I've been using an old Toshiba laptop for a long time, and it was time I upgraded. I'll start with what I was looking for: a powerful gaming laptop that I could still use for school. I certainly got what I asked for.It's positives are obvious at the very start. Its i5 processor and 4gb of ram make it lightning fast, this is in comparison to my friend's desktop that has several thousand dollars piled into it. I tested a multitude of games on it, Mass Effect 2 ran without a hitch at max settings, Left4Dead2 runs at max, even Starcraft2 on Ultra settings ran cleanly when playing normally (note custom maps are a different story, and if you've ever played a custom you know what I mean...). This of course is only possible because of the lower resolution. Since it's not at full 1080p, it can handle the amount of graphic intensity of high settings. In all honesty I love full hd, and am quite used to it, but the sacrifice of resolution for quality was well worth it. I can easily run any program without any issues, word, photoshop, et. Often enough I'll have a few things running and play starcraft2 at the same time without any slow down, which says a lot. All three ran without any frame rate issues. In terms of the actual look of the laptop, it's sleek and clean, it had no scratches or dings, and everything was intact. the keyboard and the wrist rests are textured, which I really like because it gives me some feeling to when I'm typing et. The extra touch buttons that allow you to turbo boost the cpu (possible since it's an i5) and turn the touchpad on and off are very helpful when you already have a mouse. The size of this laptop allows for a numpad, which I absolutely love because I HATE typing with the 10 button numbers. Also, the fact the keyboard has back light is quite nice in a dark environment. The webcam is good quality as well. For a refurb (after hearing the horror stories), mine is in perfect condition.
Now the negatives do exist, this laptop isn't perfect. The chiclet keyboard might be an issue for some, I know it's not much for me but since I'm so used to the responsiveness of a normal keyboard I have to adjust to the change. The speakers are a little low on volume, but all you have to change is the volume equalizer to on in Creative's audio driver. The laptop itself didn't come as I expected, it's black with a small streak of silver instead of the blue. I actually wanted blue as it matches my mouse and I love the color but why be picky, it still looks good. When the laptop came I had some fears instilled in me thanks to my paranoid friend, who told me that some refurbs come with no charger or battery, but I got this from Amazon and my fears were just that. However, even if it came with the charger and battery, what you do not get is the driver dvd, or a Windows disc. Now, this isn't too much of a problem as you can download all the drivers, but if you don't have a Windows disc redoing the system is impossible. Your Windows key is on the bottom of the laptop, but it's useless without the install disc. This issue became relevant as I redid the system because I didn't need or want the extra things installed on it (like roxio burn or some crappy antivirus trial et.). The only actual problem that I have with this laptop is the top edges of the laptop wrap around the screen for a few pixels... thought it was strange design, but it's not noticeable after a day.
As for the other negative reviews that I read, they're a bit dumb. The shipping speed is explained when you buy it, they have to build the computer before they send it. The fan is NOT loud, if you're not playing a graphic intensive game there's virtually no noise at all. When you are, the fan does make a bit of noise but seeing as this laptop is built for power it needs to get rid of the heat, but even then it's easily ignorable.
Ignore the shipping speed issues, it's a refurb they have to build the computer before they send it hence the "usually ships from 2-3 weeks". Also, who complains about the weight of the laptop when they have it listed under specifications? These complaints wouldn't exist if people could read.
Overall, this laptop is one badass puppy for the price (I mean cmon, $800 for a top quality gaming laptop?!?! Other $800 laptops are crap in comparison.). For what it is, I give it a 4.5. It's powerful, practical, and looks good. Well worth the price.
Games.
World of Warcraft
Star Craft (1-2)
warcraft 3
Call of duty 4
Portal
Half life 2 +(Episode 1-2)
Team Fortress 2
Left 4 Dead (1-2)
Civ 5 (2-4)
and a few others.
I have been able to play all these games on ALL HIGH SETTINGS. I get about 45-60 Fps while playing. Even during intense battles where I'm really using the GPU and CPU pretty harshly, It plays cool, and still maintains AT LEAST 45 fps.
Pros VERY good buy, it is the best laptop for this price. I have been looking for a LONG time for something that had a least a tri core CPU running at least 2.2ghz, and a dedicated graphics with at least 512mb dedicated to the GPU. After benchmarking the parts inside this laptop I found that the GPU(graphics processing unit) was in the top tier. There are 3 tiers, tier 1 is the best out there were tier 3 is low end crappy. The CPU, and GPU both scored well on the benchmarks in tier 1. Other people have said that they want more FPS(frames Per Second) out of this laptop. The only way for that to happen is for it to have 2 graphics cards. believe me, 60fps is good, and that's about the most you will get with almost ALL single graphics cards. the processor is very good as well. Its a duel core, running 2.27ghz, but can easily be overclocked to 2.54ghz from inside windows. Asus made a program that you can launch from within windows that makes it easy to overclock your CPU, just as easy as setting the battery to high performance. The other thing is that the CPU also has 4 threads, witch makes it run like a quad core, ex. That's like partitioning your hard drive into 4 partitions! its one hard drive but you have 4 storage areas now. It is a true LED wide screen display, so the rez might not be 1080p but it still looks GREAT. The key board is a chiclet style, all that means is that they buttons are a little smaller and have more space in between them. If you have ever used a mac book pro, its just like that. NOT HARD to get used to at all. within minutes I was typing at normal speeds with it. 4g's of DDR3(GOOD, but can be upgrade to 8g's, witch is GREAT). Hard drive isn't bad, 7200rpm means quick launching and WAY less time in loading screens, plus 500gb of storage isn't bad either. would like 1t but ehhh, now I'm just being picky. (cough) 500gb SSHD/Flash Storage would be nice (cough). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I already know that would jack up the price a grand or two though. . . . any way
CONS HEAT. . . This thing tends to get a little hot while playing these games with all HIGH setting. I invested $32. on a laptop cooling tray. BELIEVE me, it is worth the investment. It keeps the laptop from overheating and the one i got sits it at an angle witch makes it just that much easier to use. BUY a MICROFIBER CLOTH rag, this thing doesn't attract much dust but the oil from your hands and fingers dose stand out and creates smudges. Plus its always good to keep your com clean ;)
other then that this thing has had NO PROBLEMS, Ive had it for 1month and a week. so far so good. not to much bloat ware, wasn't damaged at all when it arrived and runs like a CHAMP. It replaced my desktop as my main computer and like I said is the BEST BANG FOR YOUR BUCK. I looked at Newegg.com for the same laptop, and a few other places, It cost a little more els where, and the ones they had were NOT factory refurbished. Believe me that is a big enough deal, You don't want something sent back to the retailer who just wants it sold. the factory/company that sells it will take the time to make sure that it is fully functional and is LIKE new, they will even replace parts with BRAND NEW ones because they already have them.
In short. . best laptop at this price. really good CPU/GPU. Runs like a Champ. CAN replace your desktop. HEATS up, buy a cooling tray. you will not be disappointed with your purchase.I have owned my ASUS G60 for about 10 months, prior to that I owned the previous model (G51) for several months. Overall, my experience has been mostly positive and I would strongly recommend ASUS gaming notebooks for their great features and tremendous value.
What I use this computer for:
I have used this particular notebook for as a complete desktop replacement system, it is my one and only PC. I do some moderate gaming, namely Call of Duty Black Ops and Modern Warfare II. Additionally, I do a bit of light video editing and audio production (Adobe Premier Elements, Adobe Audition) along with day-to-day internet browsing and word processing. For my purposes, most folks would agree the specs are total overkill but when I feel like playing a new PC game I don't want to have to suffer. The system is a power hog, so don't expect record-breaking battery life (2-3 hours with some power using features disabled, 45 minutes on full blast.) Also, the monitor's max resolution is a little low (1366 x 768) given the size of the screen (16" widescreen.) Below I'll break down some of the pros and cons.
Some of my favorite things about this system:
The case is extremely sturdy and has a very substantial feel on the desk. The keyboard feels like a real desktop keyboard and doesn't cause the screen or case to shake or flop around on your desk when you type heavily. This is a huge plus for me, given that I use this as a desktop computer.
The keyboard is backlit with several brightness settings, adjustable using the function keys.
The screen is extremely bright and crisp on its highest lamp setting, but you can also adjust the screen brightness quickly using the function keys. This is a great feature for both battery life and avoiding eye strain.
The video card offers HDMI output to a television or monitor. It also has VGA for older analog monitors and automatically switches to dual monitor output when either port is used.
There is a large heat sink with side case exhaust (not on the underside of the case) which eliminates the need for a laptop cooling pad for most users.
The NVIDIA GeForce GTS 360M 1GB graphics card is in fact a discrete, PCI-Express graphics card (x16 bus speed) not an "integrated" or "on-board" graphics card. This, of course, is the prime selling point for any laptop marketed as a "gaming machine."
The Ethernet port is on the back of the machine (thank goodness!) as is the power cord input.
Some of my least favorite things about this system:
There are 4 USB 2.0 ports, two located on each side of the case proximal to the user. For right handed users, this means that your USB ports will get directly in the way of your mouse hand if you are using an external mouse (and of course you would be considering this is a gaming laptop) Bad case design, ASUS!
The audio jacks are located (of course) on the right side of the case, proximal to the user. So, if you plug in your headset/mic you'll be cluttering your mouse pad with unruly wires which conveniently get in the way of everything. Bad case design, ASUS!
The audio jacks are *very* poorly constructed. The headphone jack microswitch is extremely likely to become "stuck" rendering your built-in speakers useless (more on this below.)
Major issues/complaints:
I only have one major issue or complaint with this laptop (and all the other ASUS laptops for that matter, since this issue is not limited to just this model.) The headphone jack microswitch has a strong tendency to become "stuck." What I mean by this is that when you plug in headphones or external speakers to the headphone jack, two pins (the microswitch) are suppressed which tell the motherboard to direct sound into the device you've plugged in. When you remove the headphone/speakers, the two pins should "pop" back out to an unsuppressed position which tell the motherboard to direct sound to the laptop's built in speakers. In this ASUS model (and most other ASUS models) this microswitch is faulty and easily damaged. In other words, when you unplug your headphones/speakers the switch remains suppressed and the built-in speakers never get "told" to turn back on. The end result: you have to use headphones or external speakers to hear any sound. This is a common, widespread and known defect with the Realtek on-board sound card in these systems and cannot be easily fixed or replaced, since a full motherboard replacement would be needed. So, it's something you should just be prepared to live with. Overall, it's merely a nuisance and not a terribly debilitating defect.
Summary and Rating:
To wrap things up, this is a great mid-range gaming system at a great price. You get a high end graphics card, a great sturdy case with a bright screen and some great little features. There are some cons with the layout of ports and such, and of course, that unruly headphone jack. But overall, I think you'd be quite pleased with the performance vs. price of this system.The machine is great. Big screen, really good to either play videogames trough the HDMI Cable or watch movies. The configurations provide a excellent gameplay, all the games I tried worked perfectly and this is very important. The battery don't last too long, but I already was aware of this and I always carry the charger, so this is not a problem for me.
I only have a little problem, that is sometimes when I unplug the charger the computer freeze and I need to turn off and start everything again, and I lost school work because of this. But Overall is a great computer and for me, it worth the price.I'm a college student and this computer allows me to work fast and yet still enjoy games. Battery life is okay with me, but i plan on getting a 9 cell for it. The graphics card is great. I can edit movies and pictures at great speeds. my old laptop used to try and keep up with me, but now i can barely keep up with this baby. 4 gigs of ram allows me to run many programs at once and i haven't seen any lag or slowing. Great hard drive space and speed 7200 rmp. I was able to dual-boot windows 7 and ubuntu. WOrks excellent with ubuntu after you install the graphics driver which are available at Nvidia. Overall i am happy with this purchase. I got a great product for a Awesome Price. One of the most confusing things though was that it has a bluetooth led that lights up in ubuntu even though it physically doesn't have bluetooth built it.
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