Asus N53SV & N53SN SandyBridge Owner Thread

Hi guys so I recently received this laptop and replaced the hard drive with an SSD(SATA2) and some new RAM. When I try to install Windows it shows up under boot priority but when Windows asks me where to install Windows to it says it can't detect a hard drive, any thoughts?

My second question is regarding the network card. Can you explain step by step how to get to the network card? I tried removing the keyboard and the screws beneath it, but I can't get the top to lift up to get to the network card without feeling like I'm going to break something. I'm just hoping I don't have to unscrew everything to get to it if I can help it. Thanks in advance!

 

Hello there, I've got a small problem with my N53SN. The thing is when I'm on Battery, with HighPerf profile and run a game using my nvidia card it simply chokes... there are moments when everything is smooth and secondes later the fps choke and so on... when I plug the power cord everything is 100% smooth all the time. It looks to me like the nvidia gpu is like throtthling from highPerf 3d to lowPower3d... Everything in power management for this profile is set for high perf. Only thing I did not try is to fix in HKLM\..\CurrentControlSet\Video the performance key for nvidia gpu...

 

Hi all,

I'm a newb and proud owner of a brand new N53SV and I love it, but I'm just wondering if anyone has been able to find a vendor for 9 cell batteries for it?I've googled and the only one I can see is on Ebay so I'm understandably cautious.

The only thing I'm not mad about is the battery life but them's the breaks I guess.

P.s I really, really, really don't understand the kerfuffle over the keyboard. I write for a living and I find the keyboard one of the sturdiest and user friendly I've ever worked with. The ''flex'', (if you can call it that) is supposed to actually facilitate quicker typing and I agree.

 

found this one a while back
ASUS N53SV Battery | Replacement ASUS N53SV Battery Online Store
no idea if its genuine...

 

Yeah, saw that, also not sure about how kosher it is. Anybody have any idea about it? I'm in Ireland so getting it shipped from Asia is a pain in the a***.

 

I'm having a weird problem.
Got a wirless microsoft mobile mouse. When I put the computer on sleep and the usb transmitter is still connected, it sometimes turns itself on!
I checked on hardware settings - all options to enable it to wake the machine are off. Not sure how to solve this one.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/7557625-post404.html I posted one earlier that ships from US/Canada. Cheers!

What is the white CD? I see two CDs, whereas my shipment only had one. I have the black/silver disk. I bought an open box for almost half the price so those that disk is missing!

 

Aha! That sounds like a much better option. Thanks a million! I've been scouring t'internets for an age.

Also, while I'm here, how much longer do you get out of the 9 cell, again does anyone know?

 

Asus Software pretty much

 

I was curious to know if any of you guys have purchased a laptop cooler/cooling pad for this notebook? I'm looking into getting one for my N53SV but I wanted to see if I can get any input from other owners

 

I got question - if you run SpeedFan and some CPU burning apps like Prime95 or OCCT, what are the temperatures on CPU? - my notebook reaches about 75°C and I guess that's not a healthy temperature, is it?

 

That is very low, if you are talking about CPU temp. Usually CPU temp during burn tests are high 80's or low 90's.

 

Hello there,

I'm planning to buy this laptop and I'm wondering if any of you have the version with the esata port. This is very important to me, since I have a couple of expensive external HDD with that connection.

On the other hand, have any of you installed a SDD in the blu-ray disc bay? If so, is it possible to configure it as the system HDD?

Finally, do you know if after replacing the disc unit with a SDD, will it be possible to use the blu-ray unit as a external one (with some sort of external case via USB 2.0 or 3.0)?

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

I just got an N53SV and noticed something weird with the trackpad. Two finger scrolling seems to work perfectly in most applications, but it doesn't work at all in Windows Explorer. Is this the case for everyone, and does anyone know how to fix it?

Thanks.

 

@mighty the proper way to scroll is first touch one finger and then tap with the second finger of the other hand and the scrolling will work

 

I've done tests using both Prime95 and OCCT, and the CPUs temperature got hotter with AC and slightly cooler (lower CPU speeds) on battery.

 

I just installed a SSD to where the HDD used to be, and put the HDD in the disc bay. I suppose it should also work if the SSD is in the optical bay too, I don't see any reason why not.

 

Thanks for the tip, but still no luck. I can scroll perfectly well in every other application, so I'm not sure what's up with Windows Explorer. I take it from your response that you haven't seen the same problem... I might try uninstalling and re-installing the touchpad driver.

 

Question - does this notebook supports DDR3 RAM on 1600MHz ? Or the max supported speed is 1333MHz? I plan to replace the initial memory kit 2+4 GB with better 4+4 GB modules, in dual-channelm so the only question here is is it worth investing in more expensive modules?

 

Hi guys,

I recently purchased an Asus N53SV-B1 and I am extremely pleased with this laptop over the Dell 9300 that I used to have.

Pros: The Full HD screen is awesome, the build quality is excellent, and the core i5 processor is extremely fast. Also the laptop stays extremely cool and the fans are whisper-quiet. I am currently getting about 5 hours of use in battery saver mode with the 6-cell battery.

cons: The wireless adapter is decent, the keyboard is o.k. and the bloatware is excessive. Also the laptop is a little heavy to carry around on a daily basis. The audio is also just average.

My problem is that I have not been able to play any blu-rays b/c the Powerdvd software that this machine came with requires an activation code but did not come with any powerdvd installation discs or documentation. Has anyone else run into this problem? Where can I go to get the activation codes?

 

I bought an average notebook cooler with the laptop but It seems pretty useless unless you play games too much. Since I do play some high-end stuff, I tend to keep the laptop on the cooler at all times. Even without it I'd say the temperature is around normal levels while gaming. With less demanding programs, the laptop doesn't even get warm!

 

So anyone have any luck with a backlit keyboard yet?

 

Hey guys, just starting to read through this thread as this sounds like my next laptop.

Quick question, has anyone posted a breakdown of the available models in this family and their differences? I want to make sure I'm looking at all the available options before pulling the trigger on one of these.

Thanks

 

Phew, just finished reading 48 pages. Okay, I didn't see any breakdown or links to all available models so I'll have to check the usual suspects (Newegg, Amazon).

However, I still have a few questions after reading through this thread:

1) Is the Blu-Ray drive Read/Write or Read only?

2) Is there a confirmed HDD caddy that is being used by members? I want to run 2 Hard drives when I order this.

3) Is there an option for Virtualization in the BIOS? I intend to run Server 2008 and Hyper-V and require virtualization support.

 

Just bought my N53SV-XV1 today from Newegg for $979.99.

It seems like they just sold out (again...someone must have cancelled their order between last night and this morning because they were out of stock when I went to bed, back in stock this morning, and back out of stock not too long after I ordered), so I'm glad I ordered when I did. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like it's going to ship today, so I'm going to have to wait until next Wednesday or Thursday to get it (free 3 day shipping, but UPS sometimes delivers a day early when it comes out of New Jersey).

I ordered 4 GB of RAM with it (which also sold out, oddly), and I'm going to see about a wireless card after I used it for a bit. I'd rather break it in to make sure there are no problems before messing with it too much. I bought a Windows 7 pro upgrade for $30 using my student email address, so bloatware shouldn't be an issue, just drivers maybe.

Does anyone have any experience playing games like Team Fortress 2, Portal 2, or Battlefield Bad Company on the laptop? I saw some complaints about relatively old games earlier on in the thread, but it looked like it could be an nvidia software issue.

Thanks for the 48 pages of posts of advice that helped me make my decision.

 

I run 2 hard drives in it now with a Fenvi caddy, works perfect. There are cheaper ones, but this brand was recommended in the caddy discussion, so that is what I got.

I bought it from here: 12.7mm SATA 2nd HDD caddy for ACER BENQ HP DELL ASUS - eBay (item 190482181595 end time Jul-18-11 19:15:24 PDT)

 

@cipher7 Where do you live?

I'm glad to hear this thread helped you out, it did the same for me a while back. I believe I run TF2 at full HD with max settings without issue, I don't think Portal 2 should be much different. I run BC2 at medium at 768. You can probably push that to medium-high, but the frame rate will stutter a bit in intense combat situations.

 

Thanks. I just added TF2 to my Steam account the other day because it's free to play and have Portal 2 collecting dust because the game doesn't support the chipset (integrated graphics) on my current laptop, so I'm definitely going to play those two. I'm definitely not looking to play Crysis 2 on max settings or anything, but it's nice to hear that the types of games I'm interested run fine.

Edit: Another question- has anyone had any luck getting a 9-cell battery for this line? I'd be tempted to get one if it was legit and reasonably priced, but I can't seem to find any definitive answers as to which Asus batteries are compatible.

 

Buy N53SV or wait for U36SD is my question of the week... hehe.

 

I picked up the N53SV-A2 yesterday and am very impressed the hardware being offered for this price. I've been testing an install with Server 2008 R2 & Hyper-V and eveything is going well so far.

My plan is to add the following over the next couple of weeks:
1) Replace the main hard drive with a 240GB SSD drive
2) Install a hard drive caddy & the main hard drive where the blu-ray drive currently sits
3) Install 16 GB RAM and sell the shipped 6 GB RAM
4) Add a replacement keyboard (maybe the same one linked by Nama8137)
5) Replace the wireless card for one with dual band and bluetooth

Vorlon, thanks for the confirmation link to the hard drive caddy on eBay. This is the one I'll end up buying.

DK00111, I live in Oakville after moving here from downtown Toronto last year. Also, I picked up this laptop from Canada Computers.

 

Also, I asked earlier if the Blu-Ray drive (Liteon DS-4E1S) supports burning Blu-Rays. While I don't have any blank Blu-Ray media to test this myself, the following link indicates that this drive only reads blu-rays:

4X Blu-Ray Player Combo DS-4E1S USB External Slim DVD Drive [DS-4E1S]- US$49.99 - Eeshops Wholesale

I've also verified this in Aida64 Extreme.

 

@cipher7, ah I was going to use your location to help you out with the different models, but it's a bit late for that.

 

I can hear a slight high pitch sound emitting from the vent on left side of my one week old N53SV machine. It could be coming from the fan. It's slightly noticeable, but not too much unless I stick my ear next to the vent. Is it normal? Should I be worried?

 

If that pitch changes depending on the workload of your processor, then it could be either of these problems:

1. Processor C1 whine
2. Low quality PWMs.

You can distinguish them by shutting your computer off, and listen for that same pitch. If the pitch still exist for a couple seconds, then it is low quality PWMs. If the pitch stops the second you turn off the computer, then it is the processor whine.

Fortunately, both issues have no serious long term ramifications (unless you have a defective capacitor), and both need to be sent back to the repair depot for exchange.

 

The pitch doesn't change depends on workload. And it stops the moment computer is turned off, so it seems like what you said about C1 whine. I was thinking it was the exhaust fan, since the high pitch sound comes from the vent area.

Though I have to admit I can only hear it if my head is very close to the laptop.

 

UPDATE: Adding SSD to my Asus N53SV Laptop

I just received my "NEW SATA 2nd HDD caddy for 12.7mm Universal CD/DVD-ROM" from Amazon (the seller was "accessoryon") for $14.49. Ordered June 18 arrived (a week or two early) July 6 from China. I had already pulled the spinning disk out of the computer and replaced it with an 80 Gb SSD.

I partitioned and formatted the 500 Gb spinning disk using an external case.

Following the dis-assembly guide (THANKS for the info & link ahero4heor) I removed the DVD/CD (you only have to pop off the keyboard to get to it).

REMEMBER: Unplug the Laptop AND remove the Battery!

Installing the HD into the adapter is pretty straight forward. You have to use a bracket that must be removed from the CD/DVD Drive. The holes in the adapter need to be threaded with the bracket screws (Push real hard while screwing them in).

Instructions for installing the HD into the bracket are printed on the adapter.

4 mounting screws are provided, they are to be screwed into the sides of the HD. A clip must be (carefully) pried out of the adapter. Adjust the screws to align the HD in the adapter. Slide it onto the connector and snap the clip back in place.

The front plastic bezel is a little too long for the Asus, I trimmed it to fit using a side cutters.

I put everything back together and fired up the laptop, It found the HD and all is good.

 

Good news everyone - I recently asked one guy in Intel, how it is possible, that my CPU i7-2630QM does not supports AES-NI instruction, but on Intel web it is shown, that it is supported.
My Search

I received this answer:

So the question is - is there a way how to enable AES-NI in our notebooks N53SN? Any thoughs? This instruction should increase significantly performance of encrypted FS, so it's worth a shot finding some solution

 

Hi. Im a new owner of N53SV-XV1 and so far love everything about it. How ever Im having a big issue with the speakers...they distort and sound horrible with any music that has bass past 50% loudness which is annoying, but from what I read this laptops have great sound quality due to the Bang & Olufsen ICEpowe. the strange thing is that ASUS provides a realtek driver but I though there was another peace of soft wear that u need in order to get the best sound out of it? Am I wrong and the sound is really that bad? Any advice's? Thanks.

P.S I did a format and a clean install of windows 7 runnin SP1 ATM.
P.S I managed to fix the distortion the realteck program was set to CD qality and would cause rediculus distortion, once set onto studio quality distortion is gone Im still curious if there is any other program that comes with this ICEpower?

 

Hi, just got my new N53SN, and i absolutely love it. But i have some questions after reading the 49 pages:

- what is the recommended HDD caddy. There are a couple of suggestions but they vary a lot in price. Where should i buy mine? interested in a quality one but not to expensive.

-also can someone tell me exactly how do i remove the DVD bay? (must remove keyboard or not?)

Regards to the beast, i have the 8GB, GT550m, FHD model and it's the choice to go.
- Love the FHD screen (just a bit to bright)
- the keyboard flex sucks
- always cool even in full load (what an upgrade from my toaster VAIO)
- great design (just a bit to big, for that syze it could pack a 2nd hdd bay)
- great sound
- the gforce is more than enough
- MUST have a clean install (bloatware is too much)
- could be faster at loading (will solve this with the SDD)

 

Get the Fenvi caddy I posted a link to earlier here, I know that one works on my machine.

Yes you must remove the keyboard. You have to gently un-hinge the 5 little tab on top of the keyboard by depress them downward. Then you have to un-screw one of the middle screw that holds the DVD bay. There are some pics in another thread that shows which screw that is.

 

Turn off any sound "enchancement" settings like dolby surroundd etc. See if that helps.

 

thanks man, will try and find those pics

 

Hi all. I'm following this thread for a while now, don't have read it all, but most part of it.

I just ordered the Asus N53SN and i'm waiting for the Intel 6200 has some of you did. I would like to know if you guys could help me out telling me what are the places that i really need to unscrew the screws, so i don't have to dismantle all of it. If you guys could help me i would really appreciate it.

One more thing, do i have any benefit if instead of changing for an SSD with SATA2 connection change for one which supports sata3? Since I read it only supports sata2 i am in doubt.

 

mine supports SATA3, at least that's what HWINFO reads

 

I think i will do the same and check it out when it arrives before changing to the SSD.

Thanks

 

hi may i ask what is battery life on n53sn while using integrated gpu, and text processing?? thanks a lot

 

Hi, I got problem - if I connect external USB 3.0 drive to the USB 3.0 port and put computer to sleep, after waking the drive is not recognized even after reconnecting to the USB 3.0 port, if I connect it to another port, it works - there is probably bug with USB 3.0 driver not waking up the port - do you know about alternative better drivers for the USB 3.0 port?

 

I have a problem with my new N53SN, i get some occasional freezes, the all computer freezes, no button works, nothing, the only thing is to press the power button

any help please

 

Any ticking noise from the harddrive before its freezing?

 

not that i have noted, but i really hasn't paying attention and the hdd is very quiet

will pay attention next time it occurs

The support from Asus says they only help if i have original W7 and hidden partition, (idiots!) but that's all gone. Clean install W7 ultimate.

I run memtest and it's not the RAM. I suspect either Hdd or usb