HiGame

We’ve already covered the Asus G751JY-DB72 laptop indirectly, when we reviewed mobile G-Sync and its impact on frame rates and visual quality earlier this fall. But after spending some time with this laptop, we wanted to do a more thorough review. The G751JY-DB72 isn’t perfect, and its base model has been on the market for well over a year, but don’t let that fool you — this system offers a better price/performance ratio than many more expensive systems that shipped in the past six months.

Specs and availability

Asus manufacturers a number of laptops under the G751JY brand, so there are some specific attributes to be aware of if you’re interested in buying one. The particular model we’ve tested has gotten a bit tough to find at retail, and the price can vary significantly depending on whether or not you want the 2014 model (which shipped with 16GB of RAM but without G-Sync support) or the updated 2015 version, which had G-Sync.
The specifications on the model we tested were:

• Intel Core i7-4720HQ CPU (2.6GHz base, 3.6GHz Turbo)
• 24GB of DDR3L RAM
• 128GB SSD w/1TB HDD for additional storage
• Nvidia GTX 980M (4GB of RAM)
• 17.3-inch, 1920×1080 display (G-Sync enabled)

The handful of DB72’s showing up for sale are priced around $2,000 for the G-Sync model and a 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD, which is still quite expensive. One alternative, based on the same form factor and chassis, is the G751JY-WH71. It’s identical to the DB72, but uses a DVD-ROM instead of Blu-ray, has “just” 16GB of RAM and a smaller 128GB SSD + 1TB HDD. The price, meanwhile, drops to $1,569.


If you want a powerhouse mobile gaming system, that $1,569 price tag for a GTX 980M and a G-Sync panel is very hard to beat. Even Asus’ refreshed G752 Series doesn’t come close. The G752VL-DH71 is a $1,499 system but only offers a GTX 965M, while the $2,000 G752VT-DH74 tops out with a GTX 970M. Both are capable GPUs, but neither is as nice as the GTX 980M.

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