The ASUS G74SX-XA1 Republic of Gamers 17.3-Inch Gaming Laptop

On Friday I got a ASUS G74SX-XA1 Republic of Gamers 17.3-Inch Gaming Laptop through Amazon.com and it has been doing quite well over the weekend . It's faster than my desktop, that's for sure. When a few friends heard me say that 'The Beast Has Arrived' and I tossed them a link in explanation, the initial reactions were:

• "9 lbs?",
• "Wait - you spent more than $500 on a laptop?",
• "That is a beast!",
• "You're writing code in your spare time again?",
• "I thought you said a faster processor won't help you type faster!"

Now, truth be told, I could probably have had Treehouse Agency lease me an Apple - but I prefer thinking different, working different and being able to really customize my system. I imagine it won't be long before I have a distro of Linux on here as well. Given that I will have to travel occasionally, it makes sense that I have a laptop - but the laptop will have to do my bidding. It's my minion. And while I'm not a big fan of the Microsoft Corporation, I am a big fan of the more open architecture of the non-Apple platforms. Since I was spending my own money instead of leasing, I opted to spend it on this - something which, unlike the iPad2, I am using to write this post with. Yes. It is big. It is heavy. But it's the beast I want for running simulators, HDR processing, creating and editing graphics with, and allowing me to be at home wherever I am with a screen that doesn't require the enforced tunnel vision a smaller screen does.

In short, I bought what I wanted. I had concerns. On Amazon.com, under at least one of the product listings for this same laptop, there were complaints about the flimsy power connector and the screen. The first thing I looked at, as a matter of fact, was the power cable connection when I unboxed the system. I honestly don't see how people are complaining about breaking the pin. In fact, the DC input for the laptop is decidedly snug - it seems more of a feature than a bug. Of course, if one were to trip on the cable, it would be more difficult to pull out and therefore breaking any part of the power cable would be more easy.

So don't trip on the cable.

After a few days of use, here are the pros and cons I have found:

Pros:

• It is truly a beast. In installing Scala, my desktop is on a wire connection while this machine is working wireless. I started this machine installing Scala minutes after starting it on my desktop, an i7 machine with 8 Gigabytes of RAM, and the G74SX-XA1 got done faster by minutes. That's not an official benchmark. That's me being observant. The actual unpacking took a few minutes less on this machine.
• It feels good. I like touching it. It doesn't have that feel of metal or plastic like so many other laptops - this thing literally is nice to run my fingers on.
• The touchpad is huge and the buttons don't click - they stroke. You can press these buttons and feel them.
• The keyboard is backlit, but it isn't overpowering. I can easily write in the dark - as I did when I wrote this - and not stutter too much when I fiddle with the still unfamiliar function keys.

Cons:

• Price. Not that I'm griping - I made a conscious decision to buy this - but it is on the high end of the performance spectrum. It's the most I've ever spent on a laptop and I'm hoping it lasts me 2 iterations of Moore's Law. And as far as a Con goes, there are machines out there with lower specs and higher prices. Why? Don't ask me.
• That touchpad that is so awesome can sometimes put the mouse cursor where you don't want it when you take a pause while writing. I'm still fiddling with the setting for turning it off while typing, but it definitely detracts from thoughtful pauses in writing.
• It came running Windows instead of Linux. Just kidding, but not so much - it is after all a gaming machine and Linux isn't known for its games. Still, I imagine that this thing is really fast with Linux and I intend to find out within the next few months just how fast that is.

Since I keep mentioning Linux, I should point out that because clients and other human beings are more likely to be Microsoft users with Microsoft formats, to be a Communications Manager it simply makes sense to have a PC/iPad2.

Will I be playing any games on it? Maybe. It's not why I bought this machine, though, and that's important to understand because I am not the obvious demographic for the marketing of this machine. But I wanted something that could handle some serious hobby software development, crunch data and pixels quickly and last me for a while. The latter - well, the latter will require time. 

Overall, I'm happy - not as much 'new car' happy but more 'new pickup truck' happy. I can do some serious pulling with this thing as well as some heavy lifting. So far, it hasn't disappointed.