Asus G73JW at GenTech for 1645$

Yeah I bought a GX660R from them last week and it came with a defective graphics card (last straw for the 5xxx series for me). Anyway I was really expecting a hassle having to RMA it and get the G73JW. After I emailed Gentech Ken called me up within minutes and got everything set up for the exchange completely hassle free. Pretty much the best return experience I've had with any company in any industry.

Anyway, I won't get to play with my new baby until I get home from work at 11pm tomorrow. But after clean install I'm gonna test for every problem the G73JH had (except for the GSOD, thank god!) and I'll report my findings as soon as I can.

I am way too much of a Notebook Perfectionist, this will be my 4th unboxing in a one month period.

HP Envy 17 - RMA Palmrest was almost burning hot, even on Cryo cooler.
HP Envy 14 - RMA Great laptop if all you play is Spider Solitaire and Freecell.
MSI GX660R - RMA Defective Graphics Card, GSOD at idle
ASUS G73JW - %100 sure this will be the one for me, cause I'm burned out on returning laptops .

 

That sort of stumped me too.
Are you talking about the screen panel?

 

Wow LOL - That's insane.

I had something similar with HP/Dell.

- HP Pavillion RMA 3 times in a row (well, #3 was b/c UPS smashed the box and cracked the screen)
- Dell Studio 17 RMA 2 times in a row (last a week each)
- MSI Gx740 - Keyboard fell off on week #5

This is in the span of 3 months.

 

Image quality in games is sharper and cleaner on the Nvidia card and this is not just me making it up as i have heard this many times from other people who are picky enough to notice .. Of course some people might say the same thing about ATI lol ...


I had enough machines with the 5870m as well so i would say that also qualifies me to an extent to be a judge .... Not looking for a argument though lol just telling it like i see it...



Is it worth the FPS hit ? hmm thats a tough call but i think overall the 460m machine is still the better choice in the end with all the new features ... Im keeping this one thats for sure.. Ill never say for how long because people get upset with me if i say any time frame but lets say i am very much enjoying the machine...

 

Just a few question because I'm considering doing a clean install of windows 7 when I get it too:

Did you just boot from the windows 7 cd that was shipped with it and did format/clean install? Did you install all the drivers from the cd except for video drivers? What about the software you need to overclock or some other features?

 

Yes just boot from the Windows dvd you will have to go into the bios and set it to boot from the disc etc...

After that you pop in the driver disc then put check marks next to the stuff you want and it will auto install the drivers accordingly..

After it installs the first 3 intel drivers on that next reboot i eject the dvd then install the Display drivers i downloaded(make sure you have VGA unchecked) then reboot again then after that i push in the dvd and click on the auto run and it will pick up where it left off on the installation process ...

I only installed the basic stuff like Drivers and none of the extra junk i dont need ... I did not install Power4gear as an example because its just useless and windows can handle the power management but you can of course through trial and error decide what you need and dont need...

 

It's any creative software installed in you JW? Audigy or X-Fi MB???

 

i did install the creative stuff i believe... i didnt mess with it but i checked it off..

This card overclocks very easily with MSI afterburner and provides some nice boosts with no extra heat i have seen thus far..

This new card is very nice ..

 

I am drooling at the quadzilla JW but then still having dilemma to choose in between of JW and JH ..arghh..headache..been reading alot of users review about both model but i still got no idea which to go for..i love high performance graphic gaming, i am afraid 460m might not able to service me to be satisfied all the time..cracking over my head..quadzilla , u own JH before , do you think i should go for JW or JH?

 

let me know...mine might be up for sale soon...

but if i grab a 920xm...i think i may just keep it.

 

Im already satisfied lol... Some games are running better on the 460m then the 5870 from what little testing i have done today and some worse... So its a hit or miss and Ken and i have both been talking about that... Both are good choices though im just diggin on the 460m since its new lol...

If i have time over the next couple days ill start to post some pics of in game FPS but you would have to own the 5870m or have played on it extensively to know there is a difference..

I did a baby overclock on the core and mem 75 on the core and 50 on the mem to get 7632 which is around the stock vantage score of the 5870 so this card loves overclocking and is a no brainer to do with MSI .. So if you need a couple more frames its right there with a couple sliders or just leave it there all the time...

 

how did it fair on the heaven benchmark?

 

I have not even touched Heaven yet (pun) but i will tomorrow im sure... Some games though are clearly running smoother and less thrashing min fps compared to the ATI cards i have tested while others you can see the frames are down... Its all over the place lol... Im happy though man this is one slick machine ...

Im finally getting my first little sip of Fermi lol... Been with ATI now to long so its a nice change of pace even though these mobile cards are fraction of the desktop cards ... Still fun though ...

 

i tried to explain that part about the better min frames and people tried to brush it off. glad you can see it too.

 

Oh yeah i have been following you all along and i first took a good look at it when you were talking about Crysis then i started noticing it in everything lol... On my desktop its there as well but not nearly as bad because of all the raw power in comparison to a laptop...

 

yep, i concur.
but im also thinking that this card has room to grow. does it have the same stock voltage of .0850?

 

I didnt see the voltage in MSI but ill take a look tomorrow and let you know ... Im on my desktop right now and heading to bed ...

 

it's not going to be there. you would have to get a copy of nibitor 5.7 i think. it has a completely separate part for fermi cards. but also...it's a paid version. that would be the only down fall...

 

Thanks for all the feedback quadzilla, im gonna be ordering this beast before this month ends (fingers crossed) from gentech, its gonna be my first gaming laptop .

 

Yeah i dont know if im that hardcore about it lol... Well see though .

 

No problem and glad to help... Ill post more info as find it ...

 

Sorry for the noob question, but I see you're using MSI Afterburner...is that compatible with most GPUs? Also, I see it's developed with Rivatuner, does that mean Afterburner succeeded Rivatuner? I'm trying to understand the OC world...

 

Afterburner works with most GPU's, it's worked on everyone I tried anyway.

 

The tool is compatible with most GPUs, however all the features will not be available to all GPUs. As an example, ATI cards, I'm pretty sure you can't adjust the voltage on the fly (has to be done in vBIOS), so that feature will be turned off.

Afterburner is not a successor to Rivatuner its just another option for handling your OC needs. Rivatuner is still around and still gets updated somewhat regularly. I know some people will say they get huge performance gains by using one over the other, but really it just boils down to personal preference.

 

Hey Quad,

How about a WiFi report! Did you go with the stock WiFi card, or opt for the Intel 6200 upgrade? How is WiFi performance?

 

yup quad , hows stock wifi card? or u upgraded to intel 6200?
i think i gonna place mine soon
i cant wait d..

 

Wifi is just fine but i only have a G router myself.. So yeah no dropped signals and i seem to have a full connection but i am not far from the router either so i cant really speak on that honestly...

I repasted today because my furmark temps were hitting 84 which is still great but i wanted better so i dumped on some ICD7 on the GPU and OCZ freeze on the CPU and temps are now 78 on the GPU after 25 minutes ... It bumped up to 79 then went back down to 78 and stuck there pretty much with it sometimes bouncing to 77 ...

SOoo if you are all concerned about wanting the best temps you would ask you favorite Reseller to throw on some ICD7 because frankly taking apart the G73 is not alot of a fun the first time and its easier to have someone else handle it so you dont break anything... I have ripped apart a G73 probably 10 times now between the ones i had so i am comfortable doing it and why i did not opt to have Gentech do it but again have your seller do it if you even remotely think you might want to do it later on which you might ...

The thermal paste they use on the Vram is the nastiest stuff i have ever seen and when you take apart the GPU heatsink this stuff will stretch out like liquid bubblegum and get all over the place ... So yeah have someone else do it lol...

 

Quad,

How is the two finger scrolling performance on the trackpad? I thought I heard somewhere that they had improved it with the JW. That is the main thing I love about Macbook Pros is their two finger trackpad scrolling performance and I haven't been able to find a PC that is nearly as fluid. Believe it or not, this is last issue holding me back from pulling the trigger.

One more quick question. Ken from GenTech said fan noise on the JW is even quieter than the JH. Is this your observation as well? I only care about it being quiet when web browsing. I expect it go get a bit noisy during gameplay.

Thanks for all your input.

 

G router? Shame on you!

Get yourself one of these, and one of these. You will majorly see a difference, and your opponents will FEEL the headshots!

Try 'em, You'll Like!

 

I never use the touch pads so im the last person to ask .. I have used it casually once or twice for a second or two and it seems fine but yeah im not a good judge of what a good touchpad is ...

Fan noise compared to other machines i have owned is pretty much non existent... You can hear the fans but they will never bother you or others around you unless your in a totally silent room playing some serious games ...

 

If you would like to send me one ill happily oblige ...

 

Ok, we'll see, but haven't my contributions of joy & laughter been enough?

 

Oh yes i certainly enjoy your humor ...

 

BUT..... you want more from our relationship, don't you? Which reminds me, did you ever help John out with that CPU " over cocking" he asked for?

 

I'm looking forward to finally getting my G73JW tomorrow evening after work. I have to concur that Ken and his staff are wonderful, just as they were when my friend and I bought our M50VMs from GenTech two years ago. Ordered my G73 Monday morning with the wifi upgrade and it shipped out the same day. Like Quad, I'm planning on burning the DVD set just so I can have them in a safe place before I do a clean install of Win7 Pro with Express Gate and the drivers. I was close to buying the GX660R (especially for that sound system), but got tired of seeing all the issues folks with 5870s were having and screen quality complaints. I know it's not universal, but I know how my luck tends to run I found it rather offensive that the lower res screens were used for MSI's 460m models. Also, I didn't feel like waiting for Toshiba's Qosmio refresh or for the G53 (plus, I wanted the subwoofer). I'd have loved if the 460m came bundled with the N53/N73 chassis, but I'm still thrilled. As soon as I get mine all set up, I'll provide some observations. I really hope I don't end up with the missed keystroke issue again as on the M50, but at least this one's not a multimedia touchpad where I'd lose lots of functionality if i had to disable it. I was glad to discover that SIIG makes a USB 3.0-to-eSATA dongle, so we needn't go without the ability to hook up eSATA devices for lack of ExpressCard and eSATA ports. I may also pick up an SSD or hybrid drive later and use the original primary 500Gb drive as a USB 3.0 external. It's a shame I missed out on the $100 off during preorders, but I really wanted to see some feedback from Ken and others before I bit the bullet. Quad's feedback so far just further reinforces for me that this is going to be a sweet machine. And I'm seriously not going to miss the framerate difference in some cases by not having the 5870 from the JH. Both GPUs have their strengths and weaknesses in their specs and driver sets, and what matters is that people can just enjoy whichever they have to the fullest.

 

Thank Quad. Good to hear it is so quiet. If you get a chance to check if the two finger scroll within web pages is smooth and responsive or intermittently responsive like most I've tried, I'd be grateful. If not thanks for all the other great info you are feeding us.

I had the JH for awhile (Best Buy version and the A1 from Tiger Direct). The BB one's screen was so bad I returned it. The A1 intermittently let out a loud screaming noise through the speakers even if the volume was muted. Scared the crap out of my wife while we were reading in bed. I returned the A1 because at the time I found others with the problem but no solutions and didn't want to get stuck with a defective unit. I still miss everything else about these G73's and the JW is looking like the perfect replacement. I would gladly pay the extra $200 for the 3D screen in November if I'm not compromising any other qualities to get 3D. I've heard horizontal viewing angles may be bad. Anyone with any experience with other 3D laptop screens and their non 3D quality?

 

Congrats Ninja and i know you will be very happy with this machine ..

You wont be missing anything not getting the JH from what i have seen so far so you made a good choice i believe overall..

 

I like alot of things about the G73, but its speakers are not one of them. The subwoofer doesn't really address the poor soundscape for me. The Qosmio may not have subwoofers, but its huge speakers don't really need them, and I haven't seen another laptop that can match its sonic performance. I hear good things about the GX660R, but have yet to see it myself.

 

Had they the GX660R sound system, that'd have been perfect from all i've heard users gush about them. Hell, I'd have been happy if they had the N53/N73 speakers too, since I figure those would hopefully at least be as good as the M50 series, which was definitely better than most average laptop speakers. I fully agree with you regarding the Qosmio's, which was one of the reasons I was considering it, moreso than the screen for sure. When I had my Satellite Pro 5205-S703 years ago, I was very impressed with the Harmon Kardon speakers they had on it. It was crushing moving from those to my Dell E1505's iffy ones. I don't know why so many gaming laptop manufacturers skimp on the speakers unless it's a "multimedia" laptop, as if gamers wouldn't want as good sound quality and would never do anything but game on them. Sure, many users will get the sound they want via headphones or hooking it up to a separate sound system, but rigs like the GX660R prove that we shouldn't have to. Having not personally heard the GX660R, I can't give a first-hand perspective, but I can guarantee they don't sound like tinny, old-time radio audio, at least, which many laptop owners have just been forced to accept. Screen quality and sound are two of the things i consider highly when choosing a system unless some configuration is good enough for me to make a bit of a sacrifice. With the G73, the pros outweighed the cons in the sound area, but I still figure it's at least better than the average laptop. Even if the sub does little, I'll take it over not having one at all (unless it's a Toshiba system).

 

I'm looking for a new laptop ... and not sure which one to choose!

For the same price

G73JH-B1

and

G73JW-A1

What would be your choice?

Is only the videocard and touchpad boutton the difference?

Thanks for your help!

 

JW also has HDMI 1.4 for 120hz 3d monitors/TVs etc ... Also JW has a USB 3.0 port .. Beyond that there are not any other differences.. I have owned both and am enjoying the JW alot but its a new toy and all new toys are great ...

Either choice is good in the end and its really a matter of whether you want ATI or Nvidia.. Performance is similar with the ATI edging out the Nvidia in certain games and vice versa but possibly overall better performance on the ATI...

The ATI version that has had some issues and is still not 100% perfect for everyone but its getting very close i would say with only a couple people still not happy...

Pick your poison ..

 

That's the main difference. The jw can also be connected to a 3d-tv if you have one for some 3d gaming. Each model has its pros and cons. From all the reading over the last month or two, I got that the jh with the ati 5870 card was giving people a lot of problems from issues with new ati drivers to overheating. They fixed most of the issues now. The jw has the nvidia 260 card which runs a lot cooler than the 5870, but a lot of people argue that the 5870 is the more powerful card. Benchmarks so far have shown they are pretty close and each can be better depending on the game. In the end I decided i did not wanna deal with possible over-heating issues and going through guides to update the vbios and bios to get the 5870 to work correctly, so I'm going with the jw eventhough I think the 260 is slightly weaker. I think I will probably not see the difference and from what I understand, the 260 can be easily overclocked to beat the 5870 and still stay at cooler temps. In the end it's up to you.

 

Thanks for the replies.

But the JH model is out for several months and there is been some issues seems already fixed.

JW is so new that maybe we will face bugs anyway.. ? Any good reputation on nvidia 4XX series ?

Talking overheating, I have a xps m1530. I know what you are talking about! I hate it.

 

Doesn't the JW also stream HD video to a HDTV?

 

No that feature was removed... HDMI wireless.. Why i have no clue ..

 

There is so many posts on the web in regards of GSOD... i'm getting scared.

I think I'll go for the JW. Even if I would get less FPS then the JH... I don't want to have these BSOD and struggle with drivers and bios update blablabla.

 

GSOD are solved with new asus vBIOS

 

I'm sad to hear HDMI wireless was removed. That was going to help me justify it to my wife.

 

So I just got mine and I'm playing around with it at work.

First impressions are that it just looks awesome! The picture quality is very good, and the splendid screen modes aren't as useless as I thought they would be.

Anyway, I can't do much cause my wireless driver doesn't appear to be installed (hoping that is all it is) so I can't connect to the internet. (Don't have an available hardline at work).

So I'm gonna do a clean install of W7 Ultimate while I wait to go home

Oh yeah, I tried typing as fast as I could just to see if the keyboard was still missing strokes...I am very happy to say that it appears that problem has been fixed. Typed for a good 15 minutes straight, with synaptics driver and touchpad enabled.

 

Im sure HellCry will be happy to hear that lol...

I have not typed enough on mine because i do all my typing mostly on my desktop ..