Asus' Republic of Gamers G74Sx 18.4" 3D laptop is for serious gamers
Gamers have spoken and Asus listened by delivering the latest Republic of Gamers (ROG) top-of-the-line gaming laptop, the G74Sx.
With its angular look inspired by U.S. Navy’s Sea Shadow stealth ship, and a keyboard that dares to slope from 0.8" to 2.4" for a more ergonomic typing angle, the G74Sx simply commands attention. And that's before we have a look under its hood.
Powered by a second generation quad-core Intel Core i7 CPU (2630QM) and NVIDIA GTX 560M GPU with 3GB of dedicated GDDR5 VRAM, it supports DirectX 11, NVIDIA 3D Vision and 3DTV Play technology, so the gaming rig is ready for 3D games, video editing, photos and movies. To complement its 3D capabilities, the laptop has an 18.4" full HD 3D display with 1920 X 1080 resolution at 120 Hz that offers an aspect ratio of 16:9, 8-channel HD audio with THX TruStudio, EAX Advanced HD 5.0, and the option for a Blu-ray/DVD combo drive. With up to 16GB of DDR3 RAM and the option for a hybrid SSD up to 1 TB, it's hard to imagine the G74Sx will need any upgrades out-of-box.
But just in case, Asus designed an Easy Upgrade Cover that is accessible by a mere coin-twist on the bottom of the laptop, where you will find two slots for hard drives and RAM that is expandable to 16 GB. At least you will have peace of mind that this machine won't become an expensive paperweight should a hard drive burn out, for example.
Of course, next to the quality of the processors, gamers need to know their machine will run cool, which is particularly challenging in a small form factor like a laptop. That's why the G74Sx has dual fans -- one for the CPU and one for the GPU. So when either unit gets too hot, the fans will automatically work together to lower the temperature of the same processor by pumping exhaust through the large vents in the back of the laptop.
The G74Sx has a matte black finish with soft-touch palm rests, and a full chic-let keyboard with a dedicated numeric pad and spacious arrow keys, as well as ambient LED lights. With an 18.4" display (but its listed weight with battery is only 4.28 lbs), this Asus G74Sx laptop is really a desktop replacement that offers more portability than a desktop gaming gig. I doubt users will be packing this laptop on business trips.
Unfortunately, Asus has not provided any prices or ship dates for this ROG laptop, so gamers will just have to wait a little longer before they can see HAWX 2, and Civilization 5 in all their polygon glory.
(Note: The specs cited in this write up of the G74Sx is pulled from the Asus USA site, and differ from the same model announced at Computex 2011 in Taiwan.)
Key Technical Specs from Asus USA:
- Processor: Intel® Core™ i7 2630QM Processor
- GPU: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 560M with 3GB GDDR5 VRAM
- RAM: DDR3 1333 MHz SDRAM, 4 x SO-DIMM socket for expansion up to 16 G SDRAM (Quad Core), 2 x SO-DIMM socket for expansion up to 8 G SDRAM (Dual Core)
- Display: 18.4" 16:9 HD+ (1600x900)/Full HD (1920x1080)/Full HD 3D(1920x1080 120Hz) LED Backlight
- Internal Storage (various configurations): 2.5" SATA 750GB 5400rpm/7200rpm 640GB 5400rpm 500GB 5400rpm/7200rpm 500GB 7200rpm SSH Dual HDD Support up to 1 TB 2.5" SATA 160GB SSD
- Optical Drive: Blu-Ray DVD Combo/Super-Multi DVD/Blu-ray Writer
- Card Reader: 3 -in-1 card reader ( SDXC/ MS/ MMC)
- Connectors/Ports: 1 x Microphone-in jack 1 x Headphone-out jack 1 x USB 3.0 port(s) 3 x USB 2.0 port(s) 1 x RJ45 LAN Jack for LAN insert 1 x HDMI
- Battery: 5200 mAh 74 Whrs
- Dimensions: 16.5" X 12.8" X 0.8" to 2.4"
- Weight: 4.28 lbs (with 8 cell battery)
[Source: Asus press release, Asus USA]
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