Ryzeki's Asus G51J-A1 review

New bios posted by GenTech hopefully fixes bsod.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5754189&postcount=340

 

Thanks for posting it It is awesome the BSOD got fixed, and I can confirm it got fixed on my machine.

 

So it's fixed already? =D

I havn't had a single bsod or any problems yet though, but I still like the idea that I now dont have to fear it coming =D

Great laptop once again... =)

 

Yeah! I have been testing for a couple of days and I have had zero BSOD even after 8 hrs of continous testing (when I used to get a BSOD within 30mins of Borderlands).

You can try it out if you want.

 

Great! =D
Ken said that it would be officially releaced in a couple of days? I think I wait for that, as I dont have any problems so far. (runing the "old" 207 drivers downloaded 2 days ago..

But this is great news! =D I knew it would be fixed sooner or later! And I've been away, and only used my computer for a week or so. Not much waiting for me =)

 

Oh, and if you dont mind me asking again. I know the information is hidden somewhere deep within the bsod thread, or somewhere. (read everything), but I dont want to spend hours going back to figure it out:

I did a clean install, to get rid of all that crap that came with the computer.
What additional drivers/software would you reccomend to install?

I've only installed new GPU drivers, and the drivers for the function keys (volume control and stuff).

No p4g or anything yet.

 

Actually, I think you are good to go as is. It is usually recommended to remove stuff like the synaptics software along the creative sound drivers/software but since you are on a clean install you probably don't have any of it.

 

Edit; found a solution. Ended up using Dox drivers.

 

196.21 is the latest desktop driver. 195.62 is the latest notebook driver. Make sure you choose the drivers for the 200M series, not 200 series.

 

hi guys
my adapter produces noise sometimes
it's not loud but i just wanna make sure this is normal and nothing is going wrong.
caus my previous toshiba laptop's adapter was absolutely silent.
did any of u guys encounter this issue?

thanks in advance

 

The AC adapter should not make noise. I had a previous 90w adapter that started making a bit of noise, and sometimes almost chirping noise: it was short cricuiting inside.

You can get a replacement from Asus if it fails, but I am not sure what's going on with your adapter. Maybe you should ask them, to prevent unfortunate situations

 

thanks a lot ryzeki
ur thread was very helpful to me

if any others have same problem plz post.

 

You are welcome! I am glad I was able to help somehow.

If you are curious about your issue, I think you will have more luck by creating a new thread about it on the Asus Section (not the Review section).

That way, you can get more attention!

 

My ac adapter makes noise too, it's called transistor whine or transistor squeal. It's nothing unusual if it is quiet, you should have to put your ear right next to the brick. It should be more noticeable when the battery is on full charge than when the battery is charging. If it is loud, able to be heard from feet away, you should worry and probably try and get it replaced ASAP. However it could be a bad power outlet, line noise, etc. So make sure it is behind a surge protector or line filter in that case. I have an inline APC surge protector (3 pin) for this exact reason: http://www.google.com/products/cata...ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CB0Q8wIwAg#ps-sellers

 

thanks ALLurGroceries for ur replay
u r right its hardly noticeable without placing the adapter next to my ear and it happens when the battery is full.

i was wondering just because my toshiba laptop's adapter is absolutely silent.

i think ill get a APC surge protector from amazon .

 

Hi.

Does G51j-A1 support a maximum RAM of 4 GB?

Asus website says that 4GB is the maximum. But some sources (of course, I tried googling) says it can take up to 8GB. One of those reliable source is laptopmag.com in the following link:

http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/asus-g51j-a1.aspx


Can anyone make it clear please?

Is it 4GB max for "each" slot?
Or 4GB max for the system?

Thank you in advance. =)

 

4gb each slot. 8gb max.

g51jx has 4 slots, with same 4gb per slot limit, so 16gb max.

My thoughts on my 2-week old one:

- It has a flaw well logged by furmark+prime95 stress testing, the power circuitry (may be the power brick) cannot drive the CPU and GPU at 100% utilisation. THe CPU throttles to ~60% of what it does when running prime95 alone. Whether this will ever happen in a game or other program is highly unlikely IMO, it hasn't been documented in anything but synthetic CPU and GPU benchmarks running simultaneously.

- Asus shipped it with bugged drivers (creative, razer) and utilities (power4gear, wireless console 3 which borked my wifi after 5 days), I strongly urge all g51j owners to uninstall those which don't have updates available. Power4Gear 1.1.26 works for me, the only thing it has over standard Windows power manglement that I find useful is of course the Turbo/Extreme Turbo CPU overclock modes [which FYI is not to be confused with the "Intel Turbo Boost" which is a CPU feature in all nehalem/lynnfield/clarksfield/arrandale/etc core "i" CPUs desktop and laptop]

- Glossy fingerprint magnet surfaces... drive me mad. I have used a black Vostro 1500 before for 2+ years... the most featureless looking laptop ever but it was built like a tank and still looks as new. Compare with this g51j, which looks nice and shiny - but oh my god in the wrong light it's like they've just spread round the fingerprint powder on a CSI crime scene. Why on earth a bit of rubberised plastic is at the back of the base of the LCD, where it serves some purpose as yet unknown to me, rather than round the edges of the LCD where it is gripped to open & close every time... unfathomable.

- The screen is a bit too flexible for my liking... I can quite obviously twist it (push & pull on either side). I know it adds weight but I'd like a sturdier metal frame inside.

- The lights on the back of the lid (the white lines in the middle and on the sides) may be contributing to the backlight bleed which is the only downside I can find about the display. With the screen off in a dark room, you can see the lights through the LCD. Something to correct with the next model huh Asus.

All in all I'm still liking it a lot though

 

so i hooked my vacuum up to my G51j, overclocked the gpu to 700/1000/1550, played COD6 on max gfx (high quality in NCP) and the highest temps I got were 39'C for GPU and 35'C for CPU! now if only it were portable, and quiet.

 

LOLWUT!!!111oneone

 

Pictures or it didn't happen

 

My 2D underclocked/undervolted/Zalman-cooled GPU doesn't even idle at 39C.

I call shennanigans.

 

Agreed Though it would be nice to have such low temps...

 

I know this isn't the right forum. But I have a question for Ryzeki. Would you be interested, or know someone who is, in creating a dummys guide for the G51J-A1. What I think would be great would be to have all the updates worth getting, talk about the creative audio issue, the BSOD fix, and any other information you thought would be good for someone who has just opened the box. I have had mine about a month and a half now and haven't updated anything except windows. Now that BSOD is fixed I will tackle that undertaking.
Just a Idea...

 

While I get your point, and I would mostly agree that a guide with the "must haves" and "must delete/avoid" would be great, the truth is that this particular model has been phased out already in favor of the G51JX which most probably won't have the same issues etc.

Basically, I don't think creating such a guide for a discontinued laptop would be of much use. I believe that creating a wiki like the one discussed for the BSOD with the very general things like which BIOS use, what drivers to uninstall, would be most useful. Generally, updating the BIOS to the beta 207 from GentechPC and uninstalling all creative software and Sound audigy drivers will fix 99% of the main problems with the machine.

Any other thing is up to personal preference (keeping or getting rid of Asus software, which nvidia drivers to use etc).

If you have any questions or anything though, feel free to ask me or any other G51J user. My thread still works to help those in need with this particular laptop

 

Even if this model has been phased out...I happened to have purchased it 2 weeks ago (brand new). So will ASUS still honour the 2 year warranty and accidental coverage? Also do I have to send a copy of my invoice along with the information card even if I registered it on their website? Also, can I put in up to 8GB of RAM in this unit? I can't find a clear answer on this. Thanks.

 

Yes yes and yes.

And Ryzeki, the G51J3D is still in stock at Amazon (basically a G51J with 3D software and glasses), and may be for some time. So there may be more continuing interest in a guide than you think... up to you, of course.

 

@ryzeki;
might be a good idea to make a note of the BSoD + direct link to the bios in the first post.

that's pretty much all that's needed in necessity on this model. the rest, as was said, is all preference.

 

Oh, I didn't know that since I recently saw the G51JX-3D and thought that maybe the standard G51J-3D had also been phased out.

As for the guide, I think that it is mostly a matter of prefference but I think I will update the first post for the general troubleshooting etc.

Yeah, I think I will do that later, probably on the weekend. Or maybe later today when I get out of class/work.

 

I need to eat a little crow here: I assumed the G51J-3D was identical to the J model except it had the 3D emitter & goggles; not so. Owner review on Amazon states that the screen is only 1366 by 768, and the laptop comes with DVD, not Blu-Ray. Sorry for any confusion I may have caused.

 

Oh don't worry. The laptop itself is still kinda the same inside, just a different low resolution high refresh screen. It uses the 120hz screen to support 3D.

The only reason I didn't get it is because of that to be honest. 1366x768 is too low for me.

 

Can anybody please tell me what is the exact RAM I'd need to buy if I want to upgrade it to 8GB? Not sure if it's 1066 or 1333Mhz DDR3 RAM....thanks.

 

1066. You will not see the difference between 1066 and 1333.

 

I agree that you will not see any performance difference.

But I have another question: The 1333 RAM. Does it, by any chance, drain more battery than 1066?

 

I purchaced my G51J-A1 from GentechPC configured with an Intel SSD ant a Mata BD ROM.It plays DVDs great,but I tried to play a blue ray movie (Terminator), and it won't play. WMP starts and states format is not supported.How do I fix this?

 

You need a dedicated program that will play back Bluray. You need PowerDvd ultra, AnyDvd, or the newest version of Windvd. WMP will not play back Blu rays. You need a premium software with a decoder.

 

Check if GentechPC provided an additional dvd with the software needed to play the Blurays. The machine cannot do it with prebundled software because it comes standard with dvd.

If you didn't get shipped with the disc, I am sure Ken can help you out.

 

Hi i bought this laptop and it doesn't seem to come with the full 640 gb. i only see about 425. any1 know what's goin on?

 

Hi,
Would you mind telling me what's the firewire chipset in the ASUS ASUS G51J-SZ045V?
I consider buying it as a digital music workstation with an external firewire soundcard Motu 828 mk2 but this card can be really picky when it comes to FW chipset. A VIA chipset would be a bad thing for example.

Anyway if you could enlighten me on this, it 'd be great

Cheers

 

Hello, sorry if I didn't answer, I haven't checked my review for a long while. Have you tried using a software to check your partitions? It may be that one partition was deleted.

Can you tell me how to check chipset of the FW? That way I can be more helpful.

 

the new bios A08 relase any different than A07 ?

 

No idea to be honest.

 

Hello everyone

I need some advise for buying this laptop.I have already returned Hp dv6t quad edition 3 times because of banding problem on screen and some other issue.So I can't trust hp anymore.Do you think ASUS G Series G51JX-X1 wud be gud option for me?did u find any problem in this system?is this laptop free from banding issue?

more details abt banding issue here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=400972

 

Well I think you will have a better chance for good answers on the main Asus subforum.

The G51 models I have used do not have banding, but I am not sure about G51JX. I think it does not have banding either. The issue though, could be that it has BSOD problems for certain games, and I am not sure if those are fixed or something.

So far, G51J has been fixed, but G51JX and G60JX might have bsod, i am not sure.

Other than that, they are fantastic laptops for the money

 

Thanks man fast reply.I cheked newegg ,they are not selling G51J any more.is G51JX is higher version of G51J?shall I go for G51JX?which one have btr graphic card.

 

Asus G51JX is not exactly a higher version, it is just a different version. Overall, the G51J has more "power" due to having the GeForce GTX260m which is a bit stronger than the GTS360m, however the GTS360m is higher clocked and performs very similar.

However! I think the G51J is no longer available, unless used, so if you want a new unit, you might want to go for the G51JX. Or perhaps spend a bit more and get the G73JH, the absolute best value gaming notebook ever

 

Thanks buddy I have just orderd this machine.hope things wud go fine for me this time

 

Alright, congrats on your purchase

Be sure to give us your feedback and remember you have the whole Asus community to help in case you have issues!

Some laptops like the G51J have been troublshooted so much that we know all the issues it has, workarounds and updates that make it an awesome machine. The same goes for most current models!

 

yo, I've had the g51j sometime after this thread was made. so i had it for pretty long. but the only thing i've updated was the bios and graphics driver (for the bsod fix) and asus live update doesn't work cause of the stupid version. is there more stuff i need to update and where do i get them from.

I posted this cause im currently playing metro 2033 and like the g51j not as smooth playing as other games ive played (a message comes up at the beginning saying i don't have the latest gdriver but i do and when i exit game another message come up saying its running alittle underperformance and do i wish to change theme to basic insead of aero)

 

Hello there.

Well, the only basic things you would need are the BSOD fix and perhaps the workaround for the CPU throttle, though that doesn't currently affect games that I know of.

Keep in mind Metro 2033 is a new game with quite high requirements, so you might have problems running it. How's the game? I am interested in it. As for drivers, don't worry, if you have the latets, then ignore that message (I get that message with batman AA I think).

If I get the game, I can post impressions and test its performance.

 

I am glad I stuck with my g51j. I think the power4gear update fixed most of my BSOD. I play MW2 proably 2 hours a night and have no issues now.