Help WaffleBoy decide which laptop to buy

I was on the same boat as some of you guys, I couldn't decide between a few models, namely Asus g73sw(possibly G74), Clevo p170hm and AW M17x R3. I went into great length researching everything about the three laptops and had a VERY HARD time deciding which one to buy.

I had good history with my G50 and the g73 has almost everything I wanted, good looks, great cooling, competitive price.....however it has the WEAKEST GPU of the three. About Clevo, it has what the G73 lacks the most, a strong GPU, but it's definitely the ugliest. AW is the most expensive option here, but does have everything I wanted, it's the most expensive, but not a whole lot more expensive than the G74 coming out next month, and it has a MUCH STRONGER GPU: 6970M.

To simplify the seemingly complicated situation, it comes down to this: what do you buy your laptop for? These 3 laptops are all for gaming, what a matters the most for gaming is apparently a good GPU. When it comes to the point it can't produce enough fps to make your gaming experience enjoyable, it's most definitely always because your GPU can't keep up.

Some of you may have illusions that 460M/560M is not much behind of a 6970M, 460M/560M may satisfy my need now. But it's not, 6970M is one average about 50% faster, to make it even more clear, it's 20fps vs 30 fps, 25fps vs 37fps, that's the difference of playable and unplayable, playable and fully smooth game play . The gap grows even larger to a whopping 63-70%!! at 1080p and with the highest details on. check this: AnandTech - Eurocom Racer: Why the Radeon HD 6970M Rocks scroll down to the 1080p section to see the difference between a 460M and a 6970M.

In the end I chose the AW m17x r3 mainly because I can't deal with the plain looks of the clevo, in fact at this point you can't go wrong with either actually, if the looks of a laptop doesn't matter to you, that is. I think the extra few hundred $ I have paid is well worth it, especially if you see this matter in a few years down the road.

 

Nah... more are flow... the G53 is 16.6inch so... almost the same size.

 

What helps the airflow on the G7x series is the subwoofer port in front. The G5x series don't have that in the chassis.

 

This place also sells a $1200 tv for 400 bucks. I doubt the $800 G73JW is legit.

The G53JW is below 800 bucks XD.

[edit] Actually this site is quite amusing. If you go down to the bottom and click on "customer service," it's same copy-paste of random Latin text under each heading.

 

I just got an open box Asus g53sw from newegg for $860+shipping and I'm happy with it.

Newegg.com - Open Box: ASUS G Series G53SW-XN1 Notebook Intel Core i7 2630QM(2.00GHz) 15.6" 6GB Memory 500GB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M

It's out of stock now, but keep your eye out and you could snag one when it becomes available like I did.

 

Nice catch! Newegg definitely beats out some fake site.
You shoulda gotten 2 and send me 1

 

Dam! when they will sell them again ?

 

guys i really envy with all of u .. i got my g73sw for $1950 bcs of tax etc. im in indonesia btw..

 

Good way to get notified when they are available is to install the firefox addon, check4change. You can have it refresh the page every 5 minutes and when it detects a change, it'll play a sound. Of course you have to be near the computer to hear it and that's when you run to your computer and speed buy.

 

That is an obscene price in the UK that is £500 great purchase.

 

860$? And I won't have to pay tax?


And what are the differents?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...IsFeedbackTab=true&Keywords=(keywords)&Page=2

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...=skim525X832X6be27ef06407198bbc2221fbe0349ed8

 

Open box.

At best, it'll be perfect mint condition that's only been taken out of the box with everything intact with manuals, extra screws, etc.
At worst, it'll have wear and tear with missing manuals, etc.

warranty, etc. should still be the same.

 

And when will they do this "SMOKING DEAL" again?

 

When they get another open box G53 . Meaning someone will have returned one they ordered and opened for w/e reason.

 

Newegg says that they test open box items for functionality before selling them. I only had a small cosmetic flaw on the top of my laptop when I got it. It's just a small gray smear, which I was bound to get sooner or later.

Not sure if you read my post on the last page about check4change. You should try it out, it's how I was able to get my laptop.

When newegg gets open box items, I think they receive at least 3 before they post it as available on the website, because my friend was also able to order one. Unfortunately, he received one with a faulty power button, which I see is a very common problem among these laptops. He was able to RMA it to ASUS for warranty with free shipping to get it fixed though.

 

Can you confirm if the "ASUS" logo on the lid above the rog logo lights up?
And is there a "neon bar" under the screen lid as shown in the pictures?



Thanks in advance

 

They might be 2 kinds of G53SX no? one with 2GB 128BIT and one with 1.5GB 192BIT

Here:

ASUS G53SX-A1 15.6" Notebook. ASUS G53SX-A1

"The G53Sx utilizes the brand new NVIDIA GTX 560M with a massive 1.5GB GDDR5. Based on Fermi technology, this new graphics processor offers native DirectX11 for a huge graphics gain in high definition gaming, plus dedicated video acceleration"

 

No..I think that's probably a typo error over there..Inside that same site under specs they have mentioned it correctly( Asus G53SX-A1 Specs).. Even I'm hoping if the "128bit" 2G vram was a mistake somehow...but apparently as it seems, it is not..
check out:



Also just for your satisfaction:

 

The ASUS logo lights up, I'm not sure where this neon bar is that you are referring to. I don't even see it in the pictures.

 

The neon bar is only on the older G73 models, not since the G73SW.

 

yeah, G73SW does not have the neon bar and even the logo doesn't light up on the back of the lid if i'm not wrong..not very sure though..

I saw it in various pictures so asking, check:
from Asus Website
It's present at the bottom under the lid as you can see in the encircled portion in the picture.

Many vendors like exoticpc were even offering customization on their light colours!..But I don't know why I'm not able to see that today..Till yesterday it was there..

Even then please try checking it and let me know


Thanks..

 

Can you shot it?

 

Yeah the logo only lights up on the G53 as far as I have heard. I haven't seen a G53 in person.

 

The ASUS logo lights up when the display is lit up. It does not light up when the lid is closed.

There is no blue LED anywhere on the laptop. The only other things that light up are the keyboard and the 4 buttons.

Will upload pics in a second.

EDIT:

 

I have to admit, I am jealous the Asus logo doesn't light up on the G73, but owell.

So WaffleBoy, you decided what your going to get yet?

 

No I will wait till the G53SX comes out, then I will decide (prices down, maybe (I don't know) there will be 192BIT on the SX and blablabla...)

So... Asus G53SW-A1(if price down)/G53SW-XN1(open box I guess)/G73SW-XN2(not sure...)/Sager NP8130(not sure)/G53SX-A1(only IF it comes 192BIT)

I need 15/17 inch display, GTX 460M/560M, I7-2nd Gen', 8GB, Wirless 6300, DVD DL, HDD 500GB 7200, SSD Intel 510/Crucial m4/VERTEX 3...

Hard to choose.

 

oh... is it?..I think now I have to believe it...but till yesterday the xoticpc website were giving mods on their colors too! may be asus has removed it

Thanks a lot for that..I hope you have tried pressing the lights button on the extreme top-left hand side of the keyboard a couple of times because it has different functions at each press I think.

Also can you give me feedback regarding the keyboard and the touchpad buttons. Because in the reviews everywhere they are the only issues!
the keyboard becomes way too flex while typing with normal pressure and touchpad buttons make too much noise..so just wanted to hear it from you regarding them..


Thanks once again

 

The light button at the top left only toggles the light on the keyboard and the 4 buttons.

 

the light up logo of asus is really cool. i want that!

 

fine...thanks....
Also can you please tell me your feedback regarding its keyboard and touchpad buttons with respect to the issues mentioned earlier?..

 

I have no issues with the keyboard and touchpad.


I do have issues adjusting to the scrolling on this touchpad though, because it is different from all of the touchpads that I have used in the past.

Usually when I scroll, part of my finger is on the right edge of the touchpad where you feel the elevation, but this does not work on this laptop. It seems like the very right edge is not part of the touchpad. I've messed with synaptics and I can't get the right edge to become part of the scrolling region. I know you can scroll with two fingers, but I like scrolling on the edge a lot more.

Here is a picture to show what I am talking about.

Click to enlarge

 

hmmm....ok..so I think I'll going for G53SW then
Anything else you want to share, any other issues which I did not happen to notice or any impressive plus points??
And yeah...How heavy is the laptop, ie can we work on it keeping it on the lap for say 1-2 hours?
And under normal operations(not gaming), is the air coming out of the fans behind too hot to keep it on your lap?

 

The laptop is surprisingly cool when you are not gaming. It feels cooler than my G51VX even though this laptop runs hotter (i7 of course), and this is probably because this G53SW has two air vents, so it should be not problem keeping it on your lap. Both my CPU and GPU temps do not go past 85 while gaming, which is great.

The laptop does feel slightly heavy compared to other laptops, but it's to be expected from a gaming laptop. I've had quite a few gaming laptops before, so I'm already use to it.

Out of all of the gaming laptops I've had, this is definitely the bulkiest, in terms of height.

I had no problems fitting the 1TB HDD in the G51VX, but I had to do some cramming and slight metal bending to get it into this laptop. You'll have no problem if you don't use the HDD caddy, but you'll need to find a way to secure the HDD's position.

Let me know if there's anything else you would like to know.

 

Thanks^ can you please share the temp' while a movie (FHD)?

 

When watching a movie, the CPU temp averages 46 and the GPU temp averages 51

 

Cool! THANKS!

 

Thanks a lot!
So I think now I'm surely going for G53SW. I'll discuss more things about Asus G53SW as and when I get them in my mind.

Can anyone help me with this Q:
What's the difference in the performance(or significance) between the two:
if we are getting TWO 4GB rams or
FOUR 2GB rams
though both make a total of 8GB RAM considering that we have four ram slots?

 

my G73SW never exceed 72c (overclock) while gaming. it is extremely silence, no fan

 

significance between the 2 x 4gb and the 4 x 2gb is that, whenever you decide to buy more ram, you'll be replacing one of the 2gb, making the upgrade worth less then straight up adding another slot

 

ok...So is there any difference performance wise because in the former one we get 4gb ram at one stretch and in the latter one we get only 2gb at one stretch...

Can you please post a screenshot of the detailed system ratings given by windows for G53SW?

 

I think its 6.9

 

hmmm....ok...that's good i suppose...
so you finally decided upon something?

 

Because of my hard drive, mine is 5.9. If I ignore the hard drive or had a SSD, then i would have a 7.1.

 

I'v heard that some laptops have keyboard problems... should I worry?

 

ok..

If I'm not asking much of your time can please you download the following software on your G53SW and post screenshots of the details. I'm really looking into buying this, so just becoming more and more curious.

description: cpu-z system hardware and benchmark

downloadlink: download.cnet.com

 

This post is becoming epic 15 pages . I thought I couldn't make my mind up but Waffle has taken buying a laptop to the next level altogether.

By the time you decide it will be out of date ya know

G73SW remains my personal recommendation apart from a cheap JH with problems its the best mid range bang for buck.

 

Lol yea I think I will buy G73SW-XN2 or G53SW-XN1 or Sager NP 8130 or Sager NP 8150

need to decide!

 

Its pretty simple to me stay away from Sager, the G53 is very cute and I really like its design but 15 inches just wont do for gaming personally.

Its the G73SW. Buy it and enjoy it before you go grey!

 

Buy people are saying that its HUGE (I will connect the laptop to 32inch FHD LED TV)

Importent questions!

1.Do I have to pay tax (LA) if I buy from "Newegg", "Xoticpc", "Gentechpc", "Amazon", "Costco"??
2.Newegg's model comes with inte' warranty?

Thanks! after that I will decide what to buy!

 

If you live in a different country then you will have to pay customs for delivery. Although you may be able to do what I did and have a company like UPS personally deliver it for you and declare the price beforehand as they declared it for me at 25% the worth so I only paid like £15. I dunno what internal US customs is like.

It says on the site 1 year ASUS Accidental Damage Warranty - Drops, Fire, Spill, Surge

My G73 is a nice size but its not that big unless you intend to carry it in your pocket. Its only 3.5kg tops which is not bad for a 17 inch gamer.