G50V-A1 vs M50Vm-B1 Analysis

This is my personal analysis between these two laptops. As I am sure many people are going to have the same question.

Witch one is better? In fact I have already seen the question a few times, and also am currently asking myself.

Lets get this out of the way first. The various -X1 models out there that can be found slightly cheaper are not even part of the equation. I broke down the parts in those models and what you lose is not worth the reduction in cost, they are for average joe who has never seen Asus before when he walks into Best Buy. For those of us here on the forums we know better and would get one of the "real" models.

So lets break down these two similar laptops into a parts comparison and go from there. I'll try to "rate" each catagory so that I can have a sum of points at the end and if all goes well you can look at the points total to see the better laptop and then compare it to your wants/needs & and the price.

Aside from the different goals of these machines the G series for gaming and the M series for media. They share very similar parts this time around, notably they are both built on the brand new Montevina platform.

The first thing I noticed is the screens. Oddly enough the G50 has the higher res screen its a full 1680x1050 just like my C90S so I really hope its the same screen. This screen on the C90S and a few other Asus models is being called one of the best if not the best laptop screens in exsistance. On the opposite side of things the M50Vm has different model with only 1440x900 and the quality I do not know yet. (off subject the X1 has a even lower res screen and its got horrible specs)

So the screen ratings I say
G50V 9/10 for now with 10/10 pending
M50Vm 8/10

Next up is our Hard Drives
The M50Vm comes fully loaded with the largest single hard drive currently in exsistance 320gb (actually 500gb is out now I guess but I think its slightly bigger), so that a big plus. It means in theory it should be the fastest and coolest running drive since its so data dense. The G50V A-1 Model only has a 250gb HDD... But it has TWO of them! Yeah whens the last time you saw a 15" laptop with dual HDDs? Also they can work in a Raid configuration together.

Hmm rating this is going to be hard! See the 320gb is better on its own but 2 hard drives means more space. Then you also have to consider a few things to go with that tho. More heat (and hopefully no heat issues), more weight, and more power use (shorter battery time) so honestly given the cons that go with the G50 it balances out the Pros making the ratings the same.

HDD Ratings
G50V 10/10
M50Vm 10/10

From there lets move onto the RAM

Pretty easy to compare, both notebooks come loaded with 4gb of DDR2 800mhz ram. New to the Montevina platform is the ability to run DDR2 800 @ 800mhz so you finally have a reason to buy the faster stuff. This should offer a good boost in certian applications vs Santa Rosa and below with only 667mhz ram use.

RAM ratings
G50V 10/10
M50Vm 10/10

Next the CPU
Again easy, as its the same. Both sport the new Centrino 2 core2duo T9400 with 1066mhz FSB and a 2.53Ghz clock. This is one of the new cpu's to the Montevina platform, it offers VERY good power for its clock speed but has a rather low thermal dissipation. This is one of the key components to why Montevina has longer battery life than Santa Rosa.

CPU Rratings
G50V 9/10
M50Vm 9/10

Time for the bigest difference between the two, the GPU. This is going to be the core difference between the two notebooks and possibly the biggest deciding factor for some on what model to get as a G series notebook being for gaming is going to have a much better GPU. The G50V comes with the 9700GT, while the M50Vm has the 9600GS.

We already have some reviews of the M50Vm out and it looks like the 9600GS does a great job being pretty much equal to the older 8600GT GDDR3, that was the faster more rare version of the 8600GT, if you know Nvidias naming scheme its GS-->GT-->GTS-->GTX and each series starts with a base of a 4 digit number like 8000 was the last series and the higher the number the better the card. So 8400-->8600-->8800 like that.

Now take that in and understand what i just said, the 9600GS is equal to the 8600GT so that means it manages to be faster than the next highest level of card from the last generation, and while doing that it makes a huge leap forward in thermal dissipation and energy use. This really helps the M50Vm run cool and give it a longer than normal battery life.

So the G50V has the 9700GT, I am stuck in a hard place right now to make a call on this card so I may have to come back and revise this at a later time. From what I can pull from research it falls somewhere between the 8800GT and 8800GTS cards so its is most definitely much faster than the 9600GS but still not quite up there with the 8800GTX or anywhere close to the laptops that sport 8800 SLI. However keep in mind that the laptops that have those cards are BIG, HOT, and EXPENSIVE (Especially the SLI) so your still getting what you pay for, and this is still at 15" Laptop not a 17" where you find the higher up cards. The only "cheap" laptop with the high end 8800 that I know of is the infamous Gateway, but its again 17" and it has a absolutely crap screen & cpu & build. I have plenty of input on this laptop you can find by searching the forums.

So making a rough call on the GPU scores...

GPU Ratings
G50V 9/10
M50Mv 7/10

Now lets move into something I noticed that maybe most others would not have, and wouldn't even think of having to rate it. The operating system.

For what ever reason, and that reason is beyond my understanding the M50Vm comes with Vista home premium 32bit (x86) while the G50V comes with Vista Home Premium 64bit (x64) unless this is a mistake in the information posted currently, this makes one big difference between the two laptops.

As you may already know to be able to use all 4gb of ram in Windows, you must have a chipset that supports more than 4gb of address space, Montevina PM45 does that so we have that covered, but next in the 4gb check list is a 64bit operating system. Only the G50V comes with one so you can use all 4gb of ram that comes pre-installed on the system. The M50Vm tho being that it comes with x86 will be limited to only about 3.2 or so GB of ram available in windows.

Now I make it out to be a bigger deal than it really is, as I currently only use 2gb of ram on my C90S and have had 3gb installed at one point in time and I can safely say that it made NO difference in performance. You simply wont be able to play any games at a setting high enough on a laptop that 4gb of ram comes into play, and in windows even Vista it will never need or use 4gb of ram. So they should perform exactly the same, and x86 does have less compatibility issues. This also wont really effect you if you happen to have your own 64bit Vista sitting around you want to use. Still I cant understand why they would have it different.

Based on the fact that the system comes with 4gb of ram for both, I will cut the score on the M50Vm on the OS rating even if the performance should stay the same.

So...

Operating System Ratings
G50V 9/10
M50Vm 8/10

Only a few more things to cover here and we are done. One of the last things to look at is battery life.

This section will have to be revised since the G50V is not out yet and we have no actual battery life results, but I can quite safely tell you that with the dual HDD's and the higher end video card that the battery life will be shorter on the G50V, I am guess about an hour less. The M50Vm made a nice big jump in battery life compared to the M50Sv on the Santa Rosa platform, mostly due to the cpu & gpu change. The M50Vm has about 2.5 hours of battery with the standard 6 cell battery and just over 4 hours with an optional 9 cell battery and thats quite good for a laptop of this caliber. I have to mearly guess the G50V and will say 1.7 hours or less on the 6 cell and about 3 hours on the 9 cell. So again this part will be revised but educated guesses will be made for now for the sake of including the difference in a final rating.

Battery Life Ratings
G50V 6/10
M50Vm 8/10

Finally the last part to take into consideration for all people is the price! I am a master of the price vs performance game. Never would I base a purchase on solely the price, or the performance of a product it has to be the relationship between the two, and thats exactly what I am trying to simulate by breaking down the ratings of each laptop compared to there price.

Right now Gentech offers both models. Note that the G50V is on pre-order.

M50Vm-B1 $1399 Buy Here
G50V-A1 $1645 Buy Here

Thats $245 difference to take into account when separating the two models, and you have to decide if you want to pay that for the better screen & gpu, and any other difference like the OS that may apply to you. Also for me personally the looks do come into play. I much prefer the M50Vm its very sleek & stylish and neutral so it fits into any environment from your bedroom, to the library, to a LAN. The G50V tho is... not so great looking in my opinion and it has all the flashy LED lights associated with the gaming series so you wouldn't catch me dead with it in a professional business meeting. however you may feel right at home with it.

So..

Price Ratings
G50V 8/10
M50Vm 9/10


Rating Totals:
G50V-A1 72 points total
M50Vm-B1 69 points total

So as you can see we arrive at a final rating that is rather close for both laptops making them about equal.

The G50 has slightly more points but it cost slightly more, so they end up being equal in my eyes.

This means you have to determine your wants/needs and choose accordingly.

If you need more GPU power or crave Raid 0, Dual HDD's, A better screen ect. The G50 is what you want.

If you only need a casual gaming card, and a great all rounder that looks great, runs cool, and has a good battery life the M50Vm is the right choice.

Ultimately you cant go wrong with ether one.

Keep in mind there is also the M50Vm-A1 for $140 less if you don't mind a slower CPU, and there is a G50V-B1 with 200gb HDD's instead of 250gb but you get a Blue Ray Drive! I personally don't care for blue ray, but to each his own.

Hope my review helps you decide on what you want to buy, and helps you understand the differences between each model. I will most definitly update with more information as I get it. 8700GT performance & G50V battery life are on the top of my list.

 

great comparison! can you tell if there is a difference in brightness/contrast between two screens?

 

I personally don't think this rating system is helpful, as it is really a generic model. However I commend your effort.

To simply put, if you're looking more for a multimedia notebook, go with M50Vm, as it has components more designed for multimedia purpose, as well as a much more subtle and elegant look. For people who's looking for a gaming machine, G50V is obviously a better choice, given better hardware for gaming, decent heat dissipation capability, and a gaming exterior.

 

Good comparison, the G50 has a 9700gt not 8700 you might want to edit that to avoid confusing people. Also with the A2 keep in mind the 200gb HD's are 7200rpm instead of 5400rpm compared to the A1, you kind of made it seem like they were a disadvantage. You broke it down very nicely though great work I am sure it will help a lot of people. I am trying to decide between them both right now. I wish the G50 could come in all black and without the lights that would make my decision much easier.

 

Let me go fix my 8700 typo

 

Same w/ the colors & lights issue.

Simply put the G50V is Fugly....

I am also concerned with how well the HDD's cool having 2 of them in a 15" laptop. I do not want premature failure of my drives because they cook.

I do consider 2x200 7200rpm a disadvantage vs 2x250 5400.

Its proven time and time again that the larger more data dense hdds are better, usually lower noise/heat, better on power, and they get faster due to the data density. the 250gb 5400 is supposed to be roughly as fast as the 160gb 7200 and the new 320gb 5400 roughly equal to the 200gb 7200.

The faster RPM will still have better access times of course but in terms of what you feel and even how it looks on benchmarks for raw read power the above is correct. I also would like that extra 100gb of space...

 

I wasn't really disagreeing but some people will prefer one to the other. Personally I am set with the two 250gb 5400rpm. The way I have my M50VM-B1 configured it is a little over $1500 (added 64bit premium). The way I have my G50V-A1 configured it is $1800 (added 9-cell). I have to decide if the better screen/GPU is worth the exrta $300 on an uglier laptop. Can the lights be turned off btw?

 

I know they can be customized to a high extent on previous models, but not sure about a complete "off" setting.

Where there is a will there is a way tho

Check This Out: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=269794

About 5 pictures down is the lights settings, you can indeed turn them off. So unless Asus does that one step forward two steps back kind of thing, the option should be retained for a new model.

 

This sucks, I want to get a G50V but here in spain It comes with P8600 processor, vista ultimate 32 bits and 1400x900 screen resolution but it has 320gb hdd.

I hate asus because their SKUs are different in every region, and usually the USA version is better and cheaper, I don't mind it being cheaper, but I want the same specs, not a dumbed down version

 

In norway this is the differences between the best G50 and M50 models (both only pre-order for now):

Produktbeskrivelse ASUS M50Vm AS009C - Core 2 Duo P8600 2.4 GHz - 15.4" TFT
Dimensjoner (BxDxH) 37.5 cm x 26.5 cm x 4.1 cm
Vekt 2.8 kg
Prosessor Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 / 2.4 GHz ( Dual-Core )
Harddisk 500 GB - Serial ATA-150 - 5400 opm
Nettverkstilknytning Nettverksadapter - Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n (draft), Bluetooth 2.1 EDR
Strømforsyning AC 120/230 V ( 50/60 Hz )
RAM 4 GB (installert) / 4 GB (maks.) - DDR2 SDRAM - 667 MHz
Lydutgang Lydkort
Batteri Litiumion
Cache-minne L2 Cache
Optisk lagring DVD±RW (±R DL) / DVD-RAM
Skjerm 15.4" TFT ( WXGA+ )
Operativsystem Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium (32bit)
Innebygde enheter Stereohøyttalere, trådløs LAN-antenne, Bluetooth-antenne
Inn-enhet Tastatur, touchpad
Telekommunikasjon Fax / modem - MDC - 56 kbps
Systemtype Notebook
Grafikk-kontroller NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GS - 512 MB
Kortleser 8 i 1
Notebook-kamera Integrert - 1,3 Megapiksler
Plattformteknologi Intel Centrino 2
Innebygd sikkerhet Trusted Platform Module (TPM 1.2) Security Chip , fingeravtrykksleser

Produktbeskrivelse ASUS G50V AK020K - Core 2 Duo T9400 - 15.4" TFT
Dimensjoner (BxDxH) 37.5 cm x 26.5 cm x 3.4 cm
Vekt 2.8 kg
Prosessor Intel Core 2 Duo T9400 ( Dual-Core )
Harddisk 320 GB - Serial ATA-150 - 5400 opm
Nettverkstilknytning Nettverksadapter - Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n (draft), Bluetooth 2.1 EDR
Strømforsyning AC 120/230 V ( 50/60 Hz )
RAM 4 GB (installert) / 4 GB (maks.) - DDR2 SDRAM - 800 MHz ( 2 x 2 GB )
Lydutgang Lydkort
Batteri Litiumion
Cache-minne L2 Cache
Optisk lagring BD-RE
Skjerm 15.4" TFT ( WSXGA+ )
Operativsystem Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bits Edition
Innebygde enheter Stereohøyttalere, trådløs LAN-antenne, Bluetooth-antenne, OLED-statusskjerm
Inn-enhet Tastatur, touchpad
Telekommunikasjon Fax / modem - 56 kbps
Harddisk (nr. 2) 320 GB - Serial ATA-150 - 5400 opm
Systemtype Notebook
Grafikk-kontroller NVIDIA GeForce 9700M GT - 512 MB
Kortleser 8 i 1
Notebook-kamera Integrert - 2 megapiksler
Plattformteknologi Intel Centrino with vPro Technology

Norwegian, but I guess you can still understand most main specs

To put it short:

M50VM vs G50V

CPU: P8600 vs T9400
GPU: 9600GS vs 9700GT
HDD: 500GB 5400rpm vs 2 x 320Gb 5400rpm (total of 640Gb)
Screen: 1440x900 vs 1680 x 1050
Vista 32bit vs vista 64bit
Both has bluray.
Both has 4Gb RAM

 

In spain is the inverse, M50VM has T9400 and G50V has P8600, it sucks because I really want the G50V with the specs you posted.

I don't care much about the processor being slightly less powerful or not having bluray, but I want the WSXGA+ screen.

Ah, **** asus spain, in a year I've had a G2S a G2SG and I was going to preorder the G50V but I'm tired of getting dumbed down versions, I keep selling them and buying the newer ones in the hope that they release one with WUXGA or WSXGA+ resolution and they keep letting me down.

I don't think I'll ever be buying an Asus laptop ever again.

 

I just realized the G50V also has Altec Lansing speakers, the old G's had awful speakers. I need a review!

 

Yeah it has Altec Lansing and it even looks like it might have a sub like the 17" M series. Its hard to tell from the pics posted on Gentechs site but thats what it looks like.

 

Nice comparison vicious!

As for the round thingamajig at the bottom, Ken said it was more of a decoration. But it does seem like a vent.

 

Damn I was hoping for someone to say it was a sub. I think I might pre-order it today. I think ordering a 9-cell with it would a good idea anyone disagree?

 

Does Gentech ship to Canada?

I have to agree with what you guys are saying, i like the look of the M50 but the G50 is the one i'm going to get.

Also, i kind of like the quick booting Linux OS application on the M50. I think its a cool feature that I might have used.

 

It should be on the G50 as well from what I understand.

 

Im going to be patient and wait. I may still yet get word of the C90P before I jump to one of these. Since I was one of the main C90S guys its like my duty to be a C90P owner

 

I would be patient but I need a computer for the end of August. You think it would be a good a good idea to get a 9-cell for the G50 if I am going to be taking it to classes?

 

Yup, they sure do!

I would probably get it if you know you'll need 2+ hour battery life. I wouldn't bet the G50 would have battery life like the M50VM, so if you'll be taking it to class, a 9-cell battery would be beneficial.

 

So this is coming out first week of August.

Do you guys think that Asus will come out with anything else that's in a similar price range in August? Like maybe something that is $200-300 more.

I know they have that crazy 3d monitor version of this laptop with souped up specs in the pipeline, just wondering if there is anything else.

I was thinking maybe an upgraded version of the M50vm will come out between now and September.

 

I want a M50vm, with the G50 screen and blue-ray for 1500 please

I wish Asus offered options. the G50 is ugly, but has a great screen. the M50 would be a great deal if they upped the screen and kept the price under 1500, maybe as a refresh model in the next month or so.

 

Well, I want a 14 in m50 but hey thats not gonna happen.

BTW, This is a good review and i agree with you that they are both pretty equal when you take the price into account.

 

The gem on the top also says "Republic of Gamers". Why would they do that haha? An M50vm the the G50V's specs would be the ultimate computer for me, the dual hd's in raid 0 with the wsxga+ and 9700gt are an incredible combo if you ask me.

Also just a question if I get it with blueray can I just hook up the computer to my 42" 1080p lcd with the hdmi and set the proper resolution and thats it or is there more to it?

 

I think if I paint the orange to gloss black I would be ok with the G50's looks but not sure if I have the skills to do that on a professional level. Plus painting a laptop = poof to your warrenty.

The screen is definitly an issue, I love the 1680x1050 res and I would assume & hope that its the same panel used in the C90S.

The M50SV had a refresh model come out with the better screen, but it was a Newegg only model and that means sacrificing the support of a good reseller also it had an ATI card in it.

Im leaning more twoards the G50 side right now since I already have a C90S with a 8600GT, if I really want to "upgrade" from what I have I would need the 9700gt thats in the G50.

But The C90P may be the best of all for me, offering me a cheaper upgrade path. Its supposed to have a 8700gt last we heard, and by now thats probably been changed to a 9700gt. I can transfer over my ram & hdd to the new barebone and even the cpu and save money.

The C90 is great looking on the outside, but the dull grey inside is not to fancy. Again if it was painted black it would be perfect.

 

I am planning to get the M50Vm, but the G50V looks pretty cool too. The pricetag is not that much either, any other manufacturer charges a lot more for similar components. Anyone knows if the global warranty offered by Asus is valid in Ecuador-South America? THX, and looking forward to be a Proud Asus Owner.

Can anyone give me an idea of the procedure to make the guarantee valid outside the US?
a) In case of minor damage, like a damaged DVD?
b) In case of a major damage, like a broken screen, complete care damage?

I've had a really good experience with Dell support here in Ecuador, and it is a very important part for me. Sorry if I get off-topic. I plan to get it on GentechPc.

 

http://support.asus.com/service/service.aspx?no=407&SLanguage=en-us

Looks like they don't list South America? Maybe you should email/call and ask whether they have a service point or a firm that handles warranty claims.

Although, 3rd party firms are doubtful (there is a lot of trouble with Anovo in the UK for instance, they are borderline incompetent from what I've read -- and they are on the other side of the border line...)

 

I was woundering if anyone had a email from the Gentech site where i would be able to reach someone to confirm they do ship to canada and what the cost will be.

 

Gentech's email is [email protected]
Their phone number is (800) 990-7945

 

thanks, hopefully shipping isn't to bad and i can pick up this bad boy for collage

 

Thx pal, I just checked Asus website and I think I'm off the map. We get every major brand around here with full support but I want my ASUS support!!! AAAHHH!! I'm gonna call them and see if they give me any chance. Some guy around here has a sales rep. but support may be lacking. They don´t have support for central america either. What a shame.

 

I think another thing to keep is that the 9600m gs might be able to overclocked. The only difference between the two types of 9600s and the 9700 gt as far as I can tell is the clock speed.

I kind of think battery life should get more emphasis or a bigger divide, although I guess no one knows the battery life of the G50. My guess is that it will be significantly worse though.

 

Hey is there a way to disable one of the hard drives? I'll do that in a heartbeat if it means better cooling.

 

You can check the BIOS. But even if it's disabled, I'm not sure that means it doesn't spin or it isn't powered up. It may just mean it's not transmitting data.

 

Hmm what if I remove one of the drives? It should be relatively easy right?

 

Yep, that should be easy and sure to work

 

Hmm , Im looking into the G50- Im wondering if it has HDMI though? does anyone know this? For me its between these two and the Sagernp8660
though You get a nice backpack etc with this- and also I like the way the orange looks, not so fond of the gamer republic.
This is for school for me.

I wonder what the battery life is on the sager.

 

It does have an HDMI out. The battery life on the sager will probably be a little better because the battery is bigger. You could always buy a 9-cell for the G50V though.

 

I want to see some benchmarks on this GPU. Planning on possibly getting a laptop for Empire total war. Might switch to just a 600$ desk instead though. Way cheaper and better parts. But this is catching my eye. I like the cover but not the inside.

 

When can we expect to see some reviews for the G50V-A1/A2? It seems like there is no excitement for these notebooks.

 

That's because they're not out yet. Should be out next week and since I've already pre-ordered one, I'll do a user-review with a bunch of benchmarks.

 

^^ Awesome, thanks man. I'm on the verge of pre-ordering one as well but I need to see some reviews first. Don't know if I can trust Asus yet...

By the way, any particular reason why you decided to go with the A1 rather than the A2? I know Blu-ray doesn't matter to a lot of people but 2 7200RPM HDs AND a Blu-ray player for only $200 more seems like a good deal doesn't it?

 

Well, if I opt for the A2 I'll lose 100gb of space, and personally, I need the extra capacity for work. Blue ray on the other hand seems kinda cool, but at the moment I can live without it.

 

I'm kind of torn between the 2 models. I don't really care for Blu-ray at the moment but it's definitely a nice thing to have for only $200 more. I do care about the 7200RPM HDs since speed is more of an issue for me than space as I have an external HD already. The only thing holding me back is the heat and the noise that the A2 would produce with so much crammed in there.

 

Well, it's still too early to tell how warm the notebook will get, but I'm sure the Montevina cpu and 9xxx series GPU would help keep the heat down in comparison to the previous generations. As for hard drive heat, it's very likely the 7200rpm would run warmer, but not to the extent where you should be worrying about it. Also, HDD heat will depend on how you set up your hard drives. ie if you have them in raid0 or not. Both the A1 and A2 models will come in raid0, but I'm planning to disable it and dual boot XP & Vista on each HDD which technically shouldn't run as warm as in raid0

 

Ah see I know nothing about stuff like that so it's probably not a good idea for me to be messing with it. I'm thinking I will just remove one of the hard drives since I really don't need all that space and it should be sufficiently cooler.

 

If you remove one of the hard drives, i believe you must disable Raid settings in your bios first. It's a pretty simple task, but just keep that in mind before removing the drive

 

^^ Thanks for the heads up. I took it upon myself to learn about RAID tonight so now I understand everything you're talking about lol

 

By all means disable to be safe, but I think any smart BIOS should be able to detect that 1 HDD is missing and disable RAID automatically?

 

^^^ Wow I didnt reliase A2 were 7200 RPM drives, That make sa huge difference for me, And I have a ton of Blu rays

Dang!! How is it such a good deal? 1800 for that? Are you sure there out next week? I need to get one ASAP! Hopefully NCIX May have them soon!