The ASUS ROG G74SX announced earlier this month is now ready for gaming notebook buyers to snap at ExcaliburPC. They are the first to offer these Republic of Gamers notebooks here in the US. These gaming and HD video powerhouses come with an Intel Sandy Bridge Quad-core i7-2630QM 2.0 GHz processors and a 17.3″ screen with a 1080p resolution.

The two different models available - the G74SX-3DE for $1,979 and the G74SX-A1 for $1,745 both have an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M GPU with 3GB of DDR5 video RAM. The primary difference in these models is that the 3DE model offers 3D video playback on the 17″ display with included 3D glasses.

Gaming Cooling System

These new gaming notebooks also have a special cooling system that enables the system to stay cool even under processor intensive gaming sessions. The new ROG notebooks pull the air in from a front vent and fan, blowing it over the hot CPU and GPU, drawing the heat off of these components as the air is sucked out the rear fan. Most notebooks do not have this type of front to back fan system in place.

Blu-ray and 3D

In addition to very high-end gaming prowess, these notebooks include Blu-ray drives and in the case of the G74SX-3DE a 3D screen and glasses which can be used to watch 3D Blu-Ray movies and play 3D games.

ASUS ROG G74SX Specs

• 12GB of DDR3 RAM (up to 16GB)
• 2x 750GB 7200RPM hard drives for 1.5TB total
• 2MP Webcam
• 8-in-1 card reader
• Windows 7 64-bit with a free recovery DVD
• 802.11 B/G/N Wi-Fi
• Gigabit Ethernet
• Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
• Mic and Headphone jacks
• VGA and HDMI out
• 1 USB 3.0 and 3 USB 2.0
• Illuminated full-size keyboard with dedicated number pad
• 8 Cell battery
• 9.4lbs

ASUS ASUS ROG G74SX Video

Gallery

ASUS ROG G74SX Now Available for Purchase and Fragging is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

ASUS is showing of some new 3D gaming notebooks at Computex, including their new Republic of Gamers G53SX Naked Eye 3D. They call it the “world’s first naked-eye 3D laptop meaning you can have 3D gaming or video without the need for those annoying 3D glasses. This is a big plus for people who already wear glasses or have a problem with vision strain that causes headaches while wearing them.

Naked-Eye 3D Display

How does ASUS do this magical trick of displaying 3D images without need of glasses? Here is what they are saying:

By combining 3D lenticular lens technology with the AUO ‘naked eye’ eye-tracking system, the G53 screen renders full 3D images that can be viewed from any angle for a more comfortable viewing experience. Both 2D and 3D modes can operate on the screen at the same time too, so on-screen text remains clear at all times.

As Tom’s Hardware says, it looks like it is a software thing. Because of this, it can convert 2D images into 3D making it compatible with a lot of games already on the market. Also, the display can render portions of the screen in 3D while keeping other parts in 2D. The benefit is images will be 3D while text, which looks better in 2D, will stay that way making it readable. They are not giving away the technology specifics. As long as it works, the average consumer won’t much care about the tech details.

Powerful Specs

The new G53SX is a 15″ notebook with a full-HD 1920×1080 resolution. It has a quad-core Intel Core i7 Sandy Bridge processor, which is a top of the line CPU and should handle the strain of the latest and greatest games as well as hard-core processor intensive tasks like video encoding and playing system-taxing games.

To go along with these specs it has one of the new NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M graphics processors with 2GB of GDDR5 video RAM and Optimus technology. The new GTX  560M provides powerful video capability and integrated wireless output as well as 3D video over HDMI 1.4.

Throwing in more high-end equipment, ASUS put a hybrid hard drive that adds solid state storage to a traditional optical drive. The SSD portion of the drive will smartly cache the most used files speeding up the system over traditional spinning optical drives. It learns which files you use and places them on this portion of the drive to speed things up. The spinning part of this hybrid drive is no slouch, with a 10,000 RPM rating. That is the fastest available optical drive performance.

Like the other notebooks ASUS is announcing, this one has the dual fan cooling system which sucks in air from the front vents on the notebook and blows it over the hot bits inside exhausting the now hot air out the back.

There is no word on pricing and availability yet, but expect to pay a premium for glasses free 3D.

ASUS Shows Off Republic of Gamers G53SX Naked Eye 3D Notebook is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

The Dell Alienware M18x, Dell’s large 18.4″ gaming notebook, is available for purchase with a starting price of $1,999. The Alienware M18x comes with the latest Sandy Bridge processors, graphics options and a 1080P display. The Alienware M18x was announced alongside the new M11x and M14x notebooks in April.

Alienware M18X Specs

The Dell Alienware M18x uses 2nd Generation Intel Core i7 processors, all the way up to the Huron River Intel Core i7 2920XM Overclocked from the factory with a Turbo Boost up to 4.0GHz, up to 32GB of 1333MHz RAM or up to 16GB of 1600MHz RAM. The 18.4″ LED backlit display has a 1920 x 1080P resolution.

The Alienware M18x comes with a large array of storage options including up to a 750GB 7200RPM hard drive, 256GB SSD or RAID setups including dual SSDs.

On the Video card side, the Alienware M18x comes with the latest options from AMD and NVIDIA including the following choices.

• 1.5GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M
• Dual 1.5GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M – NVIDIA SLI Enabled
• Dual 2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon HD 6970M – AMD CrossFireX

The notebook can also come configured with WirelessHD for a full 1080P wireless experience that can be used to game on your big screen. You will need to add about $300 to get the internal transmitter and the HDTV Adapter.

Alienware M18x Price and Availability

You can order the Alienware M18x now, starting at $1,999 (and going up to over $7,000) form Dell with an estimated ship date of May 25th.

You can save $50 off the Alienware M18x for a limited time with the coupon code BHW1L0MX0D?MCX.

Dell Alienware M18X available for Purchase, Priced at $1,999 is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

Dell will be producing a new Alienware gaming notebook, the Alienware M14x. This new system will fit between the smaller M11x and larger M17x gaming notebooks and it has some pretty powerful specs, according to the info coming out of Dell News and More.

The Dell Alienware M14x will have an Intel Core i7-2820QM 2.3GHz Sandy Bridge processor and will give users a 14″ display with the option of a 1366×768 resolution or for an upgrade a 1920×1080 display for a full 1080p HD experience while watching videos and playing games.

To go along with the new Intel processor and screen options, this gaming system will have the following:

• Storage: Either a 750GB 7200rpm hard drive or a 256GB SATA2 or SATA3 solid state drive
• NVIDIA GT555M graphics processor
• Either a LTE or a WiMax modem for mobile broadband
• Klipsch speakers for high quality music, movies or gaming sound

There is no shipping date or price available at this time. What we do know, is that this sounds like a very nice system.

With the 11″ version running around $800 retail and the larger 17″ computer starting at $1500, we would guess this one to be priced between $900 and $1200 for the base model. This will compare nicely for gaming to the fast new Apple MacBook Pro 15 we just reviewed so long as the battery life holds up.

Alienware M14x Gaming Notebook Revealed with Sandy Bridge is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

iBUYPOWER is announcing a trio of gaming notebooks with the new second generation Intel Core i7-2630QM processor, also known as Sandy Bridge. They all come under the Battalion line and start at $899. They are available immediately from the company’s site.

iBUYPOWER Battalion 101 P151HM1

This machine has an NVIDIA GeForece GTX 460M graphics processor. Add to that 4GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive. This powerful machine is a true gaming system. The 15.6″ full 1080p display (1920×1080 resolution) is also a good multimedia machine for video editing, watching movies, and running photo editing software.

The computer also has Wi-fi, a 2MP webcam, and a DVD burner. You can chose an optional Blu-ray drive for an extra $159. Other options include larger and faster optical spinning hard drives or much faster SSD storage. Buyers can also double the RAM.

The ports these laptops sport are as follows:

• HDMI
• DVI
• eSATA
• Gigabit Ethernet
• 2xUSB 2.0
• 2xUSB 3.0
• 9-in-1 memory card reader

They also have Bluetooth, 3D surround sound, and fingerprint readers integrated into the touchpad.

This model starts at $1199.

iBUYPOWER 101 W150HNQ

The specs of the W150HNQ are like the previous system with a 15.6″ display and the same Intel Core i7 processor. The primary difference is in the NVIDIA GeForce GT540M graphics card and lower resolution 1366×758 display. It is also a gaming system with plenty of power, but at a more budget friendly price.

While this is still a nice gaming notebook, the lower resolution screen might be less useful for serious creative applications like video and photo editing. It can handle them when needed.

The starting price is $899 on this model.

iBUYPOWER Battalion 101 W170HN

The Battalion 101 W170HN is a big 17″ desktop replacement gaming system. It has a high resolution 1920×1080 full HD display powered by an NVIDIA GeForce GT540M graphics card. It also adds a full keyboard with dedicated number pad.

You can play just about anything and do just about anything on this system, except for fling it around like an ultra-portable. At this size, it is intended to be an occasionally mobile computer.

It has most of the same specs as the other systems above. One other difference is this one has a larger base hard drive at 640GB.

It will start at $1019.

iBUYPOWER Releases a Trio of Sandy Bridge Gaming Systems is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

Gigabyte has a very thin laptop with a Sandy Bridge Intel Core i7 processor that is backed up by some other horsepower making it a very portable gaming system. The display is a 15.6-inch 1920×1080 resolution panel. That is a truly 1080p HD system. On the outside it has interchangeable colored lids so it will match your outfit or mood.

The people at Tweaktown got their hands on the system and tested it out in the video below:

To go with the above firepower, this system has an NVIDIA GeForce GT550M video processor with 2GB of memory. The benefit of the included Optimus technology is that the graphics are switchable for those times when you need higher power for gaming or video processing. It switches off when you don’t need it for simpler tasks. The result is better battery life, but we don’t yet know how long the battery will last. Even with the integrated graphics, users will have a better experience than in the past thanks to numerous improvements to the 2nd Generation Core i processors, known informally as Sandy Bridge.

The 500GB 7200rpm hard drive is another plus for putting a system in the performance category. Other specs include USB 3.0, HDMI out, four speakers and a subwoofer, and some interesting cooling to keep all that firepower running smoothly. One benefit of a Sandy Bridge system is a cooler system with longer battery life. But the observers at Tweaktown took special note of the fans saying they had to work hard to keep a system with this much power from overheating in this narrow a case.

Is this the thinnest system at this level of power? It may be a contender but we will have to wait and see when it finally ships. Gigabyte is not yet saying when that will be or how much it will cost.

Gigabyte’s Powerful P2532 Notebook May be Thinnest Sandy Bridge Machine is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

MSI announced a pair of new gaming notebook computers yesterday as part of the G-series. The MSI GX660 is a 15.6-inch model designed with the help of the Evil Geniuses, a team of gamers who won the Beat It! World Champion Challenge in Beijing China. It will come with discrete graphics from ATI and an Intel Core i5-450M processor. There will also be 4GB of RAM and a 500GB drive spinning at 7200 rpm. The display is a 1366×768 giving it 720p HD video resolution.

Also included in the announcement was a variation of the model called The GX660R which adds a Blu-ray drive and full 1080p HD display with a resolution of 1920×1080. The GX660R will also have 6GB of RAM and a bigger 640GB hard drive. The processor is the faster Intel Core i7-740QM instead of Core i5.

The GX660 models will come with ATI Radeon HD5870 discrete graphics, giving it plenty of power for the latest video games and multimedia creation. MSI adds hi-fi surround and premium HD speakers with a sub woofer from Dynaudio. Both of these models are heavy at nearly 8  pounds.

The features in the GX660 addresses input from the number one gaming team in North America, Team Evil Geniuses. We asked them what they needed in a high-performing gaming notebook for competitions, and the G-Series delivers. (Andy Tung, vice president of sales for MSI North America)

Here is MSI’s detailed specs chart from their announcement for the two new models:

MSI GX660 Gaming Notebooks Designed with Help of Evil Geniuses Champion Gaming Team is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

Samsung is releasing three new notebook computers for power-hungry gamers and multimedia creators who need video and processing power, along with lots of storage space to keep it all. The Samsung RF510-S01 and S02, as well as the RF710, are very similar in specs with the only big difference being their screen and chassis size.

On the lid, there is a standout black radial” design to go along with the duo-tone look inside.To go with the understated styling is some power under the hood. The RF710 and the RF510-S02 both have Intel Core i7-720QM processors.  The RF510-S01 only has an Intel Core i5-460M processor. Of course they all have Intel’s Turbo Boost Technology which gives the processor some added power when needed (gaming, video editing, etc.), but conserves battery life for those times when less demanding tasks like typing and web surfing are being done. Four and half hours of battery life is not terrible for a system with these specs, but these aren’t highly mobile notebooks to begin with. Gamers and video buffs alike will also enjoy the NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M graphics with 1 GB of dedicated memory.

Since creating HD video or editing large RAW photos takes up a lot of space, these models can have two hard drives installed, offering up to a terabyte of storage. If users need to hook up a fast external drive there will be the faster USB 3.0 ports.

The two RF510 models come with a 15.6-inch SuperBright LED backlit display with a resolution of up 1366×768 for 720p HD video. The RF710 has a high-resolution 1600×900 display measuring at 17.3 inches. The optional Blu-ray drives will allow owners to watch high bit-rate HD content on these systems. Tru2Sound SRS Premium Sound completes the movie watching experience. The speakers are round with a larger acoustic chamber for better sound quality and SRS branded Premium Sound processing.

Along with the above multimedia hardware, the  RF series supports Samsung’s trademark AllShare technology will allow a user to send their visual media via Wi-Fi to any DLNA enabled TV or mobile phone.

All three models come with a full island or chicklet style keyboard including dedicated number pads, useful for gaming fans or number crunching spreadsheet gurus.

Samsung is including their Easy File Share feature, which is a peer-to-peer file sharing tool that allows users to trade files including pictures, video and music files over Wi-Fi. This works in tandem with any wireless computer.

Samsung’s bundling their Fast Start feature which puts the notebook into a kind of sleep mode that saves power but allows them to load into their previous work session in just a few seconds.

At $939 for the RF510-S01 with Core i5 processor and $1,079 for the S02 with Core i7, they are also not wildly expensive. The RF710 is $1,099. They will be available soon.

RF510-S01 / RF510-S02 / RF710 Key Features:

• CPU:
  • RF510-S02 & RF710 Intel® CoreTM i7 processor (i7-720QM)
  • RF510-S01 Intel® Coreâ„¢ i5 processor (i5-460M)
• Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• Memory: 4GB DDR3
• Hard Drive: Dual-bay architecture with up to 640GB drive (RF510-S02/RF710) & up to 500GB for RF510-S01
• Screen:
  • RF510: 15.6-inch SuperBright HD LED backlit display
  • RF710: 17.3-inch SuperBright HD LED backlit display
• Resolution:
  • RF510: 1366×768
  • RF710: 1600×900
• Graphics: Discreet NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M with 1GB dedicated memory
• Audio technology: True2Sound SRS Premium Sound
• Optical Drive: RF510 DVD Super Multi DL; RF710: Blu-ray optical drive
• Battery: Lithium Ion; up to 4.5 hrs
• Connectivity: 802.11b/g/n; Bluetooth 3.0, Wired 10/100/1000
• Weight: RF510: 5.7 lbs.; RF710: 6.4 lbs.
• MSRP:
  • RF510-S02 w/ Intel® Core i7: $1,079
  • RF510-S01 w/ Intel® Core i5: $939
  • RF710: $1,099

Samsung RF Series Powerhouse Notebooks for Gaming and Multimedia Types is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

MSI’s new version of the GT660, the GT660R, is now available in the United States. The GT660R contains an Intel Core i7 processor among other impressive specs.

The MSI GT660R features a 1.73GHz Intel Core i7-740QM processor, 6GB of RAM, 1TB HDD, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285M graphics card, and a Blu-Ray combo drive all shoved into a roomy 16-inch laptop. It also includes two theater-grade speakers as well as a subwoofer in MSI’s Dynaudio-developed sound system.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNaO5r4Wxwg&feature=related

Despite the amount of power, MSI saw it fitting to put in a 16-inch display that has a resolution of only 1366×768, which is far from ideal for a high-definition gaming laptop of that size. Also, being a desktop replacement laptop, it sports a desktop-like heft, weighing in at 7.7 pounds. Additionally a reviewer on Newegg noted that the power brick is one of the largest they’ve ever seen and doesn’t pack away well in a typical laptop bag.

So, if the low resolution and weight don’t scare you off, you can order a MSI GT660R today for $1699.99. After all, it does light up.

Via Engadget, Amazon, Newegg

MSI Core i7 GT660R Now Available in the US is a post by Carter Sprunger from Notebooks.com.

MSi Global recently began shipping its new GX740 gaming notebook. With its massive 17-inch display, Inel Core i7 processor, high-end ATI graphics should provide for a great gaming experience. The MSi GX740, is not your typical notebook. Portability was sacrificed for the horsepower needed to make the latest PC games run smoothly . At 1.5″ thick and weighing in at over seven pounds, this notebook is too big to carry everywhere. Within the girth of this laptop lies a lot of impressive specs.

• 17-inch TFT-LCD Widescreen Display (1680×1050 resolution)
• 1.6 GHz Intel Core i7-720QM processor
• 4GB DDR3 RAM
• 500GB HDD
• ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870 with 1GB DDR5 (you read that correctly) RAM
• 7.1 channel surround sound output
• Subwoofer
• WiFi
• Windows 7 Home Premium
• ExpressCard slot
• HDMI port

Another notable feature is the integration of Cinema Pro Technology. With this, users can press the Cinema Pro button to convert their laptops settings to “Movie Mode.” In this mode, the screen appears more detailed, the sound more crisp, and the bass and SRS Premium Sound is activated.  Of course, this near theater quality mode lacks the 40-foot screen, DLP HD projection, and movie theater popcorn, but it’s still a step up from previous notebook movie-viewing experiences.

However, with the hefty collection of high quality features comes a hefty price tag. Order your MSi GX740 today for $1399.99, at Amazon or Newegg.

Via Engadget, MSi GX740 Product Page

MSi GX740 Gaming Notebook Now Available is a post by Carter Sprunger from Notebooks.com.