Asus G551 Gaming Notebook (Preview)

The reason I am interested in this product is because I am currently looking for replacement of consumer-based high-end Windows-based laptop for my Lenovo Thinkpad T410i, and I have been doing that for close to one year to date.

I have been a fan of IBM thinkpad series laptop ever since I could afford one. I found those old-fashion square-dull-looking and rugged laptop to be classy and inspired with certain self-gratification and grandeur.

Of course, IBM thinkpad has come a long way, even before the emergence of Macbook.

Hence, by the time I was ready to buy a serious laptop to complement my software programming work, I decided to purchase one.

The first one was IBM Thinkpad R60, second: Lenovo Thinkpad T410i and the third: Lenovo Thinkpad T440p.



Now here is the problem, for all these three laptops, they are about in the same price range: between RM 4k++ to 5K++. Nonetheless, I found the recently purchased Lenovo T440p comes with less features and, in my own opinion, less exciting.

For instance, do you know that Lenovo T410i has a drainage system - means that if you pour an ice bucket of coke over the keyboard, and you recover it with another bucket beneath the laptop, you will get everything back,except that the coke will become less cold thereafter.

The newest Lenovo T440p has no drainage system, according to the spec, the whole keyboard area is tightly sealed. What I didn't like about Lenovo T440p was that despite the price tag, it has many features less than Lenovo T410i - the greatest disappointment is that it didn't even come with an indicator to show charging of battery, let alone the sleep mode indicator which was found in T410i and R60.

And the reason I settled with T440p was because the retailer told me that this is the only Lenovo Thinkpad T series laptop that was available to consumer, if you want to get other models, you have purchase it through corporate with minimum purchase of 3 units.

The best feature which I like about Thinkpad series laptop is the keyboard, the T440p's keyboard is also different from T410i and R60 entirely.

What made me really sad was that even if I am willing to fork out more money to purchase a better series, yet the retailers wouldn't sell to consumer. Does this make any sense ?

While considering T440p, I also explored Dell Alienware which I feel that is kind of pricey for what I am looking for:
  • Dell Alienware 14 inch --> RM 6K ++
  • Dell XPS 15 inch --> RM 6k ++

Okay, for those of you believers who think that middle-end laptop is worth the money, let's see if Asus G551 Gaming notebook can fill in my void.

The introduction:

The ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) G Series G551 gaming notebook represents a performance leap over previous predecessors, with the powerful Intel® Core™ i7 processors and enthusiast-grade NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX™ 860M graphics for the horsepower to drive today’s games smoothly at their highest settings.

Be immersed in gaming worlds by the ROG G551 notebook through its Full HD IPS panel with 178-degree IPS viewing angles display, also providing hardcore gamers with 4K/UHD-ready Trinity Display for multi-monitor gaming or multitasking. Audio-wise, this incredible gaming notebook is complemented by exclusive ASUS SonicMaster and ROG AudioWizard enhanced audio.

The ASUS ROG G551 features a matte-black brushed-aluminum finish with red diamond-cut edges, and bears an illuminated ROG logo on the lid. Its efficient thermal management system works silently in the background to give you uninterrupted marathon gaming sessions.

Hence, based on these three paragraphs, we have the assurance that it is catered for long hours usage.
  • The ASUS ROG G551 comes with a 15.6” Full HD (1920 x 1080 resolution) LED backlit display.
  • The exclusive SonicMaster Premium provides rich, crystal-clear high-fidelity audio while ROG AudioWizard features five easy-to-use preset modes with settings tailored to suit different game genres.
  • Storage SATA 1TB (5400rpm)
  • Li-ion 56Wh (5200mAh, 6 cells)
  • 2 Years Global warranty
  • 3 x USB 3.0 port (G551); 4 x USB 3.0 port(G771)

Price range:
  • G551JM-DM052H - RRP: RM 3,499 (Core i7 Processor / 4 GB DDR memory / GeForce GTX860M with 2GB GDDR5)
  • G551JM-DM053H - RRP: RM 4,099 End October - (Core i7 Processor / 8 GB DDR memory / GeForce GTX860M with 4GB GDDR5)

Details.

Appearance:



Conclusion ?

Not bad with a 15.6" display for a price range below RM 5k of a high-performance laptop with 2 years global warranty, worth a try if the keyboard is as good as Thinkpad series (old models).

And if the 6 cells battery is able to last more than 2 hours with normal non-gaming usage - given that the screen of 15.6" is bigger than the average Thinkpad series of 14" ?

By the way, has anyone done the ice bucket challenge on Thinkpad laptop yet ?

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