Just ordered a G53SW off Xoticpc.

I had mine customized with SSDs, IC thermal compound, and the upgraded high contrast/res screen. I went this route because last year I splurged on a $4000 Alienware that had nothing but problems so I eventually sold it on eBay. I need another high power laptop for work and play, and it was between this or a Sager. Honestly, I couldn't bring myself to buy an expensive system without a backlit keyboard, so Asus, here I am.

My question and reason for this topic is I've heard/seen very conflicting reports about the cooling system in this laptop. I'm assuming it's going to be the same or similar to the previous and larger models. Asus pushes it like a feature in that the cooling system is advanced and powerful, yet even on here I see lots of complaints about their systems overheating to the point of shutdown.

To me that's completely incompetent; design a gaming machine where the cooling system is inadequate, then push it off as a "feature."

So yes, I'm worried about this. What are your experiences with the temps on these laptops? If it runs hot, I'm probably going to just have to return it and try something else. Except Asus is probably my only remaining option since I no longer trust Alienware and Sager's lack of backlighting is a deal breaker for me.

Any ideas?

 

The G53 runs very nicely as far as temps go. In fact the only complaint I have with it is the default panel, and you've upgraded it already. Just have them make sure you don't have any touchpad or keyboard lag issues, and then you'd be golden.

 

That's fantastic! Thanks for the reassurance.

Yeah, that's the reason I use a vendor like XoticPc. They physically have the unit in their hands before shipping it out, and you deal with them directly for problems (very reputable/reliable company) instead of Asus.

 

Chastity is spot on, It seems the people with Asus gaming laptops and heat issues either have bad factory paste jobs, or have acculated dust from normal use and have not blown out the interior with an air can, or cleared the dust by other means.
If it is not too late you could always ask the vendor to run fumark B4 shipping.
I would also verify that U will get a driver disk, and win 7 disk with your purchase with no extra charges.
BTW, Nice machine !

 

Love the g53 but since it has a smaller chassis is going to run warmer than the bigger brother.Had 2 g53jw and the gpu temps were in the 90'C under full load,I returned them and got the g73sw and the max temps I get 74C.Anyway hope your sw runs cooler than my jw.Keep us informed
good luck.

 

You should ask xoticpc to ship the original HDD that came w/ the laptop too (since ASUS laptops are prebuilt, you're paying for it no matter what).

 

I'm not sure they charge you full price for the upgrade though.

 

Some do, I'm not sure which one does and I'm sure one of them actually sends the HDD to you as well (just not installed). Just a heads up for people who consider SSD upgrade so they can see if what they get charged is full price or deducted price. Bear in mind the G73SW comes with the 750GB hybrids so those should take off a nice $70-80 from the retail price of the SSD upgrade if they do deductions.

 

Eh, probably only drop by $40 or so. Xotic won't sell the parts they pull at full price.

 

If its $40 dollars off, I suggest people grab an SSD themselves, it'll be more cost effective that way.

 

Well reaching to the hdd ainst super hard, but not as easy either, i probably would pay the extra $40 for the ssd, if it meant installed inside.

 

I think he meant $40 reduction on the cost of the SSD(Retail Cost - 40), not $40 for the SSD.

 

Laptop is spectacular.

It never ran hot for me and I never, ever felt any sort of heat on my lap and I game on my lap for extensive periods of time frequently. The vent tilt is the best design for gaming laptops and more companies should adopt this.

I know how you feel about the backlit keyboard. I switched to Sager and I miss that feature, however I find the Sager keyboard superior to the G-Series one, so a better keyboard > backlight.

You'll be very happy with the G53, I know I was

 

Thanks for the input guys.

Here is the way I configured my system if anyone is interested or looking for ideas. In my experiences, Xoticpc is a phenomenal retailer.

1x ASUS G53SW-A1 - PRE ORDER
- Display: 15.6" FHD 16:9 "Matte Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright LED Anti-Glare Screen w/ 95% NTSC Color Gamut (1920x1080)
- Dead Pixel Warranty: ASUS Zero Bright Dot (ZBD) 30 Day Pixel Guarantee - (Included on ASUS Standard NON-Upgraded Displays)
- Processor: 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM, 2.0-2.8GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache) - Standard (Does not support DDR3 1600MHz Ram)
- Thermal Compound: IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU-
- Graphics Video Card: nVidia GeForce GTX 460M 1,536MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11
- External Display Video Adapters: No Video Adapter
- Ram: 8,192MB (8GB) DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (4x2GB) - Standard
- Exterior Finish: Standard Finish
- ASUS G Series Afterburner™ FX: No Afterburner Light Package (Afterburner light package will add 2-5 business days to production time)
- XOTICFX ASUS Logo Backlight (Back of LCD): Standard White ASUS Logo Backlight
- XOTICFX Backlit Keyboard: Standard White Backlit Keyboard
- XOTICFX Backlit W-A-S-D Key Color Options: Standard Matching Color WASD Keys
- Optical Drive: 4X Blu-Ray Reader + 8X DVDRW/CDRW Super Multi Combo Drive
- Primary Hard Drive: - 120GB Intel 510 Series Solid State Drive (Up to Sequential Read 470MB/s - Write 315MB/s SSD2 Serial-ATA III)
- Second Hard Drive: - 80GB Intel G2 X25-M Solid State Drive (Up to Sequential Read 250MB/s - Write 70MB/s SSD Serial-ATA II)
- Additional Hard Drive in Optical Drive Bay: No Additional Hard Drive in ODD Bay (When adding Hard Drive, Optical Drive Is Not Included/Removed)
- External Hard Drive (Back Up): No Back Up Hard Drive
- External USB Optical Drive: NO External USB Optical Drive
- Back Up Software: No Back Up Software
- Floppy Drive: No Floppy Drive
- Memory Card Reader: Internal 5-in-1 Card Reader (SD/MMC/MS/MS PRO/ xD-P)
- Bluetooth: Internal Bluetooth + EDR
- Wireless Network: -Intel® Advanced-N 6205 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module
- Wireless Network Accessories: No Network Accessory
- Camera: Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- TV Tuner: No TV Tuner
- Sound Card: Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Case: Asus G Series Matching Backpack made by Targus
- Battery: Smart Li-ion Battery (8-Cell)

Total: $2346.00

 

You don't need 2 SSDs, just get the Intel 510 and keep the HDD in the second drive.

 

I appreciate the advice but I specifically wanted two separate drives. I like having a second, separate drive for my media.

And I wanted two SSDs. I won't ever go back to a HDD.