G73 JH vs. JW

Hey guys I'm looking to pick up one of the above models today/tomorrow. I was thinking of the JW but I've seen a lot of people knocking the GPU. I play Civ 5 predominantly, and felt that the extra 500 megs of RAM would be a vast improvement for loading textures/etc. Is this just not so?

So far it seems that the laptop runs cooler as a whole. Aside from that, I know the processor is slightly faster, it comes with the USB 3.0 port, etc.

So which is better? Would the 460 be better with future drivers (since it's a new card)? Or would the 5870 be the best choice? We're hoping to have as future-proof a laptop as possible here - no plans to sell or upgrade for at least 2-3 years...

I'd love to hear back from both JH and JW owners

Thanks!

 

I would go for G73Jh... My opinion!!!

 

Some reasons would be nice!

 

I would go with the G73JW purely because of the cooling. The G73JH maxes out at 82 degrees on the CPU and 93 degrees on the GPU. The G73JW maxes at 72 degrees on the CPU and 80 degrees on the GPU. This decreases the possibility of hardware failure, and that is important since you want to keep this for a long time.

Also, the touchpad on the JW has two buttons.

People here will tell you the 5870 is better, but honestly, will you even notice? They're both awesome cards. And the 460 will get better with updates. The massive difference on cooling is worth more than a few frames per second. At least, that's what I think.

 

Both Asus G73JH-B1 & G73JW-A1 are similarly specced and ship with the Intel Core i7 740QM, but JW has added bonus of HDMI 1.4 (For Bluray 3D contend), 1 USB 3.0 output and faster RAM (1333MHz).
As of now both notebooks perform very similar so just go with personal preference on the GPU.

I have yet to deside myself but im actually leaning on the G73JH because im more of a ATI fan. ;D

 

I could not agree anymore.

 

My JH came with 1333 RAM too so imho can't really use that... the HDMI difference is up to you tbh,do you need it or not ? the usb 3.0 is a + but it's all up to what you need and don't need
I personally picked the JH because of the price and don't really need the 3D HDMI support nor does the USB 3.0 matter much to me since I am in no hurry and the 2.0 transfers fast enough for me.
Noticed you say you play Civ 5, as do I and I can't say I feel I'm missing anything, it runs on DX11 and most of the settings on high, good enough for me

 

Thanks for the replies. To me, HDMI 1.4 isn't important. I did notice that the JH's ship with both 1066 and 1333 RAM, so that's also not important. Price isn't a big deal either since they're about 100-200 different.

Cooling is very important (came from an M1730) to me, and I'll be having either model repasted via Gentech. Didn't realize there was such a drastic difference between the two temp-wise though!

 

If you're getting repasted, the JH model is comparable to the JW imo. The only issue you might have had with the JH is a bad paste job. Another thing to consider is most if not all (except maybe the keyboard lag (which he's working on now)) of the issues with the JH have been remedied where the JW might still have some issues to work out.

 

keyboard lag??? Never heard of it for the G73's...

 

Me neither....well ok I did hear about it on here...but I haven't noticed any on my computer... and if you're getting it repasted might as well throw that issue out

 

Had both took the G73jh back and got the G73jw. The JH is way better stock on 3dmark06. I ran them both at 1900x1080 and the JH was about 11700 and the JW about 9700. So the review on here was a fraud to make them sound closer then they are. I like the G73jw because it runs so cool the cpu runs hotter than the gpu in regular use. The touchpad and buttons are a major improvement. Much more responsive. G73jw is smoother and more refined. When gpu is top priority the 5870 is in a higher category but the G73jh is more of a beta. I think the G73Jw gets an hour better battary life the the G73jw from the review I saw.

 

the JW has crazy bad latency, whereas the JH doesn't, especially if you replace the wifi.

 

That i did not know.
So if the G73JW was using a Intel 6300 it would bog up the system?
If thats the case im grabbing G73JH. ;D

 

Really, link or fake.... i demand a new touchpad now

 

Oh so 60% of the users reporting missing keystrokes on their JH in Jody's poll are what? Air?
I have it myself and i have the Intel 6200 wireless card. Thats just misinformation there DCx.

Both the JH and JW have the same latency problem when the touchpad is enabled. Asus has had this problem for a few years now on several laptop models and theyre still sitting on their behinds laughing at us pulling our hair out over this...

 

yeah touchpad drivers have always been crap - my M17x has lag when the touchpad is enabled, too. Symantic's drivers only provide one benefit - automatically deactivating itself if a mouse is detected. Fortunately, I never really use the touchpad

 

If I am too choose what to buy Jh or JW...I'll choose the newer model but yeah you really can't tell the graphic difference (both are good quality) unless you are OC to check the furmark or 3D etc. For the touchpad, if you use mouse you don't have a problem, but this is mobile computer. Cooling system is a different topic Nvidia > ATI as always(?) in terms of cooling the card.

 

Both machines have the keyboard lag. In the JH, you can almost eliminate that entirely by disabling the touchpad from the Bios.

If you're looking for stability: Go for the JW...its as simple as that (lower temps, stable - so far that we know of).
If you're looking for a brute of a GPU with some headroom for oc-ing, albeit at higher temps go for the JH.

Btw, the whole two button thing on the JW vs. the JH is irrelevant for me since I use a USB mouse most of the time. Works better too, when you disable the touchpad from the bios.

 

I'm curious - because the 460 runs at a lower temp, wouldn't that mean there's more headroom for overclocking???

This is for my wife, who's a casual gamer at best, so this is more of a philosophical question

 

The mob. 5870 is reported to have very little OC headroom on the newest beta vBios (some cant even overclock it more than 40 on core and mem) and Gary has posted some mean overclocks of the 460m, so i wouldnt be so hasty to claim the 5870 overclocks better...

 

I'm 750/1050 stable after 1 hour in crysis with no artifacts. That's 50 over both core and mems stocks'.

 

Just wondering, what settings do u run Crysis on, I might get it, so just wondering what this card can play it on...
Also should I get Crysis or Crysis Warhead or both?

 

Honestly if I were buying now I'd get the JW solely for USB3 over the JH, because they discontinued the A line. If the price is the same (JH-B1 vs JW) then why not take the USB3? It would be a much more difficult choice if they still produced and sold A2's; the difference between what I paid for my A2 and what a JW sells for is ~$200, which is a pretty decent chunk of change.

No regrets about buying my A2 when I did

 

I had the JH model and i returned it due to GPU crashes... which is very common on that model. I would look into this issue more if you are seriously considering one of these models.

I would buy the JW because of the USB 3.0 and HDMI out, which the A1 did not have. However, both machines are very nice and you will be happy with either choice. If money isn't an issue i would buy the JW, because you will like have the newer USB port sometime down the road.

 

Here 130Mhz on GPU core 200Mhz on memory and also CPU overclocked form 1.6-2.8Mhz to 1.8-3.1Mhz and rock solid(new vbios and 211 bios). 3Dmark06 run

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As for cooling. I repasted my G73JH with ICD24 and getting 68-75C temps, depending on game. The only advantage of G73JW is USB 3.0
Everybody saying that GTX460M will get better with new driver updates. But do you seriously think that driver can do this much? And who said that 5870M wouldn't gain any advantage with new driver releases from ATI?

 

Yes drivers can improve that much, weather or not the GTX460 achives that much is still to be seen, and even if it doesnt the 5870 is with in 5% on most games, so its not a big deal either way, its more the personal preference of the buyer. But from what i remember the ATI 10.3 cat gave a really good boost to the ATI 58XX released one week before the Nvidia Fermi got out, this kinda made Fermi not look as powerful, but still very new arch and drivers should increase the performance some, not sure if it will reach the 5870 levels, but not all games favors one card, so it really dont matter much, at the end they are very comparable hardware.

I personally favor stability and reliability over raw power, that said, i hear good things about current gen of AMD/ATi, but Nvidia get my money out never failing me like the 9800pro did in WOW.

 

I HATE YOU

 

Don't be so angry

 

Latency and missed keystrokes are two different things. DPC latency checker (as run by notebookcheck.net) show that the JH has a spike of 1000ms every now and then. The JW has 4000ms hills (not spikes!).

Ease up, angry-man.

 

Really? Is that a fact, or just FUD? Because I remember seeing lots of OCing going on in the other threads. Also, both units drop keystrokes.

Yeah, some people can't oc as much. But you also can't compare clock rates between architecture differences - just as intel, powerPC and AMD can't be compared clock for clock, ATI and nvidia can't be compared either.

I'm all for nvidia (I DISLIKE ATI), but you can't claim that a 100mhz OC is the same for each card. And you can't claim that the 5870m doesn't OC well because several people can't achieve good clocks. My first and second 5870m cards were champs. So is my current one - right now, I'm maxing out at 85 under full load. Generally, SC pegs it at 82. That's close enough to the nvidia card that I'm not complaining.

Here's the article about the JW, and the JH.

Maybe those big red latency lines mean something different to you, but as far as I can tell the JW has red lines, and the JH does not.

 

where are you read it? Just checked the JH (core i5) review at notebookcheck and the do not show any latency problem (neither in the text or in image). My unit also has no latency problems.

 

I dont know how it is for you, but using MSI vBios i can OC to 845/1260, but on the beta Asus vBios i can only get a stable OC of 760/1100. Its the same some other members reported - that going from the stock to beta vBios lowers their highest possible overclock.
Im not claiming the gtx 460m will surely get better than the mob. 5870 with driver updates (as was the case with ati) or that it overclocks better, but im just saying we dont have enough data yet and you have to give it some time before claiming the ATI card can OC better/will stay the better performer. The 5870 has been out for some time and has had time to be improved with drivers and got some vBios development and loads of expirienced gamers have been toying with it, while the 460m just came out and hasnt been in such enthusiast hands yet .

 

Again Hellcry, it's a hell damn notebook which performs terrific. Do not expect the insane OC that you can achieve in desktops. If you can reach those insane OCed speed with the MSI vBIOS is just because the boundaries for the vga safety are unlocked and also you are dramatically reducing the life-time of your vga. Every piece of hardware has their own limits, you can remove it and OC as a hell, but you will blow it up, burn or melt it for sure anytime soon.

You can argue those speeds are stable... well...when you OC a cpu with NO2 to 5 Ghz they are stable too...but they are safety? can you handle it as a normal gaming/working station?

As you, I would like to have an unlimited OC capacity to the space and beyond, but if people can reach 750/1100 in A NOTEBOOK, is an incredible breakthrough for this kind of hardware.

 

There are no "safety boundaries" or anything of that sort. Its just another example of how poor the Asus vBios is besides the instability, broken powerplay and broken overdrive.
And btw. overclocking is "safe" as long as youre within reasonable temperatures. If the power draw is too large, it wont work, and if you by some stupidity dont monitor temperatures, there is a themal failsafe in place.
Nuf said, its not like theyll finish their work becouse im complaining. Ive accepted that ill have to use the MSI vBios anyway.

 

Thanks for all the responses, everyone. For those with the JW - does it run cool enough to where repasting isn't necessary?

 

One thing to consider. The JH offers more flexibility. You can softmod the HD5870M into a FirePro. It won't be a full FirePro, but you'll still get up to 4X the performance in pro software. Can't do that with JW.

So if you are on a budget and need a workstation, this would be a good option.

 

I had mine repasted, and while i'm glad I did for peace of mind, I'm not sure it was really needed. The temps I'm seeing online with the JW owners who did not repaste seem to be almost identical to mine: Idle around 40, game in the 60's.

 

What's FirePro??? Confused...

Thanks! This is what I needed to know

 

There are two main uses for 3D Graphics. One is gaming, the other is 3D Design, rendering, CAD, etc.

For gaming that's Direct3D. Radeon and GeForce are Direct3D optimized.

For professional, that's OpenGL. FirePro from AMD and Quadro from Nvidia. These are optimizd for OpenGL.

For the JH, the HD5870M can be softmodded, if you don't know about this, you don't need it. But it's an advantage as far as I know you can't softmod a 460M into a Quadro.

A HD5870M is essentially the same as th FirePro.

But the Quadro is GF100, and 460M is GF104. If all of this is confusing, then you don't need to worry about it. The Nvidia Quadro 5000M is a 480M, which is GF100.

 

nah, I can understand now. I'm familiar with Quadro; didn't know what FirePro was. Thanks for clearing it up!

 

Wait, so does anyone know the benchmark scores on 5870M vs. 460M in overclocks? Which one overclocks to better scores?

 

I'm getting the JW. I want quiet when not gaming, and the 460m has that. It will turn itself off and use the onbaord gpu. The reviews on this are excellent. The performance is good enough for me. I'd take either one, but I want to sit in the kitchen and not distburn anyone (self included). 460m is quieter overall from what I've heard.

 

There is no integrated gpu in either the jh or jw. both the 5870 and 460 are capable of switching to such a gpu, if one existed in these laptops.

 

LOL. Really? That's right I forgot Optimus has to be supported by the manufacturer etc. Ha! I was just about to order the xt1. Maybe it's the X3 then. Thanks man!

Then the Radeon with it's Powerplay would actually help reduce noise then wouldn't it?

 

Well the integrated gpu lies in the cpu, I dont believe any of the i7's have one, they are primarly for the i3 and i5's, lol but no problem.

I would say so, my JH is very quite, and I know others would argue this, but I had no noise increase going from bios 209 to 211. Ive only heard the gpu fan once or twice, and the slightest bit at that, when gaming on SCII for hours straight. Never have I heard the cpu fan, other then the time I was pushing my cpu and ram very hard with OCCT.

Honestly you cant go wrong either way, I probably still would have chosen my modded JH over the JW though. Good luck with your choice.

 

No. Powerplay on this machine, is close to useless. Get the NVIDIA card.

Give credit to Asus for making this so.

 

Thanks for all the input, everyone. Ended up getting a JW-XA1

Amazon.com: ASUS G73JW-XA1 17.3-Inch Gaming Laptop - Black (Republic of Gamers): Electronics

 

Micro Center - Toshiba Qosmio X505-Q896 Laptop Computer - Omega Black PQX33U-052025 as an alternative. Looks interesting.

 

I was about to order one of those when I found the G73JH available for pre-order (the Qosmios hadn't shipped yet either).

Big screen! Nice machine but the red one was an attention getter (i.e. gaudy ). Nice to see they made a black version. Glossy finish is a fingerprint magnet too.