M50Sv: Review & Owners' Lounge

Like emporiumboutique said, install the touchpad driver from the CD.
One quick question, where did you get the IR driver that works on XP?

 

Has anyone used Audacity with this laptop? It won't record anything for me.

 

i am glad it worked out, and even happier that now i don't have to redo all of the research i did on which driver to use do you have a linky for the version you specifically are using so successfully?or did i miss it somehow?

just exchanged my m50sv and the new one is working great so far, although aero theme is giving me the keyboard input issues <rollseyes> i figure i'll just cope using classic theme since i seem to have an uncanny knack for problems.(couldn't this be related to the keyboard filter driver that gets preinstalled?)

one last thing -anyone have a slightly more explicit tutorial on which sata drivers to slipstream for an xp install and such? i want to set up a dual/tri boot i saw asianrage's thread and i'm still a bit confused, and even then it only covered a single boot xp install..

thanks in advance

 

Good to hear! I'm looking forward to mine coming in the mail too! :O

GARRR, I WAN'T IT NOW

 

I did a clean install with the recovery CD yesterday on my M50. I got everything loaded up but I have one unknown device that I can't seem to find what it is exactly and what driver I need to install. It's "ICH8M LPC Interface Controller - 28" Anybody have any experience with this or recommendations?

 

It sounds like the intel sata driver/chipset drivers. In device manager, right click on it and select uninstall. Then scan for new hardware. Install intel sata storage manager driver and the chipset drivers from intel's website or your driver cd.

 

hey, got another question here...
anyone tried overclocking this laptop??
i have this proc overclocked to 2.7GH (it could've been 3Ghz if it wasn't for the vga overclock)
by the way, in the review, he got 346ish core clock of vga. i just tried around 330ish, and it's doing great
the problem is... after playing crysis for just like 15 minutes. the temperature on rivatune said that it has reach like 80c.

is 80c normal? or way too over?
will that kind of temperature toast my VGA?

 

Thanks for the advice but I made sure I installed all of the chipset and sata drivers before anything else. I found out what it was though. It was the "ITE remote controller application" As soon as I installed the driver for that it was taken care of. It's weird that's what it was cause I know it seemed like a chipset driver.

From reading other peoples temps I wouldn't let it go over 90c. 80-85c seems to be about normal while gaming. I'd wait for a few other people to chime in though since I actually have the ATI version of this laptop. Just google some 8600m/9500m temps to get an idea.

 

I ended up searching lots of websites and downloading ever CIR_ITE driver I could find. I ended up finding one that installs fine and now shows up as "ITECIR Infrared Receiver (EC)"

It was from
http://www.x-drivers.com/component/option,com_remository/itemid,36/func,fileinfo/id,18816/

I don't know for sure that it works but Device Manager seems happy and I'm not getting any errors.


I was able to reinstall the touchpad software from CD and it now works. Is it common to have difficulties turning it on and off? The only way I have got it to work us to have the option of automatically on when external device is plugged in checked. Otherwise hitting the mode button does nothing. I can launch external apps no problem but the actual media buttons seem very hard to press. I can skip ahead with some reliability and play/pause sometimes works but nothing else. Volume control is perfect. I've tried playing with sensitivity settings to no avail. When in normal touchpad mode I haven't had any problems. Ideas?

Thanks
Kevin

 

Man, you guys have been awesome with all the info on this thread and have convinced me to buy this laptop! But, im not gonna get it until august for school because I wanna get the M50sv with the Splashtop software and hopefully the new Montevina processor. And if these updates arent available, maybe the price will go down a little? I'm basically hoping to get the most out of this baby by waiting a couple months. What do you guys think?

 

I highly doubt there will be a refresh of the M50Sv w/ the new Montevina CPUs in the next 2 months. The M50Sv just came out and it would take Asus AT LEAST a few more months after the Montevina release to implement new hardware on a refresh.
As for price drops, Asus doesn't usually do these; instead, they offer rebates. This usually occurs when a refresh is already out or soon to be out and the rebate offers only apply to the older versions. This also depends if there is a lot of left over stock. Seeing how the M50Sv is probably the current most popular Asus notebook, I wouldn't have your hopes set too high in terms of seeing a rebate.

 

Actually The M51 series with Montevina will be shown at Computex but I don't think it will actually ship before Q4.

http://gizmodo.com/394472/intel-demos-centrino-2-asus-m51va-wimax-from-computex

http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/28/montevina-and-puma-based-asus-notebooks-leak-out/

 

I should be receiving this laptop in the coming week and I was wondering about the recovery partition,
1. How big is it?
2. Does the Recovery dvd have all the recovery info on it? (i.e. is the recovery partition redundant?)
3. If it's needed for future recovery is there a solution to transfer it to disc and free up the space?

TIA

 

all i know is the recovery partition is hidden from your computer, you have to find it in the storage devices in vista, its about 7.81GB

 

I remember having this error, I think you need to load the infrared driver.

 

Just use the 175.80 driver; you don't even need the modded inf. Follow Step 3 here:

http://www.techarp.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=539&pgno=2

And select 40F as the video card that you want to use.

Reboot, install the 175.80 driver and reboot again.

 

HaloGod how what program did you use to overclock you cpu and did the m50 take the 800mhz ddr2 no problem. also any luck with overclocking your gpu

 

fllow this guide, the ram overclocks with your cpu automatically. The t9300 can do 3.4ghz but the ram is what stops us, the ram isnt stable so you should be able to hit 2.8-3ghz

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=249470

as for the GPU, atitool hasnt been updated yet to support the hd3650, so not much luck yet.

 

Thanx to hotweiss and steelblueskies! I'm quite a noob but I pulled this one off. I used the 169.47 driver from the Nvidia web site for the Quadro FX 1700. I improved my 3dmarks score almost 200 points to 4022. I'll see how it works on Tiberium Wars.

+rep to both of you

 

good day.I want to buy this notebook and i want install windows xp on it but i have one problem.Is there some drivers wich will activate the media function on touchpad?

 

Thank you Kevin for the driver link, maybe I am doing something but it didn't work me:



Right after I install the driver, the device disappeared in the device manager but after I reboot the came back with yellow mark, try SP3 didn't help.

Yes it take sometimes to get use to the multimedia buttons, try press mode buttons at about 8/10 seconds, you'll get use to it.

 

If you install the 175.80 drivers, your 3D Mark will go up even higher.

 

I GOT IT

And I love it etc. It has a AUO screen though, and it isn't as bad as everyone is saying...

The ASUS M50Sv-AS082G With 3gb up from 2gb

 

Oh that stinks but not a big loss i guess. Thanks though, I cant wait to get it.

 

Where can I find that driver, hotweiss? I couldn't locate it on laptoptogo and when I searched Nvidia's site for the Quadro FX1700 driver the 169.47 was the only one that showed up.

 

http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=113932

You don't need the modded inf.

 

On the Asus website, under Specifications/Hot Keys, it says Fn+B KB Lighting.
Is that Keyboard Lighting ? Could somebody confirm or explain to me what that is? Thanks.

 

No backlit keyboard, lol.

 

finally, after hours of tweaking (and failing).. i managed to get something done..
here's the result..



i got my proc into 2.7Ghz..
2.8GHz is possible, but doesn't survive on the Orthos (100% load) test.
and with 555 core clock on the vga using rivatuner.
it could've done better on XP..

btw while playing crysis, i got around 83c.. is not too hot?
yesterday Moonbloodsflow already answered this but i just want to make sure from nvidia users as he is using the ati version of the laptop.

thx.

 

What resolution did yo use or the 3dmark06?

 

Wow, 2.7 Ghz CPU! amazing, I don't think I have the courage to overclock my CPU hehe.

also, the temp you gave, is that CPU or GPU? because if its CPU then indeed its high, I get 61C tops when playing.

but if that temp is your GPU, wow.... mine hits 85C with 515 /1100/420 overclock!


So, everyone seems to report either 175.80 drivers or the FX1700 drivers to improve performance huh? I need to check them out then...

 

it's on 1024 x 768. ^^

haha. sometime ago when my vga hasn't been overclocked, i can get to 2.9 Ghz. but it's not stable..

that's the GPU temp, i don't know how to get 100% full load on GPU.

just now i tested my CPU. the temp didn't even get into 60c during the Orthos test, probably i'm playing in a very cold room.
but yeah, usually i also get around 60c on my cpu temp.

is it gonna affect the life of the cpu? although the temp are fine?

 

Just got mine today. ordered friday last week, glentechpc shipped it monday and got it today (friday). I love it. I dont have a light bleeds or anything. I have one question tho, whats this little hole on the top of the lid? is that a mic on each side or something?

 

It's the same mic but with 2 openings (one on the front and back of the screen). I guess Asus designed it so the mic can receive better sound when the lid is shut.

 

Wondering what drivers you guys use? Preferably any that you use to play Age of Conan, I assume different drivers would have different performances depending on which game is being run?

 

With the T9300 you are safe to about 100 degrees Celsius.

 

wait we can upgrade to the fx1700 in this laptop?! i also think we can upgrade to the new ati hd 3800 series coming out...all the mothebroards are the same so i dont think it matters if you go ati or nvidia, but can someone confirm again the fx1700 works

 

No, what hotweiss did was he soft-modded his GPU so it gets detected as a FX1700 card and installed quadro drivers for his 9500m GS card. Apparently he got some impressive results from doing that (I think he was using Vista). I tried it with XP, and results we're that impressive.

 

Hey Guys, I did alot of researching before I bought this laptop. I've owned it for 2 days now I LOVE IT. It is awesome. If your thinking about buying it, DO IT. The keyboard is GREAT. Big letters, its not squished together like people have said. I'm 5'11 and I think its perfect size.

I HAVE ONE CONCERN THOUGH.
I'm not getting LOUD sound from my speakers. The quality of the sound is great but it doesnt get loud. If I play a movie on Youtube.com and I open my Volume icon on the bottom right, the Green Audio spectrum doesnt go all the way to the top. I want to be able to hear it WELL. Is there any way to improve this? Emporiumboutique, I know you own this laptop too.. do you notice that the sound isnt all THAT Great? Its not that loud. I was expecting better sound.

 

Emporiumboutique,

How can i improve the Loudness on my speakers (is there another word for loudness? wtf, brainfart).. anyway, I thought these speakers were going to be louder.. they arent so loud. The QUALITY of the sound is freaking awesome but they're not loud enough, did you notice this too?

I installed the latest realtek drive for it already.

What do you suggest, other than buying speakers?

 

is the quality of the sound is really freaking awesome?
i mean mine, the bass in some song is really awful if played in max volume.

 

the sound on mine is amazingly good for a laptop, no distortion even at max volume

 

Like any built in laptop speakers (except for the M70), the M50 lacks a good bass. You won't be able to hear the deep bass notes clearly unless you plug in external 2.1 or better speakers.

As for the volume, I found that toggling between different 'environments' and the equalizer in your Sound Manager can have a noticeable effect.

 

Yes, I'll second that. Go into the equalizer and try some various environments like 'live,' 'jazz' or even 'bass.' I found about a 50% increase in the volume when I did that. At the same time I also activated the dolby surround.

Try those and I think you'll find the sound level to be satisfactory. And, yes, I love mine also.

 

I only noticed a huge difference in Battlefield 2142. The only difference between the 9500 and the FX1700 is drivers, so a soft-mod does really work. I think you will see the biggest difference in professional 3D apps.

 

Have you OCed your card since you soft modded it? I OCed to 565/1130/475 and scored a 4843 3dmark. I finally figured out I should tweak it to max performance in the nvdia control panel. It kinda worries me so I think I'm gonna scale it back to a little under 10%.

 

How do you get that back after doing a clean install?

I couldn't seem to get i back after I reinstalled Vista on mine

 

Cool guys, thanks alot! The Jazz option boosts it up quite a bit! Awesome. I guess that makes it better!

I configured mine with a 200GB 7200 Disk, 4GB, 2.5 Processor and Vista Home 64 Bit. Smoooth as silk.

You guys know more about computers than I do. Is there anything that you guys would recommend to enhance performance, extend life or protect the computer? is there any software that is truly worth buying?

 

Did you install the Realtek HD Audio Manager? That's the program allowing your t adjust the equalizers...

 

You can overclock your CPU, memory and GPU to improve performance, but like any overclocking, it may shorten the life of your system. You will have to justify whether it'll be worth it or not. Most importantly if you do overclock, you should monitor your temps.
As for software, uninstall the norton anit-virus program and use AVG instead. It uses less system resources and will improve performance.
Other tips.... calibrate your battery once every couple months.
Check out the NBR Member Vista Tips and Tweaks Guide