~VX2S Owners' Lounge~

Just for my 2 cents on that loong debate. Mine has 6 month, is running a pretty recent nvidia driver and bios 301, on vista (SP1 now), and I've never seen that machine crash for month (the only time I got it crash was with stock graphic driver, blue screen after sleep mode, common problem with older drivers).

Great machine for me for work and play.

 

Back on VGA drivers, anyone tried the 17x series ? (or, what's the best driver so far for that lappy ?)

 

anyone know if there is the possibility to swap in a second Battery (instead of the smart bay optical drive) and where can it be bought?

 

I can finally confirm that my overheat issue has finally been solved. these days I've done many tests and have not had a shut down anymore.

I ask again: anyone know if there is the possibility to swap in a second Battery (instead of the smart bay optical drive) and where can it be bought?

 

Check eBay.

I bought my Laptop off a guy there, and I think he had some in stock.

 

I checked ebay, noway.

I fount it on a couple of shops, but one is canadian, the other one is american.. i'm italian, I'm trying to find it here in italy if it is possible

I'm only scared about the issue on the V1 with the the second battery that drain the first battery life (increase wear level in anomal way).
with all the problems I had with this notebook, I don't want others!

 

On the shutdown issue... I found an interesting lead on an other forum...

Apparently Windows XP systems have a HARD time managing XPU systems properly, particularly Intel's variable clock cores...

Here is a link to the fix:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...48-8240-4934-BBD8-34FB8A0FCE3B&displaylang=en

I will try this tonight and tell you what I have...
I will unplug the fan I installed and run DiRT. I know I get crashes every 5 minutes when res. is pushed to the top.

 

Well, my VX2S which could not run a 3D game for more than 2-5 minutes before shutting down is now on its 20th day with ASUS UK. They have just let me know that the delay is due to them waiting for a new 8600M card to arrive and replace the current one.

> Apparently Windows XP systems have a HARD time managing XPU systems > properly, particularly Intel's variable clock cores...

My machine had all the KB fixes installed by the time it left my hands, so this may not always be the reason for such problems. It will be interesting to see what you will have to report on this.

 

in my opinion, they've changed my cooler pad and the thermal paste. not only replace it! it was a "known issue"

if anyone could take a picture of the GPU cooler, so I can compare. now I don't have any problems, it can run for hours & hours, no shut down

 

Hello fellow VX2S' !

Haven't been here for a while, but thanks for all the replies regarding the heating issues! It seems there may still be hope for me! I am going to send mine in for repair next Monday.. hope it won't be away for too long!


But, I have another question..

I'm running dualboot with XP and Vista, and when I've installed the WLAN drivers in XP, I got a fine "WLAN-Utility option -center". Don't really know the name or what to call it, but it's a standalone application for handling your wireless connection, and a place for which I can save my settings for various connections (first of all my network at home). In Vista, on the other hand, I get the WLAN to work perfectly , but the only "manger program" for the connection is the Vista -standard.. And I can't get it to save my profile! So, in Vista, whenever I want to connect to my home network I have to type in SSID ('cause it's hidden), and password (because it's a secure network). I do get the options if I want to connect to this automatically and if I want to store the setting, but it's doesn't work very well.. especially if I've been connected to another connection (at work, for instance).

So, anyone know if there are some drivers / utility -program I can download somewhere, so I can get a "WLAN profile program" for Vista?


Thanks again!!

 

hi, forgive me if this has already been covered, but im new here.

i just got a vx2s last week, and i have changed nothing on the computer, except installing crysis...

i am only getting 9fps on med settings. i have read on here that others are getting 30fps....

am i doing something wrong, do i need to change some settings somewhere???

also, does anyone know where to buy a blu-ray drive for this thing???

 

what resolution?

crysis is a hard game for GPUs! even the 8800M GTX

 

1024 i think, but i need to check that... i will repost tonight with more info.

 

I'd like to buy:

- an optical LIGTHSCRIBE drive (I have HD-DVD)

- the second modular bay battery

any advise on where to find those??

 

well, if i can ever find the blu-ray drive, i will give you first dibs on my lightscribe drive... you might want to see how much that hd-dvd drive would go for on ebay, cuz you might be able to sell it for enough to buy the lightscribe.
asus wants $900 for the blu-ray drive, but i know that when they show up on places like newegg they are only around $350... but they are pretty hard to find.

 

I don't mind bluray, but I'd like to have the lightscribe drive. the drive is the same as V1. if only those drives were sold somewhere...

 

at 1024x768 on med settings i get 9 fps..... at 800x600 at low settings i get 15 fps....

this seems slow to me.....

 

also, im running vista ultimate 32bit

 

and are you play crysis in dx9 o dx10?

you must consider that the 8800M GTX run crysis @ 1440x900 high settings with 20fps, and the 8800 is three times the 8600!

I don't have crysis, but I can play gtr2 all maxed out, race 07 all maxed out, oblivion @1680x1050 AAx2 with almost all settings al max.

have you tried to update drivers? have already installed crysis patch?

 

yeah,all drivers are up to date. i guess i will just have to play this on low at 600x800 with 15 fps.... thats a bummer... i know this is not the fastest laptop in the world, but i thought it was faster than that.

i still love this laptop though.... i just wish that the gpu was upgradeable...

 

try to read in some forums about crysis patchs. I heard that there is a "triple patch..." ... something like that, that helps a lot with fps
crysis is a damn hard gamr for GPU. surely not the best example in programmation

 

does vx2s run better with xp? i have been thinking of switching to xp pro from vista ultimate. .....is this a good idea with this laptop????

 

3D performance will be surely better (not too much).

I prefer vista anyway
64 bit, obvious

anyone has tried to put in 4GB with 64bit OS? I've encountered a little problem, that I think is an ASUS mobo problem...

 

i have been disappointed with vista so far..... but im trying to give it an honest chance before i switch back to xp.
it is so far slower than my 3 year old compaq desktop. (im not talking gaming here, just running programs... internet etc.)

and vista cant seem to keep the internet open for more than 30 minutes without crashing. im not sure why. well, im gonna increase the ram next week, and then see if im still having issues with vista.

i cant find any drivers that are not up to date, so i dont think that is the problem. i also dont know jack about how to overclock a computer.

 

uhm.. with vista neve had a single CRASH! (except when I had overheat problem)

a little advise:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=166532

follow this guide and your system will fly.

I suggest also to upgrade to vista 64bit

 

well, i just stumbled across something good. i didnt know about the different power 4 gear settings.... when i changed that to high performance my framerate on crysis on low settings at 800x600 went to 50 to 70 fps and med settings went to 25 to 30 fps and my high settings went to 12 to 14 fps and ultra high went to 8 to 9 fps.

AWESOME!!!!

thank you for the link, i will read that right now.

maybe my power setting was set too low, and that was the cause of my crashes..... i will let you know.

 

I was running Crysis on high settings @ 1280x800 at a nice 35 fps average.

I removed all the bloatware from Asus when I installed XP. The manager for Wi-Fi you want is built-in Vista and XP. Just have to add the SSID to your "Favorite" networks. It will connect even if it is not visible. (no SSID broadcast)

The Power4Gear program is just a system hungry inteface for the Windows power management. You can swap power levels with the button on the keyboard by only installing ATK key drivers.

 

wow 35 fps on high!! maybe its time for me to set up a dual boot system with xp and vista so i can compare the two firsthand.

has anyone tried this already??? any more tips for me???

i love this forum!

thank you all for your help!

oh, by the way
i used pcmark vantage to benchmark and i got a score of 3142...

has anyone else tried this yet? what scores are you getting??

 

I tried PCmark05 and get a score of 6182

 

when i did pcmark05 i got only a 5870..... but then again you are running 64bit right?!

i am adding 2 more gigs of ram in a few more days.... i hope this helps also...

i also got a cooling pad for it and the docking station on the way.
i am kind of bummed that the gpu is not upgradeable... oh well...

 

I have already 4GB ram. I did 6017 all freq @ default.

with closing some processes and a little OC on the GPU I get 6182. ot 6178 I don't remember well. good score I think! even if OCing GPU doesn't seem to raise score too much

now my GPU works very fine! before I can't make all the 3Dmark @ default clocks! now I can get an extraordinary (because I ran it under vista 64!) score of 4275 @ 1280x1024 and over 5000 @ 1280x800! tried only a couple of times, I'm not very interested in OC

 

I tried a few games under vista, with the GPU stock.

Crysis was ****.
CS: Source was ****.
DiRT was ****.
StarCraft was good.
BF2... well... 54Hz. Do I need to say anything else?

I installed XP on it (then did the same with my friend's G2S)
It is a custom build with a lot less useless processes. 86x Pro version.

Now:

Crysis is ok with stock freq. 35 fps when I OC.
CS: Source is maxed res, AA 4X and all the other graphic options... over 230 fps all the time, even on large maps.
DiRT have a hard time on stock freq. maybe 15 fps. OCed it is awesome.
StarCraft is still good.
BF2 is running at full res. without lag.

Call of Duty 4 can run at 1280x800 no problem, I think I get around 40-45 fps.

I also found that when running on an external display and shutting down the LCD, the temperature stays a bit lower.

*edit* I just saw that the forum is sensured... bah... didn't know. :/

 

where can i find a good noob walkthrough on overclocking for this laptop?

i dont know anything about overclocking, but i would like to learn...

 

anyone uses speedfan?
I started use it a couple of weeks ago (and the notebook from at least a month, after the RMA!!).
I read from the S.M.A.R.T. fitness & performance of my HDD and it was 97%. not a big deal I thought, but now they are both 94%! anyone else can tell me his percentage?
thanks

 

I'm bumping this.. hope someone can help..

 

I though I had answered...

It is part of the fingerprint scanner application.

I think it is called Asus Security manager or something.

It will keep any setting you enter in it, including the WAN SSID and passkey
Other than that, Check in the bloatware that comes on the driver disk. There should be one too.

 

this may sound like a noob question..but i cant get the cover on my ram off, i unscrewed the 1 screw already and i dont want to use to much force and scratch it, any ideas?

 

i just took my cover off yesterday for the first time also....
i thought the same thing!!! i actually took the panel above it off first since there was a small lip in which to get a small screwdriver under it.
it is a very tough fit, so you do have to pull up very hard. but i would definitely take the upper panel off first. when you do pry it up, pry it up from the side of the 1 screw, and not the bottom with the little vent holes in it.


hey, on a seperate issue, does anyone know of a good gamepad for this laptop that works well in vista?????
i had seen one claiming to work with vista, but it looked like an xbox controller and i hate the xbox controller (to bulky for my taste...)
any ideas????

 

i just got an asus power station dock for my vx2s and guess what...

it doesnt fit!! i called tech support and they verified that i had the correct dock for my laptop, but to mahe it fit, i had to take the screws out and pull it apart so that it would fit! thats what they told me to do!

this thing does not fit!

i wish i got the vx2s that came with a dock, as it probably fits nicely. does anyone have one???

how well does yours fit???

im so angry right now!!

 

can you post a photo of your dock station?

as they told you, you have to remove the screws and move the silver borders. the dock station come to fit VX1 at the first time

btw, post a pgoto and I will tell you if it is the right one.

where did you get that?

 

i will try to get a photo up later, but i do have both silver borders set to v1 (there is no vx1, but it has settings for v1 and v2)

having both bars set to v1 it is too tight a fit!! it does not easily fit!

dont get me wrong, if i jam it in, it will fit... but it feels like its gonna break just to get it in there. and to get the latches to connect, i have to pick the whole thing up and squeeze it together so hard, i feel like im gonna crack the plastic.

asus says they only make one docking station, but i have seen pictures of the vx2s that come with the docking station, and those docking stations all have a lamborghini logo on them... i wonder if they are bigger at all...

 

also i got both the vx2s and the dock from newegg.com

 

this is a photo of my dock station (sorry I have only this saved in this computer)

I can say that when I try to fit my notebook in, it fits perfectly.

here it is:



another thing is that this dock station is the same for V1 series or vX series

 

yes, my dock looks similar, except for that lamborghini logo on the left side of the dock.

maybe i am putting it in wrong..... do you find it hard to press into place?

i cannot have the dock on the table and place the laptop on top and have it latch..
i must pick up both and squeeze them together very hard to make it latch.

i have googled the hell out of this, and i have not found anyone with the same issues as me, so i must be doing something wrong....

good thing newegg gives me 30 days to send this back, so i can keep trying for a while....

 

i just took the rubber bumpers off the sides off of the insides of the silver bars, and then it fits ok inbetween them, but it still does nt latch when i press down, i still have to pick the whole thing up and squeeze it to make it latch....

 

I have the side bumpers and it fits ok; they are very small. btw sides of the notebook touches these pieces of rubber, there is no gap! it just fits perfectly.

when the notebook is in, I make pressure on the notebook sides in the rear until I hear the "click", so the dock is connected. if you don't make any pressure it's hard you can connect it. btw after some days it will fits better, but you have always to make a little pressure on the rear of the notebook.

 

anyone can help me found the model & s/n of the lightscribe optical drive?

where could I buy it?

(sam question for the second battery! anyone know where to buy it?)

 

i have the lightscribe drive..... the model # is gsa-t20l

it is a "h-l data storage drive" made by hitachi-lg data storage inc.

its called a super-multi dvd rewriter


i dont know anything about the second battery.....

what drive do you have? im looking for the blu-ray drive.

 

Same with docking station.

Should be in the larger position.

I sometimes have to apply almost all my weight on the back sides of it to click in place.

It should place itself over a few days (or weeks if you don't undock too often)

Actually, When I undock, I have to put my fingers under the right corner and use the docking silver bar as a lever to help disengage the laptop (all while pressing the undock button, the large one, not the software undock one)

 

I have the HD-DVD drive.

I'd like to have the lightscribe.
about the second battery, I think it is a very good feature! strange noone knows about it!