Advice/help on upgrading a G73 required!!

Hi folks.

I am considering purchasing the above laptop. It isnt the "all singing" high spec version, it is slightly lower specd as follows:

i5 430m
ati 5870 1gb gddr5
blu ray ROM
17.3" full hd 1080p screen
640gb HDD

My question is converning upgrading some of the components post-purchase.

I have spoken to Asus (the guy seemed a bit vague hence asking here) about upgrading the cpu at a later date.

Was thinking at some point in the future, i may put an i7 720qm in and he said that as it was on its own socket on the MB, this is possible, with a bios update.

Can someone confirm this is correct?

Also, after doing a bit of reading on NBR, would i be right in saying that upgrading the gpu (although not needed atm as its the best single chip gpu available) is a no-no regardless due to compatability issues and heatsinks etc.

Im thinking atm that i can upgrade the HDD / Optical drive / Memory and cpu (if someone can confirm this)

Any help gratefully received

Thanks
Steve.

 

Sure, the BIOS should support the i7 line inherently, so a 720QM shouldn't be an issue, other than the PITA disassembly required to get to it.

Memory is also upgradable, and one bank is on the underside, and therefore also a PITA to get to. How much memory are you getting, and plan to upgrade to? If it's just a speed upgrade, don't bother honestly.

Adding a HDD would require having a 2nd bracket or faith in 2-way tape

As optical drives go, I prefer using desktop ones in external enclosures if I need to use a beefy one.

In regards to upgrading the MXM Video card, that's an iffy undertaking, as you would need a heatsink for it that works with the airflow of the model installed to. So, if you do decide to try, make sure you order one with a matching heatsink for the MXM.

 

Hi

I wont be currentyl underatking any upgrade......i will see how she goes first.

I know i can upgrade the ram at a later date but may not need to, same goes with the cpu and optical drive.

Cant see me wanting to change the pu optical drive as its a blu ray combo and the gpu is the best available atm apart from sli/cf - that should last a few years before its well and truly superceeded.

My only main concern was the cpu being only an i5 430m. My understanding is that this may be a bottleneck in certain situations (ie flight simulators etc) so i was wanting confrimation on upgrading the cpu before buying should i need to at later date.

Its good to know this can be done but by the time i get round to it, i will probably be looking for a new laptop!

 

also for those of me not in the know.....what is PITA? .....oh i just got it...pain in the rear lololol

 

the STANDARD for g73 is i7 720qm. where you get yours?

 

That's only in the US and Canada. Asus offers i3, i5 and i7 CPUs on the G73JH series and the specs vary in different countries. For example, in Germany, the G73JH-TY042V is offered with a i5-520M CPU

 

Getting mine from the uk - well known high street retailer called currys.

I know its only got an i5 430m but im quite happy with that as from my understanding it supports switchable graphics so i wont have to rely on the 5870 all the time, the laptop should switch between the two depending on use if im right, thus convserving my battery when i dont need the 5870.

Is that right anyone?

 

I wonder what the price difference is between the curry's model and an import from the US ?

It might be possible to get the better specced machine for the same price as the lower specced UK sourced machine ?

 

I did consider importing. A few reasons why i didnt are:

1) Huge clobbering of the customs man makes it financially not viable, even thought the price to buy WOULD be cheaper than rip off britain and technically, i would be able to buy a better spec at a lower price (uk customs do love to bite a chunk outta us for importing goods!)

2) Wasnt fussed on having to use a travel adapter for the power pack.

3) If anything goes wrong, how do i return/stand with an overseas supplier - didnt like the fact that it would be more hassle than its worth.

Therefore, as currys price worked out at £989 (which seemed amazingly cheap for the spec), i decided to get it in the uk.

Hopefully, its arriving today!

 

My congrats on this!Hope you will like this little beast! I ordered mine from US with 0 problems. Anyway think that Core i5 for gaming will differ much from Core i7. But there are programs that utilizes 4 cores in Corei7. For the price you paid you will not be able to find better.

 

D'ya think that these 4 core games will benefit from the I5 ? - i mean in the sense that the I7 obviously has 4 real cores but 8 "SYNTHETIC" cores whereas the I5 has 2 real cores with hyperthreading up to 4 cores (in my mind, making it a quad core under certain circumstances?)

Oh, and yes...im loving the little beauty - havent had the time to turn it on yet but will be soon...........i hope!

 

does this laptop support the 920xm processor?

 

Yes it does. I seen many users have 920xm.

 

I also believe that if you have a 920XM installed, the BIOS offers overclocking options.

 

No worries, the Core I series are easy overclockers. People are getting their i720qm up to 2.0/3.4 ghz, and the desktop i5s are hitting 3.5-4.0 easy with adequate cooling. I'm not sure that setFSB has the correct PLL for the 430m, but it's a great processor. I had a g51jx w/ i5 (the -X3 model in Canada), and I couldn't tell the difference between that and the i7 for gaming... (But it does make a difference in video work)

 

How dangerous is it to overclock a laptop though? - im a novice here ya' know!

 

Well, people will give you differing opinions. Asus gives a factory overclock option of 10%. I'm of the opinion that with adequate cooling, a 20-30% overclock provides the same amount of "use" on the processor as running it at stock speeds (provided it is stable, which it ought to be).

At the same time, most games are GPU bound, even at this level - your CPU will hardly ever get max usage at stock speeds.

 

may as well leave it as normal clock then huh? im presuming the 5870 will handle all things i can throw at it and the cpu will do just fine (apart from flight sims etc and a few gaming exceptions)

Just want to be sure that the cobination of the two is fine!