Ivy Bridge-based Asus G55VW Laptop Seen for Pre-Order
With the desktop Ivy Bridge CPUs set to release on April 23, we get more information on another laptop based on the Ivy Bridge mobile CPU, which is set for pre-order.
Information coming out of Laptoping has the upcoming Asus G55VW-DS71, featuring the new Ivy Bridge mobile CPUs, set for release on April 29. The G55VW-DS71 will be powered by the new Intel Core i7 3610QM (@ 2.3 GHz). It will feature a 15.6-inch (1920 x 1080) FullHD display with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 660M - 2 GB GDDR5 SDRAM. As for memory, the G55VW-DS71 will offer 12 GB of DDR3 1600 MHz and is expandable to 16 GB via 4 SO DIMM slots. It comes standard with a 750 GB HDD / 7200 rpm with an available hard drive bay. Users have the options to add an additional hard drive or SSD to improve the speed and storage of the laptop.

In addition, the G55VW-DS71 features Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, an 3-in-1 card reader, a 2.0 megapixel webcam, an HDMI output, a Thunderbolt port, one USB 3.0 connector, and an 8-cell battery. The G55VW-DS71 weights in at 8.4 lbs with a starting price of around $1,450.
=D
However, the 2MP camera is a letdown. Then again, all integrated webcams are...
My laptop has a GT 540M (Which is around the same as a Radeon 5650), and while it can run anything I throw at it, you just can't crank up the settings past medium-high on high-intensity games (Ultra is out, of course). Older games (2008 and older) can usually run near maxxed out, except you may have to turn down shadows and AA a bit. For an example, I can run Skyrim on the default medium settings, but I can turn the texture quality up to high as long as I don't turn up shadows and AA beyond medium. However for games like Portal 2, I can turn everything up as high as it can go.
Now, since my laptop's resolution is only 1366x768 vs this new one's 1080p, and the 540M is a midrange vs the 660M which is probably getting towards the high-end stuff, the settings would probably end up being around the same for both laptops; so you could probably expect medium to high settings, but you'll need to turn shadows and AA down for high-intensity games. However, this is just speculation based on the specs and my own experience, you would have to check some benchmarks to be sure.
Love the design.
Love the CPU.
Love the GPU.
Love the 15.6' screen.
Love the extra drive slot.
Love the ports.
And the price doesn't seem too bad either.
I have an older G73SW and I can assure you that it's a tough fit in standard 17" backpacks (it's a 17" model). It won't fit in most and the one I found to fit it within, it's outside of the intended pouch and touches the zipper. So for this one, essentially you need a 17" backpack for a 15" laptop. However, keep in mind you are not going to move it a lot considering its weight (8.4 pounds, likely without the power brick). The excellent cooling design more than pays off for the extra size.
Well this is kepler! The lower end kepler gpu's perform to the low end gtx models of the previous gen. The gtx660m should perform roughly in between the 570m and 675m. This is kepler remember!
I have an ASUS G51VX. It has a 260M and is used in the higher model laptops to play Battlefield 3 at 1080p. With my screen at 1366x768, I can play with all graphics settings on max (this is a DX9 card), even though it is underclocked in my model (which I change if I see fit