Questions regarding asus g53sw-xa1

hello guys, I am planning to buy the mentioned laptop. I just had a few questions regarding its graphic card and the cooling system.

I was comparing the aw m14x with the asus g53sw, and on the nvidia website it says that the nvidia geforce gt 555m is the newer version, but some people say that the gtx 460m has better performance. Can you help me with this? Not to take things on much complicated levels, I just need to know if the gtx 460m is good enough for sc2 ultra settings, battlefield 3 highest settings with 4x~6x fps, some of the upcomming mmorpg such as blade and soul, etc.

Also, I hear that the cooling for the asus g53~g7x laptops are amazing. I would like to know from first-hand experiencers whether or not I should buy a laptop cooler. is the cooling system at a good enough level where you can run the games for multiple hours with other programs on background open as well? Also if a cooler is absolutely necessary, do I need to find one that specifically cools the parts of the laptop which heats up the most, or can I just buy any cheap one with a big fan smack in the middle?

sorry for the long post, but please help me out!

thanks

 

Actually it's very smart to ask here before you purchase.

First advice is stay away from the Best Buy models.

I love my g73sw and the g53sw is a great laptop as well.

And don't buy the g53sx or at least be aware that the gpu is gimped in that model.

You should be able to get by without a laptop cooler under normal circumstances.

I eventually updated my cpu for better performance in mmorpgs and it did make a difference.

Don't know about BF3. BF2 runs great though.

Also from what I hear xoticpc.com is a great place to buy from. I will probably buy my next laptop there.

 

I have the xa2...same laptop but with the I5 instead of the I7 cpu. I play sc2 on high not ultra with no problem and in the bf3 beta I was playing on medium settings and the game looked great. There should be new drivers coming out today or tomorrow for the vid card with the release of bf3. I think with the extra boost from the I7 you should be able to push up the graphics setting.

As for upcoming games...it should be able to handle them nicely...not sure if you will be able to max out settings but you will be able to play them with no problems.

I think the gt 555 is rated below the gtx 460 as far as preformance.
NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M - Notebookcheck.net Tech
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M - Notebookcheck.net Tech

 

GT555m is newer due to the core it uses (the core is like the cpu of the card) but beside that, its a step down about "raw" power. The GTX460m (and the newborn GTX560m, which is basically the same card) is a proper graphic card on its own. It has more cores, more bandwidth, easily overclockable, and its without doubt more than 35% capable than the GT555m.

Althought i love my G53SW, im sad to inform you that no, the card isnt that powerful. To run SC2 with a mixture of High/Ultra settings you need a good overclock on your card.
If you plan to run it on stock clocks, forget about it. Probably youll get 40-45fps on stock clocks at high without even using AA.
About BF3, nope youll not be able to run it on high/ultra with 2x or greater antialiasing. Not even a desktop GTX 570 can do it.
I was running the beta at high/ultra, with shadows to medium, PostAA to medium, SSAO, 16xAF and blur @ 1080p. Althought these are good settings, its far from having a "great" perfomance.
I was getting 30-35 outside and 40-45 inside with my overclock in sig. If i run the game at stock clocks, even those settings would get 25fps outside, almost 35 inside. As you can see, its still lower for an fps game. The gtx460m isnt simply powerful enough to run the game maxed out with an insane AA as you asked.
Before you look or ask for something else, no, not even a single GTX580m (which costs an arm and a leg) could max out the game and have a framerate above 50fps.
Your only bet right now is to get a SLI or Crossfire system, like dual HD6990m OR Dual GTX580m (alienware m18x, clevo PH170M, etc)
This if youre ready to shell $3000 on a laptop. REmember that you can build a desktop ready for BF3 and others MMORPG with 1000$ or less, and youll be able to crush the game in a blink. Its all about what it matters to you, and in the end, how much will you spend for a portable machine which costs triple than a desktop that would still kick his . Portability has a price, very high indeed, unless youre forced to have a laptop forget it.
You can max out the game at 1080p, but maxing it out with 10fps and having it playable are two different things.
You can try to change the settings to medium, or to high while dropping the resolution, like 1600x900, with laptop is always a compromise in a way or the another.
Theres another game who puts the gtx460m on its knees, and that game is the witcher 2. Unless you run the game on medium youll not be able to have a good framerate with it.
Or drop the res to 900p and set the game to high/ultra to achieve at least 30fps, but keep in mind that it will be possible only with a huge overclock.

The cooling system is awesome, plus since the fans are designed to pull air in and throw it out but not from below the laptop, but from the back, you dont need a cooler at all.
However the G53SW has some small openings, like vents, on the service panel located at the bottom. A good laptop cooler could cool the bottom part and help a bit with temps. Im using a Zalman NC-2000 because i used it with my old clevos and xps's, dunno if its of some benefit.
For sure even under full load and crazy temps, the system is silent. Much more silent than anything else i ever had.
Hope it helps.

 

thanks for the great replies!