Asus G74SX-A2
Specifications
Average of 2 scores (from 3 reviews)
Reviews for the Asus G74SX-A2
Source: CNet
After a season of wafer-thin ultrabooks and pocket-sized ultraportables, there's nothing quite like a giant desktop-replacement gaming rig. Asus has built a very nice sideline over the years with its gaming laptops, including the G74SX, which is a strong, if expensive, quad-core rig that works fine, but looks like it should cost less.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 12/02/2011
Rating: Total score: 70% performance: 80% mobility: 60%
Source: AnandTech
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.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 10/06/2011
Source: Laptop Mag
With the G74SX-A2, ASUS has updated its desktop gaming notebook in all the right ways. While the changes to the chassis are subtle, the design feels fresh and is comfortable to use for long stretches. Inside, the SSD, quad-core CPU, and one of Nvidia's most powerful GPUs mean that gamers won't be wanting for performance, either. While we prefer the Alienware M17x because it offers even more muscle along with a multicolor, backlit keyboard, that system carriers a $690 premium when similarly configured. If you're looking for a full HD notebook that provides a stellar gaming experience for a reasonable price, the G74SX-A2 is the way to go.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 07/20/2011
Rating: Total score: 80%
Comment
Series:
Under the label „Republic of Gamers“ (R.O.G.) Asus continiues the story and shows off the G74 series for gamers. With a premium 17.3-inch display (optional: 3D-capable) and the latest Intel Sandy Bridge CPUs the Asus G74 reveled on the CeBIT 2011 Exhibition in Hannover, Germany. At this time Asus shows a early mock-up of the fourth generation. So the new series take over the succession of the previous series G71, G72 and G73. Strong Hardware, the overall weight and the big chassis are mobility-killers. For the most customers are these points only a marginal note.
Asus offers different configurations of the G74 series, which should appeal mainstream-users as well as extreme gamers. The entry in this series is not cheap, but competitors like Alienware are also located in this area. The cheapest model includes an Intel Core i7-2630QM processor, 8 GB of DDR3-RAM, 1.5 TB HDD, a Blu-ray drive and the gaming-GPU Nvidia GeForce GTX 560M.
The available high-end model costs over 2.000 USD. Therefore the customer get a nimble Solid State Drive with 160 GB capacity (+ 750 GB HDD), 16 GB of DDR3-RAM and a matte 3D-screen (120 Hz). At Dells daughter Alienware the high-end notebooks are mostly a little bit more expensive than this series from Asus. Otherwise Alienware offers a wide range of configurations and additional options. E.g. various RAID-systems, which can be very expensive, but quite fast.
In our review oft he Asus G74SX-3DE the chassis, the comfortable keyboard, the excellent screen, including the 3D-functionality, the good performance, the load noise level and the low surface temperatures are some advantages of this notebook. On the other side: the noise in idle mode, hardware throttling under extreme load and the missing Nvidia Optimus support are disadvantages.
The successor of the GeForce GTX 460M based on the new GF116 chip. The performance is about 13% better than the 460M but with similar power requirements due to hardware optimizations.
Modern games should be playable with these graphics cards at low settings and resolutions. Casual gamers may be happy with these cards. » Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Graphics Cards and the corresponding Benchmark List.Intel Core i7: The Intel Core i7 for laptops is based on the LG1156 Core i5/i7 CPU for desktops. The base clock speed of the CPUs is relatively low, but because of a huge Turbo mode, the cores can dynamically overclock to up to 3.2 GHz (920XM). Therefore, the CPU can be as fast as high clocked dual-core CPUs (using single threaded applications) but still offer the advantage of 4 cores. Because of the large TDP of 45 W / 55 W, the CPU is only intended for large laptops.
2630QM: Fast Quad-core processor based on the Sandy Bridge architecture with an integrated graphics card and dual-channel DDR3 memory controller. » Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Processsors.
17.3":
This large display size is used for laptops which are mainly intended for an use on a desk.
Large display-sizes allow higher resolutions. So, details like letters are bigger. On the other hand, the power consumption is lower with small screen diagonals and the devices are smaller, more lightweight and cheaper.
» To find out how fine a display is, see our DPI List.4.5 kg:
This weight is representative for typical laptops with a 14-16 inch display-diagonal.
Asus: ASUSTeK Computer Incorporated, a Taiwanese multinational company, produces motherboards, graphics cards, optical drives, PDAs, computer monitors, notebook computers, servers, networking products, mobile phones, computer cases, computer components, and computer cooling systems. The company's 2007 revenues reached US$6.9 billion. ASUS also produces components for other manufacturers. The Eee PC initiated the netbook boom in 2008.
In the notebook sector, Asus had a global market share of about 11% from 2014-2016, making it the fourth largest laptop manufacturer. In the smartphone sector, Asus is not among the Top 5 and has only a small market share (as of 2016).
75%: This rating is bad. Most notebooks are better rated. This is not a recommendation for purchase.
» Further information can be found in our Notebook Purchase Guide.
