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

I'm afraid the price of the G50vt-A2 is $1999.00

 

well the A2 will have a blueray dvd drive. I dont need that. I hopeing the A1 will be about 1700.

 

thanks for all the great info on games and resolutions.
can anyone using a 1366 x 768 setting confirm test drive unlimited has 1366x768 resolution support??

 

will have bootleg and test =p

 

THANK YOU!!!
and may i ask, how do you like your computer?
pros/cons?
would you buy it again? recommend a different laptop?

 

Hey guys I took some pictures of the Computer and also of some BenchMarks I have run.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=552&ppuser=0

My Asus Z96J had a 1680X1050(I think 1050) Resolution, and where it was pretty to look at it did make me sit a bit closer to the screen than what I have to on the G50Vt.

 

nice pics thanks +1 rep

especially the closeups of the cooling system

 

Just wondering...
Any hopes ever using DDR3 RAMs in it? Or are the sockets simply different?
Also, how many GBs of RAM is max for DDR2, 4GB?

 

Sockets different, won't work. Not sure about the RAM limitation, people have put 8GB in one or two ASUS models and it worked. Few people can actually use 8GB of RAM effectively, though...

 

Hello there... im new!!
One question about this laptop:

Is anyone experiencing configuration updates when shutting down the lap and when turning it on???
Is there a way to stop this? Spends too munch time to iniciate, and for updates that doesn't exist...

Thx!!!

 

I had this problem. After all update are downloaded and installed and configured, I consistently experience phantom update and configure when there were absolutely no update to be had. It does this everytime I boot up and shut down for no reason. Good luck.

 

Some would think that Asus would learn from their previous mistakes/flaws and fix them... instead of adding new ones...

I really hope that A1 won't have as much problems as the previous models. That would be nice

 

I ran furmark on stock clocks and the GPU temp went to 87 C....

Thats a little high isn't it?

 

nah, its not bad, HP DV5T with 9600M GT has been reported to go over 90C. Just make sure you elevate the back of notebook with a dvd box or a book, try it again, you will see decrease in temperature.

 

87C is perfectly within the normal operating range for a GPU. After all, they are designed to withstand up to 105C

 

note - i dont know how to benchmark or anything like that... not yet.. . .
This is my third laptop, but the previous ones I have were NOT gaming laptops, and they are at least a few years old. I've been primary a desktop person, but had to go mobile for college.



Pros -

-Never had a g50, but i like the direct console, and all the extra lcd customization+ buttons. I'm not sure what hte use in turning off your touchpad though?... i freaked myself out when i turned it off, and didn't notice that you can turn it on.. so i thought my g50vt was broken.

- Seems good for the money, i can't really find a comparable laptop for the price, besides the gatewayfx. Specs are nice, everything runs smoothly.

Two hard drives, nice ram, nice graphics card (despite it being unknown gs or gts or whatever..)


-Quiet fan, not tooo much bloatware, no keyboard delay...
-4 USBS, one on left, on on back, two on the right - perfect for my all around setup =p


Cons -

-notably, the cpu isn't going to be as great as the newer non best buy g50 models... but it sitll does justice for what I need to do.

-BB doesnt have good warranty - only 1 year. The asus global does not apply. However, Howard pointed out that if you pay via American Express you get an extended warranty by AMEX. So I took that deal up.

-Speakers are OK, not super best, but thats why i connect me pc speakers... and its superb.

-resolution kinda is not that great, but to me i didn't care. I just plugged my pc monitor when i get home to get higher resolution.

- its not heavy, but its not light either. For a university setting (for me) this pc is not ideal, but hell, i chug it around anyways!

-Battery life = 2 hours~ Yeah, i'll be having to bring a 2nd 9-cell version that is 33% more longer and better. But overall, i'll be bringing tow batts to school, instead of my charger. Its ok though.. its still a beast laptop.




All in all - i love this laptop so far. . . . I haven't experienced and technical difficulties like howard did... =/


If you are looking for a budget gaming laptop, with great specs, not as heavy (as the gateway) then i'd recommend this ~

if you are NOT in a rush, then maybe wait and see how the A1 and A2 prices out and features, and see how it goes. However you will be paying 300+ more - for a better cpu, resolution, mouse and backpack.
All that - i didn't need - I have my own monitor (even a 36'' lcd samsung which i sometimes use to game LOL), razer copperhead, and my own swiss backpack. cpu ... well its still compareable enough.

As i might have listed a ton of cons, for me, i combated it all by fixing it myself. I treat my laptop as a mobile pc, then when i get home, i hookup my monitor, keyboard, mouse, and speakers - then i got one awesome package.



Gears of war is running smoothly - just have to set performance mode on.

Supreme Commander is working great as well - two games i tried so far.


Going to try crysis this weekend.

 

Thanks for all the info chobhobo! +1 rep

 

my name is suppose to be chobo hobo, haha but its all good.

sorry, i just typed up that thing in likea quick sec..


while programming a java thing for my class at the same time.

 

Did you OC the GPU?

If you didn't OC the GPU 'YET', yes it's pretty high. I have 7811FX and we all know it's running 9800M GTS, peaked at 74C in serious gaming. I am actually looking to OC this GPU and at least update the CPU to X9100 or even Q9100 or QX9300, but if it's already 87C there's not much headroom I've seen.

 

yeah, stock everything, thats why i didnt want to oc yet.

Chobohobo what temps are you getting? can you try 5-10 mins and see what you get under load?

thanks

 

It's a 17" laptop vs a 15" laptop though... So it's kinda expected.

 

I understand, but let's see if it's because there's no perfect thermal paste between the GPU and the heatsink.

Andrewe1, did you have notebook cooler? My results might be a little different if I don't have notebook cooler. Even tho I may turn out to get G50VT, I am not gonna move it back and forth, so I will use notebook cooler all the time.

 

nope, no notebook cooler...

 

Try to elevate the back of the laptop with something...See if it helps. Turn on the GPU-Z and CPU-Z and read the temps once you elevate it with your hand. You should see the difference immediately. I used to have G1S and I see huge difference when I elevate the laptop a little bit already.

 

sorry for being ignorant - how do i check my temps?


my laptop has been running for 7 hours straight now.


High performance mode + Turbo Extreme perfromance..


i dont know how to OC my graphics cards or anything yet..

 

you can use EVEREST to monitor your temps
http://www.lavalys.com/products/overview.php?pid=3&ps=UE&lang=en

 

A few days ago I bought the G50VT-X1 at Best Buy with their service plan. I used my American Express credit card to make the purchase and I did not know my credit card doubles the warranty on purchases. Should I go to Best Buy and get my refund of $378.86 from the service plan?

 

Well, AMEX doesn't double your warranty, instead, they add one additional year on top of your manufacture warranty. If I remember correctly, Best Buy's service plan is for 3 years, and it's their own warranty, not the manufacturer's. Given that BB's Asus warranties are 1 year, and your notebook breaks down within 2 years, you can either go through BB or AMEX to get your notebook fixed/replaced. But after the second year, only BB will honor any warranties.

 

I got the the 2 year accidental service plan from Best Buy. It covers the basic stuff such as repairs and covers accidents. The Best Buy service plans override the manufacters warranty. My service plan ends in October 2010 and I plan on keeping the G50VT-X1 for about a year. The main reasons why I got the service plan is for better resale value for the laptop and new owner transfership. I'm not sure if the AMEX extended warranty allows new owner transferships.

 

I take back what I said in my previous post .... Here's the details you were seeking...

If you purchase an additional service contract or extended warranty with a product which is otherwise eligible under the Buyer's Assurance Plan, and the combined coverage provided by both the original manufacturer’s warranty and the purchased service contract does not exceed five years, then the product is eligible for coverage under the Buyer's Assurance Plan. The Buyer's Assurance Plan will extend the warranty time period and mirror coverage of the original manufacturers' warranty up to one additional year after both the original manufacturer’s warranty and the purchased service contract have expired. If, however, you purchase an American Express® Service Plan with a purchase from American Express Merchandise Services, the Buyer's Assurance Plan will apply before the Service Plan is in effect. If the combined coverage of the original manufacturer’s warranty and the purchased service contract exceeds five years then the product purchased is
not eligible under the Buyer's Assurance Plan and no coverage applies.

AND

The benefits provided under the Buyer’s Assurance Plan apply only to you and additional Cardmembers on your account. Only you and those persons have any legal or equitable right, remedy, or claim to insurance proceeds and/or damages under or arising from the Buyer’s Assurance Plan.

 

thanks for the helpful info.
so did you get to try test drive unlimited in 1366 resolution?

 

What does the 9800M GS Compare to on a desktop.

Ive done a little research and it performs a little below the 8800 GS.

 

I also like to use hardware monitor from cpuid, you leave it running on the background and it saves the Max temp the gpu and cpu got to.

 

Anyone know if you'll be able to slap a different processor like an extreme X9100 in this pup?

 

I am about to go pick one of these up this morning. I hope it goes well....

 

i ran into my first startup issue for the first time.

windows just had trouble loading.. so i just had to reset the laptop..

and it works ok again now. i'll report again if this becomes a repeat issue.

 

I also had a little issue on a windows startup, I saw the vista logo load in then a black screen came, 10 secs later I see the desktop and the little bubble saying that the nvdkklm.sys or whatever saying it had succesfully recovered...

It hasnt happened again and it has not happened in games either, ill keep you guys posted anyways if i run into it again.

 

nvdkklm.sys is an Nvidia Driver file. Problably some problem with the driver and Windows Vista. If it happens again maybe you should try to update the Nvidia drivers.

 

I had two problems this morning with the G50VT-X1. The problems were:
1. The keyboard stopped working.
2. The speakers were making popping sounds.

I took it back to Best Buy to try to exchange it, but they were out of stock on this laptop and they checked other stores in the area and no store had it stock. They offered me, that they will repair the problem, but it take up 2 weeks to repair it and that they have to order parts. I refused the offer and I got a full refund back to my credit card.

 

that sucks man, the problem might be that the laptop is just too new and asus hasn't worked out the problems just yet.

 

Do you have any idea as to the cause of these problems?

 

yeah i'm thinking its a software issue not hardware~

 

If it's software, it can be easily fixed. On the other hand if it's hardware...

 

Well, I have been messing with mine all day and see a couple problems so far. I seem to be stuck in the configuring updates loop that was mentioned earlier in the thread. The last two times I rebooted, it configured updates but I never installed any. It is also not impressive what so ever with my most common online game War Rock. I can get 137+ FPS on high settings and then randomly it will drop to 20-30 and then back up to 137. I see no explanation for it yet. I have adjusted settings in the NVIDIA Control Panel and have played with the Priority/Affinity settings in the Task Manager and haven't found a solution yet.

 

Have you tried updating the Nvidia drivers? I'm guessing that's the problem. Someone else reported having a problem with nvdkklm.sys which is an nvidia driver file. Maybe an update to the nvidia drivers will solve your problem. Let us know if you try it.

 

Are you referring to the Windows update?
Maybe this could help...
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/822798

If you're running XP, then follow this guide
http://windowsitpro.com/article/art...stall-updates-that-are-already-installed.html

As for your frame rates, try and monitor your temperatures when you're gaming. When a GPU gets too hot, it will normally downclock itself to prevent over heating, hence that could explain the drop in fps. Or it could just be that you're playing in a graphically intensive scene during the game.

 

just stressed tested my notebook, 3dmark loop for about 2 hours...temps go to a peak of 89 C, after 3dmark it went down to 56 C...

Can anyone else report their temps please?

 

I tried to update the NVIDIA driver, but there isn't an update that I could find. There is nothing on the Asus webpage.

EDIT: This game is NOT graphics intensive in any way...I used to play it on high settings on a Radeon X1300. I did several ingame tests of the most graphics intensive elements of the game and the lowest i dropped at 90 FPS. Something else is causing the FPS dip.

 

I can confirm that Testdrive Unlimited does support 1366x768 resolution.
Great game btw, I love to sweep the coasts of Hawaii in a thundering car....being chased by the whole policeforce

 

Take a look at this: http://notebookcritic.com/2008/03/26/looking-for-nvidia-notebook-drivers/

It has some interesting info on where you might find up-to-date Nvidia drivers.