G73JH- Should I update VBios and Bios or not

So here is my quandry. I have had my G73JH(BB Edition) since May of 2010(Going on 8 months) and honestly it has worked perfectly fine. I have never had any GSOD's. The only issue's I have had were fixed with drivers. I.E. the Touch Pad and Creative issues. Both fixed with updated drivers.

I am still running Stock 204 BIOS and Stock ATI drivers. I haven't had an issue with playing any games yet.

Game Examples:

Call of Duty MW2
Call of Duty BO
LFD2
Shaiya

All games at high settings

With all that said, I still monitor my temperature's in games to ensure the system is working properly. I have noticed that as of late my Max temps have been inscreasing. When I first purchased the system I didn't have any temps even in Furmark that went above 90c. Now I am getting temp's in the 95c-97c range.

I know the 211 bios turns the fans on sooner which might help with the higher temps, so my questions are:

1. Do I take the "it isn't broken so don't fix it" approach even though the temps have creeped up since I am not having any issues?

2. Even though I am not getting any lockup's(YET). Do I go ahead and flash the bios to 211 to ward it off with higher fan speeds?

3. Since I am doing the Bios do I go ahead and flash the VBios also(even though I have never had any GSOD's)?

I have been debating this for about a month now, and just can't make up my mind. My obvious concern is I could be opening up a can of worms by updating the BIOS and VBios and actually create issues I didn't have before on the system just to ward off what may never come(Overheating). Or I could just be making an already good machine even more efficient with the updated BIOS and VBios.

Thoughts?

And a pre-thank you for your input, as it will(and is appreciated)

P.S. I have already gone through all of the threads on this systems issues multiple times and did not see anyone in them, that WASN'T having any problems what so ever, and wanted to know if they should update. The rising temps is my only concern and they are still low enough not to have overheat lock up issues....for now...

**Editted in Game examples for temp comparison.

 

I'd vote for the bios and vbios if you plan on purchasing any new games. Newer games are going to eventually require you to update past the stock ATI drivers that came with the sytem and as soon as you do that I can almost guarantee your GSOD heartache will start unless you update the vbios. I've been running the updated vbios and the latest ATI catalyst drivers with 0 issues. Also, even if your current games don't requier the latest catalyst drivers, its quite possible that newer drivers may increase your games performance so again, Vbios recommended.

 

1. Your temps are uncomfortably high in my opinion. Software can only do so much, you need a repaste in my opinion. Even on my stock paste I've never past 75 during hardcore gaming.

2. I would flash to 209/211 simply because they fix a lot of issues, there's no real reason not to except well if you're lazy. If you follow the guide that's on the forum then the chance of failing is pretty low. In my experience, 211 has made no major difference in temps though.

3. Also never seen a GSOD but there's always the possibility, I would do it as soon as possible and move up from the stock drivers.

It's really up to you though. When it concerns the BIOS, the general rule is if you're not having any problems then don't mess with it but you've been playing it safe so far. I heard even on stock drivers, you'll eventually get the GSOD. If you ever want to upgrade to the later drivers than I'd flash the vBIOS because the chance increases a lot. But yeah, flashing the BIOS and vBIOS is relatively safe so do what you want.

 

Thanks for the input, and you make very valid points. I did edit in the games I am playing which are very new(at least 2 of them are). I am aware that the newer Catalyst drivers can definitely bring on the GSOD issues even if I am not seeing them on the original drivers. I also know the majority of people see them even on the stock drivers, so its a toss up there You are probably right though, I should just take the plunge and do both of them as the optimization in the newer drivers will probably give me even better performance in the newer games.

I will probably run the ATI Crapper and strip the system then on reboot update the bios to 211, reflash the VBios then install the new ATI drivers on first boot.

Thanks for the input, I hadn't looked at it from the optimization stand point of the newer drivers.

Thanks for the input, as I previously posted above to the first response, I have been up to now following the "General Rule" thats all that has been holding me back. I fear you may be right about the re-paste (which should happen in conjunction with the bios/vbios update). I was not aware that the 211 has not been giving much improvement for temps, as I was under the impression that was the purpose of 211 to lower the GPU temps. Thats good information to know, thank you.

 

To keep it simple... your paste job in the GPU is degrading, you are looking for a repaste or a RMA situation here... For now you can clean the vents with compressed air and check the sticky on the top of the forum, there is plenty of threads about either repasting or sending the unit to have it repaste.

About updating the BIOS and Vbios that you can do but seems like you are comfortable with the stock Drivers. Don't do if you are doing it due to heat issues. Do if you want to update to the latest drivers. There is a lot of differences in how Bios handles Fans in 2.11 but that alone wont solve the issue.

 

Just make sure you use a USB key to boot and flash your bios. Instructions are in the stickies. We get someone almost every week who bricks their laptop using winflash or some other utility. I feel bad for them, but they usually knew better.

 

Yes, I have already made the bootable USB drive with the Bios and Vbios files ready to go.

I will use the easy flash in the bios. Like I said I had already done alot of reading over the last month when I started to think about it, and just couldn't decide if it was worth it.

The consensus also seems to be that I will need to repaste as I am delaying the inevitable

 

Sounds like your on the right track then. Follow the guides and you can't go wrong. The link in my signature will let know what is involved in repasting.

 

Went home at lunch and did the Bios and VBios flash took to do both no more than 1 minute, very quick and easy. I haven't had a chance to test to see if it made any difference.

I and will reinstall the video drivers when I get home, but thought I would pass along all went well with the flashing no issues as expected.

I will do a repaste once I get my hands on some more paste as the paste I already had is very old. I will update again once I have finished that process either, I am not intimidated by doing the re-paste I have done many before, just not on this series of laptop.

 

If I dont game on my g73, do I need to worry about doing a re-paste? Or will it hold up fine since I am not gaming on it?

 

From my personal experience so far and from reading the forum users experience, you would want to do the bios/vbios update at the very least as you can still get GSOD's just from surfing the web and nothing graphically intense.

As for repaste, if you are not utilizing the GPU in any manner that would increase the temperature for an extended period of time, then no... You probably would never need to repaste as basic usage should never get you even close to the "shutdown" temps everyone experiences while gaming/running furmark.

 

If you don't game, then I wouldn't recommend it, basically because by repasting you are risking to damage the internal components since lets say its not that easy to disassemble the laptop.

try to keep the vents clean thou.

 

never update motheroard drivers or bios drivers untl after the warranty has expired. if you put a bios in and it messes the motherboard up, you void the warranty. they don't tell you that.

 

Flashing BIOS does not void warranty.

 

I was running completely stock bios and vbios with the latest catalyst drivers and have never seen GSOD. REcently i updated to bios 211 from 205 (and bricked the system in the process) and still no GSOD. Im going to hold off updating the vbios as i have no problems whatsoever with GSODs and never have.

I see zero benefit in upgrading until perhaps gary releases the new vbios with much lower idle temps.

 

You won't see much in the way of a new vBIOS that dramatically lowers idle temps. You will, however, eventually see a GSOD. My laptop was fine and never gave me a single one, the one day a specific game started it and it didn't stop until the new vBIOS came out. Hell, I just got my laptop back from RMA, and the very first thing I did was flash my vBIOS. It isn't hard, it won't screw up...

 

Ive had it since beginning of February. What do you mean "eventually"? Running Catalyst 10.11 right now.

I was told "it won't screw up..." when i flashed by bios to 211 if i did it the right way, which i did...until my laptop wouldnt turn on again. Im in no rush to change anything anymore unless there are significant improvements to be had.

 

On that note, I've noticed my tempatures going up to 82C as of recent. Does that constitute a repaste? I haven't tried blowing it out yet, I'll try that tonight.

 

Unless the bios update failed....at least thats what the Asus agent told me

this should help you...read the whole thread
http://forum.notebookreview.com/asu.../537567-asus-g73-could-dying.html#post6933711

 

Maybe they were having a bad day, because that's misinformation.

 

Incorrect. The agents aren't always that bright. When I had to RMA my laptop, I couldn't even turn it on any more, and the agent said to me "make sure to backup your data". I knew he was going to say that, but I still had to ask him, for fun, if he was paying attention to me, how was I supposed to backup my data if the computer wasn't booting (I have other laptops that can read my HDDs, and used those to perform backs regardless, but I still had some fun with the guy).

He also asked me if I was going to give permission to recover my OS, which I didn't want to have happen, but decided to ask him anyway "What happens if I say no?" to which he responded "I check the no box." I pressed further, and said, I understand that, and if I said no, what does that actually mean at the repair facility. "Well, I check no, and that is what they see." Good job, etc.

The agents will give you a lot of misinformation, most often because they don't even know what you're talking about. They simply ask questions they're supposed to ask...

 

I have the G73jh-rbbx05 best buy version and was wondering if bios and vbios upgrades would improve gaming performance? I am sick of using the stock drivers, would upgrading allow me to use the new drivers?

Will upgrading the bios and vbios on the g73jh-rbbx05 allow for the newest catalyst drivers? Because i can only use the stock drivers right now and i am tired of using them.

 

Yes, get bios 213 and Chastity's vBios. I'm on CAT 11.5 right now and GSOD free .

 

That was the whole point of making the new vBIOS and BIOS.

 

What is the easiest and safest way to update the bios? Should I use WinFlash? The vBios update seems easy but I am not sure about how to update the regular bios.

 

Put the ROM file on a USB stick that's formatted for FAT/FAT32, and use F2 at POST to enter the BIOS. Use the EZ Flash utility to load the BIOS ROM and follow the instructions. Takes about 1 minute.

 

Is the G73jhAS.213 the rom file you are referring to? And do I update both at the same time or start with the rom file first?

 

Bios and vBios updates are done separately. I don't remember the exact file name, but it's something like that for bios 213. Make sure the battery is in with some charge left when you flash in case of a power failure.

 

G73jhAS.213 = the ROM file