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Showing posts with label amd. Show all posts
Showing posts with label amd. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

The gaming arms race continues, and the latest to escalate this never-ending battle is the ASUS G750JZ-XS72, a $2,999 system with Nvidia's newest and most powerful mobile graphics card. But in addition to the GeForce GTX 880M GPU, this 17-inch rig also features a 2.4-GHz Intel Core i7-4700HQ processor, a whopping 32GB of RAM, and dual 256GB solid-state drives (SSDs) in a RAID 0 array. Will this notebook ensure destruction for the competition?
 
While much of the public discourse about laptops and mobile PCs is taken up with ultrabooks, hybrids, and other ever-slimmer devices, there's still room for the traditional 17-inch gaming desktop replacement.
As it happens, we tend to see an influx of such systems just after Nvidia (or AMD) introduces a new generation of mobile graphics cards. In this case, it's a new GeForce 800M series from Nvidia, and we've almost simultaneously seen new gaming laptops from Asus, MSI, Razer, and others.
The very first gaming laptop with Nvidia's highest-end GeForce GTX 880M card that we've tested is the Asus G750. The specific model number for our configuration is the G750JZ-XS72, which in our random-model-number-to-English dictionary means this is a $2,999 configuration that includes twin 256GB SSDs, a Blu-ray burner, and a whopping 32GB of RAM, on top of the already high-end CPU/GPU combo. For $2,499, you can cut the SSD and RAM, and downgrade to a simple Blu-Ray read-only optical drive.
Sarah Tew/CNET
In either case, it's a lot of cash for a device with a 1,920x1,080-pixel non-touch display and an industrial design that feels locked in the past. That said, performance, especially in games, is fantastic. This system easily beat similar models from 2013 with that year's high-end GeForce GTX 780M GPU.
No one, aside from Razer, really makes a gaming laptop with modern aesthetics, but Asus has invested heavily in its gaming line for years, with included overclocking and audio tweaking software and rear-vented exhaust ports, plus some very high-end configurations with plenty of ports and connections. It's about as specialized as a gaming laptop gets without going to a build-to-order boutique such as Origin PC or Maingear.

Design and features
Even big, bulky gaming laptops now have brushed-metal lids and keyboard trays, matte chassis, finger-friendly keyboards and touch pads, and other nods to minimalist design (and thankfully, a lack of chrome accents or flashing multicolored lights). That's not to say that these sort of systems -- not to single out the Asus G750 -- look like truly 2014-era products.
In this case, you get a big black box with a massive desktop footprint. The chassis angles down toward the front, but the front lip is still one full inch off the desktop (and nearly two inches high in the rear). Exhaust fan ports, which use internal copper tubing to direct heat away, are on the rear edge panel, which is preferable to the side edges, where they can blow hot air on peripherals, cables, and so on.
Sarah Tew/CNET
The overall look, while not garish, is largely the same as the last several generations of Asus gaming laptops. Few do better, but that's a low bar. Razer is one of the only companies doing anything really innovative with gaming laptop design, but those slim systems include their own trade-offs.
The keyboard is a standard island-style model, easily fitting in a full number pad, thanks to the large keyboard tray. The main concession to gamers here is deep key travel, with hefty keys offering satisfying tactile response. The keyboard is also backlit, but offers no game-centric specialty keys or macro keys.
The large touch pad feels dated, with its separate left and right mouse buttons, while most other laptops have moved to clickpad-style touch pads. For PC gaming, one could argue that clickpads are suboptimal, but most gamers will be playing with a mouse or game pad in any event, so your touch-pad interaction will generally be for Web surfing and productivity tasks.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Of course, any gaming laptop lives or dies based on its display. In this case, you get a 17.3-inch 1,920x1,080-pixel screen that works well, but doesn't distinguish itself from the competition. On the plus side, the screen has a matte antiglare finish, which I've always thought added realism and immersion in games. Off-axis viewing is decent for a non-IPS screen.
However, laptop displays are in a far different place than they were just a couple of years ago. Touch is practically standard and finally showing up in systems with discrete GPUs (but still not really in desktop replacements). And higher resolutions are showing up at lower and lower prices, such as the 13-inch Yoga 2 Pro, which hits 3,200x1,800 pixels for under $1,000. In the gaming department, the upcoming 14-inch Razer Blade has a 3,200x1,800-pixel touch screen for $2,199, and the new Lenovo Y50 gaming laptop promises 4K resolution in a 15-inch display.


Asus G750JZ-XS72
Video HDMI, VGA, and mini-DisplayPort
Audio Stereo speakers plus subwoofer, headphone/microphone jacks
Data 4 USB 3.0, Thunderbolt, SD card reader
Networking Ethernet, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
Optical drive Blu-ray burner

MORE: Best Gaming Laptop 2014
Measuring 16.1 x 12.5 x 0.67-1.96 inches and weighing 9.4 pounds, the G750JZ is a beast of a laptop. It's smaller but heavier than the Alienware 17 (17.9 x 12.9 x 2.26-2.23 inches, 9.2 pounds), and is also slightly heavier than the G750Jx, which weighs 8.8 pounds. The MSI GT70 (16.85 x 11.34 x 2.17 inches, 8.4 pounds) is the lightweight of the group.


Display

The ASUS G750JZ's 17.3-inch, 1080p display delivered strong visuals, whether we were watching movies or playing games. A trailer for "Captain America: Winter Soldier" looked crisp and vibrant, and we could make out individual scratches on Captain America's shield.
Viewing angles are wide enough to accommodate several people huddled on either side of the notebook, but vertical viewing angles were much more limited. We liked that the matte display cut down on reflections, but colors didn't pop as much as they would on a glossy panel. Still, it's hard to argue with the high level of detail we saw when playing "World of Tanks" and "Metro: Last Light." Everything from dust clouds to dead aliens was rendered sharply.
At 268 lux, the ASUS outshined the desktop-replacement category average (254 lux), as well as the MSI GT70 (240 lux), but not the Alienware 17 (307 lux).

Keyboard and Touchpad

When playing on a notebook as opposed to a desktop, one concession gamers have had to make is the keyboard. Those found on mobile systems generally don't compare to customizable mechanical keyboards you can purchase from third-party vendors.
ASUS is trying to bridge that gap with the keyboard on the G750JZ. Its key travel of 2.5mm made for a very comfortable typing experience.

MORE: The Best Gaming Keyboards You Can Buy
While we like that the keyboard has adjustable white backlighting, it lacks the fun, multicolored effects found on MSI and Alienware systems. Another feature that ASUS -- as well as all gaming-notebook makers -- should add is the ability to make every key programmable, as on the Razer Blade.
The G750JZ's 4.5 x 2.75-inch touchpad was plenty spacious for executing Windows 8 gestures. There were times, however, when we wished the notebook had a touch screen.
MORE: Top Gaming Mice 2014

Audio

Despite having a subwoofer in addition to stereo speakers, audio from the ASUS G750JZ was loud, but the quality was just mediocre. Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run" was on the tinny side. The same went for other genres of music -- Jay Z 's "Encore" lacked a thumping bass line. However, audio on a trailer for "Captain America," as well as on the games we played, sounded full and immersive.
The ASUS Audio Wizard, which is powered by MaxxAudio, has five presets: War Room, Soundscape, Battlefield, Action and Multimedia. None of them did much to improve the quality of whatever we were listening to, but we did like the fact that we could tweak individual EQ settings .
At 80 decibels (as measured from 23 inches away), the G750JZ is on the quiet side for a gaming rig. It's 9 dB below the desktop-replacement average, and 17 dB lower than the Alienware 17.

Heat

As if its massive rear vents didn't give it away, the ASUS G750JZ is very efficient at expelling heat. Inside, the notebook features three heat pipes and dual copper sinks for the GPU and CPU.
After streaming a Hulu video at full screen for 15 minutes, the touchpad measured 81 degrees, the space between the G and H keys was 87 degrees and the middle of the underside was 88.5 degrees. All are comfortably below our threshold of 95 degrees.

We then blasted enemy tanks for 15 minutes in "World of Tanks," and the G and H keys measured 92 degrees and the touchpad was 81 degrees. However, the bottom, near the right vent, jumped to a toasty 106 degrees.
Not only does the G750JZ do a reasonably good job of keeping its cool, but we never noticed any fan noise.

Ports

The left side of ASUS' rig houses two USB 3.0 ports, a DVD/Blu-ray drive, and a 3-in-1 card reader.

The right side has ports for VGA, Ethernet, HDMI 1.4, Thunderbolt, two more USB 3.0 ports, and headphone and mic jacks. About the only thing missing is the combo HDMI-in/out port that's featured on the Alienware 17 -- but that's nitpicking.

Graphics and Gaming

The ASUS G750JZ features Nvidia's newest high-end GPU, the GeForce GTX 880M, with 4GB of GDDR5 memory. According to Nvidia, this chip will provide up to 15 percent more performance over the previous-generation GTX780M GPU.
When playing "World of Tanks" with the settings at maximum, we averaged between 60 and 70 frames per second, and marveled at the details of the buildings, as well as the waving grass and palm trees. When our tank was inevitably destroyed, it went up in an impressive plume of fire and smoke.
On 3DMark Fire Strike, a graphics benchmark that tests DirectX 11, the G750JZ scored 2,780, which is 500 points higher than the average (2,272), and 400 points higher than the Alienware 17 (2,367), which has an Nvidia GeForce GTX 780M GPU with 4GB of memory.
When we fired up our entry-level "World of Warcraft" gaming test, the G750JZ averaged 140 fps with the effects on Ultra and the resolution at 1920 x 1080 pixels. That blew away the category average of 114 fps, as well as the Alienware 17 (103 fps) and the MSI GT70 (105 fps), which also has the Nvidia GeForce GTX 780M GPU.
On the more demanding "BioShock Infinite," the ASUS averaged 65 fps with the settings on High and the resolution at 1080p. While the gap between that frame rate and the average (57 fps) was narrower, it still handily beat both the Alienware (35 fps) and the MSI (44 fps).
Finally, on "Metro: Last Light," the ASUS G750JZ averaged 81 fps with the effects on Low and the resolution at 1080p. On this test, the ASUS was on a par with the Alienware (84 fps) as well as the category average (80 fps). With effects set to High, the ASUS' frame rate dropped to an unplayable 24 fps, which was just higher than the Alienware (22 fps) and the average (18 fps).
But greater performance is just one aspect of Nvidia's new family of GPUs, which includes the 880M. Built into the GeForce Experience app are several features meant to enhance gameplay and endurance.
Battery Boost lets you cap performance at a predetermined frame rate. The app will then throttle the notebook's components, so that gamers can eke out a bit more juice while not sacrificing too much performance.
Battery Boost Custom Game Settings, available in early April, lets you tweak individual titles even further.
ShadowPlay lets users record gameplay at resolutions up to 1920 x 1080p, and broadcast your gaming sessions to sites such as Twitch.
GameStream, previously only available on Nvidia's desktop GPUs, allows you to stream games from your notebook to connected devices, such as Nvidia's SHIELD.



Connections, performance, and battery
One of the fun things to do with a big gaming rig is hook up multiple external monitors, and with the HDMI and mini-DisplayPort jacks on the right edge, you can do just that, with the high-end GPU allowing you to drive each one at HD resolutions.
Sarah Tew/CNET

The Intel Core i7-4700HQ processor matches up well against other recent gaming laptops, and actual application performance is not much different than you'd find in recent 17-inch systems from Alienware, Origin PC, and others (in fact, the Asus CPU is a hair slower than some of the others, but the practical effect is nil).
What we're really interested in here is the new Nvidia GeForce GTX 880M graphics card, and this is the first laptop we've reviewed with that just-released component. As we pointed out during our initial tests when the 800-series Nvidia GPUs were announced, the GTX 880M churned out more frames per second in our gaming tests than a similar system with last year's GTX 780M GPU. Likewise, a new MSI laptop with the GTX 860M beat out a 2013 laptop with the GTX 760M.
So, this Asus is the fastest gaming laptop we've ever tested, right? Not quite. We did find one gaming laptop with better frame rates, and that was the ridiculously indulgent Origin PC EON17-SLX. That $4,400 monster included two GTX 780M cards in an SLI configuration, and easily beat the single-card Asus.
That means the Asus G750 ran Metro: Last Light (a very challenging test) at 30.7 frames per second, while last year's Alienware 17 (with a one-generation-behind GPU) ran the same test at only 18.7 frames per second. However, the dual-card Origin PC laptop, with two last-gen cards, beat them both, at 41.7 frames per second. You can see further comparisons in our benchmark charts below.
Sarah Tew/CNET
A separate Asus software app, called GPU Tweak, allows you to do some software-based overclocking of your video card. It can squeeze another 5 percent out of your GPU, but messing with the settings should be left to experts, as you can create excessive heat and stability problems (although Asus claims the version of the app bundled with this system is perfectly tweaked for this hardware and its cooling system).
Despite all the CPU and GPU power, the Asus G750 actually does well on our video playback battery drain test, running for 5 hours and 17 minutes. That's better than any other recent 17-inch gaming laptop, and thanks in part of Nvidia's Optimus technology, which switches off the GPU when it's not needed. Nvidia is also promoting a new feature of its GeForce Experience software app, which promises game settings tweaks to prolong battery life. That's not fully functional yet, but we'll take another look at it when it is.
System configurations
Asus G750JZ-XS72
Windows 8.1 (64-bit); 2.4GHz Intel Core i7 4700HQ; 32GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,600MHz; 4GB Nvidia Geforce GTX 880M; 256GB SSD (X2), 1TB 7,200rpm HGST hard drive

Source
Laptop Mag Asus G750JZ-XS72 Reviews (4/5) -March 12, 2014
Pros: Top-end gaming performance; Runs quiet and cool; Attractive design; Very good battery life
Cons: Expensive; Keyboard not customizable
The Verdict: The Asus G750JZ makes the most of Nvidia's new GeForce GTX 880M graphics, delivering awesome gaming power in a sleek design.
CNET  Asus G750JZ-XS72 Reviews (CNET Editor's Rating 4/5) -March 18, 2014
The Good The Asus G750 is one of the first laptops with Nvidia's new top-end GeForce GTX 880M graphics cards. The hefty keyboard is great for WASD gaming, and a generous selection of ports makes it easy to add accessories or external monitors.
The Bad For a $3,000 laptop, this still looks like a thick, clunky box. The screen skips the higher resolution and touch functionality we're seeing more often in premium laptops.
The Bottom Line The Asus line of gaming laptops has always offered excellent high-end configurations, along with custom software and hardware tweaks. This latest version of the G750 bets on Nvidia's brand-new line of GPUs, and includes the current top-end card for great gaming performance.
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