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Start Gaming Like A Pro.
The new Asus G51J is the coming after the release of the G51VX another gaming notebook from Asus. This 15-inch gaming notebook comes with something all high performance notebooks will soon come standard with, a core i7 mobile processor.
The starting price of the G51J is $1,499 and at that price you get one heck of a notebook. The starting price of the G51J is smaller than the previous G51VX but they both still share most of the same specs and design traits.
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ASUS G51J Specifications: |
- Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
- Intel Core i7-720QM (1.6GHzGHz, 1333MHz FSB, 6MB Cache)
- 15.6" WUXGA FHD LCD display at 1920x1080
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260M 1GB GDDR3 memory
- Intel 1000AGN Wireless, Bluetooth
- 4GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM (2GB x 2)
- Two 320GB Seagate 7200RPM Hard Drives
- DVD SuperMulti
- Webcam, Altec Lansing speakers, Backpack, Razer Copperhead USB mouse
- 120W (19V x 6.32A) 100-240V AC Adapter
- 6-cell 53Wh 11.1v 4800mAh Lithium Ion battery
- Dimensions (WxDxH): 14.6" x 10.3" x 1.3-1.6"
- Weight: 7lbs 8.2oz
- 2-Year Global Warranty/1-Year Accidental damage
- Price as configured: $1,499
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Build and Design
The all around build quality is great, Asus used very strong plastic throughout this notebook. The laptop's strongest points are the palm rest and the screen cover. The palm rest is solid and you will have no flex issues when your gaming with the G51J. Also on the palm rest there they used a rubbery material that feels very good. The laptop lid is also very strong so the 15.6" WUXGA FHD LCD display will be safe if you put pressure on the top of the laptop.
The ease of which you'll be able to upgrade the Asus G51J is worth mentioning. On the bottom of the laptop all the parts that can be upgraded have removable panels over them which are easy to remove. Though you should keep in mind that if you do decide to replace either the graphics card or the processor you will be forfeiting the 2 year warranty that comes with the G51J. |
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The Keyboard and Touchpad
I found the keyboard to be comfortable for both gaming and regular use. The palm rest keeps you in comfort during long gaming sessions with the rubber overlay. The keys on the keyboard are also very good, the key's themselves are spaced out well and are illuminated in the dark for gaming at night. When you push on the keys they are solid and there is no flex on the keyboard. There is just a little wiggle when moving from key's to key's on the keyboard. All around the keyboard is an improvement on the previous G51VX keyboard.
The touchpad features a very smooth surface with almost no feeling of texture if you put your finger on it. The touchpad is very precise and picks up on slight movements very well and there is no lag with this touchpad. The X &Y axis is also very quick just like the center of the touchpad. The buttons on the bottom of the touch pad don't offer as much feed back as the key's on the keyboard but the two buttons are still sufficient. |
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The Display and Speakers
The G51J comes with a 15.6" WUXGA FHD LCD display at 1920x1080 max resolution. For a gaming oriented laptop you need a good screen and the G51J comes with a great screen that offers accurate colors and plenty of viewing angles. Also the display has a gloss finish which is great at making the great picture your already getting really pop, much better than having a matte finish on it. The gift of a glossy screen is also a curse once you step outdoors into the sunlight with this laptop, you will have to sit under some sort of shade to be able to see anything.
On the G51J the speakers are located on the top of the laptop in the form of Altec Lansing speakers with no subwoofer. The speakers aren't going to blow you away they don't really pick up on the lows very well they get the highs and mids though. All together they are just your average notebook speakers but I would recommend getting a pair of surround sound headphones. Gaming with surround sound headphones is far superior to the speakers on the notebook. |
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Battery Life, Heat and Noise
To be real the battery life of this laptop never stood a chance at having great battery life. The Core i7, two 7200RPM hard drives and GTX 260M basically destroyed any hope of battery life over 2 hours. The Asus G51J lasted only 1 hour and 53 minutes with the screen brightness set at 70%, wireless active, and Windows 7 set to the "balanced" power profile. So just stay close to an outlet if you must lug this bad boy around anywhere.
Now the heat and noise first I'll talk about the heat. The heat is centered mainly around the processor and graphics card but the laptop as a whole gets in the 80s. With the specifications for there to be no heat issues it would have been a miracle. The Asus G51J did about the average for a high performance when it came to heat. Now the noise isn't bad during normal loads with the fan coming on a few times to give the laptop some fresh air. Expect the fan to come on a lot though when you are doing demanding tasks.
The Conclusion
The Asus G51J has increased performance in processor tests due to the Core i7 and increased graphics performance when compared to the G51VX. There are heat issues but with the specs the heat is expected. However if you want to compare this laptop to the previous G51VX there is a $200 price difference in the base model prices in favor of the G51J. So all in all it's a good gaming notebook not the best but still good. |
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