Asus G50Vt-X1

Gaming on a budget just got easier

AVAILABLE ONLY AT BEST BUY, the Asus GSOVt-X1 offers one-touch overclocking and interactive lighting effects. Although it
struggles with some 3D performance, it can't run today's DirectX 9 gaming titles with ease.

The 7.2-pound G5OVt-X1 sports a piano-black lid with blue detailing. The same glossy black trim surrounds the 15.6-inch, 1,366x768 display, which
offers good viewing angles.

The full-size keyboard and wide touch pad are responsive and comfortable. A 3.1-inch OLED display sits above the keyboard, and four buttons let you change the look and performance. You can toggle among Normal (2.26CI lz),Turbo (2.3801z), and Turbo Extreme (2.49GHz) modes, without having to reboot or enter the BIOS.

The G50Vt-X1 is equipped with HDMI, VGA, FireWire, external SATA (eSATA), S/PDIF audio, and four USB ports, along with a multiformat card reader, an ExpressCard slot, and a DVD burner. A 320GB hard drive comes with 64-bit Windows Vista Home Premium.

With a 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 processor, 4GB of system memory, and a 512MB Nvidia GeForce 9800M GS graphics controller, the G50Vt-X1 turned in an above-average Futuremark PCMark Vantage score of 3,690. Its WME score of 6 minutes and 48 seconds was also strong. In Turbo Extreme mode (2.49GHz) the system scored 3,703 on PCMark Vantage and finished the WME test in 6 minutes and S seconds—not a great improvement.The system's 3DMark06 (1,024x768) score of 8,873 was excellent, however.



An impressive score of 74.3fps on our Company of Heroes test proves this machine's DX9 gaming prowess.the system managed only 23.9fps on the DX10 version, however. The six-cell battery lasted a scant 1 hour and 3S minutes.

This system is comparable to the Gateway P-7811FX, which is less portable. The Asus G50Vt-X1 is good for penny-pinching garners who need a rig to travel with. —John R. Delaney



Computer Shopper January 2009