About to buy a G50VT-X1...

I have a couple of questions before I do so though...

I remember back a few months ago when they first came out some people were reporting issues with the laptop... I want to know if these issues still exist or if ASUS resolved them.

First issue I remember was, in games there would be CPU stutter every so many seconds. Has this been addressed?

Second issue I remember was, the keyboard would miss keystrokes and the only way ASUS had to address this was to switch the keyboard to "gamer" mode which sounded extremely inconvenient to me. Has this be fixed with a better solution?

Third issue I remember was, there was static in the line on the headphone jack. Has this been resolved?


Thanks for all your help! If I like the responses given, I may buy one today!

 

I haven't noticed this with my X1 (purchased in November).

This is a supposedly common issue I've never come across. I've never even heard of 'gamer mode' for the keyboard.

Unfortunately, no. It only happens for me when I'm transferring data to USB hard drives though, so it doesn't bother me too much.

 

There is a game mode, it's accessed by pressing Fn+G, it's a toggle on/off. It introduces z characters erroneously, so you will want to unbind Z if you use that mode. Basically if you want to use combinations like s+d+space they won't work without using Fn+G first to toggle the "game mode" on. It hasn't been fixed by ASUS, it was a makeshift solution that came out in a beta BIOS and stuck, they never resolved the underlying issue there. The CPU stutter, and all hanging problems are resolved with the latest drivers and BIOS. The static problem remains, and you just have to shuffle USB devices around the ports until it goes away or is less extreme.

 

Well, I was actually planning on buying a HP Pavilion HDX 16 but I can get the ASUS G50VT-X1 for $20 more + gas so I was thinking it could be worth the extra money and time to get a GPU that should last a lot longer. The thing that bothers me the most is the keyboard lag, I want to know if its resolved or a mixed bag. Lastly, with the static on the headphone jack, is that only if you use the USB port next to the headphone jack?

 

The keyboard lag and stuttering are resolved with the latest bios and updated atk drivers.

 

OK, that's good to hear. Does that mean the "gamer" mode is no longer needed? Also, I read in one of the reviews that the display is pretty bad? What is your take on this? (The Best Buy that has it is about 2 hours away so I don't want to go all that way just to look at the screen. My local Best Buy [30mins away] has the X5, does it use the same screen?) Thanks!

 

The screen is fine, IMO. Good horizontal viewing angle, not so great vertical viewing angle. I find this is typical for a majority of notebooks.

I like the 16:9 1366x768 resolution. Everything is just the right size, and at 15" games look about as sharp as they possibly can.

 

Using Fn+G is only needed if you want to do key combinations like s+d+space, w+d+space, x+d+space, etc. Otherwise it's not needed.

For the display, there is a significant amount of bleed, but it's not terrible (not really noticeable at all actually) unless the screen is totally black. It also should ease over time, mine isn't nearly as bad as it was originally on my G50V-A2.

 

The Fn+G mode sounds like sort of a hassle, I wish there was a better solution. Ultimately, I'm pretty strapped for cash and whatever I buy will need to last me awhile. I was debating between the HP Pavilion HDX 16 which I can get for $999.99 but has a 9600M GT instead of a 9800M GS and has a 5400RPM drive instead of a 7200RPM drive but lacks the issues of the ASUS G50VT series and has a "Ultra BrightView" screen (which I'm guessing means its a really nice screen), but at the same time, I can get the ASUS G50VT-X1 from the Best Buy that is 2 hours away from me for $1019.99 after tax but I have to take the time and gas to go there, hope the ones they have left don't have any dead-pixels and put up with the Fn+G mode as well as the headphone static, but I get a 7200RPM drive and a 9800M GS (which is a bit more powerful and has double the memory bandwidth so it should last me a bit longer). I'm really at a struggle at what to do, I want to do something to where I'll have a new laptop within a week from today.

 

The Fn+G issue isn't a huge deal unless you tend to strafe and jump at the same time a lot in games... it's a pain, no doubt but if you unbind the z key that's the workaround (since using 'game mode' introduces z characters erroneously as you tap the space bar).

I'd definitely recommend the G50Vt if you can deal with the extra expense, it's got a lot more firepower but there are a couple of glitches that remain, so I don't know whether that's a dealbreaker or not for you. Either system will be nice

 

Well, I don't think the Fn+G issue is a dealbreaker for me (I sometimes use the z key but I can live without it while in game, especially since it is a little ackward for me to press... I'll just have to remember to toggle it on and off, is there an indicator for it?). You said the bug with it missing keystrokes is fixed with the latest BIOS+ATK right? The only thing that would be a dealbreaker for me would be the screen. How does dark scenes appear on the screen, and are the colors good enough to do some hobby graphics design? Does the G50VT-X5 have the same screen? The only USB devices I would be using would be a mouse or a gamepad (and maybe a hard drive, but I'll probably switch to a eSATA drive soon anyhow) so I think the headphone issue shouldn't be a problem for me.

 

Yea, the issues with cpu usage and the lost keystrokes/lag are gone with driver/bios updates. The colors are very very good, the backlight bleed isn't really that bad unless it's totally black, on dark scenes it's not noticeable really. I'm not sure about the X5, I have the G50V-A2, so it's a different LCD, but the sort of backlight, from what I've read the bleed is basically the same. I never notice it unless I'm turning my computer on and waiting for it to boot.

 

I think I'll go check out the X5 and see how the screen is on that one, I would think it would be a very similar screen since its the same size and resolution and inside the same series of notebooks. I really wish Best Buy had games on their display models so I could get a feel of what playing a game is like on them. How hard would it be to get Best Buy to waive the restocking fee if I decided I didn't like it after using it for a week or so?

 

It'll be hard to notice the bleed without a totally dark background and dark environment, here's a pic I just took in a dark room... as you can see it's not very extreme and it's concentrated mostly around the edges. It's pretty subtle now, it was a bit more extreme when I first got it in late September 2008.

I have no idea what Best Buy's terms are, hopefully somebody else can answer that part of your question. Good luck

The pic is with brightness maxxed on the LCD... so that's about as bad as it will get.

 

I can't even really notice it that much in that image.

 

Yeah, it's very subtle, also reference this pic from ViciousXUSMC's G50V-A1 review. That pic has a bit of reflection in it though.

 

An image will show up in the middle of the screen that indicates whether the "game mode" is on or not, which is very similar display as the volume enable/mute, up/down, etc.

The system doesn't remember your game mode setting, however. It is always set to off after a reboot.
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As for the CPU/kb lag problem, I have never experienced on my -x6 which comes with BIOS 209 (which is the BIOS that addresses the issue).

 

Do you even have to do the FN +G key fix if you use an external USB keyboard?


I use magic jack that always has to be plugged into a USB port. I was hoping to have speakers hooked into the microphone port so I could have good sound for movies, games, etc.

Does this mean with the magic jack in the USB port I would have constant static?

 

No, Fn+G is not needed for an external keyboard.

With the USB thing you just need to move it from port to port to see which ones have lots of noise. I think somebody mentioned disabling one of the root hubs helps too if you don't use all the ports.

 

After thinking about it, I don't really want to deal with the quirks so I think I'm just going to get the HP Pavilion HDX 16. It's a pretty nice notebook and while it's not as powerful and not as good at gaming, I don't play games too often so I don't think the lesser power will really bother me too much.

 

That's too bad. Keep in mind that a lot of the listed quirks are fairly minor and probably not even noticeable. imo most of the time it's just being magnified here and felt like a big deal.

On the other hand, if gaming isn't your everyday thing, then you probably wouldn't need this laptop either.