Asus Strix G15 Advantage Edition – Post buying checklist

After using my old Asus Vivobook S15 for about 3 and a half years, I bought an Asus Strix G15 Advantage Edition (G513QY) laptop in August 2021. It’s an all AMD laptop with a Ryzen 5900HX CPU and Radeon 6800M GPU. I prepared a checklist for things to check and do after I got the laptop. Most items on this list should apply to any laptops, but a few are region and model specific. Sharing it here with the hope that it helps someone else.

Things to check

You should run through this checklist within 7 days of receiving the laptop in order to initiate for the DOA process.

Benchmarks were run in turbo mode with the laptop sitting on a flat surface. The ambient temperature was 26C, CPU temps were hovering around 94C and GPU around 87C.

1. Hardware Configuration ‒ Use the Windows Device Manager. Check the following: CPU, Storage, RAM, GPU, network & Bluetooth devices
2. For dead pixels ‒ I returned 2 units before I got a unit that did not have dead pixels, so pay close attention to this. You can use this website to check for dead pixels.
3. For backlight bleed ‒ Use this website to check for backlight bleed.
4. For physical damage ‒ Inspect the laptop for dents or scratches.
5. All the ports on the laptop ‒ The USB-C port supports power delivery, display and data transfer.
6. Check audio quality
7. RAM timings ‒ Due to the global chip shortage, laptop manufacturers have been using RAM that has lower sub timings that impact performance. You can use ZenTimings to check this. Luckily, the models sold in India appear to have good timings.
8. CPU benchmark ‒ Run Cinebench R23. My lowest score in 3 runs was 13,030.
9. GPU benchmark ‒ Run 3DMark Timespy via Steam. My lowest score in 3 runs: 10,504 (CPU:9,645, GPU:10,672).
10. Bluetooth
11. WiFi
12. Keyboard  ‒ Play around with the backlight and ensure all shortcuts work.
13. Hinge ‒ Close / Open the lid with a single hand. Push it back to the maximum. Observe for any noise.
14. Battery life ‒ Generate and review the battery report. With my regular usage of Windows 10, I get about 6 and a half hours of back-up
15. Touchpad
16. Internals (Optional) ‒ I removed the laptop back cover and did a quick inspection

Software updates

Create a system restore point and then update the software on your laptop,

1. Windows 10
2. BIOS ‒ Also updated via the MyAsus app but has a separate item since it’s rather significant 
3. Software / Drivers via
   1. Armoury Crate
   2. MyAsus app
4. AMD Radeon Software ‒ I recommend using a graphics driver from the AMD website.

Configuration & Tweaks

The items mentioned here can be tweaked based on personal preference.

1. Tweak panel bottom lights
2. Turn off keyboard animations on shutdown, sleep etc ‒ Can be done via the Asus Armory Crate
3. Turn off boot audio
4. Limit battery charge to 60% ‒ This is done via the MyAsus app.
5. Change your PC name in Windows 10/11
6. Remove unnecessary software ‒ Eg: McAfee, Asus stuff like AuraCreator and items from the Start menu that come bundled with Windows 10 / 11.
7. Configure data collection ‒ I use O&O ShutUp10 
8. Disable unneeded services ‒ Check Windows Startup & run services.msc

Warranty & Registration

If you are in India, Asus provides warranty extension and accidental damage protection at an affordable price. You should register for these within 15 days of receiving the laptop. Learn more about it here.

1. Warranty extension up to 3 years ‒ Cost: INR 2,500/- (Approximately 34 USD)
2. Local accidental damage project for a year ‒ Cost: INR 800/- (Approximately 11 USD)
3. Register the laptop via MyAsus app
4. Serial number ‒ Note it down in an accessible location

Personal tweaks

1. Install Microsoft PowerToys – Useful if you use Windows regularly.
2. Use UTC as BIOS time – This is important if you dual boot between Windows and Linux.

Observations

I noticed that my benchmark scores were about 8-9% lower than what I’d noticed in reviews. It could be due to the reviewers getting better binned parts and ambient temperatures being higher here in India. I’ll try re-pasting the thermal paste after a few months to see if that makes a difference. Secondly, I noticed a very slight flex in the top right corner of the keyboard deck accompanied by creaking sound.

Since I got this laptop at a discount (INR 6,000/- ~ 80 USD), and this was the 1st unit (out of 3) that I got without a dead pixel, I decided to keep it.