Hands-on with the ASUS G46 gaming laptop

By Matthew S. Smith January 9, 2013

ASUS snuck in a small yet exciting announcement at CES: A new entry in its popular G-Series laptop line. We had the chance to handle this portable gaming system at the company’s showcase.

Our first impression was simple – it’s light! The G46 is no Ultrabook, to be sure, but its a featherweight by gaming’s standards. Official specifications list the weight at 2.5 kilograms (about 5.5 pounds). That is several pounds lighter than the typical gaming system and about a pound lighter than Alienware’s M14x. The chassis measures up to 1.5 inches thick but tapers down to an inch at the front. Alienware’s competitive system is just as thick but doesn’t taper.

Build quality is similar to existing G-Series products, which means it’s quite good. Matte black plastic is the main material used but it’s more than up to the task of keeping this relatively small, light system together. Panel gaps were small and the system felt tight as we moved it about for photographs. ASUS seems ready to vault the bar set by Alienware’s very nice competitor.

All versions of the G46 will ship with Intel Core i7 processors and Nvidia GTX 660M graphics. Several different hard drive capacities are available or consumers can opt for a 128GB solid-state drive. RAM will range from 4GB to 8GB.

Our only disappointment is the display. It was reasonably attractive at first glance but resolution is limited to 720p. The hardware inside the system is more than capable of handling 1080p in many modern games, so the lack of at least 1600×900 is a serious bummer. This is one area where Alienware has a clear edge.

The system is expected to ship early in 2013 with a starting price not far above $1,000. Alienware offers the M14x for less, but that system is handicapped by a less powerful GT 650M graphics processor. We think the G46 could be a new favorite among gamers on the go.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Matthew S. Smith

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Matthew S. Smith is the former Lead Editor, Reviews at Digital Trends. He previously guided the Products Team, which dives…

Computing

Lenovo is having a huge refurbished laptops sale — save 20%

Lenovo Legion Pro 5 with the Digital Trends website.

Lenovo currently has a huge sale on its refurbished laptop range with hundreds of laptops enjoying an extra 20% off their usual heavily discounted prices. If you’re looking for amazing laptop deals and don’t mind refurbished models, this is the ideal opportunity to save big. With over 400 models on sale, the best thing you can do is take a look for yourself. However, if you’d prefer some guidance before you dive in, we’ve picked out a few of our favorite laptop deals so you know where to start. In all cases, use the code OUTLETSAVE20 to get an extra 20% off.

What to shop for in the Lenovo refurbished laptop sale
Lenovo is one of the best laptop brands you can buy from so any of its refurbished models are worth checking out. One huge bargain is the . Down to $422 from $880, it has an AMD Ryzen 7 Pro 5875U processor, 16GB of memory, and 256GB of SSD storage. Storage may be a little on the low side but otherwise, you’ve got a great system for the price. It also has a 14-inch full HD screen with 1920 x 1080 resolution, anti-glare properties, and 45% NTSC so it looks nice to use too. A large trackpad, Dolby Audio speaker system, and Dolby Voice AI noise-suppressing technology all help to keep you happy with this laptop.

Computing

Best HP laptop deals: Get a 17-inch workhorse for $370 and more

An open HP Spectre x360 16 sits on a table, angled so that the screen and keyboard can be seen.

HP has some of the best laptops on the market, and that includes gaming laptops, so its a great company to go for if you're planning on grabbing yourself a new laptop. That's no surprise, of course, given that its one of the best laptop brands on the market, so you should feel secure grabbing an HP laptop, whether it's something like the HP Omen, or the Spectre X360 2-in-1 convertible. There are also some great deals you can take advantage of so you don't have to spend a ton of money, and that includes some great HP Envy deals as well.

That said, if you can't find quite what you're looking for below, be sure to check out these other great laptop deals and gaming laptop deals as well.
HP Laptop 17z -- $350, was $650

Computing

Lenovo’s LOQ gaming laptop has a $469 price cut for a limited time

The Lenovo LOQ on a white background.

Lenovo often has some great gaming laptop deals around and today is no different. Right now, you can buy a Lenovo LOQ gaming laptop for $931, meaning you’re saving a huge $469 off the usual price. Well-specced for portable gaming without spending a fortune, this is one of the better laptop deals around. Here’s what you need to know before you hit the buy button.

Why you should buy the Lenovo LOQ gaming laptop
As one of the best gaming laptop brands around, you can’t go wrong with anything from Lenovo. With the Lenovo LOQ, you get a 13th-generation Intel Core i7-13700H processor along with 16GB of memory and 512GB of SSD storage. That’s pretty good going in this price range and it’s all teamed up with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 to sweeten the deal for gamers.