ASUS ROG G75VW 17-Inch Gaming Laptop [OLD VERSION]

I have been ready for some time to upgrade my formerly very nice and relatively powerful HP notebook computer to something more substantial. As a result, I started doing a lot of research. It did not take long for me to settle on what I consider to be the perfect machine for my needs which typically require having several processor/memory intensive programs open at the same time. These programs include Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint, Minitab statistical analysis software, image editing software, and a very sophisticated wastewater modeling program. Based on an extensive amount of research, my choice became the Asus G75VW-DS72 17.3-inch notebook. Amazon got this model in stock as of 6/22/2012 and I immediately placed my order, receiving the machine the next day, on Saturday, June 23, 2012.This Asus model is considered to be a "gaming" laptop and though I don't play games on my computer, anyone doing intensive computer work should seriously consider a gaming platform because of the incredible performance specifications these computers have. I spent all of Saturday and Sunday installing my software on this new computer. Everything installed without any problems at all. I am now at a project site doing wastewater modeling for a customer with my new, and very beautiful, Asus notebook, and I could not be more thrilled with the quality and performance of my computer. Just as I am so impressed with my new notebook, so is everyone who sees it. To begin with, the screen is awesome. It has the perfect brightness, clarity, non-glare, high resolution I was looking and hoping for. This is a very, very well-built, powerful, QUIET, and cool-running notebook. I have truly put this machine to maximum use and it has performed flawlessly. Without hesitation, I give this notebook a five star rating.But you must know what you are buying in considering this particular notebook. So to be clear: This is a big, heavy machine. Absolutely!! But it fits well in a computer backpack and though I'm getting on in years I don't find traveling, from New Orleans to Seattle, for example, to be particuarly difficult with something so substantial. I wanted a large computer. I need a large screen and a full-sized keyboard. Such wants equate to large size and some decent weight. But these potential "negatives" are easily managed.I have read about people having problems with the graphics card in this machine because it is so new and drivers may be an issue. I have not had any problems with the graphics card. The SSD which holds the operating system provides an incredibly fast boot up. This is a fast, powerful notebook. My previous HP notebook operated very hot and actually was uncomfortable to use at times. Temperature is a non-issue with this Asus model. I actually can't quite believe how quiet and cool-running this notebook is given the demands I place upon it. Quiet and coolness are two very important factors for me. I think I've said enough and you can see how pleased I am with my purchase. So let me close with this: You will not be disappointed if you buy this notebook!!

The specs made this sound like a great notebook. But the units I received were of poor quality.The first unit shipped would freeze/lockup and then reboot itself frequently. Searching on the internet I found several similar problems like this with this and other ASUS models. Because of these problems the notebook was unusable for any work or play. I requested an exchange from Amazon, which they promptly delivered (kudos).I also requested support from ASUS, but got some responses that didn't jive with my problems, like "don't run too many programs in the background" and "use an antivirus tool to remove the virus". This machine is touted as a "monster" by ASUS - I should be able to run plenty of apps. At the most running many apps might slow things down, but that shouldn't lock up the system. It also comes bundled with McAfee, so it should also be free of any virus, especially coming directly from the factory.The second unit I received had a Hitachi hard drive, and from my personal experience is known to be a lesser quality hard drive than the Seagate hard drive which came with the first unit. The touchpad buttons for mouse clicks were also loose. The 2nd unit was another poor quality and defective unit.I have now requested a refund and will be returning both units. This has been a very disappointing, time consuming, and mentally draining purchase.

I got this to replace a Dell...yeah, I've had enough of them.First let me say...WOW!That SSD makes this thing rock! This is my first SSD system, so I am perhaps unduly impressed, but hey, I AM impressed. I'm not sure why both drives are partitioned in halves, and that is a tad annoying, but it isn't the end of the world.The keyboard is splendid. It's going to take a little getting used to, as all laptop keyboards do, but I've suffered through far, far worse than this. The spacing between the keys helps prevent hitting two keys at once, and the keys are where they're supposed to be. The feel is fairly typical of modern keyboards...unfortunately...but better than most of them. The only thing better than this would be an old-school clicky keyboard of IBM legend. It is WAY better than Dell, Emachines, Lenovo, Fujitsu, Gigabyte, and any other laptop I've used, and many of those were quite nice.The 10-key ain't so hot. It works, and it beats the top row of the keyboard by a mile, but whoever designed it has no clue how to use 10-key by touch. There isn't supposed to be an arrow key under the "1". Nothing fatal here...I just have to make adjustments. It's still fairly thrilling to have a 10-key on a laptop!The "end" key is a tad awkward, as it's all the way to the right of the keyboard, above the 10-key, and next to the "home", "page up" and "page" down.The lights are nice. I type by touch, so I really don't need it, but it sure looks pretty, and isn't annoying or distracting like the Dell, so I haven't turned it off. It might help locating 'board chow' that's sure to find its way in there.On the whole, the keyboard feels good, and that, to me, is the most important part of my computer use.This is a BIG laptop. It is only slightly bigger than my Dell, yet it holds two drives and a 10-key! I use it on a small platform just big enough for it, a mouse, and a mouse pad. It has two legs that keep it off my actual lap, so I can sit on the couch and do my work.I have yet to hear a fan or any noise out of this thing.The main cons I can list:The power cord attaches to the right side. Most folks use the mouse with their dominant hand. Most folks are right handed. Does this make sense?Same goes with the USB, HDMI, network, and VGA ports. On the right side, right where the right handed mouse moving goes. There could have been better judgement here.Also, the power cord is at a right angle, so if it gets tugged, extra helpings of stress are placed on the socket.The bloatware was minimal. I wiped McAffee, of course, MS Office 2010, because it stinks, and a couple other doodads. And Bing! Not the massive invasion of bloatware that usually comes with computers these days.The most annoying con isn't with Asus, but with Micro$oft. When first starting up, you are REQUIRED to install and agree to the terms of service for Bing. Otherwise you can't use Windows 7. That is chicken-doodoo. While you can uninstall this later, a company that feels the need to inflate their stats this way clearly knows their products are substandard. I haven't had a problem with MS since I ditched Vista, but this brought back old, bad memories of how they like to do business.That's it for the cons.I haven't played games on it yet, nor movies or any entertainment type stuff, so I can't vouch for all that...could also explain the lack of fan noise. My Dell, which was much less powerful, did alright in this area, so I anticipate no problems. Youtube videos actually play better, with no pausing or hickups. Don't know about the sound issues. Haven't had any myself, but I rarely have sound activated. With all the other stupid stuff I've put up with using other laptops, I'd dance for joy if I only had to put up with weird sound issues. As long as the mute function works, that is.Amazon, of course, came through splendidly. At first I was going to pay a little extra for a faster processor at another well known on-line vendor, however with tax it would have been 1/4 extra the price of this one. Fortunately Amazon has the ability, and the stones, to stand up to greedy politicians. Well Done!Shipping was uber-fast. Placed order Friday morning, laptop delivered safe and sound Saturday morning. With Amazon Prime I paid the very small, very reasonable fee for next day shipping, and the already fast shipping was even faster...roughly 26 hours from clicking the Order button to a ringing doorbell. Wow!UPDATEI've had this laptop now for nearly three years.It is used daily. I've traveled with it, I've tripped on the cord dozens of times, and I've played games on it.It's still going strong!In the next few months I'll probably replace the drives, a bigger and faster SSD and a much bigger HD. So far there's nothing wrong with the drives in it, however SSD's have gotten faster, and they do have a limited lifespan. The HD isn't small, but I've nearly filled it up with movies and whatnot.Drives aside, I have yet to have an issue. No cracked hinges, no screen issues, no bad power connectors, absolutely no problems that have plagued nearly every other laptop I've owned...and this thing has been protected, but by no means babied.Sadly, Amazon has caved to California's greedy politicians, who insist on ensuring illegal aliens are geared up with Section 8 housing and Xboxes. Now one must pay taxes, or find another state to ship to.Anywho, the quirks I mentioned previously are minor. I love having a fast, reliable computer that I don't have to repeatedly fix or mess with just to keep it running. As much as I'd love to always get the latest and greatest, like any self respecting geek, I can't afford to buy a new laptop every year, so this is it for a while. I'm more than satisfied with Asus and this laptop.UPDATE 09/11/2016I had to bump this laptop down to two stars.Seems this model has an issue with random shutdowns. After 4 years of awesome, this laptop is unusable for anything where random shutdowns would be a problem, which is to say, anything.And there is no cure that I can find. I've searched high and low, and found folks who've replaced the GPU, switch, motherboard, memory, drives, reflashed the BIOS, pretty much everything. This is either a design flaw, or...something.I was saving and planning on eventually upgrading to a newer ASUS. I absolutely love this laptop, and I've gotten a lot done on it. Now, I have to scramble to buy a used laptop, because I'm up the creek right now.I suppose taking 3 stars off after 4 years of laptop greatness looks harsh, but here's the thing; this was a MAJOR purchase for me, one that took me some time and work to complete. Just swinging by the store and picking up another one is not something I'm capable of doing, hence the mad scramble for a used laptop. It's a lot like having a car that runs great for 5 years, then all at once it starts dying randomly, and there is no fix. Now you have to go nuts looking for another car, NOW, because you still have things you need it for. I actually had this happen in the 80's with a Ford Escort. Not fun.Also, the Bluray drive would sometimes cut out. Not often, and not a major issue. Seems to be common in laptops, at least the ones I've owned.Asus has forums, but it seems there's no one to talk to about this, and the closest authorized repair center is in Utah. I'm in California, so...really?So yeah, two stars, and that's for putting me in a bind and making me toss a sweet laptop that is now a paperweight. I thought I found a favorite brand I could trust.