Howard's Asus G60VX-RBBX05 REVIEW

Excellent question, I wandered the same.

 

1) I use Microsoft Security Essentails.

http://www.microsoft.com/Security_Essentials/

It is made by microsoft and i have had great success using this to delete trojan virus and other malicious software at work computer when Mcafee failed. With this running my memory usage is 1.1 gb out of 4 GB ram (Idle), SUPER light on the system.

2) I always preach this, use AMERICAN EXPRESS card to buy this laptop. does not matter gold black, costco, blue whatever AE card. By using AE card it gives ur laptop extra year warranty! after 1 year if it breaks, you call AE theywil take care of it for u. This is the best kept secret of all times. Sure u can not just walk into bestbuy and take a new one out, but this is free vs 140 bucks for 2 years?

 

Having the worst luck lately, Theres an update for the wireless intel 5100 on windows update. Lost my wireless function. Tried to recover at a different date with no luck. Unistalled the drivers and reinstalled them off the asus disc and it still wouldnt work. DId a format and it worked again . Installed Aion and some other things installed some critical updates and now my wireless is gone again. Anyone having the same problem?

 

I just bought this system 11.25.09 had 1 day and wireless not working states wireless is turned off(but i do have the switch set to on) i did get it to work for a short time after removeing the battery and restart but after 45 minn went out again don't know what is going on any help would be apricated

 

With the wireless switch on, try holding down the FN key and then press the F2 key. That may turn it back on. The G60 seems to be fussy sometimes about that.

 

Thanks for the quick reply have tried the fn and f2 key still no luck really don't under stand this. when i bought this from bb they had already updated drivers and what they say optimized the unit so should i reinstall back to origional ? any help is welcome
Rich

 

STill having the same problem. Got mine back up , but the wireless turned backed off after i closed the lid. I dont know what the deal is but when i turn the hardware switch to on, the display shows wireless off. When i switch it to off, it shows again wireless off. When its working, it shows the wireless on when i use the hardware switch both ways.. Any help? I went to intels website and tried downloading there drivers. I'm thinking rich that when they Tuned your laptop they added the last update (Optional windows update) and your having the same problem. I've had it ever since i installed it but i'm wondering if it changed the firmware or bios on it because even after a format i'm still having erractic behaviour with it.

 

Vince, all day t day would not work same problem your having was going to take it back but i turned on today and is working i din NOTHING different don't know whats going on or how to perm. fix as far as firmware i did an intel update no change i have not formated,all my other kids pc's connect perfectly and thier is no help on the asus website. if you find anything please let me know as i will do the same

 

by the way yes this seems to happen in sleep/hibernate mode

 

It's likely a problem that windows 7 has with sleep/hibernate...just like vista did at first. I used to use sleep all the time with my old g2s and had no problems. Continued to use it on my g51j and had all sorts of problems including waking from sleep to locking up programs. So I stopped using sleep and started using hibernate, and those problems went away. The only problems I've had with hibernate is a couple times yesterday after I would wake it....the wireless would be turned off via the OS. Just clicking on repair in the wireless and network console and it would diagnose the problem and give an option to fix it by turning the wireless on. Select that and my wireless would work like nothing was ever wrong. So unfortunately, until MS fixes sleep and hibernate, I believe we're going to have these little quirks.

Edit: It's the Network and Sharing Center in the task bar...that's what I opened up to let windows turn on the wirelss adapter. Sorry....was using my iPhone to reply to this thread earlier.

 

Ya I got my wireless working again by pluggin it directly into the router and then unplugging it and its been working ever since.. I took off all the sleep modes and hoping it wont disable again*crosses fingers* Its my last day to return it and I'm really thinking about exchanging my laptop if they have another one instock but I doubt they do.

 

To avoid wireless problems:

1) Don't touch the Wireless Switch on your computer
2) Only turn on or off your Wireless if you absolutely need to
3) Only turn of or off your Wireless through Control Panel.

 

First since i got it working and turned off sleep mode has been flawless thand you guys for sudgesting that and tow to ask citizenpanda a question why should we not use the swith is thier a known problem? anyway thank you all for responding i really love this laptop

 

Reports that the switch gets stuck or broken.. it's probably very rare, but if you want to avoid the possibility altogether, just don't use the switch.

 

my switch has a bunch of play in it.. i havent touched it once

 

Strange, just saw bestbuy's this sunday ad, it advertise the G60vx for sale 999 and package deal of backpack plus logitech G500 mouse for 1179.96... gotta be a screw up on bestbuy's part that accidentally took G60vx off

 

Hey Panda, have you had any wireless problem on yours? I have exchanged 2, 1 for heating problem, 2nd one for broken keyboard I'm on my 3rd one now which works beautifully but out of all 3 I have not had one with wireless problems.....either I'm lucky or Im just lucky...

 

No wireless problems. I don't ever change my wireless setting (it is always on regardless of what I'm doing) so there should never be any problems.

 

Hey guys, just a few questions about this laptop.

1. This will play almost any game on the market today (i.e.: Guild Wars, Wow, Aion, MW2, Crysis, Left 4 Dead 2, etc.) at max settings, correct?

2. There is a port for a wired internet connection, right? I was looking at the page on Best Buy's website and got a little confused.

3. How well would this laptop work for normal college activities besids playing games? I'm graduating this year and am looking for a good college laptop that also plays games extremely well.

Thanks for the help!

 

You can max some games out, others might not be as comfortable with maxed out settings. Aion/Crysis goodluck.

2. Yes, also a 56k port lol

3. This laptop kills programs. I got this as a college gift, if you dont mind bringing your charger wherever you go it is fine. If you are looking for more than 1.5 hours of battery life this might not be for you.

 

Thanks for the reply!

As you can probably see, I'm not super tech-savvy, so I really appreciate the help. From what I've read on this thread, it seems like even if I can't run games on max settings, they will still run smooth (I don't care what it looks like as long as it doesn't lag up hardcore). Since I'm not tech-savvy, I'll probably get the RBBX09 model, so I can have the extra processing speed without tinkering around with the inside.

Is there anything extra I would need to do to make this a good gaming rig?

 

Hi Guys! I have been reading this forum and am thinking of getting a G60Vx-RBBX09 from bestbuy online. I had a couple of questions. I never had a gaming laptop before and mostly played games on a desktop.Can I play games without doing this overclocking of GPU and just using the factory configurations? What is the average life of this laptop for a casual gamer? I plan to use it for work(browsing, spreadsheet processing), watching movies and play slightly older games(2007 games like Assassin's creed). Thanks for your time!

 

Assassin's Creed runs at like 250FPS @ max settings, 1920x1200 on my G60Vx. It could be FRAPS misreporting, but for 2007 games, it is overkill.

 

Thanks CitizenPanda. How long do these laptops last? I have a HP Pavillion laptop currently and it has been good for 3 years. Does overclocking void the warranty?

 

No, overclocking does not void the warranty... Asus builds into their laptop a 10% overclock on the Front Side Bus and CPU via a program - Power4Gear Hybrid, and you can OC your video through Nvidia's own Control Panel.

If you keep your components cool and clean out your system (with compressed air) regularly, there is no reason the computers can't last many years. I know people who treat their laptops like crap and they are still running 8 years later...

 

Panda, whats with the Alienware avatar/signature?

I have to make a confession, 20% bing cb was too good a deal for me to pass up + 200 instant off upgrade + 3% dell account discount + 50 bucks dell gift card. I placed an order for Alienware M15x with core i7 4gb ddr 3 1600 x 900 and gtx 260m , in production now..

 

I went with 3gb DDR 1333, 1920x1080, and the GTX 260M

The Alienware isn't going to be my gaming rig (Da Box will) - thus the high resolution for work and movies, but after looking through everything else for something powerful and portable, it only made sense to make it all part of the "i7 family".

 

Just to let everyone know they are in stock and being sold at BB again( my local BB had them sold out ).
So everyone that didn't get one can get one now!
I knew they would restock them again this is a great deal and a even greater laptop.
Hurry before they run out again

 

They are also on the website again!

 

Is there anywhere to get this laptop besides BB?

 

online at gentechpc or xoticpc..

those come with a free 1 year accidental damage warranty

 

you cannot get the G60VX-RX05 anywhere but best buy

 

Guys "sorry" if this is a silly question, but Howard seems to have got 2 defective laptops and wireless button seems to be an issue on some laptops. I am planning to get RBBX09 which is only available at Best buy online as I do not have the technical savvy to get the $999 laptop and change the processor on my own. Are there any other people apart from Howard who got faulty laptops or lemons? I am just trying to figure out if a faulty laptop is just your luck or whether a majority of laptops of this model are faulty. Thanks.

 

It's just me, I'll admit it. I am blessed with the ability to purchase various gadgets all the time, but me personally have the worst luck with laptop. I seem to get more defective ones than anyone around me I have ever known. You should be fine.

 

I had no experience with laptop modifcation and upgrades until I shoved an X9100 and another hard drive into my G51. Oh, plus copper and drills.

It's easy to learn.

 

Forge!
I think i'm losing it, i'm seeing your Avatar everywhere......

 

What are you talking about? I only see one.

 

Forge is going to the dark side like me...alienware forums...probably where u see him...

 

Guys, I bought the RBBX 09 version, but have alittle problem. When installing from a CD, it sounds like a tank. Its really loud and annoying. Louder then the processor, even 3-4 times louder then the fan. Anyone else have a problem when the CD-ROM drive is spinning like crazy?

 

yeah i had that, it only did that on some cd's i assume they are scratched idk

 

That's it I'm losing it...need to take my meds

Mine is very quiet try pushing in the tray a bit when it's spinning up.

 

hello everyone i just bought this laptop yesterday and i am having trouble trying to make restore discs. i tried the search field before posting. i searched for "ai recovery" and "recovery disc" and no searches came up.

i read in the manual there is a recovery partition. is this the same as a restore disc completely wiping everything back to the way it was first purchased?

is there an alternative way to make restore discs? instructions? please help. thank you in advance.

i tried contacting asus no email or return phone call yet on support with "ai recovery

oh yeah and is there anyway to turn off the light on the cover on the outside?

 

When I first turned mine on (brand new) it asked my if i wanted to create recovery discs. It said I would need 4, but once I started the burn process, it only needed 3 DVD-R's. (took me about 1 hr, 20min for the whole thing)

But even now on my desktop there is an icon "AI Recovery Burner" I just double clicked it and it was opened up a program and was ready to burn me new Recovery DVD's.

You should also have something of the sort on your desktop.

 

yes. ai recovery burner. i did the same thing you did however i was unsuccessful. i tried an external dvd burner as well as the burner on the laptop. it keeps throwing an error. does it matter if it's dvd-r or dvd+r? i don't have any dvd-r's laying around. i'll try to buy some. i deleted a few things from the desktop and added a program. before i make a recovery disc do i need to restore it first using recovery partition?

 

Anyone try the new INtel 5100 wireless driver yet?? version 13?! http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Sea...roducts&ProdId=3062&LineId=1784&FamilyId=1783

 

Isn that the one we were suppposed to upgrafde to out of the box?

Hooked my g60 up to my 40" samsung last night and played wow at 1920x1080. Damn that looked good. And the video card only Maxed out at like 80c

 

Has anyone here seen an issue with the secondary drives on their G60?

My friend's first was set up with raid 1, and any time he ran an A/V scan or disk check the box would lock up or blue screen. With the second laptop he told BestBuy to not mirror, and still has issues on A/V and disc scans of the secondary drive cause lockups.

I personally haven't seen the issue with the A/V, but have seen the issue with the disc scan. (I have a G60 as well without raid set up).

thanks
t-

 

Im not sure if it is. But i figured out that if you change your settings, your wireless will turn off regardless of which way you move the hardware switch (left or right) To renable it , switch to the on (to the right) and when the icon appears on the screen click on it before it diseappears! I exchanged my last G60vx because I thought the wireless went kaput.. sucks to because it was a better overclocker then this laptop lol I can only manage 2.625ghz on this were i could hit 2.725ghz easily on my last one.

Btw I upgraded the wireless driver and it does seem more stable then the last one.

 

I would like to mention that I've had this laptop for four days. Today the laptop was running all day. I go on for a mere 5 minutes tonight and it suddenly shuts down. I turn it back on again and it got to the part where it says starting windows and shuts down again. I tried turning it on with just the battery, with no battery plugged in, and resetting something on the board with a paper clip (there is a small reset button) I am an IT major and I am very knowledgeable about computers so I figured it was a motherboard failure. Calling Asus tech support backed up this claim. The laptop is fried, and does not turn on anymore. All in all, I am very disappointed.

Oh, I would like to mention. I have not exactly taxed the laptop either I was using it for school work. AIM, Outlook, Word, and Firefox were open at the time.

As a side note I disabled sleep, hibernate, and hard disk sleeping (like I do for all of my laptops). Set the display to dim after 5 minutes and to turn off after 10.

 

So, i updated to the 186.81 drivers, and now my 260 runs around 80C.... what do i need to downgrade to to drop the temps?