A7S-A1-Any Reason Why Not?

First and foremost, for me, discovering the nbr forum, and in particular this section, has been one of the best finds anywhere on the net. This forum is heads and shoulders the best resource for quality, informative, complete and insightful information for laptops and computers in general. Since recently stumbling here while pondering and researching info to make the penultimate "what laptop should I buy" decision, I've referred many others similarly situated or needing solutions to vexing problems(especially at various forums I frequent) to this, essentially on-stop, destination. Everyone, everywhere on a keyboard ultimately (more correctly regularly) needs the very info that the members here generously contribute. I for one would like to say thanks for the help and assistance you've already provided me.

Having blown more than enough smoke . . . (well you know), finally, my question. Particularly relevant and what seems to me ultimately decisive, is that I'm not a gamer, nonetheless, I'm looking to buy a high quality, performance, powerful laptop. Equally important is that screen size, at least 17" is non-negotiable. Thus the thread title/query: apart from offering higher end graphics cards, is there any other reason to choose, or features offered by, the G-Series in comparison to the A7S?

I haven't seen an abundance of info here regarding the A7S albeit sometimes an off-hand reference to it as one of Asus' lower end models. At many vendors' websites I've also seen a good amount of inconsistent and often incorrect information largely due to what seems to be an apparent misunderstanding (maybe on my part, but I don't think so) of the chipset used in the A7S. It seems clear that the chipset used in the A7S is Intel's 965PM. Isn't that Intel's best chipset used with Intel's Santa Rosa core 2 duo processors and the same used in the G-Series? A majority of the higher end options and features I've seen offered in various laptops seem to be available mostly by virtue of the chipset. So, while I've seen some specs for the A7S showing max memory capacity as 2mb, that's clearly wrong and other performance specs seem to be wrongly listed as well. The processor in the A7S is the T7300 (and one site will build it with a T7500). It seems that the A7S offers just about everything worthwhile in a higher end laptop, including the G2s (that I haven't ruled out), except the highest end graphics cards. (My major complaint, however, with Asus ensemble models is they package weak HDs, but I have many to spare & replace).

I'm excited to finally "pull the trigger" and nervously await the arrival of the UPS-man. But before doing so, I'd very much welcome your thoughts re:
1. the A7S in general vs the G2s (G2S-A1 or others) for a non-gamer
2. whether the extra almost $500 is worthwhile
3. whether the A7S is otherwise really lower or mid-end
4. whether some other high-quality, 17", performance model is recommended

These are the models I was looking at:

ASUS A7 Series A7S-A1 NoteBook Intel Core 2 Duo T7300(2.00GHz) 17.1" Wide XGA+ 2GB DDR2 667 200GB 4200rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce 8400M G - Retail ($1469.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220177

ASUS A7 Series A7SV-A1 NoteBook Intel Core 2 Duo T7500(2.20GHz) 17.0" Wide XGA+ 2GB 250GB 4200rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GS - Retail ($1509.00)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220232

ASUS G Series G2S-A1 NoteBook Intel Core 2 Duo T7500(2.20GHz) 17.1" Wide UXGA 2GB DDR2 667 160GB 5400rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT - Retail
Pre-installed DDRIII VRAM ($1998.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220185

I'm willing to spend the extra bucks if I should.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

 

Welcome to the forums! And thanks on behalf of all the members for your appreciation.

Theoretically, one difference between A and G series is build quality. Theoretically, A should be near the bottom of the ASUS lineup (which makes it average in the span of all the other notebook manufacturers), while G should be somewhere in-between budget lines (A, F) and business lines (V, W).

Practically, I'm not so sure the difference is very large.

Another difference is that the G series is more gamer-oriented: high-end GPUs (for notebooks) and "gaudier" looks (in the opinion of some including me) or "cool" looks (in the opinion of others). Whereas the A-s are generally more discreet.

One difference in the notebooks you list is that the G has DDR3 VRAM which supposedly is quite a performance boost.

 

Thanks for the quick reply. I do like the G2s and continue to remain undecided. I've seen the A series referred to as the lower end but the specs of at least the newer, current A7s seem to be consistent with the higher end models. I haven't actually physically seen any Asus. Is the physical build or the internal construction of the A7S the the G2s or other theoretically "higher end" models, which seem to otherwise contain similar high end components (save the superior GPUs) differ as well? I too like "gaudier" cooler looks, why not? The images of the A7s looked very nice, but perhaps its construction quality is not. Are the cheaper A7s also cheaper in construction, build and look? Call me superficial, but if a GeoPrism had all components of a Mercedes SL500 (not in a million years), it'd still be a GeoPrism to me. Conversely, if Asus now is building and constructing it's supposed lesser lines, at least this one, to include both high end components together with the major difference in offering lesser high end GPUs for non-gamers such that the A7S is essentially a G2S without the best GPU (also your higher quality ram comment is duly noted), then I'd guess that substance may actually prevail over previously perceived form. This basically lies at the heart of my confusion in comparing the two. And if the higher end GPU serves largely for gaming, then that wouldn't be much of a factor for me. What is important to me that the inclusion of some very respectable components in the A7S aside, perhaps it's still a GeoPrism or at best a "training mercedes", like the low end C (or was it e) class. Do the "boxes" themselves differ?

As a separate matter, is there a 17" high performance alternative (without getting to the extreme quod core) that you'd recommend in which the highest end GPU isn't critical?