Vicious's G50V-A1 Review

Change Log: Just added the section for updating the video drivers and gave a performance comparison for 3dmark06 & 3dmark08 between the new and old drivers.

I am now redoing what few game benchmarks I had with the new drivers.

Just added Battlefield 2142 with 2 different settings, next game to be added is Call of Duty 4 at some point tonight.

 

Not to me its rather light.

 

great job i love those battlefield screenshots so you are testing DMC4 do you actually have the game? i heard it looks really stunning on pc interested to see



oh oh oh one more thing is it possible to add just one more game to your list?? how about oblivion? Your list is perfect though

 

I dont have oblivion anymore but I am pretty sure it would do great on that game. I do have DMC4 and it will be tested. Right after CoD4 which I have done I just need to upload and post the results.

DMC4 does look stunning on PC I have uploaded several 1920x1080 maxed out DX10 shots from when I played it on my desktop

 

amazing, why did you get rid of obilivion though?!?! i'm thinking about getting a g71v but i have a 360 and ps3 so i'm debating on which of the three i should get oblivion for.

 

I've played Oblivion on 360 and PC, it is way better on PC imo. I still kind of like seeing the game on a huge TV, but there are so many mods and additions for the PC version that you can't pass it up. Plus, with everything at a high res and all the settings at max, it looks amazing on PC.

 

Yeah there are a ton of mods for PC to make the game look better. I couldnt really run them back in the day with my slow pc, but the G50 is faster than my PC was so it may handle them.

My new rig would max it out easy so if I see it on the cheap one day I may pick it up.

 

every single game i play on pc i will be porting it over via hdmi to my 40 inch series 6 samsung lol i do that right now with my vaio and it is stunning so using on the tv is no prb for me

 

Wow, then your in for a real treat. So you connect your pc to your TV, and then you play like in a living room with a wireless keyboard + mouse? I'm just wondering how your setup is.

 

well actually the 40 inch is in my room and has 4 hdmi ports(ps3 is using one now) and yes you have the basic idea i actually use a logitech wired mouse and there's no keyboard YET i only connect it currently to watch youtube videos on the 40 inch lol it's amazing, when i'm ready i will get a logitech keyboard and mouse bluetooth i'll tell you what once i get my set up i'll take pictures and show you guys how i plan on using it.

 

Thanks for this review, it was added to the Info Booth.

 

Great review Vicious! Thanks for putting some of it up early.

 

Anyone have any idea of when the G50V-A2 will be out?

 

Great review so far, I wish all reviews where this thorough and informative! Glad my one of my favorite games, 2142, can be played maxed out, but it seems many people have given up playing it though.

I only wish the 9700M GT was more watt efficient though >.< Along with being more powerful. Does anyone have a link to this 9 cell battery for this laptop everyone is talking about?

 

Great review, thanks! I definitely will consider this model because it seems to be loaded. I especially like the ability to setup RAID.

 

nice review viscious. I am considering this laptop because it's a 15" (albeit a large 15") with some nice specs. I've been looking at 17" notebooks, but buying one of those would involve getting new sleeves and bags as I'd be upgrading from an old HP 15". Can't wait to see how this machine does COD4

 

Im about to post my CoD4 results now. I just gotta boot up the laptop and upload them.

edit: gah rain check the image server is overloaded. I can tell you that all setting maxed 1280x800 it ran about 30fps average, but the occasional drop into the 20's if something really big happened so depending on your preference you may want to lower some settings to get around 40fps average with a dip into the 30's I am sure that it can be done without really lowering the visual quality much. Maybe just turning off AA would do this.

 

Some more questions for ViciousXUSMC:

1. Is there a significant change in battery life if one of the hard drives is taken out?
2. Assuming the hard drives are not in RAID, how easy do you think it will be to partition one of them and install, say, Linux or XP on it? I'm thinking if I do get this laptop, I would want multiple OSes!
3. I'm unsure about the location of the media buttons (if the G50 has them). Are they on the touchpad as in the M50?
4. Finally, how does the output to an external display look?

Thanks in advance!

 

1.) Probably not, but I cant test as I am in RAID 0... if one HDD goes I lose everything.

2.) Very easy, you wont even need to partition it if you dont want just install the 2nd OS on the 2nd drive.

3.) I dont know and this is a question I have too! I saw a picture of the G71 and it had the media touchpad lit up and that touch pad looks just like this one, and there was a media control driver but I cant seem to find a program or a key to activate it! I need to go thru the manual I guess.

4.) If you use HDMI it is digital and your display will play the key part in how it looks with its deoder. If you use VGA it looks like regular VGA quality to me.

 

I don't think the G50 doesn't has the multi-media touchpad like the one in the M50 series. Even without the back-light off, you can still see the controls on the touchpad in the M50

 

I just read the manual from cover to cover, it doesnt have it, the media drivers must be for the arrow key + function key shortcuts.

I just now noiced crysis has my freaking battery meter at the top how strange is that lol, who in there right mind would even attempt to play crysis on battery power...

Crysis is a dream at all medium with objects on high in DX9 it looks and plays great.

I just got WCIII + TFT installed. So my game benchmarks are going to be CoD4 when the image server is back up, then DMC4, then Crysis, then WC3, after that is up in the air sill but I have TF2, Portal already installed so probably those.

My power tests will be done after sunday since I will be out of town for most of Sunday.

177.79 drivers are treating me good but reading up on them they get alot of bad feedback from other people with there systems, makes me wonder if some other drivers may be even better.

 

Damn, no media buttons is kind of a downer since I listen to a lot of music. But I do have those shortcuts on my external keyboard, so it shouldn't be a big deal.

Vicious, I'm probably going to use either VGA or HDMI-to-DVI to hook up my external monitor. I asked about the hard drives since I have a crazy plan if I do get a laptop with dual hard drives.

 

Lol ^^ what ever floats your boat.

CoD4 results up xs.to is back online it must be my review killing there server lol.

Gonna go get some DMC4 results next.

 

I might just end up getting the G50v-a1. It's really hard for me to wait another month for the G71v, and really the only difference for me will be the bigger screen.

I have time in August to play games, but in September I'm going to be really busy so I will have less time.

 

does the g71v have the hotkeys on the touch pad like the m50, because ive noticed that this doesn't.

great review so far Vicious, look forward to the Warcraft3 + TFT benchmarks! btw in your DMC4 screenshots, why does it read the GPU as 9700 gs? and not gt

 

That happened when I installed the 177.79 drivers all my programs read it as a GS now. Gpu-z, everest, ect. However the nvidia control panel still says its a GT.

as for the g71... I cant say for sure and nobody can since it is not released but this one website has a picture of it with the media controls.
http://www.nexus13.com/ProductCart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=&idproduct=1405

 

damn i ordered it on xoticpc last monday and the laptop is still in phase 1 T_T cant wait to get it!

 

It even says that the CPU is Pentium III 6348 MHz??? Freakish driver...

http://xs.to/xs.php?h=xs230&d=08324&f=3dmarkvantage605.jpg

 

Damn you Vicious, you are tempting me to get a new laptop. I still love my C90s, here's hoping that 9700M GT comes through. I guess we are spoiled with the size of this laptop for its performance.

 

Same with me on excaliber. The rep said they'll probably get the next shipment on the 18th. May be different for xotic, but I'm guessing they're all getting it from the same place anyway.

 

any chance of an unrealtournament3 benchmark? Its probably going to be my most played game

 

Yeah UT3 is on my list, since you requested it I will bump it up to one of the ones I do sooner than later.

 

Ha yeah, if you can wait id be all for the C90P but I just got tired of being in the dark about it. I do miss the C90 it just fit me perfectly some how.

I guess since it was more desktop than laptop, no asus programs, no logo on it, it was just a DIY portable computer

Still the cpu of the G50 is as strong as the C90, 2 hard drives, better video card. So yeah its a definite upgrade. I miss my C90 screen tho I think the screen was better.

 

Does the ASUS G50V-A1 have a LED screen?

Also, is the wireless card Intel 4965agn instead of the newer (generation) Intel 5100n wireless card? What benefits does the 5100 cards give and how come the Asus doesn't have it? I've only found specs for this Asus notebook with the 4965agn card (not sure if you can customize but it doesn't look like it).

 

No, it has a LCD screen. The wireless card on the G50 is also the newer 5100 which performs similarly to the 4965.

 

I got an email on Friday from Xotic..and it said
"Dear Valued Customer,
We wanted to inform you that your order has been updated with the following status & additional information:

New status: Phase 2 (Sent for Custom Building / Testing / Burn In & Final QA) 3-7 Business Days." Do they test the laptops before it leaves their warehouse? Anyone know? Hopefully those who ordered from Xotic will be receiving the email soon.

 

On XoticPC it shows to having the 4965 while GenTech shows the 5100. Vicious can you confirm which one is correct?

 

hi i am sebastian from argentina and this is my first post here...i wanted to give thanks for the great review to vicious...and im waiting too for ut3 benchs it is a beautiful game...bye!

 

I know this is kind of off-topic, but when I get my next gaming rig (leaning towards g70 currently) I'm thinking I'll finally get Oblivion (no way it could run well on Inspiron 1520). What mods do you recommend? I'm a total n00b.

If you could pm me a list, I'd be very appreciative. Thanks you!

 

XoticPC's website is wrong.. the G50 uses the 5100 wireless card.

 

Thanks vicious nice review.

Do you know if the HDMI out carries multi chanel audio and not just the 2 channels? (5.1 dolby/7.1 dolby)

 

well, if Viscious is taking game benchmark requests, I'd like to see how Mass Effect plays on this lappy as that game is the main reason I'm buying a new laptop.

 

I can confirm it is the Intel 5100.

Don't forget guys, I also own this laptop and I'm ready to help out when you all have questions.

 

I too would be interested in this. My 8400 can only handle the game at a res of 1024x768.

 

I'm interested in how well it does in Mass Effect as well.

 

UT3 should = Mass effect pretty much its the same engine.

Sometime later this morning I pack up and go from Tampa to Miami and will be walled up in a hotel with nothing to do (after a 6 hour drive) I plan to install UT3 before I go and may grab Mass Effect. I should have enough time on my hands to finish the benches on every game on the list.

When I get back I will do the power tests and start to write my conclusion.

 

im hoping for the g50 to be able to run it at high settings at 1440 by 900!

 

Even I wanna know if they test these laptops before shipping coz if they do then its really nice as we can be assure that the laptop will be working fine when we recieve it.

 

They do test them before they leave, for some reason I am still in stage 1 and I ordered on August 1st.

 

Im at the hotel got my laptop setup at the bar, gonna start a few benchmarks. I forgot my UT3 disk but did bring Mass Effect. I'll do UT3 when I get home tomorrow.