Advice needed: Save $500 and get the BB Model?

Okay, I'm tempted to get the Best Buy model of the G73 (G73JH-BST7) instead of the full-fledged G73JW-A1.

I'm aware of the differences. No blue-ray, 1600x900, ATI 5870 vs. Nvidia 460M and only one HDD (and no backpack and mouse).

My question is this: With the lower resolution screen, can I expect better framerates in games? I mean, 1920x1080 is 44% more pixels for the GPU to manage. So, I'm assuming that I'd get better, smoother performance at higher detail settings with the lower resolution.

I'm struggling to understand why the extra $500 for the JW is justified. My main concern is performance in game playing. Also, I'm aware that the cooling system in the new JW is much improved and that is a concern for me.

Any comments by owners would be much appreciated to help me make up my mind.

EDIT: To any MODERATOR -- I just realized this thread should probably be in the Asus Gaming forum if you want to move it.

 

If you are just going to play games I would go with the JH-BST7. It will give you more frames at native resolution, No point in my opinion to have blu ray if you don't have the 1920x1080 screen and the 5870 is stronger than the 460m. The weak link in the JH-BST7 is the single 54000 rpm drive but that can be easily upgraded. It also only comes with one HDD caddy so you might have to make your own or buy one if you want two hard drives. My temps are not bad at all for stock paste. I haven't gone over 80c playing through crysis warhead.

 

Thanks for the reply. I'll probably pick one up tomorrow at the local BB. And I don't care about blu-ray so that's not an issue for me. I'm looking forward to seeing how well it does after I put my SSD in it. I should have 7.x scores in all categories in WEI.

 

Don't forget the difference is warranty. The -A1 comes with 2 year + accidental damage. The BB version is only 1 year limited.

 

Yes, that's a good point. But I do baby my laptops and test them thoroughly during the first few days. I'm wondering what to get to carry this monster around in. Maybe one of those large metal briefcases that have sponge padding in them.

 

Or you could for the G53JW, you'll get pretty much the same as the G73JW but in a 15.6" body. Otherwise, i'd say to get the JW no matter what size, the HD5870 in the JH has a few quirks (those can be fixed, but you'll need to do a bit of tweaking on the software side). See this thread (Thanks Hellcry, Chastity & Co.): http://forum.notebookreview.com/asu...492354-all-g73jh-problems-solutions-here.html.

EDIT: Normally, the -A1 and -A2 models for the G73 come with a backpack and hp/voodoo gaming mouse. The backpack is a rebranded targus (you even get the "this bag was inspected by" card from targus in it ), i don't know what model but it fits the laptop fairly well. There's also a thread lying somewhere around in the asus forums about bags for the G73.

 

I've read the G53JW runs significantly hotter than the G73JW. The extra room in the G73 seems to help cooling quite a bit. And for gaming, the bigger screen is a must for me. I had a 15.6" gaming laptop and it felt kind of cramped when gaming -- (it was the Lenovo Y560. Avoid that one. The screen is awful).

 

Hmmm. Now I'm thinking maybe the X1 from Newegg. I like the idea of no sales tax, too. And their shipping has always been great for me. But some that are getting the BB model are saying they get a great LG screen. Guess I'll have to check with the local BB first and see what they have.

 

Me too. I should go today and compare cause my screen SUCKS!

 

Maybe you can exchange yours for one with an LG screen if they have any. But BB would probably make you pay a restocking fee (15%). They aren't real friendly when it comes to returns or exchanges. At least, the ones in my area aren't. Unless you can prove it's defective.

Or, you could accuse them of "bait and switch" if their display model has an LG screen and yours doesn't. That's false and misleading advertising. Lawyers love to sue companies that do that.

 

Why not buy an aftermarket 1080p panel (about $110) and swap the panels? You get more screen real estate, and better quality overall.

 

And lower framerate/sec because you're pushing 44% more pixels.

 

1) You can scale down with black bars and keep the screen quality if you really need to. I get 45-60 fps in Dragon Age Origins and 4x MSAA @ 1920x1080, so it's not like I am suffering in FPS.

2) The quality boost is great for watching vids and doing work, plus native HD res for BR rips.

 

That just seems more like MAN stuff X2

 

Okay, I just got home from the BB. The G73JH on display had an AUO screen. No USB 3.0, no blu-ray, one HDD, 1600x900. It does have the Intel 6250 wireless card (WiMAX and A/G/N). I could get a CLEAR account and surf the net from anywhere in town. Tempting, but I didn't buy it. I was really hoping for an LG screen. The vertical viewing angles on the AUO sucked pretty bad and it wasn't all that bright. But colors looked okay. Nothing spectacular but not awful either.

I managed to get myself out of the store with wallet intact. That's was a close call.

I've heard the USB 3.0 isn't really up to specs yet. OS and drivers and controllers not yet able to take full advantage. So not having the USB 3.0 is not a deal-breaker for me. I was able to look into the BIOS. It had ver. 211 (or was it 2.11?). Anyway,

I was disappointed not to see an option to disable hyperthreading like some BIOSes offer. Some games can actually be slowed down by hyperthreading. I got that info from a programmer who used to work for Intel and he understands CPUs and how they work with various types of software. He said to try any game without hyperthreading and then with it to see if there was a difference in performance. I forgot to ask him WHICH games or what type of games.

I will wait for Black Friday (3 weeks) and see if they offer it for a bit less.

 

Perhaps it's because they were using an internal temperature reading, and you're holding your fingers to a vent.

That's VERY true, if the operating system doesn't differentiate between logical and physical cores (logical being HT threads, physical being real threads).

You'll never have a game run slower w/ HT if you use a modern OS and the game is programmed correctly. For example, what your programmer friend said was very true for windows XP. But not for vista or 7.

 

That's good to know. Thanks for the info. But how to know if the game is programmed correctly? I guess just try it and see on a hyperthreaded CPU under Windows 7... in which case "XP Mode" isn't going to help you out much, I suppose.

 

I'm on the way there with my W model from Tiger with the crummy screen and the HP dv7t with the GOOD screen to compare them. I also have a Lenovo X200 with a super bright outdoor screen but no sense in comparing them, it's sooo much brighter it ain't funny!

 

Alright, returned from BB. My Asus has WORSE screen than the one at BB which was an LG. My HP was still better than the Asus.

I think I'll return the Asus and keep the LG unless I can find a solution quickly.

 

My Best buy model came with a 7200 rpm drive , not the 5400.
There must have been some with the slower drive that came out,but all I see now at our store is the 7200 rpm drive.

 

What model do you have? The bst7 comes with a 5400 rpm drive, I think the Rbbx models had a 7200 rpm drive.

 

I will have to check, My first laptop would not run and kept crashing, so when I sent it in for repair they gave me a new one, every thing was not the same as the first one from BestBuy.
So that may be the reason that I have the 7200 rpm drive.

 

Probably why