G73's differences and upgrades ?

Hey there, I know there's probably answers to those questions already but I can't seem to find it, so I'm hoping someone can shed some light on this.

I have g71 which is working great, it's 1.5yrs old and the temps hold steady at 80-85c max on hours of mmo's. But playing an mmo i want a bit more kick from the lappy and thought maybe i'll give the g73 a chance.
I know there was JH that had some issues, so I'd rather skip that one.
Was the JW the next one after, I saw xotic do a review where the temps were holding steady on it, is this the general experience with this update ?
And I believe the SW is the next one ? Whaat changes were made to this one ?

Overall I'm looking to see if they hold temps and if there's no major problems with them and what kind of changes were made to the models.

 

I currently own a Sw model and blowed away with it.

Bad Company 2
1080p
High Graphics
High Performance mode

GPU max at 74 degrees
CPU max at 74 degrees.

Quiet happy with the machine. I strongly advise you getting the SW.

 

Get a JH instead. It's faster than the SW and costs less... essentially the same machine but the 5870m > 460M GTX.

 

Please explain how the Vbios is broken? My Vbios ran perfectly fine before the .93v update which was suppose to fix the only problem being a GSOD. The JH may have a few issues but I have found apart from a repaste being required the GPU runs perfectly.

 

He's raging about how using OverDrive and PowerPlay that the mem clocks don't change and stay maxed. From a heat/power consumption it's minimal, but some peeps are OCD about it.

 

Im power hungry so downclocking is nowhere near as important as overclocking for me, what is the point in having a gaming laptop if you want it to run cool all the time.

Burn it for 2 years and then sell it and upgrade.

 

+1. After flashing my vBIOS and getting the latest Catalyst drivers I haven't had a problem with my JH. It was an amazing bargain for the price, and overall the machine has exceeded my expectations. I will say that my machine was made later on in the production run(November 2010) so they may have ironed most of the bugs out by the time my particular system was made, but I got a solid, modern gaming rig for $850... I can't complain with that at all.

 

So what were the changes from JH>JW>SW ?

 

jh - ati 5870m + i7 720 except for the -b1 which is 740
jw - nvidia 460m + i7 740
sw - nvidia 460m + 2630 sandy bridge

 

First two are fine it makes sense to make two different types of GPU with different machine models but the SW is just wasted with the 460 they should have at least put a 6 series or the 470 in it to even out the power of the mighty sandy.

 

Agreed on that and from that point of view, the G74 has a good chance of being a disappointment (GTX560m), what shame.

 

A shame is relative. Tho I do agree, the unit isn't really that much of an upgrade over G73SW. This is what happens when a company goes to consumer mass production from bare bones systems, and want it's customers to buy all new machines instead of upgrading. If I was a boutique seller, I'd be pissed.

 

Ok now tell me this, I know hardware difference, but from personal use or from postings of others how are they know

JH - from what I noticed lots of overheating issued, bsod's...etc

JW ?

SW ?

 

The SW is a solid performer, and there's no real reason to swap anything out. The G73SW here works fine, no keyboard/trackpad issues. JW is unimportant with SW units out.

TBH, I still prefer my 5870M

 

Amen to that. This card is a beast.

 

From the JH end, people have complained about overheating(usually due to clogged vents or badly applied thermal paste), GSODs(grey screens of death), keyboard issues(DOuble CAps, missing letters, lag, etc), and touchpad issues(jumpy cursor and the single button really does stink).

I have a later-model JH and it looks like many of these complaints have been rectified. I used to have most of these issues and after flashing to the latest BIOS and vBIOS those problems have been solved. The double-capping on the keyboard might be my fault as I'm still getting used to the keyboard layout... I come from ThinkPads and the G73's board has a completely different feel to it.

I think that the biggest bang for the buck can be had with the JH. The HD5870 is the strongest GPU of the three(that and I'm still very leery about nVidia's offerings; I used to own an XPS M1730 and was constantly worried about my cards melting), it still has a quad-core i7, and can be had used for a very good price. Considering that the G74 is slated to have a GTX 560M there's really no reason I can see to upgrade to a newer model anytime soon. I'm very satisfied with mine and it's since become my primary system. After putting it through some minor upgrades I think it will be quite the beast.

 

Compared to the JH specs at launch (the 5870 was a beast back then), the G74 will be rather underpowered for it's generation in the GPU department. I still think it'll be a nice machine and all but i don't really see a point of getting a G74 over my G73 if it comes with a 560m, i would rather go with a clevo and cope with the extra noise for a 6970m. I really wouldn't mind having to buy a whole new laptop instead of upgrading if Asus delivered on the hardware side. I kinda like the new G series look since the G73, one of the main reasons i got it (no flashy colors and no blinking leds, well not obvious blinking leds).

 

I have the G73jh BB model, bought in March of 2010, no issues at all, other than my typing, I would guess. Runs cool, love the 5870. However, my wife needed a laptop, so I gave it to her, and got a Sager 8150 with the 485gtx. It runs just as cool, if not cooler (G73 never hit over about 75 in long gaming, and the Sager idles at around high 30's, low 40's, hits up to mid 60's in gaming). Neither lappy has loud fans, and both run cool, fast and quiet. Just like any laptop, I have read about fan issues on the Sager thread, yet I have no issues with either computer. II have done a few things, like unparking cores, JJB's tweaks on the G73 for the ssd, running in high performance, disabling allowing the computer to put to sleep, etc. and both run cool and fast. I think, at least for me, the G73 was a great buy.