Review of the gaming system unit ASUS ROG GT51CA

It so happened that after the ROG G20AJ we did not review the gaming system units, focusing on gaming laptops, including those with an external liquid cooling system. But, despite its performance, laptops have certain limitations. And now ASUS GT51CA is becoming the flagship of the entire Republic of Gamers line - a gaming system unit with two NVidia GeForce Titan X video cards, very high performance and several interesting features.

Specifications

Operating system : Windows 10 Home
Processor : Intel Core i7 6700K (with overclocking capability up to 4.6 GHz)
Chipset : Intel Z170
Graphics :
NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN X 12 GB x 2
NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN X 12GB
NVIDIA GeForce GTX980 4GB x 2
NVIDIA GeForce GTX980 4GB
NVIDIA GeForce GTX970 4GB
RAM :
64 GB, DDR4, 2800 MHz
from 16 to 64 GB, DDR4, 2133 MHz
Expansion slots :
3 x PCI-e x 1
3 x PCI-e x 16
4 x DDR4 LONG-DIMM SLOT
SATA : 6 x SATA 6 GB / sec.
Data Store :
up to 3 TB SATA III hard drive
512 GB x 2 M.2 PCIE SSD (RAID 0)
512 GB M.2 PCIE SSD
256 GB M.2 SATA SSD
Five slots for 3.5 "drives
Optical drive :
Super Multi DVD Slimtray (writing)
Slimtray blu ray combo
Wireless data transfer :
802.11 ac2 x2 (Optional),
Bluetooth V4.1 (Optional),
NFC (on some models)
Local Area Network : 10/100/1000 / Gigabit
Sound :
ESS Hi-Fi Audio
High Definition 7.1 Channel Audio
Front connectors :
1 x headphones
1 x microphone
2 x USB 3.0
1 x USB 3.1, Type C
1 x USB 3.1, Type A
Rear connectors :
6 x USB 3.0
2 x USB 2.0
1 x PS / 2
1 x RJ45
1 x S / PDIF out
1 x line input
1 x linear output
1 x microphone
1 x combo / subwoofer
1 x rear speakers
Power Supply :
500 watts
500 W (80 PLUS)
700 W (80 PLUS)
Dimensions :
26.2 x 58.4 x 58.7 cm (L x W x H)
box 38.0 x 70.0 x 68.0 ~ cm (L x W x H)
Weight : 27 kg
Accessories :
Wired Keyboard and Mouse (Optional)
Bracelet ROG Band (Optional)

Appearance and equipment

Sistemnik comes in a very large box. It does not fit in every trunk and hardly fits into the opening of the rear door of the car.
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Comes with a wired keyboard and mouse. These are unpretentious models, from a delicacy only the volume control. The keyboard is not notebook type, the keys are full-sized, with a long stroke.









One of the highlights of the ASUS GT51CA is a special bracelet. It is made of soft material - either silicone, or elastomer - and if you bring it to the system unit, you can access the secret section on the disk where you can store your passwords and other important information.





The system unit is much larger than the average tower. Design aggressive, sort of transformer style. The body is steel, with high-quality coating, overhead panels of smooth plastic.





At first it seemed to me that the front panel is a door, but this is just a decorative element. The NFC receiver for working with the bracelet is located approximately midway between the logo and the top edge of the panel. This place is indicated by a small icon N.



Immediately attracts the attention of the supply fan cooling system. The color of the backlight can be changed using a proprietary application. During acceleration, the backlight pulsates, the duration of this effect can be set independently. The color of the vertical faceplates and the backlight of the motherboard is also separately regulated.



To the right of the front panel is a vertically positioned DVD drive. And on the left - the overclocking button







Above there is a series of connectors with highlighted symbols. Very correct decision, it is not necessary to peer or highlight where to insert the USB flash drive. The connectors are inclined at about 45 degrees, so they are much more convenient to use when the sistemnik is under the table.



On the upper plane of the body there is a large ventilation inlet closed by an elaborate grid. The top panel itself is raised a few centimeters above the wall of the steel case, which can be viewed through the grille.



A transparent window is embedded into the left wall of the case, through which you can enjoy the backlight of the motherboard and the luminous inscriptions on the video cards. You can see the water block on the processor, connected to an exhaust fan, which plays a key role in removing hot air from the case.





The right wall of the case is “deaf”.



The power supply is located at the bottom of the system unit.



There are several inlet channels: a fan on the front panel, as well as grilles on the top and bottom of the case.



It is very interesting to see how the GT51CA is organized inside.



Behind the plastic panel in the lower right corner is a supply fan. The panel obviously plays the role of an air duct.





The grille that was visible through the glass of the housing wall:



The abundance of powerful overclocked components requires good cooling. For example, the use of SVO helps not only to cool the processor more efficiently, but also not to clutter the space above the motherboard, not to interfere with the air flow.



All the wires through the technological holes are removed behind the blind panel of the right side of the case:







Inside view of the upper supply grille:



Despite the two powerful graphics cards, the GT51CA works great on a 700-watt power supply. A good example of the redundancy of monsters of 1000-1500 watts.



Video cards are protected by steel “bumpers”, which also play a decorative role - they hide the ends of the video cards. GEFORCE GTX luminous inscriptions are clearly visible through the gaps.









One of the two NVMe SSDs:



The second one is hidden under the top video card, parallel to the motherboard, it is almost invisible.

Winchester for 2 TB:

Sound

Hardcore gamers need high-quality sound like air. In order to determine by ear, where did the rocket, projectile or boom come from? Not to mention the fact that you need to listen to your favorite music from a good recording and on good equipment. For the first, ASUS is not responsible, but as for the equipment, the GT51CA uses a digital-to-analog converter and an ESS Saber headphone amplifier. I listened to FLAC videos from my collection, and I have to say that some songs sounded new to me. I even thought about replacing the audio card. In the GT51CA games it sounds great: no noise, clear detail, good spatial positioning of sound sources, impressive bass, and not crushed mid and high frequencies.

Software

Sistemnik comes with Windows 10 Home installed, fully configured and ready to use, you just need to connect a monitor and keyboard with a mouse. Adware and trial software turned out to be a little, less will have to clean.



Corporate application Aegis II allows you to:

• Adjust the color and brightness of the different body elements.
  
  
• Allocate more resources for specific applications.
  
  
• Perform fine system overclocking.
  
  
• Control the workload.
  
  
• Manage the bundled bracelet. To take advantage of all the amenities of this accessory, you must first create an account or log in under the existing one. After that, if you attach the bracelet to the case, the secret virtual disk automatically opens.
  
  
• Also Aegis II allows you to instantly overclock the system without rebooting - just click on the inconspicuous inscription Turbo 2 in the upper right corner.
  
  

Another proprietary application, ASUS Command, is a set of system tools for managing computer power, firmware upgrades, security, and data recovery.


Game First helps to check the width of the channel and assign priority use of network resources to different processes.





Finally, using XSplit Gamecaster, you can conveniently stream your gaming sessions.

Performance and work experience

From the point of view of "iron" in the GT51CA everything is very serious, top grade.

Processor - Intel Core i7 6700K , referring to the sixth generation. According to the specification, its maximum operating frequency of 4.2 GHz. In the GT51CA, the upper limit is raised to 4.3 GHz, and with one mouse click you can overclock to 4.6 GHz. ASUS claims that every processor for the GT51CA is tested overclocked for 40 hours. The motherboard is based on the Intel Z170 chipset. The amount of RAM 64 GB DDR4 (four modules of 16 GB each).



In this model, there are three drives: a two-byte hard drive



and two 512 GB SSM-drives NVMe, mixed in RAID0. This solution made it possible to achieve a very high write / read speed.



The video subsystem consists of two Nvidia GeForce GTX Titan X video cards operating in SLI mode. Each card is equipped with 12 GB of memory.



Let's first look at the benchmark results.


It was very curious to see how much FPS will show the system unit in a fairly loaded game. I tested it in Battlefield 4, including one of the heaviest maps - “Operation Firestorm”, 2014 ”. Heavy not in the sense of the game, but in the sense of the load on the video card: my GTX 970 overheats here regularly. With the settings “Ultra” and with a resolution of 1920 x 1200, the GT51CA showed from 105 to 200 frames / sec., On other maps from 140 to 200. Probably 200 is a restriction of the engine. In this case, the system unit did not howl with all the fans, but quietly buzzed, with a clear rustling of the flow from the SVO fan.

The main channel of the hot air outlet is the fan of the SVO processor. He has to take the rap for everyone: he often goes to increased speed, and the air flow from him is felt at a distance of more than a meter. Also, warm air comes out through the power supply and the slots next to the video cards, but these channels play a secondary role. So it cannot be said that the system unit is working under load quietly. If the temperature in the room is high enough, that is, when it is hot in the yard, then with active downloading or surfing, the fan periodically “gives a voice”. Although the sound of the cooling system can not be called unpleasant, it is mainly medium and low frequencies, pronounced aerodynamic noise when the flow passes through the radiator of the NWO and the grilles of the fans.

Conclusion

ASUS GT51CA is a massive and very high-performance computer. Today it is difficult to collect something more powerful. RAID 0 of two NVMe SSDs is twice as fast as single drives and 6 times faster than conventional SSDs connected via SATA. 64 GB of RAM is enough for any game for several years to come. The processor will also be long relevant, given the slowdown in the development of new chips.

The only question is the video card: with the release of NVidia GeForce GTX 1070 and 1080 installed here Titan X are no longer top. The fact is that the GTX 1080 was announced only at the beginning of June, and the tested sample was assembled earlier. And ASUS already has plans for the release of the GT51 version with the GTX 1070 and 1080. But in any case, the GT51CA buyers won't be left behind - the Titan X pair will plug the vast majority of existing systems into the belt for a long time.

As for the design, the system unit does not exactly look dull. Four separately adjustable backlighting zones allow you to color the computer for every taste, mood, and even for a particular game. Thanks to a custom backlight, it will fit into any interior.



The device should go on sale in August. Recommended retail price:

Model GT51CA-RU003T - 264 490 rubles.
Model GT51CA-RU002T - 433 390 rubles.