* Official ASUS G73JH Crew Member's Lounge *

Thanks... thought you had a cool edit for my sig.

Went back and corrected "birght" . Thanks!

 

Gamer's Update:

PC Gamer Reviews - Mass Effect 2 & BioShock 2

Mass Effect 2: 90%

May bring character from Mass Effect1, complete with the history of choices you made in ME1 (but not you level or powers) for a seemless transition into ME2. Very Cool for me- I have ME1 slated for one of the first games to play

BioShock 2: 90%


PC Gamer Top 10 of the Year:

Dragon Age: Origins
Left 4 Dead 2
Tales of Monkey Island
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War
Eve Online
Batman: Arkham Asylum
ARMA 2
Zeno Clash
DCS: Black Shark
Plants vs.Zombies


How many G73 Owners's Subscribe to PC Gamer?
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I don't think you need to keep crossposting this between here and the other G73 thread. keep it to one thread.

 

lol it's okay, he's just excited I guess.

 

is not okay, its against the rules.

 

I am still waiting to play Mass Effect 1 because my current laptop couldn't handle it. So that is good news about character import. Also on the list Dragon Age: Origins. I also can't wait to max Med Total War II.
My Xmas present turned into my Valentine's present! Trying to get my wife a spa package somewhere so she'll disappear a few days. )

 

With my best Judas Priest Rift:

Breakin the Law, Breakin the Law !!!

Sorry though.... I'll keep it to one thread.

 

Very cool (and apologies for going so far OT). My main on WoW is a Pally. I watched the original broadcasts of HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL when I was six; it must have stuck with me!

And now back to the regularly scheduled Crew Lounge...

 

Oh you bet Im staying the course, put up with to much garbage from this machine to fold on it now

Quick, someone toss me a couple 5870s

>.>
<.<

Can daydream can't I? Haha.

g73 is one sleek looking machine too, enjoy it guys
Just noticed its not a flush bezel, not a big deal but I was hoping they would continue the trend, cleans up so much easier.

 

If you are interested in getting ratings on games for the G73 I would recommend www.gamerankings.com they gather all the reviews on a given game and give an overall average grade.

 

Great Site !!! Thanks !

 

Whoa! Very nice site indeed. Thanks.

 

This will be my first new machine in several years, and my first notebook that wasn't a hand-me-down.

Do these come installed with a recovery partition? If so, do most of you wipe it and delete it or do you keep it?

I've never used a factory-installed OS - always wiped and reinstalled myself. I know I immediately want to install Windows 7 Ultimate.

Thanks,
Mark

 

I can finally join this thread! after scrimping my money i finally pre-ordered this bad boy

 

Congratulations on choosing what is turning out to be a very popular machine.

I will leave it to one of the resellers to verify if the machine is coming with a recovery partition, but almost all units with Windows 7 installed on them have a recovery partition that is accessible on start up.

Whether you delete the recovery partition is up to you.

There are advantages and disadvantages that come with wiping it out and keeping it. Just decide which is more important for yourself.

I would recommend strongly that you make recovery discs (if the unit does not come with them) before performing a clean install of Win 7 Ultimate just in case you have difficulties with the clean install. This is your OEM copy of Windows 7 home premium that you purchased with the unit.

*Edit: There is no need to make recovery discs. Asus laptops come with a Windows 7 disc, a drivers and utilities disc that allows you to choose which drivers and utilities you wish to load and your all-media ODD viewing and burning disc. Thank you for the information paladin44.

Bear in mind that upgrading Windows 7 from Home Premium to Ultimate has become very easy compared to past versions of Windows using Windows Anytime Upgrade feature. Each copy of Windows 7 comes with all versions already installed and you just have to activate the new aspects of Windows 7 Ultimate. This is done by going to the start menu, clicking all programs, choosing "Windows Anytime Upgrade" and then choosing "Enter and upgrade key".


Wiping it out:

Advantage:

1. Gives you a clean install of the operating system that has no bloatware installed on the Unit from Asus.

2. This will free up system resources like memory as only minimal processes will be started up during the boot process and no extra vendor software will be loaded.

Disadvantage:

1. You have to buy/get your hands on a full boxed version of Windows 7 Ultimate.

*Edit: Disadvantages 2 & 3 do not apply due to the drivers and utilites disc that ASUS supplies.

[2. You may have to find software drivers that do not come with Windows 7 Ultimate to operate the hardware in your laptop (check that these drivers are all available at the manufacturer website prior to the clean install).

3. If there are any useful programs installed by Asus, you will no longer have access to them as they are not there.]

4. You lose the easiest way to recover your original operating system (Windows 7 Home Premium) in the event you need to reinstall it.


Keeping the Recovery Partition:

Advantages:

1. You can easily recover the Windows 7 Home Premium Operating System using the recovery partition (I still advise making the recovery discs in case your HDD or SDD ever fails). This can be upgraded to Windows 7 Ultimate after the system recovery is complete using Windows Anytime Upgrade.

*Edit: Advantage 2 does not apply for reasons already stated.

[2. You have access to any useful trialware or Asus Utility programs originally installed on the system.]

3. A Windows 7 Ultimate Anytime upgrade is cheaper than a Windows 7 Full boxed version.

Disadvantage:

1. To optimize system performance, you must delete useless bloatware (there will likely be a thread on this after the release).

2. Reinstalling Windows 7 Ultimate on your system would require first performing a System Recovery to Windows 7 Home Premium, then Performing the relatively fast Windows 7 Anytime upgrade to Win 7 Ultimate and finally doing all the tweaks to optimize system performance by eliminating bloatware.



I hope this helps you decide which choice is best for you

 

This is my first computer with two HDs, in this case SSD and HDD. I want to put the "My docs" folder on the 2nd HDD. I don't want to fill up the SSD with docs,video, photos. I know just enough to be dangerous. (regedit/msconfig/etc)
Is this easy/hard, practical/impractical?

What programs beyond win7 should stay on the SSD?

 

Yes, if you are getting an SSD with limited capacity, this is a good idea. And Yes, it is very simple..... as simple as a 'right mouse click' on your DOC folder, Properties, Location, then assigning the new location of the folder. On the SSD..... the OS, and all OS related software, such as security & maintenance software, etc. Pics, docs, vids, games, etc. to your secondary HDD.

 

I recommend putting the programs and files that you wish to be able to access very quickly on the SSD (i.e. Games that you install on your gaming rig or programs that you desire to run quickly). You are paying a premium for speed. For many people, this will be all their programs.

As you have already decided, put the documents that you do not mind waiting for them to load on the second mechanical HDD (for most people - documents, music, photos, videos etc).

You ought to back up of all documents, pictures, e-mail and music on a second storage media (i.e. external USB/E-Sata/Firewire HDD - Thumb drive - DVD) though if you cannot afford to lose it. HDDs eventually fail. Back it up as often as you cannot afford to lose your data.

 

Is there a SSD without a limited capacity?

Jokes aside, I am also wondering if it is worth the extra $240 to upgrade from a 80gig SSD to a 160gig?

 

The 160GB drive gives you faster sequential writes but not by much.

 

Oh yeah I didn't even think about that. I've been getting free OSs from MS for many years so I haven't had to do any upgrades.

Thanks much for the detailed reply. Much appreciated!

Cheers,
Mark

 

We appreciate your lengthy first post, but unfortunately it is not very accurate in many respects.

All ASUS laptops come with your Windows 7 software disk, a complete drivers and utilites disk (just look at all the utilities that come with it on the Specifications page), and your all-media ODD viewing and burning disk.

 

I stand corrected Paladin44. Thank you for clearing that up.

 

This is much appreciated news as I had a small concern about the standard option. Just to be positive (bare with me please), you're saying the W7 Home Premium 64bit that comes standard with the base G73JH config will come with a physical W7 disc and key? Thanks.


Edit: Brilliant, this purchase just keeps getting better. No extra charge for the OS I wanted and all the physical goodies to boot. Thanks.

 

Correct. In addition, they come with a drivers and utilities disk that is, finally, done the right way. It lists all of the drivers and utilities on the disk and lets you select all, or deselect any you don't want to install (e.g. Trend Micro Internet Security Suite), and then you simply click on Start and it sequentially loads all that you have selected, rebooting when necessary. You can set it up the way you want it, click Start...and go have lunch

 

Awesome! Thank you for the info.

 

That sounds awesome. I was a bit concerned about having to do the -ve install again. But sounds like Asus actually care about our usage of this thing.

 

Asus laptops come very lightly loaded with any kind of bloatware to start with. There is no need for a clean install, just uninstall the 2 or 3 applications you may not want/need and your good to go.

 

That's my plan! Thanks.

 

Hm, I was also confused about this issue. For instance, at GenTech, it says "Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit Pre-installed w/System Recovery DVD."

System Recovery DVD? Is that different than the standard W7 install DVD that comes with its own key, etc?
In any case, am I correct in assuming that there is no difference in what's included from retailer to retailer?

Lastly, I'm aware that if I order ths G73 now, I'll be on the 2nd shipment's list at the earliest. Besides that though, would there be any advantage (time-wise) in ordering either the A1 or A2? I'd just take out the Blu-Ray with the A1 anyway, so whichever is fastest to arrive, I guess?

 

Take it one step further, after you install all your applications/games you want and have the system in perfect conditon make a disk image with a backup software.

If the time comes you find you ever need to do a new install of the OS for any reason you will save considerable time/trouble installing all that stuff again and can start right where you left off.

I like Acronis, but also I have used DriveImage XML too and its free.
</marks>

 

I believe G73Jh-A2's ETA is Late Feb which is later than the 2nd shipment of A1 (Feb 17th).
you're better off pre-ordering G73Jh-a1 for now.
and System Recovery DVD is the W7 Install DVD, and the laptop comes with its own key. There are no differences that resellers sell.

 

Good info. Thanks.

 

Again, ASUS is already there with their imaging utility. It asks you to burn your image disks when you first boot from a complete install.

 

I have never seen that before, but no matter I wouldn't follow that route. I like to make a backup to an external HDD (or the 2nd non OS HDD would be ok) and also make incremental backups via a real backup software.

Backing up to disk for me is suicidal as I will lose it or break it or something and it wont work well for incremental updates.

 

I hadn't heard of DriveImage XML....interesting, thanks.

 

It's purpose is not for incremental backup of your data, its purpose is to give you a quick recovery of your OS, drivers and applications...no different from the original disks they come on, but all put together.

I agree that external backup in the Cloud, or an external HDD is best for backing up data.

 

I think you will be very lucky if you order it now and get on the 2nd shipment. I am on the 2nd shipment as it stands now and I ordered 2 weeks ago.

 

Started my shopping for the new baby Got the external 1TB HD backup. Microcloth sleeve. GAMES!! Portable powerstrip/surge protector. More GAMES!! Good with cables/connectors/thumbdrives
Looking for a good cablelock (Not impressed with targus).
What other goodies should go in the backpack?

 

Did you ask your reseller for that information? If so, which one are you going with?

<-- Very interested in the ETA of mine

 

yeah, I asked Ken from Gentechpc. He told me I was on the 2nd shipment

 

Just took the plunge and ordered from XoticPC. Justin has been a great resource for this forum and and I am thrilled to be doing business with him.

ASUS G73JH-A1 - PRE ORDER
- Current Promotion: !! FREE !! UPS GROUND SHI
- Xotic Gear: No Xotic PC Gear
- Warranty: 2 Year ASUS GLOBAL Warranty, 24/
- Software Bundle (Not Installed): No Software Bundle
- Microsoft Office Software (Media: No Office Software
- Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit -
- Notebook Cooler: No Notebook Cooler
- Mouse / Keyboard Accessories: Asus G Series Razor Gaming Mouse
- Fingerprint Reader: No Fingerprint Reader
- Port Replicator / Dock / Adapter: No Dock/Hub/Adapter
- Spare AC Adapter: None Standard*
- Car Adapter: No Car Adapter
- Battery: Smart Li-ion Battery (8-Cell)
- Case: Asus G Series Matching Backpack
- Sound Card: Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audi
- TV Tuner: No TV Tuner
- Camera: Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- Wireless Network Accessories: No Network Accessory
- Wireless Network: Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 530
- Bluetooth: Internal Bluetooth + EDR
- Memory Card Reader: Internal 8-in-1 Card Reader: MM
- Floppy Drive: No Floppy Drive
- External Hard Drive (Back Up): No Back Up Hard Drive
- Raid: HDD Raid Settings - OFF
- Second Hard Drive: - 500GB 7200RPM 8MB Cache Buffer
- Primary Hard Drive: - 500GB 7200RPM 8MB Cache Buffer
- Optical Drive: - 4X Blu-Ray Reader / 8X DVDRW/C
- Exterior Finish: Standard Finish
- Ram: 8,192MB (8GB) DDR3 1066MHz Dual
- External Monitor Video Adapter: No Video Adapter
- Graphics Video Card: ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD5870 1024
- Thermal Compound: IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CP
- Processor: - Intel® Core™ i7-720QM, 1.60-2.
- Dead Pixel Policy: ASUS Zero Bright Dot (ZBD) 30 Da
- Display: 17.3" FHD 16:9 "Glare Type" Supe

I feel like a kid waiting for x-mas now!!!

 

Recovery DVD is different from the full version Windows disk, the recovery DVD is not a full installation Windows disk, all it does is re-partition and format your HD and recover your Windows to the manufacturer settings.

Also the recovery disk does not comes with Windows repair feature or Windows backup/restore function.


If you order it now you will be on the 2nd shipment.

 

hmmm...can xoticpc tell which shipment you're on?

 

I had to use my recovery dvd the other day for my EEE when I deleted "mysterious OS" off my 2nd partition it messed up the bootloader. I had to recover the entire thing instead of just fixing the boot loader really sucks.

There are ways to extract your keys from a OEM restore disk I believe and then use a normal OS disk with it. Atleast there was with older OS's like XP not sure if that still holds true for Vista/7

 

I would think so, maybe Justin will have something to say on the matter. My guess is that they know, but it would be too much time wasted trying to email everyone about their position in line so they only tell you if you ask.

I wanted to ask the resellers that are already confirming who is in 1st or 2nd shipment, do you guys have a firm number from Asus as to how many G73s will arrive 1st shipment? And if so are you allowed to share that number with the group?

 

Tax return just showed up and I got an order in to Ken at Gentech. However, I think I was a little excited and didn't grab the option for ICD. I am guessing this is something I can change?

Also, very good news hearing from Ken that those who order before today will most likely make the second shipment. I'm a pessimist so naturally I have prepared myself mentally and emotionally for sometime around Easter. Getting one before/around March would be amazing !!

 

Yes Rschauby, just send him a PM here on the board and give him your order # and tell him you would like to updated with the ICD thermal compound, he will then bill you for the difference and the end of it

 

CONGRATZ rschauby!

A huge Stealth Crew Member Welcome!

 

Any reseller providing details on what shipment a customer is in, is no more then a guess. (unless you are in the top 10 ) We prefer not to over promise and under deliver, we would rather under promise and over deliver. Actual numbers a reseller is being allocated is far from confirmed at this time. Your veteran ASUS resellers always receive the most allocation.