Is anyone else stuck trying to decide between the Qosmio and the G73?

Okay, I am waiting a little while longer to buy my laptop even though I have the money, because I can't decide which laptop to get. They both have advantages and disadvantagtes and overall are fine machines. Now that they are both using the same GPU, I believe they are now in the same ballpark, whereas while the Qosmios used the 360 and the G73's used the 5870, they seemed seperated by a much wider performance gulf. I am also waiting to see if the prices come down for the holidays.

As I see it the positives of the Qosmio over the G73 are:

1. 18.4 inch screen
2. A much lower "buy in" price for the lower end models, ALTHOUGH that has shifted up a little with the new machines as the lower end is not $1,000.00 anymore with this next gen. So the entry level difference is only like $380.00.
3. I am not 100% certain of this, but I am almost 90% sure that the Qosmio has the superior sound system.
4. The Qosmio is the most aesthetic of all the laptops.
5. I believe the battery life is longer, HOWEVER, this may not be true anymore since both machines now use the same GPU. So I am now wondering if the power usage is now similar between the two models.
6. The Qosmios DO NOT have the history of problems that the G73's, at least the JH models, had.

The advantages of the G73 over the Qosmio are:

1. The 1080p screen is much better, brighter, and clearer than the corresponding Full HD screen on the Qosmio.
2. The screen is overall reputed to be of a better quality, albeit a little smaller, though the difference is less pronounced with the 1600 X 945 screen.
3. The Qosmio chasis is more plastic based than the G73, which many reviewers praised as more sturdy. Some reviewers complained that in some ways the Qosmio felt a little "cheap" particularly the opening and closing hinge.
4. As you begin to get up there in terms of comparable laptops the Qosmio is no longer a bargain, and the two prices are now almost dead even. The closest Qosmio (the X505-Q896), in terms of configuation, seems to come in at about $100.00 cheaper than the G73JW, but it has half the HD space, only 4 GB of RAM instead of 6, and does not come with a carrying case, where the G73JW comes with a nice, fitted Targus knapsack. These are not earth-shaking differences, but in my opinion, they are collectively worth a little more than the mere $100.00 difference, but that is subjective, of course.
5. The Asus warranty is MUCH better than Toshiba's, and is, in fact, double.
6. This may not apply to everyone, but since I live in New York, every single place I have found to order a Qosmio from does some business in New York state, which means that I would HAVE TO pay sales tax if I buy the Qosmio! And over 8% on on, say, a $1,650.00 purchase is about $150.00! So if I ordered the Asus from, say Xoticpc, then I can save the sales tax AND the shipping!
7. From all the reviews I have pieced together, the G73 has the slightly superior keyboard.
8. This is negligible, but all of the pro reviews I have seen tthat compare the two lappys give an ever-so-slight edge in performance to the G73. Again, nothing to write home about, and, in fact, the differerence is ver marginal, but I figured I would list it.
9. USB 3 support

Anyone have any opinions to add to this?

 

Come on! Enough is enough! Stop agonizing and buy one of those machines. And then share your impressions here, so I know which one to buy.

Joking aside, you won't find a perfect laptop. The important thing is, most people who got a Qosmio are happy with it. And most people who got a G73 are happy with it. Unless you get a lemon (those things happen, but not that often) you'll buy a heck of a laptop.

You say the Qosmios are the most aesthetic of all the laptops. I don't share your enthusiasm (it's way too glossy for me), but if I did I would indeed prefer the Qosmio over the Asus. You are going to spend a lot of time in front of that machine looking at it; you might as well look at something you think it's beautiful.

By the way, I always get a 3 year warranty with multimedia/gaming laptops. So far I've had two (a Dell and a Toshiba) and in both cases it came in handy. These things get hot.

And I hope you are not as lame as Richard and do throw a party when you buy it.

PS: What is the Qosmio model you are considering?

 

It's pretty simple to me. If you're willing to spend $1600+, then by all means get a G73JW. If not, get a Q893 (or wait for the Q894 to drop abit). BTW, Costco does add a year on the warranty, don't forget that.

You get what you pay for with both laptops. It's just a question of how much you're willing to pay. I agree with Andanzas, they are both amazing laptops in their respective price ranges.

 

lol Andanzas, you are invited.

Yeah, I think you summed up my post in one sentence, a450035

it seems to me that perhaps the Qosmio is the better value if you have only say $1,000.00 to spend and get the Q885, and perhaps even as high up as the Q892. But (and maybe I am wrong here) but it is starting to look like the higher you go inside the Qosmio line, the more attractive the G73 starts to seem. Again, I think the sales tax issue is also going to be an important consideration for me as well. Because if I purchased, say the Q894 for $1,599.99, it actually comes out to be the same price with sales tax as the G73JW only the Qosmio with less features. I agree about the Costco warranty, but again, since we have Costcos here in NY City, that would mean I have to pay Sales Tax, where I can get the G73 tax-free.

By the way, I am not just sitting on the fence here, Andanzas, I am also waiting a bit to see if anything quick happens with pricing. So while I wait for a few weeks, at least, I want to use these forums to get some input. Believe me, if I was totally ready to make the plunge right this second, I would pick one and run with it.

Oh, and now I am totally curious to see what happens with this new "sound issue" I have just started reading about!

 

Well, the Q893 is already discounted $100 on Amazon. It looks like the party is getting closer and closer...

 

Damn! That is a good price!! That means that now, instead of paying $300.00 just for the GPU bump up you are only paying an extra $200.00. I wonder if that one includes the lighted keyboard upgrade. I am going to read through that page. Thanks! Now I am definitely going to sit on my hands another few weeks, Maybe all these lappies will start coming down and Asus dealers will join in the bidding war in hopes of being competitive!

Now I want to see what happens with the sound issue tbonez1376 was reporting in a few other threads in this forum!

 

Thanks alot for the heads-up Andanzas, these prices are dropping wayyy faster than I imagined!

ChiroVette, the Q893 DOES have LED backlit keyboard. Just to clarify, the CPU was also changed from the Q885, and I'm trying to confirm whether Toshiba switched the glossy keyboard for a matte one.

Also, I found this place stocking the Q894 that does NOT charge NY sales tax:

Toshiba Pqx33u-051025 Qosmio X505-q894 Q4 (pqx33u051025)

They're listed on Amazon, so they should be trustworthy.

 

need some owner of the X505-Q986 or above do some reviews about the screen of the Qosmio.
I am also in the edge between the Asus and the Toshiba
my main concern right now is the screen. Well i know Asus' screen will be alot better. I just want to know whether Toshiba has improved the quality of the original screen or not

 

No, the screens have not been changed. If you're definitely willing to spend $1,600+, get the G73JW. Unless your computer is in a pitch black room, you'll probably be disappointed with the Qosmio 1080p screen.

 

G73jw without the bag/mouse in newegg is on sale for $1429

 

I eliminated the ASUS after 2 days of research.

Doesn;t help that I built my own gaming comp about 7 years ago using a $300+ ASUS mobo and an ASUS gfx card. AFter 18 months the mobo blew (no overclocking) and the fan went out on the gfx card after 2 years.

Maybe their quality has improved, but their customer service = BS
I guess the only head up ASUS has over the others is that they ARE a Chinese company, the others are just made in China (maybe ASUS saves the best quality for themselves).

I'll take the Toshiba (which I have a 6 yr old Satellite that still works great) over the ASUS anyday. Gave my $1400 to Toshiba.

 

Lol I've been on the fence to about this whole G73 Vs Qosmio thing. x505 Q896 seems like what im gonna get >_> but theres an Asus G73JH thata 1,270...its used...but it calls my name when I go to bed.

 

they are both very nice laptops and anyone whom buys the one or the other will be happy like the others said there is no such thing as a perfect laptop.

i like not having the 1080p on my x505 and am satisfied with the hd+, i do believe the g73 screen is better. i like the build asthetics with the g73 but the overall appearance is rather bland.

on the otherhand the x500/x505 series asthetics are very eye catching, with the red and black and the grid type design on the lid. however im not too much a fan of the glossy fingerprint catching asthetics of the laptop.

on the other hand the g73 has a very nice and big mouse trackpad where as the x505/x500 series has a rather small trackpad but i do like the texture of it. also with the settings on the x505 you can set them so it kinda feels like the mouse is bigger. at least i think so.

bottom line both laptops are going to be very great they both have alot of high end and great features.

the g73 has a nice premium, you may be able to pick up a x500/x505 series and upgrade the hdd and memory and it might slightly be superior buti t also really is going to be depending on the specs.

 

im soooooooo stuck! i can't decide between the best buy asus and it's known problems and the q892 with it's slower processer and ram

 

I have a X505-894. I was concerned about the screen as well as you. However, after watching a couple of BlueRay movies and gaming on it for a few weeks, I can say that it serves me well. I love the size of it and having a slightly lower resolution makes it easier for me to see text (I'm 47 and my eyes are failing). I also demand a backlit keyboard these days. I game at lan parties and we keep it dark to reduce screen glare (darn glossy screens!).

 

I was thinking of a Qosmios with BD RE and I ended up buying the G73JW-A1 in Canada for cheaper then Newegg.com $1799 price.

I got it for $1699 Canadian on sale at Memory Express in Alberta.

Asus G73JW-A1 w/ Core i7-740QM, 8GB, 1TB, Blu-ray Combo, 17.3in Full HD LED, GeForce GTX 460M, Win 7 Home Premium 64-bit at Memory Express Computers


The sales guy said he has a Qosmios before and it got stolen and he got a G73JW and likes it way better, says it runs cooler.

Not trying to bash toshiba, my last 3 laptops have been Toshiba's. It was over $2000 for the BD RE version... getting kinda pricey.

Brian

 

Saleen, as I have said many times in this forum, if you are looking at anything other than the Qosmio Q892 or Q893 I honestly believe that the G73 is the better deal. However, for just over a grand, I think that the Q893 is an absolute steal.

 

720p and no BD RE but seems like a good deal for the price.

 

there's 120.00 difference between the toshi 892 and the best buy asus.

here's the difference:

Asus:
i7 740
6GB 1333 RAM

Heat issues.
Vbios Issues
Keyboard issues
Trackpad issues


TOshi 892:

slower CPU
less, slower ram.
subjectively slower GPU. (some games slower some faster)

reliability
USA based customer service (local to me)
experience (toshiba invented laptops)

The asus is clearly the faster machine. It's kinda like two sports cars. One is tuned and finicky and one is slightly slower and stock.

what I REALLY want is a 1200.00 ish (incl tax) i7 plus gtx 460 machine

 

I have also heard that the Best Buy models of the G73 are stripped down and are NOT equal to the regular G73's, but I cannot speak with an absolute certainty on precisely what the quality differences are. I personally passed on the Best Buy models even though they seemed like a good deal.

Although I have to admit that DAMN this seems like a great deal!

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+...=1218278292533&skuId=1675468&st=g73&cp=1&lp=1

 

The best buy Asus has a 5850 card(with DDR3 I think), not a 5870
Its equivalent of the 360M, which means that the 890$ 887 Qosmio is a better comparison as opposed to the 460M powered Q892 etc.,

 

tsk

the best buy asus around the corner (and on their site) lists 5870 broadway XT with 1GB GDDR5.

I even went into catalyst control center. It's a 5870

 

No it is absolutely a 5870, period. That is the standard card on ALL G73's regardless of the model.

 

ive added the msi gx740 to the mix now there's three I can't decide between.

I really want a laptop now. I'll have the cash on thursday. since I can only buy it once I'd really like the i7. the cheapest toshiba i7 with gtx460 is 1381 which is too much. it's 1500 after recycling fee and tax.

 

Portolastreet, you can have the 460 based Qosmio for just over a grand off of Amazon:

Amazon.com: Toshiba Qosmio X505-Q893 TruBrite 18.4-Inch Laptop (Black): Computer & Accessories

 

imo i would go with the i7 processor period, esp when you take the processor and more ram into consideration its going to be alot better for gaming, im not saying its going to be 100% better the i7 and more ram over the i5, but the i7 is superior over the i5. to me the i5 processor in the qosmio is somewhat of a bottleneck, a good processor, but somewhat of a bottleneck for a gaming and overall procesing is concerned

 

I disagree, particularly for gaming. One member, I forget exactly who, bought the machine to do photoediting or video editing, along with a HUGE 1.5 TB external HD, and you know what? For either of those applications the i7 is the far better choice. For gaming, it more or less comes down to the GPU, within reason, of course, but I guarantee you that, for instance, the i7 based Qosmio with the 360m GPU will NOT compete with the i5 based Qosmio with the 460m GPU. The lesson here is not that the CPU isn't important at all, but that the GPU is far more important. I would go as far as to say that, for gaming purposes, the i5 and i7 will be of negligible difference, and guess what?

The i5 is actually the newer chip with newer technology, which means that IN SOME WAYS, the i5 is the better processor and will be until Sandy Bridges is released.

 

for s and giggles and for my own wonder would you mind using the pcmark vantage on your qosmio and post them up, you are using the 460 with the i5 right? i do have the 360 with the i7 i out of curiosity would be interested in comparing the 2 setups against eachother to see the outcome.

i agree with you, the gpu is more important than the cpu although the cpu does have some to do with it but the gpu more than anything else. but this guy seems to be deadset after the i7 it really just depends on what you would like to do either have the slightly faster cpu or faster gpu.

 

Yeah, no problem but it is going to have to wait until after this week, because I am insanely busy for the holidays at the moment. Where do I get the PC Benchmark software?

 

Wow! My budget was a little less so I did not even look at bestbuy(1199+110 tax+20$ recycle) comes to 1330$
I got Qosmio for 1030$.
Extra 300$ would break my bank.
But if somebody is buying outside california, it sure makes sense to go for this deal.

 

Best Buy's everywhere, being outside CA wouldn't change anything but the tax percentage.

Personally, I'd only go for the G73JW if I had to get one. Even so, I think the G73 is a really ugly design.

 

Due to budgetary considerations, i'm going to go with the x505 q892.
I'm not going to play crysis and Metro 2033.

I Imagine for the next 3 years I'll be playing WoW and Diablo 3 mostly,
With some fallout 3 and new vegas thrown in.

I agree that the GPU is more important than the cpu. Especially with the high FSB these chips are running now and the huge cache.

I used to ALWAYS buy the best graphics card (my last one was a 699.99 asus x850xt pe) and amd processors, which never won the CPU showdowns, and I was always happy.

I'm going with the 892, and adding 4 GB ram and a Razer gaming mouse.

THanks for all of the help and opinions.

 

people in other states have top pay an upfront laptop recycling fee?

 

i must say i went to my local best buy and checked out the g73 i dont go to bb much, but i have to say i thought i would like the g73, but i definitly was unimpressed with the quality of the build, for one its light in weight which you would think is good, but i found the way it felt light in weight lacked substance, it felt cheap, where as the qosmio is 10lbs but it feels like 10 lbs of quality. also i really hated the way the mouse pad felt, it was really rubbery feeling and the mouse pad buttons werent that much of a joy to push. there might be some more benifical hardware upgrades over the qosmio line however the way it felt when i picked it up and checked it out, made me hate it off the bat, and i was really suprised consering i was liking the reviews online i just really felt for 1,199.00 the bb price tag that the build quality lacked substance.


overall i was really unimpressed with the g73 and it really made me like my qosmio that much more lol

 

I got the q896 I have been really impressed with the overall quality. This thing is a rocket and looks great. The screen brightness was a little dissapointing, untill the latest BIOS update. Now it is just as bright as I could have ever wanted. The picture quality is phenominal. It has never overheated, even when playing Black Ops on maximum settings. I couldn't decide between the two either. But on black friday I found the q896 for $1,399.00 with a free 500 gb ext hard drive and free shipping at toshibadirect.com. I couldn't pass it up. Good luck. You will be happy with what ever brand you choose.

 

Not much to add here for me. Yesterday i finished Crysis Warhead in 1920*1080P....with Enthusiastsetting(the highest setting) with my X500 and OC GTX460m