A new laptop for christmas

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[City Builder]

Well Im very pleased, I got a new laptop for christmas (yeah got it early) and it's a pretty decent gaming laptop

ASUS G74Sx
8GB System Ram
Windows 7 home premie
2GB Dedicated Vram for the GTX 560m video card
1TB of hard drive space
i7 2.something Ghz quad with the thing that bursts speed up to 3.0GHz

It's got a really nice keyboard with backlighting, and a 17.3" screen

The only downside to me is the screen resolution which caps out at 1600x900, which to me is a very odd resolution.

But all in all, of all the games that I've played so far, they play on high to ultra settings and get excellent fps.

Whoot finally got a gaming laptop.

[Virmin]

Sounds like a very nice computer. Congratulations.   

[Bruschev]

Asus is generally a good brand for laptops isn't that right? I was eyeing up a really sleak and nicely designed samsung, but though it would lack in gaming prowess. I really just want to be able to play something like cites XL and the latest command and conquer games without crappy FPS..

[City Builder]

From what I'd read, yes asus is supposed to be a pretty good brand.  Of course like all things electronic or mechanical some people are bound to have issues.

I happened to be one of those people, but I don't blame it on Asus, but rather Western Digital, as it turns out one of the two hard drives in the laptop died within about 5 hours of turning the computer on.

But Asus did what they need to do and honored their warranty, and sent me the RMA information for me to return the hard drive to them for replacement.  I was just going to buy a replacement hdd locally until I found out that all the stores locally don't have this hdd in stock, it's a 500GB 7200rpm WD Scorpio black model, and online they wanted about $149 due to the flooding in Thailand, so at least my laptop runs with the one 500GB drive in it while I send out the broken one to get it replaced.

Overall Im quite happy with the laptop, LOVE the backlit keyboard as well as the keyboard is larger than many or most laptops, which makes it easier for my extra large hands to type on it.

I just played a little Fallout New Vegas and I really must say that the video is so crystal clear and sharp on the laptop compared to my desktop.  It takes a little getting used to (at least it does for me) to use the laptop with such a crystal clear and sharp image on the screen for my games.

It's got a jumbo touchpad which I try to avoid using simply because for me with my huge hands it gets in the way as my palms rest on it and when I'm typing it makes the cursor jump all over the place in the imput box that I'm typing in, so I might be typing on the  3rd paragraph and all of a sudden look up and see that I'm now typing in the 1st paragraph middle line.  But thats nice that I can press the fn+F9 key and quickly just turn off or on the touch pad.

I will say that I'm really slow at typing on a laptop keyboard as I'm used to a Microsoft 4000 ergonomic keyboard that is huge, so it does make it a bit tough for me to type on a laptop keyboard.  But I suppose for long term use I'll either get used to it, or just plug in my USB microsoft keyboard.

Anyway, yeah from what I've read in general people are happy with their purchase of the G74Sx laptop.  It comes in many different configurations, so they can be had from about $1000 on up to a bit over $2000.  I have what is considered one of the low end units, but as you can see even though it's one of the lower end units, it comes with plenty of "oomph" to it, I think the main difference between the units are the CPU, and either 2GB video ram or 3GB video ram.

Since I bought it locally, it wasn't an option to configure it, and when I make a large purchase like a laptop, I've got to buy it locally in case there are issue with it, I know where to take it as a last resort.  I suppose I could have just returned the unit to the store when the hdd died, but I'd already configured everything and installed a lot of software so I couldn't be bothered to exchange it for another one just over the hdd.

I will say this though, if anybody is looking for a sleek, light (in weight) smaller laptop, then this is definitely not the one for them, I think this thing weighs close to 7 pounds and though stylish looking (in my opinion), it's just massive BIG. See attached images.

Lastly, while I'm not too fond of Intel CPU's (in my opinion they don't multitask as well as AMD cpu, and sometimes slow down when too much load is put on  them, but I'm learning to love this i7 and am happy I didn't go with the other laptop which had the i5.  However I've read in different places that am i5 is better for gaming than the i7 is.

Anybody have an opinion on the i5 vs i7 for gaming?

[crowebird]

Awesome laptop CB!
My last one was a gaming Asus laptop, and I loved it.

Sounds pretty impressive just to be considered a low end unit!  Congrats!

[RhiannOn]

I don't know about you CB, but my laptop and all it's goodies make my laptop bag feel like it should have wheels on the bottom as it is very heavy  .  I like the 17 inch screen, but crickey...
The battery went bust a while back and my partner picked one up through Ebay from USA for $29US ($69.99NZ).  The same battery here cost $120.00NZ.  Sheese we get ripped off here in NZ.

[Bruschev]

I don't know about you CB, but my laptop and all it's goodies make my laptop bag feel like it should have wheels on the bottom as it is very heavy  .  I like the 17 inch screen, but crickey...
The battery went bust a while back and my partner picked one up through Ebay from USA for $29US ($69.99NZ).  The same battery here cost $120.00NZ.  Sheese we get ripped off here in NZ.

I know right? I have had to replace about 3 chargers for my laptop, usually end up going on trademe and getting some low end replacement for $30 rather than buying an official one off HP, for $135. There are universal chargers dicksmiths and kaycar have, but again, they're not very well made.

[City Builder]

RhiannOn, do you have a carrying bag for your 17" laptop?  If so what brand is it?

I went looking yesterday but where we live we have very limited stores, like limited to office depot type stores who don't sell 17" laptops, so they don't carry bags big enough to fit this laptop.

[RhiannOn]

The brand is NE Belkin.  It is a very solid carry bag with lots of storage pockets.  It's like this one on trademe.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/computers/components/cases-power-supplies/cases/auction-421040445.htm

Bought mine from PB technologies in Wellington who are computer specialists.  I found that the other retail shops like Harvey Norman etc, rarely stock decent bags for 17 inch laptops.
I  recently bought a "Logitech Comfort Lapdesk" from PB, which is great for using the laptop on my lap now and in bed.  Is a lot better than  sitting hunched over a small table.  The desk absorbs a lot of the weight, so my legs are very comfy with no pressure points.  So far haven't had issues with the laptop overheating.
http://www.pbwellington.co.nz/p.aspx?9860

@ Bruschev
Three chargers replaced - what a pain for you.  Thanks for the tip about DS ones  . 

[Bruschev]

Funny that, I live in Wellington as well.