Asus ZenBook Pro 15 pairs up to a Core i9 CPU with GTX 1050 graphics

Asus has gone and quietly refreshed its ZenBook Pro 15 laptop with an even thinner profile, a still lightweight design, and more powerful components culminating in an 8th generation Intel Core i9-8950HK processor and Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 graphics. The graphics might be a bit underpowered, but if you're after a fast CPU, this is currently as good as it gets for laptops.

Along with the rest of the options, Asus has managed to pack an impressive collection of hardware into a svelte package. The ZenBook Pro 15's waistline measures just 0.74 inches and weighs 4.1 pounds. As with other ZenBook models, this is a premium offering from Asus, one that features precision-crafted aluminum, a spun-metal finish, and diamond-cut edges.

The ZenBook Pro 15 has a 15.6-inch display available in either Full HD or 4K, both of which claim 100 percent coverage of the sRGB color space. It's too bad there aren't any higher end GPU options to go with the optional GeForce GTX 1050, at least from a gaming perspective—powering a 4K gaming experience is a tough ask for a GTX 1050.

That said, this laptop should be capable of playing most games at 1080p, though not necessarily at maximum quality. That's true even if opting for a Core i7-8750H or Core i5-8300H, the two other processor options available on this machine, both of which are hexa-core parts.

Users can also configure the ZenBook Pro 15 with up to 16GB of DDR4 memory and up to a 1TB PCIe solid state drive. We haven't tested one these refreshed models, but based on the specs, a fully loaded setup should offer solid all-around performance.

Asus also gets kudos for including a pair of full-size USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-A ports, in addition to two USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C/Thunderbolt ports. There's also an HDMI output, a combo 3.5mm audio jack, and a microSD card reader.

Asus claims up to 9 hours of battery life on the 71Wh (8-cell) battery. Of course, that will depend on how you use the laptop, and if you're playing games, you can expect the battery to drain must faster.

Pricing and availability are not yet known.

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Paul has been playing PC games and raking his knuckles on computer hardware since the Commodore 64. He does not have any tattoos, but thinks it would be cool to get one that reads LOAD"*",8,1. In his off time, he rides motorcycles and wrestles alligators (only one of those is true).