Asus g74 vs Clevo p170hm vs MSI GT780

I realize this is the Asus forums so most people reading this will be biased, but I also assume most of you looked at the other two options listed when buying yours.

I'm trying to decide between the g74 the p170 and the gt780. What I'd like to know is why you chose what you chose over the others? They all seem very similar with slight differences.

 

The biggest difference you'll find in those are the video card options. Every other component (HDD, CPU, RAM, etc) can be configured identically. If you're looking for the best gaming rig possible you'll want to pick the best graphics card for your budget. The Asus and MSI models also have backlit keyboards which people love, unfortunately the Sager model can't be ordered with one.

 

I guess I'm more worried about screen, keyboard, overall build quality, and heat and noise emissions. The more performance based specs are much easier to read reviews on and make a decision, but the things that are more subjective are hard to make a decision on when I can't see it myself.

 

Don't take the Asus for the keyboard , it's probably one of the worst i've ever tried on a laptop.

Plus , the white backlight keyboard is disgusting.

The only thing i regret is not having the ability to change my GPU on Asus one. Just think about it , if you need / will to do it later or not.

 

Althought I love my g53, I say go for the clevo/sager.
Upgradability it's the whole point of discussion here.
In our Asus you can upgrade easily Hdd and ram. Most configurations won't even need an update unless you put silly 16gb in it, or two fast and capable ssds.
The problem here is upgrading the CPU for those that aren't very fond into disassembling a laptop.
Mostly because you need to tear down completely the whole laptop including the risk of break something.

With Clevos based laptops however things are easy. CPU/gpu/Hdd and ram slots are easily accessible from the bottom and upgrading those components is fairly easy and more future proof.

Let's say you get a clevo based laptop with a gtx560m.
Then nvidia will release new cards in febraruy with more power/performance.
Probably all you need would be buying the card, remove the older one, put back the retention bracket, add thermal paste and screw the heatsink in place.
There you go. They also provide regular bios updates as well.

That's the most honest opinion IMHO. For the same price of a g74, choose something that would be easily upgradable and future proof. Having a clevo based laptop is in someway similar to have a desktop pc.

 

Or wait for new nvidia card and 570-580 becoming common and cheaper , they are way more powerfull than 560

 

The dual cooling solution on the Asus G74 is unsurpassed.

Sound system is the best on the MSI.

Value is great on the Clevo with more options for GPU.

 

I must admit that the G74 is VERY pleasant to use because it NEVER gets hot even with high overclock , @stock values the laptop stay cool as my coke can ...

Far from my M11X wich get hot under palm rest and hand wich become annoying after 1h gaming.

 

I totally agree with the above views. My next laptop is a Clevo. No doubt.

 

I do not agree that white backlit is disgusting but I agree that keyboard is very bad although they advertised that it is perfect. Too wide to write with average size fingers if you get used to write with standard keyboards!

Only reason that I can prefer G74 is the success of the noise emission.

 

If those are your choices go for the Clevo. Im telling you this as someone who has owned both a Clevo D900F and an Asus G73JH. The build quality, keyboard, cooling design, support, screen, ease/possibility of upgrading... are all far superior with Clevo.

 

Having owned a gaming laptop from all three companies, I would say that Sager is the superior choice, however I REALLY miss a backlit keyboard and an aesthetically pleasing design offered by Asus and MSI.

If you can put up with an ugly laptop with no backlight keyboard, then go for the Sager. It does the job

Would I go Sager again? I'm not sure.

With the design of Asus, MSI and AW laptops, I got so excited when opening the lid, turning it on and using it for HW/games, always appreciating the elegant design. When I open the lid of my Sager, I just think "meh" ...all that excitement and appreciation just isn't there.

Just think of it this way when it comes to gaming laptop design:

Porche 911 (Alienware; Asus; MSI)
Chevrolet Chevette (Sager)

 

I don't know how is the new generation of clevo laptops but with my m571tu I am dying because of fan noise. I would say +60db I have while even on the internet. Luckily there is a silent fan mode button which doesn't hold longer even if you watch something on youtube.

And without backlit keyboard, it sucks only.

 

I'd probably go with an Asus, the G74SX seem stable enough, havne't read any disaster stories here.

More I think about it, the fan noise is just something I can abide and Asus did a great job with that.

 

I dom't have too much experience with that particular model of Clevo/Sager but I knoiw that they are unrivaled in terms building laptops that are upgradeable and have a robust design. As mentioned above their laptops do have a exterior generic design that might turn some poeple off.

On the other hand MSI did a good job with this laptop and theirs can probably be upgraded too. The design is also quite stylish.

Unfortunately the G74 is probably the worst of the three. It doesn't even use MXM. On the other hand it does retain that stealth theme with the cool and quiet exterior.

It's definitely a hard choice and overall I'd say that the Clevo is the best choice for someone looking for a good gaming laptop. However, my personal choice would be to get the MSI and try to upgrade the graphics later when a new generation of cards come out.

 

The speaker on Asus G74SX-A1 is Okay, not as good as MSI GT780-057 or Alienware M18X. I had both laptops for gaming and editing. Asus G74SX-A1 is cooler and less noise than MSI GT780-057.

 

Speakers on G74SX are ok sure , but i always have Ferox in my bag

 

I think the noise and heat is the the thing I like the sounds of the Asus best, and worry about the Clevo the most. I plan to use it on my lap sitting on the couch while my wife watches TV. If it gets too hot on my lap that would be very annoying, and if it makes too much noise under load my wife will get annoyed with me. The review Here although for a 485 video card shows very high case temp and noise levels. I haven't been able to find a review that has the exact components I'm looking at. Most reviews don't go into the detail on the case temps and noise levels that notebookcheck.net does.

I don't care about the looks, if anything I prefer a more simple design.

I went to best buy today just to see the Asus g74 in person, and I'm thinking maybe for being on my lap a 17" might almost be too big and I might want to drop down to the 15". Does anyone else game actually on their lap? Do you think 17" laptop is too big for using on your lap on a regular basis? The g53sx is disappointing because it seems to only offer the 2gb version of the 560 which everyone says sucks because of the memory interface being 128bit.

I doubt I would upgrade much other than putting in my own SSD as the cost of a new higher than the 560 graphics card wouldn't really justify the upgrade for a few more fps, and by the time the upgrade does justify the cost you're probably almost better to get a whole new laptop.

 

I can only speak of good things about the g53sw.
If your ideal use is what you just wrote, then why opting for a gamig laptop at all.

I mean for use it on your couch and rarely game on it...why spend a good amount of cash when you can get cheaper laptops with great battery life and less heat/problems?

Anything like an xps 15 with Optimus technology, or any similar laptop such Lenovo/Toshiba would perfeclty fit your needs.

Usually with a good a switchable system paired with a decent gpu such the gt555m either with 1,5 or 3gb (192bit flavour) will be ok when you plan to game on it.

The optmius tech also improves battery drastically while keeping everything cool and quiet.

Honestly any 17" will be too much big for your purpose. Even the p170hm is too big.

If you still want a decent gaming laptop with a respectable size then your option will be the g53sw (not the SX due to the crippled gpu) or better yet the clevo p150hm.

They don't get so much hot, they're comfortable on your lap, and they're small at least.

The whole point of discussion here is what you plan to do with it at this point.

 

I've played BC2 on my lap on the couch many hours. Finished Witcher 2 on my lap pretty much. Never got hot, I have a G73. I've read the G74 is quieter and cooler than the G73. After you use the G73/G74 for a week, it won't seem very large to you and 15" may start to seem too small, that happened to me.

If gaming is your focus, 17" on your lap is not too big, it's perfect. Your couch is not being mobile trying to game on battery on the train or for whatever reason some place that doesn't have an electric outlet (like nowhere...). I think 15" is too small if you want a laptop with primary duty as gaming. I had a 15" Asus G series before and after using a 17", I'll never go back to 15" for gaming. For desk/office work, it's fine.

 

@Cainman

Then Asus is the best choice. I've gamed both with the G53 and G73 on my lap for extended periods (1-6 hours straight) and I NEVER felt any heat, nor did I feel like it was too heavy. Plus, out of the MSI/Asus/Sager I've owned, Asus is the most quiet.

With Sager (as well as MSI), I do feel heat when gaming on my lap ...mind you, it's not extreme heat, but it can be bothersome. When I had the G53/73, I could wear shorts and never feel anything due to the upwards vent tilt offered by those two models.

Asus G-series has the best design in that respect (for lap-gaming & limited noise).

Another worthy mention is that the Sager (in my sig) feels like a 13.3" laptop compared to the G53/73 and is very easy to move, pack and carry, so it's something else to consider. When it first arrived, I thought I was sent the wrong laptop because it was so small in comparison.

I personally don't mind bulky laptops, but some people might

 

In my opinion , i pay way more money to have a G74 instead of a G53 or else , and i regret.

Why ? @home , the screen , even 17" , is too small ( i was use to iMac 27 and 22-24" LCD ) , so you still need a bigger screen , especially @1920*1080 so , you'll buy a screen for your desktop.

On the go , 15" is more than enough.

So , if you're like me and play @friends for 1-4 hour and go back home , puting your laptop on your desk , take the a 15" model , and an external screen.

 

That's the point, I do want to game on it. I just want to game on it while using it on the couch. That way I'm sitting in the same room with my wife instead of hiding downstairs in the basement where the office is. She watches TV, while I play video games is the goal. I can't do that with my desktop.

If it was just about gaming I wouldn't be considering a laptop at all. If it was just going to sit on a desk, I'd save money and get better performance by just building myself a new desktop.

 

Go with the G74 then. It's true that Clevo may have better upgrade choices and stronger GPU when you fork up the money for it...

For what you are looking for I think G74 is perfect. G74 users have posted some great overclocking on the 560M and yet it still runs cooler than my 5870M and definitely cooler than a Clevo. Some Clevo users won't admit it, but sound tests from review sites have shown the sound of Clevo cooling system is the equivalent of having a refrigerator next to your desk. This hasn't changed in the 3 years I've been researching gaming laptops, for whatever reason, Clevo is stubborn and refuses to rectify this. Alienware has, Asus has, and MSi sort of has. Clevo standing proud, as the loudest laptops on the market.
- But I admit for the price and performance, Clevo are awesome. But it's a laptop for me, and laptops must conform to some noise standards for me.

I think if you want more performance, look at the Alienware m17x R3. Review has said the noise difference between an Alienware and Clevo is drastic, night and day. But still not as good as G74. So go with G74, if you want more power, go with Alienware.
- I agree, sitting next to someone with a laptop with loud fans, is very annoying. I wouldn't blame your wife if you had a Clevo and she smashed it while sitting next to you on the couch
- Put it this way, I'm annoyed by the fan noise on my G73 and at the time when I bought this, G73 was the quietest gaming machine on the market. I'm sure your wife may have similar sentiments. Fan noise is REALLY ANNOYING.

 

If the price is not issue with him, Alienware M18X for Nvidia sli performance. I don't think Asus G74 gaming laptop as good as MSI GT780DXR series - more dram, GTX570M, blu-ray burner, excellent keyboard design for gaming, and have serious configuration for gaming. I prefer MSI GT780DXR for gamin over Asus G74. For alienware, M17X R3 and M18X is too heavy for gaming laptop or travel. The performance of M17X R3 is relatively not as good as Asus G74.

Right now, i have Alienware M18X, M17X R3, Asus G74SX-A1, Asus G53SW-XN1, G73JH-A1 and MSI GT780-057. I always use my Alienware M18X and GT780-057 for gaming and movie.

 

My next laptop is definitely gonna be a Sager.

I hate disassembling my G73 myself despite my G73 is having overheating issues. It's too risky and tedious. If Asus engineers improve the durability, ease of maintenance and quality like their desktop RoG motherboards and GPU, no doubt i'll go back to their laptops.

Still, i like G73 mainly due to the fan noise as its pretty quiet for a gaming laptop. The design is nice too. Asus really need to gear up their QA and after sales service a lot though.

 

@Kasuza, Please go in details on how the performance of M17X R3 is relatively not as good as Asus G74. Thanks

 

Newegg.com - Open Box: DELL Alienware M17x R3 (AM17XR3-5001STB) Notebook Intel Core i7 2630QM(2.00GHz) 17.3" 8GB Memory DDR3 1333 750GB HDD 7200rpm DVD±R/RW AMD Radeon HD 6870M

Alienware M17X R3 only has 8GB, ATI 6870, 750GB, and intel i7 2630 vs Asus G74SX-A1 - 12GB DDR3, Nvidia GTX560M 3GB, core i7 2630, 2*750GB hard drive. I purchased Alienware M18X, Alienware M17X R3, Asus G53SW-XN1, Asus G74SX-A1, MSI GT780-057 at newegg.com. I am waiting for MSI GT780-057 next week and MSI GT780DX-099 later. I will post pictures of my laptops

 

You're right the default m17x r3 with 6870 is below the G74SX-a1 but then again you can always pick a better gpu like 580 or 6990 and even 560. The other things are ram, cpu, hard drive can be upgraded as well. The only downside for the G74 is the built-in Gpu. I would pick Clevo if money is a problem.

 

Hello

I went with the G74sx3de. This was the first laptop i have owned btw

I brought it from amazon. Paid around 1860ish or so.

The first one i got had a track pad issue. I found asus support to be less then helpful. As they wanted me to send it in for repair and i wanted a straight up swap. Since the thing was straight out of the box and all.

I just sent it back to amazon as an exchange and had the new one like 2 days later. No fuss with them at all over that.

Its held up great and i been very happy with it since then.

Pro's
1. Its so quiet!!! and in generally use very cool to the touch. After running it for a few hours it can start to get warm.


Con's
1. Size -- Its hard to grasp how big it is. ITs freaking huge. I take it with me when i travel and even carried it a few times on my vfr 800 for short trips. The back pack it came with is very handy.

One of the first things i did when i got the second one was to wipe it and load it up with win7 enterprise. Boatware was extensive on the factory load.

I am also running ubuntu 11.10 on it. I tend to use ubuntu more then i do the windows right now. In some ways the ubuntu load was easier to setup then the windows 7. The only issue being the screen brightness on ubuntu which wasn't an issue after the workaround i found.

Times i came close to sending ti back and ordering up the AW or a sager. The sager i had configured was around 2700ish and the aw was over 3600ish at the time.

I really didn't want to spend more funds then what i did. Also at the time i had long waits to get what i wanted. Around 1 to 2 months for any of the other laptops.

Sorry for the long winded post

 

Anyone with the G74, how is the screen? Is the reflective / glare real bad?

 

I think the screen is pretty good on my 74sx

 

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/811/imag0158bp.jpg

Left to right: Alienware M17X R3, MSI GT780R-057, and Asus G53SW-XN1. My alienware m18x, asus g74SX-A1, and asus g73jh-a1 are at work. I am going to sell few laptops to get MSI GT780-099DXR, Asus G74SX-3DE, and MSIGT780-095 or new Asus i7 laptop

 

Too bad AW don't have RGB anymore or any brands have RGB....

 

My last couple laptops were all 17 and I use them just for gaming, on the couch,
to be by family as well.

Current machine is G73. Can get a little hot but the G74 is supposed to be cooler.

After a couple hours I have to say 10+ lbs on your legs gets old. Thinking my
next machine will be a 15 sager.

 

...and thats what i got.
I know this isnt the place, but i sold my g53, and my p150hmx arrived this morning.
So long my friends, take care
The infinite upgrade possibilities the clevo has really have surclassed the silent cooling system of former g53.
I know its quieter but i was expecting an airplane by the look of what ive been reading about clevos...i was wrong. Its a bit noiser, but not that much.
But the hardware is on a different level, so i guess its normal to have some more fan noise going on.