Asus G53, the smaller version of the G73jh

That's going to be tough for us to say. First, what kind of work do you do? The resolution of the G53 and G73 is the same, so as far as pixels go you won't see more on the screen with one machine vs the other, the difference will be size. If you're editing multiple images then I'd make the case for the G73, but otherwise I personally would be fine with the G53 15''.

That brings me to point number 2. Even if we know your needs the size debate is very subjective. I'd suggest you check out a local bestbuy which will have a number of 15.4 and 17'' laptops set up to look at. The difference between the two is pretty noticeable to me, and compared to the 14.1'' I'm using right now a 17 inch seems like being at the theater watching an IMAX movie.

 

Well, I do flash animation and digital artwork for social games. (That's right. I'm one of the folks responsible for the thousands of feeds that your friends post on Facebook daily. ) And I have gone as far as to animate on my 10.1" netbook without an external monitor (though I had headaches for days afterward.)
I've compared computers at BB (even checked out the G73jh). The point is, now that I won't be lugging this behemoth with me everywhere, I'm wondering if getting a bigger laptop isn't such a bad idea.
But you know, I was thinking about it, and I don't think it'd be a bad idea to just stick with what I ordered. Except, of course, it doesn't have to be so srsbsns now, so why not throw on a rainbow backlit keyboard? FANCY!

 

Is it the second week of October yet? I'm ready for my laptop already!

 

These days are like dog years

 

If you intend to leave it mostly in one spot and not move it around to much I would go with the G73.It's only about 1" wider and longer but about the same thickness of the G53.

 

Moving the G73 around isn't a big deal. Seriously, it's not that heavy. 9lbs, maybe 11 lbs including the power pack. I can carry the G73 around with just my thumb and two fingers easily.

And for me, having a larger screen made a huge difference. Not just gaming, but even simply using Firefox, Word, Excel and especially for Photoshop/Indesign and web design. Being able to have FireFox, FileZilla, Notepad++ all open on one screen is just fantastic.

 

I had always been using 15inch laptops (about 3) and I had only one 17inch.
The problem with the 17inch is that it looks big. If you are a student and need to take it to library for work, you will have to look bulky no matter what (Wearing backpack doesn't look too stylish for me )
I could feel the glance from other ppl: "wow dude, this thing is not meant to be carried around"

the difference between 15inch and 17inch also is greater than it sounds, it is not only the screen is larger but also the dimension of the whole laptop.

 

I didn't buy the G73 because I cared what the morons at school who paid $2,000 on a MacBook to look at Facebook think...

 

In this case the G53 is not the norm of 15inch laptops so whether your toting around the G73 or the G53 your going to still need a backpack and apparently look like a knucklehead to a bunch of strangers you dont even know ...

 

Hahaha, yeah, I know the backpack will be necessary!
Thanks for your input, guys. I find it really helpful.

 

Wouldn't worry about it. I commute to school everyday since I live off campus and I do use my G73 at the library and even in class taking notes on occasion. No one has said anything or stared. Really, nobody cares.

Buy what you want, buy what you like. Forget everything else.

 

I can see it being harder on your eyes with that 2" smaller LCD screen, but I think it's very cool that this G53 will include full HD 1080p. That's just awesome. So technically you could have all the same windows open and displaying just as much information.

I myself just purchased the G73 and I thought I had done all my research, but I didn't even hear about this G53 until after I got my new toy. To be honest, I wish I waited. I would love to have this smaller version with USB3.0 and the seperated-click trackpad.

The reason I bought the G73 was not it's screen size, but the graphics card. And to my understanding the G53 matches in that department. Oh well, I'm trying to be happy with what I have!!

 

Har har. Other than you maybe, I'm sure other users can testify that the extra 2" makes a GIANT difference. Just as a 19" screen is also very noticeable in difference to a 17.3" screen.

Anyways, I would not be surprised if the 1080p screen on the G53 will be the same or similar to the one used on the GX660. The difference in quality of the 17" compared to the 15" I'm sure will be noticeable, another reason to go for the G73.

 

Yes having owned both 15inch 16:9 screen and 17inch that 2 inches does make a HUGE difference..

But yeah as Ziddy said just buy what makes you happy or you think you will be most comfortable with...

 

Idk about being better... i mean the difference in price can be tied to the extra hdd, blueray and memory, i dont see a need of lower quiality components on the G53.

Btw is the all G73 including JW come with the AUO screens?

 

The JW comes with the Hannstar just like the G73jh. And believe Gary said Asus stopped using the AUO screens a while ago. Just happened some of the G73jh from the earlier batch got them. And the AUO screen is 1600*900

The difference in quality I'm suggesting is that, there isn't a 15" screen as nice as a 17" available to begin with. Never know, maybe Hannstar did make a 15" 1080p as nice as the 17" version. But if they did, I would scratch my head hard thinking why MSI isn't using it. Oh well, never know, it's just a speculation.

 

well, the G73 isn't like, overpowering massive. i compared it to smaller regular 15 inchers at BB. looked intimidating, heck yeah, but not like monster sized or anything in my opinion.

 

There are plenty of decent 15.6" panels out there!
As an example the m15x has both a 900p and 1080p 15.6" panel that are both amazing.
Also the 15.6" in my Envy 15 is also very good.

It just depends if Asus wants to save a couple of bucks and use a naff panel. Something which really pees me off with manufacturers, if I am buying a premium laptop I dont want a naff screen. I will happily pay extra for a decent panel. If not standard then they should have an option to upgrade.

I had an m11x which I loved. The performance, battery life and form factor were amazing and I took it everywhere, but ultimately the screen was so bad I sold it. If there was a decent panel for sale I would have snapped that up

 

oh man, talking about monitor, I loved my fd's vaio FHD monitor (15inch)
it was as good as my Bravia TV!
the colour and saturation was damn nice!!!

I was thinking to get a M11x before I come across the G53.
portable, strong battery life (relatively) and performance really caught my eyes!
but then the 11inch does put me off a little, would be better if it was a 13inch
and the 15inch series are way too expensive for me...

 

Do you have a date yet for the g53s arrival yet, ken?

 

We are still looking early October for the G53... 10/8 to be exact at this time.

 

10/8? Well, I guess that ain't so bad. It's still early October, and we've waited this long... right??

A tentative date! How exciting. Thank you, Justin!!

 

Aww, man. I was expecting October 1st~ish.

After I receive my G53, I don't think I'll ever pre-order anything online again b/c the wait, anxiety and let-downs of delays is just too much

 

It's not the resellers fault ASUS dragged there @ss releasing this laptop, at least you can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

 

I think the stress of pre-orders is rewarding.Then again, I enjoy waiting in line for events and roller coaster rides, so I guess I'm weird that way.
Psychologically speaking, the wait makes the item all the more loved when it arrives.
I noticed this because I collect customizeable toys from Korea and Japan, and the wait is unbearable sometimes. I also had this habit of going to amusement parks every week while I was in high school, so the wait totally builds the anticipation for the ride.
I had to wait for my Droid X, too, but that wait wasn't all that fun... especially when we found out that people who ordered two weeks after us were receiving the phones within two days, and ours hadn't even shipped.

But yeah. Waits. Fun.

 

(I know it's Asus' fault )

At least now that we have a date confirmed, I can stop obsessively checking my e-mail and various tech forums every 15min :laugh:

 

LOL... this is my only tech forum.

Well, this and XoticPC's forums. Heheh.

 

These tech forums are my favourite out of the bunch

I can't believe I used to read the WoW forums. It's like a totally different universe (in a good way). WoW forums will decrease your IQ over-time lol.

 

NBR is one giant mind-meld of laptop knowledge.

 

Hey resellers, if i were to pre order in the next few days, will i be getting a g53 from the first wave? or do you not knwo how many for sure you will be getting ?

 

Just message a reseller to ask that question as i doubt they will answer you publicly ..

 

The bottom line is until they actually come in no one knows exactly how many they will be getting.

It is two weeks until they come in, and if you order now, or very soon, you have a much better chance of making it on the first shipment. The longer you wait the probability just keeps going down.

 

I've been making enquires with some Australian resellers about the G53 to obtain quotes and compare whether or not it would be better to order direct from the US or wait for the Australian release.

Based on the quotes I been getting from 'Logic Blue One', I think I'm actually saving AUD$300 if I import taking into account 10% sales and customs admin fees. That AUD$300 may disappear after I take into account international courier/shipping costs though...
Logical Blue One Website

However I was speaking to 'Affordable Laptops' who mentioned that they did not stock the G53jw yet as ASUS Australia had not given a release date and therefore he couldn't supply a quote.
Affordable Laptops Website

The interesting thing he said was that if his company was to stock the G53jw, the CPU would not be configurable. I asked why this was and he stated that in the past his company had changed the CPU in ASUS laptop on request from the owner. Following a fault with the laptop, not sure if it was CPU related, ASUS would not honour the warranty for the customer as the CPU was not offered as part of the original ASUS released stock configuration. In other words, because the reseller had changed the CPU the ASUS warranty was void! I should mention though that he also sounded like he took steps to honour the customers warranty himself.

I was wondering if anybody keeping up to date with this G53 thread, in particular the XOTIC and GenTech resellers who frequent this thread would like to comment. I ask this particularly in regards to the ASUS G53jw which stock is an i7 740QM CPU which I would prefer to upgrade to an i7 840QM CPU, and also as both these afore mentioned US resellers are offering customisable keyboard light colours.

 

All resellers/dealers from the US of A can upgrade the CPU and there are NO problems with the warranty, not sure if rules are different overseas but just swapping a CPU should not void anything.

 

I got this from Asus Official Page on Facebook

 

I don't think there is going to be a difference in policy from country to country from the perspective of ASUS when they offer a global warranty.

In addition, although this may be the case for the CPU, would you make the same statement in regards to the validity of the warranty after ' custom keyboard light colour' modifications installed by resellers such as XOTIC and GenTech?

This 'custom keyboard light colour' modification is certainly not offered by ASUS.

 

I would call them and ask.
More than likely they will cover any repairs/warranty issues but you might have to send it back to the reseller you bought it from and then they would take care of the rest.
Not sure so that's a tuff one.

 

Hi madrabbit 711,

I like you am looking at importing the G53 into Oz, just out of curiosity how much customs or GST are you expecting to pay on this? I was kind of hoping they would waver the fees, yeah wishful thinking I know.

Cheers
John

 

Hi John,

I'm still debating whether to buy from the US vs. AUS (Logical Blue One), let alone buy a new laptop at all. I'm still waiting on the refund for my old laptop.

However the following thread may help you:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/176046-how-import-laptops-australia.html

The 3 main costs will be:
1) 10% Sales Tax
2) Shipping Costs
3) Customs Admin Fee

 

Thanks for that madrabbit711, interesting reading. The big question is do we or don't we, is it worth the hassle?

Cheers
John

 

Hi, I've been thinking about doing the same but to the UK. After a lot of digging it seems its not worth for it here after the added taxes and also, for me anyway, the incorrect keyboard layout and additional power supply, I'm also not sure if you can just plug a UK supply in or you need some modifications, if so then you invalidate the warranty.

The only thing making me a want a US spec machine is so far no UK company who has advertised it with 1920x1080 Full HD and 6gb of RAM. They all are advertised with Full 3D Vision and 1366x768 and 4gb of RAM, similar to the current G51 spec.

Rob

 

I buy all my technology from the US as a Canadian b/c we either get overcharged 10-30% more money or we get 'left-overs' and downgraded technology for the same price. If you're interested in buying US, I recommend GenTechPC - great people and they ship international too

It's pretty insulting that the company in the UK downgrades the laptop. 'Full 3D Vision' seems like a deceptive slogan, considering the laptop (screen) is not 3D itself, but rather projects a 3D gaming experience if connected to a 3D television. There's a couple places here in Canada that love downgrading technology and the poor suckers who don't shop around get burned everytime (I won't mention who).

 

I often import fron the USA and it still normally works out cheaper even if you add tax in.

1, the keyboard layout is a bit of a pain, but I soon got used to it.
2, the US PSU will work fine over here, no need to buy another. You just ditch the US Plug and put a UK plug on there or buy another power lead for about £2 from ebuyer/maplins etc

 

Rob A & Ninja2000,

You both have me intrigued by your comments on the keyboard layout, how does it differ from any other KB layout cause I certainly was not aware that KBs had different layouts.

Cheers
John

 

This may help you:

Keyboard layout on Wikipedia

Cheers

 

So october 8th official? or still a rumour?

 

It is as "official" as it gets, but until they actually arrive in the warehouse I guess it still has to be classified as an Estimated Time of Arrival.

 

I totally agree and sounds like we're in the same boat with price, I've seen it advertised for £1600, which is like $2500, and for a lesser spec. More than that I'm annoyed we're given very little choice, most of the retailers in the states offer various specs, I believe we will be offered one.

 

I think you could easily get the keys changed so not really a problem and the same for the power adapter. It will be pain mainly for me reclaiming VAT as this is being bought as a company machine for some 3D work and also some...umm...gaming

 

No one commented on the express card port possibly available in the G53JW as the manuals downloadable from Asus show. The specs everywhere on the internet are listed without it but the manuals depict the express card port.

I would prefer the G53 over the G73 because of the express card port as I would like to do video editing with a firewire adapter.

On a related note: Asus seems to produce an upgraded G73JH as listed on a German online shop with a i740QM CPU and 1333MHz RAM.

Cheers