ASUS ROG G56JK-EB72 Gaming Laptop

Just ordered one of these from NewEgg, figured I would give it a shot. It is te DDR3 model unfortunately but it should be fine as I have my desktop for heavier gaming. I am hoping to have it by Tuesday the 26th, I will post a decent review after that and maybe even a tear down when I put in an SSD but that may be another week. I am hoping it has an Msata slot. I will also probably swap out the wireless card for an AC 7260. Let me know if you have any questions and when I get it I will answer them as I can.

I am hoping it comes with all of the accessories listed on the ASUS website


ASUS ROG G56JK-EB72 Gaming Laptop Intel Core i7 4710HQ (2.50GHz) 12GB Memory 1TB HDD NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M 2GB GDDR3 15.6" Windows 8.1 64-Bit - Newegg.com




OVERVIEW

ASUS ROG G56JK- 15.6 INCHES OF POWER WITH SOUND YOU CAN FEEL
Harnessing the extreme power of an Intel Core i7 processor and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M graphics within a sleek aluminum chassis, the ASUS ROG G56JK gives you the gaming edge, wherever you are. Experience stunning detail with the 15.6” Full HD display and feel the incredible audio power with the built-in ROG AudioWizard and an external subwoofer.
FEATURES AT-A-GLANCE
15.6” FHD anti-glare display for high quality visual experience
Sleek aluminum design with red illuminating logo
Majestic red backlit keyboard with adjustable brightness level, great for gaming even in dark environments
Advanced cooling efficiency design maintains the device cool at all times for maximum stability
Enhanced audio experience with ROG AudioWizard and an external subwoofer
1 year Accidental Damage Protection1 with 30 days Zero Bright Dot Guarantee
FEATURES

DESIGNED FOR GAMERS
BLACK. RED. STEALTH – KNOW AN ROG WHEN YOU SEE ONE
With its precision gaming controls, adjustable backlit keyboard, cool brushed aluminum finish and majestic red design touches, the G56 is here to show the world you're serious about gaming with its instantly-recognizable style infused with ROG DNA.

ULTRA-RESPONSIVE ONE-PIECE BACKLIT KEYBOARD
With long travel keys for instant response, the seamless one-piece backlit keyboard is a joy to use even after extended sessions. Now you can adjust the brightness of the majestic red backlight at any time for maximum visibility, making it easy to use anywhere, any time.

GAME FASTER, LONGER
NVIDIA® GEFORCE® GTX 850M GRAPHICS WITH OPTIMUS™ TECHNOLOGY
Step up to military grade notebook gaming with NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 850M dedicated graphics that lets you play your favorite PC games at 1080p with no compromise. With a single click, the NVIDIA GeForce Experience software optimizes games for the best performance and image quality possible. The result is a smooth frame rate with zero lag. Now you can play your favorite FPS or RPG as it was intended without even worrying about battery life – the Optimus™ Technology automatically switches between discrete and integrated graphics to deliver the performance you need, when you need it, while extending playing time.

FASTEST JUST GOT FASTER WITH 4TH GENERATION INTEL® CORE™ I7 PROCESSOR
Armed with the latest 4th generation Intel® Core™ i7 processor, the G56 sets all-new benchmarks for powerful performance so you never have to slow down even on-the-go. Now you can play when you want, how you want.

PLAY IT COOL
Heat is a gamer's worst enemy, as it can cause unreliability and performance degradation — but not with the G56. With expertly-designed powerful thermal solution, the G56’s exterior is kept at a comfortable temperature level at all times for maximum stability — and maximum gaming pleasure.

AUDIO FOR THE WIN
The G56’s audio system packs a punch, featuring ASUS’ exclusive SonicMaster technology with large speakers and resonance chambers to deliver more powerful sound and deeper bass. This rock-solid audio foundation also comes with ROG AudioWizard, letting you personalize sound settings or choose between 5 preset modes for the ultimate winning soundtrack. Tweak the audio for clear, detailed dialogue or ramp up the power on the external subwoofers for an impressive low-end sound that you can feel. It’s up to you.

RELAX, ASUS GOT YOU COVERED!
This notebook is backed by the industry's most comprehensive coverage:
1-Year International Warranty
30 days Zero Bright Dot Guarantee
Free 2-way standard shipping
24/7 Technical Support
1-Year Accidental Damage Protection1
Covers accidental drops, spills, power surges and fire damage for the first year (valued at $99). For more information visit ASUS Service | North America

 

I'm looking closely at this model on NewEggs site, would love to know your thoughts once you get it.
There are are some interesting changes from the ASUS ROG G550JK-DS71 (the model I believe it's replacing). My only gripes: no wireless ac, annoying USB port placement.

 

My biggest fear is that its a single fan cooling system and will overheat. Hope I'm wrong...

 

It is great that you started this thread. I was planning to order one as well but could not find much review info for that model. Looking forward to your testing!

Also, do you know if that sales on Newegg will end any time soon?

 

No I don't know. Newegg usually will tell you "today" if you ask them when it may not be true. I have seen them run sales like the current one( No promo code) for months on end and others for a couple days... Sometimes the sales price can also be their full time price but they just say it's on sale to get people to buy quicker.

It shipped today with 2 day shipping. I should have it by Wednesday and I will try and get a good initial review up of temps etc. Also maybe a benchmark or 2 and hopefully I will have time to tear it open to get a look inside

 

850M with DDR3 sips power so it should not be an issue.

 

If cooling is not adequate than anything can heat up...

 

I received it today quick mini review while my game of league gets ready

Keys feel very good
Quality is very nice
Sound is awesome without the amplifier even

The panel is a AUO36ED the same as the Y50 but the colors look better than the Y50 I had. Viewing angles left to right are perfect but up and down are poor. For an IPS I'm kind of disappointed with that,,,

Temps idle at about 49 deg C while installing and browsing on high performance mode

 

The screen IS NOT IPS

Link to the panel replacement
AUO B156HTN03.0 Overview - Panelook.com

Monitor
Windows description...... Generic PnP Monitor
Manufacturer............. AUO
Plug and Play ID......... AUO36ED
Data string.............. B156HTN03.6
Serial number............ n/a
Manufacture date......... 2013, ISO week 0
Filter driver............ None
-------------------------
EDID revision............ 1.4
Input signal type........ Digital (DisplayPort)
Color bit depth.......... 6 bits per primary color
Color encoding formats... RGB 4:4:4
Screen size.............. 340 x 190 mm (15.3 in)
Power management......... Not supported
Extension blocs.......... None
-------------------------
DDC/CI................... n/a

Color characteristics
Default color space...... Non-sRGB
Display gamma............ 2.20
Red chromaticity......... Rx 0.620 - Ry 0.349
Green chromaticity....... Gx 0.324 - Gy 0.606
Blue chromaticity........ Bx 0.152 - By 0.118
White point (default).... Wx 0.313 - Wy 0.329
Additional descriptors... None

Timing characteristics
Range limits............. Not available
GTF standard............. Not supported
Additional descriptors... None
Preferred timing......... Yes
Native/preferred timing.. 1920x1080p at 60Hz (16:9)
Modeline............... "1920x1080" 142.000 1920 2028 2076 2100 1080 1090 1100 1126 -hsync -vsync

Standard timings supported

Report information
Date generated........... 8/27/2014
Software revision........ 2.90.0.1000
Data source.............. Registry-Active
Operating system......... 6.2.9200.2

 

what are your load temps?

 

As of right now almost 2 hours of league of legends 84 deg C.

It is single fan cooling with one vent on the left.Keyboard stays relatively cool. From the H key over to the left the laptop is warm to hot on the bottom.. I really like this keyboard, I wish the screen was correct. I have put in a ticket with Asus.

 

Nice! Yeah I think some of this retail website keeps the wrong information for people. I had the same issue with TigerDirect when I was looking at one of their Lenovo Y50 non ultra HD model that claims to be IPS. I called the lenovo customer service to verify if that is true and was told that any of the non ultra HD models should carry only TN panel...

 

It can happen with retail stores quite often.

 

It isn't the retail stores that are the problem it was Asus themselves Notebooks & Ultrabooks - G56JK - ASUS

In the specs it says IPS. Also on my laptop it came with a specs sticker saying "beautiful IPS with 178 deg viewing angles...

The main reason I chose this laptop was for the IPS, so it is upsetting to me.

 

Can you check to see if it has an mSATA slot?

 

That really sucks. I heard that some of the retail stores do change the specs themselves, and Newegg doesn't say anything about the IPS display on their listing. This could be troubling...

 

I opened the access port it was only one screw to remove, kinda nice. There was no Msata port there. To remove the rest of the bottom of the laptop was another 14 or so screws. I have already filed my RMA with Newegg so I am not going to tear apart the whole laptop. Sorry. If I was keeping it I would have it in pieces in seconds....

Well I spoke with Asus and Newegg today, Asus said with the model number I gave them it SHOULD be IPS and old me to return it to Newegg, Newegg said they have not customized the laptops and they are direct from Asus... Newegg is jut giving me a refund because they cannot guarantee the laptops will have IPS also I am Premiere so I could return it without fees no matter what,,,,

I hope mine was an outlier but it is very hard to have just 1 laptop with a different screen. And honestly I think it looks worse than the Y50 I had...... Upsetting....

 

Awww...
I am sorry that you had a rough experience with this purchase. Well at least you are not losing any money over this though.
On a different note, the Y50s are on sales right now on Lenovo's website, and I have ordered one from them already. Sadly I am not gonna get it until 9/17...

 

Yeah thanks, it isn't too big of a deal as I buy and sell multiple laptops a month, it's a problem I know. I sold my 3k GS60 and then bought this and built a desktop (Still had some left over lol) The screen on the GS60 was beautiful and I bought a Y50 from bestbuy for a great deal by using a movers coupon on an open box item and 10% back in rewards I ended up selling that one Ebay just due to the screen.... The GS60 spoiled me I will only use IPS or very good TN any more....

Why did you not order from Newegg or Amazon they are usually the same price or will price match Lenovo and ship instantly.

 

Lol not many out there who have a worse habit than me

 

Dang! I didn't know that they can price match with Lenovo. I was thinking about ordering from TigerDirect, but then i found out that they have a error listing the Y50 non touch model with IPS screen (it should be TN), so I lost faith in retailers and thought that buying from Lenovo could give more accuracy.

 

Thanks to OP for the info about the panel, glad I didn't buy this.
There's still the ASUS ROG G550JK-DS71 (which Asus also advertises as IPS, but who knows...)

 

Hi!

I bought a G56JK today here in Sweden, and I DEFINITELY have an IPS screen on mine. It's really nice to be honest.

The keyboard is awesome, the general build is excellent, the sound is fantastic (especially with the little subwoofer plugged in) and the screen is really great. Only downside is ofc the DDR3 on the 850m, but I'm gonna try some overclocking and check the temps.

Could still play BF4 in 1080p on all "medium" with an average of 65 fps in a Large 64 ppl Conquest.

A real shame that you didn't get an IPS screen on yours :-(

I'm definitely keeping mine!


//Mike

 

The g550 is IPS and so is the n550 and I assumed the g56 would have the same screen but was wrong....

Mike you are so lucky. The laptop has everything I wanted if the screen would have just been IPS! I will probably get an n550jk because the g550 is very difficult to find now..... Or who knows I may just get another y50 and change the screen. Hmmm

 

Screens can vary by region. If you have the right connector you could replace it with your own panel.

 

Im pretty sure they had to cut some corners for the kickass battery life it has

 

That does nnot explain some regions having it and others not.

 

Hey, I just very recently received this laptop and also the SSD I purchased separately in the mail. However, when I tried to remove the back panel to put the SSD in, I removed a few screws and such but couldn't find any access to the mSATA or HDD bays, etc. Honestly, couldn't really remove the back panel at all. One post mentioned 14 screws or so but I can't find anywhere near 14 after looking for quite some time. Anyone know how to do this or have a video/step-by-step tutorial of it handy? Thanks

 

Does this laptop have a ethernet port?

 

Okay I have sent it back so this is from memory so bear with me.

First you need to remove the access panel which is only one screw, there is a little black circle sticker over it, then you need to pop that up and slide it off. From there you have access to the hdd and ram. In there there are 4 or 5 screws you need to remove plus the other 6 or 10 screws around the bottom of the laptop(make sure to look under the battery also). The whole bottom of the laptop should come off then and IF there is an msata slot it would most likely be near the center to lower half of the board by the wifi card and hdd adapter.

 

Yes it does

 

Is heat a major issue with this laptop? Im concerned about its single fan cooling system

 

Im also torn between this and the g550jk, im concerned about the cooling with this laptop. Which is why im also thinking of choosing the g550jk. Any advice as to what i should get?

 

I returned this laptop, but the cooling seemed adequate as it is only an 850M in it. It got warm yes but I now have the N550JK which is the same laptop as the G550jk besides color, HDD, and touchscreen. The G/N 550JK both have dual cooling fan which should keep the laptop cooler but from my experience with both it does but not as much as expected. The 550's have their fans blocked by the screen with about an inch of clearance to force air through which in turn forces it up onto the screen. The N550 idles around 58-61 deg C which is fairly warm and plays games at about 78 from my one night of use with it. The N56 idled at about 52-54 but played games at about 84 deg C. So both are close in temps but the dual heatpipe of the N550 is better; if only they didn't cover the vents with the screen :/ and it would stay much cooler.

 

Pics please, no seriously, it may be correctable or it maybe a poor design i've seen before. fixing it voids warranty.

 

Were you useing a cooling pad? I'm considering purchasing this laptop as a replacement to my Alienware 14, which recently took a on me. This laptop is mostly going to be used for college, video editing an games like DayZ, Starcraft II, Battlefield, some more retro games and alike.

 

If you are going to be doing heavy duty work the new asus 15 inch gaming G751 will be a little larger but will be able to take a lot of abuse from the heaviest of applications.

If you do need it now, a cooling pad wont really impact it too much.

 

Hello, I just got the G56JK and id like to know the main reason u returned it and about heating, on IDLE I get GPU max 50c, and on CPU max I get is 62c. But playing on GPU I get max about 60c and with the CPU I get max at 93c. Id like to know what do you think about it and what should I do if is not properly or great. Im new using notebooks I don't know any programs for fan or anything. all I knew were on desktops ut I had to get a notebook cuz of college. I Hope you could help me, thanks.

 

Those temps don't seem bad. The CPU is a little hot but it is expected as it is a Haswell processor. If it isn't too hot to the touch then I wouldn't bother with replacing it. I returned mine because when I originally bought it Newegg as well as Asus.com both stated the computer had an IPS screen and it did not. I really like the color reproduction and viewing angles on IPS, so it is hard for me to go back to a TN panel especially the one that is on this laptop.

 

Max temps they are not too bad.

 

Hi all;

My brother just picked up the G56JK and wanted me to put an SSD drive and Win7 on it for him. that was easy part but there are no drivers for many of the devices! (3D Vid Controller, Ethernet, Network, PCI Device, SM Bus Controller, USB Controller, and one of the HD Audio devices)

Asus Support lists Win 8.1 and then 'Other OS' but nothing for Win7 and under the 'other' tab it only lists something for the Bios, not the needed devices.

Anyone have experience getting Win7 to work on this laptop? Any help would be appreciated!

Also, How can I tell if the screen is IPS or not??

Thanks in advance!
Mike

 

Windows 7 should work with 8.1 drivers... I would use those if provided...

 

Thanks Tom.
I will try manually loading them. I just don't have any experience with Win8, I'm actually a Toughbook fan myself and the latest I have is Win7.

Thanks!

 

Lol Toughbook fan

P.S: I've used both and honestly I find Windows 8.1 to be a better OS.. more stable.. Installing drivers is less of a pain and on the whole, even without the start menu, I'm fine with it.. People like Mr Fox whine like hell about it but I've really enjoyed it...

If you want, install 8.1 and use Startdock and it becomes almost like 7...

 

Just got a good deal for this notebook on ebay. The laptop has everything I want (i7-4710HQ, GPU, nice aesthetics). The only thing I can't tolerate about this notebook is the TN panel. Oh gawd its so bad. How can Asus make a ROG notebook with a horrible display? I can't use this as a media notebook without a IPS display.

Found this site where they sell replacement LCD panels for G56JK models. Is it possible to change the TN panel for a IPS one? Has anyone ever done it?

http://www.laptopscreen.com/English/model/ASUS/G56JK-EB72/

 

Go into device manager, double check your panel hardware ID, if it's the same connector at the IPS display then you can swap to it.

 

This what I found under properties for panel in device manager:

Matching Device ID: AU036ED

On the site I linked when I searched displays for G56JK I get those results as compatible.


The panels use 30-pin LED connector here:

I'm trying to find in the G56JK manual if its the same.

 

Looks like you can then to me if it's the standard 30 pin eDP it uses.

 

Do you think a N550JK -DS17T screen is compatible? Will touch be able to work ?

 

Touch screens use a separate connector for the touch layer so your motherboard would need a connector for it.