Why is it so cheap?

My question is about this model, sold by BestBuy.

ASUS G74SX-BBK7

I mean, its much cheaper then A1, A2 models. Why is that? Is this machine of best buy good and trustable?

Thank You guys.

 

Best buy models come with:

1600x900 lower quality screen full models come with 1980x1080

128bit 2gb badly (nerfed,gimped) model of the 560M instead of the full 192bit 3gb 560M

The biggest difference is the GPU as it suffers from the modification made to it and it will be on par or less powerful than a 192bit 460M.

Stay away from best buy if you intend to keep this laptop for longer than a year because the GPU will suffer in a years time.

 

^That and it's made with the souls of dead kittens.

 

Thank You.

My god !! Souls of kittens. Poor kittens !!
I wont buy it ...

 

Too late for me

 

I don't understand why you guys are tearing down the best buy version. What you're getting for the price, you can't get in any other laptop. This rig gimped or not is amazing for overclocking. I just overclocked this gimped gpu to 900/1800/1330 and the temps are steady at 67c on furmark (I could easily go higher).

You guys obviously don't take into account the price to component ratio. For $1199 (even cheaper with the $100 bb gift card) you're getting a great laptop. I've had mine for a month now and i'm extremely happy with my purchase. If you're willing to spend $300-600 more then def. go for the better models, but if you're on a budget this is the model for you.

 

The Best Buy version is fine. It's got a perfectly good GPU for a $1200 laptop.

Why is it so much cheaper than the A1? Nearly every component is downrated one step, and they saved a lot of money.
8 GB ram instead of 12 GB
Dual 500 GB HDDs instead of dual 750 GB HDDs
900p screen instead of 1080p
1.0 megapixel webcam instead of 2.0 megapixel

You get less computer, but you pay a LOT less. Like 2/3s the price of an A1. Yeah, the A1 is a better machine, but is it 50% better? I'm not so sure. And in that light, the BBK7 actually offers better bang-for-the-buck than the A1.

And you absolutely will be able to play games for more than a year with the downrated 560M...just not at peak graphics settings.

 

LOL @ Dallers and KuroLionHeart for swatting any would-be "flies" from the "garbage" they consider to be the BB model aha.

Really guys it is not so bad, I saw one the other day at BB, it looks like a fine machine.

Its just, IMO, and what Dallers and Lionheart are really grievous about, is that gimped or non-gimed, the card is soldered (ok well maybe thats just my biggest grip with it), simple as that. But it would still serve a plethora of people just fine.

 

When you're buying a laptop, especially one that cannot be upgraded and is very expensive to exchange components, you generally want the best you can get. When I look at the G74, other than the obvious I expect it to actually be like every other G74. I have the Best Buy G73JH, I would recommend it to everybody. Why? Because other than less ram, one less HDD, smaller res screen, etc. the core components are exactly the same as the other models. My 5870 is the same as everybody elses. Everything they downgraded or excluded can EASILY be rectified. Why could they not do not this for the Nvidia based models? What was wrong with downgrades that actually made sense?

It's false advertising, they do not let you know the 560M is a weaker one. I can understand wanting to save money, I bought the JH from BB because I got it cheaper but you could have just put a weaker GPU in there not gimp an existing GPU and advertise it as a normal one. They could have just put a 550M or something if they wanted to save money, or better yet they could have put a AMD GPU since those are generally cheaper. People going in there thinking it's a true 560M are not going to get a 560M.

It's frankly a really disgusting practice, no other way about it. If you did not know about the GPU when you bought it then you are not to blame but if you actually still buy one while fully knowing about the gimped GPU then you might as well bend over and let BB go to town. Avoid this laptop, period.

 

And that why it sold at best buy.............for the causal folk of course.

 

Oh, indeed, and I do and have agreed on most all points youve made...I simply found yours and Dallers post to be somewhat funny , because there are a lot of threads like this, and its always the same story lol

My point exactly

 

It's really a simple formula...

new user comes in and asks why BB models are cheaper, and Dallers and Kuro start screaming "GIMP! GIMP! GIMP!" and point at the GPU with the trollface etched into it.

 

Just wait...BREAKING NEWS!!!!! Alienware will be available to purchase at Best Buy in 1 more weeks!!!

Only downside is it shipping with the 330m and 460m!!!!

Seriously GPU is the most important factor in a gaming laptop or desktop.

 

If the computers were the same price but you bought the one with the gimped GPU, Best Buy would be screwing you. BUT THEY AREN'T.

$1199 (BBN7) is a MASSIVELY different price point than $1750 (A1). Even gimped, the BBN7's GPU is one of the best out there at $1199, particularly when you consider the other stuff the BBN7 brings to the table (quad-core CPU, 8 GB ram). Tell me a laptop that costs $1199 that has a quad-core i7, a 900p or better screen, and 8 GB of ram that has a better GPU. Seriously, go ahead. Now add in 1 TB of 7200 rpm hard drive. Where can you get a better performing package for $1199? As far as I can tell, you can't.

Now let's look at $1750. Everyone here is screaming "GPU matters more than anything else," etc etc. Well guess what...the A1's 560M is NOT the best GPU you can find in a $1750 gaming rig! For that price, you can get a Malibal Lotus P150HM with a 485M and the 95% color gamut matte screen. Sure, it's got less RAM and less hard drive space, but GPU is all that matters, right? Right?

If GPU matters first and foremost, the BBN7 is the best gaming rig that exists at $1199 (as far as I've found), and the A1 is NOT the best gaming rig you can get at $1750. So why on earth are people who buy the BBN7 being stupid?

That makes no sense. The Malibal Lotus P150HM starts at $1300, and with all the fixings, costs well over $4000. Do you really think that a $1300 Lotus is going to be exactly like a $4000 Lotus? OF COURSE NOT. So why would you expect an $1199 G74 to be just as fast as a $1750 G74?

 

I like how you completely ignored the whole false advertising deal, which is what they're doing. That was the point of my post, they are deceiving and advertising something which they don't have. I would not care if they outright told you the 560M was gimped and weaker than the normal one, but they don't tell you that. At most they only tell you there's less vram, that's it. If you're honestly going to try and justify false advertising, be my guest.

 

You made multiple unrelated arguments. You argued that (1) it's a bad GPU and you're better off with an A1; and (2) it's deceptive advertising. Those arguments have NOTHING to do with each other. And #1 was a big part of your post. You're the one who said "if you actually still buy one while fully knowing about the gimped GPU then you might as well bend over and let BB go to town." And you're dead wrong. It's the best GPU you can get for $1199, full stop.

I actually don't disagree with you on #2. That's why I didn't respond to it...because I had nothing to add. I'd MUCH prefer if they called it a "560BB" instead of a "560M," so that nobody got confused. But the fact that you are right on #2 doesn't mean you're right on #1.

And if someone knows the difference between the GPU in the BBN7 and the A1, like me, than the misleading labeling isn't a problem for them. They're not getting effed in the rear; they're buying the best gaming rig at $1199, even though that gaming rig is inferior to $1750 gaming rigs (shocker!!!).

 

Probably because I didn't make that argument. I never said it was a BAD GPU, just that it was deceptively worse without any indication of that fact. You're hearing only what you WANT to hear. My whole post was complaining about gimping components that didn't need to be gimped and then advertising as non-gimped. Also show me some benchmarks of the BB 560M before you scream "THE BEST GPU FOR 1200 EVAAAAAR". Also we all know the G73/G74 are very well priced laptops, nobody argued this so I don't know why you're even bringing it up except to make yourself feel better. Like I stated, I bought a BB G73 and I'm pretty happy with it. You seem to be spinning my whole post, my problem with the G74 was that it gimped a component that is CORE to the laptop and they do not tell you this. That's it, I never once said the 560M was an incompetent GPU.

Also my bending over remark was simply because you are ENABLING Best Buy to false advertise, not because of the laptop's power. THAT is my problem, but you keep dancing around that. You are telling them "Hey, yeah you can lie to your consumers. We don't care what you do!".

 

Isn't the NP8130 the best bang at $1200 price point?

 

I understand what you're saying, but that's besides the point. I'm sure most of the electronic inclined population understand that BB is one of the worst/overpriced electronic retailers in the world. Evangelist such as yourself keep people well informed of that and I encourage that you keep preaching it. But when you set BB aside we have a nice laptop at a very reasonable price. Give me another laptop manufacturer that can sell this kind of gaming machine for around the same price.

I did my homework and looked at various dif. laptops before buying mine and none are capable of giving me this kind of performance at the same price. BB/Asus are actually doing many ppl a favor by selling this product. Adding a low priced G74sx to the product line gives many people the opportunity to own a nice asus gaming rig. People leaving BB with this laptop, aware or oblivious to the lesser components are still getting bang for the buck.

 

Not if you want a 17"...

 

Oh that is so true, I forgot about that.

 

Swatting, cheap, garbage. All good words to sum up the BB model.

Everything good that has been said is true it will do the job.

Just dont expect it to do the job the real card will do.

Consider an I pad or I phone against a Samsung replica of both, that is what your getting.

I have a BB model myself and adore it but they left my GPU alone I love the kittens comment also very well put.

I will do the honours. The GPU sucks. Mid range and then remove a few bits to make it a Class 1 drop out. If you want to game into 2013 without suffering a shotgun to the back of the head from bad frames get the 192bit version.

This is not about burning the model what do I care my old girl still competes with it and I love my 900p screen so I dont need or want it anyway its to prevent people buying something and then coming back onto the forum and going ''why are my frames so low playing Battlefield 3 or Skyrim on medium 1080p? You said this was a good GPU!!''

 

Fair point; I had forgotten about that. So at $1199, the G74SX-BBN7 has the second-best GPU on the market after Sager/Malibal's similarly-priced 15" gaming rig. At $1750, the G74SX-A1 has the second-best GPU on the market after Sager/Malibal's similarly-priced 15" gaming rig. Sounds pretty parallel to me.

THIS. +1 rep.

KuroLionheart --

Like I said, I agree it would be better if they renamed the BBN7's GPU. But that doesn't mean you should boycott the model if it's the best deal for a buyer. Nobody advocated boycotting XoticPC when they used God of War's Kratos leaping out of an MSI's screen in advertising, even though GoW is a Playstation-exclusive franchise (see the thread in the Sager subforum). Like that, this is worth criticizing but not worth a boycott in my opinion.

A lot of your posts, at least to me, came off the way of Daller's latest ("garbage...the GPU sucks"), and that's what I understood you to be arguing. My apologies for misunderstanding your position.

 

It's alright. As for the XoticPC thing, that's kind of different but I'd rather not spark another argument. I just want us all to get along, hold hands and sing campfire songs as we burn Geek Squad merchandise.

 

I didnt actually mention the word garbage it was lord crappyalloy.

However I totally agree with the way my post comes off and it is suppose to come off that way for a GPU released in 2011 that has less bandwidth than a 8800M GT I intend to prevent buyers suffering to get good results from the great games being released at the end of this year and that is what this laptop is suppose to be a mobile gaming desktop replacement. A lower price means nothing when the loss of resale cost will be diabolical in a years time not to mention the fact you will need to upgrade 6-12 months sooner than you would with a 192 bit version.

 

Wasn't the consensus of this thread that the BBN7's GPU is still better than a run-of-the-mill 555M? The Alienware M14x and the XPS 17 top out with a 555M. The DV7tqe tops out with a 6770M. My understanding is that the Best Buy G74 should outperform both. If the BBN7 isn't a "mobile gaming desktop replacement" in your mind, are you saying that there is not one single "mobile gaming desktop replacement" on the market at $1200 besides the P151HM1?

 

I better not give my opinion on the 555M will only lead to more arguments

As mentioned earlier:

But you would be better off saving up and picking up the model with the 192 bit version, it is not that fact that other things are also of lesser quality for instance the 900p screen, it is the fact that you can replace these and upgrade the RAM/HDD etc you cannot do so with the GPU especially not as it is soldered to the board now.

So the only option you have with a mobile setup IMO is to try and get the best GPU you can get and if that means paying a little extra so be it because it is the bottleneck of a system and what prevents its lifespan.

 

Just buy the one you can afford. No point in saying get the A1 instead if the potential buyer is financially limited.

Another thing, if casual buyers buy it w/o any knowledge of the gimped GPU, then that's their fault. Spending over $1,000+ should at least give them some common sense of researching and visiting notebookreview for useful info before buying something that expensive.

 

50% more is not "a little extra." 50% more is the difference between a Chevy Malibu and a BMW 328i. 50% more is the difference between a BBN7 and an A1. It's easy to say "you'll be happier if you spend 50% more" when it's not your own money.

 

Sorry could you confirm how you came to 50% from $1200 BBN7 to $1699 A1? I make that 40%ish.

I would just put it on credit anyway so it wouldn't be my own money. Im not here to buy one though I am here to prevent others buying it by looking at GPU-z for them. I went for the BB version JH which was mocked and regarded as pure dirt but at least the GPU was not gimped although it was a little hot.

P.s what is your profile picture of? I cant make it out

 

Inane posts like yours make me wish I could give out negative rep!

 

+1 aha Are not most of us apart of the ROG clan??? No need to gang up on each other, that need only be against the fruit company lol I kid.....really though

Dallers: Oh lord, Ill be sure to remember that one (see what I did there?)

 

Let me try and end this discussion because Daller's always seems to be involved when indecision is being discussed. I am actually a very kind and calm individual who enjoys tapestry and quiet evenings with a novel by the log fire.

Buy the Best Buy model. If you do not have or cannot afford to buy the full version A1/A2 etc. If you are looking for a mid range 17 inch gaming laptop and you are a casual gamer that does not mind lowering the settings to meet his needs and maybe taking into consideration the 900p screen which although does not produce really great results is satisfactory for you. If you just want to play World of Warcraft. If you are looking to try and game into 2012.

Buy the Full model. If you can afford it or you can wait to be able to afford a mid-high range 17 inch gaming laptop. If you are interested in reaching the highest possible outcome of the 560M. If you will only condone a 1080p screen and despise 900p. If you are looking to play Guild Wars 2. If you are looking to try and game into 2013.

IMHO there is only one bad thing about the BB and that is the GPU and the price difference makes up for it yes I agree it does but not in the long run because you end up upgrading sooner and resale in a years time will be lower than that of an A1/A2. The 900p is totally acceptable.

(I expect I have had a dire affect on BB sales and will be assassinated shortly.....)

Good one Alloy here is a cookie. Now get back to work!!!

 

I'll stick with my G73. :3

 

Dallers is going to join the ranks of the kittens soon. I expect the G73 with Dallers soul to overclock on it's own until it melts and kills everything in the area.

 

My my we are cheery today aren't we?

Although I agree somewhat if its not nearing melting point you are not trying hard enough!

 

That's it, i'm calling the UK government to tell them not to let you near a nuclear plant . Jokes aside, for the US market, i'd say to wait till newegg and amazon get their own cheaper versions if you can. It will probably come with a non gimped GPU and BB like prices.

 

The BBN7 is $1199 on BestBuy.com and the A1 is $1799 on Amazon.com and "starting at $1745" at XoticPC. Close enough to 50% to use it for the discussion.

Who pays your credit card??? When I put something on credit, it's my money, I just pay later (and with interest).

Epee mask and a Visconti-gripped epee (though nowadays I use a Belgian grip instead of a Visconti grip). I had already made the profile pic for a fencing forum, and I couldn't think of something computer-specific that would be a good profile pic for me, so I took the lazy route and used the fencing profile pic here too.

 

You can get the A1 for £1699 and the price is already falling $1745 was the release price. $1799 is a bit of a porky rip off.

I just keep moving my credit onto a new credit card and will do till the day I die so I dont have to pay for it.

I would have never guess it was that

----------------------------

I notice you are looking to buy the G74 as per your signature....

I dont recommend getting the Best Buy version.

 

Good luck with that.

Okay, well for people who pay their debts, it's a big price difference I have two kids to feed and a mortgage to pay, so the difference between $1199 and $1700+ is big. The games I like to play (Mass Effect 1-3, Starcraft II, maybe Diablo III) will run just fine on the BBN7. While I'm interested in trying a couple more GPU-intensive games (Skyrim, Battlefield 3), I have no aversion to playing them with reduced graphics settings.

Unless you yourself are going to ship me the extra $500+, I'm not seeing that it's worth my money to get the A1 over the BBN7

 

Its all about tactics with money move money from interest free to interest free without payments and build a good credit rating and you can make money from debt by claiming credit interest on borrowed money without paying any debit interest.

If that is your choice congratulations enjoy your BBN7.

Buy the Best Buy model. If you do not have or cannot afford to buy the full version A1/A2 etc. If you are looking for a mid range 17 inch gaming laptop and you are a casual gamer that does not mind lowering the settings to meet his needs and maybe taking into consideration the 900p screen which although does not produce really great results is satisfactory for you. If you just want to play World of Warcraft. If you are looking to try and game into 2012.

 

That description is me, except I don't agree with your timeframe. I've gamed into 2011 on a late-2008 MacBook Pro (Starcraft II, Mass Effect II, Bad Company 2). I just put graphics settings on low for each game and they run just fine. And they're not any less fun to play just because I can't see the pores on people's noses. Since I was able to get three years of casual gaming with reduced graphics settings out of a frickin' MacBook Pro, I don't see why I'd only be able to get one year out of a BBN7.

 

As far as time frame, at our current rate of progression, a new G74 will be trumped handily by Q3-Q4 of next year, if not sooner. You'll still be able to play games fine, though, just like everyone with a G73 is still fine with most games (The Witcher 2 still hates my computer though). But you'll get years of more-than-adequate performance from the machine if you take care of it. You don't have to have games on their highest setting to enjoy them, either.

 

i can't wait for bf3 to drop and i can play it nearly maxed out with no dropped frames (especially with a minor o/c). it is hilarious to me that folks are talking about how a computer will perform when the game will not drop for almost 4 more months.

i remember all of the crysis 2 hype as well. OMG you are going to need a quad sli/xfire set up to max it. lol, yeah right.

 

Ummmm if you are intending to play BF3 maxxed out with your 128bit 460M then you are in for quite a shock.

Go install BC2 and run it at ultra and check your FPS. Then consider how many years ago that was released. I would say you will probably get away with medium after some updates, even I am not expecting to be able to play it on anything above medium with some settings turned off, Battlefield is a whole different ball game to Crysis 2 people assumed it would be mega powerful because of the original but we already know Dice create BF games to make sure they reap the glory for many years and the BF requirements prove this it requires the 460 GTX desktop card not a gimped mobile version.

Recommended system requirements for Battlefield 3

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

 

Well, I'm probably going to buy the Toshiba x775-Q7270. The things I don't like in it is the i5, wanted i7 QM and the 6GB ram, wanted more ... But I can only expend 1200$ and i can't buy a NP8130 because of the time it would take to be delivered.

Seems this toshiba will do the job quite fine. I was wondering if it will run BF3 at least in medium ...

About a gimped card... I wouldn't get one.

 

That has the full 560M GTX so BF3 medium wont be a problem you will probably be able to push up other settings as well.

That is not a bad deal that Toshiba blimey 17 inch as well only difference is the I5 but for gaming that is just as good.

You have proven that there are notebooks around with Price vs Power better than the G74 BBN7 +1 that man. $1199.00 for that is a bargain.

 

Meh with 17 inches, get this one

Newegg.com - ASUS G Series G53SW-XN1 Notebook Intel Core i7 2630QM(2.00GHz) 15.6" 6GB Memory 500GB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M

a 192 bits 460m is better than a gimp (that word is funny for some reason) 560m.

Not sure about the Tosiba one, but this has 1080p! and the 460m.

 

Go look again ^^ The Toshiba has a 192bit 560M not a gimped one for $1199.00.

 

I still don't see how people are having problems with bc2. My g73 has been running it fine since I got the game. I have shadows down a notch I think, like in all the games I play, and also did the configuration file change to make it dx11. It makes a huge difference. But yeah, my g73 plays bc2 without a sweat. I can live with the almost unnoticeable difference in shadow quality if it means better performance.
And no, my laptop isn't over clocked and never will be.