KitGuru KitGuru.net – Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards
The Asus G73 is a very attractive, and rather unusually designed laptop. We noticed quite a few marks on the machine and spent some time cleaning it before this review.
The underside is home to a removable panel which gains access to the hard drives, graphics solution and memory slots. There is 8GB of DDR3 installed, so we can safely say we doubt you would ever need to upgrade that, certainly not during the lifespan of the machine.
The hard drives are mechanical, but they are 7,200 rpm Seagate Momentus 7400.4 units. The chipset is Intel HM55 which supports HD audio with EAX 4.0 support. The machine weighs 4.0kg which is hefty, but not compared to many other units in this market.
The keyboard is a ‘raised' design (chiclet style), which Apple initially implemented years ago, it is proving popular and we like the size and feel of this Asus model. There is also a full numpad, which doesn't restrict the size of the main keyboard, a real bonus. The implementation of a double height Enter key is another nice feature.
Thankfully Asus haven't overloaded the machine with a plethora of stickers. There are just three on the left which detail the operating system, processor and graphics solutions. On the right is an engraved Republic of Gamers logo.
Underneath is a ‘subwoofer' port, to enhance the depth of the onboard sound solution. We found the audio experience to be very good for a laptop, although this will be assuredly replaced by a dedicated solution when at home. The trackpad is a good size, with excellent responsiveness and is positioned just off center. Negatively we found the buttons to be rather stiff, which took a bit of getting used to. The keyboard lights up which is useful for gaming in a darkened room.
The laptop from certain angles almost looks like a stealth bomber with angular vents and unusual hinge design. There is plenty of connectivity on both sides – four USB 2 ports, an SD/MMC/MS media card reader, headset with D-Sub and HDMI video outputs. Media buffs will be glad to see a Blu Ray drive (HL-DT-ST CT21N Blu-ray ROM/DVD±RW) as well.
The Power brick is substantial in size – for reference, we have included a picture of it next to a Blackberry phone.
We mentioned earlier that we felt the G73 looked a little like the design of a Stealth Bomber from certain angles. The monitor hinges are chunky and the shape overall is very ‘angular'. We quite like the appearance, it is certainly an unusual chassis design which will catch the eye.
The screen quality is very good, with a glossy finish helping to enhance video and gaming quality. There is a fairly high level of reflectivity however which means this is a machine best used with low levels of ambient lighting.
Thats a good specification for the price. Seems it arrived in quite a state mind you.
good article, covers a lot of areas which is useful. That cpu seems really good, quite impressed with it.
That is an interesting looking machine. I dont think I really like the appearance from the back, but it look good in the normal, typing position
i really like it, 8gb of DDR3 as standard is pretty over the top ! shame the HDD side is poorly set up.
I love this machine. I really do. makes my dell looks positively pedestrian
Wow this is much better than I thought it would be, they haven’t compromised on anything. although I agree. either Raid 0 the 500GBs or remove one and put in a 40-60GB SSD, put the price up a tiny bit.
The lack of SSD in such a killer machine is a huge oversight. the price is good, but they have dropped the ball with the configuration of the drives. I cant believe one wasnt formatted either.!
Pretty much my perfect laptop. although id prefer a 1200 res screen at this size. gives a bit more deskspace.
Really brilliant, but i prefer a smaller machine with better battery life.
Styling rocks. performance rocks. battery life doesn’t. id change the HD’s out too. 120gb for boot (SSD) and a 1TB for storage. or even two 128 GB SSDS in raid 0. I think this machine might feel a lot slower than it is with the current setup. how did it act in speed Zardon? slow to boot?
needs an SSD, id never use a laptop now without one.
Hi Ted – performance was good, but you always feel a mechanical drive now as slightly sluggish when an OS disk, even for overall responsiveness. It wasn’t slow, but moving from a laptop with one in it, it can feel slow at times. I agree with your points but adding in an SSD would increase the price. unless they went for a 40GB unit as a boot drive.
I also like Asus G73./ It is a good laptop.
I have one, its awesome. Not really a portable laptop though, its too big and the battery life is not enough (just over an hour internet surfing). It is a great desktop replacement if you lack space, which is one of the reasons i went for it. The design is lovely. I liked the angles and exhausts vents before i bought it and its even better in real life. I imported mine from the states and saved about £500, even with the duty paid.