ACTUAL C90 Owner's Lounge

To answered your PM, DDR 800 supported is a typo from Asus, it can be done by overclock but it's not a proper way to do it, they'll soon change the spec sheet that it only support up to DDR2 667.

99% of the BSOD and Windows crashed on a notebook is cause by incompatible or bad RAM, if you have 2 sticks of RAM try pull out one and run only one at a time to test the RAM, sometimes even you have a bad RAM the memory test will still say there is no problem with the RAM.

 

i just get a reset, not a lockup. however usually thats one in the same, a reset means a fatal error, if you turn off the auto reset protection in windows it would lock up instead.

im thinking about ordering one of those metal pad tims that are supposed to be better than AS5 and fool proof to install, depending on the price. see if that fixes my temp issues.

Ken, whats your temps idle in windows with speedfan? should give you a core0 and core1 temp reading.

I really think there is something wrong with my heatsink or something since not everybody else has these exessive heat readings like I do.

 

I got error message when trying to install speedfan, it says incompatible with Windows Vista.

I do think you might have bad or incompatible RAM, very unlikely there is a defective heatsink, what's your CPU temperature?

 

Mine locks up too ken. idles at around 65 degrees and goes up to 77 degrees at load....

 

It locks up when i got into gaming mode and then do something that requires the cpu to load

 

That's normal temperature even mobile processors reach at that temperature or higher.

Search this forum, Z96J with mobile T7200 CPU goes up to 85 degrees at load...and it's normal.

 

you do realize im talking about celsius here.....

 

Yes I am talking about celsius.

 

okay, personal issues tonight.
I did all of the synthetic benchs. I am going to do the real world benches right now, then tomorrow, pictures and uploading. Once that is done I will be able to edit the review (realised there are two or three things I noticed that I missed), then release time. Ridiculous, I work the worse possible hours of the day.

 

Read this thread here and don't keep thinking your CPU is overheating, it's not:

http://www.notebookforums.com/showthread.php?t=190830&highlight=Z96J+temperature

and this thread here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=106434&highlight=Beware+Z96J+MeromT7200%28Gentech%29+Everest+Stress+LOAD+Temps+%40+85C+Idle+58C+WHAT%27s+WRONG


calm down and check your RAM.

 

Another good example of BSOD cause by incompatible RAM:

http://www.notebookforums.com/thread175249.html

 

Hmm Ken well thing is other people like Alex are reporting much lower temps than me and him.

Also if ram was incompatible wouldnt it crash on any mode and not just game mode? (plus it only crashes on cpu tasks, I can run game mode all day on something non cpu intensive and its ok, further prooven by the super heat and the fans turning into jet engines)

So I need to look into what your saying still, how would I know if my ram is incompatible. I have 2gb DDR2 667 OCZ 5-5-5-15. Its a high quality ram module and a well known name brand aswell. I cant use all 4gb it wont post, im hopeing a new bios will fix that tho.

 

Tell me what's your CPU temperature, also you can not tell what RAM module OCZ use, they are not the manufacturer and every batch of RAM module they use may be different.

 

65-70 idle in normal mode up to mid/high 80's load.

in game mode... idle it stays the same due to speed step under load, i get a reboot.

I just spent the $$$ on those metal pads from coollabotory that are fool proof in instalation and supposed to be better than as5. Im 99.99999999% sure my AS5 install is fine (all the heat is comming out of the back..) but just incase something is up, I am giving them a shot.

GPU temp only hit... 77c during 3dmark.

 

mid 80's should be fine, if Alex got lower temperature than yours then I suggest re-assemble the CPU with less AS5.

 

he isnt reporting a few degrees diffrent but nearly 20+ degree's.

if im not mistaken a heat pipe system has a liquid inside of it that when heated turns to gas, so the gas rises goes into the cooling area and gets cooled into a liquid again and the liquid will settle and fall back into the hot cpu area to cool it and the cycle continues.

Is it not possible they screwed up a few of them? with the incorrect amount of cooling agent in it or none at all, also its a gravity based system, I noticed my cooling fins were a VERY tight fit into the fan bay area, maybe mine is bent???

So if thats the case it could mess up the cooling properties. It may sound like some wild ideas but it makes sence if you think about it.

 

If you want I can have Asus sent you another heatpipe to try and you don't need to send back your heatpipe, let us know what you find out.

 

That would be great. So what can we do with testing for bad ram??

Also that new bios your working with, think it may present a fix?? (and possibly enable the use of 2x2gb dimms?)

Did you (and anybody else) not have a very tight fit trying to get the cooling fins into the fan bay area? I had to but the heatsink nearly on the cpu then work it in at a very fine angle and squeeze it in abit to make it fit, definitly took some force, was afraid id bend a fin, luckly it went in with no damage other than the 2nd time I had to do it the very last one got bent some, but was easy to bend back once installed.

 

I got your case setup already, Asus will be sending you a new heatpipe, they dont need your heatpipe back.

Asus guy also agree too much AS5 is not good and could also cause overheating, but still your CPU temperature seem fine to me.

The new BIOS I am working on right now does not support 4GB of RAM, the Intel Chipset limited at 3GB.

 

Oh I know it cant support 4gb of ram as usuable ram, I am only concerned about the abliity to install all 4gb and use 3gb of it as most other computers can do.

as for temps here is what I came up with:



starts off at 65 idle then hit just above 80 during a wprime run. im pretty sure wprime maxed out the cpu guess I should have run a resource monitor to see.

ill try again now in game mode and see what it shows me. oh see where the temps fell nearly instantly? thats when i stoped wprime so cooling is definitly working.

 

mid 80*C is not really overheating, but you'll find out when you receive the new heatpipe.

Also try re-assemble the CPU with thin layer of AS5 to see if that'll decrease the temperature.

I don't mind send you the beta BIOS but not until I am 100% sure it won't cause any problem.

 

well Ken look at this, it goes along with what your saying and sort of kills my idea of higher heat in game mode:



The fans due indeed spool up and more heat comes out the back, but due to the faster fan speed the temps were actually lower.

Note tho a few things:

>wprime does not max out the cpu highest I saw was 60% load on a core, so the cpu can get much hotter than this.

>the resets have happened to me in aquamark3 and 3dmark mostly, but I did have just one in wprime during the large test that takes like 10mintues. I was also at home when that happened and it runs hotter at my house due to ambients.


So maybe its heat still I dunno, it could be because in a game the gpu heat adds to the mix. Is there a documented shutdown temp??

As for the AS5 dont worry i have those metal pads on the way that are supposed to be even better than as5.

I feel comfortable with gpu temps right now, I saw 77c load wich to me is pretty cool for a gpu. I have no tried to overclock it much yet.

I need to run more gpu temp test tho, I have only run a single one so I'll do that now.

 

hey Alex, can you say something about what temperature are you getting and about the noise of the fans?
are you using any different thing for cooling the system?

thank you.

 

So I am confused at this point on whether or not I should order the c90s. I have been wanting to get it since early May but now with all this talk about missing screws, low scores, replacing heatpipes? etc etc it sounds like there are problems with the c90. I am not an expert on laptop computers and if something is wrong with the hardware, I don't think I can fix it for myself.

Are these issues anything serious? because I really do want to order one. If someone can clear things up for me, it would be much appreciated

Thanks!

 

If you take the time to download this it will be worth your time. It is actual gameplay footage of Oblivion on the Asus C90s captured using FRAPS. That means its GREAT quality.

Specs were as follows:
Windows XP 32 Bit
e6700 at 2.66GHZ
3GB Corsair DDR2-667 (2GB +1GB)
160GB Seagate Momentus 7200.2
All original drivers from supplied cd except newest chipset, audio, wireless drivers
Game settings were:
2x AA, 2X AF, Vsync forced (all in Nvidia control panel)
8600M GT at 500 core/500 mem (overclocked using rivatuner)
All in game settings at MAX except indoor/outdoor shadows all the way down, all shadow options OFF, specular OFF, blood decals LOW, HDR ON at 1280x800. Oblivion updated to latest patch.

This should give you one heck of an accurate feel of what to expect! ENJOY!


http://z16.zupload.com/download.php?file=getfile&filepath=14566

EDIT: Remember, FRAPS video capture tool does not show FPS overlay. It was captured at 60fps video though so its pretty darn accurate....one of the most acturate game captures ive seen.

EDIT2: INSTALL FRAPS FOR VIDEO TO WORK!

 

Hmmm, I just tried downloading the file myself and the download rates are bad...I recommend using a download manager/accelerator...

 

I also have a battlefield 2142 video and a farcry video that failed to upload over night...can anyone tell me a good place to upload 300mb+ files with GOOD upload speeds???

 

http://www.megaupload.com/

 

Thanks, ill try that.

 

My battlefield 2142 video is uploading now to megaupload...its says it will be an hour or so...so at this time I invite all REQUEST for test or QUESTIONS about the C90s. Ask away....

 

ken hasnt asnwer my order status question !!! WHy?!

 

swoley2k... how do feel about the laptop overall? Is it worth buying or would you have go for something else now?

 

Here is a clip from Battlefield 2142 on the Asus C90s

Settings were as follows:
Windows XP 32 Bit
e6700 at 2.66GHZ
3GB Corsair DDR2-667 (2GB +1GB)
160GB Seagate Momentus 7200.2
All original drivers from supplied cd except newest chipset, audio, wireless drivers
Game settings were:
2x AA, 2X AF, Vsync forced (all in Nvidia control panel)
8600M GT at 500 core/500 mem (overclocked using rivatuner)
Edited the game shortcut with +widescreen 1 +szx 1280 +szy 800 to run at 1280x800
All game video settings at max except dynamic shadows on low and dynamic lighting on media. View distance 100%. enhanced lighting on.
Sound was set to hardware on high, EAX disabled.


http://www.megaupload.com/?d=1Z7ERYZK

Again, keep in mind FRAPS movie capture does now show FPS overlay. This game ran OK. I think it needs some tweaking before id play it though. I tryed to get in a situation that would tax the system by running around during an air strike which slows my 8800 GTX system down. Again its a very accurate video representation.


EDIT: INSTALL FRAPS FOR VIDEO TO WORK!

 

I am now uploading the farcry video and it will be done in an hour and a half or so...

 

At this time I do not know, because mine lockups when I go into overclocking mode, I may even have a faulty unit. Ive asked myself the same question...would I rather have something else...and I cant even answer myself becuase I really cant make a conclusion about the c90 yet...sorry...if you want to ask some specific questions I will answer.

 

What happens on screen when you press the four hot buttons on the top right of the notebook?

 

when you were in vista what was the best drivers you used with the 8600M GT?

 

My parents said they'd buy a notebook under $1500, so I grabbed an Inspiron 1520. Form these first impressions, I'm glad. I hope this product succeeds for the world's sake though.

 

okay, I only have 13 more pictures to upload, then I need to BBCode it, then I will upload. Hopefully before 11pm CST today.

 

Will this laptop run unix ok, or are there some windows drivers that are required for the laptop to run correctly?

 

One is for email, one for internet, one to disable touchpad, the other I believe is to go into power saving mode for the battery. Im not sure if thats what it is because I havent used the battery yet. Im waiting to use the battery so I can test it correctly.

 

The best drivers I used that would allow overclocking of gpu were 158.45

The best drivers that worked that didnt allow overclocking were 163.11

Read back in the thread for my results with both.

You will have to get the modified versions of each of these from laptopvideo2go.com

 

I really do not know as I am unfimiliar with unix.

 

Well im off camping. too bad mine didn't make it in time. Oh Well.

 

did you need to install any drivers for the fans to run correctly?

 

I am not sure. As soon as I installed xp, I started installing drivers. However, during this process the fans did speed up/slow down. The first driver I installed was the video driver...so I assume no driver is needed seeing as the fan speed changed before any other drivers were installed. HOWEVER, im still not sure if mine is working properly because like ive said many times before, it locks up when I go into overclocking game mode even though the fans TAKE OFF when I do.

 

so are the only problems with heat/ instability coming when overclocking the gpu? putting the cpu in overclock (gaming?) mode? or what?

I mean, if I don't plan on OC'ing anything am I still going to have heat issues/ instability?

 

I havent had a problem running in normal mode yet....the fans get about as loud as a desktop (maybe 25db) but thats its

 

Right now only swoley is having the crashing problem and it's when he speeds up the CPU. Alex and Vicious have not had stability problems (that I have read/remembered) but Vicious has had some heat issues. They have not been lining up with Alex's temps. But that could be because of a faulty heatsink. We just don't have enough people to get a average!

 

what are u suppose to watch the video with? it isnt working..i've tried winamp, wmp, and vlc player