Official Asus G73JH Owners Lounge

Well, here is another person considering the G73 for gaming laptop. This is my first post by the way and I just wanted to address some concerns, coming from owning a Dell XPS m1330, yes the one plagued with all the heat issues and crashes.

I was just wondering could the possible 5870 gray screen problems or the GPU failing in general could be due to excessive heat problems? Ive read many places that this thing hits 100+ c while gaming and from my perspective (had to have my nvidia 8400gs GPU changed three times in the past three years due to the GPU melting) that is really killing the lifespan of the laptop. If I did not have a three year warranty i would have been screwed a year after my purchase.

Also, to Quagmire LXIX, I have seen all of your vids and the laptop looks amazing and the performance seems to be the very top for a laptop. At first I was considering gaming desktop but being in college, I need something I could take back home. Anyways, when your GPU failed was it due to overheating or a faulty unit... I just don't want to take the plunge and get a laptop with a GPU that has potential to fail after a short time period. I know it comes with a standard 2 year warranty, but I need this thing to last me a while.

 

How did you contact them so that they forwarded info to their R&D team too? I have a few comments for them.

Also how do you see the actual 5870 clock speed?

 

Simply, no.

The GSODs are a problem inherent with all of ATIs 5xxx cards. It is reportedly a driver issue. If your card GSODs with the current driver you either update it or roll it back.

The PSODs are reportedly an issue with the display itself. Not a heat issue.

Cue Ziddy with his post on the heat. The 95C is acceptable, as it's not the core of the GPU getting that hot, according to Ziddy (citation needed) and the core is roughly 5-10C below the highest temperature (citation needed) (also according to Ziddy).

The thing will remain cool on your lap, it never gets uncomfortable unless you have your knees blocking the vents at the back. I would assume if it did have heat issues you would probably feel it.

 

I see, that makes me feel a bit better. I'm actually quite excited about getting this laptop. Haven't ordered it yet however for anyone else considering getting this laptop TigerDirect is selling the ASUS G73JH-X3, which is full HD, and apparently with a 640gb 7200rpm HD, 8gb 1066, 720qm and you know the rest for $1550 with $190 with bing cash back! Thats hmm... ~$1360 Sounds like a good deal to me.

Oh and it comes with standard 2 year Asus warranty + 1 year accidental

 

@betaflame

I use the Windows 7 GPU Observer widget.

You can also see it by starting up the AMD GPU clock tool.

I noticed with the GPU clock tool that I can downclock the memory without problems but not clock it back up without a restart otherwise I get a grey screen.

The local Netherlands laptop support team forwarded it after me insisting that my observations needed a better answer other than "this is a gaming laptop so it's normal". Which it is not. Unless the 5870 has a hardware fault and can not reclock memory when it's running. Let's hope this is a driver issue and can be fixed soon.

I notice that Ati isn't very good with their drivers. Never owned a high end Radeon before but I must say that I'm not really impressed with the Ati drivers. One and a half month after the release of BC2 they were able to fix the long load times of Bad Company 2. And then only the 10.6 leaked driver worked for me so how long do other people have to wait! Bad!

 

are you sure those aren't just showing the max 3d clock?

Rivatuner would work if they updated it =/

 

yes because if I change the clock with the AMD clock tool or cycle through the power options it changes and matches the clock. Also if I clock down the clock in the GPU clock tool it show the exact same value set in the clock tool and then temperature drops down. Also the temps match with the AMD GPU clock tool.

The GPU Observer gadget works!

 

tell me more about the power options, if you would. When I fiddle with the ones in the CCC, the clocks do not change.

I just manually downclocked from 825/1100 to 100/300 and the temperatures dropped from 61C to 50C so welp

 

Guys, i have a problem. After updating my video drivers my catalyst control center doesnt work. I had the default drivers and i installed the 10.6 leaked. Everything ran fine, but my CCC stopped working. It wouldnt even show in the system tray. And i would randomly get this message.


So i thought that 10.6 must be buggy. Decided to step one back and installed the 10.3 but the same thing happens. I havent tried the default ones again but if this means i cant install newest my video drivers how am supposed to stay up to date?
Also, for every update i did a clean uninstall and then install.
This doesnt affect me much as a gamer, since the drivers work, but i cant add a second display since i dont have CCC. Any ideas? Please halp!

Oh and i managed to get rid of teh SRS sound error simply by uninstalling the SRS software. Also managed to install my webcam by clicking "delete device driver" when uninstalling it. Right after i clicked on "scan for hardware changes" it automatically reinstalled itself.

 

So clocking down the 5870 apparently gives you another 20mins of battery life at 100% brightness (2:00 from 1:40)

(I had it at 100/200, you have to go 300/300 first or you eat a GSOD)

 

Heat was never a problem on either of my G73s.
I figure it was a bad GPU. Asus apparently agreed and replaced it.
Then you may want to wait it out or look elsewhere.

Q

 

Also please consider.

GPU has the highest failure rate of any computer part regardless of model or manufacturer. To date Nvidia has a much higher failure rate than ATi does, forgot where the charts are.

Buying a performance laptop with a performance GPU is ALWAYS a risk, there is not option that is fool proof. There is always a chance your HD5870 or GTX285 will fail. Just the nature of these things, gotta take the plunge or you buy something more modest. Even then you have problems look at the midrange 8xxx series from Nvidia...

Quagmire's situation is not very special btw. I had a Asus G1 with Go7700 that melted. Then they replaced it with the 8600, and that melted. So it happens with Nvidia also.

Read this: http://www.anandtech.com/show/3662/asus-g73jha2-affordable-xlsized-gaming
- I like this review as the reviewer definitely reviews the G73 as a Gaming LAPTOP. There are too many reviews that are reviewing Alienware/Clevo and don't really consider of whether they are good LAPTOPS. AnandTech goes through all the testing to review the merits of G73 not just as a portable gaming machine but for what it is, a LAPTOP. You'll see what I mean when you read the review.
- I'm a fan of AnandTech, they are one of the better review sites IMO. Guru3D are hardcore Nvidia, look at their review of the GTX480 if you don't believe. HardOCP is ATi. OverClockers are just not as professional in their reviews. And plenty others just aren't very detailed or back up their claims very well.
- I also like TechSpot, aside from AnandTech.

 

Thanks guys, and thanks for the anandtech review. After reading it, I'm convinced into taking the plunge and getting this beast

 

Indeed, there are a few people with multiple RMAs

I hope the G73 makes you happy redstealth.

Q

 

Still no word on my RMA... = /.

 

Looks similar to the problem mine had. I sent it back to Asus RMA and got it back a week or so later with the LCD replaced (and bezel not snapped back together properly, which is fixed now as well).

 

@betaflame

Great. Thanks for testing the battery live. Didn't come to it because I was busy.

Heat, fan noise at idle and battery live is exactly why I'm making a point of this with Asus. I had only tested going down to 200/200 with the AMD GPU Clock tool.

I hope they will do something about it but I don't know if they actually can. Either the Catalyst drivers are seriously broken that this re-clocking doesn't work flawless or there are hardware problems making flawless re-clocking impossible.

 

Turns out you can make the battery last much longer...

 

the gaming mouse software is available on the asus support page(under USB).
has anyone tried it, it just isnt running for me..

 

From what I see, PowerPlay is very limited on this laptop (maybe a mobility thing). In the CCC, you have a PowerPlay selection when enabled will let you select between a 300/1000 or 700/1000 clocks by either the "Plugged In" or "Battery".
It does work, but it is not application auto dependant like I am used to for desktop. It is by AC or Battery choice. Set your "Battery" selection to "Maximize Battery Life" and it will auto downclock to 300/1000 when your not plugged in.
The clocks are not in a profile to be found, I bet they're in the VGA BIOS.
Use MSI Afterburner to watch the clocks change automatically.

Q

 

Ordered. It comes out to $38 USD. That's a little high for a bracket, but I want one. I've never ordered anything from the EU. Will the shipping paperwork have a cool European accent?

 

Yeah, I was the same way. They're not real quick on contact either- I actually opened a PP case with them before getting a response- but they say it takes about 3-4 weeks to get the part in from ASUS.

And no, no cool European accent is included. You have to supply your own.

 

Yeah it works for me, it's quite a nice mouse actually.

 

Just got my G73jh-A2 from B&H photo for $1598 total. This thing is awesome. I am going to format the drive and doing a fresh install of Windows 7. Has anyone that has formatted had any problems obtaining the necessary drivers and software, i.e. synaptics touchpad software.

 

All my drivers are from the manufacturers. Synaptics straight from their site, Intel, straight from their site, AMD straight from their site, Realtek, straight from their site, see the pattern?

You can get all the latest updated drivers from the manufacturers themselves.

 

Thanks. I always get the drivers from the manufacturer but was wondering about some of the bundled software. Most of the pre-installed stuff I don't want but there are a few programs I would like to keep.

 

Any assistence with my CCC issue would be greatly appreciated. I dont understand whats wrong with it...

 

The 10.3 drivers that causes a GSOD on my computer isn't caused by windows updates. As I just installed windows again on a new drive without any updates and a few seconds into furmark I got a GSOD. At least the stock drivers aren't causing any GSOD.

Though with stock drivers I am noticing slowdowns while playing Burnout Paradise when driving through intersections, or taking ramps to another road. Didn't have this issue with the 280m GTX with the same quality settings. I installed the game on another hard drive as well to see if that was causing it but the frames still drop down to about 50-55, which causes slight stuttering.

 

My G73A1 just arrived in Iraq yesterday, have had no problems whatsoever.

 

Out of curiosity, from which company did you order? I ordered mine from Powernotebooks and have also had no problems. However, I specifically asked them to test the machine for the common errors prior to shipping. Additionally, I'm still running 95% stock. I have no need for a fresh install of windows nor updated graphics drivers since it's currently running smooth. When I have made updates/changes I've applied them one at a time and then ran the G73 for a day to watch for side effects.

 

Hi guys,

I just got this game called ashes cricket 2009 and for the frist time since I got my thermaltake massive 23 ST cooler, I saw temps go into the 90s. The maximum memory temp according to hwinfo32 after just about 15-20min of play with max details and 4x ingame aa is 93C and core reached 90C. Interestingly, the temps dropped to 80s when I turned off AA. Has anyone found this happen? What is the maximum rated temp for the 5870m GPU memory and core? I fried my older laptop's geforce 6800go when the fan stopped working and I didnt realize. Thats the last thing I want to happen to this new guy ...especially just almost a month sicne i bought it.

 

I purchased mine from a seller on Ebay, because every retailer I looked at wouldn't ship the laptop to an APO address. I had planned on putting a fresh install of Windows 7 on my G73, but since I have no issues, and all of my games are running fine, I really don't see the need.

 

Hey guys!

Ok so long story short. My G73 started hard locking in games and sometimes booting. After loads or reseach, I ended up uninstalling the creative software and now it works like a complete charm! Furmark overnight and crysis for 3 hours no problems is a good benchmark I think right?

Anywho, my question is, if there is not a creative card in the laptop, how does the Creative software work and what did it do?

 

I read a bunch of FAQs before I purchased the G73 and the first thing I uninstalled was the Creative. I did a clean reinstall since I really didn't like the stuff they added stocked.

 

From memory all it did was provide sound effects, bass boost, EAX (don't remember any version listed) and an equalizer I think.

TMK, you don't have to have Creative hardware to emulate EAX effects, you just need a license. I'll cite my Xonar D2X I used to run in a desktop and it had a CMedia chip, not a X-Fi. Granted it only emulated up to EAX 2.0 at the time and Creative kept the 5.0 for its own cards, but I bought the D2X for its HTPC properties, not its gaming features.

Now whether there actually is some Creative hardware on the G73, I'm not sure, but anyone that cares to add some software for effects and toys to whatever sound hardware you may have, can do it. There's no reason why Creative (who licenses EAX) can't write some software for EAX to run on Realtek hardware and that very well be all it's about on the G73. Others have reported to have found a bass boost feature (with updated Realtek drivers I think) after the Creative software was uninstalled, I never looked into it.

Imo (and many others through recent years), Creative software has been bloated and buggy on their own hardware and especially on the sound hardware of others when they do offer software enhancements. This G73 scenerio just falls in line with that. They remind me of nVidia proprietary dealings in this regard. Now I personally don't hold these attitudes against the two companies so much, because they work hard for their proprietary technologies and they have all the reason in the world to protect them and their revenue, but it's a big reason why I speak with my wallet when I see the crappy PR machines of these companies holding back PC development because they insist on being #1 in their fields and they'll stomp on or BS the consumer to do it. At the same time, if it wasn't for the technologies of these companies, we may still be in the PC dark ages, but we could also be in PC bliss, who knows. I'm also not saying anyone else is better, ATi is known to be a monster when they have the tech that provides them the opportunity. In short, I'm pro consumer, not pro share holder

Q

 

EAX 4.0 worked for me on my G73 with no issues with Steam etc. I only uninstalled it as I considered it bloatware, I don't game with EAX ever.

 

There is a bass boost under "Enhancements" with the windows 7 stock driver. It's there with realtek too, and I seem to remember something in the realtek control panel before I disabled it.

 

Has anyone purchased skins for their G73? I can imagine it's a love it or hate it kind of thing. I know there are stickers that you can buy but what I am referring to is more along the lines of what XoticPC offers. Given the surface of this laptop I'm just not sure how it would turn out. Did some searching and didn't find anyone on the forum who specifically did this with their G73.

 

There you go on the version I never seen. G73 is EAX 4.0 capable.

With the exception in my very first few days with the Creative software and enabling and hearing the diff in bass boost upped 6dB, I never desired to have their bloatware installed and never got back into looking at the other bass options like you suggest in Windows, but thanks for mentioning that, I will look into it tonight.
My position on Creative software with non Creative hardware is clear All I need now is nVidia to get off the Heaven bench bandwagon and admit why their card can do so much better in tessellation parts than an ATi card and how it should relate to a game, then we can all get along and focus on the consumer

Q

 

If it's working properly, EAX 3/4 can be pretty neat in games that use OpenAL.

 

My first G73 had problems with crashes/corruption with Cat 10.3 direct from ATI. My current G73 does not. So it is a hardware issue and I would return that notebook.

The problems are 100% reproducible with Furmark, within a minute or two. I'm actually trying to prove this to Newegg at the moment because I bought the defective machine from them and they may just give me a run around about requiring ASUS drivers. In which case I will stop shopping for notebooks at Newegg.

There is no guarantee that ASUS will ever update their Radeon drivers, and ATI just started their mobility driver program to avoid getting stuck in that OEM-never-updates situation. There's also no guarantee that newer drivers from ASUS will work properly. The drivers on their site right now are Cat 9.12 beta (I looked up the driver revision).

 

I also notice 720p/1080p video becomes a bit jumpy every five to ten seconds. I've tried DXVA turned on and off with different output formats. Also tried different video players and coreavc, all have the same problem.

Going to email Gentechpc and see about getting it fixed or replaced as I believe the video card is defective.

 

I am interested in the G73 compatibility with Catalyst drivers. Is there a possibility that it might not work whereas other laptops with 5870 GPUs will? (as the G73JH has a non-standard 5870 unlike the generic one on other notebooks).

If you couldn't use drivers direct from ATI then the laptop would be a brick... with my Dell XPS M170 there was 1 video driver update, then they gave up and never released another one! I have been happily using the NVIDIA ones for the last 4 years on it. And Dell is a bigger company so you'd expect them to do more work on proprietary drivers!

My one concern before I order a G73... (barring the awful customer service if you RMA!).

 

Yes, I'm no noob when it comes to OEM driver updates (or lack thereof). I had a Dell Inspiron with 7800 Go and Dell never updated the drivers. I had to mod them myself and it was a compatibility nightmare because they were problematic. Finally after a few years NVIDIA came in and released drivers themselves.

The ATI Mobility driver program doesn't support all manufacturer's notebooks. It's an opt-in/out program. ASUS is a member of it. On the other hand it looks like Toshiba, Panasonic and Sony are not allowing it. You can't install the drivers on unsupported notebooks. It actually won't even let you download them.

ATI has done Mobility drivers in the past though. I had a notebook with a Radeon 9600 that was supported directly by them. It was much less common back then to get this support however.

 

I used 10.3 for a bit and am now using 10.4, it's fine with the ATI drivers...

 

That's good to hear. I expect with these laptops selling like hot-cakes there'll be plenty of demand for driver updates.

 

Is the Bass Boost also in the newest driver from Realtek? How does it compare to Creative's bass boost? Thanks!

 

Under Ken's advice, I tried 10.3B drivers. And it seems to have fixed my jumpy video playback for 720p/1080p, as well does not cause any GSOD issues. I haven't tested out any games yet but I hope that fixes that too.

 

My vantage score stayed about the same.

Stock:
3DMark Score: P8015
CPU Score: 10477
Graphics Score: 7433

10.3B:
3DMark Score: P8027
CPU Score: 10668
Graphics Score: 7415

 

is there a way to turn off the second hard drive while the operating system is only on the 1st one, i only use my second for storage.

ps ive had it for a week and been playing GRID, BBC2, and CS:S no problems yet whatsover, knock on wood, will post on further of my new fine laptops status