Solved! ASUS Laptop Showdown

[etonto]

First of all hi everyone, this is my first post here (though I've been lurking the forums for a couple of weeks due to my shopping interests)

I'm searching for a gaming laptop (with some visual studio 2010 on the side) around the $1200 budget.

After several weeks of surfing I've come to these 2 options

Option #1: ASUS G73SW-XT1 from TigerDirect

http/www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7124324&sku=A50-173114


Option #2: ASUS G53SW-XN1 from Newegg

http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230099


I'm mostly leaning to the newegg one (no real reason) but I needed a 2nd opinion from more educated people in this subject. I will probably add an SSD for OS and installs, is it possible to do that easily on both models?

PS: If you have a suggestion other than the previously mentioned ones that fits in my budget it will be very welcome.

 

[etonto]

Option #3: Toshiba Qosmio X775-Q7272

http/www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Qosmio-X775-Q7272-17-3-Inch-Horizon/dp/B0053Y41GM/ref=pd_sim_sbs_pc_6

 

[wirelesswannabe]

First of all hi everyone, this is my first post here (though I've been lurking the forums for a couple of weeks due to my shopping interests)

I'm searching for a gaming laptop (with some visual studio 2010 on the side) around the $1200 budget.

After several weeks of surfing I've come to these 2 options

Option #1: ASUS G73SW-XT1 from TigerDirect

http/www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7124324&sku=A50-173114


Option #2: ASUS G53SW-XN1 from Newegg

http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230099


I'm mostly leaning to the newegg one (no real reason) but I needed a 2nd opinion from more educated people in this subject. I will probably add an SSD for OS and installs, is it possible to do that easily on both models?

PS: If you have a suggestion other than the previously mentioned ones that fits in my budget it will be very welcome.

I'm using an ASUS I bought at Bestbuy which is a G73SW. It has a 17" screen and I don't know how it compares to the models you are researching. I installed a SSD and my windows experience index (for what iti is worth) shows my score at 7.1 for the entire system. Now, here is the point for me. I have owned many Dells, a SAGER, and an HP. I personnaly like the ASUS the most. It is very quiet (with the monster cooling slots on the back. It is also cool on my legs and I hardly ever here the fan run. BestBuy is not my favorite store, but I wanted to put my hands on the Laptop this time before I bought it and FRY's didn't have the model the BestBuy did in stock at the time. Mine is older and has a NVidia 460M card. I think the new ones have a 560M card. Also the ASUS allows you to switch out the video card (not soldered to the motherboard). This was a big selling point for me until I discoverd it is almost impossible to buy a laptop video card by itself. The SSD made all the difference and I still have a regular data drive 500GB 7200RPM. I hope this helps. I understand that ASUS support sucks though, so I hope Bestbuy will be slightly better if I need it.

 

[AntiZig]

If you're really set on picking between the two you've found, I see no difference between them (well only 15" one got a newer 560 on it, while 17" one has 460, but 560 essentially an overclocked 460)

so besides that I think you should go to a store and see which screen size you like better.

if asus isn't an absolute, that qosmio is a nice laptop as well.

 

[etonto]

I would go with the 17" no hesitation but my main concern is if the 460 will not perform as good on a bigger screen as the 560 will on a smaller screen.