Asus G71G

Feature

Asus G71G is the latest and greatest 17� gaming 'laptop' from Asus, offering power that is rarely within the grasp of notebook users.

May 26th, 2009 by Varg

Input devices
A gaming mouse (optical Razer � exact model seems to vary) is included with the G71G, but most gamers will certainly already have their favourite ones that they like to use, so we'll bypass the review of the mouse on this occasion. The more pertinent input devices for this review are naturally the keyboard and the touchpad.

Asus G71G offers a full-size keyboard with numpad included. Typing on the keyboard is comfortable because of the natural size of the keys, but the numpad is immediately adjacent to the main keyboard with no gap whatsoever, so sometimes you end up hitting on one of the numeric keys instead of the Enter key. However, this merely takes some time to get used to and you should get comfortable with it over time.

The touchpad is a little bit different matter. Coming out of the box, the touchpad was not really as sensitive as one would like and sometimes we had to actually use some force to get it to detect our control attempts. Adjusting the sensitivity settings helped the matters (we wonder if the previous reviewer had messed the settings up) and the touchpad was actually very good to use � the matte coating providing a nice feel to it. The touchpad is also surrounded by low-key led lights that make it nicely visible even in dark surroundings � similar lighting would have helped the usability of the keyboard as well.

Ultimate performance
3DMark is intended to provide normalized mean scores to help compare different visual processing units. The following are the rather impressive results for our test unit:

3DMark Test Results for Asus G71G
3DMark Score 7957 3DMarks
SM 2.0 Score 3624 Marks
SM 3.0 Score 3485 Marks
CPU Score 1999 Marks

Cinebench R10 is based on MAXON�s award-winning animation software and assesses computer�s performance by running several tests on the graphics card and the processor.

CINEBENCH R10 results for Asus G71G
Rendering (Single CPU): 2369 CB-CPU
Rendering (Multiple CPU): 4464 CB-CPU
Multiprocessor Speedup: 1.88
Shading (OpenGL Standard): 3974 CB-GFX

Geekbench scores

Geekbench Score 2583
Integer Processor integer performance 3222
Floating Point Processor floating point performance 2650
Memory performance 1767
Memory bandwidth performance 1753

The last and the least, the Windows System Performance Rating, available in Windows Vista, provided the following results:

Processor 5.2
Memory 5.9
Graphics 5.9
Game Graphics 5.8
Primary HD 5.9

All in all, the notebook is a beast of a performer and should ace most games on the market today.

Gaming experiences
Since Asus G71G is specifically built to be the ultimate gaming notebook, it is no wonder that we could not find a game in our collection that would have put it on its knees. Our first choice for gaming tests, Crysis, ran without difficulties and older test benches, such as Civilization IV Beyond the Sword and Oblivion didn't cause the beast any problems even on the highest graphics settings.

The only thing that you should remember is the short battery life. With today's technology, there's no way to power this kind of gaming gear with battery power (unless you are willing to increase the weight by another couple of kgs). In gaming tests, the Asus can only provide less than an hour of fun under battery power, so you should always make sure that you are close to a power outlet when you start up any of your more demanding games.

Conclusion
Overall, Asus G71G is the best gaming notebook we have seen so far and if you need a machine that you can transport easily (compared to a desktop computer) to your friends' place now and then, it should be your first choice. But if there are no power outlets around, you might just as well be carrying around a heavy bag of bricks. All in all, we were very impressed by the notebook � the attractive appearance combined with the superior power are things to warm any gamer's heart.

Our Rating: 9 / 10