Asus G1S > Reviews > Do you really need it?

Author's product rating:   

Speed	Fast
Look & Feel	Good
Comfort & Portability	Excellent
Robustness & Durability	Excellent
Value For Money	Good

Advantages:	Powerful laptop, good value, easily upgradeable, reliable hardware .
Disadvantages:	Some extras are unneccessary, built - in speakers are useless, Hard drive can be annoyingly noisy .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I will note the many luxuries before delving into the serious hardware: 2 GB RAM (up to 4GB supported); 160 GB (subject to upgrading); 8X DVD Super Multi drive; Bluetooth v2.0; Intel PRO/Wireless 4965 802.11 a/b/g/n; 4 x USB 2.0 ports; Built-in 1.3M Pixel video camera; memory card reader (MMC, SD, MS, MS-Pro) and many more little extras make this laptop a formidable champion in the gaming world. Furthermore, bought new this laptop comes with a free optical gaming mouse (Logitech) and a Targus backpack. Now on to the big bad boys:

An Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor T7700/T7500/T7300/T7100 : 2.4GHz~1.8GHz, 800MHz, with 4MB/2MB L2 cache makes this a relatively powerful computing tool - obviously with gaming in mind.

A 15.4" WSXGA+ (1680x1050) TFT-LCD screen makes watching films, viewing photographs, playing games or even just surfing the web a joy - with the addition of 'Asus Splendid Video Intelligent Technology' which basically means that anything on the screen is automatically enhanced (to the users preference).

Down sides to this laptop are alas more numerous than I would care to admit. The 4 USB ports on the laptop are clumped together (on the back) although gaming was a priority, quick and easy access clearly was not. The built-in speakers are of such low quality they are practically unusable. The outer body of the laptop which is not only supposed to act as an impenetrable outer shell but also give the look of a gaming laptop feels like the covering on any other electrical device (including a kettle I have sitting here beside me) and continually looks dirty as every fingerprint, dust fragment and droplet of moisture leaves an impenetrable stain. And although I mentioned the free backpack earlier it must be said that I have not used or looked at mine once - who on earth wants a bright green backpack that looks like something out of a children's fantasy adventure? ASUS have also taken the liberty of installing bright green flashing lights on either side of the laptop - so that you know when the graphics card is in use (as if you wouldn't know anyway) let me assure you that the novelty very soon wears off when you are trying to watch a movie in darkness (for that cinema feel) and have to put up with continual green flashes emanating from the sides of your screen.

All in all I feel this laptop is of reasonably high quality and with all the extra features and luxuries it is certainly worth the money. However, this is probably not the best option for a serious gamer (even though it is a gaming laptop) as all those extra features do bump up the price unnecessarily and other brands such as my personal God of computing - Alienware - do spend more of your money on the things which do matter (such as graphics and sound cards) rather than webcams and memory card readers.