K53TA.. The best deal ever... could be!

Unfortunately that's wrong. The K53TA does not have any such bios switch to permanently enable the discrete gfx, and likely will never get such a needed update . The best you can do is tell the amd gfx drivers to run the game in high performance mode and hope the discrete gfx kicks in (update drivers maybe as well). If not, you're stuck with the integrated...

Currently, all opengl games only run on integrated gfx, and some directx games also only run on integrated. Bit frustrating, but it doesn't seem like this will change any time soon.

 

hey guys, i am thinking about getting a new laptop for Gaming.. [will use as secondary gaming rig after my desktop PC]. i am thinking about getting ASUS X53TA which seems like renamed K53TA with only 2GB RAM.

links:
ASUS - Notebooks- ASUS X53TA

Asus X Series X53TA-SX096D Laptop: Flipkart.com: Compare, Review Asus Notebook


i have no plan to overclock its CPU or GPU and i will use it for atleast 3-4 years.

can i play games like BF3, GTA4, Dirt 3 easily on this ?

does it suffer from any problems?

 

It's ok and safe to overclock a little bit (eg. instead of 1.4 ghz P0, you could go to 1.7 to 1.9 ghz P0, and instead of 2.3 ghz Peak B0, you could go to 2.4 ghz; you can even push it safely to a peak B0 of 2.6 ghz.)

This laptop can play BF3, GTA4, and Dirt 3 well (between 35 and 55 FPS) as long as you have good Radeon drivers. The best I've used were 11.12 and others stated 11.10 preview and 12.1 drivers are also ok; All of the above drivers are about 5-10 FPS better than Asus chipset drivers. But latest 12.2 drivers might be worse than above drivers; sometimes older drivers are better. See youtube for samples: (but most people will get even smoother results (eg.+5-10FPS) than youtube vids below because of newer Radeon drivers and FRAPS tends to slow youtube videos by 3-5 FPS.)

Code:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8J7GuFwMi7s&list=UUbE2Z0mGl3K_w4M5QCvQS6Q&index=3&feature=plcp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPYA0uiR2tA&list=UUbE2Z0mGl3K_w4M5QCvQS6Q&index=4&feature=plcp

I think BF3 and maybe GTA4 may still dip a little in FPS during very active scenes. But it's 90% fun and great. Get a cooler and even cooling mods can help a lot. Read and study this thread. If you want better gaming performance than this laptop it will cost you atleast $600+ ($US).

 

Nfs run runs very well on this laptop,just use the discrete graphic card and you get 30 fps (all graphic options at maximum)

 

actually i have no plan to OC in coming 1 yr or 2. will use this laptop for LAN parties and assignments.

what about reliability ?? does it suffer from any problem??

screen tearing issues are resolved by updating BIOS ?

OpenGL does not seem like a big issue as i don't really play openGL games [except IL2 but it supports D3D too]

 

I seem to get screen tearing with 12.1 drivers, but not the Asus 8.863 drivers. I have Bios 206.

 

Reliability should be good if we keep temperatures down most of the time below 70C, and if you never overclock you'll rarely ever see more than 65C (usually idles between 35-50C depending on how cool your environment is). The great thing is even with minor overclocking you don't see much difference in temps, maybe +/- 5C. I've dropped mine once on it's side and have a crooked AC outlet but still works; one person mentioned internet wifi issues, maybe a loose connection inside, but most people rarely reported many problems.

I used to be on Asus 8.863 drivers for the longest time August thru December and always saw tearing in Dirt 3 and BF3, and I still see some tearing using 11.12 drivers but not nearly as bad as before. Certain games must do that. But the tearing doesn't bother me as long as the graphic detail and FPS are good (I get a smooth 45 FPS most times). It's very tolerable. I assume if you need better more perfect gaming, you'll need to spend $100 to $300 more on alternative AMD discrete gpu laptops or Intel laptops with Nvidia graphics etc.

 

With this laptop I *HIGHLY* recommend overclocking the CPU. You should be able to easily get 300-400MHz more running at the same stock voltage. Not to mention great improvements in battery life if you decide to run at lower clocks with much lower voltages. IMHO it's worth it to spend some time with K10stat and tune your voltages and clocks. Games like BF3, GTA 4, and DiRT 3 will run much better if you do overclock. If you look at my HP DV6z & AMD Llano Optimization guide, it applies to the K53/A53/X53TA Asus notebooks as well for the overclocking: http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-...-dv6z-llano-overclock-optimization-guide.html

 

actually my parents dont trust asus brand ;-( they are suggesting to go for dell vostro [cant remember model no.] with i3 2nd gen. and onboard HD3000 GPU ;-(

that's why i don't want to OC it to get max reliability and long life. [its my first notebook]

as i said it will be my secondary gaming rig, [will use it for gaming only 1-2 times/month in LAN parties] so how is the performance in regular applications like, MS office, internet browsers, media player ??

 

Guys, does Minecraft play well on this machine? I'm planning on buying it, but need some verification first so I don't go off spending $27 and not being able to play it.

 

I hope you are joking,this laptop runs bf3,crysis and many more heavy games and you ask about minecraft?Anyway,read the system requirements for minecraft below and compare them with this laptop


Recommended Requirements :
CPU : Core2 Duo or AMD Athlon 64 (K8) 2.6GHz (Although, Minecraft is single-threaded, and can only run 1 core no matter how many your processor has (due to how Minecraft was coded). So if you have a decent to high speed single core (Pentium 4, for example) you'll be fine.
RAM : 1GB
GPU : GeForce 66xx or ATI Radeon 9xxx and Up with OpenGL 2 Support (Excluding Integrated Chipsets)
HDD : 150MB

 

Yes, I know that -_-, but if you didn't know, this computer has problems with opengl applications, which include minecraft. So, I'm wondering is there a fix for it yet.

 

I think the crossfire doesnt work with opengl programs,that means you can use only one graphic card for opengl games.Correct me if i am wrong...

 

Like I said, you can clock it higher at same voltage as stock. You'd be silly not to, and it won't affect reliability in any way, and will get better battery life. This laptop is overkill for just basic office apps, browsing, and media player. You can do that with a netbook. At a minimum optimize it for voltages (i.e. lower them) which will make it run cooler and run much longer on battery.

 

Either way, it's Minecraft. Unless you want to hack your view distance to make it unreasonable far, it'll run just fine

 

happy17292, take everyone's word here, that this is one of the nicest laptops as far as reliability and performance have to go. You can overclock and undervolt safely without harming the system. It's better for you and it's better for the system, and it can be automated so you don't have to activate it every time.

maj3stic, about Minecraft, people in the past have stated it runs fine. Even if it is only running off the integrated 6520g card it should play ok since it isn't very demanding like first person shooters and racing games. However there are other openGL games like Rage that just won't perform the way it should. But I've never tried either game, so can't share my own experience with them.

 

ladies & gents
I figure you guys could quickly answer this for me:
what is the "go-go" utility for monitoring CPU throttling??
thx
c

 

I don't know if this has been discussed before but I just updated to the 12.3 drivers and I noticed that AMD Overdrive is now available in CCC. Has anyone tried it and, if so, does it produce any better overclocks than we have achieved manually?

 

Anyone tried the 12.3 drivers yet and what is the performance like in BF3 and ME3?

 

Manual graphics card selection.






Bios 212

Catalyst 12.2

Temperatures reduced by 5c with discrete graphics disabled.

 

WoW let me try

 

Windows 7 experience rating after igpu disabled and only dgpu enabled.



This mod turned this laptop into a 2.6ghz quadcore with discrete 6650m graphics. Will test battery later but with the option of disabling completely the dgpu I expect battery to improve immensely. Temperature has drop dramatically with only one graphics card active.

 

WT* could not find those two option "switchable graphics method" in CCC. Just updated to 212 dated 11/25/11 (k43ta212.zip) no visual change in bios.
Updated to latest mobility 12.2 whql (12-2_mobility_vista_win7_64_dd_ccc)
"http://www2.ati.com/drivers/mobile/12-2_mobility_vista_win7_64_dd_ccc.exe"
and not a clue. could u clarify what CCC version u exactly use with link
any one got this working!!

another thing I was disabled my touchpad from bios from very early as don't need it and after update i am finding the Left click don't register anymore those flaky keys
though touchpad works ok, one key "the loose one" is malfunctioning, I admit i forgot to enable it before updating but that should not affect one button only now does it?

 

there148, that's great news if manual gpu selection really works! Have you tried any OpenGL games to see if you get better gaming results, or any other improvements in game performance?
I just now noticed people on HP dv6z laptops have also been tinkering with this fixed/dynamic gpu fix designed specifically with their laptop model(bios,etc): (but there seems to be some stability issues they are dealing with; just read thread.)
http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-...unlock-fixed-dynamic-switchable-graphics.html

Maybe you can try to retrace your exact steps on how you got this to work, so others can get it to work.
(it sounds like you somehow used modded bioses to get 2.6ghz cpu like Camolil's BIOS or Musho's Bios -- but I thought these were specifically designed for HP dv6 laptops).
http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-...overclock-optimization-guide.html#post8247075
I hope you guys did make progress in this for future exploration on our Asus K53TA laptop.

(...I'm still afraid to flash anything right now and satisfied with old bios 206 since I don't play any newer openGL games that could use this fix.)

 

Is this with a modded bios or drivers? I've had 212 bios on for a while now and just updated to 12.3 catalyst. Obviously those options are nowhere officially, so where did you come across the mod or did you develop it yourself? Since you didn't actually post the mod or what was done, I'm guessing it's potentially unstable for right now?

edit: found it: http://www.bios-mods.com/forum/Thread-Asus-k43-k53-bios-unlock-request Before attempting this flash, be sure to have a method to recover from a bad flash and are prepared for the worst! I'll probably give it a shot later tonight.

 

ccc doesn't seem to run after I install 12.2

I keep getting "No AMD graphics driver is installed, or the AMD driver is not functioning properly. Please intall the AMD driver appropriate for your AMD hardware."

Any ideas?

 

Did you just install it over your old drivers? did you just uninstall the old ones and then install the new ones? Did you run driversweeper and all that jazz?





Also, someone be brave and try that modded bios, dammit.

 

Update 212 Bios changelog what i observe the Varibright option in Catalyst PowerPlay is removed

 

updating my bios and catalyst drivers now to see if I can get it to work. This looks promising.

BTW for those who removed all their bloatware, you need to install ATK Drivers and Winflash to reflash your ROM

will let you know if I get the same results, thanks

 

12.2 WHQL/12.3 preview is a disaster for dv6z.

Fixed graphic have nothing to do with driver, it is a option in bios.

 

I'm looking forward to the results! Let us know if the combo really does have the option to choose which graphics card you use for the whole system, or if those pictures were just sweet lies .

I don't think this bios update its official, it's a homebrew.

 

Easy flash from inside bios or simply F4 during booting to access easyflash works for me

 

So anyone know what version of catalyst there148 used? I installed the 12.2 mobility like others but we seem to be missing the "switchable graphics method" tab... is he using a mod of some sort?

EDIT: Seems like people on youtube are saying it'll pop up if you change your bios gpu settings from dynamic to fixed. So basically we need to confirm that bios mod works right?

 

I flashed the modded bios. There don't seem to be any new options in the bios menus... Reinstalled mobility catalyst 12.2 and no new submenu appears. Nothing shows up about switching graphics method. Though looking in the info->software section, it says I have catalyst version 12.3 when the file I used says 12.2...

I also noticed that the catalyst logo on the screenshots is different from mine. His shows "Radeon graphics" while mine shows "Vision" so maybe different set of 12.2? Maybe using the desktop version? I'll give those a shot next and see what happens.

 

Brave, brave seal. Thank you for your services.

 

I use the official catalyst mobility 12.2 with caps profile and southbridge chipset drivers.Here is the attach cataclyst software and hardware information section. Notice that I have disabled the igpu and the dgpu is the primary adapter.

 

Did you also have to install a modded Bios 212 that allows the switchable graphics method tab? and if so, can you share it with everyone?

You installed southbridge chipset drivers also...Can you provide a link of the southbridge chipset drivers you used? is this it by any chance?
AMD Chipset Drivers

I know everyone here would be grateful if you could provide a step by step easy guide of how you did everything so everyone here can replicate your install.

 

Agreed and seconded!

 

Wonder what I'm doing differently. I'm back on the 12.2 mobility officials and still no method option in ccc. I had, or what I think are, the southbridge drivers already installed as well (these? http://www2.ati.com/drivers/12-2_vista_win7_32-64_sb.exe ) I have same software versions as you do as well.

Did you have a new bios option present? Did you reset cmos or mess with bios settings at all after your flashed? Anything different?

 

Judging by the pics, it seems there148 is using these drivers:

AMD Catalyst 12.2/3 (8.950.0 February 14) AMD Official WHQL - Guru3D.com Forums

asus bios 013.012.000.028. Not sure which package that is specifically.

 

Thirded.

Srsly, you are sitting on the thing that I check this thread daily for. Please go through painfully detailed instructions on how you did this, and I will sacrifice my first born to you. Or name it after you. Or just thank you heartily for making my life better.

 

Well I updated my drivers and catalyst package with the exact same versions he has (the ones I linked), and I see nothing like that switchable graphics menu he has. Granted, I haven't updated the bios yet, but the options should still be there in CCC. What gives?

 

I sincerely hope he was not just trolling us using Photoshopped screen shots.
(paint app active on his task bar? Am I being too paranoid?)

It is not April 1st yet and I will be very sad...

 

Yea, it doesn't make sense. His does say AMD Radeon instead of Vision CCC. Vision should always pop up for AMD APUs/CPUs, Radeon for Intel CPUs. His other pictures show that he's using the ATI graphics cards, but he either faked the pics, has an intel CPU, or something else fooling CCC into thinking he's on an intel platform,

 

THERE148.

wat ? did you use the modded bios from bios-mods.com ?

no. I don't think it's fake. When you disable the igp, it probably fools catalyst and displays radeon logo instead.


also, he has mspaint open because he needs to save the screenshot to jpg file.


Judging by his AIDA64 output, http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/3075/graphicsq.jpg
he has the dgpu disabled.

my aida64 shows both gpu's because I do not have anything disabled.

 

Well he's using Bios version 013.012.000.028, which doesn't match at all with the modified bios 212 linked earlier. I can't even find a trace/source of the bios version on the internet :/.

 

that bios version is the vbios.
mine is 012.043.000.015.041326 currently.


anyway, there148, please provide links to the mod you used. and full instructions

 

That number, 013.012.000.028, pertains the the 6650m's bios, not the laptop. Look on the hardware section of the ccc, click on linked adapter, and then you should see this same exact number for your 6650m. At least I see this number there, and this is the portion he snipped a screenshot of.

Needless to say, either I'm doing something wrong with this as I'm using the exact same software versions, he's using a different mod than what I just happened to run across, or this simply doesn't work for everyone...

 

I was looking at the same screen on my laptop, and it shows .012.043.000.015 for me on 12.1 drivers (version 8.923). 12.2 drivers have been a real B**** to install, mucking something up every time I've attempted it. And it still doesn't produce the switchable graphics option.

 

alright. I'm gonna install asus 212 stock, then the modded bios.


btw, did you guys try uninstalling all drivers, and deleting every dll ?