ASUS N71JQ Owners Lounge

I think we have to be patient for some time and wait for ASUS to find the cuase behind this problem.

I am working with Ken Lee from Gentech PC.
I am reporting all the results from different testing that you report here to him.
He is forwarding them to ASUS.

It seems the problem is quite complicated.
Like PaulW, the person who is testing it on the ASUS side seems not to get this problem on his machine where as a majority of us have it.

It seems some of the machines don't have it.

I am sure a solution will be available soon.

If you have done any testing with different bioses v204, v205, v206 and you think the results could be useful in the analysis of this problem please post them here and Ken will collect them and report them to ASUS .

 

I have Asus n71jq and have problems with it. When I use integrated webcam in skype or msn messenger I get very low FPS like slideshow. Does anybody else have such problem? Would be glad if anybody could help me.

 

Sorry man don't have it. Try updating the device driver. If you do, make sure to use the right one, because not every N71JQ has the same camera.

Check here which one you have:
ASUSTeK Computer Inc. -Support- FAQ FAQ How to choose the right version before installing driver for the integrated video camera

Mine is a Sonix (VID_13D3) which is actually not on that list there.

 

Unlucky dude, I guess having a TY002X is no guarantee..

 

Lol obviously, silly question

 

OK latest test results are in.

Bios v206 basically worked like v205 for me:

No 2200 rpm mode and constant switching between 100-3300 rpm at idle. 4000 rpm kicks in at 72C GPU opposed to at 75C CPU in bios v204.

I was able to get GPU and CPU temp up to around 80C in Furmark. I think this is because of environmental conditions; now I'm sitting in a office with windows shut (no airflow) and a temperature of about 22C. Before I had the window open, which usually cools down the room quite a bit here in Scotland and more airflow. Bios v204 basically gives the same result with Furmark. With this room temp it is switching every 30s between 2200-3300 (period about one minute) at idle.

One thing I think stands out is that the CPU is always 10 degrees hotter than the GPU during heavy CPU work, while during heavy GPU work the CPU is always 2 degrees hotter than the GPU. I never have GPU that is much hotter than the CPU, like reaching 90C with user FixitMan. Sound like maybe an issue with the heat transport from the GPU?

 

Mine webcam on Asus N71jq is Sonix (VID_13D3). Where could I get new drivers for this webcam becouse my cam is slow in FPS so I see slideshow. Does anybody know? Please.

 

Search the web.

Seems like you have the same webcam as I have (driver version 5.8.54?), so maybe it's something else...

 

Here you go, the N71Vn and N71Jq disassembly guide and make sure you already registered the accidental damaged warranty :

http://www.gentechpc.com/Asus/N71VN Series Chapter 02-v1.0.pdf

 

Thanks Ken for the manual.

I wish you all luck while taking the notebook apart.

 

Actually, it isn't that hard. You just have to be careful and think about what you are doing.

The question is does this void the warranty? I have always herd that it does, unless you are a factory authorized technician.

The service manual is a valuable thing to have when the warranty does run out.

Thanks Ken

Dave

 

If you are careful when taking it apart, then there is no way that ASUS can void your warranty as they will never know that you ever opened the machine.

I have done it on more than one notebook including the N71JQ.
I have the manual from Ken since February.

Of course if you break something then they will surely know.
If you break the "Warranty Void" sticker on the CPU heatsink then they will also know.

 

I have a question for Ken at Gentech. Have you heard or can you find out if there are any plans for a higher capacity battery for the n71?

 

thank you soooooowww much... really this is wat i call being a nice person... any time you come to portugal i will pay you a nice good portugese beer

thanks Turbogear for the help also...

the disassembly is really easy for some one on my level of skill (i am a bit familiar with laptop disassembly, becous i am a IT) and i can nearlly say that i can apply Thermal Past without breaking the waranty seal (heat is a really good freand )


m8's thansk for every thing

Bguards from portugal

 

No I have not heard they are going to release higher capacity battery, they usually don't add new accessories or features after the product been released.

 

Well I for one would like a little more battery life from this laptop but I guess it is what it is. Thank you Ken for the quick response you have been a great help to all of us here in this forum.

 

Hi guys,
I got an N71 from Costco about a week back and am so far overall very pleased with it both for work and entertainment (beats the crap outta the 5yr old desktop i assembled on a budget of $700 and was using up till now anyway lol)
I was following this topic for a while now both to help me decide which model to get and for tips with it after i got it so thanks to you all for all the info!

There are however a few (minor) issues and I was wondering if they are fixable:

1) The keyboard apparently only registers 2 keys simultaneously in some applications, or doesn't register certain keys together (the combination I'm having problems with is Z + SHIFT + X (registers z and shift, refuses to notice me pressing the x till i release one of the other two)) and I was wondering if its software limitations or if its hardware (or just a problem with my machine) (not much of a problem for work, so no biggie, just annoying when playing my favorite little timekiller...). I did have it work fine on both my desktop and a friends 1.5-year old, midrange dell laptop so i was thinking software since a 2 key limit on a modern $1K+ machine seems a bit low...

2)While there doesn't seem to be any sound interference from the ac powerline being plugged in, there is some from hdd activity, but once again only audible when nothing is playing. Was wondering if there is any non warranty voiding procedures i can try. Again an almost negligible problem, was just curious.

3)There is an odd buzzing sound coming from the bottom right area (under palmrest) once in a while (i notice it once or twice a day, but that might be because i have had headphones on most of the time). I was guessing it was one of the hdds (especially after reading the comments about the seagate drives here) but the sound doesnt correlate with hdd activity much. The sound is something like the one of those long flourescent tube lamps and pressing down on that (bottom right) area of the pamrest while its emitting that noise usually quietens or stops it temporarily, however, once pressure is removed the sound resumes and then stops on its own in less than a minute. Any thoughts?

4)I also now have the fan cycling issue (seemed ok for the first 3 days then started doing it), looking forward to a solution, but not desperate for it since It's not causing me any noticeable problems yet and is usually quieter than the ambient noise level anyway (its quiet enough for my college library and that's all I need most of the time, might change this fall though.. hopefully there'll be a solution by then...). (im on bios v204 and using power4gear)

Oh and on a side note, mine also came with 1333 ram so that was a pleasant surprise ^^

This is my first post so sorry (and please tell me) if i did something wrong >.<

 

Just wanted to welcome you to the club!

 

Thanks! =)

 

any new drivers for this i can download?

I notice using the buttons on the speaker to turn up the volume sometimes doesn't work and doesn't pop up on the screen, and same with turning on the bluetooth WLAN with the switch on the bottom doesnt always pop up with the ripple effect?

 

Try the latest ATK driver package here:
ASUSTeK Computer Inc.-Support-

Also try the latest Wireless Console here:
ASUSTeK Computer Inc.-Support-

 

Hey, guys, need your advice. Anyone had to use the ADW? Unfortunately, I will have to... Just a couple of days ago, when taking my laptop table from the bunk bed on top of mine (damn, military rooms are so small!), it got stuck with the mattress, tilted and my laptop ended up falling from a hight of almost 2 meters. Needless to tell you the consequences...I feel kind of desperate! Now, is there anything special I am supposed to do in advance, or suffices it to pack it, send it back to the seller and wait for a new one? I'm waiting for your advice! Thank you very much in advance!!!

 

You might want to check the plastic cover on the bottom. If it is a little loose (you fill find out by tapping on it), it's affected by HDD's rotation, which causes it to vibrate - thus the buzzing sound. It happened the same with my laptop.

 

Try pressing z before the other two. Probubly will not help, but something to try. What happens when you press Control-Alt-Delete? That should bring up the task-manager screen. If it does then it is not H/W or Firmware. Try multipal keys in a text editor like note pad or Word. You should get differeing special characters. Last but not least report your findings to ASUS.

Seagate HDs suck. If you only have one HD, get a Western Digital, it will last longer anyway. If you have 2 HDs replace the primary with an SSD. You will be surprised at the performance increase.

I had this, until I replaced the primary HD with an SSD. No vibration no, problem. Or get some thin bubble wrap and put it between the HD and the cover.

I did a clean install of Win7 without Power4Gear and it made the fan cycles longer and less annoying. As you say it is not that loud anyway. I think ASUS will come up with a solution for this, because it is wide spread and heavly reported.

Sense you are doing School work on your comp, I would advise you to stay with BIOS 1.04 until we get another release that is know to be better.

Welcome aboard, and please keep us posted on your progress.

Enjoy your new laptop, this model is really cool.

Dave

 

Thanks a lot for testing.
Somehow I missed this important post of yours.

I forwarded you results to Ken.

 

Hey TurboGear!

I also own the N71, but unfortunately my I7 isn't working properly in comparison to your one.

Yours is running with 1,7ghz in native clock and mine only with 1,6ghz...

Now I want to return my NB because I also want to have a proper working I7...

Can u help me? Maybe u know, why your I7 is running faster than mine...

 

He as overclock enabled in the bios. Reboot and press F2 and enable the overclock. At 1.6ghz that is native stock speed.

 

No, this is absolutely wrong. Please read his previous posts!

He wrote, that without oc he reaches 1,7ghz and WITH oc 1.82ghz.

Please read before post.

 

If you look at the specs on the i7 720qm you will see it is a 1.6 and yours is working properly.

 

Intel® Core? i7-720QM Processor (6M Cache, 1.60 GHz) with SPEC Code(s) SLBLY

sorry, but you are wrong.
1.6 is native.

I've been running about 2.6 in single core ops, for the most part.

 

Yes, mine runs at 1.7GHz when all the cores are under full load and no overclocking is enabled.

I was also in the beginning not sure as the spec says 1.6GHz, but mine runs at a higher clock speed when all cores are fully loaded.
For example when I run a stress test which simultaneously stresses all cores.
I checked with both v204 and v205 and i7 ran at 1.7GHz.
I forgot to check this when I had v206 for a short period.

 

The TurboBoost adds 133 MHz when 3 or 4 cores are active:
Intel Turbo Boost - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Maybe that's the explanation for the discrepancy?

 

Does anyone know how hard it is to remove the bottom cover of this laptop? I would like to see if it's possible to add some extra copper for cooling purposes. From the disassembly manual (great document!) it seems that you have to remove the keyboard and top cover completely first, but I'm not entirely sure.

 

Yes, you have to remove the top cover completely before you can reach the mainboard.

I have opened my N71JQ one time already.

 

ghehe cool, my fingers are itching too :evilgrin:

 

Best of luck.
If you mode the cooling solution in some way don't forget to share pictures with us.

 

That wold be really nice to see... Please post some Pics m8...

So we can see the original and the "Tweaked"

Bguards m8 and good luck

BTW: It wold be verry nice to get this of things shared people.... lest help one an others

n71 FTW

 

Thanks for the advice guys!
I'm probably gonna invest in an ssd early next year since they are still a bit expensive for me at the moment... I'm assuming the seagates (yes the Costco model comes with dual hdds, even though it doesnt say that on website), will last till then.
And I'll probably do a clean install after finals (dont like the way they partitioned the hdd anyway so would've had to reinstall even if i liked the original configuration)... didnt settle on what OS yet though.. meh maybe ill just do a dual install.

Now about the keyboard...
Yes task manager works (if it didn't i would've sent it back within a few days if a reinstall did'nt fix it). I tried various combinations in notepad (thanks for the idea Dave, surprised I didnt think of it earlier lol) and got some interesting results: some key combinations register and others dont
ex:
q+w+e gives qwe
r+t+y only gives rt
, + . + / gives ,./
SHIFT + z + x only gives Z
z + SHIFT + x only gives z
x + SHIFT + z only gives x (etc.. you get the picture)

so... some keys work others don't... this is weired
anyone else have this issue? and if not did you update any keyboard related drivers/ install/uninstall keyboard/language related windows components?
I tried plugging in my desktop's usb keyboard into it and it works fine for all the combinations.
I'm going to try play around with drivers a bit once i get some time and see if things improve (since its an entertainment-only issue for me right now its not high on my to do list), if all else fails guess ill bug asus. In the meantime if anyone has experience with something similar, suggestions would be much appreciated! =)

Also, I remember someone mentioning the volume up and p4g keys failing on his machine... It might be software because I had this happen to me once and a restart fixed it: I launched a fullscreen application and right before it came up I saw a windows "program has crashed and needs to be closed" screen. I didnt have time to read it and when I alt tabbed to see what it was it was gone (also odd.. never had that happen before either... mightve been something else or maybe I was just seeing things lol) so I'm not 100% sure its realted, but then I tired the p4g (trying to switch from battery saving to preformance mode, if that matters) key and vol up keys and they didn't work, the volume down still did. I restarted and everything worked again.

 

Hi guys

Thank goodness I found this superb thread. I wonder if you can help me. I am trying to help a friend out who has just brought one of these very cool Asus laptops. Trouble is he lives half way around the world and trying to help him with the time zone difference and his limited tech knowledge is a nightmare. The problem is he has an Asus VK246H monitor he wants to extend his desktop to. As far as I can tell it works fine using a vga connection and automatically goes fullscreen and he can extend the desktop. But he wants to use his HDMI connection (and why wouldn't he I guess) but when he does it letterboxes and will only clone the desktop. There are no options available in display settings to extend. As far as I can tell it doesn't even show the monitor. I thought I might be scaling so told him to go through catalyst control panel and adjust the scaling to fix the letterboxing (not realising at this stage it was cloned and not extended). This fixed the fullscreen issue but then I found out it is cloned and no extended. Not much use for a work environment. Any ideas? Would it being doing this as the wrong resolution is set for the external monitor and therefore only allowing a cloned screen? Would he need to set up an HD res or custom one that might allow extended desktop? Does anyone have an external monitor set up over HDMI with an extended desktop? Thanks very much in advance guys.

 

you don't have to reinstall to repartition hard drives, as long as you have a copy of what you want to keep off the drive...

Partition or Volume - Delete - Windows 7 Forums

had to do this on a dell inspiron i got for my wife from sam's club.

out of curiousity, what is the deal with the keyboard? lol.
i did try some of them. some work, most don't. i get similar results as you have.

 

Usaully this could be done by using the ATI tray tool. In the tray tool there is an option to switch the external screen into extended mode.
I use it to extend my notebook though HDMI onto an LCD TV to watch video on the TV.
If you need also the sound to go through the HDMI then you have to switch it by right clicking the speaker icon and selecting "Playback Devices" and then setting Realteck HDMI Output as the default sound device.

 

Yes, this seems to exactly explain why we get CPU speed around 1.73GHz when all cores are loaded.

 

Thank you for that. So it should actually work on this laptop which is good to hear. He must just be missing a setting in the ati driver then. Will have a look and hopefully find it. The extend desktop is not there in the windows display settings. Thanks

 

I tried the same key combinations and basically got the same results as you, but I'm wondering how 'weird' this is for a keyboard. Where do you need such combinations for like shift-z-x?

 

Of course the findings will be reported with great detail to the institute that is the Owners Lounge!

Should be about 3-4 weeks before the great disassembly commences...

 

Can the N71JQ flash card reader read SDHC cards (I don’t have one around to test out and I don’t want to buy one if the laptop can’t read it)? It says it reads SD, but doesn’t mention SDHC one way or the other.

My apologies if this has been asked and answered before; I couldn't find anything on topic.

TIA

 

Yes, it can read SDHC cards.
I am using myself SanDisk Ultra II 16GB card.

 

Yeah I know u can do that, sorry if it sounded like i thought it was the only way. I did it on my desktop PC when I was installing a second system, just prefer to wipe it and I wanted to redo the partition windows is installed on anyway. Many thanks for the link though: found some things about win7 i didn't know while poking around that site! (was once again surprised i didn't find it myself earlier lol)
And yeah still haven't figured out how to get those keys to work, just borrowing my desktops usb keyboard when I need to use those combinations for now... hopefully its a software thing that's fixable... I mean even my mom's old PIII can do shift + z + x with its stock keyboard (couldn't do r + t + y though lol), as well as every other machine i tried (that old dell laptop, a P4 desktop at school, my 5yr old desktop, and a friends desktop).

The reason i said that was because it worked on all other machines I've tried (see higher up in this post for list) and while I agree that those are not combinations you use often, its a bit annoying when you run into it. Ive dealt with it for now: shift z x I only need for a game (one that doesnt have a key re-assigning option sadly, so usb keyboard or desktop for that... unless anyone know a free utility to force a re-map over it ) and most of the others I mapped myself so I was able to change those to others that work for now.
So... while I'm pretty sure most people wont be running into these combinations very often (if ever) I would really appreciate a fix for this if its just software limitations (so far my messing around with drivers didnt give any results), if its hardware I'll deal with it, it's really not that big of an issue, was just surprising when I ran into it.

In case that wasn't clear enough: I am still very happy with this laptop overall and if I knew all i know now about it back then I would still buy it without hesitation!
P.S.
Sorry for any typos/errors in this post... its pretty late where I'm at right now xD

 

I'm at the same point - trying to choose between those two.

Could you please tell whether you have made the choice and if yes, then which one (and maybe why) and whether you are satisfied with it?

Thanks

 

the one with i5, does it have an nvidia card? it may be the one with nvidia optimus graphics switching. if you plan to do any gaming, i would go with the i7 and HD5730, but if you are looking for longer battery life then go for the other n71.

now the JA isn't shown on the US site but the JV is, and has an nvidia card and i3/i5 CPU options.

heat shouldn't be an issue in either one.
and noise wise, this laptop is very quiet. my cooler fans are louder.