4 Year old Desktop - Leaning towards G Series Laptop

[euro3er]

Hello everybody!

I am a tad bit out dated with all the new chipsets and such that are out. My current computer is four years old and I'm starting to really see how out of date my hardware is in terms of performance.

Asus Rampage Formula
Q6600
GTX 280 SSC
8GB DDR2 1066
24" Widescreen

How do you know what to choose from because of all the different choices?

G5x series?
G7x series?
G55, G75 as opposed to the older model laptops?

I wouldn't mind building another desktop but I'm liking the mobility of a laptop.

How is price now compared to desktop vs laptop in terms of building vs buying a pre-configured computer?

[Peregrine]

Lean baby lean. I was a lifelong desktop gamer and I could NOT be happier that I made the jump to a laptop gaming rig.

Very generically speaking you pay about $200-$250 for the mobility of a laptop. Meaning a $1500 laptop has much of the same hardware a $1250 desktop would cost you. Also, typically, desktop graphics have a slight edge to mobile graphics but the line gets more blurry every day.

How do you decide between the G5x and G7x? Screen size. The 5 is a 15 the 7 is a 17. I bought the 15 because I wanted slightly better mobility... didn't want to lug around the 17. Also the 15 is a few dollars cheaper.
As for getting the latest versus last years model? I would recommend when it comes to a laptop to splurge and get the latest available model. As laptops cannot be upgraded like a desktop, you want to give yourself the best opportunity for that thing to last as long as possible.
Just my opinion, of course.

Go for it. You will not regret it.

[Boosted_R]

If your going with a laptop, coming from a desktop you would like the G75 due to the bigger screen. From the reviews I have seen the G75 still has touch pad issues, and the bios doesn't look good once again.... keyboard doesn't seem that great either..... basically the issues have been carried over from the G74/G54..... If you like desktops, stick with it, the graphics performance is over twice what the mobile version GPU can push, and easily upgradeable.

[chrsplmr]

First I would think you have to answer the question - What about 'mobility' do you like?

As in the entire package? Then Laptop is your option.
If a Screen/Monitor is no probem 'Mobile' but @ a location AND
you want a bit more horsepower than a laptop provides,
Then Gene Build is the way to go. The Z77's are hot, hot, hot.
The AMD PileDrive is very promising hoped sometime in the near future.

As to models G..15"/17"approx-G55/G75- The rest is to as you like.
Ram,Blue-Ray/Dvd,Ssd/Hd ... ect. ???

Older models? Answers its own question. New, Improved. In my way
of thinking. I buy the best available tech at the time I am going to make
the purchase knowing it is obsolete in mere months. Generational
improvements move forward and ongoing updates are usually for
the most recent models..also to be considered.

The advantage in my view of the G53/G74 is we know all the models
that are available and any known issues. The G55/G75 are hoped
to be the update to all of them.

Building a desktop today has very little limit as to power limits
you can reach .. depending on your pocket depth.

The G Series ranges from $1000.US refurb lesser versions to
about $2500.US for top shelf before Modd'rs and Tweak'rs take over.
(*Make sure the screen is 1920x1080 if thats what you expect.)

Desktops ... Depend on How Much?
Cpu Power, Ram Power, SSD's, Quad/Dual GPU's, Sli/CrossFire .. Monitors/Screens..
How much of what? What will you be doing with it. Multiple Monitors/Projectors
WideScreens? Gaming,OverClocking,AnyThing You can dream Up? What? How Much?

You can build either the CrossHair V AMD / Sabertooth ect .. Or ..
a Endless array of possibilities on the Intel side both starting @ about $1200.US
before Screens/Monitors and other goodies.. expect about $5000.US+ and
up for top shelf ..and up..ok, way up, if you like and can.

Laptop/Mobile - Gene/Portable - Desktop/Powerful ... I think.

Welcome to ROG.c.

[dataDave]

If you have the space go for a desktop everytime. The bios on this G74 'gaming' laptop is extremely limited, and I'm stuck with the parts, so expect games to progressively outweigh your system with no other option to upgrade apart from buying a new laptop.

The keyboard sucks too. Sure, you can buy one but then you're taking up almost as much space as a desktop would.

[euro3er]

@ Peregrine

Very good points and what I was thinking of doing was purchasing a 15" model and then hooking it up to my 24" widescreen. I'll have to make sure my monitor supports the 1080 resolution which I believe so but I would have black bars.

@ Boosted_R

What touch pad issue are you mentioning, response, delay? How bad would the BIOS be considering the older models if they are brought over to the new model? What's wrong with the keyboard, no numpad again?

@ chrsplmr

I have a couple reasons as to buying a gaming laptop:

1: At the moment I don't really want to build another desktop, buying all the parts over again after doing all of the research.
2: I can bring my laptop to my friend's house and it would be much easier to setup and play.
3: I am interested in trying out the Asus gaming laptop area because I have two friends that have them really love it.
4: No big case sitting next to me with loud fans and blue lights, lol.

@ dataDave

How limited is the BIOS on the G74 and how will this effect the G5x and G7x?

When you say games progressively outweighing the system, what do you mean? My desktop has lasted me a good four years and with the hardware and newer technology in these gaming laptops, wouldnt that last the same time if not longer?

---

Any recommendations on where to purchase one of these laptops?

I know of Newegg, Amazon, Nexteg, and TigerDirect. I could be missing a couple others, but that's all I can remember off the top of my head.

[Boosted_R]

euro3er wrote:


@ Boosted_R

What touch pad issue are you mentioning, response, delay? How bad would the BIOS be considering the older models if they are brought over to the new model? What's wrong with the keyboard, no numpad again?

random erratic mouse movement, no surprised since they used the same touch pad company that plagued G74 users.... Bios looks just as bad as the G74........ The did add the num lock button back to the G74..... For me the deal breaker is that they went away from the innovative top fan inlet, back to the industry standard bottom inlet....

If you want a laptop, look for one with the Radeon HD 7970M as the Nvidia GTX670M card doesn't even come close....

Take some time and research what is out/coming out.... lots of options out there....... Asus is lacking, mainly in quality.

..... Best advice I can give you is stick with the Desktop if you can

[fostert]

A decked out notebook will never perform as fast as a decked out desktop...so there is always a performance hit for going mobile. The G74/G75 minimizes that hit since it really is meant as a desktop replacement. I am very very happy to have traded performance from my overclocked core i7 860 desktop (@4.2 GHz versus 2.9 GHz for my G74 with i7 2630QM) for the mobility factor. For those rare 5% of the time I do some processing job that takes days I'll start that on my desktop, but for 95% of my tasks the 40% loss in horsepower is not a killer.

[euro3er]

@ fostert

Yeah, that makes sense. Plus, I doubt I'd notice a difference. The G75 for example as opposed to my current difference will be a major difference.