Solved! ASUS G Series G51VX-X2A v Dell Studio XPS 16

[Poncejener]

Both the same exact price after shipping & handling & taxes [~1676$]:

Dell Studio XPS 16 from Dell

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T9550 (6MB cache/2.66GHz/1066Mhz FSB)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition SP1, 64-bit + Windows 7 Upgrade
Microsoft® Office Home and Student 2007 - Word, Excel + PowerPoint
2Yr Ltd Hardware Warranty, InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis
Edge-to-Edge FHD Widescreen 15.6 inch WLED LCD (1920x1080) W/2.0 MP
4GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1067MHz (2 Dimms)
500GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
8X DVD+/- RW(DVD/CD read/write) Slot Load Drive
ATI Mobility RADEON™ HD 4670 – 1GB
Intel 5300 Ultimate-N Half Mini Card (3x3) with MyWiFi
Additional 9-Cell Battery
High Definition Audio 2.0
Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Module (2.1+EDR)
Obsidian Black High Gloss Finish
My Accessories
No Security
Dell Online Backup 5GB for 1 year
My Software & Accessories
Also Includes
6-cell Battery
Integrated Gigabit (10/100/1000) Network Card
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 9, Multiple Languages
15.6 FHD WLED Display in Obsidian Black with 2.0 MP Webcam
Windows Vista™ Premium
Intel® Centrino™ 2

ASUS G Series G51VX-X2A NoteBook Intel Core 2 Duo T9600(2.80GHz) 15.6" 4GB Memory 320GB HDD 7200rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260M - Retail from Newegg

Model
Brand ASUS
Series G Series
Model G51VX-X2A
General
Operating System Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit
CPU Type Intel Core 2 Duo T9600 2.8G
Screen 15.6"
Memory Size 4GB
Hard Disk 320GB
Optical Drive DVD Super Multi
Graphics Card NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260M
Video Memory 1GB VRAM DDR3
Card slot 1 x Express Card
Dimensions 14.6" x 10.3" x 1.3-1.6"
Weight 7.26 lbs.
Other Features 30days Zero Bright Dot LCD
CPU
CPU Type Intel Core 2 Duo
CPU Speed T9600(2.80GHz)
CPU FSB 1066MHz
CPU L2 Cache 6MB
Display
Screen Size 15.6"
Wide Screen Support Yes
Resolution 1920 x 1080
Operating Systems
Operating System Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit
Graphics
GPU/VPU NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260M
Video Memory 1GB VRAM DDR3
Graphic Type Dedicated Card
Hard Drive
HDD 320GB
HDD RPM 7200rpm
Memory
Memory 4GB
Optical Drive
Optical Drive Type DVD Super Multi
Optical Drive Interface Integrated
Communications
WLAN 802.11 bgn
Bluetooth Yes
Ports
Card Slot 1 x Express Card
USB 4
IEEE 1394 1
Video Port 1 x VGA, 1 x HDMI
Other port 1 x E-SATA
Audio Ports Yes
Audio
Audio Integrated Sound card
Speaker Internal Speakers
Input Device
Touchpad Yes
Keyboard Standard
Supplemental Drive
Card Reader SD, MMC, MS, MS-Pro, xD, Smart Media
Webcam 2.0MP
Power
Battery 6-cell lithium ion
Physical spec
Dimensions 14.6" x 10.3" x 1.3-1.6"
Weight 7.26 lbs.
Manufacturer Warranty
Accidental Damage Warranty 1 year ASUS Accidental Damage Warranty - Drops, Fire, Spill, Surge

To give you an idea, I'm a gamer (I play FPS, RPG, RTS, etc. latest games) and I'm headed to college, so I needed a portable gaming and general use laptop from 1500 to 2000 dollars.

If anyone has suggestions better than the two above, please do tell, otherwise, I need opinions on which to purchase (and fast, I need to buy this very soon, school is coming up).

Thanks!

 

[Maziar]

Between those,definitely the ASUS model,GTX 260M is a lot better than a HD 4670.
For other suggestions,plz fill the FAQ first:
http/www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/page-50797_20_0.html

 

[lostandwandering]

The Asus is going to be superior to the Dell in every way except for battery life and it has a slightly smaller HDD.

Take a look at this one, similar to the Asus: http/www.xoticpc.com/sager-np8662-built-clevo-m860tu-p-2564.html?wconfigure=yes

 

[super_sinbad]

Oh god, I logged in to ask the exact same question. I'm in the same boat, a bit torn between Asus G51VX and the Dell Studio XPS 16, I've seen the Asus G50 in the flesh and the G51 is nearly the same virtually except the new Apple-like keyboard.

I do business and gaming at the same time, what I like about the Asus is the fact it can take 2 HDDs, which is something I've been looking for.

My question is in terms of tolerance and reliability, I know Dell laptops are really good in that category, but what do you guys think about Asus, how do you compare it to Dell? I'm talking about toughness, I usually leave the laptop running for days, can Asus do the job perfectly?

 

[lostandwandering]

^I haven't used one of these Asus units personally, but I'd imagine that it'd be fine being left on. I've been known to leave my Sager on for weeks on end with no ill effect. Just about the only time it gets shut down is when Windows decides to do an update on me.

 

[super_sinbad]

I've heard about Sager laptops before and I know they are some tough kick-a$$ machines, but I think I'll have to stick with something known at where I am located.

I hope someone with Asus and Dell experience could chime in and give us some more info.

 

[Percius]

I have never used Sager but anything has to be better then Dell. There are also quite a few Sager fanboys for such a small company.

I ordered this dell via the Dell Student Discount program 30 days ago. First they lost the order and it didn't get processed. Then the person who said they would handle the order never called back and never answered his phone.

After that I placed the order again with a different credit card (so that I knew if the first one ever got charged). That order has an estimated ship date of 01/01/0001. The dell site says that orders done today for the identically configured system ship on the 28th. When I called them on the phone it they told me that it will ship on the 3rd.

I asked for a manager they refused.

Down and short of it is. If you actually want to receive your order don't get a Dell.

P.S. Asus and Newegg rock, and if you order that today it would arrive in 3 days not ship in 3 months.

 

[AshzFall]

Having experience with both, I have owned (still do) an Asus laptop and work with Dell laptops in the office every day. The Asus is the finest laptop I have ever owned. The Dell's are alright but the Asus are more segment focused than the more conservative Dell. Being a Taiwan company Asus is generally ahead of the curve in features compared to enterprise aligned Dell.

Basically the Asus is the way to go for a personal laptop with the horsepower to game. If you needed 20 of these to outfit your office and needed consistent parts and supportability three years down the road, then Dell is a good choice. Nothing wrong with XPS system, but Asus won my heart with G50 and I will probably get a G51 here soon.

Good Luck!

 

[austinnou88]

I acutally had to make a similar choice a coupple weeks ago. Between the Toshiba, and the asus. The asus has a 500 gb hardrive and 4gb of ram with an intel core 2 process, well the one I got. I'll post a link of one I got. It totaled at best buy to be $732 This is really a good laptop, and I do recomend it. Dell really used to be good 5-10 years ago, but other brands have competed. Make sure you get the windows 7 on it. I found out that the laptop customore support is verry helpful. When you get trendo micosoft security I recomend removing it, and going with something like Avg or norton. Buying it would be the best thing because the more you pay in this case, the better. The reason why is because I had a virus just a week ago that was posing as a fake virus protection, asking for things like credit card numbers, and phone numbers. It soon took over trendo and it was a disaster. I tryed to put in dics but the virus would not allow me, I tryed putting in AVG. So I called asus custmore support, and they went with me step by step, and I had to end up wiping my whole hardrive. This got rid of the virus. They were pretty helpful, luckily I diddn't get some indan guy who hardly speaks english, or have to go to best buy and pay hundreds of dollars. This is really Why I recomend this. If your a true die hard game, and thats all you want to do. I really recomend a thing called alien ware. It's ment for gaming but expensive. This is though, one of the best things for that use. Look it up. And The reason I got the Asus laptop is because the Toshiba was 4lb heavier, but a littel fastet then the asus. Four pounds it a bigger difference then faster. So look it up dude.



Asus laptop-

http/www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+Laptop+with+Intel%26%23174%3B+Core%26%23153%3B2+Duo+Processor+-+Black+Aluminum/9556143.p?id=1218124207441&skuId=9556143&st=Model: UL50AG-RBBBK05 | SKU: 9556143#&cp=1&lp=1


Toshiba laptop-

http/www.bestbuy.com/site/Toshiba+-+Laptop+with+Intel%26%23174%3B+Core%26%23153%3B2+Duo+Processor+-+Black+Onyx/9549054.p?id=1218122294915&skuId=9549054&st=Model: A505-S6980 | SKU: 9549054 &cp=1&lp=1


Toshiba 4lb heavier but faster
Asus-Lighter but less faster

It's really a littel bit faster not much.



Usefull websites


http/www.itp.net/578466-asus-and-toshiba-most-reliable-laptop-brands