Usually portable gaming systems are typically rather bulky which can be less than ideal for gamers on the go. Acer has produced an extremely portable notebook with a great 15.4" screen and a unique design to set it apart from the average notebook. Other high-end gaming notebooks are bulkier with 17" screens and will set you back about $3000, while the Asus G1s is mid-sized and very reasonably priced at $1,799.

The G1s has many unique physical features with an overall attractive design. Measuring 14 inches wide, 11.2 inches deep, and 1.6 inches high, the physical measurements and 15.4-inch screen are pretty standard for any laptop however, the weight edges into the desktop replacement category weighing in at 7 pounds. Most laptops fall around 6 pounds making the G1s slightly heavier than a mid-sized laptop.

The Asus G1s laptops offer a unique design, which attracts people with its dashing looks alone. The chassis appears to be colored in a basic-black look but when examining closely a crosshatch pattern is revealed which adds some extra personality. There are metal rivets in the lid on the hinges adding an industrial look and bright green accents on the sides of the lid for some extra flavor. Between the mouse button sits a plastic eyeball logo colored in bright green, which is illuminated by a glowing green light.

The W, A, S and D keys (the main control keys for most PC games)are highlighted green which enhances the users experience. The 15.4-inch LCD display offers a 1,280x80 native resolution, which is, expected from a display this size while the 17" gaming laptops they offer a higher native resolution (1,440x900). ASUS's Splendid Video Intelligence Technology integrates different multimedia data sources to reduce noise and conversion rate for a vivid display. This technology allows for vivid images with better contrast, brightness, skin tone and color saturation for any video application. The Game and Night View Modes provide additional gaming features which enhance the image details of the picture. The 15.4" screen lacks some of the resolution in comparison to the 17" models, which might prevent someone from playing certain high-end games at higher resolutions.

The system has a standard set of connections, including four USB 2.0 jacks, a mini FireWire jack, a PC Card slot, media card reader, headphone, microphone and line-in audio jacks, and VGA, DVI, and S-Video outputs for hooking up an external monitor. There's no ExpressCard slot, but there is a tiny OLED display right above the keyboard that displays the current time. Standard media transport controls sits along the front edge of the system.

Networking connections include a modem and 10/100 Ethernet jacks with an integrated 802.11a/b/g wireless. Included in the box is a sleek carrying case and a gaming mouse. The built-in webcam sports 1.3 megapixels and sits on top of the screen for conferencing communication where gamers can now see and talk to teammates or opponents around the world!

The G1s boasts many attractive features such as a fast processor, sufficient memory, and the second-best NVIDIA video card available. Two technologies not present in most mainstream laptops but which you can find in the Asus G1 series, are eSATA and HDMI. The eSATA technology allows for an external hard-drive that operates at full speed. For those of you who prefer Windows XP over Windows Vista, Asus has Windows XP drivers available through the Asus website.The Asus GS1 notebook is no slacker when it comes to battery life which has been tested to run for more than 3 and a half hours. The enduring battery life adds to the portability factor allowing for longer gaming periods while on the go.

With all these features, physical and internal, the Asus G1s is quite the package. The bottom line is that the GS1 is a quality gaming notebook for a very resonable price. It is not the most technologically advanced gaming system on the market but you will have to shell out about $3000 for high-end gaming laptops. Overall, the Asus G1s is an advanced gaming system which offers great performance at a reasonable price.

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