Features & Specs:
Asus unveiled the G50V at a Republic Of Gamers Convention (ROGCON) held earlier in the year, and the notebook has a blinking ROG crest engraved on its glossy, all-black lid. The lid's also decorated with flashing light strips, on either edge and above the hinge, that adds to the mood. The all-gloss screen is 15.4-inch wide, and supports a maximum resolution of 1440x900. A 2MP webcam with microphone is recessed above the screen.
Weighing just over 3 kg, the laptop is built like a tank, with a solid chassis and no wobble. Same holds true with the keyboard - which has a number pad, no flex. The G50V is based off the Intel Centrino 2 platform, with gigabit ethernet and Wireless N support, an Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 2.40GHz processor, and has Nvidia GeForce 9700M GT dedicated graphics. In terms of memory, 4GB of DDR2 RAM (800MHz) along with Windows Vista Home Premium. It came with 320GB of storage (5400rpm), although it supports dual hard drives with RAID for extra performance. RAID options are configurable from the boot screen. An 8x dual-layered DVD writer, with LightScribe, rounds up the specs on this promising machine.
On the connectivity front, the Asus G50V continues to impress. It has four USB ports, VGA, FireWire, eSATA, HDMI, SPDIF, multicard reader and ExpressCard slot, along with modem, ethernet, and audio ports. There's also a TV antenna input to watch cable TV directly: just plug the coaxial cable into the included cable connector. Asus should have provided a remote control to further enhance the G50V's entertainment value. The notebook can handle high-definition video, too, as we found out while watching BBC's Planet Earth.
Between the keyboard and hinge, there's an LED console strip for quick display of info like CPU and RAM utilization, battery life, email and chat notification. This information strip is especially useful to glance at while you're immersed in gaming, and want to see who's coming online on MSN (for eg). The LED console also has touch-sensitive buttons for instant launch of Direct Console, Asus' utility manager. Audio from the onboard Altec Lansing speakers wasn't loud enough at high volume, but sound from the headphone was up to mark.