Why buy a G55?

[TemporalArc]

I'm looking to buy a new laptop for college. since i'm going abroad, building a desktop isn't really an option so after some browsing, i've come down to two options the ASUS G55 and the SAGER NP9150.

I'm posting here because i want actual owners of ASUS G series laptops to give me feedback regarding the quality of your systems and reasons why i should buy these over the more customizable Sager. People usually recommend Sagers on other forums but since most of them say they don't know much about the G55, i thought it would be best to get an opinion from you guys.

I also have a few questions,

1. I know optimus is disabled on the g55, why is this so? is there a way to enable it? i'd really like to squeeze out the maximum battery life i can from my computer.

2. What is the build quality/reliability like? Being the primary (and virtually, only) computer for a university student, i can't have a computer that breaks down every now and then. (i know, reliability has a lot to do with how one uses the device, still what is the estimate?)

3. Is the g55 cooling system more effective than the sager? they both use twin fans etc. so how much difference will it make in the long run?

4. Finally, how long is the g55 expected to last? will the hardware be able to tackle games/programs for at least say another 3 years reasonably well? For those who have older G series laptops, how long have your systems lasted before they became too slow to be worth carrying around the weight?

Honestly speaking, i am leaning towards the Asus and i just want someone to give me the last bit of encouragement required to seal the deal 😛

thank you,
A prospective RoG owner 😄

[MaXimus711]

1) Optimus is made for Notebooks that have the Intel HD Graphics + an nVIDIA chipset. Optimus enables the Notebook to switch between the graphics chipsets without the need of a restart. I dont know about the G55 but the G75 does not have an integrated graphics chipset, it only has the nvIDIA GPU (GTX 670) so why the need for Optimus? It doesn't make sense. If you ask me. On my previous Lenovo IdeaPad Y570 I hated this optimus thing because I walways want to run stuff using the nvIDIA GPU for maximum performance and dont need some low end integrated Intel Graphics chipset running at ANY time.

People who care about battery life so much will want to switch to the integrated graphics chipset to save power but we the performance users never do that.

2) reliability wise, ASUS is not bad but not the best. It's a matter of luck I would say... my previous ASUS G73Sw was a pice of crap and the monitor started giving me fuzzy weird colors within a month... The G75VW is on a total leage of its own (touch wood) so its a matter of luck really

3) G55 G75 have one of the best cooling systems

4) New laptops/chipsets come out every few months. Keeping up with the latest is impossible. IT should last you a good 2 years and 3 if you don't really care about upgrading. Meh, personalleh, I upgrade every 1 year

Honestly speaking.....WTF is a Sager? Never ever heard of that brand...

Notebook Manufacturer kings:

Lenovo, SONY, ASUS, AlienWare, Dell

I have never ever seen or heard about a Sager. The name sounds like it's some cleaning solution for the house LOL 😄

[MaXimus711]

PS: Why don't you go for the G75VW? IT has a nicer 17 inch screen and on the long run it would be a wiser step since you know screens cant be upgraded.

After I have used a 17.3 screen. I can never ever go back to those tiny screens 😄

[TemporalArc]

Thanks for the prompt reply 🙂

I can live without optimus, but i'd have liked it...still, thats hardly a gripe.

As a university student, i highly doubt i'll be replacing every year so i need it to run for that long even if it won't be the fastest out there....

what is the fan noise like? i've been looking for gameplay videos on youtube, however the majority of them are taken using fraps and so don't have any external noise 😕 my old laptop sounds like a hairdryer when under load...definitely don't want that any more 😛

The GTX 660 is classified as a mid ranged card, what kind of settings can it handle in say BF3 (since thats becoming more of the benchmark for game performance these days). this is important to me since i'm an engineering student and i'll need this computer to handle all the software for that as well (AutoCAD etc. i suppose)

Also, should i be unlucky enough to have problems what is the ASUS servicing like? I'll be living in Canada...

as for the g75...i need my laptop to be at least moderately mobile...i'm sure the 17 inch screen must be very nice, i can't see myself carrying it around the campus 😛

[F34R]

A g75 will last at least four years, easily. Fan noise? I haven't heard a single thing from my G75... that's being under load too. Customer Service... hmmm... hard to say really. I had a single dead pixel on my G75, and Asus and the retailer didn't have ANY issues with a replacement. After plenty of research, I went with the G75 over a Sager, and any other really. Best price for the specs it has. It's an amazing laptop.

As far as the weight goes.. 8.7 lbs with the battery for the G75, and 8.4 lbs with the battery for the G55. Take the G75VW!!

[TemporalArc]

Great, i was worried about how noisy these high-powered laptops would get...

i did read on somewhere that there was a planned upgrade to a gtx 670 on the g55...is this true? i'd like that 😄

i don't have any problem with the weight of the g75, it's more to do with the size, 17 inches seems like too much to be walking around with, still i haven't actually seen either, might go to store this friday and have a look.

Thank you guys for the help...i'm really looking forward to checking this laptop out in person 😄

[Madikin]

I was looking at the sager laptops originally also. One thing I did notice was that the video cards they were offering were only 2gb instead of the 3gb version in the g75vw I eventually purchased. I play games on mine all the time and the fans are pretty much inaudible from my experience.

[TemporalArc]

Madikin wrote:
I was looking at the sager laptops originally also. One thing I did notice was that the video cards they were offering were only 2gb instead of the 3gb version in the g75vw I eventually purchased. I play games on mine all the time and the fans are pretty much inaudible from my experience.

what sort of difference does the extra gb of dedicated memory make? i did read somewhere that you can use the GPU to share some of the CPU's load during certain tasks, will the extra memory be used here?

@skyrider, thanks a ton...this was the kind of first hand experience i was looking for 😄 i actually like the G55 more than the lenovo...well, simply because it looks better...since the specs are nearly the same, and both are well within my budget, i'd rather go for a beast that looks like one 😄 the only reason i'd put up with the Sager's bland looks is they're willing to put the 7970m...

Ps. What are the speakers like on this? Apart from the subwoofer issue, is the sound quality good?

[skyrider]

hey there, i am a G55VW owner and a college student also. As far as the answers to your questions go,

1. Nope, our CPU does not come with an integrated graphics card. Gotta stick with gtx660m at all times. Personally I find that if i take this laptop to class to take notes, it would last about ~2.5 hours on battery saving mode with wifi on, light browsing + note taking. If I put wifi off and use it to only take notes, i can squeeze about 3 hrs.

2. So far, i am very satisfied with the reliability of the laptop. It is both sleek and sturdy, with no fancy stuff. Just the way I like it. However just as some before me had pointed out, sometimes it depends on your luck. If you are unlucky you might stumble across a junk piece and spend weeks getting it through RMA. As for my personal experience, this is my second ROG laptop and both are in excellent shape. On a side note I would like to mention that this laptop is a little on the heavy side to carry around on campus. (and too large for most non-laptop specialised backpacks) I had to purchase a new backpack with dedicated laptop compartment to comfortably carry it around. If your campus is big (like mine) be prepared to work your back a little lol. Still doable though

3. I have never owned a Sager but i am almost certain that it should be. G55VW's extra dimensions and extra fan aren't just for the show, they make for VERY silent gaming laptops even when under heavy load. (well you can hear the fan if you are running, say, GTA 4, but you know) It is also able to keep the laptop running on top performance for very long time. I am very satisfied with the cooling system, would definitely say it is worth the extra weight and size.

4. I am not too much of a computer expert, but judging by the specs of this thing, I would say this laptop should last you a good 2 years at least. If you play all the latest Crysis and Battlefield as soon as they come out, however, it could be a different story. For me I am looking to use it for at least the next 3 years.

Hope that answers some of your questions. I would like to suggest that you take a look at the lenovo y580 also. Its specs are identical to the G55vw (except for the screen resolution for some variants of y580) and it is MUCH cheaper. Also apparently the y580's cooling system is just as effective as G55VW, if not better (but i have only seen this claim in the forums, could not find any official reviews. Also i could not find anything about the noise level of the fans). Anyways you should definitely check it out, as it is a much lighter laptop as well.

[kiba]

i tried both an msi and a sager before deciding to wait for thr g75 to come out... imo they were both garbage

http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?14986-G75-audio-system-bugreport&p=116193&viewfull=1#post11...

mine was rife w/ problems, faulty thermal paste job, BSOD's (blue not black) out of the box and the build quality is garbage and carrying around a laptop that looks like its from the 80's is not worth being able to easily upgrade it IMO. that said, i get a new laptop every year from work and will probably get the G76 when it comes out so upgradeability is not really an issue for me as it really only has to last a year, BUT, i would LIKE it to last longer as my gf usually gets her pick of the old ones.

though, truth be told, ive had an equal amount of problems (if not more) w/ the G75 lolz (im on my 3rd one *knocks on wood*) laptops nowadays being built by sweatshop children suffering from dissentary i guess thats just something you have to deal w/.