Conclusion
There’s no question about it: the ASUS G750JX-DB71 is a beast. It handles most modern games with relative ease, even managing High settings on most. It’s not as powerful as the MSI GT60 (thanks to its 780M), but it’s still among the best-performing mobile gaming rigs we’ve reviewed. And at a current street price of $1,899 (MSRP $2,000), it’s reasonable, too.
We were also impressed with its good construction quality, which yields very little in any particular spot, apart from the display lid (whose flex tests the boundaries of our comfort). Plus, the G750JX boasts an excellent keyboard and a spacious touchpad with comfortable buttons, leaving little regret in the way of ergonomics.
However, even following the update to BIOS version 0208 (which certainly fixed the problem with CPU throttling on battery power), our test unit was still riddled with some pretty serious TDP-based GPU throttling issues. What it all boils down to is that while unplugged, we were lucky to get half of the performance we received while operating on AC power in any game (or other GPU-heavy application) we tested. This isn’t due to temperature, but rather power limitations. So assuming these results are typical across all G750JX notebooks, be sure you aren’t planning on gaming unplugged and you’ll be all right (again, CPU performance is unaffected at this point regardless of power state). If a later BIOS update happens to correct these problems, we will update our review here, as well as our score.
The other big drawback is ease of maintenance, which has taken a pretty significant turn for the worse since the G75V series we reviewed a year earlier. No longer are there replaceable or easily-cleanable fan filters—and, in fact, you can’t even really get to the fans without having a major teardown on your hands. Likewise, any sort of maintenance involving items beyond the storage devices or bottom-accessible RAM slots (two of the four) is not at all an easy feat. Still, at least there’s no sticker present proclaiming that the warranty is void if you open the back of your PC.
So, it’s far from perfect, with two pretty considerable regressions from the previous ASUS ROG iterations. Still, if you can manage to look past these issues, the G750JX offers a lot to like. It’s extremely well-built, does a great job of keeping cool, and features better input devices than just about any of its competitors. It’s a great choice for gaming as long as you’ll be plugged in.
More photos:
Thank you for such an
Thank you for such an informative review. I currently use (and love) an Asus ROG G73JH and have been thinking of replacing it. I am considering this unit and the G750JH-DB71 which only very recently became available on Newegg here in the US. Identical except for a GTX 780M in the G750JH instead of the GTX 770M resulting in a $500 price premium.
Again, I have been very happy with my 3 year old Asus which I continuously travel with in my truck. The only failure was the power brick after a month or so. And I also appreciate the rear facing cooling vents as my previous Toshiba vented to the side and could be annoying. Also I like where the screen lid folds. It seems to give me more confidence in the laptop physical stability as I use it on improvised objects in place of a desk while in the sleeper of my truck.
Almost all of my gaming with this laptop has been the Total War series as well as Civ5 along with a very recent plunge into Skyrim. With the exception of some stuttering and tearing in Skyrim, I have always been able to game with maximum settings with no problems. But I never, ever game on battery. That is a guaranteed path to pain and sorrow.
Also, Asus Customer Support seems to be a model of automation with little to no human contact.
All that said, I fully expect to purchase either this model or the GTX 780M variant. It really comes down to how much cash I can justify spending.
Hey Edwin,
It’s seriously my
Hey Edwin,
It's seriously my pleasure. Glad you enjoyed the review and found it helpful!
Yes, you should be fine as long as you're planning on staying plugged in. At least temperature is managed well; the notebook should hopefully last a while under the circumstances. Though it is a bummer that the fans and other internal components can't be easily reached as before.
Anyway, it's a great machine notwithstanding. Its performance does not disappoint and I seriously love the keyboard.
Best of luck with your purchase!
-Steve
Hello Steve,
Thank you for
Hello Steve,
Thank you for the review.
Does the ASUS G750JX-DB71 has already C2-stepping?
Grts,
Robert