Asus G53SW Owners' Lounge

Uh, what do you mean by "respond"? You hit the power button, and the notebook goes through its process of waking up and reloading the OS. For me, I would say it responds immediately because the screen turns on (thought it remains black for a little while) and the keyboard lights up right away. That all happens the second I hit the power button, with no delay. But it certainly takes like 10-15 seconds or however long for Windows to reload if it was hibernating/asleep.

 

Hey guys,

I have been looking at new laptops for a couple of weeks now, and I have been lured to the Asus G53SW series. I am currently a university student and will be in school for at least 7 more years. I have only ever owned one laptop, my current system. The specs can be found be here: Toshiba Satellite L35-S2151 I received it for Christmas in 2006, and it still works great. There are no major issues, it’s just starting to become outdated and I believe 5 years is around the time laptops start failing majorly, right? If I got a new laptop, I would bring my old one to class and stuff and mainly keep the new one in my room. Anyways, the G53SW-XN1 on Newegg is pretty much a perfect fit for what I want out of a laptop, and it would be a birthday gift to myself when it gets back in stock. Before that happens, I just have a couple of questions.

1. The Newegg version comes with 6GB RAM. How much RAM do I really need to be able to enjoy games at max settings? What would be the most economical and logical upgrade path as I am willing to just get what I need now and then upgrade more in the future when RAM is cheaper? If 8GB is sufficient, can I just stick a cheap $20 2GB stick in the empty slot, or would it be better to add one 4GB stick to match the installed 4GB stick and then would I remove or leave in the 2GB one?

2. The Newegg version comes with a 500GB 7200RPM HDD. This will probably last me at least two years. But when I decide I want more space and SSDs are cheaper and larger, has it been confirmed that the Newegg version comes with the second hard drive caddy installed?

3. Does the Newegg version come with the Asus backpack and mouse I’ve seen advertised on other sites? If not, what cases/bags/backpacks would you recommend?

4. I have a small collection of Blu-ray movies and it would be nice to watch them on my laptop anywhere. How much would it cost to replace the optical drive with a Blu-ray read drive and which brand would you recommend? Also would there be an issue with the styling of the laptop’s casing and how the new drive would fit?

5. The Newegg version should not be affected by the sandy bridge recall anymore, right?

6. Finally, what is the confirmed warranty provided with the Newegg version? I looked through this thread, and it seems the warranty listed online as 1 year labor + 1 year parts could be extended a year by filling out the registration card provided by Asus. Is this true? If not, is it worth it to get the extended warranty?

I know it’s a lot of questions, but I just want to be confident about the purchase of a $1200 item that will be with me for probably at least the next four years. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

1. I'm my opinion 6 GB is more than enough if all you're doing is gaming. If you're set on upgrading, I heard somewhere that if you get two identical RAM stick you can use dual-channel, which speeds up your computer, but that's probably wrong, because I think they don't need to be identical.

2. Yes. And i would definitely recommend upgrading to an SSD in the near future (maybe even SSDs in RAID :O)

3. No. I can't really recommend any sorry. It pretty much comes down to your needs: If you just want to protect your lap from scratches and so, you should get one of those that you just slide on. If you need pockets for External HDD, mouse, etc, get a bigger one.

4. First of all: are you planning on burning BDs or just watching them? A reader will probably cost 70-100$, a burner will be more than 100$, probably. Some good brands are: LG, Sony, ASUS, Samsung and LITEON. And I'm 50% sure you need to get a slim drive, but as I said I'm just 50% sure, so don't take my word on it. Try Googleing it.

5. No, and neither should any Sandy Bridge computer you buy in the future.

6. I think you're right abouth the warranty, 1 year part and 1 year labor. But I also think you can register your computer with ASUS to get an extra year. Anyone could confirm this?

Hope this was useful and that I didn't bore you too much

 

Thanks for asking questions as I'm considering this computer also. All I know for sure is the answer to your first question. Right now, only 4 gigs of ram can play max settings on pretty much any game. It's fairly safe to say that you wont be needing more than 6 gigs in the next 4 years unless you plan on keeping firefox open with 20+ tabs open while you game.

 

I agree, 6 GB i enough for a gamer. My friend has 4 GB on a computer that's not nearly as good as this one, and he can run Crysis 2 while keeping Opera running with a lot of tabs open (believe me, he never closes his tabs...) on top of other stuff like SKype (which uses a lot of memory), Winamp and other stuff.

I hate how big computer brands (Apple, HP, Dell) have somehow convinced 80% of the human race that if you have 20 GB+ of memory your computer is gonna be faster than light, even if you have a 1.0GHz single core CPU and integrated graphics. Please join our enlightened 20%!

 

1. 6GB of ram is plenty for games at the moment. Since the RAM config is a stick of 2 and a stick of 4, you can easily add 2gb or 4gb more later on. Not exactly sure if 10gb of ram is better than dual 4gb for a total of 8 (not exactly sure if the motherboard supports dual channel or what not, it be great if someone can clear this up).

2. Pretty sure the laptop comes with the caddy installed as there are hard drive screws included. I haven't opened mine up yet but others have (refer to previous posts) and a reviewer on newegg confirmed this as well. I always recommend getting yourself a 1TB external and storing all your data on there and keeping your programs on ur laptop HDD but that's all personal preference.

3. No the Newegg is the XN1 version (N = newegg). Backpack and mouse come with the A1 version. Personally I am picky and like to buy accessories myself so I went with the newegg version and also because it really is the better deal anyway. Targus makes some pretty good backpacks and messenger type bags. Also Dakine backpacks are pretty cool.

4. Not sure about the cost, should not be too expensive for a BR read though. The drive would have to be the same size as the existing drive. Hopefully others can comment on brands.

5. No it says "New revision" on the box an the laptop itself.

6. Newegg says 1 yr ADW + 1 yr parts and labor. There is some confusion on this (refer to previous posts) as the included warranty card says "to register within 60 days for an additional year." Personally I'm happy with the 1 + 1. Having worked in retail technology for almost 3 years I've realized extended warranties are not really worth it unless its Accidental damage warranties (which almost always end up "bundled" with regular warranties since manufacturers and retailers cannot afford to sell ADWs on their own because people would just break their laptops 2 years down the road and ask for credit or replacement; I hope this make sense) and you tend to damage your computers or work in a hazardous environment.

Hope I helped a little. Feel free to check out the "Considering the G53sw" thread on this forum as well.

 

Yeah, I linked to the other "considering the G53SW" thread I started earlier in the original post of *this* thread, so you can find it there. There's some additional info/discussion over there, and still some posting going on actually.

Most of the questions have been answered, but I want to add a couple things about bags/sleeves. For the G53SW, even though it is a 15.6" laptop, it will *not* fit sleeves or bags designed to fit 15"-16". It's just too big and bulky. Make sure that whatever you buy is sized for 17"+ models.

For example, I bought a 17.3" Targus A7 Laptop Sleeve, and it fits the G53SW perfectly - maybe it's a tiny bit on the roomy side, but I think that's a good thing. I don't want to risk the zipper scratching the chassis or anything like that.

And in terms of bags, if you can afford I would go as upmarket as you can. Something like Targus is pretty cheap when it comes to messenger/laptop bags. But that's because personally, I feel that bags are incredibly important. I take my bag *everywhere*, and since I can only carry one bag with me everywhere, it has to not only fit my laptop but literally everything I need whenever I leave my apartment for any reason. Personally, I got a Timbuk2 Command Messenger bag, which is ideal for me. It has a special laptop compartment, but it doesn't fit when I use my Targus neoproeene sleeve, so I just use the normal big compartment to house my sleeved laptop - I'm neurotic and I want the extra protection, there's no way I'd just put my laptop in *any* bag naked. It also has a special compartment for the power brick, which is very nice. Plus like a dozen other little compartments for all kinds of junk like books, keys, pens, notebooks, beverages, snacks, anything you can think of. I had to get a size-L one to fit the G53SW though. Just make sure that whatever bag you get, it's probably gonna have to be the largest model available to fit this particular laptop, and basically all of the normal-sized ones are the market *will* be too small.

That's just my advice, though. I like fashionable upmarket bags. :3

Oh, and I mentioned this before, but it bears mentioning again. If you are buying a G53SW and plan on keeping the power brick it comes with, BUY A 90-DEGREE CONNECTOR! Specifically, buy this one: Amazon.com: Right Angle 90 Degree Converter for 5.5 x 2.5mm Connector - LC53: Electronics . It is really important for the G53SW because the one annoying thing about the port placement is that the power outlet is situated close to the center on the *right* side. The 90 degree connector will make it easier to use the laptop when it is plugged in, and it will also keep it safer - one issue that several G53JW owners had, due to the placement of the power cord and the tightness with which it fit into the laptop, was having the pin from the power cord snap off inside the laptop - the same issue holds true for the G53SW. The 90 degree connector solves those problems. I believe that it is an essential purchase if you own a G53SW, and it only costs $6.95 so there is absolutely no reason not to get one. You will be SO happy you did.

 

I bought an INCASE bag for my g53sw, Youtube: "G53sw backpack" by me "LeonAffiliated" (Me obviously) i do a quick review on the backpack that comes with the "A1" models, and also a quick review on the INCASE bag from BestBuy,...

 

Does anyone know why the G53sw can't use the latest nvidia drivers but the G53jw can?

 

It can't? Pretty sure I downloaded the latest nvidia drivers and am using them as we speak. If you mean the ones that came out a few weeks ago.

 

i7 2630QM Sandy Bridge is integrated with processor graphic. Does it mean that this laptop can use dual VGA - with its nVidia n graphic from Sandy Bridge? Anyone can confirm this?

Too bad NE is still out of stock. I can't wait to get this one

 

No, the integrated graphics is disabled and only the GTX 460M is active.

 

oh okay, my mistake then. i thought i read about how some owners couldn't install the latest ones from nvidia's site. thanks anyways

 

HELP...

Speaking of nvidia drivers can someone tell me why the hell my screen goes black for 2 seconds and goes back on...? this usually happens when im in 20 seconds into a video on youtube and the youtube video goes green and i only hear sound...???? then at the bottom left corner i get a message saying:

(x) Display driver stopped responding and has recovered
"display driver nvidia Windows Kemel Mode Driver, Version 266.86 stopped responding and has successfully recovered."

WHAT THE HELL????

it was working just fine? i was playing bfbc2 for about 3 hrs after this with no problems?, and i believe my nvidia drivers are up to date?..... any help/advice will be appreciated. thanks.

UPDATE: Just uninstalled everything that said Nvidia and reinstalled them from the Asus support website... For now it looks like its working fine... A big Thanks to Ken @ GenTech for Helping me out...

 

Just got mine what can I say that hasn't already been said. WOW!
I will definately be getting the 90angle power adapter. That's the only design flaw I see so far. Bloatware is not that bothersome. My biggest pet peeve with bloatware is start-up queuing, and there is very little of that.
I am a photographer who is just starting to do a little videography, and this thing renders faster and more clearly than anything I have seen to date. I run Lightroom3 and Photoshop CS5 as well as Pinnacle studio for video. Render in Native without any lag at all. Amazing.

 

i found this 3D Vision Kit , are there anyone know if it work with the G53sw or not?, i just love it since the price isn't too "high", and the 3D technology is just coolllll !

 

I was wondering what the actual size of the screen is on this laptop. I know it's a "15.6 in" but my dell xps is a "15.6in" and when I use a tape measure, it isn't even 14 inches! So is this computer actually 15.6 inches or is it actually 14 inches?

 

the reinforced straight plug is just as reliable. the old skinny straight plug sucked. i lost count of how many we replaced. that was really annoying.

yes and no
depends on ram. found kingston that did not work. used cheap patriot and other lower brands that did. memtest records the frequency right. how windows and the laptop uses it is another story. found that benchmarks were slightly improved. i use slightly loosely

 

thanks for your answer as after I read your post I checked with asus and it turned out my laptop has a defect.

I called newegg and they were very cooperative taking care of the return shipping and all

 

Are you measuring the width or the diagonal length? The 15.6" they are referring to is the diagonal length (i.e. from top left corner to bottom right corner).

 

It's 15.6" diagonally, from one corner to the opposite side.

 

It'll work since it comes with USB 3D emitter, however, you will need to hook up to a 120Hz monitor or TV.

 

I really like this laptop but the port placement seems like it could really get in the way (power jack on the right side instead of the back? USB ports on the front of the right side??). Did anyone have a problem getting used to this or am I just being nit-picky? Thanks.

 

So I came home and found the new Targus 180 watt power supply in my mail box. The power brick itself is virtually the same size as the factory unit, with the exception of being about 3/8 to 1/2 inch longer.

The Bad news...ASUS did not allow the BIOS to re-adapt for a stronger power supply. I plugged it up, booted the computer and got into Grand Theft Auto IV right away. Got the same skippy, stuttering gameplay. I ran the benchmark and it averaged ~33 FPS.

The Good News...The power supply is either much more efficient or has more head room, because it doesn't even heat up at all. One hour of GTA IV and I can grab it and it's luke warm at best. This factor alone is well worth the investment, especially for those that have carpet flooring. Another nice bonus is that this power supply comes with right angle adapters; kill two birds with one stone.

My resolution from this would simply to have ThrottleStop automatically start when Windows boot up by placing a shortcut in the Start Up folder, with Profile #2 active. This is not ideal if it's off the plug, but changing profiles is quick and easy, taking a whole one or two seconds to do. It's very light on resources as well, only consuming 3 MB of RAM and adding virtually no CPU load.

For those who are wondering how much of a difference ThrottleStop can help, I get ~51 FPS in GTA IV's benchmark with it active opposed to ~33 FPS without it. That shows how extreme ASUS has this machine throttled.

For those interested in purchasing the Targus power supply, here is the link:

Amazon.com: Lite-On AC Power Adapter PA-1181-08, APA05US. 19V/9.5A, 180W for Acer Aspire 1360, 1510, 1520, 1660/1670 / Acer TravelMate 2000, 2200, 2500, 2600, 2700, 3000 / Compaq Presario R3000 series / Fujitsu: N3010, N5010, N6000, N6010 / HP: ZD700

 

So you mean i cant hook it up with the g53sw xn1,aw i though i can do that

 

That's really great, and helpful, thanks! I'm glad to hear it worked out so well for you.

I very well may invest in one of those - given the kind of boost in performance you'd get in a lot of games (not just GTA 4) from being able to safely de-throttle the system on a permanent basis (at least when plugged in, which is what I gather your meaning was). $45 just isn't that much money, all in all, when you take that into account. It's also an extremely good thing to have two power supplies in general, in case something goes wrong with the Targus one, you'd still have the factory brick as a backup. I learned that a *long* time ago, from chintzy Mac power cords fraying and utterly screwing my world up. And a replacement power source for a Mac costs a lot more than $45.

 

The Asus G53SW-XN1 is back in stock at newegg. I just ordered it can't wait for it to get here.

 

Thanks guys. I feel really stupid now.

 

If you get that targus power supply is it safe to keep the g53sw dethrottled all the time?

Thanks for any info.

 

Just wanted to say thanks, i read ur post and decided to log the throttle in GTA4, definitely see how it affects real world performance now.

Before running throttlestop.

Code:

  DATE     TIME     MHz   C0 C1 C2 C3 LOAD%
05/12/11 22:47:45 1446.77 48 50 43 43 16.5
05/12/11 22:47:50 2584.22 57 57 51 49 39.7
05/12/11 22:47:55 848.10 58 55 47 49 44.3
05/12/11 22:48:00 997.77 61 60 54 54 41.4
05/12/11 22:48:05 798.22 55 55 47 47 40.8
05/12/11 22:48:10 798.22 55 54 47 47 38.5
05/12/11 22:48:15 798.22 55 54 47 47 40.4
05/12/11 22:48:20 1546.54 62 62 56 56 59.6
05/12/11 22:48:25 897.99 55 55 47 47 50.3
05/12/11 22:48:30 798.22 55 54 46 47 37.1
05/12/11 22:48:35 798.22 54 55 46 46 38.2
05/12/11 22:48:40 2235.00 62 65 58 57 64.8
05/12/11 22:48:45 1446.77 55 55 45 47 58.7
05/12/11 22:48:50 798.22 55 54 46 46 36.7
05/12/11 22:48:55 2594.20 65 67 60 60 81.3
05/12/11 22:49:00 1546.54 60 58 51 54 66.7
05/12/11 22:49:05 2594.20 67 69 63 62 81.4
05/12/11 22:49:10 2594.20 69 70 64 63 82.5
05/12/11 22:49:15 2584.22 72 70 63 64 73.4
05/12/11 22:49:20 798.22 62 62 55 56 38.5

After running throttlestop.

Code:

  DATE     TIME     MHz   C0 C1 C2 C3 LOAD%
05/12/11 22:50:15 2624.12 62 58 51 52 15.3
05/12/11 22:50:20 2584.23 66 65 57 58 44.8
05/12/11 22:50:25 2594.20 70 69 64 61 70.1
05/12/11 22:50:30 2594.20 72 73 67 65 80.8
05/12/11 22:50:35 2594.20 74 74 68 67 68.0
05/12/11 22:50:40 2594.20 74 75 70 70 76.8
05/12/11 22:50:45 2594.20 75 76 70 70 68.9
05/12/11 22:50:50 2594.20 77 75 70 69 76.3
05/12/11 22:50:55 2594.20 77 76 71 70 80.9
05/12/11 22:51:00 2594.20 77 77 71 71 76.2
05/12/11 22:51:05 2594.20 78 76 71 70 78.0
05/12/11 22:51:10 2594.20 78 77 71 71 81.7
05/12/11 22:51:15 2594.20 77 76 71 69 72.0
05/12/11 22:51:20 2594.20 77 76 73 71 78.2
05/12/11 22:51:25 2594.20 78 75 72 70 75.8
05/12/11 22:51:30 2594.20 76 76 71 71 76.0
05/12/11 22:51:35 2584.22 73 70 65 63 50.2

Thanks for the link to the 180w psu too, I just may buy it, granted it wont solve the throttle issue, but at least I wont have to worry about the 150w stock dying on me since I plan on always starting up throttlestop on boot.

 

Heh, don't worry - I made the same stupid mistake, too. I just assumed that whenever people talk about screen size, it meant horizontal width - not the diagonal length. Diagonal makes a lot more sense though, given that it takes the combined height and width into account regardless of the proportional dimensions involved.

And thanks for the hard data, dkillone. Christ. No wonder GTA 4 runs as if it's on a completely different PC with throttlestop running as opposed to without. I'm going to try that with some other stuff, too O_O

 

Yup, I remember playing GTA4 in the past, and new something was off, but just thought maybe this laptop isnt going to pump as high frames as I thought. But after seeing TailGunner's drastic results, it gave me great idea to get a real world log of this throttling. And I kept forgetting to test it myself after finding that running TS stops the throttling.

Sure is nuts to see results like that, and I think I am definitely now considering this a much higher priority of trying to get Asus to release a proper fix and if they have to, send us all better PSUs like Dell had to. While we know a new PSU alone wont fix it, we know if they just release a new bios, or maybe even just a driver it can fix the throttling at the cost of making the PSUs run hotter.(Ive seen it first hand like tailgunner just how hot it gets, when i was running furmark and prime95 unthrottled for 30min, my psu was so hot i couldnt even touch it comfortably and it started to smell a bit of burning.)


But yeah, I guess thats just how it goes, and we now can no longer say the SW models have no major problems, though at least thankfully there is a temp solution.

 

It doesn't effect like, all games though. Without throttlestop, for instance, I was running Starcraft 2 at max settings with great framerates. But then, SC2 really isn't a particularly tough game to run unless you're playing 4v4 and have a ton of units moving around, I suppose. Nevertheless, I agree that it's a legitimate problem, just not one that is weighing too heavily on my mind. I do think that Asus will come up with a fix eventually, and for the time being I'm pretty happy with our temporary fix.

And my power source doesn't get *too* incredibly hot for me, even after a couple hours of GTA 4 with TS running. I mean, it gets hot, for sure, but not to the point that I smell burning or that I think it's a danger. I just position it on its side, so that the least amount of surface area is touching my table, and that helps it stay a bit cooler - especially with it being a near a cool breeze from a window.

Now, the power source for my Macbook Pro - *that* would get dangerously hot when I tried to do some gaming. Way hotter than this. I accidentally had it covered with a blanket for an hour once, and part of the cord literally melted right off the brick. That was pretty bad. And in general, that would get so hot (even when it wasn't covered) that I couldn't even come close to touching it after a few hours of use.

 

I just got mine today! yay! but i also noticed the same problem as quoted above. has anyone else noticed this or know a fix?

 

I had the same issue. What I did to fix it:
Control Panel Uninstall program Google chrome
Pop-up asks you to agree to the terms and services of using google chrome. Click yes
2nd pop up asking if you want to uninstall google chrome click no
go back to

Start
All Programs
Google Chrome


After that browser worked fine for me. This must be a hiccup with ToS because of pre-installed info.

 

Hey, I'm getting a new unit from newegg, had to RMA the first one. I was looking to dual boot ubuntu for school. Has anyone thrown a linux distro on a G53SW yet and if so had any unexpected problems?

 

@dade The G53SW is almost exactly the same as the G73SW in terms of hardware. The only things that don't work out of the box are the Fn+F3/4 keys, there is no working patch for that yet (hopefully by 2.6.40-rc according to the asus-acpi maintainer). For the proprietary nvidia driver you also need an xorg.conf tweak for brightness settings.

You will want a 2.6.38 kernel or better, 2.6.39-rc, and a recent distro. There is some info starting here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/lin...451594-asus-rog-g73-ubuntu-7.html#post7353460 and here is a great summary: http://forum.notebookreview.com/asu...ux-driver-i-need-your-help-6.html#post7470992

Also there are some debs linked from that "I need your help" thread at the end - so you don't have to compile the kernel yourself if you don't want to. If you read through both of these threads you should know more than you need to to get running.

 

oh sweet, I saw one of those threads but honestly wasn't sure how similar the 53/73 were. Thanks, hopefully my laptop gets here before end of next week and can set it up over weekend

 

hey, thanks for the feedback. unfortunately, when i click uninstall, nothing pops up period. oh well

 

I found a solution to this last night. Go into your C/drive program files and look for the Google folder. Click on the Chrome folder within the Google folder and delete the 3.xx version of chrome. Now open your control panel's program list. Click on that version of chrome and click uninstall. A message pops up saying "the program may have been already uninstalled." Hope this helps.

I just have another issue. My two keys on the top left, the power4gear and the screen changer key do not work anymore. I uninstalled power4hybrid (or whatever it is called) and splendid that are the utilities associated with it. I tried reinstalling them using the driver disc but the install for power4gear fails and the one for splendid continues in an infinite loop of "installing" (the bar keeps going over and over again in the Asus driver install utility that pops up when you run the driver disc). I tried downloading the driver files from asus's website (they're the same version as the drivers disc at this time) and installed them. The installations went through but the keys still do not work. Any help with this would be appreciated. Please let me know if I'm doing something wrong. Thanks.

 

A short situation:

I plan to take this thing onto my flight to Asia. Now economic seats do have 110AC plugs but I don't know the W it supplies (it's Air Canada) but google told me the general rule was 75W back in 2008. I probably won't play games up there, only watching video in realplayer.

a. Is there a software to check how many W I am using so I can demo it on ground before taking it to the air?

b. Do I need to buy another power adapter (or any sort of thing of power thing) for low-power flight-use?

I am a first time laptop user so please suggest before I either blow the circuit on the plane or blow this new laptop =(

 

Hello everybody, first post here.

Anyways i just got an g53sw recently from newegg (a week back) and im experiencing some problems with the three buttons on the left side. None of them were working so, after some research, i determined that the programs used to control them were Splendid, ATK, and Power4Gear. However when i got them from the ASUS support site and installed them, after i restarted, i got a message saying that these programs only work on an asus computer (I also got "you need an ATK0100 driver"). Meaning my computer is not recognized as an asus computer for some reason. In order to make sure, i went to the ASUS support site and clicked model automatic detection program (i did model name search before) and the site has not found my computer after 30 or so min. So the main questions are:

1. Are ATK, Splendid, and Power4Gear the programs needed to use the three buttons on the left side and are they fully updated on the asus site?
2. How do i get my asus computer to be recognized as an asus computer again?
3. How do you get the ATK driver install working (not as important as the other questions)?

I upgraded to Windows 7 Professional and some programs i installed (All programs are legit):
CCleaner
Microsoft Office
uninstalled bloatware antivirus and installed Symantec Anti Virus
Adobe Creative Suite
Adobe Acrobat Pro
Combined Community Codex Pack and VLC
Firefox
Mozilla Thunderbird
Yahoo Messenger
Itunes

Games: Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, Civilization V, Empire and Shogun Total War, Patrician IV, Portal 2

 

@royalon06 Remove the ATK package from programs and features in the control panel. Reboot and reinstall the atk package. Then you will be able to install the other utilities.

 

just purchased g53sw!! Woo!!!

 

congrats! you will love it.

 

I'm bout to purchase one, but just going to check to see if anyone's considering giving their's up. Shoot me a pm : )

 

Supertooth Disco M1 / Blueant M1 speakers

Same speakers, different names. AMAZING bluetooth wireless speakers. Roughly $100-150ish depending where you get them. Great bass, great sound overall. Highly suggest them. You won't believe the boom you get out of this little bar.

 

Hi all!

I recently sprung for an Asus G53SW - and what a purchase it was! Almost no heat (on the palmrest) even during intense gaming, and build quality that I find totally awesome.

The laptop was bundled with a Targus backpack, and while there's nothing wrong with it, I'd much prefer a messenger-style sling bag for my new purchase. Anyone with experience with the G53, know which models of Crumpler or Timbuk2 would fit this model, as perfectly as possible? I'm not sure if the hinges also need to be different for a rather heavy gaming laptop such as the G53.

Any assistance would be much appreciated. Thank you!

Upz for some much-needed help!

 

I received my G53SW from newegg last Tuesday and I must say this is an awesome laptop. The size of this thing is really shocking. It's easily as big as any 17 inch screen laptop I have seen but the build quality is fantastic. I think the keyboard is great and the backlighting is now one of those things I never knew I needed until I had it.

I went ahead and installed a Crucial C300 64GB SDD and did a fresh windows install to this as the primary OS drive. I have doubled the RAM to 12GB and I replaced the Atheros wireless card with a Intel Centrino 6230 wireless card.

I must say that the SSD upgrade is significant and if anyone is thinking of an upgrade to the machine I can't recommend this one enough. With the SSD windows will boot to the desktop in less than 20 seconds and all my primary apps are instant load now. I only wish I could have gotten a larger drive but the 64G was on sale for 100 dollars and it fits the OS and my primary apps with 40GB free space. I will have to limit my game installs to a couple at a time.

For 1200 dollars plus 300 more for my upgrades I think this is the best gaming laptop available on the market.

 

Did you have to install additional antennas? I was about to buy the Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 card when some reviews said it did not come with any antennas. The 6300 card is tri-band and would thus require three antennas. What I really need to know is if the Atheros card uses three antennas so it will be an easy switch to the Intel card.

On another note, I just ordered the G53SW XN1 from Newegg. I have a 4 GB DDR3 13333 stick laying around which I will install as well as a Intel X-18 160GB SSD. The G53SW has the dual hard drive bays and the XN1 comes with one open. I ordered a micro-SATA to SATA adapter so I can place the 1.8" drive in a 2.5" bay. I know with the 1.8" drives, the power connector is truncated.

The next upgrade I want to make to the notebook is a blu-ray drive. Which ones are recommended for this laptop as the form factor seems to be slanted. I may wait on the blu-ray till the price goes down, but it would be nice to have the capability. I am still debating between getting a reader or reader/writer.