I couldn't be any happier with this laptop. Having used both Asus desktops and laptops for many years now, I knew what I would get is quality. My expectations were very high, and yet it still managed to surprise me.
Build quality is top notch. Sleek and thin for a gaming laptop. Aside from the trackpad, nothing about the exterior feels cheap. The keyboard is great, keystrokes are buttery smooth. The speakers are surprisingly loud for and clear for stock laptop speakers. The display, oh my... the display. I've only ever used TN monitors so the leap to IPS was quite a big one. Factory color settings are abysmal out of the box so it will need calibrated. Once properly calibrated using the Windows Display Color Calibration tool, colors and images pop to life. Another aspect of the display i'm extremely happy with is the choice of matte over a glossy type. I can sit in front of a window, or a bright lamp can be just over my shoulder and there are almost no reflections. The glossy display types reflect surrounding light like a mirror and lead to quick eye tension headaches for me. So far, i've had not even the slightest bit of eye discomfort while viewing this display. Next we have the trackpad... the reviews weren't lying. It's bad. It feels unresponsive, laggy and cheap. Coming from an Asus G60JX which had a phenomenal trackpad, this was definitely a noticeable downgrade-- time to break out the mouse. The laptop uses the integrated graphics for a majority of activities and will only switch over to the GTX 960M for intense rendering. This means for basic use, the temps stay very cool. I own a heating pad from my last gaming laptop, but i've not had to use it so far with the GL551. While gaming, it did get warm but not HOT like my G60JX, which one could substitute as a fireplace while gaming. Cold boot time is 14.56 seconds from off to desktop. Photoshop opens in just 4 seconds which is really nice. The HDD is also split into 2 partitions, each 465 GB.
I bought this for astrophotography (planetary imaging) and some mild gaming; it's handled everything i've thrown at it so far. I really couldn't ask for anything more. The only thing I intend to change is the HDD which will be swapped out for either a 512 GB or 1 TB SSD. I plan to convert the 1 TB HDD to a storage drive and i'll be set. Now if it can just stand the test of time like my previous Asus laptop (6 years old), then I will be extremely pleased.
Update (6/22/15): Not even a month after writing this review and my screen is defective. Green/pink flashing colors, bleeding colors, extreme ghosting, strobing horizontal bars, etc. I disabled the graphics chip and ran GPU only, problem persisted. I disabled the GPU and ran chip only, problem persisted. Uninstalled drivers and installed the newest versions. It wasn't until I rebooted the laptop and saw the green/pink bars on the boot screen that I realized it was a screen issue and not software. It's boxed up and en route to Amazon for a refund. Really bummed, it was everything I wanted in a laptop. However, if I pay $1,200 then it needs to last longer than 3.5 weeks.
Update #2 (7/03/15): I liked this laptop so much, I decided to try one more time. Amazon was stellar about the refund process, which is why I continue to buy from them even in the event their prices are slightly higher. So, two things to note that I noticed right away: 1) The first laptop arrived with the manufacturers tape broken. Someone cut it, and placed packing tape over the Asus tape to reseal it. This should have been my first red flag, but I assumed it was an employee checking to make sure the correct machine was inside. Unlike the first laptop, my replacement arrived with never-opened, black Asus tape. 2) The first laptop had abysmal color settings out of the box. It took about an hour and multiple calibration attempts to get it where it needed to be. Unlike the first, the replacement has flawless color calibration and perfect gamma with no needed adjustment. At this point, i'm convinced the first laptop was an RMA'd/return that, for whatever reason, was put back on the shelf and sold as factory new. I have adjusted my rating, and will give a third update in one month.
There is a newer model of this item:
Asus ROG Strix SCAR II Gaming Laptop, 15.6” 144Hz IPS Type Full HD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070, Intel Core i7-8750H, 16GB DDR4, 512GB PCIe Nvme SSD, RGB KB, Windows 10, GL504GW-DS74
$2,899.99
(277)
Only 2 left in stock - order soon.
$2,899.99
(277)
Only 2 left in stock - order soon.
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Reviews with images
Best laptop i could find in the price range and with specs i wanted (quad core 17, 16gb ram, SSD, backlit keyboard,good cooling)
After a very long research i had finalized between ASUS and "http://www.amazon.com/GE60-Apache-Pro-867-i7-4720HQ-Computer/dp/B00TUEP0Y8/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1427549029&sr=1-1&keywords=MSI+GE60+Apache+Pro-867+15.6%22+i7-4720HQ+16GB+120GB+SSD+%2B+1TB+7200rpm+HDD+NVIDIA+GTX+960M+2GB+Full+HD+Windows+8.1+Gaming+Laptop+Computer" MSI laptop. The specs were exactly the same. I chose Asus over upgraded version of msi, because i liked the design and also i felt the cooling technology is better in Asus. I received this laptop yesterday and i am very happy. I wanted to get a very good configuration laptop at a reasonable price. Within two days of placing the order, the price has dropped by around 23$. It is definitely worth it. I am running the laptop after detaching the battery :-) When i ordered this laptop, there was only one review and it was hard to make a decision. But now, after i see many more 5 stars i feel my decision was right. I also received a nice gaming mouse. Though i prefer sleek mouse over a large one, still i liked it. I am not a game enthusiast, all i wanted was a quad core laptop i7, with 16gb ram ,SSD, backlit keyboard and good cooling. This is the best i could find within the price range.update (4/1/2015) Attached the mouse pics. The volume of the speaker is very nice. I really liked the trackpadsome very minor things which i didnt like:There is no dedicated End button (had to use shift+ num 1 key in the num pad)Finger prints :-( right from the day i opened the laptop, finger print was clearly visible.The keyboard light doesnt come up unless we login. I have seen some posts regarding this in the internet.I would have preferred a caps lock light on the key itself rather than below the trackpadBut i am not concerned about these, as these are just minor things.i liked the feature of switching of the laptop screen off (fn+ f7) without turning off the laptop, helps just in case you need to step aside for few minutes.The OS is installed on the SSD and therefore the boot time is very fast.On full charge of the battery i am getting around 5 hours runtime.
