Asus G73JW or JH.. or skip both of 'em?

Hello guys.. long-time lurker around the forum, first-time poster, apparently.
Since this forum(in general) helped me to decide on my previous gaming laptop, and since now it's starting to fall a bit short.. I need your help.

In short, I have the option to get either a 73JH (with 8 gigs of ram, the 5870 card and 2x500GB hdds), or a 73JW (with 6 gigs of ram, the 460m card, and a 500GB hdd with the '4GB SSD').

Now, first question would be, which one of these would be preferable, and second question - should I even risk it, given the issues described all over this section?

More info - I'm basically not overly fond of messing around with my system overmuch.. I would want to get it working fine out of the box - perhaps(!) a clean windows install if I can't remove most annoyances from add/remove programs. And yet after going through the stickies, it seems that the JH would pretty much need a vBios and bios flashing, and most likely the JW too... And apparently the risk of getting a (somehow) messed up laptop is really high (with some issues fixable, and some not so much).

And at this pricepoint (EU buyer, so there's a slight overhead on pricing), I really wouldn't expect anything short of perfectly satisfactory experience.. But the countless posts in this section are making me seriously doubt that. Waiting for the 'sandy bridge' 73(SW?) model is probably out of the question, since that is a 'tad' over my budget.

Additionally - of what use is the 4GB SSD anyway? A Windows 7 64-bit install alone usually takes up 12+GB, even if trimmed, so the SSD can't house the OS - and I can't see what I could use it for, it's too small even for one modern game.

So, that's that - is it worth it to grab one of those notebooks, or maybe waiting for a better model would be advised; keeping in mind that I'd prefer not to have to risk bricking the item, RMA-ing it, or living with a host of problems? And if it is worth it, which version would be more hassle-free?

P.S. Not planning on running it on battery at all, always plugged into mains - that's not difficult to arrange.

 

If you want a computer now, the g73 is pretty much problem free these days. Sandybridge won't provide a huge bump in gaming - although it is faster than the current quad i7s, the SB g73 still only has a 460m - and graphics is what makes a gaming laptop.

They both have really sensitive touchpads. It's not perfect, but I've been spoiled with thinkpads for work - and nothing is quite as nice as working on a lenovo - they've got amazing keyboards and trackpoints (no need for a touchpad).

If you don't need it now, wait for a laptop with the 6970m chip.

 

Can't say that touchpad matters, I'll have a mouse paired to the laptop immediately.

g73 pretty much problem free - that is assuming a stock setup, or after all the bios/vbios/driver updates?

 

I got my G73 from Best buy in Sept 2010.

I have had no real issues.

I have now does all the patches and upgrades and have no changes.
Still works great.

Mine had a stock 211 bios...
I did upgrade the Vbios, did not help or heart a thing..

I use my G73 for a min of 9 hours each day for work.
Then gameing for 1 to 3 hours a night...
I only play WOW, but I use Utra setting and enjoy a great game...

For $1200 buck I spent, I am very happy...

 

Get the G73JW because it is fresher/newer with usb 3.0, separated left/right touchpad buttons, fresher nvidia card

 

Hmyeah.. More looking seems to show that the JW at least does not have the GSOD/overheating issues the JH card has..

I'm still curious though, the 500GB hdd + 4GB ssd, how does that combination work? What's the benefit of using such a setup?

(I'm assuming that 6GB will effectively be just as useful as 8GB in games, so that's not a big difference, and I'll happily trade the 5870 down to 460m if that nets me more stable temperatures)..

 

The JH card doesn't really have those problems anymore either. Check the date of those threads.

The hybrid drive does all the work for you, remembering what is most often accessed and keeping that on the flash part of the drive. Like windows readyboost, only more permanent.

The JW has it's own set of problems ... like the USB 3.0 not working so well.

 

Since you do not want to fuss over it, the a G73JW. If you get the one with the Momentus XT drives, you'll have to do a firmware update to solve a microstutter issue. And that's about it.

 

The SG momentus xt is pretty damn good for the price, the 4gb ssd work as huge memory cache. If you want to know more about it, i suggest you to watch this video from NCIX. Really well explained.

YouTube - NCIXcom's Channel

 

Get G73, it's awesome Just update vBios, Bios, and ATI. You'll love it.