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

My CPU must've heard my comment about the thermal compound, because now it's idling at 39C >_>

 

OMG I am so pissed and upset right now.
I bought the Asus G50VT-X1 with NVidia 9600M on January 30th.
First of all, I HATE Bestbuy because their return policy STINKS and take it from me, I work for Walmart customer service and I thought WE were bad!

So anyway, I ADORED my laptop because I was able to play second life with absoluately NO lag and very high end graphics.
I was unaware I'd overclock it because ever since I opened the thing I've been running it at turbo extreme with high performance settings and never had a problem.... that is until today.

I was playing SL, and put my settings back to my turbo, when all of the sudden my screen went completely black and after a few seconds, my laptop shut down.

Ok a crash I thought so I rebooted and as SOON as it loaded, the screen fell black again and this time it stayed that way forever!
The only light that showed up is the quicklaunch light, but pressing that doesn't do anything.

I tried called the bestbuy customer line, they said to take it to the geek squad, so I decided to call my bestbuy store before making a trip there, and they told me to send it back to Asus because it's been past 14 days.

ummm Scuse me? 14 DAYS!?
I paid over a thousand dollars for this (money I can't afford to throw away but luckily it was tax refund time) and they tell me I have to send it back to Asus?

Ok so I hang up (pissed off to no end) and call Asus.
They tell me to remove the battery, remove the power cord and hold in the reset button (took me a few minutes to find the thing), and then put the power cord back in and power it up.

Tried that with no luck.

End of story.... I have to send it back and wait like a month for a new one (dies)

I'm on my husband's Asus right now, I hope HIS doesn't die too.

 

If you wanted Best Buy's help you should have gotten some Geek Squad warranty. At least you still have the ASUS warranty.

EDIT: To anyone who wants to find an X1, It's right here: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...g50vt&lp=2&type=product&cp=1&id=1218012519873

 

Were you monitoring your temps? It sounds like you blew out the card. That wouldn't be covered by any sort of warranty except from Asus themselves, or if you purchased a warranty from Best Buy. Depending on Best Buy's policy, that could be considered accidental damage if it is attributed to heat.

I understand your frustration, but there's a reason why these machines are so cheap-- Best Buy wants you to buy their coverage, for which you have 14 days. I worked at Staples for a while, and sadly this is exactly the reason why they offer only a 14 day grace period for coverage plans.
Replacing a proprietary GPU is far beyond Geek Squad anyway, and they would just send it in to Asus to have the hardware looked at. You're lucky you don't need to pay for parts-- a 9800m is surely a few hundred dollars.

Don't be so upset, things could be much worse!

 

I have a sort of dumb question(what else is new), lets say you get the get a X1 or X5 from BestBuy and want to upgrade the CPU to a faster T or P series, can you still OC it using the Turbo Gear function on the laptop? and if it does work, does it OC at the same level as the stock CPU?(like the same % of OCing, not sure at exactly what % you can OC the stock CPU, lets say 20%, does the newly upgraded CPU OC at 20% also)?
Sorry if I'm not making any sense but I think I just confused myself!
Not sure if this question has been asked but could not find a answer anywhere.

 

I think you can because direct console overclocks the FSB, so the percentage overclocks would be the same.

 

I would say that sounds about right.

 

In terms of Direct Console it just does all the hard work for you and makes overclocking easy, But I would say even with an upgrade it should still work.

 

Just deal with ASUS dont deal with those KIDS they call computer experts @ Best Buy(no offense to those who know what there talking about). I have heard horror stories about Best Buy, save yourself the money and the time.
ASUS seems pretty comitted to taking care of there customers so give em a try.

 

Two things are really pissing me off right now.

1. I can't use edge gestures without the synaptics driver, which incidentally causes keyboard lag. Nor can I use my keyboard shortcuts to disable my touchpad now that I am without the synaptics driver.

2. I cannot play starcraft due to lag apparently caused by realtek sound drivers. Unfortunately I cannot uninstall/install the drivers at all because it keeps saying previous setups need to be finished. WHAT previous setups? There ARE NO PREVIOUS SETUPS. Restarted, safe mode'd, Driver Cleaner'd, all to no avail.

 

My laptop >.> is on crack I think... it shows a DVD RW drive, a CD drive and a HD DVD... happend... idk it just started doing that, first it showed the DVD RW drive and a CD Drive just today that HD DVD drive showed up... How did this happen? and how to fix it >.> This is my second problem (first was the case popped loose somehow... got that fixed though)

 

It's showing 3 optical drives?

Do you have any virtual drive applications (Daemon Tools, UltraISO, Alcohol) installed?

 

Do you guys know if its possible to fit an 3.5" hard drive inside this laptop?

 

No, that isn't possible.

 

Nope no ISO programs on my computers xD

 

That's one of the strangest things I've ever heard. Can't say I know of any other computers that hallucinate extra drives XD

 

whoo , i getting one in less than 7 days, in the post already

 

Yes it is the strangest thing ever.... thats why I said my computer was on crack... xD or Shrooms whatever xD

 

Do games support the 15.6" (1366x768) resolution? It's a bit weird for the G50Vt X1 to have a 15.6" and not a 15.4" screen.

 

Most games made within the last couple years support 16:9 resolutions. Even older games like Halo CE support it.

 

The only bad thing (from reviews) I have heard about the screen is it doesn't have the best viewing angles and the colors seem a little washed out, not sure what screen (LCD panel the X-1 uses ) or if the X-5 uses the same one.

 

What i would like to know is if the peice of film on the backside of the "vent" when removed actually opens up the holes or not?

 

Bout to get this laptop in the next few days, couple questions to the owners:

1. Is the DVI output dual-link? I can't find this specifically in the specs. I plan to get a 28-30inch external monitor and all of these monitors mention that I need a dual link DVI. Also, is performance greatly sacrified for this? I don't play heavy games...only guild wars and WoW really.

2. Can Vista 64 play old school emulators? Hopefully no hangups with something seemingly simple...
RM

 

I remember Vicious made an in-depth post about this.

He said that it would increase overall circulation, but it would cut down on the direct air intake over the hotter components. Kind of like widening a hose, you get more water but the pressure is much less.

In the end, he advised to keep it shut.

EDIT: Found it. http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=291251

 

Thanks for the link i saw it in your other post. Yeah Im gonna take his recomendations (slightly updated) and grab a Zalman NC2000 as well.

 

not sure if i missed this but best buy advertises it as 3 hour battery life and ive seen people state its only 2 hours, is that standard or do you need to buy a bigger battery for it to get the 3 hours?

Also anyone tried playin world of warcraft on it to know how it handles that? or 3d rendering like poser or maya?

 

3 hours is innaccurate frankly.... maybe if you didn't do anything but leave it on or just play with text files.

Remember, battery life is a function of how much you can turn down. If you are just editing a text file you are using less battery than connecting to browse the Internet (because you have to turn on a network interface).

In powersave mode it has about 2+ hours of life with the wireless or ethernet card on and being used. (my most common use would be connecting to servers via terminal server or internet/vpn connections)

The G50vt-X1 is a solid balance of size, gaming oomph, and price... but one of its true downsides is battery life. 2+ hours works for most things honestly, but just realize your limits and bring the power cord. (its not that bad of a power cord either...)

 

I agree. 2+ hours for websurfing with wifi is what I have measured. I have gotten 3 hours typing more or less non-stop at 60+ wpm, but I had to do things like disable all unused devices and turn the screen down to the lowest brightness (this is so dim it is hard to read stuff unless the room is dark).

 

3 hours is a stretch with a 6 cell, but achievable with a 9 cell battery.

 

Hi everyone. I just found this forum while searching google for the G50Vt-X1. I've been looking all over the place for info on whether it supports hardware virtualization.

I would like to ask the members here who own G50Vt series laptops to check to see if it supports VT-x by downloading the Intel Processor Identification utility.

I thank you all in advance.

 

the p8400 does indeed support it.
http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SLB3R

on another note has anyone gotten the atk hotkeys to work on a clean install? i got direct console to work. id love to get my hotkeys back.

 

Hey guys, I just bought this laptop online (thanks to reading all your informative posts and reviews). Best Buy just dropped their price to $899 so I couldn't resist upgrading...especially considering it's the same price as the X5 but has a faster processor.

My question is that when the computer arrives and I start it up what do I need to do to optimize it off the bat? I've heard it runs a little slow until you do that but I may be mistaken. What bloatware do I need to get rid of and what sites should I visit to download some updates or drivers?

Also I need to transfer data off of my old comp to this one. I noticed all the reviews said the eSATA port allowed for fast transfers. What cable do I need to get in order to do this? Will it allow me to transfer directly from computer to computer? Sorry, I only have usb ports on my current laptop and I'm not familiar with anything else.

Any help/suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

Welcome to the forums Scylene

I'd personally uninstall all Asus utilities except for Direct Console, Turbogear and ExpressGate. Everything else is not necessary (especially Norton AntiVirus and Live Update), but you may find some of the programs interesting which wouldn't hurt if kept.

If you want to utilize your eSATA port, you'll need a 2.5" external hard drive enclosure. Check your current hard drive to see if it's an IDE or SATA interface so you can purchase the correct enclosure.
If your current hard drive is an IDE, then you'll probably have to stick with the good ol' USB enclosures like THESE.
If your current hard drive has a SATA interface, then any of THESE will do the trick. All eSATA external enclosures will come with an eSATA cable for you to easily connect it to your new notebook.

 

To get files from my old computer to the new one I just connected both computers to my home network and copied from one to the other.

 

Thanks for the answer (and the welcome!). Am I correct in assuming that the external drive enclosure means I would have to manually remove the hard drive of my old laptop and then attach it to the enclosure? I don't suppose there's any way of just hooking up the computers directly to each other and transferring is there (sorry, sort of a "noob" question I'm sure)? If that's not possible I don't mind going the external enclosure route.

Also, is it recommended to go to the Asus website and download ALL the current drivers/updates? Or are there any I should avoid for some reason?

 

Yes, an external enclosure will require you to take out your current hard drive out of your notebook and placing it in the enclosure. The process is usually only a few screws away and a fairly straight forward process.

You could hook your old notebook to your new notebook directly to transfer files, and the best way to do that is via a cross-over lan cable.

As for the Asus drivers, yes, you should download and install the latest ones with the exception of the graphics driver. Laptopvideo2go.com and Nividia.com will usually have newer/better drivers available.

 

Heya guys.... I (may) have a retarded question. I'm moving back to my old place soon and there will be only dial-up for a internet connection. Now then this model the G50VT-X1 doesn't have a dial up modem in it... Can you put one in it? xD Yeah I pity myself having to live with dial-up... and no there is nothing else available...

 

One of these should do the trick.

http://www.beachaudio.com/Trendware/Tfm-560u-p-44136.html

 

DAMMMMM That laptop looks nice I want a laptop like that

 

Thx David

 

Hey guys, one more question about this laptop.

Concerning volume controls...on my old hp laptop I could be in the middle of a game and just press the volume media control button at the top of the computer to change the volume mid-game. It was extremely convenient for me and is an option I miss.

Now on the Asus I know that by pressing FN + F11 or F12 it will make the volume go higher or lower (since there is no separate media button for it). However when I press these during a game it minimizes my game in order to do so. This seems like a very confusing thing for a "gaming notebook" to do as it sort of impedes your playing -_-.

Is there any way I could change my volume mid-game without having to minimize my whole screen?

 

Does the X1 support 800 DDR2 ram? All the websites i checked only have 667 as installed. If the X1 does support 800 DDR2 ram is it worth upgrading?

 

It comes with 800Mhz ram installed, best buy site is a typo and the only place it was originally sold. No longer produced and as far as I know the outlet item is a refurb anyways.

 

The place that i am buying it from is new but it stats 667mhz not 800mhz. Do you think it's a typo? So the X1 is now discontinued?

 

It was a best buy only model, Best Buy no longer has any in inventory.... think about it?

 

Is there any model that will replace the X1?

 

Well considering the X5 has longer battery life and is pretty much the same laptop minus 100 Mhz for alot less then the X1 originally retailed for.... dont think they really need to.

 

So what is better the X1 with the P8400 or the X5 with the P7450?

I don't think I will be able to overclock it like you.

 

The X1 is better if you plan on having it plugged in a lot, but by a virtually insignificant amount.

Both have a button that automatically overclocks.

 

What is a good chill pad for this laptop? I'm looking for one that fits. This baby gets hot when playing WoW.