B-1: First Impressions

There are plenty of hardcore reviews out there with benchmark results and the like. Though I'm an avid gamer, I don't usually bother with that type of stuff. I prefer to focus on the more practical matters... I don't ever monitor my frames per second. I don't overclock my processor. I could go on, but you get the idea.

It isn't for a lack of knowledge, but more a lack of reward compared to time invested. I just want to play games, you know?

So, with that introduction, I give you my casual-user's first impressions of the Asus G73JH-B1.

The laptop is sleek and a pleasure to use. I'm not a big fan of mousepads, never have been, and as I've said previously this is my first laptop. I haven't quite gotten the hang of using it yet, but I won't hold that against this particular laptop.

One of the soft rubber supports that is glued onto the under-side of the laptop was apparently loose and came off the first time I set the laptop down. That was disappointing, though not a big deal by any means.

There are no lazy or dead pixels. Windows 7 is a bit of a learning curve, and already I've ran into some compatibility issues with older games. Bioshock (with the 1.1 patch) in particular seems to be unresolvable; after countless hours spent consulting The Oracle, I failed to find a single effective fix that didn't involve downloading and running myriad third-party software.

Still, that's an OS issue and is neither here nor there... Though I can't say I'm entirely surprised by Bioshock's cantankerous nature.

Reaping My Reward

Since I began my job, I've received two items paid for by my Unemployment Benefits. (That is to say "my pay-check".)

The first item was long overdue, seeing as how my last camera quit working about a year ago and I've been without one since then.

My second purchase was a bit of an indulgence, but seeing as how I'll be staying in hotels for a few weeks and then head down to Florida until Christmas, I felt like it wasn't a hard decision. I purchased the Asus Republic of Gamer G73JH-B1, which is a fancy shmancy name for "powerful gaming notebook", though its size and weight make it a "desktop replacement".

Indeed, my own Frankenstein PC cobbled together from cheap Chinese hardware purchased piece-meal in Den-Den Town was in vast need of replacing. It even lags when playing Bioshock 1!

Expect first impression reviews on the new stuff here in a few weeks, and more thorough reviews later on.

Meanwhile, I relish in my ability to join the ranks of the consumer. Spending money to help fight off the evil recession while simultaneously earning experience towards Journeyman Rank IT-guy; life is good.