We recently had to buy a brand new laptop because the one we used so far, a Gigabyte P55W v7, has given up suddenly. In hindsight, it seems that it was only the memory that was defective, but in the urgency, we did not take any chance and we bought a new computer, the Asus ROG GL504GS. Yes, another gamer laptop, but let's face it, to have a high-performance computer, it's in this type of computer that you have to shop.

Chosen primarily for its GTX 1070 graphics card without Optimus. Before purchasing this model, we found that little information was available on its compatibility with Linux. Here is some information that will help you following our experience!

Hardware support

Linux hardware support is quite good:

  • Video card : no issue with nvidia proprietary drivers
  • Audio : no issue
  • Ethernet : no issue
  • Wifi : you need to manually download the firmware « iwlwifi-9000-pu-b0-jf-b0-38.ucode » from https://github.com/wkennington/linux-firmware
  • Bluetooth : not tested
  • Battery : 3 hours of autonomy
  • Keyboard: some special keys are not working and the backlight cannot be controled
  • Touchpad: pressur sensitivity cannot be customized, so it might click randomly when you scroll with two finger
  • Screen: LED backlight cannot be control either

Keyboard patches

It remains that the keyboard does not seem very well supported by Linux: several special keys do not work and the backlight can not be controlled. It will take a little longer for this keyboard to be supported by the next versions of Linux. In this regard, several patches have been submitted and are pending validation for the situation to be corrected.

2019-05-01
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