Its not a mystery that you cannot game on battery power. Sound crackles, everything gets throttled. The adapter alone won't cut it either. The battery recently kicked the bucket (which is a huge failure in my eyes, considering the price.). Because there is essentially no battery to assist in power demands, the 230w AC adapter is heating up during gaming and the PC is randomly shutting down. Using less power intensive Power settings just causes previously noted symptoms such as stutter and crackling sound.
I have completely wiped the drive, reinstalled Win10, and installed all the correct drivers from the Asus site. I have ordered a battery, but in the meantime the laptop is unstable. I have ordered a 19.5v 330W 16.9A adapter with the proper connector converter, SUPER hard to find that converter.
This is my first foray into performance ROG laptops, and I must say, its a great spec sheet - but my experience with your top competitor has been much, much more stable. I have had other issues such as random BSOD, etc. The laptop is no longer under warranty so I have a 2500$ lemon on my hands.
GG, ROG.
