G73JW-A1 vs. G73JH-B1

On the fence about which notebook to get I was wondering if you guys could help me.

I see that the only thing these really have to differentiate them selves is the gpu gtx460m vs, 5870m. I don't know how prevalent the GSOD is and other gpu issues with the B1. I know that you guys have said that the resellers would flash the vbios to alleviate those issues but I was going to buy it from a retailer as I have some store credits.

As far as I can tell the main game I would be playing is BFBC2. I know that people have said the new drivers for nvidia would provide a 15% increase in performance and was wondering if that would get it closer to the 5870 performance.

I was also curious about the ram for either the A1 or B1. I see that there is three accessible slots for the ram with one dimm being installed at the factory. I'm interested in confirmation in that as I don't want to take it apart to max out the ram.

With that being said I was planning on using this notebook for gaming/workstation vm's. Hence the reason for the ram maxing. As far as I have read the two hdds can not be raided correct?


I appreciate any help and direction you might give me. Thank you.

 

The 15% increase in performance is speculation at this point. Go with the JW if you want an Nvidia card, and USB 3.0, Go with the JH if you like the idea of an ATI card. The performance difference is too small to matter as of now.

I have no idea how the ram is set up in these two models as mine came stock 8GB meaning all 4 dimm were used, and the system does not support raid in either model.

 

The JW has a better venting system and it doesn't project as much heat as the JH (as per user reports I read + disassembling video)

 

Asus G73 cooling v2? xD
Heard that ATI Catalyst 11.0 will improve tesselation so that it will get closer to Nvidia performance.

 

The track pad is also supposed to be better in the JW from what I've read

 

Even with the improved tessellation games are still almost unplayable with it on, even on the nvidia card in the jw.

 

So besides the tessellation the 460 still performs worse then the 5870 for bc2?

I don't want to sound like I am flip flopping I just want to be sure I am making the right decision as I'd like it to last for quite a while before having to get a new notebook. I am just concerned with the ati driver issues not wanting to go through the hassle of rmaing it if need be.

 

so far, the jh performs rock solid. Jw is a little slow (4 to 15%) depending on the game and settings. The things is, if you play everything in ultra-stellar-extremely-high settings and with the 5870m you obtain 15-20 fps, with the jw you will obtain a powerpoint slide show as a gameplay.

 

IMO G73JH is better choice in GPU side, but G73JW has USB 3.0 and 2 buttons touchpad. Better GPU cooling is simply related to huge heatsink over it, not the fan.

 

As long as you keep everything up to date you should be fine with either model.

 

Now, whether to choose a model with Radeon HD 5870 or with GeForce GTX 460M, is a question of personal preferences. Those looking for relatively unrestricted (gaming) performance are better off with the G73JH (HD 5870). For users that, however, want supported features like PhysX, the G73JW (GTX 460M) might be a better match. - Review

 

@yupitchie



Where you get your model?????

 

The last few games that have incorporated Phys X have been a very good demonstration of why you might want to steer clear of any PhysX hardware and games that support it. You are missing out on NOTHING by not having PhysX.

 

Now i see it too. ;D

 

So if I do get the B1 how likely am I to face gpu issues that I am currently reading about with the hd 5870? Also how bad if at all is the heat issue for the B1?

 

B1 will still need the vBios update as far as current models go so far.

 

So in your opinion is it still worth it to get that model even though it will need that vbios update and a possible risk of an actual bad gpu from what I have read?

 

In a word.. Yes.

I love the 5870m and feel that even though you do get CUDA and Physx with the 460m, the 5870m is just a better GPU.. Others may disagree but its up to you. Also you do have to consider if you will ever use USB 3.0 or 3D BluRays through the HDMI 1.4 (1.3 should be able to do it to a limit in the future.) or lastly the split touchpad button OOOoooOOOO.....

 

Vbios takes all of 10 minutes to update. Honestly, the Vbios update is much simpler than half the crap you'll have to go through with old games, or console ports getting them to run properly.

As far as a repaste goes, I don't think they'll be doing any better a job on the JW's than the JH's so both of them equally benefit from the job.

 

My sig? My friend made it for me, all these 3 sigs.

 

He's asking where you purchased your G73 GH.

 

I'll fix it. Thank you! Sorry for the typo error.

@rschauby
I know because of the typo error waaaa

 

FIXED! Thank you Nekki, DEagleson, and rschauby.

 

Are there any issues still prevelant with the keyboard in the B1. Also with the vbios update I will be able to install the latest ati drivers without issues as I know without the vbios update you have to use some of the older asus drivers.

 

Had both and even though the G73jh has a better gpu the touchpad has more lag and the 1 button setup is worthless and a major frustration.

 

Even with a clean install. I was reading on amazon at the reviews that without the synaptics driver there was no lag?

 

It's a crapshoot as far as I know. Some G73s have lag and others don't. I put up a poll here in these threads and it came out that a little more than half the respondents had the problem. Pretty unscientific numbers, but still crazily high if it's half that much.

No lag with standard MS driver for the TP. No lag if you disable it in BIOS and use a mouse. Probably a 25% chance you'll get one with lag. I know they haven't engineered it out of the laptop yet because they don't know what the heck causes it. Still, you've got a pretty good chance that you'll never see the issue. Nobody games with a touchpad anyway, do they? I can't.

 

FPS + touchpad = FAiL. xD
Why use the touchpad when they send you a gaming mouse with the notebook anyways.

 

As Nekki said:

 

I agree (it should work) but really, sitting in a car or on a bed with the G73

I don't know about you but my car is small and my 13" MBP barely works sitting behind the while at a rest area trying to scrounge up a document.

Everwhere I go my mouse comes with.

Cheers,

 

I actually got accustomed to using my G73JH in bed and for surfing the web and watching videos it would really be much more comfortable just being able to use the touchpad instead of trying to use the mouse on the wrinkled bed sheets...
I never used it in my car either, it was just an example .

 

I am trying to crunch the performance numbers with the 5870 vs. 460. Would someone be able to explain what those percents translate into real world performance? I am specifically looking at bfbc2 and notebookcheck website review for both models.

 

The review says that the JW gets 29 FPS with everything maxed out on BFBC2. In the paragraph above the chart it says the 5870 gets 32 FPS. I play the game at 1920X1080 just fine on my JH. I generally don't set AA or I set it pretty low if things look jagged to me.

I don't know that 29 versus 32 helps you make a decision. I guess if it were me, I might be willing to accept that if I get USB 3.0.

I think as a general rule, you will find the 460m to run cooler than the 5870 but you'll get slightly fewer FPS in most games. At least, that's my impression from what I've read. If you're looking to get faster than the 5870, you'll probably need to buy a laptop with a 480m or perhaps something really expensive running SLI or XFire.

 

I have the JW model, and I get 50 fps on Resident Evil 5 on DX10 with all settings maxed at 1080p, AA at 2. Not sure how this is a powerpoint slide by any means. Also the jw overclocks incredibly well. My GPU core is at 1350, the gpu memory at 1458, and the memory at 730.

Update, I got the Core to 1450. the shader to 1566, and the memory to 783. Pretty good if I do say so myself.

 

Noone ever said youd get a slideshow with DX10 in most games. But try some DX11 titles maxed and you can take a sip of coffe with your gaming.

 

well, as everyone are too lazy to but it here i shall but it my self

5870m-----> Review Update Asus G73JH (i7-720QM, FHD TFT) Notebook - Notebookcheck.net Reviews

GTX 460m-----> Google Translate

There is a difference in cod and bc2 and thats only what matters for me
3D mark Vantage score difference is also big. Cant see it in the screen but i guess the GPU score is nearly 1000pts les than 5870m.

 

Is the only difference between G73JW-xA1 and the G73JW-A1 hard drive size. I am looking at the specs and it looks like that's all that is different.