ASUS G73JH-A1 with ATi Mobility Radeon HD 5870 1GB GDDR5 - Part 3

Ohhh stealthbook hehe looks a bit bulky though, but with a HD5870 its about right.

 

I am thinking about ordering a g73, what are the issues people are having with these? I was going to order one from newegg within the next couple days, let me know

 

I would like to buy one, and I'm now looking for one. I know there are discussion about it cause I read every post from the beginning.

Anyhow, you that in my opinion are better than me in this, can you help me find one? not too expensive. This thermaltake is any good? Or should I go for something else? If you would have to buy one, which would you choose? thanks in advice!

P.S. I received an e-mail from Justin (XoticPC) today, just changed my A1 for A2+BD cause they're gonna be in stock THIS WEEK. I hope to see it next week! ))))))

For people that want to know and asked before I pre-ordered January 11th 2010.

 

The one I listed is as cheap as you will find it. It is one of the best large center fan coolers around.

This is also an option, even though it's for 15.6" laptops it still works.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834995511&Tpk=enermax notebook

I used it until I got my thermaltake 17" The Enermax actually kept the laptop just as cool, just that the edges of the lappy hung off. Don't listen to the bonerheads on newegg reviewing it. They probably had a laptop that had fans blowing air down at the cooler that was blowing air back up at them.

Go with the plastic/aluminum CLN0009. 19.99 + shipping. It's a refurb, but so what. It's a friggin fan.

 

I think for a lap, a lap desk is better as a base. You can google lap desk, or search lap desk on bestbuy.com they have a bunch of different styles. They are usually something like a giant sideways clipboard / mini table with a bean-bag "mattress" on the bottom so that it conforms to your legs, keeping the "desktop" level and keeping it from rocking/rolling/sliding. You definitely don't want to dump your notebook off your lap or have it rolling under hand/finger pressure.

Of course you could use a lap desk + a notebook cooler, just like you would on an actual desk or table. Another bonus of using a decent sized lap desk is that you have room to use a mouse. There would be room for a small mouse pad I think. However I usually use a logitech trackman wheel, a mouse with a thumb-trackball so you don't have to move the mouse itself at all. Its very useful with a notebook, and very accurate after practice/learning curve. Obviously it doesn't need a mouse pad either.

Another option for certain scenarios is a height adjustable mini laptop stand. They are reminiscent of a sheet music stand.

 

evenson likes using a cooler. But I personally don't and I do game with the GPU O/C 800/1100. 76C seems safe enough for me.

 

yea I know it but less degrees more the durability. I guess.. Thx though!

 

I agree, good catch about the memory limit on these processors. I wonder if anybody has ordered his G73 with more than the default 8GB as a lot of resellers allow that kind of config.

Intel' specs for the G73 processors

 

I only use one at the office. At home it's either on my desk with the back propped up a bit with a game case, or sitting on my lap while I am typing witty responses to you numb-skulls.

 

ahahh.. So you think this is the one? http://go.notebookreview.com/?id=525X832&url=http://www.thermaltakestore.com/cln0009.html

**EDIT**: Sorry for the question but, what does "recertified product" mean??

**EDIT**: nevermind! heheheeh...

 

Yea buddy. Best bang for the buck.

 

I did some gaming with the G73 and I am very impressed with the low noise level. Also, the notebook on the outside stays quite cool. I played for about an hour with zero issues to speak of(Mass Effect 2) - no keyboard lag, sound issues, or anything like that.

HWMonitor shows CPU and HDD readings but nothing for the GPU - what are you guys using to monitor GPU temps (if that is possible)?

 

how is provantage, they seem to offer A1 for the lowest price. I ordered mine through them

 

Are the edges of the G73 gonna hang off the Thermaltake CLN0009?

 

I ordered my Intel 6200 Wireless card from them for my G73. It came on time via their shipping method. They had plenty in stock when I ordered. However, for the G73JH, it states that is a "special order." I'm not sure how they'll handle that for you. On their website they say special orders usually ship out anywhere from 2-30 days. Regardless, good luck on your purchase. Please let us know how things go for you.

 

AMD GPU Clock Tool

 

Thanks for the feedback. I've been talking to Ken about this and he felt it might be a registry problem so I did a complete recovery using the recovery dics I burned so I'm back to the original ASUS config. Unfortunately, that didn't fix my problem. Looks like a possible RMA. I hate to send it back but I don't want a future lemon, either. For those of you reading this as a negative, don't. I'm willing to go the extra mile as I really like this model. The positives far outweigh the negatives...

 

Thanks, Quagmire. I've been following this lappy for a few weeks now, but that was the one thing I couldn't get clear. I thought it was SATA-II, but I wanted it confirmed before I ordered a pair of the A1s. His and hers.

Of course, if I order them now, I'll be lucky to get them by May...

 

no. that's the wrong version.
http://downloads.guru3d.com/AMD-GPU-Clock-Tool-v0.9.26.0-For-HD-5870-download-2383.html
while playing games my laptop reaches up to 70~75C, idle around 60C.

 

what games are you playing that you only get to 75C? I've been playing Bad Company 2 for about 2 hours now tonight, and my averages are as follows from AMD Clock Tool:

Core: 81
Mem: 94
Shaders: 82

Max Temps...

Core: 82.5
Mem: 97
Shaders: 83

 

You will definitely get it before May, I mean this laptop is very popular but it shouldn't take that long.

ME2, native solution, maxed out. My laptop is really cool. I really don't know why. I played 7hours of Dragon Age and the max was around 80C. (using AMD Clock tool)
Did you overclock? I overclocked to 800/1100 but it was not stable so I'm just using stock clocks now.

 

Nope, I'm using the standard clockings. What's your ambient room temperature? I think that actually makes a huge difference. I was playing BC2 with the laptop on my lap over the weekend at my parents house and I played for about an hour and I don't think the memory temp ever got over like 91 max...avg like 85....BUT the house temp was prob at least 10 degree's lower than what my apartment room temp was for the first hour I was playing tonight (prob close to 80....stupid rising heat).

 

My primary use will be Adobe CS4 Master Collection...I am into web design for my business.

Then, it will be general use - internet, email, etc...

Then movies - blurays and reg dvd.

Then gaming.

I do a lot of typing, so I am wondering about the prevalent keyboard issues.

Thanks!

 

Nice work - this is the kind of stuff we need a solid separate thread for! Awesome.

 

Thanks - makes sense, the other version does not work. This one works fine.

 

ETA for gentech, xoticpc and excaliberpc still march 2 and hasn't changed or ppl already received their Asus - g73 A1? can't find any post on information about that.

 

My bad, I wish I had a G73 right now to knew about this things

 

Currently, there are no US customers who have received a true A1. Several of us have added BR drives to our A2's, but that's as close as we've come. Several Aussies have received their A1 equivelant, but no true A1's have been released into the wild. Based in your order date, you may have made the 3-2 cut!

 

Hey, I'm not Charles but I'll answer your question
it really depends. I like the keyboard. Some people are very sensitive to notice these things (I do notice it too, but not much of a big problem for me).
You shouldn't notice much of a problem. You'll get used to it.
And for the things you do I believe stock CPU is good enough. 820qm will help a little bit but don't get 920xm. For the price it's definitely not worth it.

 

Are there any tutorials up anywhere on how to:

1) Replace the main HDD with an SSD
2) Replace the stock wireless card with the Intel 6200?

Would love to view them so I can do the changes myself...

 

Chances are if you can turn a screwdriver to take the panel off the bottom of the laptop, you can do both of these.

All of the above take about the same amount of effort.

 

Your 3DMark Vantage scores are so high because of overclocking the Ati card.
if you check the picture you see the default speeds are 700MHz GPU 1000MHz MEM your Ati runs on 877MHz GPU 1200MHz MEM.
That may explain the stability problems Nice score btw...

 

That's axtually good! Hehehe.. But the temps aren't so bad even if really OC! xD. Anyway you should turn it down to default, I think it's not that good for the system to run always OC. Have fun!!


P.S. Waiting for my A2! Should be shipped this week from xoticPC! Let's hope so!

 

what date did you order?

 

Hey can you take a few pictures with your G73 on this cooler? What are your temps with this??

 

Ya I figured...Thanks!

I guess with the keyboard, as long as there is no lag and no keys not registering, the "style" will be something to get used to regardless...which I am fine with.

Wondering if I should just pay $40 extra and get it from a land store instead of online...that way I can return it within 30 days if there are issues...

 

Lincoln to Omaha
Omaha to Louisville
Louisville to (export - non confirmed)

y is it heading east??

 

I posted a few pages back just for you guys. Anyways, January 11th 2010. I'll put in mu signature I guess! Hehehhee..tomorrow though..now i'm going to be. Good night guys!

 

Possibly it's the mainboard problem, I never seen this problem before but I don't think the CPU will run at turbo mode all by itself.

 

See if there is any way you can keep that gem of graphics card of yours

 

Every game I've played is around 76C and the most taxing game probably are Crysis and Annon 1404. Even Vantage didn't get my temps over 76C.

 

Thankfully it sounds like those high temps are rare. These average temps are amazing!

 

Were you using AMD Clock Tool to review the temps?

 

Big daddy has been grounded. Over the last 3 days, I have been getting consistent and annoying hard locks. It happens about 3 times a day and usually happens with a flash video online or in a game. It has also happened just logging into the machine. All my temps are fine. This is with it stock clocked and turbo off. Memory tests out OK. The only thing that makes sense is a fried/faltering GPU. The fan for the gpu revs up really high now even though the temps are low/average.

Reloaded several times and tried all the different drivers we have available.

Bummer. I guess I would add "another grounded G73 pilot" to my signature if the one currently there wasn't so epic.

 

is this one of the good wireless cards people are upgrading to?

http://www.provantage.com/intel-622an-hmwwb~7ITE90NJ.htm

or here:

http://www.avadirect.com/product_details_parts.asp?PRID=16324

I'm just shopping around a little but there seems to be a big price difference and perhaps some confusion on my part between similar model #'s..

The wireless on my X1 from newegg, with the default card, has been disconnecting at work periodically. Its more of a DC blip but enough to dump me off whatever I'm connected to at the time. I made sure that the checkbox for "allow windows to turn off this device to save power" was unchecked late last night. I'll test more tonight to see if it is a chronic problem between my X1 and the wireless router at work, and tomorrow at home with my d-link wifi. I'll go over the config/properties tonight too. I connected manually using windows but I have the wifi profile app installed off the driver disc so maybe there is something weird going on there.

 

Yep, that's the one. 300mb/sec as opposed to the 150mb/sec that comes installed.

 

well that sucks Even

 

That sucks.

So far so good with mine. Did you do any manual overclocking other than the "Turbo Boost" button?

 

That sucks man! Do you think heavy gaming fried the GPU or do you think it was screwed up to begin with. I'm REALLY starting to get a bit concerned with some of these issues now...lol.

 

Yep. 800/1100 with ati tool. Never climbed above 76c on the Gpu. I have been overclocking cpu's/gpu's for years, and have never had an early death much less within 2 weeks.

I'm starting to think there are some serious QC issues with Ati's new m5870. Rushed to market comes to mind.