The NEW Asus G74SX & G53SX - NOW Available for Pre-Order at GenTech!

Well folks, they will be here soon....... the highly anticipated Asus G74SX, and G53SX...... available for pre-order at GenTech PC! As usual, Asus is still providing nice bang for the buck for these models.

Note; contrary to how config'ed at CeBit, the G74SX is now equipped with the nVidia GeForce GTX 560M, with 3GB GDDR5 VRAM! AGAIN, that's 3GB GDDR5 folks!

Check these links out.........


G74SX-A1: $1745

17.3" 1920X1080 Full HD Glossy
2nd Generation Intel Core i7-2630QM Quad Core
nVidia GeForce GTX 560M 3GB GDDR5 VRAM
12GB DDR3 1333MHz PC10666
1.5TB 7200rpm Hard Drive (750GB X 2)
4X Blu-Ray Read / 8X DVDRW combo drive
Backpack / Gaming Mouse
Built-in Bluetooth
USB 3.0
2.0 MP Webcam
Backlit Keyboard
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
8 lbs., 2 hours battery life


G74SX-3DE: $1979

17.3" 1920x1080 FHD 120Hz, Anti-Glare (Matte-type)
2nd Generation Intel Core i7-2630QM Quad Core
nVidia GeForce GTX 560M 3GB GDDR5 VRAM
12GB DDR3 1333MHz PC10666
1.5TB 7200rpm Hard Drive (750GB X 2)
4X Blu-Ray Read / 8X DVDRW combo drive
Backpack / Gaming Mouse
3D Glasses Included
USB 3.0
2.0 MP Webcam
Backlit Keyboard
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
8 lbs., 2 hours battery life


G53SX-A1: $1449

15.6" 1920X1080 Full HD Glossy
2nd Generation Intel Core i7-2630QM Quad Core
nVidia GeForce GTX 560M 2GB GDDR5 VRAM
12GB DDR3 1333MHz
750 7200rpm SATA II 16MB
8X DVDRW combo drive
Backpack / Gaming Mouse
Built-in Bluetooth
USB 3.0
2.0 MP Webcam
Backlit Keyboard
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
7.9 lbs., 2 hours battery life


Asus G74 - Strike In Silence!

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I'm afraid I can't resist pulling the trigger here, and one of those first G74SX-3DE's is MINE! (gotta have that 120Hz matte screen)

Git Er Ready for me Ken! ^^^Git Your Game On! ^^^Gear Up Ladies & Gents! ^^^Who's Joining Me!


ENJOY!

 

I wanna see 3GB of VRAM on a card lol such a waste but still it makes me want one Not bad prices.

 

12GB memory as standard. Interesting.

Incredibly pricey though, given its an Asus and its supposed to maximize bang for buck. And $70 for a repaste.

Comparatively, for $1964, I can get an MR6970M and 2720QM on a Sager NP8170. Configured like for like, the G74 hits 2.2k.

 

The only thing which actually make me put attention in this new g74 is the new form factor... the rest, only the 6970m should make interested.

12gb, never saw my unit use more than 4 gb
3 gb vram... no game use more than 600 mg of vram (even the witcher)
The 560m is the 460m with elevated clocks
Only the second gen core i7 should make me really happy

On the other hand, if I wouldn't own the jh, the prices are really attractive.

Edit: that actually make excited!!!!

 

Amazing, im decided now, my next gaming laptop will be the G74SX-A1 !!

 

wow now i cant decide on the G53SX-A1 or the MSi gt683!!! im going to need help on this!! T.T anysuggestions...

and whne are these coming out??

 

If you don't need RAID or e-sata, G53SX all the way .

 

You may note, that this Asus GTX560 could be a stock rated one.
775MHz core. Or Asus did some experiments again.
Or is it already known?

 

i dont like the new vent though :<

 

Are these the only models that will be on the market for awhile, or should we expect amazon and newegg to stock striped down versions as well? (at cheaper prices)

Something like G74SX-XN2

 

Notice that the G53SX-A1 has 2GB of VRAM. Which means a crippled 128bit bus. Nice one, Asus.

 

Not happy with the price/ gpu...
At my eyes is just a re-skinned, slighty more GPU powerfull g73SW...
guess I will wait for the g75 and be happy with my g73jh :3

 

gt683 is already out! G53SX sometime in July... Price and quality-wise Asus is generally better (if you don't mind extra weight and dimensions of Asus laptops) but need to clarify memory bus width!

Where did you get this info from?

 

Someone know if the new G74 have a sub boofer ?

 

YaaaaaY!! It's finally almost out!!!! 560M GTX FTW!!!
The good thing about it is, at least the 560M is a better fit for 3D than the M17x R3's 460M. If 3D is your thing.

 

Is there also a glasses-free 3-d version of the g53 available as reported here:
ASUS demos glasses-free 3D gaming laptop | PC Gamer

and what would be the expected price point for it?

 

hmm i wonder if the g74s will have this technology

 

From what we know now the G53SX-3DE will be the only G Series will the "Glasses Free" 3D.

 

lol, thx for the info... I didn't know G74SX is up for pre-order on gentechpc.

 

over priced, locked video card (not upgradable), medium grade graphics card. I'll pass....

Still waiting on on a laptop that has a friendly chassis for upgrading CPU / GPU that doesn't void the warranty + comes with a 120 hertz screen.

Guess I'm still holding out for Clevo to get their act together. sad...

G73 > G74 in ascetic design though (just my 2 cents)

 

Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!! at least! 560M much better then 460M?

 

My question though...is the drive user accessible now? If not, I have to rule it out.

 

You can't make a card with 2GB and a 192bit bus. 192bits means 6 VRAM chips (32bits each).
256MB * 6 = 1.5GB
512MB * 6 = 3GB

Remember the Best Buy model of G73JW? It only had 1GB VRAM on a 128bit bus (4 memory chips). http://forum.notebookreview.com/asu...gtx-460m-vram-1gb-vs-1-5gb-5.html#post7287540
256MB * 4 = 1GB
512MB * 4 = 2GB

A 128bit bus meant only 40GB/s memory bandwidth instead of the full 60GB/s, which really did impact the performance. And it looks like it's going to be the same story again.

So basically, the G53SX is actually going to be worse than the G53SW.

What's ridiculous is that the cards are crippled to save money, but then again Asus slapped 2GB (3GB on G73SX!!) of useless VRAM on them. Using 1.5GB would have easily offset the difference and would have allowed a full 192bit bus. The cards can hardly utilise 1.5GB VRAM anyway.
Luckily for Asus, 90% of people have no clue about this, and 2GB/3GB sounds great for marketing. "2GB is obviously better than 1.5GB!!"

Edit: Oh, and the gimped 1GB 460m only had 16 ROPs instead of the usual 24.

 

Spot on sarge_ regarding the gimped 2GB GTX560m...
This is one of those situations when one really feels the urge to shot the marketing guy.

 

Good explanation Sarge. +Rep

 

Are you sure 100%? 128 bit? I looked here, and I can't find... only 192.

 

It says it right there. "UP to 192 bit" and "UP to 60 GB/s"
GeForce.com - Get the Most Out of Your GPU

 

The only valid* memory combinations that can result in 192 bits are 768MB, 1.5GB and 3GB while 128 bits can be achieved with 512MB, 1GB and 2Gb memory configs.


* I remember reading somewhere that NVidia is working on a memory controller technology that will allow them to mix memory chips with diff bus widths. So mixing 32 and 64 bits chips will be possible, but I don't think it is the case here.

 

Well, another strike against the G53 for me (the main one being that you can't get at the hard drives easily!).

Could there be a power issue in play? Probably not...

 

Thanks Sarge! So it looks like the G53SX has 128 bit bus and the G74SX has 192 bit bus for the same graphic card... Very stupid of Asus...!

 

Have you also considered that the "2GB" was a typo?

 

12GB RAM is ridiculous. Asus could've shipped with 4GB and a 6970M instead.

 

I second that, also HDMI IN should be awesome.

 

Some info I found. A little less excited about this set of notebooks than I originally was.

Think I'll still wait til I get to have my cake and better battery life too:

Here's where we have to curtail our enthusiasm. NVIDIA provided a list of upcoming GTX 560M notebooks, and as always the specific implementations are up to the notebook vendors. What does that mean? ASUS has the G53Sx and G74Sx, with 2D and 3D versions, but neither notebook will feature Optimus support.


Ref: AnandTech - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M: High-End Mobile Graphics with Optimus


Should you necessarily care? Up to you. Depends on how you want to use the system and what kind of temp/quietness/battery life you could expect while having it unplugged & not gaming.

On the plus side, the article does mention some improvement over the 460 regarding better power management. That sounds good.

 

Yes, we know.
This is a GOOD thing. Optimus is bad. If you really want a high end GPU strung up behind Intel's video, there's always Dell...

 

Or a Toshiba.

I still think that the Optimus premise is solid, and working out the kinks will come in time. Maybe this is what they are waiting for.

The only reason I'll -accept- this notebook without Optimus is that Asus has the leg up on everyone when it comes to cool n' quiet with this design.

Otherwise, whirring fans, -poor temperatures and abysmal battery life when sitting on the desktop not doing anything, aren't things I'm interested in.

Again, does it exist yet? No. That's what I'm waiting for. Does the technology need to mature more? Yeah, I guess. You obviously have a bad Optimus taste in your mouth. Give it another year or so I bet and we'll be enjoying hybrid machines. Ones that excel at gaming, are quieter, cooler and more portable.

 

Screams clumsy work around to me.

Which, you'll note...has the GPU getting to function as the GPU.

I mean Nvidia's current gen stuff downclocks to a crazy slow 50Mhz. My two year old hardware was already slow, but that's just crazy.

And it's no more sitting there doing nothing than the CPU is. That's what all sorts of modern power technologies are for...and they work well. Continuing to improve the basics I totally support-throwing the device I want to use as a GPU on the PCIe bus having to run through Intel's terrible graphics...I don't.

The technology is fundamentally ridiculous. A hack. I doubt it would even exist if Intel hadn't cut off Nvidia's chipset business, and started wasting 200 million transistors on graphics.

I don't know how else better to put it than to point out doing that to the GPU is as ridiculous as buying a Core i7, and not letting it work as the real CPU, making it have to run through an ARM 11 or something.

Better manufacturing processes, clock gating/power management, materials, etc. are the answer-and have made HUGE strides in recent years. When you've got something clocked down to just 50Mhz already....

I already have that now. It doesn't take Intel anything. Besides the things I mentioned above, things like good cooling systems are part of the answer too. You have to have them anyway, if you're including hardware-the better they are, the slower and quieter they can run too.

 

what about amazon and bestbuy models any infos? for the g74sx

 

I was wondering when more info about the G74 would come out. Of course, considering I just got my G73SW a month ago, I'll be waiting on the G76 or whatever they're selling 5 or so years from now . . .

 

Well, I said the premise of, but didn't define what I was suggesting the premise was. Given where we are now, turning off something when we're not using it to save power and waste heat, it is something I can appreciate.

Clumsy though? Maybe-- I can see where you're coming from. It does seem like this wasn't planned better from the start. It is frustrating.

Probably because the whole industry, in moving from desktops to laptops never synced up. It's not like we're just pushing our graphics cards of choice into VESA Local Bus slots any more.

I agree (as I said earlier, I enjoyed the new power efficiency features of the GPU) that improvements are being made. That's great. 50Mhz is slow. But minimal TDP to power the chip still is something to consider. And like it or not, laptops with Optimus do really get more juice when they're unplugged.

I think we are simply judging our needs on different criteria. I already have a fast laptop (plays any game I'd like) that gets 2Hrs of unplugged life. It is a bearable volume under load, but a little warmer and noisier than I'd like when not.

Nvidia's GPU marginal speed improvements, plus their desire to re-badge old technology didn't just hadn't created enough excitement for me to feel the need to upgrade. When I heard about this new GPU, the GTX560M supporting Optimus, it seemed like something new had come... High End Graphics + Significant Battery Life... You know, you've read the articles.

I'd like a notebook:

• With a high end GPU, suitable for the latest games, high settings.
• 4+ Hrs of battery life in a 15" form-factor, weighing <8lbs.
• That I don't get all excited about in reading on notebookcheck.net, then get to the noise/heat area, and realize that even in idle, it looks disappointing yet again.

Only ASUS to this day, with this series has come close. We all know that. Being a gaming laptop AND being COOL AND QUIET? Wow. Was unheard of a short while ago! And, it's not that I'm trying to be demanding of them either. I'm content and set until this next gen of laptops becomes the norm. I hope that the solution is elegant and to your liking when we get it... I'm not an Optimus fanboi, just a fan of the "premise"... Higher end graphics + great mobility. I mean, why not, right?

On a final note: We seemed to start off the whole thing with you opening like this... I wasn't sure why you did.

I had to do some digging to find out it wasn't supported on this model from Asus. I checked the first 4 pages of this thread before posting my info, to make sure no one had already mentioned it. I thought others would find it useful. This isn't like I'm months behind. We're talking about articles < 5 days old.

At least now, if people don't want Optimus like you, they clearly know this is a good notebook for them, and if they want Optimus (or a more different elegant solution that accomplishes the above mentioned points) like me, they are -definitely- informed.

Hopefully, we're cool!

 

Asus won't have any 15" 3D notebook for North America, only 17".

Not on G74SX-3DE.

No the 2GB VRAM on G53SX is not typo.

But Linux users not gonna like Optimus.

Sarge is right, 2GB VRAM is 128 bit.

 

That "hack", as you call it, gives my wife 5-6 hours of work on a 6 cell battery from her i5 Acer 4820T...

When i got my i5 g53, i had hopes (lack of info, i know) that it will feature Optimus and at least 4h of battery runtime for browsing / light work. Instead of that i get about 2.5 hours at most.

 

Yes, but that's primarily what Optimus is designed for. Low-to mid end work laptops and netbooks where graphically intensive tasks, specifically gaming aren't the main concern.

As this is a flagship gaming line, where there aren't supposed to be compromises for battery life, Optimus doesn't really make sense. (given if the fact that it does hinder the discrete GPU is legit.)

A considerable amount of my uni mates use gaming laptops (sagers, aw, msi's and asus) as their main rig, and a 11 to 14 inch netbook companion. Pretty much standard fare nowadays, carrying more than one laptop.

 

M17x R3 with GTX 460m has optimus, how do you explain zat? can you explain zat?

 

Gear Diary nVidia Optimus – Not Ready for (Gaming) Prime Time

All its needs is time. Give Optimus a bit more to develop.

 

Don't blame the tech, blame the ones that find awkward ways of implementing it.

I have no ideea how bad/good is the Dell's Optimus implementation, but i do like the one Acer employs: a dedicated button that turns ON/Off the discrete GFX card plus the automatic switch that happens when you pull off the AC Power.
So when you are using mains AC Power, it always uses the discrete card. When you are running on battery it always uses the onboard, UNLESS you override with the P button and force on the discrete card.

 

Actually it is possible to have 2GB on 192bit bus! Here Anandtech reviewed desktop GTX 550Ti (same chip) with 192bit and 1GB

 

Don't mind to use a button to switch between both discrete and integrated VGAs, actually I do prefer that way, give us way more control.

 

Well anyways it is not going to be 192 bit.

 

I wonder when asus will stop adding extra useless ram here and there and pop a more powerfull GPU instead

Am I wrong or even just a 5950 would have been an improvement over the 560?