G1S-A1 Questions

Hey all,

I'm basically new here as this is my first post, and I am in the process of chosing my very first laptop (I've been up all night doing research) to be used for school (at my parent's demand) and of course what seems like what almost everyone wants, gaming.

I at first was close to getting the Dell Inspiron 1520, however I found out about the nVidia 8600m GT being "underclocked" than what it should run at, so it made me a little unsure in wanting to purchase it.

Looking for another 15" laptop with decent gaming chops/portability (as I am going to need to carry this laptop around school), I stumbled upon the Asus G1S and so far I am throughly impressed as it had the best gaming specs in a 15" I've seen so far, however I would really like some clarifications on some of its performance and specs.

First and foremost, I was wondering about heat and noise factors outside of gaming on the laptop. I don't want a loud notebook to be annoying students around me and I was wondering if the G1S can keep quiet in low performance usages that would only be running word processing documents/internet? I also wouldn't want an extremely hot notebook in those situations, although I would understand if it did start heating up during gaming. If I'm going to be purchasing the laptop, I am going to get the 2.2 GHz processor with the 160 GB 7200 rpm hard drive if that helps at all.

Second, which sort of goes in tandem with the cooling and noise, is the battery life acceptable for using it on the go for a couple hours a day at school or should I think about getting a second battery just in case?

Third, although this is not a huge issue, I heard from different online websites that the G1S optical drive can be replaced with a Blu-Ray/HD-DVD drive. Is this true or did I just get it mixed up with the C90S? lol

I believe that's all for right now. I never knew that ASUS made computers/laptops before this (Always knew they made motherboards and video cards) and I am really impressed by the G1S. I am just hoping that with my questions answered this will be the answer to my search for a good gaming laptop while still maintaining portability and functionality outside of gaming as well with the 15" screen.

Thanks everyone for your replies!

 

Hello A-Tak,

First of all, welcome to NBR Forums.

I currently own a G1S with a 2.2GHz processor and a 160GB 7200RPM HDD that I purchased from Ken at Gentech PC ( http://www.1toppc.com) and I am very satisfied with it as a whole. The laptop is extremely quiet and will not pose a problem when it comes to audible noise. The heat is fairly low for a gaming laptop. It does get hotter than most but I have never found it to hot to deal with. When using low end programs the rig is warm but not hot enough to burn your lap. The 7200RPM HDD is going to make it hotter, especially around the HDD enclosure but nothing that is to hot to handle.

Battery life is on the low side. When I try to conserve battery life I can pull out a max of 2h 30min but most of the time it is about 2h. A second battery may be a smart option for you.

As for the optical drive. I do not think that you can switch it out. It is not a multi-bay drive so you cannot "hot swap" if that is what you had in mind. It may be possible but I would be rather difficult in my option (but, again, I could be wrong).

 

wheres the HDD ON THE G1S!!! DONT TELL ME ITS ON THE LEFT AHHHH!!!!! THATS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART FOR GAMING!!!! i mean, does it even get that hot?

 

It is on the right side. And no, it does not get hot. I mean it does, but not enough to bug you. The right side of the laptop (bottom and keyboard) are only slightly hotter than the rest of the surface of the computer.

 

I've been unlucky with my G1s - you may have a better experience. A good review with many of the answers to the questions you have can be found here:

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Asus-G1S-Notebook.3889.0.html

 

Atak,

*heat and noise- I would rate both 5 out of 10, 10 being very hot, veryloud
but there is a good reason thae stopped calling them laptops, and started calling then notebooks! It definitly warms up your leg if you rest it on it. But as long as your using a table, or cooler its not bad at all. Noise is only noticable when the DVD drive spools up other than that pretty quiet.

*Battery life- I tested mine a few weeks back, with everything on(wireless, Esata plugged in to external drive, screen turned all the way up, watching a dvd I got 1h 19 minutes. In battery saving mode, everything off screen on 3 of 16, wireless off, watching a dvd, 2h 11m, also in battery savings mode with just my wireless on I got 2h 9m.

*The DVD drive is not Interchangeable

Are you buying the G1s becasue you play alot of games? if thats true then get the G1s, if you dont play alot of games or dont need the best gaming performance, build your own C90s

Good luck,

COM

 

My G1S makes very little noise, but the heat is definitely an issue. On the palm rests and keyboard and trackpad it is just warm, enough to cause sweaty palms but not particularly uncomfortable except on a hot day...

the bottom of the laptop though is a real hotspot. In low-end to moderate use, it is very warm but bearable on the lap, but in any performance mode it could cook an egg. Extended use on the lap would most likely cause burns.

 

I think that the G1S-A3 has the bluray drive and a 200 hard drive.

 

the longest so far was a 6 hour session of FPS gaming using my G1s, and at no point did I feel my left hand was hot or even warmed by the left side of the laptop. Just keep it on a cool surface, I haven't had any heating problems. The right side does get warm though, but thats not where your hand goes in nearly any game.

 

Thanks for all the helpful posts guys. In response to your post Commodore, I do plan on playing a lot of games on it as my computer now is starting to lose its touch. I've been meaning to get a laptop so I can go to lan parties with my friends and play current games on it that look good so the G1S is a good option for me, I just need it to work for school as well and not cause a disturbance to anyone around me.

And I don't think I'll have to worry about using the laptop on my lap as I'll always have a desk available.

Another question however, would I notice any huge difference in load speeds between a 5400RPM HDD and a 7400RPM HDD?

 

There are a lot of threads on that subject in the Hardware and Aftermarket section Just type in "5400 7200" and hit the search.

 

Ah ok, thanks a bunch.

 

Just one question. Does the LED near to PWR (Direct Media Button) turn on in your notebook? Mine stays off even with the updated BIOS but the button works fine.

 

i actaully timed my boot up's with my stock 160gb 5400, and my new 200g hitachiTS 7200rpm.

*time is from power button to login screen

5400- 1m11s, 1m9s, 1m14s
7200- 54s, 56s, 56s

So for my rig, it definitly boosted startup

COM

 

To the OP: have you considered the V1S? Being a business notebook it should generate less heat and noise than the G1S which is a designated "gaming" notebook.

Although that's by no means sure (that it will generate less heat and noise), since the notebook isn't even out yet.

And the ASUS tendency is to make them bigger and badder without real concern for heat, noise, and battery... but who knows.

 

I've heard about the V1S from the forums here, but yeah, its not been released yet and I am interested in the product. Does anyone know when or how soon it's going to be released, or if there is any information/pictures or is it just by word of mouth so far?

 

Hot and Loud are subjective. At full speed the computer makes a racket. Just running the fan is constantly spinning but it is not a detriment to classwork, at least nobody has given me crap for it yet.

Heat on the other hand is something I disagree with everyone entirely.

The processor in this machine runs at 50-60*C IDLE on average and the GPU at anywhere from 65*C-80*C.

That is pretty damn hot.

As to your HDD speed question I imagine you'd see a difference but it won't be huge. I went from a 4200RPM to this 5400RPM and the difference is really minor.

The underchassis of the computer gets hot while gaming. This is a given. You can feel heat radiating through the right side of the keyboard due to the HDD not having any adequate cooling.

There is also only one fan in the system, located on the CPU itself which is connected via heatpipe to the GPU (Based on what I saw when I opened the machine, I could be wrong). It is not an ideal cooling solution. IMO.

Battery life you are looking at 2 approx. hours mid brightness with Wifi. At least from what I've experienced. 3 hours no wifi low brightness.

The built in speakers absolutely suck on this machine unfortunately. It is definitely the weak point.

If you need good built in speakers DO NOT BUY THIS. I bought it full well knowing and got a new headset and 2.1 speakers along with it.

 

Hmm ok, I don't supposed I would need a 7200RPM hard drive as I'm alright with waiting for a little longer to run programs and such haha.

I am definitely interested in the V1S laptop however, as it has a little more of a professional look while still maintaining the nVidia 8600m GT for some good gaming. Is it still planned to come out late July as I have read on the forums or is it going to be delayed a little?