ASUS G74SX Owners' Lounge

First off I want to thank all of you for all your helpful posts. I've spent hours finding the info on what to do with my new open box laptop which I got an amazing deal on at bestbuy 805 out the door (742+tax). my old lappie was a gateway fx 6860 but it's gotten really slow and battery lasts 10 minutes only.

Things I've done so far with my superfast awesome stealth fighter/tank lookins asus bbk7

I uninstalled power4gear, asusvibe, expressgate cloud, ms office, trend micro and nuance pdf, asus live update.

I installed Avast and MBAM, spyware blaster and comodo for my security

I installed CCleaner, vlc media player, openoffice, adobe reader X and google chrome.

I followed black vipers tweaks for windows services but my wireless card stopped working so I did system restore and I left a few more services enabled than his tweaked version.

I changed shut down value on regedit to 2000

I did all the windows updates.

I still haven't updated drivers but will do that tomorrow or tonight

I'm planning on doing a clean install of windows 7 but am going on a long trip and won't have time to do it before then. I know of asus poor service support and don't want to deal with driver problems after my clean install during my trip.

My questions if any of you would be so kind to tell me especially my fellow bestbuy version owners are:

1)what else should I uninstall?

2)which services do you have disabled on windows services?

3)How many of you have avast? I'm thinking about uninstalling it and trying MSE? I wasn't really able to get a feel if I should have gone with avira, avast or mse from all the threads so far.

4)what do you guys have on your startup?

5)Any other apps I should install?

6)anything else I should do to speed up this awesome lappie any more.

7) How is the gaming fps without overclocking?

I mainly bought this laptop to play swtor and also to replace my slowing yet fully functional gateway fx 6860. I don't think my fx would handle the swtor without an upgraded cpu. I have a ps3 so I play most of my games on ps3 but intend to play nonps3 games on this laptop.

Eventually I intend to change cpu on fx to t9300 or t9500 and get another battery and charger but the awesome deal I got on this asus will prolong that project.


thanks guys.

 

WOW had no idea that you needed to do all that to a system to get it up to speed. I guess I will have alot to do once I actualluy get to buy the new system LOL

 

Actually, all you really need to do with the Asus stock setup is get rid of a lot (or ALL) of the Asus bloatware....that helps a lot....and update some drivers (maybe the BIOS).

But if you're thinking of doing a clean install, which is the single best way to optimize a Windows system, you can bypass all this stuff. With a clean installation, there's nothing to "undo" like there is with the manufacturer's installation....no mess to clean up. You just start with a clean, mean machine and add your programs. I highly recommend it....especially on the G74, which seems to ship with an inordinate number of old and/or crappy drivers and software-induced issues. Best to just do it at the outset rather than a month later when you're sick of trying to troubleshoot problems in a bloated installation.

If you're new to doing clean Windows installations, sportfiend, let me know and I can help you out with some step-by-step instructions.

 

Honestly, I'd recommend uninstalling ALL of the Asus programs. The only piece of Asus software you need is the ATK driver. The rest is really redundant software (replicates functions in Windows or your other drivers) that consumes resources.

Some people get fanatical and make a mission out of minimizing services. I see no point in that, especially when they pick some arbitrary number they're trying to get down to. Aside from all the services you eliminate by uninstalling the Asus junk, I also like to cut down on all the updating services that run in the background. Seems like most programs these days install their own automatic updaters that lurk in the background and "phone home" frequently to check for software updates. I try to get rid of those. I prefer to check manually, when it's convenient for me.

I don't know anything about that game, but I happened to notice this one post on the ROG Forum this morning. I don't know if this guy's issue was just specific to his setup or whether it's a bigger problem for the G74 in general, but you might want to read up on this just so you're aware of whatever this situation is with SWTOR.

 

Hi exlurker, I'd stay away from avast if I was you. If you want a free av try microsoft security essentials. I also recommend GFI's Vipre but its not free! HTH

 

Thanks and I will take you up on that ... not sure when I am going to get this system now.. was all set to buy and had a family emergency that is going to set my buy date back but I will be reading on this fourm for all the good information..

 

imo, best is to have clean window =D.

 

ok going to show my nubness again ,,, whats the difference between the Asus Local warranty and Global warranty?

 

so i decided to get OCZ ssd and swapwith my current crucial m4 and now i got few questions..

Anyone uses OCZ ssd for their alienware? i installed the ocz drive it shows up in BIOS but doesnt show up in ocz toolbox =(

i think global warranty is when u send it back to taiwan.. lol and local should be from where you bought the machine.

 

Different countries have different laws regarding required warranty coverage and consumer protections. I believe that can define your "local warranty." While the Asus global warranty is the two year limited coverage they provide no matter where you are.

PS: If you read the fine print in their coverage, it's one of those warranties that allows them to exclude just about anything they want. They warrant the hardware, but explicitly state, for example, that they don't "warrant uninterrupted or error-free operation of this product." I read that to mean they they don't guarantee it'll actually work!

Here's the warranty page for the G74.

 

Hi guys, ok I ran pcmark7 on my g74sx and got 1897 pcmarks. When pc magazine ran pcmark7 they got like 2500 on their g74sx, which was the same model I have. My question is in the pcmark resultsw it shows my pc's components correctly but it says the i7 2670qm has 2 cores. Should I be concerned about this? Thanks!

 

Ok I've got a problem with my new g74xs. The intel advanced 6250 wireless card seems really slow. The intel icon on the task bar says wireless device not found. Anybody know how I can fix this? Also, I can buy a bigfoot networks killer 1103 from avadirect for $62 but don't know how hard it is to replace a wifi card. Any help would be appreciated!

 

It's easy to swap the WLAN card, but that's not the problem. You need to check all you settings and set them the same as you used before. (Presumably you were using a laptop that worked well on the same network.)

 

I am thinking about buying the G74sx-DH73-3D

But would like some input first

I am buying this mainly for gaming but will do some programming.

Main concern is should I take the 1500 gig hard drive or change it to 120 ssd intel.

I am prob gonna only install programs and games on laptop and use external hard drive for anything else.

Will ssd last a long time is it worth getting over raid 0 1500 gig hard drive

and last question is there a big difference between windows 7 home and pro

 

The ssd will be so worth it.

Dont know much about the pro win 7 but IMO unless you do lots of corporate work you wont get any benefit from it. Stick with Home Premium.

 

Personally, I find SSDs to be a great upgrade for laptops. They run silent, cool, and consume very little power. They make Windows start-up, shut-down, and wake from sleep/hibernation much faster, and you might notice that programs open faster.as well. For me, those are advantages that make them worth the cost. Some people expect an SSD to make everything blazingly fast...that's not my experience and I think those folks probably end up disappointed.

You mentioned that you'd likely use an external hard drive "for everything else," which I take to mean data storage. If that's really what you meant, and you do use an external drive for routine data access, I think that would more than offset any speed advantage gained by the SSD. If, for whatever reason, this is a normal setup for you, I'm not sure an SSD is a worthwhile upgrade.

The HDD capacity specs are listed as a total for these machines, which is really annoying. To be clear, there's no "1500Gb drive".....rather, you get two 750Gb drives. So you could easily replace one with an SSD and have plenty of secondary hard drive space for data.

Not things that would matter to most people. Win Pro includes an XP mode, Remote Desktop Connection, and a few specialized group/networking functions that are probably most applicable to enterprise environments. You can compare editions on Microsoft's Windows site.

 

Hi BrodyBoy, actually my old laptop has the same intel card. I haven't changed any of its settings, except on the old laptop i uninstalled the 4g wireless connection software that comes with the intel card, figuring I'd never use the 4g option. Do you think that might make a difference? Thanks!

 

Well, here are the troubleshooting steps I'd try:

1. Make sure you're using the latest Intel driver. I believe it's version 14.2.0.10.
2. Open the Properties dialogue for the Intel card and check these basic settings. Several of these are the default settings, so you shouldn't find any surprises.

• 802.11n Channel Width for band 2.4: Auto
• 802.11n Channel Width for band 5.2: Auto
• 802.11n Channel Mode: Enabled
• Ad Hoc Qos Mode: WMM Enabled
• Fat Channel Intolerant: Disabled
• Preferred Band: Prefer 2.4GHz band
• Wireless Mode: 802.11g

I always turn off "Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6)" in the Wireless Network Connection Properties box, as well, though that shouldn't really be necessary.

In the Properties box for your specific wireless network, I've found that "Connect even if the network is not broadcasting its name" can sometimes make a difference.....I don't know why it. And finally, if you have a bunch of different wireless networks that you use, go to Network & Sharing Center and make sure that your home network is at the top of the list.

It's often helpful to go to your router's log and see whether errors or disconnect events are being recorded. There can provide explanatory information.

 

brodyboy, how do i check if i have sata 6.0 drivers installed? i read up somewhere that not just having the ports to support 6.0 ( now that i know g74sx mb supports it and transfer at 6.0 speed) i also need the sata 6.0 drivers.

im thinking of maybe i got the 3.0 drivers instead of 6.0 cause in HD tune my SSD reads only max ~300 mb/s where it should have been ~500 mb/s. how to check or where to dl the drivers? anyone know?

 

I believe they're included in the Intel Series 6 chipset driver package. I've not installed anything other than the Intel chipset driver and the SSD is recognized as SATA 3, with a theoretical maximum transfer rate of 600Mbps.

EDIT: I take that back. I also have the Intel RST driver installed.

 

apparently hd tune reads ~300 where as ATTO reads ~ 450 ish, which sounds more about right. however i still unable to figure out if my ssd is functioning at sata6.0 speed or 3.0 speed

 

OK, in fact to get Insert you need the Fn key combination (as with Asus special keys as Suspend = Fn-F1, Wi-Fi = Fn-F2 etc...), and not with the Shift key. So it is correct that the Insert label is under the Delete label. By using Fn, there is no conflict with other shift states like Shift, Alt etc...

So to get Insert you must press Fn-Insert.
To get Shift-Insert you must press Shift-Fn-Insert.
To get Alt-Insert you must press Alt-Fn-Insert.
To get Shift-Delete you simply press Shift-Delete.
To get Alt-Delete you simply press Alt-Delete.


It is less convenient, but there is no more need to use keyboard remapper like KeyTweak.

 

Hi BrodyBoy, I fixed my wireless issue. Under the network properties it showed wireless, wireless 1, wireless 2 and wireless 3 and for some reason wireless 3 was set to unidentifiedv network. As soon as I got rid of that I was getting 1700-2000kbps. I do have a question though. Periodically I hear a beep, almost like the user account control beep, but nothing is going on with my system. Do you know what could be causing this? Thanks!

 

Glad you resolved the wireless issue.

A beep? The kind of BIOS-type beep that you hear when you first turn on a computer? I don't think I know a user-account control beep....is there another event where I've probably heard it?

You could note the time right when it happens, then go look at Event Viewer to see what was happening then.

 

Could be the Intel My Wifi thing.

 

Hi BrodyBoy, this beep which sounds kind of distorted seems to happen like every 5-7 minutes. Its not really annoying just kind of odd. I disabled the thx true studio software to see if that was causing it but it seemed to make no difference. I'll look at the event log tonight after it happens and let you know. I'm almost tempted to take this g74 back, I've had it for 5 days and haven't done much with it but it seems slower than my old junky samsung rc512. And some of the keys stick on the keyboard, so I'm wondering if I got a lemon!

 

What Intel wi-fi thing? Mine doesn't issue any beeps....

I'll be blunt: I've seen enough people now experiencing out-of-box issues with this computer that I'm convinced that the Asus installation is simply crap. The drivers are old and there's too much bad bloatware.....it's not an efficient or reliable set-up.

Before returning the computer, I recommend you at least try a clean installation on it. It's not hard to do, and I can send you some step-by-step directions if you need them. On the other hand, if you are the kind of user who likes manufacturers' installations and just wants one that works well, I can understand why you might not want this one. The computer itself is pretty good....the Asus installation is not.

 

Hi BrodyBoy, I was going to buy an ssd for my g74, do you think if i get an ssd and put a clean install of windows on it my little annoyances and the pc's slowness will be gone? I like the intel 510 series 250gb and crucial m4 256gb drives, do you have any experience with either of these? Thanks!

 

Yes, I definitely think it would run better. I think, in fact, that's the ideal set-up on a G74SX! I have an Intel SSD in the laptop I'm typing on right now (an Asus N73), and a Crucial SSD in the G74. Both of these drives are almost a year old, so they are previous generation, but I've never had any problems at all with them. (The Crucial did temporary duty in another machine until it went into the G74 recently.) I've been happy with both brands, and I wouldn't hesitate to buy them again or recommend them.

 

I got my g74sx and am very happy with its performance, build quality and 3d screen.

There is an issue that is making me seriously consider sending it back though. Why in gods name would they put this sentelic touchpad trash in a 2000$ laptop.

Using a broken touchpad is one of the most frustrating things in the world. The s even provided a locked down driver that does not allow any gesture customization.

No left+right middle click, no usable scrolling, just a pile of garbage under my keyboard.

Why would they do this? Most of the time I am using a separate mouse but literally nothing is more frustrating than being held back by a glitchy pile of . Ever tried playing an RTS on a touchpad? Its like that.

I'm downloading all the drivers I can find in hope that one isn't complete trash but I'm not particularly confident.

 

If disliking the drivers is your only complaint about the touchpad, consider yourself lucky! (The G73-G74 touchpad hardware woes are well-documented elsewhere, if you're ever interested.)

There are only about three Sentelic drivers for the G74. They don't differ all that much, and none mimic the functionality you're probably used to from using a Synaptics TP. Personally, I prefer 9.1.3.5 because I like the way it handles inadvertent contact better than the "Smartsense" approach in version 9.1.7.7. But it's just personal preference.

If it helps at all, you'll get used to it over time. Yes, the scrolling functions are completely different from how you've done it before, and no, you can't customize a few things you really want to customize...but you do get used to it.

PS: What gestures do you want to customize? Sometimes there are workarounds that help.

 

Hi guys I'm seriously considering getting the g74sx-xr1 and I have one request... Is it possible for the op or admins of this thread to aggregate or categorize all things related to the g74 to better navigate and assess what you need...ie. LCD topic, keyboard topic, drivers topic etc etc? Or isthat too much to ask?

 

Hi BrodyBoy, thanks for your oppinion on the ssd's. Now my speakers are getting buzzy so I think i'll be exchanging this g74 for another one. In the mean time I'm going to order an ssd for it. Thanks again!

 

This is a public forum.....so people freely discuss all sorts of topics in all sorts of locations. Lots of information gets shared in these places...that's the great part...but it's an ongoing conversation, so it can be rather scattered and disorganized....that's the not-so-great part. But the benefits outweigh the annoyance, for most of us. There's no way to move things around and aggregate them for you.

There are usually people on these kinds of forums that'll answer questions when you can't find what you need.

 

cool thanks for the info... if anything after i get a g74sx i'll make a post and aggregate all the info possible

 

There's really not much point in that, to be honest. The information changes constantly as things get updated and information comes out. If you look at similar efforts (on the ROG forum, for example), they always end up becoming just another long thread with a lot of current, old, ongoing, and changing information.

Your best bet is to simply find those few locations where the most current information tends to congregate. There may be a hundred different places where you see G74 information (drivers, troubleshooting, what have you....), but really only about 3-4 places where you'll reliably find the latest information.

For current driver information, your best bet right now is a " New Drivers" thread on the ROG forum. So long as JR chooses to keep it updated, you'll find links for the most recent G74 drivers there. But it, too, has morphed into a broader platform.....with other info and optional program downloads creeping in, etc., so you need to read the ongoing conversation to get actual information about the available downloads, what they're for, and whether you really need them.

 

Hi guys, well I exchanged my g74sx and what a difference! Before it was slow, the speakers were buzzy, and I kept hearing a beep every few minutes. Now with the new one my speakers sound a lot better! And I ran pcmark7 on my new g74sx and got 2598 pcmarks, the one i returned only got 1890! The only thing i'm concerned about is that pcmark7 says my processor is running at 2740 mhz, its supposed to run at 2.2ghz. Do you think this means there could be a problem with the processor? Also, one other good thing with my new g74sx is the wireless speeds are better than before! Thanks!

 

Your processor is fine, it is just using the Intel feature Turbo Boost; it ramps up the CPU speed when you need it most!

 

I am now part of the family Phase 2

Products
1x ASUS G74SX-DH73-3D
- Microsoft Office Software: No Office Software
- OS Redline Boost: No Operating System Redline Boost
- XOTIC PC Redline Boost™ Extreme Performance: No Thanks, Please do not Overclock my system
- Notebook Cooler: No Notebook Cooler
- Mouse / Keyboard Accessories: Asus G Series Gaming Mouse
- Headsets: None
- Fingerprint Reader: No Fingerprint Reader
- Port Replicator / Dock / Adapters: No Dock/Hub/Adapter
- Spare AC Adapter: None Standard*
- Car Adapter: No Car Adapter
- Battery: Smart Li-ion Battery (8-Cell)
- Case: Asus G Series Matching Backpack made by Targus
- Sound Card: Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- TV Tuner: No TV Tuner
- Camera: Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- Wireless Network Accessories: No Network Accessory
- Wireless Network: Built-in 802.11 Wireless B/G/N - Stock Wireless Card + Bluetooth (SKU - X8R002)
- Bluetooth: Bluetooth Included (See “Wireless Network” Section Below)
- Back Up Software: No Back Up Software
- Memory Card Reader: Internal 8-in-1 Card Reader: MMC/SD/Mini-SD/XD/Memory Stick/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo
- Floppy Drive: No Floppy Drive
- External USB Optical Drive: NO External USB Optical Drive
- External Hard Drive (Back Up): External Aluminum USB 3.0 750GB 7200RPM 2.5" SATA Hard Drive - On Sale!
- Optical Drive Bay Hard Drive Caddy: No Extra Optical Bay Hard Drive Caddy
- Optical Drive Bay: 4X Blu-Ray Reader / 8X DVDRW/CDRW Super Multi Combo Drive (SKU - X7R501)
- Second Hard Drive: REMOVE Second Hard Drive (SKU - X6R952)
- Primary Hard Drive: 120GB Intel 510 Series Solid State Drive (Up to Sequential Read 470MB/s - Write 315MB/s SSD2 Serial-ATA III) (SKU - X5R051)
- XOTICFX Backlit Keyboard: Cobalt Blue Backlit Keyboard Modification
- ASUS G Series Afterburner™ FX: No Afterburner Light Package (Afterburner light package will add 2-5 business days to production time)
- Exterior Finish: Standard Finish
- Ram: 16GB DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (4x4GB SODIMMS) (SKU - X4N382)
- External Display Video Adapters: No Video Adapter
- Graphics Video Card: nVidia GeForce GTX 560M 3,072MB PCI-Express GDDR5 DX11 (SKU - X3R602)
- Thermal Compound: Stock OEM Thermal Compound ( IC Diamond Thermal Compound - CPU + GPU Provided FREE with Processor Upgrade!)
- Processor: 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2670QM, 2.2-3.1GHz, (32nm, 6MB L3 cache) (SKU - X2N220)
- Dead Pixel Warranty: ASUS Zero Bright Dot (ZBD) 30 Day Pixel Guarantee - (Included on ASUS Standard NON-Upgraded Displays)
- nVIDIA Wireless 3D Vision Glasses (For 3D Screens): No Spare 3D Glasses
- Monitor Calibration: NO Professional Monitor Color Calibration
- Display: 17.3" FHD 16:9 "Matte Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright LED Screen (1920x1080) 120Hz 3D Ready w/ 3D Vision Glasses (SKU - X1R554)
- Current Promotion: Automatically Qualified for a Chance to Win 1 of 5 FREE Xbox 360s with any Laptop Purchase! (no purchase necessary to qualify)
- Free Shipping: FREE!! UPS GROUND SHIPPING (Use Coupon Code "FREESHIP" in Checkout - U.S. Only, Not Available to Alaska and Hawaii)
- Xotic Gear: No Xotic PC Gear
- Warranty: 2 Year ASUS GLOBAL OEM Warranty 24/7 Support / 1 Year North America (N.A.) Accidental Coverage (Accidental Requires Registration) (SKU - A9R102)
- Software Bundle (Not Installed): No Software Bundle
- System Recovery Backup Disks: No thanks, do not create backup recovery DVD's
- Operating System - Clean Installation Option: Keep factory installed operating system
- Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit Pre-Installed + Drivers & Utilities Disk

The 120 hz sold me or else I woulda got Msi w/570m

 

Congrats on your new computer.

(It's not necessary to post your invoice here. G74SX owners are already familiar with this laptop's specs. )

 

Hi FahrenheitGTI, thanks for the info. It just kind of startled me that turbo boost would automatically kick in during benchmarking. Thanks!

 

I'm sure this may have been asked before but I'll just ask anyways. What software does the G74 use for burning Blu-Ray disks? Is there a specific one they use? I'm trying to help a friend recover his computer, he got that one nasty virus that appears as an Anti-Virus software and the only way I know to get rid of it is to wipe the drive completely and reinstall the OS. Well, he lost the driver disk and he was hounding me about Blu-Ray burner software that he had with it. So is there a specific software that ASUS uses for Blu-Ray burners and movies?

 

I'm not sure it has been asked before! Most G74SX configurations include a DVD or BD player, not a BD burner, so most owners wouldn't have that software, if Asus even includes it in the first place.

For BD playback, they include a program called Cineplayer. I never checked, but I don't expect that it can also burn BDs, since it's a pretty basic media player program.

 

okay so i tried to read and find out about if its posible to display 3D out on a 120Hz display with the best buy model....and i coudln't find an answer, can someone confirm that you can play 3D games on a 120Hz monitor through HDMI out with the best buy model? THANKS!

 

What hard drive does G74SX-DH73 have? I read that it has 2 x 750GB 7,200rpm SATA II 3GB/s HDD. But what brand is it and what is the model number. Also, how long is the battery backup? Thanks in advance for any reply

 

The specs you cite are correct, but you will not know the brand of the hard drives until you get your computer. Asus installs Seagate and Western Digital drives interchangeably (in pairs), so you'll get one or the other of those.

Battery life varies considerably depending on how the computer is being used. Maybe some other users can weigh in on what they get under their specific circumstances.

 

Hi, ok I've got a question. Anybody know how I can keep asus live update from loading every time i boot my g74? I don't find it in msconfig or services.msc, of course i can always right-click the task bar icon and hit exit but would rather not do this every time. Thanks!

 

I just ordered mine today i'm so exciting just can't wait and test 3D out

 

Uninstall that program. It's bad, invasive software, and it doesn't even link to the most current driver updates. It's worthless.

When you do you clean install, there's a lot of Asus bloatware you should just avoid putting on your machine....Live Update is a prime example.

 

I checked out their website and they don't list the Cineplayer...can I find that for free somewhere? Would cnet have it?