ASUS N71JQ Owners Lounge

You cannot upgrade the cpu, because intel keeps changing the motherboard chipset with every processor generation. I think they do this to help sell new computer rather than just cpu upgrades.

Dave

 

Interesting, I have read that some people have been replacing their i7-720QM with an i7-920XM though not on an N71JQ. I have upgraded laptop CPU's before but I hate being the gunea pig...

 

Did a quick search on Intel's site. If I am correct the NJ1JQ uses the HM55 chipset which is compatible with the i7 920xm and the i7 940xm

Mobile Intel® HM55 Express Chipset

 

Wow! that is good news. Yes the N71JQ does use the HM55 chipset. Intel must have gotten lazy on this one.

The chip goes for $350 on ebay, but I am not sure it will work, because the frequencys are all locked in the BIOS.

OK here is the specs:

http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=43122&wapkw=(i7-720QM)

http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=43126&wapkw=(i7-920XM)

It is the bus/core ratio that differes, which means it should work, but one is 45 watt and the other is 55 watt. The cooling system may be inadequate.

 

I just did a scan of the disassembly guide and I have to say this does not look like an easy job. My machine is only about 4 months old, not sure I want to trash the warranty just yet though it is tempting, 1.6 to 2.0 or 2.13 depending on which I pick up.

I've seen a few posts on using setFSB to ramp up the clock a bit on these. I might try that and see how much increase I get for my specific purposes before I put it under the knife.

That's interesting, I would think the board would just adapt to the new CPU.

It would be nice to find out before I plunk down $350 on one of these, which I almost did this morning....

 

Yah, I still have a year left on my warrenty and I am pretty satisified with the current performance.

I was wrong; checking the specs, it is a match.

 

I thought it should be compatible as Intel had it listed.

I am really wanting to do this switch but I wish I didn't have to go so deep into the computer to do it. I figure the warranty will run out at it's end anyways though and I have run this thing hard enough at this point to prompt failure if it was likely to happen.

I was hoping maybe someone had went through it or had some experience/perspective/tips/advice to offer. Or even a shortcut to the CPU...

 

I have worked on plenty of laptops and taken a couple completely apart and back together. You have to be careful and keep track of which screws came from where. The parts are obvious. I find that most disassembly guides are quite accurate. Use a digital camera to document where things were.

Don't try to take shortcuts or do things in a rush. With laptops that will get you into trouble for shure. It is a challange, but it is also a lot of fun.

 

Well, I am committed now. CPU enroute shortly.

After reviewing the N71JQ disassembly guide I realized that there are several steps I won't need to take in order to get to the CPU so it will be a bit easier than I thought. For those few who may still be following this thread I'll update as I progress on it.

 

yes please tell us because you just got me interested in possibly switching the cpu in mine. it would become a total monster

 

One i7 940xm CPU is in the house.

Need to pick up some decent thermal paste and will likely do the change this weekend if I get some time.

 

Got the 940XM in last night. Tried to boot but wouldn't even get to the Bios screen. Did a quick teardown to retrace my steps, check connectors, double check CPU, reassembled but still a no go. Did a third teardown and replaced 940xm with the original 720qm and bingo, boots right up and all normal.

Not sure what's happening, maybe a bad CPU or is there an something else? Intel indicates the i7 940xm as being compatible with the chipset. I have also seen retailers offering the 940xm as an upgrade option on the N71JQ.

Anybody have any thoughts here? I could really use some more experienced help.

On the flip side at least I upgraded the thermal paste to AS5. You wouldn't believe the glob from the factory, looked like a chimpanzee did it.

 

I have bought a lot of intel processors and non of them have been bad, so I doubt that, but anything is possable.

Go back through this thread and look at Turbo's posts about kin lay at exoticPC or whoever it was he delt with. Contact them because they offer upgraded thermal past which means they know how to mount the cpu. They are an autherized ASUS repair center as well.

See if you can find a pinout for both chips, that might tell you something as well.

Last but no least don't give up too easy. Dig for more info that is what you need.

 

Gave it one more shot this afternoon, no go. Either it's a bad chip or there are some other conflicts with the N71JQ-X1 that I am unaware of. Most of the retailer updrades I've seen have been the N71JQ-A1 so perhaps there were some hardware revisons creating issues, barring a bad CPU chip. Unfortunately I have no way to test it so back it will have to go. I have followed with some of the retailer upgrade folks but haven't heard anything back. If there are any still popping in on this thread please feel free to share.

Good news is I am up and running with zero issues on the original i7 720qm with a thermal paste upgrade so I am a bit cooler. I can also now disassemble this thing in about 15 minutes without the guide...

 

the 940xm runs at 2.13 minimum, I wonder if that would prevent booting or if it would just cripple the CPU speed, I am on 2.08.

 

Hi, N71 owners. Question from a G51 user.

1. How decent is the battery life? Can it at least last 3-hours, provided you're not doing anything hardcore like playing games or watching movies?

2. How loud is the fan on max setting? On average, how quiet is the fan?

3. How good are the speakers?

4. Anything you wish the laptop had that it currently doesn't have?

Also, I've been browsing around and there seems to be a N73 floating around. Is that the successor to the N71? If it is, I'm not digging the non-chiclet keyboard style.

 

The processor speed does not matter, it is the bus frequiency that matters and it is the same. The bus speed is multiplied by the processor to a higher rate, a factor of 16 in stead of a factor of 12. The issue could be the difference in power 55W as opposed to 45W. This makes for a higher requirent in current or AMPs. It should boot in spite of this, unless they have added an additional power pin. That is why I suggested looking at the pinout for each.

Yes; when mine was new I could get close to that, but I have not tested it sense.

The fan is very good with the current BIOS, unless you are gaming hard. Then it can get kinda loud.

Lousy if you ask me, but I take audio seriously, not just gaming.

IPS LCD rather then TN

Yes; it has a better processor and graphics card. You can get the specs from ASUS's website. I would rather have the newer model, but it isn't enough to make sell my N71JQ and buy the new one.

Overall I am very pleased with this laptop.

 

I did a quick scan of the Intel Data sheet and it lists only one pinout diagram for the 700, 800 and 900 series mobile i7 CPUs. Doesn't look like there's any difference, they are the same basic platform. Puzzling for sure. I have a couple of emails out to some of the retailers to see if there was anything unique in their CPU upgrade offers for these units.

 

OK, that makes sense. This is really interesting, because it should work. Even the difference in electrical power should not matter, because it is the same socket.

Keep us posted.

 

Sent the 940xm back to see if it was possible a bad CPU and the seller tested it fine. I only heard back from one dealer, AVA Direct, who had suggested it may be a bad chip. Not sure what to do next. The only thing I didn't do was pull the CMOS battery.

 

I really doubt that will make a difference, but no harm in trying. Did you socket the chip correctly, with the triangle at the proper corner? I am thinking that you did, because you got the old cpu back in correctly.

Try fishing the N61JQ thread. It is the same cpu and chip set.

 

I did get it in correctly with the triangle at the right place. A replacement is enroute at the suggestion of the seller, I'll give it one more shot.

I'll nose around the N61JQ thread also.

 

i7 940XM in and up and running.

I installed the replacement CPU and got the black screen again. I pulled one of the RAM sticks and voila, booted right up, not sure why that was. Machine went through a short driver install, shut it down, installed the 2nd 4GB RAM back in and no problems.

It's running around 52c to 55c or so, just a bit cooler than the 720QM. Ran the Windows Experience Index and the CPU jumped from 6.4 to 7.3. RAM also notched up a tick from 7.4 to 7.5.

So far so good, I'll run some heavier session files on it tomorow and see what happens.

 

oo0o0o nice. lol funny how you had to take out teh ram. i also upgraded to 8gb ram a while ago btw how much is the i7 940XM? and is it worth it to get the newest gen. i7 processor?

 

Nice work! Man now I am wanting one real bad. I am pleasently surprised that the temps arn't higher. What kind of RAM are you using? What seller did you buy your proc from?

To the post above; you can buy them for arround $300 on eBay.

 

Thanks.

Laptopmonkey was the seller. He was great to work with and I would highly recommend him. I've seen the 940xm at around 400.00 or so.

I was surprised at the temps also, but I haven't had time to push it. I've got some audio sessions I use for benchmarking and once I get a little more free time I'll see where it lands. I did pull up Throttlestop real quick just to have a look and one nice thing about the 940xm is pretty much everything is unlocked and accessible, multipliers etc, unlike the 720qm. I don't plan on OC'ing all the time but one of the reasons I wanted the 940 was to have the extra CPU speed and the ability to ramp it up for heavier sessions, mixing etc.

I've got Kingston KVR I picked up from Newegg,

Newegg.com - Kingston 4GB 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1333 Laptop Memory Model KVR1333D3S9/4G

I don't understand why I had to pull the extra RAM though to get it to boot 1st time. One of the dealers I had emailed while not being specific indicated they had some complications with CPU and RAM seating sequence to get the upgrades to boot. I started pulling the RAM to see if I could figure it out and got it the first try.

 

It may have something to do with the fact that the N71JQ orignally shipped with 4gigs. The BIOS has to reconfigure itself when the cpu has changed, so maybe it defaults back to 4gigs. Although the orignal config was 2 sticks not one.

Did it give you the press 1 to goto BIOS prompt after you changed the cpu?

Also you might want to post back to yourself over in the N61JQ thread, just to let them know this worked. The same upgrade could be done to their laptops too.

 

Didn't get the BIOS prompt, just went straight to the Windows start screen.

I posted a note over at the N61JQ lounge, hopefully it will be useful info.

 

Alas, my battery is now having issues. They never last. Anyone know of a good/cheap battery seller who would ship to Canada?

 

Hi Guys

this is my first post so bear with me

just joined

already saw the latest post and link to new egg on the memory
so i guess thats the latest best deal on maxing that out
thanks

looking to peg out the hard drives next

i have the A1
I live in china most of the time now
and will for the next 10 to 20 years or more

the best i have found on HD is 3T

seagate has a 3T for about $149
http://www.newegg.com/

but i always prefer WD for my drives as i have never had bad luck with them


western digital via the new external hard drive kits
Walmart.com: Western Digital 3TB My Book Essential USB 3.0 External Hard Drive: Computers
Western Digital 3TB My Book Essential USB 3.0 External Hard Drive
$149
i am thinking to take the 3T out and put in laptop
then use the old 320 that came with it and put in the External Kit so i get double bang for the buck and still reuse the 2 320's that came with it.

any opinions or feedback is welcome

since day one i had a few issues

i bought mine in Feb of last year just before returning to China
when i got there i started using it and loved it

but have had video freeze issues from the start
programs/games/moive that are graphic intense would lock it up
only way out was hold the off button until it shut off

i have restored from original image a few times
updated my BIOS to 208
also all the drivers i could find on Asus's website

now it still freezes a few times a month
but if i wait
it will unfreeze after a minute or 2

very frustrating there
so any input on that is also welcome

the sound quality is pretty good
however i dont have the deep bass i read about in the review
or that i would expect from this laptop

new drivers cleared up the sound but i still dont get bass i would expects
even when playing CD's or MP3's that i myself RIP'ed

again thanks for any positive feedback

 

i am thinking about bying an n71j , though have some questions.

1. i read that the display contrast is not really good, black is almost grey, true?
2. does the jv version have another lcd? it was tested brighter than the jq one.
3. is there a dissasembly guide for replacing the lcd?
4. can i set an hdd password in bios?
5. are there somewhere pictures of the bios options?

thanks a lot.

 

No; I think that the display in the N71JQ is about as good as you are going to get from a TN based panel. The only problems are gamma shift and viewing angles which affect all TN panels.

No the specs are the same so it is the same display. They can very from one panel to the next and/or the testing is probubly bogus.

Yes, but don't wast your time. You would not see any difference.

No; no Windows PC can do this. You can encript files, folders and or entire user accounts through Windows, but it is a bad idea, because you could have trouble retrieving data when something breaks. The best thing to do is to secure the laptop it's self.

Check the user guide: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. - Notebooks- ASUS N71Jq

It's a great laptop for the price

 

I've been having really bad heating issues...

70c-80c while browsing the Internet, and 80-99 while gaming...


I'm not really that good with hardware, but how do I clean out the CPU fan? I have the official asus dissasembly pdf thing, but according to it I have to take apart the whole laptop to get to the cpu fan?

What's the minimal amount of stuff I have to take apart to get to the fan so I can clean it?

 

Some one on here reported that using a vacume to suck the dirt out of the exhaust port helped alot without dissassembling the laptop. If that does not get it, then find someone that is good with hardware to help you.

 

Well, I'm not exactly clueless, but I don't want to risk taking apart the whole laptop just to clean the cpu fan.

Is there a more simpler way to expose the fan? When I took apart my dead laptop from 5 years ago, I just had to remove the keyboard and a few other things to expose the fan.

 

Go back through this thread several pages. Somebody said that once they got the keyboard out, they were able to skip several steps in the service manul. They did not say exactly what thoe. If you have taken a laptop apart before you should be OK. I have not taken this laptop apart yet, so I cannot give you specifics.

 

I just realised, the guide I'm looking at for disassembly is for the is for the N71VN, and the link for the N71JQ guide is dead, does anyone have a working link to it?

Also wouldn't using a vacuum create static electricity, which would be bad for your computer?

 

From Turbo's keyboard mod: Hotfile.com: One click file hosting: Disassemble N71VN Series Chapter 02-v1 0.pdf

keyboard mod is here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/507561-n71jq-backlight-keyboard-implementation.html

 

What's a "flexible connector tool"?

Can I just use my fingers? When I take out, do I only take out the strip or the end and everything?

 

Pry the ends up with a small flat screwdriver. Don't use much pressure, because these things are plastic and they can brake. Go look at Turbo's keyboard mod thread. I think he covers this better than I can, and there is some pics.

Nevermind; I just checked and he does not address this.

 

I finally grew a pair and took apart the laptop.

For the cable connectors all you have to do is pull these two black switches on each side and you can easily slide the plastic bit out.

I had to take off the motherboard, take out the fan to clean the heatsink, and the temps have dropped.

From idling at 70-80 to idling at 55-65.

Shame how a thin layer of dust can bring a laptop to it's knees.

 

Good Job; glad it worked out for you.

 

I just recently discovered the ASUS N71JQ. I was looking for the N71JQ-A1 like the one photographed by Tarlyn on page 1 but I can't find it anywhere. The closest I can find is the N71JQ-X2 (without the BluRay). Any idea where I can find the A1?

 

Hey, I've had my laptop for about a year and it has a idle temp of 88C and a max at 100C during a onlinegame on two of the four processors. So my question is, should i send it in and see what asus can do about it or is there some measures that i can do. I also noticed that my physical memory is at about 50%-60% when i start my computer. i use windows 7 which came with the computer, followed by a bunch of asus programs i never use. The only programs ive added are some games, spotify and skype basicly.

If these facts arent sufficient, give me a msg and ill add them asap.
For those who looking for info about the computer, mine works perfectly exept my heatproblem and the fan is kinda high=/, apart from that its a good computer in my opinion.

cheers

 

I purchased the N71JQ-X2. I love this monster; Perfect in every way except battery consumption.
It has two power power saving options: 'Power4Gear Battery Saving' and 'Power Saver (Saves energy by reducing your computer's performance where possible'). Which one of these two options is the best battery saver? Thank you.

 

Hey guys, this is my first post so allow me to introduce myself, my names Craig and I am from Sydney, AU. I have been reading this thread for a while now and its a great feeling to see a friendly technical thread with all these pages, it beats any manufacturers documentation. I have owned my N71JQ for almost a year and a half now. Anyways here goes.

SCENARIO: I was running BIOS 206 and now I'm running 205 and I left the default setting in BIOS to turbo 3%. Is it safe to boost it up with the default hardware or is it recommended to upgrade the cooling system. I am new to overclocking and I am pretty concerned about boosting up the CPU as when I'm using the computer for word processing (Quiet Office 20% Maximum Processor State) its reaching 61 degrees Celsius and then the fan kicks in and drops to 57 degrees Celsius. And that's with a little stand I just made to increase airflow underneath. When I was running BIOS 206 my CPU fan stayed at 2200RPM on idle now its fluctuating between 0RPM up to 3250RPM. I haven't noticed much difference between the temperatures for 206 with normal airflow and 205 with increased airflow. So here are my questions.

Is it better to have the fan running at 2200RPM on idle rather than the fan fluctuating?

Can any one recommend an effective cooling pad for the N71JQ?

I noticed BIOS 208 is out, and I noticed 206 did not have the overclock feature, is the overclock feature in 207 or 208?

Is there a recommended temperature threshold for overclocking the i7720QM?

Thankyou for your time. . . PEACE!

 

With the cooling pads I'm trying to decide between the Zalman ZM-NC2000 Notebook cooler and the Targus Lap Chill Mat AWE55US. I'm leaning towards the Targus however I would prefer aluminum and the Zalman seems optimized for laptops that are used more as desktops and gaming rather than ergonomic. It seems the Targus provides greater airflow specifically for the N71 as there are alot of vents on the rear half and the Zalman provides less ventilation. Decisions Decisions! Anyone tried any of these coolers?

 

Somebody I do not remember who, makes a cooling stand that has fans that can be adjusted to the position you need. I personally use a passive cooling stand with a heat pipe to a heat sink on the back. CompUSA brand and it is not as effective or loud as a active coller.

 

I use this NotePal U3 - Cooler Master for the N71JQ. It works pretty nice.

 

Nice cooling pad, what sort of temps you getting?

I ended up getting a Zalman ZM-NC3000 which rocked up today.

Gotta say I'm pretty happy with it as it has the option to run on 5V which saved me a USB port on the N71 as it uses a Y shaped usb cable for powering USB devices. I put it on Hibernate for 30 mins and when I woke it up my CPU temp was 35 degrees Celsius. And running Turbo 3% on Easy Overclock didn't go over 60 degrees Celsius. So I boosted it up to 5%, put it under some load and it didn't go over 75 degrees Celsius. Still early days though.

I have a question about OC the GPU, I read "budgey's" MSi Afterburner guide here earlier. You said you got 775mhz for core clock and 995mhz for memory clock, I can't seem to max my core clock over 650mhz and my memory clock to 800mhz. Do I need to increase the voltage? What settings do I need to change?



I have noticed Power4Gear is much more effective whilst running 5% easy overclock. For example, I have "Quiet Office" set to 20% max processor state and my core speed drops to 933 MHZ.

Also I read the data sheet for the i7 720QM it says max temp is rated at 100 degrees Celsius. Can some one confirm its safe if the CPU temp is reaching 75 degrees Celsius. Because alot of people say 75 is dangerous.

Thanks