First, Amazon Prime is awesome. I received my computer in 1 day (28hrs) for $4 shipping (15lbs). Wow!
I researched a few weeks before deciding on the XA1. I liked the A1 also but for $300+ less I couldn't resist the XA1.
What I like:
1. The case is flat black and will never show fingerprints (finally a finish for gamer's (and diets))!
2. The illuminated keyboard is super handy.
3. This computer is FAST, COOL and QUIET. Excellent cooling out the back as described in specs.
4. Low profile decorative lighting.
5. The DVD drive is on the left side of the computer so doesn't interfere with my mouse (right handed).
What I don't like:
1. The DVD drive has no drive status or drive in-use light. You have to rely on the software to tell you it is in-use.
2. Since the cooling out the back is so agressive, all the ports (USB/VGA/HDMI etc.)are on the sides. This crowds the sides if you want to use a video cable.
3. I think the hard drive status light is hard to see as it is right under the touch pad.
4. At certain angles, one can see the LEDs under the keys on the keyboard and and they are bright and distracting.
Differences between the A1 and XA1:
1. Yes, it's verified, the XA1 does NOT come with a back pack or ASUS gaming mouse as does the A1.
2. The XA1 has 8GB of 1033Mhz memory as reported by the CRUCIAL memory tester program (although the outside of the box states 1333mhz). The A1 has 8GB of 1333MHz memory.
3. No blue-ray player in the XA1. The A1 has one.
4. Did I mention that the XA1 is more than $300 cheaper?
5. Only 1 year warranty but it is still covered for accidental drops and spills for that whole year (ASUS Global Warranty). The A1 has a 2 year warranty.
6. Oh, almost forgot, the hard drive installed is 750GB and is 7200rpm (verified). It is pre-partitioned to a 250GB OS partition and a 500GB data partition. The A1 has two 500GB 7200RPM drives.
My first impression is that I can't believe I got this much computing power for < $1500. The computer has a quality feel and fit and seems to be thoughfully designed. I have only had mine for a few days but would highly recommend this to others. I'll post more info as I gain more experience.
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I sold my MacBook Pro to have this machine and Windows 7. I don't regret it for one moment.
I bought this machine primarily for gaming, but also to use it daily as my work computer. It's a champ at both jobs.
Some attributes:
--Fast: This machine never bogs down, and it has a fantastic video card. I can play Fallen Earth and Champions Online at full resolution with the details cranked up, and it's smooth as butter. Also, I can rip and encode videos quickly.
--Quiet: The loudest thing about this machine is the optical drive, and even that operates at a whisper. My MacBook Pro's fan and optical drive were both loud as sin. And that machine was nearly twice as expensive as this one!
--Cool: Run this machine as hard as you want -it'll still be cool to the touch, thanks to the rear exhaust. My MacBook Pro constantly operated so hot that it almost burned my hands! I had to use an external keyboard all the time.
--Aesthetically pleasing: The chiclet keyboard is easy to use and feels great. The rubberized keyboard rest is very soothing as well. The machine is also just dead sexy to look at. The keyboard backlight, and other lights, are great.
Other bonuses:
--Bluray reader: heck yeah!
--Free backpack: This is actually a pretty nice backpack, and fits the laptop well (if snugly).
--Free gaming mouse: Ditto for this mouse: Pretty dang good for a give-a-way!
NOTE:
If you have any problems typing with the keyboard (i.e. missing keys when you know you hit them, especially when typing quickly), uninstall the Synaptics trackpad/mouse driver. This fixed this issue for me and others. This was the only problem I had with this machine.
Best Deals for ASUS G73JW-A1 Republic of Gamers 17.3-Inch Gaming Laptop (Black)
I recently upgraded from my faithful G51J-A1 gaming laptop to this one. The main reasons for the upgrade were the larger 17.3 inch diagonal screen (vs. the 15.6 inch screen of the G51J-A1), the newly available NVidia GTX460M (vs. the GTX260M of the G51J-A1), Intel Core i7 740QM processor (vs the Core i7 720QM of the G51J-A1), the availability of 4 memory dimm slots (vs. the two DIMMs of the G51J-A1), and lastly the new cooler redesign that uses two dedicated fans; one for the CPU and one for the GPU (vs. the single fan design of the G51J-A1). These were all valid reasons for the upgrade in my opinion. I am happy to report that this laptop outperforms the G51J-A1 in every category except for space savings ;)
But, as with all reviews there are some drawbacks that come with the improvements that the G73JW laptop provides:
PROs:
Great performance for the money (similiar equipped Alienware will run $500 more...)
Superior cooling design allows laptop to run quietly even when gaming!
Excellent LED display great for watching HD videos and Blu Ray movies
Blu Ray optic drive is now a standard option finally!
Excellent sound from built-in speakers and subwoofer; way better than my G51J-A1's sound capability
Support for EAX 5.0 finally! My G51J-A1 only has EAX 4.0 support
USB 3.0 port; albeit only one :(
Battery life is surprisingly good for the performance power this laptop provides (about 2 hours from an 8-cell lithium ion battery is pretty good)
White LED Backlit keyboard w/variable brightness (still not an available option on most laptops only Dell, Alienware, and Asus provide this so far...)
Light weight for its size most 17 inch laptops weigh easily over 10lbs this one weighs in at 8lbs! WOW
CONs:
Stock WiFi card has just two antenna connections good for only 2.4Ghz 802.11N
Internal WiFi does not provide a third antenna for true 5Ghz 802.11N WiFi you will need to buy the extra WiFi antenna off the internet and install it yourself
No PCMCIA expansion slot G51J-A1 has one! Weird for Asus to omit this feature?
No eSATA port would have preferred both an eSATA port AND a USB 3.0 port
4th DIMM slot is hidden on the other side of the motherboard; allowing the ability to upgrade only three of the memory DIMMs (unless you want to take apart the whole laptop just to upgrade!)
A bit disappointed that Asus didn't offer an option to buy this laptop with either a GTX470M or GTX480M graphics card maybe they will offer it in the future? (fingers crossed)
One final note I wanted to make. I have read several hardware reviews on this laptop and all of them make the statement that the G73JH variant that is equipped with the ATI 5870 mobile graphics card performs better than the GTX460M. That is true for the moment. Remember, the ATI 5870 mobile card has been out for about 6 months. The drivers are very mature vs. the GTX460M drivers are still in beta. Once the drivers are perfected, the GTX460M will blitz past the 5870 with ease especially with any game or application that uses CUDA, Physx, hardware tesselation, and of course 3D Vision which by the way is a feature ATI does not have. And, surprisingly the GTX460M runs a full 20 degees Celsius cooler than the 5870 when under full processing mode! O_o NUFF SAID!
In conclusion, this is an excellent laptop and I am very happy with my purchase. I have only a few minor gripes to report and none of them are "show stoppers". I highly recommend this product for those looking not to spend over $1,800 on a good gaming laptop.
Honest reviews on ASUS G73JW-A1 Republic of Gamers 17.3-Inch Gaming Laptop (Black)
One of the things I find frustrating are reviews that say "this is wonderful" right out of the package without giving ongoing experiences. As this is a lovely little laptop that I would expect to be around for a while I'll be updating for a year with check ins about once a month.
Ratings (created: 11.29.10):
After playing with it for 20 some days I'm ready to add ratings.
Reducing overall rating to 3.5 from 4 because frankly I think that people should expect higher quality. If the LED is the only other issue I have I'll raise back to a 4 with a disclaimer of "know what you're purchasing"
Speed: 4.5 stars (there's more powerful but not by a ton and that's why this and the price is so tempting)
Price: 5.0 Stars for the speed it's incredible.
Quality: 3.0 stars. I knew the key skipping issue before purchasing and didn't care. If that was the only thing wrong with it I'd be ecstatic and likely keep it at 4. The LED lighting going out though makes me frown and this is the major cause of my overall rating drop from 4 to 3.5. It's a new issue and one that was not documented by others. As I generally don't use it, it's not a big deal, but it makes me nervous because ASUS has a HORRIBLE customer service history and the previous model would have rated a 1 in quality due to the issues.
Customer Service: 1.0 star. This is based on other reviews. Hands down every review out there that has dealt with customer service has a bad story. I haven't dealt with them and purchased with the idea the purchase was a gamble or I'd be repairing myself. Summary of issues are lack of reponse/responsibility and LONG loss of laptop times (3weeks or longer with one person having gone 2 months).
Bang for the buck: 4.0 After the LED keyboard lights went out, I'm now concerned that other issues lurk. If the key skipping and LED are the only issues I run into and you don't care about those issues I'd say a solid 5.0. right now it's an unknown so I go with 4.0.
Received laptop 11.11.10
Comes with:
1.) Laptop
2.) Power brick for plugging in
3.) Free starcraft trial (I haven't looked at it yet)
4.) Brief owners manual... very brief.
5.) DVD with drivers but NO and I repeat NO back-up disc. I highly recommend that you purchase (5) dvd's and do the back-up after everything is powered and set-up (windows told me I needed 5 although I haven't finished it yet and will be doing that tonight).
Packaging:
The laptop comes in an amazon box stuffed with paper to take up the extra space. I like the added protection and the lack of a "hey everyone! it's a laptop.
The asus box itself doesn't use styrofoam but instead uses cardboard. Personally I love this as it's more environmentally friendly. That said I did notice a panel on the bottom had snapped out of place. I simply popped it back in.
Starting Up:
There were no instructions here really. It simply tells you to install the battery (not how long to charge or how long a full charge takes) and turn on. When you turn the machine on it continues with the set-up process. I don't think it took more than 10 minutes. I was at work so I could be a little off, but roughly around there. It'll ask for a language (it warns that this can't be changed), date correction and location, password, username, wireless (not required and I didn't use as I was at work), PC name. Once these are all plugged in and you agree to the license the laptop is ready for use.
Prior to starting windows it opened up in this other screen (before set-up) it looked like it was an asus screen and the bottom right corner had a "go to Operating system" button. I hit that to get going.
Looks:
Shiny screen... booo. I know many consumers like this look which is why laptops have it. It makes colors look brighter/prettier. The issue is that light can glare off these types of screens like crazy. Obviously many consumers don't mind. I do, but oh well. I believe you can purchase adhesive covers much like the iphone covers if it really bothers you. I'm not going to bother as this won't see a lot of outdoors use.
keyboard feels cramped. this is silly considering how much space there is on the left and right (about 1 5/8" boarder) that the keyboard could have been extended into. Keyboard keys are about the same size as other keys, but they lack that little curvature that can help you find your keys and they seem just a hair too close together so the fingers trip a little. smaller fingers likely have less of an issue and I suspect mine will get used to it after a while. Reality is that I'm using this for gaming and not typing and as such I just need a few keys. Numberpad, arrows, and function keys are on the smaller side.
The keyboard back lighting is easy to turn off. doesn't really glare at me with it on the desk top and definitely not an issue if in your lap.
The case feels fantastic. It's not some gloss monstrosity that soaks up finger prints. On a desk it looks very slim thanks to the optical illusion of it sloping back.
The photo used for this product (at time that I purchased) is actually the older model using the 5870 video card. You can tell because it has that stupid one mouse button. Relax and know that this has two.
As another user noted the power source is LITERALLY the size of a brick. Unlike del power sources i've used in the past it's not designed for mobility with any kind of strapping for cord management.
I purchased an alienware backpack so I have storage for this, but I highly suggest making sure you have something to store it in.
Concerns I had based on previous model:
These are issues from reviews of the previous model that this is based on and there were 3.
1.) single mouse button difficult to use current model has two (despite picture that might make you think otherwise it does have two buttons)
2.) SERIOUS bios issue that caused games and computer to die frequently (oh there were many rants about this online) supposedly resolved based on reviews of this. The older model had the 5870 video card instead of the Nvidia 460 (no issues yet 11.29.10)
3.) Keyboard keys don't register click causing skipping and retyping. Work around in the past is that you had to disable the touch pad drivers and use a standard mouse. I'll be watching for this. (YES it's there 11.29.10)
I almost purchased an alienware that was less powerful and almost 600 more expensive PLUS taxes. Luckily Dell's customer service messed up with me and inspired me to go looking around. this is only about 1500 and I figured that was worth a gamble. Based on the research I did, IF you don't have to deal with Asus customer service, this will be a great buy. If you do... ugh. Reviews I read were pretty horrendous on this front. If you notice issues I strongly recommend dealing with them ASAP so you can deal with Amazon's 30-day policy and avoid Asus all together. Hopefully most issues will show up by then.
Screen:
I inspected for any dead pixels and didn't see any on mine. WOOT!!! The screen seems to have multiple options at a touch of the button. I'm honestly not really sure what to do with that. I just clicked it to something that seemed as color correct as possible and called it good.
Video Card:
A quick review is that this is a fantastic video card. Drivers for it are new and the performance should greatly improve as games adapt to the card and as drivers are updated in the future. As a gamer, always makes sure that you have the latest drivers. For everyone else... i doubt you'll notice. You definitely do not want the older model with the 5870 card. Although the card currently performs better that will change as the 460 drivers are updated and matures. Also, that older model had sever bios issues.
For those out there wondering "will it play my game? Well... any game in 2010 and before that's a 100% yes (based on specs and reviews I've read from tech forums) with a couple of the most intensive games requiring a slight downgrade in visual settings for acceptable frames per second (fps).
Sound:
So what can I say about the speakers? Well, they're loud in that you can actually hear them! I've had SOOO many issues with both desktops and laptops in this department. It's annoying. On the other hand the quality of sound coming through leaves a LOT to be desired. I think Tinny may be the word used to describe the sound. It's not horrible, but that tinniness is there. Higher ranged sounds can actually hurt my ears if the volume is up too high. Plug in the headphones though and it's fine. Nice sound and will likely vary based on your headphones.
Hard drives:
Drives are partitioned because it creates a more stable environment. In this case there are two partitions.
C: 141GB free of 174GB (clearly some bloat I'll be cleaning out)
D: 504GB free of 504GB
Operating System:
I'm familiar with XP and vista. Windows 7 is much the same from a user perspective with some tweaks. I seem to be able to navigate fairly well without any more searching that XP and Vista take me as I'm not an operating system guru.
Battery Life:
Downloading patches for most the time while surfing and watching youtube videos the batter life was just over 1.5 hours. I think I also played some chess in there as well while the downloads were taking place. (came with it and loving that bloatware). (1.5 hours seems pretty consistent 11.29.10)
Heat:
Running all night, downloading, chess games, music playing, DVD burning... the laptop feels cooler than room temperature with just one or two areas a little bit warm. Frankly even without game play I feel pretty impressed by how cool this is all over. (Also playing games very minimal heat 11.29.10)
Real Use:
I don't recommend using this as a laptop. It's a little tipsy in the lap and I have a big lap. It's also 17" and large. Definitely want a table or desktop or floor for this bad boy. (after having it for a while, it's not that bad. I think I've just become used to the size vs smaller laptops I used. It is tipsy though if not supported in the back and could prove an issue for smaller customers 11.29.10)
I also suggest making sure that if you DO travel you have a container that will fit it. It will not fit in a standard bag. If you pay $300ish more you get some more toys, larger hard drive and a back-pack. Your call if it's worth it to you.
Overall:
Right now I'm looking at this laptop and thinking about how attractive it looks. It's also pretty darn fast (which is why I bought it)
It's heavy and I really wish it was smaller/15" but that's a personal preference. I avoided the 15" in the same model due to the lack of a huge size difference and some complaints on the model.
That said, I have no buyers remorse as of yet. 1500 was a great price to pay for the contents of this beast.
As i load games and travel I'll provide review updates. If there are questions please ask. I don't know that I'll respond to you in a timely manner, but I can likely flesh it out so others have the answers.
***EDIT 11.12.10***
I updated my notes a little in regards to sound, what's in the box for this model, battery life, heat, and real use.
Also, the mouse seems to jump around a bit. I'm not sure if I'm hitting it with my arm or this is the driver issues I was worried about. It's annoying but not detrimental to use and I'm not sure yet if it's me or the laptop as that touchpad is huge. I'm currently using the laptop touch pad as it's still being set-up and not ready to replace my computer yet. I should be doing some game testing this weekend, so I'll let you know how that goes. (mouse jumps seem to be form accidental hits. the pad is HUGE 11.29.10)
The LED keyboard lights don't come back on once turned off. Plugging and unplugging the power seems to work as does a reboot and start. This is a little annoying because I wanted to play with it, but reality is that once you figure out what you like, you're not likely to change it. (They've stopped working all together 11.29.10)
Day two I'm still liking the laptop, but it looks like there's some minor bugs with it. If this is all I have to deal with, then I'm still loving this thing. Currently I'm playing WoW and starcraft II(or will be once the back-up is done and updates are downloaded). I'm going to load the older blizzard games to see how they work and I think I'll go out and pick up a game to challenge this laptop this weekend was well.
***EDIT 11.29.10***
I've now had some more time to play with this due to traveling.
Issues:
LED lighting for the keyboard stopped working. I personally don't care although the one time in my life I'll likely ever want that feature, it didn't work.
Key skipping... yep, definitely key skips for me. I'll try the fix others have listed in other reviews and post back what it was and if it worked.
Additional thoughts:
The mouse pad is HUGE and causes accidental bump issues if not turned off or when using keyboard without external keyboard/mouse.
The wrist rest room has been wonderful while traveling and not using an external keyboard. I thought it was a lot of dead space, but find myself loving the design here.
The machine is powerful and nice and works well for the games I'm playing, specifically warcraft and starcraft II. I've been very happy with FPS.
Oh, and in regards to the chess program that comes with this. I love that it's there, but lvls 1-4 seem a little inconsistent in difficulty. It does increase but at times the computer makes moves where it literally gives a piece away. Also... it allows you to castle after you've been placed in check. The computer has yet to beat me. I've been playing each level ten times to get a feel for it. Most people won't care about this, but if someone does, now you know.
Bottom line, I still don't regret purchasing but I admit an additional issue (LED lights for keyboard) has made me nervous. I won't be sending it back to Amazon unless something major happens in the next few days. Speed wise it's a dream. Quality wise I can live with the current bugs I'm aware of.
***UPDATE*** 3/09/11
I've owned it for a little while now. During that time I installed the updates. I found I had to plug the laptop in, possibly because one of the updates was to the wireless. I'd waited a few months so if there were issues with the patch they could correct. When I finally loaded them all I had no issues, BUT the drivers update DID have to complete and the process took some time. I freaked out because it had wiped the graphics driver before replacing with the updated graphics driver. The duration of time and the lack of a clear "this is still being updated even though you've rebooted" had me nervous. After two more reboots, though, everything was in clean working order. The machine is still functioning. currently this is being used as My dvd player and I haven't been traveling as much. I haven't noticed a huge difference with the old and new patches.
Still, things are working so life is good.
***UPDATE**** 5/19/11
Still working fine. Nothing new to report. As this item is no longer for sale on Amazon I won't be reviewing again.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for ASUS G73JW-A1 Republic of Gamers 17.3-Inch Gaming Laptop (Black)
There are plenty of detailed reviews and articles out there for this laptop that are far more technical than I am willing to go. This is just a quick overview for anyone who might be interested in a high end laptop, but are put off by the gamers orientated marketing this product has.
I purchased this laptop for my girlfriend, who is by all means not a gamer. She mostly needed a laptop to do work on MS Office, watch movies, photos, surf the interwebs, etc. My criteria for this was:
1) Good Large Quality Screen
This screen is beautiful. Full 1080p resolution. Better pictures than on my desktop monitor.
Viewing angles are largely good side to side, verticals not as forgiving.
Glossy, but why would you be carrying this around outside to use for the 1 hour battery life you get?
Super bright. So bright in fact I had to turn it down.
Everything else, including my iPhone 4 screen looked yellow in comparison.
2) Multitasking Performance
Overkill. Seriously this laptop is as fast as my cutom built desktop gaming rig.
I threw everything I could at it and it chewed through it like a fat kid with cake.
Office 2010, Hulu, Youtube 1080p, Blu-Ray, games cutting butter with a hot knife.
3) Build Quality
I was originally concerned by the FanBoy neon stealth fighter look this laptop had in the photos.
Because of this, I was also considering the HP Envy. I'm glad I chose this computer.
The case is a beautiful subdued matte black. It has a soft touch feel like a good quality dashboard.
It's big, but surprising light and compact. The case actually looks very professional in person.
The rear exhaust design extends the case behind the screen, but it works amazingly well.
Everything is put together like a tight ship and it is extremely quiet and cool to the touch.
Let me emphasize how quiet and cool this computer runs. You really can't tell it's on.
Even under extreme use, this laptop with Nvidia card runs cold. This can't be said for this model
using the ATI card or the HP Envy.
4) Input Devices
The keyboard is excellent. Soft touch with no flex. The keys are backlit with white LEDs.
This is great for using it in the dark, but can bother your eyes if the laptop is placed
in a higher position, because the light from underneath the keys glares out.
This can be turned off or dimmed.
Track pad is huge and fairly responsive if you adjust the settings.
I prefer using a mouse and was pleasantly surprised it included one.
Razor mouse. It is fairly good. The buttons are a little stiff but far better than generics.
5) Storage & Connectivity
This laptop comes with two 500gb 7200rpm hard drives. Which is a lot better than the 5400 ones
that laptops usually come with. But not as fast as SSD ones. I don't understand why ASUS puts
so many partitions on their drives. It's really annoying. So instead of having two 500gb drives,
you get one 180gb, one 320gb, and two 250gb drives. You can use the partition manager to change
the sizes but your stuck with the OS partition unless you do a clean install. Which is not a bad idea.
Blu ray is useful if you have any. But make sure you don't delete the PowerDVD software it comes
with.
The ports all being on the sides really isn't a problem. It's nice they included a USB 3.0 and
HDMI ports.
6) Mobility
Like I said this is meant to be a desktop replacement, so it's big. But as far as 17 inch laptops
go, it seems fairly sleek and light. The battery life is 2 hours at most, so it's really not meant
to be on the go. But if you're going to be moving around room to room, or do ocassional traveling,
then this laptop is perfect. Plus it comes with a pretty good quality backpack. The laptop's extended
dimensions will make it difficult to find a laptop case I believe.
7) Warranty
ASUS provides a 2 year warranty standard. Also included is 1 year accident coverage. This protects
the machine against any drops or spills etc. You must fill out the included card to make this active.
If you look at the cost of supplemental accident coverage, you will see that this is a great value.
Overall, I am very happy with this laptop and recommend it to anyone who needs a fast and powerful computer. It is definitely a desktop replacement, and has the technology to keep it current for quite some time.
Thanks!
