In the race for the thinnest gaming laptop, we've seen plenty of contenders from the MSI GS60 Ghost Pro to the Razer Blade. The promise of a gaming notebook that's easier to take anywhere is tempting, however, greater portability has also made some of these machines feel underpowered with limited graphics options.The Asus ROG Strix GL502, on the other hand, strikes the perfect balance between portability and power. This 15.6-inch laptop might be less than an inch thick but it can be fully loaded with serious high-end graphics, including a Nvidia GTX 980M with 8GB of video memory. Beyond parts and measurement, this gaming laptop delivers on all fronts with style, snappy inputs and a colorful screen.DesignAsus has slowly been edging its way away from the done-to-death black and red color scheme found on most gaming laptops. Instead of crimson highlights, the GL502 has orange trim accenting its black paint job. It's not a grand departure like the titanium and copper design found on the Asus ROG GX700 and ROG G752, but it's a start. Though, we almost wish Asus would have stuck to the purely black and red motif, as the keyboard backlighting is still red.Aside from the new paint job, Asus has seriously upped the profile of this machine with a new look that's in line with the rest of its ROG series.