Asus G75VW Ivy Bridge 660M Review! and owners lounge

Since I have my own local company I've always like buying local. I know Best Buy had it now and they have the 30 day return which is nice I can walk right in and take it back if I need to. Not sure about the online deals everything I buy from Fry s and Best Buy

 

Roger, I just keeping hearing about the BestBuy versions being "lower-end". I realize the video card is different but I was wondering if it was worth the additional money for the 8 gigs more ram and better video card from Tigerdirect/Amazon.

 

SephirothSoul,

The BestBuy, Amazon and Tigerdirect versions all vary slightly. Bestbuy's BBK5 is the cheapest I've seen, but has no bluray drive, 660gtx, 5400rpm drive and only 8gb of ram. Tigerdirect's versions all have bluray.

You should take a look at all of them and decide for yourself what you need and what you don't. IMO, if you want Kepler then Bestbuy is the way to go, you can add more ram or an SSD later.

 

I started to tear the back side apart but it looks like the graphics card is screwed in.

 

Skimming through the past couple of pages, it seems like this BB model is much improved over the previous G74. Just to confirm, the GPU in the BB G75 isn't gimped in any way? Also, what's BB's return policy for notebook computers? 15 or 30 days? Is there a restocking fee if I decide I don't want it? I can't seem to find any laptop-specific return info on their website.

 

Hello everyone, I've been waiting for this laptop to come out for a while now. My current desktop has the following 3dMark score:

ATI Radeon HD 5750 video card benchmark result - Intel Core i5 Processor I5-750,ASUSTeK Computer INC. P7P55D-E PRO score: P2307 3DMarks

You guys think ill do fine with the 660M for playing mostly MMOs and RPGs (ex. Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Kingdoms of Amalur, SWTOR, Diablo III, Final Fantasy XIV, The Witcher 2, Guild Wars 2 etc.) for the next 2 years? I've been using a Radeon HD 5750 for more than a year now and I've been happy with the results on graphics on these games.

I know the Ati 7970m is way better but I'm looking also for battery life, I play casually like 2-3 times a week.

 

I was looking at that laptop which I found here. I know you're reviewing the G75VW with the 660 but I wonder why Asus didn't use the 675 in either of the other 2 models they have released (or set to be released).

Thanks for the great review. I'm trying to decide whether or not the 675 in the Samsung is worth $400 over the 670 in the Asus.

 

i just picked up the Best buy model. only reason is for wow/starcraft/D3. i dont need the blueray or the extra 8g of ram for them games But i am replacing the 500G 500rpm to a 120g 550 intel ssd. Also it does have a thunderbolt port.

 

WTB wow benchmarks!

 

For the last time: Could you please run 3DMark11 and 3DMark Vantage on STOCK frequency, without any overclocking of memory or cores what so ever, and post them?

No offence but you should really start with that and THEN overclock to see how much you can gain. We here don`t have a clue where the 660M stand

 

Picked one up from Best Buy as well. The HDD really makes the system feel a little slow, the keyboard feels a little cheap (keys feel a little loose)compared to the one of the Envy 15, the matte screen is going to take a bit of getting used to and the notebook and power brick combo are heavy. On the plus side, the system runs much quieter than my Envy 15 and looks great!

 

Thanks for the information! Sorry to pester, but is it definitely Thunderbolt and not mini-DisplayPort? I ask because when I look at the specs on Asus's own site I only see mini-DisplayPort and not Thunderbolt. There appears to be some disagreement among resellers too, with, for example, HID Evolution listing only mini-DisplayPort, but Gentech PC and Xotic PC listing Thunderbolt. I seem to remember the reviews I've read from people receiving advance shipments also being divided between calling the port mini-DisplayPort and calling it Thunderbolt.

 

First of all, thanks for all the info - reading this thread has been awesome. I'm very curious to hear about the build quality of the G75. Does it feel solid? Any creaking? General thoughts on fit and finish?

 

Build quality is great i had bestbuy install the ssd... but i am missing alot of software now... just great. anyone know where i can find the extra stuff i am missing lol... plus the recovery partition on the 1terebyte harddrive does not boot up lol....

 

I too have purchased the G75 from Best Buy today, but I can't confirm whether or not the Thunderbolt Port is a real Thunderbolt Port or just a mini-DisplayPort. Reading the manual from Asus' website and what's loaded on the laptop, it says that the Thunderbolt Port is available on select models. The imprint on the case above the port does show a lightning bolt within a box which would lead one to believe it has a Thunderbolt Port, but I can't find any reference to "Thunderbolt" in Windows Device Manager. Also my G75 has a 3D Mode Switch Key but when you press it, it cycles through the Power4Gear modes. There's no indication that it toggles between 3D Modes or not (perhaps I'm not doing it right, or not in the right program environment?). I have an email in to Asus support to see if they can confirm and will post when I find out.

 

Couldnt you guys search on google for the image of a display port and thunderbolt one and compare them together?

 

From my understanding with thunderbolt ports that i have seen on my sisters macbook pro 15 has the same picture "usb + Bolt" but i have also been looking for the drivers online for that port.. Funny thing is that the display port picture is a "box + bolt" which i dont see on the laptop. Gah frustrating lol

 

I'm pretty sure the ports look the same physically based on external inspection?

Hmm, I'll probably install the SSD myself. It came with the Windows discs, right?

 

There's a bit of creaking/cracking when opening and closing the lid and the keys move around a bit. The system doesn't feel as solid as the Envy 15 that I was using before. The materials are nice though. I'd give it a 6/10 on fit and finish compared to the 9/10 on my HP.

edit: Oh and another thing. I'm not sure how the volume controls work. Even with the volume setting lowered all the way down, youtube videos are still incredibly loud. Anyone else have this issue?

 

Sorry about that just got home from a 27 mile trail run in which I ran out of water and had to drink out of the creek! All I could think about was loading some games up on this and doing some more testing!