**** Attention future G73 owners!!!! ****

I know that I'm probably going to get flamed for this thread but I need to help get the word.

If you are NOT concerned with having a full 1080p screen I would like to recommend purchasing a G73JH from Bestbuy. The reasons for me saying this is because I'm on my 3rd G73.

1. My first G73's right & left clicker bar arrived defective straight out of the box. Pressing down on the right click was like playing Russian Roulette.

2. My second G73 started having BSOD error's stating that my computer had a critical error pertaining to a GPU hardware failure. I also started receiving the famous creative driver lockups that randomly plague the G73 straight from the factory. This happends once you enable the G73's sub control levels through the creative software. To see this error, install Steam to esculate this problem(not recommended). Run Steam with the base level enabled.

My current(G73) also started locking up and required me to remove the creative driver as soon as I installed Steam and adjusted the base in the creative driver control panel.


If I was to purchase my G73 from a online retailer I would have had ALOT of down time with my G73 due to RMA. But because I'm a silver rewards member at Bestbuy and generally test out my PC's shortly after purchase, I was able to exchange my defective past G73's with no form of RMA/shipping

Another reason I recommend the G73 at 1600 x 900 is because I have seen limitations in the ATI 5870 GPU at 1920 x 1080, that were not present in the native res at 1600 x 900 in the Bestbuy models.

Purchasing from an online retailer does have it's pros like better warranty,1080p screen, Bluetooth, 2.0MP camera and depending on model...Bluray. I may be missing something.
But until the quality control can be improved I have to recommend a retail outlet for the G73 purchase.

If you do care about the things that I mentioned I would go with GentechPC. I have friends that have purchased from there that rave about how AWESOME their customer service is. I personally have seen their involvement in the community here at notebook review and on youtube. If Asus 's quality control was better, I would have purchased from them as well.

Once you get a good G73 the skys the limit!! Hang in there

 

More HD space, more RAM.

 

Better to save the 400 and get a really nice ssd
D:?

 

oh yeah...well that all depends you can buy the extra 2GB for 57.99 from Bestbuy for the 05 model. I have 8GB's of ram in my G73. I don't think it really makes any difference from 6.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Memory+...mory/9502362.p?skuId=9502362&id=1218115622703

The 09 model at Bestbuy has 8GB's of ram & 1TB of HDD space but is hardly a deal. And I think that the extra 500GB HDD is a waist and instead should be a 2nd Gen 250GB SSD...lol

 

The warranty really is my breaking point. I wouldn't get this with just a 1 year warranty.

 

You have a valid point.

Does your warranty come from Asus? If it does then I'm not as stoked as you are about it.
Asus has proven to be more than incompetent as far as notebook RMA. This is based on my personal experience with Asus RMA.

 

Hmm but all of your models that were faulty came from BB, right. Not a good sign or argument for buying from BB. The GSOD issue is not specific to the G73 since its the same with desktop 5000 cards and therefor a problem of AMD not Asus but well that was not your argument. I do agree that exchange is a benefit of BB however from what I read the BB display is not just reduced in resolution it is also a lower quality LG panel with worse viewing angle and contrast and getting the 2nd cage for the 2nd HDD seems to be tricky.

Still you have a point and RMA is never great and my A1 is at RMA because of the 5800 card. Nevertheless the display is the breaker for me. You do not get the full warranty from Asus when you buy from BB?

 

I've seen both displays side by side and I believe there not that different as far as quality. The viewing angles sucked on both screens...lol. The 2nd bracket will be available later this year, is what an Asus rep told me over the phone. Who knows....If the warranty is covered by Asus, I'll take my chances with fate. I've seen first hand how they RMA'd my G71 by removing Asus branded Windows 7 64bit OS & installing Vista 64bit to resolve a failing GPU.

Upon return I opened up Internet Explorer in Vista when I origanally had Windows 7 64bit installed only to be greeted by BSOD regarding video display adapter failure that Asus supposively fixed by uninstalling W7 and reinstalling Vista. LMMFAO.

Me.
I'll
choose
Bestbuy
Instead
of
Asus RMA

 

Ouch. Yeah that is really bad and way to many non skilled techs do such nonsense. The typical: Well in the 5mins I spend with the notebook nothing bad happens. I will have to see and wait.
But you got me curious. What happen after the BSOD. Did you send it in for RMA again after screaming with them on the phone? Just want to get my strategy straight in case I see this issue with my G73 RMA.

 

Lets start at the beginning:

G71GX
1. I noticed that my left click button had no tactile response upon press. What is strange is that I never use it. I always use my Razer Mamba.

2. Recently my G71GX started to BSOD after it ran for a good hour. After a memory dump and a restart I would get the "your POS has recovered from a critical error" message. Upon further investigation/troubleshooting here in the forums through the Event Veiwer and at Bestbuy I was told that my G71GX had a GPU that was failing.

3. I contacted Asus about the defective left click button and I explained in GREAT detail that my G71GX is most likely suffering from a failing GPU.

4. Asus said that I would receive a UPS shipping label through email. It was never sent. I then called again and it was sent immediately....lame.

5. I typed a very detailed letter explaining that the GPU fails just after an hour and that I have already reinstalled the OS with Asus Vista64, Asus W764 and retail W7 Pro 64 and that the problem still remains. I also explained that they should look in the event viewer to see the history log of the critical hardware failure errors. And last but not least I explained the defective left click button.

6. I then went to Fed-Ex and purchased a 10.00 shipping box to send my G71 in for RMA. I was NOT risking sending my G71 in the original box and either loosing it or it taking on damage in the process.

7. I then was informed that Asus was paying for 7-15 day Fed-Ex ground and not the 2nd day air that the agent had told me would be the method of shipping for Asus RMA....lame.

8.After about almost 3 weeks of not having my lappy I get it back and the left clicker still doesn't work properly, it now has Vista on it when I had Windows 7 HP 64bit supplied by Asus installed.

9. The letter accompanying the lappy looked like it was typed up by a 5 year old full of grammatical errors. It was pathetic and embarrassing. I can't believe my G71GX is affiliated with these idiots!!! The only thing the tech did was reinstall Vista when I had Windows 7 to fix a failing GPU....lame.

10. I then called Asus and explained the situation. I asked to speak to a supervisor many times only to be told that one was NOT available.

11. The only thing Asus would do is another retarded RMA.
Nothing more. I even asked them if I could take my lappy to Bestbuy for repair and if they could call up ahead of me and setup direct billing. They said no.

12. I then took my G71 to Bestbuy and explained how lame my experience is with Asus RMA to be told that they are sorry about my experience with Asus and that I can switch out my G71 for 1299.99 in store credit. I chose a G73.


If the extended warranty is covered by Asus for the non Bestbuy versions then I would keep my mouth shut about that being a pro until some restructioning is done.

 

I agree with what you say mostly, but its more important to me and others to have the fullhd screen and the ATI 5870 is fully capable of playing most games at 1080P with ultra or high settings with most games, if you want more frame rates you just lower the res. The 5870 is currently the single only gpu that can handle most games at high resolutions. Why don't do you do a clean install, i had the issues with steam and creative, and lock ups, etc.. After i did a clean install and installed all the proper drivers and ATK, then it ran fine, very minor lock ups, starting to see the throtlling now with the battery which is weird before it wasn't happening when i was taking this to class.

 

One of the first things I did with my 3rd G73JH is install my genuine copy of W764 Ultimate and copy my friends A1 drivers disc. There are some games out there that do not benefit from a res of 1920 x 1080 as far as games are concerned. I have a internal Blu-ray writer installed in my G73JH and for HD playback I couldn't agree with you more about the 1920 x 1080 res

 

lol yes yes, how much was that blu ray writer? Well you could always get a led samsung 24 inch monitor anyway, watching hd movies through ati graphics seem to look so much nicer than nvidia i was blown away the other week when i was watching Spartacus blood and sand. How do you like razer mice and the Mabma, getting tired of the g500 want to try something else out.

 

199.99USD

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-UJ2...?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1271371964&sr=8-39

I love my Razer Mamba

 

Hopefully, it was just a coincidence that all three defective models were the BB configuration notebooks. I will admit that the different memory sizes/different screen manufacturers makes me wonder if there are any other changes or compromises that have been made on the BB model.

 

Who knows such things......? All that matters to me is the CPU/GPU which are the same. Ram is ram and I already upgraded to 8GB's of 10600(1333).

I know that the LG is a good screen so I'm good on the screen at the resolution I desire.

 

I initially found the G73JH-A2 by first finding the BB version. I just really like all of the perks that come with the A2 versus the BB models for just a few hundred more.

I've dealt with Asus customer service before and wasn't terribly impressed, but I can't say that any computer company's customer service has really won me over.

 

I had a A1 pre-purchased but Bestbuy allowed me to exchange my G71GX for a G73JH05 and 99.99USD in store credit. I didn't want the backpack because I work in an office enviornment and haven't worn one since grade school. I also don't care to much for the mouse included because I already have a superior wireless/wired Razer Mamba. After all I've spent upgrading my G73JH05(See Signature), in the end I've spent way more than what an A1 would have cost me. I even have the 2yr + 1yr Accidental Black Tie Warranty. For me the 1600 x 900 screen was what mattered most to me. In the city I live in we have no sales tax.

I guess we all have our preferences

 

I just purchased a G73 from bestbuy, the cheaper one.
Can OP confirm whether this model has recovery cds? I couldn't find in my package. It's not a very critical issue but having one will sure make recovery easier.

The reason I choose this cheaper model from bestbuy is simple, it's cheap, and its lower screen resolution actually prolongs its gaming lifespan. Full HD will be nice but not much real difference for me in gaming. 6GB Ram is more than enough for almost any game up to date or in another 2-3 years. HDD side, I can upgrade easily if needed, and there's an empty bay there isn't it?

So it all comes down to the fact that full HD panel is better than bestbuy's HD+ panel. I think I can live with that. My last gaming set is a 19" TN panel, if my eyes already get used to the nice IPS panel, then maybe I'll have an issue with this one.

 

Ever occured to you that it might be BECAUSE you got the Best Buy model?

Every laptop I have picked up has had problems. Especially the the ones that are "custom built" for them. XPS had latency spikes and driver problems, Unibody Macbook's mobo went bonkers and refused to reconize any ram, DV3 had a bad Sata connector I had to fix on my own.

Honestly, I never buy anything over 60 bucks from that place anymore -_-'

 

Sorry for the double post guys

No, no laptop that Best Buy sells comes with Driver/OS CDs, except the Macs.
You have to make your own via recovery partition. Yeah, 2 DVDRs cost like a nickel these days but it's just the principle of the matter! You pay a grand and they can't even throw in a recovery CD?

 

Hah, our specific cases probably couldn't be much farther apart. I work in a laboratory right now and will be going to grad school in the fall and have always kind of preferred using a back pack as it's more comfortable to me. Currently I have a mouse for my desktop (Logitech MX518), but not really an extra one for a laptop so the extra mouse will be nice (might like it more if it was wireless).

I really like the higher res screen to look at data for work (aside from games) and I would have to pay tax on it. Although, I don't really need the extra 500gb hard drive and 2 extra gb of ram, it's just icing on the cake.

 

I had an extra 320GB 7200 HDD lying around and decided to install it. After installing it I noticed my startup times increased by about 15 seconds. I then uninstalled it and bought a 2 gen SSD. I highly recommend that you install one too and uninstall the 2nd 500GB HDD. It is so worth the increase in EVERYTHING. For HD video playback 1920 x 1080 would be the best choice....but I only see myself watching Blu-ray on my internal Blu-ray writer about once a week. The only reason I installed a Blu-ray writer was because that was the ONLY feature that was important for me to have over all G73JH models and the 8GB's of ram

If you have a Steam account add me.
My SteamID is skygunner27