New 14 inch G-Series Notebook

Always a good time to pick up a bargain

 

Yes siree bob! lol

 

Any announcement on the G46 R2? I've already seen the new razer blade 14'', alienware m14x r3, and the msi ge40. I really hope Asus does a r2 before I decide on which laptop I want to buy

 

Nothing yet, but they will have to respond if they want to stay in the 14" space with the massive delta between the 760/765 and 660.

 

Yeah they would, but I'm not too impressed with the 700 series honestly. Then again, I'm very happy with what I got and don't even fully use the GTX 660M to it's potential, especially when coupled with the 1366x768 display. Not to mention that the max overclock you can do without unlocking anything still keeps within normal operating temperatures. So I actually have a little headroom. Now this doesn't mean that if someone where to gift me a G46 R2 (or whatever they call it) I wouldn't be happy, I would. But for now, I'm very happy with the systems I have. Both laptops are plenty powerful enough for me. (In fact the G46 is perfect for me, the Samsung Series 7 Gamer is probably overkill.) With the issues I've had with the Series 7 Gamer, I'm thinking of trading it or selling it for maybe a desktop as the G46 gives me my portability and almost renders the Series 7 moot, in the aspect that it would be a desktop.

 

This laptop for $450 used is an absolute steal.

 

The upgrade is not for people with ivy bridge and 600m series cards since the performance boost is not dramatic unless they often upgrade every 6 months or year just to have the latest tech.

Haswell+700m series gpu are for people that are in the market for a new gaming laptop.

 

lol l have taken a step back in time was looking at a W110ER however went for a Asus VX6 to take on my next trip and found a UK store selling the W110ER barebone, so total cost way down need the VX6 to get me there and use in work, the W110ER barebones will be left in my pit away from grubby hands (Have a CPU/RAM/SSD+OS lying around) which helps

 

Makes a lot of sense when you put it that way. I could for sure see someone upgrading from the first gen "I" series or even Sandybridge, but yeah, the differences between haswell+ 700M series gpu and ivy bridge+ 600M Series gpu didn't seem all that huge. It does make perfect sense though to go from the gen 1 "I" series or Sandybridge even.

I'm not one the the people who want or have to have the latest tech every 3-6 months, though if someone gave it to me I wouldn't complain, then again, that would be all of us huh? No complaints on free stuff. lol

 

It's also for CPU overclockers on some models since they got that added, but otherwise the only significant change this gen is from the 660M to 760M/765M. A x6x series card worthy of the moniker.

 

Best buy has these for 569.99 at my local store should I bite or wait for further price drop?

 

Get it! They did not last long at our local stores at that price. All out of stock now...The build quality is top notch.

 

They have 3 left at the store and they aren't out on display so I am waiting it out for now just don't know about the screen resolution with me having an alien ware m18xr2 with 1080p....

 

Takes 30mins to replace the screen with a 1600*900 panel

 

Get it! It's a great portable gamer. I have a Samsung Series 7 Gamer, has a 1080p display and everything, I still suggest getting the G46 especially for the price it is. It is a great backup and great portable solution. If your not happy with the 1366x768, you can upgrade it to a 1600x900 display. I personally don't mind the 1366x768 as I get awesome fps. Don't let the display discourage you, my Samsung has an awesome display and while the G46 isn't that great, I have seen worse. I don't think you will regret getting the G46, especially for the price (I paid $660 and still think it's good.) Your getting if for less than me. You can keep your M18 at home and grab and go with the G46! I'd get it, and if you don't like the resolution, get a 1600x900 panel and upgrade it yourself with the money you saved. If your like me and don't mind the screen, more power to ya!

 

Please help anyone! How do you boot a usb flash drive on this laptop. I am trying to install Windows 7 to it, and it keeps coming up with the BIOS. I've used the drive to install windows to other computers, so the drive is good. But for some reason it won't let me boot on the G46. Please help, as I currently have the laptop in pieces to make sure the install goes smooth before putting it back together.

 

IIRC pressing esc should do this, brb will check.

 

Aye press ESC during boot will get you to the bios select etc.

 

Cool, I'll give that a go.

Edit: It worked. Now to get Windows 7 drivers installed. Um, I read that you could use the Windows 8 ones from the website. Is this true? (I installed to a different drive so I still have my Windows 8 drive to fall back on if this fails.)

 

it's true u can use most of the win 8 drivers but there are few of them that you will have to get from intel

 

Still no word on the G46 R2, I'm starting to think Asus is not even going to make it again. That leaves me with the new Razer Blade or the AW 14, I guess I'm waiting until next refresh

 

Yep, I ended up discovering that.

List of drivers used from Intel:
USB 3.0 Host Controller Drivers
Intel HD 4000 Graphics
Bluetooth and Wifi

Downloaded the latest Nvidia Drivers from Nvidia's Website and just selected the GTX 660M and Windows 7 x64

Pretty much all the other drivers from Asus's site worked.

I'm going to try and upload the drivers I used for Windows 7 x64 install and share, that way anyone else who wants to switch to 7 can. Will update when done.

My switch to 7 wasn't because I didn't like 8, I actually do like 8, but because there was software I still use that 8 won't run properly for some reason. And I still use it daily and there hasn't been an update for it. I know some others just don't like 8 so I will see what I can do about uploading the drivers used and sharing them so others can find it easier.

Off to continue installing stuff. I got about 300GB of Steam stuff to copy. lol

 

The G46VR is coming soon, hopefully before Q2 ends. The only real change seems to be a 760M instead of the 660M (why not a 765M?) and the switch to Windows 8. They don't seem to have jumped on the Haswell bandwagon, strangely. Negligible benefits between the 3630QM and the 4700MQ, perhaps?

 

According to these specs, it has a full hd screen, 16GB and a 128GB SSD too...But these specs might be from a customized build too...

"G46VR - 14" Full HD (Non Glare), I7-3630QM, 16GB (2*8GB 1600), 128GB SSD+750GB 7200rpm, nVidia GF 760M, 2G VRAM, Windows 8 64Bits (CE1)

 

Even less of a difference as all the stock G46VW's at Best Buy came with Windows 8 already. As for not updating to Haswell, it may still be too soon they may decide to do it. A link would be great to the product. The GTX 760M has 2x the cores (768 Vs. 384 in the GTX 660M but at a lower core speed (657MHZ Vs the. 835MHZ in the 660M.) It'll be roughly between a GTX 670M and a GTX 670MX from the looks of it. Also the stock G46VW's had an i5, so the i7 is an upgrade but not Haswell, and the testing on the GTX 760M was done with Haswell, so if they keep the Ivy Bridge it'll be interesting. I still don't see a bottleneck with the cpu regardless of if they even kept the i5. But it's not a worthy upgrade to the G46VW especially if you already have one or can buy one for so cheap right now. I'd rather have the G46VW for the price I paid than wait for the updated model. But Asus ROG laptop's have been pretty good for me. Just hope they step it up a little.

Links to the GTX 660M- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M - NotebookCheck.net Tech

Links to the GTX 760M- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760M - NotebookCheck.net Tech

I found one link to a european site (I believe) that lists the G46VR- ASUS - G46VR-DA016H (I7-3630QM/16GB/2xHDD/WIN8/14Pol) - TechClinic

and they have it listed at 1,475 euros inc VAT, or about $1,967.65. If that's the case, way to dang expensive for me. I'll have to wait for the U.S. version, but if it's that much here, I will for sure be happy about my G46VW purchase. It was dirt cheap to me and is even giving my Samsung Series 7 Gamer a run for it's money. And that one cost as 3x as much as I paid for the G46VW. Personally I don't need the latest and greatest. As long as it plays my games well, and has a little future-proofing for me I'm happy. I suggest buying the G46VW if you can find it for clearance or even an open box item, specially for the prices they have been going for lately. The money saved could be put towards adding a mSATA drive and 1600x900 display if you want that.

I plan on adding the mSATA drive to mine, but can't right now, so I swapped to a 7.2K RPM HDD and installed windows 7 x64. Gives me a little improvement.

 

I picked one of these up at Best Buy on Friday for $569 on clearance. At that price, it is definately a bargain!

 

It's extremely odd that they are not changing the CPU to Haswell, also for the GPU I'd expect to see the 765m at least. I hope we can customize the GPU and CPU with 4700 and 765m. Thanks for the link btw, so I guess there is going to be a refresh

 

Here Here! Yeah that was! I don't feel too bad that I spent more than others as it was only about $100 more and at $664 after tax for me, it was a good deal. I am glad that others are finding this laptop for the price or cheaper and liking it! It's gonna make it harder for Asus to sell the newer version unless they step up their game. (I'm talking to you Asus!) I'm sure someone occasionally reads and reports to Asus on this, but it's a 50/50 chance they will even hear about this. As it's Best Buy doing these offers, I don't think Asus honestly know what's going on. lol. Not slamming them, they make great laptops. Buut just saying.

 

It is odd, but I found that link and felt I should share it. Keep in mind things could and most likely will change. But the biggest point was that there seems to be a refresh in the wings and it's nearing completion from the looks of it.

 

Due to the soldered GPU you wont be able to change it yourself.

 

almost same ...

 

Sorry what?

 

The new G46VR - G46VR-DA016H model appears to be a Europe only release.
【爆料帝】曝光华硕G46Vr 搭配GTX760M显卡，附GPU-Z参数图

 

Excellent find, I sure hope they get a revised version state-side. The next mobile CPU/GPU are they slated for 2015 or 2014?

 

Are these sold out everywhere now? I'm doing a trip down south from Toronto, and was hoping to pick one up along the way.

 

Got the last asus g46vw (the display model) for 450.99 but the "M" key clip is broken anyone know where I can order a replacement key or will just have to send it in to asus for free repair?

 

Next year we get a haswell refresh and the year after we get the new intel CPU.

 

Just bought myself one of these for $490. I plan to upgrade to a 3610qm and a 240gb msata ssd which I have on the way as well.

I may upgrade to the 1600x900 screen as well, but I want to see the original screen first to see if I can stand it.

I watched the video to disassemble the laptop, and it doesn't seem too hard, but does anyone have any tips?

Can't wait to receive everything. After everything, it'll cost me $752 including the 3610qm and 240gb msata.

 

Where'd you get it for $490?

 

Probably Best Buy...I bought one today on clearance for 495 myself. A killer deal if you ask me...Definitely the best build quality of any laptop I have ever owned...It is fast to boot too. Probably going to keep everything the way it is. I really like the 750 GB of storage and not having to fork over any extra money for an SSD. I have an SSD on my desktop.

Now the $100 screen upgrade tempts me for sure...I really wish the screen was brighter and the colors jumped at you a little more for sure.

Quick question - is there a list somewhere of suggested improvements to help with tweaking and fine tuning the performance?

 

I bought it used over at hardforum. I was looking for it at my bestbuys, but they were sold out of it.

 

The local Best Buy was sold out of these but they did have a floor model I was able to inspect. Usually a laptop with a plastic chassis is a giant red flag but I was quite impressed with the stiffness of this and couldn't detect any flex whatsoever.

My question is mostly out of curiosity but can anyone comment on exactly what type of plastic/composite is used for the G46 chassis? The cheaper Asus consumer laptops they had on the floor seemed to use an entirely different type of plastic and flex was quite noticeable when picked up with one hand or twisted.

To those of you that have opened the G46, how is the motherboard attached to the chassis? Is there any kind of internal metal frame or does the board screw straight into the molded plastic?

 

Internally it is all plastic, motherboard is screwed to bottom half of chassis.

 

So I got my laptop and the msata ssd/quad core. Made sure the laptop worked before attempting to install and everything seemed good.

Took about 45 minutes to install everything, but when I turned on the computer it asked for a HDD password or master password. I had no idea what that meant. I tried the password I made for login, but it didn't work. So then I took the msata ssd out, and the computer booted up fine.

I checked the bios, and there's no passwords set up. I contacted the seller of the SSD and they said that they didn't put a password on it, but I'm figuring there has to be one on it since once I took it out, everything was fine. Any ideas?

 

Man I am going to check out my bestbuy, would love to get my hands on one of these for under $500. How is the cooling on them?

 

@Identitycrisis,

The cooling for these systems is excellent, I have the i7 installed with mine. It utilizes a dual-exhaust system

 

Yeah, lots of good reports on the cooling, worth grabbing at that price for sure.

 

Yep, Im really impressed with the cooling. I just got mine last week, and the first thing I did was throw in a 3610qm. I played FFXIV pretty much for two days straight, and it never cracked 80C on the processor and the video card max was 67C.

I barely even heard the fans on. Very quiet for the cooling they provide.

Compared to my old RMBP which had the same processor, this is a dream. I hit up to 104C on the rMBP and it sounded like a jet plane taking off.

Now I just need my mSATA to come in and Ill be happy. Best $750 I spent on the whole package.

 

Are these being clearanced at all the stores at that price? The website still lists it at $900 (though on sale as of now at $800)

 

Worth heading out to a close one and checking, or maybe phoning round.