amazon Asus GR8 II reviews
Design
The Asus GR8 II has a modest “measurement” (88 x 299 x 281.3 mm) and weighs just over 4kg. This size is equivalent to a game console (Sony PlayStation 4, Microsoft Xbox One, …) so that users can easily place it on the desk, next to the TV or anywhere in the room. Specifically in the GR8 II test can be the same 27 inch screen placed on a table only 80 cm long (including the mouse and keyboard) but still free space.
In terms of finishing, the GR8 II is enclosed by a hard plastic outer shell while the internal components are fixed with solid aluminum frames. No longer using the same black and red tones as the old GR8, the new GR8 II color system is ash gray and brass that gives the machine a more modern, eye-catching look and sync with the Asus products.
The most impressive of the GR8 IIs is the RGB LED system, which is designed along the lines of ancient artifacts found in alien movies, as well as customizable with this LED system software. Will continue to glow even when the machine is turned off.
On the face-to-face, the GR8 II is quite angled and centered in the center of the orange frame, dividing the front face into two parts symmetrically as a gate. Asus knows how to design gaming consoles that are not only powerful but also eye-catching. Next to the power button to sink into the front surface, there are two microphone / audio jack and two USB 3.0 ports are also here.
While the dock is simply a two-slot cooler for the GPU, the edge is more eye-catching than the striking orange stripe, and the CPU cooler slot is also located here.
In addition to being a heat pump for GPU or CPU air inlet, the back of the machine is where all the necessary ports are integrated. Specifically, 2xUSB 3.0, 2xUSB 3.1 (1 Type – A and 1 Type – C) with 1 RJ45 LAN port, SPDIF audio jack and audio jack. Because the output port of the computer depends on the graphics card, unfortunately, the GR8 II does not have a dedicated VGA port. Instead, with the integrated GTX 1060 3GB Founder Edition GPU have one DisplayPort 1.4 and 2xHDMI 2.0 ports.
Ability to upgrade
Compact design, but the GR8 II still has the ability to upgrade as good and easy as regular desktops. To upgrade, Asus allows users to open and slide the right cover easily after removing the screws around.
Using the strong custom boom with both sides is a component, which is why the GR8 II has little restriction on the ability to upgrade the CPU because it is mounted on the other side of the board. On the upright side, the user can recognize the GPU, 2.5-inch SSD Intel, RAM and SSD M.2 slot.
Unlike traditional PCs, the GR8 II ram slot is similar to a laptop SO-DIMM, and it also comes with dual-channel Samsung DR4-2400 8 GB dual-chanel CPUs.
The GR8 II’s built-in SSD uses a SATA III 6 port and users can replace the drive with a dedicated HDD to increase storage capacity. Asus Companion is also very psychologically built-in slots M.2 for standard 2242 or 2280 SSDs so users do not have to worry much about storage capacity.
Asus GR8 II uses the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3G version of the Founder Edition, this is the default version of NVIDIA, it uses a stock heatsink fan and a large heatsink system that brings heat back to the device. Although protected with a solid aluminum sheath, users can still upgrade the GPU quite easily by removing the entire layer of screws and protective sheaths.
On the aluminum casing protecting the GPU, the integrated power circuit board is quite compact with an 8-pin jack for the CPU and 4 pins for the GPU.
The other half of the motherboard and CPU are hard to come by, but with the new Intel Core i7 – 7700 KabyLake processor, it will take a long time to become obsolete so users do not have to worry.
Performance
The advantage of the Asus GR8 II is that there are many configuration options available at multiple prices for the user. The top rated version has the highest configuration with Intel Core i7 – 7700 processor, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 3GB, 16GB RAM (MAX 32GB) and 256GB SSD. Other options include CPU versions such as the Intel Core i5-6400 / 7400 and Core i7-6700, 2.5″ HDDs of 500 GB to 1 TB, or up to 512 GB of M.2.
Intel Core i7 – 7700 is a high – performance desktop CPU that is used by many gamers, though not as powerful as Core i7 – 7700K 95W but with up to 4.2 GHz (up to 4 cores and 8 threads The GR8 II is still a great way to give users a high performance experience. With its 256GB SSD, the GR8 II’s ability to load operating systems, game settings, or applications (Photoshop CC, Lightroom, Illustrator, etc) is extremely fast. However, with relatively low storage capacity (only 256GB) there will not be enough space for gamers to install many favorite titles. If possible, Asus should equip the GR8 II with a 1TB hard drive and a 128GB solid-state drive, so that users can take advantage of better storage space.
In addition to the basic RJ45 Ethernet connection, Asus also integrates the GR8 II moduel WIFI. The Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8260 supports 5 GHz band and a maximum transfer rate of 867 Mbps. Beside WIFI, integrated Bluetooth is also an advantage for this desktop PC.
Performance may never be a problem for PC gaming. The GR8 II, too, is the benchmark of the machine when measured using specialized software to help readers get a more objective view of the product.
It reached more than 5,600 PC Mark 8 on the Home Accelerated test and 7,383 at the PC Mark 7 on the overall performance review.
Although the GTX 1060’s DRAM capacity is only 3GB, the graphics performance of the GR8 II is not so bad. Evidence is that the machine reached more than 161,000 points Ice Storm Extreme and 2,820 points Fire Strike ULTRA.
Similar to many SSDs available on the market, despite a fairly high read speed (531 MB / s), the write performance of the product only reached (266 MB / s). In return, Asus equips the GR8 II with a technology called RAMCacheII, which speeds data recovery, testing with Crysrtal DiskMark software, SSD read speeds up to 10,000 MB / s and over 9,800 write speeds (MB / s) when RAMCache is enabled.
With a powerful configuration, the Asus GR8 II is enough to give gamers a high level of gaming experience and high frame rates. Some heavyweight titles like The Witcher 3, For Honor, Battlefield 1, … can still play smoothly at High settings (average 100fps) and Ultral (average 50fps).
Ability to heat dissipation
The average temperature of the Asus GR8 II under normal use conditions such as surfing, watching movies, basic entertainment, … are: 67 degrees CPU, 57 degrees mainboard and 42 degrees C with GTX 1060 graphics card.
For the stress test using the FurMark software, the GPU’s full-HD configuration settings reached a maximum of 81 degrees Celsius. Similar testing with the 3D Mark GR8 II software reached 98.7% of frame stabilization ( Fire Strike Stress Test). Experimenting at FHD resolution in one hour (high setting), the CPU temperature is about 74 – 76 degrees Celsius and the GPU stabilizes at 72 degrees.
where can you get a Asus GR8 II online
ASUS GR8 II-T043Z VR Ready Mini PC Gaming Desktop with Intel Core i7-7700 and GeForce GTX 1060: Buy it now
ASUS GR8 II-T069Z VR Ready Mini PC Gaming Desktop with Intel Core i5-7400 and GeForce GTX 1060: Buy it now
ASUS ROG GR8 II (i5-7400, 16GB RAM, 512GB SATA SSD + 1TB HDD, NVIDIA GTX 1060 3GB, Windows 10) VR-Ready Mini Gaming PC: Buy it now
ASUS ROG GR8 II (i5-7400, 8GB RAM, 1TB HDD, NVIDIA GTX 1060 3GB, Windows 10) VR-Ready Mini Gaming PC: Buy it now
Conclude
The Asus GR8 II demonstrates that size does not matter, but with its powerful configuration and powerful performance, this desktop PC is ready to please any hardcore gamer. With a price tag of over $ 1400, users may be tempted to do so, but with what it bring, alongside the manufacturer’s optimal performance, it certainly will not disappoint.
Advantage:
– Compact design, high quality.
– Beautiful RGB LEDs.
– Stable performance.
– Ability to upgrade hardware.
– Get Windows license.
Disadvantages:
– Low capacity hard drive.
– The heat dissipation capability is not really good