I did a bit of research and this laptop seemed pretty highly anticipated by those looking to buy and well received by the few that already had them. I also saw that it seemed most of the initial shipment came with 1333MHz DDR3 ram instead of 1066. I opened mine up and it does have 1333MHz. A supply issue I guess. Very nice considering it's a $150+ upgrade on some websites.I installed Borderlands and it seemed like a dog at first, then I realized I didn't have the AC adapter plugged in. It automatically goes to a power saver mode when only on battery (of course) and it makes a big difference. Once plugged in I put all the settings on high except for anti-aliasing at 4 instead of 16 and resolution at native 1920x1080 it ran a little slow. Frame rate was around 30 usually. Fine for most games but not a FPS. At 1280x720 the frame rate was in the 50s. I played for about an hour and it was running very hot so I stopped for a while. I bought this laptop to replace an older Dell laptop I had because I burned out the vid card on the Dell, so I was a bit worried, maybe needlessly.
The keyboard is fine but the keys are real slippery, could use some kind of texture or concave shape. They are lighted which will be very useful (hit Fn+F4 when you 1st get it, mine were turned off).
Could use a USB in the back (I like to use a cooling pad) but it has 2 on each side near the front which is nice.
Lights on the lid are annoying. The side ones turn off in battery mode, I'll have to look into a setting to turn them off all the time. The logo light in the center of the lid never turns off.
I like the physical switch for wireless and bluetooth.
No dead pixels, I'll be looking close for 30 days but I hope to not have to RMA. Nice warranties on this thing, definitely a selling point. Watch out if you try to buy an ASUS from Best Buy --they do not honor all the standard ASUS warranties, I think the accident insurance. Because Best Buy wants to sell you their own insurance for $179.
The thing I don't like the most about this laptop is the screen size. Not the resolution but the actual physical size. There is approximately a 3/4 inch bezel on the sides and bottom and nearly 1 1/4 inch at the top. This makes the laptop less attractive visually also, like it's chunky and thick. The large top bezel is likely because of the webcam which I will never use. The screen could easily be 16+ inches which would help lots with the high resolution. At 1920x1080 for a laptop you need all the size you can get. Text at 100% is tiny but mine shipped at 125% so that's smart on their part. I primarily use it for painting in Photoshop and Painter so the high resolution is great. Trying to show someone text on the screen is difficult when they can't read it unless they are real close.
One other thing I didn't like was 40+GB of pre-installed software. Why anyone would want all this crap is beyond me. I was going to wipe and reinstall but there is the quick start OS which I need to look into and see if that will be wiped and if there is any difficulty reinstalling it. I pretty much always plan on wiping a new computer but most people wouldn't so that is a factor.
I got my backpack and mouse, I see some others didn't.
Oh yeah it's not black, even the darkest part of the lid is a dark blue.
So:
+Free ram upgrade
+speedy
+lighted keys
+wireless switch
+free backpack and mouse
-slippery keys
-physical screen size
-bloatware
All in all very happy with it.
Let's get down to business, shall we?
Pluses: Gorgeous, smooth graphics in Star Trek Online, DDO, Champions Online and Team Fortress 2 with the sliders cranked just shy of the max. EAX sound is amazing: even sounds decent out of the built-in speakers (really rocks with my headphones though). CPU performance and multitasking is sweet and responsive. I have multi-surfed Word, Visual Studio and Photoshop CS with no lag or issues.
More ports than you can shake a stick at: plenty of USB, eSATA, FireWire (1394) and even HDMI (which outputs to full 1080p if that floats your boat). Bluetooth devices are easily paired. Amazing Windows 7 performance (rates a 5.9 Windows Experience out of the box, with 6.6s in graphics, before any tweaking)
This thing is a sweet PC for money.
Cons: Runs hot. Be sure to keep side vents for cooling free. Might be worth investing in a cooling mat for this bad boy. Also, can we please not pre-install a bunch of crap on our new, high-performance gaming machines? I had to uninstall a bunch of cheesey ASUS games and stuff before I could really get down to business.
Buy ASUS Republic of Gamers G51JX-A1 15.6-Inch Gaming Laptop (Blue) Now
Overall, I'm very happy with this laptop. I don't use my computers unplugged very often at all, so battery life isn't a big issue. I was a bit timid about buying another Asus since my last one was defective, but the 2 year warranty made me feel better about taking a chance on this model. This may tell how long it's been since I bought a laptop but it was common to see 2 year warranties and frankly I'm surprised that not all the Asus models offer this coverage. To be fair, I give this laptop 4.5 stars, being dinged primarily for going "cheap" with the OS choice.Gripes:
Windows 7 64-bit Home Premium for a "high end" gaming platform just doesn't make sense. I was expecting, at a minimum, the Professional version at this price point. As an aside, nearly all my complaints are around Windows and the lack of it's ability to run many not-so-old applications that I depend on. So be prepared to also drop some bucks on newer versions of programs that won't run on 7 that were perfect on XP. Also, approximately 100gb chunk of the 500gb hard drive is not available out of the box thanks to Microsoft's "instant upgrade" OS to Professional/Ultimate are already on the drive. I guess it's convenient for some to upgrade this way but I always insist on a Physical Disc for that day the hard drive craters. (Asus: It would be helpful if you offered instructions or an "uninstall" option to delete these files for those of us that want our hard drive space for our use), or maybe I should charge Microsoft rent?
No Blu-ray. Ok, maybe I shouldn't list it as a gripe since I knew it didn't have this when I bought it, but seriously, why go through the hassle and expense of a true 1080p display and NOT have a drive to watch/load Bluray or HD titles?? I hope Asus will make a replacement drive available with Blu-ray/HD capability at a reasonable cost. By the way, Microsoft did not think it important to support HD playback in Windows 7 (incredible blunder!) and as of this date I have not found a pre-installed application on this machine that will play Bluray/HD files! More $$$ for a program for that I guess.
Speakers: The sound is best summed up as anemic. I was expecting much more from the Altec Lansing branding...while they sound ok (not great by any standard, as an audiophile), my biggest gripe is VERY LITTLE OUPUT AT MAX compared to my last HP notebook which would get loud enough to embarrass me! No worries with this one in this regard, sadly. (Asus,I've gone through all the convoluted menus to try to tweak more output but I'm disappointed!). Not enough bass nor treble. . Perhaps I got a bad sound module?? At least the headphone output is quite good.
The included bag, while appreciated, is just large enough to carry the laptop/power brick, mouse and few knick-knacks. It feels a bit on the cheap side compared to my other Targus bag. Perhaps it's easier on your back this way. ;-)
This is not really a gripe, just a "heads up": Heat! Under heavy load (or any graphics intensive operation) this puppy will pump out some BTU's! It's main exit vent is on the left side and I've found it quite handy for keeping my coffee HOT (not just warm!). This is almost a plus but I can see why Asus didn't want to advertise this. Just be careful for spillage. The heat is extreme enough under load that I worry about anything remotely flammable within a foot or so of the vent. Asus did a great job of keeping the heat off the keyboard and upper area (although it definitely will be welcome in the winter, keeping your hands warm while you type!). I have read that the Intel i7 chip is a HOT chip under load, so this is going to be "normal" if you run an i7 quad core, no matter who builds it. The i5 I had previous was also a hot machine, but the i7 is definitely hotter.
What I like:
The part of any laptop you look at the most and thus, in my opinion, the most important part, the display,is sharp and bright. Colors are natural and the "Splendid" application allows one to customize viewing almost limitlessly. Perhaps 1080p on a 15.6" screen is a bit overkill, but I'm not complaining. I do find myself zooming in a lot though.
Keyboard lighting is great and you can adjust the intensity (3 settings to choose from). The ergonomics is fair and I really love having a keypad on the keyboard. The keys feel a slight-bit on the "cheap" side but they work just fine. I say "fair" on the ergonomics since the edge of the palm rest tends to "bite" into my lower forearms after a few minutes. The top of this palm rest is coated with a "rubbery" layer which is comfortable enough but the edge is just a little too sharp for my tastes. This is not a big issue but I'm very thorough and critical of my big ticket items.
Wireless: The best and most sensitive I've witnessed yet. I'm amazed at the range this laptop wireless has from the base station. Almost double anything I've used prior to. Well done Asus!
Bluetooth: I've had issues using Skype (about the only time I used the bluetooth) with it dropping my Plantronics headset after a few minutes in a session. It could be just Skype's software, I don't know. The headset works flawlessly for hours at a time with my Blackberry. Perhaps there is a conflict? I'm going to find out the problem and update when I do.
Gaming/graphics capability: I consider myself a casual gamer but I've been VERY impressed with the frame-rate even at full 1920X1024 resolutions! Runs X3, Silent Hunter IV, Half-Life 2 with all options maxed no problem. (Heat! will be generated!) I will update on this as I try other games. My main use for this power is TurboCAD as I do a LOT of design work and this machine flies through everything I throw at it.
The included mouse is great! I've always used logitech mice but I think I found a new alternative. It isn't wireless (which would be even better) but it is a joy to use.
The touchpad, while not the "new" style of the one on my other Asus, is much nicer to use. I HATE the multi-fingering gesturing and I MUCH prefer having a scroll bar like this one has. It also will auto-shut off when a mouse is attached (software option). This touchpad is great!
I plan on doing a 90 day update so stay tuned.
Read Best Reviews of ASUS Republic of Gamers G51JX-A1 15.6-Inch Gaming Laptop (Blue) Here
On paper this machine seems to have it all. However, there is one major issue it completely shuts down in the middle of gaming. When running COD MW2 the machine would make it about 5-10 minutes into the game and would then completely shut off as if someone had cut the power to the machine. We tested this over and over with gaming as well as with several different stress testing tools (Furmark, etc.) The laptop did not shut down in every single instance, it happened about 50% of the time. While running non CPU/GPU intensive apps we had no issues. After making several calls to ASUS support, they could not determine the problem and wanted me to send the unit in for repair (after only having for 2 days). Thankfully Amazon let me return the unit for a replacement. However, we just received the replacement machine yesterday and are having the same exact problem with it!After doing some digging on the internet, it appears others have had the same problem and is a known issue with these laptops. All indications point to the fact that either the CPU/GPU are getting too hot or the power supply itself is getting too hot and the machine completely shuts down.
You may want to look at other options when considering this laptop especially for gaming.
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I can't say enough good things about this machine. Yes, the "gameboy" packaging is a bit garish and it is a fingerprint magnet, but it's what's on the inside that counts. The ultra-high-density screen is amazing. Speed is incredible and the features can't be beat for the money. As an IT professional, I have dealt with Asus' technical support in the past and have found them to be outstanding. The free accidental breakage coverage is unprecedented. Get yours now!
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