Asus ROG Zephyrus S Gaming PC Laptop (GX531G) Supports USB 3.1 Gen 2 Speeds But No Thunderbolt

The ROG Zephyrus S Gaming PC Laptop (GX531G) is part of Asus's Republic of Gamers (ROG) series of gaming PC's which is also one of the few USB 3.1 Gen 2 hosts available in the market based on Intel chipset but not on the Intel Thunderbolt solution. The PC comes with a 3.9 GHz 8th Gen Intel Core i7 processor, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 graphics with 8 GB video memory, 16 GB DDR4 RAM, 2.766 MHz memory speed and 512 GB Hybrid SSD with 10000 RPM rotational speed.

With 15.6 in screen and 1920x1080 resolutions, the Asus ROG Zephyrus S Gaming PC Laptop (GX531G) also carries USB ports supporting USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gb/s) and USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5 Gb/s) speeds over Type-C and a HDMI 2.0 port along with Windows 10, 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0. The Asus PC can use USB Power Delivery technology for charging as well.

Here's how the Asus ROG Zephyrus S Gaming PC Laptop (GX531G) looks like after purchase.

The Asus ROG Zephyrus S Gaming PC Laptop (GX531G) ships with only a 19.5V @ 9.23A (180 watts) AC power adapter and some documentation, just like many of the ROG models such as the Asus ROG Strix GL502VM.

On one side of the PC you can find one audio in/out port, two USB Type-A ports, one USB Type-C port and the AC power input.

The other side has one HDMI 2.0 output port, Kensington lock, one USB Type-C port and one USB Type-A port.

As with most gaming PC's, the Asus PC also comes with a LED backlight keyboard.

Using the USB Power Test App from Granite River Labs with the Granite River Labs USB Power Delivery Compliance C2 Tester, we generate the following test results for the Asus ROG Zephyrus S Gaming PC Laptop (GX531G) to observe its power capabilities.

The USB Power Test App first negotiates a power contract emulating the Source to determine the Power Delivery Sink capabilities of the Asus PC. The USB Power Test App then reports out the voltage and current supported by the PC for each of the Source PDO's advertised to the PC. We can see that the PC gets 60W charging using the USB 3.1 Gen 2 / DisplayPort Alt Mode port; however this is lower than the 19.5V @ 9.23A (180 watts) provided by its supplied AC power adapter.

SinkCap	Voltage	Current	Power
5V	5.22	2.88	14.51
6V	6.09	2.88	17.72
7V	7.07	2.9	20.69
8V	8.07	2.92	23.4
9V	9.07	2.9	26.35
10V	10.1	2.9	29.39
11V	11.09	2.9	32.27
12V	12.07	2.91	35.18
13V	13.1	2.92	38.07
14V	14.08	2.91	40.98
15V	15.07	2.92	43.97
16V	16.11	2.94	47.54
17V	17.1	2.92	49.96
18V	18.07	2.92	53.42
19V	19.32	2.92	56.1
20V	20.09	2.93	59.16

The USB Power Test App from Granite River Labs also produces a voltage, current trace plot which graphically shows the voltage and current requested by the Asus ROG Zephyrus S Gaming PC Laptop (GX531G) for each advertised Source PDO throughout the power negotiation.

Using the USB Power Delivery Compliance C2 Tester from Granite River Labs to run just a subset of the full USB Power Delivery compliance test suite, we can verify that the Asus ROG Zephyrus S Gaming PC Laptop (GX531G) supports a fixed Source PDO of .03 watts (.1 volts @ .3 amps) and several fixed Sink PDO's of .009 watts (.1 volts @ .09 amps), .02 watts (.18 volts @ .09 amps), .027 watts (.3 volts @ .09 amps), .036 watts (.4 volts @ .09 amps) , .027 watts (.3 volts @ .09 amps) as well as variable power supply of .009 to .036 watts range (.1-.4 volts @ .09 amps) for charging. Note some compliance failures were observed.

Source Capabilities

Parameter	GetCapabilities
Src_PDO_Supply_Type	Fixed
Src_PDO_Peak_Current	0
Src_PDO_Voltage	100 (mV)
Src_PDO_Max_Current	300 (mA)

Sink Capabilities

Parameter	GetCapabilities
Snk_PDO_Supply_Type #1	Fixed
Snk_PDO_Voltage #1	100 (mV)
Snk_PDO_Op_Current #1	90 (mA)
Snk_PDO_Supply_Type #2	Fixed
Snk_PDO_Voltage #2	180 (mV)
Snk_PDO_Op_Current #2	90 (mA)
Snk_PDO_Supply_Type #3	Fixed
Snk_PDO_Voltage #3	300 (mV)
Snk_PDO_Op_Current #3	90 (mA)
Snk_PDO_Supply_Type #4	Fixed
Snk_PDO_Voltage #4	400 (mV)
Snk_PDO_Op_Current #4	90 (mA)
Snk_PDO_Supply_Type #5	Variable
Snk_PDO_Max_Voltage #5	400 (mV)
Snk_PDO_Min_Voltage #5	100 (mV)
Snk_PDO_Op_Current #5	90 (mA)

Power Delivery 3.0 Tests - Test Result Summary

Sl No	Test ID	Test Name	Test Result
1	TD.PD.LL3.E1	TD.PD.LL3.E1 GoodCRC Specification Revision compatibility	PASS
2	TD.PD.LL3.E2	TD.PD.LL3.E2 Retransmission	PASS
3	TD.PD.LL3.E3	TD.PD.LL3.E3 GoodCRC Compatibility with PD2	PASS
4	TD.PD.SRC3.E1	TD.PD.SRC3.E1 Source Capability Fields Checks	PASS
5	TD.PD.SRC3.E2	TD.PD.SRC3.E2 Accept Fields Checks	PASS
6	TD.PD.SRC3.E3	TD.PD.SRC3.E3 PSRDY Fields Checks	PASS
7	TD.PD.SRC3.E4	TD.PD.SRC3.E4 Specification Revision Check after Contract	PASS
8	TD.PD.SRC3.E5	TD.PD.SRC3.E5 Source Capabilities Extended sent timely	PASS
9	TD.PD.SRC3.E6	TD.PD.SRC3.E6 Source Capabilities Extended Fields Checks	FAIL
10	TD.PD.SRC3.E7	TD.PD.SRC3.E7 Battery Status sent Timely	PASS
11	TD.PD.SRC3.E8	TD.PD.SRC3.E8 Battery Status Fields Checks	PASS
12	TD.PD.SRC3.E9	TD.PD.SRC3.E9 Battery Status Fields Checks Invalid Battery reference	PASS
13	TD.PD.SRC3.E10	TD.PD.SRC3.E10 Unrecognized Message Received in Ready State	PASS
14	TD.PD.SRC3.E11	TD.PD.SRC3.E11 Get Status Fields Checks	PASS
15	TD.PD.SRC3.E12	TD.PD.SRC3.E12 Get Battery Status Fields Checks	PASS
16	TD.PD.SRC3.E13	TD.PD.SRC3.E13 Status sent timely	PASS
17	TD.PD.SRC3.E14	TD.PD.SRC3.E14 Status Fields Checks	FAIL
18	TD.PD.SRC3.E15	TD.PD.SRC3.E15 Battery Capabilities sent timely	PASS
19	TD.PD.SRC3.E16	TD.PD.SRC3.E16 Battery Capabilities Fields Checks	PASS
20	TD.PD.SRC3.E17	TD.PD.SRC3.E17 Battery Capabilities Fields Checks Invalid Battery Reference	PASS
21	TD.PD.SRC3.E18	TD.PD.SRC3.E18 Manufacturer Info Sent Timely	PASS
22	TD.PD.SRC3.E19	TD.PD.SRC3.E19 Manufacturer Info Fields Checks	PASS
23	TD.PD.SRC3.E20	TD.PD.SRC3.E20 Manufacturer Info Fields Checks Invalid Manufacturer Info Target	FAIL
24	TD.PD.SRC3.E21	TD.PD.SRC3.E21 Manufacturer Info Fields Checks Invalid Manufacturer Info Ref	FAIL
26	TD.PD.SRC3.E23	TD.PD.SRC3.E23 Vconn Swap	PASS
27	TD.PD.SRC3.E24	TD.PD.SRC3.E24 Unexpected Message Received in Ready State	PASS
28	TD.PD.SRC3.E25	TD.PD.SRC3.E25 Receiving chunked extended message	PASS
29	TD.PD.SRC3.E26	TD.PD.SRC3.E26 Soft Reset sent regardless of Rp value	PASS
35	TD.PD.SRC3.E32	TD.PD.SRC3.E32 ChunkSenderResponseTimer Timeout	PASS
36	TD.PD.SRC3.E33	TD.PD.SRC3.E33 Country Codes Sent Timely	PASS
37	TD.PD.SRC3.E34	TD.PD.SRC3.E34 Country Codes Fields Checks	PASS
38	TD.PD.SRC3.E35	TD.PD.SRC3.E35 Country Info Sent Timely	PASS
39	TD.PD.SRC3.E36	TD.PD.SRC3.E36 Country Info Fields Checks	PASS
40	TD.PD.VDM3.E1	TD.PD.VDM3.E1 Fields Checks Discover Identity	FAIL
42	TD.PD.FRSISRC3.E3	TD.PD.FRSISRC3.E3 Accept Not Sent	PASS
43	TD.PD.FRSISRC3.E4	TD.PD.FRSISRC3.E4 PS_RDY Not Sent	PASS
44	TD.PD.FRSISRC3.E5	TD.PD.FRSISRC3.E5 PSSourceOnTimer Deadline	PASS
45	TD.PD.FRSISRC3.E6	TD.PD.FRSISRC3.E6 PSSourceOnTimer Timeout	PASS
47	TD.PD.FRSISNK3.E2	TD.PD.FRSISNK3.E2 FR_Swap Not Sent	FAIL
48	TD.PD.FRSISNK3.E3	TD.PD.FRSISNK3.E3 SenderResponseTimer Times Out	FAIL
57	TD.PD.VNDI3.E7	TD.PD.VNDI3.E7 Security Msgs Supported	FAIL

PD2 Deterministic Tests - Test Result Summary

Sl No	Test ID	Test Name	Test Result
1	TD.PD.LL.E1	TD.PD.LL.E1 GoodCrc Timing	FAIL
2	TD.PD.LL.E2	TD.PD.LL.E2 Retransmission	PASS
3	TD.PD.LL.E3	TD.PD.LL.E3 Soft Reset Usage	PASS
4	TD.PD.LL.E4	TD.PD.LL.E4 Hard Reset Usage	PASS
5	TD.PD.LL.E5	TD.PD.LL.E5 Soft Reset	PASS
6	TD.PD.SRC.E1	TD.PD.SRC.E1 Source Capabilities sent timely	PASS
7	TD.PD_SRC.E2	TD.PD_SRC.E2 Source Capabilities Fields Checks	PASS
8	TD.PD.SRC.E3	TD.PD.SRC.E3 SourceCapabilityTimer Timeout	PASS
9	TD.PD.SRC.E4	TD.PD.SRC.E4 SenderResponseTimer Deadline Request	PASS
10	TD.PD.SRC.E5	TD.PD.SRC.E5 SenderResponseTimer Timeout Request	PASS
11	TD.PD.SRC.E6	TD.PD.SRC.E6 PSHardResetTimer Timeout	FAIL
12	TD.PD.SRC.E7	TD.PD.SRC.E7 Accept sent timely	PASS
13	TD.PD.SRC.E8	TD.PD.SRC.E8 Accept Fields Checks	PASS
14	TD.PD.SRC.E9	TD.PD.SRC.E9 PS RDY sent timely	PASS
15	TD.PD.SRC.E10	TD.PD.SRC.E10 PS RDY Fields Checks	PASS
16	TD.PD.SRC.E11	TD.PD.SRC.E11 Accept Requests can be met	PASS
17	TD.PD.SRC.E12	TD.PD.SRC.E12 Reject Requests cannot be met	PASS
18	TD.PD.SRC.E13	TD.PD.SRC.E13 Reject Request Invalid Object Position	PASS
19	TD.PD.SRC.E14	TD.PD.SRC.E14 Atomic Message Sequence	PASS
20	TD.PD.SRC.E15	TD.PD.SRC.E15 Give Source Cap	PASS
21	TD.PD.SRC.E16	TD.PD.SRC.E16 PDO Transition	PASS
22	TD.PD.PC.E2	TD.PD.PC.E2 PS RDY Sent Timely	PASS
23	TD.PD.PC.E3	TD.PD.PC.E3 PSSourceOnTimer Deadline	PASS
25	TD.PD.PC.E5	TD.PD.PC.E5 tSwapSinkReady Check	PASS
27	TD.PD.VDMD.E1	TD.PD.VDMD.E1 tVDMSenderResponse Deadline Discover Identity	PASS
28	TD.PD.VDMD.E2	TD.PD.VDMD.E2 tVDMSenderResponse Timeout Discover Identity	PASS
29	TD.PD.VDMD.E3	TD.PD.VDMD.E3 Incorrect Fields Discover Identity	PASS
30	TD.PD.VDMD.E4	TD.PD.VDMD.E4 Applicability	PASS
33	TD.PD.PHY.E1	TD.PD.PHY.E1 BIST Test Data	PASS
36	TD.PD.PHY.E4	TD.PD.PHY.E4 Transmitter Bit Rate and Bit Rate Drift	PASS
37	TD.PD.PHY.E5	TD.PD.PHY.E5 Transmitter Collision Avoidance	PASS
38	TD.PD.PHY.E6	TD.PD.PHY.E6 Receiver Swing Tolerance	PASS
39	TD.PD.PHY.E7	TD.PD.PHY.E7 Receiver Bit Rate Tolerance	PASS
40	TD.PD.PHY.E8	TD.PD.PHY.E8 Receiver Bit Rate Deviation Tolerance	PASS
41	TD.PD.PHY.E9	TD.PD.PHY.E9 Valid SOP Framing	PASS
42	TD.PD.PHY.E10	TD.PD.PHY.E10 Invalid SOP Framing	PASS
43	TD.PD.PHY.E11	TD.PD.PHY.E11 Valid SOP P Framing	PASS
44	TD.PD.PHY.E12	TD.PD.PHY.E12 Invalid SOP P Framing	PASS
45	TD.PD.PHY.E13	TD.PD.PHY.E13 Valid SOP PP Framing	PASS
46	TD.PD.PHY.E14	TD.PD.PHY.E14 Invalid SOP PP Framing	PASS
47	TD.PD.PHY.E15	TD.PD.PHY.E15 SOP P_Debug SOP PP Debug Framing	PASS
48	TD.PD.PHY.E16	TD.PD.PHY.E16 Valid Hard Reset Framing	PASS
50	TD.PD.PHY.E18	TD.PD.PHY.E18 Valid Cable Reset Framing	PASS
51	TD.PD.PHY.E19	TD.PD.PHY.E19 Invalid Cable Reset Framing	PASS
52	TD.PD.PHY.E20	TD.PD.PHY.E20 EOP Framing	PASS
53	TD.PD.PHY.E21	TD.PD.PHY.E21 Preamble	PASS

USB-C Functional Tests - Test Result Summary

Sl No	Test ID	Test Name	Test Result
2	TD.4.2.1	TD.4.2.1 Source Connect Sink Test	FAIL
3	TD.4.2.2	TD.4.2.2 Source Connect SNKAS Test	FAIL
7	TD.4.2.6	TD.4.2.6 Source Connect Audio Accessory	PASS
8	TD.4.2.7	TD.4.2.7 Source Connect Debug Accessory	PASS

PD2 Communication Engine Tests - Test Result Summary

Sl No	Test ID	Test Name	Test Result
1	TDA.2.1.1.1	TDA.2.1.1.1 BMC PHY TX EYE	PASS
2	TDA.2.1.1.2	TDA.2.1.1.2 BMC PHY TX BIT	PASS
3	TDA.2.1.2.2	TDA.2.1.2.2 BMC PHY RX INT REJ	PASS
4	TDA.2.1.2.1	TDA.2.1.2.1 BMC PHY RX BUSIDL	PASS
5	TDA.2.1.3.1	TDA.2.1.3.1 BMC PHY TERM	PASS
6	TDA.2.1.3.2	TDA.2.1.3.2 BMC PHY MSG	FAIL
7	TDA.2.2.1	TDA.2.2.1 BMC PROT SEQ GETCAPS	PASS
8	TDA.2.2.2.1	TDA.2.2.2.1 BMC PROT SEQ CHKCAB P PC	PASS
9	TDA.2.2.2.2	TDA.2.2.2.2 BMC PROT SEQ CHKCAP NOMARK P PC	PASS
13	TDA.2.2.7	TDA.2.2.7 BMC PROT BIST NOT 5V SRC	PASS
15	TDA.2.2.9	TDA.2.2.9 BMC PROT GSC REC	PASS
16	TDA.2.3.1.1	TDA.2.3.1.1 POW SRC LOAD P PC	FAIL
17	TDA.2.3.2.1	TDA.2.3.2.1 POW SRC TRANS P PC	PASS
18	TDA.2.3.3.2	TDA.2.3.3.2 POW SNK TRANS PC	PASS

DisplayPort Alternate Mode Tests - Test Result Summary

Sl No	Test ID	Test Name	Test Result
6	TC.10.3.1	TC.10.3.1 Discover SVIDs ACK DP SID in Arbitrary Locations	PASS
7	TC.10.3.2	TC.10.3.2 Cable Determination	PASS
8	TC.10.3.3	TC.10.3.3 Enter Mode Sequence Fails ACK Response Not Sent	PASS
9	TC.10.3.4	TC.10.3.4 Enter Mode Sequence Fails NACK Response	PASS
10	TC.10.3.5	TC.10.3.5 DisplayPort Not Connected At UFP U Then Connected	PASS
11	TC.10.3.6	TC.10.3.6 Status Update	PASS
13	TC.10.3.8	TC.10.3.8 DP Mode Not Compatible	PASS
14	TC.10.3.9	TC.10.3.9 Displayport Configure	FAIL
15	TC.10.3.11	TC.10.3.11 Proper Pin Assignment Selection for DFP_U DFP_D Connected To Receptacle	FAIL
16	TC.10.3.12	TC.10.3.12 Proper Pin Assignment Selection for DFP_U DFP_D Connected To Plug	FAIL
17	TC.10.3.12	TC.10.3.12 tFirstSourceCap tTypeCSrcCapMeasurements	PASS
23	TC.11.2.1	TC.11.2.1 VBUS VCONN Before Attach Detection	PASS
24	TC.11.2.2	TC.11.2.2 DFP VBUS VCONN after Attach Detection	PASS

BMC Eye Diagram