G73JH, still worth getting today?

Hey,

I just wanted to get some feedback if the G73JH was still worth getting currently despite the release of the newer G73JW/SW.

Basically, from what I have gathered this biggest draw to the G73JH is the ATI 5870 1 GB graphics card on it that some users find is able to produce a higher FPS on "high-setting" games then its G73 JW/SW counterparts mainly due to the more mature drivers.

Is this really the case?
Also, considering that a new G73JH would still need to have the vBIOS/BIOS updated (ie. risk of bricking) and would still carry a risk of requiring repasting for the CPU/GPU (ie. risk of damaging the hardware); is it really worth getting the G73JH over the G73JW/SW knowing that the CPU/GPU would run at higher temps than the G73JW/SW counterparts?

Thanks,

-NRUserII

 

Yes very much so especially as we have now found out the BST newer models of the JW/SW are being sold with a slower 1GB version of the 460m GTX. 5870m is a very good card.

Yes sir! Feel free to compare here

Try and request this is done before you buy it im sure they will do it for next to nothing, otherwise there is only a very small chance of this happening and its a small problem to get a laptop as powerful for as cheap.

In regards to the temps this is not the case either as long as the repaste is done correctly mine runs very cool 46 min 84 max since my Arctic silver 5 repaste and VBIOS update.

Your welcome. JH it up

 

but the bst's are only at best buy so you can still get an sw/jw somewhere else and get the regular 1.5gb card

 

This is true. It all comes down to power to price. If you can play about and fix a few things the JH is still worth getting for the price you can pick them up for.

 

i agree with you totally and the jh is still a great machine. I like the jh myself but would probably def go with a sw just for processor intensive game and battery life. and power to price most jh's i have seen are about 1199 or 1099 pending where you look and you can find sw's for 1399 so it is more but has some good benefits.

if its between the jh or jw id say jh but jh or sw im going to go sw.

This is the one thing i hate about asus i want to buy it directly from manufacturer and be able to custom configure it my way not have to hunt down what is available at 3rd partys.

 

I personnally would only go for JH IF it was well priced. Less $1100 would be a requirement. There are several decent ones in the "For Sale" forum in the $900-1000 range. Anything over $1100 and it would make more sense to get the SW-XA1 for $1400 IMHO. I agree with Zombie that the SW makes more sense at this point, unless you get a competitively priced JH.

 

both are very good deals either way you go. Don't worry too much into he vbios/bios update as its very easy thanks to the great people who wrote the guides on here. Also as for the repaste i haven't had to do anything to my jh and it runs perfectly cool.

 

Personally I still do not find the reason to update. Core I7 720qm is enough for my requirements, never used more than 5gb of 8gb in windows 7 (the most memory-consuming game so far has been SC2 using 2 gb form main memory), 5870m is amazing and with the new rewrited-from-scratch the vga's performance is reborn. The rest Bluray reader, 4 usb, 1080p (you really need more?!?!?!) and nice form factor make this unit a nice non-burning-lap-laptop.

 

your right not a huge reason to upgrade but if your buying new like the OP then why not get the extra

 

Exactly. The op needs to decide if their budget can afford a sandy if so then go for it but if not the JH will satisfy their needs. The G74 does not look anything special so it looks like 2012 for an upgrade for most of us and if the Sandy is anything to go by what Intel and reviews claim it can do I would be on the wagon as well.

 

Hey,

I think that is the point being made here; that the SW-XA1 (Amazon) is the "better [monetary] value," however, the G73JH will perform with a higher FPS and at a "higher [game] setting" for the same games that are tested due to the G73JH GPU.

Though it is clear that the SW has a superior processor, it seems (at least to me), that the consensus is that the new commerical games will bottleneck at the GPU even with the i7-7XX (which is slower than the i7-2630 (via. G73SW)).

I believe this is why the G73JH still has such a draw; because of its' GPU (ATI 5870) where (it's assumed) that games will bottleneck less than with the GTX 460m with the 1.0GB/1.5GB (ie. .5 VRAM) or whether it is a 128 bit/192bit bus GTX 460m.

What do you guys think?

Thanks,

-NRUserII

 

Only you can decide fella but the 5870m paired with the 720QM does the business very well and will keep you going a few good years until something better comes along. Remember Duel core are still hanging in there very well with the Xtreme versions.

By the way in regards to the 5870M having a 128bit bus against the GTX 460 having 192bit this means nothing because the memory speed of the ATI is faster 5870m gives 64GB/s against the 460's 60GB/s at stock. Its a constant ongoing battle between which one is better some benchmarks prove that the 5870m is better but this is very much up in the air and debateable. Even if it is faster I personally would still rather have the GTX because I have always used Nvidia not because of power but the 5870 is a very good card you will be pleased with both but if the 5870 is cheaper take it.

If you want to keep her longer then consider the SW. Personally I love my JH and wouldn't trade her in for anything im sure people feel the same about the JW also - for the price of course. Sandy gives more oompf but do you need it? thats the question.

 

Hey

Isn't that one of the considerations for why the choice of GPU is so crucial though? That is, how good is say a top of the line i7-9XX Extreme processor or a new i7 "Sandy Bridge" processor if commerical games bottleneck at the GPU?

Which, and correct me if am wrong, seems to be the case when comparing: the ATI 5870 (1.0GB - 128 bit) to the GTX 460M (1.0GB/1.5GB -128bit/192bit); that commercial games won't bottleneck at the CPU (due to the speed of the i7-7XXM/i7-2630M) and will instead bottleneck at the GPU - hence why the choice of GPU seems to be the crucial decider.

Any thoughts on this or am I off in my information?

Thanks,

-NRUserII

 

When the SW comes in, I should try swapping out the 460m with the 5870m and see if I can make the best Dragon Age 2 machine

 

This will always be an issue though I can only tell you from my experience the 720QM works very well with the 5870M if you were to find an exact perfect match I guess it would be nice to see it with say the 940xm to be an even steven but then others will probably feel otherwise.

I think we are all waiting anxiously to see what Sandy is put with the 6970m because that card is going to be a breakthrough in gaming performance but with a nice big price tag stamped onto it.

I think by your posts that you are maybe looking for the 5870m but with something a little more powerful CPU end the A2 I believe comes with the 740qm which clocks the processor upto 1.73ghz above the 1.60ghz of a 720qm and 2.93 turbo against the 2.80ghz and a 1980x1080p screen you might be able to even find one with an upgrade 840qm if your lucky.

 

Hey,

Well I was unsure on the decision to go with ATI 5870 vs GTX 460M, and after some feedback I'm pretty sure I'm going with the ATI 5870 (G73JH) despite how much more processing power I would get with a GTX 460M via the G73JW/SW.
My main concern now is where do I buy a new G73JH?
Let alone find a new G73JH with an i7-740QM let alone one with an i7-8XXQM.

Any ideas on where to buy a new G73JH (besides Best Buy)?

Thanks,

-NRUserII
EDIT: Edit for grammar.

 

G74 - ICK rebranded and overpriced in my opinion.

I picked up mine for a bargain on ebay and that was in the UK where they are hard to come by. If you are happy to accept second hand and maybe update it yourself try Ebay. Amazon I believe offer good deals or go to the big boys at eXotic PC and im sure they will pluck a good deal out for you along with any upgrades you require im not sure what others in the US hopefully someone there will be able to comment. I believe best buy offer the cheapest deals mind.

Personally I would have loved to have the JW model with the 5870m card it would have been the best of both worlds.

 

That would be awesome!

 

You'll have a hard time finding a new one.

Refurbs....
Newegg.com - Recertified: ASUS G Series G73JH-RBBX05 NoteBook Intel Core i7 720QM(1.60GHz) 17.3" 6GB Memory DDR3 1066 500GB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870
Amazon.com: ASUS G73JH-RBBX05 Refurbished Notebook PC - Black: Computer & Accessories


Personally, IF I wanted a JH I would try and get one of the used ones off this forum. Common sense and use of a credit card via paypal should enable you to get a great deal. Check these out.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/not...2112-fs-asus-g73jh-x1-8gb-ram-ati-5870-a.html
http://forum.notebookreview.com/notebooks-desktops-sale/558693-fs-asus-g73jw-a1-nib.html

I'm not advocating for either, just pointing out that they are there. IF it was my money, I'd just get an SW. The difference between a 1.5GB GTX460 and 5870m is negligible if anything, so it shouldn't be a factor in my opinion. The SW is clearly superior in the CPU department, so unless you find a great deal on a JH, why would you not get a SW (best buy SWs excluded since we don't know they are affected by the 128bit bus)?

 

The hardware in these things will fail way before they become obsolete due to software and game advances. For the price its hard to beat a G73 with a 2 year warranty.

I say go for the JH. Mines been perfect aside from minor issues. ATI has been rolling out better and better drivers. I play BC2 on the highest settings with no lag what so ever.

 

I expect mine to last 3 more years on from its 14 months so far and then some because I will be selling it. By looking after it (not allowing it to overheat, downclocking, not overclocking, using Power 4 Gear, updating drivers and BIOS, repasting) it should last you at least 5 years and the rate in which upgrades are increasingly being released faster it should become obsolete quite easily and still be chugging along nicely.

 

Ya. Guess it depends on what is obsolete to you. I was happily (low medium) playing BC2 on my 3-4 year old G1S (8600m) for months before the gpu cooked. I knew it was aging but i couldnt let go of the late night WOW sessions that we had shared. If you have cash to burn and need the latest and greatest then the g73 is already becoming obsolete!

 

3-4 years on an 8600M gt is also pretty outstanding as they announced bad solder on them the moment they put them on sale and as an ex WoW player I know for a fact you probably racked up 100 days on the game at least and then some

I had the G70S with the 8700m GT in SLI and was well impressed with them for 3 years until it started to struggle with frames at the start of this year, the 8 series had its issues but the 8800 GTX was and is still a fantastic card.

I just love the shape of the G73 mostly although I saw the new Lambourghini VX 17 yesterday and fell in love with it.

 

Ironically my 8600m is the reason i have the G73. I was so pissed when it cooked. Raised enough hell with Asus they sent me a free NIB g73JH. =-)
I would have rather kept my G1S at the time as my hand imprints were forever perfectly indented in the palm rest. Maybe in a year or two i`ll share that bond with the g73 lol

 

A free G73 bet WoW is 100 times better now with all the settings maxed!