G74SX-DH71 Q's

(Goto TL;DR section below)

Hey everyone, I decided it was time to replace my 5 year old XPS M1530 laptop and ended up getting my first "gaming" notebook. Even though I have bought and used Asus-branded parts I never used or bought a complete system by them until now. I've had the G74SX for one week as of tomorrow and am already planning a couple of upgrades. I also have a couple of questions about this particular notebook model. I've browsed the forum here and @ Asus RoG but haven't really found anything related to this model.

I am planning on upgrading one of the hard drives to an SSD which I don't think will pose any problems. I am also going to switch out the internal Atheros Wi-Fi card which does not support 5GHz band. I've already ordered an Intel Centrino 6230 card since it has the BlueTooth feature as well. In the meantime i am using a Linksys AE2500 USB wi-fi antenna that can access my 5GHz band. According to what I've read the wi-fi card is easily replaceable. However the manual that comes with DH71 specifically states that the wi-fi card is NOT upgradable. I don't have the new card yet but I opened up the bottom access cover that conceals the RAM and HDDs. Off to one side the network card can be seen, slightly tucked under the plastic notebook frame. The two antenna connections are accessible and a single screw seems to hold the card in place. To me it looks like the card can be easily removed despite what the manual describes. Can any other DH71 owners verify this?

Another annoying issue I've come across is the touchpad. The software configuration does not seem to hold any settings I opt for. I prefer to use a mouse and set it so the touchpad is disabled when a mouse is detected. After maybe 10 or 15 minutes the touchpad reactivates and the only way I can turn it off is unplug/replug the mouse. I also tried disabling the touchpad in the BIOS but doing so also disabled the keyboard when the system booted into Windows! All the drivers are up to date but I will try uninstalling/reinstalling them based on a recommendation on the RoG forum. Anyone else aware of this issue?

Other than that the laptop seems to be a good performer.

TL;DR

Sorry for the long thread. The condensed version is here:

1. Atheros Wi-Fi sucks. Can I replace it with Intel 6230?

2. Touchpad settings don't stick. Won't stay disabled when mouse plugged in. Thoughts?

3. Good gaming machine. Plays SWTOR smoothly, cool, and quiet on High settings.

Cheers!

 

1. Absolutely, you'll notice i'm running a 6200 in my G73, same goes for the G74. Asus knows better than to whitelist components.

2. No idea, but i think there is a registry tweak for that, not entirely certain though.

3. Glad you like it.

 

Thanks for the reply, tijo. I will look into the touchpad issue. I would still like to 'hear' from actual DH71 owners as well.

 

Well, any G74 owner's experience will work as well, the various G74 models have little difference between them where it matters, aside from the Best Buy models that it.

The Intel card is a certainty though, it'll work if installed properly. For the TP, Chastity probably knows what to do.

 

Just in case it's interesting for you , i have an Atheros card in my G74 , i NEVER had a single disconnection in 4 month of use, and the bandwith is ok really. I'd rather be pluged on ethernet sure , but when i need some wifi , that card never let me down. For the moment

 

Thanks again, tijo. Today is the day I start a serious attempt at fixing the touchpad. It's driving me nuts.

Thanks for your comment, Catzoo. I didn't find any connectivity problems with the Atheros. But I did find it slow and a tad weak in signal strength. I prefer using the 5GHz band since there's less traffic on it and speed is significantly better.

 

Update:
Thanks to some suggestions on RoG I updated the touchpad drivers from 9.1.3.5 to 9.1.7.7 and the mouse disable issue seems to have gone away.