Asus G71 BB Version Mini-Review

No camera so this will only be a collection of benchmarks and my opinions so far.

In the box there was: G71, AC Adapter, Recovery Disks (2 disks), Driver Disk, CyberLink DVD, Windows 7 Upgrade Brochure

First thing I did was do a clean install using the Recovery Disks. I only had to use Disk 1 and the Driver disk though.
Then I signed up for the Windows 7 upgrade, gotta mail in some paperwork for that (email and copy of receipt).
Finally I signed up for Asus's 1 year free Accidental Damage Warranty Program and again I need to mail in more paperwork for it (email and copy of receipt).

Specs
Processor: C2D P8700 @ 2.53GHz, OCable up to 2.91GHz using Turbo Gear
Memory: 6GB DDR2
HDD: 500GB 5400rpm (Space for a 2nd HDD)
Cd/DVD: DVD+-RW speed unspecified
Screen: 17.1" WXGA LED-backlit, max res 1440x900
Graphic Card: GTX 260M 1GB GDDR3
OS: Windows Vista Home Premium 64bit
PORTS: 4x USB, E-SATA, HDMI, VGA, Firewire, Ethernet, Card Reader, Mic-in, 2x Headphone out S/PDIF
Wifi: Integrated Asus Wireless BGN
Battery: 8 cell
Webcam: 1.3 MP
Price: $1,149.99

To me the laptop feels very sturdy and well built, but I haven't been around alot of laptops so I can't give a great comparison on this topic.

The keyboard has no flex to it that I can feel, I'm using an external keyboard/mouse though since they're left over from my old setup.

The covers on the side protect the 4x usb ports (2 per side)/audio ports(right)/firewire port (left).
The covers are held in place by magnets and the only way I can open them so far is by sticking my nail in between the small space and prying it open.

Pictures borrowed from Matrinix

When the laptop is on battery the power setting automatically sets the brightness around 50% and underclocks the GPU clocks to 168/199. When you plug in the AC the brightness is set to 100% and the GPU clocks at 500/800.


Vista's Performance Information and Tools rates the system at 5.4 with the CPU being the lowest rated component. Overclocking the CPU 15% increases the score to 5.6.

3DMark06: 10,074 Using the drivers that came with the G71.
10,651 Using DOX 185.85 drivers. OC'd 10% using Turbo Gear.

10,880 DOX 185.85 drivers OC'd 15%


HDTune results


Crysis Dx10 All settings on High 2x AA 1400x960 res had an average of 24 fps


Prototype on 1440x900 res high settings 2xAA I was getting about 23~25 fps average, sometimes it was up in the 40's sometimes in the 20's but typically near 23/4. Didn't notice any stuttering or lag in the game at all, and I was going crazy destroying everything.

Opinions
Turbo gear is an easy to use program that allows you to OC the cpu. You just click the icon in your taskbar click button to select what % you want to OC (3/5/10/15 are available) and click another button to start OCing. When you click the button to OC the system hangs for a second and then a progress bar appears to show that the CPU is being overclocked to the specified percent.

When switching from battery to AC the change in the screen's brightness is quick, but when switching from AC to battery the system hangs for a second since the GPU's clock speeds are being changed and the screen seems to go through 2 main changes in brightness.

The Express Gate OS seems pretty interesting. I've had plenty of moments in the past where I wanted to look up something @ 11 pm but didn't want to start up the laptop. So from now on I can use Express Gate and find the information quickly.


Overall the G71 is a great laptop for people who want a powerful gaming machine but are on a low budget.

Edit1:
The sound on the laptop is a bit low, I have it at about 50% to listen to songs on youtube. While playing Prototype any conversations that occur are not easy to hear even with the sound at 100%. So now I'm using headphones or some external speakers to boost the sound.

I noticed after using Express Gate for about 20 minutes that the lower right hand corner, has the battery underneath, got pretty warm compared to the rest of the laptop. Sorry no infrared thermometer to give exact numbers. I've never noticed the laptop do this before, even after 2 hours of playing Prototype and 2 hours of being on the forums.

For some reason the laptop will go into hibernation mode when the battery reaches critical level, but the laptop doesn't specify if it supports hibernation. I checked (Command Prompt> powercfg -a) and the only supported sleep mode was Sleep which shuts down everything except the RAM.

One user had a problem where the laptop went into hibernation when it reached the critical battery level and the laptop would not load to vista.
Just to be safe I changed all of the critical level actions to Sleep, and increased the critical battery levels to 8%, low battery level to 13% so I can still try and save any data that might be lost by forgetting to plug in the AC.

Edit2:
Temps
My room is about 85/6F throughout all these readings.
The keyboard and the touch pad are around 90F, above the keyboard to the left (Where the OLED screen is in other G71Gx models) the temperature is around 94-5F, to the right where the power button is it's also around 90F.

The bottom of the notebook is pretty much around 90F as well. Except the top right where the fan is, it's around 95F. At the back the vent is around 110F.

After playing Prototype for 1 hour, the vent on the back was about 110F. The bottom of the laptop was around 92-3F, the back of the bottom was still around 95F. The keyboard is around 93F, the touchpad is still 90F. But to the left of the keyboard and above it closer to the screen it's about 93-103F, higher temps closer to the LCD. To the right of the keyboard it's around 93-5F again higher temps are closer to the LCD.

The top left portion of the keyboard has the CPU beneath it, as well as the RAM, the keyboard has the GPU underneath it.

After about 10 minutes of idling the back vent is down to 100F. To the left of the keyboard and above it is around 90-100F. To the right of the keyboard it's down to 91F.

Where the OLED screen would have been is where it's the hottest, 103F. I don't find the 93F to be that annoying, it's still hot though. But the top were it's 103F is really hot and I'm glad that's not near the keyboard/touchpad otherwise it would be a big problem for alot of people. I guess it has something to do with the material's (some sort of plastic?) ability to conduct heat so it just absorbs alot of heat :/.

 

Nice reviews bob.

1. Couple of questions and insights... I'm surprised but glad they included recovery disks. Thought manufacturers stopped doing that?

2. Also the 1 year accidental, I thought that wasn't applicable to BB purchases? Or is that just the "2 years" that isn't?

3. For the Windows 7 upgrade program, do you think buying in the States and getting it in Canada works or does it have to be same country of purchase?

Thanks and nice, first review.

 

Thx for sharing.

Im really looking foward to the G71GX-RX05 , since i work i would prefer a less flashy laptop as the G51VX-RX05. So this laptop would in fact be perfect for my needs. Just have some questions if you dont mind.

1) What Bios are your runing, if you are runing 1201 did it completely fixed the downclocking past 82C and whats the highest temps your GPU is reaching.

2) I dont have a chance to see this as i dont live in the US, but im flying soon and probably will go to a BB to buy it. One thing that i liked about the G50Vt-X5 was the extra LCD, i dont see it on the G51 anymore, watching a video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSaCwdj1a6w&NR=1 i saw the screen on it, but it was a ASUS G71Gx-A1, just wondering if the Bestbuy model has the extra LCD or not.

Thanks again for sharing the review,

 

Yes it's nice that they're included, I believe there's also a partition so that you can do a recovery by pressing a button when the laptop starts (F9 I believe), but I did a recovery onto the entire C: which erased any other partitions that might have been on it.

I applied online and it sent me the email telling me to mail in the paperwork, I'll mail it in and see if they do give me the warranty or say I can't get it.
Here's a case where someone was able to register their laptop with Asus when they bought it from Best Buy.

I'm not sure if the Windows 7 Upgrade would work if you buy it in the US and ask to have it shipped to Canada. But I don't see why they would decline to send it to you there. You should ask in the Windows 7 OS thread to get an informed answer.

I'm using 1201 BIOS since yesterday, it fixed the downclocking issue, I was able to use Furmark to get my GPU over 85C, others have gotten up to 90C. The highest temp I had was during a stress test (can't remember which one, probably 3DMark06 but I didn't get an SS) the GPU reached 89C. Other than that the temperatures have been relatively low even when playing Prototype on max settings.

The extra LCD is the one that's supposed to allow you to read email and stuff in games? This one doesn't have it I would love to have that battery meter in the top of the laptop!

 

First, thanks for taking the time to do a mini review....now a few comments/questions.

First that whole Vista experience rating is soooo buggy because the numbers can and will flux depending on a bunch of different things, HDD and RAM is usually the biggest culprit, however the CPU can be as well. I got the G71's score up to 5.7 (CPU lowest) with it OC'd to 15%. I bet if you run it enough you will see the score change.

Second and more importantly, why did you you set the OC to just 10% and run your benchmark when it will go to 15%? Isn't that setting the bar a little short? Crank it up and then see if you can break 11k.

 

Yea I don't think anyone really uses those experience ratings to judge a computer but I thought I'd put them up there in case anyone asked.

I tried to OC to 15% the first time and the laptop froze, restarted and went to 10% safely and did the test, didn't really think about it but you'd only gain 0.127GHz by OCing from 10% to 15%.

newb4life2 already posted 3DMark06 scores with the G71 OC'd to 15% only about a 90 point increase.

 

Thanks, but is he using the dox 185.85 drivers as well, if not it would be interesting if it is more than just a 90 point increase.

 

Just ran 3DMark06 with 15% OC and got 10880 3DMarks so 229 point increase by OCing 5% more. Will update first post with temps.

 

1. ASUS has always included recovery disks that can also be used to get a clean install.

2. As far as I know that's correct. BestBuy models have shorter (1year) warranty and no accidental coverage. But that may have changed since I last knew...

 

Some updates:

For some reason the laptop will go into hibernation mode when the battery reaches critical level, but the laptop doesn't specify if it supports hibernation. I checked (Command Prompt> powercfg -a) and the only supported sleep mode was Sleep which shuts down everything except the RAM.
One user had a problem where the laptop went into hibernation when it reached the critical battery level and the laptop would not load to vista.

Just to be safe I changed all of the critical level actions to Sleep, and increased the critical battery levels to 8%, low battery level to 13% so I can still try and save any data that might be lost by forgetting to plug in the AC.

I noticed after using Express Gate for about 20 minutes that the lower right hand corner, has the battery underneath, got pretty warm compared to the rest of the laptop. Sorry no infrared thermometer to give exact numbers. I've never noticed the laptop do this before, even after 2 hours of playing Prototype and 2 hours of being on the forums.

The sound on the laptop is a bit low, I have it at about 50% to listen to songs on youtube. While playing Prototype any conversations that occur are not easy to hear even with the sound at 100%. So now I'm using headphones or some external speakers to boost the sound.

Will update my original post with this information.

 

Is there anyway to disable the various LED lights that ASUS seems determined to decorate their laptops with?

I was hoping there was an option to turn the blue side LEDs off or solid (they blink).

Also there are those two front LEDs akin to headlights, I hope those can be turned off.

 

If you have Direct Console, just set the lights to power-saver.

IF you don't--as is the case of the Best Buy G51--you just have to wait for Clutch IDC.

 

great review bob!

(Just for clarification, the 3d mark tests were with ASUS installed drivers. I'm also getting similar marks as bob with the DOX 185.85 drivers.)

 

So you're saying there's not much difference between dox and stock?

 

did it come with system discs? IE-Windows 64/Drivers, etc?

 

Yes. Windows disc and drivers disc.

 

awesome, thanks.

 

Man, Where are the vids and benchmarks of this laptop...
(and I don't mean in spanish, 1 vid is on youtube)
In a few weeks, I'll be grabbing this laptop and I'd like to see it in action before hand though.

Thanks for the review by the way !

 

Good review, but like G51, G71 still have a downclock version of GTX 260M ?

 

No, he's saying that "I'm getting almost the same score as Bob did, and we're both using Dox".

 

No, it doesn't downclock anymore due to abios update that came out a few days ago...
Where have you been, partying too long over the weekend?
Bios update has been here for days...

 

Yes. The clockspeeds of the GTX 260 on the G71 are clocked the same as on the G51.

 

Woah...
No love from CNET at all:
http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/asus-g71gx-rx05/4505-3121_7-33695862.html?tag=mncol;lst
At least it's good with games?

 

That was made before the BIOS fix, which fixed a gaping flaw in the G71gx

 

Actually the review was FROZEN until the bios fix, they now RECENTLY updated/finished the review to reflect their thoughts after the bios update.

 

And it still got that low rating? It's the exact same rating I saw before they applied the BIOS fix.

Interesting to know.

 

how many FPS in the crysis demo?
can you turn the lights off?
two HDD bays?

 

http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/asus-g71gx-rx05/4505-3121_7-33695862-2.html?tag=txt;page
"Asus includes a two-year, parts-and-labor warranty with the system; however, the battery is only covered for one year."

I'm curious why this line is here. They say it has 2 years warranty but then they say that this model is only offered at best buy, who's website only gives it one year. Whats the reason for this discrepancy. Any way I can get 2 years warranty from this?

 

You can turn all of the lights except the ROG logo and the bar at the bottom of the LCD off.

It has 2 HDD bays, but only one is used at first so you can get another 320-500GB HDD later on.

 

Why does the G71 seem like the ASUS NBR forum proverbial redheaded step-child compared to the G51, even after the bios update?

Also I don't think anyone has done a side by side comparison regarding such things as GPU temps or game performance. It would be nice to see just how much that extra $$$ gets you where the rubber meets the road.

 

Well I just see the biggest difference in the CPU. And if you overclock the G51it's not gonna be that much. Of course there's the screen res thing too. Then again, you pay only 150 extra for all that. I think it was worth it for the 17" screen.

 

So the G71 owners are just not bothering posting like the G51 folks because they have decided that since the G71 is so similiar to the G51 might as well let the little brother do all the heavy lifting?

I don't really buy it, taking for example this, the only "G71 review thread" and its what a whopping 4 pages as compared to the G51 review threads 70+ pages.

I mean before one might blame the lack of interest on the GPU issue but that fix has been in for awhile now and still no "energy" surrounding the G71 like there is with the G51.

 

Well.. performance wise they are very similar computers, im guessing more are buying the g51 than g71 becuase of the price point and early problems that g71 had. Although for me ill probably will go the g71 route, since i like the extra feature, and seems to run cooler aswell.

 

@Warhammer40k: Check out Bob's benchmarks (for crysis with CUDAATS mod) onpages 92 and 93 here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=393735&page=92

It convinced me in getting the G71.
Also, take note that most past G71GX owners are now G51VX owners due to the downclocking issue of the G71GX back then. There's more G51VX owners now but that may change due to the bios fix everyone knows about, I'll be part of the G71GX owners club soon !

 

Well I got a G71 recently... haven't done any tests yet because I've been busy undervolting and running it extensively to ensure stability but so far it's worked great for me and can't wait to get some gaming going. After all I can overclock it to 2.91 Ghz so that's pretty awesome.

 

I have the g71gx and im almost positive that itll be able to keep itself cooler than the g51, even under a heavy load in crysis while oc'd 10 percent, it never gets too hot, and has good airflow.

 

Thanks for the review! It's been added to the Info Booth and to the Reviews & Owners' Lounges Index.

 

Just picked up my G71. I didn't get any particular paperwork for the Windows 7 upgrade, should I have? If so I'll stop back by tomorrow. BB sales kid was actually reasonably knowledgeable, helpful, and didn't try to upsell me to death. He commented on the bios upgrade, etc; Can't wait to start running this bad boy

 

I REALLY like this thing. My 7805u is headed back to Tiger tomorrow. The keyboard is better, my overall scores are better, I just like it better

 

You don't need the paperwork, just go to this site, click on the 3rd option, and click on the "Register here" link and fill out your information.

 

Thanks Bob.

 

Thanks for your review!

+24 Rep.

 

I'm wondering... I've noticed that the g71x offered at customizable online stores offer a Q9300 processor and that Asus's website has the same Bios for all of the g71xs. Does that mean one could later swap out the processor and it'll run w/the 2.53 Quad no problem?

Also, I've had this machine now for three weeks and aside from the camera log-on and general Vista bugginess before installing SP2, this beast runs perfect! With the CPU OC'ed @ 2.88, 1200X1024 Res using the Dox 185.85 drivers and all clocks set to Nvidia's stated stocks I got 11,165 on PC Mark 06, best of 3 runs. None of those runs were under 11,000! Let Alienware eat cake!

I am too happy with this replacement due to quality and craft and that this machine has not once disappointed, unlike an SLI rig I had a few years ago from Toshiba. Thank you Asus... thank you Gateway (for the FX line) and thank you Acer (for buying Gateway)! :yes:

 

Technically, it should be possible to put a quad in but noone has tried it yet so we don't know for sure.

 

I emailed asus asking and their response was "CPU upgrade is not supported by ASUS at present." At present? Does that mean that Asus is going to send G71 owners new motherboards in a year so that they can support quads? I'm going to email back and hope I get a different employee, lol.

 

I think its more like:

"We're not gonna tell you how to upgrade your CPU since it'll void your warranty and prevent you from yelling at us if something fails and the laptop dies."

 

these laptops dont post with a Q9000 quad core installed

 

Is this based on your experience?

 

so, the max out of temperature is how much? is it better than G51VX?

 

The max temperature for the CPU is 95*C. But I wouldn't break past 88*C if I were you.