The ASUS G74 comes in two configurations, which both include a quad-core Core i7-2630QM CPU, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M graphics with 3GB of video memory, 12GB DDR3 RAM (out of 16GB), dual 750GB 7200RPM drives, a 1080p display, Blu-ray player, backlit keyboard, and a USB 3.0. socket (along with three 2.0).

The G74SX-A1 is $1,745. There’s also a $1,979 version with a 3D display, called the G74SX-3DE. You can pre-order them now.

Toshiba has announced the new X770 Qosmio gaming laptop. This one has a more metallic enclosure compared to it’s predecessor and shrinks the display from 18.4 inches to 17.3 inches (1920 x 1080), which is obviously easier to carry around.

The standard configuration gives you a Core i7-2630QM processor, 8GB of RAM, 1.25TB of storage from a pair of hard drives, and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M graphics. You can also get a separate X770 3D model, which sports a 3D webcam and gives you a pair of active shutter glasses. Both will be available in the next few weeks, starting at €1,300 ($1,850).

Samsung claims that the screen on its new RF712 gaming laptop will have the best brightness that you can buy, which helps to overcome the dimming effect of wearing 3D glasses. The 17.3-inch screen uses the same Super Bright Plus technology as its Series 9 laptop, but with an added bonus, higher Full HD resolution.

The brightness is 400-nits. That’s about double that of an average LCD. Other specs include a second generation quad-core Intel CPU, 2GB AMD HD6650M graphics, a roomy 750GB hard drive and USB 3.0. The RF712 will hit South Korea on May 2nd for the equivalent of $2,400. No word on when it might reach the US.

This is what I call a beautiful laptop. Powerful too. ASUS has just launched its newest Republic of Gamers laptop at CES. The G73hj manages to make other laptops look puny. I love those angles. It features a Core i7-720QM CPU, up to 8GB of DDR3 RAM, 8-channel HD audio, up to 1TB of HDD space and DirectX 11 compatibility with the internal ATI Radeon HD 5870.

That display is a 17.3-incher with 1,920 x 1,080 resolution, Blu-ray / DVD drive, 8-cell battery, a 2 megapixel webcam, 802.11b/g WiFi, gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth 2.1, an 8-in-1 card reader and a mini-VGA connector. It’s running Windows 7 Home Premium.

Dubbed the “all-powerful” gaming laptop, Alienware just may be onto something here. It features a pair of 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280M GPUs, a Core 2 Extreme quad-core CPU at the top end with up to 8GB of 1333MHz DDR3 memory, and 1TB of 7200-rpm disk or a 512GB SSD.

RAID 1 or RAID 0. You’ll also get a nine-cell battery, FireWire, 4x USB, eSATA, ExpressCard, 802.11n WiFi, 8-in-1 media card reader, dual-layer Blu-ray, a 1920 x 1200 pixel edge-to-edge LCD, DisplayPort and HDMI-outs all in a package that weighs 11.68-pounds.