ASUS G73SW Owners' Lounge

HWInfo64 (or HWInfo32) will do it, as well as tell you info on practically everything you can imagine.

 

Some people think the battery wears down from being in the laptop because they think it gets topped off or trickle or slow charged just being in the laptop. That isn't the case. The laptop doesn't start charging the battery until the battery is down below 95% charge. So, it's not continually topping off the battery every time it's plugged in. It will only do that if/when it falls below 95%. Also, storing the battery is fine but you shouldn't run it down completely. The optimum charge level for storing a lithium ion battery is around 40% charge and then store it in a cool dry place as noted.

 

Sorry guys,

Happens I have G73JW model, not SW one;

Will post on the right forum;

 

@Slownumb
there isn't a great amount of difference between the two models, most the guys here will be able to help you will all the questions you have to ask so dont worry, fire away.

I've come across a problem with my ethernet adaptor, ive recently upgraded to 50mb on virgin media cable, and with all my other computers and laptops i am able to get around 45mb download and 4.5mb upload on tests from speedtest.net london server. however with the g73sw on the test it gets to about 7.5mb download and 4.5mb upload... i had a fiddle with the network adaptor settings and found out that by turning auto negotiate off and setting it to 100mbps half duplex i am able to get the full 45mb download speed. However running at only 100mbps is an issue for me as when i want to transfer large files across my network this means i get slow speeds on the LAN. all my other computers are connected on a gigabit adaptors and are able to achieve the full 45mb download speed on 1000mbps full duplex settings. when the g73sw is on 1000mbps full duplex my file transfer speeds are great, usually above 40MB/s when transferring between machines but this is only achievable with the 1000mbps full duplex setting. does anyone know whats going wrong here and why my internet speeds are slow on 1000mbps full duplex but my network file transfer speed is fine? if im able to get 40MB/s (320mbps) when sending files across from laptop to computer then in theory i should be able to achieve maximum speeds on the internet connection also.

 

Hello All! Very glad I found this forum. Great info and input. I purchased a
Asus G73SW-XT1 : i7 2630QM, 8GB DDR3 1333MHz, Nvidia GTX460M 1.5GB a couple of weeks ago. I am not a computer guru so these questions may be mundane sorry. The computer seems to be working fine. I actually bought the computer to perform run Autocad at home which I have not loaded yet.

1) Is there any recommended settings I need to change or system devices I need to check or update out of box?
2) Will 3D movies play on this machine.
3) Looking for a way to test the web cam.


I actually tried searching the forum for answers before asking with no luck.
Thanks

 

Hey all,

Using the AMIBCP utility I managed to unhide the hyperthreading option in the BIOS setup. Windows 7 seems to ignore the setting though: if I disable hyperthreading in the BIOS setup I can still see 8 logical cores in Windows 7. To make it more puzzling, the coreinfo utility shows HTT as being disabled; it is as if the BIOS setting does what it's supposed to do, and Windows 7 is ignoring the setting.

Any thoughts/ideas?

 

Does anybody by chance know of any good deals for the G73SW for Black Friday?

 

1. None that I know of. But check nVidia's site to make sure you have the latest GPU drivers.
2. Not on the laptops screen, you need the 3D model for that. But it will play 3D through HDMI on a 3D TV
3. Cyberlink Youcam is what I use.

Probably not got the G73SW, its last generation. But you will probably be able to find the G74 on sale.

 

Hey, everyone. This seems like a great board and I'm sorry for this being my first post, but I come to you with a heartbreaking problem ...

I bought the G73SW-XN2 in June and loved it. The power jack started failing in September (loose rod), and since then, I've been meticulously resoldering it to temporary success. More recently, the monitor wouldn't start after pressing power, and during my latest solder job, a spark blew near the power button and the board will not power on anymore. Having the laptop every day was central to my life, but I don't expect any sympathy for trying to repair such a simple issue.

Now I beg you to provide me with ideas. Are the video card/cpu probably safe from the shock? I don't even know where to buy another motherboard ... This one is available for my model, but I don't know if the part # matches.

Thank you for anything.

 

Hi Teeky, what did Asus say when the power jack broke? were you not able to get it RMA'd? i don't think anyone will know if the processor and video card are still safe, my guess is that they should be fine, but you probably wont actually know until you replace the Motherboard. But because the motherboard being $350+ and you don't know if there is further damage to any other components for example the screen it may be best to take it to a repair shop and let them inspect the laptop and get you a quote. I'm sure one of the more experienced laptop gurus here will be able to help you however with this problem

 

In regard to this post, I was wondering if I could do an upgrade to my system (slight, but still worth it, IMO).

So, since I have the Best Buy model (BST6) I am running on the lesser 128-bit card and would like to get the 192-bit card. Fro my understanding, this is what I have:
Asus G73S Laptop Video Card GTX 460M 1GB 60-N3IVG1100-A01 | eBay

and this is what I want to get:
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M 1.5GB GDDR5 VRAM - Asus | eBay

It should work, right? They are both from SWs and have seemingly the same form factor.

The main goal of getting this card is to get performance similar or better than the 560M, as I do struggle in some titles with the 128-bit card.

 

^ I dont see why that wouldnt work. As you said its the same laptop and everything. They just use a 128-bit instead of 192-bit. Although since it has more/less memory, the heatsink may be different. But I have no evidence.

 

While I can't say I know what's going on, on why W7 is being finicky about recognizing the HTT is disabled. What sort of process did you go through to unlock it in the first place?

I've tried googling for the program, but couldnt come up with a good download link. Seems kind of interesting though. Have you stressed tested with Prime95 to see if that recognizes HTT being disabled/to see how much if any the temps dropped?

 

Google for Amibcp 4.50. You can unlock all the hidden options in BIOS, and there are tons of them. Once you load the BIOS image in Amibcp, set the column "Access/Use" to USER for the menus that you want to show up in BIOS setup. For instance, if you want to unlock "CPU Configuration", set it to USER at the top, and also in its parent menu ("Advanced"). Once you unlock CPU Configuration, all the options under it are available in BIOS setup.

I haven't used Prime95 because I didn't manage to effectively disable hyperhtreading in Windows 7 (only in BIOS apparently). But I do expect temperatures to drop once I disable HT.

 

interesting.

I downloaded it, cant really figure out how to get it working though Any help would be appreciated.

 

You open a BIOS image file, make changes, save the image and then flash your BIOS with the new image. Note: making changes to the BIOS this way may void the warranty. Flashing a BIOS may also void the warranty.

 

Ahah, thanks a bunch, I also see an option to disable PROCHOT, which seems to be enabled by default and AFAIK, from what unclewebb explained should be the reason why we have throttling. So I'm going to test to see if I can fix the throttling.

I will test for hyperthreading too, though, I'm sure I'll end up the same as you. Wish I would have know about this tool much sooner, its pretty handy. So again thanks thanks(even if it doesnt stop the throttling, still fun to mess with).

 

Cool, let me know if you need more help, and also if the PROCHOT works. Also, if you could test HT that would be great. As a general note, do not change (enable/disable) any of the options with AMIBCP. I think it's safer that way, just unhide menus and submenus, and then change the options after rebooting and entering the BIOS setup.

 

Ah, oops, I changed the enable/disable option so that it would just be off all the time. I forgot to change for submenus to work though. However, with that said, I flashed it already, and while I couldnt test the hyperthreading, I tested the PROCHOT and sure enough, no more throttling. I will still do more testing, and of course, enable the sub-menus so that I can test hyperthreading. But you sir, have just led to an Unofficial bios update for us G73/53SW owners, and for any G74SX/53SX owners as well.

 

If you Google coreinfo you will find a utility that shows you all the info about CPUs, including the mapping of logical to physical CPUs. That's one way to check if the HT setting worked.

 

Ah, weird, I disabled HTT in the bios, but in Coreinfo it still says it's enabled. I guess it may not be possible, what else did you do besides just that one option? Maybe I've got something wrong.

Good news though, I've now doubled checked, disabling PROCHOT(even from within the menus) definitely stops the throttling. So there is going to be quite some happy G series owners soon. I think I should still go ahead and test over night for stability.

I used the AES edited BIOS, so I will be putting the bios up for everyone once I know it's stable. Of course, HUGE thanks to you, this never would have been possible otherwise.

 

1.) Could anyone please help me by telling me if it's probable that my video card and processor are healthy enough after a shock near the power button to be placed on a new motherboard?

2.) Secondly, how do I find my motherboard model for the G73SW-XN2? Nowhere can I find a number that resembles "Mfg. Part#: 60-N3IMB1100-B01".

THANK YOU, and thanks ravivarsani.

 

Sorry to hear about your problem with the power jack and the subsequent problem with the short. I don't think anyone is going to be able to tell whether your video card or processor were damaged when it shorted out. There's really no way to know. I doubt ASUS could tell you for sure.

I'm curious as to why you didn't just send it in for repair when you had the initial problem with the power jack. Several of us have had the jack fail and as long as your under warranty they should repair it at no charge. You might want to try and send it in under warranty anyway in its given state just to see if they'll repair it. You could just indicate that it won't power on and get an RMA # and send it in. The worst they can do is decline to repair it due to what you've already done. However, they might just pull the motherboard and replace it and not notice what you've done. Even if one of the other components was fried they might just replace that as well. What do you have to lose? If you're trying to preserve your warranty status for some other failure in the future I would assume replacing the motherboard yourself is going to void that anyway.

 

i agree with Soulrider, just send it in and see what they say, the worst thing they can do is send it back in the same state right?

 

As I really wanted it around all the time, the worst would be waiting weeks just to hear I was out of luck, so I debated taking a chance with a new motherboard. My fear was similar for such a seemingly simple socket issue. Yes, I'm incorrigibly impatient at this time, but I really appreciate all of your responses. Because of the moderate potential for hardware damage, and high potential for Asus waving off replacement of components in this state, I bought (might not say capitalized on) the G74SX-XN1 for $1100 tonight. If Asus allows reparation/replacement for little to no charge, I'll just sell the new one brand-new. Alas, this is either genius, or I'm going to need a lot to drink pretty soon. If it falls through I can take some solace from a dedicated 3GB GDDR5 card.

One question. Would keeping my mouth shut with Asus until the product reaches their warehouse be wiser? When is the most appropriate time to call, inquire ... or detail what I've done? I do believe a motherboard with multiple inherent issues merits a replacement, but I'm (obviously) not as smart as you two. Sorry for temp hijacking this thread you fine people.

 

honestly i think just plead ignorance with them, just tell them "its not starting up" or something along the lines of that, pretend you have no knowledge of the issue and that your not technically minded,dont tell them about the spark or any of that

 

I have owned my Asus G73SW for about 7 months now. For the past month or so, the idle temps on the gpu have risen to an average of 70 degrees Celcius. Going by previous posts on this thread as well as other sites, this is probably not normal. Even as a write this, the gpu temp according to a GPU meter gadget and/or Nvidia system monitor is about 70 deg C. The laptop is sitting above a dual fan cooling pad. I have left the laptop alone all day in an idle state hoping that the temp would drop but it has not. GPU drivers are up to date. All video settings are set to default on the nvidia control panel (minus muliple display performance which I have set to single display). CPU idle temps hang around 45 deg C. GPU clock speeds have not been tampered with. Power4gear hybrid gadget is installed. Temps do not go down even if I put computer in battery saving mode with AC adapter disconnected. Ambient temp is below room temperature. Any ideas as to what it might be?

 

that is quite high, my idle GPU temp is between 45-47 degrees C. is the fan operating properly?, can you feel heat coming out the back right hand side vent? when idle, with my hand i cannot feel heat from the back, when under stress for example during an extended gaming session i can feel heat from the back. do you move the laptop around a lot? perhaps the heatsink on the gpu doesnt have good contact?
also, if thats your idle temp, what kind of temps do you get when stress testing or during gaming?

 

Spartan, this could be driver-related. Update all that you can. I don't think it's a heatsink contact issue unless you've had these moderately (not extremely) high temperatures since receiving it. Laptop cooling pads are rarely effective in my understanding/experience except perhaps the pretty expensive ones. Immediately I'm thinking your machine has quite a dust buildup, and while I might not be the best role-model, a thorough air-dusting job (preferably from the inside) should do it well. I can provide good videos if someone can guarantee this won't void any warrantee. My last suggestion is vacuuming the back vents with the system off, but this also pends approval from more experienced posters. No small vulnerable pieces exist back there.

I wish to, but how in blazes would that even work? Wrong screws in place, yellow tape missing, warranty sticker missing, soldering marks, etc. Ahhh.

 

Few weeks ago i had exactly the same problem. Drivers were up to date,one of those two beta releases .After not being happy with game performances and readings on this forum i did some "tweaks" in Nvidia control panel. It was a couple of things: Phsyx to CPU,Vsync off,Power management mode to Performance and multy display to single! Idle GPU temps went up from 45-6 to almost 70.
Not sure if any of these settings caused overheating but since i updated to my last drivers i left everything on default and temps are back to normal. Computer is 6 months old and gpu clocks 775/1550.

 

Was playing Skyrim and my G73 randomly shutdown and restarted itself, no idea why. And now my load times in Skyrim are doubled, saving and quitting cause it to become unresponsive. Not sure if these are related or a weird coincidence, no idea how Skyrim could cause the laptop to shutdown though. Any ideas? I know it's not temperatures, it's running as cool as ever.

Edit: Skyrim is back to normal now, but I still want to figure out what caused the random shutdown.

 

@hyrule4927
i had this exact same issue! my laptop completely turned itself off after about 2 hours of skyrim gameplay, my load times and saving/quitting however seem to be fine from what i know. Have you done any overclocking to your GTX460m? if so then whats your Core, Shader and Memory clock speeds?

 

Hmm, google returned a few results for this issue in Skyrim with multiple users reporting safe temperatures, which alludes to a software problem (someone said an upcoming patch might fix this). I'm sure the laptops are both fine and suitable for this game. Legit installation, no torrents etc?

 

I've been running at stock clocks. And Skyrim is running normal again, so weird how it managed to shut down our laptops though.

Yeah, bought the disc and used my access code to download off Steam. Only other issue has been random crashes that are a well documented issue with the game.

 

Hey guys,
I'm considering buying a G73SW-XT1, but the product I'm interested in doesn't have the "New Revision" sticker on it. That means that it is highly probable that the notebook has the Cougar Point SATA port bug.
If I had any other option, I would definitely scratch the G73SW-XT1 I saw off the list, because I wouldn't be able to send the laptop to Asus for replacements. But, since I don't have any other option, I wanna know: What exactly are the dangers of this bug? I mean, are there ways to avoid the progressive malfunction of the 3GBps ports? And what happens if they do fail, the notebook just becomes invalid?

 

What kind of results do you guys get for Skyrim on the 192-bit 460m? I am determining whether this upgrade is worth it. I would ideally want it and OC it to pretty much 560m speeds and then get another 750 GB 7200rpm hard drive and be set for a while.

 

I'm running at stock clocks, graphics are on high presets at 1080p with ultra LOD and all view distances set to max and shadows set to medium. I get 30 to 40 FPS at all times outdoors, generally runs about that well indoors, although it will occasionally chug down to 15 to 20 in certain interiors (this is apparently due to a bug in light and shadow rendering, but there's no telling if a patch will ever fix it). I could be wrong, but I'd guess the upgrade isn't really worth the expense, at that point you'd be better off selling the G73 and upgrading to something with a 580M or 6990M.

Lower screen resolution should help your performance somewhat though, so you might already be able to run the same settings as I am.

 

There is apparently a Skyrim patch within this week coming, and I can run all high, view distance maxed, no AA, FXAA enabled, 8xAF @ 1600x900. I do get those random drops very consistently, so I guess that is what the issue is. And I see where you are coming from with the upgrade not being necessarily worth it, even though I got this recently, I will wait until next gen Nvidia cards.

 

Yeah, hoping the patch fixes this. And if that doesn't do it, mods will take care of it eventually. Personally I was thinking about selling the G73 and upgrading this year, but I've decided to wait until 2013 to either buy a new laptop or build a desktop since that's when both Nvidia and Intel have their next major revisions (Ivy Bridge is just a die-shrink) coming out. Plus the majority of demanding Skyrim mods will be out by then.

 

These are my disassembly results, can anyone tell me if this looks good?



And, here is some crappy Asus thermal pads that seemed to have melted.

 

Farenheit, how are your Core CPU temps so low?

 

Probably a repaste on his CPU.

To Farenheit, just a gentle reminder that you should resize your images for the sake of readability, if it barely fits on a 1080p screen it is too large for certain (think of the poor souls stuck without a 1080p or 1200p lcd). You can find the procedure here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/486972-how-properly-insert-huge-image-into-post.html.

 

Repasting will definitely void my guarantee right...? my idle temp on the cpu is an average of 44 degrees C. Is that higher than usual?

 

At 44C, you don't need to worry at all. Your load temps should be somewhere in the low 70s with that kind of idle temps and that is way below what Intel considers to be dangerous for the CPU (100C).

 

Hi,


The power connector on my G73SW is broken. When I look into the plug I can see that the connection elements on the outer ring of the connector are loose. It went gradually over the course of 2 days and now I can’t get a connection anymore at all. My plan is to fix it myself, but I would like to get some advice before I start. So,

1. Do I really have to take the entire laptop apart in order to get to the power connector? There are disassembly videos on youtube, but I am not quite sure how far I have to go before I can replace on the connector.

2. What exactly do I have to do once I get to the connector on the motherboard ? How is it connected? Does it come out easily?

3.Where do I get a replacement connector? Are there different types that I can use? The original seems pretty fragile to me. If I am going to open up the laptop, might as well put in one that lasts.


I would appreciate any insights on this.

J

 

Sorry, about the images, I should have resized them with TinyPic.

EDIT: I resized the pics, and yes, I repasted the CPU and GPU, I also did another modification.

 

So, what was this mysterious "other modification"?

Anyway, I've been meaning to do a CPU repaste myself after seeing how well my GPU repaste went. The CPU idles just fine around 40C, is usually 70 to 80C while gaming, but has shot up to 95 in 3D Mark and reached 100 when I enable ray tracing in AutoCAD or run Prime95 for even a few seconds. As of now I'm just waiting until I run out of warranty or buy a 2760QM since removing the CPU heatsink invalidates my warranty.

 

I used some electrical tape to connect the fans to the heatsinks, so there is no air that is missing the heatsink. The glue tape stuff on there before was coming off and this seemed to be a better solution. Also, I tidied some of the cables as to make it easier when I disassemble it again (which I am sure I will).

I used to do re-pasting/cleaning services for laptops, so all this fussing is pretty familiar xD.

 

Hi guys,
2 weeks after buying my G73sw I started having problem with irregular switching between power supply and the battery. I have it constantly connected to the power supply but about 3x per hour a big icon informing me that the laptop has been disconnected from the PS is showing on the screen. But after 1 or 2 seconds it changes to PS again.

At first I thought it would be the faulty connector as some of you described here but when I tried to simulate the problem (various pulling, pushing and turning with the jack) I didn't succeed.

I'm more incline to think that it could be a software problem. Do you have any suggestion? Thanks.

 

I had the same problem and it's annoying as crap! Same issue--2 months after purchase, the flickering was nonstop although I keep PS 100% of the time. Wiggling, at first, did nothing to replicate the issue. Within about 3 days, the problem elevated so that I was able to replicate it by wiggling....eventually wiggling didn't work at all. I RMA'd mine and they switched out the motherboard. The connection jack is kinda funny now--almost like it's not settled right, the power plug doesn't go fully in. I'm just being extra gentle.

It might be just be a matter of time until your connection jack gets totally dislodged, but hopefully it's just software. Good luck!