Asus G73JW Owners' Lounge

Yes, you can delete the 'hidden' partition. You can do it right within Windows7. Open windows explorer and right click on Computer, then select Manage. Go down to disk management and it will show you the partitions on each drive. Delete whatever partitions you don't want then expand the drive.

The downloading of the Win7 image and burning to a DVD is very simple. The instructions are step by step, even if you don't quite understand what it means if you follow the instructions you'll end up with a Win7 install DVD. The easiest method is the ISO download. You'll just need to use a program like UltraISO to burn the image to a DVD.

 

Just to report in for those that play SC2 on this laptop. With high performance settings and plugged in, you can play on ultra settings even in multiplayer! Temps stay under 70C.

 

Maybe it was the weekend call. I have a better handle on how to deal with an RMA in the future. Many thanks again Mr. Ken Lee.

I sent mine off on Tuesday. I do have a couple of questions for you:

1. Did you pack everything just as received to send back to ASUS.

2. Did you right the RMA# explicitly on the box. I know it's on the RMA return label but I know I didn't right it on the box. I got the RMA instructions AFTER receiving the RMA label.

3. Did you do any customizations. Did you fill out the inventory sheet (PDF).


The more information we can share regarding the RMA process the easier it makes it for others.


One really odd thing (at least for me) regarding the return; my package went from Bend, OR to Memphis, TN to Oakland, CA! How's that for expidited!

 

Hi there,
Ok, thanks! I'll re-read the instructions and make sure I can follow them correctly before proceeding! LOL. Guess I better pick up some DVD/RW discs.

Just to be on the safe side, can you answer my question about the recovery disc(s)? Is the 5-6 collection of discs the same as I would have received from the manufacturer? ie a proper recovery?

Thanks for the help! It would be nice to complete the mission so I can do the anytime upgrade on a clean system... anyone with any comments regarding Windows 7 Professional vs. Ultimate? Are most of you upgrading or leaving it at the Home version?

 

When I ordered mine, it went from Goodyear, AZ (Amazon) to Lexington, KY then here to Albany (via Portland of course)... on an overnight delivery. Doesn't make much sense to me, but I got the laptop on time!

 

The recovery discs that you make would be a copy of the hidden recovery partition. Those discs (when used) will put the laptop back to the original shipped configuration. It's not the same as using a Windows7 install disc, then using the supplied driver disc. The latter is what you want to do to have what is considered a "clean" install.

I find Home Professional is more than adequate for my needs. If you find yourself needing features you don't have, the upgrade process is very easy. Just have your credit card handy.

Good Luck!

 

Quick question since you're online. If you're installing windows 7 fresh from an iso download, will it ask you for a key? I'm not sure how it can activate correctly.

 

The install walkthrough thread (link is above in another response) tells you how to back up your current activation, and once you finish installing windows you restore it. Yes, the install process will ask for a key, but you can skip it and just continue the install.

 

cool...that was easy to do. I already have windows 7 pro with a key installed on a different laptop. I wonder if i can use that key again on the G73jw or just stick with the win 7 home premium that comes with it.

 

Thanks! I'm just going to burn those recovery disks first - to cover Murphy's Law.... ya just never know when it's going to strike! I'll let you know how it goes!

 

Ok... another question.... when I was shopping for my unit, several sites listed specs for the G73jw as RAM upgradable to 16gb... The Asus specs show it as max 8gb. Anyone try installing extra RAM and if so did it "take"?

Thanks!

 

Asus only provide RAM up to 8gb, but G73jw can actually take more than 8gb, it's just that Asus don't offer more than 8gb.

 

Hey all - first time poster, long time reader.

Just got my JW on the weekend (thanks in no small part to reviews/discussion from all you guys on here) and have a quick question now that I've been playing around with it a bit..

I'm new to overclocking and I've tried overclocking the Video Card using the settings that Ken from Gentech used (830 Core, 1660 Shader, 1450 Memory), using the MSI Afterburner program. The card seems to run very stable at these speeds, and MSI records a temperature of upto 72 degrees C after an hour of playing Bad Company 2.

However, after an hour or so of playing BC2 I notice small flashes of colour (pink, yellow, blue) on the screen, usually around bright objects like flames, or in-game glare. They're usually in small squares and are about the size of the bright object they appear on - but they only seem to appear in bright areas!

Is this a sign the Graphics card isn't coping at this level? Or is it just an issue with the game? Thoughts would be appreciated - as I said, I'm new to the whole overclocking business!

Edit: I'm using the new drivers, 260.63.

 

My laptop just got shipped from Xotic pc! Only took them 4 days to customize it. I'm really excited and scared right now. Ordered Intel 6300 wifi card which requires adding a 3rd antenna into the laptop, hopefully Xoticpc did a good job customizing it and the computer comes without dead pixels or something else bad.
Still really happy with Xoticpc's service. Thanks Justin and Hutsady!

 

Yeah those are generally signs of artifacting and you will need to tone down the clocks a tad..

Some cards can handle heavier overclocks then others so its just a case of experimenting to find that happy medium..

 

Gentech shipped mine in a day... really , i should except way more from xotic... i recommend ppl buy from gentech.. excellent service and orders always get shipped quickly.

 

From your sig, it looks like you didn't upgrade anything. This is likely why you got yours quicker.

 

Makes sense! Thanks mate, appreciate it. Will have a play around and see what works.

 

Hi all, just wanted to drop by and say that Ill be getting my JW tomorrow (10/1). Actually a replacement of one that I received on 9/29 from amazon because UPS dropped the box and dented the shipping box pretty bad.

Managed to open the JW and had green pixels all over the screen- blacks were green, blues and red's were green... it was just bad, kind of like the movie Matrix with the binary segments they show.

Anyhow, just wanted to know if anyone here had any issues upon first boot of this beast? What I mean is that did anything fail on its first boot thus requiring to update the device driver? -thx!

 

Nothing failed - but I only ran it for 2 hours or so to burn the Recovery discs (this takes ages!), then did a clean reinstall on an SSD.

After reinstalling though I did have an annoying issue with the sound drivers.. The soundcard seemed to cut all signal after a period of time with no sound (30 seconds?) and the speakers would pop every time this happened.. As soon as a sound was played it would become active again until no sound was played for another 30 seconds when it would switch off (and pop the speakers!). Not a major issue, just very annoying!! Can't see why you'd need this feature, not like it would save much power cycling the sound card on and off after a 30 second timeout..

Turns out it's a "feature" of the Realtek HD Audio drivers that were installed, so just uninstalled those and let Windows install it's own drivers automatically on next reboot. All going fine now!

 

thats great to hear- i mean, no problems on first boot.

I've been due for an upgrade, just sold my Gateway P-6831FX earlier this week and I'm gonna miss that baby... had a hard time letting it go at the post office to ship. BUT, im really excited on getting this laptop, just hope UPS doesn't drop my replacement!

 

Nice I guess the production delays are over now. They do test the system for a while before they send it to you following any modification in case people are wondering why it doesn't ship in a day.

 

Ok so I packaged everything in the original boxes but only put in the laptop, battery and power adapter. I kept everything else.

I didn't write the RMA on the box because it was already on the label. What I did though, as recommended by Powernotebook.com, was to place a page of information into the middle of the laptop that had my name, mailing address, RMA number and reason for the return.

On the inventory sheet supplied, I documented the requested information and specifically included the modified parts (Intel 6200 wireless card and IC Diamond Thermal Compound). This was suggested by the reseller as well.

Everything seems to have gone well so far. The only hitch is that they are waiting for the the panel and so I'm in repair limbo... arghhh. Oh well.

 

Hi! New to the forums lol

I am getting a G73JW soon! So excited! Anyway, I was just wondering whether anyone has a G73JW with the Seagate Momentus XT Hybrid Drives? You know, the half HDD half SSD drives? If so, any problems? There is not much price difference between stock and this model so I'm just wondering.

Zengster

 

Anyone try large file moves with USB 3.0 yet? It seem my external USB 3.0 drives are either unmounting and remounting during the file moves thus killing the copy action or the USB 3.0 port is just not working...same drives are fine on 2.0...getting 30 MB/second on USB 2.0 and 3.0...though 3.0 starts at like 70 MB/second and then throttles down for the time it is working....

my guess is drivers...maybe needs a rev...anyone?

 

Good information. I am in the same situation, waiting for parts. Frustrating I know!

I'm not sure if you knew or know there is an online form you can use to request an RMA that allows you to enter Name, Address etc. and reason for RMA. I did get a response approx. 48 hrs. later according to their process.

If I have to RMA and in the future (GOD forbid), I think I can do it without the assistance of the reseller. Was just a bit apprehensive being an RMA newbie.

 

This has been a mystery for me for a while now.

Many resellers say the G73's will go up to 16GB, but Intel at ark.intel.com says the i7-640qm only supports 8GB.

So...Does the extra RAM over 8GB just act as a faster VM than the paging file on the HDD? Does it get used at all???

 

sleek629, in answer to your graphical question, those are known as "artifacts" and are often a sign that the set clock speed on the gpu is too high for the core to be stable, so you are recieving graphical corruption as a result. try backing the clock speeds down 5-10mhz each on the core and memory clock, and then when the artifacts go away, back it down another 5 just to be on the safe side.

 

Oops, didn't see your reply Quad. Yeah....what he said! lol

 

When manufacturers release versions of any chipset (cpu/gpu) they use a process known as speed binning. They will have a core that is used across many lines of released versions that is actually the same core. The reason there are different versions of the same core is because the manufacturer tests each chip to see what it's stability is at certain speeds, when it reaches a level of instability, they throttle back the speed, lock the chip to that set speed, and release it under whatever version it falls under. Even though the chips are made exactly the same, they all perform different for varying reasons. This is why some chips can be bought in a cheaper version than the bigger model, and sometimes overclocked to match or in some cases OUTperform it's big brother. This is because no matter what version, they all have an upper limit, and the higher models are usually capped at a speed that is approaching the absolute limit of what the chip can physically handle before it does a fireworks display in it's socket.

 

Well I guess I’m moving on over to this thread now. I’m the very proud owner of a Sager NP8660 which has and continues to treat me very well (minus a half defective “m” key that recently started acting up). But I decided it was time to get my next Work/Gaming laptop. I do a lot of sifting through million record plus text files so speed is crucial. Of course a solid video card is also paramount as we all know lines of text look much better with the higher end video cards (…that’s my story and I’m sticking to it).

I have always been someone who preferred a smaller footprint and the 15 inch models have always been that sweet spot for me, especially considering that I do quite a bit of business travel. However I have long been a victim of “Screen envy” and have always wanted to kill orcs on a wide screen laptop (truth be told even lines of data are better on a wider screen..less scrolling).
After looking around on these forums and making some inquiries with my preferred reseller it sounded like it might just be time for a move from Sager/Clevo (long trusted brand) to ASUS, and that G53 really caught my eye. I’ve been wanting to go SSD for a very long time but the price point just hasn’t been there for me. With the G53 I could have everything I wanted, SSD as a primary drive, a large secondary drive for storage, a high end video card (for viewing data of course) , 8GB of RAM (believe it or not the 4 GB in my current laptop is not quite enough for work related activities) and it would all be in a 15 inch footprint…albeit a very large 15 inch footprint.

I went ahead and pre-ordered as soon as I could and waited…as the release date was pushed back time and again. Meanwhile at work I was dealing tons of data and the scrolling side to side was beginning to seriously bug me. As I waited I started reading the reviews about the G73JW, it was everything I wanted, just in a bigger screen size. After the last announced delay my reseller asked me if I wanted to switch to the G73….and all of a sudden it made sense. Sure I’d be giving up some airplane portability, but productivity wise I’d be so much better.

So here we go…my configured G73JW will be here by next Wednesday…and I’m very excited. Thank you everyone on these forums (and Donald at Powernotebooks) that have helped me gain insight as to the direction to go.

Stay tuned……

 

Congratz to all new G73JW Owners

 

Thank you for the replies re memory, recovery partition and OS....

Ok.... after HOURS! got the recovery disks burned successfully. Definitely don't plan to do THAT on a coffee break!

Working on ABR step now -minor glitch encountered... blond moment...

 

Hey there G73JW owners,

Anyone of you use the Thermaltake Massive23/ NZXT Cryo LX with it? Any comments or opinions on which is better? Appreciate any input!

Looking for a cooler, and budget is not really an issue. I'm really paranoid about heating and would like a cooler. Thanks!

 

no one is using the USB 3.0 port?

 

hey Everyone, I'm loving this JW. I just got it on Tuesday and so far it's been amazing.

I am having one issue with the screen brightness controls though. Sometimes when I boot up, I cannot change the brightness. I will hit the button's and it will pop up on screen and show it changing, but the brightness will not actually change. I have to lose the lid, then open it and let the screen re-activate, and then they will work. Just wondering if anyone else has had any similar issues. I guess if thats all that is wrong it's not a whole lot to complain about, but it is annoying.

 

Just got my replacement. UPS didn't drop it this time. So everything looks good. No green matrix screen unlike the one I received on Wednesday 9/29. Thank you amazon and UPS. Now to make the recovery DVDs And get back to work.

 

Wohoo got my laptop today

Sadly, I cant find the 260.63 Beta drivers anywhere!! The nvidia website will only give the 32-bit even after you select 64 and the link for 64 bit at laptopvideo2go is dead.

 

Drivers are here..

NVIDIA DRIVERS 260.63 BETA

 

Thanks a lot

 

Getting that faint popping sound, goes when you uninstall realtec, but i had two g73jh's before this and they did not have this problem.....i,ve been googling the issue for hours and doing all the recommended fixes, but nothing works. I think i have to put it down to faulty or poor installed hardware, which also has been also suggested on some sites..........ideas taughts greatly appreciated

 

I saw you found them right after i posted so i just left it there for future JW owners ..

 

Hey all

Figured I'd toss my name in the barrel of silly saps that got this awesome machine

My daughter needed a laptop so I gave her my old Compaq C714NR that's been sitting on my desk for years now.. while I was looking for a "full time" laptop for her, I found a G73JH-A1 for $1,449 which started me on the wider search, and after finding a post here about the differences between the JH-B1 and JW-A1, I broke down and ordered the G73JW-A1 yesterday.. it showed up today! (amazon.com, they have a free Prime trial and $4 overnight, so here it is!). Verifying recovery disk 3 at the moment

Gonna do the clean Win7 install.. really looking forward to having a portable gaming system, though the kid is gonna be pissed when I tell her to keep my old one as her school machine

I might make it up to her and giver her my Desktop gamer. It's not great, but has dual 9800 GTX cards in SLI (and by all accounts, this gtx460m seems it will run _close_ to that, so I'm good!).

Anyway, thanks for all the great info in this thread, guys!

(EDIT: Anyone know if we can dual boot Linux on these? I'd love to have Fedora or SuSe running on it for some tinkering around).

 

Have you tried updating your nVidia drivers to the latest?

 

Hi! New to the forums lol

I am getting a G73JW soon! So excited! Anyway, I was just wondering whether anyone has a G73JW with the Seagate Momentus XT Hybrid Drives? You know, the half HDD half SSD drives? If so, any problems? There is not much price difference between stock and this model so I'm just wondering.

Zengster

 

I guess not many people have USB 3 Devices yet.

 

Yes all you need is a disc or ISO image with your edition of Linux and you can use VirtualBox to create a partition of your desired size to run Linux.

 

Figured I'd say hi... got my G73JW on Sep 16th and have had nothing but good times with it since...
I have been running World of Warcraft turned all the way up at 40 to 80 fps and Civilization V turned all the way up (not sure of frame rate...)

On my todo list:
Clean install (not sure if I am going to bother)
Update the drivers (thanks for the link Quadzilla)
Get blueray working (any recommendations for a codec?)
Buy some more games to show off the graphics (Minecraft just isn't filling that niche, any suggestions?)

 

BAD COMPANY 2

 

yeah i deleted my "edit" and replied with thanks to you instead. I actually typed "thanks" but it told me that the reply was too short so the only thing I could think of was adding "a lot". I just realized that it might have sounded sarcastic by mistake...