Cheap ASUS Republic Of Gamers G51JX-X3 15.6-Inch Gaming Laptop (Blue)
Heats up, good screen
great laptop, the screen is amazing. 1080p on a laptop cannot get any better. One bad thing is this thing runs pretty hot, the Graphics temperature goes up to 80C, which is pretty normal when running an intense game, but since it's on a laptop you can feel the heat from your palms while resting on it.
Read More About ASUS Republic of Gamers G51JX-X3 15.6-Inch Gaming Laptop (Blue)Cheapest ASUS Republic Of Gamers G51JX-X3 15.6-Inch Gaming Laptop (Blue)
Gaming Powerhouse... In the Size of a Laptop!
Let me start off by saying, this computer kills every other 'gaming' laptop out there. Eat your heart out, Alienware. Because ASUS wins.
I bought this a little over a month ago, and I have to say, this was the best purchase I have made in my entire life. I'm using this as a college laptop for a degree in Video Game Production. I have not yet met something this laptop can't handle. It runs NFS: Shift at full graphics and 2xAA @ 30FPS. It runs Crysis with almost all settings at High (not Very High) @ 20FS. I can run any game from before 2008 at high settings @ 60FPS+. I love this computer and it doesn't matter what I do to try and slow it down, but it just keeps running.
Also, the design of the actual computer is very attractive. The logo on the back lights up and looks very nice. The keyboard is backlit and is very bright. The track pad is one of the nicest I've used on a laptop. It has tons of ports, too. 4 USB (3 of them are 2.0), eSATA, Firewire, HDMI, Mic, Headphone, and Line-out, LAN, and VGA.
What really make this laptop stand out is the massive array of available features. One of my favorite included programs is Power4Gear. It's designed to adjust every aspect of your power settings, including overclocking the CPU. Most of the other included programs are useless, though. One of the other features included is ExpressGate, which is a quick mini-OS that boots up in just a few seconds. It's good if you just want to check something on the internet and nothing else.
Audio quality is excellent with the built-in EAX 4.0 HD audio. When I'm playing Crysis, I now can hear small little things like a Korean soldier snapping a twig in the forest. In NFS: Shift, I can hear a car coming up behind me, and in older games like Age of Empires III, I can hear every single sound separately on the screen. However, these things are only true through headphones. Speaker volume on this computer leaves something to be desired. But that's to be expected on most laptops, anyway.
The keyboard design is exactly as it should be. WASD are marked with arrows. The backlight keeps me from having to turn on a light to see it. The numberpad is just the right size. I use it whenever I'm doing school work and it does its job quite well. As with any laptop, Home, End, PgUp and PgDown are awkwardly placed. All of the Fn keys available are useful taking full advantage of the hardware. One of the most helpful Fn keys is the Power4Gear key, which instantly switches between power modes set with the program I mentioned above. There is also a key to disable the touchpad, which can be very helpful when typing.
This laptop also comes with a mouse and backpack, neither of which are a cheap build quality. It comes with the Razer Abyssus, and a Targus backpack, rebranded with the RoG logo. It's hard for me to fit all of my school books into the backpack, but then again, it was included at no extra cost, so I don't complain. The mouse is an excellent mouse, normally selling for over $50. On the bottom are DPI and pollong switches, the max being 3500DPI and 1000Hz. It has a light-up logo on the top that is appealing, too.
I would not suggest this computer for anoyone but gamers. Even on battery saving mode, and just casually browsing the internet (with throttled CPU, low display brightness, no backlit keyboard, no USB stuff plugged in), I get about 2 1/5 hours at most. You really shouldn't be using it off the plug very often if you want the best performance, anyway, as the CPU is throttled no matter what. It refuses to play anything with a decent framerate on battery.
Here's the recap:
Pros:
- Runs anything you throw at it, no matter what
- Great design, very attractive
- 1080p monitor
- Includes mouse and backpack
- Excellent keyboard
- Great audio
- Includes some powerful features
- Best laptop for the price, anywhere (this was written in 2010)
- Plenty of ports
Cons:
- Hot!
- Heavy (about 7.5 pounds)
- Speakers aren't very loud
- Low battery life
Overall, this is definitely worth the purchase. I would suggest this to any mobile gamer out there (who wants to impress their friends while they're at it).
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