IFA (the German equivalent of CES) is in full swing this week from September 4 to 9, and early press buzz indicates that tech giant, Asus, may have stolen the limelight with the unveiling of its new creation. The GX700, Asus’ latest laptop, is designed to impress with lightning-fast speed capabilities and an innovative cooling system. Indeed, this high-performance laptop isn’t merely overclocked, it’s also ingeniously water-cooled. Judging from the pictures Asus shared, it’s clear the company has refrained from the hype of heat pipe or CLLC (closed-loop liquid cooler) designs, favoring a legitimately water-cooled system instead.
Images don’t quite convey the size of the water cooler compared to the rest of the laptop, but a glance at the comprehensive shots provided by The Verge paints the complete picture.
Today’s high-end gaming laptops are often labeled as desktop replacements due to their hefty weight – typically between 8 and 15 lbs – coupled with their sizable heat emissions that could give a sauna a run for its money. However, the GX700 redefines this nickname. It doesn’t merely replace your desktop computer; it replaces your actual desktop. Additional photos illustrate the presence of water pipe attachments at the rear of the unit, which connect to the external cooler.
German tech publication, Computerbase.de, took a deep dive into the GX700’s capabilities and confirmed its internal hardware. Reports state that the system houses a whopping 64GB of RAM and operates on an Intel Core i7-6820HK with a base frequency of 2.7GHz and a turbo frequency of 3.6GHz. The most intriguing aspect is perhaps the GPU – an as yet unreleased model from Nvidia. Presently, Nvidia’s high-end GTX 980M boasts 1,536 GPU cores, 160GB/s of memory bandwidth, 96 TMUs, 64 ROPS, and a base clock of 1,308MHz; in contrast, the GX700 features 2,048 cores, a 1,190MHz clock speed, 128 TMUs, 64 ROPS, and 160GB/s of memory bandwidth.
These specs place this exciting new GPU halfway between the GTX 980M and the standard desktop GTX 980. Therefore, it wouldn’t be surprising if Nvidia has a mobile Titan variant up its sleeve. Launching a mobile version of the architecture would be a logical next step for the well-established brand. The water cooler is solely allocated for the GPU, which could also indicate that the graphics card has been programmed for a significantly higher boost clock when the water cooling module is enabled.
One key concern in the minds of many eager gamers is whether the system is mandatory to use with water cooling. Asus assured Computerbase.de that while this is not a requirement, connecting the water cooler and cranking up clock speeds on both the CPU and graphics card can enhance performance by up to 80%. Despite the impressive claim, the massive increase does raise a few eyebrows.
Indeed, water-overclocking a GPU can markedly amplify performance. In reviewing the VisionTek CryoVenom R9 290, I found that the card outperformed the air-cooled R9 290 by up to 20% – a far cry from the quoted 80 %. This suggests that when disconnected from the water cooler, GPU throttling occurs to maintain power consumption. However, the GTX 980M has proven to be a notably efficient mobile GPU, providing remarkable performance with less throttling than in previous mobile setups. The GX700 can function independently from its water cooler and is portable.
No official word on price yet from Asus, but one thing is for certain – this novel laptop likely won’t be wallet-friendly.
Source: Joel Hruska, Extreme Tech
Image: The Verge
[Note]: This article was updated in 2025 to reflect modern realities.
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