Asus G73JH-A1

[powerpack]

This system made it on the site on 12/30/09. And oh man is it sweet. It is exciting not just on performance but cost also. It is too soon to know some important things like thermal capabilities. But just on specs and cost? Put your seat belt on and don't need to bring much money for tolls.

It has one direct competitor, the Sager NP8760. Both are mobile i7. Same screen resolution. The Sager does offer RAID Asus no. But let me configure the Sager as the Asus base and do remember the Asus can be customized but not as cost affectively as the Sager.

Guess what the Asus is $1595.65, the Sager same hardware $2734.43. Now I did no add the Sager pixel guarantee $200 and if I add the warranty to match Asus 2 years $139 and that does not have 1 year accidental that Asus does.

OK the Asus does not have RAID? But it does have HD5870 vs GTX 280M. While I have not seen any mobile benches the HD5870 should crush the GTX 280m. It could out do the GTX 280m SLI? I will have to wait on that one. The desktop HD5870 hangs close to the Dual GTX 295 and beats on many gaming benches. Since ATI tends to use the same chips as desktops just mobile versions and Nvidia does not use the same chips for the same name card desktop vs mobile and I was talking about GTX 295 not GTX 280m Which is really a desktop 9800 of some kind GT or GTS. I think this Asus could smoke.

The NP9850 is not i7 but here I go. Picked the T9900 3.06Ghz dual core CPU because that is what a i7 720QM will do on dual threaded apps it will tear up the T9900 in quad threaded apps. And yes the NP9850 can have 3 HDD's but only configured with two. Pixel guarantee not offered and two year warranty $139 (no accidental damage). I did not include. But it came out to $3524.98. Wow!

I do want to see how the HD5870m does vs GTX 280m but......While I don't have last years numbers. Asus has been the 5th largest notebook manufacturer in the world. I am not sure if Clevo is even in the top 10. I think Asus is throwing some muscle around in the performance market. I suspect Sager/Clevo will have an i7 SLI coming out soon but I don't see them beating Asus price point. And yes I know a notebook is more than just it's components. And Sager/Clevo does have the edge on that. Not by the amount of the price disparity.

Asus Wow! I was not interested in a 17" but now I am thinking. Anyone looking for a high end gaming system would have to give this a serious look.

But do remember until we see the actual system and benches and thermal capabilities we won't know just how great this is.:eek:

:XPCS: Rocks!

[kingtz]

Yeah, this beast of a system definitely looks great on paper! I, too, am very interested in the upcoming benchmarks and thermal capabilities. Hopefully, Asus learned a few lessons from their G51J and fixed those overheating issues - it'd be a crying shame to have a monster 5870M, only to find out it's been underclocked due to heat.

Also, best of all, the case doesn't look like it was designed to appeal to 15 year old "gamers". I think this one looks sleek and professional enough to take outside of LAN parties.

I also wonder what Sager's reply to this perfomace/price-point will be.

EDIT: playing around with the customization and wow, they also let you take out the Bluray ROM - saving you $91! Maybe in a little bit, Asus will throw in another free game for this one as well.

[krilin31]

Mostly curious on when this will move out of the pre-order phase. Have been eying a pretty nice build in my cart for the last couple of days and my dell is a bit outdated to keep up with the games I am going to want to play.

This is just a sick build for $1685 from where I'm sitting:

ASUS G73JH-A1 - PRE ORDER
- !! FREE !! UPS GROUND SHIPPING (Use Coupon Code FREESHIP in Checkout - US Only)
- 17.3" FHD 16:9 "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright LED Glossy Screen (1920x1080)-
- ASUS Zero Bright Dot (ZBD) 30 Day Pixel Guarantee
- - Intel® Core™ i7-720QM, 1.60-2.80GHz, (45nm, 6MB L3 cache) - Standard
- NEW! IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU (Cools better than AS5)
- ATI HD5870 1024MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11
- No External Graphics Card
- No Video Adapter
- 8,192MB (8GB) DDR3 1066MHz Dual Channel Memory (2GBx4)
- Standard Finish
- - 2X Blu-Ray Reader / 8X DVDRW/CDRW Super Multi Combo Drive
- - 500GB 7200RPM 8MB Cache Buffer (Serial-ATA II 3GB/s) - Default
- - 500GB 7200RPM 8MB Cache Buffer (Serial-ATA II 3GB/s) - Default
- No Back Up Hard Drive
- No Floppy Drive
- Internal 8-in-1 Card Reader: MMC/SD/Mini-SD/XD/Memory Stick/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo
- Internal Bluetooth + EDR
- Built-in 802.11 Wireless A/B/G/N
- No Network Accessory
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- No TV Tuner
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Asus G Series Matching Backpack made by Targus
- Smart Li-ion Battery (8-Cell)
- No Car Adapter
- None Standard*
- No Dock/Hub/Adapter
- No Fingerprint Reader
- Asus G Series Razor Gaming Mouse
- No Notebook Cooler
- Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit - Standard
- No Office Software
- No Software Bundle
- 2 Year ASUS GLOBAL Warranty, 24/7 Support, 1 Year Accidental Coverage & 2-Way Pre-Paid Air Shipping for Repairs (N.A. Accidental Requires Registration w/ ASUS)
- No Xotic PC Gear

[bennyg]

I agree, looks fantastic on paper

However I wonder how many months the average order will take, demand at that price will be huuuuuuuuge (similar to what went on with the G51J-A1)

Be careful drawing comparisons between desky cards to estimate mobile, remember on mobile the limit on power draw/heat is about 75W and most G series have underclocked GPUs to keep them at or below ~60W. Radeon 5-M can't draw 20% more than GTX280M to fuel huge % gains as in desktop Radeon 5 vs GT200 comparisons. As I can see performance gain will basically be limited to

* clock rate increases due to smaller process node (10-15%? my total guesstimate), and
* architecture (and how it uses greater bandwidth of 256bit GDDR5) - and the effects of that I have even less idea about

But props to ATI for at least releasing an ACTUAL NEW MOBILE GRAPHICS CHIP. Same can't be said for the other mob, they're just releasing new stickers to slap over the old ones... GTS 360M :mad: boo hiss.

[powerpack]

I agree never say. But I also believe never say never? I also have many ways too point by point say my thoughts. But yes until I see I will try and put my enthusiasm in check But not easy. And if it does pan out I will be back here hooting! Look at the 4870? It kind of indicates 5870 might be more than you seem to think?

What do you know about 360? I don't know and can't figure out if you have insight tell me please.

[robamb2002]

First comment: just because it doesn't list RAID doesnt mean its not possible, I remember the ASUS W90 series which held two hard drives and was not listed as raid even though there was RAID settings that could be enabled in the BIOS so don't count that out just yet :) (realistically though, alot of asus dual hdd machines do NOT have RAID so take that comment with a grain of salt)

Second Comment: It does look great... ON PAPER! I hope that ASUS and ATI have worked out there differences/learned from past failures and put together a decent driver on this one! the drivers are key. Back when the W90 came out it was top hardware dog but couldnt hold water in real world because they never developed anything but the most basic driver which was flawed out of the gate. ATI never looked back at it and ASUS ended up having to pull the product off the market due to video card/driver issues within a month or two of release.

that said, the machine looks amazing and I hope that they learn from the past. I'm just a little weary of ATI at the moment (I would be very pleased if this was unfounded!)

[Anewbus]

I have to go with Robamb on this. That said, I hope this machine is proven because for the pricepoint, you will have a hard time beating this thing.

As for ATI vs Nvidia and all that: "Currently" Nvidia still has more stable drivers than ATI. I used to be an ATI fan and as of a few years ago after much trouble with a good deal of their cards I had to step away from them and go with Nvidia. It does "appear" though that Nvidia may be slapping stickers on last years cards as mentioned earlier, but that is only suspicion right now. I am hoping that perhaps ATI has worked things out because that could mean that we could have a GPU maker who is honest with their product once again.

[bennyg]

What do you know about 360? I don't know and can't figure out if you have insight tell me please.

e.g. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Nvidia_graphics_processing_units#GeF orce_300M_.283xxM.29_series
(that just repeats specs in various reports of the recent release)

Rebadged product the biggest difference with GTS260M is its' name has a "3" in it. Perhaps slightly different clocks if theoretical GFLOPS can be believed. Same 40nm 96-core GT215 chip same GDDR5 on 128bit...

Just based on what I've read, found it from finding out about the G51JX-A1

[kingtz]

e.g. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Nvidia_graphics_processing_units#GeF orce_300M_.283xxM.29_series
(that just repeats specs in various reports of the recent release)

Rebadged product the biggest difference with GTS260M is its' name has a "3" in it. Perhaps slightly different clocks if theoretical GFLOPS can be believed. Same 40nm 96-core GT215 chip same GDDR5 on 128bit...

Just based on what I've read, found it from finding out about the G51JX-A1

I can believe that. Nvidia pretty much did the same thing with desktop graphics cards when they released the "new" 9-series cards about a year and a half ago...just repackaged the old 8-series cards.

[vrman]

No option for a non-glare screen? Won't be getting this one then. I sure hope Sager comes out with a comparable model with the non-glare. Don't understand why people like the glare so much. yuck.
This model doesn't even show up on Asus's site yet!

Maybe Justin can give us a pov on why the industry is moving away from the non-glare.

[icemonkey9]

I read a rumor (won't say which site) that this laptop is set for release on February 11th. Anyone here address this??

[Almerel]

Yes can someone please confirm this date... I just hope I'm in the first couple shipments lol

[powerpack]

What site ice? NBR? NBF? You can say. Be careful if another retailer they sometimes count birds in the bush vs birds in the hands. I cannot tell you the number of times some/of course not all give better projections than Xotic to get people excited. Xotic gets them when the others do they also get the same info. Over the past year Xotic is closer to what really happens than some others. Not all others because there are other honest companies.

[icemonkey9]

It was, as you guessed, on a competitor's site. I did a google search for release date of the model number. I got a little excited but wanted to see if there was any substance, which what you are saying is there's only a small chance.

[Justin_W@XoticPC]

The first shipment of the Asus G73JH-A1 is scheduled to arrive at the Asus facility February 17th and the second shipment arrives March 2nd.

The first shipment of the Asus G73JH-A2 is scheduled to arrive at the Asus facility February 8th and the second shipment arrives March 2nd.

This is the absolute most update to date information as provided by Asus. If any website lists different information, then they don't update their website on a regular basis or don't keep in contact with Asus on a regular basis. Once Asus receives them into stock it will take approximately 3-4 business days for transit from Asus to Xotic PC.

[Almerel]

Is there anyway to find out what shipment your on?

[Justin_W@XoticPC]

Sorry we're not able to provide ship dates for orders at this time. Once we have more information from Asus we will be sure to provide an update on your order.

[powerpack]

The first shipment of the Asus G73JH-A1 is scheduled to arrive at the Asus facility February 17th and the second shipment arrives March 2nd.

The first shipment of the Asus G73JH-A2 is scheduled to arrive at the Asus facility February 8th and the second shipment arrives March 2nd.

This is the absolute most update to date information as provided by Asus. If any website lists different information, then they don't update their website on a regular basis or don't keep in contact with Asus on a regular basis. Once Asus receives them into stock it will take approximately 3-4 business days for transit from Asus to Xotic PC.Or if they say sooner they are liars!;):p:)

Hang in there kids they will arrive and when so all this wait will be past.;)

I want reviews and comments on this machine when all you impatient posters get. We want the most detailed evaluation of this beauty on the Internet. When someone Googles this model I want Xotic to be the 1st 10 links. I know I am asking a lot but I think you guys can do it! So until the 8th, 17th and 2nd let us rejoice. Is it not better to die a hero than live as a coward? Is it not sweeter to taste the honey than live as a peasant? I ask you? I think the you all know the answer. And if Shakespeare wants to file suit for plagiarism dig him up.:laugh:

[NasGhost]

I want reviews too. I was disappointed when I found out that the mobile 5800 series is based upon Juniper, and I was even more disappointed to see that the mobile 5830 would use GDDR3 memory and not GDDR5...which I guessed they would do like 3 months ago :mad:

[icemonkey9]

Cool, thanks Justin for the update, I really appreciate it as a pre-orderer of the A1 model. I wanted my BluRay! :)

So if I'm lucky, and these estimates (yes I know just estimates) are accurate (which I am not holding anyone to ...

Asus gets it on the 17th
Xotic gets it on the 20th
icemonkey9 gets it on the ~25th

[powerpack]

icemonkey is happy camper on the 25th?

[Dangqi]

well i suppose the least i can do is endure...

[powerpack]

OK since this is not so on topic with the two main threads I thought why not post here? I wish I had the money when I found might of had in hand. Also funny I said it did not have RAID. Then it did and know it doesn't?

Anyway this is what I wanted to mention. Are you guys thinking of "short stroking"? It is the obvious thing to do with this system if you keep the stock HDD config. But how would you do? On one or both? How much would the short stroked be?

I have a 320GB and have not filled? So I might SS both 25% giving me 250GB? Use the rest for deep storage or archival? So many ways to do. I almost want OS and apps to be on different disks? The goal would be to avoid any thrashing. What do you guys think?

[Braeyn]

Are you guys thinking of "short stroking"
Most of us think about short stroking all the time PP.............:eeek2:

[powerpack]

Most of us think about short stroking all the time PP.............:eeek2:You are a bad man!:laugh: But not that kind.

[Braeyn]

You are a bad man!:laugh: But not that kind.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/short-stroking-hdd,2157.html Check out this link if you are really thinking about it. I'm not myself... Since I have an ssd for my main apps. And I would rather have the 500g in it's full capacity. It does look like a solid option if ssd is out of the picture or if you have a spare drive you aren't using....

[jamiemacca]

looks like a good option for primary drive while saving up for an ssd! I guess you'd have to set up short stroking on the 2nd hard drive as the primary will come with 10gb for setup you'd probably want to keep. Then swap em round or set up boot from 2nd drive?

[UntilMoraleImproves]

Most of us think about short stroking all the time PP.............:eeek2:

Speak for your self my man! This is a long stroker over here! ;)

[FupDucK]

Speak for your self my man! This is a long stroker over here! ;)

All this talkin' from you guys about strokin' kinda reminds me of something the guy standing at the next urinal over said to me the other day! His reply was: "So this is where all the pricks hang out"? :yes: Been too busy for "strokin"... likewise, I'm savin' up for the real thing while trying to get my G73 Gaming Theater finished by arrival time... Framed, drywalled, and have ordered carpet and leather LaZBoy seating. Good therapy... keeps my mind off of my late Feb order date... I have progress pics posted in my "Gaming Theater" albumn on my profile page if anyone is interested...

Good luck 2 all of the January pre-orders... hope you get the email or call you've been anxiously waiting for from :XPC:PC this week!!

[UntilMoraleImproves]

OK since this is not so on topic with the two main threads I thought why not post here? I wish I had the money when I found might of had in hand. Also funny I said it did not have RAID. Then it did and know it doesn't?

Anyway this is what I wanted to mention. Are you guys thinking of "short stroking"? It is the obvious thing to do with this system if you keep the stock HDD config. But how would you do? On one or both? How much would the short stroked be?

I have a 320GB and have not filled? So I might SS both 25% giving me 250GB? Use the rest for deep storage or archival? So many ways to do. I almost want OS and apps to be on different disks? The goal would be to avoid any thrashing. What do you guys think?

My thought on short stroking (HDDs) is that if you are going to go that route, you might as well buy an affordable SSD. The SSD is still going to offer better I/O performance and if managed properly will really give you the best bang for your buck. Short stroking is an alternative but from what I've read thus far, not necessarily a better alternative.

[FupDucK]

My thought on short stroking (HDDs) is that if you are going to go that route, you might as well buy an affordable SSD. The SSD is still going to offer better I/O performance and if managed properly will really give you the best bang for your buck. Short stroking is an alternative but from what I've read thus far, not necessarily a better alternative.
Great job of returning to topic... more "reps" for you!!:notworthy

[UntilMoraleImproves]

Great job of returning to topic... more "reps" for you!!:notworthy

LOL, thanks FD! I just figured I'd drop my two-cents.

As for the setup, I'm trying to figure out how I want to do it. I know I'm going to the the HDMI connection but I don't have a comfortable way of sitting and using a mouse. I refuse to use the touch-pad after all that I've read.

[FupDucK]

LOL, thanks FD! I just figured I'd drop my two-cents.

As for the setup, I'm trying to figure out how I want to do it. I know I'm going to the the HDMI connection but I don't have a comfortable way of sitting and using a mouse. I refuse to use the touch-pad after all that I've read.

The wife works from home and has a lappy desk... kinda like a dinner tray with short legs... she loves it... fits over her lap and allows her to work all day from her favorite recliner... Also, the angle is adjustable and has plenty of room on the side for her mouse and a compartment under the top for other gadgets... I'm going to give it a try for the big screen gaming experience.

[UntilMoraleImproves]

The wife works from home and has a lappy desk... kinda like a dinner tray with short legs... she loves it... fits over her lap and allows her to work all day from her favorite recliner... Also, the angle is adjustable and has plenty of room on the side for her mouse and a compartment under the top for other gadgets... I'm going to give it a try for the big screen gaming experience.

How much does something like that run? I'll have to do a Google search!

[jbermi]

How much does something like that run? I'll have to do a Google search!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834994080&cm_re=lapdesk-_-34-994-080-_-Product

[UntilMoraleImproves]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834994080&cm_re=lapdesk-_-34-994-080-_-Product

Hmm....interesting. Maybe I'll just use the coffee table, haha. Thanks for the linky.

[FupDucK]

How much does something like that run? I'll have to do a Google search!

She said it was around $25 or $30... and thinks she got it from Bed Bath & Beyond... Keep in mind that she is using a ThinkPad lappy and the foot print is much smaller... If there is not room for the mouse, the way I see it, the top surface can always be modified by adding a larger surface to accomodate the G73... The important perspective to remember is that the legs fit over your lap and still fit within the constraints of your seating area... especially if you are operating from a recliner.

[jbermi]

what you really need is one of those tables like they have in a hospital room. :laugh:

[FupDucK]

what you really need is one of those tables like they have in a hospital room. :laugh:

Good suggestion... Hey jbermi, what part of KY are you in? And how bout them Wildcats?:cool:

[jbermi]

Good suggestion... Hey jbermi, what part of KY are you in? And how bout them Wildcats?:cool:

Northern KY. Independence.

go UK. :yes: