ASUS VivoBook X202E / S200E / Q200E Owners' Lounge

Mine running at 53c.

 

Anyone else tried the 210 BIOS? I see theres even a newer version, but I didnt install that yet.

I'm not really sure if I'm already imagining things, but the throttling issues seem to be a bit better for me with 210 BIOS. I was running 206 before this, and I had really bad throttling issues everywhere - it seems to be a bit better.

Also my temps would appear to be slightly lower with the 210 BIOS.

I'm rocking a S200E with Core i3 3217U CPU.

 

If you read, there are different BIOSs for two different versions of this laptop. In layman's terms: the 210 BIOS is the latest version.

I didn't notice any difference w/throttling between the 206 vs the 210. Obviously, it's pretty hard to "feel" 100 - 300MHz difference. You would have to use software to be able to make any assessment.

That being said, the ASUS BIOS is not going to make a big difference, anyways. The throttling is caused by excessive heat, and obviously the only way a BIOS can make any difference is through lowering the vcore. Of course, no stock BIOS will ever under-volt any components below the stock voltages.

The only fix I could think of is to add micro-heatsinks via thermal tape to the fan opening, but as I mentioned before, I was having a hard time finding any heatsinks that would fit. Even if I did, I don't think it would help much (maybe a 400MHz improvement).

The only "true" fix would be a custom heat-pipe connecting to a custom heatsink with fins in the fan (yes, the heatsink fins would have to actually be in the fan in order for the fan to fit in the laptop).

It's pretty obvious that ASUS should own up to their flawed design and have properly designed heatsinks/fans available for customers upon request so that we replace these stock POS heatsinks (or they can replace it themselves for people who don't know how to do it). Of course, I highly doubt this will ever happen because almost everyone is too dumb to know their CPUs are throttling in the 1st place to even complain about it.

I guess the bright side is that I only paid $300 for this new. Come to think of it, that's probably why this laptop sells for such a ridiculously cheap price: it's a lemon!

 

Mm, I probably am imagining things as I said

When I opened up the laptop to upgrade to an SSD I also tried looking at some ways to improve on the stock cooling but didn't come up with anything that could fit in.
Ages ago I made some improvements to an old Acer but the difference is there was trucktons more space in that than this one

 

You could remove the heat sink from the processor and apply better thermal grease.

 

Yeah might do that.

An interesting sidenote is that when I reinstalled a fresh copy of Win8 when putting in the SSD I seem to have got rid of WLAN dropping problems as well. On the stock install it kept dropping at times to "limited connectivity" for no apparent reason. I think someone else posted about this earlier in the thread as well, but just figured I'd share that bit of info as well.

 

That's only like a 1-2 degree decrease in full-load temperatures. Since the CPU throttles (so it can't even reach full-load), it makes no discernible difference: the CPU probably starts throttling a half a second later than it would normally have.

I just threw the towel in on this one. This is the 1st computer/component I've ever bought that performed this horribly (and I've bought a lot of computers/components). I used to prefer ASUS for basically all components: Mobos, disc drives, video cards, etc. But, ASUS selling this laptop is such a scam. I knew the CPU throttled before-hand, but I didn't expect it to be this bad (I mean the CPU throttles to 44% it's stock speed!). Now, I will never buy another ASUS product again.

Sadly, if ASUS just did away with the dumb touchscreen and used that extra money for an acceptable heatsink instead of this POS, they would have sold just as many of these laptops without permanently destroying their reputable brand-name.

 

I've had my Q200E for two weeks now, most all of which have been with a Kingston SSDNow V300 120GB and Ubuntu 12.04. Some observations:

* Runs pretty warm, then again all my ultraportables have. The hottest I've seen it was 88°C when installing Debian in a VM.
* Ubuntu 12.04 works perfectly. 13.04 gave me trouble with touchscreen drivers and connecting to university wifi. Yecch.
* I'm getting about four hours battery life and standby seems pretty efficient.
* This being my first touchscreen laptop, I'm using the touch more than I expected to.
* Having a laptop that fits into my messenger bag has made my Nexus 7 more or less redundant

 

Would lvoe to know how to increase and get the most battery life out of the S200E (Pentium 2117U version). Also this thing really is not an ultrabook and does not seem to be adequately vented so would taking out the HDD for an SSD in the future make much of a difference?

 

I'm getting fourish hours just by turning the screen down to about half brightness. At full brightness it really is more bright than it needs to be.

 

I added the Intel 6235 card to my X202E yesterday but I can't seem to get the Intel WiDI drivers and software to recognize it. Does anyone know the exact procedures for enabling the card?

Thanks in advance,
Manuel

 

I got a X202E and I'm trying to re-install windows 8 on a new SSD. I tried upgrade version of windows 8 but I'm getting invalid key error. I think I have a wrong version of windows 8. Someone mention here that there is a link in this forum to download full version of windows. Any help would be appreciated.

 

You can try re-arming the activation. All the ISOs are the same, it's all based off the key, technically windows 8 upgrades licences must be installed on the back of a previous OS.

 

Question on SSD upgrades....does it even make a notable difference with a Pentium 2117U? Might decrease heat but performance will pretty much be the same right?

I'd like to know which bloatware to remove and any other tips on speeding up the S200E with the 2117U. It's for my mom so in general it's fine and doesn't need high speeds but sometimes it does slow down quite a bit and I'm fairly certain that it's due to ram usage despite very few programs that I've installed which are running in the background outside of an antivirus/firewall/anti-spyware, the rest are all default Asus/Windows programs.

 

Run "resource monitor" to see the details of RAM usage (among other components). No offense, but it doesn't sound like you are very PC-savvy. I wouldn't bother installing an SSD because it's going to be a headache if you don't know the basics. My advice (however obvious it may be) is to just google the programs you're not familiar with to find out if you want to uninstall them. Then, defrag your HDD. Running CCleaner or ASC wouldn't hurt either.

 

There's a program called "Should I Remove It?" that some find useful to determine if there's any bloatware on your Vivobook, and whether to remove it or not. I've used this s/w on a few laptops and it's helped me decide whether or not to keep certain programs. You might want to take a look at that.

 

Yea same issue, I have plenty of valid Windows 8 images and keys and it appears to be hung up on the key that is currently activated via BIOS. Pretty much sucks IMO I wish I could just get rid of that key and be done with it and and do my own thing with my own versions.

I have a original Windows 8 home disk, I guess I'm going to have to go back to that.

So I wasn't giving up Win8Pro so easily, here is what I did. I installed it and went to the activation screen. Said sorry, that key is in use. I then clicked on the button to try and re-activate the key. I called up and went through the motions and 5 mins later I now have a re-activated Win8 Pro Q200e now as I want it with my codes. All automated and no issue at all with any of the codes.

 

So long as you can get to the phone activation you are always good to go.

 

good question. I can tell you what you will be need to make a copy of the recovery partition: about 16GB usb/storage. If anyone can make an iso or image, of the recovery partition that would be awesome.

It burns down to: owners of Asus x202e vivobook to make a copy of your Windows8 recovery partition before dual booting / re partitioning your device. *smiles*

Troubleshooting, I have found some information that may be valuable to you.

information 1:
source- Microsoft call center: on the motherboard, Windows 8 serial is built into the device itself.​

information 2:
source- Asus call center and 'website person' ASUS doesn't have, sell, or distribute recovery disks for x202e vivobook; instead they have drivers, and its recommended downloads on their website for x202e.​

alternative recovery method:
So, in case of a corrupted recovery partition where the device is unable to be restored to factory settings; and when life just throws an ugly curve and you find that you did NOT back up the recovery partition (like myself when attempting dual boot options -that's my case).... anyhow, borrow a friend's Win8x64 disc or an untouched Win8x64 for fresh install. You will NOT be taking their 'serial/activation' away from them.

information 3
source- myself, my attempt results: fresh install, Windows Update to activate; lastly, download and install what's on ASUS website for x202e.-drivers and recommended programs.​

On the motherboard itself, contains the serial number; most likely with x202e there's a ROM chip that holds that information. If you asked me where? i can't point it out. It's a UEFI/Win8 thing... my guess.

In an event of a fresh install of Win8 and after a complete Windows Update; the Win8 distro will be activated. double check: Computer > System Properties > glance at 'Windows Activation' status. After the install of the Operating System, and its update you will find an activated status with its serial.

Cheers! I hope this bit of information has helped.

 

^ I would like to delete that 20 GB recovery partition and use a ~4 GB ISO on a USB stick instead in case of recovery like in Windows 7. Is that possible at all to do on this?

 

I'd like to upgrade my BIOS on my Q200E, but I can't access the BIOS with the F2 key. The lap top boots really fast, under 15 seconds, but no matter how fast or how many times I press the F2 key it never makes it to the BIOS. It just goes right to the Windows 8 screen.

Anyone ever encounter this problem? If so does anyone know a solution. Thank you in advance.

 

I don't think I can count to five and mine is booted up. Hold the F2 key and then press power button. Works for me fine.

 

This is probably caused by "fast start-up". Try RESTART in Windows instead of SHUT DOWN and press F2 when screen goes black.

 

Hello, does anyone know how to replace the screen on this laptop/anyone have a link to a service manual? I'm planning to buy one with a broken screen for $50, and need to know if I can fix it.
Thanks in advance!

 

Hi everyone.
I just bought a X202E and made the C: and D: partitions as only one C: partition using EsaseUs Partition Master.
Just to say that after doing this, my recovery partition is NOT recognized anymore, so I can't restore anymore too.
I contacted Asus : garanty IS voided and I have to return them my PC, of course the repair won't be free !
The Asus position about what you make with YOUR PC is just scandalous !
Anyway, help would really be appreciated to find a way to recover it

 

the recovery .iso would have exceed your 4gb storage size. you would need a 32gb thumb drive. If you are able to copy the recovery partition onto usb stick through the Windows 8 'partition reovery?' wizard.

Back up the recovery partition. and if you do make that ISO please send me a link cause i've lost that partition when I attempted a triple boot Windows 7, Windows 8, and Ubuntu. when I installed Ubuntu, that's when it went missing.

anyhow, you can back up the recovery, but a larger storage USB would be needed.

 

just by interaction with ASUS tech support and Microsoft tech support. I'll tell you, you can repair your notebook without spending $$$.
Firstly, did you contact Microsoft, they'll direct to your local Microsoft store. Check if they can do the service based the warranty.
There are two parts to the Notebook: Hardware and Software... Hardware is ASUS. everything related to operating system is Microsoft.

the weird politics to technology, i guess.
cheers.

I'm guessing the reason why ASUS doesn't have recovery discs available for the user. Might be a Microsoft issue (that maybe a inter company thing)
ASUS does not supply recovery disc for this device. However. drivers and resources are available for download on their website under the x202e support download tab.

best to you.

 

with the UEFI thing that most new Windows 8 devices; causes an issue with installing another operating system for dual boot.
sorry, you didn't read my post earlier, when you get the new device; there's a recovery partition wizard thingy; that allows you to save that recovery partition onto USB or whatever storage...

I also lost that partition. if someone can kindly post a link to an ISO file of the recovery partition so that I can factory recovery my device that would be awesome. That person, would be a hero to many on this forum. The ISO file would be nearly the size of the recovery partition >20GB i'm guess.

The recovery wizard to copy the recovery partition is on the original laptop untouched.

 

if asus doesn't want to simply make a recovery disc or iso outta the recovery partition that comes standard on the X202E when first bought. I'd like to find another laptop that does have it and do it myself. However, I don't have my recovery partition anymore.

create a large ISO from a bootable USB; and then upload to a secure file sharing site and post download link info. and I'm sure you'll find many happy people.
my backing up the recovery partition on the device, will not compromise the other system. I'm sure of it. I'm surprise no one has posted the 'recovery partition backup' in form of iso sooner.

 

Hi Manuel - I too have upgraded the wifi card to the intel centrino Advanced 6235 card and was wondering about WiDi. However, when i downloaded the WiDi software from the intel site, I received the following message:

This platform is not compatible with Intel(R) WiDi. Your wireless driver cannot find or load the necessary compnents for Intel(R) WiDi.

I will try updating the driver to the card and try again to see if this makes any difference, but am wondering if this is possible with this card. Has anyone else tested WiDi on the S200e with the Centrino 6235 card ?

 

My recovery partition is still on my HDD, I can see it with EaseUs PM. It seems to be ok, all files are in.
Would it be possible to change it as a ISO file (using PowerISO for example), and burn it on a bootable USB key ?

 

I do WiDi on my X202e, make sure you update all components... the video driver, the wifi driver and of course the WiDi software.

 

yep, brutal throttling. i put some quality thermal paste on there, and i went from 80C idle to about 75C. Load temps are about the same, because once it gets to 90C, it backs itself off. Was stoked with buying this because the HD4000 is a legit graphics chip for an integrated piece, but not at 350mhz...was hoping to find that someone had rigged some type of cooling improvement, but 19 pages of discussion yielded nothing.

so yes, other than this MAJOR flaw, it's a pretty neat and well-built machine.

 

If your hitting 75-80C at idle I'd say something else is wrong, they certainly run hot and have cooling problems, but not that hot
Doing general tasks throughout the day I'm usually running mid 50s to mid 60C, with spikes up into the 70s and low 80s, depending on the ambient temperature...

Streaming a movie on a 2nd monitor and doing regular stuff it's running high 70s to 83C max, ambient temp is 69F

 

I am interested in buying the x202e , specifically this model:
Amazon.com: ASUS X202E-DB21T 11.6-Inch Touchscreen Laptop (Grey): Computers & Accessories

Will it be able to playback Netflix in HD onto my HDTV via the HDMI cable? I would also like to play 1080p mkv files onto my tv using the hdmi port. Will this model be able to handle this type of video playback smoothly?

 

M715,

So are you never seeing 90C+? Is your chip not throttling? If true, then you've got a good chip there. Someone needs to hack the bios on this thing to enable lower vcore. a 10% vcore reduction could yield acceptable performance, and i'm SURE this i3 can handle the lower voltage.

 

The short of it is the laptop has heat problems and the i3 does throttle.
But I just don't have it in me for another long drawn out fight. I went through overheating and massive throttling when i was trying to game with a Dell 1645 over the course of 5-6 months.

Probably 80%+ of the time it doesn't break 80C
Very rarely does it break 90C
Summer temperatures are certainly worse.
For 95% of what I do I never notice the mild throttling, annoying yes...

Most casual users probably don't even know their computer is throttling.
Throttling for me starts in at 73-75C
When does your throttling start? Might be why my temps are less than you...

Here's some #'s for you, Ambient temperature is 68F, tests conducted on a hard flat desk; Prime 95 - "In-place large FFTs (maximum heat)", + 2nd 24" 1080 screen running to do general data entry in excel.
At the 40 minute mark temps weren't changing much so I started streaming a show on HULU

Core MHz	Temp (C)	Time (min)
1800	<73	<1
1400-1500	74-79	1
1400-1500	80	5
1400-1500	80-81	10
1400-1500	80-81	15
1400-1500	80-81	20
1400-1500	80-81	25
1400	82-83	30
1400-1500	81-82	35
1400	81-83	40
900-1200	82-84	45
900-1200	82-85	50
900-1200	83-84	60
900-1200	83-85	80

 

I'm probably going to sell the laptop. Even 1080p videos stutter when it's throttled down to 800mhz. I was really liking the touch screen, too. As a side note, I replaced the HDD with an SSD, and surprisingly things werent noticeably faster. Perhaps a nod to Windows 8's efficient memory usage?

 

What SSD was it?

 

Having X201E last week. Celeron 1007U 2Gb ram, A bit slow when extracting large zip files. Just ordered a X202E mainboard to swap. Not sure if it fits, which by right should be. What I worried is only the LCD connector, X201E is non-touch screen.

 

Can anyone else comment on this issue? I'm looking to purchase one off of Craigslist tomorrow but will definitely reconsider if it can't play 1080P videos.

 

StockDC2,

This had my curiosity piqued, so I decided to watch a 2hr12min 1080p mp4 format movie in VLC media player at full screen 1366x768 resolution, and am happy to report that there was no stuttering. CPU temp topped out 75C, ambient temp was around 23C.

Perhaps though, the OP is referring to video playback when the system is being throttled because of other applications? I typically don't run CPU or HDD intensive tasks while watching films, perhaps someone who does could shed more light on that.

 

No, he is talking on battery power the CPU being clamped to 800mhz, try it again unplugged. Different codecs will load the system by different amounts too ofc.

 

Hello,
I just got my X202E yesterday in refurbished condition. The laptop is great, but it came with an administrator password set in BIOS. Is there any way to force-remove the BIOS password, or should I send it to Asus to get it removed?

 

I found this model (x202e) refurbed by Asus for $289 with the Pentium cpu.

1) does this sound like a good deal?
2) would the Pentium chip (ivy bridge) likely get less hot and less likely to throttle?
3) even not throttled, would this low clock, non-hyperthreadng cpu have trouble with casual use (web, word processing, Netflix?
Thanks.

 

Sweet, thanks for the response .

I'm glad that there is no stuttering watching 1080P videos. I wasn't able to meet the seller last week but he's supposed to be in town tomorrow. Hopefully it's new in box like he stated in his Craigslist ad. Talked him down to $180 so it should be a decent purchase .

 

Wow $180 that's a good price.

 

This is something of a bump, though as noted above some of my questions were at least partially answered from other questions. Still, I would be grateful if I could get quick take on 1) - 3), above. Clearly my deal isn't as good as StockDC2's, but this is from a store, claimed to be refurbished by Asus.

Thanks.

 

That's great to hear. Thanks for the feedback .

Based on the specs and the Youtube reviews that I've seen, Netflix should run fine. Web and word processing will work on pretty much anything so you're in the clear in those categories as well.

For $300, I would highly suggest that you look at something else. Dell is currently running a promotion on their refurbs where people have found many great deals on entry level i3 and i5 systems.

 

The 3rd gen ultra LV CPUs should be fine for any basic tasks like media streaming.