Asus G50vm-X1 at Best Buy

I just saw that, you can go pretty crazy with the hard drive options at xotic (dual 320gb 5400 or 7200rpm). I heard you can upgrade to the 5300 card later is that true? Also is it easy to install vista ultimate if I order the G50 with it?

 

So we got the gpu questions out of the way. How is the "crappy" Cpu doing?

 

Aren't these laptops supposed to be 15.6" widescreens? The one at Best Buy is and this is the same series of laptop.

 

The BB model has a lower quality/resolution screen than the A1/A2 models.

 

Setup i came outwith from xoticpc.com, im mainly using the pc for 3d modeling and animation, maya, sony vegas 8, and other 3d programs. I will be doing some gaming aswell on the system. I had a $1500 budget in place and this seems like a killer deal.

The one thing is i cant find any info on the 512mb 9700M GS gfx card.

ASUS G50V-A1 - PRE ORDER
- !! FREE !! UPS GROUND SHIPPING (Use Coupon Code FREESHIP in Checkout)
- 15.4" WSXGA+ "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Glossy Screen (1680x1050)
- Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
- ASUS Zero Bright Dot (ZBD) Pixel Guarantee
- -Intel® T9400 45nm "Montevina" Core™2 Duo 2.53GHz w/6MB L2 On-die cache - 1066MHz FSB 35 watt - ASUS Default Processor
- 512MB PCI-Express nVidia GeForce 9700M GS DDR3 DX10
- - 4,096MB (Corsair, Kingston, Major Brand) DDR2 800 (2 SODIMMs) Dual Channel Memory
- Standard Finish
- - Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti 8X DVDRW Drive w/ Software
- - 250GB SATA 150 5400RPM Hard Drive - Default
- - 250GB SATA 150 5400RPM Hard Drive - Default
- Internal 8-in-1 Card Reader: MMC/SD/Mini-SD/XD/Memory Stick/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo
- Internal Bluetooth 2.0+ EDR
- Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 4965 802.11 a/g/n
- Built in 1.3Megapixel Camera
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Asus G Series Matching Backpack made by Targus
- Smart Li-ion Battery (6-Cell)
- Asus G Series Matching Logitech Mouse
- ~Windows Vista Home Premium 64-Bit w/ Drivers & Utilities CD's - ENS
- 2 Year ASUS GLOBAL Warranty, 24/7 Tech Support, 1 Year Accidental Damage Coverage & 2-Way Pre-Paid Overnight Shipping for Repairs

 

Did we ever determine if the Best Buy model had bluetooth in it? I am curious to know. I only have $1400 to use..and am seriously looking at this computer and the toshiba f55-q502. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Why not just save the extra $239 you need for the non-retail and you're better off.

 

You are probably right. I will probably save up the extra few bucks and get it online. I did manage to head up to best buy today and got some quick pics of the notebook. I apologize ahead of time for the quality and size of the pics..they were taken with my iphone.
It seems as if the comp does have Asus Express...at least it came with a booklet for it. The windows index was 4.5 the lowest being the memory. The Graphics card was at 5.9. Just wanted to pass along the info. Oh..I also could not find a listing in the system properties about a bluetooth adapter.

 

Any 3DMark 06 scores on these yet??

 

>.< my ram index is 4.8 on my one year old HP. If only it came with "slightly" better cpu.

 

runs crysis fine at high settings, don't go to very high though...it kind of blows the computer up hahah

It doesn't come with a bluetooth adapter

SM2.0 Score=2844
HDR/SM3.0 Score=2636
CPU Score=1592
Total Score=6182

 

Thanks so much for the reply. I figured it didnt when I was able to play around with the laptop a few days ago. That is the only things preventing me from buying this laptop. I love the integrated stuff alot more. Thanks again for checking it out.

 

I have thought of purchasing this laptop. But is best buy a reliable source to buy a laptop from? I do not like to purchase form online stores.

 

well, best buy is the only store that I have seen that sells the Asus G50vm-X1.... so I guess its your only choice!

 

Best Buy is a safe place to buy anything, but it's not the best place to buy an Asus nor is it the best bang for your buck. If you are considering to buy an Asus, I would strongly recommend purchasing from a reputable and authorized reseller like gentechpc. As mentioned before, Best Buy sells a toned-down version of the G50VM which includes a lower res screen, slower-older generation GPU, smaller hard drive, no bundled accessories (carrying case, optical mouse) and a mediocre warranty. It's also unlikely that Best Buy can help troubleshoot your problems better than the resellers if you encounter a problem.


Edit: better CPU, not GPU. And like Vicious said, there's also no bluetooth, and slower ram in the best buy version

 

You forgot the lower ram and no bluetooth. Definitly not worth the $400 less in cost, not at all.

Oh and I think you meant CPU not GPU

Im really trying to find a way to get the G50V-A1 but I think I am gonna come up short on funds.

 

Yeah, that's exactly what i meant sorry.. getting late here in boston...

 

Its only 2:30am here in Florida.

I gotta take off and do some work anyways I'll be intermittently on the forums as I get breaks.

 

if you come up short on funds maybe you can look over at the Toshiba Qosmio F55 which is 1399 istead of the 1600.

 

I like how GenTechPc allows for checks to be sent in. When you buy any laptop from them what programs come with it. The standard asus stuff or extras.

 

Does anyone know if the X1 retail version come with ddr2 667 or 800 memory?

 

^^ I'm almost positive it is 667.

 

Best Buy version comes with 667mhz ram.

 

Should be able to tell you if no one else does by tommorow. Im curious as to whether or not most modern games and those coming out even have a supported resolution of 1366 x 768. I saw it in the store and that was the first thing that came to mind, and if they do then it should work well with the 9700 in it since thats not a demanding resolution.

 

Hm anyone know of any canadain retailers that have this?

 

I just got back from best buy they had the X1 on display.

I got some work to do so I will give a full mini review later but just really quick:

I love the touchpad on the G50 big and your fingers just glides across it so easy very responsive. I dont like the "mouse buttons" tho its like part of the chasis and I just dont like it.

Speakers were sounding good but not very loud at all, atleat not with the music demos included in windows.

Its big, bigger than my C90S width wise, but its light.

The orange does not look too bad, I would live with it.

Webcam quality was pretty poor my c90s web came was 5x better, but maybe its the software they had on there I dunno.

Well thats it for now lol, I'll be back later.

 

I just tried out the G50Vm-X1 at Best Buy today and there is somthing about it that just feels right( as if the sum of the parts add up to more than the actual total). Its fast with a great feeling keyboard and mouse, and a sharp , clear, bright screen that is beautiful ( even if it is not one of the higher spec. monitors) . The CPU is not a top of the line processor but it is no slouch either and when you take into account the overall performance of this little gem of a laptop, Vs the price , and how much more you would have to pay for " Hall of Fame Specs", and the fact that I am not calculating the gravitational effects of a Black Hole on one of Saturns Moons, I think that this just might be the next laptop for me!!

 

Hahaha. Yes. For many average users, this will suffice, however, for people like me who run things like Ableton Live, I will need as much juice as possible without breaking the bank. Since I also enjoy gaming and orange black shiny things, this seems perfect for me.

 

Would the M50's 9600M GS be enough to run 3D applications, or would I need the G50's 9700M GT?

Also, does the G50 have Altec Lansing speakers? They don't look like it, and they seemed to be placed in a rather bad place(under the notebook). Can it even get loud, or would I need headphones?

 

Speakers are in the same place as the M50 they just are not exposed its a mesh there.

They are still Altec Lansing, dont know if they are the exact same speakers tho.

 

http://1toppc.com/Merchant2/images/Notebook/Asus/G50V/9.jpg

Then what is this?

 

I saw that too when I was at best buy when I was comparing to the Toshiba X305 and listened to both with the sample music and I was blown away by the sound of the Toshiba so I went back to the Asus and as the music was playing at it's loudest, I lifted the laptop and put my hand on that opening thinking it was a small subwoofer but I didnt "feel" any sound coming out of it.

It could be for ventilation.

Maybe someone knows for sure?

 

The 9600M GS is good enough to run games that are a couple of years old on full.
The 9700M GT will be good enough to run today's games at roughly medium.

That thing on the bottom is a vent for the 9700M GT so I've heard.
Then again, somewhere else I've heard it does nothing (covered with plastic on the inside). In that case, could it be a subwoofer on the higher spec models?

 

Aethel, by 3D applications, I mean stuff like maya and whatnot. Will the 9600M GS suffice?

BTW, since the speakers aren't exposed, wouldn't it reduce the sound quality?

 

Though it may look like a sub-woofer or a vent, the circular thingamajig is purely for decoration only.

 

Yeah, it's a vent for the GPU. Also it does come with Bluetooth.

Hi all, I just bought the ASUS G50 last night at Best Buy. It's my very first laptop and I gotta say I love it. I play shooters, RTS, and MMO's and have run them all on here. BF2142, Sins of a Solar Empire, EverQuest2 all run great. I was aprehensive about the 2.0GHz processor (since my desktop is over a year old and has a 2.5GHz) , but I'm happy with it now. I was also worried about the size, but this is the smallest gaming laptop I could find. At 6.2# it's really not bad. I wanted a smaller unit (14-15") but I couldn't find it with this kind of performance, and if you can it would all be packed in too tight. This was also the best performer for my budget at $1250 and it has been worth every penny so far. It also connected to my wireless router with ease and had fast download speeds.

It also doesn't come with any junk on it. It's fairly bare bones software wise. There is Expressgate, but that loads independently of the OS. I'm intrigued by it, but haven't really spent any time with it. There is an optional trial of Office (which I am doing) and Norton. I bought this as a school/gaming laptop and I'm sure I made the right decision.

I do have a couple questions: There's a control panel from ASUS built into the software (Direct Console 2.0) that has a couple unfamiliar things to me. There is an option under performance that gives me 3 choices, Normal, Turbo, and Turbo Extreme. Any idea what these do? I'm assuming it's some kind of overclocking tool? There's also an option in the same panel to control the LED lights, which I turned off immediately.

Also, I've read that the FSB can be overclocked to give a processor increase to 2.2GHz. Is this advisable? Is it gonna overheat?

I also like the status readout they provide above the keyboard. I have it set to show battery life, memory usage, and cpu usage. You can add a personal reminder and a mail indicator.

All in all it's a very customizable unit and it's a fast machine. The 9700M GT, 4GB Memory, 7200 RPM HDD...all these add up to a great bargain. Sure there are machines more buff than this out there, but for the price, this is it.

A lot of pros, so her's a con...the speakers. Sound i not up to par. But since I'll be wearing headphones I'm not too worried about it.

 

I feel bad for you guys paying $1300 for the X1 when only $300 more would give you so much more.

If you ever wanted to upgrade to what the A1 has it would cost you much much more than $300.

The X1 has the ram & cpu from Santa Rosa while the A1 has ram & cpu from Montevina.

Your screen is not as high of a resolution or of the same quality, the cpu is much slower in terms of speed. Also you lose the 2 year warrenty and only get 1 hard drive.

I dont know about you but I base my purchases on price vs performance, not just price alone so while $1300 seems appealing at first sight you really have to do your research.

 

Does anybody know what kind of software compatability problems that I might have with the Asus G50Vm-X1 , since it is running the 64 bit version of Vista? What will be the overall advantages and disadvantages??

 

I am currently using a dedicated multitrack recorder(AkaiDPS16-I am old school like that).But someday,pretty soon, I am going to switch to a computer based studio enviorment. I take it that you are saying the Asus G50Vm-X1 would be a good choice to run Pro Tools, Ableton Live, or other professional level recording and sequencing programs??

 

Just about none if your using current software, if you use something thats from windows 95 days you may have some issues.

 

you are right visious, but SOME people only have a certain amount of money to spend, and some can't justify $1600 plus tax for a laptop for school so that means that the A1 is out of the question. Although the X1 comes with less if someone wants the G50 then thats all they are able to get and in that case this laptop is not that bad. Also, the low res screen would help a little in terms of the GPU as it can prob push out a few more frames....but thats not the point. It has the same GPU as the A1 and therefore would be a good deal.

 

personally if I would get a g50 I would shell out like another hundred for one of those new Sagers with a 8800 buts only 15 inches

 

It still doesn't matter what the situation, the value for your money is not as good.

If you can only afford $1300 your throwing away that money compared to if you saved up $300 more. I do not have $1600 laying around myself trust me. Father of 4 kids with a normal joe job. However since this is an investment I would save up that $300 more. I upgrade computers every 2 years usually and if you break down $300 over two years its nothing, then given the fact that the better model has a much better chance of lasting you two years (even more so if you think about the fact your comparing a 1 year warranty against a 2 year one, so the A1 is guaranteed to function for 2 years regardless)

Then you have to look into the hardware, your PAYING for that PM45 motherboard. Thats the new motherboard that supports the 1066fsb cpu's and full DDR2 800mhz ram. If your paying for that motherboard, why then go put older Santa Rosa parts on it? Again throwing away money. You may as well get a cheaper Sata Rosa notebook that way all of the parts work in unison.

Im not telling anybody to not get the X1 and get the A1/B1 instead but putting in my professional opinion. I would like to reduce the amount of "should I have got the A1 instead" or "wow wish I had gotten the a1" threads that will surly pop up in 2 weeks when we have reviews and benchmarks on the new unit.

 

some people like me have a $1350 best buy gift certificate haha. so the other models are out of the question. just want to see how the 9700m gt performs before i make my purchase.

 

hm if its worth to upgrade the m50 to the g50 then say shouldnt you try to get the new Sagers with the 8800s?

 

Sager owners are very loyal, they seem to build a good machine but I have not seen one personally that interested me. There styling is somewhat.... plain.

Edit: I just checked out the new Sager that comes with the 9800GT to be configured with the same specs as the G50V-A1 except with the better gpu it was over $2200. Thats alot of money for a GPU upgrade (and it only offers DDR3 memory, more money for no reason)

 

^^ Yeah exactly, and it's big and heavy. I have one pre-ordered as of right now because I was too impulsive and excited lol but I will probably be switching to the G50 as soon as I figure out if I am comfortable with the size.

 

What is the actual screen size of the G50Vm-X1 ?? Best Buy lists it as a 15.6 and Gen Tech calls it a 15.4 inch?????

 

The X1 is 15.6" because its a strange new 16:9 screen. The A1 at GentechPC is 15.4" with the standard 16:10 screen.

@ Doc Z if its any consolation the new model with the 9800GT doesn't look too bad to me, but all the older models are seriously like bricks. If your only holding in pre-order you should be able to back out at any time without penalty if you so decide.

 

Yup, I will be doing just that. I jumped the gun a bit too quick on that one and I wasn't happy at all with some events that have transpired during the process of my pre-order. I am very very reluctant in purchasing a Sager now due to some terrible customer service experiences....but damn they are good value notebooks