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ASUS ROG Strix GL12 hands-on, first Impressions

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ASUS Republic of Gamers has released quite a few pre-built gaming PC’s in the past, but today we get to take a look at a system that packs modern hardware and design elements.

Here is our hands-on and first impressions of the ROG Strix GL12.

Right from the moment you lay your eyes on the chassis, you see that that the GL12 is a gaming tower which is not subtle at all. The front boasts sleek angles that come together for an aerodynamic-looking design.

Before you even think about the shape though, admit it, your eyes were drawn to the RGB lighting at first. Well, us too. The ROG logo, as well as a couple of slits, are dedicated to this purpose. The lights are connected directly to the motherboard, which of course, supports ASUS Aura Sync, so any compatible peripherals you have will be able to join the party.

At the front, we have a removable panel that is magnetically attached which is a nice touch. Underneath are the slim DVD drive and 2.5″ drive bay. We like the inclusion of a drive bay but, we question the need for an optical drive in 2018.

Up top are two USB 3.1, two USB 2.0, an SD card reader, and a combo audio jack. To the side is the power button. ASUS missed the mark with front I/O, as we see more cases adopt a Type-C port, and separate headphone and microphone ports would have been much better, as most gaming headphones have separate jacks.

Over at the back, the Z370 motherboard has pretty standard I/O but lacks a Type-C port. You get two USB 2.0, two USB 3.1 Gen 1, two USB 3.1 Gen 2, an ethernet port, and the standard audio inputs. Video outputs will depend on which graphics card you get, but this GTX 1080 has two DisplayPort, two HDMI, and one DVI-D.

As for other connectivity, there is also Wi-Fi 802.11ac and Bluetooth 5.0 which is great. For storage, there are 2.5 and 3.5-inch drive bays and an M.2 SSD slot.

The unit we’re looking at here is packing an Intel Core i7-8700K on a Z370 motherboard and a GTX 1080, so a clear acrylic side panel is included. It definitely makes the PC nicer to look at, but the implementation is weak. The plastic thumb screws feel flimsy, and there is quite a gap between the acrylic and the rest of the case, leaving concern for dust being able to easily enter.

A clear side panel is definitely a must for high-end gaming towers nowadays, but ASUS missed the mark by a hair. Tempered glass and a latch system, like the one on the InWin 303, would have been much better.

If you’re a PC enthusiast, looking through the acrylic may leave you feeling a little appalled. The hardware is certainly powerful, but it’s sort of a mess visually.

There is RGB lighting, all-black PCBs, and a custom ROG Asetek AiO CPU cooler, which are all great. On the other hand, though, we have very basic DIMMs with green PCBs, a functional but boring-looking graphics card support bracket, and hideous ketchup-and-mustard PSU cables.

With the premium you’re paying for a PC like this, you would expect at least black, if not braided PSU cables.

Included in the box are a basic keyboard and mouse set. They aren’t particularly special, especially the mouse, but they will get you by, though, before you can snag a proper set of gaming peripherals.

The keyboard has a nice design, some dedicated multimedia keys, and red LED backlighting, while the mouse is just your standard fare basic-as-it-gets optical mouse.

Overall, the ROG Strix GL12 is a good looking and powerful PC that boasts both modern hardware and design. It misses the mark on a few key aspects but still looks to be a good choice for a pre-built gaming PC.

ASUS ROG Strix GL12 specs:
Intel Core i7-8700K/i7-8700/i5-8400
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080/1070/1060/1050
32GB/16GB/8GB DDR4
128GB/256GB M.2 SATA SSD
1TB 7200RPM SATA HDD
Wi-Fi 802.11ac
Bluetooth 5.0
Rear Ports:
2 x USB 2.0
2 x USB 3.1 Gen 1
2 x USB 3.1 Gen 2
6 x audio w/ S/PDIF
Front Ports:
2x USB 3.0
2x USB 2.0
1x combo audio port
1x SD card reader
1x 2.5″ drive slot
Slim DVD drive
Aegis III Sonic Audio
Windows 10 (64-bit)
179 x 400 x 456 mm
11.0 kg

The ASUS ROG Strix GL12 comes in i7-8700K/GTX1080, i7-8700/GTX1070, i7-8700/GTX1060 6G, and i5-8400/GTX1050 2G variants, which are priced at Php129,995, Php99,995, Php89,995, and Php55,995, respectively.

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Joey Maceda

Joey is YugaTech's Video Production Manager. He constantly puts effort towards his aspirations to be a filmmaker and journalist... when he's not riding his bike, playing games on his PC, watching anime, cooking, and petting his dogs.