A few specific questions about the Asus G51vx-rx05

Hey everybody, I just joined and I'm brand new at this so please go easy on me.

I bought a refurbished Asus G51vx-rx05 from buy.com, through Amazon, and so far I just love it. I didn't want to buy refurbished- I've never done it before- but if it keeps working as well as it has been then I'm thrilled. Anyway, it came with Vista so I decided to reformat it with Windows 7, which I didn't qualify for free. After doing this, there are a few functions and issues I was wondering if anyone can help me with. I'll number them for ease.

1: I don't know how to access the webcam. I think the computer recognizes it, I remember seeing a driver or some kind of info on it, but I don't know how to actually turn it on, operate it at all. Since it was a clean install of Windows 7, I'm sure I erased something I need to reinstall (my driver and recovery discs are for Vista only).

2: I had to add some drivers to get Power4Gear Hybrid up and running, but I don't know that overclocking is doing anything. Firstly, I had read that the system can be overclocked from 2.0 GHz to 2.8, and now I'm hearing only 2.1. Is the difference between 2.0 and 2.1 even noticeable?

3: More importantly, I don't know if the overclocking is working, like I said. I open P4GH and set it to go to either Turbo or Extreme Turbo, yet running CPU-Z shows the same basic 2.0 speed regardless of setting. Is there any way to find out if there's a missing driver or something? Or another way to check whenever my cpu is actually overclocked or not? I've never done it so I don't know how else to tell, aside from CPU-Z and I only learned that today.

4: This laptop has a VGA out connector, and I was interested in an adaptor / converter to make it show up on a basic (NON HDTV) television. But I've been hearing that the laptop must not only have the right connection but also "support" TV-out. Huh? Okay, well then how do I find this out?

Thanks for any help any of you can give me, like I said, I'm new at this. And no, I actually did NOT get an instruction manual of any kind with the laptop. Couldn't argue with the 700 dollar price though...

 

1. since your webcam drivers are already installed, your webcam should turn on automatically whenever a program uses it. In other words, you'll need a third party software if you want to test your webcam. for example, if you have msn messenger, you can test your webcam by going tools-->audio/video setup
2. for normal browsing and games, 2.0 GHz -->2.1 GHz will not be noticeable. you might notice a slight difference when benchmarking though.
3. Does Power4gear actually overclock your computer?? I thought Power4gear only undervolted your computer when on battery and resets back to stock speeds when your plugged in.
4. do you mean a VGA-->RCA connector? $2 Welcome to focalprice.com | The lowest Price for DS R4 lite,PSP Slim,Genuine Earphone,SONY EX71 EX082?PS2,Macbook Accessories etc.
but that's probably not really good quality. look on ebay or best buy, they should have some.

 

The G51J turbo's up to 2.8 GHZ on Extreme Turbo, not the G51VX.

I would not worry about it too much, your CPU is plenty powerful.

 

Thanks for the response guys. The webcam thing makes perfect sense.I've never used one, so I was just assuming that there was some way to turn it on, put it in "ready mode" so to speak. I didn't know I had to have another program access it, so that's cool.


Power4Gear Hybrid- I'm really confused about this now. I DID hear, in reviews before buying this laptop, people were saying how cool it was that you could give the computer a speed boost without messing with the bios. However, I do also see people saying that it's merely a battery saving issue. I'm definitely hearing both sides. But if it's a battery setting, why would it use terms like "Extreme turbo"? Definitely SOUNDS like overclock anyway...

If it can't be overclocked that way, how safely could it be overclocked in the bios? I've never done it before but this laptop doesn't seem to run nearly as hot as people were warning me about, so I wouldn't mind accelerating it a bit as I do a LOT of gaming. I guess my main issue is that I want to make sure that when I reformatted the laptop, I didn't eliminate the ability for the laptop to perform up to full factory capacity, and I think I may have.

If the G51vx cannot overclock to 2.8, what can it overclock to? And as the first poster mentioned, does P4GH actually overclock it at all? I', confused why that program would give one laptop a speed boost but not another.

Lastly, I see a lot of VGA to RCA converters, which is exactly what I need. But I've been reading that just because your laptop has a VGA out, it doesn't mean that it will actually display on a connected TV unless it's been programmed to do so. I've looked around and can't see confirmation of whether the G51vx has TV OUT capability or not.

 

Fn+V will bring up Lifeframe, I think.

And, as mentioned, programs that use a webcam will do so automatically

It depends. For normal browsing, your CPU won't be stressed and thus you won't notice the difference in the overclock versus the normal mode. You might get few fps here and there in certain games, and slightly better benchmark scores.

CPU-Z should show you the overclocked frequency. In any case, it should show your FSB, which you can multiply by your processor's multiplier to get your clockspeed. E.g. the P7350 has a multiplier of 7.5, so your FSB should be 280 for 2.1 GHz.

Also, stressing the computer with something like prime95, Intel Burn Test, or OCCT should show an overclock when observing with CPU-Z

I've used both HDMI and VGA Out to project onto my HDTV and an external monitor. It should work if you have the right converter.

But I don't really know about non-HDTVs, do ask around more.

Despite all the new Radeons, Intel Core ix CPUs, and the like, the GTX 260m is going to remain relevant for a quite a while, and you can always upgrade the CPU to a better C2D.

P4GH is an overclocking program as well as a battery setting program.

In the G50vt there were two programs, Power 4 Gear, which did power settings, and Direct Console, which overclocked the CPU, set the OLED on some versions, and controlled the lights. The two programs were combined in P4GH

You can't overclock in BIOS. That option is locked out.

In any case, just reinstall P4GH, and you can have the easy overclocking back.

P4GH does like a +7%, if I remember right. You might want to try a third party program like SetFSB in order to get a beefier overclock.

Also, your P7350 won't be likely to hit 2.8GHz. At best you might hit 2.6, and it'll probably be unstable when stressed.

 

Wow Forge, thanks for such a lengthy and specific response. It brings up a few more questions although I feel I'm starting to understand things better.

Okay, I did reinstall P4GH and with the settings NOT set to turbo or extreme, CPU-Z showed me this (and forgive me for posting an irrelevant figure or two, I'm new to this and don't know which ones are the important ones):

Core speed: 1995.0
Bus speed: 266.0
Rated FSB: 1064.0

Now, yesterday when I tried this and switched to Extreme Turbo, I swear it showed the same readings. But just now I did it again, and here's what it says:

Core speed: 2154.5
Bus speed: 287.3
Rated FBS: 1149.0

So now it DOES seem to be working. Don't know what changed, but I'll take it. I ask though- does this look about right? Are these numbers where one would expect with the G51vx in Extreme Turbo mode? Also, will running the laptop in this mode really reduce the laptop lifespan? If I just turn it on extreme turbo before I start a game, then turn it off afterwards, would this be prudent?

Also, Forge, you say you modified your same model. So are you saying that, although you haven't tried using VGA out on an old, non HD television, you DID get tv-out using VGA on an HDTV? I guess what I'm saying is, you were able to view your laptop on a television using not just HDMI but the VGA out as well? If so, then that answers my question as to whether this laptop is tv-out enabled. I'd use HMDI if I had a tv that has the input, but I don't right now, and I wanted to be sure the laptop will put forth a tv signal through the VGA monitor instead before I drop some cash on an RCA converter.

A final question, if I may: I've been hearing about the ability to add a second processor to the laptop. How does this work? I mean, you don't need to sit and guide me, but I was just wondering in general, do I just go buy a compatible processor, open up the laptop, and snap it into a slot, or do I have to know sautering and circuitry and all that kind of stuff? I adore this graphics card, I just wouldn't mind boosting the overall gaming speed and want to find the cheapest - and more importantly, safest- way to get a bump.

Thanks again for such good info.

 

Numbers look just about right.

What really kills a laptop isn't the overclocking itself, but rather the heat brought on by overclocking. As long as you don't get crazy hot--for an overclocked P7350, I'd say that would be around high 60s for the CPU--your CPU should last just fine. CPUs are pretty resilient anyway. It's the GPU you really need to worry about.

So, that said, I'd say just keep the overclock on all the time. No problem with that. However, there won't be a difference if you switch the overclock on only when you game. It's up to you.

Yep.

The CPU is easily removable. Just pop open the back, remove the heatsink (you have to break a "warranty is void if removed" sticker), unlatch the CPU, pop in the new CPU, latch it back in, replace the heatsink, and replace the back panel. No soldering required. You just need a screwdriver, thermal paste, and some cleaning agent (for the old paste) to get things started. And the new CPU, of course.

This should help. (Yes, it's a G50v, but the architecture is essentially identical)

As for boosting your performance, most games run just fine on Core 2 Duo at 2.1 GHz. What really matters is the graphics card. Focus on increasing the performance on that and you'll see better returns. Just beware of heat; a graphics card isn't as forgiving as a CPU.

I'll make a G51 modifier out of you yet.

 

Lol at that last comment.

Well so far, I really do love this laptop. And I've been thrilled with the op tier graphics card; in fact it was one of the main reasons I selected this model. I wanted something in the 600-800 dollar price range that could give me the best bang for my gaming buck. I used to have a Compaq CQ50 - 215nr, which I got without having any idea how to compare video cards or performance, and realized that while adequate for many of my games, it REALLY wasn't the gaming laptop I hoped it would be.

So I got this one a month ago, and I've been happy with my performance with it so far- my games look great on it (never before have I bought a game on day one and played it smoothly on my laptop, like I did with Just Cause 2). I guess I'm just a bit concerned about overall speed, since the two main complaints in all reviews I studied were heat, and "relatively" average processor.

So if it isn't difficult to get a new cpu in here, I'd look into it as long as I wouldn't destroy the laptop in doing so. I'm also not worried about warranty since it's refurbished to begin with. The graphics card I love, and the speed has been fine so far, I'm just interested in optimizing it but doing it SAFELY. I really, really want to protect my investment.

Again, the heat has been a non-issue to me so far. At least compared to that Compaq, which got very hot very often. I noticed that while the G51vx does output some pretty warm air from time to time, I've never felt like my finger would burn if I let it sit against the vent, which I did with the Compaq. I guess I need to find a program that can test the heat to make sure, I'm just saying that it's been nowhere near as hot (to the touch anyway) as I was expecting from all the warnings.

So yeah, I'm open to the idea of modding this baby, but I would only want to do it if it's safe, and if it's a big improvement. For example playing Oblivion with lots of mods sometimes makes the game sputter or chop a bit, and I'd like to get past that someday. Haven't tried it with this now-working overclock though. Oh, which reminds me, I installed the driver for LifeFrame and confirmed my webcam works. Thanks for all this info, I'm really getting rolling here!

If I be a total pest and ask one more time though, just to be sure- because this time a potential purchase hangs in the balance- you're sure that the G51vx does have TV out capability through the VGA port, and I could connect it to a television through an RCA adapter, not JUST a pc monitor?

 

Some light reading.

My TV supports PC-to-TV input, so I suppose it matters on the model of TV too.

 

Heh I independently saw that post of yours yesterday and it scared me. I've never modded a computer and above everything else, I would be so scared of zapping it dead. I HAVE modded several game systems, but they were soft mods, no hardware or physical modification needed, but even then the risk of bricking my system always scared me.

Still, I'm curious to look into the possibility. I'm sure I'll be looking into that thread again.

As for the tv thing, it sounds like either way the G51vx IS capable of connecting to a tv through the VGA output, which is what I was looking to find out. I guess now it's just a matter of finding a decent adapter.

 

Here's a little secret: Before I got my G51vx, I quite literally knew nothing about modding a system, or cooling, or what a shader on a GPU was.

It's not as daunting as it looks. Unless you're a hamhanded idiot who breaks things by touching them, you should have no problem.

 

To the OP:

I just wanted to jump in here and say a few things. The reason P4G didn't show a boost in CPU-Z when you ran it in Extreme Turbo was likely because you weren't loading the system. Start opening a few windows and running a few programs and most likely the overclock will show up.

Also using SetFSB as others have mentioned should allow you to hit 2.4 easily ( I was able to get it up to this, maybe 2.5 when I had my P7350). There is a guide on here somewhere if you search that shows you step by step what to do.

As far as upgrading the CPU, I would give some careful consideration to that. If you DO decide to pull the trigger, go all out and buy a T9900 3.06ghz dual core. It will be worth it in the end because this is the fastest CPU the RX05 will take. I upgraded first to a T9550, sold that, and then bought a T9900 and couldn't be happier that I did. The laptop is really noticeably faster, and games run smoother (especially CPU dependent games like bad company 2)

The T9900 can be had on ebay new for like 350.00 US. Also you will need to get a cleaning solution (like artic clean) to clean off the old paste and prep the CPU and heatsink for the new paste. Speaking of paste, we mean thermal paste. This fills the gap between chips, cpus, etc and the heatsink to make for better heat conduction. I am using Shin-Etsu thermal paste, but other pastes like artic silver, OCZ freeze and the like can be bought on newegg.com or ebay.

Hope this helps a bit.