Unboxing your G73: A short setup guide.

Lately this has been one of the most re-asked topics and is a part of the reason the G series was assigned it's own subforum

So here is a very quick guide aimed at people who may not be enthusiasts, but just want to game and may have read into the threads here too much.

0: Differences
There are several variations of the G73JH-__ model, they are:

All A models have been discontinued and replaced with the B1.
A1 - this is the "original model" with a blu-ray player
A2 - this is an A1 but with a dvd drive instead
A3 - this has a blu-ray and hybrid momentus XT HDD's (only amazon seems to stock these)

A1 and A3 owners may have to download a program update from the asus website in order to properly use their blu-ray player; newer units are reported to already be shipped with the updated software.

B1- this is an A3 with an i7-740 CPU, and typically retails for $100 more than the A1.

The X models are generally available via tigerdirect/newegg or other generic computer parts sites.
X1, X2, X3 - have variations of HDD capacity, RAM stocked and optical drives. The major difference is the X models DO NOT come with a backpack or mouse; those are A model exclusive.

BB-05, BB-09
Bestbuy models are only sold at bestbuy, and are stripped down versions of the A/X models. They do not come with a backpack or mouse, have less HDD and RAM equipped, and have lesser screens (1600x900 as opposed to the usual 1920x1080). They also lack bluetooth, have worse webcams and do not come with an asus 2yr global warranty, but are aggressively priced compared to A models.

ALL models come stock equipped with an i7-720 (except the B1), ATI MR5870 and that sexy design.


1: Unboxing
Your initial check should make sure there is no shipping damage, that the screen hinges are not loose, and that you have everything that was supposed to be included. Check for dead pixels while windows is installing (roughly 20 mins), check that your keyboard backlights work (press the top left button above the capslock indicator, press FN+f3/FN+f4). If the unit is physically ok, move on!

You now have 2 options: the full, manual fresh install of windows and drivers, or the decrapify process. Removing the crap is slightly less time consuming overall and less of a hassle, so it is what I'll cover; if you want complete control over everything then follow the link to kalim's guide: http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/468027-complete-walk-through-doing-clean-windows-7-install.html

2: Uninstall crapware
Open your control panel and browse to Programs and Features. There is a moderate amount of bloatware/crapware that comes installed, I recommend you remove the following:

Any trend micro or norton trials
Any games that come pre-installed
ASUS AP bank
ASUS liveupdate
Power4Gear

There are more, but these have proven to be the most troublesome/invasive softwares. Yes, get rid of power4gear, windows 7 will handle power management just fine and will not throttle your system - you lose the "twin turbo mode" functionality but it's been proven over and over that twin turbo actually decreases performance. You can refer to the full list of preinstalled asus programs here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/380681-asus-utility-bloatware-guide.html

A lot of people recommend using some registry cleaner or whatever; it really doesn't matter. Uninstalled programs' leftover registry entries total a few KB in space and maybe a single reg entry - you will probably never notice it is there as an average user, and will just delete it yourself if you stumble across it a year later as an advanced user.

3: Updates!
- Run windows update, it will download and install between 1 and 1.5GB of stuff. While it is updating, you can move on to other steps.
- Download and install Microsoft Security Essentials or another anti-virus of your choosing; MSSE is free of charge to windows users.
- Download/install your favorite web browser, import your settings and bookmarks from your old computer.
- Download/install adobe flash player, JAVA platform, ect.
- Install/copy your programs, files ect.

3a: Required tweaks
There are now 2 required tweaks for this laptop, that will guarantee stability and performance.

Steam lockups: you now have 2 options to fix this;
Option 1: Update to the latest creative AND realtek drivers - it's been reported that you'll sometimes need to reinstall realtek drivers twice to get them working.

Option 2:
- Control Panel -> Sound -> Speakers -> Properties
- go to 'Enhancement' tab and select 'Disable all sound effects' and do the same for 'Sound Blaster' tab. This will take care of Steam problem without having to uninstall the Sound Blaster drivers.
- Control Panel -> Sound -> Playback.
- From Playback disable 'Realtek Digital Output'. You can leave 'Realtek HDMI Output' enabled.

You will not notice any difference in sound quality and will retain 5.1 surround capabilities, but steam and the windows ease of access center will no longer cause the computer to freeze. Test that this tweak is working by opening the windows ease of access center; if the lady starts talking, you are good to go.

Tweak #2:
vBios update- Follow the stickied guide steps http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus-gaming-notebook-forum/515309-how-fix-your-gsod-blues.html . This vBios is a hardware level update which improves stability by eliminating the dreaded GSOD. You need bios 209 or higher to execute this, newer machines already come with bios 209.

3b: Recommended tweaks
i7 core (un)parking - Follow the link to another kalim guide: http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/494232-how-adjust-core-parking-inside-windows-7-a.html
This will ensure that when you are plugged in, you will be at maximum performance.

bios 209 - This fixes the last remaining issues with the G73, those being the FN+esc lockup and keyboard lag. Kalim you sexy bastage, another guide from him: http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/487754-g73jh-bios-209-now-available.html
Warning: follow his guide EXACTLY as it is laid out and do not miss or skip any steps; a bios flash gone wrong can brick your notebook and may require an RMA. Do not use winflash.

ATI driver update - you should update to the latest drivers (google for ati mobility drivers), they solve a few compatibility problems and generally boost performance. You should only update to the latest reference drivers after you have updated to the new vBios.

3c: Optional tweaks
bios 211 - This is pretty much the same as bios 209 but with a more aggressive fan/cooling policy; you will notice your fans kick into high much sooner on this bios, which can result in a slightly noisier computer. On the upside if you are having troubles with temperatures (ie 96c+ on load) this can bring your temps down by about 5c. If your temps are fine I recommend staying on bios 209.

SSD maximum performance tweak - This only applies to those of you who have or will put an SSD into your notebook. This is a regedit hack from a user on our forums here, who uncovered the fact that the HM55 chipset (the one the G73, among all other i7 using laptops, are equipped with) seemed incapable of getting the same SSD speed as a desktop. If you had no problem following the i7 core unparking guide, you can easily do this yourself; it's even in the same reg key http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...-full-advantage-fast-ssds-31.html#post6666873

4: Benchmark/stress test
This is what everyone looks forward to and what a lot of people come here for. You'll need to google for the following tools:

- HWinfo32, this is your monitoring program
- Unigine(heaven) OR furmark, these are your stress testing programs

Open up HWinfo and click on the Sensors tab, this will bring up a list of sensor temps. You will keep this program open for a while, at least for the duration of the testing. Take note of your ambient (room) temperature, it actually has quite an effect on sensor information.

Install and run either furmark or the heaven benchmark - I chose unigine/heaven personally, it reflects a more realistic test and gives you something pretty to look at If you choose furmark, run it for at least 10 minutes; if you choose unigine, it has a set duration, but most people test using the following parameters:
1920x1080 Fullscreen
4x AA
4x anisotropy
normal tesselation
shaders high

Either walk away for 12 minutes or look at the pretty graphics, but don't alt-tab or try and run other tasks while benching. When it's complete, it will give you some scores (which for our purposes are mostly irrelevant, but on stock drivers the heaven benchmark will produce an average fps of 12). Close it, what we are interested in is the MAX temp reading on hwinfo, specifically the gpu thermal diode (the first reading):




This was taken with a 27c ambient temp, it's been hot here ok? My max temps (sub 85c) are considered good, anything under 80c is outstanding. 90c max is acceptable, 95c max is about as high as you want to get and is still within acceptable limits. If you are getting temps around or above 100c you may have an improperly applied thermal paste/pads or a defective GPU/unit - if this is a new unit I would recommend you contact your reseller for help.

Idle temps vary depending on your ambient temp, but generally under 45c for the cpu and under 55c for the gpu is good.

5: Backup solutions
You can burn recovery discs with the AI burner, though these will just bring your system back to its' factory shipped state. You'll need 5-6 dvd's for the ai recovery.

A better solution is paragon free edition (google), this will allow you to backup the entire computer including drive structure, OS, programs and user files to either dvd's or an external HDD. The compression on this program is quite good; a 950GB image (the size of my combined drives) required 300GB of free space on an external HDD. This is better than recovery discs since you won't have to go through this entire setup process again in the event of a critical system failure!

6: Enjoy
Now you have a fully functional system that has been debugged and tested, with a crises recovery backup. Play your games at high settings and enjoy your laptop.

6b: Halp!
If you are experiencing problems, that's what these forums are for! This guide will cut down on problems you might have faced, but for more serious problems you'll need more help than this guide can offer.

 

very nicely done, can we please have this as a Sticky? It's sure to avoid a lot of basic questions in the future.

I've seen a few users ask about whether or not they should charge the battery first before starting this beast (which is unnecessary)...maybe that can be added at the top?

 

bump, lots of people reasking these q's in owners lounge.

 

Thanks, appreciate this.

 

Well, actually there is newbie thread here, that describing the same.

 

Which version would you all recommend getting?

 

The one with a good GPU, and opt for an IC Diamond 7 repaste.

 

How hard would it be to upgrade the thermal compound? by my self? i have always used stock paste

 

It's not super easy, and ribbon cables are a PITA.

 

Thanks for the info here! Used a few of them

 

Awesome Guide hakira as I am setting up my newly arrived G73 from Gentech PC (thanks Ken!) now. There is one thing I would like to add for those of us who hate the default Asus drive partitioning they do. I personally only need 3 main partitions. OS, DATA, and Games. I left the first disk alone (Disk 0) and merged the two partitions on Disk 1 together and named it Games. I now have an entire drive (465 GB) dedicated to my games which is nice considering my Steam folder alone is 255GB and that isn't even every Steam Game I have. To do this:

First, make sure you do not have any data on the second hard drive (SDATA 1 and 2 partitions) as this process will erase it. Again, back-up your data if you have anything on there. This is best done with a brand new PC.
Start> Search for Disk Management and open it.
Under Disk 1 you should see two partitions labeled SDATA 1 and 2 I believe (I just got rid of them so I am working from memory). Right-click and delete the SDATA2 (second one).
You should now have a bunch of un-allocated space and the SDATA 1 partition.
Right-click on SDATA 1 and click extend. Just leave it at what windows selects as it should be all of the un-allocated space. You now have a full drive. Format and rename the Drive if you wish and enjoy all your hard drive.

 

useful, thx, but i dont mind the bloatware...Some of it is actually helpful

 

Thanks for the excellent set-up guide! Unboxed my G73 yesterday and it's now proudly sitting om my table. No problems with GSOD etc. as of yet..

 

Thanks for the guide. Ive been stressing out about whether it will be stable once i get it I plan to use the guide when I receive mine today.

 

Bump for those hopping on the gsod-free wagon now

 

Firstly, my sincerest thanks for your time and efforts in the creation of this thread, Im sure many who are less technically inclined would certainly appreciate this step-by-step breakdown.

However can I request for more specific instructions on the download and update of the creative/realtek drivers?

Also, I would like to ask if I could upgrade the bios from 206 to 211? Skipping the versions in between? Lastly, which version of the new vbios would you recommend and why?

Thanks again!

 

Could you also walk me through the updating to cat 10.9 too? I swear I'm really confused by the other thread. Please forgive the less l33t and understand that I'm nothing more than just the avid gamer

many thanks,
detached

 

There's a 10.9?

 

must be a beta.. 10.9 isn't out..

 

hi guys

hello new owner as of today odne what most of what you setout above just one question. you really want me to unistall power4gear??? how will the cpus jump into full throttle mode. is there any disscussion threads on this.

FYI mine arrived today UK model and it has bios 211 installed from new.

cheers

 

Hey guys, what exactly is core parking and if i do kalims guide does it have any effect on battery life etc?

 

10.8, I meant lol. My bad.

Would appreciate the help!

 

It's pretty simple; you download the 2mb installer from ati's website, run it and it will automatically detect what driver you need and download that (~75mb). Then you press the install button, the screen flickers/changes resolutions for a few seconds, and then you're done.

Like the gaming section sticky says, with the 10.x driver lineup you can now do a "lazy install" as outlined above, no need for uninstalling/sweeping/whatever else.

@aristar, core parking is just that - the i7's will 'park' (read disable) idle cores while on battery, and sometimes will keep them parked after coming back onto AC. You don't really lose any battery life (maybe 3 minutes), the beauty of kalim's hack is that you retain the option of parking cores while on battery, it's just done thru windows power settings!

 

Wow gotta love the lazy install!

How bout updating of bios and vbios? Can I just flash from say 206 to 211 or do I have do go through them 1 by 1?

And how do I know which creative and realtek drivers to install from the website?