Asus G70 announced

" CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW, LAS VEGAS, NV (JANUARY 7, 2008) – ASUS, worldwide leader in component and notebook design and manufacturing, today unveiled its new ASUS G70 notebook featuring powerful dual-graphics based on the highly acclaimed NVIDIA® SLI™ technology, as well as the support of dual hard drives and 8GB of system memory for optimal transfer rates. The new G70 delivers a new level of immersive cinematic graphics with an unprecedented combination of computing power and gaming performance.

Powerful Performance On-the-go
The ASUS G70 is designed for the serious computer enthusiast, and is also aimed at users who want to enjoy high-definition video on their notebooks. Armed with a stunning 17" diagonal widescreen display with a native resolution of 1920x1200 and a pair of powerful NVIDIA GeForce™ 8700M GT graphics processing units (GPUs) with 1GB of dedicated memory, the ASUS G70 is able to maximize long-term entertainment value and advanced visual quality to provide an uninterrupted thrill-packed adventure. Gamers will be able to play the most system-resource demanding games while running multiple applications in the background seamlessly.
Covered in brushed aluminum, the G70 looks and feels like a suit of armor. The gently curved edges lend it designer appeal, and this design is continued throughout the keyboard and the touch pad areas.
The G70 is designed to be more than a mobile gaming powerhouse. Preloaded with a robust array of multimedia features including a pair of built-in Altec Lansing® stereo speakers, a subwoofer, an embedded TV tuner, a remote control, and an integrated webcam. These features ensure that the G70 is capable of performing flawlessly to any tasks regardless of media type. In addition, the G70 sports a DVD super multi drive to allow users to take high definition theater experiences on the go using the integrated HDMI (high-definition multimedia interface) connection."

 

Hmm, they release a 8700M GT SLI laptops now? Why not at least 8800M GTS?

 

You're right, and what about those 8GB RAM

 

well, it is good to see that 1080p as standard for this laptop

 

Well, it could be a desktop chipset, in which case they just need to not remove support for 8GB. And maybe add another ramslot (or more). They could also use desktop ram.

 

How disappointing. They put out an SLI laptop, only to put dual 8700s into it. They do realize that a single (1) 8800M GTX is just as powerful, right?

 

Hell, even a single 8800M GTS might be as powerful.

 

maybe 8700gts are base cards? Maybe they offer support for the 8800s but just chose to have 8700s on the base model to lower the starting price. It would also lead in real well to their "Total multimedia" stance when you think about it.

With dual 8700s, the person who watches a lot of movies and wants a mobile high-def movie player (though they didnt say if HD/Blu ray was supported) then they really only would need the 8700s. The gamer on the other hand would prefer the 8800s and would be fine with just a regular dvd player. It's very smart on Asus' part...that is if it's as expandable as I think it should be. If that is the maxed out system then it better be damn cheap.

 

a single 8800M GTS would cost less.

According to Sagers, 8700M are $400 each, the 8800M GTX is $750

 

Not interested on it...

Gimme 8800 GTX and Quad Core on a 15.4" Notebook then I'm sold.

 

any ideas of when these new laptops come out?

 

Lol, not for a while they've only just been announced, i would think probably around mid 2008.

 

wow that res is overkill even for a 17" screen. I know its nice to "know" you can display full native 1080p content on screen, but I dont think any of us have eyes good enough to tell the difference from 1080 and 720 on a screen 17" or smaller even when its right infront of you. And the current norm is still 1050p (not an offical HD resolution but if you know how it works its just the vertical pixels when in a 16:9 format)

I forsee many post for anybody that buys this screen complaning that the text/icons ect are too small (and I know you can increase there size via options but many will say its only a partial fix because other things still look messed up)

I was really eying 17" at first trying to decide between the G1S and the G2S, after getting the C90 tho I can see 15" is very much optimal and sometimes I may even wish it was smaller so guess this one is not for me.

 

All I know is I want one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am getting me one of those.

 

I want to say that this is one of, if not the, ugliest laptops I've ever seen.

 

I agree..totally not working with the whole G series look. I'm kinda disappointed that the G1s/G2s is only getting a CPU refresh...no new GPU sadly.

 

Yep, totally agree with you. They should have at least stuck with the previous G Series look. Asus going SLI is good though

 

can they be upgraded to 2x 8800M ? otherwise is a very stupid notebook...

 

Oh my god.. I would like to see it in real, but in photos it looks like s***

 

It's not that bad, but it doesn't look good for a high end gaming machine... Kind of reminds me of the old Toshiba M35 Satellites but oversized and shiny.

 

And a bit offtopic, what would be the point of quad-core on a notebook? Uh, actually, what is the point of quad-core in consumer machines, in general. Is it gaming? Can the physics / AI or whatever else run in parallel on multiple cores?

Otherwise, there are very few (none that I know?) apps that use more than one core to run. Assuming you run one CPU-intensive app, you can use the second core to do the rest of the stuff. Hardcore users might use yet another core to run another (instance of the) CPU-intensive app. But ONLY assuming it doesn't have to do disk storage access in parallel -- that would kill the efficiency.

But anyway that's only for the hardcore users...

 

Not to be confused with hardcore gamers...

Anyway, where in the article or this thread did they talk about Quad-Core processors in the G70 or are you just ranting about it? I agree with what your saying, I'm just trying to see the relationship of your comment to this thread.

 

first page, last post. some guy said he wants a quad core and 8800m gtx in a 15.4...I'm assuming that's where it's coming from.

 

Yep, that's what triggered it. Sorry for being confusing.

Right, so if game engines can't use >= 3 cores efficiently we are left with a very small category of users.

 

Well videoencoding can use multiple cores. And even if the encoding program can only use 2 cores, you can actually do other stuff meanwhile. You can't do that if you're encoding a (long) H.264, especially if you use the .mkv container. Believe me, I've tried.

 

Right, but what percentage of users encode h264/x264 video compared to those that don't? I'm pretty confident that over 90% of notebook users(+ people not on this forum) don't even know what x264/h.264 is..

 

I was just defining what kind of users would benifit from 4 cores. We are few, In fact, I don't really need it either.

But anyone encoding video for their ipod or for their PSP would use H.264. And Apples H.264 encoder/decoder is reaaaaally slow compared to x264.

 

Yep, I was actually thinking of video encoding. That seems to be pretty much the only task that a general user will do that taxes the CPU to full.

So there exist parallel algorithms for video encoding? I suspect there should be, it's a naturally parallel-izable task (does that word even exist? )

For me personally, that is gibberish Nothing that wikipedia wouldn't fix, though.

What I actually do use dual-core for is running mathematical simulations using Matlab. I could use up to four cores with that, assuming that RAM would suffice (I would need at least 3GB). My scripts only write to the HDD sporadically so the task would be feasible. But whenever I'm given the chance, I use a desktop for that kind of raw computing tasks, I prefer not to push my notebook so hard. Which gets us back to "are quadcores necessary in a notebook". I would say that for a very small percentage of the notebook user population, they might occasionally be useful. But that is probably the strongest statement that can be made.

 

I agree with that. For now, at least. Most people who need that kind of processing power today has got a desktop.

As CPU's get cheaper to manufacture and less powerhungry, and more people replace their old stuff, more and more CPU intensive stuff will be introduced, games being one of them. Another is encoding a DVD from their AVCHD cam (that's a HD digicam, using a variation of H.264) or whatever. Maybe some new function that used too much resources can be run in the background constantly without slowdowns now.

If the power is there, it will get used. If nothing else, you can run loads more stuff at the same time. So even IF you have a bloatware filled laptop, with Norton on it, it won't be slowed down. Until the Manufacturers figure out that they can load even more ****e on there.

 

Ah, if only the single core, surprisingly slow P4s at work could match up to the speed of my C2D laptop. If you have a workplace that actually provides computers faster than what you personally own - how can I put them in touch with my IT department and get them to convince us?

 

I didn't say that. My desktop is also a P4 3GHz, significantly slower (30% or more) than my Core Duo I think. Still, considering that I can afford to run simulations on it 24/7, the effective CPU time outweighs the speed difference.

 

the g70 and other models are currently on display at the CEBIT (kinda german CES) in Hannover. the video shows that they run 3dmark06 on the machine...

more than 9k

here is the link for those who are interested (and hopefully able to understand german! ):

http://www.notebookjournal.de/news/867/1


greetings from germany

*seriously considering buying one*

 

Anyone know a projected release date for this? I have $2500 to burn on a new laptop and I really like this one.

 

Also does anyone know if it incorporates a blu-ray drive as well?

 

Something someone linked me

 

With that king of reasoning, technology can't advance...
new stuff is not always designed for the mass...power users, 3d artists etc would use it, then more and more applis will benefit from it....because those guys are pushing the limits...
if we listen to you, most of the people are reading email and browsing the web, so we should still be on P4 and the like in our computers...while I see real benefits of being dual cored now

 

Update:

Post deleted, sorry I thought you were asking M70.

 

Just found this in a magazine from Hong Kong. Personally I wouldn't trust it too much as things from mags are not the most accurate (especially from HK... ) But its just to get an idea of things. Also by the looks of it, I think its a pre production test unit that they have got there, as they mention in the article that the specs will be bumped up on the actual release. [T9500 & WUXGA] The unit had a BR burner. Price...TBA...

Machine specs...





PC marks + 3D marks...I am a bit unsure on this one...also some games were tested. I wonder what resolution they tested it (3Dmarks06) at...hmm. But mind you its was at 4xAA and 16xAF...



Other pics...

 

Looks pretty sweet. But I wonder how much it will weigh. Also I hope it doesn't cost too much more than the G2SG-A1 but I know it probably will.

 

I do a lot of data work using GIS (graphic information system) apps, which really benefit from having multiple cores. I can be running two rather large calculations simultaneously and greatly increase work flow. Quad cores would be great if I can can run 2-3 opertions and still be able to use basic functionally for the 4th core (browsing, typing, etc...)

 

Only as long as those operations don't do heavy HDD access and don't use a lot of RAM. I also can use that kind of things (multiple CPU-intensive, not-so-memory or HDD intensive operations that can run on separate cores). But there aren't many of us that do.

But I agree with jiwwy-ast, these new technologies might have to be pushed (and pass through power-users first). I think my point would be better described: the current OS/software is not quite ready to take full advantage of quad-core CPUs. But maybe the best solution to make it ready is to push the quad-cores into the market, and let the OS/software adapt afterwards...

 

Is there any word on the dimensions on it? It looks MUCH thicker than the G2 series.

 

Anyone????

 

Are you guys kidding me, I think it looks amazing. The only thing I don't like is the floating hinge/monitor. Otherwise it looks sweet. It reminds me of star trek design (not the original star trek) but more like deep space 9 and the defiant.

EDIT: Holy crap look at this video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-H3Cy222xE It shows the G70 very nicely with full lighting it looks ****ing sick! The lights are amazing. I can't believe you guys think this looks bad. I mean if you are only into plain monotone business look then ya, but the blue and red lights and the silver hand rest plate looks amazing.

 

I found a full review of the G70!!

http://www.hispazone.com/Articulo/308/ASUS-G70s:-The-most-powerful-ASUS-notebook-(English).html

Check it out. Its 6 cm thick. :O

 

It's pretty decent-looking, but it's unpractically big at 2.4" thick and only has dual 8700M GTs (not 8800M GTX). It also looks absolutely huge and wouldn't be good for portability I wouldn't see any reason to recommend this to anyone, unless it's cheap. Even if you're looking for a 17' SLI notebook on the cheaper side, Toshiba has been offering systems with the same specs in a nicer and cheaper notebook for almost a year now. That review unit was $5400, and even for $3500 from Dell (XPS M1730) you'll get a system that's literally three times faster and is thinner (and nicer-looking, too). So, really WTF. Asus should've left this one in the early stages instead of releasing it. Major fail for Asus.

 

Agreed. WTH were they thinking?

 

First of all the reason they don't put in the 88's is because they can get quite hot and they don't want to deal with all the returns from melted gpus.

Secondly where are you pulling your facts from. For $3500 the XPS 1730 will have the same cpu and video setup (2x 8700), how is it 3 times faster?

Thirdly it was quoted earlier as being 2400 MSRP and I also talked to an Asus Rep who said it would likely come in at a similar price to the G2SG while presumably that system will drop in price.

Also it would help if your referring to comprable and superior notebooks (in your opinion) that you reference a model number so people can see specifically what your talking about.

 

Any of Toshbia's X205 SLI 17" notebooks (particularly the models with 8700M GTs), and, as stated, the XPS M1730. BTW, $3400 will get you dual 8800M GTXs (you'll literally get triple the graphic performance and even a single 8800M GTX will be much faster than dual 8700M GTs), and a 2.4GHz processor in the M1730. Even if they were just making a SLI 17" with dual 8700M GTs, it should be much smaller and thinner, not to mention cheaper. Even Alienware offers an older model M9750 with dual 8700M GTs in a 1.5" thick chassis, at around $1800 for a good system. 2.4" thick is unpractical and the notebook looks like the old 19" notebooks. If anything, they should atleast offer a 17" with a single 8800M GTX. Plus, it's only 2" thick, which is still considered pretty thick for a notebook, even a 17".

 

You CANNOT get dual 8800 GTX's on a dell xps for 3400 unless you sacrifice other parts. I'm talking about the same cpu (ie. a 2.6 ghz core 2).

I even dont believe you can get a 2.4 ghz with 2x 8800gtx for 3400. Please show me this build.