C90S Review

Probably just a strict definition; the fans definitely aren't running fast (like they do in a game or the like), but there is a noticeable sound that isn't there on power saving mode. More of a twirling type sound then the blowing sound when the fans speed up.

 

this mostly likely has been covered already but...

What is the recommended speed of a harddrive to use. I've read that the left palm rest feels like a furnace with a 7,200rpm HD, however with a 5,400rpm HD you get less heat but less speed also. And there are reasons to use a 5,400 with fast transfer speed. But some 7,200rpm drives can match the transfer speed of a 5,400rpm HD. I don't know what i should get.

edit:
Also, What is the recommended amount of ram. I was going to get 2 gig, for the purpose of dual channel. But i heard that with a 1 gig and 2 gig set up, it also has dual channel. So i'm confused.

edit edit:
And about a OS, i will go for Vista Business (thanks AlexOnFyre), however i've been reading that it has too many drivers missing. Are their any vital drivers missing, i mainly want to use Nero, Steam(Cs:s) and Ms Word. Like what type of drivers is vista lacking? Will the C90S have any problems running vista driver wise?
(My big concern is if vista will break down on me and leave me stranded in college with no comp to write a report on)

 

getting a upgrade dvd is the best way to go. I would just get vista home premium upgrade dvd (and if your eligible or education discount its only 70$)

Vista ultimate/business/ect dont add much that a normal person will use on a regular basis, and anything that is missing there is a 3rd person program out there that can do it just as good or better for free.

 

Home Premium does have all that Media Center bloatware crap though, that is why I don't like it.

Also, the 7200 stopped getting so hot, I think it was actually Vista that was causing that (apparently it accesses the HDD non-stop the first week or so it is in use, so that it can familiarise Super-Fetch with how you use your computer. Lately (for the past 3 or 4 days, there have been no heat issues at all. I am going to update my review with that.

 

I like media center since I use my notebook as a media center however bloatware is things usually that are preinstalled that run and eatup resources. media center is just a program alterntative to windows media player that you choose to run or not. So I dont call it bloatware I call it extra options/features.

Going by your philosophy we should all stick with the most basic because any extra program is bloatware... aka vista home basic.

 

i know this is an odd request but can anyone mail me or send me over the net, a copy of the asus c90s driver disk. i seem to have accidently thrown it away, and don't necessarily need it but you never know.

anyone who would be so kind to help can please PM me

 

i just order the c90s hopefully it'll come soon so i can sell my $3000 desktop

 

einhander, both a great sword and a great game. Awesome name!

 

einhander did you order your laptop from gentechpc.com. If you did can you tell us when you get it, i just want to see how long it takes to arrive, because i'm going to college in a couple of week and would like to have the laptop before then.

 

If you place an order by today, they should be able to have it shipped next Friday.

 

I ordered mine on July 9th from Gentech and it still hasn't shipped. Apparently it's supposed to ship this week though.

 

i ordered mine the 17th hoping to have it by the 26th, and definately no dice there. I think they're having a few of these puppies on order, so no suprise they're running behind schedual. also tooki, does you order tracking say its PROCESSING still? And have they called to check your Credit card info? I figured they'd make that call ASAP to get it outta the way, but i guess not.

 

well btotech.com - ordered mine july 17th, had it the 19th....

 

i bought mines from cyberpowerpc it is supposed to ship on the 2nd of august

 

Mine still says processing even though I already got the call. Is this ok or should it have changed to something else? As far as I know all I can do now is wait.

 

I'm pretty sure its normal, since mine says processing as well.

 

Question for Alex, or any other c90 owner that would like to answer:

Has anyone gotten around to testing the battery (fully yet)?
The reason I bring this up is:
Alex speculated in his initial post that he expected to get about an hour and a half of battery life. (I've also seen some references to two hours in this thread). Of course that was before the discovery of the Super-Fetch issue which besides heating up the palm rest could have caused the battery to drain faster both as a result of the hard drive staying active and the cooling system activating/staying on longer.

Also for those that have tested the battery what processor are you using in the system. I'm curious how much (if any) increase in battery life there is from using a slower processor in the system (which should not only run slower under normal conditions, but also speed step to a slower speed) than the faster processors.

 

okay they just bumped my expected ship date to 8/8/07 so... looks like my inspiron will come first.

 

There was a user who did a comprehensive battery life test, and it is about 90 minutes under light usage.

 

here my test:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=143907

 

yeah btotech.com seem pretty cool. Lets you have alot more warrantys. Plus my favorite one, the dead pixel warranty. They also ship really fast, i just ordered mine from them, we will see how it turns out.

 

Alex I have been lurking in these boards for a while now and just wanted to thank you and all the others who have done such great reviews. You guys were all paramount in helping me decide that this was a notebook that would work for my needs. Thanks a lot!

 

I don't know about any comprehensive testing, but from my usage I get 1 hr 50 minutes tops without any modifications. This is just internet surfing with maybe a youtube vid playing as well as low light setting and low volume. On average though, 90 mins is quite accurate.

If you are playing a game you will have just enough batt life to dig in your bag, grab your AC adapter, and dash to the nearest outlet... lol it isnt quite THAT bad but its close.

 

Always glad to hear that we can help =)

 

does anyone think the touchpad is awesome like i do? i read when people first started getting them that the touchpad was bad but i think its quite good, 10x better then my dv2500t that i sent back

 

The touch pad WORKS good, but the paint on it causes my finger to stick and thats the problem, so unless my finger is dry its a pain to use.

 

I got a touchpad improver from coriolis (who I believe got them from Portable One), it is half the size of the C90 touchpad, but gives a much nicer, more tactile feel. I situated it in the top left corner, I think it looks cool, two-tone on the silver pad.

 

I may look into a few mods for the c90 down the road, mostly a material I can put on the touchpad to make it work better, and something for the palm rest area to make it softer. Its very uncomfortable to rest my hands there with them just being solid plastic.

 

now they be an odd question but::

what video cards can this system DOWNgrade to? i only ask for people who would like better battery life?

will downgrading improve battery life a siginificant amount or will it not even be noticible?

 

Got some more news. Ran 3DMark06 with all stock drivers except my hybrid Forceware drivers. Gpu at 540 core/575 mem. Overclock mode at 2.93ghz. 3gb corsair. Windows XP 32 bit.

 

Orly? What's your hardware again, swoley2k?

 

Its pretty much all there on the screen. E6700, 3gb Corsair, Seagate 160gb 7200rpm.

 

Great Job Swoley ! I think nobody has gone over 3900. what's the driver version.?

 

The highest I have heard is swoley's 3815...

 

And that's stock with just the CPU overclocked? So I guess it is true -- 3DMark06 is more CPU-intensive... Just means I have to get a 6700! Gotta share with us your secrets, swoley2k!

Awaiting 3DMark07 scores! XD

I'm aware it's not out yet, but it should be soon, since 3DMark06 came out January 2006 and 3DMark05 came out September 2004. Hopefully 3DMark07 will come out this September as speculated with its Vista/DX10/Quad-Core benchmarks.

 

Its NOT stock! Like I said the gpu was at 540 core/ 575 mem. Its ALL on the screen people.

 

Heres an update. Gpu at 550 mem at 590. BTW the 80 degrees is a little misleading as it only got that hot during the final part of the last test. It even got down to 72 degrees. The gpu is using the stock little thermal "stickers" that come with it! Pretty amazing!

 

Ok, I ran again and got 3998 at 555 core/ 595 mem. I was going for 4000. I can get it but I had to shutdown and let it take a break just to play it safe. When I get 4000, ill restart and then let it loop at those settings to test the stability. Stay tuned!

 

Well, 3dmark took me a little literally when I aimed at 4000 so....anyway now ill loop it to see if its stable

 

Ok I was able to get 3832 after looping each test 5 times STABLE:

E6700 at 2.93ghz
3gb Corsair (2gb + 1gb)
8600M GT DDR2 at 530 core/ 560 mem
Windows XP 32 bit
DirectX 9 August 2007 Redistribute
My hybrid Forceware drivers
All other stock drivers

 

^ great. Are you using the latest directx?

 

Yes, DirectX August 2007 redistribute.

 

Quick, easy, and dumb question...

Will the HDMI port cause any issues if I try to hook it up to my 24" Monitor? I'd need to use an HDMI -> DVI adapter.

Thanks!

 

FORTUNATELY, no. But it still depends on what driver you use.

 

Another dumb question. Could I theoretically hook up two screens to the notebook? One through the vga out and one through the hdmi out?

 

Good question. You caught me at the perfect time. Ill test that out in just a minute.

 

So there's a specific driver that I need to use?

 

Two last questions before I click the "order" button.

1. Is there just a strict internal Wireless-G card I could buy? I don't need a "N" card at all.

2. How's the noise? I'll be using this while recording vocals and what via microphones..is it any more noticeable than a typical desktop?

 

Some of the drivers have bad overscan issues which is a problem that will happen on all displays when hdmi is involved not just your monitor In other words your monitor wouldnt be the problem the drivers would. Yes, there are a few G cards that fit and work fine. In standard mode the noise will be a problem if the cpu is under load and the fans spin. In power save mode you can load the cpu and the fans still wont get that loud. Your recording software is not very likely to invoke the fans, however. YET, if you are planning on using the notebookds built in microphones there is an annoying background hum that is very noticeable in the recording no matter if the fans are dead silent or not.

 

Yes. I have it connected to my hdtv via hdmi cable (no adapter) and my 22" samsung via vga. My options in the control panel allow me to choose from two displays but not all three of course. You can choose any two in any order. Right now im doing monitor and hdtv.