Only had it a few days so this is just a first impression -
What a beaut! This laptop looks and feels like my perfect ideal for a laptop, understated (no crappy chrome-esq plastic, big glowing lights etc)just a very nice matte black soft finish, nice lines, small(ish) logo, everything looks and feels so solid it just comes together and seems right, a good weight, its not trying to be sleek and light, its just doing one job (high performance) and that is how it looks and feels, I will put up with the weight (not that bad in the included rucksack). So my first impression is very favorable.
So I'm in the process of getting all the software sorted out, which i guess is fun.
Here's my initial pro's/cons:
Pro's:
1 This beast barely breaks a sweat I mean its so quite, the stealth image does do it justice, it's very quite almost silent, when I reran the window index thingy the sound never changed, and doesn't even feel warm.
2 Screen is lovely Matte and very very bright clear and generally amazing, way too intense in a dark room, my old dell xps 1330 which is sitting besides with both at max brightness it looks like a dull yellow compared, it has very good angular visibility too.
3 Keyboard is nice, firm well spaced out, I like the keyboard lights without it keys actually very hard to see in low light, as the text doesn't contrast at all with the black keys.
3 Touchpad nice size and nice to have multi-touch gestures.
4 Asus software, actually some useful software(and bloatware see Cons) like fastboot which delays boot items.
5 Backpack (rucksack) good amount of pockets, sturdy and compact, only just fits laptop in fact, but has plenty of space for extra stuff, nice touch Asus.
I don't know about performance as not pushed it at all yet, but from the index score its pretty good, I am mainly using it for graphic's work so its more important to be fast processor and memory than graphics, but I am tempted to buy and try some of the latest games cos this beast is designed for them. Btw in case you don't know one downside to this rig is the graphics card has a 128bit memory bus instead of 192, which from what I have read makes a difference, the 17" has the 192 bit bus. It's no big deal for me and having a usable size for a laptop was more important than Memory bus speed, still would have preferred to have the option for this, recon most gamers will pay the extra and Asus should have made some models with the bigger bus, and given us the choice.
Cons:
1 Bloatware crappy crappy annoying bloatware, such a shame cos in my mind Asus has really got there stuff together, making some seriously decent equipment and marketing and doing everything right, except bowing to the pressure to include crap on their rigs (for a small dime no doubt) I decided to create a backup disc set and reformat which took hours only to find that the backup disc puts all the crap on again except the drivers which you need, so either way you have to uninstall it all. I ended up taking almost everything off then using the asus utility to load the drivers and useful stuff back on. thing is there are tons of processes running and I hate not knowing whats happening behind the scenes on my rig, I wish I could completely disable/delete most of these processes and services running but I don't know what they all do.
2 included gaming mouse is nice, uninstalled software for it, limited control and adds to the startup.
Will update after a while when I learn more.
Update 1:
Had a problem with the Realtek Lan network drivers, they kept failing to install fully and could not get windows to get the drivers to work or install, spent many hours trying to find the solution online and in their help guides, was thinking either the lan hardware was dead or in some kind of zombie like deep sleep. Eventually got it to work, uninstalled everything Realtek driver and windows device hardware, rebooted then manually installed by handpicking the type of device and the driver -thankfully everything started to work! I now have lan working and don't have to do a emergency disk reinstall from scratch or send it back.
Power4Gear Hybrid seems really buggy, doesn't connect quickly enough with the hardware button, also when I save it to screen timeout it doesn't work and the screen just stayed on, all night! not a major bug but hope they fix with a update.
Also with all the software installed or most of it, my processes list is way too big for me! I like to know what's running and keep my system simple and bare, but this is more about the extra software included, and being unsure what I can uninstall.
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Im gonna cut straight to what you gamers want to hear.This laptop can run skyrim at MAX settings, and ittl get a TEEENY bit choppy in towns.
It can run WoW at max settings, without skipping a beat. (poor internet connections may still slow the loading of orgrimmar though)
It can run SWTOR at max settings, and same as wow, my slow interet speeds slow the loading of the Republic fleet on a busy day.
It can run Tf2 at max settings, even when i use console commands to DOUBLE the gamespeed on offline practice mode.
It runs minecraft at full settings without flaw.
Im currently installing Just Cause 2 and Portal 2 and Garys mod to test those games, but based on how it handled the first 5, im sure they'll do just fine
The gaming mouse mine came with was a nice freebie, but as a long time user of the Razer Naga, i feel that the button placement for hte included mouse is horrible for gaming. Two on either side of the primary mouse buttons. and 2 below the scroll wheel.
It also comes with a backpack. Ive only used the backpack for 1 day so far, but it seems like a decent backpack.
The backpack is dark grey with mild green. (at least the one *I* received is that color, peraps the colors vary)
at first i ordered this laptop by mistake ( i was reviewing the G73sx ) but after researching more, and seeing in person how big a 17'3 laptop is, im glad i got this version.
The trackpad is OKAY i guess, but when im playing anything but SWTOR or WOW, i use an external mouse.
also its easy to disable the trackpad so you dont hit it by accident, you just press Fn+F9
the lighted keyboard is very nice, there are also arrows on the WASD keys, and a little jumping dude on the spacebar.
The battery life depends what setting u have it on, theres a button on the top left that switches the laptop between 4 modes:
1. High Performance
2. Quiet office
3. Entertainment (Theater)
4. Battery saver
at first i thought my laptop couldnt game with lots of other stuff open in the background, then i realized i just had it on battery saving mode. So dont get worried when that happens, just make sure u set it to high performance.
and as the default background suggests, this laptop has the look and feel of a stealth fighter jet.
This is a fantastic laptop. DEFINITELY worth the money.
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I purchased the Asus laptop based on a recommendation from my son, who has had an Asus for the last 2 years. The G53SX is a great PC! It was delivered early and was exactly what I had ordered, all parts in place and ready to rock and roll! I wanted a good gaming machine for Lord of the Rings Online, and it is just perfect for it! The HD screen is wonderful. It's a somewhat heavier laptop, but I chalk that up to the fact that it is made out of sturdy, quality, materials. Oh, one thing that I should mention is how quiet this laptop is. Compared to my older HP laptop, I barely know I am running anything, even my hi-def game! And it is super-cool, temperature-wise, too! I've had it for about a month or so and am very happy with it!Honest reviews on ASUS G53SX-DH71 Full HD 15.6-Inch Gaming Laptop - Republic of
I've been using the computer for just over two weeks now and love it! When I first purchased a laptop in 2007, my main objective was to get something powerful for online gaming. At that time I was playing World of Warcraft, and the rig I had purchased harnessed more than enough power to handle it smoothly. Most people into PC gaming though, are well aware that WoW is not a very graphically intensive game. So what I ended up with was a laptop that was great for playing games at my desk at home, but not practical at all for any other purpose. It was too cumbersome, weighed somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 pounds, had a 17 inch screen and a 10"x3x"4" "Brick" that was part of the power cord. So I essentially had a "mobile computer", that wasn't really mobile at all which I spent far too much money on and turned out being a lemon after 6 months with horrible customer support. But I'm not writing this review on that laptop, I'm just trying to give you a little history on what motivated me to buy this particular laptop. So, back to the original topic at hand...the product review.This time around when I decided to purchase another laptop I decided to go with something smaller, lighter weight and powerful enough to handle today's games without going too far over the top on the hardware. One of the main problems I've noticed with buying what is regarded as "today's most powerful computer" is that the more powerful the rig, the bigger it gets. This laptop seems to be a perfect balance between the two for me. The size is right, so the computer is mobile and it has pretty decent graphics power. The first thing I installed was "Rift", which is an MMO similar in gameplay to World of Warcraft but far more graphically demanding. I'm currently running this game on the highest factory setting without going into custom settings and the game is running beautifully! The computer design is also quite unique and very appealing. It also comes with a backpack/carrying case which makes the computer mobile in less than a minute.
I would recommend this laptop to anyone who wants a decent machine without spending a fortune on any of the top end models. My intentions are to try a few different MMOs, trade stocks and take online classes and I'm sure this computer has the power to handle any of those tasks. This makes my 5th computer/laptop and I'm extremely pleased with it so far!
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The Asus G53SX is a powerful machine -when it is working. Plays all games at "ultra" settings without breathing hard and at an attractive price point.However, the video card failed after only one week. Suddenly, the lcd screen remains dark during boot. It is either the screen or video card that is faulty since (fortunately) the video out port works when I plug in an external monitor. This enabled me to recover my files. This problem is apparently a known issue and more common than should be acceptable to any manufacturer. Searching the Web you'll find numerous incidents of this problem with other owners of Asus' Republic of Gaming machines (both G73 and G53 models). In fact there is a You Tube video showing another frustrated owner with this issue.
As powerful this machine is and as sweet as it is to use -when in working condition. My advice is to avoid this machine until this issue is fixed. Or take your chances and get frustrated with a machine that costs $1400+/with a known history of failure. Apparently Asus has an issue with quality control of their notebooks or are ignoring the issue as a cost of doing business.
Update:
After getting little satisfaction from Asus Support, Amazon stepped in and reaffirmed their commitment to excellent customer service. I am a long time / avid buyer and constantly "spoiled" by their adherence to customer satisfaction. The growth and profitability of their business reflects the priority they put on going the extra mile to meeting the customer needs. More companies should learn from their example. It is not surprise that Amazon has such a loyal customer base.
Oh Amazon is sending a replacement. Hopefully, I will have more luck with the reliability of the machine.
Update:
It has been several months since I received the replacement unit and it has operated flawlessly. Continues to be a great machine with all the power you need to play any game without exhibiting any effort. I have updated the rating to 3 stars, it would have been 5 stars except for the fact that the first unit did was flawed.
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