The latest analysis, news, findings and scoops on ultrabooks and ultra-portable laptops.

The latest analysis, news, findings and scoops on ultrabooks and ultra-portable laptops.

nice looks, well built and portable for what it is good typing experience, decent clickpad good screen options excellent performance with daily use, demanding loads, and games, as long as you're propping upt eh back to improve airflow fair audio quality 62Wh battery and long runtimes

black design easily showing smudges and fingerprints the slim bottom feet choke the fans, impacting temperatures and performance in demanding loads louder fan noise than on the Z13 tablet the thermal module blows the hot air into the screen

Last year Asus unveiled the most powerful compact laptop of its generation and the smallest member of the ROG – Republic of Gamers lineup, the ROG Flow X13.

This year, the 2022 Asus ROG Flow X13 gets a hardware update to the latest AMD Ryzen 9 platform, DDR5 memory, a MUX capable dGPU implementation, and gen4 SSD storage, as well as improved screen options and faster connectivity. At the same time, this convertible design now has to face strong competition in its niche from the newer member of the ROG Flow series, the Z13 tablet, built on a more powerful Intel Core i9 processor and with a superior vapor-chamber cooling module.

I’ve been using the Flow X13 for the last few weeks and have gathered my thoughts and impressions on it in this article. I’m also going to refer to the Z13 for comparison here and there, but for the most part, this article is centered on the X13, and I’ll have a dedicated comparison between the Flow X13 and Z13 models in the next couple of days.

Our test unit is the highest-tier configuration available for the 2022 Flow X13, the GV301RE variant with the Ryzen 9 6900HS + 32 GB RAM + RTX 32050Ti specs. However, in our articles we’ll also touch on the performance of the RDNA2-based AMD Radeon 680M iGPU, as well as on what this device can do when paired to the XG Mobile external graphics unit.

Asus offers this series in multiple configurations, with two screen options and with or without a dGPU option, as listed below:

The RC and the RA might also be available with Ryzen 7 and 5 processors in some regions.

These aside, if you’re interested in the RA with the RDNA2 Radeon graphics, you’ll find what to expect from that chip from this separate article. Furthermore, all models are compatible with the ROG XG Mobile external GPU/dock, and we’ll discuss that in a separate article.

For now, though, this article is mostly going to cover the top-tier Flow X13 GV301RE configuration, with the included Nvidia 3050Ti dGPU.

The Flow X13 is a 13-inch 2-in-1 laptop with a 360-degree convertible touchscreen. It weighs about 3 lbs and it’s fairly compact and portable for its class, yet not as much as the thinnest and lightest designs out there, and that’s because this packs more powerful hardware than the average ultrabook, and a more complex thermal module required to cope with that hardware.

As far as the everyday ergonomics and use experience go, this design is close to perfection.

Asus nailed the build quality, with metal used for the lid and underside, and plastics for the interior, and everything is sturdily put up together and I haven’t noticed any squeaks or funny noises during my time with this device. The textures applicated to the materials offer good grip when grabbing and using the computer, but because this is a black design, smudges and fingerprints will show up rather easily, especially on the arm-rest. I’ve included a picture of how this looks after two weeks of use, so you’ll know what to expect.

The Flow X13 is a convertible and the hinges are well balanced, keeping the screen in place without it wobbling, and at the same time allowing one-handed operations and adjustments. For me, this sort of format makes the most sense as a laptop, but is nonetheless usable as a tablet or tent as well, when needed.

There are a couple of other aspects that I like about this Flow X13 design. For example, the blunted front-lip and corners that I find friendly on the wrists even when using this on the lap or on cramped desks. I’m also glad that Asus didn’t skimp on implementing a complete keyboard here, and that they’ve placed the status LEDs on the sides and not under the screen. Speaking of the screen, there’s also a camera at the top, flanked by microphones.

What I’m not that fond of is the laptop’s overall stability on the desk, as I find the rubber feet on the bottom to be tiny, low profile, and somewhat slippery. The convertible form factor is the main reason Asus had to go with this sort of feet, though, as thicker ones would have prevented the display from folding back to 360-degrees in tablet mode.

This laptop is also an Ergolift hinge design, which means that the screen lifts up on two small feet placed at the back, allowing for a slight inclination of the main chassis and extra ventilation space under the main deck. However, that’s only happening when you push the screen past 110 degrees, which you’re not going to do most of the time, when this will rest on the four main rubber feet on the underside. That means that because of the low profile of these feet, fresh air will struggle to get into the fans with demanding loads, impacting performance and internal temperatures, as we’ll explain further down.

Another downside of this Ergolift hinge design is the fact that the main radiators are placed under the display, shooting the hot air into the screen. This detail is not that much of a concern here, though, as that hefty chin under the screen soaks up most of the heat, and the panel itself is placed far away from the radiators and protected by the extra layer of glass on top. So the screen on this Flow X13 never gets anywhere as hot as on other Asus designs, such as the Zephyrus G14 or Zephyrus M16.

One final aspect I’ll cover here is the IO. This laptop offers two USB-C ports, one on each side – they’re both USB 3.2 at this point and support data, video (connected to the iGPU), and charging. This means you can plug this in on either side. The port on the left is part of the XG Mobile connector for the XG Mobile dGPU unit, and this will get USB 4.0 compatibility later on in the year, through a software update.

You’ll also find a USB-A 3.2 port on the right side, and an HDMI 2.0b port on the left, hooked into the Nvidia iGPU. Finally, the audio jack and the status LEDs are also placed on the left, and the power button is on the right, and integrates a one-touch fingerprint sensor with Hello support.

All in all, this Flow X13 is a good all-purpose convertible design, well built, practical, and with a proper set of ports spread on both sides. My complaints are with the slim rubber feet and the Ergolift hinge design, mostly because these impact the internal temperatures in demanding loads.

The ROG Flox X13 gets a proper keyboard with full-sized and well-spaced keycaps.

This is pretty much the same layout as on the Flow Z13, but with the extra set of multimedia keys at the top left. These do push the keyboard down to the middle of the chassis and as a result, there’s only enough space for an averagely sized arm-rest and a smaller clickpad, compared to other 13/14-inch portable designs.

The typing experience is solid, here, with good feedback, 1.7 mm of key travel, and nice feeling keycaps. I also find the keystrokes to be on the quieter side, even for the Space key.

Compared to the Z13, the X13 offers a rock-solid keyboard deck and feels like a more reliable typer. I do like the inclined angle on the keyboard folio offered with the Z13, though, while with the X13, the angle is pretty much flat most of the time, unless you lean back the screen a fair amount.

One other thing that you’re not getting here and is available with the Z13 is RGB backlighting. Instead, these keys on the X13 are only white lit, with three brightness levels to choose from. The lighting is uniform and sufficient, but it creeps from under the keycaps with the slim profile design. I also appreciate that the lighting can be reactivated with a swipe over the clickpad once it fades out, and that Asus implement a physical Caps Lock indicator.

The clickpad is only fine by today’s standards. It’s only a small plastic surface, as already mentioned earlier, and while it tracks well and interprets gestures and taps as expected, the physical clinks are clunky and the surface tends to rattle with firmer taps.

As for biometrics, there’s a finger sensor in the power button placed on the side, but no IR support built into the webcam.

The Flow X13 gets the same 13.4-inch 16:10 touch display that’s also available on the Flow Z13 series, with two-panel options:

We have the FHD+ variant on our sample, which makes the most sense on this kind of computer, as the lower resolution is better suited for the offered hardware, but also because the 120 Hz refresh makes this smoother-feeling with daily use and preferable for occasional gaming. There’s Adaptive Sync with both panel options, so tearing should not be an issue here, but both panels are fairly slow in response times (in the ~25 ms GtG), so ghosting might still be a potential concern in fast-paced titles.

Here are our findings for the FHD+ panel, with an X-Rite i1 Display Pro sensor:

This came well calibrated out of the box. It also proved uniform in our tests, with minor color/luminosity variations and almost no light bleeding.

Still, if there’s one thing to complain about, that’s the fact that the lowest brightness setting is not as low as perhaps some might want in a pitch-dark environment, at night. At least PWM is not used at lower brightness.

For what it’s worth, I noticed that the panel ID differs from the same FHD+ panel in the Z13, but they’re both made by Sharp and pretty much identical in specs.

We also experienced the UHD+ panel in the Z13, and it sure looks punchier and sharp, with the higher resolution and wider gamut support. Here’s what to expect.

This is a more expensive screen, though, and it will take a toll on the battery life. Furthermore, this will only be available on select top-tier configurations of this 2022 Flow X13 series.

Sure, if you’re primarily considering this laptop for creative work, daily multitasking, and media consumption, the UHD+ panel option might make sense, but for me, the faster FHD+ is the better-balanced choice in this sort of product.

Our test model is the top-specced configuration of the ASUS ROG Flow X13, code name GVZ301RE, built on an AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS processor, 32 GB of LPDDR5-6400 memory in dual channel, 1 TB of fast SSD storage, and dual graphics: the Nvidia RTX 3050Ti dGPU with 4 GB of vRAM and the Radeon 680M iGPU integrated within the AMD processor.

Disclaimer: Before we proceed, keep in mind that our review unit was sent over by Asus and it runs on the software available as of mid-March 2022 (BIOS 311, Armoury Crate 5.0.22.0, GeForce 511.79 drivers). This is a fairly mature software package, but some aspects might still change with later updates.

Spec-wise, the 2022 ASUS ROG Flow X13 is built on the latest AMD and Nvidia hardware available to date for the ultraportable segment.

The Ryzen 9 6900HS  is an AMD Rembrandt 6000 processor, with 8 Cores and 16 Threads. This has been revised in multiple ways in comparison to the Ryzen 5000 platform previously implemented on the 2021 Flow X13. At the same time, keep in mind that the Flow X13 is an ultraportable design, and thus the CPU has a PL2 setting of 54W on Turbo, and can only run at 43-50 W sustained in real-life demanding CPU loads, so don’t expect the same kind of performance as in larger designs such as the Zephyrus G14 and G15.

For the GPU, there’s the integrated RDNA2 AMD Radeon 680M iGPU part of the 6900HS platform, as well as an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050Ti Max-Q chip running at 35-40W. Configurations with an RTX 3050 or without any sort of dGPU are also available.

The memory is soldered on the motherboard and Asus offers 32, 16, or 8 GB configurations, all with LPDDR-6400 memory. Our unit is the 32 GB version.

As for the storage, the laptop offers an M.2 2230 gen4 slot, and our unit shipped with a Micron 2450 drive, a gen4 “value” option with middling write/read performance for its class. Upgrades are going to be difficult past 1 TB with the 2230 drives.

You can remove the laptop’s back panel in order to access the SSD slot and the other components. It’s a basic task as it’s held in place by a couple of Philips screws.

Specs aside, Asus offer their standard power profiles in the Armoury Crate control app for this computer: Silent, Performance, Turbo, and Manual, with various power settings and fan profiles between them.

Turbo/Manual are only available with the laptop plugged in (only with the included ROG 100W charger) and are meant for gaming and other demanding loads. Performance is a jack-of-all-trades, while Silent is made for light daily use. The system is able to idle the fans on the Silent profile as long as the CPU/GPU stay under 50 degrees C, for a quiet daily-use experience.

It’s also important to mention the MUX in this laptop and the ability to choose between a Hybrid and a dGPU mode, as well as further tweak the Hybrid profile in Armoury Crate >> System >> GPU Power saving, with an impact over either performance in games or runtimes on battery use. We’ll get to that in a bit.

But first, here’s what to expect in terms of performance and temperatures with everyday multitasking, browsing, and video, on Silent mode and Hybrid, Normal.

On to more demanding loads, we start by testing the CPU’s performance by running the Cinebench R15 test for 15+ times in a loop, with a 1-2 seconds delay between each run.

On Turbo, the system sets a PL2 value of 54W, but the CPU can only run at that kind of power for a few seconds, and then it stabilizes at around 45W. It is thermally limited and still runs at temperatures of 95+ Celsius, with the fans spinning at around 45 dB.

However, I noticed that after a while the CPU will enter in some sort of thermal protection for a little bit, and drop to 20W as it cools down to ~75 degrees Celsius, before going back to 45+W for a while. This behavior is easier to observe in higher-stress loads such as the Cinebench R23 loop and Blender, which are detailed further down in this article.

I was suspecting the system was having trouble drawing enough fresh air into the cooling system with the laptop sitting on the desk, due to its very slim-profile feet leaving almost no space underneath the laptop, and I was right. Lifting the back of the laptop from the desk allows for consistent performance on the Turbo mode, with still a 45-48W sustained power limit and temperatures of around ~95 Celsius, but without the occurrence of the thermal protection event that’s causing the drop in CPU power. Once more, this is better observable in the Cinebench R23 and Blender logs included further down.

Opting for the Manual mode doesn’t do anything here, because the fans are already running at max-rpms on Turbo.

Switching over to the Performance profile translates in the CPU fluctuating between 45 and 25W power limits with the laptop on the desk. With the back raised, though, the CPU stabilizes at 35W on this Performance profile in both the Cinebench loops and in Blender, with 40 dB fans and temperatures in the mid-80s.

The Silent profile shows erratic results as well, with fluctuations between 20 and 30W of power, the fans at 35 dB, and temperatures between 95 and 70 degrees Celsius. With the back raised, the CPU runs at 30W and temperatures in the high 70s.

Finally, the CPU fluctuates once more on the Performance profile while running on battery. Details below.

So what we’re seeing here is a competitive Ryzen 9 6900HS platform, bottlenecked by the limited air-intake capabilities of this laptop when placed on a desk. On the other hand, with the back raised up, the CPU runs very well for a mobile implementation.

In fact, it outscores the Core i9-12900H in the Flow Z13 at a similar sustained power of around 45-50W, as you can see in the following chart. Sure, the i9 scores higher for a few runs, as it can run at higher power in that design for a while, but then the sustained-performance results are similar on the two, as long as the air-intake situation is addressed on the X13. Because the Z13 is a tablet format, it doesn’t suffer from the same design issue, as the fans are on the back of the chassis and unobstructed at all times.

For comparison, I’ve also included the 2021 Ryzen 9 X13 down below, the higher power 2022 Ryzen 9 in the Zephyrus G14, and a lower-power Ryzen 7 5800U implementation in one of the more competent mid-range ultraportables of the moment.

We then went ahead and further verified our findings with the more taxing Cinebench R23 loop test and Blender – Classroom, which resulted in the findings explained above, with either the laptop sitting on the desk or raised up.

We also ran the 3DMark CPU profile test, on the Turbo, Performance, and Silent modes, with the laptop sitting on the desk.

Finally, we ran the combined CPU+GPU 3DMark stress test, which loops the same test for 20 times and looks for performance variation and degradation over time. On Turbo and with the laptop on the desk, the Flow X13 fails this test, while with the back lifted up, it passes it.

Next, we ran the entire suite of tests and benchmarks, on the stock Turbo profile in Armoury Crate and the dGPU set on the default MS Hybrid – Normal mode, at FHD 1920 x 1080 px resolution for consistency with our other tests, and with the laptop on the desk.

And here are some workstation benchmarks, on the same Turbo profile:

These are solid results for a computer of this size.

The Intel i9 powered Flow Z13 has an advantage in the CPU-heavier loads, especially in the short duration ones, but also in the sustained tasks, where the thermally limited design of the X13 impacts its CPU performance to some extent.

At the same time, the GPU performance is more or less identical between the two, as they get the same RTX 3050Ti running at 35-40W on Turbo.

For comparison, here’s what we got on Turbo, with the back raised up :

The differences are minor in the 3DMark tests, which do not put a significant load on the CPU or GPU, but we are looking at 10-15% improved scores in x265, Cinebench loop, and Blender CPU, which are longer-duration CPU loads. Also, expect about a 5% performance difference on the GPU side in the longer demanding tasks.

Furthermore, the Intel platform has a slight advantage in some workloads that benefit from Quick Sync support, such as editing videos in Adobe Premiere, as well as those that can benefit from the superior single-core and short-burst multicore CPU capabilities.

As far as the noise goes, the Flow X13 ramps up the fans at up to 45 dBA and head-level on the Turbo profile, louder than the 40 dB limit on the Z13, that’s why some might preffer the quieter profile options in certain cases.

On Performance, the noise floor is set at 40dB, and the CPU runs at up to 35W sustained, while the GPU can still go up to 40W (mostly with the laptop propped up), with a combined CPU+GPU package power of 50W. As a result, this profile mostly impacts the CPU’s multi-core test results, with a smaller effect on the GPU scores.

Silent keeps the fans at under 30 dB, but takes a greater toll on both the CPU and GPU, as shown below. The CPU stabilizes at up to 30W sustained, while the GPU goes to 35W, with a combined CPU+GPU package power of 47W in this case.

These are very good results for a quiet profile, and the internal temperatures are solid as well as long as you’re propping up the back.

I’ll follow up with a separate article on the base-level Flow X13 with the Radeon 680M iGPU, and the X13 + the XG Mobile dGPU combo.

In just a few words, though, if you are interested in the performance of the Flow X13 GV301RA base-tier configuration with the Radeon 680M iGPU and no Nvidia dGPU, this is what you should expect in terms of performance, based on our sample set on the Eco Hybrid Mode which disables the dGPU, with the laptop sitting on the desk (when not specified otherwise):

For clarification, the CPU can run at 40-50W sustained power in this design.  More details on the performance of the AMD Radeon 680M iGPU at several power settings are available in this article.

All in all, as long as you keep the back of this ROG Flow X13 propped up to facilitate proper cooling, the X13 – AMD and Z13 – Intel platforms are very similar in sustained capabilities, and both powerful computers for the ultraportable segment where they are competing. The Intel hardware has an edge in IPC, short-duration CPU loads, and a better cooling design, but the AMD option is more practical with daily use and has an edge in efficiency with everyday tasks. We’ll have a more in-depth side-by-side comparison of the two in a follow-up article.

The Flow X13 is an ROG product so we’re going to take a deeper dive into its gaming abilities in this section.

With the FHD+ 120Hz display and a MUX, this configuration should handle most modern games just fine at Medium graphics settings, and even cope with Ultra details. For our gaming tests, we switched the MUX to the dGPU, Normal mode, and looked at the Turbo and Performance profiles at various settings and resolutions, with the laptop both sitting on the desk and raised up.

For starters, here’s what we got on Ultra settings.

Older titles are able to run just fine, but modern AAA titles will require you to trim down the graphics settings. Furthermore, the fps differences between the Turbo and Performance profiles are only within 10%, which is not bad considering the quieter fans (40dBA on Performance, vs 45 dBA on Turbo). However, the difference in temperatures should also be considered, and we’re going through the logs in a bit.

But first, here’s how this Ryzen 9 + 3050Ti 35-40W configuration in this Flow X13 fares against other compact gaming laptops with similar specs.

This is a bit unexpected, but somehow the X13 matches and even outscores the Z13 in games, both devices being tested with the software available as of mid-March 2022. And these framerates are with the X13 sitting on the desk.

The two also trade blows with the larger VivoBooks (AMD or Intel based, and up to 50W 3050Ti), beat the XPS 15 (11th gen Core i7 + 3050Ti 40W) across the board, and trail the higher-power Zephryus G14 with the 60-75W 3050Ti by 15-25%.

However, despite all these, if you’re going to game on this mini-computer, I’d recommend trimming down on the details and set-up the resolution at FHD+ to properly benefit from the screen’s 16:10 aspect ratio.

Here’s what we got on Medium settings at FHD+ resolution.

The Z13 has an edge in Doom, which is a Vulkan title, but the X13 offers minimally better framerates in the other DX11 and DX12 games.

With these out of the way, let’s go through some of the performance logs on each profile.

On Turbo, the combined CPU+GPU power goes up to 55W on this design, with the fans ramping up to 45 dBA in our tests, at head level. Dynamic Boost switches power from the CPU to the GPU, and that’s why the GPU is able to run at 40W in most titles. In theory.

In practice, the GPU runs hot as long as the laptop sits on the desk, reaching temperatures in the mid-80s, and being slightly thermally and power throttled. The CPU runs in the mid-80s as well, and that’s despite the fact that the system only allocates around 15W to the CPU, as the rest goes to the GPU.

The culprit is the design with the choked bottom intakes, as already explained above.

Propping up the back of the laptop by 1-2 cm leads to a significant decrease in CPU/GPU temperatures, by 10-18 degrees Celsius. In this case, both the CPU runs in the 70-80 degrees Celsius, and the GPU in the high-60s and low-70s.

Raising up the back mostly affects the temperatures, but it also allows the GPU to run closer to 40W and at slightly higher frequencies. However, I didn’t get more than a 2-5% increase in framerates over those listed in the tables above.

Finally, playing games on Performance or even Silent should also be considered if you’re looking for a decrease in fan noise.

Once more, expect high temperatures with the laptop sitting on the deck and a decrease in performance, as the GPU runs closer to 35W on Performance and closer to 30W on Silent. Lifting up the back is going to have a massive impact on the temperatures in these cases as well.

Finally, this laptop can also game well on battery, where it matches the performance available when plugged into the wall (on the Performance profile). Don’t expect more than about an hour of runtime with the recent titles, though.

The thermal design of the Flow X13 is fairly capable for a laptop of this kind, with two fans, three radiators, and two heatpipes. There’s also a liquid metal compound applied on the CPU, and regular thermal paste on the GPU.

Normally, this cooling module would be perfectly capable of keeping at bay the 55W of combined CPU + GPU power required in this laptop, if Asus had implemented a better way for the fresh air to get into the fans.

As it is, because they put very slim-profile rubber feet on the bottom of the laptop and because the Ergolift hinge only lifts the main body by a few mm and only when the screen goes past 110 degrees to the back, the intakes are choked-up most of the time with the normal use position, with the laptop placed on a desk.

This is impacting the CPU temperatures and performance in sustained loads, as well as the CPU and GPU temperatures in combined loads. As shown above, pushing up the back of this laptop during gameplay allows the temperatures to decrease by 10-15 degrees on the components, with a small impact on the framerates as well.

This also impacts the external temperatures to some extent, especially in the middle of the laptop over the CPU/GPU and around the radiators and the screen’s bottom bezel, where most of the hot air is expelled to.

*Gaming  – Turbo mode – playing Far Cry 5 for 30 minutes, fans at ~45 dB *Gaming  – Turbo mode, raised back – playing Far Cry 5 for 30 minutes, fans at ~45 dB

With daily use, the external temperatures are fine and the fans keep idle with light tasks on the Silent profile. They still kick in quite often with multitasking, though, when the CPU/GPU go over 50 degrees Celsius – I’d reckon this behavior would also be positively impacted by better-designed feet and intakes.

*Daily Use – streaming Netflix in EDGE for 30 minutes, Silent Mode, fans at 0-30 dB

For connectivity, there’s the latest-gen WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5 through a Mediatek module on this laptop. It performed well with our setup. I didn’t notice any issues or disconnects during our tests, nor a significant drop in performance at longer distances.

Audio is handled by a set of stereo speakers that fire through grills placed on the bottom of the laptop – due to how they’re designed, they’re difficult to cover up and muffle, though. The sound quality is pretty good for a portable chassis, somewhat richer in the lower-end and louder than the speakers on the Flow Z13 tablet, at about 80 dB max at head-level. Once more, ticking the Enhanced Audio option in Windows 11 helps.

One small detail to keep in mind, though, is that unlike on the Z13 where the speakers are separated from the keyboard area, with this format you’ll feel some vibrations in the keyboard deck and arm-rest at high volumes. So you’ll probably want to reduce the levels with daily use.

Finally, I’ll also mention that there’s an HD camera placed at the top of the screen, flanked by microphones. It’s similar to the camera in the Z13, more or less alright in good light and with a wide-angle lens, but grainy in dimmer light and not much overall in image quality.

There’s a 62 Wh battery inside this ROG Flow X13, averagely sized for a portable laptop in this day and age.

Here’s what we got in terms of runtimes, with the screen’s brightness set at around 120 nits (~50 brightness) and the laptop set on the Hybrid mode.

The system automatically switches the screen to 60 Hz on battery mode, and overall this AMD platform is more efficient than the previous AMD hardware and the existing Intel alternatives.

The laptop ships with a mid-sized 100W USB-C charger. It’s a standard dual-piece design with two long cables and plugs in via USB-C, in either of the left or right side ports.

It’s important to mention that the laptop only allows for the Turbo/Manual power modes with this official ROG charger, and other USB-C chargers would be deemed non-compliant and only allow for the Performance and Silent profiles, even if they are higher-capacity than 100W. This is a small detail to be aware of if you already own a GAN charger that you might want to keep using with this laptop.

The ROG Flow X13 is listed in most regions at the time of this article.

This X13 GV301RE configuration tested here, with the Ryzen 9 processor, 3050Ti dGPU, 16 GB of RAM, 1TB SSD, and the FHD+ display is available at $1599 MSRP in Nord America and 1800 EUR here in Europe. That’s 300 USD/EUR less than the Z13 tablet.

The other models are not yet available, but Asus plans to offer a variant with RTX 3050 graphics (Flow X13 GV301RC) and one without a dGPU, relying solely on the AMD Radeon 680M iGPU (Flow X13 GV301RA). Expect that at around $1200 or so.

Last year’s Flow X13 is still available in stores as well, with hefty discounts, and bundles of the X13 with the XG Mobile external GPU unit will also be available later this year.

We’ll update once we know more, and in the meantime, follow this link for updated configurations and prices in your region, at the time you’re reading the article. You should also follow this link for the BestBuy offer on the US market, as BestBuy tend to have some exclusive deals on ROG laptops these days.

As an all-purpose compact laptop, the Flow X13 is still unmatched by any other device available out there today.

It packs capable hardware and a competent cooling module, but with one significant design flaw that you should be aware of and consider in your purchase decision. Because this is a 2-in-1 format and needs to work as both a laptop and a tablet, Asus had to implement some very slim rubber feet on the bottom of this notebook, and they choke the air-intakes as long as this sits on a desk. With everyday use, that means the fans will kick on more often than they would otherwise, but with demanding chores, this design particularity translates into high internal temperatures and a toll on the system performance, especially on the CPU side in sustained loads.

That means I would recommend placing this on some sort of stand when running games or workloads. Not necessarily a cooling pad, there’s no need for that, but rather one of those stands that lift up the back and allow for unrestrained airflow into the fans.

As long as you’re OK with this aspect, the Flow X13 is pretty much the go-to option in the performance mobile space right now. Of course, it’s not as powerful as some of the 14-inch options such as the Zephyrus G14 or the Blade 14, but it’s also far more compact, lightweight and I’d even say versatile, with the hybrid form factor that allows this to be used as either a laptop, tablet, or anything in between.

This is also built well, designed well, and practical with everyday use. Plus, Asus didn’t compromise on the typing experience, the screen options, and the battery life, which is superior to what the Intel-based Flow Z13 alternative offers. There are also better speakers and a smarter-positioned IO on this unit, even if the Z13 does offer a few extras such as Thunderbolt 4 support and a card reader.

Finally, the Flow X13 is more affordable than the Z13 at the time of this article, as well as the only option potentially available in a 32 GB configuration. that’s not yet in stores, but it should be at some point – hopefully Asus won’t just limit 32 GB options to the bundle that they plan to offer alongside the XG Mobile dGPU (which we’re addressing in a separate article).

Update: If you’re looking for a larger format performance ultraportable, the ROG Flow X16 is also available now, and our full-review of the ROG Flow X16 series is available here.

In the end, this Flow X13 really comes to whether you’re OK with that design particularity that chokes the intakes. I”m not sure how I would go around it if I were to get one of these laptops, and that’s why I’m not adding a clear recommendation award for this series. But if you’re OK with that aspect, then by all means, this should be right for you.

One particularly irritating aspect about the previous X13, and one of the reasons that I never pulled the trigger on it, is that it can be hard to find the FHD + 32GB option, depending on where you live; it's either FHD and 16GB or UHD and 32GB.

Any idea what the temps would be like if you're running games using the XG GPU? And will using a cooling pad (without further lifting up the back) have an effect equivalent to lifting it up?

I'm having a separate article on XG Mobile performance. And yes, using a cooling pad will work well, better than lifting up the back.

Also, is there any actual benefit to the 6xxx model over the 5xxx one?

At a glance it looks like the 6xxx series in this laptop performs slower than the last generation's 5980HS. Is that true, and if so, is there any reason to get this one over the previous model?

is it? Might be because of the drivers on the 2022 model. I wouldn't expect anything significant, of course, since this is Zen3+ so only a refinement of Zen3 hardware, but 5-15% IPC, 5% multicore, and 10% better runtimes might make some lean towards the 2022 X13.

What version of bios did you use for Z13. They have apparently fixed throttling for i9 z13 since version 310

If you're talking to me, everything is detailed in the article. Also, what throttling are you talking about?

1. Throttling: reddit.com/r/FlowZ13/comments/tv75jn/power_limitthrottling_issues_fix_for_the_flow_z13/ reddit.com/r/FlowZ13/comments/tv75jn/power_limitthrottling_issues_fix_for_the_flow_z13/

2. I see no mention of the firmware of z13. The article only says version of x13. Or maybe i missed it

This is a review of the X13, it has nothing to do with the Z13. That's a separate article

Thanks a lot for this complete review, which is confirming my choise to go with this laptop. I'm living in France, but I can't find any piece of the X13 2022 here, or in Europe. Could you share where you were able to find it in Europe?

Also, have you any contact with someone at Asus whom can share specific release date? (particularly about the 4k screen 32gb ram model).

It's not available in stores yet, our unit was sources from Asus as explained in the article. Should be in the near future. I'd contact the local Asus reps in France for more details.

yep, it's what I did like 2 weeks ago, but they replied "You'll see on our website when it will be available"… Okay thanks ^^

So I was wondering if by any magic you'd have more info :) I stay tuned on your Review for any update.

Pff, what a reply. Unfortunately, they don't have an exact availability date over here either, there seem to be some delays with the AMD 6000 hardware.

Yes I couldn't have expected for a more useless answer from them. Anyway, thanks for the info regarding AMD 6000. I Hope they will share soon about it.

I've a question. I've seen in some g14 zephyrus reviews that the hdmi connection goes into the integrated graphics card, so if you plug in a external tv or monitor you can't get the full performance of the nvidia dedicated card. Is this happens in the x13?? I don't understand how Asus can fail in such kind of details… Thx

Yes, the HDMI goes into the iGPU. Optimus vs MUX isn't going to make that much of a difference at the level of a 3050Ti.

I don't understand exactly what do you mean.

I've read your review of this unit but only using the iGpu and I can see a big difference in terms of fps in games. And if you take the 2021 units probably it'd be bigger, and nowadays here in Spain you can't get a 2022 unit, and probably when they arrive to the market the prize will be significantly higher.

With the hdmi attached to the igpu I can't play using a external monitor or tv because the performance won't be enough.

Is there any way to solve this?

You got this wrong, but no worries, it's kind of complex and confusing.

The video signal coming from this laptop goes through the iGPU and then through the HDMI port in order to display the image onto an external monitor. That doesn't mean the laptop uses the iGPU to run the games, not at all. Instead, this means that it uses the dGPU on Optimus mode, and you're getting about 10% lower framerates than mentioned in the review for the 3050Ti performance on the dGPU MUX mode. This dGPU MUX mode takes the video signal directly from the dGPU and sends it to the display, without carrying it through the iGPU.

If the HDMI port were to be connected to the dGPU, that would have meant you would have gotten the same performance as in this review when connecting an external monitor.

So, long story short, the implications of this design with the HDMI port going through the iGPU is up to 10% lower framerates.

Hope this makes sense. You'll find online more details about what a MUX means and what's the performance toll implied by Optimus when routing the video signal through the iGPU

Aaah. Ok, now I've understood. Thx!!

My experience with the 2021 version has been overwhelmingly positive. For a smaller sized (13.3\14 inch) system, it is the best performance unit available as a brand-new product on the US market at the price point.

1. The plastic trackpad has been really superb. The small size has been no hindrance for me whatsoever and it is precise. 2. The key travel is excellent (although I wish ASUS used keys that did not show wear; my C key shows wear). I love the keyboard as I have smallish hands but the the 1.7 mm key travel with higher than average key actuation force is perfect for me (I use mechanical keyboards with Cherry and other brands that require high force actuation). For me personally, without a doubt this has been one of the best keyboards ever – for me it blows away the keyboard on the X1 Extreme. 3. The plastic palm deck shows shiny wear areas over time where the wrists rest. 4. The screen and system performance have been very good, if not better than, XPS 15 or X1 Extreme using VMs (I own both 2021 models of XPS 15 and X1 Extreme and can make a direct comparison). The X13 Flow is at least twice as fast as an i7-10750 and probably 4 or 5 times faster than an i7-1187G7. 5. I run the unit in Turbo mode connected to the power supply, and the fans rarely run even when I have multiple VMs running. 6. In typical daily usage, the average temp reported by Armory Crate is 55 C. Myself personally, based upon my use, I have never experienced high rear palm rest temps or the exhaust fans cooking the bottom of the display. I always keep the display at 110 degrees from the palm deck as ASUS recommends. However, I do agree that if you are going to push the CPU and discrete GPU to their maximum protentional in this unit for extended periods, hot air is going to affect the surface temps of your bottom rear display, not to mention result in a bit of degraded performance. 7. I have the GPU disabled; I do not game. I use the unit for typical productivity and VM work. 8. 16 GB RAM has never been exceeded despite me running 4 or 5 VMs simultaneously (my RAM is typically between 35 to 75 % as viewed in Windows Task Manager), while having the usual apps open (e.g. Microsoft Edge with multiple tabs). So you need 32 GB RAM ? For 6+ simultaneous VM, large video editing, complex CAD, etc – yes, you certainly do need 32 GB RAM.

The only negative I have is that one of the palm deck screen stand-off pips fell out (the left one) because my left arm constant rubs on it while using the laptop. ASUS agreed to an RMA to replace the palm deck. I have yet to ship the unit back. Me personally, I wish the palm deck was carbon fiber like the one on Dell's XPS line.

I run my unit connected to the outlet, and on top of a Targus Chil Mat+ (which mind you fits the X13 Flow perfectly).

If I need to do CPU intensive work, I just convert the X13 to tent mode and then use a first-rate small 68 key keyboard. All-in-all, this thing has been a beast based upon my usage.

I am not a fanboy, just relating my experience. This thing is not the greatest thing since sliced bread. It's just a very good laptop for the price. This laptop is probably the best overall (what you get versus what you paid) value I've gotten in the past 10 years.

I would not hesitate to purchase a newer version in the years to come, assuming ASUS keeps this model in its product line.

Hi, thanks for this extensive feedback. I didn't know you eventually went for the X13 last year.

Thanks for the extra, great adn detailed real use review. Looking at getting the new one with the 6800 120hz and 16gb which will do my uni work and some coding fine.

Great review. Do you think it is posssible to squeeze a 2280 ssd using extension cable and sticky tape?

https://www.amazon.com/ASHATA-Extension-Cable-Solid-State/dp/B07RWNBSJR

No. Have a look at the motherboard picture, the connector is oriented to the right of the laptop so there's no room for a longer SSD

Yes. I noticed that. That's why I think of using extension cord to bend it and place the ssd somewhere else (would there be space to stick it to the motherboard?)

Up to you. Perhaps over the RAM with thermal pads. Not sure if the height of the chassis allows it, though.

Why do you even consider this, though?

2230 is very limiting. Planning to use 4 or 8tb ssd in a laptop.

The Apple-like non-standard 100W charger is the only way to have the laptop running in Turbo mode should definitely appear in "The Bad" section. I found this out the hard way. There's no technical reason for Asus to do this that I know of other than to rip off consumers with their expensive non-standard charger.

Not only is a GAN 100W charger recognized as "non-compliant" by the system, the system drops the charging wattage to 65W.

Perhaps this is something Asus can "fix" in the future if people complain more about it.

Do you think it is worth buying this year's version versus last year's version if I am in programming (mostly non-graphics)? Currently I can buy the ryzen 9 5900HS, 16gb, 512 ssd and 3050ti version for 1300€ here in Europe. Another question, do you know if last year's version suffers from the same heating problem? Thanks!

2021 and 2022 X13s are the same design. That unit seems very competitive at 1300. I'd reckon the 2022 version is not yet available?

Yes it is not available yet but I don't care to wait a bit this year (2-3 months). The thing is if it's worth to wait for the new hardware for programming.

Up to you, but probably not. Expect up to 10-15% better performance and 10% improved efficiency. Plus the impact of DDR5 memory.

This review made me open my 2021 ROG X13 (GV301QH) with the 1TB SSD. I was quite excited to read that line " Last year’s X13 came with a 2280 SSD, but Asus decided on replacing it with the more compact 2230 format for this update".

That is sadly factually incorrect. :( My 2021 X13 has a WD SN530 1TB 2230 m.2 SSD as well, can you check on which models came with a 2280 SSD?

You're right, the 2021 x13 came with 2230 drives as well. I mistakenly confused it with something else. I'm updating! Sry for the screw-up.

In the text i can read:

"7 W (~6-7 h of use) – text editing in Google Drive, Silent Mode, screen at 50%, Wi-Fi ON;"

Maybe there is a mistake? With 7 Watt and 62Wh i hope i can expect 8-9h of runetime or the system need 10 Watt in this configuration?

Nevertheless i have booked the 6800HS model without dedicated GPU for 1400€. I hope it will be a good all day notebook. Rembrandt ist more efficient than 5000er in office/idle an AlderLake seems to be slightly better in Performance (e.g. 1260p) but the efficiency is not better (maybe worse) than TigerLaker in Idle/Office.

I hope i will get USB 4.0. Then Rembrandt with its efficiency and the more powefull 680M is the best mobile notebook option on x86/Windows!

Yes, I've updated the battery life readings after testing this with the more mature BIOS, but didn't update the runtimes (in hours). Fixed and thanks for the heads-up.

Is the brightness of the display much better than last year model for outdoor usage? I see 500 nits in the stats, while if I a not wrong, 2021 x13 was below 400 nits

This one is still unavailable in its 4K version: ROG Flow X13 (2022)FLOW-X13-GV301RE-007W. With the ryzen 9 6900HS, RTX 3050TI, 32GB RAM. I can’t find any real ease date, on info about the next availability. I’m looking for it since March…

Thanks for the excellent and thorough review.

I wanted to clarify that the HDMI2.0b port is wired to the iGPU and not to the dGPU, for the GV301RE model which I own. It's better during presentation as consumption is much reduced but not for gaming (as it still uses Optimus).

Thank you. Sry for the error in the original article, updated!

Hi, thanks for your review. Wondering is this year version storage upgradeable? does it have 2 ssd slot now? Also, if using it as a tablet for movie or some light game, will it be too hot?

Could you do a comparison between iGPU vs dGPU on the same model? Im especially interested in the heat and power consumption.

I've covered iGPU performance in a separate article. use the search function

Is this device useless in terms of running a VM with PCI Passthrough of the Nvidia dGPU?

The last years model is useless, as all video output ports are wired to the iGPU. When you passthrough the Nvidia to a VM, nothing is shown on any screen as it can't "find" an attached display.

That seems not to be the case for any Zephyrus G14 where at least one port is connected to the dGPU.

I have some hope that the MUX switch will allow a successfull passthrough, connecting the dGPU to the device display while outputting the iGPU on USB-C or HDMI. Of course only on the 32GB version ;-)

from what I remember, all ports go through the iGPU. Not sure if this will work with what you need.

I was finally able to find a variant with the 6800 HS, 32GB RAM, and WUXGA screen on Amazon UK, and I was able to place an order even though I don't live in the UK. In many places you're stuck with 4K if you want the 32GB version, so it's something to look for if you want both RAM and battery time.

So my Flow x13 arrived, and the packaging contained instructions on how to fold part of it into a stand to lift up the back of the laptop. I guess they know that's an issue? :p

I should also note that since my last comment, I've started seeing the FHD + 32GB model appear on a few other sites as well (Amazon JP for instance). Maybe they solved supply issues, or maybe they realized that's the model a lot of people want.

I've had the X13 for about two months now and honestly, it's a mess. The GPU fan makes clicky noises in tent mode. I returned it to Asus, they claimed they replaced it – still makes clicky noises. I wasted about a month sending it back and forth. The last bios (321) makes the laptop randomly crash under load. The standby does totally not work. Either it does not enter standby at all, or it does not wake up anymore or it crashes when waking up. USB C dock support is also pretty flaky. Sometimes it you can't wake it from standy when docked and you have to open the lid. Sometimes it does not recognize the dock at all until you do a reboot. Switching between standard and tablet mode is also flaky. I've had the NVidia driver crash(?) when rotating the screen in tablet mode, which totally broke windows.

Basically, it's a really buggy device and I'm constantly just waiting for the next problem to pop up.

Not sure if you are still using the flow x13; but, I saw in a few reviews and your review that they are going to push an update that will upgrade the USB-C to 4.0. Has this happened yet or has Asus dropped the ball?

I haven't followed up on this matter. It was up to AMD to figure things out and then release an update from what I understood.

There still is no USB 4.0 support. Doubtful the device is even USB 4.0 capable as they're pushing their own XG Mobile dock. Which is not even available separately where I live.

How would the thermals look when using the X13 in tablet mode, i.e. hinge to the front, keyboard facing down, display slightly propped up? I could imagine using it like that on my desk, connected to bigger display, using keyboard and mouse… the X13 display could be used as a secondary display, sitting below the bigger monitor. But I would be worried about thermals when running it like that for a longer time, as the while airflow would be upside-down. I'm ainly concerned about this for demanding tasks like video editing.

BTW, does the HDMI routing through the iGPU have an impact on video editing performance? I assume in apps like Davinci Resolve, the GPU is not necessarily used as output, but for internal calculations.

Similar to our tests in laptop mode with the back raised up, as that would also allow for unrestricted airflow into the fans.

And no, editing performance is fine on HDMI, only some games are affected by the video signal going through the iGPU.

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