Asus G51Jx-A1 w/ GTS 360m (GDDR5), now available for pre-sales!

All this talk of ATI not "supporting" their mobile GPUs would really scare me away. Can someone please explain more on this? I know their driver support for their desktop cards is not so good (buggy early releases, poor Linux support, etc.), so this doesn't surprise me too much.

 

Yeah, their desktop drivers they don't do the regression testing that Nvidia does.

They don't support their mobile GPUS *AT ALL*. Just go to the download page, punch in your GPU, and it'll tell you you have to get support from your OEM (and of course OEMs are a near worthless source of drivers post-launch).

http://support.amd.com/us/kbarticles/Pages/737-28041SupportforATIMobility.aspx

That's the page you'll get.

You CAN use hacks or modded drivers to get updated drivers, but there's always a risk to that, plus as per Anandtech's article they've seen performance issues with that route.

And again, I'm not making this stuff up (since some people try to defend not supporting the hardware)-all of this is from AMD's website or Anandtech, which has several times now recommended avoiding ATi on laptops if you care about games.

I'm surprised AMD *STILL* hasn't started providing drivers.

 

Wel AMD don't really offically support it although they do admit that they shall've. But it's up to the OEM makers to support it (at least that is where AMD point their fingers to). But I would say in the near future AMD will have to start somewhere (ATI use to have Mobile driver support but they stopped it for somereason.)

 

so is the g73jh a bad choice because of this non support? at what point do you need support for a video card anyway? i've owned one laptop before and played every game out on it through fallout 3 and cod4 and it finally pooped
(4 years) and i never needed new drivers or anything? what does it mean the support? im sorry for this terribly noobish question I was just curious what this really meant.

 

It's not a dealbreaker by anymeans. It's just a minior inconvenience and nothing more. The GPU will do what it's built for (in this case gaming) while the expectation of new mobile drivers with improvement in performance are less than you'd find with an Nvidia card. You can install the desktop ATi Drivers with modifications to gain some updated support, but the drivers will lack some mobility features for a laptop. Seeing how this is a desktop replacement machine at it's large statue and poor battery life that won't matter too much anyway.

 

Yikes, well that's pretty unusual. Normally you're going to want to keep your video drivers up to date, or at least fairly up to date, and can run into compatibility issues if you don't.

 

First of all: HAPPY NEW YEAR
I'm italian so sorry for my bad english

I Just ordered my G51Jx from GenTech Pc, as replacement of the old G50Vt-X1 from BB.

Regarding the video card I prefer Nvidia, that support Phsyx and, besides, ensure greater compatibility with (Snow) Leopard, if you want to install an Hackintosh

The G73Gh is a cool machine, but is too big (for me) :-S
Plus I think that with the new GDDR5 core, the temperatures will be more cold

 

Unfortunately your mistaken, the core for the GPU is the same as it has been in all past models, the G92 series. The GPU is based of the GT250m with just an upgrade on ram to GDDR5. However, the shaders have been turned down from 112 down to 96 and the BIT Rate for the Ram has been cut in half from 256 down to 128.

 

the GTS250m already had GDDR5 ram. its not even an upgrade. and I believe its based off of the GTS 260m, so a direct rebadge with maybe a 5% OC


The GTS 260m:

http://www.nvidia.com/object/product_geforce_gts_260m_us.html

GTS 360m:

http://www.nvidia.com/object/product_geforce_gts_360m_us.html


only difference is gigaflops so it might be die shrunk and clocked a /bit/ higher. Oh..and they removed DX10.1 support? lol

 

I doubt they removed 10.1, it's got a narrower path to the video RAM, but faster RAM, so that's not as bad as it looks, and it's probably clocked faster due to the die shrink, which may (probably just about does according to Nvidia's specs) offset the missing 16 cores.

No it's not mindblowing or new, but it's definitely going to be just fine.

 

nvdia's own page shows it as about 12% less powerful than the GTX260m. Expect 9,000 3dmarks @ 1280x1024 and a dual core CPU.

 

I don't understand this move of Nvidia... Why makes an update that decrease the power of the notebook??

...well, i prefer to wait for the first benchmark

 

I would trust EIements wisdom, hes a wise man and does his research. Also, how can you argue about the 360 being better when Nvidia themselves is posting that its weaker than a previous model by 12%.. kind of defies logic.

 

Nvidia did nothing of that sort. Asus did.

 

dtwn, is exactly correct. ASUS chose to go with the GTS vs upgrading the cooling and going for the GTX.

 

lol, nvidia engineers and marketing have been hit too many times on the head

 

Again, how so? They clearly don't put the GTS 360 in the same category as the 260/280 GTX if you look on their chart. They're actually about the same, but Nvidia isn't claiming they're identical.

 

same graphics architecture since G80 released November 8, 2006..

8 series
9 series
100 series (dx10.1 forced by oems)
200 series ( gt series dx10.1 forced by oems)
300 series (plain mess)

fermi better be GTX 3xxm

it's the annoyance that there is no left space for fermi mainstream

what are we gonna have available? GTS365m as fermi mainstream?

all they have are high end spots, otherwise confusion will just arise. what will people want, something from 2006 or a new chip architecture from 2010 that revolutionizes programming on laptops.

 

Intersting.... could we expect an upgrading cooling on the G73jh with the 5870 because Asus didnt chose the GTS360?

 

if the gpu is truly 60 watts as said on NBR's info page then i highly doubt it

 

Remember laptop graphics typically lag ages behind the desktop parts. It wouldn't shock me if we don't have a version of the Direct X 11 part until next year.

Not sure if the design is particularly more efficient with the same transistors, so realistically it may hinge on newer manufacturing processes more than anything.

 

The reason for this is simple, Nvidia originally planned to have fermi out already before ATI/AMD had their new GPU out, and due to complications, ATI beat em to the punch so they release a new mobile card based on what they already have and jump the name up to the next numerical sequence. Though it won't fool anyone who knows better, it will fool a bunch of laymans who don't know any better and assume new card means it must be the best. I consider this false (or at least misleading) advertising, but businesses call this great marketing that saves a small part of marketshare.

 

>.> nice bit of info but has nothing at all to do with his question....Asus is to blame not nvidia.

 

i want to know if Gentech accepts international Credit Card's, becaus i don't see his terms on the page... or anything...
this Asus suits perfect to me, because i want a 16 or less screen...

 

If you wish to purchase from Gentech internationally, email them to see if they are able to ship to your country. They probably can, but it would be a good opportunity to find out more about their payment options as well.

 

How good is Gentech? I keep seeing them mentioned, but know nothing about them, and frankly I'm scared of smaller companies (I was COMPLETELY unimpressed with Falcon Northwest, and their prices are INSANE).

I notice Gentech not only has this G51Jx-A1 listed, but also the Sager NP8690. That system looks PERFECT for me (assuming the PM55 USB issue can be worked around on it), but I have zero clue what a safe place is to buy a Sager notebook.

 

Sager has quite a few resellers where you can purchase the Sager np8690 from. You can view the Clevo Guide v2.0 - FAQ and Reseller Info for more information.

 

Cool, thanks! Looks like you guys are well rated. Maybe I should start asking over in those forums some more.

 

UHHHH did no one notice thats its not a GTX but a GTS thats a huge difference.

 

Yep, it's been talked about.

 

Gentech is a very reliable reseller. They used to focus on mainly Asus laptops and have recently added Sager laptops to their product lines. You can check out their reseller ratings here:
http://www.resellerratings.com/store/GenTech_Computers_15

 

Talk about over-overkill.

The 260M is still more than enough <_<

Edit: Ha ha, read some of the topic. Looks like us 260M folks are still sitting pretty. Bragging rights don't mean too much if you're not really any better >_>

 

lol, maybe for you rezigrene, but not for everyone else (I'm jumping ship to the 5870 =P) and the 360m isn't overkill at all..its less powerful than the 260m

 

Yeah that's why I posted the edit. Enjoy your lower core temps, whoever buys one. Mine are just fine. I make out at 88C (I'm one of the lucky ones).

Is the 5870 that much better than the GTX260M? What about an overclocked one (to the clocks in my sig)?

 

it is 30% faster than a 260m @ 550/950/1550

 

I max out at 82c btw...so I guess I'm a bit luckier =P

 

Ah, well then. I'll stick with my GTX260M. You can get better clocks if you lower the memory, the performance boost isn't that great at 950, and it raises the temperature more than it ought to be raised.

Those clocks are pretty fast, though. Oh well. The 260 will do its job for the next few years.

 

I can't get higher clocks with lower memory, I tried. can't get it with higher voltages either. but at 610/1025/1550 I don't break 75c in 3DMark06 and that works fine for me.

 

You might want to try lowering the memory clocks and raising the shader speed 2.5x the core. I can pull 650/900/1625 without a hitch. The 2.5x multiplier tends to be more stable. I can go higher but it's moot after a certain point.

Not trying to be a d-bag or anything, just bringing it up in case you didn't know. I know most of the things I've learned about overclocking were from Tev. Hope you don't take it the wrong way, it's happened before.

You might want to try the DOX drivers too, if you haven't already.

 

Rezigrene please don't talk to me like I'm an idiot =p I've spent the last 4 months doing exactly that, but I can't go higher.

 

:'(

Eh. Each laptop is different, which is annoying. I know Forge couldn't break 2.3GHz (I think) at standard voltage with his P7350, and I go lucky enough to get a golden egg 7350 that could be messed with more.

 

lol I was just playin' with ya man. What temps do you get at that OC tho? I max at 75c...occasionally 78c if the weather is warm

 

Nvidia's proper GT300 based mobile parts may be out in time for them to be called GTX480M etc.. or if they decide that's not misleading enough or if enough consumers are wising up they'll switch to a whole new marketing-based naming scheme to start the confusion all over again...

GTS360M decision is surely to counter two of the biggest (percieved) criticisms about the G51J - heat and battery life.

Not that battery life will suddenly jump, it's still a i7 720 in it, only saving @ idle is a few W on the GPU and a fraction of a W on that lost HDD ... load will have bigger savings ... but then I woudln't buy this for its battery life in any case.

If the 40nm parts are mature enough for some OC headroom I reckon the GTS360M could equal, possibly in a lot of cases surpass the GTX260M. In the G51j anyway with it's thermal design being on the limit anyways.

 

gggggggggggggggggggg

 

anyone have any idea if this will undergo a complete makeover or will it look the same as the older models?

 

ATI may not be supporting mobile GPU's however they are supporting DirectX 11 which none of the Nvidia cards are supporting at the moment. You should consider this if you are trying to decide on whether or not to purchase the G73JH. However I think it's a little too big for a laptop, I know it is for me; 15.6' is more than enough I think I will be sticking with the G51Jx as soon as it's confirmed that there are no errors (BSOD etc.).

 

According to Asus, the Asus G51JX-A1 will have the same exterior finish as the older G51J-A1 model. Biggest difference between the two is the video card, and the HDD and RAM setup. G51JX-A1 has one HDD bay and up to 16gb of memory.

 

That 16gb will be nice MW2 is pushing my 4 to the limits as it is. ;-)

 

Hey Guys I am about to purchase a friends G51j not the X version the previous version for $1300. I like this model because of the raid 0 configuration any oppositions? He has only had it for 2 months and it is in pristine condition. He purchased it for over 1700 from xotic pc with an SSD configuration but he is keeping the SSD while I will have 2 320GB 7200 drives running Raid 0. Buying it this weekend let me know your thoughts. Greatly appreciated. Also I saw many posts about the BSOD issue......

 

Raid 0 with 2 SSD's windows experience hard drive score of 7.2

Without Raid 0 on a normal 7200 RPM hard drive the best you can get is a 5.9 See here on my GT640 W Experience. Raid 0 is the way to go why not have 2 brains doing the same job instead of one. Anyone know why they only have one hard drive option in the X?

Raid 0 in my opinion would be a more noticeable speed difference than upgrading your CPU to an 820QM. Using an MSI GT640 with an 820QM windows experience score of 7.1 with a single hard drive. Comparing it to my friends asus i7-720QM raid 0 config his definitely screamed.