a combination of good design and careful design that ASUS can boldly sandwich so many high performance components right next to each other to deliver a powerful gaming machine in as small a form factor as possible.
In the memory and storage department, the ROG G20 is fitted with 16GB (2 x 8GB) of DDR3 RAM, a 128GB SSD and a 2TB 7,200rpm hard drive. We found the 128GB OS drive to be painfully limited. You really only have about 100GB to work with after formatting the drive, and about half of this is taken up by the OS and assorted bundled software, which leaves scarce room for modern games like GTA V and Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (GTA V alone requires just over 60GB of free storage!).
Fortunately, gamers have the option to install up to a 1TB SSD when they purchase the system, and we’d advise users who have the budget for it to go with a larger capacity drive - at least 256GB - if they wish to install a few more games on the OS drive rather than on the slower hard drive.
Powering this compact desktop are not one, but two surprisingly hefty 230W and 180W power bricks in an ROG-branded holding bracket. The lower-spec G20 configurations only ship with a single power adapter, but we have the higher-spec model here with us so we get the full package. According to ASUS, it has opted to go with two separate power adapters to deliver power separately to the CPU and GPU. This helps the desktop to operate more efficiently and save power as power delivery to the GPU can be turned down when the system is idle or handling low loads.
However, it does mean that you’ll find yourself needing an extra power point to plug in both adapters. Combined with your display, you will need a total of three power outlets to operate the system, which means you may even find yourself in need of a power strip since other peripherals like speakers and NAS units will require more power points. For a system designed to have a small footprint, it seems a little odd to expect space-constrained users to hunt for ways to accommodate the extra adapter and the bulky bracket. Nevertheless, we think that’s a minor niggle we can live with.
ASUS completes the package with a bundled keyboard and optical mouse. It is a fairly basic package that nonetheless performs its intended function well. We’re noticing a trend here – ASUS has worked to ensure that you have everything you need to run the system straight out of the box with almost no tweaking.
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