ASUS RoG GL552V 15.6″ Gaming Notebook Review

A Closer Look

Taking the laptop out of the box, we’re treated to this sleek design of the back panel. It’s got a soft matte finish and a small raised section with the ASUS logo in the center; stylish and subtle at the same time I think.

Down the left side, you’ll find the power line-in, video connections, RJ45 and a pair of USB ports. There’s a huge ventilated panel here too, allowing for the heat to exhaust from the system and I love that red detailing on the heat fins, just gives it that little bit of extra flair.

Around the other side, a pair of audio jacks, another USB port, a Kensington lock and the DVD driver; all pretty standard stuff, but it’s everything you’ll need and they’re all within easy reach.

A nice clean design around the back, just two durable hinges for the display.

On the underside, you’ll find four tough rubber grips that will keep it firmly planted on your desk while gaming, while also providing a little ground clearance for the few ventilation panels that are dotted around the major components.

The durable hinge feels a little stiff, but not in a bad way, as it holds firmly in place at your angle of choice. There’s a good range to it too, allowing the screen to push right back to suit your needs without unbalancing the main body of the laptop.

Tucked into the front edge, you’ll find all the usual LED indicators, as well as an SD card reader built into the base; always a handy feature to have.

The screen is nice and large, with a fairly reserved amount of bezel around the edge. The matte finish does a really nice job of dulling any reflections on the screen too, as can be seen here in a rather well lit room.

The keyboard is the usual chicklet switch type, but the keys are nice and large and well spaced, so it feels perfectly natural coming from a full-size desktop keyboard to this. The red font really pops out too, making it easy to see what you’re doing, and there’s a funky little bit of red detailing on the edges of the WASD keys, further highlighting the gaming credentials.

Another very welcome feature is the number pad, the keys are a little slimmed down to fit it all in, but it’s big enough to be practical for work and gaming.

The trackpad is pretty large and comes with clickable zones for added control. Of course, I wouldn’t expect this to be used for gaming, but the large surface is going to be very handy for productivity on the go.

At the top of the screen, we small webcam and stereo microphone setup at the top, perfect for chat/video calls.

At the top of the keyboard/base of the screen, there’s some stunning detailing that gives the laptop a unique appearance.

Opening up the bottom cover, you’ll find that the hard drive, memory, and the M.2 drive are all user serviceable, meaning you can quickly access them for maintenance or upgrades.

The battery is quite small, so I wouldn’t expect to use it on long journeys, but with any luck, we should get a couple of hours of general system use out of it.

The display has a really nice range to it, with dark blacks, really nice colours and of course, that lovely red LED underlighting for the keyboard, that just helps the keys “pop” that little bit more in a darker room.