KitGuru KitGuru.net – Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards
On the left side of the machine there is an optical drive (bluray on this machine), headphone and microphone jacks and two USB 2.0 ports. At the rear is a security locking system.
On the right side of the notebook is the power connector, LAN port, HDMI port, VGA port and two USB ports, one of which is USB 3.0 capable. We would have hoped that both these ports would be USB 3.0 capable, but sadly not. There is also a 5 in 1 card reader on the right side of the laptop.
Stickers galore. We don't know the reason that PC makers need to plaster their machines with company branding like this. Apple have had the right stance with this for years. Of course they can be removed, but they normally leave residue which takes a lot of effort to remove properly.
The power switch is situated above the keyboard, recessed at the right side.
The finish of the machine looks great in pictures, but it is surprisingly prone to fingerprints and marks. These can be removed easily enough with a cleaning cloth. The surface feels very like the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 which we reviewed a few months ago.
Bottom left, near the trackpad are activity lights for wireless, hard drive and battery status. The trackpad itself is very good, offering tactile feedback. The buttons underneath are responsive and feel good to use. We would never rely on a trackpad when working for long durations, but it is perfectly useable for light duties when traveling.
The LED 1920×1080 screen is really impressive and isn't quite as reflective as some we have used in recent months, which is a bonus. The images above, taken in a studio with LED lighting highlight the muted reflectivity of the panel. It is a very clear, sharp screen and rated in the top 10% we have tested. Viewing angles are higher than average and there is only a little backlight bleed bottom right, but it is only slightly noticeable to the naked eye. Black Definition, while not class leading is very good. There is a 2.0 MP web camera built into the top of the screen.
The onboard sound by Altec Lansing is actually decent, generating reasonable volume with a little bass. It certainly won't replace a good speaker system for indoor duties, but on the move it can be comfortably used to play movie clips and video files.
The chiclet keyboard is a fantastic size and I found it a pleasure to type with, long term. I have big hands and find many laptop keyboards a real chore to use for long periods of time. This keyboard isn't quite as tactile or responsive as the class leading Lenovo ThinkPad X1 implementation, but it is well above average and accommodates hands of all sizes.
I also love the fact The G74SX keyboard allows offers various levels of backlighting and has a double height return key with full numpad. There is only a little keyboard flex, feeling well made across the full width. Full marks for ASUS for both keyboard and trackpad design.
The battery is an 8 cell unit, rated at 5,200mAh, 74Wh. It can be easily removed from the rear without the need for a screwdriver or tools.
We wish other manufacturers would copy the G74SX chassis design, especially the underside. By simply unscrewing a single bolt by finger a rear panel unclips, giving direct access to the memory modules and hard drives for easy upgrading. When I upgraded memory in the Alienware M18X for instance I had to remove the keyboard from the unit, as two of the four slots are at the front of the chassis. Very time consuming.
Asus are using Samsung memory and two 2.5 inch Western Digital Scorpio WD7500BPKT 750GB hard drives, which are rated at 7,200 rpm with 16 megabytes of cache. These are probably some of the fastest mechanical 2.5 inch drives you can buy, but they are still much slower than a solid state drive.
excellent machine, better than their smaller lamborgini system. I tthink it still uses the older 460 graphics.
They make great laptops, but I read some driver issues on some of the forums for their SLI machine? a lot of people complaining. this one looks ok.
Excellent, looks very nice indeed. I like the CPU they use. I bought an ACER with core i5 and its really quick. I need to try a solid state drive. does it really make that much of a difference though for general light use?
I miss the days when 1920×1200 was the resolution for high end laptops. 1080p is a step down. Still, looks like a good laptop. Thanks for the detailed review.
I agree. however I think a lot of people seem to want 1080p due to HD media display.
Yes, cool, quiet, under powered G74. Don’t complain about the lack of an SSD. Buy your own and pay 1/3 less than Asus would charge. Instead, complain that they are still not offering an anti-reflective screen like their competition. Complain that they botched the zero key on the keypad (but nice job hiding that in all of your pictures). Complain that the screen is only 1080P instead of 1900×1200 AND IPS as it should be for this price. (Come on! $200 tablets have better screens than these laptops!) Complain that they are only using a GTX560M when their direct competitors, MSI, are using matte screens, and the GTX570M, and as of this week, even the GTX580M! The Asus G75 can’t come out fast enough to fix these problems!
Matte screens suck. Only useful for business men, who wont want a g74.
Get a clue.
1200p isnt a size most people want anymore. Not ideal for hd media and when they supply a bluray player it makes sense to opt for 1080p
Purchased this product on Thanksgiving for a good %30 discount!
Man this was a steal. I must say this is was an extremely great purchase on my part. Although I would not pay the $1899.00 price that its currently selling for, only due to my budget…
Anyways, I am well aware of the trackpad issues, however, my particular product has not shown any signs of any issues whatsoever. I cant say anything bad about this product. Its simply amazing. I mean…3GB graphics card. If you are a gamer as I am, this is more than enough to satisfy your experience. Definetely better than Alienware.
Anyways people, my only recommendation is to wait until Xmas or something until the price drops back down for sales, otherwise, if you are willing to pay the $1899 for this product, you will not be sorry.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00542SUD8/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=emjay2d-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00542SUD8