U46SM-DS51 Owner's Lounge

As a search didn't turn anything up, I guess it falls to me to get this thread underway.

Problems with Steam and the Optimus enabled NVIDIA GT 630M are driving me up the wall right now but I will post the proper links to media and product pages in the morning.

 

I am definately enjoying mine. Got mine yesterday and I have been able to dump the OS and install Win7 Pro. Been working well thus far. If anyone is interested, I have been doing some testing and posting the results for another member. Here

 

I quoted your posts here as well so people can look up the info in this thread when the other one gets buried without having to browse the other thread. I hope you don't mind, but if you do let me know.

 

Nope no mind here. I am going to make my last comment in the other thread about viewing angle. But then I will be done. Thanks for moving things around for me.

 

kcobra98, thanks for your information.
What about booting times with your Momentus XT?

 

It takes about 36seconds to reach the desktop with Wifi connection confirmed. (and three gadgets up and running) I tested with the laptop off for five minutes. Pressed the power on button and the stopwatch start button at the same time.

Takes about four restarts to get this boot time in the cache of the Momentus XT. But it is pretty fast after the second boot.

 

Can someone post screen shots of GPU-Z please? Curious to see which version of the 630m they went with.

 

It is below:

 

Tijo! As in, Tijo from GW2Guru? Anyways I've been trying to look for info on some rough estimate speculation on when ASUS or Clevo will have some decent Kepler based notebooks available (particularly the 660m).

Nice to see ASUS is rolling out some newer machines like this one.

 

Yeah, the one and only. Sup Bhima?

Anyways, i wouldn't expect Asus to really start rolling their kepler notebooks until the beginning of this summer. We'll probably see some limited availability for some models as soon as April though.

 

Anyone else who has this machine, have you noticed anything weird with the stock wifi card? I noticed sometimes it drops the connection for about two or three minutes after initially connecting once booting.

WIFI device name: Atheros AR9002WB-1NG
Driver version: 9.2.0.427 from Atheros dated 6/21/2011

My system has a clean install of Win7 Pro SP1 with all the drivers provided by ASUS's website.

 

You aren't the first user i see reporting problems with his AR9002WB. Try disabling the bluetooth functionality first and see if that helps. Also make sure your drivers are up to date. If all else fails, you could look into whether upgrading the wireless adapter is possible.

 

Sorry to keep requesting so much info but I really like to gather a lot of information before buying a laptop that I cannot see in person.

Can someone post the device ID of the monitor on your machine?

I was able to see the U46E-BAL7 which seems to be the Intel HD graphics only version of this laptop. I was curious if they use the same screen because the one on the U46E seemed very washed out. Its device ID was COR0579 which yields very few hits on Google.

Thanks in advance, you guys are awesome.

 

Autobulb, Mine has the same Hardware ID. But really these are geared for business minded or always on the go ventures. Maybe not fully business as ASUS has the other line for strictly business, but I believe the idea with these smaller laptops is mobility and not the best graphics power or graphic representation. That is what HDMI or VGA output ports are given to us for. So we can hook up and external pro monitor when we are at our primary working area. Or at least this is my take on this series of laptops. I of course could be wrong on ASUS's goal with this model line. I hope this information is helpful for you.



To note, I was able to dial mine in pretty well with the Windows 7 screen calibration wizard. It by default does have the gamma cranked up, pretty much the only change I had to do was drop the gamma setting to get the right settings.

 

Sooo owners of the U46 can you persuade me to buy the Asus U46 over the MSI x460dx? I'm torn between the 2

 

Wow, didn't know they had something comparable. I personally love the stainless steel look of mine. But that is a personal opinion. I would gather they are direct competing devices. I find the built in speaker of my U46 to be underwhelming like most have said about the earlier version. However, I don't believe something of this size should have a superior sound system. Just doesn't make since to me. I figure this unit is for portability first; next horsepower for business apps.

I bought mine to take to client sites and present examples of Servers and clients interacting via a few running Virtual Machines. And this U46 excels at this. With that said, I have plugged my headphones in and have been greeted with great sound.

Yep, reviewing this post, I really have nothing factual to say which says this unit is better then the MSI machine. From what I have read, the MSI might have a point or two ahead just for the slightly better built in audio speakers.

What do my other fellow owners think?

To Note: The MSI x460dx-291US (listed on xocticpc.com) has 2GB of Video RAM compared with the 1GB on the U46. (There I found a fact for you. Too bad it pushes you again away from this machine.) I am still very happy with my purchase and wouldn't want to change anything.

 

Has any of my fellow owners been able to hook the VGA port to a projector? I attempted today and it wouldnt send video to the projector. I tried different resolutions via the intel HD 3000 graphic settings. The PC was reporting the model number of the projector connected but wouldn't make the video connection.

This system has a fresh install of Win7 SP2 64bit installed with all the latest drivers available from the Asus website: ASUS - Notebooks- ASUS U46SM

Just so everyone knows... I did try the Fn+F8 key several times. It would report the PC1 input was connected but then it would lose connection prior to the video starting. I have yet to test with the HDMI port.

 

Okay, I have tested via HDMI which works on this Mitsubishi Projector. I then retested via VGA and it will not work on the projector. It will however work on a Lenovo monitor; so this proves the port is in working condition. Any ideas why this might happen? I have also made sure the refresh rate and resolution set on the VGA out is compatiable with the projector. Is there a way to have the Nvidia chip do the video out or is it strictly only available via the Intel onboard video processor?

At this point, it might just be the projector and I should just be happy HDMI works with it. Just an odd thing, so any suggestions for testing would be appreciated.

 

Can someone comment on the build quality of this laptop? How does it compare alongside the MSI similarly priced MSI x460dx? Would It be able to withstand say, being carried in a backpack day in and day out?

 

Hi everyone,
I am looking on this laptop as well.
Few questions:
1. Saw on a different asus laptop that the panel below the keyboard (where the wrists are) gets dirty quickly. What is the panel made of on this one?
2. Could someone point me to where the problem with WiFi card is discussed? I do plan to use the laptop primarily over wireless, so this is important.
3. Anyone tried to measure how long the battery lasts with WiFi on with some medium load (like medium brightness screen and some internet browsing)?

Would appreciate any responses.

 

For #1 The palm rest is the metal the cover is made out of. Easily wipes down.
For #2 I am not sure what the problem is, but my earlier issue has stopped. It use to drop the wifi connection after being turned of for ten minutes. Then it would take about a minute before it reconnected. After this it was good to go for the rest of the computing session. But now for mine it is not doing this again. I am guessing it is software related, but I am not a software designer so I could just be talking smack....
For #3 You may check out my earlier test in the other thread I was in. Click Here Alternatively, I have been able to get about 8+ hours on batt saver mode with my customized system.

 

Thank you very much! I think I am sold

 

Has anyone been able to install better Nvidia drivers then the stock ones on the ASUS website? (V8.17.12.9035) I am just thinking there should be some better performance drivers for the 630 chip in our machines....

 

I just picked up the Pelican HardBack 1095 "pluck foam" case for my U46SM. Site Link It fits great and is properly secured in the pluck foam version. The 1095CC version still allows the laptop to slide around (even the 1085CC). I was able to stop in to a authorized dealer and try all four configurations until I found the best fit. If anyone would like photos just let me know.

 

Got to play with mine a bit. So far, my concerns are:
- Power button is hard to press (maybe a good thing, actually)
- When the lid is closed, it almost touches the buttons on the touchpad - holding the laptop by the front side presses the buttons. They should have placed a rubber spacer somewhere near the camera - just like they have on corners
- My particular unit has hinges that are not in line with the lip on the body. Not sure if this is just my unit, but gives an impression of sloppy build (though overall I like the build quality)

 

Hey there, everyone. I've been considering getting either a U46SM or a Sager NP3260.
Do you think that this laptop is worth purchasing? I've been going between the two because of the battery time and the screen, really, which is probably really dumb. Is this laptop good for being brought to and from college classes? I plan to commute to my university, so the battery time is a huge plus, I think.
And games run fine on this laptop, right?

 

I bought my U46SM for use it during the North CACS conference. With WiFi, medium bright and energy saving mode the battery succed more than 7 hours on. I guess is a very good number.
Regards

 

Any information from those 'behind the curtain' if we will be getting any updated Graphics drivers for this awesome system? ASUS support website still lists stuff from 2011 and Nivida drivers wont work. (without hacking the config.ini files with the proper hardware id's. WHich i haven't done yet.)

 

Hello all, I have been casually checking the ASUS downloads site for our laptop and just noticed a new BIOS. Version 3.00. By chance does anyone know if it is meant for us and what it improves upon? The website description just says "Update ME Firmware".

 

Hey kcobra98, I would appreciate it if you could do a gpuz screen shot of the gpu.

Is it just a rebadged gt540? if so how is the performance compared to a gt540??
or is it built on a 28nm process?

Cheers

 

GT630M is a rebadged GT540M with little if no changes.

That's as much as I know about it but personally, the GT540M is a very very capable performer.

 

It basically is the same chip they just tweaked the clock's a bit which of course you could do on your own if you have last years model with the
Gt 540m, which I do. This has been a great laptop for me it plays most of the newer games at med settings. The screen is only 720p so it will play most in native resolution. The screen itself is probably one of the worst parts about it with very limited viewing angles and not the best contrast control. Although this could be advantageous to a student... No one but you can see the screen. I've heard of no wifi issues at all in the older ones.

 

I know this is an old thread, but I have the ASUS U46SM and I wanted to upgrade the processor. I know I can't upgrade the RAM because it comes with 8GB and that also happens to be the max supported RAM. However, the processor is a little slow (2.5 ghZ is nothing when you want to play Arkham Origins or Injustice!!) and I was wondering if it was possible to upgrade it to a core i7, and if yes, can anyone link me to an i7 processor actually compatible with the U46SM?

Any and all help will be appreciated.