the ASUS N61JQ-A1!!!!!!

#1 That is the current market value as Asus sees it. No there are no catches.

#2 As reliable or better than most others. Asus is the 5th largest notebook maker. I have no idea what a "Battalion" notebook is but can guarantee Battalion does not make notebooks. Further Sager does not make notebooks Clevo and Compal do. Compal is #2 in the world. DeLL does not make notebooks, HP does not either. You keep naming them and I will keep telling you no they do not make.

#3 Sager has models that kick any Asus' ass! What Asus has over them is perfomance/cost. As I said Asus is in the top 5 world wide Sager does not make notebooks they rebrand Clevo and Compal. Clevo makes performance notebooks. They are the King if performance only is the factor. I doubt they are in the top 10 of notebook ODM's. Compal as said is #2 but they do no make bleeding edge notebooks. They make good semi performance (graphics) at a good price.

#4 I know it seems godly to you right know but it is mediocore right now. Have you looked at the G73JH-A1? That is some killer shit! But for the way you asked give it a couple years. It will suffer the same as all notebooks. If it looks better than some now it will be better in 2 years.

It is a good notebook and if it meets your needs and budget get it. I said the Asus G73JH-A1 in smaller look at the G51JX-A1. If money is no object the Sager, NP8690, NP8760, NP9280 or NP9850.

Look at my sig I have an Asus. Asus makes the best performance notebooks in my form factor.

It's less expensive because, unlike many computer companies, Asus manufactures their own computers and they only sell them in certain configurations. This means that they have fewer markups and expenses.

Asus is the most reliable brand according to a recent long-term reliability study. Also, support firm Rescuecom ranked Asus third (behind Apple & Lenovo) in their most recent quarterly computer reliability survey and first in the two quarters before that.

Sager, a Clevo reseller, tends to sell only notebooks with the highest end graphics cards and high screen resolutions, which make them more expensive. The Asus N61JQ has a performance midrange graphics card and a lower screen resolution, which does not cost as much. For an Asus comparison to a typical high end Sager machine, check out the 17" G73JH.

Regarding how long until it will be mediocre, that depends on what you're using it for and your standards. If you want to play bleeding edge games at 60frames per second in high resolution as soon as they're released, it's mediocre now. It should be able to play all or most games released in the next 2-3 years at medium details and over 30FPS and should be able to handle intensive computing applications well for around 3-4 years before it would be considered mediocre, in my opinion.

Djembe great minds think a like or at least we do? Let others judge but I am in good company.

Edit: T-21:23

G73JH-A1 can be had for $20 more than your budget w/5870m?, link.

That model is brand new, just being announced at CES 2010 and causing a great stir due to good specs and the upcoming USB 3.0 port(s) that will be included onto the system.

ASUS plans for availability by the end of Jan 2010.

cheers ...

According to the spec sheet, it has one USB 3 port and two USB 2 ports.

Thanks for bringing up the specifics on this model. Not sure about how many ports myself - port(s) ..

Hope that ASUS will not be so scroogy with other models.

cheers ...

me too. I think the big issue is that they're trying to find the best controller and they're hedging their bets until they do.

^^ Agreed. And judging what ASUS introduces lately, this brand might be big in the upcoming months, if not years. They move (not so slow) and very steady forward.

cheers ...

So are we in general giving Asus a big thumbs up for putting out innovation at good price points?

a.y.o. I checked out CanadaComputer and NCIX could not get PCVillage site to play nice. You are correct not seeing many models.

There are no duties no greater taxes than if you bought in Canada. Now one word of caution and I can't remember the specifics confirm with your vendor. There was a method of shipping where the shipping company threw in all kinds of fees like brokerage to a poster I read. These I believe are not governmental but look official so they get paid. Do not pay more than your PST.

works for me

AYO, re: a canadian retailer for Asus laptops (both the n61jq as well as the g51jx, among others) check out this online vendor located in vancouver : http://www.icicomputer.net/

Good price on the site. Cool,

cheers ...

Xotic might be cheaper?