Asus Gaming laptop chronology

Hey guys,
Can someone give me a run down of the Asus G series laptops in order of oldest to newest starting with the G50V to the latest, in order of worst to best?

What I am trying to figure out is, which laptop is best by model number from the G50V on....make sense? (by best, I mean fastest for gaming)

Has this been done yet?

 

If you're only talking about gaming then obviously the graphics card is the most important component. Everything from G73JH onward has been pretty much equal in terms of graphics prowess. Here is the list of of notebooks from the G73JH to now listed in a subjective view of their gaming performance:

1. G73JH (Mobility Radeon 5870) - Tied for 1st
2. G74SX non-Best Buy (192-bit Nvidia GTX 560M) - Tied for 1st
3. G53JW/G53SW/G73JW/G73SW non-Best Buy (192-bit Geforce GTX 460M) - Just a tad slower
4. G53SW/G74SX Best Buy (gimped 128-bit Geforce GTX 560M) - Considerably slower
5. G73SW Best Buy (gimped 128-bit Geforce GTX 460M) - Slowest

I'm hoping that when the G75 comes out that it will break the gaming performance mold from the last 2 years.

 

So, how do these compare to a G50VT with a 9800M GS? (What I have now)
I am looking to upgrade on the cheap....

 

The G74 & G55 is now EOL and will shortly have large price breaks. You could also nab some recert deals on these units

 

Sx beats a Jh. Anything after the JH from best buy is gimped. SX, JH, JW, SW non BB versions, gaming wise there really is not a whole lot of difference in the GPU performance. Processor wise the newer the better. Best gaming wise? The SX edges the JH which edges the JW and SW (same gpu) Not by much in any scenario though. SX edges all and is the only one you will find new.

I like Asus but they went from one of the leaders in laptop gaming with the JH to a distant fourth today...but they charge like a high end gpu price tag. Would love to see hem step it up with the new model but if they do expect the price to reflect that.

Bang for the buck out of these machines right now? The JH still games well and can be had on ebay used for around $700. You will see the G74sx pop up on places like NewEgg and TigerDirect for around $1200 new, which is a pretty good price for this machine. Be tough to find it cheaper anytime soon. Oh...The G53sx (15") the gpu in ALL of these, BB or not is gimped.

 

What deals are you refering to and where?

 

Will respectfully disagree with Ciddire n the "large" price breaks. The ones you see in the $1200 -$1300 now. Might see some around $1100 in a month. They won't get much lower than that before the supply is exhausted. The fact is at $1200 they already had a large price decrease. Asus pricing is head scratching...but people buy them at these bloated prices. So i do not see that changing.

The G75 with a true 670m... $1800-$2000 base model

 

How do you tell the difference between a BB and non BB model besides model number?

 

There's no physical difference that's noticeable.

The only way to tell is to check the screen res and the GPU memory

 

Which would be what?

 

Most BB models have a 1600x900 resolution although some more recent ones got a 1080p panel i think. also the GPU will have a 128-bit bus instead of the 192-bit bus that you find in the G73/74 models with a nVidia GPU. You can easily know which model has a 128-bit GPU, they will either have 1GB or 2GB of VRAM instead of 1.5/3GB. Note that the # of VRAM GPU/bus rule only applies to the G73/G74/G53 models with a nVidia GPU. The BB JH had the same GPU and for the G75/G55 it's too early to tell since they aren't out.

 

Also all the ASUS Best Buy Models have BB or B in the second set of SKU numbers.

Ex. G74SX-BB7

However, there was a time when Best Buy carried the actual G74SX series (I think it was the X1 or DH sku)

And as far as I am aware the Best Buy SKU was the ONLY sku that had the gimped GPU.

 

Yeah, the BB models are the only ones sporting a gimped GPU, i know that the SKU usually has BB in it, but Hawkeyedm2003 was asking how to differenciate aside from the SKU. X/XN are usually reseller specific models for Newegg, Amazon or others, i think the DH models were the successors to the A1 or A2 (2670qm instead of 2630qm).

 

This is confusing.....the list is exact opposite of the statement below.


As far as the BB models...I am coming from a GeForce9800M GS, will I really notice the 128 bus that much? Also what could I expect to pay for BB model if I went that way?

 

It was a subjective list. The Mobility Radeon 5870 and Geforce GTX 560M perform nearly identically and different games will favor one or the other, so overall I would say they are tied in terms of gaming performance. The only area performance-wise in which a G74SX clearly beats a G73JH is CPU performance since it has a much faster Sandy Bridge processor, but you asked about gaming performance and the faster CPU doesn't make a difference in that regard.

 

The DH SKU is the Distro SKU for Channel re-sellers (like me and sometime xotic etc However, when product stock is low or EOL BB will buy from channel SKU)

The Best Buy SKU loses alot for the money it saves

 

Ok, good enough....
What about the BB models and performance? And Price?

Again,I am coming from a 9800M GS

EDIT: sorry you must have been typing as I was.....still 9800M gs vs 560M GTX BB model?

 

You're coming from a 9800M GS? Then all of these notebooks, gimped GPU or not, will blow it out of the water.

You've dragged this thread out and yet you still haven't told us how much you're willing to spend or any other pertinent information that could help us advise you better on a purchase.

 

Well, you never asked.....and I did say "on the cheap". (read, I don't want to pay more than $1000)
As far as other pertinent info.....I want to replace my 4year old Asus G50VT with a 9800M GS. It's hard getting back into the game of laptop specs when you've been out of the game for so long. What do you need to know? Pretty sure I asked what I wanted to know, and you guys have graciously answered all my questions.....

Oh and as far as the "dragged" comment....

 

That was kind of rude of him.

However, I really wouldn't consider under $1000 a realistic budget for a good gaming laptop.

IF you are looking for 'decent' look into the N series with the 555m or the 635m

 

I sincerely apologize if I came off as rude; it's probably a function of my lack of sleep. Anyway, I was thinking you could provide some relevant information on what exactly you're looking for in this notebook, and I don't just mean general guidelines such as "gaming notebook for under $1000." If you fill out this What Laptop Should I Buy Form Wizard and paste the results either here or in the "What Notebook Should I Buy" forum it will make it a lot easier for us to give you recommendations.

 

No worries...actually from what you guys have answered so far....I am well on my way to coming up with a game plan to purchase a new laptop.....I'll check out that form and post it up once I get a chance.


Thanks again all!

 

Please let us know what you decide ^_^

 

Well I bought a G73JH-X1 for $600 with 4 months left on warranty. I hope there are no issues, as this should be plenty for what I need.

Anything I should know about this model?

 

If the 560M has 2 gigs of RAM, it's the gimped version. If it has 1.5 or 3 gigs then it's the 192 bus version.

 

It has the ATI 5870.

 

Exactly.

There are also rare 4GB versions of the 560M floating around and those are also gimped.

Since there are only 4 months left on the warranty, I would get right down to business and test out all the problem areas that G73JH's have been known for. That way you get them fixed under warranty if needed. The main ones are overheating graphics card, erratic touchpad, missing keystrokes on keyboard, and GSOD (gray screen of death). Take a look at the Common Problems & Useful Threads sticky for any help. Unfortunately, there is a very specific set of drivers and components you need to install on the G73JH so that it is problem-free but it's not too difficult. I would recommend a clean install of Windows 7 as well to get rid of all the ASUS bloatware.

You got a great deal. Enjoy your new laptop.

 

Well, I thank you all for this thread, as I am also going to replace my G50 with a G74, and was having brain overheating trying to figure out which model was which, and which was "better".

Knew about the gimped GPU's, but not how to know which was which. Lot's of good info, thanks!