Having impressed by the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 15 gaming laptop last month, I’m really thrilled to test out another gaming powerhouse – ASUS ROG Strix GT35 desktop – specifically targeted towards e-sports and AAA gamers.
No doubt, many might be hesitant about getting a gaming desktop since there are so many available options for gaming laptops that can offer seemingly the same level for performance.
That might be true to some extent, but for hardcore gamers, gaming desktops do have a huge advantage in the sense that they are more highly customizable and upgradable than a compact-sized laptops.
As such, gaming desktops are able to open up a world of possibilities for gamers and a whole new level of experience that gaming laptops are unable to mimic.
Most importantly, with the increasing adoption of work from home practices, gaming desktops are now more relevant than before. So if you’re considering to get yourself a gaming desktop this festive season, then you will probably want to check out the ASUS ROG Strix GT35 desktop to avoid any disappointment!
Design That Impresses All
On the outside, the ASUS ROG Strix GT35 is donned in a Matte Black finish that gives the tower an understated outlook that fits every room settings.
The front face of the tower is etched with the signature ROG logo on the upper left-corner, and has a RGB stripe at the bottom-halve that runs diagonally across the front chassis.
Over on the left-side of the tower, it’s equipped with a glass panel which showcases every working components within the tower. As usual, we’ll be greeted by an ultra-immersive Aura Sync RGB lighting once we hit on the power button.
Its RGB lighting is highly customizable via the pre-loaded Armory Crate application. As we can see, the upper-section where the liquid cooling system is housed has a different color profile from the lower-section where you find the GPU.
Coupled with the sound of the revving fan, its more than enough to give you an adrenaline rush way before your game even started.
For better portability, there’s also a handle at the top of the tower but you’ll still need to have a pretty strong arm to handle its extreme weight.
Top-tier performance
Under the hood, the ASUS ROG Strix GT35 is powered by the 10th generation’s Intel Core i9-10900KF processor based on a 10-cores architecture with each core operating at a base frequency of 3.7GHz and a maximum of 5.3GHz with Thermal Velocity Boost.
On the graphical-end, it will be supported by the top-of-the-line NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti that features 8GB GDDR6 VRAM. Moving on, it continues to shine in its memory department by offering 32GB worth of LPDDR4 RAM with 3,200MHz RAM speed that allows you fully harness the true potential of the i9 processor.
With such a hefty setup, the ASUS ROG Strix GT35 is more than capable in handling any complex workload like compiling gigs of programming codes, running virtual machines if you’re a computer science student or gaming with consistent frame rates at high graphical settings.
Not Just Cool On The Outside, Inside too
In order for the system to deliver a smooth and consistent performance, it is of paramount importance to keep the system’s temperature down. As such, the ASUS ROG Strix GT35’s intricate cooling mechanisms went beyond an advanced liquid cooling system within the tower.
Starting from the outside, the ASUS ROG Strix GT35’s aerodynamic chassis comes with wide air vents that are capable of drawing more cool air into the liquid cooling system.
Subsequently, its internal design is also centered around what ASUS called a “multi-zone chassis” that arrange the CPU, graphics card, and power supply in separate bays to help reduce thermal interference and ambient temperature.
Finally, there’s also an AI cooling function which according to ASUS, manages the cooling performance of the motherboard by “optimizing motherboard-connected fans based on your system’s current load and temperature”.
Highly Upgradable Setup
Since the ASUS ROG Strix GT35 is an esports-centric desktop, there will of course be some exclusive features that allow it to stand out from the crowd.
One of these features is none other than the two SSD hot-swap bays that sit behind a spring-loaded door at the front chassis which allow users to switch player profiles readily during an esports tournament without the need to open up the case. In normal times, the hot-swap bays can be used to expand your overall storage capacity.
Aside from that, the ASUS ROG Strix GT35 also features a pair of PCIe x16 slots that’s directly connected to the CPU and carries support for multi-GPU configurations. Therefore, users are given ability to bump up its graphic performance by inserting an additional graphic card for higher and consistence frame rates, as well as high resolution graphic renderings.
Keystone II Is Here Too
Just like most other gaming desktops and laptops within the ROG line, the ASUS ROG Strix GT35 will be coming with the company’s proprietary Keystone II feature.
For those who do not know, the Keystone II is an intuitive piece of hardware which resembles a flash drive on the outside, but does much more than what the latter normally do.
Firstly, the Keystone II allows users to easily port their hardware profile and settings from one ROG desktop/ laptop to another. This include not just the RGB lighting configurations, but also game settings that you take time to customize. Its really a great feature that will save you lots of time especially if you choose to upgrade to a compatible ROG machine in the near future.
Of course, that isn’t the only trick the Keystone II can perform. Another handy utility that the Keystone II brings along is the so-called shadow drive – a hidden storage partition that will only be visible and accessible when the Keystone II is attached. Its really a cool feature that keeps your “secret” secret.
Pricing
For those who’re interested, the ROG Strix GT35 G35CZ-SG006T is available for purchase at S$4,998 via the ASUS Official Store.
