Asus G71G-A1 and Asus G71G-A2 Notebook Review

[BtoTech.com]

Asus  G71G-A1 and G71G-A2 Notebook Review

Specifications:

	G71g-A1	G71G-A2
Processor	Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor T9400 2.53 GHz 1066MHz 6mb Cache	Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor T9400 2.53 GHz 1066MHz 6mb Cache
Memory	6gb DDR2 800MHz (2GB X3)	6gb DDR2 800MHz (2GB X3)
Hard Drive	Dual 250gb (250Gx2) 7200rpm SATA 500gb total	Dual 320gb (320gbx2) 7200rpm SATA 640gb total
Video Graphics	NVIDIA® GeForce® 9800M GT 512MB GDDR3	NVIDIA® GeForce® 9800M GT 512MB GDDR3
Display	17.1 WUXGA+ (1920x1200) Glossy	17.1 WUXGA+ (1920x1200) Glossy
Optical Drive	DVD+RW Super Multi	Blu-Ray Reader / DVDRW Super Multi
Operating System	Windows Vista® Home Premium 64 bit	Windows Vista® Home Premium 64 bit
Manufacturer Warranty	2 Year Global with 30days ZBD (zero bright dot), 1yr accidental damage warranty, 2-way overnight Free shipping for warranty service, Technical Support: 24/7 (except holidays), Hotline: +1-888-678-3688, 1 year battery warranty	2 Year Global with 30days ZBD (zero bright dot), 1yr accidental damage warranty, 2-way overnight Free shipping for warranty service, Technical Support: 24/7 (except holidays), Hotline: +1-888-678-3688, 1 year battery warranty
In the box:	Asus Targus premium Backpack, Asus mouse, recovery disks, drivers, power supply, battery, manual, alone in the dark game	Asus Targus premium Backpack, Asus mouse, recovery disks, drivers, power supply, battery, manual, alone in the dark game
Camera	2.0 Mega Pixel web camera
Chipset	Mobile Intel® PM45 Chipset ICH9M Montevina Platform
Card Reader	5-in-1 (MMC, SD, MS/MS-Pro, XD)
Fax/Modem/LAN/WLAN	Integrated Intel® High Definition Audio chip ( Azalia) and 10/100/1000 Ethernet Built-in Bluetooth™ V2.1+EDR (optional) Intel® WiFi Link 5100 A/B/G/N
Interface	1 x Microphone-in jack 1 x Headphone-out jack (S/PDIF) 1 x VGA port/Mini D-sub 15-pin for external monitor 4 x USB 2.0 ports 1 x IEEE 1394 port 1 x RJ45 LAN Jack for LAN insert 1 x HDMI 1 x E-SATA
Audio	Built-in Azalia compliant audio chip, with 3D effect & full duplex Built-in 4 speakers and array microphone Support Dolby® Home Theater Altec Lansing® co-brand speakers
Battery Pack & Life	8 cells: 5200 mAh
AC Adapter	Output: 19 V DC, 6.32 A, 120W Input: 100~240 V AC, 50/60 Hz universal
Dimensions	9.1lbs 16"x11.6"x1.8"

Pictures:

 

Video Card 3dmark06:

It is no secret that this beast is made for the casual to extreme gamer driven by nVidia 9800M GT 512mb DDR3 GPU. The video card is not a joke. The benchmarks below will show you what you are paying for. Multiple screenshots are included for 3dmark06 with various resolutions. Although asus states this is a 9800m gs the computer actually reports it as a GT. Benchmarks put it about 5% below what a GT scores and some identifiers prove that it does have the qualities of a GS. In either case this is a bargain for the price.

     

Battery Life:

Unfortunately just like most asus laptops larger then 14" this one also suffers from lower then desirable battery life.  expect 2 hours of battery life tops.  If you disable the lights, Bluetooth, vga card and kill some of the ports in device manager you may be able to get 3 hours.  Just barely finishes a full length blu-ray movie.  Anything over casual typing or playing a movie expect lower then an hour of life. 

Display:

The g71g comes with a 17" LCD glossy display.  This has 1920x1200 resolution which is the maximum you can get here.  There is little to add other then this is exactly what I expected.  Asus has been using good to excellent quality displays in their high end systems for years and this is no exception.  Good wide view angles and high brightness.  For anyone worried about dead pixels you should keep in mind asus does guarantee a dead pixel free screen on all their notebooks. 

Noise and Heat:

Given it's target audience this laptop is remarkably cool and quiet.  You can just barely hear the soft hum of the single cooling fan and 2 hard drives.  Thumbs up to asus for keeping their customer happy by using good quality fans.  The palm rests remain cool all over most likely because both hard drives are a good distance from where your palms will rest.  Under full load the fan does throttle but still remains well below what I would call acceptable noise.  Even under full load it is friendly enough to use in close proximity to a neighbor in a library.

Cool Features:

This one has a few cool features built in.  The secondary display above the keyboard can be programmed to show any number of widgets like instant messages, cpu usage, battery life and with a bit of programming anything else you can imagine.  Asus does include software to control what appears on the 2nd display.  This also comes with splashtop operating system.  This is a simple version that allows the unit to fully boot in under 10 seconds with access to internet, email, music and more.  The panel above the keyboard has all the fast function touch buttons.  No pressing required as these are touch sensitive.  The palm rests are made out of honey comb design abs plastic which stays cool while you use it.  HDMI and Bluetooth is always a standard on asus notebooks.  The ports on the left and right side are covered by red magnetic panels to give the laptop a more "refined" appearance.  If the lights on the laptop don't make you dizzy maybe the spaceship mouse asus bundled will. 

Lights:

Asus has really outdone them selves here.  If you have a crystal ball hanging in your car then this notebook would top the term "tricked out".  You have a light around the touchpad, a light on each side of the lcd, a light on the back of the lcd, a lighted decal on the lcd, lighted touch panel above the keyboard and  2 lights on the front far left and right.  More lights then one can count on all fingers.  Worst (best for some) of all you can select what color you want the lights to shine.  If red is not your color maybe lime green or yellow is?

Keyboard:

This keyboard does have the full num pad on the right side.  This is also a spill proof keyboard for someone with butter fingers.  I would rate this keyboard B quality only because I have not spent enough time on it.  It feels solid, there is little to no flex and it shares the same keyboard from various asus models which have not had any complaints over the years. 

Hard Drive Performance:

We used hd tune to test the hard drives performance.  The picture below shows the standard 320gb 7200rpm.  The performance of a good ssd drive would be almost double.  Here is a thread that details the difference between the two http://btoforums.com/showthread.php?t=1559

Sound:

This laptop comes with 4 speakers.  2 speakers above the keyboard on the left and right and 2 pointing to the front beneath both sides of the palm rest.  The Altec Lansing logo is present but still these are laptop speakers.  Most people will use headphones for gaming and for any wow effect i would use the spdif out for 5.1channel or better. 

Package contents:

Asus Targus premium Backpack, Asus mouse, recovery disks, drivers, power supply, battery, manual, alone in the dark game

Camera:

2mp digital camera.  Allows video communications using your choice of software with decent quality.  Asus SmartLogon is a software that uses the camera to scan your picture.  You can then logon using the saved picture instead of the traditional password or fingerprint. 

Warranty:

2 Year Global with 30days ZBD (zero bright dot), 1yr accidental damage warranty, 2-way overnight Free shipping for warranty service, Technical Support: 24/7 (except holidays), Hotline: +1-888-678-3688, 1 year battery warranty

Pros:

Excellent for the gamer on a budget
Nice lighting effects
Great High resolution display
Cool and low noise
Good speakers

Cons:

No TV-Tuner
Hard to remove keyboard
Heavy and bulky
Less then desirable battery life

[carmine]

Why is btotech the only website that advertises this laptop with nvidia 9800M GT?. Every other site has it listed as 9800M GS.

[BtoTech.com]

Originally Posted by carmine

Why is btotech the only website that advertises this laptop with nvidia 9800M GT?. Every other site has it listed as 9800M GS.

Because every site is wrong? We post exactly what device manger states. I dont think the 3dmark and device manager would lie,

[EdCris]

Thanks for the review man. Ehh... is there a way to upgrade this laptop in the future??? and, is really hard to believe that this laptop has the nvidia 9800M GT, it's better than the GS right? and all the other websites which sell this same laptop with the GS have a higher price

[kevnan]

Looking at the 3D benchmark numbers it would seem that there is very little difference between the 2 cards (9800GS vs 9800MGT) - atleast that is what i am finding

[kevnan]

Does ram speed make a difference - this unit has a ram speed of 800MHz? Can you get a laptop with 1066MHz speed?

What is the difference between the 5100 WIFI link and the other 802.11 draft N cards that are out there?

Is there a button to disable the onboard mouse so you can use a normal mouse

Why would there be differences in the card reader in different stores. This one has a 5 in one but i have also seen 8 in 1 card readers for the exact same model?

I have also seen some advertizements for this laptop saying that the hard drive speed is 5400RPM and not the above stated 7200RPM so buyer beware if you are buying this from some other retailer than BTOtech.com. Is that even legal to advertise that a product has even less RPM than it should?

Does the super- multi drive have lightscribe or something like it? Just wondering

Will the 64 bit Vista home premium change anything when i play World of Warcraft vs my current 32 bit HP laptop? Do i need to change any settings for it to work?

What is the ICH 9M (chipset) and how does it differ than the ICH 10M because i have seen this laptop advertised with the PM43 chipset with the ICH 10. Which is better?

[BtoTech.com]

where do you see reviews of a 9800gs in a laptop?
these have 9800gt. 9800gs was never integrated into any asus notebook, it was always 9800gt.
1066 is ddr3. this notebook does not support dd3r
5100 is newer. 5350 is wimax enabled but not out
yes you can disable onboard touchpad
8 in 1 is with adapter only. technically this is a 3 in 1
ALL g71g-a1 or a2 come with 7200rpm. does not matter where you buy it.
I think lightscribe is dead just like hd dvd. didnt even check for it.
64bit is perfectly compatible with all the same games and software with a few minor exceptions.
this has a pm45 chipset. intel does not even advertise a pm43 as a mobile platform. pm43 is for desktops

[EdCris]

Originally Posted by BtoTech.com

where do you see reviews of a 9800gs in a laptop?
these have 9800gt. 9800gs was never integrated into any asus notebook, it was always 9800gt.
1066 is ddr3. this notebook does not support dd3r
5100 is newer. 5350 is wimax enabled but not out
yes you can disable onboard touchpad
8 in 1 is with adapter only. technically this is a 3 in 1
ALL g71g-a1 or a2 come with 7200rpm. does not matter where you buy it.
I think lightscribe is dead just like hd dvd. didnt even check for it.
64bit is perfectly compatible with all the same games and software with a few minor exceptions.
this has a pm45 chipset. intel does not even advertise a pm43 as a mobile platform. pm43 is for desktops

I hope the video card is GT. Even in the 3th picture of "Cool Features" shows the Nvidia 9800M GS !!! Can you assure me that if I order from here the Asus G71G-A1 is gonna come with everything that says here? is not gonna say in the box like appeard to other customers "sorry for the inconvenience but the GT is just GS" or something like that...

[BtoTech.com]

Did you not see that 3dmark results and images clearly show it is a GT? device manager shows the same

[dslater]

Can anyone provide fps benchmarks for games such as Crysis?

[Izord]

I have bought three, maybe four laptops from BTO, used to be Geared 2 play. Awesome service. Would recommend this site to anyone.

And I'm in the market for a G71G-A2.

My understanding is that there is flag or tag or something that is mis-identifying this GPU.

Can you run GPU-Z and tell us how many shader units this laptop/GPU has?

The GS has 64 and the GT has 96. There's some other differences as well, but that is one of the major architectural differences.

If you will post a screenshot of GPU-Z I will order immediately.

Thanks,

Iz.

[7ate9]

I ran GPU Z, it lists it as a GT, however it only shows 64 unified shaders.

The sticker on the keyboard says GS, it was listed as a GS when I bought it, I suspect NVidia is playing tricks, and this is really a GS. Not the first time this has happened. No matter what you call it...

GPU G94M Revision A1 Release Date 2008
65 nm Technology 64 Shaders 256 bit Bus Width
GPU Clock 530MHz Memory 800 MHz Shader 1325 MHz

[Izord]

Yeah, that's what everyone else is reporting. The device is being identified by various utilities as a GT, but it has all the characteristics of a GS. Here's a link that tells you what the differences are.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-...ist.844.0.html


You can put a grapefruit label on a banana and if you just read the label you'll think it's a grapefruit. But if you look at it, feel it, or touch it, you can tell it's long and yellow and doesn't taste like citrus.

You get what I mean, I hope. Something may be saying the GPU is a GT, but if it just has 64 shaders it's just a GS.

That's what GPU-Z is for.

[EdCris]

Originally Posted by Izord

Yeah, that's what everyone else is reporting. The device is being identified by various utilities as a GT, but it has all the characteristics of a GS. Here's a link that tells you what the differences are.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-...ist.844.0.html


You can put a grapefruit label on a banana and if you just read the label you'll think it's a grapefruit. But if you look at it, feel it, or touch it, you can tell it's long and yellow and doesn't taste like citrus.

You get what I mean, I hope. Something may be saying the GPU is a GT, but if it just has 64 shaders it's just a GS.

That's what GPU-Z is for.

I knew it !!! Oh man... I hate it... this is not false advertisment???!! because I'm sure the sellers already knew this but didn't do anything about it.

[BtoTech.com]

If a banana tree grows a banana, it looks like a banana but tastes like an apple you can blame the banana tree for the screw up.

I knew it !!! Oh man... I hate it... this is not false advertisment???!! because I'm sure the sellers already knew this but didn't do anything about it.

Nothing you can do about it. It is what it is. Please do not throw around words like false advertising. We are advertising exactly what is being reported.

Notebook check is reporting what a half finished nvidia spec sheet is reporting. If someone can point me to a laptop that is branded with nv9800m GT and has the right taste then we can conclude that these utilities are reading a typo. until then we can assume that nvidias website is the one with the typo. The fact still remains. The scores do not change. If you like the notebook and like how it performs then a typo like this whether it is caused by nvidia or asus does not matter. Tomorow i will check the actual die on the card to see what it is branded with. You did say it right. This is not the first time nvidia had a typo in their spec sheets. My hunch is (unless you can point me to a laptop with a 9800gt that scores over 8300 points in 3dmark06) that nvidia made the typo. if there is a laptop out there with a 9800gt that had been reviewed then one can conclude the difference simply by looking at the 3dmark score. if you cant find a laptop with a 9800gt that scores higher then this one then it is likely that 9800gs was never in production and 9800gt was the entry level card. I dont know. Find a review.

[EdCris]

Ok, my bad... but False Advertising is not saying, that something has X thing and in fact has Y? anyway... but with this the laptop doesnt look so cool anymore :( plus if you add that it doesnt support DDR3 and it can not be upgrade...

[carmine]

I have searched and searched but I can't find better for the price.

Ok, my bad... but False Advertising is not saying, that something has X thing and in fact has Y? anyway... but with this the laptop doesnt look so cool anymore :( plus if you add that it doesnt support DDR3 and it can not be upgrade...

[BtoTech.com]

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4590
that is the closest review of a similar speced model. This one scores 9300 in 3dmark. 1000points over what the g71g scored but one should keep in mind that this does have ddr3 memory. i really dont know. sager now has the same model with 9800gtx for about 900$ over what the g71g costs identically speced. the sager does have faster ddr3 ram but only 4gb of it. The sager only comes with one hard drive and a cheaper bag and not as fancy looking. So for just under 2 grand you can have an asus. Or for just under 3 grand you can have the sager with a more powerfull gpu and faster (less) ram. asus also does provide accidental warranty. If you ask me the asus is obviously less powerfull but does have some better features and 900$ is 900$. that 900$ if saved can get you a new laptop a whole year sooner.

[EdCris]

I never said that for that price it wasnt a good deal... not at all. But I dont care too much about the price, I want a good computer and I thought that this one was a chosen one but I just realized that it isnt. Anyway if someone is looking for a good laptop for the price, this is the one but if you are trying to find a good laptop that CAN BE UPGRADED so in the future you DONT BUY A NEW LAPTOP... better look for something else.

Just my noobish opinion...

[Izord]

Can the drives be set up in a striped RAID array?

Thanks.

[BtoTech.com]

not on this one
g71g has no raid support
only g50vt has raid support

[BtoTech.com]

I never said that for that price it wasnt a good deal... not at all. But I dont care too much about the price, I want a good computer and I thought that this one was a chosen one but I just realized that it isnt. Anyway if someone is looking for a good laptop for the price, this is the one but if you are trying to find a good laptop that CAN BE UPGRADED so in the future you DONT BUY A NEW LAPTOP... better look for something else.

Just my noobish opinion...

You think you will be able to upgrade the vga card on your notebook? I will bet money you will not even if it is advertised by the vendors as "upgradeable"

[Izord]

About the RAID... The chipset is a Mobile Intel® PM45 Express Chipset +ICH9M ... supposed to support Intel Matrix Storage Technology.... RAID.


Do you think this functionality will be exposed in a BIOS update? Kind of weird that the laptop hardware is capable of supporting RAID but that ASUS didn't use the feature? Or at least make it available. Can you tell us what you think about this?

Another question... this laptop is not listed on ASUS USA site. The driver downloads are available under support, but the laptop isn't on the products page. Why is that? It seems like a nice laptop and that ASUS would be kind of proud of it. But I can't see that they even announced it in their news section. Weird or what?

Thanks, BTO!

[EdCris]

Originally Posted by BtoTech.com

You think you will be able to upgrade the vga card on your notebook? I will bet money you will not even if it is advertised by the vendors as "upgradeable"

That's odd... anyway why I never get a reply when I talk with BTOtech by msn???

[BtoTech.com]

if you start a chat after work hours dont expect a reply
work hours are mon-fri 10-7
sometimes after
this forum is the only place where you can reach us after work
try live chat via our site that works best
also live chat link can be found all the way at the bottom of this forum

[BtoTech.com]

all current asus notebooks are powered by the same intel pm45 chipset. only one notebook actually has raid. It is up to asus to integrate a raid controller. intel provides only the chipsets. asus actually puts the chips all together. as far as i know intel only provides the schematics for integrating the controller. asus chooses which one they want

[EdCris]

What about the power cord and all that kind of stuff.. I've read a lot about people complaning the cords are too small. Is not a big deal if you are gonna have it in your desk but if you are in a library it may be a problem... can someone tell me exactly how long is? Thanks.

[BtoTech.com]

6 foot plus 3 foot = 9 feet
people should stop complaining

[EdCris]

This laptop has dual lamp??? couse I read that they do but I'm not sure.
Thanks!

[USMC-Delta]

Do you know anything about MXM? and if the ASUS G71G has one...

[BtoTech.com]

if it was mxm or not you will not be able to upgrade it anyways

[tonyliny205]

Why would Asus put in 1066mhz CPU but not the memory DDR3?

Are they drunk when building this nice laptop?

Will Asus release any bios to support DDR3 memory?

Read from newegg.com review, that a2 is suffering loud fan problem. Is that true? And any remedy for that?

Thanks BTO...you have the best support forum!

[EdCris]

Originally Posted by tonyliny205

Why would Asus put in 1066mhz CPU but not the memory DDR3?

Are they drunk when building this nice laptop?

Will Asus release any bios to support DDR3 memory?

Read from newegg.com review, that a2 is suffering loud fan problem. Is that true? And any remedy for that?

Thanks BTO...you have the best support forum!

Yeah.. the fan problem is very common.. lots of people are complaining about this, happend to me also I sent it back...

Hey BTO, or anyone.. as you probably already know I'm kinna noob in this so I was wondering what kind of sound card this laptop has, I wanted to get the headsets barracuda razor but you need to get a 5.1 sound card so this headsets work propertly. I think this laptop uses "Azalia" which means they are in fact 5.1 but dunno if it's all I need :S Would be nice if someone can confirm this or tell me what I need to use the barracuda

Thanks!

[BtoTech.com]

I did not have any issues with the fan. it is low in normal operating mode and speeds up alot while in gaming. This is the way it should be on a laptop of this caliber.
dd3 sockets are different. bios will not make it compatible
Edcris the issue you had with your fan was due to a broken ball bearing or some other defect it is not the normal way it should be.
for 5.1 you have to utilize the spdif out. it does not have 5.1 on the sound out port. You can also get an express port sound card. there are a few ways you can get 5.1 sound out on this but not on the integrated jack by it self.

[avendirect]

Does the Recovery DVD provided work only with the hidden partition "RECOVERY" existed? Why there are so many partitions being created?

[BtoTech.com]

the recovery dvd is used only of the hidden recovery partition is lost. as long as the recovery partition exists you can use FN during post to initiate recovery

[avendirect]

Cool...than I do not have to worry if the HD crashed.

[akiR0]

Hi,
I'm french I've just bought the asus g71-a1.
I wanted to be sure that it had a 9800m GT and not a GS.
I trust in your website.

thanks a lot,

akiR0

[avendirect]

In less than two weeks, I am having the fan problem, loud clanging noise from the bottom of the G71G-A2, where the vent located.

Newegg buyers and "EdCris" here are reporting the same problems. I cannot believe a $2,000 laptop break in just 2 weeks. Very disappointed with Asus.

Waiting for BTO to give a solution. I have to send it back.

[avendirect]

This is exactly what I meant "metal clanging" noise from fan/vent.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VyiK9hDjoo