Last night I went to Best Buy and saw the G73SW with the 750 gig HD for $1299. It only had 1 gig of RAM for the GTX 460 (vs 1.5 gig I've seen everywhere else), a single 750 G 7200 RPM drive, 1600x900 display, DVD Burner, Bluetooth, Wifi, WiMax, and the new Sandy Bridge Core i7. It's a beautiful machine, and probably not a bad deal. The only thing is though, I REALLY want to be able to add a second HD at some point and do a RAID 0. I need to find out for sure that I can do it with this model. I went into the BIOS and I only had options for AHCI and IDE for hard drive modes, so maybe this one doesn't do it. Can anyone confirm if this can or cannot do RAID? If you have a link to somewhere, even better. Thanks,
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ALLurGroceries Vegan Vermin Super Moderator
None of the G73 series can do RAID.
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1gb of gtx 460? Huh. Unfortunately, The G73 units does not support raid 0.
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Really? I thought I've seen some models have two 320 G or 500 G? Are the just using JBOD then?
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ALLurGroceries Vegan Vermin Super Moderator
There are two drive bays but the ICH controller does not support RAID.
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Gotcha. Well, then this should make it easy. Amazon has essentially the same model G73SW, but the XA1 comes with the 1080p screen, 1.5gb GTX 460, no WiMax, and the year accidental warranty where-as as far as I can tell, the Best Buy one has been stripped of the accidental. So we're talking $100 difference. Probably worth it in the end right? Especially since I'd have to pay tax on the Best Buy one, but not the one from Amazon. What do you guys think?
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Yeah. Go for the amazon one. What application did you use to check the vram of the gtx460?
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Well, the first thing that gave it away was the price tag, then the sticker on the actual, physical machine says GTX 460 1 GB, then I downloaded the latest GPU-Z which also reported only 1 gig of video memory.
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So when the new SW arrived I did not worry about the tax since I am in the rewards program and if it goes on sale in 45 days I get a price match.
Last year Best Buy gave me $230 US in gift cards for shopping around December. So I will stick with Best Buy. -
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To everybody, Which model do you recommend under $ 1500, I've seen, g73sw-xt1 and g73sw-XA1, another one that you recommend?, and might you say the main differences between these models?, I know the model XA1 costs $ 1339 and includes Gaming Backpack, Mouse and a 750 GB hard drive; and the xt1 does not include Gaming Backpack and Mouse, Hard Drive 500 GB capacity and has bluray.
I think the XA1 is better deal, but has no release date, there are only pre-orders, does anyone know when is the release date?, cause I'll be two weeks in usa and i want to buy the best laptop possible. Greetings to all, and sorry for my english. -
As for which model to get, I haven't decided that either. I'd get the one on Amazon no brainer, but I need a new laptop right now really bad so I may end up getting the Best Buy one. -
I hope you find the best laptop for you. greetings. -
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Guys, would be extreme to customize a G73SW-A1 to around US$3000,00?
I would get:
Intel i7 2820QM
IC Diamond in the CPU and GPU
16gb DDR3 1600mhz
SSD Crucial C300 120gb
Seagate Momentus XT 500gb
Bluray burner
intel n6300 wifi
I'm from Brazil and I'm going to buy this in my visit to USA. I'll use this for like 3~5 years. Is there any other option that would be better? -
I just ordered mine from tigerdirect. It shipped the same day (yesterday) so I recommend the tigerdirect if you can't wait like me. It's the XT1 but I ordered a SSD with mine so I would have been wasting a HDD if I ordered the XA1.
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I just ordered mine. The SB CPU comes with Intel HD Graphics. With an Intel wifi card, I was hoping that Widi will work. However, G73SW does not support Nvidia Optimus, which leads to the possibility that the SB integrated graphic function might be disabled by Asus. Can anyone confirm that if Intel HD Graphics is functioning? Thanks!
WiDi requirement:
Intel Wireless Display -
It doesn't work with discrete cards unless you have Lucidlogix Virtu which comes with the yet to be released Z68 chipset. So to answer your question, the onboard graphics are disabled which means no optimus nor Quick Sync.
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I have a question for you guys in the forum, how does an Alienware R3 compare with the Asus G73-SW A1 with the same specs.
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I doubt you can find something as powerful as a G73 at stock config. An r3 configured to same specs as a G73 comes out at over 300-400usd difference (when I last checked).
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I just bought ASUS G73SW-A1 from Amazon and I’m planning to upgrade the OS to 64-bit Windows 7 Ultimate but I was wondering if there’s any “safe” update that is advisable to make afterwards (like BIOS for example)?
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Personally I went through the backup DVD procedure and then wiped the OS and reinstalled with a fresh copy of Win 7 Ultimate to get rid of all traces of the ASUS bloatware. Very happy I went that route, and it was very painless. Though Win7SP1 has come out since then, so I'd consider slipstreaming it onto your installation media beforehand for cleanliness. -
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There is a thread somewhere explaining exactly what each preinstalled program does. Might want to look that up to see what you can reinstall and what not.
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Just picked up a G73SW Saturday at Bestbuy. So far so good. I don't like to rev my machines very often so hopefully this one will be with me for a while, though there are some pretty scary reviews out there for dealing with ASUS support.
The machine for now performs as billed. I played FalloutNV last night for about four hours with graphics setting set at ultra across the board and the thing barely got warm. Played Civ5 for a bit as well and I'm not sure the fans ever really turned on. So far I'm very happy.
There is no RAID support for this model, though this is something I'm very unlikely to do. This set up also has the 1GB Nvidia (not the 1.5GB). Now I'm not a powergamer, though I like to play some on occasion. This for now seems like a good combination of power at what I consider a reasonable price, though I consider anything around $1300 to be pretty reasonable for a computer (my first real PC was a desktop 486-66 that cost ~$2000 when the highest processor at the time was a P90. Before that I had an Atari400, 800 and then 1040ST). All computers these days are cheap in my book.
Are there other things I should be aware of? I did delete some of the Bloatware, though not much for now.
I also saw a request for shots from new owners. Anything of particular interest? -
@Aristan: do you mind posting a screen shot as described in this post please?
http://forum.notebookreview.com/asu...-asus-g73sw-owners-lounge-55.html#post7243925 -
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I do not feel you have anything to really worry about with your new G73SW. -
Except, of course, that it's not available now. Which makes it a matter requiring thought for someone who also needs to get the machine in a very limited timeframe.
That's the trouble with "no brainers" - they've usually got something going for them for somebody, even if that isn't obvious to anybody else. -
Looks like I may have gotten lucky not having gotten read up before I bought the PC.
I did get the PC two days ago, and the salesman said it had just come in that day (take that for what you will).
I have yet to read through the entire thread (though will). I have seen a lot of posts on bios revisions. Are any of these valid with a new motherboard revision?
Thanks for any insight. -
Well put Deeply Blue!
So much for my "no brainer" anyway. I still haven't picked one yet -
Amazon.com: ASUS G73SW-XA1 Republic of Gamers 17.3-Inch Gaming Laptop (Dark Grey): Computer & Accessories -
Thx for the info provided. -
Hi all! Had a G73JW-3DE on order at the beginning of the month - a day later, they put up the SW for preorder (naturally, I switched the order over).
Either way, they were expected in stock w/c 14th, so this week. Just got an email stating that the asus factory aren't shipping until the 21st and so I shouldn't expect it till the 25th this is a long, painful month...
They say that they are getting the first consignment of SWs in the UK though, so I guess all I can do is sit here and moan about it!
My main query is as to how well it performs in 3D, and what kind of loss in framerate to expect when compared to running the same software without 3D enabled at the same settings.
G73SW - 8GB - 1.5TB - Win 7 Prem 64bit - 17'' 3D - B/Tooth - B/Ray - Gaming Powerhouse - Asus Outlet -
3d will half your framerate
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I've had my G73sw for a couple of days now and I must say I am loving it. I returned a G73jh to Best Buy and exchanged it for the SB version after I saw they had it on the shelf. I figured for the extra 100 bucks it was a great deal even though it still has the 1600x900 screen. I do have one issue though with the sound. The sound on the JH model sounded much fuller. The new SW model has sounded very tinny and to make things worse now the THX will not recognize the device to enable the sound adjustments. I have re installed the realtek drivers and the THX from the Asus support site but no luck. Do I have any other options other than the stock win eq settings ?
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I am thinking about buying the sw or the sw 3D. I would not use the 3D features at all, but I like that the 3D model comes with the blu-ray writer and a matte screen. Should I just go with the non 3d sw and upgrade, or is the 3d model worth it? I was not sure if the 3D model had any disadvantages, such as reduced battery life, when compared to the non 3D. Any advice would be appreciated.
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Just bought the Asus g73SW from Amazon, any chance of it having the infamous processor error?
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ALLurGroceries Vegan Vermin Super Moderator
@eduardot there's virtually zero chance. It will come with a sticker saying it's the new B3 revision:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/asu...ing-updated-intel-sandy-bridge-notebooks.html -
However, images on the 3D model's matte screen won't look as good as the non-3D model's glossy screen. Also, the 3D LCD doesn't cover as much color gamut space as the glossy one--You can spend extra dollar on a non-3D model to upgrade to a 90% of NTSC Color Gamut glossy screen. (XoticPC)
If I were you, I would go for the 3D model. For one, I am neither a professional photographer nor movie mania. For two, keep seeing my own reflection on glossy screen is very annoying. For three, even though you can spend extra on the non-3D model to change the screen from glossy to matte, the total cost will be pretty much the same as just buying a 3D model. Hope that helps. -
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Regarding the glare effect I can say that it's not as bad on this G73sw compared to my old M17x R1. That one was a real mirror as you said, but this g73 I can actually take a peek at it.
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I just joined the forum today after lurking for a while and I just wanted to say hello to everyone .
My Asus G73SW-3DE shipped today ( from PowerNotebooks ) and will be here Monday !
I can hardly wait ! My Dell Inspiron 9300's screen went out a while back and I figured it was time to upgrade . It's stock with the exception of the boot drive which is upgraded to a Intel 510 Series 120GB SATA III SSD with a clean install of Windows 7 . I also ordered the Asus Windows 7 clean install DVD ( I figured it was worth the $15.00 ) .
I'll post my take on it after I've had it a while unless I have some problem and need to post sooner for assistance .
Edited because I forgot to subscribe to the thread . -
Haven't read all 60 pages of the thread but those of you who had a previous G73 model are you seeing any of the same mouse/keyboard/bsod issues that appear to have plagued the previous G73 models?
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No problems with the touchpad and bsod/gsod/etc-sod but some, and i repeat SOME, have mentioned getting keyboard lag. That does not include me though.
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So does anyone know if going to 16GB of mem on the SW requires removing the keyboard? Anyone posted the procedure with video/pics? I saw that video of the keyboard removal with the double sided tape. Was cringing through the hole thing. Looked like he was pulling siding off a house :/
I think that if upgrading to the 27xx processor wasn't such a rip off at these asus retailers I probably would have ordered one by now. -
Yeah, you'll have to remove the kb. SW follows same chassis as the JH/JW, so all the placings will be the same.
I'm getting my SW-XA1 today, can't wait to use it :> -
I am also waiting on my G73SW-XA1 from Amazon sometime today (thank you amazon prime!)
I'm gonna be installing my x25-m g2 in it, should be nice and fast -
For those planning to buy the Tigerdirect version, consider using ebates.com. It said you will get back 3%. I don't know how or when you'll get the money, but it doesn't cost you a thing except an email sign-up, so why not. Could save you $45.
ASUS G73SW Owners' Lounge
Discussion in 'ASUS Reviews and Owners' Lounges' started by Gooz, Jan 11, 2011.