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

I am experiencing the same issue...... it's not FireFox. Something is amiss with Asus's support site right now.

 

Very weird, was seeing support page..
40(including VGA)>38>8>32>8

and weird dates on some.. bios was version 3.x and dated 2008

 

Lady and Gentlemen, I present the ATI Win7 64 driver...
http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/nb/Drivers/VGA/VGA_ATI_Win7_64_868300.zip

im downloading it now just for the fun of it...

 

How long does it typically take for Newegg to get new products like this onto their site?

 

Are these updates that we will need to download and install once we get the laptop in hand?

 

Nope, these are the drivers that will come with the laptop. They're just there in case you lose your driver disc.

 

No, most likely we are seeing what will be installed, when we receive them. However, you will see these downloads change, as updates become available.

 

i wouldn't say that you knew before everyone here...

 

Hmmmmm, now was I talking to you when I made that statement? You were no where around to be seen. And I say; PROVE IT!

LOL!

 

I am wondering if getting the IC Diamond thermal paste through xotic will delay delivery much.

 

haha... im just being stealthy (pun intended)... thats all...

and i would never incriminate myself haha...

 

IC Diamond does not add much time to shipment compared to a stock model. It may delay it a day for the application and testing.

 

okay, thanks for the info!

 

hi, I am still tossing up in between either

1) Getting a 160G SSD instead of the currently ordered 80G SSD

OR

2) Upgrading the processor from 720QM->820QM

If it were you, which one would you have gone for? ("Neither" is not an option )

 

That is a storage vs. speed question, kind of like grapes and oranges.

It depends on whether you need more speed, or more storage.

 

thanks, Donald.
Do you think 80gig storage is adequate for normal usage?
I guess it's more of a budget question. Ideally, I would like to upgrade to 160gig SSD + 820QM, but it's costing a bit too much. So I am having a hard time tossing up between increasing the SSD space/downgrade the CPU and keeping the 80gig SSD/keeping the 820QM cpu.

 

The amount of storage is really a personal use thing. It is different for different people, so there is no "normal".

You have to see how much of your current hard drive you are using, and whether you really need to store all that stuff that is on it, and then make your decision from there.

Another consideration is what OS you are using now. Vista takes a much larger footprint on your HDD than Windows 7 so take that into account as well.

 

My current computer is a 5 yr old laptop with 80gig of HD (partitioned into 2 HD). I have about a total of 2gig space left lol. I am having a hard time even burning a DVD because there is not enough HD left.

When I get my new laptop, I plan to use the 500Gig secondary HDD as a storage space and also install non-graphics intensive softwares (e.g. Microsoft Office) while putting the OS (Windows 7) and games in the primary SSD.

 

Then I would say a primary 80GB SSD will be plenty.

 

You can upgrade the SSD yourself later. You will have a lot of trouble upgrading the CPU. If it's a matter of either. Then DEFINITELY the 820, because SSD will come down in price and you're stuck with the CPU....

...mostly, I'm sure there's tons of people on this thread who would be able to swap one out with their eyes closed, but I'm not game to.

 

+1 for a pre-ordered g73

 

I'm planning on getting this as a desktop replacement. I will be using it for both gaming, and software and game-toolsetting (Neverwinter Nights 2).

Since I'm taking the steps in replacing the desktop, I am considering getting the 820 CPU, but it comes at a hefty price so, you know, looking for opinions a little. It's basically me trying to make the laptop "last longer" - is it a viable strategy to do so? It doesn't hurt to get a few more FPS, but from what I've gathered it's in the 3-6 range (when stepping up to 820 from 720).

This is a long term investment for me and I'd rather get it right from the beginning. I'm also of the mind that the SSDs, keeping longevity in mind, is something I ought to ignore as I imagine I can actually upgrade that myself some time in the future (correct?).

That leaves memory; worth going up from the default 8GB at 1066?

Also... what warranty options are people going with? What's a "must", what's great for something that'll cost maybe as much as 2 grand (USD) to put your mind at easy and is still affordable? Anyone thinking of 3rd party warranties/insurances?

Thank you for reading. It's one helluva thread.


~Elrahc

EDIT: Right, question about SSD answered whilst typing this post.

 

I had a quick question. I plan on getting the normal 2x 500GB (no raid) setup and was wondering if it would be better to split the load of intensive programs, such as the OS and games between the two drives so that one doesn't die out before the other or am I misunderstanding what "kills" hard drives?
and if so, could I partition it so that each partition contains some of hard drive 1 and some of hard drive 2?(to distribute the load)
PS - sorry if I'm over complicating things...

 

I was about to freak out in excitement only to realize that those are desktop GPUs ):
In any case we should be looking at performance a notch lower than the 5770 with a decent OC?

 

This is a desktop & laptop replacement for me as well. I am also hoping to use it for at least 3 yrs.

In general if the additional cost of the warranty per year added is less than 10% of the total value of the equipment in question it is a good idea. Even more so for laptops which tend to break a lot more than most consumer electronics.

I am getting the 3yr ASUS warranty.

I also REALLY want a 160GB x25-m SSD, but I think I'll just get one later and pull one of the 500GB disks from the laptop and put it in a external usb enclosure like this one: http://www.amazon.com/Vantec-Techno.../B000WF8JNI/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=electronics

Hope the Intel SSDs come down more in price before I get one.

 

Yeah, that's nowhere near the price of the one that P4Laptops is selling.

Hell, I can even pick up quite a few hits on www.staticice.com that are cheaper than that.

 

yeah i did e-mail them back saying that is a joke, and gl selling 0 of those systems

 

A question to the resellers:

How long does the UPS Free Ground Shipping take to reach the recipient (CA -> FL) on average once you receive the money?

 

I think you're searching for demons where there are none, HDD's don't get "killed" so much. There will be a performance advantage to having the OS on primary and Game files on your secondary (front partitions if you partition the drives) so it is a good way to go compared to having your OS and Games on the same drive.

The "some of hard drive 1 and some of hard drive 2" stuff is the essence of RAID 0, aka stripe.

I recommend OS on the front of primary and Games on the front of secondary over a RAID stripe setup. True performance is amplified when recommended setup is used with SSD.

Q

 

is there any point upgrading to 1333mhz 8 gig ram ? what advantages will you have over the 1066mhz?
its quite cheap, around 300 bux to replace all the ram with 1333mhz, but is it worth it performance wise?

 

If you were going to do it I would get better performing memory after market. It will be cheaper than $300 and you'll still get the stock 1066 memory.

 

lol i defenitly would, and thats 300 aus, remember everything is much more expensive here

how is it an advantage tho??? would it run better in anything?? 8g is alot of ram

 

You can buy lower latency memory making it's clocks faster. Performance wise it will depend on what app you are running. The amount only matters if you actually take advantage of it.

Windows performance improves but I doubt you will be able to tell.

 

I'm just curious how much is a 160gb ssd and what brand should i look for?, and When do you think that the price of SSD will go down?

 

You will never notice the performance increase, and there is a good chance even with the faster RAM in place it will still run at the same speed, its like donating $300aus to charity.

Now $300 can get you a SSD and that you will dramatically notice.

 

well ive bin told that the only decent ssd i should even buy is a intel x25, and having an OS installed on the ssd + a few games will easily fill an 80 gig ssd,
and thats for a low low price of 400 AUSD

the only ssd im thinking that will be viable for me is a 120g ssd, and even then ive bin told it doesnt run very well on win7, and isnt sorted out the bugs etc properly.
you have to make an image of the win7 then pass it over or something for optimized performance etc?? if so, it looks like alot of screwing around for having a game load a few seconds faster for the 600 or so AUSD :\

i really dont see the advantages here, correct me if im wrong

 

I am in the same boat, its expensive to get a SSD and its low capacity. However I recommended it to you since you were willing to throw $300 to the wind for a RAM upgrade that would have done nothing. If your willing to spend $300 for a "speed boost" then its just logical you get a SSD.

The cost aside as again I waved that due to your asking about the ram upgrade. Its down to capacity.

I want 120GB+ also however unlike 99% laptop owners that would be "stuck" with only 80gb with a SSD your not if your getting a G73 it has two 500gb harddrives inside of it. You simply replace one of them and you still have 500gb of space to store stuff on.

Now with that 80gb you put your operating system and all your programs. Now your system and everything runs and loads super super fast and it starts up faster. You can even put a few of your favorite games on the SSD as well.

After that install the rest of your games and store all your stuff on the 2nd 500gb HDD. So while you may not be able to have 40 games installed on the SSD its not like you just have to do without, they will load normal speed just like they will for you without the SSD purchase.

Win7 is the best OS to use a SSD on and the intel is just plug & play nothing special you have to do.

Im sitting tight for a good deal on the 160gb intel, later this year when the 320gb comes out I hear there will be a good break in price for the 160gb.

 

ive heard that installing programs after programs, drivers after drivers will decrease the SSD by as much as 20% ??? rather than just copying over an image from another hdd?, that is how asus will be installing everything anyways yes? through an image

well win7 takes up 20 gig? my steam folder is 60g, thats me already lol

 

Your ssd will not become slower IF it has TRIM function.

 

Buy a regular platter drive for your steam folder.

It will also decrease in performance if you have less that 20% available free space. Similar to a platter drive but for different reasons.

 

why would i put my steam folder on my normal hdd? isnt the point in getting an ssd to run your games faster??

or is an ssd only a good advantage for windows?

 

Anything that hits your hard disk frequently. Windows being the most important thing. Games rely more on CPU and GPU than hard disk. Things like load times for the games would become faster with SSD. Anything else would be debatable.

 

Yeah. Even games that utilise streaming, which can rely a bit on HDD speed, won't be too much of an issue.

 

Hi, im thinking of pre-ordering the Asus G73JH, and i wanna know if i preorder the base model without doing any customizations. Will the order processing and shipping be faster? because its a base configured model :S. And also if i order at the end of this month (hmm jan 28th). Whats the approximate date ill get it delivered?

Thx.

 

i dont think there is a date set for shipment of these, but thats a question for the suppliers not the forums

 

Games - HDD
Windows & Programs - SSD

Most games have fairly short load times, and a lot of them stream load in the background. Yes having it on the SSD will make it load faster but thats not a big deal.

If your playing multiplayer and you spawn in 5 seconds faster, and still have to wait for the other players it doesnt matter.

As for performance degrading, even if a SSD is running 20% slower its still 20x faster than a HDD for access time and thats whats most important about it. The raw data transfer speed is really only a secondary benefit.

 

In theory yes, if you have no customizations to the machine it will ship out quicker then a customized model. Most resellers ship orders in the order they were received, so it will also depend on when you get your order in. Your best bet is to get a order placed as soon as you can. You will want to confirm, but most resellers do not charge you until the item comes in, so you are out nothing to get your order in now and your place in line.

 

I have my steam folder with all my games on my SSD. I recommend you do the same. It's not just about loading in first to a multi player game. Games like Dragon Age that take a painful amount of time to load maps between cities are cut to a fraction.

If you get an SSD that supports Trim (Intel, OCZ, newest corsair etc.) they will not suffer from the constant write/re-write degradation that the old SSD drives did. Make sure Defrag is turned off in Windows 7. Trim happens automagically in Windows 7 with Trim enabled SSD, so nothing to set there.

 

Thx alot for the info Justin. I'm gonna pre-order the laptop from you guys ASAp!

 

Are you sure?