M50Sv: Review & Owners' Lounge

I just notice something weird when i was experimenting with undervolting. 15c degree difference in cpu core temps. Even sitting at idle. i took a picture to show.

in the background is Urbanos cpu core temps (both at 42c) from a picture in an earlier post.



Do you think this is something i should be worried or contact asus about?

 

I wouldn't worry... based on the fact that the min and max temps have pretty much the same delta I would say that one of the sensors is not calibrated correctly (or maybe both) but they both detect the same changes in temperature...

 

look at that eh! suprising! that is really odd....
what version of HWmonitor are you using? 1.10?
and using RMclock what version? and did you disable IDA? or no?

its just really odd that the one core is reporting differently than the other....each core has an individual temp monitor built into its die. and HWmonitor is supposed to just read from that temp monitor.... strange.

does it ever sorta fluctuate back to 42C ish?

 

its the big enter key. look at the beginning of this thread there are plenty of shots. they use the identical chassis worldwide.

 

personally, i do not like toshiba notebooks for these couple reasons, purely my own opinion.
they use toshiba harddrives that have no diagnostic tools or way of low level testing for problems.
their notebooks are always bigger and clunkier, often heavier and hotter than all the competition.
unless there is an authorized service center near by, their tech support is just as crappy as the rest of the tier1 companies. although, you can opt for next day replacement parts. i think they make the worst quality notebooks out of all of them available.. cept for maybe msi and gigabyte.

dude! really?? i've never seen that before! are you sure it works?

my gpu 635/523 temps max out like 85C
cpu i couldn't get past 2.8ghz, but it took me pushin it up to max volts, which i didnt' think was worth the extra temps and heat, so i just kept it at stock with undervolting.

my cores typcally idle at 42C, and max out around 56C using hwmonitor 1.10 and occt 2.00a

 

nope!

 

Everything is the latest versions. I'm not currently using rmclock. That picture was taken at idle with rmclock off just a stock setup. I found it very weird too. if it was just a degree or two no big deal, but it always stays 10-15 degrees different durring idle and load.

 

I am quoting this because it got buried... this is the explanation for the temp difference.

 

Hey, I just bought an M50Sv-A1 today - loving it so far. I have a few concerns though:

~74 processes running: I'm not even sure what half of them represent with their ambigious names. Can anyone recommend a couple that would be safe to terminate (live update? do I really need the asus screensaver processes?).

My main concern with these processes is the though that they're bogging down the system. Although presently, I don't notice anything with some casual browsing, what effect would all 74 have on gaming (all but a few are at 0 cpu) ?

Norton: Comes with a 3 month subscription. Will the unninstall utility remove absolutely all traces of the program, or do I need to get one of those 'special' removal utilities off the internet?

Recovery and Drivers disk: Do I need to use these? If I don't want all this preloaded crap, will the recovery disk install a barebones vista? Also, are all the recent drivers preloaded, or do I need to install those provided by BTOtech on the other M50 thread?

Thanks

 

Have a quick look in the Info Booth. You will find the Vista optimization guide, which will answer the question on which apps are safe to remove.

You will also find question #14 in the ASUS_FAQ which will explain what is the difference between the recovery disk and partition, and how to get a clean install.

 

Thanks, probably should have looked at that thread first.
I'm debating whether or not I should just unninstall what I don't need, or do a fresh install. A fresh install would take out the bluetooth software (not sure if I ever would need it) right?

What would you suggest? I don't know if I'm currently up for a fresh install, but if that's my best option, I'll go for it. Otherwise, if I can get the same results from simply cleaning out the bloatware, I'd rather go for that method.

additionally, if I did get rid of the asus software, would I be able to get it back with the recovery disk, while being able to select which programs I wanted back without the disk wiping my files?

Thanks.

edit: also wondering why I have simplified chinese built into this....

 

Ok I am saying sorry in advance because I am sure this has been covered many times before, but not spending all day looking over 150+ pages lol.

Anyways if I were to put Windows Vista Ultimate 64bit on this laptop would I run into problems?

Would the webcam,wireless,trackpad,blue tooth etc work or download drivers for it?


Thanks and if anyone has the link to where this has been covered please link me!!!

 

The drivers DVD has both Vista 32/64 drivers, doesn't matter you have Windows Vista Home Premium or Ultimate, the drivers are all the same.

 

No problems. your driver cd has drivers for both 32bit and 64bit.

 

Well that's good because the CD said it only supported 32bit.

Unless they included the 64bit drivers just to be nice and not officially support them!?

 

At least 64 bit drivers is available for download at Asus website, however, their tech support team only supports what cames pre-installed on the notebook, whenever customer call for support their tech will read the specs of the notebook, and if Vista 64 is not on the list they will say they don't support it.

 

I suggest you just uninstall what you don't need, given that you're not very comfortable about clean install.

You should keep all your data on the D: partition. If you do that, in the future you can recover the OS to 1st partition only, which will put the factory default vista on C:, including software etc. but leave D: untouched.

 

Guys it's finally here (Philippines) =) i might say that i am really happy and i feel really dumb because after reading this forum page per page i seem to have forgotten the important details (what thins do i need if frfesh installing and what i would not want, setting up fingerprint scan, making the speaker louder etc) could someone help me? another thing is i know this site has a search this thread function but i couldn't seem to find it.... could someone please help me =)

 

So I've come across another problem - this is following a couple of windows updates on the first day of having the laptop.

Whenever I reset, or turn off/on the laptop, some settings are reset.
Firstly, the desktop background and icons show up for a quick second upon login and then the background reverts to a default Asus one (white, with a line of brushed metal going through the middle) and the icons dissapear (startmenu, taskbar is intact).

If I right click the desktop > view > "show desktop icons" is enable. To make them reappear, I have to uncheck that option, then check it off again.

To reenable the deskto, I need to go to the personalization window, and as soon as the background selection window appears after clicking the desktop link, the background magically shows up again.

Second, in the display settings/resolution window, the colors setting keeps being changed to 16bit when it should be 32.

Any ideas on how to prevent windows from reverting everything?

I have a feeling it might be that security identity manager thing, but I'm not certain.

 

Enter the DH Modtool for Mobile video card drivers. ATI Mobility card owners have had this tool for a long time, and now, finally, NVidia desktop drivers can be modded for a mobile card too!!! It supports the 9500M GS, and all you have to do is download a tiny little program (and the latest NVidia drivers) and follow the posted instructions! All you can get of the latest mod-your-own NVidia mobile drivers, right here!!!

http://www.driverheaven.net/articles.php?articleid=123

(I know this sounds like an ad, and it certainly won't do me any good since I have an ATI card, but it excites me because now you NVidia card owners can join in on the fun I've been having all along - being able to have the latest desktop video card driver installed on your little laptop!)

 

Eh, actually laptopvideo2go.com have been a reliable source of up to date nVidia GPU drivers for quite some time, now.

 

guys i need your help with this one.. A member have already posted something about this but i want to ask for your opinion.. It's the thing about the headphone jack!!!! When i unplug the headphone , the jack had a very deep scratch... huhu what should i do or are there any solution to this? i don't want everything that i plug in to be destroyed =(

 

At the moment, I'm keeping things like games, movies, etc. on my D: partition and leaving my C: with more commonly used software - AntiVir, documents pre-installed programs, media player and windows live messenger only so far.

Should I keep any and all programs beside those which were pre-installed on D: or is my current setup fine?

 

another question.. I'm trying to use the recovery dvd. I am in the part where it lets me choose whether to recover windows to first partition only
recover windows to entire hd
and recover windows to entire hd with 2 partions. But i want to set my partions like this (50gb vista , 50 gb xp ,100+ gb data) where is that option? I'm used to reformatting using xp and this is my firsta time doing it on vista. help guys =(

 

Plug the headphones into the s/pdif jack, it also doubles as a secondary analog output and it doesn't scratch the plugs

I would try formatting it with 2 partitions and then dividing the second partition in 2 once your'e in windows...

 

It's not like you shouldn't keep programs on the D: drive. If that works for you, no problem. The advice is not to keep personal data on the C: drive. So, all the personal important data should be on D:. Other things can be there too, it's no problem (but some games probably won't work if you reinstall the OS because they rely on registry settings and maybe files copied in system folders).

Like the above poster says, recover to entire HD in two partitions (make sure you have backed up all your data first, this will erase the entire HDD except recovery partition), then use a partition manager to resize and split the partitions as you like.

 

help again huhu!! i'm running the 3dmark 06 and i'm in the cpu test part!!!
the fps says that its 0 fps and the system is crawling.. Whats happening here =(

 

Guys everything's alright now =) sorry for panicking hehe... The cd that came with the sv is a recovery disk. And because this is my first laptop, i did'nt know that it was very different from a standalone vista installer. It created the partition itself so i could not create a third partition for XP. I guess i have to use acronis disk manager or something. So i experienced what some has also experienced regarding the inability to install drivers after fresh installing vista. So i just used the recovery partition. It's more convenient since the drivers are pre installed. So What i did was follow the guide by EBE and cleaned out as much bloatware as i can.

After doing so, I went on to install all my apps. And then it was time to let 3dmark06 and M50sv meet face to face. I benchmarked using the 1280 x 720 and easily got 3700+. Higher than what ken got (although he was using the 1280 x 800 resolution which seems to be unavailable to me). I then used the 174.74 driver from laptopvideo2go and got 4000+. So i was pleased because the gpu core temp maxxed out at 80c (which is acceptable for me). I quickly launched rivatuner and used Ken's settings as reference. My gpu is 525/1113/443... launched the hardware monitor and ran 3dmark.. Poof! 4700+ points easy..... and everything maxxed out at just 80-83c.. I don't really want to experiment more on the gpu drivers so i'll stick with 174.74
M50SV is REAL ladies and gents =)


The real downside for me was the headphone port grinding my headphone plug... And the lightbleed!!! oh it's too muchhhhhh!!!!!!! Do you think i can have the lcd replaced through the warranty?

 

You can try, but if they replace it with the same model, that won't help much...

 

oh bummer =( would gaming on windows xp improve the performance by a significant margin? how many fps difference are we looking at?

 

http://www.digitaltechland.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=2260

This is the Samsung Spinpoint m60s and I was wondering if anyone knew about it and if it should work properly with the SV...It looks like it should...but i just wanted some opinions before I get it..TIA

 

The only thing you should watch out for is the height. If it's a 3-platter HDD then it might be too high for the HDD bay.

That website says 0.4in which is around 10 mm. That's close to 9.5mm which is the standard, so you should be OK. Wait for some other answers confirming this before buying, though.

 

Okay thanks for the info man...I'll be waiting for sure on some other answers..

 

Okay guys i just overclocked the 9500m gs and got 5000+ point on vista =) my peak temp is at 83 c.. is that a safe temp?

Another thing is about the dual boot with xp. Everytime i try to set up xp on the 3rd partition (newly created) vista is throw a nlsr or sumting error. that it is missing so it wont boot to vista... do you have any advice on doing this?

 

I had this score via 540/1313/470 overclock maxxing out at 83 c =) and 174.4 drivers

 

your temps are alright...but it wont last to to long...so update to like 177.70 drivers or higher, because when i did that i could run stable at 82c for hours, with 175.80 and below my card would cut out after 20 mins at that temp...but then again not all cards are the same....your score is normal

 

By the way mumar...wat's that toolbar you have uptop if u dont mind me asking...Ive been looking for something like that...

 

oh i thought i have a higher score and maybe they got things mixed up and put a 9700m gt on mine hehe =) its called object dock. It's a free ware =). is that driver (177.70) good? You got a higher score while clocking less than me =)

could comeone help me with the XP dual boot installation? everytime i try to go to compatible mode and try to install xp i will always end up with the ntldr is missing thing and vista wont start up! i don't want to recover everything and set up my settings all over again =(

i have 3 partitions.. 56gb vista, 60gb supposedly for xp (gaming) and 100 for data.. help me out guys please =(

 

I'm trying out the 177.70 drivers . It's weird.. i have my oc at 540_1313_470 but rivatuner is showing that i am at a 580_1404_468 setting. I'm maxxed out at 83-84 c and i got a score of 5096 3dmarks. do you think its ok? what dirver do you recommend?

 

I'm afraid you can't just switch between SATA compatible and enhanced after you've installed an OS (at least I think you can't). So your options are basically:
- slipstream SATA drivers onto XP CD, install in SATA enhanced
- switch HDD to compatible mode, reinstall Vista AND XP.

RivaTuner readings are always off with newer mobile GPUs.

 

Does anybody know what drives is responsible for the led below the touchpad? the wireless led is always on even if i am not using it. I'm using xp. i doesn't do that on vista..

 

Probably:

ATK driver and utilities + Synaptics drivers for the touchpad led to function corrrectly.
ATK driver and utilities + Intel wireless drivers for the wireless led to function properly.

 

ok thanks =) i'll try to reinstall

ebe do you know if there if there is a significant boost in gaming performance if i play on xp? i jus tfinished benchmarking ang the point between vista and xp are the same =(

 

I don't really know since I don't play many games, and especially not new ones. Purely on guesswork I'd say with a well-tweaked Vista (and maybe a not so well-tweaked XP ) there shouldn't be more than 10% difference, which is under the detection threshold for most people.

 

THanks EBE =) Everything is A-O-K =) Thank you for your guide to optimizing vista =). I think it made my XP cry in the dust because from what i have observed, vista is faster ...(Thanks to your guide) =)

So here is what i can say (From a Filipino's stand point. Laptops here are as expensive as my m50sv even though it has on board video card, 1 gig of ram, core duo processor and endless jibberish =\ )

Exterior PRO's
So first things first. The exterior =) I have nothing more to say because everything that the owner's described here are consistent. Beautiful and elegant styling and finish. It's quite big for a typical laptop here but it is one big sexy thing =)

Exterior CON's
-There is keyboard flex at the top especially the top-right corner (as if it is going to pop out).
-I had the same problem with the headphone port (it scratches my plug really deep as described by someone here)
-THE LIGHTBLEED IS TOO MUCH!!!!!!!! It's is just too much.. Someone posted a picture here where he used a technique to amplify the lightbleed (like shutter speed or exposure whatever) and mine is just like that huhu.. (could someone tell me if i could get this fixed with the warranty)
-The dvd drive is rather flimsy. If you puch it even by a bit, it might break.

 

Next top is the performance.

ALL PRO'S NO CONS =)
This is real a fast cheetah hehe!!! Even if i hadn't tweaked vista, it was fast!!! now that i followed EBE's guide, it's as fast as lightning!

I think the bottle neck really is the hard drive. I transfer humongous files quite often and so when i do that, everything else is affected like installing . This is normal since there is only one hard drive. I guess if i have two then it would be a lot faster. (One is writing files while the other one is executing tasks).

The heat is ok
-avg cpu : 55c(load)
-avg gpu (174.74, OC 525/1313/450): 60 idle 83 while gaming (COD4)
-avg HD : 46c.

It's quite hot here and i am still planning to buy a laptop cooler (gigabyte g-pad pro)

Now here is what really baffles me. I dual booted (for a week, didn't quite get it, thanks ken and EBE ) because it is implied here that gaming in xp is faster , even the benchmarks. So i did that and installed the 174.74 drivers and benchmarked. What do you know... the score between vista and xp (about 4200 for both with 174.74 stock) are almost equal. I noticed some kind of stuttering from in xp where as i didn't notice that on vista.

I quickly installed COD 4 in both vista and xp. in vista i have a typical settings of everything on/high/extra but i turned down AA to 2x and shadows to no and soften smoke edges to no (1280x720) i was getting an avg fps of 40-45 and everything was beautiful and smooth.

I replicated all the settings in xp except for the resolution (1280x800 is available while 1280x720 is not) and immediately i noticed the difference. Everything seems to be less shiny or something. it has more of the pentium 4 game kind of look like the colors are quite more colorful like a typical game. When i shift the gun to like sniper mode (something) everything was stiff , unlike in vista it had some kind of blur that i cant explain. and then i noticed the lines (when you turn right and left quickly) was more noticeable in xp.FPS was about the same with vista I guess everything might have something to do with direct x or the drivers or something, but with the i am really disappointed =(

Could someone tell me why it's like this. or could you point me to a good driver for xp?

OVERALL...

my lappies gonna eat a lot of macs here in the PH =)

Thank you to all who have voiced out there problems and solutions .. God bless

 

I just Installed Vista Ultimate 64bit and HOLY BALLS does it fly lol

So happy I made the switch and really love Vista even more now than before!!!

 

Glad my Vista guide is helping people You're welcome.

 

can someone explain/enlighten me with the vista vs xp gaming performance? or could you recommend a driver for xp?

 

Hi everyone, i'm new here (captain obvious)
I recently bought a m50sv notebook - the t8100 model. it scores good IMO - 4023 points in 3d mark 2006, 1200x800, stock frequencies - the 177.89 drivers).

well, my "issues":
- i've heard about all this g84 failure thing (over exaggerated as always). the 9500 is basically a 8600 with some spice, so is it on the "Blacklist" or only the chips on the 8600 models
-is there a way to tweak the ambient senor to brighten up couple of % more then it thinks it's right for me? i like it but the image is slightly darker then my needs?
-the horizontal scroll - tilt wheel, doesn't seem to work with the bundled Asus mouse
-i noticed a brighter spot on the display - almost a perfect circle (near the edge on the left side, close to the middle vertically) so not that annoying just troubling), it's about 0.5-0.7mm in diameter, so it's not a dead pixel. what is it?

Thanks