ASUS G51VX-X1A (Newegg) vs. G51VX-RX05 (BestBuy)

I got some good info off this forum while shopping for a new laptop so I just wanted to contribute my experience deciding between the cheaper BestBuy G51VX-RX05 vs. the $300 more expensive Newegg G51VX-X1A system. This might be helpful for anyone who is trying to decide which to buy.

Here's what made my decision, your mileage may vary depending on the sales tax in your area and if Newegg has to charge you tax.

First, there are 2 main differences in specs:

X1A has the P8700 CPU (2.53Ghz)
RX05's has the P7350 CPU (2.00Ghz)

Screen Res:
X1A: 1920x1080
RX05: 1366x768

The price difference is $300, at least on the surface. BestBuy dumbs down the ASUS standard warranty to just 1 year parts and labor. (Probably so they can more easily sell their own warranty ) Newegg does not do this, you get the 2 year parts and labor plus the 1 year accidental drop and spill coverage (if you send in the card).

So here's the numbers I ran, rounded off:

BestBuy: $1000
1 year accidental damage warranty: $100
Sales Tax= $91 (8.25% in Charlotte, NC)

Total Price= $1191 and you're only getting 1 year parts and labor vs. 2 years at Newegg.

BB really doesn't have a warranty that exactly matches what ASUS offers free. So you either give up a year of standard warranty or buy the 2 year standard plus accidental coverage plan from BestBuy @ $280:

$1000 + $280 + $106 (sales tax)= $1386

Now let's look at the Newegg X1A:

$1300 + (approx) $20 standard shipping= $1320

The difference? $129 more for the X1A if you take a year less standard warranty, and $66 LESS for the X1A if you get BB's 2 year warranty on the RX05.

The only thing tempting me to get the BestBuy system was being able to drop if off at the store 2 miles from my house if it needs repairs vs. having to FedEx it to a service center. But in all the years I've owned laptops I've never had to take one in for service (I rarely keep them long enough to wear out )

To me even the $129 difference with less warranty wasn't worth the lower specs, especially the screen res.

Again, your mileage may vary depending on sales tax and how much value you put on CPU speed/Screen res and also in store service vs. shipping.

CltPilot

 

The unfortunate realities of BestBuy's warranty service provided by GSquad have been discussed in detail elsewhere around here.

To all newer members here, the reduced price for BBuy units is accomplished by reducing warranty coverage as well as lower spec'd components in the notebook itself.

The general consensus among members here is usually to purchase from authorized resellers, either NewEgg or an actual reseller (i.e. GenTechPC.com) and skip BestBuy. Otherwise, nice detailed post .

 

RX05's screen also leaves a lot to be desired.

 

You could have purchased the RX05 from a BB in a different county and saved over $5.

 

Yea, the screen was more of a factor than the CPU in my decision although I would have hated to actually take a downgrade in CPU from my current system. I've got an HP with a T8100 @ 2.1ghz combined with NVidia 8400M GS/256MB. It can handle older games and even plays COD4 single player ok but I had to uninstall MOH:AA due to poor framerate. Of course with the 260M GPU the slower CPU probably wouldn't be much of a factor now but I'm sure it will be in the future.

 

The thing with the bad Best Buy warranty is actually an advantage.

If you get the reseller version, you're not going to be doing anything even remotely warranty-voiding because you'll be wasting the money you spent on the awesome warranty. With that in mind, you can mod/upgrade with no remorse with the (lack of) warranty from Best Guy.

 

The mods don't seem very effective or even worth the effort. It would be easier to simply get a cooling pad and be done with it.

 

?

Did you see my results? A 5C drop in max temperature and a roughly 7.5C drop in stabilization temperature in Furmark isn't effective?

And when the Zalman was on, the GPU was chilling out at 80C.

 

Or put the cooling pad inside the notebook. Oh wait...

 

I've read a lot of the messages concerning the G51 and heat. The only gaming I'll be doing is when I'm on the road (over half the month) and there's no way I can fit a cooling pad into the limited luggage space I have. Am I going to have a problem with heat? I play mostly FPS games and my current laptop's NVidia 8400 GPU can't handle newer more demanding games. I'll probably install stuff like Far Cry 2, BattleField 1943, and the new Wolfenstein game.

 

The cooling mods I have implemented on my RX05 seem to be good passive mods. (Note that I don't have a before/after comparison reading).

I'd like to see how what I did to my computer looks when coupled with the Soviet-Approved Xpad, but I'd like to, I don't know, rent one first.

 

If you offer to do a thorough review on the Xpad, the creator will send you one for free.

 

Woah, really? Let me look into that.

And how thorough is thorough?

 

From my observation, the standards for "thorough" based on other user reviews are a bit on the low and simple side. If you or I did a review on the Xpad, it would blow all the other reviews out of the water because both of us put heavy emphasis on control and precision. Google "Xpad review" to see a few of them, or you can check out the video reviews on YouTube. Make sure you read the reviews of the newer generation Xpad.

 

where do I sign up? =p

 

Do I just contact a generic person through this contact info, or should I ask for someone in particular?

 

You're on your own from here. I'm not interested in doing a review on the Xpad albeit loving it so much. Just send them a formal email saying you want to publish a review.

 

All right. Sending formal email now.