Asus G1 Review

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by Mark Mierzwa

This is a review of the G1 Gaming Laptop by ASUS. This laptop defies traditional categorization since it provides gaming performance while maintaining a mobile capability. Normally gaming notebooks are isolated to larger entertainment style laptops that have low battery life. However, the Asus G1 being reviewed here can provide excellent multimedia and gaming performance while remaining portable with good battery life.

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First impressions:

Packaging:

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The box was secure and did not seem like the contents were loose or shaking inside. After opening the first outer box, the backpack and G1 box were revealed. A piece of cardboard the height and length of the remaining space wedged the G1 box in snuggly. The backpack was folded and sealed in plastic. Inside the G1 box, the contents were divided into two sections, the laptop in an anti-static bag secured by fitted plastic foam and a brown box. Inside the brown box was contained all the various discs, parts, and promised corded gaming mouse. The top of the laptop was covered with a plastic protective film along with other various protective measures, such as a sheet between the monitor and keyboard, and a plastic sheet over the monitor. Several decorative and informative plastic inserts highlighting the features of the notebook were also present.

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The laptop:

Asus G1 gaming laptop, fresh out of the box (view large image)

I observed the overall design and proportions of the unit and found them satisfactory. The laptop was not small but certainly not huge. The finish and textured look was impressive and gave a sophisticated look to it. It was scratch free and did not have any obvious blemishes. Finger prints were not immediately noticeable, though at close inspection you could observe them. All the expected ports and devices were present. The optical drive had several labels but nothing in regards to LightScribe (More on this later). The laptop being billed as a Gaming Laptop was certainly true from the exterior. The strobes, colored squares around the &quot;W&quot;, &quot;A&quot;, &quot;S&quot; and &quot;D&quot; keys, a sleek dark design, OLED, and all seeing evil eye gave it that serious gaming experience on the exterior. A true Gaming Laptop is impressive inside and out.

Top view of Asus G1 (view large image)

Under side view of the Asus G1 (view large image)

On the outside it had 'the look,' but would it cook?

During the time I first started charging the laptop I decided to call ASUS support for more information. I spoke with an Albert there and he seemed friendly enough,after a moment of relating my information to him he asked how he could be of assistance. I inquired about his knowledge of the unit, which he was aware of and semi-knowledgeable about. I asked as to whether or not the indicator would show when the battery was full, and if he knew if there was LightScribe or not (more on this later). He advised me that the battery indicator would turn off, and that he had seen LightScribe as an option on the model they had trained on, but had not tested it and would need to inquire further. I asked about hours of operation and so forth and he seemed to know what he was talking about. Satisfied, I returned to waiting and after about one hour the light turned off as promised.

In action:

I plugged the laptop in, per the instructions, and waited for an indication of a full charge. After about one hour the charging indicator extinguished. I turned the laptop on and was able to boot up without incident. The POST (Power-On Self Test) had a cool little ASUS Gaming Laptop logo that made a neat sound effect and, after making a mental note to disable it, I proceeded to wait for the rest of the startup. Windows proceeded through the setup normally and I was on the desktop in no time. I was then advised to reboot. After the reboot I proceeded my testing with single-minded precision.

Specs for ASUS G1 AK008M:

• Processor: ASUS G1 Intel® Core™2 Duo T7200 (2.0GHz)
• Screen: 15.4&quot; WSXGA+ (1680x1050) ColorShine
• RAM: 2048M DDR2 667
• Hard Disk: 160GB HD 5400 RPM
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForceGo 7700 GPU 512 MB
• Optical Drive: M-a-t-s-h-i-t-a DVD-RAM UJ-850S DVD RW DL (No LightScribe)
• Wireless: A/B/G + Bluetooth
• Card Reader: MMC, SD, MS, MS-Pro
• Operating System: Windows Media Center Edition
• Kensington Lock hole
• 1.3 Mega Pixel camera with microphone
• Included Accessories: ASUS Optical Mouse (Logitech MX518), backpack

Reasons for Buying:

I've been considering my laptop purchase since last year, and have pondered many models by all manufacturers, but in particular models by Acer, MSI, and ASUS. I had previously considered the ATI x700 and x1600 graphic chipsets, so it is odd that I decided on an Nvidia 7700 GPU based model, but in my opinion it was the best current GPU for the 15.4&quot; laptop.

My main requirements were gaming performance, battery life, manageable body size, a good warranty and a cost below $2,000. My wish list included LightScribe, Windows XP Professional, ExpressCard slot, DVI-D, and Bluetooth. The G1 satisfied a number of my wants and all of my needs. I did consider waiting for a DX10 certified mobile GPU chipset, but then I decided that limited immediate adoption and the DX legacy compatibility of DX9 made it worth picking this one up now.

Where and How Purchased:

I purchased the laptop from MilestonePC.com. I placed my order as a pre-order and was very fortunate to receive the laptop from the initial shipment. Danny was very helpful and the service was good. As an early adopter, I did pay the original MSRP of $1,799. I purchased it as an individual outside of any group plan and there were no other incentives.

Build &amp; Design:

The laptop is solid with little flex. The build is of good quality. The hinge is sturdy and the screen easily adjusts position. It does wobble slightly when shaken and may prove disturbing on trains, planes, and automobiles. I pushed on the lid and received no observable ripple. I twisted the LCD  but it did not have any give. When closed, you can pull up on the top and observe the latch does not hold the unit together firmly. Some may consider it slightly annoying that the laptop does not snap shut tightly. The textured look is very subtle but noticeable and does not show finger prints too obviously. At roughly 7 lbs (6.8lbs by some accounts, though I have yet to weigh it myself) it is light enough to be considered portable and the backpack is ideal for transferring the weight into an easily carried form.

All the lights and buttons have worked thus far. The strobes, illuminated eye above the DJ, and OLED display add to the overall presentation rather than giving a gimmicky feel as they could have. I am not sure what the cause of the strobes to illuminate is, it's seemingly random and they activate at unusual points, but when they do light they are bright but not blinding. I examined the features for Direct Flash and only observed an On/Off option.

Screen:

The screen is beautiful with a slight hint of imperfection. There is a touch of light leakage on the bottom portion of the screen. I am not overly sensitive to this and it's only really noticeable on a black screen and if you're looking for it. It is not as bad as some Asus A8Js models I have seen images of in the NBR Forums, but still there is some. If it becomes an issue I will more clearly document it.

The laptop has a native resolution of WSXGA+ (1680 x 1050) displayed on a 15.4-inch TFT screen.

I have not observed any ghosting on the screen and the desktop and applications display well. There were no dead pixels and the screen is free of scratches or any type of damage.

A web camera is located at the top of the screen (view large image)

Speakers:

The speakers are on the front right and left corners of the laptop and point seemingly outward left and right. I have listened to a few Windows sounds and watched a DVD and can say everything is clear. The audio seems louder when you are on either side of the laptop, but the blend in the middle will provide the best of both channels. Like many laptop speakers, they are good enough but do not match the quality and fidelity of external speakers. They are above average for laptop speakers but for ‘gaming’ you would like the precision and depth that advanced speakers and headphones may provide.

Processor and Performance:

The processor is an Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 (2.0GHz). Boot up sequences are quick and the POST is probably on a quick check by default.

The hard drive is a SATA 160GB 5400 RPM drive. A fairly large sized amount of space though at only 5400 RPM this may lead to longer delays in read times.

The laptop contains 2GB of DDR2 667MHz memory. The two slots are filled with 1GB sticks, maxing out the upgrade potential. 2GB seems like a lot for Windows XP Media Center though in Vista with additional addressing space and memory intensive applications, 2GB this may seem less hefty.

The Nvidia Go 7700 is not as capable as the 7600 GT or 7800 and higher chipsets, but still very capable. With more power behind it than most multimedia laptops it competes almost directly with the Acer Ferrari 5000 series.

Benchmarks:

(Driver's used during benchmarking: ASUS 7700 driver 8.6.0.2)

3DMark05 Results and comparison:

3DMark05 tests the graphics processing capabilities of a system:

Notebook	3D Mark 05 Results
Asus G1J (Core 2 Duo, 2.0GHz, NVIDIA 7700)	4,247 3D Marks
Asus W7J (Core Duo 1.83GHz, NVIDIA 7400)	1,974 3D Marks
Asus W3J (1.83Ghz Core Duo, ATI X1600 256MB)	3,925 3D Marks
Sony VAIO SZ2 (2.16GHz Core Duo, NVIDIA GeForce 7400)	1,851 3D Marks
Acer TravelMate 8204WLMi (2.0GHz Core Duo, ATI X1600 256MB)	4,236 3D Marks
Alienware Aurora M-7700 (AMD Dual Core FX-60, ATI X1600 256MB)	7,078 3D Marks
Dell XPS M1210 (2.16 GHz Core Duo, NVIDIA Go 7400 256MB)	2,090 3D Marks

 

3DMark06 Comparison Results:

3DMark06 tests the graphics capabilities of a system, it is more demanding than 3DMark05.

Notebook	3DMark 06 Results
Asus G1J (Core 2 Duo, 2.0GHz, NVIDIA 7700)	2,389 3D Marks
HP nc8430 (2.16GHz Core 2 Duo, ATI X1600 256MB)	1,745 3D Marks
Apple MacBook Pro (2.0GHz Core Duo, ATI X1600 128MB)	1,528 3D Marks
Dell Precison M90 (2.16GHz Core Duo, nVidia Quadro FX 1500M)	3,926 3D Marks
Alienware M7700 (AMD Athlon FX-60 Nvidia GeForce Go7800GTX)	4,085 3D Marks
Compal HEL80 (2.0GHz Core Duo, nVidia Go 7600 256MB)	1,654 3D Marks
Dell XPS M1710 (2.16 GHz Core Duo, nVidia 7900 GTX 512MB)	4,744 3D Marks

 

PCMark05 Comparison results:

Notebook	PCMark05 Score
Asus G1 (2.0GHz Core 2 Duo, Nvidia Go 7700)	4,727 PCMarks
Sony VAIO C140 (1.66GHz Core 2 Duo T5500, Intel GMA 950)	2,994 PCMarks
Fujitsu N6410 (1.66GHz Core Duo, ATI X1400)	3,487 PCMarks
Alienware M7700 (AMD Athlon FX-60, Nvidia Go 7800GTX)	5,597 PCMarks
Sony Vaio SZ-110B in Speed Mode (Using Nvidia GeForce Go 7400)	3,637 PCMarks
Toshiba Tecra M6 (1.66GHz Intel T2300E, Intel GMA 950)	2,732 PCMarks
Asus V6J (1.86GHz Core Duo T2400, Nvidia Go 7400)	3,646 PCMarks
Sony VAIO FE590 (1.83GHz Core Duo, Nvidia Go 7400)	3,427 PCMarks

 

Super Pi

Notebook	Time
Asus G1 (2.0GHz Core 2 Duo)	1m 02s
Sony VAIO C140 (1.66GHz Core 2 Duo T5500)	1m 23s
Dell Inspiron e1505 (2.0GHz Core Duo)	1m 16s
Lenovo ThinkPad T60 (2.0GHz Core Duo)	1m 18s
Toshiba Satellite M100 (2.00GHz Core Duo)	1m 18s
Samsung X60 (1.66GHz Core Duo)	1m 29s
Dell XPS M140 (1.86 GHz Pentium M)	1m 41s
Sony VAIO FS680 (1.86 GHz Pentium M)	1m 53s
IBM ThinkPad T43 (1.86 GHz Pentium M)	1m 45s

Heat and Noise:

The heat thus far from the unit has been manageable. It starts to become uncomfortable in my lap after about an hour and a half. After three hours my legs were tired, but the laptop was not any hotter than it was at the 1.5 hour mark and the touchpad was barely more than normal warmth. Given the time of year, my hands are actually somewhat cold while typing this and might enjoy a toasty touchpad!

A heat vent is present on the back of the unit, there are no side vents. There are several vents on the bottom and the center, the largest vent produces the most heat.

The fan uses a variable speed and I rarely hear it enter cooling overdrive. There have been moments on startup when loading the entire OS that it starts up at full speed but then slows down.

Keyboard and Touchpad:

The keyboard and touchpad are well designed with a few noteworthy features.

Keyboard and touchpad view, the (view large image)

The keyboard is an 88-key keyboard that is situated in a normal manner (centered). It does not have an ergonomic curve and is rather straight across. The keys press softly with little noise. You would probably not be scolded for typing away in a quiet room. There is a small amount of flex in the center of the keyboard but it is not obvious without applying above average force and looking carefully. The W, A, S, D keys are highlighted in green to make them more apparent, their significance is well known to the gamer demographic they are targeting. Of note, the Ctrl and FN keys are positioned so that the Ctrl is the outer key and FN is wedged between it and the Windows key.

&quot;DJ&quot; media buttons located at the front of the G1, above them is the glowing gaming eye (view large image)

The touchpad features the same textured look as the rest of the body with the glowing gaming eye below the touchpad, acting as a type of divider between the left and right click buttons. The eye is lit constantly and serves as no type of indicator and is not a button. There is a scroll bar on the right of the touchpad and it is easily activated.

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The DJ is not technically part of the touchpad, but it is located directly below the touchpad. Pressing the PWR button loads Windows Media Player though pressing it again does not turn it off. While in Media Player you can use Next/Fast Forward, Previous/Rewind, Stop, and Play/Pause buttons to control the playing media. The Fast Forward and Rewind functions do not work while playing a song as they merely skip to the next or previous song. While Media Player is not on, pressing the Play/Pause button turns on the ASUSTek ASUS DVD application. There is no worry about pressing these buttons accidentally with your arm or finger as they are flush with the lip of the case. This does make them difficult to press as you need to apply pressure on the button surface with a finger nail and depress a small amount.

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Typically I can navigate the controls without issue and for a laptop touchpad and keyboard they are very functional with a little extra touch of special features that adds to the gaming design. In its shortcomings thoug, it can be noted that the laptop does not take advantage of Windows Media Center’s additional input functions such as a dedicated volume slider, turn knob, or touch activated slide sensor. Without using the software the only way to mute, unmute, raise, and lower the volume are with FN combinations. These functions depend on Windows to operate and therefore cannot be used before it loads.

Input and Output Ports:

The Asus G1 has the following ports:

• 1 x TypeII PCMCIA slot
• 1 x Microphone-in jack
• 1 x Headphone-out jack (S/PDIF)
• 1 x Line-in jack
• 1 x VGA port
• 1 x DVI-D port
• 4 x USB 2.0 ports
• 1 x IEEE 1394 port (4 pin)
• 1 x RJ11 Modem jack for phone line
• 1 x RJ45 LAN Jack for LAN insert
• 1 x TV-out(S-Video)

Asus G1 Left side view (view large image)

 

Asus G1 Right side view (view large image)

 

Asus G1 Front side view (view large image)

 

Asus G1 Back view (view large image)

I would have preferred an ExpressCard slot, but instead the unit included a Type II PCMCIA slot. I at least have a developed line of existing PC Cards to choose from.

Included with the accessories was an S-Video to RCA output adapter cable.

The necessary ports are seemingly all present though. I used the card reader and was able to open my 1GB SD card but it required a reboot. The power input is on the back of the laptop, which is a plus.

Wireless:

The built-in wireless A/B/G + Bluetooth is an excellent feature. Thus far, I have tested the G wireless and was easily able to connect to my Belkin router and remain connected. I could turn the WiFi on and off and each time it would reconnect quickly. The Bluetooth and WiFi controls are paired so you can pick one of four options with the FN+F2 combination to select between WiFi and Bluetooth, WiFi Only, Bluetooth Only, and both off. I have always been a fan of Bluetooth and probably liked it more than it deserved. I have a Treo 700W with Bluetooth and I am already trying to think of the possibilities and hopefully there are more than just synching. There is supposedly a modem in there, which I might have never noticed if not for the notification area icon for it. The laptop does lack infrared, but I had no plans of utilizing it.

Accessories:

The laptop comes with two specific accessories that are designed to complement the overall gaming package. These include the backpack and the ASUS optical mouse (Logitech MX518 rebranded).

Included Asus mouse (view large image)

The backpack is roomy with two main pouches, a front pouch that contains a large section and holders for pens with two smaller pockets and a main inside pouch that holds the laptop. The main inside pouch is the one located nearest to the the back when worn. The main inside pouch holds the laptop in an upright position between two stiff, soft cloth supporters with a velcro, elastic strip that secures over the top once inserted. In this pouch space exists on either side of the supporters though items probably should not be placed here. Above the supporters is a decently sized net pouch with a zipper. The best place to carry the power brick would most likely be the front pouch along with any other loose accessories. Externally there are four pockets, two that are netted and two that are placed along the zipper on the front pouch. The material is of good quality and it seems durable. The ASUS logos are not obvious though there is one indented on the front pouch so the casual observer would not be inclined to know there is a laptop contained inside. The straps are thick, re-sizeable and generally comfortable. I have worn the backpack only short distances but I have never been uncomfortable when wearing it. There is also an attaching clasp to secure both straps together for extra support.

Asus G1 with included backpack (view large image)

The mouse is a rebranded Logitech MX518 mouse, as it clearly states on a label on the bottom of the unit. The mouse works well and thus far I have been using it on fairly poor surfaces with good results. It is optical and not laser. The corded mouse is somewhat irregular in the concept of the laptop, especially one with Bluetooth included but it does ensure the best response time and performance in games. Regardless, I will replace it with a good RF mouse in the near future as the cord is too cumbersome.

Battery:

After a quick charge of about one hour the laptop charged from an unspecified level of power to full. I attempted a few tests and having never used BatteryEater my results have not been definitive. I will give more details on the battery later after more tests and anecdotal experience. Right now the laptop has been on with Wi-Fi on but with no connection, screen brightness 86%, Bluetooth disabled, in Quiet Office mode for 2 hours, 37 minutes with a remaining estimate of 10%. I have been doing little activity, checking features and verifying items for the review.

I am happy with the battery life and with the power saving Power4 Gear+ running it should allow me to watch a DVD before the battery runs down while on the road. To be on the safe side I do have a power inverter for the car as I do suspect I will need it on long trips.

Operating System and Software:

The included operating system is Windows XP Media Center. It runs well with the specs and in the future it will run Windows Vista (drivers and ASUS willing). I wish it included Windows XP Professional and I am not sure if Media Center was required to make the DJ buttons or any other feature operate, or if it was just a move to diminish cost.

The storage drives include the hard drive, detected as ST9160821AS, and the optical drive, detected as a Matsushita DVD-RAM UJ-850S.

The hard drive was partitioned into three primary partitions. The first was a recovery partition of 3.9GB, a system, active partition of 87.1GB, and a partition labeled data of 58.0GB. The partitions are FAT32 with no preinstalled programs or information on the data drive. The recovery partition does not have an associated drive letter. (Drive sizes quoted per Windows)

The optical drive, located on the left side of the laptop, is responsive and spins up quickly. The eject/open button has worked with each depression. On a small label there are three stickers: DVD, MULTI-RECORDER, and RW DVD + R DL with their respective industry images. The laptop comes preinstalled with LightScribe software but after a check with ASUS through an email correspondence and a quick call it was revealed that the laptop is not LightScribe capable. Why the software was installed or presented clearly on the desktop is unknown to me. A week ago Albert, a rep I spoke with to test the responsiveness of the customer service, was uncertain about LightScribe being on the device and a week later another rep was certain it was not included per an email he had just received. My disappointment aside about LightScribe, the optical drive does work well. The noise it generates is audible, especially during burning, but overall not so much that it may disrupt a movie.

There is a comprehensive set of ASUS branded software included and thus far the largest complaint is the limited features of customization in the Direct Console for manipulating the Direct Flash and Direct Messenger. Direct Messenger allowed me to add a personal line of text, display the current time (uses system time), and choose from a series of icons of which I could add several. I am able to add a series of icons and text in one display, but that is of limited value. Some of the applications may prove useful later but I do not expect myself to use the RAM drive or Skype software.

Customer Support:

I spoke with an Albert and he seemed friendly enough and after a moment of relating my information to him he asked how he could be of assistance. I inquired about his knowledge of the unit, which he was aware of and semi-knowledgeable about. I asked as to whether or not the indicator would show when the battery was full, and if he knew if there was LightScribe or not (This laptop does not include LightScribe). He advised me that the battery indicator would turn off, and that he had seen LightScribe as an option on the model they had trained on, but had not tested it and would need to inquire further. I asked about hours of operation and so forth and he seemed to know what he was talking about.

Several days later after developing concerns about LightScribe I placed an afterhours email support request and was answered sometime the next day, though I never received an email notifying me my question was answered. Rather I noticed an update to my ticket/issue on the URL they provided when I placed the request. The question was answered in less than a day with a one line response stating 'The G1 model laptop ODD is only for Supermulti, not capable for LightScribe'. I called back and conferred with a rep that then took my phone number and about an hour later familiar Albert called. He stated there was no LightScribe and that it may have been due to a 'master image issue' which personally I do not believe. I went over a few more items with him such as how to acces the BIOS (F2 on POST), any other features/discrepencies missing or misreported (which he had none), what kind of screen the laptop has (I speculated IPS but he had no idea), and if Direct Messenger was to be improved (He stated there is a known issue with Outlook that was being resolved but no additional functions were being added to his knowledge).

The warranty is a global warranty for two years and Albert stated that I may have an option to get an extra year but it is generally through them (if purchased directly through ASUS) or with the reseller.

Asus G1 vs Asus G2

Since the sister system, the G2, runs rival chip maker ATI's (now AMD) X1700 GPU comparisons are inevitable. So here are my two cents: You can wait for the G2 to come out, but if all reports are to transpire you may see a performance edge on the G1 due to its slightly more powerful Nvidia 7700 GPU. The head to head is yet to come, but the G1 has given a strong performance first.

Pros

• One of the best gaming laptops in this screen/body size
• Sleek, solid design
• Unique, cool features
• 2 year global warranty
• Upgrade eligibility to Vista
• $1799 is an affordable price for a gaming laptop

Cons

• XP Media Center rather than XP Pro
• OLED may be difficult to customize
• Few options with Direct Flash
• Slight Light leakage
• Bloatware
• No ExpressCard Slot
• LCD can wobble when shaken

Conclusion

This laptop is all gaming, inside and out. The look is sleek, polished, and solid while the performance is admirable. The price is right for the feature set, and provides you with the type of system required for the gamer-on-the-go. The laptop hits the mark for the gaming enthusiast, the purist may prefer a more powerful 17 inch or larger model, and those waiting for a DirectX 10 laptop should just pass on by.

 

nice, I'll be joining the owners club sometime tommorow Looking forward to your review.

 

OH!!! nice!congratulations, i might get it too later, and it'd be so nice to read your review later!

 

Enjoy your new laptop!

Hope to get mine before Christmas - on order from MilestonePC.

 

I snagged one from Newegg and it came today! But it's a Christmas gift so I've got to wait until the 25th! I'm cool with that though, you guys can benchmark yours and do your own reviews, and I'll read them all as if I could actually turn mine on and test it............

-rye

 

Stop doing that, u making me |droll|

Hope to get mine by January, 07

As for those who got it, happy gaming

 

what does rock solid heart touching mean?

Does all our base belong to asus?

 

yeah, i liked heart of technology way better.

 

I hate you guys...whoever was one spot above me on ProPortables pre-order list better not come in this thread to gloat

Mine's coming after the 18th most likely

Anyone tried loading Vista on it yet?

 

Haha... possible the funniest post of the day. I like their slogan actually...

 

6times7 or jedirye - have either of you installed MS Outlook? I am experiencing a couple issues with outlook and the Direct Messenger display. When it first boots outlook.exe that automatically starts up with the system and consumes 50% of the CPU until i either manually close the process down (in task manager) or start outlook. Once i start outlook it goes down.

When outlook is running i get "A program is trying to access email addresses you have stored in outlook. Do you want to allow this?" I have pinpointed that it is the Direct Messenger Display(lcmp.exe) software is trying to access outlook items to display in the Messenger Display. Does anyone know how to workaround this? I found a program called advanced security for outlook and it works but wanted to know if there are other options?

One other issue i am having is with stand-by and hibernation. Initially i was getting the error "Insufficient System Resources Exist to Complete the API" within 5 minutes of hibernation or stand by. I downloaded MS's Windows XP patch (KB909095) and it eliminated this error but the system still does not want to stay in stand-by or hibernation.

Anyone have some ideas on this or the other issues?

EDIT: I have also found if i close Asus Direct Console by clicking on the icon and exiting, it also relieves the CPU usage issue above at start up.

EDIT: After more trial and error it appears all the issues are related to the Direct Console Software. If it is closed down prior to hibernation or stand-by there are no problems at all.

Any other G1 owners see this same problem?

 

The review has moved to Page 1.

The pics are still staying below.

 

hi, can you comment on vertical viewing angles of the screen? thank you.

 

6times7, that was an EXCELLENT review, thanks for posting!

Do you mean, the lights at the sides can be turned off?

Hope the software issues with the console will be solved - a shame from Asus for what's otherwise an excellent laptop!

 

nice review, I'm still waiting for UPS to bring me mine sometime today. I have a question though, will it be ok for me to plug in the notebook and play around with it right away, or should I charge the battery and let it sit for a while before booting up?

 

Nice review!!! We wait also from the others...

How is the WebCam?

How loud are the fans? Do they run all the time?

What resolution was used durring 3DMark06 (it's a little bit odd to see that it's much slower than A8Js but I assume that it ran in higher res or it is a driver problem)?

 

abogo - The WebCam worked well thus far. I have a 1.3 Mega Pixel camera on my phone (Treo 700W) and I am going to compare images later tonight. The screensaver uses the webcam and displays the captured video in the screensaver. It then does little 'trippy' displays.

The fans whir and are not loud but noticeable in a quiet room. In the office it cannot be discerned over the background noise. I have not heard the system dynamically increase the fan speed to provide immediate cooling and it is normally a steady purr.

The A8Js will outperform the G1 because it has a lower display resolution. 1440 x 900 as opposed to 1680 x 1050. It is certainly easier to render at lower resolutions.

 

I erred on the side of caution and let the unit charge prior to turning it on. The charging indicator will remain solid till charged and then turn off. The benefits are debatable as I believe the battery should re-calibrate but it is best to just sit back, read that manual, and make sure things are done right.

Side note: I drained the battery today while testing the overall battery life and the recharge time from plug in till the indicator light went out was 2 hours, 10 minutes. The battery had been at 4% remaining. I will see if this changes with successive recharges.

 

Wow, great review 6times7. My G1 is on backorder... Can't wait until Justin gets some more. My question is if the Direct Messenger can give things like CPU/RAM usuage, as well as CPU/GPU/Motherboard temperatures. What about battery life? Thanks.

 

It would be nice if Asus opens up the API for programming the ASUS Direct Messenger.

 

I am not sure how the Direct Messenger works yet. I need to read through the manual later but here is a screen shot of the two pages that comprise the Direct Console. See Attached.

The right screen is the one that loads when opening the Direct Console. Observe the two options for Direct Flash - Off and On and for Direct Messenger - Off and On and My personal setting. The left screen is activated by pressing on 'My personal setting' on the right screen. On the left screen the title ASUS Direct Messenger in Standby Mode is displayed for the title and the options allowing for the display of the time (default setting) or My personal setting which includes Text or Icons. You can display up to four icons at once which are mostly various Smile faces or text of any font on the system and various styles can also be applied. Icons and text can be displayed together. I do not see any options for CPU usage/power levels/etc. If someone can point me in the right direction I will look further.

Venturello, the side lights can be turned off using the Off setting for Direct Flash.

pevelg, I made some notes about battery life in my review and recently in a post in response to noomi.

 

i hate you... i hate all of you

Here in germany its very unclear, when the G1 is going to be released... Maybe next week, maybe in january - nobody knows...
And it seems, that it will have an 1280x800 resolution here in europe. That would destroy the "perfect" charakter of this notebook.

but ive got one question about the wight:

In one review its 3.8Kg inkl. battery, in another review its 6.8lbs =3,08Kg... whats right?

thanks a lot and sorry for my mistakes, im german

Othello

 

noomi, did get your's yesterday? How is it going so far?

 

i like the laptop for the most part, i have one question though,

how are your lids when closed. mine has a rattle due to the fact that when closed the lid is not tight so there is a 2mm play so it rattles. It would seem like a design flaw, that clips that lock into the lower part being too long. just cuious if its just my particular laptop or just g1 in general.

jay

 

yep, I got mine yesterday. Lemme tell you guys, this is an awesome notebook. The looks are great, the performance is great and the features are great. I'm not much a reviewer so I'll keep it short.

Software:

Some of the software that comes with the notebook can be very confusing, unnecessary and difficult to configure. I deleted a bunch of stuff off the notebook that I didnt like Net4Gear, Wireless Console2, Power4Gear ( was cool, but was more annoying to me than helpful ), and a few other programs that I really didnt find useful.

Performance:

Wow this thing is fast, I ran bf2142 with nearly everything maxed out and it ran smooth as butter. Same for WoW, cs:source, and F.E.A.R. The games load up fast, and all play great! I did some photoshop and video editing as well, it was quick and painless

I do have a few questions myself though, I looked in task manager and found over 55+ proccesses running at the same time. Ive never owned a notebook and dont have much experience with them so I wonder if this is something I should concern myself with.

Also, when the notebook is running off the battery I think it goes into like power-saving mode or something because if I run any games off the battery the performance goes down dramatically. Guess I should read the manual a bit more huh?

 

Noomi, in regards to your 55+ processes running at the same time in the background, there are generally 2 things you can do.

1) Windows + R, then type "msconfig" then click on start up, and then look at each start up program and deselect the useless ones.
Note: you may not know which ones are useless so, use google, like test.exe, so type that into google and see what websites say about it.
2) Personalise your laptop to the way you want it to run, meaning remove bloatware, remove programs that you will never use, yet ASUS has put them into it, stuff like that.

As for your battery concerns yes this is correct, i will quickly explain this for you.

When you have AC plug in, your laptop is set to run at the most powerfull setting, which is max power, meaning this is where you can game and everything. Right when you take out the AC plug, your laptop goes into battery saving mode, here the CPU and GPU are underclocked to maximize battery life, thus the performance of the laptop goes down.

You woudln't want to game on max battery life mode, you can then use P4G to set the performance higher on battery and thus you will be able to game again, untill your battery runs out...roughy 1 hour or a little more.

I hope this helps you out

 

thanks for the quick reply, I'll play around with the notebook a bit more later if I get some time. All I can say for now, I am %100 satisfied with it and I bet everyone else who owns one is to, awesome notebook

 

6x7 - I wanted to compliment your review - it was extremely thorough! Two thumbs up!

 

actually the g2 has a better gpu. x1600 > 7600 , x1700 > 7700.

 

link, that is quite debateable and the majority of graphics hardware freaks will actually consider the opposite, where the 7700 is more powerful (albeit not by a huge margin) than the x1700.

Question to the G1 owners: do you think WSXGA+ on the 15.4" screen yields font that's too small to read? Are fonts crisp on the screen - if you increase font size via DPI or even in browsers, do the fonts remain crisp or do they now become distorted/blurred? That is my biggest concern and it's impossible for me to find a 15.4" laptop with WSXGA+ in stores for me to test my own eyes.

 

Doing some math, pixel size on a 15.4" at 1680x1050 is almost the same as 1440x900 on a 14.1"... and a bit smaller than 1280x800 on a 13.1" screen. So this way you can more or less compare what you can expect.

 

Venturello - thanks for the comparison! I know of a few 13.1" screens in stores with 1280x800 resolution, so I'll take a look at those.

 

some poster said x1700 is better then 7700 in the G1. I found a site that is interesting and gives you all the 3dmark scores for all new video cards. X1700 is no better then 7700 if anything is ranked lower. But I don't want to talk much about G2 since anything less then 7900 is a disappointment in a 17" branded gaming notebook. But the G1 looks like a good deal!

http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-Go-7700.2142.0.html

 

On the website of proportable.com they list the X1700 is clocked @ 500mhz, is it any faster than 7700.

However, the size of G2 is kinda thick 2.6" that's thicker than an XPS. I don't know if they list the dimension right or wrong. May be it's 1.6" instead of 2.6".

G1 is a great deal. No other laptops can match the price of that one.

 

I'm just happy to hear that someone used it to play BF2142 and had it almost maxed out. Music to my freaking ears, no joke.

-rye

 

Wow... and all this time I thought I was going to get an Alienware... I have been looking for the ideal laptop that has a 1680x1050 or better 15.4", a Core 2 Duo, and a nVidia 7600 or better.... and it looks like I've found it, or have I? The only things I'd like to point out that I kind of actually dont want on this laptop are those side lights. Another potential problem that I see is that if you install a 7200 rpm hdd down there, it looks as if there is no cooling around that area, and therefore will get VERY hot VERY fast. Has anyone done so (installed a 7200 RPM HDD in a G1 and seen how hot it gets?)

 

I've inquired to C9tech when I was gonna order from then that if they could do that. Sasha I think informed me that the 5400rpm drive is Hitachi's new perpendicular storage drive so it should outperform a 7200rpm drive. Just my two cents.

-rye

 

Do you guys know if there is any way to replace the W,A,S and D keys on they keyboard with normal keys?

I'd buy this laptop, the only problem is that I think those color coated keys are distracting / stupid looking

 

Anyone by chance have a few more details on game preformance. Like numbers? I just want to know if this thing will play half life 2 / CS:S on max settings on full resolution with decent frames per second. Like 45 average and up. Thanks for anyone checking this out for us here.
: )

 

rye - I dont know about that. I've seen benchmarks with Seagate's 160 GB 5400 RPM Perpendicular...

http://www.reportlabs.com/testbed/version1/hdv1/hdt25in.php

Granted that's the first result I got from Google, but I'm open to benchmarks that prove otherwise.

 

where to order this laptop the best ? pass the sides of www . ( there is every the month the possibility of the payment in some shop ? (paid per month?) )

 

My G1 was working fine. Now i get screen distortion and when it's really bad, all of my white backgrounds on Explorer are distorted pink. And the start button looks distorted with pixels

And the screen isn't distorted when i plug in another monitor.

 

no problems with mine so far, its running great

I also forgot to add earlier in my post that the backpack that comes with the G1 is pretty sweet. There's this softly padded sleeve that the notebook slides into which keeps it safe and still easily leaves plenty of room for books, notebooks and school supplies to hold. I don't think I've ever seen a backpack before with so many pockets and compartments to put stuff in, I mean there has to be atleast 25+ pockets, zip-ups, and pouches to put your crap in. Great bookbag, I'm gonna be using it for school everyday

 

Help please

 

Tombal, I ordered from PROPortable. They should receive their next batch within the next couple of weeks. This is my first purchase with them so I cannot say how the quality of service is. You should see the other posts in the asus forum on where to buy the G1 for more opinions.

 

3dmark06 tends to favour nvidia cards, not really a great idea comparing the two cards there. But i agree with you why put such an x1700 in a 17"er anyways.

 

I have a question about the G1p laptop (which I have on backorder currently). I've been looking through the pictures and I have noticed that the keyboard and more specifically the enter button seems to be different from picture to picture. In some pictures the enter button is taller and others it is short. What shape will I be receiving from PROPortable?

Here is an example:

 

Mine was the slim enter..the lower picture.

Absolutley love mine, I game mostly from my desktop, but got this for work and the boring times at work. Picture is incredible for movies, size seem's just right for mobility. Game's run well, only played Company of Heroe's and NWN2 so far on it. Your going to be happy.

 

The lower keyboard. The upper one is overseas. (Look at the ' key - the @ symbol is replacing the ")

 

Yep, US layout is the lower picture. It's kinda hard to tell at the angles of the pictures, but you can see the "£" on the #3 key in the top picture.