Asus M50VM Montevina, NV 9600M GS Review

I've been waiting for my Dell M1530 (T8300, 4gb, 8600M GT, 250GB, 1440x900, $944 before tax) for about 3 weeks and still have another 2 weeks before shipping. Fortunately it has given me time to see what the new Montevina models have come out. I was at Best Buy this evening looking at the Sony FW that they will have on sale tomorrow for $999 when I stumbled upon the Asus G50VM-X1. After doing a lot of reading in this thread I am almost sold on the M50VM-A1.

For one, I'm tired of waiting. 2nd, I had the worst customer service experience from Dell even though I have a great price on it. Third, the difference in price is worth the Asus warranty alone plus the Asus comes with the new NVIDIA card and I'm worried about all of the posted overheating problems with the 8400/8600 series. Small things like the number keypad and expressgate make are nice additions.

Can anyone make a direct comparison regarding performance and build quality between the M50V and the M1530?

 

Can I mention one more time that M50VM is an amazing laptop... I've been encoding 1080p! project in Sony Vegas Pro and the fan was spinning on highest setting, but the noise level was really low. But the most amazing part the laptop body barely warm (currently inside 73F), unlike my previous Sony FZ which would be hot during normal browsing!!! Yes, the hot air is blowing from the side and fan is on high! As a matter of fact it seemed like the temperature did not change at all before and during encoding. Just wow!

So, another thing I've been editing 1080p AVCHD video and finally I am able to do this with minimum amount of chopiness in Sony Vegas. Yes, it's still stutters sometimes, but it's more managable with T9400 then with T7500.

 

Hello all, after reading through the 40 some pages of this topic I feel that I am just about sold on one of these laptops. The two main laptops I am looking at are the M50VM - B1 and the M70VM - B1. I am attending my first year of University in the fall so I feel that a laptop is a must. On top of that, my current computer is a brutal desktop that barely scrapes by. The laptop I purchase will be dedicated to a mixture of schoolwork and gaming, so it must be practical for both. The two laptops I mentioned above seem to fit in nicely, the M70 being a little bulkier, so maybe not as practical for carrying around campus all day. But what turns me onto it is the larger screen, blu-ray player, and the better sound system. Now I am no computer expert, so when I look at some of these specs I don't know if lower numbers in certain things will affect the performance I desire. When I compare the M50 to the M70, I see that the M50 has a faster CPU (2.53GHz vs 2.26GHz) along with double the cache (6MB vs 3MB), a higher RAM speed (800Mhz vs 667Mhz) and larger video card memory (1GB vs 512MB). I may have missed some other specs but I'm not sure. Now I can see that some of the numbers are greater than others, but I don't know if that will even affect the performance noticeably when I am using it for schoolwork, or playing games (Crysis, or older games). Basically what I'm asking in this part is do the pros in the M70 outweigh the drops in these numbers. Physical size of the two laptops will be a huge influence as well but I would like to know how the technical aspects boil down before I get to that. What turned me onto Asus is when I came across the M51Sn-X2, but both of the laptops I mentioned above seem to beat this one hands down.

Now, assuming that I decide between one of the two above laptops, would it be wise of me to install 64bit vista over the 32bit version? Would it help me with games I'm playing or in the end would I find absolutely no difference between the two and just hassle myself by attempting techincal things I know little about. On the same topic (sort of) would dual booting XP be wise for me? Would I find better performance in the games I would be playing or is that something I should attempt down the road as my knowledge of computers increases.

Finally, please forgive me if this is not appropriate for this topic, but I need to purchase some accessories for my new laptop. I have already looked out a few online, but fear of compatibility with the laptop and the lack of knowledge I have when it comes to picking quality parts for the money are scaring me. If you could be so kind as to comment on my choices, just saying if they are acceptable or below average would be very helpful. If this is too offtopic please feel free to disregard it. The other products I picked out are:

Monitor:
V2400W 24" Wide Full HD LCD Monitor
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=30183&vpn=V2400W&manufacture=BENQ

Antivirus:
Eset NOD32 Antivirus Ver 3.0 1 Year Subscription OEM English Edition Antivirus Antiroot Kit
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=27025&vpn=NOD32-3&manufacture=ESET

Printer:
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=26953&vpn=2175B003&manufacture=Canon
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=27407&vpn=2174B003&manufacture=Canon
(Haven't decided on which one).

USB Flash Drive:
OCZ Rally 2 High Performance 4GB USB2.0 Dual Channel Flash Memory Drive
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=19633&vpn=OCZUSBR2DC-4GB&manufacture=OCZ Technology

Wireless Router:
D-LINK DIR-615 Wireless N Router 802.11N Draft 802.11G 300MBPS 4 Port 10/100
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=26528&promoid=1015

I realize I would also need HDMI cables to connect my laptop to that monitor, I would look into getting those later.

Thanks for any help that is provided, and thank you for this topic, it has taught me very much and has aided my decision on a laptop enormously.

-Matthew

 

Just like for M50S and M51S this thread seems to be turning into a mix of owners' lounge and prospective buyers requesting information. How about we make it "official"? I.e., change the title to Review & Owners' Lounge, just like for the older threads.

 

Hey all, I just got my machine from GenTechPC a couple of days ago and I have to say I'm impressed. My only issue is that a bunch of programs I used often do not seem to behave well on Vista. I'm going to be installing XP on the machine so I had a few questions as this is the first time I'm doing this:

1 - My hard drive has two partitions already. I'm thinking of further partitioning one of them before installing XP. Is there anything wrong with doing that? How do I actually do it?

2 - Vista 32 bits is already installed on the machine (it was shipped to me that way), is this an issue if I'm going to be installing XP on the machine?

3 - Has anyone actually installed XP on their machine? If so, anything I should be aware of as to what may go wrong etc...

4 - Feel free to add anything else that may make the install easier...Thx!

On another note, if my machine was shipped with Vista 32 bits on it, do I have to worry about some drivers not being installed, or does it come with all drivers already installed? I guess Ken would be in the best position to answer this.

 

Since no one has answered this, I'm going to take a shot at it. Keep in mind I'm speaking from a desktop overclocker's view and I recently bought my first notebook M50Vm-A1).

First off all I would go for the M50VM-B1 over the M70. This is because of the size and weight. I'm going to be a university student too in the fall and I sure don't want to carry around a 17 inch laptop.. It won't be as convenient.

Since you're into a gaming notebook as well as one for work, the M50 also dominates this in terms of CPU power and video card. 1 GB vs 512 MB on video RAM is nothing; the full 1 GB cannot be utilized at this resolution. Although the M70 has a 17 inch screen for gaming.. to me portability means more. Crysis is a very demanding game.. Lets take a look at the benchmarks for the video card.

3800 points in 3DMark06 for the native resolution. I doubt you would be able to play Crysis at all on that.. maybe on the lowest res. Are there any other games you play?

Their RAM for both is DDR-800 since they are Montevina.

The first thing I did was install Vista Ultimate 64bit on mine. I had trouble installing drivers from the disk for the touchpad.. had to do it in Safe Mode. But now that everything is installed, it works great.

People do say XP gives slightly better FPS in games over Vista.. But with SP1 the difference is fairly unnoticeable.. I would stick to Vista alone instead of booting back and forth.

For my overall impressions on the M50 I just received, money was well spent. It stays really cool and quiet. The battery life is about 2 hours and 40 minutes and varies depending on settings. The screen is bright enough for indoors or outdoors. It can handle tasks as well as my overclocked E6600 on my desktop. I was afraid that I would notice a big speed difference but it is negligible. Boot up times are a lot slower and there are delays here and there, but it's a laptop. I'll give it a break. Also if you're worried about keyboard lag.. I haven't experienced any yet.

Overall, I think you should stick the the M50VM-B1 laptop. You won't regret it.


Edit: Is the monitor for when you're gaming? If so, why get a 17 inch? Keep in mind.. the laptop video card will have more difficulty on a higher resolution for it has the extra RAM to store textures.

Antivirus is good. Eset is a winner. Or AVG/Avast if you want free.

Printer.. up to you, I have no opinion of them. Haha. Whatever works and will save you money on ink in the long run.

Flash drive just works. Do some research and see how the transfer speed is.

Router. Works, good choice.

 

1. No problems installing XP on D: partition. You put in your XP disk, and install on the D partition. Please do not accidentally choose your Vista partition.. You might want to have 3 partitions in this case. A smaller Vista, smaller XP, and a Data partition. That's just my preference.

2. No issue with Vista and XP together. Vista 32 bit will only see around 3070 MB of RAM out of 4 GB since the video card is 1 GB.

3. Haven't installed XP myself ont he laptop. I reformatted with Vista Ultimate 64 bit though. I had trouble installing the touchpad drivers.. kept erroring. It worked fine in Safe Mode.

4. What programs are not working in Vista?


All drivers are installed and all drivers are provided on that driver disk.

 

I played Crysis on my Acer that had low end 1.5Ghz CPU & 8600 GT, so this should work as well

 

It might. But 8600 GT is a stronger card.

 

According to this it should perform slightly better

http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-9600M-GS.9450.0.html

 

Doesn't the 8600 GT get in the 5000s in 3DMark06?

 

the results are there and NO!

 

I should have realized you meant the mobile 8600 GT. The 8600M GT. I was thinking of the desktop card. The whole Acer thing west passed my head. My apologies.

 

Nothing wrong. Do it with the Vista partition manager, should be flexible enough for that unless you want to shrink a partition. If you also want to shrink, I recommend PQMagic (commercial), or BootitNG (you can get a free ISO for partition work)

No, XP is perfectly OK.

The main post (1st post, review) also lists the necessary XP drivers.

Everything should work out of the box.

 

hey guys just got my M50Vm-B1...really exciited...tried installing windows xp pro. I booted from the CD and then the setup started and then i kept getin the BTOD(Blue Screen Of Death)....guys please help me out here....

 

Have you read the XP installation guide?

As for your problem, try set your hard drive to compatible mode in your bios.

 

I don't see it in the description but does the M50VM come with a media remote?

 

No it does not.
Closest thing to a remote is the multimedia touchpad.



---


Anyone know the max temperature for the 9600M GS?

 

Bliz...Thanks for the quick reply!

 

was wondering if anyone knew if there is a large difference in gaming ability between then different processors in the a1 and the b1?

also the weight of the laptop with the 9-cell battery?

 

The processor won't matter much.. They're pretty up there, so you shouldn't experience any bottlenecks with the video card. There will be a slight difference, if at all.

The CPU is more weighted in the field of video editing or rendering.

Not sure about the 9 cell battery.

 

Bliz...one more question, does the Bluetooth support A2DP?

 

I've never used Bluetooth before but it should.
Maybe someone else can answer that.

 

Just ordered my M50VM - B1! Now all I have to do is play the waiting game.

My only concern is that I think I read something about getting a conformation phone call. I'm leaving for a camping trip with my family tomorrow morning and I don't know if I'll have cell phone reception. Is there any way I could call them and confirm it tomorrow morning? Also if anyone has ordered off of NCIX, will I recieve a phone call from them?

 

They will call the phone number listed with the credit card company to verify the purchase, this is done to prevent fraud (only once per card, mind you) and you can only call them from that number to continue with processing your order.

I would reconsider the choice of printer to a cheap laser rather than inkjet. Printing in University usually comes in spurts - midterms and finals - making toner a much better choice than ink. Samsung ML-2010 laser printer is $59.98 on sale this week, a much better buy IMHO.

 

Thanks a lot emporium....it worked.....now i'm enjoying XP on my new M50Vm...!!!!!

 

Since I do not have a M50 I cant say 100% but I can say 99.99999% that it will have it as its a current standard in any bluetooth card.

My older Asus C90S does A2DP like a charm. I use my Plantroncs Pulsars with it.

 

Unfortunatly I already placed my order for a printer, but as it was only a $50.00 dollar printer I might just order the one you posted later as well. When I used the credit card all I could find on the back was a 7 digit number going xxxx xxx on the signature place and then customer service numbers. I put a customer service number but I'm not sure if that's right. Quick responsed please as I am leaving in a hour and a half and might need to change this.

 

Thanks a lot for your reply, it cleared a few things up. A couple of questions:

1 - Vista does allow you to shrink an existing partition but it puts a limit on how much you can shrink by. Is this why you mentioned the commercial softwares above?

2 - I installed firefox and it seems to be accessing webpages slower than ie, anyone else experiencing this? and...why is ~30 to 40% of my ram always being used in Vista ?

 

1. 3rd party software is always better. You may go ahead with the Vista one though since I haven't had a problem with it yet, personally. I'm not sure about limit you can shrink by.. Never encountered that yet.

2. Are you using Firefox 3? Hm... The pageloads for me are virtually the same for FF and IE.

I normally have around 2 GB out of 4 GB RAM used in Vista after opening and closing applications on a normal work day. If you have 4 GB, just let it use what it needs, don't worry about it. SuperFetch is enabled on Vista on default, and all the RAM that is left unused will be used for caching. This way the next time you open MS Word or Adobe Photoshop, it will start up faster. No point in leaving RAM unused, so hey, Vista uses it all.

 

Thanks Blizzie for your input. I have a few more questions though; I'm sure you can tell I'm not as notebook savvy as most people on this thread .

It seems like what I actually need to be doing is dual booting XP and vista. My laptop came installed with Vista Home Premium 32 bits but no install CD. I was able to get a copy of the windows Vista Enterprise DVD through my university IT services. Now, part of dual booting XP with Vista installed 1st involves restoring the vista installation using a vista install DVD:

http://apcmag.com/how_to_dual_boot_...talled_first__the_stepbystep_guide.htm?page=4

My question is: does it matter which vista install DVD i use or will the vista DVD I got through my school work fine?

Does anyone think I'd be better off reformatting my hard drive, starting with an installation of XP and then adding vista on top of it?

Thanks.

 

Guys, I am having issue with sound volume. I think it's too low. Have you tried changing BIOS settings (default 4, max 8) and did it help you?

 

Sorry, this must be too late but what I meant is the phone number that the credit card company has on file for the cardholder. If the CC company has to call you, what number would they use? Most likely it'll be your home phone # and calling from a cell phone won't be an acceptable form of identification.

 

Use the Vista DVD from your school.

XP first then Vista sounds good. I heard it's harder going Vista and then XP.
apcmag.com has guides for both ways if you Google it.

I don't know about you.. but having it on max hurts my hears. I can't even play it on 1/2 of the max. I didn't change any settings; default.

 

I can't say the same that having it on max hurts my ears... I am talking about Mp3 music playback. It's not loud enough. Could it be that mine defective?

 

Are you using Windows Media Player? Is the Sound bar thing on max? Also check your volume settings to see if that is on max; along with the Fn + F12

 

Everything is on max of course. I noticed the low volume out of the box.

 

does anyone know if this laptop supports vista bit locker?

 

Maybe your idea of low is different from mine.. But I really doubt the max on this laptop is low for you. The speakers vibrate and it sounds pretty bad on max volume. But really.. I have no clue.

Nope. It says no TPM.

 

how does a Swivel webcam work? you can turn it around to face the other way?

 

Hey Guys!!!

I'm new here and I want so much to buy this precious!!! but i want to know if it has a lightscribe drive?

can Anyone help me?

 

Hi, welcome to NBR!
Unfortunately, the optical drive in the M50VM doesn't come with lightscribe unless you get the Taiwan version

 

How is this keyboard on this model? I like the keyboard on the lenovo thinkpad T61.... can anyone compare the two?

 

But it has the software for Lightscribe? o.0;
Some Lightscribe Control Panel or something.

 

Compared to the T61 keyboard, no other brand of notebook keyboards would be able to match the T61. The one in the Asus would be standard in terms of comfort and quality of notebook keyboards.

 

What does T61 have that no other notebook keyboard cant match? I would say it's a subjective opinion. I've owned and tried variety of laptop keyboards and Asus is actually pretty good.

 

Yes, although it is quite subjective, but the majority of people still agrees that the T61 has the best keyboards in the industry. For me, the keys have perfect tension and has the closest resemblance to an external keyboard.

 

I am probably not nit picking on keyboards since I owned SZ & FZ which had the worst keyboards I've ever encountered.

 

What are the actual dimensions of the laptop, I am confused because I have found different dimensions for the computer on different sites? Basically I do not want a large 15.4", getting a 15 is already pushing it for me. Is it much bigger than the DV5T, I saw it in a store and the size is fine. Thanks.

 

donno what the actual dimensions, but it seems heavier and bigger then 15" FZ I owned.