ASUS G73SW Owners' Lounge

Hey guys, i have an issue when playing games on my G73.

and this only happens when i play games.

If i move the Laptop/pick it up it gets a BSOD and says its an nvidia driver issue. (windows 7)

doesnt make sense thats its a driver issue when it only happens when i move the laptop. So i am guessing there is a short or something is hitting the gpu when it gets hot and when i move it it hits it.. I can move it around no issues if i am not in a game.

Does anyone else have this issue?

 

Seems especially sensitive to being moved around especially if you hold it by one corner in the front, at least on mine. It doesn't blue screen, but the video actually cuts out completely and then comes back when I put it down. Scares the crap out of me so I generally avoid holding it that way. Sometimes does it if I set it down a little too quickly as well. Not sure if it's the GPU, cabling, or what but I could see depending on the build of the laptop some of them possibly causing enough of an error condition to generate a BSOD from the graphics card.

Tom

 

I'm looking into getting a G73sw-xt1.

ASUS G73SW-XT1 Laptop Computer - Intel Core i7-2630QM 2.0GHz, 8GB DDR3, 500GB HDD, Blu-ray/DVDRW, 17.3 Full HD, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, Black, 2-Year Warranty / 1-Year Accidental Damage at TigerDirect.com

I'm very impressed with what I've heard about the G73 so far, but I was wondering what opinions were about Tiger Direct? Reliable? Safe to purchase this?

 

Cool, so I'll just have to wait and see about Ivy Bridge, or maybe I'll just pick up a 2820 eventually. It's too bad about the GPU, mine doesn't seem to like to OC past 800 core, but I guess that's not the end of the world.

Finally, does anyone have a recommendation for an anti glare screen cover to throw on my G73?

 

same problem here

 

Hello fellow forum members. I would like to share with all of you my first gaming laptop purchase. I shopped around for the best price and this is what I was able to find. A brand new ASUS G73SW-A1 for $1295...I cant wait to get my hands on this beast! How did I do?

SPECS:

Intel Core i7-2630QM (2.0 GHz Quad-Core with Turbo Boost up to 2.8GHz); 8GB DDR3 1333MHz (4 x 2GB SODIMM Sockets, up to 16GB)
Nvidia GTX 460M Graphics with 1.5GB GDDR5; 1TB Hybrid HDD/SSD (2x 500GB 7200RPM/4GB SSD)
Blue-Ray Combo Drive; Illuminated Keyboard; 1x USB 3.0 + 3x USB 2.0 Ports; 802.11 b/g/n; Bluetooth; 8-in-1 Card Reader; Gigabit LAN
17.3-Inch Full HD (1920x1080) LED Display; 2.0M Webcam; Gaming Backpack and Mouse
1 Year Accidental Damage Warranty and 2 Year Standard Warranty Included
Processor, Memory, and Motherboard
Hardware Platform: PC
Processor: 2 hertz Intel Core i7
Number of Processors: 4
RAM: 8 GB
RAM Type: SODIMM
Memory Slots: 4
Hard Drive
Size: 1000 GB
Type: Serial ATA
Speed: 7200 rpm
Graphics and Display
Graphics RAM: 1536 MB

 

Hey guys, I have an G73sw-a1 and have a few questions.

1. If I place my music, pictures, misc files in the data partition and NOT the OS partition will it know not to use the 4gb SSD on the data partition? I dont' want it wasting the SSD side of the hybrid drive on those files.

2. I was considering upgrading to a Corsair Force GT. Is my system SATAIII compatible to take advantage of this SSD?

Also I've never opened up a laptop before. Is the install process fairly easy for a beginner to do? Is it just straight plug and play? My computer had me burn a 6 dvd recovery thing when I started it in the beginning. Is this how I would reinstall my os? Any info would be helpful.

 

1. If I'm not mistaken, the "SSD" is really just a very large cache to which files are automatically allocated when it appears they will be used, so nothing will go there and "waste space".

2. Yes this laptop is SATA III compatible, and it will make full use of such an SSD.

3. Opening up the service door to install an SSD is easy as pie, you just have to take out two screws, open the hatch, unscrew the desired HDD caddy, replace the HDD with the SSD in the caddy, plug it back in, and close the hatch again. As for the OS reinstallation, I'd recommend a clean install, following the walkthrough earlier in this thread.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/asu...asus-g73sw-owners-lounge-182.html#post7838538

Here is a link to a Windows 7 SP1 download to use to make an install disc.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/win...-digitalriver-windows-7-sp1-13-languages.html

Feel free to ask if you have any additional questions about a clean installation.

 

Thanks for the info. For the clean install, after I download the appropriate version of windows, where do I find my activation key? The install process seems easy enough.

 

Your activation key should be on the bottom of the laptop, but an easier solution is to use the the program found on this site:

ABR (Activation Backup and Restore) | directedge.us

Make sure you download the Windows 7 compatible beta, run the backup program before your clean install, store the entire ABR folder (containing the programs and backup data files) on a flash drive or external HDD, then bring the folder back over to your computer and run the restore program to restore your activation after the clean install. This is definitely the simplest solution for dealing with activations.

 

How do guys think an asus g73 sw xt-1 is gonna fare with battlefield 3. Am I screwed?

 

I'm looking to upgrade the RAM on my G73SW as well. Will this work? Or do you recommend something else?

Amazon.com: Corsair 8 GB DDR3 Laptop Memory Kit CMSO8GX3M2A1333C9: Electronics

In short, its 1333 1.5v. I don't know much else about RAM. Do you guys recommend something better?

 

You can try it out for yourself on Thursday.

 

A few more questions, Hyrule. These might seem trivial but bare with me I've never done this before.

1. I'm assuming the caddy is what holds the drive to the computer?

2. How do I know which drive is the main drive I should be replacing? My G73SW comes with 2 hybrid drives.

3. Is there anything special in particular I should do when booting up the SSD for the first time? Meaning, do I have to format it (how do I even do this?), or boot it up in a special way to install the OS?

4. Any special settings I should set to fully take advantage of the SSD? If so, how do I adjust these settings?

 

First, there's one thing I should probably mention, make a backup of everything on your computer before doing anything! You should probably create a system image to restore from if necessary.

How to Create a System Image in Windows 7 - How-To Geek

1. You are correct. It should look like this:

Hard Drive Caddy

You'll just have to take out the old drive and throw the new one in.

2. I have a G73SW-XA1, which only came with one hard drive, which was in the slot on the right (when looking at the bottom of the laptop of course), so I took this to be the logical place to install my boot drive. It is also worth noting that this is considered SATA port 0, the first port. While it technically doesn't matter where you install the SSD, I'd say it makes the most sense to install it here. Also, provided that your boot drive is currently installed here, it will already be the first boot option in your BIOS, so you won't have to try fooling around with that.

3. I would take out both of the original HDD's so that you only have the SSD installed during your OS installation, this is the easiest way to make sure you're installing to the correct hard drive. It is generally recommended that you do not format it beforehand, simply let the Windows installation automatically format as needed.

So, basically, plug in the blank SSD, then start up the laptop and tap the escape key until the boot option menu appears. Open your disc drive and put in the Windows install disc, choose to boot from your disc drive, and then start your installation.

4. There are a ton of tweaks you can make, I'll link you to a list of tweaks, quote everything I feel is worthwhile, and add any notes I think would help. The most important tweaks are those that save space, anything else will really only offer a minor performance boost.

Guide Advanced User Windows 7 Complete Installation Guide For SSD's (for normal use most of these tweaks are NOT needed..

Make all of these tweaks before installing your drivers. Once you're done tweaking, just follow the clean install guide I linked several posts ago through the entire driver installation process to the end.

Also, I'd recommend that you wipe and repartition the hybrid drive that you want to throw back into the laptop as a secondary drive. It's best to start fresh since you'll be reinstalling all your programs and games anyway.

 

hello all, a few questions about external 30" and HDTV monitors thanks: anyone running a G73SW (GeForce GTX 460M) to an external 30" 16:10 monitor at 2560x1600 native resolution?
If so, are you happy or have issue with gaming performance (fps/ghosting), movie video/graphics media display, and mouse input lag introduced by the 460M at 2560x1600 is tolerable (if any).

How are you cabling/connecting yours, via the HDMI (v1.4) port using a category 2 HDMI 1.3 compliant cable?
Not sure if the analog 15-pin D-sub VGA display monitor output port is capable of 2560x1600.
Are you using anykind of special adapter cabling? DVD-D (DVI 'dual-link'?) cable or somekind of HDMI to DVI cable?

Looking at the Dell U3011 or HP ZR30w and more or less aware of the strengths/weaknesses between these two monitors (lag/ports).
Also looking at connecting an external 40"+ 1080p HDTV somehow - not sure if there is sufficient ASUS connectivity available to do both external monitors.
(wish ASUS included a DisplayPort connection).
Not looking to do any nVidia multi-monitor; but, dual-monitor mode might be nice (does nVidia have an 'AMD Eyefinity' solution yet?).
thanks again -john

 

here is the answer for you, this guy is using high/very high setting, have a very playable fps, enjoy: Battlefield 3 Beta - PC Gameplay *HD* - ASUS G73SW - YouTube

 

And i am very happy that my asus g73sw can play the BF3 nicely, cheers~~

 

I just received mine from them yesterday. It was the latest rev (w/ 3D via HDMI supported, BIOS 205, etc). Arrived on time (2 day shipping), new, in original packaging, no damage, etc. YMMV, but I'm completely satisfied.

 

Just noticed that Xotic PC sells the G73SW with an optional 2760, 2860, or 2960! Just wish I could get my hands on one of these shiny new processors for myself somewhere . . .

Weird, something tells me this shouldn't be only $160, otherwise . . . it's a miracle!

http://www.xoticpc.com/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=2760qm

Must be some really weird glitch on the site.

 

Hyrule, If I decide not to do a clean install can I just clone my C drive to the SSD saying using a SATA to usb cable initially, then swap the SSD in where my old C drive was? Will everything boot up as usually, all programs installed, settings as before?

Although I noticed my HDD has a hidden 25gb backup partition in it. This would be carried over to the SSD and be a waste of space no?

 

Cloning the drive should work just fine. I assume you mean you would use some cloning utility? Simply dragging the folders over wouldn't work. But, if you use the disk imaging software of your choice to clone the install partition to the SSD and plug it into the correct SATA port, everything should work just fine. I don't know what the ideal disk imaging software is, since I simply did a clean install. I've heard good things about Acronis, but you might want to ask around to find the best option for you.

As for the backup partition, that only serves the purpose of restoring your laptop to its OEM configuration. Personally, I just deleted it. You could always save it on an external HDD, but I would definitely not put it on the SSD. Just clone the C Drive, nothing else.

Also, since your Windows install wasn't originally on an SSD, you'll want to verify that trim is running. Here's a quick bit of information on checking the status of trim and activating it, if necessary.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=29286696&postcount=3

However, I would still say that a clean install is your best bet. It will clean up a lot of the weirdness that is inherent in an OEM install, particularly some of the harder to remove bloatware. This will not only free up more space on your SSD, but also free up more RAM that is tied up by useless processes. You can always back up all your files and drag them back to your computer, so you won't lose anything.

 

Thanks. Yes I was going to use Acronis to clone it over.

The thing about the clean install is that its a little daunting to me. Having to redo all the drivers and everything.

 

Reply to old post, my screen is screwing up all the time while gaming.

I'm pretty sure the temps are 85-95! No GPU is designed to go that high! Is my hardware faulty? I can't play for more than an hour before my PC has to cool off.
Please reply, I'm sceered D:

 

Haha, it sounds scary, but it's not too bad as long as you follow the walkthrough. Good luck with whatever you chose though!

That's actually within the realm of (sort of) safe operating temperatures for the GTX460M, but still not a happy place to be. Most likely you have some dust/other junk blocking your GPU fan vents, or you need to do a repaste. Either option requires some serious disassembly of the laptop, which we can help you with. If that seems a little intimidating, the third option would be to call ASUS . . .

Here's a preview of the fun ahead if you decide to take matters into your own hands:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/asu...um/527654-newbs-guide-repasting-your-g73.html

Regardless, don't jump into anything yet. What is the ambient temperature of the room when you have observed these temperatures? That can also be a factor in high temps. And when you say that your PC "has to cool off", do you mean that you are allowing it to cool because the temps concern you, or that it is shutting itself down?

 

I was planning on getting a G73SW-XT1 from Tiger, but kept hemming and hawing and this morning they showed out of stock and only in stores. I called on an open box one they had - for $2025!! I asked if it was a misprint since new they were $1099. They said no, since there's no more new, that's the price for open box and they only have one of those.
Just for kicks, I checked tonite and it showed in stock again! Needless to say, sometime Wednesday the UPS guy should be making me a happy camper! Great step up from my M1530. Can't wait to see it!
You all in this thread helped me decide which box to buy. I feel like I've read everything on this and the Sager 5175 in the past week or so. Thanks to all.

 

I'm having problems cloning it. I'm using Acronis. I have the SSD temporarily hooked up to a Sata to USB drive for the cloning. I use the clone tool, select the source, destination drive, hit proceed, it says I need to reboot, it reboots, says "script file not found",then it just starts normally.

 

The ambient temperature would be 21 degrees celsius. I'm letting my PC cool off, because when it's that high up my screen glicthes or my games crash. And by "glitch" i mean flash grey in an odd shape, then blacks out, wich requires a screen restart (only the screen, my my pc is still running), like in and out of sleep. I am NOT going to mess with the pc's insides, since I have no clue what's making it tick.

EDIT: Also, I don't have the required tools for repasting it.

2nd edit: While running Minecraft in the background my exhaust air is hot enough to cause light burns! Running at 93 degrees, my GPU usage is 98%. My fans are BIOS controlled and my Argus monitor tells me they're running at 0% 0.o
Probably some blocking the fan or my hardware just sucks...

 

Try Paragon Drive Copy instead? The trial version is fully functional:

Paragon Drive Copy - Professional Hard Disk Copy, Disk Cloning and System Migration - deploy new hard drive easily!

 

I've used the Apricorn Drivewire Universal HDD Adapter ($35 from Amazon) to clone drives while the box is running. Simple, perhaps an hour or so to clone a 1.5tb drive. I've used it while drives are failing to rescue boxes. Simple 30sec install of software, plug in USB and plug the drive into the adapter. Doesn't get any easier.

 

All you need to do a repaste is a screw driver, small pliers or tweezers, q-tips, rubbing alcohol, a $5 tube of thermal paste, and a lot of time to make sure you do the job right. But, you are right not to attempt it if you don't feel you have the technical experience to do it. An overheating laptop is better than one that won't even turn on.

As for the fan being reported at 0%, as long as you feel air coming out of the vent, it's fine. Most of programs that report a fan speed are looking for the speed of a fan mounted on a graphics card, as it is on a desktop GPU. In the laptop, the fans are a separate entity, so some monitors don't detect them as a GPU fan. I know that HWInfo32 should see your actual fan speeds though.

Regardless, considering that you're seeing artifacts and GPU crashes (symptoms of serious overheating), it's probably time to give ASUS a call and make a warranty claim.

 

Congrats! Very happy with mine as I wrote a few posts ago. Just finished upgrading from the stock wifi card to an Intel 6300 (even my old G50V1 could do 5ghz N, crazy the G73 doesn't) which is a big improvement.

Now I just need to find instructions on installing the third antenna (not urgent as my WNDR3700 only does 300mbs, but would nice to have it ready for my next router upgrade).

Oh, and of course, crossing my fingers that someone puts a 250 GB Sata 3 Intel SSD on sale before the holidays.

Good luck with yours!

 

And they raised the price $300 today! I, for once, had perfect timing!

 

Well I couldn't get it to clone so I just reinstalled the oem configuration. I want to thank Hyrule for all his help. Appreciate it, man. My system now boots up in 22-25 seconds. Its awesome.

But I have one problem. I can't get my secondary hybrid drive from powering down. It seems to power down after 1-2 mins, literally between songs on my playlist, it hear it spinning up again. I tried changing the power options under power4gear to never stop powering down hard drive for all power plans but it doesn't do anything. Do I even need this utility from Asus or should I just uninstall it and use window's power options?

One more thing, do you recommend updating the firmware on my Force gt? It seems like a comprehensive process.

 

No problem, I'm always glad to help!

As for the hard drive powering down, are you completely sure it's the hard drive you're hearing? Back when I first bought my laptop, I thought my hard drive was unusually loud and I was very concerned about the noises it made when I started iTunes . . . until I realized it was actually my DVD drive I was hearing. It seems that iTunes and other music applications (I've observed the same thing with Windows Media Player) like to randomly spin your DVD drive, even when no disk is present. This generally happens when I start the application, but it will also happen at random times while the application is running, and with the ridiculously loud DVD drives they throw in these laptops, it is very noticeable. If you want to test my theory, you could just put your ear near the laptop and see if you can identify the location of the sound. Alternately you could throw iTunes (or whatever you use) onto the SSD temporarily, take out the other hard drive, and see if the sound still occurs.

What you do with Power4Gear is pretty much your call. I've always used it without a problem. But, if you determine that the source of the sound is definitely the hybrid drive, you might as well try uninstalling it and seeing if the issue persists with default power management.

Lastly, I could not find the drivers for a Corsair Force GT anywhere convenient on their site; however, I found download links on their forums, which seemed rather odd. Then I saw this at the start of the forum post:

Looks to me like the new firmware is really only intended for those who are having problems with their SSD's. So, as long as yours is running fine, I definitely would not bother with a firmware update. Here's a link if you want to look for yourself:

Force Series 3 and Force GT Firmware Update Ver 1.3 - The Corsair Support Forums

 

Alright, well that's good on the firmware upgrade thing, saves me the trouble.

It's the HDD though I'm sure of it, the DVD drive is a lot louder. If I click on a song in wimamp playlist I hear it spinning up, then after a second or so, the song starts. I could try to uninstall power4gear to see if its culprit but is there a way to get it back easily?

Edit: I found this page but not sure which version.

http://drivers.softpedia.com/downloadTag/Asus+Power4Gear+Hybrid

 

Question... is there something special I need to buy/install in order to use the "Nvidia 3DTV Play" feature on my G73SW-XT1?

Sorry to be a newb, but I thought this capability "came with" the computer... though I'm starting to believe it's simple "3DTV Play capable" and I need to buy the $40 3DTV software.

Context: Trying to get Witcher 2 to work from the laptop (with the Nvidia 3D Vision app "Enabled") across HDMI 1.4a to my Samsung PN64D8000. I get standard (1080p) output (which looks amazing), but no 3D.

Thanks for any hints!

Edit 10/3/11: There's a panel in the Nvidia control panel that shows licenses; It clearly shows "System license" for the entry "3DTV Play", so based on that, I don't believe the issue is that I need to buy the $40 3DTV Play license...

 

Here's a link to download off of the official ASUS website (best to stick to the most legit site you can find). It's under the category "utilities".

ASUSTeK Computer Inc. -Support- Drivers and Download G73Sw

It's worth noting that HDD's are generally supposed to spin down when use is light, even on high performance settings. It's probably not actually shutting off, but perhaps idling at a lower speed in order to reduce noise, wear (an HDD is probably one of the least reliable components of a computer), and power consumption.

I won't claim to be an expert on 3D (don't have a screen to run it on), but I'll try to do some research and get back to you if I find anything of use.

 

Much appreciated! (Happy to spend the $40 if that's what it's going to take... just would prefer not to if in fact that's not the issue -- as I'm sure it's not refundable.)

Thx again.

Edit 10/3/11: There's a panel in the Nvidia control panel that shows licenses; It clearly shows "System license" for the entry "3DTV Play", so based on that, I don't believe the issue is that I need to buy the $40 3DTV Play license...

 

Just ordered my XT1! I can't wait! Thanks for the advice everyone.

 

You know, this might be it. When I put my ear to my computer, I do hear something spinning quietly, Its obviously not my SSD, could it be the fan as well?

Then again when I click on a file contained on my Hybrid drive, I shouldn't get a delay, hear it spinning up, then access. Right?

Edit: It now powers down in the middle of a song I'm playing, the song freezes for a second, I hear it spinning up again, then the song resumes. It seems to power down after 1 min. Uninstalling P4G has no effect, the problem remains.

 

Hello all of you! I've returned from my 5-week-long trip to Asia and back, another writing gig that I took against my better judgement back in Jan. 2011, so no mercy there.

I will do some reading tomorrow and find out the current state of affairs here, and will be available for questions/answers later in the week, after I unwind from the trip a little and get my publisher off my back with a finished assignment...that will help a lot.

I hope all has been well with this laptop group, and that I don't discover some huge anomaly that has occcurred for some reason or other, with no hope in sight to solve it...just my cup of tea!

Later,
rexrzer727

 

Just an FYI for everyone, I found an asus utility that supposedly ups the amperage on your USB ports so that they will charge things like an ipad, loaded it on my G73 and it did work, but if I boot or resume the G73 with said ipad connected, it blue screens. I removed the software but just wanted to let everyone know. It doesn't say specifically that it works with asus laptops, but it also doesn't say or warn not to use it on asus laptops either...

Tom

 

Hmm, under dxdiag it shows I have Directx 11, but when I click on "view detailed performance..." under the window experience index page its hows I'm running Directx 10. What gives?

 

@Ras Algethi

Did you try changing the advanced battery savings for that?

Right click the battery icon in tray and select power options. Select whatever plan you use and click change plan settings right next to it.

From there on the bottom it should say change advanced power settings, click that.

There should a section for Hard Disk. Double click that and then the next menu as well.

It should come up saying: Turn off hard disk after:
On battery: (whatever time is in)
While Plugged In: (whatever time is in)

You can change those values so your hard disk doesn't turn off and turn on as frequently. Zero is never turns off. You'd have to do this for each plan you use.


I have mine set to 0, and at times it just, lags so to say to load whatever I'm loading. Let me know how the battery options goes for you.

 

Guys, after months of holding up, I've finally decided to put my hands on the asus g73sw-xt1 from tigerdirect.
ASUS G73SW-XT1 Laptop Computer - Intel Core i7-2630QM 2.0GHz, 8GB DDR3, 500GB HDD, Blu-ray/DVDRW, 17.3 Full HD, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, Black, 2-Year Warranty / 1-Year Accidental Damage at TigerDirect.com

For 1.1k I think its a steal. As the fellow users of this laptop, give me the go sign and im buying it now.

 

I don't know about that utility, but if you use the USB3 port, you shouldn't need the utility as it already supports higher amps. I need to use that for my optical drive for instance - if I try the regular USB2 ports, 9 times out of 10 the computer powers down the moment I connect it.

 

Petey, yes I've done that for all power settings. It has no effect for some reason.

 

Just got my G73SW-XT1. What a sweet monitor! I'm very pleased with the quality and the features. Taking me a bit to get used to the keyboard as my last machine was a 15" with no numeric keypad, but that's a small price to pay. Everything else is just great. No complaints!
One thing is that TigerDirect needs to learn how to package something for shipping. Mine came in the laptop box. Period. Nothing packed around it. Not cool at all.

 

How much did you buy it for and how long did it take to arrive?