Asus G73SW Sandy Bridge Gaming Notebook Review

With the dust having settled on Intel's staggered Sandy Bridge launch and the early chipset issues having been ironed out, we're finally starting to see PC makers come out with builds based on the Santa Clara chip maker's second generation Core architecture. And if there's a platform ideally suited to showcase what Sandy Bridge is capable of, it's Asus' G73 series of gaming notebooks. We can say this with confidence because we got a chance to see firsthand what the G73 series was all about when we evaluated Asus' introductory model, the G73Jh.

Now in its third generation, the G73SW represents an architectural upgrade to what was already a powerful mobile PC. The goal remains the same, which is to recreate the desktop experience in a portable form factor. Whether you need to hammer out a spreadsheet, encode a Blu-ray video, or frag some foes at a LAN party, the G73SW promises to help get the job done. By all means, this is a desktop replacement, but with the addition of Intel's Sandy Bridge architecture, there's potential here for battery life to be extended beyond what you would normally expect from a high octane notebook. The question is, can it deliver on all fronts?

Asus G73SW Specifications & Features

Model	G73SW
Display	17.3" (1920x1080)
CPU	Intel Core i7 2630QM (2.0GHz)
Memory	8GB DDR3
Graphics	Nvidia GeForce GTX 460M w/ 1.5GB GDDR5
Storage	1TB (2x500GB Momentus XT Solid State Hybrid Drives)
Optical	Slimtype Blu-ray Reader
Operating System	Windows 7 Home Premium x64
Wireless	Intel 802.11 A/G/N
Webcam	2.0 Megapixel
Wired Internet	10/100/1000 Ethernet
Ports	1xUSB 3.0, 3xUSB 2.0, 5-in-1 Media Card Reader, HDMI
Weight	8.49 lbs with battery
Dimensions	41.5 x 32.0 x 1.89 cm (WxDxH)
Warranty	2 Year
Price	$1,745