Asus G750 comparisons.

[Philippe]

So the incessent ads that Linus has been throwing at us during the WAN show have finally got me into looking at this product, but I'm pretty confused as there seems to be a half a dozen different kind of G750s.  On the official Asus site they have the JZ, JS and JM.  None of which seem to be available on Amazon.ca.  On there I found G750 JH, JX, JW, JS, and maybe a few others...  

I like the idea of this laptop because it seems decently solid with good upgradability.  Easily accessible M.2 SSD slots and RAM slots.  Plus the full 1080p screen looks nice.  I just want help understanding what the difference is between all these SKUs.   Some are as "low" as 1600$, but what did they cut out of the laptop to bring that price down so low?   I wouldn't mind gettings a slighly lower end GPU or CPU, to me the important part is having a really solid laptop that lasts a long time.    So the nice keyboard, screen and overall build quality are what I want to keep.

[DarrenP]

So the incessent ads that Linus has been throwing at us during the WAN show have finally got me into looking at this product, but I'm pretty confused as there seems to be a half a dozen different kind of G750s.  On the official Asus site they have the JZ, JS and JM.  None of which seem to be available on Amazon.ca.  On there I found G750 JH, JX, JW, JS, and maybe a few others...  

I like the idea of this laptop because it seems decently solid with good upgradability.  Easily accessible M.2 SSD slots and RAM slots.  Plus the full 1080p screen looks nice.  I just want help understanding what the difference is between all these SKUs.   Some are as "low" as 1600$, but what did they cut out of the laptop to bring that price down so low?   I wouldn't mind gettings a slighly lower end GPU or CPU, to me the important part is having a really solid laptop that lasts a long time.    So the nice keyboard, screen and overall build quality are what I want to keep.

Just look at the RAM, Storage, GPU, and CPU configurations. Than you'll understand. 

[Anthony10]

^

[Philippe]

But do the cheaper ones use a fundamentally different keyboard/screen/laptop body design?  Like... does the lower end ones have cheaper keyboards?

Because if it is just the electronic hardware specs that are cheaper, can't people buy the cheap one and then upgrade the RAM and drives and GPU themselves?  The only thing you wouldn't be able to change is the CPU and even the cheap one comes with a Core i7 Haswell.  The same CPU they have in the super high-end JZ model.  Why spend 3000$ to get the fancy one if there isn't that much different to the 1600$ one?

 

G750 JW (1550$) http://www.amazon.ca/G750JW-DB71-CA-17-3-Inch-Notebook-Processor-Windows/dp/B00DHPP35M  

G750 JZ (3300$)http://www.amazon.ca/G750JZ-DS71-2-4-17-3-24GB-W8-1/dp/B00IAACWH6/

[Jonis]

But do the cheaper ones use a fundamentally different keyboard/screen/laptop body design?  Like... does the lower end ones have cheaper keyboards?

Because if it is just the electronic hardware specs that are cheaper, can't people buy the cheap one and then upgrade the RAM and drives and GPU themselves?  The only thing you wouldn't be able to change is the CPU and even the cheap one comes with a Core i7 Haswell.  The same CPU they have in the super high-end JZ model.  Why spend 3000$ to get the fancy one if there isn't that much different to the 1600$ one?

 

G750 JW (1550$) http://www.amazon.ca/G750JW-DB71-CA-17-3-Inch-Notebook-Processor-Windows/dp/B00DHPP35M  

G750 JZ (3300$)http://www.amazon.ca/G750JZ-DS71-2-4-17-3-24GB-W8-1/dp/B00IAACWH6/

 

Because the 750 JZ has the new GTX 880M wich destroys the GTX765m in the JW

[Philippe]

@ Jonis
And I'm guessing it's hard/impossible to change the discrete GPU?  I know that the RAM and SSDs are really easily accessible, I'm not sure about the rest.

It would really be a deal maker to know that most of the components can be acquired from places like iFixit (even for things like replacement screen panels and the like) so that you know the laptop can last you for a long long time.   I know a lot of people have this weird supply line for helping to maintain really old ThinkPads, but does anyone have that kind of parts market for modern high-end laptops?

Or has everyone adopted the Apple approach of "buy a new one every 2 years, that's just how it is".

[DarrenP]

@ Jonis

And I'm guessing it's hard/impossible to change the discrete GPU?  I know that the RAM and SSDs are really easily accessible, I'm not sure about the rest.

It would really be a deal maker to know that most of the components can be acquired from places like iFixit (even for things like replacement screen panels and the like) so that you know the laptop can last you for a long long time.   I know a lot of people have this weird supply line for helping to maintain really old ThinkPads, but does anyone have that kind of parts market for modern high-end laptops?

Or has everyone adopted the Apple approach of "buy a new one every 2 years, that's just how it is".

It's not impossible. It's hard though. Like extremely hard. RAM and SSD's is about what you're going to be able to change about the laptop. Replacement screen panels can be had pretty easily on Ebay/Amazon/3Rd part vendors. Also i don't like your statement. The "apple approach" Is an incorrect statement. Apple laptops are built to last, i guarantee you'll be replacing the G750 series before my Macbook Pro goes anywhere. 

[Philippe]

It's not impossible. It's hard though. Like extremely hard. RAM and SSD's is about what you're going to be able to change about the laptop. Replacement screen panels can be had pretty easily on Ebay/Amazon/3Rd part vendors. Also i don't like your statement. The "apple approach" Is an incorrect statement. Apple laptops are built to last, i guarantee you'll be replacing the G750 series before my Macbook Pro goes anywhere. 

No offense meant, it just seems like Apple in particular design their things not to be repaired.  They last as long as they last, then when something burns out you pretty much have to replace the whole device.  The exception being the stuff you can fix yourself through the help of iFixit.  THAT's what I'm looking, something like iFixit but that offers parts for non-Apple and non-Thinkpad laptops.  I know that's difficulty in repairing has always been a thing among laptops, but it's really the one big thing keeping me from investing in one.  Anything that's going to cost me well over 1000$ has to be something that's going to last.

[DarrenP]

No offense meant, it just seems like Apple in particular design their things not to be repaired.  They last as long as they last, then when something burns out you pretty much have to replace the whole device.  The exception being the stuff you can fix yourself through the help of iFixit.  THAT's what I'm looking, something like iFixit but that offers parts for non-Apple and non-Thinkpad laptops.  I know that's difficulty in repairing has always been a thing among laptops, but it's really the one big thing keeping me from investing in one.  Anything that's going to cost me well over 1000$ has to be something that's going to last.

You want something that's going to last and be usable for years don't even look at the G750's. Look at the Thinkpads. You'll get a lot more life out of one of those than you will anything else. 

[Philippe]

You want something that's going to last and be usable for years don't even look at the G750's. Look at the Thinkpads. You'll get a lot more life out of one of those than you will anything else. 

I heard rumor that since the Thinkpad division was sold to Lenovo they really haven't been much to brag about.  Apparently all the serious engineering stayed with IBM when they separated from the Thinkpad brand, and now they're no more reliable than your average HP, Dell, or Asus laptop.

I'd love to be proven wrong though.

[DarrenP]

I heard rumor that since the Thinkpad division was sold to Lenovo they really haven't been much to brag about.  Apparently all the serious engineering stayed with IBM when they separated from the Thinkpad brand, and now they're no more reliable than your average HP, Dell, or Asus laptop.

I'd love to be proven wrong though.

Dell and HP are complete shit. Don't even think of one of those. If anything a Nice ASUS or Lenovo Thinkpad. those rumours of IBM's Laptop engineers staying with IBM is crap. Why? IBM doesn't produce laptops anymore so why have the need for laptop engineers? I'd say go with a decent thinkpad and you'll be on your way for a few years.