ASUS G73JH-A1 with ATi Mobility Radeon HD 5870 1GB GDDR5

I cant believe its been this long since ces and i4t4's videos are about the only vids on youtube regarding G73, Im dying for more info. Hey Ken how about some more info? whoever gets us benchmarks first is going to be a hero to many

 

Hey allanh,

Within your chosen config, your primary & secondary drives are not the same. You do understand that you will not be able to RAID these, right? To do so, the two drives must be the same. Not to worry though..... with that SSD you will scream anyhow, LOL!

 

thanks

I have been using my current laptop for the past 5 yrs (ASUS Centrino Mobile 1.7ghz), so it's about time

Also, first time buying laptop online, a bit nervous

and yep, I realised about the RAID setup. So I am just using the normal setup now. Thanks for the heads up

 

No Prob,

And as far as your online purchase..... all of the resellers here are top-notch, and I am sure you will be well taken care of. NOW, it's just the waiting game!

 

Nice get.

You should seriously consider the thermal paste they offer. Not sure where you are, but we get some serious heat here in Canberra. My only dissapointment with where I'm purchasing from is they don't offer it.

And don't forget that accidental coverage is States only

 

No eSATA=boooo I don't see why they skipped that. Guess I gotta use usb on my external hdd if I get one

 

thanks
I live in Sydney and the weather here is relatively mild comparing to the rest of Australia, but I will consider the heat sink. I guess if the temp gets too hot, I usually turn on the air con anyway

btw, I used to live in Canberra as well (4 yrs in high school) and definitely Canberra does have some extreme weather ( 40 in summer and -9 in winter)..

Do you mind if I ask where did you preorder your notebook?

 

I'm going with LBO, cos they are offering the 30 day DOA and 100% dead pixel warranty.

I figure the extra $200+ is for some peace of mind. Although I see some resellers questioning the validity of said peace...

 

What I would like to know is how one company can offer a 90 DOA with 100% perfect pixels whereas others cannot.

 

I know that this is off topic, but I noticed that Dell, is pushing an Alienware m15x today for 1399, base + Free HD tft upgrade with the core i7.

****

Alienware folks, looks like for $1649 bucks you can pack the M15x with -

Core i7 720QM
4GB DDR3 1066
GTX 260m
250GB
DVDRW
1 Year Basic Service

****
While I would love to opt for an Alienware over the G73, I just cannot justify the fact I would be paying more for less in terms of components, but according to reports more for quality. I would almost prefer an Alienware m15x over the Asus, but it would cost a fortune to get it up to speed with the Asus.

On a side note, can you upgrade the GPU in the M15x above and beyond the 260m, like to say a 280m?

 

well for that price you get an excellent efficiency cooling system which is unknown for g73. please note it. you get an excellent solid build quality too.

 

Any news on the release date ? I couldn't find it on the last couple of pages and 320 pages...come on!

 

I'd go for the Alienware in a heart beat but then again I'm biased. Pick whatever works best for you. The G73 looks solid enough but I'm always wary of Asus cutting some vital corner somewhere.

 

One of the things that add to the confusion about the Express Card slot comes from the resellers.
Some of them offer the upgrade to ViDock2 or a specific sound card both of which use the Express Card format - at the time of this post. This seems in conflict with the statement that there is no Express Card slot. I can only assume that they have not updated their configuration page accordingly. But there is that word assume.

******** 30 Minutes Later ********
That fast... most of them have removed the option for Express Card hardware in their configuration page. I would 'guess' the other(s) will follow shortly.

 

Joker!

You would go half the ram, 1/4 the hard drive space, no Blu-Ray, 30% less gpu power, and 1 year less on the warranty just to get an AlienWare!? C'mon man, you can't be THAT in the tank!

 

The 280M was tested on the M15x and it worked although not officially supported by Dell. The 4870 was also tested but that failed.

 

Hard to make these types of comparisons since no one has the G73 yet.

 

Everything you just listed can be upgraded. The GPU will be harder to upgrade, but it is doable. And 30% deficit would be a BEST case scenario.....

 

I'm waiting patiently for my G73 and this is really the first gaming laptop I have bought. I know no one has their hands on a G73 to test its cooling efficiency but would you generally recommend aftermarket laptop cooling for any gaming type laptop or would you wait to see how the temps are on the G73 before making that purchase. If you do recommend additional cooling, any specific recommendations?

 

It's not hard to compare listed parts. 250gb hdd is 1/4 the hdd of the g73's 1tb etc...

Scook: We were talking at the same price point. Mack listed the m15x at 1699, so my point stands. Sure, you could upgrade those parts. Then we would be over 2000. Probably 23-2500. C'mon, a little common sense here.

 

I agree....G73 Value > Alienware Value

 

Never tried to argue Alienware is the best value, they may (usually) be best quality but you always pay for it lol

 

GREAT find. Reps for you!

 

value is not only monetary......

 

That depends.....how do you define value....simply monetary ?

 

It is not 30% faster

I have a m15x that will be bench and pit through it's paces right beside the g73

 

value is what you get for what you pay, so money has to factor into it

 

Arent you buying one ?.... Lol...

The 5870 should be approx 20-30% faster then the 260mGTX...


As for the Quality of Alienware or the M17x well lets just say after owning 2 of them i was certainly not happy with what i paid for lol.....

Hopefully they get all the stuttering fixed with R2 .....

Well see about the Asus ...

 

Intel = heaven

Yes I'm buying one but no laptop can surpass the aw quality ...

 

So, how does it compare to the 280mGTX?

 

Build quality certainly.. Awesome warranty no doubt there....

Actual quality of life while owning the machine IE did i enjoy it ? Err that one would be a tough one...

Quality can mean many things and you dont just win because it looks pretty or they are willing to overnight a part to you ....

 

How could my point have been so clearly missed. Mack listed an AW at 1699 that had half to 1/4 the components of the G73. Joker said he would buy the AW over the g73. I think he is crazy. That is all. AW is not the Gold Standard of laptops from what I am hearing. Yes, they have great cooling systems/chassis etc., but are you REALLY going to tell me you will shell out the SAME amount of money for 1/2 the components (besides the gpu)!?

 

Honestly i do not know and i really hate speculating on performance so i try to do as little of that as possible ...

We can speculate on the cooling,build quality etc but since no one knows about the 5870 beyond what Asus has told us i wont believe any of it till someone has it in there hands... like me ...

 

Well Joker owned the M15x and his time with it expect for the throttling on the GPU and CPU(which he and unclewebb fixed) was clearly a pleasant one from what he has said, so i guess he is biased and he admitted to being that...

I have had the M17x so i can certainly comment on the Quality... I have played with the M15x and while the quality is not as nice as the M17x (like what its actually made out of) it was a nice machine....

Would i take the M15x over the G73 just based on specs alone ? ... Heck no lol.. But until these machines are in our hands none of us really know what were in store for beyond the info they give us..

It could be a monster or sorely disappointing and only time will tell ...

 

Sorry, I did not mean to create a huge debate. I just saw that the M15x was on deal at dell for their signiture event. I was considering it, but I personally cannot justify the quality claims of the AW over the specs of the Asus.

EDIT: Will someone just get one of these so we can end the speculation.

 

The M15x is a nice machine and if you dont want to wait on the G73 then certainly its a great alternative ...

 

If you are desperate would be the more appropriate situation!

 

No reason to apologize. My response was just directed at Joker. I agree, I would like to see some stats released for that mobile 5870 part. It was unveiled at CES, so they need to start putting out some bench numbers...

 

haha, well i am getting antsy. I sold my laptop and my desktop so i have nothing but a POS work dell. Wait...it's a Dell...hmmm.

JK, I need to take a chill pill and wait the 2 - 3 weeks.

Please feed me new information including benchmarks.

 

Yeah im looking forward to some benchmarks myself and as far as im concerned that stuff that Asus released to show us how powerful the new card is means 0 to me...

I want to see this machine in an unbiased set of hands then we will know all the pros/cons...

As of now though im still getting one ... Plus my 256gb SSD is rather lonely sitting on the shelf ...

 

We have to keep in mind, this is the same Asus that was calling 512 MB GDDR3 cards 4870s (I know, AW did the same thing)

So we will see what the actual numbers are once it comes out

 

Yes I would pick the M15x over the G73 any day. Why? For starters I'm biased. Secondly, because I've had experience with Asus laptops (G51VX-X2A + G60VX) and the quality left a lot to be desired. Asus warranty isn't something I like the thought of dealing with either (I'm not a fan of mailing in a notebook to a depot for repairs). Furthermore, build quality, as in design + materials matter to me and Alienware is a proven brand.

Asus is the Hyundai of notebooks and I view the G73 as their potential Genesis. Could be a hit or a flop, all we have right now is "value value value" but that's something Asus always does. How will the quality of the actual machine be? Besides nobody even knows how well the 5870 will perform since all we have to go on is spotty benchmarks from Asus. iaTa tried but unfortunately the G73 died (that stupid quality issue again).

Lastly, the M15x is available right now and not in a month or more from now. You can't compare the two machines on price point alone because Asus doesn't have the same quality of materials and design, it never has and it probably never will. They are all about value and budget notebooks. If you want the extra frills with the G73, by all means go for it but I don't want to deal with yellow perforated "warranty void if breathed on" warranty stickers, mail in depot warranty service and lesser build quality--not over an AW anyway. I'd gladly pay more for an M15x and later on upgrade the parts including the GPU, something you can't do with an Asus proprietary notebook.

P.S. In case you missed it, I am biased.

 

I should have clarified it more. If the G73 came with all the latest and greatest equipment at a fraction of the cost but burns up within a month of ownership I'd rather have the M15x. Need to get it into people's hands before saying I'd rather have system A over system B.

 

Compare it to the 17" M17x and I say absolutely. I'd rather pay $3K for dual 4870s and i7-920XM than $2.6K for single 5870 and a i7-920XM....oh wait I bought both, never mind.

 

The only "quality of materials" the AW MAY have above Asus is the Chassis/Cooling design. It uses the same Intel Cpu. Same hard drives (Asus offers way more storage for the price), Same memory (Asus offers twice the amount for the price). An Nvidia or Ati gpu cannot have better or worse quality by manufacturer.

The AW MAY have a nicer tft panel.

My point was that you are saying for the same money, you would get 4gb of ram instead of 8. 250gb of HDD instead of 1tb. An Nvidia 260 gpu instead of an Ati 5870. 1 year warranty instead of 2. DvDrw instead of Blu Ray. ALL in the name of AW's quality of materials over the Asus.

Doesn't sound like the thoughts of a rational person. It has hints of fanboi'ism, but I would hope you are beyond that.

Just because AW sends you a tech to your house, doesn't mean it's a better warranty. I worked for Dell home support for 2 years and visited laptop owner's homes to replace parts. I would often end up there 2 times because the initial diagnosis over the phone was incorrect. That would equate to at least a week of downtime for the user.

I have no vested interest in ANY laptop manufacturer. That's the way it should be. When you become biased, you become blind and end up making irrational thoughts appear on message boards of a computer you don't own.

 

This is what happens when we have nothing to do but wait.

 

agreed, thanks. if i haven't my m17x i'll definitely go for m15x instead of asus. to be honestly now i'm just curious about all g73 info. what's the point about talking about value and compare if nobody really knows about g73 anything?..

 

Unless you're Joker?

 

Do we know how many NITs the LCD is for the G73?

 

Which manufacturer was listed as most reliable and best customer experience? Asus was. How do you quantify quality?

http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/17/laptop-reliability-survey-asus-and-toshiba-win-hp-fails/

I don't typically believe polls like this, but I believe forum posts even less from owners of a competing machine making claims about the quality of another manufacturer's forum.