ROG Zephyrus GX501 (2017) vs. MacBook Air 13” 2018: Which is better?

Here is a side by side comparison between ROG Zephyrus GX501 (2017) and MacBook Air 13” 2018 specs including CPU, RAM, storage, battery, display, and more.

ROG Zephyrus GX501 (2017) Pros

Reasons that ROG Zephyrus GX501 (2017) is better than MacBook Air 13” 2018.

Much faster CPU performance

Intel Core i7-7700HQ inside ROG Zephyrus GX501 (2017) has a 120% better multi-core CPU performance score than the Intel Core i5-8210Y inside MacBook Air 13” 2018.

Geekbench 5 multi-core score
ROG Zephyrus GX501 (2017) - Intel Core i7-7700HQ
3,208
ROG Zephyrus GX501 (2017) - Intel Core i5-7300HQ
2,685
MacBook Air 13” 2018 - Intel Core i5-8210Y
1,455
Supports larger memory

ROG Zephyrus GX501 (2017) supports a larger memory capacity than the MacBook Air 13” 2018. It supports up to 24GB versus 16GB of system memory on the MacBook Air 13” 2018.

Max system memory size
ROG Zephyrus GX501 (2017)
24 GB
MacBook Air 13” 2018
16 GB
Supports faster memory

ROG Zephyrus GX501 (2017) supports a faster memory speed than the MacBook Air 13” 2018. It supports up to 2400MHz versus 2133MHz of system memory on the MacBook Air 13” 2018.

Memory type and speed
ROG Zephyrus GX501 (2017) - DDR4
2,400 MHz
MacBook Air 13” 2018 - LPDDR3
2,133 MHz
Supports discrete graphics

Configurable up to Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 8GB GDDR5 with Max-Q vs. integrated

17% larger display

ROG Zephyrus GX501 (2017) has a 15.6-inch screen size 17% larger than the 13.3-inch MacBook Air 13” 2018.

Display size
ROG Zephyrus GX501 (2017)
15.6-inch
MacBook Air 13” 2018
13.3-inch

MacBook Air 13” 2018 Pros

Reasons that MacBook Air 13” 2018 is better than ROG Zephyrus GX501 (2017).

Newer manufacturing

2018 vs. 2017

About 44% lighter

MacBook Air 13” 2018 weighed 2.75 pounds, 44% lighter than the 4.85 pounds ROG Zephyrus GX501 (2017).

WeightROG Zephyrus GX501 (2017)MacBook Air 13” 2018
Pound
4.85 lbs.
2.75 lbs.
Kilogram
2.20 kg
1.25 kg

Prices

Here are the latest price updates and offers for both devices.

ROG Zephyrus GX501 (2017) Price
ASUS 2023 ROG Zephyrus G16 Gaming Laptop, MUX Switch, 16” FHD 165Hz, Latest 10-Core i7-13620H CPU, RTX 4060 8GB GDDR6, Thin & Light, RGB, Win 11 H, W/Mouse Pad (32GB RAM | 2TB PCIe SSD)
ASUS 2023 ROG Zephyrus G16 Gaming Laptop, MUX Switch, 16” FHD 165Hz, Latest 10-Core i7-13620H CPU, RTX 4060 8GB GDDR6, Thin & Light, RGB, Win 11 H, W/Mouse Pad (32GB RAM | 2TB PCIe SSD)
By ASUS
$1,379.90
ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 (2022) Gaming Laptop, 16” 165Hz IPS Type WUXGA 16:10 Display, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060, AMD Ryzen 7 6800H, 16GB DDR5, 1TB SSD, Windows 11, GX650RM-ES74
ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 (2022) Gaming Laptop, 16” 165Hz IPS Type WUXGA 16:10 Display, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060, AMD Ryzen 7 6800H, 16GB DDR5, 1TB SSD, Windows 11, GX650RM-ES74
By ASUS
$2,009.99
$2,499.99 20% OFF
ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 Gaming Laptop, MUX Switch, 14.0" QHD(2560 x 1440) 16:10 165Hz Display, AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS, GeForce RTX 4050 6GB GDDR6, Win 11 Home, w/Mouse Pad (16GB RAM |1TB PCIe SSD)
ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 Gaming Laptop, MUX Switch, 14.0" QHD(2560 x 1440) 16:10 165Hz Display, AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS, GeForce RTX 4050 6GB GDDR6, Win 11 Home, w/Mouse Pad (16GB RAM |1TB PCIe SSD)
By ASUS
$1,156.99
MacBook Air 13” 2018 Price
Apple MacBook Air (13-inch Retina display, 1.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5, 128GB) - Space Gray (Renewed)
Apple MacBook Air (13-inch Retina display, 1.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5, 128GB) - Space Gray (Renewed)
By Apple
$370.28
2018 Apple MacBook Air with 1.6GHz Intel Core i5 (13-inch, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD Storage) - Silver (Renewed)
2018 Apple MacBook Air with 1.6GHz Intel Core i5 (13-inch, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD Storage) - Silver (Renewed)
By Apple
$379.95
Apple 13in MacBook Air (2017 Newest Version) 1.8GHz Core i5 CPU, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD (Renewed)
Apple 13in MacBook Air (2017 Newest Version) 1.8GHz Core i5 CPU, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD (Renewed)
By Apple
$239.00
$255.00 6% OFF

Availability

ROG Zephyrus GX501 (2017)MacBook Air 13” 2018
Released20172018
Release Date-
  • Available on October 30, 2018
Pricing-
  • $1,199
    Intel Core i5 8210Y | 8GB RAM | 128GB SSD
  • $1,399
    Intel Core i5 8210Y | 8GB RAM | 256GB SSD
Generations-

Exterior

ROG Zephyrus GX501 (2017)MacBook Air 13” 2018
Dimensions14.92” x 10.31” x 0.66 ~ 0.70” (379 x 262 x 16.9 ~ 17.9 mm)11.97” x 8.36” x 0.16 - 0.61” (304.1 mm x  212.4 mm x 4.1 – 15.6 mm)
Weight4.85 lbs (2.2 kg)Starting at 2.75 pounds (1.25 kg)
Colors-
Gold Space Gray Silver
Keyboard and Trackpad
  • AURA RGB
  • Backlit chiclet keyboard
  • Marked QWER / WASD keys
  • Hot keys: Ten-key Function / ROG Gaming Center
  • 1.4mm travel distance
Backlit Magic Keyboard with:
  • 78 (U.S.) or 79 (ISO) individual LED-backlit keys, including 12 function keys and 4 arrow keys
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Force Touch trackpad for precise cursor control and pressure-sensing capabilities; enables Force clicks, accelerators, pressure-sensitive drawing, and Multi-Touch gestures

Display

ROG Zephyrus GX501 (2017)MacBook Air 13” 2018
Size15.6 Inches13.3 Inches
Info15.6-inch Full HD (1920x1080) IPS-level panel, 120Hz, 100% sRGBRetina display
  • 13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 2560-by-1600 native resolution at 227 pixels per inch with support for millions of colors
  • Supported scaled resolutions:
    • 1680 by 1050
    • 1440 by 900
    • 1024 by 640
  • 16:10 aspect ratio

Ports

ROG Zephyrus GX501 (2017)MacBook Air 13” 2018
  • 1 x USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C over Thunderbolt™
  • 4 x USB 3.1 Gen1
  • 1 x HDMI 2.0
  • 1 x 3.5mm headphone and microphone combo jack
  • 1 x Kensington lock
Two Thunderbolt 3 (USB‑C) ports with support for:
  • Charging
  • DisplayPort
  • Thunderbolt (up to 40Gb/s)
  • USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10Gb/s)

Internal Specs

ROG Zephyrus GX501 (2017)MacBook Air 13” 2018
Processor
  1. 7th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-7300HQ
    4 cores, 4 threads, 2.50 → 3.50 GHz, 6MB Cache, 45W
  2. 7th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-7700HQ
    4 cores, 8 threads, 2.80 → 3.80 GHz, 6MB Cache, 45W
  1. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8210Y
    2 cores, 4 threads, 1.60 → 3.60 GHz, 4MB SmartCache, 7W
Integrated Graphics
  1. 7th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-7300HQ
    Intel® HD Graphics 630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1000 MHz
  2. 7th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-7700HQ
    Intel® HD Graphics 630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1100 MHz
  1. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8210Y
    Intel® UHD Graphics 617
    24 Execution Units, 300 → 1050 MHz
MemoryUp to 24GB DDR4 2400MHz SDRAM
8GB
Configurable to 16GB 2133MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory
Discrete Graphics
  • NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1070 (Max-Q)
    8GB GDDR5X VRAM.
  • NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1080 (Max-Q)
    8GB GDDR5X VRAM.
Support for Thunderbolt 3–enabled external graphics processors (eGPUs)
Storage
256GB 512GB 1TB
2 x M.2 NVMe PCIE 3.0 x 4
128GB 256GB
Configurable to 512GB or 1TB SSD

Connectivity

ROG Zephyrus GX501 (2017)MacBook Air 13” 2018
Wi-Fi802.11ac 2x2 WLAN
  • 802.11ac Wi‑Fi wireless networking
  • IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n compatible
BluetoothBluetooth 4.1Bluetooth 4.2 wireless technology
Ethernet Gigabit LAN
Speed: 10/100/1000 Mbps.
-

Battery

ROG Zephyrus GX501 (2017)MacBook Air 13” 2018
Size-50.3 Wh lithium‑polymer battery
Battery LifeUp to 2 hours of battery life
  • Up to 12 hours wireless web
  • Up to 13 hours Apple TV app video playback
  • Up to 30 days of standby time
Power Supply230W power adapter30W USB‑C Power Adapter

Software

ROG Zephyrus GX501 (2017)MacBook Air 13” 2018
OS
  • Windows 10 Home
  • Windows 10 Pro
Shipped with macOS Mojave
Built-in Apps
ROG Gaming Center ROG GameFirst ROG GameVisual Sonic Studio & Sonic Radar Aura Core XSplit Gamecaster (Free) Android App
Photos iMovie GarageBand Pages Numbers Keynote Siri Safari Mail FaceTime Messages Maps News Stocks Home Voice Memos Notes Calendar Contacts Reminders Photo Booth Preview Music Podcasts TV Books App Store Time Machine Find My QuickTime Player

Camera & Audio

ROG Zephyrus GX501 (2017)MacBook Air 13” 2018
CameraHD Front-facing webcam.720p FaceTime HD camera
Audio
  • 2 x 1W speaker with Smart AMP technology
  • Array microphones
  • Stereo speakers
  • Three microphones
  • 3.5 mm headphone jack

Misc

ROG Zephyrus GX501 (2017)MacBook Air 13” 2018
Sensors-
  • Touch ID sensor
  • Ambient light sensor
Security
  • Kensington lock slot
  • Touch ID sensor
  • Apple T2 Security Chip
In the box-
  • MacBook Air
  • 30W USB‑C Power Adapter
  • USB-C Charge Cable (2 m)
Warranty-Your MacBook Air comes with 90 days of complimentary technical support and a one-year limited warranty. Purchase AppleCare+ to extend your coverage to three years from your AppleCare+ purchase date and add up to two incidents of accidental damage coverage, each subject to a service fee of $99 for screen damage or external enclosure damage, or $299 for other repairable damage, plus applicable tax.
More-Video Support
  • Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at millions of colors and:
    • One external display with 5120-by-2880 resolution at up to 60Hz
    • Up to two external displays with 4096-by-2304 resolution at up to 60Hz
  • Thunderbolt 3 digital video output
    • Native DisplayPort output over USB‑C
    • VGA, HDMI, and Thunderbolt 2 output using adapters (sold separately)

Key Features

ROG Zephyrus GX501 (2017)MacBook Air 13” 2018
At Glance
Released in
2017
16:9 FHD
15.6”
1080p 120Hz
Weight
4.85 lb
2.20 kg
Up to
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
4C/8T, 2.80 → 3.80 GHz
Geekbench 5
852
Single Core
Geekbench 5
3,208
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® HD Graphics 630
24 Execution Units, 350 → 1100 MHz
Up to
24GB
2400 MHz DDR4
Nvidia GeForce
GTX 1080
8GB GDDR5 with Max-Q
Released in Late
2018
16:10 WQXGA
13.3”
1600p 60Hz
Weight
2.75 lb
1.25 kg
Powered By
Intel Core i5-8210Y
2C/4T, 1.60 → 3.60 GHz
Geekbench 5
728
Single Core
Geekbench 5
1,455
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® UHD Graphics 617
24 Execution Units, 300 → 1050 MHz
Up to
16GB
2133 MHz LPDDR3

Comparison Summary

ROG Zephyrus GX501 (2017) vs. MacBook Air 13” 2018

ASUS has released the ROG Zephyrus GX501 , a 15.6-inch machine, in 2017. It is powered by up to a quad-core Intel Core i7-7700HQ with a boost clock speed up to 3.80 GHz. The laptop has a dedicated GPU option up to Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 with 8GB GDDR5 with Max-Q.

On the other hand, we have the 13.3-inch MacBook Air 13” 2018 was introduced by Apple about a year later in late-2018. It comes with a dual-core Intel Core i5-8210Y with a boost clock speed up to 3.60 GHz. It has an integrated graphics option up to Intel® UHD Graphics 617 (24 Execution Units, 300 → 1050 MHz).

Geekbench 5 Single Core

ROG Zephyrus GX501 (2017)1
7th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-7300HQ84899.53%
2
7th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-7700HQ852100.00%
MacBook Air 13” 20181
8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8210Y72885.45%
0852

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

ROG Zephyrus GX501 (2017)1
7th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-7300HQ2,68583.70%
2
7th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-7700HQ3,208100.00%
MacBook Air 13” 20181
8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8210Y1,45545.36%
03,208

The ROG Zephyrus GX501 (2017) has a 15.6-inch display which is considerably larger than the 13.3-inch MacBook Air 13” 2018. In addition, the ROG Zephyrus GX501 (2017) weighs 4.85 lbs. about 76% heavier than the 2.75 lbs. MacBook Air 13” 2018. Moreover, measured at 14.92” x 10.31” x 0.70”, the ROG Zephyrus GX501 (2017) is much bulkier than the MacBook Air 13” 2018 at 11.97” x 8.36” x 0.61”.

ROG Zephyrus GX501 (2017)MacBook Air 13” 2018

Moving over to upgradability, ASUS claims that the ROG Zephyrus GX501 (2017) supports up to 24GB 2400 MHz DDR4 memory. It also comes with two M.2 slots that users can easily upgrade and install an additional SSD to expand the storage on the device.

For MacBook Air 13” 2018, it supports up to 16GB 2133 MHz LPDDR3 memory.

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