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Asus Q524UQ- Thunderbolt 3 Continues to Go Maintream

Thunderbolt 3 offers the most power capabilities found in a USB Type-C port, combining multiple interface technologies like Thunderbolt 3 (40 Gb/s), USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gb/s), DisplayPort 1.2, and USB Power Delivery based charging into the same port.  Once a capability found mostly on higher end models, Thunderbolt has gone into sub $1K models like the Asus Q524UQ.

After purchasing the Asus Q524UQ through Amazon Prime, I received the shipment within a couple days.  The box had a lot of smudges and on the outside and felt a little dirty.

After opening the box, we could see that the Asus Q524UQ comes with a few accessories like an AC power adapter, wired speakers, a screen cleaning cloth, and a quick guide.

The AC power adapter is rated at 65 watts (19 volts @ 3.42 amps) and is not USB Type-C or USB Power Delivery based.  Note that the Asus Q524UQ needs this AC power adapter to charge since it doesn't support charging through its USB Type-C based Thunderbolt 3 ports.

The wired speaker is an interesting idea for an accessory.  Unfortunately, it's not very high quality given at higher volumes you can hear it having problems handling bass without distortion.

The Asus Q524UQ is able to stiffly bend in 360 degrees giving you many viewing angles and use configurations.

In addition to Thunderbolt 3 over a USB Type-C connector, the Asus Q524UQ also supports HDMI 1.4, USB 3.1 Gen 1 based Type-A ports, SD card interfaces on both sides of the laptop.

The bottom of the Asus Q524UQ also had some strange patterned discoloration which was embedded on the surface and couldn't be washed off.

Style-wise, the Asus Q524UQ looks great in any nice home or office setting.

At a hefty 5 pounds with a 15.6" screen, the Asus Q524UQ isn't designed for ultra portability but it's suitable for watching shows or playing games with friends especially with the NVIDIA GeForce 940MX GPU that comes with it.

The power button of the Asus Q524UQ is small and located on the right side towards the front of the PC.  Upon powering on the Asus Q524UQ, you'll go through the normal Windows 10 setup process which can take a while due to the updates.

Asus doesn't force bloatware on you but does politely ask what software you want to get installed on the PC.

The Asus Q524UQ is great for users looking for a lot of features normally found on higher end PC's and an affordable choice for someone wanting to to purchase and experience Thunderbolt 3.