ASUS G71GX-a1

it doesn't make sense. shouldn't the fans take out 90% of the heat?

 

So I was down at my local BB today picking up a new router (old one got fried due to a nasty thunder storm) and while I was waiting for my friend to pick some other object I strolled over to the laptop section.

I got a peak at the BB model of the G71 / G51. I was kinda taken aback at the chassis, it looked very sleek on both models (the G51's gfx on the front kindve turned me off though) but when I opened it up.. Wow. The thing looked like they took spare plastic parts, reduced them all down and then made the keyboard with it. It looks really .. cheap? I don't know I didn't like the feel of either keyboard. It was kindve depressing thinking that someone was paying ~800$ less than me and was getting close to crap in compassion to the other unreleased G71s.. The screen looked horrible too. I don't know.. My opinion but I figured I'd throw that out there.

On a side note, approximately (supposedly) 10 days until the G71GX comes to the resellers! =]


EDIT: Just read some of the posts I missed inthe past week.. I really hope the G71GX - A1 doesnt come with these temp issues.. I can't really afford to wait 3-6 weeks on a RMA if this occurs... college beckons =\

 

Cool story bro.

 

You can always get it sent to your college dormitory. You might want to change your bank address to your dorm mail as well. Just a thought from a fellow college student

As for the G71GX-A1: I'm currently looking at buying one of these. I was going to get the G71G-Q2 (Same specs except for the 9800GS instead of the 260M), but it costs more (lol) and Newegg (and many other retailers) are out of them until about August 3. I still have to save up a little more so I guess I have time before ultimately making my decision, so keep me updated! Selfish, I know, but thanks in advance. All of your input is highly valued.

 

i spoke with Justin W at XoticPC and he said that if you have heating issued, you can actually RETURN the laptop

 

hi all
would much appreciate if anyone let me know where to buy g71gx.

web address?

Many thanks

 

Greetings, folks!

Ok, so I have long since decided to buy one of these fine machines, but I had held off a few last questions due to not quite being able to buy. Due to a series of fortunate events, I'm going to be in a position to buy within the next couple of weeks, so here are my questions:

What is this "Arctic Silver" stuff, and is it worth the extra money?

I'm debating between the 2-year and the 3-year warranty. I got the 3-year on my Dell (which I am typing on right now) and it was an excellent choice, so I'm leaning that way.


Lastly, I noticed some debate on this thread about the virtues of GenTech(SP?) vs. Xoticpc.com. I had asked on the "What Should I Buy?" forum, and the only response I ever got was xoticpc. What's the word on these two companies?

Thanks for your help.

 

Dezful- you can buy them at XoticPC.com or GentechPC.com. Also, read below for more information other than the links.


http://1toppc.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=G71Gx-A1&Category_Code=AS17&Product_Count=2 (Gentech)

http://www.xoticpc.com/asus-g71gxa1-order-p-2591.html




Player- AS5 is definitely worth the money. it's the best thermal paste out there. Do it. 2 year warranty will work fine, it comes with 1 yr accidental, so don't worry. I'm not gonna do it. There really isn't a difference between the two companies. Its based on your preference. Alot of people will say i'm wrong, but the line is obviously even (1:1).

 

Melina, it's not so much a question of whether or not to get it (it's not enough money in the over all cost) as a question of,"What is Arctic Silver and why should I care?"

 

arctiv silver is the premier thermal paste. it wil easily be 20* difference on some computers vs a competitor. IT is no doubt the best.

Read the reviews on newegg:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...eoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&Page=1&Keywords=


the cost of the paste may be worth 8 bucks, and you are paying 40, but...
A) doing it yourself will void the warranty
B) Priced so high because of the hands-on time needed to be done, and the testing after to ensure they did it properly
C) Its the best thermal paste out there, and probably will be for years to come
D) It might save your computer from overheating

 

Don't forget E) I don't know enough to dare applying the stuff myself.

 

Basically if you care about the computer (aka your $2000 investment) and you care about it's warranty, it's worth the $50.

 

yeah.

a)don't get it on your clothes it won't come out
b)don't put your hands in your mouth, you'll literally get silver poisoning :s
c)not enough and it doesnt do anything. too much, your computer will get HOTTER

 

Isn't the IC Diamond 7 Carat Thermal Compound better?

 

Some would say yes, but Arctic Silver is now an established brand due to it being one of the first quality thermal compounds on the market, reputation, and putting out a consistently reliable product.

Its been a while since I have seen a comparison of the two, but I think the difference in temps between the IC Diamond 7 and Arctic Silver 5 was only a degree or two difference and I can't even remember if those temps were Fahrenheit or Celsius.

IC Diamond may produce lower temps, but you're not getting screwed and you can't really go wrong using Arctic Silver.

Edit: Found several reviews showing IC7 lowering temps by roughly 2 degrees Celsius over AS5, but at least one reviewer said it was a pain in the to work with and, because it was more expensive, he was going to stick to AS5 except for extreme applications. See below link for a comparison and read the comments below to see his methodology and ambient temps.

http://icrontic.com/forum/showthread.php?t=64731

Tested on both CPU and GPU. Out of 16 thermal compounds tested, results showed IC7 first in CPU and 7th in GPU.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/thermal-interface-roundup_10.html

 

nice research post +1

 

Official ICD7 Thread
I found some discussions about this paste on the forum.

 

Next week, guys! I'm hoping no more nasty delays are going to pop into play during the week.. =D

 

i bought mine thursday. WEWT!

 

Thats awesome, Melinapayne. Our shipment didn't even come in yet, it was supposed to come two and a half weeks ago but got delayed due to the BIOS issue.

Now the shipments supposed to come in this week, and I really anxious, haha.

 

Actually, I ended up buying the BB version. I should have been more specific. I figured that I should only get what I can afford, instead of trying to be the best at whatever. The BB dual-core will play whatever i want it to for the time being.

 

No, I understood that you got the BB version, haha. I'd hunt you down if you got the technically unreleased version of the A1. =]

Yeah, I definitely am splurging on the A1, but I need most of the components in there that the BB doesn't.. so the BB version was a definite no for me.

Ah, this weekend is going by too slow.

 

haha. it really is. the delivery date for me is monday or tuesday. The waiting game STINKS!

 

Out of curiosity, what components in particular?


Good purchase, Melina.

 

thanks. I Didn't get the warranty though. It was reccomended to me that i don't, but even then... i didn't have the money for the black-tie anyways.

I also bought
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350214466129&ssPageName=ADME:X:AAQ:US:1123
and
http://cgi.ebay.com/Logitech-G5-Laser-Gamer-Mouse-Adj-Weight-Prog-2000dpi_W0QQitemZ380135023279QQcmdZViewItemQQptZPCA_Mice_Trackballs?hash=item5881d022af&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A15|66%3A2|39%3A1|293%3A1|294%3A50



and soon to buy
Zalman Cooler
Xbox360 Microsoft Windows Controller

 

Blue ray and tons of space. The bluetooth is also a good component but I'm not certain I'm going to use it. Of course, I could save $$ and just buy the extra HDD / blue ray and install on BB version, but then I'm also down a quality screen.


Also the warranty is a must, I need it to last 2-3 years.

EDIT: Melinapayne, I wound up getting the NZXT Cryo LX Cooler. Apparently that is a good alternative to the G71's. I heard their fans give out within a few months with the speeds on constant high but theyre easily interchangeable.

 

No worries about the warranty. The 2-year global/1-year accidental comes standard.

As for mouses (I refuse to address more than one mouse as "mice") my Logitech Mx518 is still kicking.

And what's the controller being planned for? I must know.

That's a lot of money just for the screen, since you seem to know how to install hard drives (piece of cake even for me on a G-series) and an optical drive (delving into territory for me). And Bluetooth dongles are cheap.

Dongle is a funny word, by the way.

 

Ok, I'm pretty sure I'm going to pick up one of these today at a Bestbuy near me. I'm really curious about these coolers; what would you say is the best cooler for these G71gx's.

Also when I get it, what should I check. i'm probably goin g tocheck the bios and all that stuff, but is their anything else.

Thanks.

 

The easiest way to check BIOS is to install and open CPU-Z, moving over to the Mainboard tab. It'll give you a BIOS number. Is your BIOS number is 1201, you have the thermal-fixing patch, and you're good to game.

Give us some benchmarks when you get it. As for coolers, I think Best Buy has some decent Targus ones. I'm using one of those.

 

Thanks for the help. Also, that t10/100 ethernet card thing doesn't matter for internet, correct? It's only for LAN where that high of a MBps can actually be used that it matters eeing as internet providers provide so little.

 

Haha, true it is. I also wanted the extended warranty. As far as I know, BB models get a BB warranty and have no chance to upgrade theirs to the different policies you can get from ASUS resellers. I may be wrong on this.

I got the NZXT Cryo LX and according to other users who got this also said it works nicely for their needs.

 

First person shooters of course!


.....Haha...... mouses......

edit: can the dual core version have a quad put in it later?

 

Oh, you sadist. I absolutely cannot play FPS games with a controller. I'll Mr. Mouse and WASD, thank you very much.

As for processors, you're in the same boat as the G51. Other versions of the G51 support quad core, but people right now cannot get them to work, probably because of a BIOS issue. It might be the same problem with the G71. It'll definitely fit, but the computer might not find it.

You might want to ask Asus about that, but I'm pretty sure Best Buy is Best Buy only.

I bought a Best Buy model specifically because of a weak warranty. That way I won't feel bad when I open it up and try out a new processor.

Well, I think T3 connections can get you chugging, but don't take my word on that.

But yeah you're spot on for the regular ISPs.

 

What is a t3? i know a t1 is for schools and such

 

It's like T1's bigger brother. Or a family. Pick your analogy.

It's a bunch of T1 connections synchronized. I don't know much more than that, other than it's much faster.

 

oh, cool!

My first installations today will be

Kasper
Word
Firefox
Bitlord (Doom3+FEAR2)
Soulseek
Call of Duty 4

 

Bestbuy actually has a Quad-core version of the G71 that hasn't been released yet because of the self-same BIOS issue. To my knowledge, the price was only about $1499 because, once again, the screen is only WSXGA instead of a WUXGA and it doesn't have a blu-ray drive. Everything else was the same. If you have the money for it and you haven't tampered with the current one beyond installing programs, you might just want to look into it. If you want a working Quad-core, that is. BTW I found this out by asking a floor salesman if they had the G71 in and they said they had 1 of 2 models. They showed me the two in their database and lo-and-behold one was indeed a quad-core!

On another note, I ordered my A1 two Fridays ago so I'm hoping it gets shipped out this week :3

Elementary/Intermediate/High schools usually have T1s. Colleges/Universities usually have T3s. Higher education usually requires much greater bandwidths so T1s usually don't cut it. I know for my university system, they have live video feeds for certain classes (usually nursing and social work/education Masters classes) so you don't have to attend the hosting campus to take the class (as the people taking those classes usually are middle aged and already have a family to take care of).

 

the second is online-only, and the A1 got delayed by 2 weeks again i think.


alot of computer for such a small space, huh? More powerful than a ps3, the A1 is.... i think

 

If only God of War 3 would come to PC...

 

Umm, where did you get this information from?

As far as I know, the shipment is still on track for sometime this week.

Forge: I second that =]

EDIT: bmk07, we're in the same boat my friend. I preordered mine on June 12th =] Still waiting, almost patiently..

 

the g71 is in a whole nother league than the ps3. Gaming consoles are only good for their split screen ability.

 

....i guess the fact that it's 1/5th of the price doesn't help it?

 

When the PS3 first came out it was like 600. Which would make it like 1/3 of the price. Plus you also needed to buy an HDTV. Which raised the price of it. The A1 comes with the HD screen :3 Though you only get it in 17". :x

However, computers have always been in a separate league compared to consoles, so comparing them is rather underhanded and dirty.

 

It doesn't matter when it first came out, what matters is the price now, for the components you are getting. Good point on the TV though, the 600 dollar price could include a good 17 inch TV/monitor.

I think both have very good positives that make them different in terms of their market. You get one for one reason, and the other for another reason, and neither is arguably better than the other. I game on pretty much anything, for me it just depends on the game and what my friends play.

 

And their exclusives.

 

Well I wouldn't buy a 17" screen, I would think you would get something at least in the 22"+ range. People usually get ~37" screens I think. But I took it at release price because back then a PS3 was probably about as powerful as the current laptops on the market. The G71GX-A1 definitely outclasses a PS3, but it's also had 3 years of improvement over the PS3. The general rule of thumb is every 6 months computer chips get smaller/more efficient, better in general.

I didn't mean that computers were better than consoles, just that they serve different purposes. Sure a computer can play games like a console, but it also has the ability to do so much more. Sure you can tinker with your game system's software to turn it into a crappy computer, but why do that when you can simply use your real computer? I guess rather than say "league" I should have used a different word that didn't give the image of a ranking, although for the life of me I cannot come up with one.

Okay, enough thread derailing, back to the topic!

I would also like to know where you got that information (about the A1s being delayed another 2 weeks) because I keep getting email's about shipping issues which leads me to believe that they want to ship me my rig soon but can't because I haven't chosen the proper shipping services. (No UPS Ground or 3-day shipping to HI).

 

i believe i read it somewhere. I didn't mean delayed, i meant its "taking a long to get them where they need to be, leading me to believe another two weeks" is what i THINK i read on this forum somewhere

 

Ah, I see. Well, I haven't been emailed by Ken so far so I Don't think so. He keeps me on the ball. I'm actually thinking that ASUS might've waited another couple of days to throw it in the shipment of the G51 and the other new two models.

bmk07, I also think that the shipments due in soon and they want to make sure that everything is a-okay on your end so they can get it efficiently to you =]

 

yeah, that would make sense, why waste extra money when they can ship everything at once? less hassle, right?

 

you're comparing it to a laptop. if a desktop with these specs were this price, it would be outrageous. You can get better graphics than a ps3 in a desktop for cheaper.