* Asus N61JQ Owners Lounge *

isnt the knock on those that when the crystals all melt they are not effective anymore?

 

yea they are nice enough, but im a little annoyed with them. i was told my notebook would be shipped this monday to accommodate my need to have the laptop by this friday and they didnt send it until yesterday. now ill have to have it sent to me, tacking on more cost. i also had to pay $50 more than other places to have the IC thermal compound applied on my model (n71), but i bit that bullet since i already placed the order and wanted to have it by the time i took off. glad you guys are happy though.

 

Are your viewing angles similar to the ones shown in this video review? He was showing 60 degrees+ horizontal viewing angles which I thought was really good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpu_qF_cpzo#t=7m18s

 

Ally, if you or anybody else wants to test the CPU temperatures under load use Prime95. It's specifically designed to stress test the CPU, so you may want to monitor the temperatures while it's running in case it does get too hot.

http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft/

EDIT: wprime is a good one as well.

http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/Benchmarks/wPrime.shtml

 

That's a bummer, Mine got shipped the day after I ordered it since I called so late in the afternoon. UPS says it should be here on the 15th but I am hoping for Friday! I also opted for a stock notebook because I personally feel that if the paste made that big of difference the manufactures would put it on, but hey if it helps that much and mine burns up I got two years on it!

 

Anyone considering buying this should watch the video Buttes posted.
And if you are wondering about gaming watch this one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1w45_VuGZk&feature=related

 

I wondered about that but I don't have any idea how long that would take.
Are you just asking or is that what you have heard?

 

Got my N61jq-a1 on Monday, turned it on for about 30 minutes at which point it froze up with some pixellation on the display. After reboot, the LCD did not come on. I think the graphics card is dead. Got an RMA from Asus and now have to wait 2 weeks for a replacement as they now only ship fedex ground. Reading some of the horror stories with Asus's return service makes me a little anxious.

On another note, did anyone have trouble with the vga connector hooking up to an external monitor? It seems like the plastic case gets in the way of plugging the cable all the way in. My external monitor ended up showing a lot of noise and vertical lines, but that could have been due to the self-destructing graphics card.

 

I had no problem plugging in my external d-sub (vga) monitor. You can't screw it in, but it is working fine for me. I have two monitors, one through the HDMI and one through the VGA. Yah, I basically use this notebook as a glorified desktop when I'm at home. Sucks about the video card on a brand new laptop. Remember you'll only hear the horror stories on forums as the ones that don't have any issues usually aren't posting.

On the viewing angle of this monitor. The vertical viewing angle on this monitor is not a lot, I'd say maybe 20 deg. The horizontal however is ridiculously good. Personally I've found the monitor to be very bright and I've had to turn it down. For the person who posted about the problem with seeing gray instead of black, I'd recommend turning the brightness down, it helps a lot.

 

Welcome to the owners Lounge. I'm sure this is not the way you were planning to debut on this thread. This is the first report of a video card failure.
Just curious wouldn't it have been faster to go through your reseller since you just got it. And I have not heard of these Asus horror stories do you know of a thread that might elaborate on this?
Let us know how the return process goes.

 

thats what ive heard in reviews on similar pads on amazon. a workaround that i thought of earlier, and then saw someone mention on the amazon review for that pad, is to buy 2 and then rotate them. while you are using one keep spent one in the freezer. the guy on amazon said he swaps them out every 2 hours. but if cost is a concern that would be up to $70 for the two of them, the same as it would cost to get the zalman nc2000 which people seemed pleased with.

 

hey guys, how do I increase the size of the OS partition using Windows 7? I tried in disk management but when I right click on the partition the "extend" option is greyed out. Any tips?

 

The default ASUS install has three partitions. The first is usually the smallest and is the recovery partition. The second is usually mounted as the C: OS partition. The last one is usually the D: partition. You have to remove the D partition before you'll be able to extend the C partition. I don't remember the options but I believe I had to remove D and then delete it. It should show up as unpartitioned before you'll be able to resize C. Make sure you've backed up all data before attempting any of this.

 

thanks! it worked.

I wonder if when I do a recovery it will go back to the way it was and lose my data on the D partition.

 

Evening, I have been reading the forum. i think I am close to pulling the trigger on the Asus n61jq. I have benefited tremendously from the reviews and answers here so thank you. Here in Canada the best deal seems to be newegg.ca . Over the past weeks I have been searching for the best system in the smallest package for the best price, who isn't. I have researched the processors the 720qm processor doesn't seem to be as efficient at the i5 520. But I haven't been able to find a i5 520m with a comparable GPU. How is the weight of the system. I have a dv 6618ca currently so it is not light. How is battery life on standard tasks and are there ways to optimize the life? I am not a huge gamer. Actually the only game I care about is microsoft flight sim on high settings. As ever since i bought it years ago I have never seen it in all it's glory. For me I think the video editing capability is what i will find the most useful.

I know technology jumps in leaps and bounds but I have had this laptop for over 3 yrs and it wasn't top of the line when I bought it. I am looking at a more top of the line system so i don't have to upgrade for maybe 4 /5 years. Portability and battery life are important to me. Is this laptop overkill for my needs? Am I placing too much importance on the graphic card if I am not a gamer. Any and all thoughts would be appreciated.

 

"Wow Nu! That's a frickin good deal! Does that include shipping?!"

yeah it does.

"$985.50 after the bing thingy...That's like $100 bucks less than every one else is paying!"

I know. Sweet, huh?

 

Welcome to the boards jbwolf!

The system is about 6.5 lbs, which isn't super heavy but this notebook is far from a thin and light too, obviously. I don't have mine yet, but I've read that other people who have it are getting around 2 hours battery life while browsing the web. The GPU in this should be more than enough for you to run Flight Simulator at it's highest settings.

I think this laptop is a great choice if you're planning on keeping it for a long time. While the GPU may be overkill for your needs now, remember that you're planning on keeping it for a while, so it will definitely be nice to have in case you want to use it for it's full capabilities down the road (like the next Flight Simulator). The i7 is pretty much brand new in notebooks, so that will last a long time without showing it's age much. Plus it has USB 3.0, which will be nice in the coming months and years.

As for if it's right for you, I'd say the battery life is the biggest concern for this laptop in your case. With the standard battery you'll not get much more than 2 hours when browsing the web, so if that's not enough for you you may want to look elsewhere.

 

Thank's for the input. It makes sense that you might need a backup and that would make it cost prohibative. But when you mention similar pads and putting them in the freezer it makes me wonder if thoose are not similar since these say they don't need refrigeration. But thank's to your input i'm going to research it some more before considering a purchase.

 

thats what that gal says she does and it was for that pad...look for the review that says "buy two"

http://www.amazon.com/ThermaPAK-HS17A-17-Inch-Cooling-Heatshift/dp/B001IZLGCW/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

i dont think you need to cool them off in that manner by design, i think she probably does it to speed up the process as she uses the other (and maybe they last a little longer out of the freezer? ive never dealt with them). i like the idea of that type of pad, but after hearing they are ineffective after the crystals melt and the idea that it lays flush (for the most part) against the bottom intake vents, i kind of get turned off. another thing that would be nice to know, if you assume they work well, is what the lifetime would be for them.

 

thanks brochiller, I am not finding great #'s for any i7 core battery life but I'm not sure if i5 core's have a better one. The only other laptop i'm looking at is a sony vaio, I can get one similar price with a i720 but only a 310m card, will flight sim play on that card you think, none of the benchmarks even mention that game anymore. I also don't think the battery life is any better. And it only weighs around 1 lb less which i don't think is that much. As I am really looking at longevity I am really weighing my options , trying to. The old want vs need immediately battle is running in my head. I am debating how much the pricing will come down if I wait a month or so. But the asus seems like such a good deal compared to anything else.

 

If your talking about the F11 Series they have some issues....mainly a high pitched whining noise that a very high percentage of the laptops have....I looked at them for a bit but didnt like the 310 GPU and the potential whining noise.

 

There are many ASUS resellers in Vancouver: A-Power, NCIX, Generic Computer, etc. Visit ASUS website: http://promos.asus.com/wheretobuy/CA/NB_ca.htm?prod=NB&ctry=US
You'll get full warranty, larger HDD, and best of all you'll get to see a human being with your order.
Cheers!

 

Thanks for all your replies, especially valuable insight on shortcomings of HP notebooks. I did consider the N61JA initially but since the JQ is cheaper with a Quad-core and the same 5730 I reckoned faster for cheaper is good?

I guessed I'm just paranoid regarding the heat concerns since it has only been isolated incidents with high temps. So yeah, pretty zooming in on this, all I have to do is just a find a good quote for it in Australia.

 

Has anyone tried their webcam? I think I got a defective webcam as there's a bright purple discoloration on the left edge of the image/video.

 

May have been faster to go through the reseller, but my impression was that they do not handle warranty issues like repairs and replacement. I contacted them, and they kindly offered to talk to make sure with Asus that the upgrades I bought were installed if the laptop was replaced.

This is the thread I was looking at about RMAs: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=413829 Of course, as someone pointed out, one is likely to hear mostly the bad experiences.

 

No discoloration on mine. Make sure you don't have some type of filter in the software you are using to test the web cam.

If you're using lifeframe it definitely has some funky filters.

 

yeah it was the sony f11 , i read the stuff about that too. I think the best bang for the buck right now is this asus. I'm now really debating what I need vs battery life. The point about i7 being the latest technology and not wanting to upgrade my laptop for 4/5 years after this also weighs in. The technology may not be fully utilized yet but it should be in the future.

 

I was originally considering a Vaio F series laptop too, but ultimately decided that the Asus was a better deal for me. The battery lives of the two will be very similar, so the only real advantage the F has is the 1 lb. difference, which isn't even that big of a deal, imo. The N61 will undoubtedly run Flight Simulator at full details, while the GT 310m comes nowhere close to the performance of the 5730, and I doubt it could run it on anything close to high details. Check this link, some people with a laptop similar to the N61 only with a better GPU couldn't even run it at max settings. Apparently it's a pretty poorly optimized game.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=439392&highlight=flight+simulator+x

Also, I wouldn't expect a price drop in either of them for a while. Both models have just been released within the past month. Manufacturers are struggling to keep up with demand in both cases at the moment, so there's really no reason to drop the price.

 

What I've been reading is that people are getting as much as 3 hours on battery life in 'office mode' or something like that.

Even if 2 hours is what can be achieved, I'm sure undervolting the cpu will add some battery life and the machine looks like its equipped to handle higher celled batteries when they are released.

 

I think the best bet is to get it from ncix jjj, They are close by and if I buy it on visa it extends the 2 yrs manufacturers warranty to 3 , no BB plan this time. I have never owned an Asus but from all accounts they seem to be built well. Brochiller thanks for the link I will check it out, Flight sim requires a lot of GPU and CPU power to run efficiently. I haven't actually played it in a long time because the stuttering drove me nuts on any decent graphic setting. Thanks for all the food for thought guys.

 

Any ideas on a backpack that will fit this thing? My old 15.4" backpack fits way too tight.

 

I have a Kensington for my old Toshiba 17" (10lb w/o brick!), and it has survived. Get the "Contour" series. They have a lifetime warranty and are very comfortable with helpful features. They are expensive but definitely worth it, and often go on sale. My original old case's strap started to fray so I called them. After a few questions they said they'd mail me replacement new case. My wife is now still using the old one and I have the new one. Excellent warranty.

 

I was literally going to purchase this laptop today, but to my disappointment, I don't know where to buy it from anymore. I went to check out at XOTICPC but then I realized that it says it was on back order in big red letters, so that's a no go. Newegg doesn't list the A1 and they jacked up the price of the X1 by $50 and also no longer does free shipping. Amazon lists the A1 as a pre-order and estimates that it won't ship until March. I guess this makes Powernotebooks the best choice, but their cash discounted price is the same as XOTICPC and Amazon's regular price. I'd prefer to be using this laptop by next week, maybe the week after at the latest. Owner's lounge, what is my best course of action?

 

jbwolf: I haven't used NCIX but friend has and likes them. Funny thing, I asked them about adding thermal paste; they checked and said Asus told them it would void warranty. Yet US resellers mentioned many times here, can add paste with warranty intact - so check if you're thinking about that.
I've also visited one of their 2 BC distributors, Supercom in Richmond. They may be of assistance if needed. I think you need to pre-order them from a BC reseller and it takes about 10 days (that was the case a few weeks ago). I'm going to buy N61JQ from Generic as I have good experience with them next week. Keep us updated jbwolf.

 

If your buying it stock I think Powernotebooks ships it the next day, if its modded add no more than 3-5 days. XoticPC and Powernotebook are both great, and have excellent customer service. So I wouldn't worry about Powernotebooks. I also bought mine from Powernotebooks.

 

GenTech also show the N61 as in stock as well and mine shipped same day even with adding in the IC Diamond stuff.

 

Ah very nice. I never looked at GenTech but that definitely looks perfect for me. Thanks for the help guys.

Edit: One last question. Is it worth it to pay the extra $15 for some upgraded cooling compound? The N61 doesn't run too hot even with stock paste does it?

 

Unless you plan to do some major Overclocking I wouldnt be that concerned as these things run very cool........not sure I would have paid for it if I did it again knowing how cool they run.

 

Awesome, done and done. Thanks!

 

Hey if any of you N61 people could help out there is a guy over on the N71 thread that is wondering if there is a Raid option in the bios......I looked on my N71 and there was no option for raid but a N61 guy said in his bios there was a raid option so was wondering if a few of you could look and let us know.

In the bios there should be a Sata section and once you hit enter it brings up 2-3 options.....AHCI, IDE, and possibly RAID.

Can anyone verify if theirs has RAID as an option in that menu?

 

just pulled the trigger, ordered it they had two left in stock I pick it up tomorrow morning in the Vancouver store. It comes with a 2 yr warranty. + I get one more because of my visa. Now I am excited. Thanks for all the help. I'll be sticking around to give my review and also getting tips on maximizing it's potential. After doing serious research for 2 weeks I feel very confident in this product and it will be light years ahead of my Hp Dv6618 gotto love technology upgrades

 

buttes try ncix.com I just ordered one, they just got some in though the guy I spoke with on the phone told me they only had two left in stock company wide

 

So can anybody from the N61JQ owners confirm if there is a RAID option in the bios?

 

Congrats jbwolf! Are you getting the paste? If this is the W. Broadway store, who did you deal with? When you pick up remember Olympic parking restrictions.
Cheers

 

I know I already posted this in the N71JQ forum but I have all three options, which includes RAID. Can someone else with the N61JQ confirm theres as well. It's under Advanced > Got to the SATA Option then hit enter > Then click enter button again to bring up the menu. You should see IDE, AHCI (default), RAID.

 

Well, I received mine today. I haven't played with it too much but, the speakers are a little better then average. The screen is my biggest disappointment but a minor one. Understand that I have had 12" 1280x800 screens and 15" 1440x900 screens and 17" 1920x1280 screens. I knew that 16" 1366x768 could look a little different and, it does. Things are just not as crisp on the display then the others I have owned. I do believe that the edge-to-edge plastic covering over the screen also plays a part in that and it is something that I like.

All in all, so far it seems very nice. I am heading from work and heading home soon. Lets see how it looks at home... when I am relaxed!

 

Hi,
I`ve been trying to find a N62jq but without any luck.
If anyone here still has an idea where I could find one in stock, please tell me, I want to start working on high res. stuff an my old samsung is dying on me.

I would be also OK with buying a somewhat slower model, i5 or similar.
any tip would be great as I`m overwhelmed by the asus models.

oh, i`m in montreal right now if that helps.

 

Actually I was also first looking into N61JQ. Two main things which made me go for the bigger brother N71JQ were the screen and the two hard disks.

@svga
Gentech PC seems to still have them.
Look here: http://1toppc.com/Merchant2/merchan...e=N61JQ-A1&Category_Code=AS15&Product_Count=7

 

hei turbogear, jeder tip waere hilfreich

ich dachte das ein "schlechteres" model unter umstaenden eher auf lager ist.

 

Congrats! Would be nice to see some pics.