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

HP is always a good buy, but I still think that the ASUS is the better value.

The ASUS throws 4GB of dual channel ram at you, while the HP only has 3GB. When running 64-bit Vista, you need all that you can get.

The ASUS also has a 7400rpm HDD (The HP is only 5400RPM, which makes a difference when using any software that searches for files (games)), with a bay to add another hard drive and actually RAID laptop hard drives.

Plus, the ASUS has the better GPU, which you're already aware of.

But HP makes great PC's.

 

if im not mistaken i think BOTH run DDR2 memory???

 

Has anyone that has purchased this laptop experienced any frame rate issues? In WoW it was running about 50fps in Shat and soloing but in a raid encounter it was dropping to 5fps. Has anyone seen similar behavior in WoW or other games?

 

My bad...I didn't know that DDR2 = Dual Channel.

So yeah, the only cons to the HP is that is has a slower Hard Drive and lower level GPU compared to the ASUS.

 

Just update your VGA driver. It's available in the ASUS website. That should solve the problem.

 

I'm not too familiar with hard drives. My father is a nut over it though as his desktop has the WD 10K RPM drive.

The way I see it, a faster hd drive is a good deal, however if you're not concerned with waiting longer to load a level, start a game, access files, etc, does it affect normal in game and in application functions?

 

Whats the best driver for this card? anyone tested out yet?

 

Some notes. 4GB aren't really a requirement to efficiently run Vista and some gaming. 3GB will do I believe.

Also, 7200RPM isn't always much faster than 5400RPM. Sometimes, due to higher data density, a larger-capacity 5400RPM will have comparable speed to a lower-capacity 7200RPM.

+ dual channel is not much to worry about in a notebook. Minimal performance increase, by what I've heard.

 

I appreciate all of you who has offered me advises, The Sony Vaio SR 290 priced at 1549 was recently reduced to 1349 yesterday. This mornin I saw techbargains web site that provided another 200 off for Sony SR laptop online. Since economy pretty bad, I called up a newly opened sonystyle store beside me and spoke w/manager and said if she was willing to match the online offer I'll be right there. After putting me on hold for 5 mins, she agreed. I have a new sony SR 290

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665507477

This one for 1149 plus tax WITH 18 month no payment no interest financing!!!!! now gotta go cancel the G50 order at bestbuy

 

months of waiting rewarded me with $400 off a fully loaded!

 

Good point about the ram.

The 320GB 7200RPM HDD has to be faster than a 250GB 5400RPM HDD though...

 

Congrats, thats a great deal! the specs are amazing for a 13" inch!

 

yeah, mine is lower capacity >.< and lower speed >.< . but i dont have much of a need for space. i have used 80 gigs on my old laptop for a while now. using 60 and most of it is photo albums and some movies.

its going to be a MAJOR nuisance transferring from the mac to windows, i can just see it now.
for instance this mac has the older firewire and im pretty sure anything out there has the newer firewire >.< . i'd rather go to the movies 10 times than spend the same money on an adapter and cable.

i'm wondering if there is a major foreseeable difference in 1080p and 720p in 15-16 inch laptops, considering large hdtvs are 1080p i dont think there is much in laptops.
plus... how often do you run 1080p max resolution in playing games, when you're playing for hours and not frying it?

 

Got this laptop sunday on the sale. Awesome laptop i Love it a lot. Played TF2 and BF2 and ran very smoothly on all high settings. I recommend this to anyone.

 

whats the name of the games again, in long form..lol..thanks for understanding

 

I believe it's Team Fortress 2 (TF2) and Battlefield 2 (BF2)

 

lol im having the same problem as that other guy the chinese words on top how can i change that?

EDIT: NVM　ｉ　ｇｏｔ　ｉｔ　ｈａｈａ

 

ok..so I picked up the Asus G50vt-x1 for my son today, on sale,whoohooo..thank you all for the imput, you made a hard decision much easier..now if I can only remember all the stuff I need to do to get it ready before I give the laptop to him..lol..off question: Does anyone know if I will need to Buy new WOW disks or do I just use the ones I already have?

 

WoW = World of Warcraft I assume?

If so, no need to buy new disks. You already have an account associated with the software, so it won't even ask you for the key's again, it'll just ask you to log in after you use the CD's to download the game.

You can also download the game from Blizzard's website, but that takes longer.

 

Well thats good news..shew!

I found one not so good thing about buying from best buy..the laptops from there are not covered by Asus 360 2 year warranty, a deal they made with Asus..you just get the one year manufacturers warranty..oh well to late now..I really like the laptop anyway.. note to Self "Do not Throw Laptop"...lol..

 

Yeah, that does suck, but I've found in the past that laptops (among other things) rarely stop working down the road. It does happen, but usually you notice problems with computers right away

For the price though, it would be worth it to take a gamble, and have it repaired by a local computer tech. if it does end up breaking (usually motherboard in laptops).

 

I've heard the processor bumps 5 and then 10% in the extreme turbo mode (thats when the fan comes on ). Are they using the same processor in the original G50 and did they just slow it down to make it quiet?

CPUID seems to indicate the above is true but?

Also, has anyone found the regular windows touchpad driver to be okay? I am having a bit of trouble with lag even the the keyboard setting is set to max...

thanks for your time...

jhv

p.s. it was the older macbook (w/o the graphics card).

 

LoL yeah... Just tell your son to take good care of it.

IMO, warranty is only good in the first month of the laptop where you find factory defects and stuff. After that, it's all about how the user takes care of it.

 

Does sound come out of the hdmi aswell?

 

Yup sound through HDMI works great

 

In regards to the second hard drive, does the caddy/cradle come with the system? If not, where (URL) would one get it from? I've looked on ASUS's site and can't find info on that. I'm quite interested in this system - would love to get RAID 0 implemented on Vista and Linux on a 15" lappy.

 

Another question: Can you purchase an extended warranty directly from ASUS on this bad boy?

 

You know my only qualm? The black and orange color scheme looks about a hundred times as sexy as the silver. The lid on the online-order ones also looks much better than the pattern on this version, although this pattern doesn't look as tacky in person as it does in pics. Trust me. Still...haha.

 

The suggested fix for keyboard lagging/skipping from ASUS is:

"Please update direct console2 V2.0.5 and ATK hotkey V1.0.0042."

Source was ASUS FAQ: 11/07/08.

 

I really don't think the pics online do this model justice..when its on, its all lit up and pretty , I mean cool for you guys..lol..I will try and get a pic of the lid to show what I mean, unless someone has already beat me to it?

 

I called Asus and they said no

 

I'm interested too. I would love to Raid 0 a pair of 7200rpm laptop hard drives. I would imagine that it would be very fast, as far as HDD speed goes.

 

Thanks for helping!

 

I think it would, too. Just need to make frequent backups to another device. Not sure how S.M.A.R.T. plays into the RAID 0 scheme..

 

I know, I saw it in BB the other day. It was sexy. Haha. I just think I'd rather have the orange/black one. I've always been a more high-contrast kind of guy. Haha. Yes, the NP597x was pretty amazing for me until I realized that my ASUS G2S, and therefore, most 17-inchers are very cumbersome.

 

LOL..I think Im in love..I have been updating the Asus this morning, while kiddo is at school,getting ready for the big day.. I have to say Im pretty jealouse, maybe I'll just give the kid my PC and keep the laptop for myself..lol..if only I could be so mean..guess Ill have to admire from afar:wub: ..lol

 

ok just bought the laptop a lil while back and i love it..battery dies a lil faster than i had hoped for a laptop but its understandable..also does anyone know if we can configure the lil display next to the buttons on top..like where u can show msn messages and mail and stuff?..maybe configure it to check a certain email or something?

 

ok I got an g50vt and have a problem. The laptop will not go to 1gig on my home network. I have it plugged into the same network cable that my old asus was on that was able to see my gigabit switch but this laptop will only stay at 100meg. Anyone know of a fix for this?

Edit I got it to work. I had to reset all my network equipment. I should have done that first

 

Are there any new benchmarks for this comp/processor?

I searched through the thread and across the net... Other than the decent review on computershopper.com with some benchmarking and Howard's benchmarking, all I seem to find is "runs crysis smoothly" or the like.

Nobody has any hard data, i.e. 'FPS on Crysis native reso settings high'?
Thanks for the help! I have searched around I promise!

 

in regards to Raid 0 and expresscard remotes:

I had asked tech report about Raid 0 and how I was told that expressgate had problems. A 60Gb Patriot SSD did not seem to run very quick so I also was thinking of how cheap a 2nd 320Gb drive would be...
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Hello John,

We have not tested that configuartion due to the fact we only ship our units in a non raided configuration due to the fact the performance gains are generally not noticeable and also consumes much more battery life. If you are going to attempt a raid configuration and then install your os you can then attempt to reinstall the expressgate software and see if it provides that functionality.

Hopefully the information and links I have provided help resolve your issues or have awnsered your questions or clarified things for you. Thank You for contacting asus notebook technical support and for using asus for your computing needs. Additionally if you have any other questions please feel free to call in at 1-888-678-3688 option 3 then option 2.

With Regards,

Juan Jose Guerrero III
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I was really impressed by the speed of response.

BTY if any of you would like a cheap controller that fits right into the expresscard slot (you can used the enclosed receiver for your desktop as the included IR receiver works great). Take a look at Geeks.com for an inexpensive ($14.95) remote that is completely Media Center friendly!
Now if I could find a good tuner?

enjoy,
jv

 

When do you guys think that the price will raise again?

 

According to the Best Buy flyer, Saturday, November 15th is the last day of the sale. It might drop again before the holiday season though.

 

anyone looking for a quick fix for bluetooth? I purchased an IO gear USB bluetooth adapter for < $15; Model GBU421. Placed in the left side, it sticks out about 1/4" so I never have to remove it. Kensington; Model K33902US is about the same size and can be had around the same price. Check Amazon for a good price.

I ran across a deal at Kensingtons web site for the Pilotmouse mini-bluetooth. It was being blown out at $14.99

P.S. someone was talking about an update to DirectConsole. I could'nt find it on the site. Can anyone direct me?

thanks for your time,

jhv

 

I couldn't help it and I had to get one! the price was just too much of a temptation.

I hope I can get home soon to try it out... meanwhile Im stuck at work!

 

I just bought one of these for myself on my birthday a few days ago. So far so good, I play crysis on it alot and it runs really well. Anyway I just found this forum right now and just wanted to say hi.

Just right now though I finished partitioning it. The dual partition it had was something I simply didnt like. I use an external HD so I use that as my secondary storage space.

 

Now remember, if you can respond to this, that I only understand about 70% of what people have written in this forum..lol..maybe abit more..LOve the new pooter..getting it set up and ready to give to my son for a present..I downloaded WOW, and all expansions (that also seem to fix the adobe flash problem I was having,saying it wasn't supported,guessing because of the 64 bit)..I know there are adjustments yall have talked about to make this laptop run better..first, I cannot get the volume "keys" to work (DOh!) and when I first start playing WOW i notice a lag and crackling in the speakers ( it does stop after a minute)..Any thoughts?

I love the way the game looks, so much nicer than on my pc..good thing I love that kid and that he does so well in school..lol..

 

Hi all,

First post here. Stumbled on this forum because I just bought this laptop on sale at BB yesterday. I saw some earlier posts, but I wasn't clear on something. I want to dual boot into XP if at all possible (the wife doesn't easily adapt to new software, and I'd end up having to answer questions all day long if it only has Vista on it). Has anyone been able to do this with this laptop? If so, please let me know how you did it. I haven't tried installing XP yet because I can't find any XP 32-bit drivers for the 9800m GS (or some of the other hardware). Please help!

Thanks!

 

I'm not sure if the motherboard supports xp (or rather if xp supports the motherboard). You should probably contact asus customer service, and they will let you know.

 

Yes you can run XP on it. I don't have 25 posts yet so I can't post URL...

1. Search for "Asus G50V 9700M GT Review, Benchmark and games"
2. Click on first hit.
3. Go down to the section "Windows XP"
4. Read on

 

Hello,

I'm really hoping this PC is still around in January. I just lost my Toshiba laptop and after reading through this thread I'm impressed! So, think it will be?