My Specs:
G75VX
Core i7 3630QM, 2.4 GHz
24 GB RAM
256 SSD + 1 TB HDD
GeForce GTX 670MX
Windows (frickin') 8 64-Bit
*All drivers/updates are up to date using only ASUS auto-update options.
Issue #1: Lag on the internet makes online gaming impossible.
There is not a single online game (or multiplayer LAN game) that I can play on this machine. The problem is the same across the board: ~10-20 minutes of flawless gameplay followed by an immediate boot from whatever server or a hard-lock of the entire system (requiring an CTRL-ALT-DEL and forced shutdown of the game). Do note, I'm not being "kicked" from the server, just dumped back to the menu with a message about "connection to the server was lost". This has been occurring (every time, without fail) for the following titles for the past 4 weeks--Planetside 2, Star Conflict, StarCraft II, Minecraft, and Tribes Ascendency. Upload/download, web-surfing, streaming videos (ala Youtube, etc.) is perfectly fine, but not a single online game will work.
Issue #2: Constant Hard Drive Spiking.
I receive regular freezes using any program (game, MSWord, Photoshop, etc.) when running from the HDD drives on the system. The freezes occur ~every 2 minutes and last for about 3-5 seconds during which the entire system is frozen and unresponsive to any input (mouse, keyboard, or psychological). I receive perfect, rock-solid performance from the exact same programs as long as I run them from the SSD drive. Not a huge issue, but as it may be related somehow to the internet lagging issue, I included it.
For over a month, I have read the forums, contacted ASUS via tech support live chat, contacted ASUS product support via phone, searched the web ad nauseam, and fiddled with more settings than I ever wanted to see from Windows 8. For the $2500 I paid for this system, I seem to have encountered some shockingly horrendous problems. I just sold an ASUS G73 rig that I purchased back in 2010. It was the most solid and dependable laptop I ever owned. How could things have gone from that to this? Anyone have any ideas on how to fix these issues? ASUS doesn't.