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

Amen Mavis, pretty transparent IMO... the only concern Mr. Striker had about the group-buy from a reseller's "fairness" perspective was when it actually started picking up momentum. Before that, he was mocking it (and "spoofing" his Gentech group buy).

The fact that there's a formal forum on this subject seems to me to mean that we're within the boundaries of the fairness police, else it would have been shut down or warnings would have been issued.

A quick note on economics: as a buyer, I want the best possible deal. As a reseller, they want to make that deal while making money. It's not much different then approaching a car dealer and asking if you and 3 of your buddies wanted to buy cars, what kind of package deal could you get. All about buying power in numbers, right? "Group rates", so to speak.

We're all big boys and girls here Strike, don't worry about us, we can take care of ourselves. But thanks. Go chill in your buyer's lounge and let the potential buyers and resellers who still are trying to make a deal make that deal.

 

Even if its only slightly better than a 280m, that's enough for me - although I am keeping my fingers crossed for something more though.

At least the conservative estimate is attractive enough for me to probably preorder this thing - I mean, am I really going to find as powerful a gaming laptop for this amount of money?

 

do you see my sig.

it better crush, burn, shoot, and everything to the 280m single. sli is a different story.

 

Nicely put Quad.

And as a reminder to those who don't know, mods HAVE come down on resellers like a ton of bricks. Try to refrain from overdoing the reseller vs. reseller argument. Resellers and users lose out more in such pissing contests.

The resellers who are here are mostly here to offer their assistance, and provide an extra avenue of contact for customers or potential customers.

Apollo1610, you might be incorrect, and more importantly, even if you were a lurker previously, you probably haven't seen some of the fallout between resellers previously. At this rate, I would not be surprised if a ton of posts in this thread are wiped soon, which is precisely why I recommended earlier the order thread be created separately.

 

For the money i dont see a machine that will even touch this...

If its say 20% faster then a 280m ill be just fine honestly....

Other concern at this point is did they keep the single fan strategy from there current line up ?..

Im hoping not and thinking it would not be possible based on i7 and 5870 but they did use a single fan with the i7 and 260m i do believe so that part has me a bit worried but thankfully we will all know this prior to receiving the machines along with some benchmarks and temps etc...

 

i dont think it will be a single fan with those specs. it comes with a 45/55w cpu and a 60w card and i'm sure it will run really hot with one fan.

i hope the cooling will be like the w90...

anyone with a g72 have any pics and temps?

 

My exact concern also - the fact that the Asus G51J-A1 is no longer in production due to the numerous cases of bsod caused by probable overheating makes me hope that they'd learn from their mistake though.

Definitely getting it with better thermal compound gel though should I preorder, just in case...

Surely a 17" laptop would allow more room for everything to breathe by nature of its sheer size though? Then again if that new card is as powerful as we all hope, it might be sucking in a tonne of energy and producing a lot of heat

 

The G72 currently uses a single fan along with the Q9000 and the temps while probably not the worst of the bunch are a bit on the toasty side...

Now they are "supposed" to be redoing the inside of this machine but again till we get confirmation of that then we all have to just remain a tad skeptical..

Either way even with one fan this machine will sell out instantly ....

 

the G51J bsod's had absolutely nothing to do with overheating, don't speak about what you don't know.

 

what were they caused by? or cause remains unknown?

 

First post here

Anyway, how do you know the G51J-A1 is out of production? I have information that says otherwise.

This is part of a reply message I got from Asus when inquiring about the G51J series:

"We had some shortage during the holiday season due to popular demand, but inventory should be back to normal in Jan. We will also start shipping the 3D version in Jan."

 

Look Apollo610,

I have expressed my concerns, apologized if I've offended, and agreed we need to move on.

Furthermore, I have discussed this with Justin and made my position quite clear..... and apologized if taken personally. Also, I've agreed to be done with this, and let things lie.

If attempting to belittle me makes you feel better, so be it, but is it possible we can move on now?

Thanks!

 

The J model is out of production, they are releasing a Jx model here in the near future, probably by the end of Jan early Feb. They have stopped the J model due to issues they can not fix with the BSOD's that are happening all over the place randomly on this machine.

 

After reading through so many complaints regarding both the bsod and heating issues, I assumed that they were related.

Sorry for my mistake - no need to be quite so aggressive in correcting me though...

 

I ended up at this thread after 3+ weeks of searching for a laptop I intend to buy in 2-3 weeks from now. I am after a Core i7, 2 hard drive bays, 260M GTX+ gpu performance, and for around $1700 or less.

I am rather dissapointed in the BSOD issue the G51J series is having since I had my heart set on that one. At this point I'm just lurking here looking for new info about the G73JH and the G51Jx in hopes that either one will fit the bill.

 

Well gentech and other resellers (apart from xoticpc) stopped listing it - they had previously listed it as not in stock but now it doesn't even appear on their products page at all.

Am assuming the numerous bsod issues meant that they had to stop sales for a while in order to look at what was going wrong and fix it before either sending it back out or replacing it with a different model (what I previously assumed the G51Jx being introduced is for)

 

ASUS was referring to the new G51J X-A1 that will be in stock in Jaunuary, and the new 3D version G51J X-3D.

There will be no more G51J-A1 coming in, although some resellers may still have some in stock.

 

You're in exactly the same boat as me

With any luck the new models will work out fine and even provide an improvement over the G51J and that'll sort us out nicely I hope

 

Vitor711, I'll be curious to hear what laptop you end up purchasing since our needs are identical. I'll be sure to do the same.

 

the g51jx is not supposed to have 2 hdd slots, just fyi.

 

If single 4870 is better than single 280M GTX (SLI vs Xfire shows so), thenwhat is the difference between 5870 and 4870 if this is a 128bit card.

 

If the HD 5870 performance is at LEAST as good as a 260M GTX and the price stays at $1650 then I'll probably end up with the G73JH-A1.

 

that's another point. but i don't think will have a 128bit bus.

looking at the 360m is shaking me up though with the 128bit bus but i am going to stay positive.

 

I'd actually be willing to pay a little extra only I live in the UK and have to worry about another $250 of customs tax and $140 shipping so can't have my budget stretch too much (making for a total of around $1900-ish).

I'm currently looking at the G73H and not the G51Jx - namely because they would be more or less the same price once I removed the bluray drive from the former and also because the G51Jx only has one HDD bay and the graphics card will most likely not be as powerful as the new ATI one (although that's pure speculation right now). The extra 2GBs of ram (for a total of 8GB on the G73JH) seems somewhat excessive though and if I could remove it in order to save some more money, I would. Plus the added 1KG of weight for the 17" doesn't bother me too much as I will basically be using it as a desktop replacement machine.

I've emailed Ken from Gentech and once I get all the answers I need with regards to international payment/shipping etc. I'll let you know what I'm doing! I might wait until after CES to make the actual purchase though - really curious as to the benchmarks on this thing but if what everyone is saying about that card almost definitely outperforming the GTX 260m is true, then it's practically a done deal already.

 

can't wait until CES.
can't wait to see the design of this laptop.
can't wait to see how the laptop performs.
can't wait to see benchmarks of this beast.

omg.

 

True... But I noticed they are also charging $$$$$ for shipping... Xotic PC is Free Shipping.. Now let me think here??? Not to offend anyone... But wouldn't you rather save $45+ in shipping rather than $15-20 bucks for grease? It would be cheaper to get the grease rather than the shipping.

 

Apparently you haven't checked our shipping prices.

Also, prices seem to be moving so fast, how can anyone keep track? You might be better off relying on Price Match policies.

 

To Donald's Point -

Just wondering...Do Gentech, Powernotebooks & XOTIC always go back and forth on prices and addons and whatnot? Or is this a special case considering that this PC "may" be a blockbuster.

I have witnessed the prices change are least a dozen times between the 3 sites. All seem to have a great reputation, and I love the competition. It keeps that price low for the consumer and will certainly help you move units.

Since all pricematch, yeah just pick one and pull the trigger so you don't miss initial boat out of the harbor.

Also, depending on how often you refresh your browser when staring at the options available on this model the max price difference between all 3 was only about $15. Hey! my wife can waste $15 just running to get a gallon of milk.

-mackloon

 

PowerNotebooks.com started branding ASUS whiteboxes as PowerPro laptops when they were first brought in to the US in around 2002. However when ASUS went to Ensemble branded models only we stopped carrying them.

We are now carrying the ASUS brand and it appears it has created a bit of a commotion, which of course is great for the consumer

 

The ASUS brand looks good on you.

 

this laptop is both god and the devil.

 

Striker's other point is valid as well. Nobody knows the quantities of units the resellers will have initially available. People on the "discount" list shouldn't be surprised if they end up waiting longer due to being on backorder. In the meantime, other people are securing their unit right now. I personally don't mind the possibility of having to wait a bit longer, which is why I'm on the list.

 

A quick question for those that have pre-ordered on Xotic.
I thought I read during the ordering process on Xotic, that they will not take the funds out until the item is ready for shipping..

Is this the case?? or have I misunderstood??

Thanks

 

With how much pre-ordering I've seen go successfully in other areas of interest I have... this is completely unwarranted. Some resellers work with people more, and they get my business. Just like AIM Surplus.

Exactly along the lines of what I was thinking. Everything happens for a reason, and unless xoticpc made Striker's parents divorce when he was a kid, I don't understand all the insinuations and allusions to something fishy going on. I've been in numerous group buys, I've NEVER had one go wrong.

Yeah... this is honestly the first time I've ever seen someone be skeptical of a group buy offered by a reseller. There has to be more going on behind the scenes than Striker is willing to admit. That or he just he just falls into unwittingly playing the corporate cheerleader.

Indeed, sorry about my post rehashing the issue. I started wanting to address this issue before people got sick of it a few pages back, as they rightly should. This is political BS that doesn't need to be in a technical thread regarding a new product.

 

does anyone know when the last day to pre-order is?

 

If the machine does not come out till the 3rd of 4th week in january then you have quite sometime to get an order in ... The real question remains how many people will get there machine from the first shipment ... I think demand has far outweighed supply in this case already or i would be surprised if it has not based on past launches from Asus... Either way the sooner you get your pre order in the sooner your chance to take delivery ..

 

Other forums != NBR.

Perhaps you don't know this, but just a reminder for you, NBR is relatively strict on advertising and the like, and the proponents or opponents of the group buy can certainly be construed as such (which is what several posters are accusing Striker of).

More importantly, Asus does not wish to entertain a price war among resellers. As Donald has mentioned, feel free to try the price-matching policies and see if your preferred vendor is able to match the lowest prices you can find.

You are unaware of this, but Sager has stepped in during issues between resellers, and for those involved in the group buy, and others, I would suggest you leave the matter to be. It would probably be more beneficial for everyone involved if Asus does not step in.

 

I agree 1000000% with this statement.

 

I signed up on the Xotic group list. Does everyone in the list have to do actual preorder on the site as well?

 

I did so that I could insure one of the earliest shipments.

 

can you spare a copy of the email?

 

!!! Where did you even see that post from Striker!? If so, that is VERY good news!

 

Everyone, please stop inflating trivial issue which are OFFtopic here. No ones name should be mentioned hence forth and forget this monkey business with the group buy or atleast take it to the appropriate topic. I am much more interested in the reports from CES or insider informantion and so is everyone else I guess. So please more info on the actual HW

 

i saw it from day one but didnt care lol

i just want proof from asus that it is indeed 256-bit ddr5.

im surprised no one else asked : /, it kinda is a big deal. it's the difference between running 16af and 4af.

 

Well, I did see this feeling of hostility towards the "group buy" and Xotic and while I
wanted to stay away, just wanted to say that its rather surprising how every one here keeps claiming that all resellers are "equal" and yet there is such a STRONG undertone here that suggests that prospective buyers need to go to Gentech and no where else!!

I have nothing against Gentech and for that matter any other reseller. Everything else being the same, a reseller who can give me a better deal has my money and I think its very normal to have such an outlook - nothing condescending about this.

 

Tease! To be honest, I would be very surprised if they ship their new flagship/high-end mobile chip in 128bit interface. We will know on Thursday/Friday after Asus reveals the laptop at CES and ATI reveals their new mobile chips.

 

Here's a good quick question for the Techy Techs...

What advantages would a SSD give me over a regular 7200rpm HDD when all its going to do is hold my OS and maybe Microsoft Office. I understand it searches faster and accesses data faster, but if its going to hold nothing other than that... what advantages would I get by having one over a regular HDD.

 

All the difference in the world... My G51J shuts down in 7 seconds. It boots in about 20 including Bios. Everything is instant on. You REALLY should use it as an O/S AND APP/Game hard drive. I bought the Intel X25 80gb which is plenty of room to hold Windows7 (14gb), Office, Oblivion, Counter Strike, Dragon Age, Rise of Legends, and utilities etc.. With all of that I still have 20gb free.

Games run SO much faster on the SSD than the 7200. CounterStrike maps load me in to the map before most people. Dragon Age is the game I notice the most speed with. Some DA maps would take forever to load, but they are very quick with the SSD.

Other than that, expect general snappyness with the O/S in general and your web browsers etc... seeming like they open as soon as you click on them.

Chris

 

fast boot up times, a much snappier OS, and all programs loaded onto the drive will be lightning quick to open/shut

 

Also, if you are thinking of upgrading your G73 order via Gentech with the Intel SSD (which also happens to be one of THE best ssd's out there) I would definitely pull the trigger because he is offering the best price that I've seen on that drive. Granted, you are losing 1 500gb mechanical drive but I think it is worth it 1000%.

Chris