G71V-Q1: Shipped with incorrect HDDs

Don't know how many people have this model, but I wanted to bring this to the attention of those that DID buy it (including me).

My primary HDD failed within a week of getting the box. So obviously I had to pop the case to replace the HDD. I found out tonight, as I was about to put the replacement that Asus sent me, that it is NOT a 7200 RPM Drive, but rather a 5400 RPM Drive. I did not notice this a couple of weeks ago when I pulled the bad drive out and called Asus. The guy in TechSupport said it would be a 7200 RPM Drive so I didn't think anything about the bad drive I was holding in my hand.

Well tonight I was going to replace the bad drive when I realized the packing slip from Asus said the drive was a 5400 RPM Drive. I then confirmed on just about every website that carries the G71V-Q1 that it is supposed to be a 7200 RPM Drive. I was NOT able to confirm on Asus' website because this model isn't even listed!!!

Asus sent me a WD Scorpio WD3200BEVT. This is a 5400 RPM Drive as confirmed by WD's Website. The WD Scorpio Black WD3200BEKT is the 7200 RPM Version.

I have sent an e-mail to the company that I bought mine from (to remain anonymous till we resolve this) and hopefully we can come to an agreeable resolution of this issue.

I don't know if there are other G71V-Q1's out there with 5400 RPM HDDs, but if you bought one, check the HDDs and I'm pretty confident that it is not a 7200 RPM HDD.

If you are a reseller, you may want to check your stock of this model to confirm that indeed the HDDs are 7200 RPM.

 

I don't have the G71V, but my suggestion is for you to contact the company that sold you the notebook asap and explain the issue. I'd rather not speculate what your dealer would do as each reseller can vary greatly in customer service, but hopefully you'll get a fair compensation for the mishap.

 

I have sent them an e-mail and am awaiting a response. The reseller I have used has been great to work with so far, so I'm hopeful that they will do the right thing.

My comment to the resellers is that they should be informed because they could be exposed to this issue as well.

 

Well, the reseller is unable/unwilling to do anything about the issue. I've got an e-mail to Asus as well and have to wait for their normal business hours before I can make a phone call to them.

Starting to get a little frustrated.

 

Ok. So now I am more than a little frustrated.

Update:
Called Asus Customer Service, they indicated that their specifications call for 5400 RPM HDDs. Contacted reseller again via e-mail, and they indicated that they are aware of the issue (different than what was told me this morning) and provided me with an individual at Asus that is handling the issue. I am awaiting a response from this individual at Asus to see how they are handling it.

So as blatant an issue as this is, it doesn't seem as if the information with regards how it is being resolved is getting out. It took 2 phone calls (total of 45 minutes on hold with Asus) and several e-mails before I got an e-mail address for someone that is directly handling this issue.

So I have spent a total of 4 hours already just trying to figure out who is handling this. I sincerely hope that Asus can step up to the plate and resolve this quickly.

Assuming Asus is going to send me the 7200 RPM HDDs (2 x 320GB), I will have to spend several more hours backing up and then restoring to the new HDDs. What a total PITA!!!

 

We have contacted ASUS before regarding this matter. They immediately offered to ship the replacement hard drives free of charge and customers get to keep the old drives. This is the quickest turnaround or you can send the entire notebook back to ASUS and they will help you to get the appropriate drives replaced with OS preloaded. Thanks!

 

Final Update: As ExcaliberPC has indicated, this is a known issue. I have received my 2 x 7200 RPM 320GB HDDs and am now in the process of moving the data from the two drives over. I got to keep the 2 x 5400 RPM 320GB HDDs as compensation. I will be using one for my wife's laptop (she only has 80GB) and will keep the second as a spare drive in case of any future mishaps.

I am back to gaming

 

Drive Snapshot would be a really quick way to move the data over. It only took me about 1 hour and 30 mins to backup over 300GB of gaming data and that was on my 5400 RPM sata.

 

Using Acronis TI for the OS Drive. I have a ThermalTake XDrive for the Data Drive (connected via eSATA). Only took my 90 minutes for both drives. I'm back up and running.

I got 2 x 5400 RPM 320GB HDDs as compensation so obviously I'm happy.

 

Great for you that you got this solved! I suppose you really can't argue with those two 320GB drives.

Stealthc should really see this thread.