Im looking for a laptop to purchase so I can study without being stuck at a desk all day but I happened to stumble across a video where he turned the z13 into a big handheld. So I was thinking would it make sense to sell my Xbox ally x and just get z13 and convert it into a handheld when i want to play games but also use it for studying and projects.
I want a 5070 or 9070xt for an egpu with a flow z13 with the proce plummeting on the 9070xt im wondering if its a good buy and if anyone has had issues with it
Hiya, I've had one of these since January. Generally I have pretty good charging hygeine and when its at home its mostly plugged in. However my battery health has been dropping like a stone, about 10% in the last two weeks:
❯ acpi -bi
Battery 0: Unknown, 0%, rate information unavailable
Battery 1: Discharging, 83%, 04:31:28 remaining
Battery 1: design capacity 4229 mAh, last full capacity 3747 mAh = 88%
I've tried letting it run until zero and then recharging to see if that recalibrates it, but no luck. Do I need to get a replacment battery? Is there a better way to recalibrate it?
Designed this myself during my free time - way too many hobbies, but this was fun and the result is pretty nice! I call it PolyDeckZ13 haha
I figured I'd share since I know a few folks love to get their handheld gaming kicks.
Would love to you know what you guys think - game onnnn.
Edit: since folks have asked, I have finished putting everything up lol.
https://nullsetforge.com
https://nullsetforge.etsy.com
A few people asked me for details about opening up my GZ302, repasting it with PTM7950, replacing the thermal putty, and swapping the back cover, so I figured I’d write up my experience.
Overall, the process is very manageable if you have the right tools and take your time. The two biggest things are:
The ASUS service manual was also extremely helpful and lined up closely with the actual teardown process.
If you are just repasting the liquid metal and are fast I think you could do it in about two hours, I am slower and it probably took me longer but it is hard to gauge as I also completely dissembled the laptop too.
Back Cover Panel: 90NR0JY1-R7AM10
Sourced from ASUS Parts Shop: ASUS Parts Shop
ROG Flow Z13 (2025) Service Guide
Unfortunately, I didn’t take pictures until I had already removed the heatsink, so I’ll describe the display removal
After removing the exterior Torx screws, SSD cover, and SSD cover screws, I used suction cup pliers to gently lift the display enough to slide a plastic spudger underneath and begin releasing the plastic clips.
I started at the bottom edge near the keyboard connector, then worked up both sides before finishing at the top.
The suction cup pliers helped a lot because they provided enough lift without requiring excessive force that could risk damaging the display.
Once the display is unseated, keep it close to the chassis. There are two ribbon cables attached that can be damaged if too much tension is applied.
After disconnecting those cables, the display assembly can be fully removed.
Next, I removed the battery following the service manual instructions.
Be careful with the ribbon cable routed over the battery and make sure it is disconnected properly before lifting the battery out.
At this point, you’ll have access to the heatsink assembly.
By the time I took my first picture, I had already removed the heatsink.
When removing the heatsink, you absolutely want to lift it straight upward vertically.
Because the system uses liquid metal, moving the heatsink sideways can cause the liquid metal to spill onto the motherboard.
As an extra precaution, I used blue painter’s tape around the die area to help contain any accidental spread.
This was easily the slowest part of the process.
I used Q-tips dipped in isopropyl alcohol to slowly gather and remove the liquid metal from the die. Over time, the liquid metal starts to bead together, which makes it easier to collect and remove.
Keep cleaning even after you think it looks done. Continue until the Q-tips come away completely clean/white
I mostly kept the original gasket foam surrounding the die area on the heatsink because most of it was still intact and uncontaminated.
However, part of the lower section had liquid metal on it, so I removed that portion.
Isopropyl alcohol will dissolve the foam, so you can wipe away any affected gasket foam as needed or you can get rid of it entirely if you want to be more certain.
Cleaning the blue thermal putty also took a while because it gets packed into the small gaps around the memory modules. In addition to q-tips and isopropyl alcohol, I also used toothpicks to get into the tight spaces.
After cleaning everything, I applied the PTM7950 to the CPU die and thermal putty to the memory modules.
I will say I forgot to trim the PTM7950 precisely to the exposed die size, so I ended up wasting some material and I also used a little too much thermal putty.
I’ll skip the full back cover replacement walkthrough since this post is already long, but the ASUS service manual covers the process well.
One note: The manual states the Wi-Fi modules become nonfunctional after replacement, but if you carefully remove the Wi-Fi antennas, they can still work perfectly fine.
I’ll attach the photos for the back cover as well and if anyone has questions about the teardown, repaste, or back cover replacement, feel free to ask.
Hi all,
I recently purchased the 64GB version of this laptop and have been mostly happy with it.
After getting it all setup the way I want, and adding games and few apps etc. I started to use it a lot more but noticed the issue.
Some context:
I installed G-Helper and have installed all the latest drivers. I set a max battery charge limit of 90% but left everything else alone. I've also installed the most recent BIOS but I noticed this issue prior to the BIOS update as well. I've uninstalled McAfee crap software and the like.
Problem:
When I use the laptop for a bit while unplugged (10-20 minutes), and then simply close the keyboard to the display the device seemingly goes to sleep.
If I open the laptop 20 minutes later nothing happens. It won't resume from sleep. I just see a black screen.
I was able to get it working again by plugging the AC adapter and holding the power button down for 10+ seconds (do this a few times) and it eventually fires up.
The issue is this doesn't happen every time it sleeps. It's random but has happened several times since I started using this laptop (purchased late last month).
I did some searches and came across others having similar issues but it wasn't for the GZ302 model, but older versions.
Has anyone else experienced a similar issue? and if so how did you resolve it?
I'm still within my return window (bought via Amazon) but I'd rather not send it back if at all possible since I really like it (when it works!).
Any advise would be greatly appreciated.
I had notifications turned on for when the KJP keyboard went back in stock at the asus parts website and it came in today. Looks good and functions with the 2025 Z13 right out of the box. And if anyone is wondering the skin is from M2 skins.
Hi all, I love my flow 32gb for gaming.
I have the chance to get the Kojima edition for a small uplift in price which has 128gb.
I use it mainly for gaming at work and wondering if I will notice the uplift in ram?
I can’t find any gaming comparisons between the 32 vs 128 gb.
Thanks all
I’m looking to get this over a laptop. I’m seeing lots of people having issues. I don’t want to deal with a crazy amount of trouble shooting. Should I just get a laptop instead to avoid issues?
I currently have the original Flow Z13 and 2022 G14. I use both for video editing and gaming, but I'm considering on selling both to consolidate on the 2025 Flow Z13.
Only thing I'd probably miss are the G14 speakers, keyboard, and the larger screen. Anyone give up their clamshell laptop to primary the Flow Z13? Any other considerations I should make?
I did have the z13 flow before and then the g14 but returned back to the z13 flow for its design and usecase, glad i made the right choice!
Also got the Xbox Mode active on the device. Cant fault it.
I've been going back and forth on getting a Z13 for awhile, I'm looking at the 128 (although BestBuy has the 64 on a nice sale right now) and with the gaming laptop market looking to be pretty awful right now. The Z13 isn't looking like that bad of a value proposition. It will work with my work dock now that I'm getting a heads up we can't have our gaming rigs in the office anymore and will be a good companion on my trips for work and to see family. Plus my dad got an Ally so we can do some mobile gaming together. It is just still a decent chunk of change and I'm not sure it can live up to the mental hype of this gaming/AI/workstation capable device that also weighs about 4 pounds and can be my second monitor at my desk (I have a way to mix the audio with my main rigs audio). It's been hard to pull the trigger, anything I'm not considering?
Im looking at a portable power adapter and am wondering if 100w would be enough if I have my custom power setting at 60w?
Interested in buying a strix halo based z13, I need something with AMD GPU for a nice linux machine, I'm tired of Nvidias nonsense on linux. And this APU is the only AMD gpu I can find in laptops that is somewhat powerful.
I'd like to know how 8060S performs in games like Overwatch and World of warcraft, in both 1080p and 1440p all low settings, except for textures set to high, native perf (no FSR).
Thank you very much!!
Edit: Would like to keep it for 2-3 years so I'd like to play GTA 6 as well.
Is 32 gb ram enough for 1440p ultra gaming?
Recently my screen frequently freezes up then turns black. Experienced 2 blue screens in April... and when I put my computer to sleep it just doesn't turn back on smoothly anymore, sometimes it works sometimes it just freezes and there's nothing I can do besides shutting it down. and sometimes the speaker just stops working! when I play a video on youtube the screen goes black and returns to normal state but the speaker is not working anymore....
Anyone experiencing the same issues? Please let me know what I can do about this!
eGPU (AMD 7900XTX)
Rebasing back to 43 and things run smoothly.
Games (WoW, Diablo IV) are locking up hard on Bazzite 44, I've seen a few posts referencing locks with Nvidia cards.
Forgot to ask the question, has anyone else seen this?
Bought my flow Z13 few weeks ago from Currys UK and today I decided to do a fresh windows install and realised the warranty expires in a few months. This thing has a 12 month warranty but only 3 months left ? Is this a error in system or is this a refurbished system?