ASUS G50VT-X1 with Nvidia 9800M Review and Initial Impression

I totally agree. The X1 is exclusive to BB. I had one and returned it. The display resolution was just too low for me. The X2's resolution is much better. BB only warrantys the X1 for 1 year. The X2 at newegg.com comes with a 2 year warranty directly from Asus. You can purchase a 3rd year's warranty at newegg as well. You'll also get one year's accidental damage warranty free.

If you buy the X1 and then realize the screen resolution doesn't suit you, be prepared to pay a 15% restocking fee.

X2 FTW!

 

Hi everyone
This my first post here
I read in asus site this laptop has smart logon,what is this and how it works?
Thanks.

 

It uses face recognition instead of fingerprint reading (the other common biometric logon these days).

I found this video through Google.

 

Check it Out - neww $100 rebate from ASUS on the G50vts:
NEW ASUS $100.00 HOLIDAY MAIL IN REBATE!!
December G50 MIR Promotion:
For purchases between 12/9/08 and 12/25/08.
ASUS 15.4” Gaming Notebook
G50Vt-A1: MIR$100
G50Vt-A2: MIR$100

 

SWEET! Can we say another reason not to go for the X2?

 

Wow! I saw the G50VT-X1 today at BB and about to buy it, then found this thread. Hours later, got to the last page. Here is my question [and issue] I'm a power user, but not a gamer. [research stuff] but retired at 70 years old and living on pension. The utility bill for my huge tower is killing my budget, so I want to buy a Laptop plug into my monitor, k/b. eSATA, etc. and see if the sleep mode or standby mode really reduces power. Does this guy have a realiable sleep/hibernate mode with seriously reduce power demand? Sorry for the dumb question, but I've been a tower user for two decades--laptops are new to me. [standby\rest mode on towers don't work!] thanks

 

hey guys,
i dont know whats happening.
i downloaded the newest driver at nvidia.com
then im trying to install it but its saying that "nvidia cant find any drivers that are compatible with my curent hardware"
i downloaded the driver for the geforce 9 , 9800gt (search)
and it keeps giving that error.... i need help! i think a driver update woulde necassary coz im a gamer ;P im getting ready for gta 4 and crysis (getting it for christmas)

 

This laptop has a functional standby and hibernate mode which both consume miniscule amounts of power. At idle this laptop uses about 60W of power per hour. Fully cranked it can take as much as 110W of power per hour. However this is probably a fraction of what a typical desktop system might use. As a matter of fact it might even be less than what a typical desktop display uses.

If you are going to buy the G50VT-X1 from Best Buy, you should wait until Sunday as it will be on sale for $999 next week.

90% of the drivers available directly from Nvidia are for their desktop cards. They only provide laptop drivers for Dell and Alienware as far as I know. You can get drivers for your laptop directly from Asus (these might be outdated, but are gauranteed to install and work without glitches) or you can get more cutting edge modded drivers from laptopvideo2go.

 

Wow thank god, it's a good news. I am going to buy it this X-mas. Im so tired to wait
Are u sure about this, win32asmguy? How could u know that?

 

Hi everyone
Has any Thermal problem (overheating or sth like this) been reported for this model(asus g50vt-x1)?
Thanks

 

it's a nice laptop....

 

Well, from reading the Asus forums for the last few weeks or so, focusing on G50V and G50Vt threads, there doesn't appear to be an overheating issue, unlike the G1. I guess the G50V had a decent enough cooling system that Asus decided to stick in the 9800GS and make it the G50Vt (probably much to the dismay of those who bought a G50V).

 

Hey could you help me, I want to buy a Asus G50Vt
In my coutry (netherlands) there are 2 different types of the G50VT for the same price.

* 1 G50VT ---> Core 2 Duo P8600 2,40 Ghz
with a Nvidia GeForce 9800M GS (high end)

* 2 G50VT----> Core 2 Duo P9400 2,53 Ghz
with a Nvidia GeForce 9700M GT

other specs are 100% the same

What is the best notebook to Buy? The one with the 9800 Video Card or the other with a Better processor? Could you help me out?? im a little confuged

Want to play games (crysis, battlefield, call of duty etc) and im working a lot with Solidworks, Autocad and Cinema 4d, (rendering movies for school projects)

Greetings from the Netherlands RJ

 

I'm looking for a new notebook since the video card in my dell has fried three times now. Anyways... value for money, this seems to be the best processor and GPU out there with it going on sale at BB for $1000 tomorrow. My question is, has anyone run AutoCAD 2007 or Civil 3d on it? And Madden 08, my favorite obsession.

CAD 2007 is not 64bit compliant, but I could downgrade OS to 32 bit for this. Really interested though if anyone has experience running Civil 3D on it!

Thanks

 

the second one you mentioned isn't the vt it's the g50v which is older. i would say get the first one since you seem like a hardcore gamer

 

I dont know how the hell you knew this (I've been trying to find where best buy announces its next week deals) but this laptop is now $999.99.

so to anyone who has bought this item within the past 14 days, at 1249.99, I believe that it's BB policy to refund the difference (If i recall correctly this was discussed earlier in the fourm, back when the op still had this laptop)

BB's deals reset every week, sunday morning and after talking to a guy on the sales floor he said I could expect a product will go on sale once every month. so some food for thought when pondering a purchase from best buy.

I think ima pick this laptop up sometime this week for myself, this deal seems amazing and Ive always been impressed with asus.

 

The Laptop Is Only 1000$ Now!!!

 

Thanks, for the answer

Is the P8600 2,4 Ghz mutch slower? compered to the P9400 2,53 Ghz
I go for the Nvidia GeForce 9800M GS ofcourse!!! But is the 2,4 Ghz strong enough for the hardcore games?

Greetzzz


Impressed by this forum! Rj

 

Hi. Most games are GPU-bound rather than CPU-bound. Additionally, the real-life performance differences between these two CPUs will probably be small enough so that it's definitely better that you get the laptop with the better GPU.

 

This laptop is on sale right now for $999. Worth the buy at that price point?

 

Depending on your needs, but if you're a gamer and don't care about the poorer resolution, wider aspect ratio screen and also about Bluetooth, I'd say GO FOR IT!!! That's a great price for a notebook with these internals...

 

hi
wider aspect ratio screen is one of the problem of this model?why?

 

Thanks for the feedback.

I was at BB and almost purchased this system today. However, I decided to research it further before making the purchase.

I don't know how critical the resolution is to me since I don't have anything to compare it to. I have my desktop monitor set to 1280x1024. If I set it to 1360x1024 or higher, would that let me see the difference between the different screen resolutions available on laptops? Thanks.

 

Wider aspect ratio is 16:9 in this case (rather than 16:10 as in most widescreen notebooks). It is not a "problem", as that depends on your needs and preferences, it's just different from most notebooks. The resolution is, I believe, 1366×768.

Not sure how you could compare it before buying... why not just go at best buy and play a bit with the computer, see if you like the resolution. Maybe compare with larger-resolution screens nearby. Although if your desktop monitor is 1280x1024, I do not believe you will have any issues with the G50Vt-X1 resolution which is roughly the same number of pixels, although wider.

 

I would get this if it were not for that design on the lid. But otherwise it's great.

 

$1,000 this week at best buy. Does anything else compare at this price? Any real reason not to buy it?

I was considering the x2 from new egg at $1,350
newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220403

but I dunno if $350 is worth the extra rez.

What say ye all?

 

I have one, and honestly there isn't as far as I can see.
It was great at $1100...

At $999 its a VERY nice deal and a great performer.

The only downside is the screen resolution... which isn't really a problem, its just not as nice as a 1680x1050 or 1400x900 screen most mid-higher-end 15" come with.

I run a 24" 1050x1680 (swiveled 1680x1050) at work and a 46" 1080p TV at home.

The included 1366x768 (720p) screen is just fine as well. Keep in mind, this is a 15" screen...

 

As someone who owned the X1 and upgraded to the X2 I can say with certainty that the rez was not a determining factor in returning the laptop. The only reason I returned was for the 2 yr warranty from Asus and the 1 yr Accidental coverage. I plan on taking this to LAN parties and that type of warranty is invaluable when you will be moving the machine around as much as I will. Other than that the X1 was perfect to me. The lack of BT can be overcome for as little as $10 with a tiny dongle.

 

I just got this notebook after my Sager died. I have to say I really love this machine so far, and the only con I can find is the low-contrast screen. You have to really tweak the nVidia color settings to compensate for it.

 

Well, I finished reading all the posts in this thread. It seems the major drawback on this unit is the screen.

Previously, I was contemplating buying a Dell XPS 1530. Since the best screen on the XPS is 1440x900 (LED), should I presume that the screen on the Asus is just as good? That would help me out a lot with this decision. Thanks!

 

The screen is decent once you tweak it. It's the vertical angles that really show how mediocre it is, but the horizontal viewing angles are superb compared to other laptops I've seen.

 

dtd00d - Thanks for the input. Please excuse my ignorance, but by horizontal angles, is that up/down rather than side-to-side?

Also, I have a Dell Inspiron currently that is over three years old. How do I determine the resolution of this system? It would be helpful for comparison. Thanks.

EDIT: I found the information I was looking for on my current system. I have a WSXGA+ 1680 1050 screen currently (although the video card sucks). How much of a difference would I see with this ASUS system? Do you think that the improved GPU/CPU specs would out-weigh the reduced resolution, or do I need to determine that on my own? (Since I doubt that I can install a game at Best Buy, I presume that I would only now the answer to this once I buy it.) Is there an easier way to test for this?

Thanks (again) in advance!

 

I have a few questions:
1) Can it drive 22" and 24" LCDs at their highest resolutions?
2) With 64bit Windows, will your old 32-bit application run? Maybe I need to dual-boot with an XP Pro as the second OS.
3) Are Windows XP drivers readily available for download from Asus?
4) Peopel commented on the low-contrast of the LCD? How bad is it? How does it compare to Sony laptops LCD (I have a glossy one)?
5) 8400 vs 8300, 8300 is faster in CPU but 8400's FBS is faster. Which one would you choose CPU vs FBS and why?
6) Were there any deals better than this one ($1,000) that they they may come up again in the near future? I have a 1.66Ghz laptop right now so I can wait!


Thanks,

 

Played around some more with it today at BB. Watched some videos and the screen/rez seemed acceptable. Yeah probably with some tweaking you could make it look pretty sharp I would imagine.

Major question here, and possibly the only thing holding me back.

Can you turn off the silly blinking Lights on the lid?

And less serious, how is the sound volume? I tried everything but could only get the store model to be barely audible over the crowd noise.

 

yes the leds can be turned off, only the ones on the side not the asus logo one.

And as far as the speakers go,,, theyr ok for minor listening but for quality you have to use a headset.

 

Cool, I actually think the asus logo is kinda cool The blinkers were just a bit much. Maybe if they were bright enough to blind people with strobe at the flip of a switch.

I figured sound quality wouldn't be anything special, I was just looking for a little more psychical volume. Thankfully I do have good phones.

Anyway think I might just pull the trigger here.

 

Okay here I go...

First off I do mean side to side is great, colors don't really change at all. Vertically, it's easy to watch the colors become washed out if you look down to the screen too much, and negative black becomes apparent from viewing angles too low. NBR had some decent images on this somewhere... Try this review.

I think you'll definitely notice a difference in terms of screen resolution. I would directly compare 15.6" @ 1366x768 to 15.4" @ 1280x800, in case you've ever seen those. Personally I like the resolution, I think the higher ones are a bit too small for me, but it doesn't do the 9800m gs in here justice. To get a better idea of dpi and all I suggest looking at computers in Best Buy like you mentioned. I came from a 1280x800 on an nvidia 8600m gt, and I have to say it is a hop skip and a jump to this machine. Totally different class of gaming.

1) Given how well this thing performs on 1366x768, I have to say it can DEFINITELY drive multiple monitors.
2) This is my second experience with 64 bit. I switched to 32 bit earlier because of compatibility issues, but this time around it is quite smooth! Everything runs fine and I think 64 bit is maturing.
3) No idea.
4) Contrast and viewing angles are average. If you tweak it with the nvidia control panel you can do wonders to it though. Looks stunning after a minute of tweaks.
5) The P8400 has a 25W TDP, and runs ice cold (28C for me right now). I don't think you'll see much of a difference. Besides, this Asus has utilities to overclock the CPU to 2.5GHz.
6) I don't know. Ask Gophn. He referred me to this machine and I have to say it is amazing.

Sobek covered this but here's me:
Blinking lights: The sides can be turned solid on or off or set to blink in various levels of annoying. The middle two (horizontal line and logo) cannot be turned off.
Sound is not very loud but is nice and crispy. Lacks bass but come on, it's a wooferless notebook.

Do it! If not for all the things above, for the little things like expressgate and the spare hard drive bay. Asus knows how to make a notebook.

 

For a thousand bucks I think I will.

Whats the largest battery you can get for it? How long will it last with minimal draw? And whats a good price?

This will be my first laptop, so I've got a lot of questions, sorry!

 

This thing is a steal at $1000.

 

Battery life sucks. I put my dead Sager's hard drive into the second bay and playing back music i got a little over 1.5hrs. That's with 2 7200rpm drives though.

 

dtd00d - Thanks for the thorough response above.

Steal SERIOUSLY considering this laptop among other options.

 

No problem

Definitely worth it imo. The biggest cons are:
-Low res/low contrast screen
-Mediocre battery life
-Fingerprint magnet.

All the pros completely outweigh any of that, though.

 

just go buy it already for the $999 you cant go wrong... specially if your set on the black color scheme, if not i would say go for the x2 and get the extras.

but if your set on the color schemeand your ok with the specs, at $999 you would have to be dumb not to get it.

 

There is a lot of blue and silver on this machine, too. If you don't like blue, look elsewhere--there are LED's for everything.

 

I went testing at BB last night and liked the laptop.

I did a Photoshop filter test and one filter that I used that usually took 4 second to 7 seconds to finish on 2.0-2.5 GHz laptops took less than a second to finish on this one. Maybe the separate graphic card has something to do with this.

I'm not too bothered by the resolution and couldn't tell if the contrast is lower than other laptops. Compare to most other 15" ones (1280x800), this one still has higher total pixels (25K more). You do lose some vertical space but I will use an external monitor at home.

I don't really like the appearance as it appears too gaming for my taste.

As I read user comments today, I have a few questions:
How does the facial recognition work? Do you sit in front the camera to login in? Does it work well?

What can you use bluetooth for? A few commented that it does not have bluetooth. Other than connecting to printers, I know nothing about it and don't know if it's worthwhile for me.

Thanks the information posted here!

 

the face recognition works well if you do it in the same place and lighting that you intially set it up in.. but if you go to a bright area or a dark area it takes work to get it to recognize your face because of the change in lighting.

Several devices can connect via bluetooth to a laptop, for example bluetooth specific mice, headsets, phones... any peripherals that have bluetooth connection. not a big deal for me because my mouse, headset all connect directly to my laptop.

hope that helps a bit

 

Well I just grabbed this machine yesterday. Did not have much time to play around with it besides updating vista.

So what can I do to make this kitty purr?

Does it need firmware/bios updates?

What vista crap can I turn off and tweak for optimal performance?

Vid car settings?


This is my first laptop and first vista computer.

Thanks guys!

 

You can try and follow this awesome guide:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=179315

I did this and it made my kitty purr....

And if you're planning on plugging it into an AC outlet all the time, I suggest follow this guide:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=91846

 

Thanks for the answers.

How does it compare to Gateway P-7811 FX? It seems similar in specifications. Some refurbished ones were available for $750 a few weeks ago.

A few interesting specs I wonder how G50Vt compare:
1) upgradeable CPU. I guess it is not soldered so you can unplug and replace it with a different one.
2) a space for a second internal HD. This is 17" laptop. I doubt Asus have the space for an extra HD. or is the lower middle space in this picture a space for a second HD?
3) GeForce 9800M GTS. Is it better or worse than GeForce 9800M GS on Asus?

Thanks again for the help.

 

No problem!

1) I don't think the Asus has any solder on the cpu but I don't know.
2) There's actually a second hard drive bay! I put my old 100GB in there. You technically need an enclosure for it but I just stuck some foam and tin foil in there (to dissipate static charge) and it works great!
3) The GTS is only slightly more powerful than the GS (higher clocks: 600MHz vs 530 MHz). It has the same number of stream processors, memory interface, etc.