I am buying the G73 but want to know about issues with it.

I am buying the G73 but want to know about issues with it. I've been out of touch on threads in the asus problem but what is it with GSOD and PSOD's with asus 10.6 and 10.7 drivers? It would really help if someone can give me some info on all this as seriously , this driver problem is freaking me out.. I don't want a faulty laptop. It would really help if someone could give a thread or link or something which says what to do to deal with these issues.. one last thing.. is ur laptop gone after a GSOD or PSOD and u need to RMA or will driver change fix it? Really , i'm spending 1700 pounds and don't want to waste it... just like i wasted 1K pounds on this hunk of hp junk of a dv5t...

 

Can O Worms man!

 

My x3 was manufactured in march and purchased from tigerdirect. After getting rid of the creative crap, my unit ran with zero issues for 2 months.updated my gpu drivers to 10.6 and subsequently the 10.7 aplha, and faced severe rise in temps with gta iv eflc. The temps on newer drivers got so bad that my machine often shuts down after an hour of gta iv. Revertinf g back to stock drivers did not help matters either. I have run a wide range of games on this such as mass effect 2, assassins creed 2, splinter cell conviction without ever having a gsod. I have also used extended desktop with my phillips 22" and external projectors without ever having a psod. Althugh there was an instance of spark from the vga port, while connecting to my monitor which burned down the power brick, but it has been determined as an isolated issue, not common for most users. Psods will mean the lcd panel has to be replaced, hence rma likely. Gsod can be mitigated, but by no means eliminated by modified vbios and proper drivers if Asus ever gets off their lazy bums to actually release them. Most of the other issues have been addressed by bios updates and newer drivers. But if you run into heating problems, then reapplying the thermal paste or rma is your only route. This is my experience with the g73 in a nutshell. There are hundreds of other users with their own stories, so that will help you get a better picture of what this system is like. Also, you can check the link on my sig to get a general idea about the experience most users have ad wih the g73 in the forums.

 

Laptop is amazing if you run off of the stock bios 209 and the asus stock drivers.

The bad thing is not being able to update your ATI card to the latest drivers without getting the grey screen of death on some applications.

Otherwise its the best laptop I have ever owned. Its looks amazing,and is soo damn powerful.

 

Or rummage through the Asus Gaming Notebook subforum

 

I have had mine for a week now and I am loving it. Still on the stock drivers and bios. I got rid of the bloat ware and I am stable. The only issue I have had was, playing Eve-online, when I alt tab out, my screen dims. I have to ctrl alt del and then cancel out to get the screen bright. But other then that, this machine rocks.

 

i would love to but i don't have the time.. busy doing stuff and packing up after holiday etc.. that's why i'm asking.. also , i'm so out of touch with the forum that i have no idea where to look... so basically can someone list all the problems and solution for it... also note that , i'm going to have it tested and temps checked and have reseller apply thermal paste so heat isn't problem.. it's drivers and GSOD other than that i'm worried about..

Cheers
Sean473

P.S : if clevo owners want to put in some input about Sager NP8760 compared to G73 i'm open..

 

Look at the thread in my sig for a list of all the problems.

 

I've been using a G73Jh for 4 months and never had any SoDs. The only driver updates I've made are from Windows Update. I'm running Windows 7 Ultimate, btw.

As of now I don't think you gonna need the latest drivers of any component. The stock ones run smoothly to me. I've been playing Battlefield: Bad Company, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Mass Effect 2, Company of Heroes Online, Medal of Honor MP Beta, all Crysis series, and had no issues at all.

The only thing real unbearable is that ASUS does not supply the hard disk bracket and I'm unable to find it anywhere in the whole wide world. So take care if you planning to buy a model with a single disk and then add a second one.

 

do you mean one of these

http://newmodeus.com/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2_36

so you can add a second HDD to the DVD bay?

 

$45 for a drive caddy? damn

 

my problem is that video drivers can't be upgraded and this is something i always do for better game performance.. its unacceptable for me if there's no fix etc after paying this much. So to make it clear, i need to know how GSOD can be prevented.

Cheers
Sean473

 

i use 10.7a drivers. had to overclock gpu t0 755/1100 and its stable

 

ok just a few questions.
1. Are the problems only with all ATI drivers or just the release and not beta drivers?
2. Does the X3 BIOS help? Also can u use Overdrive without it already?
3. How is driver support from Asus and are they solving the problems.
4. Has the creative problem been solved?
5. Basically what do u have to do to prevent GSOD issue when using new drivers because this is only thing holding me back? Is it a good idea to do a clean install of windows and flash to v3 BIOS and then use new ATI driver?

 

1. It seems to me that the SODs are caused more by faulty hardware (bad initial ASUS batch, since the Clevo's seem fine) than anything else.
3. They seem to be releasing updates fairly regularly, not so much for the GPU, but those you can get from ATI.
4. I did not have any issues with the Creative Software, but I removed it anyways since it doesn't help me.

I just received my machine back from RMA (destroyed a perfectly good GPU by trying to flash it for reduced voltages... ) and neither that or the replacement have had any issues with SODs or using ATI drivers (running 10.7 and have done a quick Furmark test).
I'd say that if you buy one now/soon, the initial problems should be ironed out, so you shouldn't worry about the SODs.

 

1) Any ATI released driver 10.3 or later.
2) the v3 vBIOS has helped my, but not everyone. You need a modified vBIOS to enable Overdrive. It's locked out on stock vBIOS.
3) Asus support on the matter has been slow.
4) There's a Creative problem?! See my 1st sig link for a way to configure Creative's stuff to prevent crashes.
5) Well, right now there is no known 100% cure for GSODs on the G73. Some don't have it, some it happens only occasionally, and some get it like a bad case of fleas. I have found success with the v3 + 10.7a package, but again, others haven't. There's no way of telling unless I can put my installed boot image on another machine.

 

That would suggest the issue may be with the motherboards.

 

They did replace the motherboard, though I didn't notice any problems pre-RMA (a few months).

 

it seems that there is a 211 BIOS from what i read which might solve problem.. i'm more confident now but i still have 11 days to wait before i can decide to buy so , i'll wait.. so basically its a matter of if u have a proper GPU , the drivers and GSOD shouldn't be a problem.. will it be a safe bet to make the reseller test the G73 with new drivers to see if there is BSOD?

 

I bought mine and it PSOD's after 12 hours... I highly suggest to look else where. It is a nice machine; however, it might be more beneficial to look at other laptops.

 

my 0.02..

looking at the ASUS forum here, I can see several (may be more than 100) threads about complaints of G73. That is a good reason for you to buy it...


--

 

but lol i love it.. hopefully , it won't have issues.. i don't mind modding and installing windows from start... that's no problem... but i have 11 days and i hope asus fixes it by then.

 

Like Chastity said there is a forum dedicated to Asus Gaming laptops, and virtually all the posts in there are g73 related. Read up in the 11 days you have left! Otherwise you may be dissapointed if you have issues after buying it. FWIW I ordered mine last week, I'm hopeful I can work through/around any issues.

 

I hope you do. I've been working to fix the Creative installation these two weeks. No solution, yet...

[help Me] G73jh + Creative Driver

 

A lot of those threads are started by the same people. On a good day there's 250 people looking at the asus threads, maybe a third of that number are looking at other models, and maybe about 1/3 are even registered to post. when you break it down there's not many who post and if they do they are going to post about their respective problems.

 

all i can say is i would not buy it again. no way.

GSOD issues. heat issues. you name it. the thing is a brick.

thats my opinion. if you get a good one then awesome, if you get a bad one then you are in for a long long time of complications repasting rmaing gsoding

-->gstboy : dont forget the 1/3 that doesnt post and looks around are probably here to solve their g73jh gsod issues but just dont post

 

No, I meant the regular HDD bay. The models sold with only 1 hard drive don't include a spare bracket for the second. ASUS SUCKS!

 

i'm still waiting.. 9 days till D-Day.. but seriously , any other issues.. as for heat , no problem as i'll have the reseller change thermal paste etc... Creative problem can be solved but GSOD ... i hope i get a good one..

 

Well I got it running furmark (within seconds to minutes (GSOD). I did however resolve my game issue for Perfect World by updating both ATI to 10.7 and Realtek to R2.51 drivers. I then backed out/off the ATI down to 10.1 8.683 drivers and the game still loads and runs. I have yet though to spend more than 15-20 mins on it due to other stuff going on at my place. I hope to spend some time on it tonight and tomorrow night (2-3 hrs hopefully) sans cooling pad (that's next investment ($50+ for one I'm seeing to fit these bigger 17" models). I like the look/design of it, liked the specs/price and read some reviews online (Toms Hardware, + 1 or 2 others) and were pretty positive on it. However once I started getting lockups (until driver updates above) I found this forum and asus' *closed* notebook/G73 forum and was shocked at all the problems that 90+% of people posting here hitting/having.

I am going to get the extended warranty for it just in case (1 yr probably depending on cost of 2yr) I have to RMA it in the near future for anything. Asus should get off their collective behinds and acknowledge these issues, be it crappy assembly, crappier parts, whatever, come clean and FIX IT for those having issues and we'll love you again (never was an Asus person in the first place though ;-) ).

 

Why don't you buy it from a good reseller like GenTec or Xotic or someone like that. Have them replace the thermal paste and verify stable temps and no GSOD with a Furmark run or two or three. My understanding is that if the machine is prone to GSOD on stock vBIOS and 10.3 or higher ATI drivers, it will do it right away and do it almost all the time.

 

any developments yet about the GSOD issue?

 

I understand the new Asus manager is in contact with ATI about this.

 

No solution so far, just promises after months and months...

 

that's what i plan to do.. i'll ask for them to try with a old G73 and a new one.. hopefully no GSOD...

At least they're trying even if it is now....

 

Well, apparently they appointed a new manager, which would imply they axed the old one. (and perhaps deservingly so?) So I see this as progress. :yes:

 

Seams to have made alot of people happy, but im not so easy to convince. Either they release a new vBios that solves this or they can keep saying their working on it forever...

 

I've posted a pole here to help me decide... i really want more opinions from ppl.. All suggestions welcome.

 

Ive had days when it just didnt want to GSOD, but on other occasions it gave GSODs within seconds of running something intensive... Its not so consistant. Something to note.

 

More opinions will really help.. Also what's the difference in between the A1 and A3 model?

 

A3 has the Seagate Momentus Hybrid HD with 4GB of SSD type memory.

 

ok cheers... i'm just going to let the poll run..