What exactly can you upgrade on a G73jh?

Right now all i know is that you can upgrade RAM. 2 slots are easily accessible and 2 slots are a bit harder to get into but basically you can get up to 16gb of ram, which for gaming isn't necessary.

Anyway I was wondering if i can upgrade from the i7 core as well as the 5870 eventually to save me from buying a whole new rig within the next 2-3 years.

 

-Optical Drive
-HDD's
-Wifi Card
-CPU
-Memory
-LCD Screen

I think 2-3 years is a little too soon to think the G73 won't be able to handle newer games. Games haven't really progressed much graphically in awhile, I'd give it at least 5-6 years.

 

Thanks for this KuroLionHeart. I was wondering this too. I am buying the G73JH-BST7 in the very near future and I was thinking towards the future!

 

Would feel a lot better if we could improve the graphics card but that damn reverse MXM 3b is big thorn in G73. But still it is the best laptop in his class.

 

what kind of Optical Drive can we swap with the stock one? I got an X1 with DVD drive, wondering if there are any good Blu-ray drives for the G73

 

I swapped the one in my BB model for this one: Newegg.com - LG Black 8X DVD+R 5X DVD-RAM 6X BD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA Internal Blu-ray Super-Multi Combo DriveModel CT21N - Blu-Ray Drives

Works perfect.

 

wow im surprised you can upgrade that many parts...but yeah sad that we're stuck with the 5870 (not that its bad, but better ones are out already) so i think that the lifespan of the 5870 = the lifespan of g73 gaming

...which is pretty good right now since the only 2 games that dont run on max is Metro and Crysis.

 

Yea, it does kind of suck that you can't upgrade the GFX card, but like someone said earlier, graphics haven't really improved by leaps and bounds like they used to.

 

As long as the ps3 and xbox360 are the main consoles we are safe. Developers want to make the most $$$ possible which means multiplatform titles. As soon as a new console comes out our laptops are toast. Fortunately the 360 and ps3 were made for 10 year lifespans. I think the 360 came out in 2005, so figure at least 2-3 years before they start pushing the next console out.

 

Perfect reasoning there. I believe we are 3 years from the "new generation" announcements and another 2 years past that before they are released. So as of right now we are good for the next 3-5 years, if that calculation is correct.

I'm so pumped about getting my laptop and getting into the Comp Gaming scene.

I do think I will put a 7200 rpm drive in mine, followed by another 2 gigs of ram, then possibly the blu-ray rom.

 

I only paid $860 for my G73 so I guess i cant complain. I have the basic specs; i7, 6gb RAM, 500gb, and the 5870. So if these specs will last me another 3 years i cant really complain.

..it just gets to me when i cant max out Crysis (i know i know High settings look better than good enough), but i do wish a maxed out Witcher (which was released in wat..'07) would run at least a constant 60fps instead of fluctuating from 70 to as low as 30's...

Black Ops runs 60-82 constant so that makes up for it i guess

 

Since Asus likes being a little about upgrading graphics, you'd have to find a card from another Asus computer cause they have a proprietary connector. Plus considering that an average laptop usually breaks within 2-3 years, you're probably gonna get RMA'd and then you'd have to take out the new card and then put in the old one and send it back and etc. Personally I wouldn't go through the trouble of trying to squeeze out more than 3 years by upgrading cause frankly, it's gonna get a little messy and you'll probably void your warranty, and if your system does break down (heck some have already broken down), you're gonna have to get a new laptop all together.

I suggest sticking with the 5870, because it's will still be a very capable chip in the future, look at the 8800M, still runs most games very fluently and it's 2 1/2 years old.
Plus 8GB of RAM and 1TB HDD will still be top tier specs in the next 18 months, so further reason not to worry too much about upgrading.

 

3dmark11 is coming out on Tuesday and I hear something about Unreal Engine 3.0. Still all the new pc games coming out are rushed from console to pc. I bet all they do is burn the xbox dvd to å pc one. Even Crysis 2 is mainy for console... Anyone know of a game in 2011 that will blow us away with insane graphics?