Asus ROG GL551JW-DS74 and GL551JW-DS71 15.6″ Gaming Laptops

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The Asus ROG GL551JW-DS74 and GL551JW-DS71 are 15.6-inch gaming laptops with the mid-range Nvidia GeForce GTX 960M video card, powerful Intel’s quad-core i7 processor, and a Full HD non-touch display and anti-reflective coating. There are two differences between the GL551JW-DS74 and GL551JW-DS71: IPS wide-viewing angle technology and storage. The former is IPS-enabled, while the latter is not. Both have a 1-Terabyte 7,200rpm hard drive, but the DS74 additionally includes a 128GB solid state drive for faster program loading and system boot times. The notebooks have 16GB of system memory, which is sufficient for hard-core multitasking.

The Nvidia GeForce GTX 960M with 2GB of GDDR5 video memory provides decent performance even in the latest and toughest blockbuster games. It is accompanied by the Intel Core i7-4720HQ, one of the fastest laptop processors on the market. The quad-core chip can easily handle all games and day-to-day tasks. It is an excellent solution for professional work like photography and video editing, too.

The chiclet-style keyboard has backlight beneath the keys. It glows red and has adjustable brightness levels. WASD keys are highlighted. The trackpad has integrated click buttons, as opposed to physically separated ones.

The GL551JW-DS74 / DS71 comes with stereo speakers. Asus has made the speaker chambers larger-than-average in order to deliver better sound and richer bass. Rounding off the feature set, there’s a built-in DVD optical drive, a 720p web camera, 802.11n wireless and Ethernet LAN network interfaces, HDMI and mini DisplayPort video outputs, three USB 3.0 ports, a memory card reader, and a combo audio jack.

GL551JW-DS74 - DS71 Keyboard

Design-wise, the aluminum-skinned laptop looks stately simplistic in comparison to some other models with excessive curves and ornaments. The streamlined design is broken up only by speaker grilles above the keyboard and a large Asus and Republic of Gamers logos on display’s backpanel. The LCD lid and palmrests are made of black brushed aluminum, while the bottom and sides are done up in matte black plastics. The profile is 1.3” thick and overall weight is six pounds. Therefore, the machine isn’t as good for carrying around like thinner and lighter mainstream notebooks, but is still quite portable for a gaming rig.

The battery life can last up to five hours, according to the manufacturer.

A nice perk is Asus’ 1-year Accidental Damage Protection, which covers accidents like drops, liquid spills, and power surges.

Asus ROG GL551JW-DS74 and GL551JW-DS71 Lid

Specifications of the Asus ROG GL551JW-DS74 and GL551JW-DS71

Here are the specs of the Asus ROG GL551JW-DS74 and GL551JW-DS71 with descriptions of its features. For comparison against other laptops, you can use the "Compare Specs" button.

Brand Asus
Screen Size 15.6-inch

This is by far the most popular laptop screen size. It provides a lot of screen real estate, while avoiding bulkiness of the 17.3" laptops.
Screen Resolution 1920x1080 pixels Full HD

Full HD is the most common laptop screen resolution today. It provides a good image sharpness and a decent amount of space on the display for the user interface and programs. However, it isn't as good as the top-tier 4K Ultra HD.
Touchscreen No

This laptop doesn't support touchscreen input.
Other Display Specs IPS or TN, depending on configuration

Displays based on the old TN technology lack wide viewing angles you can find on IPS screens. The colors may look washed out or inverted at certain viewing angles on the TN screens.
Processor (CPU) Intel Core i7-4720HQ 4th Gen quad-core 2.6-3.6GHz 6MB cache (~8,200 PassMark benchmark points)
Graphics (GPU) Nvidia GeForce GTX 960M 2GB GDDR5 dedicated video card (for light gaming, but with improved smoothness)
System Memory (RAM) Size 16GB RAM

16GB and greater RAM sizes are recommended for heavy multitasking, gaming, and specialized programs that require a lot of RAM.
Data Storage 1000GB (1TB) HDD

1TB is an excellent storage capacity, but HDD is a slow type of storage.

1000GB (1TB) HDD + 128GB SSD

This is an excellent capacity, but the HDD portion is a slow type of storage.
DVD Optical Drive DVD writer
Keyboard & Input Backlit keyboard with dedicated number pad

The keyboard has backlit keys and a separate numeric pad on the right side of the keyboard.

Touchpad with click buttons built into the surface

The left and right click buttons are built into the surface of the touchpad, as opposed to separate physical buttons.
Speakers & Audio Stereo speakers

As usual, the device features a pair of built-in stereo speakers.
Camera Front-facing web camera

Laptops usually feature a frontal webcam located on the display bezel. This laptop is no exception.
Wi-Fi Wireless 802.11N

802.11N is an old Wi-Fi standard, precursor of the 802.11AC and the latest 802.11AX with improved data transfer speeds and connectivity. 802.11N is rarely used in modern laptops.
Ethernet Network Port Yes

This laptop has an Ethernet LAN port for wired internet and networking connectivity.
Mobile broadband (4G LTE) No
Bluetooth Yes

This laptop has a built-in Bluetooth module. It enables you to connect the computer to Bluetooth mice and other Bluetooth peripherals, smartphones, and other Bluetooth-equipped devices.
USB Ports 3 x USB 3.0

Three full-size USB Type A ports.
Video Output Ports 1 x HDMI

HDMI is a widely used digital video output port. You can find HDMI-in ports on most computer monitors and TVs.

1 x mini DisplayPort

DisplayPort is a digital video output port. It is not as widely used as HDMI. The laptop has a compact "mini" version of DisplayPort on its side.
Media Card Reader SD card reader

The laptop has a slot for full-size SD memory cards, used in many digital cameras. You can also use microSD cards with a card adapter.
Battery "Up to 5 hours" battery life, 6-Cell 56 WHr
Weight 6 pounds
Height 1.3"
Width 15"
Depth 10"
Windows Version Windows 8.1

Windows 8.1 is eligible for free upgrade to Windows 10 Home. Check Windows.com for more info.
Warranty 1-year

A typical laptop warranty.

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User Reviews and Q&A on the Asus ROG GL551JW-DS74 and GL551JW-DS71

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