Hi,

If I'm not mistaken, this is my first thread in this forum (edit: just checked, yes it is). I've had ROG laptops for almost 7 years and before I expose my questions, I'd like to describe my experience with Asus (as I've only read a couple of other threads and feel like I should balance things out).

So, I once bought a G50-something (if I remember correctly). It was the orange one with OLED panel and other top-of-the-line stuff (at the time). As the OLED faded and the laptop started to overheat, I claimed the warranty and after a bit of a struggle got a G60JX. Now, I should say that after sending my beloved laptop back to Asus, I went on the internet and started searching some forums. It didn't take much to leave me terrified and then even more terrified, as Asus took more and more time, eventually taking way over a month to solve the problem. By the time they gave up on old G50 and offered to replace it, I was just "na, man, money back". As it was their right to either offer a replacement or a substancially decreased amount of money back, I took the new laptop.
It had very recent specs, but I couldn't find it online to check the pvp. Either way it was an upgrade.

When I received my G60JX, it was not "desinfected" clean. There was a bit of dust. Not too much, just enough to send the message that it was a refurbished laptop. Also, along came a Razer Abyssus to make up for that. Funny thing was the new laptop was even louder than the old one, as if Asus was saying "complain about overheating noise now...". Oh and it came with Win7 in what I think is whatever-they-speak-in-Netherlands. Took a bit of guessing to change it to english. I do prefer english, but if you're sending a laptop to Portugal, you should have the sense to set the default language to portuguese (or at least english). And I got a blue screen in less than 24 hours. Anyway, from Dual Core to new i7, forget all that.

It's been almost 5 years now. If I squeeze it, I can still play recent games with moderate confort and it looks like new, because I take good care of my things. I think one of the USB ports is a bit loose, but if I want a long term commitment I can always rely on the other three. In the end, and despite the bumps, I'm quite happy with this laptop.

Why did I want to share this story? Two reasons.

Firstly, to balance the scales. Most of the threads (related to interactions with customer care) I see on forums are complaints. They are usefull, but I could have used a happy ending back when I sent my G50 to be repaired. The amount of fear instilled in me almost made me pass up on this baby. If you're having trouble with Asus, my message to you is: Fight for your rights, but don't lose your mind. Have the sense to know when you're wrong and remember that however dumb they might sound or be, they're people. People make mistakes. Worst case, just call again and hope to be attended by another person. There's always a way and, if you're feeling desperate, look in your town's hall for info on how to settle the dispute (if there really is one). In the city I live, I found a department dedicated to this kind of trouble and they calmed me, offered advice and didn't charge a dime. (edit: and prefer email communication over phone... people say lots of stuff, you'll want a record)

Yes, I had tremendous luck, not just on the offer I got, but also on the performance I got from this laptop. No rubbers have fallen off, no weird metallic noises or loose stuff (except for that promiscuous USB port, but I don't even know which one it is), but you should treat your stuff well for that not to happen. If I worked on technical support and got a scratched laptop or one with missing rubbers with a complaint of a broken pin, it wouldn't take long to reach the "user mistreatment" conclusion. Take good care of your stuff and it might perform well for years. If not, at least it will look shiny and you'll have more reason to complain.

I forgot the second reason and am too lazy to proof-read all that...

Now, recent news, I swapped my HDD for an SSD, before the HDD expires (it works great, it's just an upgrade/precaution). The other weak point of this laptop is the graphics card and, so, we reach my question: Is the graphics card on this laptop upgradeable? I know it's not likely, but there's no such thing as null probability, right? That's why I'm asking. As long as we're here, how about the CPU. I fear that one might as or even more unlikely.

Edit: And how much ram can I fit into these sockets? I'd say I can get it up to no more than 16Gb (current=8Gb, 4x 2Gb-SDRAM 10700 (667MHz) - DDR3-1333), but I'm not sure.

To help you answer my questions:
Model: G60JX
Mainboard: Pegatron Corporation G60JX
Chipset: Intel HM55
Processor: Intel Core i7 720QM
GCard: NVIDIA GeForce GTS 360M

PS: The G50 original box was very cool. Asus requested that I sent the laptop in the original box and... yes, I put in a paper inside requesting the box back. Long shot. Miss. Instead I got an ugly cardboard box. If anyone knows if there's a wallpaper with decent resolution with the picture from that box, please share. Thanks.