ASUS G751JL 17-Inch Gaming Laptop [2014 model]

Just wanted to put in my opinion about this laptop. I came from an Asus ROG G53, which I was very happy with, but it has been with me for 3 years or so, so I was looking for an upgrade. Naturally, I looked into the new Asus ROGs, but also considered the Alienware laptops, Alienware SFF desktops, Asus SFF desktops, and some of the new 4K laptops (Lenovo and Acer). My wife has an Acer laptop which is very nice, so I seriously looked into the Acer 4k laptop. After looking closely at these alternatives, I soon gave up on a 4k laptop, mainly due to the performance issues I have seen in several detailed reviews, and I seems to me that the benefits of having a razor sharp screen are not worth it for my purposes. It also occurred to me that a "retina" resolution screen works well on a tablet since it's usually closer to your eye (where it's some benefit), but on a laptop the screen with is usually farther away, so perhaps the super-resolution is not as beneficial - again my opinion. I considered trying an SFF desktop, since I mainly use my laptop as a desktop replacement, but after looking at some configurations of the desktops, I found this Asus G751JL to actually be a better value. I think that has to do with the higher overall demand for laptops, or maybe something else in the marketplace dynamics. So I came down to the Alienware and Asus. In the end, it came down to how happy I was with my current Asus, and their superior cooling system, which for me was a very large component. I hate it when laptops gets really hot, and the fans become really noisy under load. Some of the reviews for the Alienwares showed they get hot under load, but ALL of the reviews I found on the Asus show it's cooling is excellent for a laptop. So I went with the Asus. And how it is? In a word, AMAZING. Fantastic Screen: 17 inches of pure beauty. My old Asus had a shiny 15inch 1080p TN panel, but this one is 17 inches, IPS, and is a MATTE finish. The overall effect is a screen that simply "glows" and oozes quality. I sat in a Starbucks yesterday with my back to a huge wall of windows, and was able to work with no trouble at all. Screen hinge was a little stiff in the beginning, but has broken in over the past few days, and now can be opened without holding the base down. This also happened with my old Asus. Keyboard: amazing upgrade. The old Asus keyboard was spongy and the keyboard sank a little with every keystroke. The new one is ROCK SOLID, no movement or play at all, solid feeling, EXCELLENT feel. The only thing I don't like is it's red backlight, which is a bit dimmer to me (I am red-green colorblind). The old Asus required you to remove the keyboard to get into the laptop, but the new G751 has an easy-to-remove panel on the bottom, so the keyboard is much more solidly locked in. Trackpad: much larger, good sensitivity, and MUCH BETTER BUTTONS. It has 2 physical buttons, which are awesome, easy to push. Graphics card: I don't use my computer much for games. I know it's weird buying a gaming laptop if I'm not playing games on it. I like the option of playing games on it, but I'm mainly a console gamer, since I like to be in the living room playing. It's got a nice graphics card. For a little more money, the G751JT and G751JY have more capable graphics, but at additional cost. For me, this graphics card was plenty good enough, but instead I used the $200 money I saved to add the 500GB SSD, which is much more worth it to me. I will say this graphics card has enough juice to drive a 4k monitor in the future, so that was important to me. It's also got a DisplayPort plug, so it should be able to drive a 4k monitor without trouble. Wifi: nice internet card and is the new AC type. My old Asus had a very marginal wifi card, which I needed to upgrade. The downside of the G751 wifi is that I don't think it's upgradeable. The G751 wifi internet is fast and works well. I tested it and I was getting 30 Mbps, which is the fastest I have on my internet service. I used in a Starbucks, and no trouble connecting, and was also superfast. Sound: only 1 speaker that I can see, on the bottom and on the left side. It sounds pretty good for a laptop speaker, but it's only on one side, which is a bit disappointing. Design and maintenance: As I said, there's a panel on the bottom, which you can remove with ONE SCREW, and you have access to 2 memory slots and both hard-drive bays. MUCH MUCH BETTER. I added a Samsung EVO 850 500GB SSD, and now the thing FLIES. Very quick boot up and response, traditional HD for larger files, can't beat it. The bad thing is there are 4 memory DIMM slots on this laptop, which is great. Two of them are accessible through this panel, the other two require dis-assembly to access. Unfortunately, Asus decided to use the 2 ACCESSIBLE memory slots to install the 2x8GB DIMMs, which doesn't make any sense to me at all. I imagine the 2 unused memory slots sitting inside the laptop, and this irritates me. I probably won't upgrade memory any more, but it would be nice to have the option. The power plug has a 90-degree built-in, so it plugs in and runs back, which is really nice and doesn't get in the way. Also, the power plug now has a ridge on it, so it stays in the laptop better. It is a traditional plug, though, not one of the those fancy magnetic plugs. All 4 USB ports at 3.0, which is awesome. One design improvement - they moved the USB ports on the left side towards the back, so they do NOT interfere with the DVD drive bay, which is very nice for me. I like to plug in my mouse to the left side of the laptop so the cable doesn't interfere with my mouse with I place on the right side. On my old Asus, I was always bumping into my mouse's USB plug. Now it's nicely out of the way. Kudos Asus for a nice design improvement. Overall design is much more classy. I swear it's a tiny bit thinner than my old Asus, or it's just the same thickness but looks thinner because the screen's bigger. Reinstalling windows: this was a pain. The Asus Backtracker software process didn't work (I only had a USB 2.0 thumb drive, which I read it has trouble with and only works reliably with a 3.0 drive). I tried Samsung cloning, which didn't work well either (Windows crashed when I removed the original HDD after cloning). In the end I did a clean windows 8.1 install which went well with automatic activation via the code in the BIOS, once I found the right version of windows. I downloaded the drivers on the Asus website, and it works just fine. There were no issues with the standard default windows drivers, but I updated them all anyway. NOTE: There's a link out there to build Windows 8.1 install media, and you have to choose the regular "Windows 8.1" version to build onto a DVD or USB thumb drive. I burned it onto a DVD so could keep it for the future. Do NOT build the windows restore media using 8.1N, 8.1 Pro, 8.1 Pro N, or 8.1 Single Language (thanks Microsoft for the insanely confusing options). If you do the wrong version, it will ask you for the authentication key. If you use the right one, it proceeds automatically because it found the right key in the BIOS. In all, I've very very happy with this machine. Everything's upgraded, and has an air of class now with the new design. One additional note: it's only a little bigger than my old Asus, which had a 15-inch screen. That Asus came with an official ROG laptop bookbag, which is regrettably missing from this package, but I'm happy to report the old backpack does fit the G751, which is another bonus to me. Highly recommended!

Pros: +Screen is gorgeous full hd +Screen is anti-glare, meaning it doesnt reflect surroundings +Comfy keyboard +Huge vents mean laptop always cool +Reasonable price tag Cons: -This thing is HEAVY. Not portable at all unless carried in backpack -Trackpad is WORST i ever used in my life. Very annoying -Cant run games on ultra settings (will lag a little) -Battery kinda weak but wasnt a huge problem -Frame rate issues (LOTS of stutter) :/ -Very dull and lackluster audio, expected better -It said on the box that it had Blu-Ray drive, but when i opened the box it was DVD ???? This pissed me off ALOT. Do not recommend, check out ACER or Dell they have cheaper models,lighter,with better graphic cards.

I think reviews from verified purchasers are one of the best ways to find the best product in a competitive market. I appreciate many of the reviews I read for this laptop, but I still felt like I was taking a risk by investing so much money on a laptop without trying it out beforehand (in person). I felt the need to write my own review and make it as in depth as I thought fit. Please, comment on the review with any questions you may have. A laptop is a major investment and you shouldn't make the decision to purchase with any unanswered questions in mind. I will update this review frequently so new potential buyers can have the most up to date information/opinion regarding the G751JL-DS71. The * (3 of them about the same thing) in the review signifies a disclaimer which is discussed at the end. I needed a new laptop for college, and it was between this beauty and the Lenovo Y70. Both met my budget of $1200 and my hardware requirements (minus having an SSD for the Asus one*). My college required the i7 processor and 16 gigs of RAM and 1 TB of HDD for engineering/lab programs/softwares, etc. I chose Asus because of their no questions asked warranty (unless you make internal modifications*) and the reviews for this laptop were just flat out better. Also Asus leads the laptop industry in cooling technology, and Lenovos are known to overheat just like Alienware. This Asus also had a better graphics card than the Y70 ( Lenovo had 860m). I can confidently tell you that I have made the correct decision to invest in Asus. Although I am not able to compare personal user experience side by side with the Y70, my review will highlight only this laptop. I hope the Lenovo Y70 reviews are also in depth. I have not looked at that webpage in about 4-5 weeks, but the link at the specific page is " http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-17-3-Inch-Touchscreen-Gaming-80DU0034US/dp/B00MCJQ6JG/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1438126231&sr=1-3&keywords=lenovo+y70 " . One thing the Y70 had over the Asus was the 256 gig SSD. But, it also had a touchscreen which is a deal-breaker for me. I didn't want a smudgy screen that i had to constantly clean. Without further adieu, here's my review on the G751JL-DS71. I'm not a hardcore gamer, however this rig will work for the most graphic intensive games for at least 'high' settings. If you want to play Witcher 3 on max graphics, you can't find a laptop in this price range that will do that. Don't be unrealistic. The games I play are exclusively from Blizzard Entertainment: WoW (World of Warcraft), HOTS (Heroes of The Storm), and Hearthstone (I do plan on playing more games though because the experience of gaming on this rig is breathtaking. I upgraded from a 2006 dell inspiron desktop and all the games I played were on the lowest settings but now they can be maxed). WoW is the most graphic intensive of the 3 games, and in my garrison I get 45 fps on ultra settings (when the charger is in.. if unplugged graphics are noticeably worse). I put my graphics on high for raiding, and get 75 fps in 25 man raiding. For HOTS, graphics are maxed out on 'extreme', and I get no lag and high a high fps rate (don't know how to measure fps on HOTS, but no latency or lag at all)... and the same goes for Hearthstone. In the 2 weeks I've had this baby, I've never heard the fans make a single noise. The keyboard is never hot (or Warm .. it's always 'cool') and the backlit keys makes playing at night so much easier. I don't put this baby on my lap, but after 5 hours of straight gaming (HOTS on 'extreme') I felt the bottom of the laptop and there was only one slightly warm spot but I don't plan to game for more than 5 hours straight... so I'll be fine. The vents (yes, there are two! Asus does it best) are on the back of the laptop, so you could use it on your lap without a problem. As for the rest of the laptop (besides graphics card), the screen itself is gorgeous. The IPS FHD screen was totally worth the investment. Very bright and vivid, although I have not played any movies via the CD. I do watch Amazon Prime Video and I get no lag or buffering at all. Same goes for full HD videos on Youtube. This is thanks to the Beastly processor and the 16 gigs of ram. Also, I watch Amazon video on my lap (the laptop is on my lap) and with friends/family on each side, and there is no bad angle to view the screen from. Simple browsing on the web (Internet explorer is default, but I downloaded Chrome) is lightning fast despite my Verizon Fios internet speeds being 50 mbps. Once again, thank you processor and RAM. For its size (17.3" screen), the laptop is more slim then what I imagined, and it weighs 8.6 pounds (the description on this page is wrong). It's not that heavy really, just imagine holding a flat gallon of milk with two hands. Like mentioned, the keyboard never gets hot, even in the middle of gaming. It is the best keyboard I've used to date. The keys still have that tacky sound, which I love, and the tactile pressure for typing is enough so that you don't type extra letters by dragging your fingers over it. An added bonus is the full number pad on the right side. If you are really into gaming, there are specific buttons for macro commands (3 different macro buttons), launching steam, accessing the ROG page, and even a button that lets you record your game (at the push of a button). The only qualm I have about the record button is that it is in the top left corner of the keyboard, where the esc key is on traditional keyboards, so sometimes I press the record button while trying to access the game menu (esc). Like I said the Backlighting is perfect; not too aggressive but bright to play in the dark. This keyboard is probably my favorite thing about this laptop. No wonder why my review is so long, I love to type with it! This keyboard will help bang out college essays and papers super quickly. This laptop has some drawbacks, however they aren't big enough to drop this from 5 stars. Windows 8, as we all know, is terrible. This is solved by the free Windows 10 upgrade, and I will update this review after I've experienced the new OS. There are a lot of stupid pre-installed apps and programs (bloatware) on the laptop that took some considerable time to uninstall. A free Macafee trial comes with the purchase but Macafee sucks, so I'll be getting either Norton or 'Avast!' since they are user friendly, cheap, and most of all work. If you're on the go and forget to bring a charger with you, this laptop will only run for maybe 2-3 hours at most if you plan to use 100% power. I unplugged my laptop at 100%and then started writing this review with all settings on max (brightness, backlight display, etc.). It's at 45% right now and that's after 80 minutes.To solve the battery life problem, drop the graphics on games, dim the screen, and if you don't need internet, turn on airplane mode. The trackpad on the laptop has been a non factor for me because I purchased a wireless mouse at the same time I bought the laptop. I have never used the pad for more than 5 minutes. Also I don't use the laptop on my lap. I've been playing with it in preparation for this review and its not too bad, but everyday users have said its too sensitive or doesn't work well. Oh well, there isn't much more to say here, I'm not the one to ask about the pad. One category that hasn't been discussed much in these reviews is audio. The laptop has speakers and a subwoofer for that 'oomph' on bass. I'm not one of those people that need the immersive surround sound crystal clear audio to make further enhance the experience. This rig has a decent audio system. It can get loud but bass lacks for the most part, despite the subwoofer. Like I said, I don't consider this a drawback, since it is an upgrade over my old desktop speakers. If you're really that concerned, just buy a good pair of headphones and you won't have to worry about anything. I use headphones although I don't care about sound quality that much, and its fine. When I am watching Amazon video with others, like I said, the Audio is good enough to get the job done. Let's review the review.. Pros- graphics (screen), gaming (cooling technology), KEYBOARD, fast web surfing, processo, second available drive bay* (unmentioned) Cons- Bloatware, Macafee, WINDOWS 8, Escape key / Record key on keyboard, Battery life Neutral- Audio system, Trackpad In conclusion, BUY THIS THING. YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED!! Best Value for the Price! If you've made it this far in the review, thank you for reading, you have the same research thoroughness as I do. PLEASE be honest on if this review helped you or not in your quest for a new laptop. This is my first Amazon review and I want your feedback on things you liked or things I can improve on. Also, PLEASE comment your questions, if any. I'm on Amazon everyday so I can answer them quickly! * I know one of the reasons I bought Asus was for the warranty, but I have now decided to install a 500gb SSD in the second available drive. I will update the review to say how the installation goes and how it perfects performance / my experience. I'm also considering upgrading the RAM to 32 gigs. That RAM change would require taking some of the insides apart to get to the 2 extra slots for ram. The SSD, however is accessible without taking anything apart. I called Asus and they said any internal modifications would void my warranty.