Discussions

One thing. http://techreport.com/discussions.x/15731

That's Tech Report's full coverage on the Asus G50V notebook. I'd flag that for the Asus marketing people to read (by which I mean, read the comments). Users--gamers in this case--really don't want bloatware on their systems, where bloatwhere is defined as all the value-added stuff Asus puts on a rig. They don't want it at *all.* Second point: Note the number of complaints about the stickers. You can see them for yourself on page 2. This laptop is covered in a ridiculous number of stickers. Joel "Good enough for gaming" is the elusive sweet spot

Of all the various types of laptops, Id argue that "good enough for gaming," is one of the hardest targets for an OEM to hit. Ultra-high end high-end gaming laptops, in contrast, are fairly easy to design. The bulk, weight, and heat output of these luxury luggables demand that certain tolerances be carefully measured, but when cost is (relatively) no object, component choices and options are governed by other factors. Designing a basic productivity or multimedia notebook is no great challenge, particularly for a company that follows Intel's roadmaps.

"Good enough," (hereafter abbreviated GE) laptops are difficult to design for several reasons. Certain system components may have a relatively short half life, particularly if the OEM in question is used to fielding just 2-3 laptop models per year. New mobile video solutions and product platforms may significantly alter the specifications gamers want in a new machine. Any OEM-designed system should also feature an upgradeable video card port this is one of the most commonly requested features whenever gamers are polled on what they'd like to see.

An ideal GE gaming notebook and by ideal, I mean one would sell en masse rather than to the six people who can afford it would be a system that came in at sub-$1000 prices. Hitting those targets would mean emphasizing points that most manufacturers don't talk about: video cards instead of CPUs, and gaming performance instead of vague statements about editing one's photos. The tools to profile and advertise performance already exist, and need only be utilized.

If Asus or any other company wants to successfully market a GE gaming notebook, the "value added" crapware has to go. All too often, the first thing any gamer does upon buying a laptop is spend a few hours laboriously ripping out whatever junk the vendor packed in. As I've previously noted, the trackpad on the Asus gaming laptop I recently tested is completely nonfunctional if I allow the system to boot normally. I'm willing to accept that this is an anomaly the trackpad did work the very first time I booted the system but the fact that I can't load the system with a default OEM software configuration and expect it to function is demonstrative of the problem as a whole. Any company willing to go to the effort of updating driver images (meaning, updating the image that's used to build the systems) on a monthly or even quarterly basis would be recognized for such there's few things less frustrating than buying a system and having to download and install a few hours worth of drivers, service packs, and other assorted updates.

Last, but not least, stop bundling awful games that no one likes. When I saw the words "Free copy of Alone in the Dark," attached to Asus' blahblahblah, I did what any gamer would do I went out and Googled the game. According to pretty much everyone, Alone in the Dark is a half-baked console port of a lousy game; ratings on the title range from mediocre to just plain bad. Newsflash, folks: giving someone a copy of an awful game is like including a free dead rat in every box. It screams "We don't actually care about gaming," and this kind of distribution is a symbol of what many feel is wrong with the gaming industry today.

Fortunately, Valve has solved this problem for you. If you really want to distribute something of tangible value, include a Steam gift certificate. Don't tie the certificate to any specific game, either; the Black Box and similar products were great in their day, but pretty much everyone who wanted to play Half Life 2 or Portal has played them.

There's a real market here, I think, but it'll take quite a bit of work and a different approach to design updates, hard drive images and advertising. The reason no notebook vendor has tackled it to date, in my own opinion, is that the cost/benefit ratio of building affordable gaming systems hasn't added up given how much additional work is involved. It's unfortunate, because I know the gaming community is interested, and I know I'd want one myself. The last time I had to fit a gaming notebook into a sub-$900 budget for a friend's purchase, it took hours of comparison between various systems before I found the best-fit for what I wanted. Those hours have a value to me; I'd have liked nothing better than to point the friend in question to a single vendor. How many of you feel the same way? Sound off.