G51J and the pro's

Hey folks!

Story: I have an order in place for the Asus G51J. I will be using for photoshop, CAD, gaming, 3ds max.

Order: I placed an order for it with everything standard except the IC Diamond on CPU and GPU and a laptop fan base to help keep cool. Everything else is standard.

Concern: I am concerned about the BSOD stuff, but I have confidence it will be fixed. Cooling issues as well.

Question: Is this the best possible gaming laptop I can get for the cost of $1525.00? I would prefer a core i-7 because it is that much better and can only get better. I looked at Sager, but the only core i-7 version is a little up there on price. I am not sure how the old quad Q9000's fair against a core i-7 but I hear that the new i7's kick its .

Please help me make sure I have the best order in place and spending my money wisely. My head is about to explode with all the readings I have done!

Thank you!!!!!!!!!!

 

It is the best possible for the OEM components, except you get a crappy screen, and weak i7.

 

I know it is the weakest i7, but it is still stronger than the Q9000 i believe. Secondly, a screen is a screen. I am sure this screen is just fine for what you get. However, CitizenPanda, if you know a better laptop I should invest in then please recommend it. I am willing to spend up to $1600.00.

 

For $225 more you can get a laptop that is FAR better than the Asus: http://microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0320538

MUCH better build quality than the Asus, superior display, on site tech support, FAR better system cooling, mxm 3.0b slot for future graphics upgrade etc.

The LG screen on the M15x alone is worth the price difference since you plan to use it for photoshop and CAD work. The display on the Asus is one of the worst I've ever seen (I'm using a $499 Acer Aspire that has a better quality display).

I would have also recommended a Clevo but they cost a bit more for a similar configuration as you've noted. Do yourself a favor, spend a few hundred more and spare yourself the agony of dealing with that Asus display.

 

I was considering purchasing the M15x, but it just seems that the Alienware price is so inflated. After tax that sucker is almost $1900 I think? Is the Alienware that much better and is there tax applied on that?

 

When I do the checkout at Microcenter, there's no tax for me:

Subtotal $1,749.99
Standard Shipping $19.85
Cart TOTAL (pre-tax) $1,769.84
SALES TAX $0.00
TOTAL $1,769.84


Do you have a Microcenter store in your state? If so that could be why you are seeing a tax.

 

It is a little over my budget and yes...flexing more is a little difficult. Is there a huge huge difference between the 240m and 260m? No I won't be playing hardcore Crysis at max settings anyways. Most games I will play at medium settings. I just like to play when I can. I do want to play SWTOR when it releases.

 

The GT 240M has 48 cores vs 112 cores found in the GTX 260m. If you are constrained to $1500, then I'd sacrifice the GPU power for now and get the M15x. You can always upgrade to a 260m GTX later on when you have the money.

 

Thank you for your help! I will look into this!

 

No problem. BTW if you are a student or know someone that is, you can use the Dell EPP site to get 10% off the AW. They're also giving away a free headset + mouse that's worth about $175. Lastly, you can also haggle with a Dell rep on the phone and they will give you a lower price most of the time. I picked up the following config for $2100:

M15x:
------
CPU: i820qm
Ram: 4g ddr3 1333
Display: 900p
Warranty: 2 yrs
Optical drive: standard
HDD: 500 GB 7200 rpm

 

on the phone with them now. I think they are dropping the price down and matching the G51J


LOL!

 

okay so they charge tax. The end all even if they were willing to drop price would be $1775ish. I am not too sure about this. Seems so much extra work for getting that system when I get $200.00 less. The Asus screen can't be this much of a hassle to go through. I do not need this to be my main computer. I have a 2009 mac pro as my desktop. Just need a game station/work station while I'm away from the mac pro.

 

Dell charges tax but Microcenter does not. That's why I recommended it in the first place. If you have a backup system for your main work then get the Asus. Just don't say you weren't warned when you see the abysmal screen and high temperatures (up to 100C).

 

Microcenter here down the street sure does (it depends on where you live).

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5532453&postcount=6

 

I do agree that the asus screen is one of the most horrible i have seen. I used to have an g50, it had overheating problems and i never used it much either. But man the M15x is nice, I do agree the temps for the g51 is insane but i want 1080P for the m15x i love that resolution. But i don't want my grandmother to spend that amount of money, like a bit like 1,800 or 1,900. How much money would i get off with a discount? I go to Rutgers Newark.

 

Check to see if Rutgers has an affiliation with Dell. I used the alumni EPP discount for one of the universities I attended and got 10% off. If you look for one time use coupons you can sometimes stack them for a bigger discount. But EPP in itself is a pretty good deal. 1080p is nice but only if you plan to watch blu ray or do a lot of work on the laptop that requires the extra space. The M15x I have on order is 900p because it is meant mainly for games and a little bit of research work.

 

I agree that the Alienware is very nice however, it is very expensive! For what you get that is. Might as well bump up $100 and get the Sager at that point. The laptop will cost me $1725 (M15x) where the Asus is $1525 for all the same components.

Is the screen REALLY that damn bad? I know the heating thing can be bad, but that is expected on graphic machine.

 

The only thing the AW and Asus have in common is the PM55 chipset and i720 QM processor. Other than that, the two are on completely different levels. Yes the screen really is THAT bad. Even if you look at it directly in an environment with limited ambient lighting, the corners fade out. Do a search, you'll find a lot of discussion about it. As for heating, it should not be expected or accepted of a gaming machine. The AW doesn't get hot nor does the Clevo.

Spending the extra cash on the Sager doesn't really mean you'll get something better than the AW. I had and returned the 8690--the build quality isn't any better and it's a fully plastic notebook. Sorry KGB, just telling it how it is.

 

Yes dell has affiliation with them, i don't know about EEP though, what was your major in college? Yes i want a core i7 machine, with a blu ray drive and full 1080P also, i like to have the screen real estate space. GTA IV is very intensive graphic and processor. What is the clock speed of the gtx 260?

 

The AW and Sager/Clevo GTX 260m are clocked at standard 550/1375/950. The Asus version is underclocked (I think 500/1250/800). My major was biotechnology--I'm a 3rd year med student now though. It's been a long time since I graduated (back in late 2002).

 

Yes even if it is just 50 mhz it matters, i like studying medical science, its amazing how fast it has accelerated in the last 40 years. Good luck with school, you must be like sometimes spending to much time on the forums and electronics lol. I was reading about an 18.4 alienware, or xps do you think that will happen in the future?

 

Hey Joker I wanted to ask if you had trouble getting the TactX headset and mouse? I purchased my M15x through an EPP line and they told me that it isn't included for EPP purchases so I went ahead with the deal because I received a 13% discount (Student + DPA) and free next day shipping. Did you order through the normal home services or EPP? That may be where my problem lies.

 

wait a sec....joker, what happened to the sager?

 

I think he just got it for now and will get the sager later on. Sager is amazing but it still missing a backlit keyboard.

 

Lately I'm doing reading + questions 12 hrs a day so I always have a few forums open to pass the time (gf is also a med student so we're both busy all the time). 18.4" seems like a very niche market, I doubt it will happen but you never know.

I went with EPP and all I had to do was call, get the old order canceled and a new one placed with the headset + mouse. If that rep doesn't budge, call again and talk to a different one until they give it to you. They always have to match any Dell Home deal.

As for the Sager, I won't be getting another one. I'm taking over my gf's M15x and she's agreed to take an Asus G60 instead. Lucky me.

 

Huh i thought you bought the M15x for yourself, why won't you be buying another Sager and also which one did you have before?

 

haha they all comeback to dell somehow. alienware is probably the best notebook producer for gaming ive seen after they were bought out by dell.

and wow...ppl needa stop critisizing the G series screen, it is NO FREAKING WAY as bad as ppl put it, i know im not picky so its good for me. but most consumers arent like joker who tend to find every small detail on the screen to em off. i agree that teh viewing angles are bad, but the colors/contrast are fine. obviously compared to better screens, it will seem crappy, but by itself its nothing that will make you crap yourself. notice how in ALL reviews of the G series, the reviewer hasnt found the display to be so bad, its just a handpicked bunch who have experienced the higher quality notebooks that cost much more (i doubt a acer 500USD has a better screen, but hey what do i know?)

here are a couple of reviews of the display

notice the laptop mag one only says resolution is a bit low, nothing wrong with colors. i could google "G51Vx" review and get tons more, but this is evident enough that professional reviewers/some users themselves dont find the screen horrible at all...

 

The M15x was for my gf originally until today. I had the sager 8690 but it was defective. Plan was to get another but not anymore.

 

Well my friend told that it was a pretty good screen, yes i have high quality machines, hey it happens you want the best.

 

What games do you play? Why did you get rid of the xps 1640?

 

Wow, so much hate vs the poor G51J!!

The screen is not as bad, seriously. If all you are going to compare it to are the great LCD displays out there, sure it won't stand a chance. And the 499dlrs Acer (Hell, some 299dlrs netbooks) actually pack decent screens with limited resolution.

However, even if the screen has Average to mediocre viewing anlges, it is still passable. Specially when you use things like digital vibrance. And if you work in well lit places, the screen actually looks decent enough.

But on dark areas it does look rather bad. The blacks become grayish and the viewing angle becomes smaller. Be mindful that the main issue with the screen is the severely limited viewing angles compared to the great screens.

The Alienware is superior, but for a price. If you are willing to pay the price then go ahead it is a great machine, but personally I have no issues with the screen and actually no issues with my machine at all.

Sure it gets hot, but not uncomfortably so, nor has it caused any problems whatsoever.

And Joker thanks for the Sager input, I will recommend my friend the Alienware instead (he was looking for a 2k dlrs laptop) but I also felt the Sagers were too plastic..y

 

Haha sach getting defensive about his precious, how cute. Seriously the $500 acer has a nicer screen and better viewing angles.

 

Sager's are to plastic lol. I would like to see one, i know someone who has one. He told me it was built like a bull lol. Yeah i agree your paying for a price. But cmon 13 percent student discount you can get yeah many awesome. I remember my g50-a1-x1 man it was a great machine but that screen was terrible. I do miss that machine, Asus does blend a great machine with performance and portability. I have never owned an Alienware so i do want to try one out. Plus 16 different colored keyboard!

 

WOW lol after editing my posts so many more updates, just gonna copy and paste so ppl looking at this thread actually see the reviews ive quoted...these are QFT.

and btw im not being defensive, i know there are better screen out tehre but you are just scaring off customers with all your lies. it is a great screen, not the best but definitely a good one. let us see a total list of users who were unhappy by their screen...lets see if we can get moar then 3 ppl besides Joker. he has too high expectations from taiwanese lulz. he is more of the american patriot.

 

Ok Sach, most of the reviews you put up are end user ones that were posted shortly after they purchased the laptop. I spent considerable time with it and what I'm posting is my experience with it compared to other LCD's on the market. I don't know what the NBR reviewer was smoking when he thought the viewing angles were great.

Here is a video of the G51 1080p screen for those that are interested. I made it when I had the notebook:

<param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/RgJ6FbZdbn0&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/RgJ6FbZdbn0&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width='425' height="344"></embed></object>

 

how do you know what type of LCD your laptop has? I'm curious as to know what my Toshiba is...

 

well i just googled G51Vx reviews in google and took ALL of em from the first page, i didnt go around looking for specific reviews. ive yet to find a PROFESSIONAL REVIEWER who has wrote the screen as being unbearably bad. i think you are too nit-picky with screens. the angles are bad, not the best but the colors/saturation/contrast/brightness are pretty good.

 

It's some Chinese company that screen maker is.

 

Neither are we lying about the screen we are telling the truth. You can't handle the truth, but regardless most people will read this and judge for themselves, I estimate about 80 percent of people still will buy the machine anyway. There are plenty of people who like the price and just want something powerful it is what it is right?

 

lol english class?

you can tell the truth all you want, the fact is that this is a great laptop for a great price, the screen isnt horrible so it is worthless to try avoid this laptop because of that reason.

 

Yoda he is.

Ditto mi amigo. I will be buying this laptop because I can't really find an i7 gaming laptop for strictly under $1500 that will last me 2+ years. I'm pretty sure the average gamer (i.e. me) can live with the screen and worry more about getting some frags.

 

All the bad rep that the screen gets here on this forum didn't turn me away from purchasing one myself. In fact it's going to get here today. I'll admit that I was a little skeptical about buying it because of what I heard about the screen here, but figured it can't be any worse than the screen on this G2S that I'm currently typing on right now.

The main concern that I have is the keyboard flex. I'm hoping that it's somehow not as bad as the G51vx at Best Buy. But I'm sure even if it is...it will be something that I can get used to.

As long as asus gets the BSOD problems fixed I'm sure the G51J is going to be a perfect enough computer for me to last me a good 2-3 years.

 

You don't have to worry about the screen. I actually like my g51j screen. It can't be LCD TV quality, but good enough for me to watch movies and play games on it. The screen does has limited viewing angle, but who cares about that. It's called a laptop, a pc = personal computer. Why would you want anyone to see what you are typing and looking at? I like the limited viewing angle because it blocked out other people from seeing what i am doing on my computer.

About BSOD: I don't know why I don't get them, I have been playing ton of games on this machine, and hasn't had any BSOD yet.

Keyboard: good enough to type on, but I like my asus v6j keyboard more.

 

Can you please post your initial reactions to the system and some goodies? Not asking for benchmarks, but more so just if your concerns being valid and how things are on it?

 

Sure. Will do...I'll post them in this thread instead of making a completely new one about it. UPS should be here in about four hours or so I believe.

 

my question has not been answered....

 

Like you, I haven't had BSOD from games except once in Half Life 2 but I kinda caused that due to several alt tabbing until the machine froze xD but it only happened once... I have finished several games already and none have given me BSOD.

 

Well that four hours has come and gone by about two and a half hours ago. Figures UPS makes a late delivery on the day that I take off....lol.

 

why not go for the new G51j 3D.. 120hz screen should be better on contrast and brightness, but not FHD anymore, which i actually think is a good thing coz u cant run that many games at 1080p and games always look best at native res on lappies.. so slightly lower res gives better frames and performance and sill looks good. anyway thats just my opinion.

check out the Asus press release for the 3D, looks pretty nice, with NVidia 3D-Vision
http://promos.asus.com/US/PR_2009/G51J_Worlds_First_Notebook/Index.html

will start retailing online for $1699 this Tuesday i think...