Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I've had this computer for about 3 days, and my feelings on it went from wanting to defenestrate it, to pure love. For starters, I ordered a separate 256GB corsair solid state drive so I can have fast boot and load times for the OS and apps. Now, installing an additional hard drive in most laptops requires mostly just removing the bottom plate, but not for this laptop. With this laptop, I had to remove the keyboard by prying it out and then carefully unlatching the connectors from the computer. Then, I had to remove the the piece with the touch pad and unscrew a set of screws that are holding the bottom plate in. Then, I'm finally able to remove the hard drive cover underneath the laptop after the last bit. Why did Asus have to make such a trivial thing so complicated?
Anyways, after I finally got to the hard drive bay I found out that the second empty bay has no bracket to hold a hard drive in. I looked online and nobody was selling them. Yes, that's right: this computer IS ADVERTISED as having the capability of storing an additional hard drive, but the company is not including or even selling any bracket to allow me to do it! I couldn't find them anywhere! So luckily, my drive was a solid state, with no moving parts. What I ended up doing is taping some business cards underneath the solid state drive and letting it rest evenly on those, and then folding one of them between the space that the drive and the bay would occupy so that it doesn't wiggle around. No issues so far, I'm pretty furious that I'm being put in this situation, and I'm definitely giving Asus a call and demanding that they ship or sell an extra bracket to me. There is absolutely no reason at all why I have to do this.
Lastly, once I got everything in place I decided to use the recovery cd's that I created in the beginning to reformate/unpartitian the primary drive and install windows 7 on the solid state drive... but guess what? The recovery cd's do not have the capability of reformatting. What I had to do was hunt down an .iso of windows and burn that to a disk, then use it as my windows install... because the recovery cd is not a 'true' windows. I don't understand why Asus doesn't include a generic windows dvd since, you know, I PAID for the licence and it costs them next to nothing. They did include a driver CD, which is generous.
So that's all the bad stuff out of the way. Once I got everything up and running and with the right setup, things got much better. For starters, the performance on this thing is top-notch. With a solid state drive as the main OS, this laptop boots up in 20 seconds. It handles everything I throw at it with ease. I have the laptop outputting to a second 24 inch monitor as an expanded desktop and it runs starcraft at full resolution and mostly high settings at around 40-60 fps. Best of all, it doesn't 'downclock' to cool down like most of the laptops out there do. The reason for this is an extremely efficient cooling system in the back that blows air out one vent and sucks in air at the other. This keeps things relatively stable, and quiet. I'm not waking up my GF while I game on starcraft after she goes to sleep, and in comparison the Envy 17 I had and returned before this (which cost a beefy 2300) sounded like a jet engine.
This is a top-notch gaming rig, and I'm very happy with it so far. Would I recommend to anyone else? Well, it depends. If you're going to be happy with the measly 500GB of storage, then yes. However, if you want to do what I did or install a larger capacity hard drive, then I recommend you tread lightly or have a certified technician do it for you.
Click Here to see more reviews about: ASUS G53SW-XA1 Republic of Gamers 15.6-Inch Gaming Laptop
They'll Never Know What Hit'em Every gamer knows that the latest games demands the best performance. That's why ASUS made sure that the Republic of Gamers (ROG) G53SW-XA1 is jam-packed with one-of-a-kind innovation that will propel mobile gaming performance to unseen levels. Now powered by the 2nd generation Intel Core i7-2630QM quad-core processor, experience top-of-the-line adaptable speed and responsiveness for the most demanding tasks. Featuring the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M graphics engine that comes with a massive 1.5GB of GDDR5 VRAM, the ROG G53SW-XA1 leads in DirectX 11 gaming for advanced tessellation and faster graphics rendering. And while others struggle to find the keys in dimly lit areas, the backlit gaming keyboard gives you the edge in the dark to put you ahead of the competition. The ROG G53SW-XA1 showcases a stealth fighter-inspired design with a unique thermal design that promotes airflow and keeps air away from you. Plus, its 15.6-inch LED-backlit Full HD display delivers the latest in high-definition entertainment with brilliant 1080p playback. The ROG G53SW-XA1 breaks from the heard of traditional gaming notebooks with built-in overclocking feature through the ASUS Power4Gear Hybrid utility—instantly giving you extreme power with a push of a button. The ROG G53SW-XA1also boasts a 500GB 7200rpm hard drive, 8GB DDR3 system memory, Super Multi DVD drive, high-speed wireless N, SuperSpeed USB 3.0 connectivity, Bluetooth3.0, HDMI connectivity, 2.0 megapixel camera, and stereo speakers with EAX Advanced HD 5.0 sound.
Key Features
15.6-inch LED-backlit Full HD display for an immersive cinematic experience with a resolution up to 1920 x 1080 (Learn more)
2nd generation Intel Core i7-2630QM processor with Intel Turbo Boost 2.0 Technology for the best visibly smart performance that adapts to your needs (Learn more)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M graphics with 1.5GB GDDR5 VRAM for leading DirectX 11 gaming (Learn more)
ASUS Power4Gear Hybrid that innovatively saves battery life and delivers extreme performance (Learn more)
SuperSpeed USB 3.0 for quicker device charging and up to 10x faster transfers than USB 2.01
500GB 7200rpm hard drive and 8GB of DDR3 system memory for smooth computing and ample storage for all your games and media files (Learn more)
Backlit gaming keyboard with an ergonomic angled design for comfortable control in any lighting environment (Learn more)
Stereo speakers and EAX Advanced HD 5.0 Audio for premium gaming sound (Learn more)
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Relax, ASUS Has You Covered Ranked as the #1 most reliable PC brand by 4 independent sources,2 readers and editors alike choose ASUS as their trusted notebook and netbook. ASUS relentlessly strives to exceed expectations of quality to ensure you an unmatched peace of mind every time you start your PC. This notebook also comes with the industry's most comprehensive warranty.
1 Year ASUS Global Warranty3 Offers a level of coverage that would add hundreds of dollars to the price of competing laptops:
1 year global warranty
30 day Flawless Display Guarantee
2-way free standard shipping
24/7 tech support
1 Year Accidental Damage Warranty (ADW)3 Whether your notebook is damaged by accidental spills, drops, electrical surges, or fire, ASUS will fix it or replace it for you during the first year after purchase.
Covers accidental drops, spills, power surges, and fire damage
Target 3 business day turnaround time for repair / replacement; not including receiving and shipping time
1-way shipping (from ASUS to the user) at no additional cost
24/7 toll-free phone support
What's in the Box
ROG G53SW-XA1
AC Adapter
8 cell Battery Pack
Warranty Information Card
Specifications
OperatingSystem: Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
Display: 15.6-inch LED-backlit Full HD display (1920 x 1080)
Processor: 2nd generation Intel Core i7-2630QM quad-core processor (2.0 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 2.9 GHz)
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M 1.5GB GDDR5 VRAM
WLAN: 802.11 b/g/n (@ 2.4GHz), Bluetooth v3.0
LAN: 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet
Memory: 8GB DDR3 1333 MHz RAM, 4 x SODIMM (expandable to 16GB)
Storage: 500GB 7200rpm hard drive
Optical Drive: Super Multi DVD drive
Camera: 2.0 megapixel
Speakers: Stereo speakers with EAX HD 5.0 and THX TruStudio
Microphone: Digital Array Microphone
Card Reader: 8-in-1 card reader (MMC/SD/Mini-SD/XD/Memory stick/MS Pro/MS-Duo/MS-Pro Duo)
Input/ Output: 1 x Mic-in, 1 x Headphone-out, 1 x VGA port/Mini D-Sub 15-pin for external monitor, 3 x USB 2.0 ports, 1 x USB 3.0 port, 1 x Gigabit LAN, 1 x HDMI, 1 x Kensington Lock
Battery: 8 cell
Dimensions: 15.4 x 11.7 x 0.8 ~ 2.0 –inches
Weight: 7.9 lbs (with 8 cell battery)
Color :Black
© 2011 ASUS Computer International. All Rights Reserved. ASUS is a registered trademark of ASUSTeK Computer. All specifications and terms are subject to change without notice. Please check with your supplier for exact offers on selected models. Products may not be available in all markets. Product may not be exactly as shown in photos.
1All figures theoretical values compared to USB 2.0 benchmarks for reference purposes. Actual speed depends on device and system status. 2Rated number 1 Windows-based PC maker in PCMag.com's Service & Reliability Report 2009. Rated number 1 PC brand according to SquareTrade, the leading direct-to-consumer warranty company (for more information visit http://www.squaretrade.com/pages/laptop-reliability-1109/ ). Rated number 1 reliable PC maker in Spring 2009's RESCUECOM report http://www.rescuecom.com/RESCUECOM269.html. Rated number 1 Windows-based PC brand in PCWorld.com survey http://www.pcworld.com/article/211074/the_tech_brands_you_can_trust.html. 3ASUS reserves the right to exclude certain SKUs; check with your retailer to confirm coverage of specific models. Valid for notebooks purchased in the US and Canada only. Certain retailers do not participate in ADW coverage. For complete details, please visit: usa.asus.com/event/ASUS360 and adw.asus.com/.
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