Asus G74SX-BBK7

The Asus Republic of Gamers G74SX-BBK7 ($1,199 list at Best Buy) has gone through a few changes since we looked at its previous incarnation, the G73SW-BST6 ($1,299.99 list, 3.5 stars). The most notable change is its Nvidia GeForce GTX 560M (2GB) graphics chip, and the fact that it's $100 cheaper. Though it lacks a 1080p HD resolution display and Blu-ray player, of which the Editors' Choice Alienware M17X (Sandy Bridge) ($2,254 direct, 4.5 stars) has, hardcore gamers will have a decision ahead of them when deciding between the two. So do you care more about value or features?

Design
Its exterior may look a little intimidating to the casual consumer, with its all black design and 2.4-inch thick bulky structure, but powerful internal components don't come small. The G74SX-BBK7 has a soft rubberized texture on the lid and interior palm rest, much like the Alienware M17X does. This material feels nice under your hand when typing on the full-sized chiclet keyboard. The keys have a plastic matte finish for a little more grip when typing. There's a numeric keypad off to the right, which is also full-sized with the exception of the 0 key. It's half-sized to make room for the arrow keys. The row of function keys add some nice user-control features, like adjusting the brightness of the screen and backlighting on the keyboard, volume, and turning the Wi-Fi on and off. The multi-touchpad is roomy and easy to navigate with, providing convenient commands, like two-finger scroll and pinch-zoom. The mouse buttons are made of the same soft rubberized texture as the palm rest and were soft and silent when clicked.

The 17.3-inch screen has a 1,600 by 900 (720p HD) resolution. If you're the type who wants the full 1080p HD experience, you can get this via the HDMI port to an external monitor or go for a higher-end laptop, like the Dell XPS 15 (Sandy Bridge) ($1,785 direct, 4 stars) or Alienware M17X. Because of its size, it tips the scales at 9.7 pounds. Other 17-inch laptops, like the Alienware M17X (9.8 pounds) and Dell XPS 15 (6.6 pounds) show how the spectrum of weight distribution among the category can vary. And although the G74SX-BBK7 certainly isn't a lightweight, it's still light enough to tote around on occasion.

Features
At the top of the G74SX-BBK7's features is WiMAX, a 4G wireless connectivity option that allows you to hop on the web in over 54 metro city areas and can cost as low as $40 a month to subscribe. Wi-Fi 802.11n and Ethernet jack are also included. Topping off the connection options are 3 USB 2.0 ports, a USB 3.0 port, multi-in-one card reader (MMC/SD/MS/Pro), audio jacks, and VGA. There's also a Supermulti-DVD RW optical drive.

The G74SX-BBK7 comes with not one, but two 500GB (7,200rpm) hard drives. One acts as the primary drive (C:) were your operating system is stored on and the other acts as a secondary (D:) drive to store any miscellaneous multimedia files or software.

I pitted the speakers up against the "Inception" trailer and although the volume didn't go up high enough to entertain at a dorm room party, it handled the bass of the Hans Zimmer "bwah" very well?better than any laptop I've seen. However, I noticed a small static buzz in the background even when I turned the volume down to a lower level.

Best Buy also has an extended warranty program, which offers customers an extra year of protection beyond the one-year warranty of most system manufacturers. There are two plans in this extended warranty program. The standard plan ($119.99) covers the system against normal wear and tear, power surge damage, and includes a "No Lemon" guarantee in which Best Buy will simply replace the computer if it requires more than 4 repairs during the coverage period. Best Buy's advanced plan ($219.99) offers all this, and also covers the system against accidental damage from drops and spills. Other special offers can be found online or in stores, like discounts on printers, software, and tech support plans which are available with any new consumer PC purchased through Best Buy.

Performance
The G74SX-BBK7 comes with a 2GHz Intel Core i7-2630QM processor, 8GB of RAM, and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 560M (2GB) graphics chip. It did well in our Cinebench R11.5 (5.03) and Photoshop CS5 (3 minutes 59 seconds) image filter multimedia tests, but compared to the Alienware M17X's Intel Core i7-2720QM it fell behind a smidge by 0.37 points in R11.5 and by 33 seconds in CS5?not terribly significant, but what you'd expect from a higher-powered processor.

However, the G74SX-BBK7's bread and butter is in its gaming performance. In our Crysis DirectX 10 test it played at 82.6fps on Medium and 12.7fps on Very High. It played Lost Planet 2 at 67.2fps on Medium and 28fps on High. In comparison to the Alienware M17X's AMD Mobility Radeon 6970M graphics chip, it scored more than playable frame rates on the highest settings in Crysis (58.7fps) and Lost Planet 2 (57fps).

Battery life was less than stellar, its 8-cell 74Wh battery lasted a mere 1 hour 57 minutes on our MobileMark 2007 test. The Alienware M17X (2:24) and Asus G73SW (3:31) both managed to stay alive longer than the G74SX-BBK7, but none of these would be able to last a cross-country flight. If you're looking for more battery life out of your laptop, with some gaming performance, the Dell XPS 15 will give you 6:58.

The Asus G74SX-BBK7's performance in the gaming ring is impressive; it will play high-end games, but you'll have to be mindful of the settings. With the added benefit of WiMAX that will keep you connected to your online games, provided you're near an outlet and a metropolitan area and you are subscribed, this machine will satisfy most any gamer's needs. However, the Alienware M17X can play most of your high-end games on any setting without hiccups for $1,055 more. If you're more the value buyer, then the Asus G74SX-BBK7 will make an excellent companion, but if you have change to spare the M17X is the gaming laptop to get.

BENCHMARK TEST RESULTS:

COMPARISON TABLE
Compare the Asus G74SX-BBK7 with several other laptops side by side.

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