Z96 Owners Lounge!

Quite a few laptop ODD's will run like this one. Like I said before, you can put a limit on the drive so it never goes above, say, 24x.

I have touched the acoustic settings in NHC. When under Quiet/Silent mode the drive is inaudible.

 

JPZ my man,

BETA BIOS that fixes grainness?! where ?! I must have noooowww ;D

 

Hey Kenshin, incase you haven't seen it yet: Get it here

 

thanks CCz, i just updated it, and i have to say, WOW! comcast.net, black backgrounds, no more grainyness

 

I have a battery wear question

I have been heavily using my z96j for about a month. Most of the time I have had the laptop plugged in. When I ran off battery, I have never gone below 30% or so. I have only discharged the battery once to callibrate the it. My wear level was at 1% as of yesterday. My sister decided to run the battery bone dry, as well as put a million fingerprints on the screen. Now NHC is reporting the wear at 4%. Is it normal to for the battery to wear 3% on a single discharge?

Also is NHC reading the wear correctly?
it also says that the notebook battery is at 49595 mWh, the battery is only rated at 48000 mWh

 

I've heard now there is a BETA BIOS update that drastically reduces the grainyness issue! I'd just like to know what other people know about this. Have people tried it? Is it buggy? Any idea of when a final release might be available?

This is excellent news!

MrFuzzemz

 

Don't worry about your battery. NHC can't be trusted... don't worry about the capacities. Discharging a LiIon battery fully will have negative effects one the battery. After you cycle it a few more times as you have been, it will probably go back to around 1%.

About the BIOS. No one has reported any issues with the BETA. The BETA DOES NOT REDUCE GRAININESS- IT ELIMINATES IT. No one knows what the finaly release will come. Resellers have suggested anytime in the next couple weeks.

 

Sorry for being a complete noob but I have a question regarding whats on my Drivers disc.

My notebook was delivered (i'm presuming) pre-configured; I already had folders in Windows for the BisonCam, BT, etc. so didn't see a need to go and install anything that appeared on the CD.

But can someone please explain to me what this ATKACPI driver is, and also whether or not it is worthwhile installing the Power4 Gear utility? I'd presumed the power settings were automatically controlled in the BIOS?

Thanks

 

atkacpi i belive takes care of your function keys, dont quote me though
power4gear is useful, windows automatically [should] switch power profiles when you unplug, power4gear gives you more control

 

ATKosd drivers are the drivers allowing the keyboard functions to work properly(yes thats correct).


(wow...been a long time in this forum...)

 

Where Can I get the Z96J with T7200?

 

gentechpc has had them in the past.

 

Unfortunately, they are out of them.
I looked at POwernotebooks.com, but the price different is $280 between the 2 websites.

 

The ATK drivers do a little more than that, but that is one of the main functions of it.

I would definately install P4G unless you are planning on using a 3rd party utility instead. But I haven't found a 3rd party utility that works properly with the Yonah platform. They all work to an extent, but you'll get much more solid results with P4G.

I use P4G, except I used RM Clock when playing Oblivion on battery because the frame rate dies when the cpu scales. I have had no trouble doing anything else on battery. Not a single frame drop in Doom 3 or other games. Just Oblivion.

 

Me again,

My email and internet quick access buttons work but my disable trackpad button doesn't.

Does this suggest that i don't have the ATK drivers installed?

Thanks

 

I don't know... Maybe it means you just don't have the touchpad drivers installed.

If you are unsure whether or not you have them, just try to install them.

 

Well i installed the ATK drivers from the disc and after a reboot the disable touchpad button worked... after turning on my notebook the next day it doesnt!

Anyone have any ideas?

 

Has anybody had any issues with the tap-to-click feature on their touchpad having poor response--like tapping repeatedly and no "clicking" happening?

 

No problems for me. But I hate tap to click. I don't use it. Every once in a while I might, it I want to do web-browsing in a quiet environment and I don't want the constant button clicking annoying people. But I rarely use it.

What you should note is that there are a lot of settings for tap to click. Most of these have to do with telling the difference between your finger and your palm, so that the touchpad won't click if you bump it while typing. You can adjust those to better fit your hand.

 

I just got my Z96J a couple days ago. It was fine up until today - I just finished playing a game, and turned the laptop off to go somewhere. When I came back to turn it on, the video wasn't appearing. The power indicator near the power button turns off in less than a minute as well, but the laptop is still on. Caps lock, num lock, etc. don't work. GPU fan is spinning. Hard drive is working. I didn't even do anything to the laptop, all I did was turn it off. CPU temp was 70 after I finished playing games. Could someone please tell me what is wrong? Thanks in advance.

 

Hello All,
Hopefully exhuming a thread as old as this is not a forum faux pas, but last night my Z96J barebones arrived. All of the other parts were recieved about 1 week ago and I have been waiting ever so impatiently for the main component to get here!

MilestonePC
Z96J Barebones $715
NewEgg
Patriot 1GB DDR2 (PSD21G6672S) $104.49
Samsung DVD DL Burner (SN-S082D) $62.99
Intel Core 2 Duo Merom T7200 (BX80537T7200) $298.99
Ewiz
Hitachi 80GB 7200rpm SATA (0A25026) $125.66
Arctic Silver 5 $4.27
Intel WM3945AGM1WB PRO/Wireless Card $29.87

Grand total of $1365.15 with shipping!

This is my first laptop and laptop assembly. I referenced a few guides found on various forums and through google for the S96J/Z96J.

Building the S96J or Z96J - Step by Step Noob Pictorial Guide

There were 2 things I was really concerned about getting right while putting this together.
1) Upgrading the BIOS to use the Merom without using a Yonah. THIS CAN BE DONE. Thanks to advice on the Asusforum.com from Killernotebooks & JPZ as well as the 1101 BIOS update installation disk image provided by Ken from GenTech!

Z96J BIOS 1101 Update Nero Image From GenTech

Merom BIOS Flash Workaround @ AsusForums

1. Burn the Gentech Z96J 1101 BIOS update Nero image to a CD
2. Install components
3. Turn on laptop
4. Get error message "Intel CPU uCode Loading Error - Unknown BIOS Error code =FFFF - Press F1 To Resume"
5. Hit F2 to enter the BIOS
6. Change the boot sequence to boot from CD
7. Save changes and exit
8. Reboot the laptop
9. You will get the error message again
10. Hit F2 to enter the BIOS
11. Choose Exit and Exit WITHOUT SAVING CHANGES
12. Reboot the laptop
13. The system should boot to the bootable CD
14. At the prompt type update, the BIOS will be flashed to the 1101 BIOS
15. VOILA! Laptop works with MEROM and no GRAININESS!

2) Applying the Arctic Silver
Spreading it is somewhat tricky at first, but you get the hang of it pretty quickly. Remember, A LITTLE GOES A LONG WAY!

Overall, assembling the laptop was a good experience. The screen is amazingly clear and has an incredible amount of real estate. Can't wait to finish setting it up so I can run some benchmarks and play some games! Thanks again to those who provided EXTREMELY useful info (JPZ, CCz_Cataphract, Killernotebooks @ Asusforums) and thanks to MilestonePC, NewEgg & Ewiz for supplying the hardware.

Zack

 

Glad to hear it. Have fun with your new laptop.

 

Is there any word of a final release of the new BIOS that takes care of the graininess issue?

 

Hey,

has anyone tried the new Catalyst 6.11 drivers on their Z96J yet?

 

I didn't even know 6.10 came out. I guess I've falled behind with all my school work.

 

Just upgraded from the 6.10's to the 6.11's last night. Now problems yet, but only about 2 hours of use on the new drivers so far.

Zack

 

yeah, so is there anyword on the official release of the graininess fix? and why isn't it in a sticky yet?!

and am i hearing this right? you're running s96j with the core 2 duo? cuz that would be darn cool

hmm...censorship

 

I'm running my Z96js with a Core 2 Duo T7200 (2.0Ghz) for over a month now. It's beautiful.

 

I haven't heard anything about an "official" release for the graininess fix... but there is nothing wrong with the BETA. I and thousands of other users have been using it for a couple months with no issues whatsoever.

As to the Core 2... yes, you can use it in the Z96J. In fact, when people started getting a hold of pre-release core 2's, the Z96/S96 was one of the very few laptops that it was able to be tested in. The Core 2 was not recognized by the pre-merom BIOS, but it would still run. The only problem was that speedstep wouldn't work, so battery life sucked and the processor ran hot.

Asus quickly released a Core 2 BIOS that fixes these problems, and this was still before(or shortly after, I'm not sure) the release of the merom.

Any yonah(Core Duo) laptop could theoretically support the merom(Core 2) however most need a BIOS update. You will find no trouble trying to get a merom in your Z96 or S96.

 

sorry...I meant s96j cuz I'm running s96j...

oops too late with this post. But I agree, I've mostly been satisfied with the beta bios. Just wanted to know if an official exists. And perhaps, as you said, there may be additional support for core 2 duo packaged with the official

 

I don't quite understand what you are trying to say, but the graininess BETA supports the merom(Core 2). No more support is needed other than what is there now. Both merom and yonah are fully supported by the S96J/Z96J.

 

What is this graininess I keep reading about? I honestly cannot find any grain in my display. When is it most pronounced?

 

Don't worry about it. It is an issue with all X1600 laptops, which looks kind of like a bad dithering issue. Think of taking a 24-bit color image and converting it to 4-bit. All the colors look 'botchy'. That's what this is like, but at a much finer scale.

Anyway, the issue lies within the video BIOS, and can be corrected via a BIOS update. I think just about every Asus laptop with an X1600 has had a BIOS release fixing the issue.

Anyway, don't worry about it. The problem is fully fixable. Most people, like yourself, don't even notice it. Other people notice it in the first few minutes of laptop use. A fix is out there for your S/Z96J and it can be fixed in under 5 minutes should you happen to notice it.

On the other hand, if you do not notice it, I would advise that unless you have ever flashed a BIOS before, you should not attempt to reflash your BIOS with the new version because if you mess up, you can destory the low-level software of your computer making it literally unuseable and it will take extreme measures to repair(new BIOS chip or find someone with an EEPROM programmer).

The BIOS is basically what tells your computer parts how they work and what to do. If it becomes corrupt, you will be unable to even turn your computer on, which is what makes it impossible to repair under ordinary circumstances. The only way to fix it is to either replace a certain piece of hardware, or to reprogram that piece of hardware(which is quite uncommon).

EDIT:
Oh, and I won't tell you when it is most pronounced. Don't look for it. It will only make you unhappy.

 

I'm sure this question has been answered before, but I can't seem to find it. Is there a know problem with the built in microphone on this laptop? The microphone would work off and on when I first got this laptop, but now it doesn't work at all. I've reloaded all the audio drivers twice and still nothing. Any suggestions? Other than this small problem, this really is a great computer.

 

I bought this barebone model two months ago and at first I didn't realize that my memory has to be 667 mhz inorder for it to work. Now that I replaced it with the correct memory module, it boots however I can't get anything on the screen and the only activity (light) is the HDD. What could be the problem? I have a Corsair module en route just to make sure that it is not a memory issue. Here are the specs of the system:

Asus Z96J Barebone
Intel Core Duo T2400 1.83 Mhz
1 GB Patriot DDR 667 Memory
Hitachi 60GB 7200 RPM HDD
Arctic Silver Thermal Grease

 

For all of you (or maybe just me), that had the issue with the Computer not returning from Standby..here ya go..

http://www.intel.com/cd/channel/reseller/emea/eng/318030.htm#11


So it's milestonepc's fault

Gotta get a hold of em, or better yet, if one of you guys from milestone is around, if you could post and see if you can answer the question...that is ofcourse if the memory can be replaced...

As small as the standby function seems, when you're a student, it can be real important, running between classes e.t.c

 

I'm heavily considering this notebook model. The other option is the Dell e1505. Though after doing some research the screen and build quality don't sound as nice.

I've actually read this entire thread I've looked at several battery results and just have a quick question.

Just using the notebook on a comfortable screen brightness (enough to read with out your eyes hurting), bluetooth off, CPU scaled down, and wiFi on just browsing the web, what kind of battery life could you expect from the standard battery?

Slightly off topic question. Do you guys think theres any chance of saving money by waiting till after Christmas to order?

 

Ok andars, I've gotten around 2.5 hours but that's with the brightness at around 60%, the lowest comfortable brightness would be like 40-50% depending on your liking. This is with the standard battery.

How is the screen not as nice as the Dell? The screen is one of its main selling points with a nice 1680 x 1050 resolution.

 

I meant it the other way around. The Asus screen is nicer than the dells. I could of clarified more, sorry about that. Thanks for your reply.

 

2.5 hours sounds reasonable, however I think a number of people have been averaging about 2:15-2:30 for those settings. I use my Z96J during school for programming. I have the brightness about 3 notches above off, and everything is scaled down, wifi off. I get usually anywhere between two and two and a half hours, depending on how much compiling I do. Some days I am compiling every five minutes, and the load on the cpu causes an increase in power consumption.

The screen is definately by far one of the best parts of this laptop. With the BIOS fix for the graininess issue, nothing in this price range every comes remotely close to the quality. And a lot of more expensive laptops still aren't anywhere near it.

On a side note, I'd be interested in seeing someone overclock a yonah or merom in their Z96J, just to see how high these processors will clock on their stock voltage. I undervolted mine from the stock 1.225v down to 1.0125v at 1.83ghz(T2400) and it is perfectly stable there. I think that with the stock voltage this thing could get around 2.5ghz or more, but I'm not going to try that because I don't feel like voiding a three year warranty that I paid extra for.

I've been overclocking my mod laptop instead. The one that is no longer under warranty, that I painted twice and am working on a liquid cooling system from scratch for. This is the Uniwill in my sig. I got the AMD 3200 from 2ghz to 2.45ghz, voltage is the limiting factor. The FSB is stable all the way up to 265mhz, and my RAM is stable up to 240mhz. I love corsair RAM. I've got a nice program that lets me mess with the ram divider so that I can raise the FSB above the RAM specs, and it also gives me access to more RAM timing options than my Asus A8N-E desktop BIOS! I still have to tweak the RAM timings on that machine.

 

I might be tempted to try and overclock. How well suited are the BIOS options for overclocking? I oc my desktop machines, but desktops have much more room for mobo choice and oc options. I have a few questions about your paint job as well jPZ. I plan on painting my z96j yellow and using a clear coat. I want to completely disassemble the laptop and paint everything, including the bottom and the vents (without choking them). I've been look at several guides on the net and found a few helpful ones. I was just wondering if you had any tips. I'll be doing a practice run on an old dell laptop thats no longer used.

 

There are no options to overclock in the BIOS. I have never heard of a laptop that has them, except that Dell is supposedly shipping computers now with them unlocked.

If you want to overclock a laptop, you've really got to know what you are doing. As you mentioned, you need things for desktops if you want to be serious about overclocking, and the same is for laptops. You need a better cooling system(I'm designing a liquid cooling system from scratch and making all the parts myself) as well as a number of other things.

You need to overclock a laptop through software. First, you need to get control of the pll chip in the laptop. That means you need to find what PLL is in there. I would be grateful if you looked for the PLL when you pull the motherboard from your laptop.

What kind of finish are you going for on your laptop? The best advice is to do what you said and practice on something similar to what you have. Don't try it on your good laptop until you have gotten exactly the results you want.

Make sure to get a paint that is meant to bond well to plastic. Also, prep work is very important. Sand down the stock paint job. If you don't, the paint will be many times more likely to chip in the places that you don't get down to the bare plastic.

If you are going for a gloss finish, then you will need to do some very good wetsanding jobs. You will also need various compounds, and glaze. Be warned that gloss finishes are prone to fingerprints and scratches.

 

Yeah I'll look for it. I've heard that Krylon does a nice job of sticking to plastic. I'll be sure to take my time. I'll be using a primer as well. Do you have any personal suggestions for the compounds/glaze? I realize that a high gloss finish is a fingerprint magnet, but a nice job can look gorgeous.

I've also considered vinyl dye. I hear it typically is more forgiving and lasts longer. Do you know or not if gloss can be applied to a vinyl dye paint job?

Also a quick question about bluetooth. Does it have any sort of function key to toggle it on/off like the wireless does?

 

I think I asked this question months back but haven't had any success yet. I still can't get my webcam to work and have recently updated my bisoncam driver without any success. When I try to take a picture its just a grey picture. Also how do I use the video?

Thanks

 

Browse the drivers CD and go to: D:\Camera\Bison and click setup.bat to install.

 

I absolutely love the Z96Js. Amazing PC, especially if you are using Windows. Unfortunately I am predominantly a Linux user. It is still an excellent system under Linux, but I prefer something with an NVidia graphics card. Therefore I am looking to sell my Z96. It has an Intel Merom T7200 2.0Ghz, 1 stick 1GB 667Mhz RAM, 100GB Seagate momentus, 108Mbps wireless G card, NEC DVD Dual-layer burner,.etc. It's very nicely equipped. Any suggestions on where to sell? Also, if you happen to have stumbled upon this forum because you are looking to buy this PC, THIS IS AN AMAZING NOTEBOOK! I may put it up on eBay within a week. Thanks.

 

Have you tried the new AMD/ATI drivers for Linux? To be honest, I haven't yet. But I wouldn't be too quick to sell a Z96J. As you said, it is a wonderful notebook. I don't know where I would sell that. You could try ebay, but I doubt you would get much more than half what you paid for it, which I would assume to be quite a lot with those specs.

 

I've got the latest AMD/ATI drivers installed, but things are a bit buggy from time to time and there is still no support for Compositing. NVida's drivers give support for most anything in linux and they run smoother and quicker. I'm also hoping to get something a little smaller, like say 14" widescreen with 1440*900 so I still have the crisp resolution--it is going to be very difficult to leave a 1680*1050 LCD. This thing has surely got the most beautiful screen I've EVER used.

 

For anyone that is interested, my fully equipped Z96Js is now up on ebay.
Thanks for looking

 

Just wanted to update the auction page, as someone tried to fraud me and I had to relist. Thanks again for looking