Hello all!
My apartment was recently robbed, and they stole my ******* computer!
Anyway, it's time for me to try to find a new one and I'm going to get a laptop as a replacement for a desktop gaming computer (there are various reasons for this). I know all about how with laptops you get a lot less bang for your gaming buck, but right now the portability of the laptop makes it a must.
So, with that in mind, I have begun researching gaming laptops. I will either game on the laptop display itself, or buy a monitor if i want/need to. I will of course plug a KB/M into it. I am trying to keep the price at around $2k or less, since the less I spend on this, the more I have to replace the multitude of other things that were stolen. So far, it seems like the best bang for my gaming buck (sorry for using that stupid phrase again) is the ASUS G73 series. There are three flavors I have been looking at:
G73JW-XA1
G73JW-A1
G73JH-X1
Now, pros/cons, comparisons and the like:
(1) Video
JW = Nvidia 460m
JH = ATI mobility 5870
So, it comes down to the 5870 vs 460m. Which is better? I haven't been able to find a solid answer on this. It seems like, right now, the 5870 is the faster one, but people expect that as the 460m matures, it will outpace the 5870. Thoughts? Any other differences/advantages? Is the difference between them so small that it doesn't matter?
(2) Processor
G73JW-XA1 = i7-740QM (1.73GHz)
G73JW-A1 = i7-740QM (1.73GHz)
G73JH-X1 = i7-720QM (1.60GHz)
Doesn't look like much of a difference here, since all we're talking about here is a ~7.5% difference.
(3) RAM
they all have 8GB, but there is a difference in the operating frequency:
G73JW-XA1 = 1066Mhz
G73JW-A1 = 1333Mhz
G73JH-X1 = 1333Mhz
Does this really make a difference? I've read that the video card will be the bottleneck in this computer, so the RAM frequency difference won't matter. Thoughts?
(4) HDD
G73JW-XA1 = 750GB
G73JW-A1 = 2x500GB
G73JH-X1 = 500GB
I have external storage, so HDD size isn't a huge factor, but its still something to consider.
(5) Optical Drive
G73JW-XA1 = DVD-RW
G73JW-A1 = Blu-Ray
G73JH-X1 = DVD-RW
I don't buy Blu-Ray disks, so this isn't a big deal, but if I go on a long trip, it might be nice to have. Again, not a huge factor, but still something to consider.
(6) Model
JW vs JH
The JW is newer, and I have read that there were some cooling and GSOD issues that have been worked out in the JW. Other than that (and the various hardware inside them), I don't know of any difference between them... do you?
(7) Price
As you can see, I can get the JW-XA1 and the JH-X1 for $1450, and the JW-A1 for $1750 (all free shipping). Of course, lower is better. But, is $300 worth it? Well, I guess that depends on the answers to the questions above. Also, I will probably have to buy an extended warranty and possibly a monitor, so that's gonna tack on more, pushing me close to the $2k limit if I get the JW-A1
(8) Breakdown, Baby
To me, it seems like what it all boils down to is the video card. That will probably be the bottleneck in the system, and so I should probably get the better one. But, maybe I'm wrong. Or, maybe we just can't tell which is gonna be better in a month. Maybe Blu-Ray player is better than I thought for some reason. I've looked at Alienware, Falcon, Sager, Clevo and others, but the ASUS ones just seem to be the best hardware for the price. Who knows? You Do!
So, please tell me the answers to my questions above, and your thoughts on the 8 sections above. What would you get and why? Please help, as this is the first laptop I've bought for myself (and it has to be a gamer, at that).
My apartment was recently robbed, and they stole my ******* computer!
Anyway, it's time for me to try to find a new one and I'm going to get a laptop as a replacement for a desktop gaming computer (there are various reasons for this). I know all about how with laptops you get a lot less bang for your gaming buck, but right now the portability of the laptop makes it a must.
So, with that in mind, I have begun researching gaming laptops. I will either game on the laptop display itself, or buy a monitor if i want/need to. I will of course plug a KB/M into it. I am trying to keep the price at around $2k or less, since the less I spend on this, the more I have to replace the multitude of other things that were stolen. So far, it seems like the best bang for my gaming buck (sorry for using that stupid phrase again) is the ASUS G73 series. There are three flavors I have been looking at:
G73JW-XA1
G73JW-A1
G73JH-X1
Now, pros/cons, comparisons and the like:
(1) Video
JW = Nvidia 460m
JH = ATI mobility 5870
So, it comes down to the 5870 vs 460m. Which is better? I haven't been able to find a solid answer on this. It seems like, right now, the 5870 is the faster one, but people expect that as the 460m matures, it will outpace the 5870. Thoughts? Any other differences/advantages? Is the difference between them so small that it doesn't matter?
(2) Processor
G73JW-XA1 = i7-740QM (1.73GHz)
G73JW-A1 = i7-740QM (1.73GHz)
G73JH-X1 = i7-720QM (1.60GHz)
Doesn't look like much of a difference here, since all we're talking about here is a ~7.5% difference.
(3) RAM
they all have 8GB, but there is a difference in the operating frequency:
G73JW-XA1 = 1066Mhz
G73JW-A1 = 1333Mhz
G73JH-X1 = 1333Mhz
Does this really make a difference? I've read that the video card will be the bottleneck in this computer, so the RAM frequency difference won't matter. Thoughts?
(4) HDD
G73JW-XA1 = 750GB
G73JW-A1 = 2x500GB
G73JH-X1 = 500GB
I have external storage, so HDD size isn't a huge factor, but its still something to consider.
(5) Optical Drive
G73JW-XA1 = DVD-RW
G73JW-A1 = Blu-Ray
G73JH-X1 = DVD-RW
I don't buy Blu-Ray disks, so this isn't a big deal, but if I go on a long trip, it might be nice to have. Again, not a huge factor, but still something to consider.
(6) Model
JW vs JH
The JW is newer, and I have read that there were some cooling and GSOD issues that have been worked out in the JW. Other than that (and the various hardware inside them), I don't know of any difference between them... do you?
(7) Price
As you can see, I can get the JW-XA1 and the JH-X1 for $1450, and the JW-A1 for $1750 (all free shipping). Of course, lower is better. But, is $300 worth it? Well, I guess that depends on the answers to the questions above. Also, I will probably have to buy an extended warranty and possibly a monitor, so that's gonna tack on more, pushing me close to the $2k limit if I get the JW-A1
(8) Breakdown, Baby
To me, it seems like what it all boils down to is the video card. That will probably be the bottleneck in the system, and so I should probably get the better one. But, maybe I'm wrong. Or, maybe we just can't tell which is gonna be better in a month. Maybe Blu-Ray player is better than I thought for some reason. I've looked at Alienware, Falcon, Sager, Clevo and others, but the ASUS ones just seem to be the best hardware for the price. Who knows? You Do!
So, please tell me the answers to my questions above, and your thoughts on the 8 sections above. What would you get and why? Please help, as this is the first laptop I've bought for myself (and it has to be a gamer, at that).
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Best of both worlds, methinks, as it gives me the portability/battery life to carry around and big screen i need at home. It is a compromise on power though, the 3820tg i have only has a radeon 5650 graphics card.
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