Considering G74 and seeking feedback

Greetings!

I am considering giving Asus a try for my next gaming notebook. I am looking at the G74 models and I wanted to ping the group here before proceeding. If anyone can help me with a few questions, that would be awesome!

1) How is Asus reliability compared to Alienware and Sager? Do people experience many DOA issues or defects, or long-term problems?

2) What is the deal with the various G74 models when you can typically custom configure them? Are there any recommended models? (best bang for the buck)

3) Some shops offer screen upgrades (90% gamut, etc). Are these Asus upgrades or aftermarket? Are they recommended over the stock 1080p screens?

4) In general, is the G74 a unit you would recommend for a gamer on the go?

5) Any upgrades considered must-haves over stock? (wireless, screen, ram, etc)

I have searched the forums and have found some hints to the above questions, but nothing very concise, so I thought I'd post something more direct here.

Thanks in advance!

 

I have a G73, not a G74, but thought i'd share my experiences -

I bought the G73 before i left for a 3 month vacation to the US. All i can say, it was probably the worst decision i've ever made. Don't get me wrong, the laptop itself is great. But it simply isn't something you want if you're "mobile" or require portability.

You get 90 mins of battery life if you're lucky, it weights more than 7lbs, the charger is another 5lbs, the trackpad is an absolute POS so you need to carry a mouse everywhere and the general size of it means you can't use it if you have space limitations. It is definitely not something you can use on your lap, it's simply too big.

It was so inconvenient, i had to end up purchasing another laptop (Alienware M11x) while in the US so i had a laptop i could actually USE without needing a full-sized table & wall socket.

If you're going to be using it on a table and only moving it occasionally, then i can't fault the G-series. But if you're looking for something to carry around on a daily basis, this is not the laptop for you.

 

Upgrade the wireless to an Intel card if there is an option, if not buy an intel card and replace it if it has the Atheros card.

as for portability, youre looking at a heavy duty gaming laptop, much like alienware and clevos, these things are big and bulky and fresh batteries can give you 3hours of battery if you turn down brightness and launch battery saving mode.

you can only buy asus from retailers so the upgrades depends on them.

one thing to note, never buy from best buy. You will get ripped off.

feel free to post anymore questions.

 

I have a G74 , and so :

- Yes , i would recomend it.
- There's a new version with a 2670QM wich should be a bit more powerfull than mine is already.
- The laptop is very confortable to use , great palmrest etc.
- The cooling system is AWESOME , allowing really cold temperatures and great overclocking abilities ( wich are necessary to really enjoy games like BF3 btw )
-Adding ram / HDD is easy ( but , i my case , 2HD and 8GB ram , what do i need to change right ? an SSD maybe ? )
- Got a free mouse / bagpack and headset , all branded " Asus Gamer " ( logitech ,Targus and Steelseries if i'm correct ) wich is really cool.

BUT , there are several cons that i'd would like to knew when i got mine :

- GPU is not MXM card , you can't change it ...( damn )
- The keyboard sucks. No , i mean , IT REALLY SUCKS. Don't buy this computer if you even consider typing on it. I have a mechanical keyboard plug on , but i can't take it on the go. But i have a Razer Nostromo i take with me. The less i touch that crappy keyboard , the best i feel )
- Overall performance is good ( all games plays great) , but GTX560 with games like Battlefield 3 reach it's limit imo ... ( the game runs great , but don't expect the game to be on high if , like me , you'd rather play @55-60 FPS on low than 35-40 on high )
- Not enough USB ports for me ( i can't have gamepad / keyboard / 2 mouses / hard drive at the same time )



I think i give you all the pro and cons , just make your choice and feel free to ask if you have questions

 

How is the keypad bad? I here good things about it and the spacing between the numpad and control keys is a welcome addition.

 

The feeling is just horrible , keys are too short to press , some of my keys are already making an horrible " kwoink " noise ( like if you need to put some oil on it you know ... on spacebar , it's horrible ) , and i got tons and tons of " miss " because you need to press the key really hard , or slower. I'm use to type very fast , and i'm really stuck with this keyboard.

Then , i must say that it's my second G74 , i return the first one to the shop without even turning it on when i saw that some keys were a bit " curved " , it seem to be a problem on every keyboard , some may be more affected than others ( when you put yourself at the same height that the keyboard , you can see they are not all at the same height )

And then , last point but it's only to me , that white backlighting is disgusting. No , seriously , my Alienware have multicolor keys , i can change them to fit with what i want at each moment , here that white is ugly ... all the time.

 

I got the G74SX-XN1 from Newegg that only comes with 1x500 GB HDD so it's a bit cheaper. It was a good thing since I had another 500 GB HDD laying around, so I was able to save some money that way. They also included a $190 Everki Titan backpack at the time.

Same spec as Catzoo except that it has 12 GB of RAM.

I've only had mine for about a month, so I cant comment on long term reliability. But so far so good. Haven't had any BSOD or any error's of sort.

Unlike Catzoo, I personally like the keyboard better than my old Clevo D901C's keyboard. It was weird the first few days but it's fine now. The trackpad on the Clevo is TONS better than this one. But I use a mouse all the time so I just turn off the trackpad so it doesn't bother me that much.

Other than that, I think Catzoo summed it up pretty well. It's a pretty fast laptop, but don't expect it to play BF3 on ultra.

 

I have a G73sw. Battery easily lasts 2h30min on battery saving mode. Rishwin probably had the G73jh which is old tech.
I have no problems with the keyboard. None of the issues posted above. No idea how it is with the G74.
The touchpad is excellent. Never had any problems with my laptop, actually.

Asus produces several different configurations. But some upgrades like the 90% gamut screen are aftermarket.

G73sw is a great all-round notebook. But if you're serious about gaming, you should be looking at a Sager with a 6990m.

 

If you like older games or just more multi tasking, the G74 is a really stylish notebook. I was pretty close to buying one, but the 560M just wasnt enough for what I wanted. I could see using one as a back up but not a primary gaming rig. You can get an NP8170 for ~$1400 with a 6990m (see the review of mine in my sig, mine was <$1350 shipped not including the SSD). The 560M just isnt good enough for 1080p gaming on newer titles.

I'm really happy with my 8170. I can play Deus EX HR at 1080p, highest settings with 4xAA 8xAF. Few dips into the 30s for fps, but very playable at those settings. The touch pad blows though, has an abrasive feel. Worst part of the Sager in my opinion. I use a Razer mouse instead. Other down side is that the intake vents on the bottom can be easily blocked, you'd want to use a notebook cooler. Also the PSU is super big. Not a problem for me because this is a desktop replacement, won't be moving it around much. But overall, really happy I went with the 8170 over the G74.

 

I have a g73sw, and its 100% PERFECT for gaming while having mobility.

HOWEVER as the first poster on this thread said, its quite big and heavy comparing to some other laptops with just about the same power and specs.

IMO if I had to buy a new one I would go with the g5x's series with a screen of 15,6 instead of this 17,3 from the g7x's series. It will reduce size and weight while maintaining the same specs. You can just plug it to a tv or external monitor wherever you go anyway if you need bigger screen.

For example I had a samsung rf711 before this one with a 540m, it was WAY lighter and thinner, very very efficient and high quality product with a slick design.

 

I don't have a G74 but I do have a G73SW and it is the notebook I bring to college. I have gotten quite used to it and it isn't a bother to bring around the campus. The main complaint I have about it though is it's battery life which is nothing compared to the smaller notebooks.

At first I thought build quality was excellent but when I got my M18x, it suddenly felt much cheaper. Don't get me wrong though, it's still really good. It's just that the M18x has an aluminum chassis if I'm not mistaken.

Graphics card is nothing that exceptional, but is good enough to play almost all games. Don't expect everything at max settings though.

Upgrades are rather easy to do. I swapped one of the stock HDDs in my G73 for an SSD.

Overall a really solid machine and I believe the G74 is almost exactly like the G73 except for a few aesthetic changes.

 

Hi,

have the G74Sx-A1. It's a beast. Big and heavy, but a powerful beast. And I love it so far.

- Really great for gaming. About all games at max settings at the moment, except some.
- Asus is great. I had a problem with my G51 before, but the warranty is great. It feels solid and well made. To be honest, I haven't seen that robust well-maid feeling on any other laptops I've encountered (haven't tried Alienware though)
- The cooling of this laptop is great.
- Battery life is really nice too. My G51 wasn't able to stay alive for more than 1 hour. My G74 about 2.5hours (no gaming).
- Plenty of space (1.5Tb), plus the possibility to upgrade to SSD for one disk and leave the other for storage.
- 1x USB3 ! My external drive loves it.

The only thing I don't like is the keyboard. From my experience, I don't think it is as bad as Catzoo is saying (my opinion only), but I have a lot of misses, especially the spacebar. But, you get used to it and your brain will eventually compensate. But, I now use an external keyboard and external screen when my laptop is used on my desk.

I highly recommend this laptop, or any Asus laptop.

 

i used to buy 1 or 2 laptops a year, always in search of that near perfect one and i've finally settled on the g series, with the g74 being a big upgrade over the g73.

the battery lasts longer with the sandy bridge and whatevers, and the keyboard flex was annoying and that got fixed.

unless you really know what you're doing, i'd skip the screen upgrades. it sounds cool when you talk about it here, but do you really know the benefits? if so, ok then...but if you're unsure at all, save the cash and rock a huge ssd

i had a sager np8170 but sold it here because as fast as it was, it was a hairdryer while the G series run virtually silent if idling

 

The asus is a beautiful laptop, but it has its issues.

One poster mentioned the keyboard, it is a little awkard, missing keystrokes, the space bar button "clicks" differently.

I've had issues with my G73 crashing/rebooting at random, almost always though when it is idle. Under load, it works great. But ASUS so far have not fixed the problem, they replaced the cpu, but that did not help.

On idle, there is a barely audible "whine" which can be a little annoying.

Asus RMA process from my experience was positive, and fast. Although, I am trying to RMA again, and their RMA system is "down". Not sure if that is true, or if they are trying to get me to give up. They said they'll issue me another RMA, though.

Despite it's many positive attributes, given the issue I've had with a $1500 laptop, not sure I'd buy asus again. Really, a company as big as Asus should be able to build reliable laptops that don't crash in this day and age.

 

Fixed

 

About two months in, I started having issues with the speakers physically drumming against other components when certain sounds are played. I dunno how common it is. Some tape can be used to fix the issue, but it requires disassembling part of the laptop..

 

The key to enjoy this laptop is to have a good bag to haul it around.

I used Golla 888 to haul my stuff. In there there is my laptop, power adapter and mouse. It would take me like 10 secs to unplug my setup at home and chug it into the messenger bag, then bring it to school/anywhere else. Definitely not something I would use in class tho.

keyboard/mouse wise, I've always have external mouse and keyboard (home only) so I don't think that's an issue for me.

As for the quality of it.. well I bought a used one and still holding up after 6 months of my time. I run it on about 5days a week full days and hear no fan whine and all. So far so good, still under warranty.

my 0.02$

 

I've had my g74sw-a1 for a month now and totally satisfied besides few lil things which shouldn't matter to most is it has 2-750 hard drives that when i got it was split into 5 partitions 1 for factory restore 1 for op system and 3 for data was expecting them to be set in raid 0 when it stated in purchase 1.5 tb but my problem just deleted 3 of them other than that everything working fine no problems there is a bios update that allows mapping of numpad.

 

2nd post -----this has replaced my laptop and used on a daily basis for computing and gaming plays mw3 and battlefield great all on hi settings another great factor is great cooling hasn't heated up at all very low temps feel no heat at all hope ya enjoy whatever your decision

BrandASUSSeriesG74 SeriesModelG74SX-A1
GeneralColorBlackOperating SystemWindows 7 Home Premium 64-bitCPU TypeIntel Core i7-2630QM 2.00GHzScreen17.3"Memory Size12GB DDR3Hard Disk1.5TBOptical DriveBD ComboGraphics CardNVIDIA GeForce GTX 560MVideo Memory3GB GDDR5CommunicationGigabit LAN and WLANDimensions16.5" x 12.8" x 2.4"Weight9.4 lbs. with 8 Cell battery
CPUCPU TypeIntel Core i7CPU Speed2630QM(2.00GHz)CPU Support6MB L3 Cache
Turbo Boost up to 2.90GHz
DisplayScreen Size17.3"Wide Screen SupportYesResolution1920 x 1080LCD FeaturesLED backlight
Operating SystemsOperating SystemWindows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
GraphicsGPU/VPUNVIDIA GeForce GTX 560MVideo MemoryDedicated 3GB GDDR5Graphic TypeDedicated Card
Hard DriveHDD1.5TBHDD RPM7200rpmHDD InterfaceSATA
MemoryMemory12GBMemory SpeedDDR3 1333Memory Type204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMMMax Memory Supported16GB
Optical DriveOptical Drive TypeBD ComboOptical Drive InterfaceIntegrated
CommunicationsLAN10/100/1000MbpsWLAN802.11b/g/n Wireless LANBluetoothYes
PortsUSB1 x USB 3.0
3 x USB 2.0Video Port1 x VGAHDMI1 x HDMIAudio Ports1 x Microphone jack; 1 x Headphone jack
AudioAudioIntegrated Sound cardSpeakerInternal Speakers
Input DeviceTouchpadYesKeyboardStandard
Supplemental DriveCard ReaderMulti-in-1 media card readerWebcam2.0MP
PowerBattery8-cell lithium ion
Physical SpecificationsDimensions16.5" x 12.8" x 2.4"Weight9.4 lbs. with 8 Cell