ASUS G74SX: Noteworthy Updates to ASUS' G7 Series

ASUS G74SX: A Worthwhile Update

I must admit that the G73SW left me feeling a little underwhelmed; it was nearly the same as the G73JW, only with a Sandy Bridge CPU. Yes, Sandy Bridge is a noteworthy upgrade from Clarksfield, but we wanted more. The G74SX is the answer, bringing some minor and some not-so-minor updates to the G7 series. The external design is similar to the previous generation, but there are some clear changes in materials and hints that the internal layout isn’t the same. Perhaps the biggest change, however, is in the keyboard.

I’m something of a keyboard snob when it comes to laptops and notebooks. I write (type) for a living, and I type fast enough that differences between my regular desktop keyboard and typical laptop keyboard become immediately apparent. Having discovered the improved layout on the G74SX, I decided to try something: I’d write nearly this entire review on the keyboard to see how I felt after a lengthier experience. The verdict? While I still prefer my MS Natural keyboard, for a notebook the ASUS G74SX does quite well. The size of the keys and their layout makes it easy to switch between a desktop keyboard and the notebook, key travel is good, and there’s keyboard backlighting. Unfortunately, I still suffer from RSI issues, and typing on a notebook definitely made me more aware of my carpals, but there’s not much I can do about that. As a final bonus, there’s no flex to speak of, even when really mashing against a key, which is more than I can say for most notebooks. The only blemish is the half-size zero key on the keypad, which is irritating if you use the 10-key a lot but not a bit enough issue for most people.

Besides the overhaul of the keyboard, ASUS also updated the LCD, providing a brighter panel with similar to slightly better colors. If you’re at a dark LAN party with your laptop, the G73SW worked well, but sitting in a car or airplane the LCD just wasn’t bright enough in my opinion. The G74SX fixes that, though how many people would actually try to use this sort of notebook in a car or on an airplane—or tote it around a college campus—is questionable. Regardless, all things being equal I prefer a display that can get brighter if I need it, and with nearly 300 nits on tap the G74SX delivers.

As far as performance goes, the G74SX is anywhere from slightly faster to noticeably faster than the G73 variants. The big change is in the A2 model we received for review, which combines a 160GB Intel 320 SSD with a 750GB 7200RPM HDD. That gives you the best of both worlds: great performance for the OS and core applications, and maybe even a few games, with plenty of mass storage still available for images, movies, and additional games (hello, Rage—thanks for eating up 21GB of space on my drive). ASUS also doubled the amount of RAM, packing in a full 16GB—more than even my desktop system!

Battery life on the other hand is about the same (slightly lower), but the improved specs are enough to make up for that. The big omission in this area is NVIDIA’s Optimus Technology, but I understand why that can be polarizing. Intel’s HD 3000 graphics are generally “good enough” for Windows use, typical office tasks, and web surfing. Start hitting some of the latest CSS3/SVG sites, however, and NVIDIA (and AMD) GPUs can be noticeably faster. I haven’t personally been bothered by Optimus, but if you look for it you can find some choppiness and slowdowns when rendering certain content on the Intel IGP. For better or for worse, ASUS avoids all of that by not supporting Optimus, but in the process they basically cut their potential battery life in half.

Ideally, we would get discrete GPU performance with IGP power requirements—basically have a discrete GPU that’s just fast enough that you don’t notice any choppiness and using only as much power as an IGP, but it can also scale up to full power mode when playing games, or anywhere in between. Optimus provides all the power savings but relies on Intel’s IGP for other areas, and at times the Intel IGP still isn’t quite at the level of discrete GPUs. This was a bigger problem when Optimus first launched (with GMA 4500 IGPs), but it became less of a concern with Arrandale (HD Graphics), and Sandy Bridge (HD 3000) has cleared up probably 95% of my concerns. When Ivy Bridge launches late this year or early next and Intel delivers a DX11 IGP, hopefully that will remove any lingering issues.

The remainder of the notebook design is roughly the same as the older G7 models. If you don’t like the slightly wedge shaped design, it’s still there, although ASUS did tone it down quite a bit. This is also a very large 17.3”-screen chassis (just like Alienware’s M17x), and weighing in at 8.5 pounds you definitely don’t want to carry this thing around all day. For people looking for a good desktop replacement, though, the G74SX is a great system that can handle just about anything you might throw at it.

Right now, if you were to ask us for the best gaming notebook, there’s really no clear winner. Price is always a major consideration, but you’ll want at least a GTX 560M for graphics duties if you actually intend to play recent games. Delivering the best overall build quality and features, there are really two contenders for your money: the ASUS G74SX, and the Alienware M17x R3—I rule out the M18x because if the G74SX is too big, the M18x is downright enormous (and expensive). The base model M17x will set you back $1500, but it comes with slightly slower graphics, 4GB RAM, a 1600x900 LCD of questionable quality, a single 500GB 7200RPM hard drive, a DVDRW, and a 1-year warranty. For $1950, the G74SX-A2 provides a lot of upgrades, and configuring the M17x R3 to a similar level of features will set you back about $2350. If you like the added lighting features of the M17x, it’s still a worthy contender, but if you’re trying to cut costs the ASUS G74SX is definitely a great alternative—call it a tie if you will.

The design and appearance of the G74SX won’t please everyone—nothing ever could—but anyone looking for a mobile gaming notebook for under $2000 will be hard pressed to do better than this. The base model trims the specs down on the RAM, storage, and display and can be had for $1200, or there’s the 1080p-equipped G74SX-XR1 for $1320—add a 240GB SF-2200 SSD and you’re still looking at $1600 or so for a potent setup. Or if you just want the maximum configuration, the G74SX-A2 gives you an SSD+HDD, 16GB RAM, a great display, and even tosses in a backpack and mouse for good measure, all for $1950. As long as you grab one of the 1080p equipped models, you really can’t go wrong with the G74, and like the Alienware M17x we’re also awarding ASUS our Bronze Editors’ Choice award. Both are great gaming notebooks, and right now they’re our top two picks—grab whichever better suits your needs. Why no gold? We'd like to see the ability for the fan speed (and cooling capacity) to ramp up higher under load--just in case--and after two prior versions with NVIDIA GPUs we feel it's time for the G7 series to add Optimus support. Neither of those complaints are major, but they're the only items that are lacking.