Asus G73Jh Gaming Notebook Review

Name: Asus G73Jh Gaming Notebook Review
Brand: Asus

by Mathew Miranda — Tuesday, June 01, 2010, 10:30 AM EDT

Introduction

Earlier this year, we attended the Asus 2010 CES Event in Las Vegas. While there, we caught a glimpse of several upcoming notebooks the hardware giant had in store. One of the most anticipated products we saw was in the Republic of Gamers line up. Dubbed the G73JH, it possessed a list of impressive specifications and an aggressive, stealth fighter design that spoke directly to enthusiasts. Thankfully, this powerhouse of a notebook made it to our lab and we had a chance to put it through our own testing. Ever since CES, we've been waiting to find out if the G73JH performed as good as it looked. Equally important, we aimed to determine where it fits in a market bursting at the seams with gaming laptops and desktop replacement notebooks.

We mentioned that the G73 had killer specs and here they are. At the heart of this monster is an Intel Core i7 720QM quad-core processor, clocked at 1.6GHz with Turbo Boost technology for increased single core performance (up to 2.8GHz) and Hyper-Threading for multitasking situations. We find 8GB of DDR3 RAM installed, along with 1TB of total storage, consisting of two 500GB Seagate hard drives. But the real draw is ATI's Mobility HD 5870 graphics card with 1GB of GDDR5 memory and enough pixel pushing power to feed a 17.3" screen. In addition, Asus includes a full sized keyboard, Blu-ray drive, and a 2MP webcam, and a all of this comes at a relatively affordable price point. Interested? We thought so. Read on to find out how fast the G73 really is, and if it has what it takes to be your next laptop.

Asus G73JH-A1 Notebook

Asus G73JH-A1

Specifications and Features (as tested)

Model	G73JH-A1
Display	17.3" (1920 x 1080) LED backlit
CPU	Intel Core i7 720QM @ 1.6GHz (2.8GHz Turbo)
Memory	8GB DDR3 1066MHz
Graphics	ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870 1GB GDDR5, DX11 Capable
Storage	1TB (2 x 500GB) 7200RPM Hard Drives
Optical	Blu-ray Combo Drive
Operating System	Windows 7 Home Premium x64
Wireless	Intel 802.11 B/G/N @ 2.4GHz, Bluetooth v2.1
Webcam	2.0 Megapixel
LAN	10/100/1000 Ethernet
Ports	4 USB, Ethernet, HDMI, VGA, microphone, headset, 8-in-1 Flash Memory Card Reader
Weight	8.0 lbs with battery
Dimensions	16.4" x 12.6" x 2.3" (WxDxH)
Warranty	2 Year Parts / Labor
Price	$1645

Measuring in at 16.4" wide by 12.6" deep and weighing 8 lbs, the G73 does not qualify as thin and light. Don't get us wrong though, it is mobile enough for LAN parties and occasional travel, but much too large to carry on and use during a flight. Yes, the G73JH is smaller and lighter than your average desktop replacement notebook, but we feel that it is similar in that it begs to be stationary and plugged into a wall outlet.

The hardware specs speak for themselves. This is a cutting edge gaming notebook with a powerful CPU, tons of RAM, and a high-end Radeon HD 5870 mobile graphics card installed. Let's take a closer look at the rest of the laptop, as well as the results of our benchmarks and testing.