What's the difference?

Hi, I am looking to buy a new laptop for school in the fall, and since I will be working with AutoCAD I need a powerhouse. Therefore I settled on the ASUS G73SW model laptop.

The Confusion comes from the fact that there are so many sub-models. Each one has different specs, and sometimes the same sub-model from different locations has different specs.

So, what is the difference between them? is there a website that lists them all and their differences? anyone want to make one?

examples
G73SW-A1 (seen pretty much everywhere)
G73SW-XA1
G73SW-A2 (seen on xoticpc.com)
G73SW-XN1 (seen on newegg.com)
G73SW-XN2 (seen on newegg.com)
G73SW-BST6 (seen on newegg.com)
G73SW-BST8

On the G73SW-BST6 model specifically, I saw it on newegg.com with:
1900x1080 screen
4 USB 2.0 ports
Videocard VRAM and bit are not listed but every other SW model has 1.5GB VRAM and 192bit

On other sites, everywhere else it states:
1600x900 screen
1 USB 3.0 port, 3 USB 2.0
and 1GB VRAM 128bit

Am I reading this wrong? Is there a single place where I can go to figure this out?

 

G73SW-A1 (seen pretty much everywhere) - GOOD
G73SW-XA1 - GOOD
G73SW-A2 (seen on xoticpc.com) - GOOD
G73SW-XN1 (seen on newegg.com) - GOOD
G73SW-XN2 (seen on newegg.com) - GOOD
G73SW-BST6 (seen on newegg.com) - BAD!!
G73SW-BST8 - BAD!!

Thats all you need to know.

 

Just pick out the cheapest one on Daller's GOOD list and get yourself a SSD as an upgrade. You'll have a nice workstation.

The SW also supports 1600 / 1866 /2133 PnP RAM modules from Kingston if you need more memory bandwidth.

 

Appreciate the input. Much to consider.

On the G73SW-BST6 - What features make it bad?
Has it been known to happen for people to upgrade the screen?

I am wondering because if the screen/video card is the reason it is bad, and this product on newegg.com has the upgraded screen/video card, doesn't that make it a "good" model?

If it hasn't been known to have the 1920x1080 screen on the BST6, then if this one does have the 1080p screen, might it be a mistake? not be a BST6?

 

128bit 460M. Like having chips without ketchup. No thank you. Stay away from the Best Buy. BST. BB. BBX

 

Again, while helpful, it does not address 3 of my 4 latest questions.

Is there a possibility that the newegg.com product I referenced, is mislabeled? Is there an error?

If there is an error, and it is not a BST6, then maybe it is a "Good" one.
If there is NOT an error, then I will take your advice and stay away from it.

 

There are no good BST models this is certain. You will need to contact Newegg to see if they are selling that version with upgrades or if it is a misprint.

Either way it will come with the 128 bit 460M so to consider buying it anyway would be wastful with a 1080p screen for gaming.

 

it meets my needs. almost stock bst from best buy.

 

Agreed its a question of what works for you but it depends what your looking for because if you are looking to game at high settings at max resolution with a GPU that is a lower 1st class model it is not a good choice especially considering the next few games that are approaching the market are Battlefield 3, Modern Warfare 3 and Skyrim and they are not games that you want the 128bit 460M for because they will own it.

People get easily taken with the BST because of the benchmark results because they run similiar to the 192bit version but what you need to look at is the GPU score because the Sandy makes up a major part of the score and the GPU score suffers. This has all been discussed and proven in many threads already though and what do I know Im just a noob with an opinion if you like it go for it enjoy your BST model.

 

i agree with you for the most part. my needs are definitely not the needs of most folks here. my g73sw is a workstation first and foremost. but even now i can run crysis with the new dx11 patches on ultra. i don't notice any hiccups. :shrugs: and if bf3 (the only game i am checking for this fall) is anything like bf2 then the cpu will more than make up for the 128bit 460. and i don't think 3-5 frames of improvement are a huge big deal in any other game. ymmv.

i think i told somone before to get a true gaming fix one needs a desktop anyway. i would much rather game on my "decent" desktop than my laptop. i am looking "hopefully" looking forward to a bulldozer upgrade from my deneb chip and another hd6850 to xfire with as i usually stick to amd for my desktops and intel for my laptops.

the laptop works when i am on the road, which is often. but given a gaming choice and i have both near me i am probably sitting down at the desktop.

 

Sorry but no a CPU will not make up a difference against a GPU output they are totally separate and very few games see a difference from CPU output unless they are intensive, BF3 requirement below have shown it is going to be GPU intensive and the difference in requirements from BC2 will make you realise that it will be more than 3-5fps seeing that BC2 at high 1080p on the 5870M/460M (192) we see between 30-40fps.

BF2 Recommended
Windows Vista or Windows 7 (64-bit)
Quadcore
2 GB RAM
DirectX GeForce GTX 260/ ATI Radeon HD 4870 with 512 MB VRAM - DirectX 10
DirectX 9.0c compliant Sound card

BF3 Recommended
OS: Windows 7 64-bit
Processor: Quad-core Intel or AMD CPU
RAM: 4GB
Graphics card: DirectX 11 Nvidia or AMD ATI card, GeForce GTX 460, Radeon Radeon HD 6850
Graphics card memory: 1 GB
Hard drive: 15 GB for disc version or 10 GB for digital version

Those are desktop cards as well so if the 460 is only just enough to run it a gimped mobile version will struggle. At the end of the day if you are going for a mid range gaming laptop at this moment in time I stand by 460M 192bit minimum.

 

If you compare the detailed descriptions of the G73SW-A1 vs the refurbed G73SW-BST6 on newegg's site, you will note for the BST6 they do not list the memory of the GPU card. That's because it is the 1GB model, which is 128bit.

Amazon has the G73SW-A1 for $1399 new, and has all the amenities, including dual Momentus XT drives.

 

I believe the BST6 on NewEgg's site has the wrong resolution for the screen. The BST6 came with 1600x900, not 1920x1080.

 

The BST6 does have the 900p screen. The upper model has the 1080p screen.

 

Are we avoiding G74s for the moment, or is this a price-point consideration?

 

Same here. I will find it hard to switch from my dual 22" monitors for any serious gaming. This laptop will be mostly used for AutoCAD on the road. Graphics is important.

I contacted them, and they said that is what the "Recertificiation Center" told them, they have no more information about it.

2GB 128bit? I thought it was a 1GB 128bit. How do you know?

Ooooo, good tip!

I DO suspect newegg.com has incorrect information, and I am attempting to prove it, so they can fix their entry, however I have been unable to find anyone knowledgeable enough about it to answer my questions with proof so I can show it to newegg.com. I suspect based on their listing that it is not a BST6, but can't prove it.

What is this "upper model" you speak of? is it an upgraded BST6 or is it a BST8? or something else?

Yes, we all know the G74 is more powerful, so we are ignoring them for the moment. I am seeking proof that newegg.com's listing is false.

 

This is actually quite debateable. They are not that much more powerful and the more benchmark results coming out of the woodworks show that you are better off with the G73SW. The one Chastity linked is the best bang for buck and you will see the problems coming out by just looking at the forum with the G74 so you are better off putting your money towards an SW and pick up a smart SSD with the remainder of your budget.

Dont go BST just dont, go with the 192bit you will glad you did.

 

The BST8 is the model being referred to. That model has the 1920x1080 screen.

 

Oops, sorry for the typo, yes it's a 1GB card.

The Amazon G73SW-A1 is prolly the best offer atm. It has the full 24mo warranty + 12 mo ADW + 30 day no dead pixel

It will have the BD reader/multi writer drive, + 8GB + BlueTooth + dual 500GB Momentus XT hybrid drives + 1.5GB 460M. Also includes bag + mouse.

 

Pffft. You mean FRIES, don't you? Chips come in a bag, in a variety of flavours

 

haha! Fish and chips over here fella non of this soccer business!

Chips can come in a variety of flavours too mushy peas, curry sauce, HP or Heinz Ketchup!

 

Ok, that is what I thought. Does the BST8 come with a decent video card? or is it 128bit also? I can't find ANY specs for it online. it seems to not exist. lol.

I heard you the first 3 times you said no BST. I did, really. I believe you, I won't ever buy one that has a 128 bit video card. you converted me. Honest. I promise.

The A1 and XA1 are definitely the leading G73SW models out there that I have seen, no doubt. Amazon.com is probably the one I will end up with. It's a pretty good deal.

What's the difference between an A1 and an XA1?
EDIT: Ah, XA1 has no Blu-Ray Drive, and the A1 has 2 500GB Drives vs. XA1 having 1 750GB. Plus XA1 is $200 cheaper. I'll go with XA1 I think

 

LOL Ya our boy Dallers can get a bit...passionate about things sometimes...but at least he is well-informed and humorous in the process aha

Perhaps I missed it, but what is keeping you from going with one of the Amazon/Newegg specific models that is known to have most everything and still be cheaper?

EDIT: The added "X" is usually just added for the specific retailer. For example the A1 is generic, the highest end model that is sold by say Xotic/Gentech etc, add the X, and a few other retailer specific mods, and you get the top Amazon model in this case...or....

XT = TigerDirect
XN = Newegg
etc...

 

Fine go for the BST then but dont say I didnt warn you

 

A fair question, and good info by the way. It comes down to Supply and Demand.
the G73SW-XN2 ($1250) on Newegg is DISCONTINUED!!! <---The one I REALLY wanted...
the G73SW-XN1 ($1150) is also SOLD OUT, and may be discontinued at any time. <---Good acceptable 2nd choice
That leaves just this (I think) mislabeled G73SW-BST6 ($1100), as the only G73SW priced under $1850 <---Who the crap knows

IF, it is mislabeled, and is not a BST6 at all, then maybe, and I STRESS MAYBE (Dallers ) it might be worth having. Depending on what it REALLY has under the hood. If the only problem with the BST6 is its lower resolution and video card, then, if this model has the upgraded resolution and video card, then it is worth looking into.

Amazon.com has a G73SW-A1 ($1600) and an G73SW-XA1 ($1400) so they are hundreds of dollars more expensive than the original ones from Newegg.com
But Amazon is not as expensive as the G73SW-A1 ($1850) on Newegg.com.

I will probably end up with the XA1 from Amazon.com

 

Not to jump in with a G74 comment again, but the price difference from the XA1 to a G74SX-A1 is minimal. While the benchmarks aren't all in yet, I think it stands to reason that the G74 is more powerful, and if you're going for something powerful (AutoCAD I believe is what you really want it for), the G74 is likely going to outperform the XA1.

 

Still the fenomen pin breakage flaw exists on G series? Also poor sound of G53 series? Also the stubburn bloatware of Asus still exist on new series? Also the vBIOS problems (like on G73JH) exists on new ones?

Lot's of also(s) with mystery. Asus? No!

 

Pin breakage flaw? Was that suppose to be phenomenon? Im confused.

I love the lancing speakers and sub on my JH but I cannot comment on the poor sound on the G53 but so far people have complained non stop about the poor sound from the G74 and there are problems appearing about the keyboard thick and fast. Bloatware can be easily removed with Chastity's driver page and the JH has had all of its problems fixed the Vbios fix has been out for a long long time now. Not to mention the JH beats the other G73 models and is on par with the G74 laughable really all I suffer with is a wacky touchpad and mine cost more than half a G74. If anything for the price you could pick up a JH for it is still the best deal people frown upon it because it had the most problems to begin with.

@Petsquirell sadly the BST will always be the BST even with the upgrades being there or not they all have a modded/gimped GPU and that is 100% definate. If you can hold on a bit longer I reckon the SW prices will continue to drop but you could take the plunge and go for a refurb model.

 

The only page i found about bloatwares is:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/380681-asus-utility-bloatware-guide.html

..which is very useful. Again, most of bloatware's are dangerous. For example my Windows was suffered bad because of uninstalling Oberon's gamepark, and found out this issue also was experienced by another people after reading posts on this forum. WAS IT my OBLIGATION TO FIND the topic that contains the fix? Why aren't Asus engineers or makers kind enough to make this bloatware optionally?

And about pin breakage: I read "a lot of" users complaining about this problem on the forum, and it seems it's repetitive, i somewhere read that it still happens with G53SW. I bought cnt-lc53 to create an alternative fix against the problem with no certainity, hope none of us experience that problem including me. Nobody (even Asus customers or non-Asus customers) must be obliged to create a DIY fix. For the G74, i have no idea how solid and stable it is, because i did NOT use it, i really want to test though.

For the vBIOS problem of G73: Not every notebook user should supposed to be an advanced user. Dealing with BIOS and vBIOS is irritating and dangerous. If this is a flaw (and it really seems), the Asus engineers MUST HAVE RELEASED IT WITH FIXED version. That means Asus qualilty and hardware check department is too bad or they do not exist. Nobody want to update their notebooks BIOS because of manufacturer-related flaw after paying more than 1500 bucks. Huh, you can always say that we should decide to buy or not to buy after reviewing BIOS history and the posts on notebookreview.com. But it's still nobody's obligation to visit any 3rd party websites to find a advanced fix against serious problem(s).

I forgot to add: HDD firmware update! Oh no! Seagate's flaw! Ok, i won't blame Asus. (maybe they can be blamed because of choosing poor hdd manufacturer, note that being the biggest hdd manufacturer does not mean being the best). I used lots of computers, NONE of their HDDs REALLY required any firmware updates. I did not apply it to my G53JWs though and i'm so glad of it. It seems working. Is it acceptable to make firmware update for hdd? How many times did you (a normal home user if you are) perform a hdd update? Really serious request from customer.

Finally, when you read a lot of BIOS updates about a brand, you feel suspicous about the brand. I know there's no much time to find and fix the serious flaws by Asus staff, but as a result, customers are being forced to have the stress of diagnosing and fixing problems. Not just for Asus, for all the brands, that's not acceptable!

Cheers.

 

I still dont understand what pins are breaking? I have torn my laptop to pieces, stripped it to the bare bone and replaced the CPU and removed the GPU I have not seen any pins break so im confused.

G73 Series Driver and Application Reference is all you need a for clean bloatware free universal W7 installation.

 

That's for G73, though most of G series bloatwares are the same. Thanks for the link and please check my edited previous post.

 

Lots of Asus hatred here never had to flash my HDD at all and I would love you to name me some laptops that have not had BIOS updates to fix problems with them. A couple of BIOS and Vbios updates for more power and less than half the price, yes please

Oh you mean the Adaptor pin thats pretty minor I thought you meant something on the mobo. As long as you keep the adaptor in a position that does not cause the pin to move unecessarily you should not have a problem with it.

Even so the G74 is in the same boat and it is clearly having and going to have problems, you are better off getting a G73SW because it seems to be a solid model - @OP.

 

Hope you understood me right Dallers. I don't hate Asus. No hatre. They're "usually" awesome. I experienced lots of Asus hardware from Graphic cards to mobos, they "was" really stable and solid. But the issues i've just mentioned are making me and other friends nervous WHEN the fix must be done by the customer especially if they are serious ones.

BTW, i meant the MAJOR pin problem which is discussed most of time on that forum and on Rog forum. The problem that covers the pin breakage which is located on the MOBO power jack.

You got my point of view. I appreciate

 

I hate flashing too so I wont argue against this and I dont think much of Asus either but I have to stand by my own personal model (sig) because it owns and runs like a dream for me but im curious what model you have currently?

 

I have G53JW-XA1. It isn't "perfect", but really good. I have stock 209 BIOS and doesn't have much problems. It "seem" to have usb problems i posted it here. I bet it's because of poor internal and external usb configuration combination which we cannot change and i'm %100 sure other G53 (maybe also G73 users) have the same, but they're unable to identify/reproduce it.

And the screen, it's really awesome for the quality and the brightness but it's toooooo slow for a gaming notebook. Especially when i am playing PES 2011, there happens a big motion blur while footballers are moving because of lack of healthy response rate of LCD panel. Do i have to buy a LCD TV to connect by paying 1000 bucks more for a gaming notebook? Have Asus notebook designers thought that! I bet they HAVEN'T.

There are other problems i posted on that forum about the G53JW (i beleive there will be, i hope they won't be) that can be found by querying my posts/threads.

 

It appears my perspective on the issues presented by kimiraikkonen is a bit different. To me, being able to install driver updates and hotfixes, as well as updating a BIOS or firmware is all part of owning a PC. And simple, basic stuff to boot.

As for the ghosting issue, well, every LCD panel has it to some extent. If you are unhappy with the one you have, then I would suggest swapping it out for an improved lcd panel. Perhaps you'll be happier with a matte 120Hz model.

I've not always been happy with the panels that the managers select. The AUO15e on the G53JW was too white-ish for me, and has poor viewing angles. I've had better luck with the 17.3" screens.

And I don't blame Asus... I blame the manufacturers of the panels. What they've allowed to be acceptable is a plain horror at times. And then they make it price attractive to sell off these marginal panels which are "good enough".

As for the AC connector pin, well, yeah, it should be a bit more durable. To help take the strain off it, I suggest buying a L-plug adapter. Knocking into the plug can damage the pin, and the L adapter redirects the vectors of force from doing that. \o/ physics!

 

I want a 120 hz for my g73jh. Where can I get it?