Mobile Buyers' Guide: 14" and Larger Notebooks and DTRs
by Dustin Sklavos on June 30, 2010 12:53 AM ESTFull-On Gaming Machine: ASUS G73Jh
Our final recommendation in this roundup is for the best gaming machine you can get while still paying at least a sensible amount of money, and that machine is the ASUS G73Jh. We gave it our Editor's Choice award in our review, and it's pretty easy to see why.
For a second, let's ignore the meaty hardware built into the chassis and just appreciate the subtler, solid build of the G73. The stealth-bomber-inspired design seems unusual at first, but the notebook is virtually devoid of gloss, and is vastly more attractive than its predecessors. The old ASUS Republic of Gamers-branded notebooks were great in their own right, but the build of the G73 seals the deal.
Or is it the fact that our review machine came with a Core i7-720QM, 8GB of DDR3 (in four slots!), two 500GB 7200-RPM hard drives, a 2.1 speaker system with built-in subwoofer, and one of the fastest mobile GPUs on the market, the Mobility Radeon HD 5870? Stack all that with a high-contrast 1080p screen and a remarkably low $1505 price tag and you have both a bargain and a fantastic piece of hardware. If that price isn't low enough, ASUS sells a cut-down G73Jh-RBBX05 model at Best Buy that drops the screen resolution down to 1600x900, drops 2GB of RAM and one of the hard drives, but keeps the Mobility Radeon HD 5870 and Core i7-720QM...for $1199. Good luck even finding another machine sporting hardware that powerful for that price.
The ASUS G73 is big, powerful, quiet, and priced aggressively by a company hungry for market share, and it's our pick for the best full-on gaming machine you can buy without breaking the bank.
Gaming Notebook Runners Up: Alienware M17x and Clevo W880CU
If you're looking for alternatives, you can pick up laptops with Radeon HD 5870 CrossFire for around $2500 (with a few upgrades). Eurocom has a customized version of the Clevo X8100 with 5870 CrossFire (or you can get it with GTX 285M SLI), but the Alienware M17x looks better and packs some compelling features. Topping the list of nice extras is the WUXGA RGB LED display, a $200 upgrade that's worth every penny in our book. While we have little doubt the NVIDIA GTX 480M is going to be a faster GPU than the HD 5870, there aren't any SLI notebooks with 480M yet—and that's going to be difficult to manage, considering each GPU can draw 100 watts!
But there are advantages to single GPUs, like not having to worry about CrossFire/SLI profiles for your favorite game to come out. If you want GTX 480M, you can pick up the Clevo W880CU. One of the first companies to start shipping these bad boys is AVADirect, but it's not going to come cheap. If you must have the absolute fastest, most ridiculous piece of gaming kit, the W880CU aims to satisfy, available with the scorching 100-watt TDP GeForce GTX 480M. Given the lackluster lead the Mobility Radeon HD 5870 had on the GeForce GTX 285M, it's easy to expect the 480M to claim the crown of fastest mobile GPU available. You'll pay a pretty penny for it and the cooling required is going to be decidedly bulky, but if you must have the fastest, Clevo's W880CU will deliver. We're not sold on the design of the W880CU and we'll have a review in the near future, but the 480M is the fastest current single-GPU mobile solution.
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MedX91 - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
Fortunately AT does focus on other rigs than mainstream ones. Just got totally frustrated with a 1400$-Machine from Dell (Latitude 6410) which is poorly assembled, with grabs on the display and other lapsi as well. Never ever again.mele - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
While I realize that things like design and looks are very subjective. I can't help but find almost all of the mentioned laptops downright ugly. Some are not that bad, but if Im spending a 1000 or more dollar on a piece of machinery I want it to look and feel good too.Below are just a few things I'd like manufacturers to pay more attention to:
- Plastic usually feels cheap.
- A form factor that does justice to the term portable (and yes, even a 15 or 17 inch laptop, doesn't have to feel chunky)
- Already mentioned above - Screen quality does matter!
- Battery life - while I personally don't need 10 or even 14 hours, it's ridiculous that many average performing laptops still can't top 2,5-3 hours while in use.
- You shouldn't have to struggle to work with a trackpad.
- Hinges shouldn't break or crack while they do the thing there are made for...
- Be conservative when putting in (blinking) lights. They should never be a distraction.
- in case of doubt: simplicity usually gets the job done!
I have high hopes for the new Envy 14, as it might be one of the first laptops that combine Macbook good looks with powerful components for an attractive price. I just wish more manufactures would care about their design. The outside of the laptop should be more than just the box you put stuff in.
Dustin Sklavos - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
I don't totally disagree and it seems like a lot of changes in the industry have almost nothing to do with customer feedback (16:9 aspect displays, I'm looking at you).I do take issue with expecting amazing battery life out of an 8 pound land monster, though. About the only really powerful machine I know of that gets good battery life is the Dell Studio 17; with the 9-cell battery it pushes more than four hours. This is the exception, not the rule.
And frankly, if you're going to be spending up on a performance laptop, you need to weigh costs of components, etc. The notebook market is nicely cutthroat; many manufacturers hit their low prices by using cheaper shells and they do have to cut some corners. If you want great battery life, great portability, and great looks, expect to pay for it with a business-class notebook. Prices generally really are where they ought to be for what you get.
mele - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
I think that perhaps I wasn't clear enough. Please allow me to clarify.I have no trouble with high performance, or otherwise beast-like machines having a battery life of 30 minutes or on the other side of the spectrum, machines with 10+ hours of battery life that perform like a high-end smartphone. However I do feel that the balance between battery life and performance is off. It feels like the middle segment performance wise is nowhere near the middle in battery life. All I'm saying is that between 3.5 and 5 hours of battery life (which is not like, outrageous imo) on a middle off the road laptop should be much more common than it is now.
As for the other part. Of course I realize that great battery life, great portability and great looks are gonna cost more. Combine it with good performance and you're going to have to fork over a boatload of money. That's the fine. However, I do feel, as with performance vs. battery life, that the balance between specifications and other important qualities of a laptop (like design, chunky-ness, built quality etc..) is off.
It is in my experience these qualities get more value to people over laptop purchases (time), since they just didn't realize the 'other stuff' is important too.
GSJ - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
This notebook was mentioned in the U30jc article. Google search does confirm the existence of such a notebook. Some Asus articles from Taiwan mentions it's spec.It is basically same as K42J mentioned in this article but with USB 3.0 and non-glossy finish.
Any info on when this notebook will be launched in US.
Axbattler - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
It would have been useful to include the weight of the various laptop mentioned. Granted that at 14, and especially 15" and beyond, weight might be secondary to some. However, the lighter 14" can also be not too far from the heavier 13", which I consider quite ideal for frequent travels, while more likely to have better GFX cards.Another thing that would be nice to mention is connectivity. ExpressCard and FireWire aside, the presence of eSATA is handy, especially if it is going to act as desktop replacement. While they are getting more common, they still can't be taken for granted.
fabarati - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
My mother was in the market for a new laptop, 15"-ish, with HDMI. Basic performance, etc. After much looking, I settled for the then brand new, not reviewed yet Dell Vostro 3500. I went for what was the cheapest one, with a core i3-330m and igp. Only extra was changing the colour to red. It turned out to be a really good laptop. And cheap too!teohhanhui - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
I ordered the Dell Vostro 3400 (red as well). Can't wait for it to arrive.jgrunhut - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
I'm on my second Vostro 3400. Absolutely love it, except for an irritating fan noise issue (still waiting to be fixed via a simple BIOS update).One of the cheapest thinnish (<1.2 in) laptops I have seen to date (only paid $619 CDN for i3 350, 3 GB RAM, 320 GB HD, intel Core graphics).
It would be great if Anandtech could review one of the new Vostro 3000 series laptops... especially if you could use your muscle to get Dell to hurry up and fix this fan issue ;)
fokka - Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - link
so was my mother in law, ordered her the cheapest vostro 3300 with 3 years warranty. great little sucker.