What's your opinion as a owner- GS1 or any Asus computer?

Hey everybody in the Asus community.

Well the world of laptops is kind of new to me (I just bought my first laptop about 3 months ago (alienware 5620d) and already sold it (was planning to anyway, because I got a phenominal price and sold it for $300 more than I paid) and now have the bug to buy a higher end laptop for everyday use but also some gaming as well.

Over the past 2 months laptops have now pretty much consumed my life as I want to buy what I want and not settle for anything less. After alot of researching and question asking I think I am pretty sold on an Asus G1.

I have pretty much narrowed my choice down to the G1 or a dell xps m1530. However, even though I like the Dell, it's still a little to maintstream for me and even though it looks nice, it still looks like a dell. I like something that sticks out from the crowd. Plus sometimes I feel like people purchase Dell just for the name.

Anyway, I really have to limit myself to $1200 or less (I think that's feasable thanks to my good friend eBay where I am seeing G1's with pretty decent specs go for that or a little less).

Just to let you know kind of my reasoning for the G1 here is what I am wanting:

-I don't have a home computer so this laptop will be used on a daily basis for your basic internet surfing.
-At the same time I want it to be portable enough to take whenever needed (I have looked and thought alot and the 15.4" screens are just right for me).
-I really like the thinness of the laptop and it's not overly heavy
-Most importantly I like having a dedicated graphics card so that upgrading down the road won't mean totally starting from scratch
-I like the fact it's future proof since everything is replacable.
-I love the look of it!

So anyway with that said, I was just wondering what the opinions are of those that own a G1 or any Asus laptop? I would especially like to have the input of long term users.

I have already read the revews on here and they have been very helpful. I am just being really cautious in my purchase since I want to have this laptop last me a solid 5 years or so and maybe longer with doing upgrades here and there.

Lastly how hard would you say it is to do upgrades on a G1? (video card, hard drive, memory, dvd drive etc)

Thanks for your time guys and I look forward to possibly joining the Asus community.

 

The graphics card is NOT replaceable. Do not purchase an old G1 with a Go 7600 if you can get afford an XPS m1530 with an 8600m GT or G1s.

 

My apologies for not being specific. I am looking at the G1S, not the G1. Thanks. Sorry for not communicating that in my first post.

 

I'd like to back up what Lithus said - that's important. However, I would like to add that the backup you get with the G1S is fantastic for carrying it and all its cords safe and sound - fulfills your portability requirement well!

I've had a G1S since July, and I like it a lot. The combo of the T7500 CPU and 8600M GT is powerful enough for every game I play and all my multitasking, except what I want to do in Crysis, but then again I haven't yet installed XP, after which I expect to perhaps JUST get to where I want. The included mouse is great too, however the speakers are true manure. They sound worse than on any laptop I have ever used. There's nothing wrong with the audio output though, so plug in some decent headphones or a good speaker set and you're OK there.

I like how the LCD display at the top of the keyboard always shows the time, and lets me know if someone is MSNing me, so I don't miss it in the middle of gaming.

I dislike how it gets so dirty so easily - shininess on the screen and top of the lid means it looks yuck often - why won't laptop makers give you something that doesn't reflect your fingerprints so quickly?

Those are the things that stand out to me. Any specific questions you'd like to hear about?

 

The M1530 offers better battery life and it's less bulky.

 

my experience: asus VX2S-ak111G, 2800€ after 3 days at RMA! yesterday (yes, yesterday, I repeat, yesterday) I took it from RMA and guess what: it shuts down on 3D apps! thanks ASUS! again @RMA centre this afternoon

do a favour to yourself: Buy a DELL

 

I just got my F8SV last friday. So far i'm completely satisfied with it. No problems at all.

 

G1s and m1530 are two of the most powerful 15.4" notebooks you can find anywhere. However, the G1s has a much higher resolution (1680x1050) than the dell (1280x800) which is ideal for me since it gives me a lot more real estate when I'm listening to music, surfing the web, and doing homework. I've had a G1s since last August and it's been perfect for me. It's very quiet when it's on power saver and the battery lasts two and a half hours so I can take it to class for note taking. It may not play the newest games on high settings, but my last laptop had a x200m integrated card so anything above just running the game is just an added bonus. However, that's not to say that it can't handle any games, because it definitely can (Oblivion, high settings, 1280x800, for example).

I'd highly recommend the G1S, it's a great system. To most people (not including myself), the look of it is its downfall, but since you like it, then you should have no complaints other than the speakers (which ARE horrible). It's a great deal for the price and you get all the bells and whistles that you'd pay extra for on other systems (bluetooth, wireless n, 1680x1050 resolution, webcam, etc). For what you are asking for, I think this is a perfect fit for you.

 

I purchased my G1S-B2 about two weeks ago. It is the most heavily-built laptop i have owned to date. It easily matches up to the durability of a Lenovo IBM lappy. It is a little bit heavy to carry to class EVERY DAY but thats the price you pay for these kinds of parts inside of a 15.4 inch chassis. A little bit about gaming: anything i throw at this machine runs extremely well and smooth. Im more of an FPS fan so COD4 and CS:Source maxed out run on my G1S every day. ANY game made before say ummmm october? will run without a hinch a native res with full specs (maybe not max AA). If you are concerned about Oblivion, download a low-polygon mod for the grass. TRUST it helps. Grass in that game is stupid, the mod decreases the number of polygons assigned to it.
In terms of battery life - two and a half hours on battery savings mode can be done for sure.
I would just like to underline the fact that this machine packs a lot of raw power for whatever you may need it for. Upgrading however is limited to processor, RAM, harddrive (?), optical drive, express slot upgrades (sound card, X-Fi anyone?) - definately NO GPU UPGRADES. You are stuck with what you got once you buy this machine. Almost no laptops offer GPU upgrades intergraded or dedicated - the GPU is soldered to the motherboard in most cases.
Asus also provides a lot of promotions right now since they are trying to rid of as many laptops as they can before the new wave comes out. But i dunno if those will apply to you since you are buying on eBay.
Anywayz, hope this helps a bit.

 

Thanks guys for all of your input thus far. It is greatly appreciated and I have learned alot.

 

I see portability is a concern for you, I would like to emphasize again that the G1 is bulky and heavy for a 15.4 inch laptop. You might want to take a look at the V1S (I know there was a user earlier on who was very dissatisfied but I think he got the proverbial lemon)

Other than that, the poor battery life might be a concern, but that's true for any ASUS notebook nowadays.

On the positive side I agree the raw power is very good on this laptop.

I think comparing it with a Thinkpad in build quality is a a bit going over the top.

 

Mabye im being a little bit patriotic But i have owned a thinkpad before and i dont see any significant difference.
I wish this thing didnt weight 3.1KG though...