M50Sv: Review & Owners' Lounge

Hey Bunsie! Congrats on earning all the money you need for your new laptop!

 

And I'll second that....Congrats BunSiE on saving up those needed Australian sheckels. Well done young man!

 

Asus M50Sv-A1 Ubuntu Install Guide
I've created a guide which summarizes all of the steps needed to have Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron functioning properly on the Asus M50 Sv-A1. Hopefully it saves you some search time.

http://seethisnowreadthis.com/2008/05/19/how-to-install-ubuntu-804-hardy-heron-on-the-asus-m50sv-a1/

Let me know if you can contribute somehow to the Asus M50 Ubuntu experience.

 

Does anyone know if the mxm video cards in this laptop are upgradeable?

 

Hehe, you noticed! Thanks! And I can't wait til pay day >..<

Woop Woop

 

I am sorry the video card is not upgradeable.

 

Haha thanks man I will be pwning like you's soon!

Thank you alot for your time put into this

 

Well, I just pulled the trigger on the A1 version from GenTech. Got an instant 3% discount for using paypal e-check and a free 8GB Expresscard.

Now I just have to wait for e-check to clear and UPS ground.

Got a response from Ken within minutes of the order.

 

This might of been answered already but, is there even a new driver out yet for the GeForce 9500M GS 512MB card?? I can't seem to find one if their is, i just have the one installed now that came on the drivers disk.

Anyone know where to get a newer driver for the card in this notebook? Which one are you all useing if not?

Oh im useing Vista 32 that came with it if that helps any.

 

Go to www.laptopvideo2go.com :
http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=18340

1: uninstall the current nVidia driver
2: Click Driver link to download
3: Extract drivers to a folder
4: download Modded INF
5: copy and paste the INF file to the extracted driver folder
6: run setup.exe

 

Thanks. I updated the guide, you now will have control of your screens brightness control. 99% of the M50's features work in Ubuntu. Getting Ubuntu up and running now takes less effort than getting Vista working. The only things that don't really work are those 4 keys in the top left and FN+F4. Enjoy!

 

Install 175.70 drivers and you'll find a huge improvement.

 

Score thanks Ken! I'll do this when i get home from work, seems easy enough.

 

I just ordered mine

 

Is this the updated driver for XP 32bit? It's v174.93.
http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=18338


I'm currently using 174.31 without any problem. Should I upgrade anyway?

 

I have to wonder if I got a lemon. First, when I switch applications with my mouse, 50% of the time the laptop will miss one of the keys I type (so instead of "google.com" I get "gogle.com" or "oogle.com"). Apparently I am the only person to have ever had this problem.

Then tonight I try to burn linux to test if this problem happens there, and I've wasted three CD's trying to burn an image.

Very frustrating!

 

Use ImgBurn:

http://www.imgburn.com/

 

Thanks for the suggestion - that's actually what I used the first time. I tried another program as well. I also copied the file to another CD and it burned fine.

I suppose it's possible the drive didn't like the CD-R brand I used, though.

 

Uh... actually... no you're not. In the past 1.5 weeks or so two other persons reported the exact same problem (neither with a solution AFAI remember, but checking those threads might help you find one).

Use the search box in the top-right corner.

 

Let me know if you need any help with Ubuntu...

 

Yeah, I was one of those Sorry, I exaggerated a bit out of frustration. But since it does now appear likely to be a defect with a certain production round, it makes sense that not many people would have the problem.

 

which drivers will be best for m50sv-a1 and vista 32bit ?
at the moment I have 174.74
What you recommend :>

My second question it What changes new bios is implementing ...
somebody tested new bios ?

 

Stick with 174.74 for now. There are some newer drivers such as 174.93, but it's not as stable while performance wise it's about the same.

There's a new bios out? I though they only have 1 so far.. the 207 version.

 

I'm having a difficult time deciding between the F8Sn-C1 and the M50Sv-A1 because they are nearly identical with a few exceptions. I'm trying to find a more portable laptop (currently have a 17" one). I like the form factor of the F8 but the M50 looks a bit nicer, and the quality of the speakers is a great selling point.

Anyone had to make this decision? Why did you picked the m50sv-a1 over the F8sn-C1? Or vice versa?

Thanks!

 

I'd stick with the M50Sv unless you absolutely can't deal with a 15" notebook. The pros clearly outweight the cons in comparison to the F8Sn. e.g. on the M50Sv, you can get an extended battery, better battery life, a number pad, multi-media touch pad, better speakers, HDMI & eSATA ports, better build quality.
For the F8Sn, the pros are 5 usb ports, DVI port, TV out, smaller & lighter.

 

Hello, so im writing this on my second M50sv-a1 because the first one had some issues, and before i do the same thing with this one i have a question:

Is anyone using "world of warcraft" (WoW) on the asus m50sv-a1 without errors?

I know it should run fine, but on my last one the game would, every 15-30 minutes, shutdown the whole computer (all lights would go off, screen goes black, etc) without any prior warning. Anyway long story short the company gave me a new laptop...

So hoping to install WoW again on this new replacement model i have, i just wanted to verify if anyone else is playing WoW fine... im using vista and have updated to service pack one, from what i can tell most drivers are updated now too.

Also, the company said my laptop had nothing wrong with it from their stress tests and could not reproduce the problem... i never did anything ut update vista / drivers and install wow on the old laptop.. so it leaves me to wonder if wow was the problem or not.

Thanks in advance

 

Wow, I just waded through 68 pages of useful information. I was on about page 10 when I went ahead and ordered mine. I am upgrading from a Toshiba P35-S609. It was a boat anchor with internet capabilities. This Laptop will also be replacing my desktop as my main gaming machine. I only play WoW and older games, so I won't feel the need for upgrade for a long while. WoW still has a good amount of play time left for me. I want to know if there is a car charger available for this notebook. I use a GPS puck and mapping software periodically, would like the option of a straight plug in without having to go through a bulky 115V converter. I ordered through excaliberpc, because I wanted the free bluetooth mouse, at about 1700 CST and I already got a ship notice on it. Hopefully that will reflect on the FedEX website soon, although most of the time I usually get the product the same day the shipping company gets around to posting the data. I plan on running it for about a month or two with all bloatware intact, and keeping a log of what I use, and then doing a fresh install to get the most out of the system. A big thanks to the initial poster for this quality thread.

 

well JBell if this problem isn't addressed I will be having the same issues. Do you know if the laptop was running hot? I know when my Toshiba tried running it(huge heat monster) it would shut down every half hour from overheating.

 

it was running hotter than if it was just sitting idle

but really, this is the first laptop ive owned... it seemed hot and i ran asus probe to monitor the cpu temperate and told it to alert me, but when it crashed the alert never came.

ive used a friends laptop before and played wow on it, a very old dell, and his was way hotter than the asus went and his still played fine... was just hot to the touch

this laptop was a little hot at the vent on the side, and maybe slightly warm on the keys above it, but i dont think it overheated.

 

Use 175.70 driver's

http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=18611

They are the quickest right now, faster than 175.75.

 

How do I tell which nVidia driver I have?

When I ordered my laptop, I upgraded to 4gb of ram. Justin at XoticPC made sure that my system is working very well with Vista Ultimate 64 bit. (Am I now discussing apples and oranges?) So, I'm wondering if I should update or if I would only cause problems by attempting to do so.

 

Isn't this just for the XP 32bit? I think he was referring to the Vista version.

 

Goto device manager and expand Display Adapters, double click GeForce 9500 and click Drivers tab:




Or click Start and type in DXDIAG in the search box to open DirecX Diagnostic Tool and click on Display tab and it'll also show you the driver version.

According to hotweiss the 175.70 performs the best so you can give it a try:

http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=18612

 

Ok, so I did the following steps:
1: uninstall the current nVidia driver--YES
2: Click Driver link to download--YES
3: Extract drivers to a folder--YES, it went to the my personal documents folder
4: download Modded INF--Yes, it copied to NotePad
5: copy and paste the INF file to the extracted driver folder--I attempted to do this and so far have been unsuccessful.
6: run setup.exe--Not ready for this step yet....help.

 

What errors are you exactly getting? If it tells you that it can't find the videocard/files, you have copied the inf file correctly. Did you extract the modded inf file? Are you using the 64 bit driver?

 

Indeed it does! Your Vista graphics index will jump to 5.0.

 

No, I'm not getting any error messages. I am extracting the folder into my documents file but then when I right click on it, it doesn't give me the option to paste the modded IMF file into the folder--sorry I'm so computer illiterate.

 

OK, double-click on the Nvidia driver that you just download and extract it to whatever location you would like. Do the same for the modded inf file. Copy the modded inf file that you just extracted and paste it into the directory of the Nvidia driver that you just extracted. Go into the Nvidia driver directory and double-click on setup. It seems that you are running Vista 64, so make sure that you download the 64 bit driver.

 

Ok, so I created a folder and placed the extracted nVidia driver and the modded inf file as separate files into the folder. However, in following Ken's advice I no longer have an nVidia driver directory. Under display adapters I now just have a standard VGA graphics adapter.

 

Here you go.

1. Uninstall Driver.
2. Set your computer to safe mode.
3. Reboot.
4. Once your restarted run driver sweeper and any registry cleaners.
5. Then launch the installer for the new driver.
6. Make sure to enable regular boot.
7. Restart.
8. Your done.

Referenced from this thread where I helped someone else out. Steps 2-4 can be skipped but its a good practice, so older driver registry keys don't interfere. Not necessary by any means though.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=3346416#post3346416

Heres driversweeper if you wanted to do it. http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=3346416#post3346416

For the driver:
1. Download Driver
2. Download Modded INF
3. Place Modded INF into the driver folder
4. Hit copy and replace (replace) to replace the old inf
5. Launch setup and you should be good to go.

Also yes once you uninstall the old nvidia driver all you should have left is standard graphics adapter.

 

You don't need a Nvidia driver directory... Please describe the exact error your getting.

 

I've now been able to open the driver folder, but I don't know where to paste the modded inf file.

 

Paste the modded inf in the directory that has the Nvidia driver setup file.

 

Ok, now I've been able to place the IMF file directly into the extracted driver. I've been able to run the setup file. I now have driver version 7.15.11.7570. So, I think that all of your efforts and my helplessly floundering around finally paid off.

However, I didn't do something right, because when I run Windows Experience Index, I'm still getting 4.8. LOL.

I'm going to bed now.

Thanks again everyone.

 

Well Bunsie is today the day you will make the plunge? I ordered mine yesterday, and can't freakin wait for it to get here.

 

i don't know if i'm being too picky but i hear a constant hissing like sound from the area around the fan exhaust. It's not like the ordinary fan sound. Actually i don't even notice the fan mast of the time. But this hissing sound is killing me after an hour with this laptop.. anyone experiencing the same thing? any suggestions?..

 

Hey yo, and damn I'm jealous, just a few days before me! *shakes fist*
I will buy it thisss morning, even though it is morning atm (pulling an all nighter most likely, damn english assignment). But umm yeah I will send the money at like 7.00am or so.. AND the peeps I'm buying off have the same bank as me so the transfer will be close to instant woop!

INFO FOR PEEPS DOWN UNDER!
I am buying the M50Sv-AS082G from Penta Computers, with the base price being $1,643. I decided to replace one of the 1gb ram sticks for a 2gb stick (yes the AS082G has 2x1gb sticks, whilst the AS016G has just a 2gb stick). I will have a nice 3gb figure then. The guy on the phone gave me a sweet deal I guess, $59 for the replacement 2gb ram, and then $25 postage and handling. Summing up to $1,727 AUD.
Right now Penta Computers is selling these the cheapest..

Damn you Americans, getting it so much lower priced then I!

Anyway back to english (I'm making a obituary on Bill Gates).

 

I am going to buy a laptop here in the UK maybe the F8sg or the F3sg. I assume it will be ok to use in New Zealand. I take it i will need a adapter due to the power sockets are different from the UK ones.

 

Yeah sure, just get a UK > AUS power adapter plug. NZ plugs are the same as AUS plugs, as I understand it.

A quick poke around on ebay or an electrical store should reveal some cheap prices, good luck with the purchase!

 

Ta fella, I have found some good prices at laptopsdirect website.