ASUS G73JH Review Discussion

The G73 is the latest gaming notebook in ASUS’ successful G-series product line. This 17.3-inch monster has a Core i7 processor, 8GB of RAM, and the most powerful mobile video card available, the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870. Read on for our take.

Read the full content of this Article: ASUS G73JH Review

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Great review! Could you explain what you mean by the following in the Keyboard section:

Thanks

 

Charles is the only one who can say with "absolute" certainty but I believe he's saying that the individual key press is shallow and typing would feel better if there was a bit more depth when pressing the keys.

 

What kind of load had it been under when you took the temp readings?

 

The temperature reading were taken while the notebook had a CPU load of wPrime cranking away on the 1024M run and rthdribl running to stress the GPU. That system had a ton of airflow piping through it to keep surface temps down.

 

Question: how does the display compare to laptop displays like my Sony AW with its RGB LED? I know you said it's fantastic, but that's usually kind of relative.

if its similar in quality, I've probably found my replacement for it...as I've found my Sony to be among the very best I've ever used.

thanks!

 

Jerry is correct - if the keys were a bit taller and pushed down more, it would have helped the tactile feedback. Overall I liked the keyboard a lot though, and my reviews are always very critical when it comes to keyboards.

Yeah - I have not seen an RGB LED screen yet (gasp), but if you look at some of Mandrake's comments in the ASUS forum, he says that the G73 has a nice screen but it is no RGB LED (comparing to the Alienware M17x). So, the G73 will likely be a downgrade from your Sony.

 

I've been waiting for this review. Thanks Charles! It really is too bad that there is no express card slot. I really feel that is a feature they shouldn't have cut.

I also thought the vid card would do better. Maybe I'm too picky or need to wait for new drivers, but still....

Otherwise a stellar notebook and a solid review! Thanks again!

 

All this for $1,599.00? Amazing!

 

thanks for the insight, Charles.

I'll definitely keep this model in line, but may need to prioritize that RGB feature. still, if I can't find any laptop models with that caliber of display with an equally impressive hardware feature set, I'll just drop that quasi-requirement and come right back to this G73. the price is unbelievable on this model. my only holdup is the rather homely look. but I think I can get over that.

edit: just looked at that alienware M17x and priced it out. for a computer with specs similar to this Asus...it's almost literally 2x as much (around $3,100.00USD). RGB LED isn't worth that much. Only maybe $200 over premium for me. Asus has themselves a real winner here.

 

Yeah, I didn't notice the price until I'd read the entire review... it came as quite a shock to me, tbh. I expected something along the lines of 2000+ USD - I mean, Core I7, Radeon 5870, 8 gigs of ram...

Now if only some retailer here could actually stock the thing in the next few years... ah, here I go again, dreaming my poor, inconceivable dreams.

Oh, and a pretty good review, concise and accurate. Rock on

 

Great review. Looks like I'm gonna have to wait it out for a GX740 review though, to compare. If it's dramatically worse I'll go for this and get me an external power supply.

 

Thanks for the compliments.

I agree - a quality screen is worth paying for, though everything has its limits. I could use the G73's screen all day and be happy with it. For the price the G73 is unbeatable; most people I showed it to guessed it was $2.5-3k after they found out the specs. No wonder the G73 is out of stock everywhere.
The only other machines I know of with RGB LED screens are the Dell Precision workstations (M4500/M6500), the HP workstations with the Dreamcolor displays (I think that is RGB LED), and the Dell Studio XPS 16. The latter you could snag under $2k.

On a side note, I hope ASUS sticks with this Stealth design going forward so they have a little more brand consistency.

A GX740 review is not in our review pipeline at the moment, so you may be waiting a little longer. I'll keep an eye out for one.

 

It 's good to see a manufacturer to put emphasis in heat fighting and the ergonomics of keyboard angled chassis. My DV7 is always with an object under it for that propose.

 

Thanks for the review.

Lack of eSATA or single USB3.0 port is big drawback to me.

 

I'm a little lazy to search, so can you tell what CPU is in the M17x and the Clevo x8100?

Though, your description of the style and build quality is almost the same as how I would describe it when I first picked it up at CES.

 

Mass Effect 2 was tested with V-sync On. That made your score a lot lower than it should be.

 

I think CPU is 920XE(X8100) & M17x with C2Q XE(Not sure about CPU model name)

 

Yeah, this really impressed me as well. And not going to lie, but the backside of that laptop (where the vents are) is probably one of the most intense designs I've ever seen. Overall, this seems like a fantastic laptop with a crazy low price. If I was in the market, I would buy this without question.

 

this laptop has 4 memory slots right?

 

I also add my vote to being pleased with the heat control on this machine! Very nice job from Asus on that....

 

Yes there are 4 memory slots, so it seems you could squeeze in 16 GIG ram, although I do not know why you would want to.

 

Actually by adding 4 memory slots Asus can keep overall costs down. Because 4GB x2 will costs extra $300+ compared to 2GB x4.

 

I actually like the simple black, angular look - it not only looks better than gaudy AW machines (subjective ), but also helps hide the bulk better than the boxy Clevo designs. I'm also really impressed with the cooling system, it's remarkable that the temperatures can be so low on such a high-powered machine without resorting to turbo-jet fans. And for the price, I think Asus has a really nice machine on its hands.

I wish there were switchable graphics, though, so the battery life would be a little less pathetic - although admittedly, I don't think people who would consider these gaming laptops are too concerned with battery time.

Thanks for the review, Charles!

 

17 inch with those ports?? Come on, they definitely could do better than that

 

Oops, my mistake. I meant to say GPU.
I'm not sure if the 17x that was being compared with has sli or xfire set up.

 

Nice review.
It they actually kept their pricing similar to that posted in the review i might just get one, or at least try getting it shipped from the US.

 

The Clevo X8100 review unit was using SLI GTX 285M.
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=5549

The M17x was the original R1 with QX9300 and SLI GTX 280M.
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=5234

 

what is the manufacturer of the lcd?

 

Very nice read!

 

I got permission to post a link to my review here - ViciousXUSMC's Ultimate G73JH Review

For those that may have stumbled into this thread from the front page and are not regulars of the Asus section where I posted my review. Its a lot more in depth and has a lot of detail.

Due to the nature of how NBR has to review a lot of machines and only gets to barrow them for a short period of time, you cant expect the short overview type reviews to have the same kind of content as a dedicated owner review like mine.

Please be respectful and keep on topic of this (The NBR) review and keep any comments about my review in its respected thread.

 

Is there going to be a 15 inch model with the same design?

 

None that I know of, its really amazing they stuffed so much into this model. For a 17" its very thin & light. My co-workers G72 is quite a bit thicker and has lower specs.

So if they made a 15" out of this, it would most probably mean a lower gpu, maybe cpu, and probably only 1 HDD, not to mention a new fabrication process for the chassis all together.

 

Yes it's amazing how they manage all the stuff, but I'm also amazed when i realize they forgot to include at least one eSATA/USB3.0 port.

But it's pretty good system.

 

in that case, Asus will probably get my money early next month. I had been waiting to see what Apple would do, but they're moving slow and my time is now.

looks like this will be a fantastic purchase.

thanks for all the insight and work!

 

This has been a successful laptop so i expect that will be upgraded unless Asus is not very bright. For me that i am not in the market at least it made me look for their line and in 2 years when i expect to be once again i'll look for it.

 

I really want to buy one but in Sweden you have to pay $3400 so a gaming pearl like this one is instantly turned into a catastrophically bad investment.

 

this is a great laptop for sure.
in fact the only downside ive read in the forums is that it is a little difficult to upgrade/change internals( ie gpu, cpu etc).
but at that price point you really cant complain much really

 

I am thinking of ordering a G73 from xoticpc, does anyone know if/where i can buy a Swedish keyboard for the G73?

(even if i pay full Swedish tax it will be $1200 cheaper than buying it in Sweden)

 

You're probably going to have to wait until they start producing replacement parts for retail. If I were you though I'd get stickers with æøå (only in Swedish of course). The buttons are there, they just have something else typed on them.

 

Thanks i never thought of that.

EDIT

Just saw the Sager NP8760 at xoticpc, more ports (dvi, esata, hdmi, expresscard). I do backups over esata so i have to think if i can go back to doing backups over usb again.

 

The Sager NP8760 is a good alternative to the ASUS G73. Our review is here:
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=5359
The Sager is significantly more expensive than the ASUS in the states; I'm not sure how the equation works out in your country.

 

well i have to wait 5 months before i can buy this so is there any chance something better will come out from Asus? Also charles , how's the LCD for CAD and day to day use? If ur going from 1280X800 to 1920X1080 , does it cause strain on the eyes? Also is the subwoofer good? Also how long was the time seperating the Asus G72 and G73 from comming out? It could give me an idea on asnwering my question.

 

Somehow I doubt ASUS will come out with a G73 replacement in 5 months let alone a year, it is using the latest technology. Intel is not launching a new platform for a while and ATI just released the HD 5000 series mobile cards, the 5870 should be "current" tech for at least another year.

For the screen resolution, I calculated the Pixels Per Inch (PPI) of the displays in question:

15.4" 1280x800: 98
17.3" 1920x1080: 127

That is a rather significant difference, it might be straining for you if you find 1280x800 small. Windows 7 has some nice font scaling though so you can put it at 120%, that should look like text on your 15.4" 1280x800. My best advice is to go to a computer store and see a 1080p display in person, that is the only real way to tell.
The LCD is very usable day to day. It is nice and bright and has good contrast, a big step up from my HP dv5t's display. I did not try CAD however for Internet surfing, MS Office, and of course gaming I have no complaints. The glossy display means some reflections.

The G73's sound system is better than most notebooks', the subwoofer makes a difference but on the whole I find the dv5t's sound to be superior without question.

 

This is a tough one, the Asus G73 configured the way i like it costs $1588 and the Sager NP8760 configured as cheaply as acceptable costs $1904. The bad with the Asus is the lack of eSata and Expresscard ports and the good is i7-720, HD5870, 8GB mem, 2x500GB hd and it is reported to be very quiet and cool.

I will drool a few days and think ...

 

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but it would seem, according to your statement, that the question for you becomes: "Are the eSata and the Express card slot worth that difference in cost?" The price of the G73 truly amazes me and I'd feel like Asus could quite easily have charged more for the laptop while maintaining the hype and sales. The G73 just seems to do so many things correctly, that the minor flaws can be easily overlooked. Yes it lacks a few ports, but otherwise it looks and sounds (according to Charles' review) like quite a high-end system, and if it were me, I'd go for it. . Though take your time and drool , a laptop is also an expensive investment and you want to get it right for yourself.

 

Ok , i'll try going to a pc shop but all of them near my house don't have laptops with such high res so i'll have to wait a while before going to a london pc shop. Also charles , i'm quite suprised that the Dv5t's sound sytem is better.. after all it does have smaller speakers and no subwoofers. Also how would you say is the audio compared to sager NP8690 or 8790? And lastly , the built in Overclocking tool Power4gear.. What does it do to CPU speed? Does it hold 2 cores at 2.8GHz constantly or all 4 cores?

Cheers
Sean473

 

For me and the type of work I do I would also appreciate an express card slot. I have to shuffle data between a few databases with flat files and the datasets can be huge. Also there are moments where I need more than one network adaptor to perform some critical virtualization transactions. Yes, I know this is a gaming laptop and not meant for this type of work but I am saying that there are reasons big and small for having an external bus interface. As it stands, unless you can deal with USB 2.0 speeds the data on the laptop is stuck on the laptop. And to be frank 1TB+ of data is allot to maintIn. ( end of gripe )

 

I know this may be a bit off-topic, but can anyone tell me where I can get the technicolor parachute wallpaper used in this (and other reviews)? I like it a lot!

 

I agree. Without Expresscard and firewire slots means that everyone will be perpetually stuck with USB 2, which is too slow when you're transferring large packages of data on a daily basis...