The G73 Best Buy info thread

http://bing.com/cashback click cashback stores on upper left, click "T" and scroll down to find Tiger Direct

 

better method for 12.3%:
1)turn off adblock
2)search laptops
3)click on tigerdirect's ad on the right side saying 12.3% cashback

 

Just wanted to report to you BB G73 owners that you can get the caddy from asusparts.eu. Expect about a month wait but it's the correct part.

 

Picked mine up today. Haven't tried any games yet. I have to be aware of where I'm hitting the spacebar sometimes in order to get it to register but apart from that everything seems great.

I got the kingston 1333MHz RAM and I can't seem to see to (or know how to) reproduce the viewing angle issues people are describing except for the white wash when viewing from the top.

The AI recovery has given me 2 coasters so far though, lets hope the 3rd time is the charm.

Edit: I think I can see the "black" issue now. Also the 3rd time was the charm.

 

I will wait to get this refurbished for $800

 

I'm returning my still-sealed new-in-box unit and forgetting about selling it to get a chunk of money at 18 months same as cash towards an A1. The whole G73 thing been a colossal waste of my time over the last four months but happily no money. Laters...

 

GTO Greg Iam interessted to buy your Book pn me please

 

There will defenitely be refurbished models available. Between 3 friends and myself we have gone through 9 G73's to get a decent machine.

If I was you I'd make sure to buy from some one physically because those refurbs probably still have the problems they originally came with.

Even though I have a 05 model now with 8GB's of ram at 1600 x 900, I really don't think the 5870 was that much of an upgrade from the 260m GTX in the G71GX. That same upgrade would be even less at 1920 x 1080 The CPU is fantastic but in game performance at 1600 x 900 results in more frames with more noticable screen tear(BFBC2) than with the 260m GTX.


Knowing what I know now, if my G71GX didn't develope a GPU hardware failure I would have been satisfied with my G71GX.

Back in the day when we were all excited about the G73JH and the 5870 some people were reporting a 40% increase in performance over the GTX 260m. From in-game performance I think that number is closer to 15%.....but anyways the CPU is fantastic and it is what it is.

 

Man that's sucks. That's like 3 each. Sure hope the one I have stays good. No problems so far but it's only been a week. But the G73 is good for me. My desktop only had 1gb and was a Pentium 4. 2.5 gh It was killer in the day but I can barely play Mafia wars on that thing. So slow.

 

lol....it was 3 each.

 

I'm curious, when they died, were you still able to use them as long as you didn't game?

 

Immediately after I logged into Windows 7 I would either get BSOD pertainning to a error regarding the Graphics Display Adapter or a complete freeze of the system. On another system the right mouse clicker was defective and hard to push.

 

some cool competitive reviews. three questions though if i may ask please?

1.a. is there a way to install bluetooth device directly into the system? *edit...this is for the 05 BB model
1.b. if there is how much would it cost and where to get one?

2. recommended places to get a bracket to install another hard drive?

 

a. yes
b. I think it was $30 counting shipping and whatnot

2.I think asusparts.eu was the only place.

I still think everyone should get the tigerdirect model instead

 

ty betaflame...i will take it into consideration if it is still available by the time i reach the US

 

ASUS G73JH-X3
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...s.asp?EdpNo=5725517&sku=A50-17315&srkey=G73JH

12.3% bing cashback ($190)
total cost = $1365

cashback steps:
1)adblock off
2)bing shopping
3)search "laptops"
4)click the 12.3% Tigerdirect link on the right.

I would order before you get here due to the possibility of sell out

 

So why does the X3 cost as much as the A2, but it only comes with 640GB hard drive and no mouse or backpack?

 

It comes with 2x 320GB drives (or so I hear)

And it's called retailer markup. Tigerdirect has 12.3% bing cashback which makes up for it, so oh well.

 

well, just got back from Best Buy with my second G73... excited all over again ha... Here's hoping this ones a peach!

My first one had a dead left main speaker, performance wise though was perfectly stable and great. Fingers crossed this one is as stable, fully expect it will be! Nice laptop for sure.

And yes, the Best Buy models DO have the subwoofer, not sure where that bad info came from.

 

change your playback device and it works.

 

Hey everybody, I just wanted to come here and give a positive review for the 05 model from BB. I've had mine for a few days, and have had no problems whatsoever with anything. It does everything I want it to, and more.


I hope it continues to go this well!

 

I just would like to Express my disappointment (and not only mine as several friends do feels the same) as here in Europe the ASUS customer really feel that they are taking us for idiots. First of all the ASUS G73 is announced everywhere to be available but when you contact any shop they cannot deliver it yet !!! But the most incredible is that the price for the i7-720QM 8/2x500 model is 1,605 € EUR (the cheapest we could find) which is 2,161 $ USD. In the US this model is sold for instance at TigerDirect for 1,549 $ USD (1,150 € EUR).

Shame on ASUS for these pricing politics in Europe !!!

Master Erebus

 

Yeah, shame on them for still coming out cheaper than the competition, even if it's way more expensive as compared to the USA.

As a Canadian, I'm also upset by this (the price difference isn't quite as high, but it's still crazy considering the two countries share a huge border) - but I usually solve this in a fairly simply manner: I import stuff from the states.

I think you can do that too. Think of the australians who are crazy-close to china/taiwan ... they get way cheaper prices by importing as well.

 

I don't know a lot about it, but doesn't ASUS pay a lot of tax to sell a computer in most or all countries in the European Union?

 

Fellow Europeans; if you have bestbuy ship the 1199$ version of the Asus G73 to your u.s address (that you have www.opas.com make for you) you can have it shipped to your country. You are looking at 1199$ + 25$ (shipping from BB to your u.s postbox) + 100-150$ (shipping from opas to your country)
= 1325 - 1375$ + whatever import tax you might have to pay if the package gets tolled by your local customs.
Since I live in Japan (no tax on goods under 2000$) I ordered mine from BB today, and in a week or two I will be the happiest gamer in Tokyo. (^^,)

 

OK....so I've had my G73JH-RBBX05 (from BestBuy, of course), for just over 1 week, and no problems except the Creative Labs issue.

As soon as I discovered what the culprit was, I did a full system restore (using the discs I had burned), uninstalled everything from Creative Labs, uninstalled all unnecessary bloatware, and reinstalled my applications. System has been running perfectly ever since.

Prior to this I had a G60VX for about 3 weeks, which was my first gaming laptop (you really can't beat an uberdesktop rig with a 22inch monitor ). I was able to return the G60 and upgrade to the G73.

So far I really don't have any complaints with Asus.

 

stubborn - glad to hear you're happy with your purchase - welcome to the club!!

for those who are purchasing to upgrade from a gtx 260? you're upgrading for the wrong reason... the design cooling and ergonmics alone are IMO the reason... no other Asus runs cooler to the touch on your lap than this will! the specs like gpu, CPU and hdd are a bonus... you really have to experience one really appreciate what they've accomplished with the g73... blows away any gaming laptop I've ever owned

 

I'm not too sure if anyone else has come across this problem..whenever i put the laptop in hibernate mode and turn it back on the screen has all types of weird specs on it, as if there is something wrong with the display. If you drag something over the area where the specs are then they go away but I just don't like the fact that this is happening since I've only had the laptop for a little over a week. If i just have the monitor turned off and it turns back on then it's fine. Would this be a problem with the display, or a driver? If anyone has an opinion or has had this happen to them any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

Ok, have spent the last few hours opening and setting up my replacement G73 that I swapped last night at Best Buy. So far, this one appears great, no issues. Differences so far:

Keyboard works great. Doesn't have the issues of the first one. It feels like the keyboard that I used for 8 months on my G51, no problems at all. I really do think there was a bad batch of these keyboards built, as this one truly feels better.

Bios: First one had 2.04, this one has 2.05. I realize there is a 2.06 available, but was suprised to see that 2 systems purchased 2 weeks apart had different versions.

Ram: This one has 1333mhz ram, where as the last one had 1066mhz ram. Once again, I realize no real performance gain, but thought they would be the same.

Speakers: This machine has correctly working speakers. This was the reason I ultimately returned the first one. The first G73 had a dead left main speaker, ie, in the Realtek test, Right was loud and clear, Left was much quieter and muffled, only using the sub. This one sounds mich better with equally loud and clear Right and Left channels.

Screen appears the same, which to me is just fine, but had no issues with the other machine. I'm not sure where all the fussing comes about with this screen, but maybe I'm just not as picky about that.

So, happy camper, all's well so far. Once again, as mentioned in prior threads, really do like this laptop, and for $1200 it's a steal in my opinion.

From all I can tell, this one appears to be a slightly newer build, so even in a couple weeks they are improving.

 

I've had 3 of 5 defective. Best Buy is awesome about returns though.

One with bad GPU, one with bad LCD, and one with missing RAM in Windows.

 

i am thinking of getting this. and i had a qiuck qestion. if i get this can i get the extra warranty like 2-4 weeks after. because this will eat my whole paycheck. and i was going to get the 2-Year Standard Protection Plan $199.99, or 2-Year Advanced Protection Plan $299.99 because if i cant i will just wait until i get all the fund's togather.

the reason i want to buy from bb is because if something dont work i can just drive there. and not have to worry about shipping it back and forth.

 

What are you guys using to overclock the 720qm?

 

I took my girlfriend's UL50vt to compare side to side with the BB version.... yeah.... there's no friggen way I can justify paying over 1k for a laptop with this kind of display!

Not only are the viewing angles poor (yeah, yeah, just sit still and don't fidget) the contrast was weak, colors were dull and brightness was like less than half, and the UL50vt isn't exactly known to have a flashlight of a display....

I think I will just stick with the powernotebook preoder I have. I needed a pair of 500gb hard drives anyways. After getting two 500gb HDs and a bag that will fit this beast I would go over the 190 I would save by going the x3 route anyways.

Hey, thanks for all your help though you guys. Really appreciate it.

 

hope and prayers.

In other words, nothing.

 

The newest version of setFSB supports the G73 now, but it doesn't appear to make much difference, but your mileage may vary. Check the benchmark thread for more info.

 

A q9000 overclocked to around 2.5 is already killing the i7 720. IMO the whole i7 thing is kind of fail because of no OC headroom. Turbo boost is a stupid stupid gimmick.

 

Hey all.

I owned the BB version (RBBX05) and returned it after a few days because the display was just horrid. There were no blacks, only greys. It wasn't brightness, gamma -- it was a lousy display.

I now own the X3 and the difference in display quality (outside of resolution) is improvement by magnitudes.

I had no problem with 1600X900 -- but bad quality is bad quality.

And for those who say that 1920X1080 is too mcuh for the GPU, nonsense.

I play BC2 with AAX4 and HIGH settings at native resolution without as much as a hiccup (FPS 40-50s).

Good luck.

 

Well obviously you haven't played the multiplayer of BC2. I guarantee you it will drop to the 30s at times. And in a year's time, you will be scaling down settings while the 900p people can still play everything on high.

btw did you pay 15% of $1199 in restocking fees? That is rough...

 

"Well obviously you haven't played the multiplayer of BC2. I guarantee you it will drop to the 30s at times. And in a year's time, you will be scaling down settings while the 900p people can still play everything on high.

btw did you pay 15% of $1199 in restocking fees? That is rough..."

1. All I play is multiplayer BC2
2. Do you or have you owned a G73?
3. Did not pay a penny of restock -- as I complained about the screen, and they agreed it was terrible.
4. Your year forecast is laughable.

But opinions without data being what they are, you may proceed . . .

 

Wow really you haven't dropped bellow 40 fps? Really? As in really? Seriously? For sho?

 

The range was comprised of FRAPS averages. Are you trolling? Because generally I don't feed them. However your jealousy or bitterness stemming from your 2nd rate system is transparent on this forum.

People like me? If I start to lag in a year (should your pessimistic forecast prove accurate) . . . I'll buy the next best thing.

It's a laptop, dude. I'm not trying to realign the stars with it. LOL

Now troll elsewhere.

 

Actually, you are already starting to lag People with desktop 5770 (that's giving you a very generous assumption that your 5870m can reach those clocks) aren't exactly flying with 1080p. You should drop by more forums before calling others a troll. Also, my desktop is almost ready and that will play BC2 as smooth as my notebook but on high instead of medium. Ie 60~fps. I look forward to adding your dog tag to my collection too.

 

Can you guys take the e-peen discussion elsewhere?

 

If you run in DX9 mode, which looks the same to me as DX11 mode, you're 60fps constant unless you're standing in the middle of a mortar strike.

Also does turning down GFX options make it easier to see? lol dust

Also we certainly won't need to turn things down to play them. My old i9300 which was more than 4 years old still ran everything at full res(1920x1200 even if I had to turn down some of the settings)(not crysis)

 

I agree with you on some aspects as far as gaming performance goes, but to me the 1600x900 screen is actually really nice. Maybe you got a bad one, I don't know. I'd rather save a couple of hundred and use that towards a 920xm upgrade than get the more expensive version with the 1920x1080 screen, but that's just me. I'd also argue that the 1080p on a 17" monitor is too high of a resolution IMO.

 

75 pages of arguing about the screen and still not a single photo of the 16x9 version...

 

actually, there was a few HERE

 

Guess you're right.

Dissapointing.

 

You are comparing apples to oranges however, like a desktop vs. laptop argument. I can play, but you are not going to like it.

Fact remains that the 5870m and i7 720 is one of the fastest laptop configurations out right now, and for $1200 to get your foot in the door..pretty amazing considering a similar / less equipped alienware is 2300.

To play BC2 at High at a constant 60fps @1080p and up with 4xaa/16xaa is going to require a really good video card...probably a gtx 480 sli system or something, and that's what, a $500 video card each? Then get an i7 another $250, and good psu...another $200, motherboard...another $200...after that you start realizing the g73 is a really an all around good deal for what you are getting.

Plus the g73 only uses a 150 watt power supply to do what it needs to do. A desktop with a 5770/quad set up will certainly require more power. Plus you can even drop a 920xm in it later on.

Any way single gtx480 video card will still fall to 40fps range at times on highest AA/AF settings in BC2 @ 1080p. And usually dropping the settings a little bit and resolution doesn't hurt the game play or the look of the game most of the time IMO.

Plus you got more heat, and probably more noise with desktop set up...certainly more noise than the G73. It would definitely take a watercooled desktop set up to match the quietness of a g73 from my experience. Ouch, that's another $200 for a watercooling kit?

I can play mw2 highest settings, on the default 1600x900 resolution and get very smooth game play....feels like 60fps all the way, haven't benched it yet. RE5 bench the g73 will average 70fps, highest settings with 8xaa! The gtx260m at 8xaa in the re5 bench only got around 40. Best bang/buck performance really. So you get big advantages with the 5870m with AA. I think I read somewhere that the 5870m is the only laptop card that can handle bc2 on high settings.

I have nothing against desktops, but the g73 for the price/performance aspect really persuaded me not to build my own desktop rig this time around, and just go with a laptop. Good thing about desktops is that you can upgrade easily...but by the time you upgrade your old parts have depreciated and you will lose considerable money any how.

Just get a G73 already, you know you want one:

 

i have been building desktop's for years now, and i was putting togather a system to match the g73 and it was a amd/5850 and it was about $200 over what this cost with a montior. but after reading about 1000+ page's on this laptop what it can do.

plus i wanna able to take it to my friends hours to play lan game's and it would be nice to take it with me some places. i cant say that about my desktop.

now would this last me about 2-3 years? all i am going to play is sc2/wow

also i like the cooling on this laptop with the 2 heatstinks 1 for cpu and 1 for gpu.

but thats just me.