Asus G1S: Heavy duty gaming laptop

By Alex Villafania
INQUIRER.net

PREVIOUSLY, we reviewed the Acer 5920G. Now we play around with another Taiwanese contender and the latest iteration of their gaming laptop, the Asus G1S and among the Taiwan-made notebooks, this one truly is a heavyweight.

It seems to be a trend among notebook makers now to push the bar further in introducing models that cater to the more demanding market of hardcore gamers, not to mention putting price tags that are still within the P100, 000 price range. While putting up a gaming rig is half as expensive as getting a notebook with the same specifications, having a souped-up computer that can be lugged around during frag fests can be a treat. Besides, notebooks that have been dressed up with stickers look way more cool than even modified PCs.

Anyway, the Asus G1S is an upgrade to Asus’ original gaming notebook, the G1. The G1S has new features commonly found in most gaming desktops: It uses the Intel core 2 Duo T7500 2.2 Gigahertz processor, 2 Gb memory (upgradeable to 4Gb), NVidia GeForce 8600M GT 256MB video card, 160Gb SATA hard disk and an 8-speed DVD super multi-drive with Lightscribe and 15.4” LCD panel.

Incidentally, the Asus G1S runs as smoothly as the Acer 5920G since both share nearly the same specifications. The G1S can play all of the most demanding video games available, including the extremely resource-intensive Supreme Commander and Medieval II. It can also do audio and video editing (if installed with proper multimedia editing tools) and can also be used for watching DVDs (too bad it still doesn’t come with either HD-DVD or Blu-Ray playback capabilities).

But what sets the Asus G1S from the few other gaming notebooks out there is its seemingly longer battery life. While the Acer 5920G lasts about a full 1 and a half hour at maximum battery consumption, the Asus G1S lasts nearly 2 hours at full capacity. That means most of the battery consuming parts. The battery depletes faster if other capabilities are activated, particularly the Bluetooth and WiFi antennas.

Likewise, this unit is extremely quiet. Even at full processor capacity, the internal fans don’t whir as loud as most notebooks. One has to come nearer to the exhaust fan to hear the fans. Occasionally, the rotating DVD drive makes some sounds but these are quite tolerable.

When running graphic intensive applications i.e. video games, the Asus G1S graphics can be set according to the need. If the G1S is running on Windows XP, an NVidia software controller can be downloaded from their site. Windows Vista will already feature a graphics control that is almost effective as the NVidia software. While the Nvidia 8600M GT can be technically overclocked it may not be advisable especially with only the basic fan and heatsink protecting it from overheating.

On the outside, the Asus G1S is aptly designed for its capabilities. It almost shares the same design as its fashionable cousin, the Asus Lamborghini VX1 but the G1S is all black and has a carbon-fiber like design. The casing is made of tough plastic with some solid aluminum plating in certain areas, which work for physical protection and heat dissipation. Even the keyboard is color coded for the gamer. The keys ASWD, commonly used for first person shooters, have been labeled for easier reference. Even the touchpad has been designed with the carbon-fiber mesh. Of course, a real gaming mouse is best use for such a device. Luckily, Asus has thrown in an optical mouse to really complete the gaming experience.

Because it’s a gaming notebook, the 1.3 megapixel embedded camera will allow the user to do fragfests and show off his game face. The LCD monitor is also one of the brightest and has a response time of 8 milliseconds, which is as fast as most of today’s LCD TVs. In fact, the Asus G1S has 1 HDMI port so it can be connected to an LCD TV.

One drawback for the Asus G1S is its sound, which is not as good as the Acer 5920G, which has a powerful down-firing subwoofer. It is not as bad as most laptops but a real gaming rig should also come with a more efficient sound system so that the user can do away with an otherwise clunky headset.

Despite that drawback the Asus G1S is still the best solidly made gaming laptop around, just slightly better than Acer’s 5920G. Its major advantage is its longer battery life, which will entice the user to play games or watch videos longer without having to worry about plugging the battery to an external power outlet.

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