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

Yeah I'd love to get one but now that TouchPads are down to £89 I'm not sure if I want both. Be careful when shipping into the UK as you will most likely be charged VAT on it if the seller put the value of the item on the packaging.

I have no real experience with Asus products but most of them seem pretty sturdy. Take a look at reviews and such to get a better idea.

 

It sounds like something coming from the CPU, a type of electrical(?) noise.

Ahh that explains it. The 4-key recognition might be the deal breaker for me. I just wrote a report and its constantly missing my "d,r, and l" keys lol.

Do all budget laptops have this kind of restriction? Or is it just this one? My previous laptop costed $1500 CAD and I didn't have this problem.

 

that's called cpu whine. lots of cpu's have it. My celeron has it too. but i overclocked it, so i don't know if it has anything to do with that.
Some say it happens when cpu clocks down to lower power state.
Seems like different clock speeds will cause whining.

my previous k53ta unit also had it.

did you overclock this?


what happens when you press drl + 3 other letters simultaneously? does it all register ?

 

Limited key recognition is typical of a lot of laptops. The Sager's have a 3 key recognition believe it or not.

 

i know every keyboard is made differently, but damn, 3 keys ?

i'm using a cheap MSI laptop right now, and I can press 8 keys simultaneously.

if i try 9 keys, it only registers 3.

I just don't see how you can type faster than 8 keys simultaneously.

 

Yes i overclocked it but i disabed the over clock and it still has the whine.

i think i found out why the keys aren't registering. This happens for most of my keys (didn't test them all)

if you split each key into 3 sections, top, middle and bottom.

The force requird to register the key when pressing the top is alot greater than pressing the middle and bottom. So those keys I'm constantly missing is because of my hand positioning.

Try using the same force on the top, middle, and bottom of any key and you will see that pressing it on the top requires quite a bit more force.

 

just google cpu whine, and you'll see it's all about luck of the draw whether you get it or not.

google lists some fixes around these forums that may or may not work.

 

Could anybody post a screenshot whit a nice/safe/stable overclock?

 

We can, but every machine is different, and may or may not work with your machine.

 

Im looking for a new laptop under $500 the only game ill be playing is iracing and will be doing school work on it (programming major). Other than the banding issues is there anything else that is giving this laptop issues? Also does the hdmi output give out audio and video? Will it output hd video or surround sound through the hdmi?

 

Yeah fairly standard except in the gaming specific notebooks because apparently that's the only time you'll push more than 3 at once.

 

I've spent more time tuning my K10stat, and damn. I can run at 2.533GHz at 1.1375V! Problem is, temps steady out at 88-90C

I realized once you meet or exceed the max defined speed of the CPU (in this case 2.3GHz), you have to set ALL your P-states to the same value and voltage. Otherwise once the machine approaches 80C it downclocks to the lowest P-state (default 800MHz) which can throw a damper on you mid-game.

To counter this just make a separate profile for gaming and set every P-state to your speed you want and run that profile before you play your game. 2.2GHz though for me for the most part works fine and keeps my temps below 80C so I can keep a single profile. But I'm sure it will come in handy in the future.

I'm thinking a good thermal repaste job and maybe some slight modifications to improve cooling are in order. The only available air intake slots are in the bottom front that I can tell, and small at that. I may just take on a mod project with this machine. Warranty be damned!

 

I drilled holes under the fan in my MSI laptop. I don't think it makes a big difference.

i think the factory design is sufficient, sucking cool air from the front of the laptop.

 

The slots are like 1mm wide and very few of them. I don't think that is sufficient. I'm going to take a peek if I keep this laptop instead of the DV6z. I've done lots of cooling improvements in the past, and with a little ingenuity can usually drop temps a considerable amount. Heck just changing the thermal paste with something less than the toothpaste they use will drop temps a good 5C minimum.

Drilling holes won't work unless they're strategically placed anyhow. I was considering hacking out a huge part of it and adding a steel mesh in its place.

Here's the bottom of the K53TA

 

I've yet to push my computer to 80C during gaming, with proper undervolting and reasonable overclocks (~2.4 constant).

 

the problem with hacking a huge hole is it might weaken the integrity of the case.
if not, then your mesh will be loose, or you might stick your finger in the fan if you accidentally grab it in that area.

here's what my holes look like right under the fan. The chassis is still rigid. I think it might have lowered temps 2 degrees maybe ? but after drilling, it has direct access to dust

 

I was going to buy this laptop when I saw the deal online. From what I have been reading crossfire does not work properly on this model? This was probably mentioned, but I didn't have time to read all 27 pages. I have read comments about stuttering when in crossfire mode too. Could someone clarify this issue for me? I gathered that crossfire would only really help dx10/11 performance and hurt older game performance if I read the comments right. My primary reason for this purchase is being able to use that feature though for it's obvious advantages and I want to make sure it works properly.

 

What games are you playing though? Bad Company 2 stresses the bejeezus out of both the CPU and GPU. Most other games are not that CPU intensive and won't run the CPU @ 100% all the time. Starcraft 2 probably would stress it quite a bit as well.

It works. Just have to install the crossfire profiles. That seems to correct any skipping or stuttering issues for most people.

DirectX 9 performance isn't up to where it should be but still works decently. And Crossfire only adds about 10% FPS boost anyhow, so not sure why you would want to buy a laptop for this "feature". It's a welcome boost, but not altogether necessary unless you're at the borderline playable.

And I would recommend reading through these posts, a lot of good information.

 

airflow and its effect for cooling purposes is quite counterintuitive.
i would no more trust 'common sense' for such than I would fly an airplane by such in zero visibility. the modern airflow modeling programs for the mechanical designers are terrific if the assumptions are builtin properly. if a maker 'borrows' a design and changes out the motherboard without redoing the thermal modeling, then it would be a crapshoot as to cooling efficiency. if the model is designed ground-up, however, you will only kill it by 'adding' vents. you'll create turbulence that will interfere with the proper flow across hotspots.

 

Why are you guys so adverse to making additional cooling? Why do you think laptop coolers are so popular? Hell I mod my desktop case and improve cooling by a good 10C.

"airflow and its effect for cooling purposes is quite counterintuitive." What? You won't introduce turbulence, the airflow isn't significant enough. You're not going to have laminar flow anyhow with all the components it has to bypass.

The cooling system I'm sure is designed to run at stock without a problem, and it does that job. But if you want to push the system, additional cooling is necessary. Plus if they were really that adamant about the cooling design they wouldn't use toothpaste to cool the CPU and GPU, which is basically what they use in production. It dries out after 6-9 months and loses its performance. You're kidding yourself if you think they run through some complex naviar-stokes airflow modeling. They don't. This is a $450 laptop, not an aircraft. I've been an engineer for over 15 years. For something like this we would hack out some clearance holes until the system at least met the minimum requirements. Done.

See here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m11x/585720-r1-heatsink-mod.html

Just one of many "smart" design mods that helps improve cooling. On one of the many Sagers I've owned, I took off the bottom cover and dropped temps a good 5-8C at load. So don't think the cover intakes are optimized. Far from it. They just meet their minimum cooling requirements.

 

This gives me hope for Bulldozer for mobile not sucking when it's released. I'd like to go back to a fully AMD/ATi system again, or rather AMD/AMD.

The best laptop I've ever owned was a AMD 64 DTR (An actual desktop CPU, ran damn hot, the first 64bit CPU ever in a laptop), with a 9600M Pro. I think that 9600M played more games for longer time period and it ran like 90C for 4 years not stop, never crashed. Hot, hot laptop, but was damn stable and ran awesome.

If Asus releases a AMD Bulldozer + AMD HD7xxx in 2012, I'll be very tempted to buy it! This thread gives me hope.

 

Seriously thinking about buying this laptop from US bestbuy and having it shipped to Canada by shipito.

Currently using an Asus G50vt with 9800m gs and P7450.
Highly overclocked I can hit 9100 3dmark06. Do you think this system would be able to provide greater or equal performance with crossfire enabled?

I'm trying to decide between this or going for a G53SW for $1000.....

 

Well I'm finding the 3DMark results are a bit skewed. Despite their low scores on this machine, it performs remarkably well. Even 3DMark Vantage and 3DMark11 score a lot lower than the DV6z I had (it's being replaced, was faulty) yet in game performance is probably within 10% FPS.

See my 3DMark results here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/601808-k53ta-best-deal-ever-could-18.html#post7833250

 

Hmmm. Thanks. I will have to do more research.

 

did your HP have discrete graphics?

if not, how could the 6620g outscore the 6650m....... when the cpu is essentially the same when OC'd

 

What? Where did I say it outscored it? Those results are both in Crossfire with CPU and GPU at stock, then Overclocked.

My HP outscored this machine by quite a bit.

HP DV6z 6750m with Crossfire:
3DMark Vantage stock: P6251
3DMark11 stock: P1726

In any case here's my YouTube overview of the laptop.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPipYDCh5rA

 

How does the 6755G2 stack up against the 6750M ? The 6755 is a higher rank in notebookcheck but the benchmarks are much lower....

EDIT: nevermind is seems the 6755G2 contains the 6750 so it should be similar performance.

 

6755G2 = 6620G (integrated) + 6750m (dedicated) in crossfire

 

i didn't know you had the 6750. that's why I asked how the hp outscored the asus.

anyway, does your HP have the bios option or Catalyst option to choose either integrated or discrete graphics ?

if so, then it's more likely asus might be able to give us that option too

 

The AMD laptops have switchable graphics through the drivers. You can set each program whether it uses dedicated or integrated video card all through the drivers. No BIOS switch required.

 

Have you considered the 9 and 12 cell batteries? Perhaps they would add a considerable amount of battery life : HP Pavilion dv6-6124tx Battery, 6/9/12cell HP dv6-6124tx Battery 8800mAh

 

Those won't work with the Asus laptop.

The HP I have uses a 9-cell and gets at bare minimum 6 hours, but 7 hours plus realistically.

 

I was referring to your HP dv6 concerning the batteries. Guess I lost track of the thread I was on.

 

I figured.

I just have to decide if I just want to live with the 1366x768 screen, DVDRW, and 4 hours battery, or spend the extra $300 for the HP with 1080p screen, Blu-ray, and extra battery life.

I'm leaning towards the Asus right now because I don't use a laptop all that much these days, but I know I'll kick myself later if I need to actually be productive and am stuck with a 1366x768 screen and 4 hours battery.

 

I'm really just trying to decide what laptop I will be happiest with. Budget = $850

Trying to get the most gaming performance possible. Not sure about dv6t vs dv6z, or if I should just cheap out and get this sucker. I trust Asus WAY more than HP.

 

I'm really loving this Asus so far, the more I use it. I should have my HP by Friday, but my Asus needs to go back by Tuesday. Although I may end up keeping it. Doesn't give me much time to compare the two and make up my mind, but I guess I'll have to!

I was actually able to play Bad Company 2 on med-low settings at 1280x720 ON BATTERY using only the integrated GPU and was getting 25-35 fps. Fixing my CPU at 1800MHz with optimized voltage I am able to play it on battery for about an hour and a half. How crazy is that!

 

That is awesome! Both laptops should be able to do that correct? Seeing as how the processor and graphics combos are very similar. I think I am gonna throw in a 12 cell if I get the HP.

 

I'll be happy with the 9-cell. If my HP seems to be a good build and performs without any quirks like this Asus, I think I'll go with the HP. The better screen, blu-ray, and longer battery life, not to mention improved graphics performance will be worth the $300 cost difference.

It's just I spent so much time tuning this Asus, that I almost want to keep it now.

I'll just have to see if HP put any limits on how fast the CPU and GPU can run on battery though. Sometimes they really gimp that.

 

I just made my purchase from bestbuy.com other than the screen banding is there any other issues with this thing? Ill mainly be using this for web browsing, streaming videos, homework, and iracing race simulation. I hope i made the right choice.

 

The screen banding was fixed via a bios update already check the first few posts.

It seems like the price/performance ratio of this laptop is a force to be reckoned with

 

I just called asus and they only offer the 6-cell battery that comes with it. Not sure if there's any third party battery though. I'll have to look.

 

but the asus doesn't have the explicit option to switch.

I thought HP came out with a bios update that allows you to switch off the integrated graphics or something.

in the asus, to use the integrated only, you have to turn off crossfire and set low power.
to use dedicated, you turn off crossfire and set high performance.

but i think they used to have an explicit option to pick integrated or dedicated.

 

there's another issue.

hibernation turns off the left usb ports.

after you wake from hibernate, the left usb ports still don't work.
they start to work again ~10 minutes later.

 

How does the K53TA's GPU compare to a 5650m or 5730m? Looking to get a laptop for my sister who plays Left 4 Dead 2 (Most demanding game she frequently play), Free online Korean games (S4 League), and some free MMORPG. Hoping the GPU can handle medium-low @ 1920x1080. Thanks.

 

I also just bought one of these, so far I'm really happy with it. I'm currently tweaking my CPU clocks/volts. I picked up Deus Ex: Human Revolution in the same trip. Hope I can get decent performance.

QQ: Where are you guys getting video drivers? Asus doesn't list a VGA driver on their site and AMD doesn't even list the GPUs in their drop down menu. Does the chipset driver install for both GPUs or am I just missing something.

 

@ryanlecocq - Chipset driver is EVERYTHING AMD/ATI, including video.

@FFZero - Were you planning on running an external monitor or swapping out the screen? Because it only comes with 1366x768. In any case it should be better than the 5730m with crossfire.

 

So it will install the driver for the 6650 as well as the 6520?

 

Yes. <ten chars>

 

Damn I'm old. That sounds like shenanigans and tomfoolery to my old ears. Intelligent bundled drivers.

Too bad Deus Ex probably doesn't have a crossfire profile yet. It's supposed to be optimized for AMD so I would guess it works well with these new dual graphics setups.

 

You're old? I'm 38 almost 39. Almost got that rock to the peak! (based on your photo if that's you assuming you're probably ten years younger!)