* Asus N61JQ Owners Lounge *

Hello everybody, just catching up on my reading here. Great posting, so much genuine information, very helpful. Thought I would add my results so far (4th month of ownership)
Peeling: Yes mine is peeling on the front lip. However like the others I curtailed my moving habits, ie taking it in and out of bags constantly and it has stopped. Its only on the very edge, it hasn't spread to the top thankfully.
BSODs: Only in the first month, one or two, both attributed to games of various nature I will get lockups once in a while but again only when playing games e.g. Settlers 7, Crysis, NFS Shift. Lockups are rare and could be from a mild overclock (750 core/800 mem)
Heat: Some thermal dorks worry about the heat this produces, however my temps have actually dropped since first tests 4 months ago, even with the overclock. Orginally GPU would peek at 89, I am now seeing 81 (stock thermal paste) The nice thing about the N61JQ is its cool where it needs to be: the bottom and the hand rests. The heat is coming out where it should: the case fan!
Bloatware: I don't see the software that comes installed as bloatware as others do. Maybe the Cyberlink suite. This is nothing compared to my old HP which came with every crap trial you can imagine. Trial games, trial internet, free internet.....ad nauseum. Most of the software pre-installed are useful and not to be deleted unless you want instability.
USB 3.0: I have just ordered a new external HDD and will post my results here.
Keyboard: Excellent chicklet style. I understand what people mean by flex, however this exhibits little if any. Backlight? I wished I had it only once, solved by flicking on a light.
Overclocking: Ok first off, since I am not over-volting, there is no way to do any real damage to the gpu, and while monitoring temps I can see why overclocking really doesn't do much on the N61: the temps go up from 81 to 82 or 83. Why? Without extra voltage it seems framerates stay about the same. My old HP jumped from 3fps to 10 in Crysis (yeah still not playable) while this one always hovers around 22 (All Very High) regardless if its stock or 850 core/800 mem (memory seems low I know, but as soon as I go anything over 800 I get immediate artifacts)
So all in all fantastic machine.

 

I installed a clean copy of windows 7 yesterday so i removed the videomagic application(powerdvd+true theatre) anybody knows where from can i download it again?Thank you.
P.S:After 2-3 weeks of use, my temps raised a little bit from 53-55 to 58-60 GPU AND 52-55 to 58-60 cPU in idle.Do you know how i could control the fan speed?

 

Ohh, and 1 other thing I noticed, some of the function key's don't work...
For example Fn+F9 (to turn off trackpad) doesn't do anything

 

The latest driver is 9.0.0.173: outside link.

Also, if you're using the ASUS Wireless Console 3 app, the latest version is V3.0.15 here.

 

You're absolutely right, Greg. I was comparing the N61 with the G73 that is offered by Best Buy. Since the G73 is more of a gaming system (I'm not into gaming at all) and since they only offered the 1-year (and for a number of other reasons) I decided to go for the N61. I know the G73 is a 17" screen, which when I first started searching for a new laptopo that WAS a requirement..but I think I'll be fine with the 16 offered on the A1. I do kinda wish the A1 had the BD player but...not really an issue since I already so hv a player.

 

I got a 2.5" internal drive and used a USB 3.0 enclosure. Drive: SAMSUNG Spinpoint M7E HM641JI 640GB. Enclosure: SIIG JU-SA0312-S1 (see my review about the bad plug).

Writing a 22 GB file to the drive, I got just over 60 MB/s transfer speed. Copying a bunch of small files (~20 GB of photos) from a USB 2.0 drive to this drive, I got about 15 MB/s.

 

Can't thank all of you enough for providing such fantastic resources out here. I'm going "download-happy" getting all these essential tools and links so when I get my A1 I'll be ready.

 

I'd suggest trying out this video software package instead. CCCP - Combined Community Codec Pack

 

There is many notified people said that Klite codecs pack is top line compared to cccp... this is what I use since I was born

Codecs.com :: Download K-Lite Codec Pack 64-bit 3.4.0 : K-Lite Codec Pack 64-bit is a bundle of 64-bit DirectShow filters

 

The big argument against k-lite is the fact that its too bloated. It includes many video codecs that have overlapping functions and turns into an issue of too many cooks in the kitchen. If you read the notes for the 64 bit release they say

I disagree with the idea that more codecs is better, even if some are slightly faster. h.264 is the only codec nowadays that needs an optimized decoder to play smoothly and the only h.264 software decoder worth anything isn't free so it can't be included in a codec pack anyways.

 

It's okay. We welcome the additional help. I was just letting you know that we came to the same conclusion. It was about 100 pages back so, I doubt you were going to read all of that. For those that are new to the thread, your info helped catch them up.

I still haven't found any way to hack the BIOS. Most of my tools are from 2008 and don't work on the newer BIOS.

What I am going to do is try and power the keyboard externally (not using the plug). It is an ugly hack but, ugly is better then no hack. I just wish that ASUS would activate the keyboard in the BIOS. I really don't see why they don't. The plug is there and powered.

 

ASUS updated a lot of the drivers on our official download page now

 

This is good info from you and mike2010. What we could do is put this stuff on the unofficial info page (did we ever do that?) and list the codecs in the packs (or link to a page with the info).

I have honestly always used K-lite but, I did find it overly bloated. If I remember correctly, it did allow a way to select subsets of codecs during install. i.e. You could just install some of the codecs and not all of them. The issue is that I never knew what I needed or didn't need so I just installed everything.

I haven't installed any codecs (except for Divx) on my N61 yet so, I will try CCCP per your recommendation.

 

Thanks mate! The sound driver seems to load a bit quicker on boot ( now get windows start sound before I log in, then the normal login sound )

Codec packs are the devil and can break your install, windows 7 comes with divx by default. Unless you are using some weird codecs, there is really no need to install anything other than Media Player Classic Home Media Edition.

 

Were you using the version on the front page before? (V6.0.1.6080)

 

Nah, I was using the stock drivers.

 

If you want to take a peek inside the BIOS, I posted some links to tools for APTIO here:
BIOS disassembly - ASUS G51J 0x124 BSOD Troubleshooting Wiki

Edit: There is also a UEFI_compressor.exe that exists. It's not so easy to put it back together. Good luck.

 

Hello,
can anyone tell me about the speed of the USB 3.0 port of this notebook? I've read that USB 3.0 upgrades on intel systems (desktops via PCIe and notebooks via ExpressCard) often deliver very disappointing transfer rates around or even below 100 MB/s, so I am wondering how Asus has done with the integrated port. A properly working USB 3.0 port is a very important criterion for me when choosing my next notebook, so I would really appreciate any reliable information about that.

 

Hello, I am not sure if this is a Asus N61 problem, windows 7 problem, or something else, but my icons are not displaying properly.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos..._392020955442_508030442_4597014_2985653_n.jpg

In the picture, the icon shows up in the program properties, and the program icon is there, but for some reason, on the start menu, no icon displays.

This has also happened with some of my other applications, namely, SmartDefrag and HWMonitor. This is not a major problem, but I would like to know what is wrong.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

You have so made my day!

 

This usually works for me:
Right click the icon & select "Remove from this list". Then open start menu, start the program again and from now on it should show up with the icon.

 

The USB 3.0 port will deliver speeds up to 4.8Gb/s (approx 600MB/s).

Since it is not ExpressCard or PCIe based there should be no slow down.

I noticed that you stated that people were getting around 100MB/s or less with their USB 3.0, which would be disappointing since they should be getting more like 400MB/s sustained (3.2Gb/s), with bursts up to 600MB/s.

 

@unixtroll

I tried that, and it didn't work. Even when I search for the program in the start menu, the icon does not display. Also, the icon picture is also missing from the short cut on my desk top.

 

Your iconcache has got corrupted. Delete it with this guide, need to log off and on again to see the effect.

How To Purge & Rebuild The Icon Cache In Vista | Windows Reference

 

Thanks! It worked!

 

While its true that the theoretical bandwidth is 4.8Gb/s, between the specification being so new, protocol overhead, and even SSD's not being fast enough to saturate the bus, 100 MB/s is quite good. Here is a comprehensive test recently done using not only a laptop with the expresscard adapter, but also a desktop Core i7 using a motherboard USB 3.0 connector. Review of BlackArmor PS 110 USB 3.0 Performance Kit
His maximum is also just under 100 MB/s!
For further reading here is Toms testing the fastest SSD's in combo with superspeed USB. The bottleneck there? Sata 3 Gb/s.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/usb-3.0-superspeed-external-enclosure,2597-8.html
So your average user on a laptop is never going to see much over 150 MB/s.

 

This may sound like a nub message but what does the icon (a lock with a number "one" inside, located on the front and is the furthest right) indicate?

I don't think it was on before and all of a sudden it was (although I may be wrong)

 

Just wondering if any of you fellow N61JQ owners have tried Starcraft II Beta. If so, how does the compy handle it? I got a beta key and installed it, but I can never get it to load.

 

Sounds like your NumLock is on. Press your NumLock key to see if it goes away.

 

Do you have an older version of the client? You need to update to the latest version to play. Depending on how many updates need to be installed it can take a long time for the game to start 45min for me. If you have a firewall it might be blocking access to the update servers. Check your firewall, run the game and go make a sandwich or something. You should be able to play when you get back.

 

I just downloaded it last week, It updated itself with the new patch and everything. I uninstalled it and installed it again, but still no luck.

 

I email Asus today asking if they can just enable the backlit feature to power up the KB but they said no , that's because it wasn't the original feature with the laptop, therefore, their headquarter won't do it for us unfortunately, sorry I tried.

Same goes to Easy-Overclock feature for N61JQ, they can't do it.

 

That's what I was thinking.
I think usually ASUS does not like to implement new features after they have released a model.

 

Sorry for reposting, but I guess this is the active forum:

I have been keen on buying the N61Jv - but it has a lower end gpu as compared to the N61Ja. Further, I don't mind optimus not being there. If I understand correctly, it saves only on battery power. For me, this laptop will be a desktop replacement and almost always connected to power.

So N61Ja was a better fit as it had a stronger graphics card. I don't think there's any other difference.

Any news on the N61Ja?? It seems its still not available on any US website. But it seems to be available in Europe

N61JA Reviews - alaTest USA

The Asus magazine that listed it was out in March/April. It takes so long for it to arrive in USA?

Also, any thoughts on which laptop I should go for?

Thanks in advance.

 

Thanks for trying. Did you beg? I'll beg!

Anyway, it looks like we are just going to have to hack it ourselves. Original feature or not, it would still be nice. The N71 didn't have an overclock feature and they added it so, I am not sure I 100% believe them but, what can we do? Oh yea, we can hack it! ;-)

 

Hi, I got my N61JQ today and I accidently closed the CPU box thing on the top right corner and can't seem to get it back. Any idea how to get it back up? Oh and when it says to backup on a dvd disc. Does it matter when I burn this backup dvd disc? And does it matter that I have uninstalled some bloatware aswell as install various other programs?

Thanks.. sorry for so many questions =/

 

Sounds like you are describing the Intel Turbo Boost gadget. To restore it and any other gadget just right-click the desktop and select 'Gadgets', then you will see the 'Intel Turbo Boost' icon, double-click that and voila!

 

Hack it! Hack it! Hack it!:yes: Go David! Go David!

 

Hi everybody.

I am a proud owner of one N61JQ-JX002D (i7 720, ATI 5730, 4GB, etc.). I have noticed that my ac adapter gets very hot. During games it gets even hotter than left side of the notebook itself (where the air outlets are). Is this normal or should I be worried?

Best regards,
Igor

 

Okay, I've really tried to scan through the myriad of posts here but simply cannot read them all....
1. What is the normal operating temperature of the I7 chip (in fahrenheit, please!)?
2. I've seen a couple of different benchmark apps talked about here - what is a good one and do any of them also give operating temps of the major components? (INEXPENSIVE is the key here! Free even better)!

 

Completely normal. The AC adapter will heat up when it is being used. Try feeling it when it hasn't been in use (your laptop unplugged). It'll be cold unless you just unplugged it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC_adapter

 

I know that the more energy it provides, the more heat it generates. I was comparing it to the ac adapter of another laptop I own (FS Amilo pro 8010) which is a lot smaller (since it needs to power Pentium M 1,6 and integrated graphics) and which doesn't become that hot (even tho the Amilo itself can get a lot hotter than this Asus so far).

Just wanted to compare my experience with others.

Regards,
Igor

 

I C. Mine gets very warm, probably warmer than the exhaust temps, but I have it lying on the floor and I don't have it in contact with my body unless my feet are cold or something lol.

 

1. The normal operating temperature of the Core i7 720QM ranges from about 50 to 100 degrees C (122 to 212 degrees F). Above 212 F, the chip will throttle (reduce clock speed) to keep cool, or shut off completely if the temperature rises too high.

2. Fritz Chess Benchmark is a good one to compare processors. There are a number of stress test tools and benchmarks that people in this thread have used: Prime95, Intel Burn Test, and Furmark to name a few. For monitoring temps, you can use HWMonitor from CPUID.

 

Well, Assembly is one of my worst languages. I was never really good with it. Plus, I haven't touched it in years. It is unfamiliar territory. Not like that has ever stopped me before. ;-)

Time to learn it all over again. Although, I welcome all the help I can get.

Otherwise, if we don't hack the BIOS, we are looking at a soldering job.

 

Re: keyboard lights... This might be silly, I haven't read the rest of this thread, but have you tried in Linux:

Code:

sudo sh -c "echo 1 > /sys/devices/platform/asus_laptop/leds/asus::kbd_backlight/brightness"

I'm not sure it'll work at all, if the BIOS doesn't have the handle for the keyboard backlight set up, but it's maybe worth a shot before you rip your hair out reversing the BIOS.

Of course you can hardhack it to get power from somewhere else, and have it on all the time, but since your model has a connector unused I can see why you're trying to do it this way.

 

So I finally moved my desktop into the office and now I have this unused 5.1 surround speaker system that should be utilized by this laptop. As you all probably know, such a system has three plugs including the typical one for 2.1 sound.

I have a question, is it possible to use the microphone jack to add an output channel instead of having it as an input?

 

Just wondering, is the 920xm cpu compatible with our model, even though it requires 55w? Looking at HWmonitor, it seems our processor uses 55watts too or at least that much power is being sent to that junction.

 

Well, it is worth a shot. I need to upgrade to Ubuntu 10.04 anyway. I would think the device needs to be present for the 1 to actually activate it but, what the hell. Maybe it is and the Windows driver that is the block.

 

I'm curious why is it so important to not have the keyboard lit all the time?
Also if anyone is interested in jumping in and helping David on this project Asus has the backlit keyboard in stock again for $20.