Asus N51 Owners Lounge

I agree with most of the quick positives, so heres my negatives, most are convenience things since I'm getting used to it from my old machine.

-Compared to my old asus Z70va, the build is subpar. z70va was a carbon fibre chassis so it feels solid and sturdy. N51vn does not. So if I rate the z7va a 10.0, then i'd give the n51 a 6.0.
The glossy outer is annoying. Holds prints and gets 'greasy'.
-Bezel around the screen is huge, especially at the top.
-Headphone jack is on the FRONT SIDE, not the left/right side.
-Optical drive vibrates when it ramps up the speed, as a result it makes noise because it bounces against the gaps.
-Glossy screen is not as nice as the z70va matte screen.
-Touchpad buttons aren't exactly stiff, but could be a lot softer
-Speakers arent as bad as everyone says. In the beginning it was, but I was rummaging through one of the many speaker volume controls (realtek i think) it was set at med, even if the lappy as at max. Plays games at a satisfactory level.
-Touch sensitive 'buttons' are not very responsive, actually they're really slow when it registers a touch.
-The keyboard is slightly crowned in the middle, I'm still getting used to it after 3 weeks.
-Corners too rounded, personal preference though.
-On the z70va, if the screen is down, I can lift it up/open without the whole laptop following the lid up. One of those 'convenient' things I got used to. Have to use both hands for the n51
-Bloatware, but not as bad as a Sony har har.
-I will never use expressgate, it's useless to me. Expressgate does not use the vidcard, so you don't get the 13**x7** screen




Noise is almost non-existent while surfing the internets, doesn't bother me because the tv is always in the background.

core temps are low 30C's on idle, on factory thermal paste/whatever.
~35 - low40C's on the net
~60-65 playing bioshock/company of heroes/civ4
temps should be much better w/ arctic silver when I feel proactive.

 

hi everybody
I just bought an Asus N51Vn-X1A from newegg
CPU: P8700 @2.53GHz
Ram: 4GB
HDD: 320GB SATA 7200RPM
Graphic: NVidia Geforce GT 240M 1GB DDR3

it feel way better than my old lenovo Y410 but for some reason when i plug my LCD screen in the LCD is really flickering and every I logged out and logged in again the resolution and position of the screen was reset back to default
PS: the temp always around 40 but the DVD drive is not realy loud and this laptop is a "finger print collector"

 

first post here...

i just got this a couple weeks ago for my girlfriend off craigslist brand new, and so far it's been a tough start. i installed windows 7 64 RC right out of the box, which was a mistake imo. why the HELL does it come with 32bit vista? i emailed asus about potentially exchanging the 32 bit windows 7 home premium for 64 bit home premium, but they said they wouldn't. (oh well, jumped on the $29.99 student offer) driver installation was atrocious because windows 7 couldn't find a lot of the 64 bit drivers. the webcam displays upside down from the factory, requiring me to download separate webcam drivers. i spent at least 5+ hours looking for drivers the first night we had it.

anyway, it's a laptop now, and i think the 64 bit driver support will get much better in the coming months.

i have a question though. we bought this laptop without the battery because for some reason the seller took it out of the box and forgot to replace it. now i can't figure out what the part # is and don't wanna risk buying the wrong battery. is there a nice soul out there that could possibly look at their battery for me?

thanks

 

Well, as I said, I do not expect a notebook that is as quiet as my old Dell was. But it just has to be quiet enough to work concentrated in a quiet surrounding.
Turning up the rpm at full load is absolutely okay, but at low load it should be at low noise, too.
Thanks for the answers, I'll get my N51 in the next few days.

 

What is the difference between thw N51VN-X1A and the A1 other than processor?

 

The A1 also comes with other accessories such as a laptop bag and optical mouse.

 

Otherwise the build is the same I presume?

 

As far as i know, that's correct.

 

By any chance, is it possible to overclock the CPU? Any software that comes with the N51 or a compatible PLL setting for SetFSB?

 

Do you really want to overclock it as powerful as it comes? I'm sure you can though.

 

I see, because I have been looking around beforehand and I didn't really see anything that the N51 has that the G-Series has (the overclocking ability in Power4Gear). I also didn't see any preference that the N51 could use in SetFSB or a similar software. Your right, the CPU is pretty decent, but just planning ahead =)

 

I know Asus ships an overclocking utility with some of their laptops, I would presume it may work with this model as well.

 

I can tell you if it comes with it tomorrow as mine should be delivered tomorrow.

 

Thanks, just curious because there isn't much on the N51 and overclocking the CPU apparently. I know there is a "Turbo" option in the Power4Gear High Performance, but it doesn't do anything from what I heard. CPU-Z reports the same stock clocks. Do tell me how it goes. Looking forward to your discoveries.

 

Hey guys.
I'm thinking of getting N51VN-X1A from newegg.ca for $1099.99 (before shipping and tax)

Right now I own Asus F3Sv-A1 (giving it to my brother)

I have few questions to owners of N51VN.

1. Is 13** x 7** screen good enough for gaming? I was wondering why Asus would put a low resolution screen on a laptop with a good graphic card.
(my F3 has 1440*900 with GeForce 8600M GS)

2. I heard that the X1A model is just A1 model with less powerful CPU and no bag, mouse, etc. Is that the only difference?(same warranty and such) I just find it weird that I can only find X1A at newegg and some websites.

3. If anyone used Newegg.ca to buy the laptop, was the experience satisfying? I never bought a laptop over the net.

4. I see that a lot of people just went straight to W7. Is W7 part of the package when I buy the laptop?

Thank you in advance.

 

hey everyone. i just bought an asus n51vn-a1 and i have a couple questions.

1) about the windows 7 upgrade. i went t asus' website and registered for this, and the at the very last part, it asks you to press a button to calculate shipping. i did this, and it came to zero. but then i was asked for my credit card number. and i couldn't advance until i gave it. anyone else come across this?

2) the laptop is supposed to come with 320 gb of hard drive space, but i checked through windows explorer, and it's only showing about half of that amount installed! anyone else come across this? was i ripped off on hard drive space or is this a vista glitch?

thanks

 

I don't know about the upgrade cost, where did you buy the laptop? Call customer service for an explanation.
Check to see if the harddrive was partitioned into two halfs, then each drive letter would be 160GB. This is nornal for ASUS, unless you bought it from a retailer who customizes. The customizer would have also loaded windows 7 for you, and offered you a 64bit installation with one drive letter. Lets us know how it works out for you!

 

thanks for the reply. turns out i actually have 2 separate hard drives, and never noticed the D drive before! d'oh. well, my only question remaining then is the credit card issue with asus. i'm going to try to get a hold of their customer service department today.

 

Is their a defined list of what bloatware to get rid of? I don't know what to uninstall because I'm really not sure what everything does.

 

i am looking into the n51vn-a1 with blu-ray from jr.com. i want to make sure that i want to keep this notebook before i buy it so could somone please answer these questions:

1) will asus ship a 64 bit upgrade disc?

2) what is the battery life on power saver with the lowest possible settings?

3) Did i get a futureproof laptop regarding the upcoming release of arrandale processors?

4) will the hdmi port play blu-ray movies on a t.v.?

 

Hi all,

I am a new owner for the N51Vn-X1A. I have had it for 2 days then noticed a DEAD PIXEL. I called up Asus notebook Hotline and got an RMA under DOA/Zero Bright Dot 30-days. Asus agent said if even one pixel is defective, LCD panel is replaced for free. He confirmed Fedex express will pick-up the notebook on Monday to return it to Fremont, CA.

However, in the problem report I mentioned that my preferred option is a replacement. I do not want a "repaired" notebook that I just paid 1100$.

I'm sure I will love this notebook once I get it back after x-max (this was our present to me and my gf). Thanks Asus you ruined our x-mas.

Will post results of the experience with Asus RMA service.

One thing I can tell you is that when the Fedex guy comes knocking on my door with the new or repaired notebook, he will have to stick around for my full inspection before I sign for the package. It better be 100% PERFECT or a full refund will be ordered.

For now I give the benefit of the doubt to Asus for this slipping in QA, but I will not put up with a defective LCD panel right out of the box.

To all you who consider buying online, think twice. You need to inspect in detail what's in the box before you take it home. Especially the LCD panel. In stores, I always do make them open the box and plug the unit in, and then I fully inspect the panel for defects.

I have had a viewsonic that's 100% perfect for 4 years, and my mom's samsung that's perfect as well, and both were inspected (however, I did not find a defect in sotres during my inspections).

So do be careful and buy in a store if you can, so you can inspect the goods before taking it home.

Warranty or not, I end up with a refurb/repaired notebook that I just bought new, which is ridiculous.

 

i bought a n51vn-a1 a couple of weeks ago but i don't know much about laptop gaming but i need this laptop to last atleast five years so can someone explain if these temps are healthy

when playing games on full load
acpi 60c
cpu 48c
gpu 70c
hd 38c

idle
acpi 41c
cpu 29c
gpu 40c
hd 33c

 

your idle temps are close to mine.

I've hit high 50c on my cpu playing civ4

 

i actually hit 58c cpu and 72c gpu after a couple of hours but in most games like call of duty 4 and batman arkham asylum i never get there because it blue screens with the nvlddmkm error message