noob 4 sure - G51 from Best Buy

Well I think I hit 4 different BB's before I found one that had both the G51 and G71 on display and that one didn't have an FX (I looked because I wanted to compare the G71 to it).

Regarding the sound options. Like I mentioned above I spent a good amount of time trying to decipher what each machine had to offer and for the life of me I could not find any difference in the settings or options. I am very interested in this because it is my intention with whichever solution I chose to run it through my HT and 52"1080p LCD when not on the move.

One thing I forgot to comment on is the mic or what more than a few people have commented to on the G51 or the lack there of. I wish I spent more time verifying but I could swear the G51 has at least one mic if not more. If you look at the right of the Webcam you will see two holes and a mic symbol. Also what I found odd and someone more knowledgeable might comment on is that the G51 also has a small hole (indicative of a mic) on the exterior lid. I thought this might be a noise canceling mic but "shrug" I dunno.

 

Yes, the G51 and G71 have a mic, or so said the employee to me.

 

hmm i thought all laptops with webcams had mics... my fx had one and im 85% sure you couldnt find it very easily (at least i never noticed a hole).

EDIT: nvm scyiik beat me. thats good that it has one because i'd use it a lot in college breaks.


also, you could ask them to plug it into a tv? geek squad should have a g71 in the back that they could quickly plug into a monitor haha. i'll probably be at mine in a day or two so i'll ask them lol.

 

Let me add on to this. For future updating purposes the G71 motherboard supports up to 12gb of ram ( you won't need it, but it can ). It has 3 ram slots. Not only that out of the box the G71 has a better screen resolution, better processor, better battery, and more ram. So, if you really consider about the power of the laptop the G71 is the one to go with; however, if you care about how your laptop looks... Be my guest and go with the G51.

 

Well I know the FX are 17" also if you are considering the FX and G71 from bestbuy I would say the G71 is a better laptop overall.

 

However, you can get 9 cell battery for G51 and it's smaller. G71 is just huge in comparison to already bulky G51. So for any sort of mobility, G71 is pretty much unsuitable, although to be fair, G51 is not much better, but it still has more options. With proper tuning of the power features and 9 cell, you could probably eek out 3-4 hours on it (not gaming though).

 

Forgot to add that myself I'd prefer a Pxxx chip to the Quad. IMO, that 2.8 P series 25w chip that is available plus GTS 250 would be perfect in this laptop, but we won't see that combo for a while.

 

I just confirmed at bestbuy by looking at each, they both have 5.1 dolby output via hdmi. Also, the screens are terrible compared to the FX. The FX is tv quality - it looks good at wide angles. Any angle makes these both look bad .

Also, the g51 feels heavier, because its not much lighter but is smaller in size. But the FX is heavier than both and as long as you have a book bag its no problem. I took it everywhere and its not any worse than a book...

 

That completely depends on the person. I don't personally have any issue carrying around a bigger laptop, including something of the G71's size.

Now, of course I know this is different for everyone, but the point is some people don't have an issue with it.

And like you said, the G51 is huge for a 15.6" screen, it's more like a normal 17" and the G71 is like an 18", or something like that.

 

i dont see why people care about size. 95% of people keep it in a backpack anyways. If you cant carry 9 pounds on your back, you're 2 years old. Also, like I said the g51 feels heavier. Theres a very small weight difference and the closer your hands are together when lifting, the more work it takes. So technically it takes more energy to lift the g51.

Only problem is the 17"+ have less pack choices and in stores they are expensive. But I got mine cheap on newegg.

 

A statement like that leads me to wonder how old you are?

 

Screw both of them just get a sager 8662

Better screen, Better or equal processor, Better mobility.

 

well, i meant anyone carrying it long distances daily (college people). And yeah, I'm in college.

 

Sure, if you've got around $1600 after 4GB RAM, 320 GB HD, and an OS...I'd love to get the NP8662, and very well might do that, but Sager's aren't the cheapest things on the block...

 

True, but as Dane said, you need to look at all the base thing it comes with.

Doesn't it start with a low hard drive, RAM, and other little things like that? I remember making one, and just getting it "to par" shot the price up to 1600+. No thanks.

Did look nice though.

 

Are the quad core processors with lower processor speeds better than c2d processors with higher speeds? Will it really even matter? How long until quad core really takes off?

 

The one I customized had 4g ram 250 gig 7200rpm and no OS. You can get the OS cheaper by "other" methods.

 

Check out this review of the g71 on cnet guys

Seems like the the g71 might have a superior wireless card. Interesting.

 

Depends on the program or game. Most games are optimized for dual cores, and thus would have "wasted power" from a quad. Many programs, especially photo editors and video renderers, get a boost from quads, as well as the game Supreme Commander. (Though I've read somewhere that the SupCon performance gain from duo to quad isn't as big as most people think).

But, in the long run, quad cores are more "future proof". If you want to keep your computer for a long(er) time, quads are the way to go.

 

lol. First off that guy's "review" was a comment he left on the cnet review. Secondly, check out the rest of his review. It's kind of embarrassing. I would take everything he says with a grain of salt.

http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/asu...7-33695862-4.html?tag=userReviews;summaryList

 

rather than spending money just to get the basics then rip em out and replace them. Why not buy empty ones (barebones) and add the stuff.
like this:
http://mivasecure.abac.com/rjtech/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=R&Product_Code=M860TU

 

Gonna go ahead and deny that.

What sense would they have to put in a different card? SOmeone crack open their G71, I know my 51 came with a 5100.

 

Because that barebones system starts out at the price that you would pay for a complete G51.

 

true but the 8662 + 4gb ram+p8600+250gb 7200 = $1335

i know because MY parts are on the way

 

And you can pick up a better processor for the G51 for about 200$ bucks.

So my total would be about 1259$, with 4GB or RAM and a 320GB 7200.

 

Thats why i said "might" lol. But im interested to see if anyone has any comment since it IS different. They have different names according to Warhammer and best buy's site says the g71 wireless is integrated. The guy might have been putting things out of proportion, but im curious to if there is a difference.

 

Though the G51 comes with a 320GB 7200 hard drive.

But a lower screen resolution. So I think it all equals out.

EDIT: whoops, I forgot completely that the G51 had such a low CPU! Sorry about that one, I was thinking of the G71 for a second!

 

yeah but:
A) you have ruined your warranty
B) you still have a crappy native resolution
C) the 8662 has faster RAM
D) the g51 overheats even in idle unlike the 8662

again the decision is still entirely up to you im mearly trying to save a fellow notebookreviewer some money.

 

I don't see what the problem is with the screen resolution. I actually like it quite a bit. If I wanted a bigger screen, I'd hook my laptop up to my T.V..

And if I wanted to hook my laptop up to my T.V., I'd buy a 360.

 

size of the tv has nothing to do with resolution, only the quality of the picture on the tv.

but again if you are happy with the laptop then get it, all the other people including myself are attempting to see if it is perfect for you, by questioning you...sureness.

most of us would also not advise the voiding of your warranty just to change your cpu

 

A) True.
B) I'm not freaking out about not being able to fit this or that or whatever on my screen. My games look good, I'm not going to be a picky about it.
C) The performance jump isn't huge enough to warrant it, and I'm not paying the extra money to buy a processor to match my RAM. 1066 is fast enough.
D) No, it doesn't, and I'm getting tired of reading this.

 

1. Yeah, voided warranty's are good.
2. C'mon now, it's not that bad res, unless you're really used to high, high res.
3. True, but really, is DDR3 that much better? I've used both and it was always hard to find a difference.
4. What do they both sit at idly, the G51 and 8662?

 

I don't think you understood my point. People are knitpicking this and that about the screen. So what? You can max out anything you decide to run on it at the resolution, it's not ugly to look at, the icon are large enough to see, and it's HD.

Maybe it's me, but higher resolution =/= better.

 

Let me reinstall NBProbe. If I remember correctly though the temps weren't worth writing home about.

 

maxing it out is useless if you cannot see what you need to. the lower resolution allows for more pixelation than one of a higher res. And to use someones analogy that i read somewhere "its like having a lamborghini, but driving on 45mph roads" the combination of a card like the 260 and a low resolution like that... the guy who designed that model should be stabbed in the eye with a blunt object...but thats just me

 

If it was Asus 2-year-global, 1-year-accidental that you were going to void, I'd say think about it first.

But a 1-year? Meh. I know I'm going to do that as soon as I get the parts I want.

If I can decide which ones, granted.

 

Sorry, but I think L4D at 1366x768 maxed out looks just as good on this screen as it does on the screen of the G71.

But that's just me because personally, as I've said, I'm not a fan of eye-searingly high resolutions. I had to return the FX7805 and its predecessor solely because I hated looking at the screen.

 

exactly, source engine is a perfectly built engine. however saying (lets just say) "i can run crysis in max on 800*600" well woopdy do, you still aren't getting a very good picture.

 

Except we're not talking about 800x600. I'm talking about 1366x768.

And it looks just fine to me.

We're basically comparing red ap-ples and green ap-ples here. They're both just fruit, and some people like one over the other. I know that I would rather play Crysis with full AA at 1366x768 than with no or 2x AA at... whatever other resolution.

 

Oh that better not be a god damn link to Ap-ple computers in my god damn post.

If there's on thing I refuse to do it's supporting Ap-ple.

 

if it looks fine to you that cool. im just saying its crap, but the voiding of your warranty is foolish.

?

 

He doesn't like Apple.

Or, if you wondering how he's going about it, the site automatically links the word Apple. Hence making Apple ap-ple.

 

When I typed "apple" into the post without the hyphen, the site hotlinked the word to the Ap-ple website.

I hate Ap-ple and I refuse to allow them the chance to make a profit off of something I've done.

 

I like you. + rep once I figure out how to do that.

 

so....it would be bad if i did........This?

Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple Apple

 

You guys remind me of those two ebonics cars from Transformers.

 

Nope. You're the twenty-something Berkeley art major sitting at a Starbucks drinking a Venti soy chai tea latte discussing the latest SoHo fashion trends, crying over how the ozone is being destroyed by evil, PETA-hating Americans, not me.

Which you obviously are if you support Ap-ple.

 

no, its just fun to get people mad, im what *we* here at UNR call...an a$$hole

i dont even like cr-apple

 

I'm not mad. Ap-ple hate is a totally rational thing if you have at least half a brain.

And believe me, I've seen worse trolling.

 

u should have been here 2 weeks ago for the most recent windows7 vs windowws vista fiasco...it was...fun