ASUS G73Jh: Today's Top Gaming Laptop
by Jarred Walton on April 17, 2010 2:25 AM ESTASUS G73Jh: Hail the Conquering Hero
The short story is that while the G73Jh isn't without competition, it's easily the best bang for the buck among current gaming laptops. There are a few flaws like missing features—if you want FireWire, eSATA, USB3, or ExpressCard you'll need to go elsewhere. We also would have liked a Blu-ray combo drive, although it sounds like that will be available with other models (it should add ~$100 to the price). I'm sure opinions on the aesthetic are going to be highly polarized as well. Like most gaming laptops, the G73Jh is quite large, but it makes no appolgies for its size and it manages to do a lot with the added girth.
High on the list of great design decisions is the inclusion of four SO-DIMM slots. You can get 2x4GB of DDR3 in competing notebooks, but the price premium over the 4x2GB in the G73Jh adds another ~$300. Another great element is the Radeon Mobility HD 5870. NVIDIA is going to have a difficult task pushing DX10 hardware when all the latest hype revolves around DX11, and just as Fermi/GF100 was six months late we expect mobile DX11 parts from NVIDIA to be quite a few months away. NVIDIA's ace in the hole has been Optimus, but on high-end laptops no one is doing Optimus anyway, and the top GTX 260M/280M/285M don't support the feature. Alienware's M17x still supports SLI with switchable graphics, but then you have to worry about driver updates so it's not a great solution.
When we look at the whole package, the simple fact of the matter is that there's nothing else that competes with the G73Jh that doesn't cost at least $500 more. Say what you want about the G73's "Stealth bomber inspired" design—and it's definitely a bomber and not a fighter!—but it feels a lot more solid than the Clevo W870CU and it looks a lot better (i.e. less tacky) than the 18.3" M980NU/X8100. We're certainly not going to downgrade our rating of the G73 just because some people will think it's ugly—and they will. The G73 is big, and big can be beautiful for the right user. Besides, the large chassis happens to do an excellent job at cooling and noise control, with the result that this is one of the coolest running and quietest laptops we've ever tested, in spite of the high-end components.
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At this point, you should know whether the G73Jh is for you or not. It's not without flaws or omissions (see above), but it gets all the important stuff right. If you've been looking for a great gaming laptop that won't cost over $2000, the G73Jh has what you need. It can handle virtually every current game at high quality settings and 1080p while staying above 30FPS. (Crysis continues to struggle unless you drop to Medium/Mainstream quality, but what's new?) What's more, the LCD is a pleasure to use and the keyboard works well and has backlighting to make gaming in the dark easier. If you're a frequent LAN party attendee, the G73Jh would be an excellent weapon of choice, and it even comes with the necessary gaming mouse and backpack if you get the A2 package (which is what we'd recommend unless you can find the G73Jh for closer to $1450). In short, for mobile gamers it tops our current list of recommendations, and we're pleased to award the ASUS G73Jh-A2 our Gold Editors' Choice award.
If you have no interest in gaming notebooks, of course, there's little reason to consider such a beastly notebook. Similarly, if $1500-$1600 is too much for your pocketbook, ASUS has another slightly $1200 downgraded model at Best Buy. That $1200 gets you the same performance, but it comes with a single 500GB HDD, 6GB RAM (2x2GB + 2x1GB), a 1600x900 HD+ LCD, and no mouse or backpack. All of those extras add up to the ~$400 price difference, and the LCD is very likely not of the same calibre as the 1080p model, but $1200 is also a great deal for a gaming laptop that doesn't pull any punches. If $1200 is still too much, then we'd suggest taking a closer look at the $750 Acer 5740G. It may not have the build quality or high contrast LCD of the G73Jh, but performance with the native 1366x768 panel is only surpassed when you get into $1000+ laptops. For those interested in battery life and gaming, the Alienware M11x is still a good option, though the driver situation still concerns us. And for everyone else, we have plenty more laptops lined up for review over the coming weeks.
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JarredWalton - Monday, April 19, 2010 - link
According to [l=this page]http://www.em-zero.com/index.php/2010/02/everythin...[/l], the X3 version comes with two 320GB HDDs. That would make sense as the only 640GB 2.5" HDDs are 5400RPM models, so unless ASUS wants to downgrade RPMs for higher density a couple (older) 320GB 7200RPM drives is the easiest solution.Obeah - Wednesday, April 21, 2010 - link
Sweet, thanks!!mofo3k - Monday, April 19, 2010 - link
I don't know anyone who uses their notebook on battery power anymore, especially for gaming. I think that for me at least, it won't really be a deal breaker because if I just want to "surf the web" or check my Facebook account, I'll do that on my Droid. I don't have to break out the case, open it up, pull out the notebook, wait for it to boot up and try to find a comfortable place/position to set it in. Then when I'm done, have to reverse the process.If there's any pc segment that's still concerned with battery life, then they should get a netbook anyway. That's how it would work for me at least and others may differ in opinion I guess.
JarredWalton - Monday, April 19, 2010 - link
I agree that battery life isn't a real concern on a gaming notebook like this, but for regular notebooks it's definitely an important metric. I use laptops off battery power all the time. Sure, I could bring along the brick and plug it in, but that's inconvenient. If you get a CULV laptop or something similar with good battery life, you can work all day and never deal with any cords. As for why I run the tests on gaming notebooks, it's just for completeness' sake. :-)faizan123 - Monday, April 19, 2010 - link
http://www.xoticpc.com/asus-g73jha1-order-p-2731.h...It also includes a Bluray for some lesser price.
JarredWalton - Monday, April 19, 2010 - link
Yes, I think XoticPC is safe, though they also list the laptop as "pre-order" so it might be a few weeks before you get your laptop if you go through them. On the other hand, being able to customize the features of your G73Jh is nice. Not that there's much I'd recommend changing... 2x256GB C300 SSDs and an i7-920XM for only $4000! :-)http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Xotic_PC
faizan123 - Tuesday, April 20, 2010 - link
Ok But how about this http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+Laptop+with+Int... . This has 6GB Ram and 500Gb of HDD which doesnt matter me much but what im really thinking of is the resolution of the screen which in the bestbuy case is just 1600 X 900 does it really make any difference. considering the difference in resolutions.JarredWalton - Tuesday, April 20, 2010 - link
Without testing that particular LCD, I have no idea how it performs, but there's a real chance the HD+ LCD is a dud as far as contrast. (Look at the W870CU HD+ LCD, for example--Clevo uses the same 1080p LCD as the G73Jh, but their HD+ unit stinks.) So if you're not worried about LCD quality, the $1200 Best Buy model has all of the performance shown here, just with a bit less RAM, one HDD, no backpack or mouse, and a lower resolution display.cadwerks.studios - Monday, April 19, 2010 - link
My favorite notebook and laptop company is still Malibalhttps://www.malibal.com
The World's Most Powerful Notebook For Graphics
... See More
Everywhere you look, companies claim to have the Ultimate Gaming Machine, but only at MALIBAL will you find a system that makes good on that promise and delivers performance worthy of the title. The new MALIBAL Veda Series gives you the ultimate gaming experience by taking speed to a whole new level. The state-of-the-art system utilizes SLI technology to take advantage of not one, but two of the fastest GPUs available from NVIDIA --the GeForce GTX 285M. With a gorgeous full HD widescreen display, the Veda is the fastest 18.4” display notebook available today. Beside its powerful performance and cutting-edge components, the Veda also features a futuristic design with a customizable luminous lighting array, buttonless luminescent touch sensor control panel, and eight unique programmable gaming keys that gives you total control with swift execution whether your passion is rooted in FPS, MMORPG, or RTS games.
Vibrant Cinematic Visuals
Whether you’re working on an important business document, watching a Blu-ray movie or playing a game, our 18.4-inch full HD widescreen display with a 1920x1080 pixel native resolution delivers enough screen real estate for all your needs. The widescreen display serves up vibrant colors and generous viewing angles, and provides brilliant clarity with theater-like viewing sensation for your favorite High-Definition content.
Three Hard Drives w/ RAID
Enjoy all the space you could ever want with industry-leading RAID-enabled fault tolerance storage capacities. The ultimate mobile data storage solution provides performance, utility, and security without compromising an internal optical drive.
Unique Programmable Gaming Buttons
The unit includes eight unique Gaming Buttons that are completely user-definable to allow ultimate control over your gaming experience. Whether your passion is rooted in FPS, MMORPG, or RTS games, the Veda is built to dominate with swift execution.
Slick and Futuristic
Revolutionize the way you control your notebook experience. The Veda’s Touch Sensor control panel is a state-of-the-art design featuring a buttonless luminous glassy panel with a touch sensor spread across the notebook. It provides control for the luminous appearance array, camera, Bluetooth, Wireless LAN, Application, Mute sound, and Volume with a single light touch. The customizable luminous lighting array lets you choose from 7 colors and transition effects across 3 distinct zones, front and rear vent panels.
Display: 18.4" 1920 x 1080 WUXGA LCD Active Matrix Display
Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-920XM, Extreme 8MB L3 Cache, 2.0-3.20GHz
Memory: (8GB) 8192MB, PC3-10660/1333MHz DDR3 - 2 SO-DIMM
Graphics Card: Dual NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 285M 1GB GDDR3
Hard Drive: 320GB 7200rpm 2.5" SATA-300
Hard Drive 2: 320GB 7200rpm 2.5" SATA-300
Hard Drive 3: 320GB 7200rpm 2.5" SATA-300
RAID: 0 High Performance (Two Hard Drive Configuration)
Optical Drive: 8X Multi DVD+/-R/RW RAM Dual-Layer Drive
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® 7 Ultimate; 64-bit
Wireless: Intel® 6300 Ultimate-N 802.11A/B/G/N LAN and Bluetooth Card
Cooling: IC Diamond 7 Thermal Compound, CPU & GPU
Warranty: 3 Year Ltd. Parts and Labor Warranty with 24/7 USA-Based Support
Extras: Standard Black Carrying Case
Extras: Integrated 2.0 Megapixel Web Camera
Extras: Integrated 7 in 1 Card Reader
Extras: Integrated Fingerprint Reader
Extras: Microsoft Windows 7 DVD-ROM
Extras: MALIBAL Software & Drivers Disc
Extras: PowerDVD & Bison Cam Software Package
Software: Microsoft Office 2007 Professional Edition
$4,388.00
Now that's a notebook to make people drool over.
Dear ASUS can you please start making things like this?
JarredWalton - Tuesday, April 20, 2010 - link
I didn't say "fastest", I said "top", which is completely difference. The Malibal you just linked is yet another rebranded Clevo chassis, the X8100, which I mentioned at least once in this review. SLI GTX 285M is faster, but you lose DX11 support and you're paying nearly three times as much for that unit. So I'm not at all lazy but rather sensible. The number of people buying $4000+ laptops pales in comparison to those buying $1500 laptops.