ASUS G51J Review

The G51J is the latest 15-inch gaming notebook from ASUS, sporting the new Intel Core i7 mobile processor and Windows 7 operating system. This notebook shares a lot of features with the previous G51VX, with only a hardware refresh to support the Core i7 processor. With a starting price of $1,499, it is priced $200 below the previous version ... which is a huge plus for buyers on a budget. Check out our full review to see how this Core i7 update performs.

ASUS G51J Specifications:

• Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
• Intel Core i7-720QM (1.6GHz, 1333MHz FSB, 6MB Cache)
• 15.6" WUXGA FHD LCD display at 1920x1080
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260M 1GB GDDR3 memory
• Intel 1000AGN Wireless, Bluetooth
• 4GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM (2GB x 2)
• Two 320GB Seagate 7200RPM Hard Drives
• DVD SuperMulti
• Webcam, Altec Lansing speakers, Backpack, Razer Copperhead USB mouse
• 120W (19V x 6.32A) 100-240V AC Adapter
• 6-cell 53Wh 11.1v 4800mAh Lithium Ion battery
• Dimensions (WxDxH): 14.6" x 10.3" x 1.3-1.6"
• Weight: 7lbs 8.2oz
• 2-Year Global Warranty/1-Year Accidental damage
• Price as configured: $1,499

Build and Design
The design of the G51 is very gamer-inspired. The outside graphics are futuristic and cool, without being too over-dramatic for the casual gamer. At first glance the new design almost looks like the edges are scratched into the glossy surface, but upon closer inspection that is just the design of the artwork as it branches out to the top and bottom. The inside of the G51 has a more back-to-basics look with a rubberized black palmrest, black backlit keyboard, and glossy black trim around the display. I personally think the design could have been helped by using more rubberized paint other surfaces around the notebook, since it had an excellent soft texture.

Build quality is above average, with sturdy plastic used throughout the notebook, but there are some areas that could see some improvement. The screen cover feels very durable, and protects the screen against any distortion from impacts to the back cover or flexing the screen side to side. The palmrest and keyboard have absolutely no flex at all, which is something you need if you are going to be playing high-stress games and occasionally taking out some of your anger on your computer. The newer design of the G51J compared to the G51VX doesn't have the same paint overspray issue, since the side colors are solid for each piece of plastic.

Users looking to upgrade components inside the notebook will find it very easy, thanks to a single panel giving you access to all user-replaceable components. The only "warranty void if removed" sticker is covering one of the screws used to tension the processor heatsink, meaning that if you want to change out the processor or graphics card you will be forfeiting your 2-year warranty. Considering this notebook offers one of the faster notebook processors right now, the need to tinker with the processor should be minimal.

Screen and Speakers
Considering that this notebook will be used for gaming, an excellent screen is a must. The display on the G51 looks above average with good color saturation and better than average viewing angles. The glossy surface helps make the already good looking colors "pop" out at you more than they would on a matte display, as well as improving the looks of dark colors. ASUS provides a quick and easy way to switch color profiles with the screen, and each one is significantly better than the unaltered one. They really help tone down the harsh blues while bumping the other colors slightly. While gaming I didn't notice any lag or abnormal backlight bleed in dark scenes. Vertical viewing angles were very good, offering a broad sweet spot before colors started to invert if you tilted the screen forward or back. Horizontal viewing angles were excellent, keeping colors accurate, albeit slightly washed out, at very steep angles. Backlight brightness was more than adequate to be viewable in a bright room, but unless you stick to a shaded area underneath a tree, it won't be viewable outdoors.

The Altec Lansing speakers sounded nice, but given the overall size of this notebook we had hoped for a subwoofer as well. Audio from the speakers consisted mostly of higher frequencies, with some midrange coming through. Bass was lacking, but without a subwoofer that is normal for most notebooks. As a gaming notebook I think headphones should be required, especially surround sound-enabled headphones so you can hear your surroundings and react accordingly.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The keyboard was comfortable to use, and really helped solidify the overall look of the notebook. The keys and inner trim were all matching black, with white lettering that lights up when the backlight is enabled. The individual keys were easy to press, and felt very solid with very little wiggle if you moved your hand around the keyboard. Support was very good, with no flex noticed in the primary typing region. Compared to the previous ASUS G51 notebook in for review, the tray has been improved, with it no longer having play inside the bezel. It can no longer be pushed to the bottom and popped out using only your fingers.

The G51 includes a large Synaptics touchpad with a very smooth barely- textured surface. The speed of the touchpad is excellent, with it able to smoothly pickup slow and steady movement, or quick targeting movement. No lag was noticed what-so-ever. X and Y-axis speeds were matched, allowing you to draw near perfect circles with your fingertip, instead of ovals. The touchpad buttons were easy to trigger, but didn't give as much feedback as longer throw buttons.

Ports and Features
Port selection was pretty good for a 15" notebook, with four USB ports, an eSATA connection, HDMI and VGA out, FireWire 400, LAN, and three audio jacks. The expansion ASUS included an ExpressCard/54 slot and a spring loaded SD-card reader. ASUS also found a creative use for the ExpressCard blank, turning it into a handy storage card holder. Considering that most of us will keep that blank card in the slot most of the time, it now becomes a handy storage device.

ASUS is always big on including freebies with retail notebooks. The G51J-series is no different, with a comfortable green gaming backpack and Razer Copperhead gaming mouse. The included backpack is very comfortable, with more than adequate padding around the shoulders, and a nice gel-padded carrying handle. I don't think too many users will be replacing this backpack since it looks great and feels great. The Copperhead mouse was nice to see, since it is significantly better than most freebie mice, and is perfect for gaming enthusiasts who just so happen to be the primary target audience of this notebook.

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Performance and Benchmarks
ASUS included some fairly impressive components in the G51J-series notebook, including an Intel Core i7 720 processor, NVIDIA GTX 260M graphics, dual Seagate 7200.4 hard drives, and newer DDR3 memory. One special feature of the Core i7 720 that we were dying to test is its ability to go into a super overclocking mode, pushing its clock speed from 1.6 to 2.8GHz. This sounds like a huge jump, but in our tests we found only small improvements ... if any. The first indication that the Extreme Overclock mode was not working as well as we had hoped was running wPrime, where we only saw a change of less than one second. Other benchmarks showed a similarly modest performance boost.

wPrime processor comparison results (lower scores mean better performance):

PCMark05 measures overall system performance (higher scores mean better performance):

3DMark06 measures overall graphics performance for gaming (higher scores mean better performance):

HDTune storage drive performance test:

With the overclocking mode enabled, we didn't see any significant jump in framerates, and in some games we actually saw a drop. Left 4 Dead stayed between an average of 68 to 73FPS in each test run of the same level as indicated by FRAPS. Enabling or disabling the overclocking feature didn't show any continuously reproducible gain. While running Batman: Arkham Asylum we actually saw a drop in average framerate, going from an average of 30 FPS down to 28FPS.

Multimedia performance was excellent as expected, with ample processing power to handle decoding 1080P videos at the same time with barely breaking a sweat. With the Core i7 handling 8 threads at the same time, there was always available overhead to run multiple background tasks without any lag.

Heat and Noise
With so many powerful components inside of a 15.6" notebook we knew things would be riding on the warm side. In our tests we found the ASUS G51 to run pretty warm on the bottom section near the processor and GPU. The peak temperature was directly on top of the processor, with the surface scanning at 106F with our IR-gun. Under very low-stress usage this area stayed within reasonable levels, but it was always the hot spot while gaming. Another hot area that couldn't be avoided was the exhaust vent, acting as a very toasty hand warmer in a cold house. While gaming the exhaust temperatures were well in excess of 130F. Noise levels were very quiet under normal activity, with the fan occasionally spinning up to bring fresh air into the system. Under stress, depending on the system load, the fan would stay on constantly, and occasionally ramp up to a high speed that was pretty loud, but moved quite a bit of air.

Battery Life
The ASUS G51J was not a super-efficient notebook by any stretch of the imagination thanks to a Core i7 mobile processor, NVIDIA GTX 260M graphics, and two 7200RPM hard drives. The G51J managed 1 hour and 32 minutes before turning off in our test with the screen brightness set to 70%, wireless active, and Windows 7 set to the "balanced" power profile. The previous G51 we tested with the Q9000 processor and similar configuration managed 1 hour and 26 minutes. Power consumption during the test was between 28 and 33 watts, quite a bit higher most notebooks we test. The Gateway P-7805u, which is a 17" gaming notebook that had similar levels of performance managed 3 hours and 29 minutes under the same test.

Conclusion
The ASUS G51J has a few solid improvements over the older G51VX, most notably the shift from the Intel Q9000 to the Intel Core i7-720QM processor. This change shaved roughly 5 seconds off its wPrime score alone. 3DMark06 performance went up as well, but we didn't see that much of a boost in actual gameplay. PCMark05 is also down, but it is hard to say if it was related to hardware or operating system differences. Overall users who are interested in purchasing this notebook should look at one item; the price. With specifications improving or staying equal, ASUS dropped the price $200, from $1,699 to $1,499. The only items lost were the previously included Eee Stick controllers, which were probably not used many users, if any.

Pros:

• Improved keyboard tray design
• Speedy Intel Core i7 processor
• $200 price drop compared to previous model

Cons:

• Too much hype in the 1.6 to 2.8GHz overclocking feature

Related Articles:

• ASUS G51VX-A1 Review

 

Hello,

I might have missed the temps of GPU and CPU under the long period of stressing. This is the most important factor why to buy /not to buy this beast.

I hope you have the answers for me, thank you.

 

Excellent review!

I think it is because while it goes from 1.6 to 2.8, it desables 2 cores, basically making it a 2.8 ghz C2D.

 

Looks like a nice notebook.

Not true for me. Can't use such a design at work w/o feeling ashamed.

 

That's now quite true, although it's close. Clock for clock, Nehalem is better than Core 2.

The price is OK and the power is adequate, but why is it so heavy? The gaming 15" laptops have always pushed 7lb, but this one is nearly 8.

 

Only one fan for an i7 notebook with a 260M? Not a good idea IMO. BTW I might have missed it but I didn't see any GPU or CPU temps after testing. Otherwise, thanks for the great review

 

This is basically exactly what I want, plus Blu-ray and 2 640GB drives.

The review was very well done, It stays cooler than I thought it would. Where did you purchase this notebook? I have yet to see it anywhere.

I think that it's heavier because it has two hard drives, most 15" ones only have one.

 

I already had these prepared, just couldn't add them into the main review . Attached below are HWMonitor screen grabs taken right as the system finished 3DMark06 after being warmed up. One is stock speeds, the other is OC'd.

Let me know if you want any other info

 

those are not nearly as bad as I was expecting.

 

xoticpc has it?

 

so does GentechPC. also- The "Turbo Boost" is mostly for apps that only allow 1/2/3 threads. So you won't see any improvement in a benchmark like 3dmark/pcmark which are quad+ threaded apps.

 

The lid looks much better. The old one looked like . What games can use quad core?

 

I just preordered one of these from newegg. I cannot wait!!!!!

 

Is the GTX 260M in this one downclocked too?

 

What is the "stock" speed supposed to be? I can check what it is running at idle and while gaming with GPUz if you want.

 

Awesome review! Now to decide between this and the M15x...

 

Wikipedia lists clocks for the GTX 260M at 550/1375/1900 for Core/Shader/Memory, so I'd guess those should be stock.

 

On it now

 

GPUz lists 500/799/1250MHz.

Sensor side shows 200MHz Core and 120MHz memory at idle, 500/799 under load.

 

Yep, downclocked. Down 50 MHz on the core, 100 MHz on the memory, and 125 MHz on the shaders.

 

It still has the same clocks as a 9800M GTX, so it is not that bad.

Most G51J users have the card overclocked to near stock settings and it seems to take it well, but I wouldn't overclock personally, not with a laptop already hot haha.

I am getting it from GentechPC, already preordered and free batman arkham asylum! Can't wait to recieve this baby

Good bye Eee pc!

 

Okay it nos good gaming laptop at ALL!

92C after 3DMark?To be honest... that sux big time!
And what is even worse, it is not regular GTX 260M but downclocked one.
Can you imagine what temp it will reach after 30mins of playing crysis or any other high demanding game? To be honest, 3DMark does not push GPU to its limits as crysis does. After 30mins of crysis 95-100C is unforgivable, sorry.

Kevin, I think you might consider to update review with these high temps and mention downcloacked GPU. These are the most important factors of 15.6 gaming laptop dont you think?

 

Wondering if you could post the CPU ID Memory info window. I'm curious what the timings are. Thank you in advance.

Would this benefit from DDR3 1333 RAM?

If upgrading the memory, would I want:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104165 or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104158

 

Well the problem is at no time during our tests did the system become unstable. The fan also went into its 2nd stage of speed towards the end of 3DMark, so during a normal game it might end up normalizing at a different value. Stability is the primary concern for the average consumer.

Regarding the clock speed, it is addressed in the gaming benchmarks themselves. We show the scores the notebooks get, and compare them as such. If a system has a lower clock speed it will rank slower.

 

how stupid can asus be to not fix their crappy heatsink design ?

good review .... be sure to put the HWmonitor shots into the main review

 

Attached as requested

 

Build quality is above average, with sturdy plastic used throughout the notebook, but there are some areas that could see some improvement

Mind specifying which areas?

 

Thanks for you review Kevin!

 

The fake cooling port on the bottom was pretty annoying, either go with an actual vent or dont put one in... dont make a fake one though.

 

wow really? i hate this bluish design, doesnt look gamer-ish at all, nor professional, its neither here nor there.

this laptop was designed to run hot, it still works fine at high temps. you do realize the point of high temps if it fails or not. ASUS has managed to create a machine that is resistant. but we shall see 2-3 yrs form now, whether the G51 owners experience breakdowns or not, the above statement is pure speculation by most G51 owners.

 

Its both :laugh:

Seriously though, the last one looked like something out of the movie Species. This time around it looks less spacey and futuristic, and more like a claw mark from an animal that is about to slash your face off but missed and hit the front of your laptop.

 

This notebook is still too hot for my liking, a shame considering it has a great price.

 

Lol, I think that's the best description of the design possible.

I do have a question though. I really like the G51J, but it's a little to expensive for me, so I"m looking at the new G51Vx-X3A. Would this laptop have less overheating problems than the 51J since it has a P8700 instead of an i7? And is it the same as the older G51Vx-X1A, just with Windows 7, or are there other differences in the cooling or something?

 

Since they share the same heatsink, less heat coming off the processor side would mean less overall heat for the fan to exhaust out of the system. In theory it should run cooler overall.

 

When I undervolted by CPU on my G50v it dropped my CPU temps massively, but didn't make much difference to the GPU. YMMV.

 

Little late in the thread here but I believe that is a peak temperature. Once the GPU hits 89C and greater the fan really kicks in and brings the average temperature to the low 80's on a game like Crysis. Well thats how is works on my G51VX. Games like COD4-5 run on average at about 74C-80C and demanding games like Crysis or ArmaII stay at about 80C-84C.

As far as cooling goes on these Asus machines I think it's something you just need to take caution with. As long as you take care not to over-do the resolution, effects or overclocking the CPU and GPU, it will run and look great with a good life time. Its all about balance.

 

Looks like a good machine to me. Hopefully the problems that were present (overheating/GPU related) in the last version get rectified a good deal here--though I imagine a good cooling pad would help a bit.

 

High demand gaming should not be done on a laptop ;-P

 

Actually, it does not. See the vidoe at Xoticpc. it shows a new fixture and layout for the heatsink.

 

Hence, the GAMING laptop.

 

How were they able to drop the price by $200 and put in a brand new higher-end CPU? Or was the previous model already overpriced and Asus was making too much off of them?

I can't wait until notebooks finally get brand-new Nvidia GPUs, not this rebranded and slightly higher specs garbage. But I hear even with the upcoming Nvidia mobile GPUs, they will be using the current GT200 chip used in the desktop GTX200 cards and not GTX300 'Fermi' cards.

At least with AMD, it appears that the gap between mobile and desktop GPUs isn't as large where the mobility HD5000 series will be out in early 2010.

 

hey guys, does asus change the "fake" fan vent on the backplate or it's still the same as the preceding G-series laptops?
@Kevin: could you show me some images of the backplate (both sides), especially the fan vent.

 

The "vent" would be an intake, not a vent(vent=exhaust) but yes, it is still covered I believe.

 

Kevin, if you have the chance--and the time--could you run a stressful Furmark stability test and "listen" to when the fans spin up? I'm wondering as to the fan spin-up threshold. (i.e. My fans will spin to second level when my GPU goes to around 86C).


The stock temperatures aren't nearly as horrific as I though they would be. New paste, copper, and a drilled bottom panel would make a good entry-level machine.

 

I assume this laptop is in raid 0 configuration. is it capable of raid 1 or raid 1+0?

 

Stock configuration is no RAID, just 4 partitions over 2 drives. I will double check on the BIOS RAID options in the morning.

 

eh? I thought it was at least raid 0 to take advantage of striping.

 

I'd buy this in a heartbeat if high-budget PC exclusive still exist, but hey.

 

As Forge said, with some modding temps will be in a reasonable range. The thing that has me sold on this is overclocking by Power4Gear.

@Kevin
Could you post some benchmarks with overclocking in Power4Gear?

 

Hm, not feeling the lid design.


BUT, i must say that is a decent stock score for a notebook with a single GPU.