ASUS G53SX 15.6-inch Gaming Notebook Review

Rob Williams · 12-13-2011, 11:05 PM

Enthusiast-level gaming notebooks don't need to cost a fortune; something ASUS proves with its $1,249 G53SX 15.4" offering. It features a 1080p display and an NVIDIA GTX 560M that's able to power today's games to it. This, in addition to an Intel quad-core processor and 12GB of RAM make it a very powerful and drool-worthy notebook.

Read our full review of ASUS' G53SX gaming notebook and then discuss it here!

RainMotorsports · 12-14-2011, 12:54 AM

In another life when I have spare cash. I just came up from the old G50VT to a gaming desktop. I would have grabbed the MSI GT683R or the ASUS G53/73 Sandy but the 560M being a bit under the 550 Ti in performance wasnt good enough to justify the mobility for me.

Awesome notebook for sure.

Rob Williams · 12-14-2011, 01:16 PM

If this had a GPU on par with the desktop 560, then it would have been jaw-dropping, but given its price-point, the 560M is a suitable choice. I seriously loved playing with this laptop and have already told ASUS it might get lost in the mail ;-)

RainMotorsports · 12-14-2011, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob Williams

If this had a GPU on par with the desktop 560, then it would have been jaw-dropping, but given its price-point, the 560M is a suitable choice. I seriously loved playing with this laptop and have already told ASUS it might get lost in the mail ;-)

Yeah well to get close to a 460/560 you have to grab something with the 580M which sadly is not MSI (570M max) and definitely not ASUS. Sager fits the bill for most of us and I believe alienware..... has that option as well. But this here is in the range of affordable with acceptable performance.

The earlier G53/G73 had its share of issues and it seems like they've been ironed out. Those that have the G73SW have told me time and time again how silent it is and it sounds like ASUS moved in a positive direction from the G51 which was a bit of a hot mess.

Tharic-Nar · 12-15-2011, 02:58 AM

I can understand the point of putting all the connectivity on the side instead of the rear - it gives them more room for airflow on the back, instead of pumping out hot air through the sides and over your hands.

The thing with the bright screen may also be the result of support for 3D vision, which means glasses that dim the screen... so it needs to be bright to compensate. Does the screen support the full 120Hz frequency at 1080p?

MacMan · 12-15-2011, 09:39 AM

As a gamer this is an absolutely GREAT computer, but for us non-gamers it's just NICE computer.

RainMotorsports · 12-15-2011, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacMan

but for us non-gamers it's just NICE computer.

Especially for the mac user in our lives.

Just teasing.

I say that we have a desktop gamer in my community who has a Mac Book Pro he keeps trying to sell every time someone mentions they're trying to buy a notebook. They're all trying to buy a gaming notebook and he gets a little blind.

Sadly my next notebook will probably be a compromise. Something I can play portal 2 on if im super bored but nothing that can run anything. Something thin and light.

12-13-2011, 11:05 PM	#1
Rob Williams Editor-in-Chief Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Atlantic Canada Posts: 13,231	ASUS G53SX 15.6-inch Gaming Notebook Review Enthusiast-level gaming notebooks don't need to cost a fortune; something ASUS proves with its $1,249 G53SX 15.4" offering. It features a 1080p display and an NVIDIA GTX 560M that's able to power today's games to it. This, in addition to an Intel quad-core processor and 12GB of RAM make it a very powerful and drool-worthy notebook. Read our full review of ASUS' G53SX gaming notebook and then discuss it here! __________________ Intel Core i7-990X EE @ 3.43GHz, GIGABYTE X58A-UD5, Kingston 12GB DDR3-1333, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2GB Kingston HyperX 3K 240GB SSD, WD VR 1TB, WD 2TB, Seagate 2TB, LG BD-ROM, ASUS DVD-RW, Corsair 1000HX, Corsair H60 Cooler Corsair 800D, Dell 2408WFP 24", ASUS Xonar Essence STX, Gentoo (KDE 4.10, 3.7 Kernel) "Take care to get what you like, or you will be forced to like what you get!" - H.P. Baxxter <Toad772> I don't always drink alcohol, but when I do, I take it too far.

12-14-2011, 01:16 PM	#3
Rob Williams Editor-in-Chief Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Atlantic Canada Posts: 13,231	If this had a GPU on par with the desktop 560, then it would have been jaw-dropping, but given its price-point, the 560M is a suitable choice. I seriously loved playing with this laptop and have already told ASUS it might get lost in the mail ;-) __________________ Intel Core i7-990X EE @ 3.43GHz, GIGABYTE X58A-UD5, Kingston 12GB DDR3-1333, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2GB Kingston HyperX 3K 240GB SSD, WD VR 1TB, WD 2TB, Seagate 2TB, LG BD-ROM, ASUS DVD-RW, Corsair 1000HX, Corsair H60 Cooler Corsair 800D, Dell 2408WFP 24", ASUS Xonar Essence STX, Gentoo (KDE 4.10, 3.7 Kernel) "Take care to get what you like, or you will be forced to like what you get!" - H.P. Baxxter <Toad772> I don't always drink alcohol, but when I do, I take it too far.

12-15-2011, 02:58 AM	#5
Tharic-Nar Techgage Staff Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: UK Posts: 1,151	I can understand the point of putting all the connectivity on the side instead of the rear - it gives them more room for airflow on the back, instead of pumping out hot air through the sides and over your hands. The thing with the bright screen may also be the result of support for 3D vision, which means glasses that dim the screen... so it needs to be bright to compensate. Does the screen support the full 120Hz frequency at 1080p? __________________ PSU: Corsair 1000HX - Case: Thermaltake Xaser VI Full Tower - CPU: Intel Core i7 2600 @3.8GHz - Cooler: Thermaltake FRIO - Motherboard: ASUS P67 Sabertooth - Memory: 16GB Corsair Vengeance LP Arctic 1600 - GPU: 2x AMD Radeon HD 5870 - HDD: WD Caviar Black 1TB 6Gb/s - Audio: ASUS Xonar DX + Corsair HS1 USB Headset K/B: Corsair K90 - Mouse: Corsair M60 - Monitor: DELL U2410 - Speakers: Corsair SP2500 - Headset: Corsair HS1A - Mic: Blue Yeti USB Microphone - I need Fiber to fix my Irregular Bandwidth Syndrome - Last edited by Tharic-Nar; 12-15-2011 at 03:01 AM.

12-15-2011, 09:39 AM	#6
MacMan Partition Master Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Canada Posts: 432	As a gamer this is an absolutely GREAT computer, but for us non-gamers it's just NICE computer. __________________ http://www.my2cents4theday.blogspot.com/ M a c OS X!

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12-14-2011, 12:54 AM	#2
RainMotorsports Partition Master Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 349	In another life when I have spare cash. I just came up from the old G50VT to a gaming desktop. I would have grabbed the MSI GT683R or the ASUS G53/73 Sandy but the 560M being a bit under the 550 Ti in performance wasnt good enough to justify the mobility for me. Awesome notebook for sure.