ASUS ROG GR6 Console PC Review & Comments

They missed a trick not bundling it with a controller as well, if its aim is to be a console replacement for the front room.
 
It's like my ASUS laptop, without the screen. It uses mobile graphics and the RoG software so that's really what it is
 
The article first says that the machine has a 960m and then later says the GR8 has a 750ti which easily outperforms the 690m - which is probably true - but does it outperform the 960m in this machine? Or is this just a typo?

From what I understand the 960m and the 750ti are very much the same on paper (CUDA cores, memory bandwidth, etc)
 


:D
 
With the Steam machines launching later this year I'd guess that competition will just get even more competitive. That should in turn drive down prices and drive up specs.

This one seems to be one to skip. Too expensive for something that isn't really a major step up from the much cheaper consoles.
 
Steam now even have the Steam Link for the pc gaming but in a console kind of environment (sofa) :p
I'm intrigued by Steam's claim that 'Virtually every game that your PC runs can be played over Steam Link' - quite a lot of games (particularly those on Origin) don't work using steam streaming, so I don't know how this would be any different
 
I'm intrigued by Steam's claim that 'Virtually every game that your PC runs can be played over Steam Link' - quite a lot of games (particularly those on Origin) don't work using steam streaming, so I don't know how this would be any different

What they mean is it will run your steam library, a steam component wont be expected to run origin games it probably wont even connect to origin accounts.

"Play your Steam games on any TV in the house with Steam Link. Setup is easy. Just connect your Steam Link to your TV and home network, where it will automatically discover any computer running Steam. Then grab a controller and play your collection of games from the comfort of your couch."
 
What they mean is it will run your steam library, a steam component wont be expected to run origin games it probably wont even connect to origin accounts.

"Play your Steam games on any TV in the house with Steam Link. Setup is easy. Just connect your Steam Link to your TV and home network, where it will automatically discover any computer running Steam. Then grab a controller and play your collection of games from the comfort of your couch."
That's quite a big difference between what they mean and what they say then ;)
 
Some might like it's size compared to a desktop PC but it's not powerful enough for that money,
for £693 you can get a midi cased gaming PC with an i5-4460 Quad-Core 3.2GHz and a GTX 960 2GB, add a controller and HDMI it to your TV, as for looks, each to their own but I find it rather ugly.
Ballista Level 1 | Custom Intel Gaming PC | Utopia Computers
 
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Some might like it's size compared to a desktop PC but it's not powerful enough for that money..

The point is the bridge between console and PC - not the specs of the device itself. Gaming laptops are a huge price increase over a PC of similar spec....but if you need a laptop, you have to pay for it.

In this case the whole point is a tidy box that is 'almost console like' not 'if you have £600, buy this'

One day they will get it right - decent spec, console sized device, bootable into a linux distro that runs Steam/Origin/uPlay libraries....but that day is either a little off, or always unreachable as we will require high spec which therefore means high cost.
 
The point is the bridge between console and PC - not the specs of the device itself.

Sorry, but I really don't see the point in such a bridge PC and clearly, it's all about the specs, that's why ASUS want people to spend £650 on it because
The GR6 is aimed squarely at the console gamer who wants the extra that a full fat PC will give
for twice the price of a console I'd expect much better, just because of the small form factor it doesn't warrant the price.

I can't see console players spending that sort of money on the ASUS, (myself included as I game on PC and console) I'm also not convinced that there is such a big market for these small form PC's, many people play on consoles because they are relatively cheap, not because of their small footprint, given the choice between physical size and gaming power I think most gamers would gladly endure a midi cased PC for the gaming power if they could afford it and as for the ASUS being great for taking to LAN parties, I know a few PC gamers who host LAN parties and none of them would be seen dead with the ASUS, PC snobbery, hell yes!

As the review says,
Simply put, it doesn't offer the simple and quick console feel to grab console gamers and nor does it possess the performance to tempt PC gamers; upgrade options are also limited. If the £649 price was £449 or the CPU was upgraded to an i5 Quad Core, it would be a much more tempting proposition.
It's all about the spec.
 
I dont want to clutter this review, but I dont think you get my point - your view means all laptops are equally rubbish if its all about the spec.

There is clearly a market for boxes like these. You, I and many others are not their target audience, as we are all about the spec (as well as value etc) as such.

Gregs review is comparing apples to apples (the unit and its older and better speced brother) and the tailend of the review is much like any other - a suggestion to make it better within the confines of its purpose.
 
I dont want to clutter this review, but I dont think you get my point - your view means all laptops are equally rubbish if its all about the spec.

But all laptops of similar spec are not predominately focused on gaming as the ASUS console is, this console is all about gaming, that's it's main purpose, it's not meant to be a vanilla PC/laptop and that's why it fails miserably.
 
There are far too many, probably all of the reviewers of this new PC form factor as well as PC's in general that make a critical mistake and may readers make as well. They are reviewing essentially a mid range to high end PC though set up to emphasize gaming as a direct price comparison to the consoles. I am sorry but this is a classic apples to oranges comparison. Yes at face value if you only are considering gaming the $600 dollar and up price tag is very high in comparison to a console and if the only thing you ever want to do with it is to play games well you are an idiot for spending the money for a PC go get a console. However if you consider all that can be done when having a fairly high end (comparison to a console) PC the $600+ price tag is not high at all. Here is a list of things that can be done with your new gaming PC/laptop that you will never be able to do with a console.
There are probably 5-10 times the number of available PC games than all of the consoles combined.
Run a word processor
efficiently check email
easy access to all of your social media sites
Create digital art using software such as Corel Painter, Photoshop, the GIMP(a free Photoshop alternative), Art Rage etc etc.
Photo editing using Photoshop, the GIMP and many others
Use a Wacom drawing tablet for use with the mentioned art programs
Digital music creation
CAD software
3D modeling/animation software the best one in my opinion because it is very powerful but also is free is Blender
DTP Adobe In Design, Quark Express and a good free alternative Scribus
IF you are interested in game development once you become proficient at using some of the above art programs you can as a private user download and use for free the following professional 3D game engines; Unity 5, Unreal 4, Cryengine and there are probably others I do not know about. You only have to pay royalties to the companies after you begin selling games you have created.
Set up your new PC to dual boot with Linux or the SteamOS that is based upon Debian Linux
Have a really good media center using VLC, PLEX, XMBC etc without the restrictions on what types of media formats that can be played. and the list could go on and on but you get the point.
So without mentioning all of the things that can be done with the new PC that you just purchased that you will never be able to do on a console with the only thing mentioned is how how much more that the PC costs in comparison to a console is just out and out misleading and does a disservice to your readers. Another thing that no one mentions is that most of the avid gamers out there are pretty much platform agnostic and own a combination of devices, for example I currently have a high end PC, a PS3, PS4, and an Nvidia Shield tablet that are all connected to my HD3DTV via HDMI connection with my Yamaha RX V773 AVR with Klipsch RF 82 II 5.0 speaker set along with an SVS PB 13 Ultra subwoofer. Oh and I am also considering getting an Xbox One.
I just built a new ultra small form factor fairly high end gaming PC using the following components. Keep in mind that I am a long time PC gamer and have been building my desktop gaming rigs since around 2001. Also though my build cost more than the Asus reviewed here in comparison to it is a very high end PC. I along with gaming am involved with several of the mentioned activities I listed so feel that my $855 build was much better value than the $489 PS4 that was bundled with an additional controller that was purchased back in February of 2014.
Here is a listing of the components used
Raven RVZ01 small form factor/HTPC case by SilverStone $89.00
Intel Core i7-4790K Devil’s Canyon Quad-Core 4.0GHz
LGA 1150 BX80646I74790K Desktop Processor with
Intel HD Graphics 4600 $339
G.SKILL TridentX Series 16GB DDR3 ram memory $109
SILVERSTONE SFX Series SX600-G 600W power supply $129
MSI MSI Z97I GAMING ACK LGA 1150 Intel Z97
Mini ITX Intel Motherboard $189
EVGA Geforce GTX 970 SC GPU $330
Total $855
Keep in mind that this is my system and most of the components are in the Best in Class category
that = much higher cost. I also just realized that the price of this Asus PC is in British pounds not in USDs. Currently £649.00=$1006.76 so for $150 less my build is a far more powerful system.
 

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