Gaming Laptops: ASUS vs. MSI?

smthathor

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May 30, 2014
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I bought an ASUS G750JW last July. I liked the power the machine had but I had nothing but problems with it: the display flickers at anything but maximum brightness, the subwoofer went out, USB devices kept freezing up periodically, etc. And frankly, I think ASUS's support sucks. Their automatic update software doesn't even work. I ended up getting a cash out from Best Buy for warranty work and grabbed the newer ASUS G750JM.

The problem is I'm already wondering if maybe I should just drop ASUS like a bad habit. The G750JW was the second system I'd gotten from them that was kind of a bust; I'd also had the TF201 tablet, which many people consider a disaster.

All the money is tied up in Best Buy so whatever I get it has to be from them, but I have until mid next week to return the G750JM. I was wondering if anybody has any opinions on which would be the better option. Should I stick with this:

ASUS G750JM

Or should I get away from ASUS and move on to this?

MSI - GT70 Dominator-895

I'm pretty sure the MSI is more powerful, but just set that aside and tell me which you think will hold up better/receive better support. I've never had any MSI equipment before, but all the complete ASUS systems I've had so far have been disappointing and their support is awful.

P.S.: Just want to add that I think the ASUS G-series laptops have crappy speakers, and reviews tend to agree. Anybody know how MSI's audio equipment stacks up?
 
Solution
Asus should be top notch. Audio, you just have to open the audio program once and set the equalizer, night and day difference. Really sad to hear first one was that big of a bust. But the jm series is great. Had one myself, overheating issues, bumped myself up to the js, couldn't be happier. Msi, will run warmer, for gaming from all the users on here that ive helped have messaged me back and are more than happy with it. If your going to be rendering 3d animation or anything that wil do 100% cpu and gpu workload, myself and again users from here that ive helped all agree msi just isn't able to handle heat/power of full out workload. But all in all, asus has the edge on quality (sadly not your case but it will get better), msi has the...

redgarl

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Jun 4, 2009
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First, I would recommend... none. A gaming laptop is expensive, heavy, have barely 30 minutes of battery life and doesn't work properly unplugged.

Secondly, if something happens, and I can tell you by experience, your laptop will be gone for a long time and the expedition process is a nightmare.

I am an unhappy owner of an Asus G73J-A1. That thing had problem with the graphic card. After 3 year and 4 RMA, they finally change the GPU. All in all, it was a nightmare, never again.
 

Dblkk

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Oct 30, 2013
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Asus should be top notch. Audio, you just have to open the audio program once and set the equalizer, night and day difference. Really sad to hear first one was that big of a bust. But the jm series is great. Had one myself, overheating issues, bumped myself up to the js, couldn't be happier. Msi, will run warmer, for gaming from all the users on here that ive helped have messaged me back and are more than happy with it. If your going to be rendering 3d animation or anything that wil do 100% cpu and gpu workload, myself and again users from here that ive helped all agree msi just isn't able to handle heat/power of full out workload. But all in all, asus has the edge on quality (sadly not your case but it will get better), msi has the specs. I myself go quality, im willing to go high instead of ultra is the laptop itself is top notch. But that's just my opinion. The 860m is just a screaming card, especially vs the 765m. And the jm laptops are just really great, throw in a 256+ ssd and wow. But the msi is also a very solid option.

So choice is yours:
Better specs, average quality, a little more heat and fan noise - msi
Lower specs, better quality, minimal heat/fan noise - asus
**that said, average quality is still great on msi, asus has edge. and lesser specs on asus doesn't mean its still not a gaming beast, msi just has that edge.

I would say your experience with asus to be an unaverage/fluke. And the other tablet cheaper asus models, well you get wht you pay for, cheap Samsung and other tablets just as bad issues. But for a $1000+ laptop, don't settle or expect anything less than just that, a $1000 quality laptop. Either way you'll love your choice.
 
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Dblkk

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Oct 30, 2013
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To add onto mine,

Judging by what you went through and your still willing to let asus be an option you must have some kind of love for your machine. But maybe MSI is better option as you can wash yourself the bad experience, or Asus an option to let them redeem themselves?

But I just love my asus, quality just outstanding, the looks the everything, im in love. haha. To me its worth going through as many as it takes to get one that's good. As when its good its fricken great.
 

smthathor

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May 30, 2014
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Just want to point out here real quick that the TF201 was anything but "cheap." It was considered top of the line when it launched and was one of the first tablets to ship with the nVidia Tegra 3 SoC. Problems in manufacturing and poor software support caused people a lot of trouble, though. There was a class action and a lot of people ended up having their units replaced with the TF300 by retailers or ASUS themselves.

 

Dblkk

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Oct 30, 2013
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Oh I'm not saying it was cheap, for a tablet. But it wasn't a $1500 item either. Just look at a surface pro vs the Asus t100 I think it is. Both windows tablets, one at $350 vs one at $1000+, plastic vs metal alloy. And yes, there were some really bad tablets, but I think and hope companies have learned their lesson, make a tablet to cheap to cut costs and if its to cheap it'll hurt you more.
 

Dblkk

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Oct 30, 2013
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The msi link you showed was the same laptop, but from amazon not best buy. And op has to purchase from best buy, as 'all the money is tied up in best buy, so whatever I get has to be from them, but I have until mid next week to return the g750jm.'

Which also means no pc, since best buy doesn't offer anything worth gaming on, at least not at a good price. And I think OP wants a gaming laptop, which is why he bought it in first place.
 

UbiWan

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Jul 11, 2014
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My advice would be DON'T buy an MSI laptop.

I bought a GX660R when it was brand new out and top of the range and it blew up after two and a half years. So I took it to a repair shop and the tech told me the motherboard had blown and that he couldn't get a replacement from MSI. His advise was to just trash the laptop.

Obviously I was bemused being as it was only 2.5 years old and a high spec. So I contacted MSI and they refused to sell me a motherboard, stating that they had limited stocks and they were keeping them for customers who's laptops were still under warranty!

I literally could not find a motherboard for sale online for it either. So in short, unless you perpetually pay for a warranty you'll be left out in the cold when it comes to parts for an MSI laptop. And MSI don't make many extra motherboards and GPUs for their laptops either.