Asus G2S-B1 Gaming Laptop
ASUS G2S-B1 gaming laptop
Asus G2S-B1 Gaming Laptop
I looked at many laptops and finally decided on the ASUS G2S-B1 which literally has everything I want in a laptop. The ASUS G2 gaming notebook series that redefines mobile gaming with advance graphics solutions, exclusive display technologies and unique design details. Enjoy revolutionary entertainment on the go - Intel Centrino Duo Processor Technology in G2S enables breakthrough mobile performance, new high-definition capabilities and improved battery life.
The G2s-B1 is really like a desktop in many ways and can handle any computing task you want to throw at it. It is tagged as a “Gaming Series” laptop and so far it has smoked every game I have played on it including the infamous Doom3 and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.
Graphics
First of all, the computer is designed to handle graphics and gaming first and foremost. It is geared toward people who want a portable gaming PC but it is not limited to gaming alone. The computer is quite capable of any office or business use as well. The hard drives used in most laptops are a 4200 RPM drive, which means that the disk spins at 4200 revolutions per minute. The spin speed is one of the determining factors of the overall performance of the drive. Some high end laptops use a 5400 RPM drive for enhanced performance. The ASUS G2S-B1 uses a typical desktop performance drive that spins at 7200 RPM, which is the typical performance of a desktop hard drive.
As a gaming PC, the graphics processor used is the NVidia GeForce 8600m GT with a dedicated 256MB of graphic texture memory. Gaming is fun and the computer handles high end games with decent frame rates and acceptable smoothness. It is still not as good as playing on a high performance desktop, but this laptop will definitely appease any gamer on the road. So far it has handled any game I have installed on it including the demanding “Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion”.
Gaming
Gaming is a bonus for me. I game a lot but I don’t usually game much on my laptop, mainly because my previous laptops were incapable of playing high end 3D games like the ones I like to play. This laptop can play the top name games out today and handles them rather well. With that said, it is still not up to par with a solid gaming desktop PC so don’t expect to play Doom3 with everything set high and still get 120fps because that isn’t going to happen. However, you can play Doom3 with the settings set at average to minimum and be able to play the game rather smoothly (which is pretty awesome for a gaming laptop).
I played The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and found it fun to play but I would much rather play it on my desktop than on the laptop. The graphics are decent enough but even with everything set to minimum HDR off and no AA, the frame rate would drop to the point of stutter when I entered a large area with many creatures. This laptop is sold as a gaming laptop but I would suggest that if you really want to use this laptop as a gaming machine, you should install Windows XP Pro and raise the RAM to 4GB (although any 32-bit operating system will only recognize 3.5GB, this will retain the benefit of having a dual channel configuration).
There are many games that play on this laptop without any glitch at all, it is only the high end most demanding games that bog it down. So far the games I have played that bogged down the performance were:
* Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
* Doom3
* Battlefield 2
The games that I have played that have not bogged down the computer’s performance were:
* The Sims 2 (with Nightlife and Pets expansions)
* Battlefield 1942
* Black and White 2
* Black and White
* Homeworld
* Age of Empires III (with the War Chiefs expansion)
* Age of Mythology
* Serious Sam Second Edition
* Hitman 2
* CounterStrike: Source
So you can see that there are a number of games that can be played without any problems, but if you are into the latest and greatest high end 3D games, you may be a little let down by the graphics performance of the laptop.
One last surprising note; this laptop refuses to get hot! I have had 3D games running for hours and hours with the fan only coming on for a few seconds every once in a while. The bottom of the laptop never gets hot, only barely warm to the touch. The heat dispersement is incredibly well designed.
Pros:
Looks awesome, plays COD4 and CSS at max settings. The graphics look amazing in full HD. I’m pretty sure it would play Crysis with medium settings too, not sure about high settings though. I don’t like the game so I haven’t actually tried it. Performance with this laptop really is SUPPER.
1. Build Quality is excellent.
2. Screen is beautiful; nice resolution and good solid bezel.
3. Good performance for games; the 7200 rpm is noticeably faster than the standard 5400 rpm - something that is often overlooked when considering gaming performance.
4. Nice design overall; great looking top and easy to use layout.
5. Pretty nice software package; good driver support disk and nice dual partition - one for OS and system files and the other for “Data” (I use mine for iTunes and Bittorrent downloads).
6. Terrific speakers and good sound card (sounds perfect with headphones).
Cons:
are you kidding. Cons are for, well not this laptop that’s for sure. Wait, yeah I do actually have one, but it’s not for the laptop… It comes with Vista on it. Vista blows so get rid of that and put XP on it and you’ll be flying! Drivers are not easy to find though so make sure you find those before you purchase the laptop. Go to the asus forums and search for the drivers, you will find one forum that has all the drivers you’ll need. Even has the extra programs… you’ll know what I mean when you get there.
Other Thoughts: As mentioned in the cons, switch to XP and you will be flying. I ran all of those games on XP so don’t think your going to get that kind of performance with Vista. Backpack is bigger than you think, however it is really a great bag. Seems to be very strong material. I use it all the time and it has a lot of great padding so the laptop isn’t damaged. The mouse that comes with it is also a really good mouse. It’s not top of the line razer or Logitec mouse or anything but it’s a good gaming mouse none the less. BTW, it is a logitec mouse.
Part Number:G2S-B1
General
* Platform Technology Intel Centrino Duo
* System Flash Memory Intel Turbo Memory (1 GB)
* Built-in Devices Status OLED display , Bluetooth antenna , Wireless LAN antenna , Speaker
* Width 16.0 in
* Depth 12.0 in
* Height 1.8 in
* Weight 9.7 lbs
* Color Silver
* Notebook type Desktop replacement (7.5 + lbs.)
Processor
* Processor Intel Core 2 Duo T7700 / 2.4 GHz
* Multi-Core processor technology Dual-Core
* 64-bit processor Yes
* Data bus speed 800.0 MHz
* Chipset type Mobile Intel PM965 Express
Cache Memory
* Type L2 cache
* Cache size 4.0 MB
RAM
* Installed Size 2.0 GB / 4.0 GB (max)
* Technology DDR2 SDRAM - 667.0 MHz
* RAM configuration features 2 x 1 GB
Storage Controller
* Storage controller type Serial ATA
* Storage Controller / Serial ATA Interface Serial ATA-150
Storage
* Floppy Drive None
* Hard Drive 200.0 GB - Serial ATA-150 - 7200.0 rpm
* Storage Removable None
* Hard drive type Portable
Optical Storage
* Type DVDRW / DVD-RAM
* Disc Labeling Technology LightScribe Technology
Optical Storage (2nd)
* 2nd optical storage type None
Card Reader
* Card reader type 5 in 1 card reader
* Supported flash memory cards SD Memory Card , Memory Stick , Memory Stick Pro , XD-Picture Card , MultiMediaCard
Display
* Display Type 17.0 in TFT active matrix
* Max Resolution 1920 x 1200 ( WUXGA )
* Widescreen Display Yes
* Features Color Shine , Zero Bright Dot , ASUS Splendid Video Intelligence Technology
* Screen type Wide-screen
Video
* Graphics Processor / Vendor NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT
* Video Memory GDDR3 SDRAM - 256.0 MB
Audio
* Audio output type Sound card
* Audio output compliant standards High Definition Audio
* Audio Input Microphone
Notebook Camera
* Camera Type Integrated
* Notebook Camera / Sensor Resolution 1.3 Megapixel
Input Device(s)
* Input device type Keyboard , Touchpad
Telecom
* Modem Fax / modem - MDC
* Max transfer rate 56.0 Kbps
Networking
* Networking Network adapter
* Networking / Wireless LAN Supported Yes
* Wireless NIC Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN
* Data link protocol Bluetooth 2.0 EDR , IEEE 802.11n (draft) , IEEE 802.11g , Ethernet , IEEE 802.11b , IEEE 802.11a , Gigabit Ethernet , Fast Ethernet
* Networking standards IEEE 802.11a , Bluetooth 2.0 , IEEE 802.11b , IEEE 802.11n (draft) , IEEE 802.11g
Expansion / Connectivity
* Expansion Slots Total (Free) 1.0 ( 0.0 ) x ExpressCard , 2.0 ( 1.0 ) x Memory
* Interfaces 1.0 x Display / video - Input - 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15) , 1.0 x Network - VGA - RJ-11 , 5.0 x Modem - S-video output - Mini-phone 3.5 mm , 1.0 x Audio - SPDIF output/headphones - RJ-45 , 1.0 x Storage - Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T - 7 pin external Serial ATA , 1.0 x Display / video - Phone line - Mini-phone 3.5 mm , 1.0 x Hi-Speed USB - Line-in - 4 pin USB Type A , 1.0 x IEEE 1394 (FireWire) - ESATA , 1.0 x Microphone - HDMI , 1.0 x Display / video , 1.0 x Audio
Miscellaneous
* Features System password , Security lock slot (cable lock sold separately) , Hard drive password
Power
* Power device form factor External
* Voltage Required AC 120/230 V
Battery
* Technology 8-cell Lithium ion
* Installed Qty 1.0
* Mfr estimated battery life 2.0 hour(s)
Operating System / Software
* OS Provided Microsoft Windows Vista , Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
* Software Instant Fun PLUS , ASUS Power4 Phone , ASUS MultiFrame , ASUS Direct Console , CyberLink Medi@Show 3 , ASUS Power4 Gear eXtreme , ASUS Live Update , ASUSDVD 7.0 , CyberLink PowerDirector 5 , ASUS NB Probe , ASUS Wireless Console , ASUS LifeFrame2 , ASUS WinFlash , Drivers & Utilities , ASUS Net4Switch
Manufacturer Warranty
* Service & Support 2 years warranty
* Service & Support Details Limited warranty - Battery - 1 year , Limited warranty - 2 years
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