The ASUS ROG Zephyrus S17 is a high-performance gaming laptop that has garnered attention for its powerful specifications, sleek design, and innovative features. One of the most important aspects of any laptop, especially gaming machines, is battery life. Gamers and professionals alike require a machine that can sustain extended use without frequent charging, especially when they are on the go. In this comprehensive review, we will take a deep dive into the battery performance of the ASUS ROG Zephyrus S17, assessing how it holds up under different workloads, gaming sessions, and general use. We’ll also compare its battery life with competitors, analyze the factors that affect its battery performance, and provide tips on how to optimize the device’s battery life for various tasks.
Table of Contents
1. Overview of the ASUS ROG Zephyrus S17
Before diving into the battery life, it is important to understand the technical specifications of the Zephyrus S17, as the hardware plays a significant role in power consumption.
- Display Options: The Zephyrus S17 comes with either a 17.3-inch 4K UHD display with a 120Hz refresh rate or a WQHD 165Hz display. Both panels are Pantone-validated, offering excellent color accuracy, which is ideal for gamers and content creators alike.
- Processor: The laptop is powered by Intel’s 11th Gen Core i9-11900H processor, an eight-core beast that handles heavy multitasking and demanding applications with ease.
- GPU: For gaming and graphic-intensive tasks, the Zephyrus S17 offers an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 GPU with 16GB of VRAM. This combination delivers exceptional performance for AAA games and professional-level content creation.
- RAM and Storage: The laptop supports up to 48GB of DDR4-3200 RAM and up to 3TB of PCIe SSD storage, ensuring fast load times and smooth performance.
- Battery: The Zephyrus S17 is equipped with a 90Wh battery, a fairly standard capacity for high-performance gaming laptops.
- Weight and Build: Despite its powerful hardware, the laptop maintains a relatively slim and lightweight design, weighing in at 2.6kg (5.7 lbs).
With this kind of hardware, it’s clear that the Zephyrus S17 is designed for power users, but how does this affect its battery life?
2. Battery Life Under Gaming Workloads
Gaming laptops are notorious for consuming large amounts of power during gameplay, and the ASUS ROG Zephyrus S17 is no exception. The combination of a high-refresh-rate display, a powerful GPU, and a high-performance CPU means that when you’re gaming, the battery drains rapidly.
Gaming on Battery Power
When running demanding games like Cyberpunk 2077, Call of Duty: Warzone, or Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, the Zephyrus S17’s battery life drops significantly. On average, during intensive gaming sessions, the laptop lasts for around 1 to 2 hours on battery power, depending on the game settings. Lowering the in-game graphics settings and turning off features like ray tracing can extend the battery life slightly, but the difference is marginal. Additionally, gaming on battery power reduces the laptop’s performance, as the system automatically throttles the GPU and CPU to conserve energy.
Gaming Benchmarks on Battery
Let’s take a closer look at the performance of the ASUS ROG Zephyrus S17 under gaming benchmarks:
- Cyberpunk 2077 (High Settings):
- Battery life: 1 hour 15 minutes
- FPS: 45-50
- Shadow of the Tomb Raider (Ultra Settings):
- Battery life: 1 hour 30 minutes
- FPS: 60-65
- Fortnite (High Settings):
- Battery life: 1 hour 40 minutes
- FPS: 80-90
In each of these cases, the battery life is limited, and the performance is reduced compared to when the laptop is plugged in. This is common among gaming laptops, and the Zephyrus S17’s battery life during gaming is on par with other high-performance machines like the Razer Blade 17 and the Alienware X17.
3. Battery Life During Productivity and General Use
When used for less demanding tasks such as web browsing, document editing, video streaming, or light photo editing, the ASUS ROG Zephyrus S17 demonstrates a more respectable battery life. With the power-hungry GPU and CPU taking a backseat, the laptop can last much longer on a single charge.
Web Browsing and Office Work
In a real-world usage test that involved browsing the web, checking emails, working on documents, and occasional YouTube streaming, the Zephyrus S17’s battery life hovered around 5 to 6 hours. This is quite decent for a gaming laptop, though not exceptional compared to ultrabooks or laptops specifically designed for productivity.
Here are the details of battery consumption for typical office tasks:
- Web browsing (multiple tabs, including video streaming): ~5 hours 45 minutes
- Document editing and light multitasking: ~6 hours
- Video calls (Zoom, Teams): ~4 hours 30 minutes
Video Streaming
When streaming videos at 1080p from platforms like Netflix or YouTube, the battery lasted around 5 to 6 hours with the screen brightness set to 50%. If you increase the brightness or stream at higher resolutions, such as 4K, the battery life drops to approximately 4 hours. This still falls within the average range for gaming laptops with similar specifications.
Content Creation
For users who rely on the Zephyrus S17 for content creation tasks, such as photo editing in Adobe Photoshop or video editing in Adobe Premiere Pro, the battery life will vary depending on the intensity of the workload. In photo editing sessions, the battery life averages around 3 to 4 hours. However, for video editing, especially when working with 4K footage, the battery drains faster, lasting around 2 to 3 hours.
4. Power-Saving Features and Battery Optimization
To extend battery life, ASUS includes several power-saving features and settings within the Armoury Crate software, allowing users to adjust performance modes and fine-tune settings according to their needs. Here are some of the key features that can help optimize the battery life of the Zephyrus S17:
Performance Modes
The Zephyrus S17 offers multiple performance modes through the Armoury Crate software:
- Turbo Mode: This mode unleashes the full power of the CPU and GPU, maximizing performance for gaming and rendering tasks. However, it also consumes the most power and should be used sparingly on battery.
- Performance Mode: In this mode, the laptop strikes a balance between performance and battery life, making it suitable for moderate gaming and multitasking. It provides decent power savings while still delivering solid performance.
- Silent Mode: Silent Mode limits the CPU and GPU performance to extend battery life. It’s ideal for general use, such as web browsing, document editing, and video streaming, and helps keep the fan noise to a minimum.
- Battery Saver Mode: This mode further reduces the power output of the components, ensuring maximum battery efficiency. It is suitable for the most basic tasks, like checking emails or taking notes, where performance isn’t a priority.
Battery Care Settings
ASUS has also included a Battery Care feature in the Armoury Crate software. This allows users to limit the battery charging level to 60% or 80%, which can help prolong the overall lifespan of the battery by preventing overcharging. It’s a useful feature for those who frequently use the laptop plugged in and want to preserve the health of their battery over time.
Display Power Management
The Zephyrus S17’s display is another major factor in battery consumption. ASUS has included features like Adaptive Sync and Dynamic Display Refresh Rate to help conserve power. When the laptop is not in use or when displaying static content, the refresh rate of the screen can be lowered to reduce power consumption. Users can also manually adjust the display brightness and disable the RGB lighting on the keyboard to further improve battery life.
Charging Time
The laptop comes with a 280W power adapter, and despite the large battery size, the Zephyrus S17 charges relatively quickly. From 0% to 50%, the battery charges in about 30 to 40 minutes, while a full charge takes around 90 minutes. This fast-charging capability is convenient for gamers and professionals who need to top up the battery quickly before heading out.
5. Comparison with Competitors
When comparing the battery life of the ASUS ROG Zephyrus S17 with other high-end gaming laptops, it holds up reasonably well, but it is not the leader in its class. Here are some comparisons:
- Razer Blade 17 (2021): The Blade 17 offers similar performance but slightly better battery life, with around 6 to 7 hours of general use and 1 to 2 hours of gaming. The Blade’s more power-efficient display options (FHD) contribute to its extended battery life.
- Alienware X17 (2021): The Alienware X17, another direct competitor, has similar battery life during gaming sessions (1 to 2 hours) but falls behind the Zephyrus S17 in terms of general productivity usage, lasting around 4 to 5 hours.
- MSI GE76 Raider: The GE76 Raider is another high-performance gaming laptop that shares similar battery life characteristics with the Zephyrus S17. It lasts around 1.5 to 2 hours during gaming sessions and about 4 to 5 hours during general productivity tasks. The MSI GE76 Raider’s power-hungry hardware and its large 17-inch display are contributing factors to its average battery performance, much like the Zephyrus S17
6. Factors Affecting Battery Life
There are several factors that can drastically affect the battery life of the ASUS ROG Zephyrus S17. Understanding these factors will help users make informed decisions about their usage patterns to optimize the battery’s longevity.
1. Display
The display is one of the primary components consuming power in the Zephyrus S17. The choice between the 4K UHD 120Hz panel and the WQHD 165Hz panel has a significant impact on battery life. Higher resolutions and refresh rates demand more power, especially during gaming and multimedia tasks. Users who prioritize battery life should consider lowering the display brightness or opting for the WQHD panel, as it strikes a better balance between visual quality and energy efficiency.
2. CPU and GPU Performance
The Intel Core i9-11900H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 are highly capable components, but their high power draw directly affects the battery life. When running intensive applications, especially games or content creation software, both the CPU and GPU are taxed heavily, leading to faster battery depletion. This is particularly true when the laptop is set to Turbo Mode or Performance Mode, where the components are pushed to their maximum capacity. Reducing the performance settings in Armoury Crate or using Silent Mode for less demanding tasks can help extend battery life.
3. Cooling System
The Active Aerodynamic System Plus (AAS Plus), a signature cooling feature of the Zephyrus S17, uses a tilting keyboard mechanism to improve airflow. While this helps keep the laptop cool during intensive sessions, the fans also consume power. When the fans run at higher speeds to cool the powerful internals during gaming, they drain additional battery life. Users can manually adjust fan speeds within Armoury Crate to balance cooling efficiency and power consumption, though at the cost of higher temperatures.
4. Background Applications
Running multiple background applications, such as cloud synchronization, antivirus software, or system updates, can reduce battery life. These programs often consume CPU and memory resources, leading to increased power usage. Disabling unnecessary background processes can have a noticeable impact on extending battery life, especially when performing lighter tasks.
5. Keyboard Lighting and Peripherals
The Zephyrus S17 features customizable RGB lighting for its keyboard, which is a common feature in gaming laptops but adds to the power draw. Disabling the RGB lighting, or at least reducing its brightness, can save battery power during longer sessions. Additionally, the use of external peripherals, such as a mouse or headphones, can also slightly decrease battery life by drawing power through the USB ports.
7. Practical Tips for Optimizing Battery Life
To help users maximize the battery life of the ASUS ROG Zephyrus S17, here are some practical tips that can be implemented:
1. Use Silent Mode or Battery Saver Mode
For everyday tasks like web browsing, document editing, or media consumption, switching to Silent Mode or Battery Saver Mode can significantly extend battery life. These modes limit the CPU and GPU usage, reducing overall power consumption while still providing sufficient performance for lighter workloads.
2. Reduce Display Brightness
Lowering the display brightness is one of the easiest ways to conserve battery power. While the Zephyrus S17’s display is bright and vibrant, reducing the brightness to around 50% or even lower when indoors can have a noticeable impact on battery life.
3. Disable Unnecessary Features
Turning off unnecessary features such as RGB lighting, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi (when not needed) can help save battery power. The keyboard lighting, in particular, can be adjusted or turned off entirely to reduce power consumption.
4. Manage Background Applications
Regularly check for background applications that may be consuming CPU resources. Tools like Task Manager or third-party apps can help identify resource-hungry programs that can be closed to extend battery life.
5. Use Power-Efficient Display Settings
The Zephyrus S17 offers the ability to switch between different display refresh rates. If you are not gaming, reducing the refresh rate to 60Hz can save battery life. Additionally, enabling Adaptive Sync can help reduce unnecessary power usage by matching the display’s refresh rate to the frame rate of the content being displayed.
6. Keep the Laptop Cool
Heat can affect battery performance, so it’s important to keep the laptop cool. Using the laptop on a flat, hard surface can help improve airflow. If you notice the fans running at high speeds, consider adjusting the performance settings or using a cooling pad to reduce strain on the system.
8. Long-Term Battery Longevity
The ASUS ROG Zephyrus S17, like all modern laptops, uses a lithium-ion battery. To ensure long-term battery health, it’s important to follow best practices for charging and discharging the battery:
1. Avoid Constant Full Discharge
Allowing the battery to drain completely frequently can reduce its lifespan. It’s better to recharge the battery when it reaches around 20-30% to prevent deep discharges that can degrade the cells over time.
2. Use ASUS Battery Health Charging
ASUS provides a Battery Health Charging feature within the Armoury Crate software, which allows users to set a charging limit (60% or 80%) to extend the overall lifespan of the battery. This feature is particularly useful for users who primarily use their laptop plugged in, as keeping the battery at 100% for extended periods can degrade its longevity.
3. Avoid High Heat
Exposing the battery to high temperatures can shorten its lifespan. Ensure the laptop remains well-ventilated during heavy usage, and avoid leaving it in hot environments, such as a car or near a heater.
9. User Feedback on Battery Life
User reviews and feedback on the battery life of the ASUS ROG Zephyrus S17 are generally consistent with the findings in this review. While the battery life during gaming sessions is understandably limited, users appreciate the ability to perform general tasks for around 5 to 6 hours on a single charge. However, some users have reported that the battery drains faster than expected when multitasking or running background processes, which reinforces the importance of proper power management and background app control.
Users who frequently travel or use the Zephyrus S17 for extended periods without access to a power outlet may find the battery life somewhat restrictive, especially if their workflow involves resource-intensive tasks. However, for users primarily using the laptop for gaming and plugged-in work, the battery life is generally acceptable.
10. Conclusion
The ASUS ROG Zephyrus S17 is an impressive gaming laptop that delivers top-tier performance, but its battery life reflects the limitations of current gaming hardware. With a powerful Intel Core i9 processor, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 GPU, and a high-refresh-rate display, it’s no surprise that the battery drains quickly during demanding tasks such as gaming or video editing. Gamers can expect around 1 to 2 hours of gameplay on battery power, while general productivity tasks can last between 5 to 6 hours, depending on usage patterns and power settings.
The laptop’s 90Wh battery is standard for high-performance gaming laptops, and while it doesn’t break new ground in terms of longevity, ASUS has included various features like performance modes, battery health settings, and display power management to help users get the most out of their battery.
Ultimately, the Zephyrus S17’s battery life should be seen in the context of its purpose. As a gaming powerhouse, it is designed to deliver maximum performance rather than long battery life. For users who prioritize raw gaming power and don’t mind being tethered to a power outlet for the best experience, the Zephyrus S17 is a formidable choice. For those seeking extended battery life in a portable form, however, it may be worth considering other options or adjusting expectations accordingly.