G73JH-BST7 from BB

I'd rather get the Amazon XA1 model for $250 more. Extra year of warranty, 8gigs of RAM, 1080p graphics, USB 3.0 port. Though if money's tight, this is indeed a great value.

 

I bought the Amazon G73JW-XA1 yesterday because bb one was 1399, just saw the price went back down...
go figure... bb just lost a customer and im glad cause I got a better machine overall

 

Thinking of buying the BB model sometime this weekend or next week.
But was wondering if anyone is still have any problems?

And also if it still worth it compared to any other deals out there now?

Thanks.

 

It's on sale through tomorrow. Otherwise, your waiting will cost you $200. At full price, you're better off buying the XA1 off Amazon for $50, which you'll easily make up for with no sales tax and free shipping.

 

Are everyone sure that i can connect to any normal wifi network? it`s really important for me... thanks everyone!!

 

I called BB and they said that even though it doesn't actully say it has wifi, it does

 

That`s good!! thanks im going to buy mine in a few days

 

cool, I hope you enjoy your new pc, I've been doin my homework on this computer and for the money its the best deal goin, come back out here and let us no how she's workin for ya, also when you go in to buy it ask a sales person about gettin some blank dvd's cause you'll need to make your restore disks when you first boot it up, it takes a while to make them to from wht i hear

 

Sorry for the delay...just saw your question.

When I first turned the machine on, it was set to look for a Wimax connection. Once I disabled that, I was easily able to connect to my regular wireless network.

Have had the machine for a month now and have had no problems with network connectivity.

Hope that answers your question.

 

Yeah!! Thank you and thanks to the previous person that answered me!

 

hello guys, how much did you pay for your bst7 including sales tax and others(warranty)?

 

$1292.99...but sales tax will vary depending on your area. I did not buy the warranty.

 

do you guys think this lappy will stay at the 1199 price or do you see it rising again?

 

It's done automatically by their pricing server. If it sells quickly, the price will rise.

 

thanks for the response holliday777. because my sister bought mine for $1304.99(including tax) + $69.99(PC SETUP) + $16(CA RECYCLE?)
just want to know if others also pay like this.

 

Mine came to $1320.01 after taxes and CA recycle. I had $1350 in best buy credit from my 6860fx so I was covered.

 

This thread has been quiet for a while. I guess that's a good sign.

I'm curious to know if anyone who bought the BST7 has had any major problems with it. I am thinking seriously of picking one up this week. Price is still at $1199 at my BB. I'm especially wanting to know if anyone has had any type of *SOD (be it grey, pink, blue or whatever).

Is it recommended to upgrade the ATI vBios? Is that necessary or desirable?

I want this model because of the 1600x900 (lower res=higher framerates) and the lower price (I don't need/want a blu-ray and can easily live w/o USB 3.0). Anyone found a source for HDD bracket for 2nd bay?

 

ugh, that 740qm looks delicious in comparison to the 720qm in my replacement =\

 

Hello,
I've had my BBY G73JH for 3 months now - I haven't had any SOD issues and my temps rarely (if ever) get over 90c when playing games. I have not done any repasting or the like, though I may do it after the warranty is up - just because I can.

Personally I always stick with the latest and greatest drivers,BIOS, and what not. I have Chastity's vBIOS and the latest BIOS installed - Including all other drivers updated - I have access to pre-release WHQL certified drivers and ussually install them when I see them come done through the system.

The only issue - though it seems to be disapating - is the keyboard lag. More so with the newest (to me) Synaptic drivers (15.1.16.0).

I found that using some small slices of packing foam - or cardboard - makes a very nice "psuedo" bracket for a secondary HDD.

I have found the 1600x900 display to be very nice, though I do have plans to upgrade the display. It's less then 200.00 for a fairly simple upgrade.

It's a great machine - Still very impressed with the power when I compare it to a different manufacturers un-released models.

In Peace and Agape,
Trav...

 

@Travelor: Thanks for the reply.

RE: the keyboard lag. Can I skirt that whole issue simply by disabling the touchpad? (I never use touchpads anyway.) I suppose I could just uninstall it in device manager or maybe there's a BIOS setting to disable it?

As for the HDD bracket... someone in another thread (wish I could find it) said he was going to order a bunch of brackets from the EU and sell them to those of us that might want one for about $20 including shipping. But your solution would work for me. I have an SSD I want to use for primary drive and will put the stock drive in 2nd bay or maybe just in an external enclosure.

My enclosure only takes 9.5mm thickness drives... I'm hoping the 640MB stock drive isn't one of the thicker 12.5mm drives.
EDIT: I looked up the drive specs. If they're still using the ST9640320AS, it is a 9.5mm drive.

 

I haven't personally spent any time troubleshooting the keyboard lag issue on my G73 - However, based on several other discussion threads disabling the touchpad in the BIOS (yes there is a setting in BIOS) does seem to fix the problem.

I do remember seeing a thread on someone getting a bunch of brackets, however, if memory serves I don't think that individual pursued the option and offered those brackets for sale -

I assume you mean 640GB not MB - If so, then you might notice a slight spead decrease compared to the 500GB model - which is what I have. If I am not mistaken the 640GB version is a 5400 RPM driver whereas the 500GB version is 7200 RPM - speed may not be noticed at this level and you may not even care if you're going to be using your SSD card for the primary partition.

Hope this helps,
In Peace and Agape,
Trav...

 

Yes, GB.... and since it's a slow 5400rpm drive, no problem because it will just be used for data storage anyway. The OS, programs and games will be on the SSD. It's a Corsair Nova V128GB2 (128GB). I'm using it in my current laptop and for the money, it's a great drive. Got it from Newegg for $219. I strongly recommend putting an SSD in the G73 (or any laptop). In the G73, you'll have one blazing machine. ALL your WEI scores will be over 7.0. I guarantee you'll never go back to platter drives (except for large file storage).

Thanks again.

 

Hey guys,

This is my 1st post but I have been lurking for awhile now. I have decided that I am going to buy this laptop after doing lots of researching/mind changing/money making. I am really excited about it, even with some of the "issues" that people have with it. My only real problem is the 5400 RPM drive, but I have a spare 60GB 7200RPM drive that I will be using. Yes, I know its only a slight improvement, but the SSD would put it WAY out of my current budget.

Anyways, I am not going to ramble but I plan on having it at some point this week. Anyone got any pointers for a 1st time Asus/Gaming laptop buyer!?

 

Omniscient don't bother with the 60 GB HDD. The standard 640GB 5400 drive will literally smoke your old drive because of the much higher platter density, larger cache and more advanced NCQ/SATA tech. The spindle speed is usually only helpful when comparing same storage capacities. I'd bet this 5400 drive performs similarly to a 320 GB 7200 drive.

 

Thanks for that. I looked yesterday and I can get a 160gb WD Black Drive for like 50 bucks. The drive i have is less than 6 months old. I want my OS on a different drive for corruption/crash reasons. Thanks for that info though, I didn't realize it.

 

Does anyone know if the graphics boards on these laptops are removable like the Clevos?

 

The cards are a custom design by Asus, so you cannot swap them out for regular MXM 3.0b cards. Plus you would need a matching heatsink and pipes.

 

Thanks Chastity! D:



More and more I think Asus is quickly becoming a WalMart brand :/



I'd hate to throw away the money but definately going with Clevo/Sager/Alienware next time.

 

I'm wondering if this laptop gets dirty easily? It must have to do with the refurbished RBBX05 models, but I'm not sure if the BST7 is considered refurbished. There was this review on the Best Buy website where the user was complaining about specks of dust and dirt getting into the speaker grills and that the rubberized surface caused everything to stick on there, but users of other reviews had no problems at all. And is repasting the GPU/CPU absolutely necessary?

 

How dirty it gets and how fast is really subjective and also dependent on environment.

Repasting has been absolutely necessary for some who have shutdowns because of overheating. If the machine operates fine within the thermal limits then it's not absolutely necessary...common sense

 

I'm thinking the same thing. They're already a "Best Buy Brand". And as we all know, Best Buy certainly isn't usually what its name implies.

However, looking through the Alienware threads, they seem to have their own set of problems. But, you get that great RGB-LED screen with the Alienware. I mean, what are you going to be looking at all the time? I'm beginning to think it may be worth the extra $$$. Not just for the screen but also better overall build-quality. If only they weren't so freakin' expensive.

 

Some one posted a pic here a few days ago that showed that the 5870 in the G73 was not like the other Asus GPUs.

 

Very unlikely that you could change out the GPU in this model. You'd need a Clevo/Sager or Alienware which are designed to be very upgradeable. I doubt Asus designed it for any upgrades other than HDD, memory and wireless card.

 

I bought the BB model awhile ago in the summer then found out about the issues this was having. I have updated the BIOS/VBIOS and not the latest Catalysts Mobile yet. I did order and took 2 + months to get the drive bracket and HOW CHEAP CAN THEY BE? NO SCREWS with it....I mean come on, $8 for bracket, $20+ for shipping and NO SCREWS? That's pretty damn lame if you ask me. I pulled 2 from the other drive to get it mounted since I didn't have any on-hand that were of similar size.

That's my complaint about the bracket. Systems been running ok but don't use all the time. I am watching the keyboard lag thread as well as the Creative audio thread for updates so I can re-install that software and update it when it is a done deal.

Mike

 

Hi there to everyone i am a new member! I just picked up this laptop a week ago and after updating the drivers i am enjoying this Beast.
(Just need one of those Momentus xt drives now)

But i have a quick question i apologize if this has been asked already.
If i want to use another Monitor thru the Hdmi port does the Graphics card support 1920x1080p? even tho the on board screen only supports 720p. I want to try playing Final fantasy 14 on a big monitor but before i buy one i just want to make sure it works. Thanks in advance for any knowledge that is given to me.

 

Yeah it supports 1080p very easily.

 

Yes you can use 1080p via hdmi or VGA out. Just make sure you are set external monitor only (not external & LCD at the same time). Use Function F8. Then use catalyst control center to change your resolution to 1080p.

 

Cool thanks alot guys i guess im going to go get my 40" led tomorrow )

 

Asus sent me one of these as a replacement for my failed G1S. Came new in the box with the warranty. Loving it. Updated the video card drivers and got random GSOD crashes. With stock drivers everything runs great tho. Beast of a laptop.

 

Do the beta vBIOS update I have linked in my sig to fix GSOD issue

 

or if you are lazy here is the direct link:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/asu...5309-how-fix-your-gsod-blues.html#post6667334

 

I had the previous g73jh model from best buy. After returning it 3 times in six months to get web cam and ATI problems fixed, I raised a stink and got them to replace it. The replacement was ag73jh-bst7. Have this one for 3 weeks. Faster cpu, bigger hard drive an better wireless n connections. Also has built in 4G. No webcam or ati problems so far. Seems like a good deal.

 

Which vbios to use? I see several of them available. One beta, one from MSI, one with Overdrive. My BST7 came with the 211 BIOS.

Which is the most stable? Is overdrive helpful? Which drivers work best with which vbios? It's a bit confusing to me. Any recommendations much appreciated. I've owned many laptops but this is only my 2nd gamer.

 

What is your current vBIOS version?

 

Currently: 012.020.000.027.037640
according to GPU-Z

 

So you have an old beta vBIOS. Please see my vBIOS sig link and update to the current beta vBIOS.

 

Okay, thanks.

 

I posted in the other Best Buy thread, but this seems to be the thread for the G73JH-BST7 laptops.

I just got an ASUS G73JH-BST7 from Best Busy 2 weeks ago. The BIOS is 211 version and I followed the steps to update the vbios to the new version and install 10.12 ATI drivers.

I noticed my RAM was running at 667mhz, is this Notebook compatible with 1066 or 1333 speed RAM? I was thinking of swapping out the 6GB that came with the notebook with faster RAM, but do not want to cause a comflict. Will I even see an increase in performance? Crucial.com did not show this model listed so I was not able to determine was RAM is an upgrade.

 

Why would you come in here and post this twice man?

People will see it in the other one.