M50Sv: Review & Owners' Lounge

I was searching for a review on this laptop and found more than what I could have hoped for here.

I do have one question. Ken on the first page I see a window that you used to set the overclock, what program is that?

I have never really done any overclocking before but it seems, and I could be wrong, that that window looks to be as easy as changing desktop settings, run 3Dmark and adjust if needed.

 

^ It is called RivaTuner, works great for notebooks and desktops for graphics overclocking

 

Yes, RivaTuner is easy to use but if you don't know what you're doing with overclocking the consequences could be catastrophic. Learn before you embark on such an adventure .

 

Ordered mine today. Now just a wait and I'll let ya'll know how it looks and plays online for Call of Duty 4

 

Thanks for the info on Riva Tuner. I am in the process of researching the OC'ing now.

Most of my game play is console gaming but I wanted a laptop that can do my work and allow me to play games from time to time. I am decided on the m50 running XP instead of Vista as that is what my office computer runs(XP not Vista).

Just a thought if I don't have it figured out 100% when my laptop gets to me, wouldn't I be able to use the same settings on Riva Tuner as Ken used and get similar stable results???

 

Every individual gpu and cpu chip is different, and some OC better than others in the same series. Using Ken's numbers may work if your chips were able to handle it, but if you got ones from further down in the production batch (that don't have as much OC potential) then my warning above applies, and the issue is that you can't tell what you have until you try to stress it.

OC can give beneficial results in performance/benchmarks, but is also dangerous if not pursued in small increments with appropriate knowledge. Standard disclaimer applies - proceed at your own risk .

 

Point well taken, I think for now I will just run it as it comes, switching from Vista to XP should give me a little bit. Later on down the line when I know more I can try to OC it if I really feel the need to.

 

Just got my m50sv-a1 today...... horrrayyyy.. but i haven't got time to play with it... hikz2.. got a lot things to do.. T_T btw thanks to the review by ken i decided to buy this baby... yeeehaaaaaa..

 

Like ClearSkies said, not every GPU performs the same, also depends on where you are such as temperature of indoor and outdoor.
My girlfriend took my M6N laptop to southern Taiwan 3 years ago, the laptop was working fine here in the US but it only last 3 weeks in hot summer, humid of southern Taiwan, the CPU got fried according to Asus service center.

So, You’ll need to test it with your own laptop at your location to see if it runs stable with your GPU, you can first try with my numbers and to see if it’s stable and adjust the settings from there, maybe little bit higher or lower.

Both M50SV-A1 does not comes with LightScribe drive.

Many customers have no choice but to install XP because their company does not allow Vista, XP performs better anyway.

Congratulations, have fun.

 

So, I ordered the M50SV-A1 six days ago and haven't heard anything yet about when it's gonna ship. The wait is excruciating; I want this thing so bad! It will be my second computer and first ever laptop and will be replacing my seriously outdated desktop that I've had since 2003. So, to help lesson the pain of my waiting, it would be nice to hear some impressions of the M50 from anyone who owns one. Also, if possible, I would love to see some more game demos posted here. Thanks.

 

1) What is it? I heard about "hotfix" but i've understood nothing...
Ehm, can you explain me what it is? And do I have to install it if I want to keep the notebook in o.c. mode?

***

2) Look at this thread http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=214982 ...

Note than the gpu is pretty the same... the cpu is lower and the ram is about 2gb vs 3gb... Nothing is overclocked... Vista 32 bit...
What about Crysis on that resolution on the asus m50sv with the same exact settings? How many are the fps?
AND HOW CAN COD4 WORK IN THAT WAY? (It's impressive IMHO)
Why can't we have better or same results?


THX 4 informations

440 (What about my english? )



440

 

Will the 1440X900 res make COD4 any slower? I know what the marks say... but still I have read a lot that says 1440X900 will require low settings on this system. Is that true?

 

I'm glad you asked....

I received my M50Sv-A1 today. I really like it.

Here are some observations....

It seems to me that the volume is really soft. I have the volume setting turned up all the way--maybe I should have ordered the high volume model rather than the high res model! Is there anything I can do to raise the volume?

Any complaints about the keyboard seem unfounded. The numeric keypad seems a little tight, but I think that is something I'll quickly get used to.

I sometimes inadvertantly switch on the media control on the mousepad. Right now I'm using the computer in a room filled with bright Colorado sunlight, so when the multimedia mode is enabled I sometimes don't realize that it's on. Ok, I'm both blind and deaf.

The WXGA+ seems a good fit for my bifocals.

When you go to close the laptop, hold tightly onto the screen. As observed elsewhere, it really does want to drop those last two inches since it doesn't have an actual latch.

I'm presently running on battery mode so as to completely discharge the battery.

I'll post more later.

 

Hotfix is the patch:
http://www.ea.com/crysis/news.jsp?newsId=patchUpdate

the settings are not the same, I can test Crysis with the same setting again.

Yes, the higher resolution the slower FPS you get, you'll need to adjust the video settings to get better FPS.

 

Another update on my new M50Sv-A1.

According to the Device Manager I have a Hitachi hard drive HTS722020KK9SA00. I had thought I would have the Seagate Momentus, but I know that Hitachi makes good hard drives.

 

Depends on the batch, Asus use both Seagate and Hitachi for 250GB 5400rpm.

 

Thanks Ken. I did opt for the more expensive 200 gigabyte hard drive at 7200 rpm. May have been a waste of money, but I wanted to make everything about this laptop to run as fast as I could.

Any thoughts on the softness of the volume of the speakers?

Thanks,

Jerry

 

Jerry, try play some piano music and you'll see the real difference of the speakers.

 

Hi Ken--

Yes, I haven't tried any music. I will do so shortly. I listen to a lot of intenet financial news feeds and those are the files that strike me as being quieter than I expected. I'm not questioning the quality of the sound, just the volume of human discussion through the speakers.

 

just got out of a meeting with asus today, i talked to them about the m50 tv tuner. they said its not a dud, there is one in there and it does work(but only in taiwan or china or asia-probably cuz we are ntsc? and they are pal ionno). the hardware can work in the US, its just the software wont work. so if we can find a 3rd party software for the US thats compatible, it should work. and we have to supply our own antenna. I havent been able to test this notebook yet, im waiting for them to send me a demo. ill let you guys know more if i find any software for it.

also it has a face recognition security tool, kinda like fingerprint reader, it seemed cool, even if you took a picture and put it against the camera, it wouldnt work.

 

No Brian it is a dud. Not only is it a dud but what they told you is completely In correct. The reaosn they did not include the tuner? I am guessing thats their product managers order. There are plenty of tuners from aver media and a few that are known to work, we have been integrating them for a while into the c90 and g2s. you think your review may add any insight to the countless reviews that are here already? When did malabs start sending sales reps to forums anyways? Why does malabs, ewiz and ewaggle have three different names?

 

woa woa, why you hating?.. i just gave my 2 cents on what they had told me. if im wrong, you can just double check for me. and ive been on these forums for a long time. im not a sales rep fyi, when did malabs send people over here? just recently because i suggested it since ive been on this forum. i just havent been able to test the product myself so MY BADDDD. dont hate the noob-lesson learned, dont ask the asus reps. i just thought asus would know more on their own products. o well..

 

and what the heck is ewaggle? not us. im just another reviewer from Ewiz helping the community out.

 

i am not hating. Just letting you know asus are wrong. I am not a hater. Was a simple question. Could have sworn ewaggle was linked to malabs. Thought i saw the same registrar. Maybee not. M50 and m1 do not and will not have an option for a tuner in the states. I have no idea if they do overseas. Even if the port had the antena it is still not a likely upgrade as the express port is hidden under the plastic if it is even there. They also did not foresee the implementation of intel turbo memory by not including the 2nd port. Keep posting just dont quote asus. They know less then we do. that or they are prentending to know less then their dealers who know alot more about the things asus knows less about.

 

ahha, my bad, probably took your context the wrong way. yea-my vp just told me not to listen to asus reps

 

that is good advice. they do know their product..NOT. Borat says productNOT.com for great price on products that are NOT

 

i have no idea what borat just said. lol

 

M50SV-B1 Blue-Ray movie:

 

M50Sv: temperature GPU and CPU no overclock, please

 

This review:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=230106

in the NBR Asus forum has a list of temperatures on top and under the notebook. These are the only temperature breakdowns I recall.

 

The M50Sv-A1 has the Asus Splendid Video Intelligent Technology. In playing with this feature I find that I like the Gamma Correction mode the best. Some modes look too dark, the normal mode looks a little washed out.

My question: Is there any downside to leaving the Gamma Correction mode on all the time--will it cause faster battery drain? will it cause screen damage? will it reduce speed/performance? Am I just being too protective of my new baby?

 

nice one ken.. IMHO... you can't see the differences through the captured image.. but it looks good though.. nice... two thumbs up...

 

probably..

 

yeah don't worry about it, Splendid has nothing to do with performance and it'll damager your screen.

 

I'm hoping you're saying it won't damage your screen.

 

Sorry, yes I mean it won't damage your screen.

 

Whew, that's a relief.

 

I am a little confused with something. Newegg has the M50Sv-B1 but it says that it comes with a HD DVD drive. On here it says that it comes with a Blu-Ray drive, and on zipzoomfly.com it says that it comes with a Blu-Ray/HD DVD drive. I would like to know if all of the B1's come with the same drive or if they are actually different for each site.

Thanks

zipzoomfly (Blu-Ray/HD DVD)
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10007982

Newegg (HD DVD)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220278&Tpk=M50sv-B1

 

vendors like newegg and zipzoomfly do not specialize in this product nor do they know what they are selling. look at the sticky above it will shoow you some of the vendors areound this forum that do specialize in these units. All of them do list correct specs. For the record it does come with blu ray

 

Alright, thanks for the clarification.

 

It's Blue-Ray reader/DVD Burner, There won't be anymore HD-DVD drive in the market.

 

Thanks heaps for the review! It was really helpful!
Just a question, does the keyboard flex anywhere? And if so do you think it is like that for every laptop or just the one you are using?

 

I find I have some keyboard flex at the far right side of the numeric keypad. I don't think this is a problem, just a noticeable characteristic of the M50Sv. I'll be curious if other owners find this as well.

 

Hey GenTechPC, if it's not too much to ask can you post a screenshot of the GPU info using GPU-Z? I want to check something over mine.

 

No problem, I'll do it with both M50SV-A1 and M50SV-B1 tomorrow.

 

Thanks a lot.

 

Thanks for the input, with being specific like you were, it sounds like it mustn't be that noticeable. And well its the number pad, the only use it will see from me is resizing videos in k-lites classic media player.

Thanks again for the reply ;]

 

has anyone done any benchmarks on the b1?

 

Sorry, I haven't
But you should wait for a banch of the hd3650, in the M50sa...
Not available yet, but I'm sure that M50sv is just a pre-serie, that's why there's just 2versions. In a few time, we'll have many m50, with a range of hdd, cpu and gpu. And prices will fall...! (I hope

 

I feel obligated to post here that I just ordered my M50SV-A1 online first, then I spoke to Ken himself! My experience was delightful. Ken is a real gentleman on top of being a pro and actually conveying that he appreciates your business! I know I took a lot of his time but I never felt his desire to get off or "speed things up. You can tell what kind of person he must be by the extremes he went to in his review, AND all the follow up questions to boot! But where were his solicitations for orders??? There were none!! That was not his intention!!!
I can only hope that people other than myself saw this and ordered through him as well!