Asus G53JW Review

The Asus G53 series laptop is the little brother to the G73 ROG laptop. This laptop as the same specs as its
larger 17.3" version just in a 15.6" size and a couple of pounds lighter. However if it’s really hard to tell the difference with the two units
even in size. My friend has a G73 and they are both the same depth, and the G53 is just a hair less wide.
but they are the same shape, height and both have that fantastic stealth fighter angles and looks.

There is no denying these are some of the best looking laptops that Asus has release in my book. They are
Stealth matte black, and unassuming.

My first impressions of this laptop are very positive, I read a lot of reviews online, including every youtube
Video. So I was well aware of what to expect.

My unit came very well equipped.

Intel i7 740QM 1.73ghz 6mb cache quad core w/hyper threading
8GB DDR3 @1333Mhz (4GB stock added a 4GB stick)
500GB 7200 rpm hdd
DVD multi drive
15.6" 1920x1080 HD LED LCD
nVIDIA GTX460m Video with 1.5GB DDR5 RAM
HD audio with EAX HD 5.0 support
Full size LED backlit keyboard with touchpad and two independent l/r buttons
3xUSB 2.0 ports and 1 USB 3.0 port
8in1 card reader on the front panel
HDMI, VGA out
10/100/1000GB Ethernet
Atheros AR9285 ABGN Wireless
BT-270 bluetooth
2.0 mp webcam (not reviewing, its a webcam)
2 Kensington lock ports in the rear
8Cell battery (not reviewing this machine was not bought for its battery up time)
Dual cooling vents and fans dedicated for CPU and GPU Intakes are in the front and under panel and exits out
the back through some afterburner looking vents.
Windows 7 Home Premium 64BIT
150Watt power brick, (note its large but it has to be to provide enough power) the i3 and non quad core i5 versions come with the 120watt brick.

ALL of the above (minus the extra 4GB ram) for $1139.99 free shipping, not too shabby if you compare spec for
spec to an M15x.

Software included is the typical bloat ware, a lot of apps no one needs or wants, including trial office 2010.
Comes with Trend Micro internet security. The unit came partitioned with a 21GB system restore, 116GB OS, and
327GB Data partition. No OS CD just a driver disk. You can create restore DVDs with the AI recovery
Software. Me I blow away all partitions create my own and use a clean base Windows 7 CD and do a clean
install so. WE score shows what I suspected before running that the HDD is the slow link but that’s easily
remedied.

Things I like.

Very fast both with multitasking and gaming, chicklet keyboard is responsive I had two other models prior to
this, the G72 and G60 same keyboards.
Feel of the laptop is very nice, the unit has a rubberized feel overall and on the palm rest, I ran 3Dmark06
for 5 runs strait and the palm rest never got warm. This is partly to do with the great cooling system forcing
the heat out the back and the palm rest is a separate panel to the base which helps buffer heat.
Touch pad is responsive but I never use them I always have a wireless mouse.
LCD is very nice colors are rich, screen is bright, and there were zero defects.
Not a lot of LEDs, the Asus logo on the cover lights up and has a little fade from the top down it looks very
cool
Wireless NIC connected quickly and without problems with my Netgear router @150MB (routers limit) no issues
online with downloads, or gaming.
The system runs very quiet even under load you can just hear the fans running.

Things I didn't like.

Like alot have said online, port placements, especially in regards to the AC power plug. Its on the right
side about 1/4 the way from the rear so it sits right where your mouse would. Also the VGA, HDMI and Audio,
and two USBs ports are right there as well. I understand the reason behind this, but some users have had
their AC jacks break because unlike the G60 the AC adapter has a strait plug not a 90 degree one. So
accidentally people appear to be breaking them. My real suggestion is to buy a 90 Degree adapter, like the CNT-LC53
which you can get it from http://www.bixnet.com for about $6-$7 =) Personally I think it would have been cooler to
just put all those ports on the left side and the CDROM on the right by itself with maybe the audio ports. I
do however understand that in order to do the design and cooling with the fighter jet look to it they had to make
concessions. It’s an annoyance but I can live with it and I think you can overlook this considering the
incredible performance.
The LCD is nice but does have lower than expected viewing angles, not as bad as some cheap panels out
there, it’s still very nice regardless. It is more vertical than horizontal. (The panel in this unit was an Au Optronics (AUO15ed) which completely explains the viewing angles, they are often overbright, but crisp with good response rates, I have never seen one with the same viewing angles as a Samsung, or LG/Philips.)
One big mistake in my book with this laptop is the leaving out of the eSATA port. That should be an absolute requirement these days, but I believe they did so believing the USB 3.0 makes up for it, I disagree with this one missing option.

Undecided....

This is not under good or bad its just an understanding I have with the laptop. It can be upgraded to 16GB
DDR3 Ram @ 1333Mhz (4 sticks) with Quad core i5, and i7s. Dual hard drive ready( no second caddy and they are always out of stock), BUT there is a caveat the
unit has no under panel accessibility. The screws for all the panels are hidden under the keyboard and palm
rest. This is where form trumps function. You can access the HDD, 3 Memory dimm slots (two on bottom, one
just under the keyboard under a antistatic flap.) , CD ROM from the bottom panel and keyboard removed but you
will need to do a further break down of the unit to get at the 4th DIMM which is under the Keyboad and top
base. While it takes about 10 screws or so to do the upgrades it’s not something you do on a daily basis. I
happen to like that the unit has a sleeker appearance because of the lack of screw holes =)

manual is lacking, the express gate cloud software which is basically Asus's instant on OS to allow media and
web access without booting into Windows has a more in depth manual than the actual laptop's. Also there are
errors in the small manual as well, the diagram for the front of the unit describe the 8in1 SD Card reader as
an Express Card slot 54 in full detail even, however there are no express card slots on this unit, and even
the drawing says SD Card =) funny stuff.

There are only two speakers, no sub and I have no clue if these are Altec Lansing or just reg speakers but there is nothing special about the sound.

Since this is a new unit for me I cannot attest for its running longevity but regardless of the little
nuisance items all the pros far outweigh these. Its a gorgeous extremely fast and capable unit. Below are
some pics and base benchmarks (note the 3dMark benchmarks are all I am supplying because I am a regular dude,
this is a stock machine software wise with no tweaks just wanted to show a fresh look into how graphically and
CPU wise this unit may compare. Not running Super PI and decoders etc there are enough i7 benchmarks out there
to get an idea of what a similar spec'd machine can do in those =P.

NOTE: If you are looking for a really nice, fast (especially with the new Sandy Bridge units out now for the G53 series) you will not be disappointed, BUT if you are looking to drop your 17" DTR for this laptop thinking its a size down, or you are in the market to upgrade you may want to think about this, it is a 15.6" laptop but it really should be called a 17" laptop with a 15.6" LCD because I measured the G53 and it is actually a hair LARGER than a Dell Inspiron E1705 and a HP DV9000 I have on hand to measure it against. Its the same width, but its actually about a .5" larger depth. Its not lighter than those two units it is heavier. I also found it frustrating to get a bag to fit it in because the size is specified by the screen real estate so make sure if you want it to get a bag fit for a 17" (not 15.6, or even 16"). I have a Swiss Gear messenger bag I got on sale at New Egg the same time I ordered this unit and it literally is the max size for the bag =) (Not a con, pro, or undecided just giving yall notice =) )

Update to my pros/cons list (4.25.11) I found one item that well kind of annoyed me. I like the DVD-RW placement away from the mouse on the left side but found a really silly and surprising issue. Normally on any laptop really you reach around which ever side your CDROM is on and feel for the eject button, find it and eject the media or tray. On the G53 (and I am not sure about the G73) but the eject button on this unit is completely flush with the faceplate, as a matter of fact no amount of fumbling around feeling for it helps, you have to either look at the side when you are doing it, or use the right click mouse method and eject the cd from from explorer. There is no (fn) key eject either that I can find. Its really odd...


And now the pics in no particular order...








Yes those are purple keys.






Top buttons left to right, LED lights on/off, Asus Super hybrid engine, Splendid video button.


Top right indicator lights (caps and num loc) and power button.


SD Card Slot and LED indicators (Pwr, Batt, HDD, Wifi)


Note the placement of the AC jack.

AC cord with CNT-LC53 90 degree adapter. The new adapter is also not as stiff plugging in and out.

Webcam and mic array.