Buying a laptop: G73 or G74?

Hi all. Ive decided its time to purchase a gaming laptop. Ive narrowed it down to either an Asus G73 or G74. I am aware that the G74 is the newer/better laptop but Ive also heard that it is not much better than the g73, though I honestly am unsure.

Obviously I can get a g73 for cheaper, but in your humble opinion is the extra $ worth it for a g74? I saw one at a local best buy and I would have bought it on the spot if I had not know that it had the inferior 128-bit 560m's. So obviously I would be buying a g74 elsewhere.

Anyway, as far as gaming, im not expecting anything miraculous, were talking about laptops of course. I generally just want to play in mid-high settings BUT at a consistent 45 frames per second or more. I'll be playing alot of RPG games like the Witcher 2, both Dragon Age games, alot of shooters like Crysis 2, and upcoming games like Battlefield 3 and Skyrim.

Any suggestions or input welcome.

 

Oh just those games at 45fps huh??? lol

Yea well, I would actually go with a JH if you can find one, heres why:

1. stock 5870 > 192bit 460 & 128 (and according to some 192 as well) bit 560.
2. JW is sorta out of the question since it has neither a stronger CPU or GPU
3. G74 BB's GPU isnt the greatest, as you know, but ALL of them (the G74's) have soldered GPU's so theres no hope in upgrading it in the future.
4. Out of the bunch, the JH has the best possible chance of upgrading its GPU, there has already been limited success with a couple of 6970's (though further testing needs to be done with other batches, and possibly the 6990)

I got great frames in The Witcher 2 and Crysis 2 with my JH, though I didnt play Dragon Age on here, and...well...cant test the other two yet

 

if you op for the G74SX, look for the Alienware M17x on Bestbuy site for 1699 and a 6970M!

 

Saw an ad in craigslist last night for a G74SX for $900 (no bargain). I wasn't sure if it was the BB model or not so I emailed the seller last night. I woke up this morning only to find no response and the ad had been pulled down (probably sold). Geez~

CrappyAlloy, the 5870m being better than the 128-bit 560m is believable, but it maybe being better or on-par with the 192-bit 560m is just wow. Both a good and bad wow. Good because that means the 5870m is a great card, and bad because if the 5870m is better or on par, that means Asus really dropped the ball on choosing the GPU for the G74.

Either way i've looked into some benchmarks and I think I'll be able to live with the 5870m. Might even look into overclocking as it seems to be easy with the 5870m. I guess the only two main factors right now are the CPU and overall style of the laptop. Ive heard of trackpad issues with the g73 so thats kind of a big turn off since I will be using it without a mouse on trips and such. As for the CPU, it would be a i720q vs a sandy, and sandy obviously wins.

Argh I dont know. I'm going to keep shopping around and see if I kind find a g73 for dirt cheap and maybe upgrade the cpu.

 

Personally I would say go with a JH if you can find a good one about because price vs power there is no contest.

But the G74SX-XA1 deal is very good and on the up side you get the latest model, warranty, 192bit 560M and although it has come with a few problems and could come with more upon release it is not doing too badly at all.

If I was not aware of the JH and its power and was mind corrupted easily by the problems of its past I could see me getting the XA1. As I am now I am waiting for the next release by Asus but for anyone looking for a good deal at this moment in time here it is:

ASUS G74SX-XA1 Republic of Gamers 17.3-Inch Gaming Laptop - $1499.99

Intel Core i7-2630QM (2.0GHz with Turbo Boost);12GB DDR3 1333MHz , 4 SODIMM Sockets, up to 16GB
750GB HDD 7200 RPM;SuperMulti ODD;802.11 b/g/n;Illuminated Keyboard;8 Cell Battery
Nvidia GTX 560M Graphics with 3GB GDDR5;Windows Home Premium 64-bit Operating System
17.3-Inch Full HD (1920x1080) LED Display;2.0M Webcam;1x USB 3.0;3x USB 2.0;Bluetooth
1Year Standard Global Warranty and 1 Year Accidental Damage Warranty Included

 

Either of the G74SX-A1 or G73SW-XN2 will perform just fine. Personally, i'd go for the G74 due to the better keyboard. A friend just got a G74 and it seems to me like the speakers are better on the G73 though.

 

Hmm... and how about this one G74SX-XT1

ASUS G74SX-XT1 Laptop Computer - Intel Core i7-2630QM 2.0GHz, 12GB DDR3, 500GB HDD, Blu-ray Player/DVDRW,3GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M,17.3 Full HD, Windows 7 Home Premium 64,1-Yr Warr./1-Yr Acc. at TigerDirect.com

Is the A1 better?

 

Now that is a good deal didn't see that one you get a bluray player instead of a larger HDD for the same price. Nice.

 

This is a nice deal and if you have a compusa near you they have them in stock.
I just picked up this same model the other day.