G51 Owners' Lounge

Haven't tried the battery much yet so I can't tell you for sure, but I'd guess probably around 2 hours or something like that.

From what I know, there was only a BIOS update for the G71. The G51 does not have an update. There really isn't an overheating issue per se but it does run hotter than other comparable notebooks (Sager NP8662 comes to mind)

 

I am getting almost 2 hours just surfing and in battery mode. with 75% brightness.

 

Sorry if this too much data, but my computer doesn't overheat either.... i have the g51vx from best buy

CPUID Hardware Monitor 1.1.4.0
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Mainboard Vendor PEGATRON Corp.
Mainboard Model G60VX (0x15B - 0x28480)


Hardware monitor
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ACPI hardware monitor

Temperature sensor 0 52°C (125°F) [0xCB4] (THRM)

Dump hardware monitor



Hardware monitor
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Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo P7350 hardware monitor

Temperature sensor 0 50°C (122°F) [0x32] (Core #0)
Temperature sensor 1 60°C (140°F) [0x28] (Core #1)

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Hardware monitor
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GeForce GTX 260M hardware monitor

Temperature sensor 0 65°C (149°F) [0x41] (GPU Core)

Dump hardware monitor



Hardware monitor
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ST932042 1AS hardware monitor

Temperature sensor 0 40°C (104°F) [0x28] (HDD)

Dump hardware monitor


Processors Map
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number of processors 1
Number of threads 2

Processor 0
-- Core 0
-- Thread 0
-- Core 1
-- Thread 0


Processors Information
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Processor 1 (ID = 0)
Number of cores 2 (max 2)
Number of threads 2 (max 2)
Name Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo P7350
Codename Penryn
Specification Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU P7350 @ 2.00GHz
Package Socket P (478) (platform ID = 7h)
CPUID 6.7.6
Extended CPUID 6.17
Core Stepping M0
Technology 45 nm
Core Speed 1723.4 MHz (6.0 x 287.2 MHz)
Rated Bus speed 1149.0 MHz
Stock frequency 2000 MHz
Instructions sets MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, EM64T
L1 Data cache 2 x 32 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L1 Instruction cache 2 x 32 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L2 cache 3072 KBytes, 12-way set associative, 64-byte line size
FID/VID Control yes
FID range 6.0x - 7.5x
max VID 1.138 V
Features XD

 

Hey, anyone here have problems controlling the brightness levels? I am able to use FN+all F keys but the F5 and F6 for brightness down/up does not work at all. Individually they work, such as F5 for refresh but not with FN...

Also the keyboard is like... detatched from the upper left corner. Is that okay? It comes out easily if you take it out from there, but it works great so I am not worried, just wondering if my keyboard is broken.

The heat has been bareable so far, even with my high ambient temperatures and GPU getting 100C tops, it has been working alright.

This card, despite being underclocked, handles games better than my OCd 9800M. Crysis, battleforge etc all games have performed much better especially at high settings.

Hell I am even able to play Crysis all high with 2x AA without breaking performance that much!

Anyways if people can help me with my issues with the brightness and question with the keyboard feel free to PM me if you want. I will keep reading this topic and let my topic die lol

 

My brightness buttons work fine. Does your volume buttons work? If you did a clean install or uninstalled some of the Asus software, you may have accidentally uninstalled the software for these buttons' functionality.

As for the keyboard, I have some flex in the top but its not that bad and its not very noticeable.

 

@ryzeki

Hey man check in Programs and Features that you have installed ATK Hotkey, if you don't have it, install it, that should solve the problem. It comes in the Drivers disc.

 

Thanks for the input guys.

My volume buttons work, even the keyboard ones, disable screen, touchpad etc. renegg I do have the ATKHotkey installed, I will try uninstalling and reinstalling with the disc.

Sadly I left the disc at my work so that will have to wait until tomorrow

More gaming news:

The Resident Evil 5 benchmark tool was tested just know, and the game runs beautifully maxed out (except AA) with vsync for average of 56 fps. Looks amazing.

 

The driver disk I received says G60vx
It also says G60 series notebook, I have G51. Is ths a updated driver disk?

 

nope, its the one everyone gets. i think that the g60 PROBABLY uses the same drivers...maybe

 

may i ask how you overclocked your processor, is it bios update or an extenal program?

 

external program, setfsb. scroll down to download. simply open the program, then find your clock generator. for the g51 it would be "ICS9LPR604AGLF". then simply hit get fsb. you should only slide it up a little at a time, dont jump right to 2.5ghz!!!!

 

What are the chances that this will harm my computer?
I mean with the issues of heat already, will this make the life of mylaptop shorter?

 

Doubtful really since it'll only cause your processor to go a bit hotter which will minimally affect your GPU.

If you over-enthusiastically set your clocks too high at first, you might get a couple of BSODs in a row (like after trying reboot 5-10 times) that seems VERY SCARY, ie I thought I broke it, but it all works out in the end since FSB doesn't set the clocks at boot automatically unless you do it with another program.

 

I swore many a time when my computer conked out during a 3DMark CPU test.

 

sorry if i don't know but what are bsods?

 

the BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH!!!! google it

 

yeah i know i could have but multitasking here, still trying to set my computer set back up.... I had the HP Pavilion dv9843cl Refurbished Laptop Computer - Intel Core 2 Duo T8100 2.10GHz, 802.11a/g/n WLAN, 4GB DDR2, 320GB HDD, Blu-Ray/DL DVDRW, 17" WXGA+, Webcam, Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit SP1, i got it from tigerdirect, well thank God I got the warrenty because after 6 months it just didn't boot one day. They gave my my whole amount paid in a check which I cashed and went to best buy and bought this one..... I had trouble earlier today with my virus scan stopped working, and I had to go back on the sysytem restore and then reinstall it.... Lost serveral hours of installation time. ...... I guess you could say that is my history so far with this laptop.... I like it alot but have run into a few headaches along the way.... I can say after purchasing a laptop cooler ...I have managed to drop my top temp on my gpu down by 6 degrees centigrade.... so instead of topping out at 92 I am at 86......

 

Hey guys, do you think the P7350 processor would do well for intense gaming? I'm a little bit bothered since I would prefer 2.4 GHZ+ on any laptop. Hoping that more models will come out (Other than the quad) by December. Really want this for my next laptop.

 

you can use SetFSB to overclock to 2.4 GHz if that's what you want. I haven't had a need for any overclocking truly in a game.. if you play TF2 though plan to OC because it is CPU intensive and lags in firefights.

so the word on the street is.

 

Gaming is fine. The CPU is going to be a bottleneck at one point, but its going to be at least a year or two in the future and when that happens, it should be fairly easy to upgrade the CPU given how cheap this cost you.

$1000 + lets say $250 for a new CPU = still cheaper than any comparable 15" laptop out there

 

The GPU is the the nottleneck for the most part, and with a sexy GTX 260m that won't be a problem.

Off the top of my head, the games that use a lot of CPU power are Supreme Commander and GTA4. The others handle a 2.0 C2D just fine.

 

Okay, I'm still learning about my notebook. With my desktop, I overclock like crazy and stuff but I feel so reserved about messing with my notebook. The last time I opened the thing I stripped a screw! Stupid I know.

I have a question - mostly directed at TevashSzat. I see that in your sig you've undervolted the cpu while overclocking it by a little over 200Mhz. How did you go about doing that? The BIOS doesn't offer any real options and seems pretty light compared to what I'm used to.

 

Hey, I can help too.

Anyway software is the way to roll for overclocking/undervolting. Well, okay, most people swear by BIOS--and I think it's better, too--but software is the easier way.

I've managed to get mine to a stable 2.4 GHz @ 1.150 volts. I've played some Crysis and Supreme Commander with 2.5 @ 1.20V.

CrystalCPUID is what Tev and I are using to undervolt. To undervolt, open the program, Function -> Intel Enhanced SpeedStep Control. It'll bring up a secondary window. Click enable change voltage and you can begin experimenting.

SetFSB is what we use to overclock. Open the program, set clock generator to ICS9LPR604AGLF, and click the Get FSB button. After doing that a slider in the lwoer half of the program will appear, and you can drag back and forth to set your front-side bus speeds. You use the left-right arrows for fine-tuning. For quick numbers, 485 is 2.255, while 570 is 2.5 and 540 is 2.42 GHz.

 

As far as warranties go, I was curious on how the software actually over-clocks the system, and how easy it would be to find out whether it was over-clocked in the past if the CUP or motherboard ever goes out for any reason. I don't want to mess directly with the bios, because direct changes can be discovered easily, but if the software programs do the exact same thing then either way it makes no difference, and I would avoid over-clocking. Any insight?

 

Here is a Forge-is-an-ignorant-n00b explanation. I'm probably going to get it all wrong, so double check with someone who actually knows something.

There are two things that affect CPU speed: The CPU's personal clock speed and the front side bus with which it interfaces with the motherboard.

To overclock, you can increase the CPU's personal clock through BIOS or you can increase the FSB.

BIOS overclocking is better, so I hear, but also trickier. You take the master code that is the BIOS--"master code" being my best description for it--and you modify it so it tells the CPU to run faster. It's more stable, I think. However, if you mess up flashing the BIOS your computer gets turned into a really pretty paperweight. And you're right, changes can be discovered.

The other method is FSB overclocking. With this method, the interface between CPU and motherboard is increased. The CPU remains the same, but it's clocked faster, subjectively, because stuff is moving faster along it. This has the advantage of being easily reversible--if you BSOD with a FSB overclock, the computer will reboot to stock speeds and you're back to square one with no problems. Also, it's easier to use. The thing is, it looks like software overclocking is far more temperamental than BIOS overclocking.


Here's an analogy. Let's says there is a postal service. Let's call it Forge's Postal Service (processor). FPS has the ability to send two trucks out every hour, because the service they road they use (front-side bus) sucks and it takes that long for a round trip. However, if you want to do a BIOS overclock, FPS would start sending out, say, four trucks ever hour... with the risk that FPS' drivers will crash and break the system. Or that the trucks will break down. And if the CEO (whoever your warranty belongs to) finds out they were breaking the rules he will spank them.

The other method, a front-side bus method, would be diverting those two trucks down a highway so they go back and forth faster. So FPS is still only sending out two trucks at a time... but they go faster because they drive faster. And because FPS isn't stressing itself, it's a bit safer, and the CEO won't find out.

Understandable? Probably not.

 

updated first post

 

Some clarifications:

The clock speeds of a CPU is derived by multiplying the FSB by a certain multiplier (depends on the CPU).

Both BIOS overclocking and software overclocking changes the FSB to increase the clock speed but with the BIOS, you can increase the voltage too and it will always start at boot. This makes it less of a hassle since you don't have to fiddle around with programs to get things to start as you do with programs and its easier. Furthermore, you get much more options like the ability to change the Memory voltage, northbridge settings, and much more.

Regarding stability, I don't know which is more stable, but I would suspect BIOS overclocking.

You don't have to flash the BIOS to overclock, but you may need to. Only some BIOSes allow for you to overclock with it and you may or may not be able to "upgrade" to one that can overclock if yours can't.

As for the mechanism, the software method, I believe, changes the registry or something like that, but I'm not too positive.

In short: Both method works well but you get more options with the BIOS at a risk of potentially messing something up (be really stupid and like bump up the voltage on a couple of things too high.....and boom)

 

Sweet! Thanks Forge. Didn't mean to exclude you

 

hey guys! first post...i am very very interested in getting this lappy...i live in canada where we have to pay ridic taxs so i am going down to grand forks to pick one up...couple of questions, first, how long is the warranty from ASUS and is it internationally covered? second, on bestbuy the lappy goes for $1049.99. I saw that sunny got it from 999.99. How Lenient are you yankees in bringin down the price

that is all!

Thank YOU!

 

The $999.99 price was the original price, then they bumped it up to be $1049.99 as the permanent price. Last week they had it just as a sale price for $999.99 again, but that sale is over and now its back to $1049.99.

Your best bet is to try and go into whatever Best Buy and ask if they will match the sale price of last week, but it's going to be hard to get them to do that because at the $999.99 price, they are not making much money at all on it. I don't even get it for that much with my employee discount.

If they refuse to match that price, you can always offer to buy a few accessories with it, like a gaming headset and mouse or bag or something, and they usually can be lenient on that, and hell, you're probably going to want some stuff to match the laptop anyway. If you want to get a protection plan for it, they will almost definitely lower the price for you, or at least I would, but I don't know how easy it will be for you to make use of their protection plan from Canada(are there many or any Best Buy's in Canada?)

But how much they are willing to haggle is going to be dependent on the store and its employees more than anything, so good luck on that. But if you were in my store, and got a couple accessories, or a basic protection plan, I would definitely have no problem hooking you up. If only you could get all the way down to North Carolina...;P

 

G51vx-A1 laptops are now up on GenTech, with benchmarks and info

Sexy machine, especially the showcased model with the QX9300.

 

Hey Forge, how do you like the X9100 in the G51? Worth doing or overkill? I have one sitting here trying to decide what to do

 

You have a G51 or a X9100 lying there? Or both. Heh.


Overkill? Definitely not.

Worth it? That's up to you. I want my 3DMark06 bragging rights, thank you very much. If you're doing daily tasks and minor gaming, something like a P9700 with it's lower wattage use is very attractive.

But if you want the best the RX05 can take...

 

I've got an X9100 sitting here My G51 should be here next week. I could spring for a QX9300 at $500 and sell the X9100 I suppose but I'd be banking on the Newegg models being able to truly use it since the BB ones couldn't. I do a lot of gaming, but most games aren't really going to use the quad. So it might just be for vanity

 

Which versions of G51 did you get? The A1 will definitely support any kind of socket-P quad you throw at it.

 

Well, I ordered an ES QX9300. I got the X1A, so hopefully I'm fine Got to find somewhere to unload my X9100 ES now, guess it goes back on the 'Bay.

 

Best of luck to you on that. Keep us posted.

 

Yep. I'm trusting it doesn't have the BB motherboard

 

The best thing for you to do is to just take a snapshot of the mobo revision number on top of the RAM slot. That way you can have a good idea if it supports quads or not without voiding your warranty.

 

Yeah, that's what I was figuring on.

 

Hi-- I'm new here and seriously considering the ASUS G51VX-RX05 (currently only being sold at Best Buy, as far as I can tell--will that change?).

Anyway, I have a question for current owners about the big round thing on the bottom-- is that another speaker (an attempt at a "woofer") or just a foam-filtered air intake? Also, I think I read somewhere (maybe in xcskiier23's G51VX-RX05 Review thread) that the display is LED-backlit? Is that possible in this kind of value system? If so, I'm super-impressed.

 

Chances are this version will only be sold at Best Buy for a while. The case style and specs seem to be unique to Best Buy, considering every other reseller has the blue alien design. Every other version, though, has better specs but a higher price.

The "woofer" looking thing on the bottom used to be a design for an air intake just over the CPU, most likely, but it is sealed off because apparently it hindered the flow of air from the rest of the laptop because that intake was right next to the exhaust. At this point it serves no more purpose and is only their for aesthetics, probably because it was cheaper just to seal it off than to re-mold a whole new case.

Yeah, it does in fact have an LED backlit screen, but you'd be surprised how common it is in laptops even cheaper than this. We have a Gateway laptop for $499 at Best Buy that also has an LED backlit screen, and a couple of netbooks at least also have LED backlit screens.

 

How can you tell if the screen is backlit?

 

its just one of the specifications, it says so on BB's site.

 

I looked for that and didn't see it. Strange.

 

I was thinking about going to the US to pick this up, is the warranty with ASUS or BB? It would be great if it was with ASUS if I had any problems with it when I bring it back to Canada.

 

It is a Best Buy warranty so just a one year manufacturer's warranty. Thats partly how they managed to get the price so low.

 

I noticed just now after already buying my A1, that there was an option to upgrade to a "Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 5300 802.11 a/g/n" from the standard "Built-in 802.11 Wireless A/B/G/N " for $39 dollars extra.

What's the difference between those, and is it worth the cash.

 

The 5300 is a nice card. It has 3 antennas so it supposedly gets better reception.

 

Haha sorry about that. When I bought the G51 a while ago, no joke there was a thing that said it had the LED backlit screen. I dont know why they took that down!