Should I switch????

[medeival44]

Hey all;

Just picked up a new G53sx the other day at Micro center and must say I am really enjoying things, Up to now. lol No, nothing is broken or wrong, I just came from Best Buy where they have the G74sx for the exact same price I paid and I am having thoughts now that perhaps I should return the 15" and go and get the 17" from Best Buy since it is the same price and pretty much the same configuration. IE: both have 8gig ram, both have 1TB HDD (Probably 2 500 gig on 17 as well) Both are i7 2670QM but the 17" says it is @ 2ghz while the 15.6 says it is at 2.2 ghz? Not sure that is going to matter much if at all. Both come with the 2 gig geforce 560m. Plus the 17" has the extra space for num keypad....


Model I havefrom micro center is G53sx-RH71
Model at best buy G74SX-BBK11
I dunno, kind of think I need to take my SSD out put the 500 gig back in and get myself over to Best buy and buy this and return the 15.6".....

Any suggestions? Is the lose of .2ghz really going to matter or be noticeable? Are there negatives to switching to the 17" as it will mainly be hooked up to a 24" monitor and rarely see any movement at all. Or are there other pluses and minus' I am not aware of at this time... Any input from those who know more from experience is appreciated.

Thanks

[57degrees]

Note that the G74 does not have a Num Lock key. If you run games (or other software) that need it, this is probably a deal breaker.

[chrsplmr]

there is always this ....

[57degrees]

Looks like it. Except that this picture looks a little more grey than what I got, the specs and price are about identical.

But it was $1,200 blown in my opinion, because the game I want to play on it needs the Num Lock key.

[fuzon1337]

What is the resolution on the screen of these notebooks ? Full HD or HD + ?

Also what are you going to use the notebook for?

+ the 2 GB vRAM ? that is 128 bit version (vs 3GB vRAM as example is that it got 192 bit version) for the graphic card if I'm not wrong, so if you could exchange the notebook for the one @chrsplmr is showing, that would be a better choice. The differecne between i7-2630m and i7-2670QM isn't that big, I even don't think you would see any difference on that

Note that the G74 does not have a Num Lock key. If you run games (or other software) that need it, this is probably a deal breaker.

Does all the G74 have that issue?

[Dominus]

Model I havefrom micro center is G53sx-RH71
Model at best buy G74SX-BBK11

HDD on G74SX-BBK11 it's at 5400rpm, unless you wanna switch from 7200 to 5400 you can go for the 17''

[57degrees]

Does all the G74 have that issue?

Yes.

If you want to look for yourself, you can usually find at least one in a Best Buy. Where the Num Lock key should be, they've silkscreened a little picture of a Calculator. Hitting it dumps you out of whatever else you are in and brings up Windows Calc.

[fuzon1337]

Yes.

If you want to look for yourself, you can usually find at least one in a Best Buy. Where the Num Lock key should be, they've silkscreened a little picture of a Calculator. Hitting it dumps you out of whatever else you are in and brings up Windows Calc.

Haha, Asus just found out a new usage for the num lock key, instead of hitting Fn + calc you just need to hit num luck ^^

But didn't the latest BIOS version fix that issue or am I all wrong :P ?

[medeival44]

Both have same GPU 2 gig version of the 560gtx. I know the g53sx I have runs in 1920x1200 native... I cannot comment on the 17" at this time. I was kind of hoping that it might be possible to switch out the GPU at some point when I am feeling adventurous but I was not sure if I could get the 3 gig nvidia or if I could switch out to a ATI card or if I even wanted to do that.

As for the 17" HD running at 5400RPM, it does not matter too much as I am installing a 128gig crucial M4 as primary drive. It would be nice to utilize 1 TB of data vs now where I have 2 500 gig drives with one sititng on the table collecting dust since the SSD is in.

I find it odd that a computer does not have a Num lock key.... thought that was pretty much standard... /shrug I am not sure if any of the games I play (NEED) a numlock key. I float between, wow, EQ2, LoTRO, Eve, Skyrim, starcraft2, Also have several steam games I play in addition to jumping on the Diablo 3 fanwagon when it is eventually released. I do not need max settings etc, but I want something which I do not need to replace within 2 years or less. Why I spent the 1200 for this one as I figure it was having all I need.

I will be using the notebook as a desktop compliment/ replacement, movies, internet browsing, music player, and backup/ main choice when on vacations. (Edit: forgot to add it will be plugged into a 24" monitor and standard keyboard and mouse connected through it with input director or synergy if it does not work?)

The difference in the processors and I am wondering if it is a typo as both the one I have and the 17.3" 74 series I looked at have the identical i7 (2670QM) yet the 17" runs at 2.0ghz vs the 15" running at 2.2 ghz which is not much if anything.

in any event thanks for the replies as I am left with more questions and am not any closer to deciding... lol

[fuzon1337]

If you're comfortable with switching GPUs on notebooks.... then the G74 is not the notebook for you.... since the GPU is on the MB and not separate.

It would be nice to utilize 1 TB of data vs now where I have 2 500 gig drives with one sititng on the table collecting dust since the SSD is in

haha lol.

One pluss site on the G74 is that, the accessibility to upgrade RAM, WiFi and hard discs is a lot easier then the G53sx.

About the numlock key, it has it, but doesn't work as it should. I thought that the latest BIOS fixed that but I can not confirm that since I don't own that notebook.

Okey, so the notebook will not be used as a gaming laptop? Then I don't think there is no huge issue for you to have 2 GB vRAM