M50Sv: Review & Owners' Lounge

OC both of them. Here's my Vista score with CPU at 2.8 with SetFSB and the GPU at 560/470 with the Quadro FX1700 soft mod.

 

Thanks smokinokie. But i'd rather not since i would not do anythiing that is cpu intensitive =) i would just like to play hard hehe (COD4,Army of Two,Grid,Gears of War)

 

Honestly WEI is such a poor benchmark and not reliable at all.
Use 3dmark06 to benchmark the GPU and wPrime or SuperPi for the CPU.
PCMark05 is also a good benchmark for the system as a whole.

 

.. or.. you could always send us your laptop here and we will do our sanity testing in your machine overnight =)

 

has anyone here been able to unlock any useful bios features? the bios that comes with this line of computers seems very sparse... I wonder if anyone has modded or unlocked it... I was looking through forums about modding bios's and didn't really understand crap. I just thought it would be cool to have more options. it seems like the bios downclocks your gpu/cpu when on battery with no chance to change this-- only small changes with p4g or windows own power management and even then those are frustratingly unflexible changes (I'd like to choose my clock speed specifically when running on bat)

 

hey what version fx1700 drivers are you using...cause i was thinking about doing that but i heard it was bad for gaming...but heck if its better or the same i'll do it

 

I'm using the 175.80 drivers. I tested a couple others and it was by far the best. I'm no expert but I have been pleased with the results playing C&C Tiberium Wars with native resolution and med/high settings. Temps max out at 80-81c.

3Dmark06 score at the above OC was in the 5000 range at 1280X720 resolution. I've seen over 5400 with an OC of 600/500 but I want to keep the temp around 80c. I am using a Zalman NC1000.

 

Alright I'm using 175.80 drivers, I overclock every now and then...but how did you softmod, because aren't 175.80's a geforce driver and not a qaudro driver...i found the lastest quadro driver at 169.96..

 

I don't know if it makes a difference but I did the soft mod before I installed the 175.80 drivers. I followed the advice/links provided by hotweiss and clearblueskies somewhere earlier in the thread. I've read where Quadro users will use the drivers for their counterpart card to improve gaming performance.

 

with the ddr 800, is 2.7 all that you couldmuster out of that cpu?

i tried to overclock using the standard memory in the m50sv-a1
and everytime i tried to overclock, it would screw up the display, like cause all sorts of fuzzy lines and garbled screen.
i think i could get to like 2.65 or so anywhere near stable.

i'm wondering if SETFSB overclocks the PCI-E bus also with fsb...

would you be willling to try pushing the cpu higher? like 2.9-3.2?
the reason i ask is, i've considered buying the faster memory, just so could have the potential to overclock higher, but if its not really a big overclock then i'll save my money.

cheers

 

i haven't seen or heard of any bios unlocks or updates or anything

however! there is a way to disable the down clocking of the GPU and CPU

the video card, if you use http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/ 's drivers, i used the 177.41 driver, which includes an option to disable 'powermizer' which is nvidia's driver related setting to down clock while on battery or not.

the cpu can be prevented from down clocking by using the program RMclock
which also gives you the ability to set your own power management profiles.

hope that helps

if you decide NOT to use the 177.41 drivers, there is also a very simple registry hack where you can manually disable powermizer on any driver. they detail that at that site also! have fun!

 

I have had it at 3.1 but my screen got a little fussy. The highest stable setting i found was 2.84, and then i got sick of playing with it and started playing grid....but 2.7 is an alright jump. It does push the FSB a little too in order to make the higher clocks. but you are able to use around 735-745 mhz of the 800mhz ddr2 as opposed to 667mhz....it's a noticeable difference....little example...i was uninstalling adobe photoshop cs3, and it was taking a little too long for my liking...so i got frustrated, and popped open setfsb set it to 2.8 and just watched the little ugly green bar go across the screen like it had somewhere to go finally...

 

Notice The FSB at 928.xx mhz and the CPU SPeed 2.9xx ghz Memory at 387mhzx2 = 774mhz out of 800mhz...i'm not going to push it anymore, but i have been at this setting for well over 30 minutes no hint of bitterness or other stuff...will post the WEI for giggles.

 

5.6, 5.6, 5.0, 5.4, 5.4.......up .2 from other overclock, up .6 from stock...up .2 on processor same as last overclock...up .1 in gaming graphics...hmm....i know WEI Stinks but it's quick and easy and By the way I'm still using this overclock i'll let you know when it fuzzes out if it ever will...if you want different scores from different software let me know the name of it and i'll hop on it...i'm bored

 

sorry guess i didn't hit upload

 

More Boredom...with GPU Little Overclock, very playable for at least 2 hours on grid have done it in the past with 175.80 drivers

 

I have xp (do you?) I'm using the 174.93 drivers and have the powermizer settings turned off in the nvidia control panel but to no avail i still get gpu downclocked when on battery power regardless of profile option - i did realize the cpu problem wasn't really a problem, the cpu just sits at a lower clock until faster speeds are needed. This is just a part of intel core 2 duos

 

sweet not bad
better than i expected

its sad really, because SETFSB can't lock the PCI-E/PCI buses, that is what is truly inhibiting the overclock of this cpu.

i'd be willing to bet, if those buses could be locked, 3.4++ghz could be attainable with ddr2-800. possibly with the 667 but who knows!

wouldn't it be sweet if someone could unlock those features in the bios!

 

I think with this computer because of the stock fsb at 800mhz it "might" be possible with amazing cooling...but with the montevina 1066mhz fsb it's even more possible. I've done 3.1 with this thing and got the blue screen so it's possible im doing it wrong. Also I had it at 2.9ghz for 4 hours last night till i feel asleep. Played grid and when i got done it was at 65c so i wont be doing that anymore, plus grid isn't cpu intensive.

 

Although the CPU can be overclocked to 3.0+ghz, i think it's the overclocked ram that's being unstable since SetFSB OCs both the CPU and Ram at the same time.

 

Does some1 know which are the best nvidia graphic drivers for the 9500m Gs in the M50sv ap025c (which I've not yet understood it's the exact same of the M50sv A1...) ?
Cause I took a look on laptop video 2 go but there are lots of drivers and I wondered if anyone has just tested someone, so I can just dowloaded the best... now I've the 174.60 installed on... but i was lookin for something better cause I'm trying to improve the framerate with Bioshock...
with the v-sync disactivated I get between 20 and 40 fps at max resolution, in directX 10 mode, sometimes the framerate downs too much and I hope with best driver I can gain some fps more...
Anycase, Bioshock or Not, I just want the best gaming driver for the 9500m gs...
So... Which are they?


(forgot: I'm not interested in oc.ing my gpu, so don't tell me wich are the best drivers for gaming in oc.ing mode)

THX IN ADVANCE!
SEMPER FIDELIS!


(WOULD YOU KINDLY... LOL, BIOSHOCK IS GREAT)


440

 

that seems right...is there another program that you can use other than setfsb to overclock with...I'm thinking if i had 64bit i would have a much better overclock on both...but i don't feel like redownloading again, i might in a few months.

 

I use 175.80 drivers i can play grid with alright framerates at 1024X7xx forgot the framerate, which i couldn't do with stock 159 drivers

 

OK guys, chalk up another M50SV B1 owner.

Gorgeous-looking thing, innit?

Once I manage to tear myself away from admiring the pretty shiny plastic will come the fun part -- getting XP to run on this bad boy.

 

Welcome to NBR and congrats on your new Asus! Glad you like it and I'm sure you'll have tons of fun with it

 

I guess there are also 175.97 drivers out now, i'm going to be downloading them tonight, they are made for the 9500gs and others, but it stresses 9500gs

 

Please inform us of your experience, I've been wanting to replace 175.80 to isolate a problem in a game which may be graphics related...

 

New kid on the block is back, guys.

I say, lovely piece of kit this M50SV B1. It has handled everything I've thrown at it so far with skill and grace -- except for full-screen anti-aliasing in Need for Speed Underground 2. Kinda choked on it. No biggie, tho'.

..but I gotta admit I'm somewhat underwhelmed by the light bleed at the bottom of the screen. Is that a normal thing for this 'puter?

 

I have no light bleed at all...

 

I've been using the 174.74 drivers, and they've been rock stable, with smooth playability in my games. This driver has a great reputation among users, and has a proven track record.

 

first off i wasnt able to look threw all 158 pages of this to see this was answered. so sorry if it has.

Are there any driver issues with vista 64 bit? Im upgrading to that soon, to be able to handle a 4gb ram upgrade.

 

Really? What screen do you have? (I have the AUO2277, and it definitely has some light bleed at the bottom, but it doesn't bother me too much...)

 

all 64bit drivers are on the drivers CD that came with your notebook so there shouldn't be any problems

 

what a woderful thing to hear, thanks!

time to order and squeeze in a 4gb kit of geil(800mhz).

another thing, besides HD and RAM upgrade(which ive done), what else in this laptop can i upgrade with out voiding the warranty?

 

That's about it - everything else you have to break a seal to get to the screws, thus void. Well, the wireless card perhaps, but that's going to be it.

 

which i really cant do much better for a laptop wireless card.

ok, then and another question then. if im not being an obnoxious newb here. What can i upgrade(within reason, meaning not the whole mother board), if i void the warranty.

 

I think the ram is only 667mhz, so 800 mhz ddr2 would automatically downclock.

 

well the factory ram is 667mhz, but i would assume it would be able to handle and not downclock 800

 

You could upgrade the screen to a 1680x1050 without voiding warranty

I talked to Asus regarding this issue and they said that the screen below is compatible with the M50Sv and can be purchased from the Asus estore.

Name: LCD TFT 15.4 WSXGA+ GLARE
Item#: 18g241546071
Price/ea. $215.00

To replace the screen, you can view my disassemble guide in my sig

 

santa rosa only supports 667, if you oc the proc then the ram speed would go up as you raised the fsb...

 

what would my FSB speed need to be up to, as everest ultimate is showing an effective clock speed of 789mhz and a real clock of 197mhz.

 

240MHz or 960MHz effective, for a cpu speed of 3 GHz, if your cpu can handle it...

 

anyone, know if this is safe or not? cuz then ill start researching overclocking and up this to 3Ghz and go just crazy!

 

It really depends on your CPU and ram. However, I personally wouldn't push it that far. I have my CPU set at 2.8ghz (FSB @ 864mhz, ram @ 720mhz) which is a safe and stable speed for me. If you OC anything above 2.8ghz, I'd recommend doing it only when needed.

 

ok good to know, and recommendation for software ect. that i should use?

 

I think SetFSB is the only program available...
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=249470

 

I don't know if any of you would be interested but there is a feature on American Megatrends Inc.'s Website called eSupport that looks at your bios and searches for an upgrade http://scan.esupport.com/. The bios on our m50sv's is AMI version 207 and like I've said before, very optionless. I would be interested in upgrading but in order to get AMI's update you have to subscribe to their service for a one time fee of about $30 (doesn't seem worth $30 to me). So as of now I am looking for a free way to update as it said there was one available for our motherboards. Another way to reach this update page is to use for eSupport's Bios Agent application which shows a little bit of useful system information (got it from ZDnet). Just thought it would be cool to have a better bios, who knows maybe some fan control?? Don't really know anything about bios's except to be careful when installing and that they can be very useful. Just trying to help hope I'm not being dumb. I'd like to hear ya'lls thoughts on this

 

The only place I know that releases BIOSes for ASUS notebooks, is support.asus.com. So I can only recommend to upgrade when they release a new one. But there may be other sources though, I have never looked into this issue. Just be (very) careful when using 3rd party BIOSes, make sure they are compatible with the machine -- you don't want to turn your expensive laptop into a piece of furniture.

 

'Nother newb question, sorry 'bout that...

Can't the B1 model's T8100 be overclocked?

 

Don't do 3.0ghz, the cpu will burn up fast...youll have a shutdown after a half an hour with heavy use...2.7ghz to 2.8ghz like eb said is fine...

the santa rosa platform on supports 667mhz ram is right, but if you use 800mhz ram it will downclock to 667mhz....but when you overclock it with setfsb along with cpu, you don't have to worry about burning your ram up because you have that extra leeway...


I have the aou screen avi, but what do you mean by light bleed i guess im confused because i don't notice a difference from top to bottom