Sunny's G51VX-RX05 Review

but in the end, the G50 can run Crysis, correct?

And what is concerning me the most is the fact that the G51 has this heating issue. Can it truly be an issue? is it possible to see just how hot it gets with longer play times then just 10 minutes? Because I am an intensive gamer.

If the heat issue isnt really a "problem" as much as it is just something that isn't the norm and its just a surprise but in the end it isnt damaging or anything, I will get the G51, despite the slower processor...I dont plan to really game with anything more advance then Crysis itself...I will be playing games like Dead Space, Oblivion, and so on,, and the G50 can run that no problem, and from what I seen, it can run Crysis very well....but seeing as how the processor really doesn't seem to hurt the G51 so much to where it would run a game like Crysis worse then the G50 or equal, I might look into it... But again, please let me know about this heating issue...

Is it something the can be overlooked? Is it damaging? How hot can it get with atleast 1 hour of game time in Crysis?

If Its damaging, I will sacrifice some Crysis visuals in order to have a laptop that wont end up making me regret buying it.



But the point is also, its good to know the processor doesn't really get in the way with something liek Crysis, which will most likely be the most advance game I play ever. And I doubt Old Republic will be as demanding both on the GPU and CPU. And as you stated, it can be overclocked to 2.25GHz, and even a safe 2.4GHz (I believe you said that) which is good.

Just let me know about the heat thing though

*edit*

However I will assume that the G50 can run GTA4 better then then 51, cause from what I understand, the "poor" port of GTA4 is a major CPU hog...


and No I dont think I really have the budget to upgrade the CPU... I guess depends how high the upgrade will be....if it were about $150-$200 I could do it...

 

With a QX9300 it would oh wait G50 cant use a quad lol. Ive played it with a T9600 overclocked to 3.22 Ghz while it plays alot better than with the P7450 overclocked to 2.45 Ghz, so much better that at times i actually hit 60 fps, it still goes way below 24 all the time. Quad for real even a T9900/X9100 overclocked to oblivion is no comparison to the game on a QX9300.

With a quad there would be very little difference between the gpu's with the right quad the 9800M GS in stock config with dox drivers should be able to push GTA4 to 60 average fps. But where talking overclocked QX9300 if u want to reach for the sky.

If your looking to play GTA4 for cheap and actually like playing it, a used 360 and a used copy of GTA 4 runs alot less than the cpu itself.

 

If it can run furmark for one hour without overheating, the design is obviously fine.

Intersting experiment would be depending where you live. Take it outside and let it run furmark for one hour with ambient >85F.

If it survives that without crashing you know it is a good design.

Learux

 

hey guys!! when I spoke with asus they wanted me to send it in to them for there engineers to look at becuz it shouldnt be getting that hot, the only visual difference of the g51 I have and sunn90's G51 on the gpu heatsink itself, he had way thicker sticky thermal pads and the core of the gpu was not 100% contact with his heatsink, mine was in 100% contact yet the sticky thermal pads are way thin compared to his..

yet both of them are getting the same temps, the bios says the critical temp is 108C

i ran furmark for 10 minutes straight, 1024x768 stress test mode with logging temps and i jumped quickly from idle temp fo 53C to 104-105c and stayed constantly there as i have posted with screen shots in other threads on the board...

Me and sunny both got 90c degrees while running 3dmark06 and crysis.. I dont know if he tried furmark yet..

I compared the results to my 9800gtx+ EVGA SC vid card in pc and with furmark that got up to 87C uses same exact g92b nvidia chip as does the laptop! they run hotter due to being an older gpu core....

Remember in the asus g51 the cpu heatsink and heatpipe and fins are connected to the gpu heatsink and fins all combined with one output for the fan to blow the hot air out, quad cpus in notebooks can get up to 80C full load which is fine for the cpu but what is that going to do to a already hot gpu all connected through the heatsinks and fins with one fan...

I think the G71 is looking more and more good due to the fact bigger chassis, more room to breath, more vents, still i think one fan with two combined heat cooling solutions for gpu and cpu.. at least in the g71 u might have a chance with a quad core!

just my two cents...

 

I agree.


BUT! Now I'm going to throw a wrench in this and say I suspect a faulty temp sensor somewhere. Let me give you an example. When overclocked to 2.4 running prime95 on large, added to that a low res Furmark running simultaneously both temps are LOWER than stock!! that is wacked. I can honestly say that this is my second laptop so my experience is limited.

The whole voiding/pulling cpu out thingy freaks me out a little or I would have yanked it and put a quad in it since that's what I bought it for. 15" with a quad could be a nice setup.

I think I need to run hwmonitor and report back.

 

CrazyLink1 - I'll play crysis for an hour and report.. Note i ran 20 mins of crysis and the GPU temp was the same as what skyhawk21 got in 10 mins which was 97C.. btw you can get a decent processor upgrade, say the P8600 2.4ghz, for around $150 which is what i am looking into..

 

Yes please do run Crysis for an hour and report back
Have you tried a notebook cooler? If you have any change in temps?
Damn man!
My heads gonna explode deciding between the G51 and G71

 

Anyone know of a detailed guide right off hand on replacing socket P's? Yes... I have searched but the two I have found seem poorly written or outdated.

Thanks..


Found one !

 

Just in case it didnt suffice, remove heat sink, turn cpu screw, remove processor, put new one in, turn screw back, paste, heat pipe, done.... lol

 

That sums up the guide too !!

Now I just need a few beers and a pair for the no going back.

Worries..
1. Would BB notice if I replaced it and put the OEM back? Prolly
2. ES sample q9100=crap shoot

Hmmm....

 

I'm sorry but to tell you the truth.. if anythin goes wrong.. normally best buy does not suspect their customers to replace the processor's. Just don't physically damage the case and don't act like a computer guru to geek squad (aka who will look at the laptop).. and just be like idk what happened! and they will get you a new one.. I work at geek squad no one will normally check for that.

 

this is probably a vista problem.. but for some reason I can't get any semi-recent games to work on this. i haven't gotten a new computer in 5 years, so the latest pc games i own were sims 2 and battle for middle earth 2 and they ran excellent on highest settings. i downloaded bioshock and doom 3 demo off steam, and they fail to start up. i just get that the program has stopped working. windows didn't have any solutions. do i need to download drivers or an update? do i need to wait for the drivers for this laptop? sorry if this doesn't really belong here or is a really stupid question with a simple answer. :X

 

Did you get a QRMS Q9100? If you did than you won't be able to monitor your processor temps...

 

QRDS

I picked it up knowing the risks, but wasn't aware of the lack of built in temp sensors! LOL

 

I had issues with those two demos from steam as well. Just get them off file front.

 

did anyone buy the g51 today from BB???

 

Still no G51 from the BB site.

Would the G51 be portable, as in you can lug it around in your back when going to classes?

 

I mean its 8pounds... You probably could but after a while it would get annoying, unless you are in the military and lug around 50 pounds everyday...

And you would have to carry the power brick with you all day, since it only gets around 1-2 hours of life.

 

I'm also waiting for the next line of netbooks to come out, good portability/battery life for classes and stuff..

 

Here you go guys.. Like I said there is nothing wrong with this unit and this proves it.. I am thinking that the artic silver helped a little after all.. My temps does not go near 100C.. Stays around 90C. This is after playing a little over an hour of Crysis.. As you can see the highest temps was 91C...

 

So this means that the heat is just part of the system and theres nothing wrong with the machine or any other way of bringing down the temperature?

 

Do you think theres a possibility that similar temps are obtainable with the stock thermal paste after letting it burn in a bit more, or only with using the Arctic Silver?

 

masterwares - It is part of the system.. As accoring to ASUS, getting temps like 90C is normal for this laptop. Only way you can bring down the temps without voiding the warranty is if you use a cooling pad.. I will run some test with my cooling pad to see how much more does it help.

Matrinix - Before i was running temps like 97C after running crysis for 20mins.. This was when i was running with the stock thermal past.. so it seems like after taking the cooling apart and applying artic silver, i am running temps like 91C which in this case is normal since asus said that if you get 90C then its normal... Artic silver did help cool the gpu.

 

My finding are the same, but I didn't replace anything. The hotter it became, the cooler it ran, like maybe somthing was bonding? Dunno, I'm no expert, but I can tell you that mine will clock at 2.4 (anything over croaks) and runs fairly cool.

 

WOW Thanks sunny!!! I think you ave just sealed the deal for me!! Seeing as how The computer not only runs Crysis better then the G51 despite smaller processor (which can be overclocked to 2.25 and doesn't seem to be too much of an issue) and the temps didn't go full blast even after playing an hour, my fears are gone.

Crysis will most likely be the most vicious game I play honestly, and no I don't want to play GTA I just use it ad an example but I couldn't care less of the G52 would run it horribly due to the processor. The only future games I see playing are Old Republic and FFXIV. and I doubt those will ask for too much CPU strength. But as you guys said, down the road for cheap I can buy a new processor.

Thanks sunny you helped a lot!

 

It might be the cooling system that needs to see temps that high before it starts turning up the fan to full speed.

Do you have the guts to take it outside and do this at very warm ambient?

Learux

 

I got a question about temp monitor... what is the ACPI THRM??

 

Not 100% sure, but if I had to guess, it's the thermal sensor interface for the ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface).

 

Does anybody know when the quad core versions are coming out?

 

I was thinking there would be a flurry of posts this morning about people who've bought the laptop...

Has anyone else bought it today?

 

And to Sunny, if this is normal for the system, won't it die much faster at 90C every time????

The laptop won't last more than 2 years at 90C,...

 

Well still early dude. BB opens at 10am no? lol... gotta let them bask in it first themselves.

Anyways, not all BBs have them yet and some are buying them online.

 

booooo share the glory!! lol..

I just need to find some more reviews about stability and the lifetime of the system, then i can go out and buy it, and give my desktop(in sig) to my friend or family...

 

Probably with the reseller versions which are expected to come out in mid-July

 

Where can i buy it online? I searched alot for the G51VX on ze internet but I cant find it, and i cant go to the store to buy it =/

 

I meant people are waiting to buy them online because of BBs crap warranty.

 

Oh wait I didnt really see this...

So does that mean I would have to do that Arctic silver thig myself if I want the same stability as you???

I dont really want to do any of that....I thought that you hadn't changed anything and it was at 91c

Guess I was wrong :-\ Unless someone who has this PC and hasn't messed with the cooling paste or anything that gets his same results?

NVM right after sunny's post there was a reply saying that he was getting the same readings without changing anything ...

I can't wait till more people get this laptop...

 

played the bioshock demo for about 15 minutes and it reached 91c max.

 

Bioshock is so 2007... lol. 91 seems pretty high for Bioshock.

 

maybe it just reaches around that temperature for any semi-recent games. or.. maybe the fan kicked in a bit late. i know that while doing basic tasks the fan has turned down/off and would slowly climb up to 80-82c before the fan turned back on. then it would go down like 1 degree/sec until it went back to the norm ~60c.

 

I KNOW THE GTX 260M is powerful and all, but if you are playing an older game, can't it tone down its clock and by doing so limit heat?

Also, can't you manually limit fps to 45? I think 45 is a good fps limit, after 60 your eyes cannot detect anything faster...

 

older games don't run nearly as hot. i played sims 2 and battle for middle earth 2 + xpac both at max settings and native res. the max temp for both was around 68-70c. so you should be fine, depending on what you mean by older games.

 

Hope ASUS puts in a 45nm Nvidia 200M series GPU soon on this notebook.

 

Yeah thats what I mean, games like CandC Generals. And 80C is not too hot is it? The Macbook pro has temps of 80+ on the underside as well, and it has a 9400M.

 

If you mean PowerMizer (lowers clocks), I think it is based on whether the application is 3D or not (almost all games are). I've never used it, but most GPU clock changers are this way.

Well, the card would still be running at full speed, though, even if you maxed it out at 45. That might work, but, for some reason, my head says it won't.

~Ibrahim~

 

So, assuming this is normal operating temperatures, and maybe the fan just takes a little longer to kick in and lower... will running at 90c kill the laptop faster? cuz thats still not cool. If i'm paying $1000 for a new laptop it had better last me 3 years at least without problems..

 

^I really hope not. i'm waiting to see from sunny if a cooling pad will make much of a difference. hopefully it will.

also, fear 2 (entire demo) ran a bit cooler than bioshock at 87c max. just having the word "cool" in a sentence along with 87c seems wrong.

 

Bioshock is very hard on a video card so dont discount the fact since its a 2007 game

 

Is undervolting an option

 

the notebook cooler is helping a lot. I ran a quick benchmark and got temps around 80c. Will try out with crysis and report back.