New S96J owner - few questions

Hi everyone,

Been looking through this forum today once I found it and it is nice. I recently ordered a customized S96J from CyberPowerSystem.com and after reading few reviews I have a few questions for your enlightened minds....

1. What is the newest BIOS without the graininess problem I read about that should be on my laptop?

2. Can I run an external monitor in addition to the LCD screen? I'm assuming I can since I'll have the ATI x1600 video card. I want to run an extended desktop.

3. Who is the OEM maker of the DVD-R/W drive? I know there are 2 (I think) possibilities.

4. Is there a PCMCIA card input? I have read yes and no.

Here are the specs for my unit (no I have not recevied it yet.......)

Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 2.0 gig 4mb L2 cache
1 gig DDR2-667 RAM (single stick)
Ati x1600 256mb PCI-x video
SXGA display 1680 x 1050 (I know, the normal is 1280x800, but this is what the specs said)
120 gig 5400rpm HD SATA
8x DVD-R/W drive
AC97 sound
4x USB 2.0
1 1394 port
VGA, SVideo
v92 modem 56k
10/100 NIC
Intel 802.11 a,b,g wireless

Nice to meet you all!

Jeff

 

2. Yes

Not sure about the other questions. Sorry.

 

1: the latest BIOS is 1201, you can check your BIOS version by hold F2 at Intel logo screen and go to System Information.

2: Yes

3: You can also check optical drive brand in the BIOS

4: Express card only.

 

If the screen is WSXGA+, you have a Z96j.

 

The screen on the Z96j is very nice. It is worth every penny.

 

This is what it says on their website...

Asus S96J Notebook 15.4" WSXGA 1680x1050 Pixels w/Li-Ion Battery, Universal AC Adapter

Up until yesterday (the last time I checked their website), it said a little further down...

15.4" WXGA Wide-Screen TFT LCD Display Max: 1280x800 Pixels

But now it says...

15.4" WSXGA Widescreen TFT LCD Display Max: 1680x1050 Pixels

There is also no mention of Bluetooth installed on the laptop.

On this page, it still shows it as WXGA 1280x800 (the Gamer Xplorer X5-5850 and X5-5800).

 

The Z96JS is WSXGA+ - that site is funny

There's no real issue though with the monitors being different, ASUS notebook support put a Z96J monitor on my Z96JS notebook once and it didn't look as good and leaked a lot but otherwise worked. Some places give you options on what type of display you want with your notebook, even some offer non-glossy displays. Personally I think my default Z96JS WSXGA+ display is perfect

Cat

 

Thanks for all the replies. It is supposed to ship next Tuesday 2nd day..

I have been meaning to email sales and find out what the real poop is on that screen resolution issue. I noticed it when I ordered it before I learned all I have on this site. It will be great either way but it sure would be nive with the WSXGA screen!!!

Another question, is it worth the cost to get a higher capacity battery?

Jeff

 

Depends how you use the system - I posted a few months ago about a supposedly legit place selling the official ASUS 9 cell batteries for this for $45 USD. That was then though, not sure what the prices are at now - any high capacity VBI battery should work though...

Cat

 

Just an update,,

The laptop has been shipped and has a delivery date of next Wednesday!!

I did find out for sure I'm getting the Z96JS, so I do have the higher res screen and bluetooth!

How about them apples!!

Jeff

 

Bluetooth question;

Other than seeing cell phone users with bluetooth devices sticking out of their ears, what bluetooth devices are available for my new laptop?

Thanks for all the input and and I not even got the unit yet!!

Jeff

 

Oh one other thing,

I have read through the posts and I do have a laptop through work that I have used for 5 years, but having my own will be nicer!! (I can load when I want on it)

Anyway from the various things I have taken from reading here, I have the following list of things to do when I first get it. If there are other things I should check or do please post;

1. Check BIOS version and update is needed

2. Check battery calibration and do it if needed

3. Check for latest drivers for all hardware

4. Check the power saving settings. I'll be doing video editing so I do want all my horse power available even on batteries, any suggestion on this?

5. Under-voltage for the C2D. See #4, will this hamper my peak performance for editing?

Thanks everyone!

Jeff

 

It's very simple. If it ain't broke, don't "fix" it.

- BIOS and battery calibration aren't necessary. Don't do it unless you're having problems.
- Latest drivers should be installed by the retailer if they're doing things by the book. Otherwise, if not, you should be getting them from the ASUS website, since some of them are custom to ASUS or that model only.
- Power saving is dependent on your tastes. You will probably want to conserve power, though. Faster isn't always better, especially if you're going in circles.
- Undervolting cools down the processor, but if the voltage is too low, the system might freeze or become unstable. Again, if you feel you absolutely need it and feel adventurous, by all means. But sometimes you just can't beat that "peace of mind" that it's working "the way it should" because you didn't try to tweak it...

Also, I'm not sure if they fixed this, but the power brick on the Z96Js I had originally got gets really hot. Maybe I had a dud, but my V1J works beautifully (except for this minor problem that we're working out with dual monitors which might simply be the X1700 I have in it, but anyway...).

 

I got one of my Wiimotes connected and use it as a mouse sometimes - that's fun .

Other people use it to sync older PDAs, connect some external keyboards and mice, presentation pointers, external skype phones, etc...

Cat

 

Thanks CCz.

It's supposed to be in tomorrow via FedEx home delivery but I work all day...Probably will have to take some time off Thursday so I get it on the return trip!

Jeff

 

Yeah, Wiimotes are fun. The accelerometer in it is kinda neat, though I have not actually linked it to the laptop, though someone had a neat idea for using it for a home theatre:

http://wiihacks.blogspot.com/2006/12/nintendo-wii-controlled-smarthome.html

Then, it got 1UPed by a tennis-playing, sword-swinging robotic arm:

http://wiihacks.blogspot.com/2007/01/wii-bot-sword-wielding-tennis-playing.html

Anyway, for Bluetooth, the extent of Bluetooth is pretty much for linking with cellphones to get contacts and internet, wireless earpieces for audio, communicating with other Bluetooth devices (like a PDA, I have an iPaq, it's also possible to make Bluetooth COM ports). Logitech has a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard combo (MX5000).

Complete list here:

http://www.bluetooth.com/Bluetooth/Connect/Products/

 

Well it is here!! Fed Ex showed up at 6pm.

Got it open, booted up and started doing windows and other updates. (needed 78!)

Anyway a few things I have questions about.

1. What button do I press to get to BIOS? I never see any splash screen telling me before it jumps to the windows load screen.

2. I wanted to upgrade to the new ATI drivers and down laoded from ATI a small program that is supposed to look at what you have and then down load what you need and it came back and said I don't have the right hardware. So where do I get the current 7.3 drivers?? I down loaded them from STI for my desktop system with a ATI9600 and tried to run theinstall on the laptop with the X1600 and it also said I don;t have the right hardware....

3. What is this infineon security platform thing?

4. Some times without hitting my left mouse button, it does it by itself. Any ideas??

5. The DVD drive is listed in Device Manager as a TSSTcorp CD/DVDW TS-632D, I have not tried to burn anything but will it burn CD's and DVD-r's? If not where is a good place to get that other internal DVD/CD-RW drive?

Thanks any any help! I do like it alot!

Jeff

 

1. F1

2. Currently 7.3 Cats: http://ati.amd.com/online/mobilecatalyst/ - It wants you to use the ones from ASUS site so that ASUS tech support will have less factors. ASUS hasn't even updated the BIOS on their website to the latest one...don't expect new Video card drivers anytime soon...

3. I don't use - Try googling it

4. Disable touchpad, it has double click if you press it quickly enough by accident

5. yes

Hope that helps,
Cat

 

Thanks for the quick response CCz.

I'm really impressed with the laptop so far. however I have not gotten to the point where I have loaded all my apps and actually started using it for my side line job, event videography.

About the only timings I did so far ws to run super pie and it did 2M in 1' 3.25"

More later!

Jeff

 

It should be F2, though it's been a while since I've had a Z96Js.

http://www.ati.com/online/mobilecatalyst/

Though technically, you should be using the ASUS drivers from the ASUS website (I think they were 7.1 the last I saw).

Privacy chip. Stores encrypted information like passwords, but the point of much debate because it contains a unique ID which possibly be traced back to the user of the laptop (of course, you trust the programmers not to do that... not that their higher management won't object to violating your privacy and force them to do it anyway...).

Double-tapping the pad acts as a left click. This is configurable in the Synaptics part of the Mouse control panel.

It should burn both CDs and DVDs. If you do lots of burning, I suggest a 5.25" enclosure with a DVD burner. They're cheaper and more disposable (ie: more easily replacable) than the internal drive, plus if the drive dies, you just need to change the drive.

 

Thanks also for the quick resonse Alex.

Beautiful machine. Tried watching a DVD on it using Power DVD 5 that came with it and it looked great but stuttered every few seconds or so. Something running in the background I should kill?

I'll think about the external DVD/CD writer....

I have already downloaded the 1201 BIOS, but have not had a chance to see what it has currently.

This is a great forum too!

Jeff

 

Consider downloading Media Player Classic or VLC Media player for your DVD viewing needs.

 

Well I'm finally about 95% done with loading all my apps. I also got into the BIOS last night and found that it is old!! The version was 901 and I believe the most current is 1201 for my Z96. Strange that the vendor didn't bother to update that. I'll flash it tonight.

Also while in the BIOS I accidently kicked off the battery meter calibration and then ending up watching the battery slowly discharge the rest of the night!

The BIOS on this model, at least the version of the BIOS I current have, is fairly plain and doesn't give you much in the way of adjustments. No clock, voltage or multiple adjustments. Does 1201 give you this?

Well I plunder on!!

Jeff

 

most notebook bioses do not give you the ability to change clock or voltage adjustments. if you want to undervolt your cpu, you need to use a program like rmclock or nhc (doesn't work in vista)

 

Thanks and I'm now answering this thread on my Z96. Great laptop. Great looking screen. Nice and fast, as compared to my P4 2.4gig desktop. Over all it exceeds my expectations.

A couple of points, 1. The speakers on the laptop are trash, and I knew that before hand, but the difference between the sound level on the speakers vs. heads phones is drastic! Almost can not turn it low enough to be comfortable. Also seems to have the left mouse button ot touch pad 'stick' as a left mouse click when I don't want it to.

Thanks for all the help even before I got it, now I'll bother you all more!!!

Jeff