Asus G2S
Feature
Asus G2S is the current top of the line gaming laptop from AsusTek with a 17” glare type screen and the relatively new GeForce8600M GT graphics card.
Asus G2S is the current top of the line gaming laptop from AsusTek with a 17” glare type screen and the relatively new GeForce8600M GT graphics card. As such, it should be a good choice for a gamer who wants to play games at home and on the road. As a welcome extra, the unit also possesses a TV tuner as well as a high quality optical mouse and a backpack to carry it all with you. The price of the whole set, with 2.4GHz processor, varies in the neighbourhood of 1800 – 2200 euros (about the same in dollars, in the typical 1:1 exchange rate when it comes to tech).
The only downside to the big screen is the fact that it naturally makes the unit relatively heavy. At 4.3 kilos (9.6 pounds) it is rather heavy on the shoulder, so you may not want to carry it for too long distances.
Specs
The specifications of the unit that we reviewed are as follows:
- Core 2 Duo T7700 2.4GHz
- Genuine Windows Vista® Ultimate,
- 17" (WXGA+, Glare type)
- NV GeForce8600M GT GDDR3 256MB
- RAM 2048MB(1024x2) DDRII 667
- 250GB 5400 rpm SATA HDD
- DVD Super Multi DL LightScribe
- Hybrid TV Tuner
- Video Camera Built-in(1.3 million pixels)
- 802.11agn
- Bluetooth
- Ultra-high resolution optical mouse
- Gaming carry bag
Impressive screen and mid-level graphics Card
Asus G2S is equipped with the GeForce8600M GT 256MB graphics card and while the card gives good enough power to play most modern games, you should still not expect to play Crysis on this. Oblivion, on the other hand, plays perfectly at the native resolution and moderate settings, and so should most other similarly demanding games as long as they like Vista. At the highest settings (with maximum grass, tree and object distances etc.), Oblivion evinced some stutter when you travel outdoors and there are lots of far-away trees on the screen. We’ll provide some test results pertaining to the graphics card, and mode detailed analysis of the gaming abilities, later on in this article.
Somewhat tinny speakers
The speakers are often the weak point of any laptop. The small frame simply doesn’t give enough room for deep bass sounds. This is also the case with Asus G2S – the sounds are clear and loud enough to be audible in most situations, but lack in the low end of the spectrum. Thus, this is probably not the best platform to play music on, but naturally you can always use high quality headphones to counteract this weakness (and give some peace and quiet to your family members).
Quality input devices
The size of the screen makes for a large frame which, in turn, gives enough room to a decent keyboard. In fact, not counting the missing numpad, the keyboard is the same size as the usual desktop keyboard is. The keys depress a few millimetres when pressed and give a good, solid tactile response, letting you know that the keystroke was properly received. The most important keys for gamers have been marked with red colour, which may be helpful just in case you forgot where to put your hands. The touchpad is of a very good size and the keys respond clearly when pressed.
The mouse that comes with the unit is decorated with the same flame decal as the laptop and provides a good grip with the rubber surface at the sides of the mouse. The buttons (the usual three, plus 5 others for easy web and window browsing in Windows) are pretty good on the whole, but the smallest ones in the front and back or the wheel are somewhat unresponsive. All in all, though, the mouse is a nice addition to the package.