* Asus N61JQ Owners Lounge *

Thank you very much. It installed. A response not even Asus could give me with the proper information

 

Easyflash is supposed to be the more safe in a world... (not for me, I'm sure the more safe is winflash for many reason I have been already discussed here).

Are you upgrading from 209 ? What do you think went wrong?

 

Page 261...This thread is massive, and EXTREMELY helpful. It has answered a lot of my questions about my new X1 which I love. My question is the following:

My computer is working fine, no BSOD or anything malfunctioning. I have only done windows updates, I haven't updated any drivers or anything. Should I even mess with it? If I should to boost performance or anything, which drivers should I be updating constantly. I am a super noob on computer drivers and such so any help would be greatly appreciated. I am also trying to do some research on the subject.

Thanks

 

Lots of people on this thread have been saying that updating to newer versions of the video driver fixes problems with games (as well as makes the GPU viewable on CPUID and other temp monitoring utilities) so I would recommend updating the video driver. If you go back about 10 pages or so there's a link to CCC 10.5 which I think is the latest.

 

Ok I went back 10 pages and got the link, which option do I need to download since I have done ABSOLUTELY no driver updates. I am actually on page 240 and people are starting to mention you have to uninstall old drivers before installing new drivers, etc. Sorry these are retarded questions, I just don't want to mess something up.

 

I always just install the new Catalyst drivers over the old. Make sure to choose "Custom Install" and deselect the spam stuff (like Lord of the Rings Online trial).

 

adamal,stevedogg,deathwinger- Thank's for your help. I didn't want to leave the impression with others that there is a problem with bios v210. The problem was with me and my inexpeience with bios flashing. I know it's hard for you guys to envision this procedure being difficult. But having never done it before and hearing about bricking led me to just choke it.
Now the good news is I live about 5 miles from an authorized service center. So I won't have to send it to ASUS and worry about the horror stories we have heard here (Tony!). I just dropped it off to our local computer repair company and I'll let you know how it goes. I chose not to fess up on the bios update so we will see what happens. Enough stalling I have to pick up a hammer and get back to work.

 

Greg, it would be better to tell them it bricked while updating the BIOS.

ASUS support will often tell you to update the BIOS as part of their troubleshooting so there is no harm in telling them. It will not be cause to void your warranty, and it will give them the lead they need to know what to do.

 

You guys are very helpful, as always. Just wondering, I've been reading how a few people have bricked their N61 on here when trying to do the BIOS update and I don't want to do the same. What improvements does it provide over the older BIOS versions to those who upgraded? I'm new to doing this kind of stuff so I thought it would be a good idea not to rush into things.

 

Great success. I assumed everything worked out well b/c my computer is normal and it says 5700 series now. Thanks a lot.

While researching the topic I found this helpful site as well for ratards like myself.

Sorry, had another question. In regards to sound drivers, and touchpad drivers, etc, do you need to uninstall the previous drivers or will they overwrite the old ones? Thanks again.

http://www.ehow.com/how_4542943_update-graphics-driver-microsoft-windows.html

 

I doubt you did anything wrong; I think 210 is supposed to fix some BIOS flashing issues, but of course you don't get the benefits until after you successfully flash 210 (in other words, the changes of 210 will only affect the flash to 211).

To those who wish to risk BIOS updating, below is my procedure (I have successfully flashed 204, 207, 208, 209, and 210). Upgrade BIOS at your own risk! Bricking may have nothing to do with your technique and may just be luck of the draw.

1) Download the BIOS from the N61JQ drivers page

2) Extract the contents of the ZIP file

3) Plug a USB thumb drive into one of the USB 2.0 ports on the right side of the laptop. Copy the file 'N61JqAS.xxx' to the thumb drive. I have been using the same drive (a very slow thumb drive/MP3 player) with no other files or folders present; just e.g. N61JqAS.210 in the root directory

4) Ensure that the laptop is plugged into the wall outlet and NOTHING else is plugged into the laptop except for the thumb drive (no mouse, external monitor, etc.).

5) Reboot the computer and press F2 during POST to enter the BIOS

6) Tab over to "Advanced," select "Start Easy Flash," and press enter

7) Press the down arrow key to select "FS0," "FS1," etc. until you see the N61JqAS.xxx file on the right pane. Select the file and press enter to begin flashing

8) When flashing completes, Easy Flash will tell you the laptop needs to shut down (I think you have to press enter when it says this)

9) After the laptop shuts off, wait 15 seconds or so, and press the power button to boot it back up

 

When you run the setup file for the sound driver, it will tell you that it is going to uninstall the current version first, then ask you to reboot and re-run the setup file. So you don't need to manually uninstall it, but you do need to run the setup file twice (once to remove the drivers, and once to reinstall). When it reboots after uninstalling, Windows will attempt to install a driver, and you may get some error message about SRS device or something. Just let windows do its thing, ignore the message, and re-run the setup file.

Touchpad can be installed without uninstalling the old version, but it will reset all of your touchpad settings. Make sure to go into the settings (double click taskbar icon) and make sure you make a note of all the settings you have tweaked before upgrading.

 

Thanks Donald I will let them know.

 

@steevedog
Using a USB key is not an additional risk ? Why not just drop the file update on the hard disk to the root of C /?

 

For some reason, it won't flash from the hard drive. I tried it the first time I flashed . It has to be a USB drive.

 

Help, anyone?

 

What are the benefits of updating to the most recent bios? what bugs does it fix? I am a little hesitant to do it from all the problems I've read here.

 

Right click on the desktop, go to gadgets, double click on Intel Turbo Boost.

 

Unfortunately, ASUS doesn't seem to be publishing the change logs for the BIOS updates. Generally, I think BIOS is usually updated to improve the stability of the system (reduce BSODs, etc.). If ASUS engineers thought the BIOS was fine, they wouldn't release new versions. Ken@GenTech has posted the change log for 210 (not sure where he gets them), but many of the older versions are still unknown.

 

I always follow four rules, when I flash my BIOS.

1. Flash from Windows itself, in my personal opinion it is the most safest way. I know there are lots of opinions out there. The latest WinFlash utility is v2.3.01. In fact, the computer comes pre-loaded with WinFlash utility.

2. Make sure the battery is fully charged, and not less than 50%.

3. Have the power cord plugged in and charging. The WinFlash utility will not flash the BIOS if the power cord is not plugged in and charging.

4. If the WinFlash refuses to flash the BIOS, then you are doing something wrong. Wrong BIOS file and/or something.

This is what I have following for years and without any problems. Most BIOS failures are due to power failure during flashing the BIOS. The slight glitch could render the BIOS useless.

In case of power failure, the charged battery should take over without the glitch.

Nice to know that the remodel is going well.

 

@King of Rapture
I fully agree with you. Moreover, with WinFlash we can see the process. if something goes wrong you can repeat the procedure. The operation is still safer with windows 7 than never.

 

I have always used WinFlash. I haven't really heard of many problems when using it either. I always follow some simple rules to using it though:

-Reboot the computer and start fresh.
-Close any background apps that may start.
-Disable firewall, spyware and anti-virus software.
-Don't use the computer while flashing.
-Reboot only if the flash was successful. Otherwise, download a new file and flash again.

There are too many cheaply made flash drives for me to feel comfortable with using those. So, WinFlash is my main utility and has been for years.

 

206:
According the ATI APNote to add a workaround for the BSOD 124 issue


207:
Update EC firmware to 202C1AF.EC for fixing touch-pad can work after install ALL mode.


208:
Fix using function fn+ESC that system will hang.

 

I also used winflash and had no problems flashing to 209. I am scared to flash to 210 now after hearing all these stories...

 

I wouldn't worry about it Gary as the problems were with v209 and I am the only one who had a problem with 210 which I believe was my own fault. I would add though that it is not recommended to flash your bios unless you are experiencing problems and the new bios addresses those problems. We have some real pros in this lounge who are comfortable flashing every new bios update. You may never have a problem flashing your bios. But there is a chance you might so take that into consideration when deciding if you want to update your bios.

 

Thanks.
and 208 to 209 ?

 

Thanks but that just gives me access to the gadget gallery, it doesn't really help my problem. Anybody else have ideas?

 

To be honest with you I would just forget about that gadget. It is kind of fun to watch for a few minutes but really what use do you get out of it. Also I found it very unstable. It would keep corrupting and ending up like yours now. Then you have to keep reinstalling it. I don't think it's worth all the trouble to maintain it. It's just a nice little gadget that has nothing to do with the performance of your system other than adding another thing running in the background.

 

Assuming it doesn't BSOD during the flash, that is true (repeating the flash). Easy Flash shows you progress as well (erase, flash, and verify).

 

Actually I find this gadget useful whenever I'm rendering a project or running an application that needs the processing power of overclocking. Then again, different strokes for different folks.

To the other winflash people: I'm glad to see I'm not the only 'crazy' in the bunch

 

If you want to monitor the clock speed of each core, you can use TMonitor. It gives a little more information than the Turbo Boost gadget (shows a little bit of history so you can see how your application is loading the processor). As allyw123 mentioned, neither utility is required to enable Turbo Boost.

 

Hi guys

Been reading this LOOOOONG Thread for a few days now (during much work hours lol). Thing is I cant wait to buy this lappy but am low on finances. I am planning to buy from Xotic pc (since they have the cheapest with configurations allowable and they also ship internationally (I am from the Maldives!) ). If anyone of you who has brought from them could help me...

I need to know the dimensions of the box the lappy came in as well as the aggregate weight. This would go a long way in helping me calculate the postage I would be paying up for it.

I already asked Justin W from XoticPc and he has been really helpful but he could not give the dimensions of the package; just the weight - 14 pounds.

Can anyone help?

Cheers

 

Latest WiFi Atheros Drivers 9.1.0.100 original or modded 9.1.0.100

 

Hi there,

I've been the owner of the N61JQ for approximately 2 weeks. I do have some questions, but perhaps I should offer my experiences with this laptop first.

I Bought this laptop for the purpose of replacing my desktop machine (A Core 2 Duo E6600 Clocked at 3.2GHz & A Sapphire 4850 512MB Toxic Edition). It does not quite replace it, but it runs my games well enough that I think I can live with making it my primary machine. I have a lot of games by the way...far too many; many of which have been barely started let alone completed .

Performance of this graphics card is pretty impressive for a laptop, although it is half as powerful as my desktop. Unfortunately I did not quite understand the turbo-boost technology before I purchased the laptop so had it in my head that the processor could work at 2.8GHz with all 4 processors...whoops, turbo mode disables cores to improve the overall speed of other cores so that it does not exceed it's TDP (Thermal Design power??).

As for the display, I knew that the overall feedback wasn't positive, but it was a decent price so I bought it anyway. What I have found however is that it can look much better with a bit of tweaking of the ATI colour schemes. Although this doesn't resolve the low-angle problem it does improve the display colours.

Keyboard isn't actually as good as I thought it would be; mostly because the keyboard has a bit of play in it and have more movement on the left hand side then the center. A little disappointing considering I paid $2100 NZ (at cost price from our supplier with a further $120 discount from the product manager ($1829 before tax and credit card fee).

My only concern with this laptop is it's cooling system. The N61JV which we sell for about $1499NZ including all tax differs in that it has the Nvidia GT325 graphics card and the i5-430 2.26Ghz dual core processor (32nm vs 45nm at that). The only difference however in the cooling system however is the addition of one extra cooling pipe from the CPU to the cooling fins in front of the cooling fan, the GPU despite being a more powerful part has the same cooling as the GT325. Most people suggest that there is no need to be concerned about heat when it comes to graphics cards and that core temperatures of 100 degrees are normal...even graphics manufacturers will state as such; I don't agree, because the lifespan of the GPU is projected to be shorter then that of a CPU. I have come across a fair few failed graphics cards (I work at a store that both repairs and sells computer parts) most of which are cheap ones with insufficient cooling. Heat does kill GPU's and I'm certain that there is a time relationship between the temperature of the GPU and the overall lifespan of it. I would believe otherwise if an ATI/Nvidia Engineer chimed in an explained why this wasn't the case..but all electronics just tends to hate heat.

Does anyone know the actual temperature figures on this piece of silicon (Based on the ATI 5670 desktop graphics card), I can't locate any decent datasheets on AMD's website.

Find attached 10 mins of burn time on Prime95 & Furmark (with overclocked GPU settings (it makes very little difference if it isn't overclocked)); I forgot to mention the most important attribute...this was done at an ambient temperature of 19 degrees celcius

Another thing that I find frustrating with this laptop is the overall lack of fan control...it's completely automatic, but it does not seem to hit really high speeds until the CPU exceeds 90 degrees celcius. I would rather deal with the horrendous noise of a fan at full speed, then a defunct laptop in 2 years time. I've tried searching for utilities but nothing seems to work (even the beta of speedfan).

Also cannot locate any CPU overclocking tools as well; although AMD GPU Clock works well for overclocking the GPU (760/1110 from 650/800 gives a nice boost in games!).

I Have a heap of games (although a bit of a derth of FPS), so if anyone is looking for performance figures on certain games, I might be able to help out as well.

 

There people who I can guarantee will be a lot smarter than the average forum dweller that have designed and tested the GPU to confirm operating temperatures.

The maximum rated safe working temps for most GPUs is 120c, but thankfully the N61 gets to about 80c tops and that is overclocked to 750mhz. GPUs are built using different materials and processes to CPUs so they can operate at much higher temps.

Compared to my old Dell Vostro this machine is very cool.

 

I posted earlier about using a USB floppy to fix a bricked BIOS. This has worked with some of my older laptops but I haven't had to try it with my N61 thankfully. Have you tried this fix before on an ASUS and if so did it work?

I second that advice. I found a nice to-do gadget that looked great but was a bit buggy. The strange thing was that after a while it started bugging out more frequently. Eventually it corrupted the entire gadget framework to the point that the Windows Gadget Service would hang at 100% CPU even when no gadgets were loaded. Moral of the story, Windows Gadgets are buggy and poorly coded.

I use rainmeter now and like it much better. It might seem a bit complicated at first but it encourages fiddling and is a great way to learn some simple scripting.

 

Upgrading your ASUS to a "Brick" via a BIOS update does not void the warranty. I bricked mine and they RMA'd it under my warranty. It took about a week and a half due to FEDEX delivery misses. Actual time at ASUS was just shy of 3 days.

 

I did not find that these drivers worked as well as the previous ones I had. (At least I tried the original and not the modded)

I'm using 9.0.0.173 now. Anyone else got any luck on the latest ones?

 

Your temps are very cool (probably due to your low ambient temp). Have you tried it with and without overclocking? I wonder if overclocking has a significant effect on temps, or if underclocking can help reduce them further.

 

Good news regards my rma. It seems they have accepted there is a fault and now it is just waiting for spare parts or replacement. Hopefully I will get it back in about a week. good news is the repair place is not far from me.

 

I am not upgrading my BIOS, at this time. Since many of the "thread fore-fathers" have had their systems fail recently... I am putting mine in the safe and guarding it with a gun!

 

Same here

 

i've only flashed to 208 and I'm perfectly happy with the stability. heck, I don't recall ever getting a BSOD since I've owned it.

 

No info for 209 from HQ, the change log field is empty.

 

Damn that's a pain if I'd know that I would not have bought the Intel N-6200 which is causing me so much pain. Yesterday I bricked the radio signal again by updating the drivers!

I confirm Risco that the signal goes up and down (5Ghz), no where as good as the Atheros card.

At this point I think I'll wait for more newer drivers and then if the signal does not improve I'll put back the Atheros card.

Hope you get your N61 back in good shape

BTW Turbogear how does your card perform and does it also connect only at 150mbps??

 

That's a real shame, I feel for you Greg, I hope they get it fixed for you real quick.

I personally only updated it to v.208 through EasyFlash after getting out all the horseshoes and bunny tails I could find

 

I've been doing a lot of research into this...specifically I've generalized my search to just cover TSMC's 40nm process....I think you are right; 125 degrees celcius is the limit for TSMC's process (although they do mention that customers can customize the type of materials they use in the silicon construction which may effect the maximum temperature); though I wish I could find lifespan figures at that temperature, that would give me much needed extra assurance.

However if you looked at my attached picture, you will notice that I'm hitting 92 degrees celcius; 80 degrees maximum does not apply to me.

Overclocking does not make much of a dent at all; perhaps 3 degrees, but it's hard to tell as the fan starts to kick in to try and cool it down; I would love a fan control program so I could keep these constant while testing. You can see that happening with my first post attached screenshot with the fan kicking in to cool the GPU (I was pretty sure it was triggered by the CPU temp only, but I think GPU temp might also have an effect on it).

In addition I did testing of this without the bottom cover on as there was some mention about the lack of vents on this laptop...interestingly the first time I tried this I was sure that I got about a 10 degree difference; however this time there was only a couple of degrees in it.

I've replaced the stock thermal compound (twice), and have used a metal-polisher on the heatsinks to try and get a better contact on the surface; lightly mind you, just enough to give it a decent shine.

Does anyone know whether Ambient temperature has a linear effect on the overall temperature or is it more complicated? ie if it's 19 degrees now, if I hit 28 degrees in summer I would add 9 degrees to my current temps to get a good approximation (assuming identical air pressure).

I guess I love to tweak, fiddle and learn more then use the laptop

 

You are very brave doing all that stuff

I assumed that, as the temps reach their max during stress testing, the fan would be running at max speed. So the peak temperature should depend only on the clock speed you choose (assuming ambient temp is constant during both tests).

 

Well, I've yet to find a utility to overclock the CPU yet, so that only applies to the GPU. Interestingly enough I checked out the RAM chips and they are indeed GDDR3 modules by Samsung at a clock rate of 2.5ns (400MHz although the data rate is x4 for DDR2 & GDDR3 giving an effective maximum of 1600MHz). I've never had RAM in my previous graphics cards overclock to their rated speed, let alone 620MHz past it (2220 vs 1600)....seems rather impressive to me (perhaps this is standard and so I got a pretty shoddy result compared to others?), what are other people's experiences on this?

The overclocking of the GPU corresponds to a definite noticeable improvement in games performance, with the exception of Assassins Creed, which seems exclusively CPU limited; perhaps the turbo-boost function isn't working correctly with this game as my frame rates aren't particularly good without adjusting a few settings.

 

Hey guys,
This is a great forum and is one of push factors for me for ordering the laptop. This thing will help greatly. I will no longer have to lug my desktop tower around on weekends. And will be great for passing time while watching over my brother in the hospital.
Anyways, I ordered the A1 version of this laptop from Xotic PC last Wednesday and should be here in Cali. tomorrow. Been checking UPS tracking every other hour and just tells me it departed from Kansas 2 days ago
I've also ordered a few laptop accessories as well:
Backpack: SwissGear Ibex Notebook Carrying Backpack
Laptop Sleeve: Built NY 17" Laptop Sleeve
Mouse: Razer Pro Solutions Click Mobile Bluetooth Mouse
Notebook Cooler: Cooler Master Notepal X2
Looking for something to put between the keyboard and the screen when the laptop is closed to prevent marks on the screen. Any suggestions? (besides the foam that comes with it... could be the best most effective option though)

And a question about the recovery disks. If i have my own windows 7 disk and going to do a fresh install after a format, do i need to make recovery disks if the software is available in the CD and online?

Thanks again for the awesome thread, but I won't be able to catch up with all these pages of postings (I stopped at page 53 ).