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

I've been out of the whole driver/Bios mods for awhile, right now I'm running bios revision 206, stock asus chipset drivers with AMD 13.4 Official WHQL drivers installed over. I'm getting pretty decent performance. Anyways bear in mind this is a clean install of Window's 7 64 bit OS. Everything was just a complete mess, odd temp fluctuations etc. I believe I actually had Bios revision 212 on at the time but I was receiving some odd feedback in Windows.

Alright, so now to move onto my whole point, would it be advised to atleast upgrade back to the 212? I've had this laptop since 2012, so this is actually a refurbished model, but has been working quite well. Only problems I'm having now are questionable apu and gpu clock states.

I've been using several diagnostic tools to look further into this, its as if my apu is running at a lower clock speed than it was designed to is what I'm getting out of it. It also appears that the 6650 aka GPU isn't being utilized at all, this is all a bit frustrating. I'm guessing this is a bios/driver issue.

Any insight on this would be very helpful, I'm a full time college student, so I don't have allot of time to run diagnostics and such. I'm not trying to manually overclock or mess with voltages at the moment. I just want my computer running stable as intended, with the ability to switch between apu/gpu as I play games off of emulators with custom settings that really push the envelope on gpu processing power due to custom shaders, filters, etc. My time is limited gaming wise but you know how it is, a great stress reliever.

One more thing to mention I did replace the stock ram/memory modules with 2 Corsair CMSX4GX3M1A1600C9 4GB DDR3 SO-DIMM PC3-12800S DDR3-1600 (9-9-9-24 5-39-12-6) memory modules.

I appreciate all the great information from this niche laptop thread, it has been very useful to me.

thank you,
AlucardX

Running Windows 7 64-bit Ultimate Edition

additional info - I flashed on bios revision 214, haven't noticed any differences besides higher core temps.

 

I would update the bios as that could be the cause of that and you would be chasing your own tail with any driver updates, so bios first then GPU drivers.

 

something's messed up about the 13.9 drivers.

I don't have the Switchable graphics window anymore. I can't choose Power saving or performance settings manually.

?

When I right click and choose Configure Switchable graphics, it brings up my monitor settings.

Previously, I stopped using manual graphics switching and used the amd Software to switch to dgpu.

 

Am i missing something or you guys are using PX modded bios

I got following settings in Catalyst Graphics switching

 

Do you mean 13.11b9.2 or the old 13.9? Anyways in case you haven't been following AMD drivers compatibility with our switchable gfx laptops: All official beta and whql AMD drivers following 13.4whql or 13.5b2 have been having the problem of "lost" Configure Switchable gfx menu. So we have to use LeeKM's modded APU "FIX" drivers. And you must do a clean install of drivers by first uninstalling old drivers and then use DDU in safemode to remove residual old drivers. Most of LeeKM's Fix drivers work fine but a few have had problems. (eg. 13.11b3, 13.11b7).Undying said that LeeKM's 13.11b8 works fine. I'm currently using LeeKM's 13.11b6 since I don't have bf4 or codghost yet;

I don't even mess with the manual switchable gfx method screen any more, since software continues working fine at selecting dgpu.
So now we just need to know if LeeKM's 13.11b9.2mod works on our laptop?

 

It's working, i've just installed and this what i did.

Express uninstall old drivers - via catalyst install manager (this will remove chipset drivers too)
Run safe mode and use DDU
Install AMD chipsetSB drivers (latest 13.9)
Disable driver signature enforcement (you can do it by pressing F8 on restart)
Install new 13.11b9.2mod

Swichable graphics menu is there, no brightness issues and performance is smooth.

 

Well, this is what happens when you don't follow instructions..

I was attempting to disassemble the bottom base of my k53ta laptop and remove it. My plan was to clean out any dust and reapply thermal paste to the APU and GPU. I ended up breaking off the two tapped holes that hold the laptop tray in place, so now you can hear them shake around when you tilt the laptop. The obvious issue is the tray slides out now, so my question is what are the tapped holes actually connected to? Is it the bottom case of the laptop, or is it just another cheap plastic component that overlaps another?

With all that being said, lesson learned, I need to take proper precautions before dissembling a laptop and look up tutorials and videos. If I would have done that in the first place this never would of happened.

What will I need to replace this, I'm really hoping that I won't need an entirely new bottom case in the event that, that is where they were attached to.

thank you,
AlucardX

 

Not sure which is the tray, but it is not really your fault imo. I disassemble all the comp in sig and never have anything break on them, but this k53ta just have screw holes (those with a gold color ring) near the hinge to just break. Those are damn weak ~~

 

Ha ha : i broke like 5 of those plastic screw holes after little bump on the corner : on both hinge :/ So now on superglue

 

hello guys,i just installed 13.9 but seems like switchable graphics aint working,what can i do now?i tried finding older drivers but in the amd site i cant find them anywhere,i click on 13.4 but it doesnt start downloading!

 

From what I could see a few shards of plastic actually fell out, they look like the outer base of what held the gold rings in. That would be a reason that superglue may not work in my case.

And, yes I agree that the over all quality of the hinges are quite weak, not really a thing I can do about that though.

I think I may as well disassemble the back case now that I know the proper way of removal and take a closer look and see what my options are at this point.

 

I am also running on superglue on one of my hinges. Did the trick, but can no longer disassemble my laptop! Good luck to you, man.

 

I had a laptop a while back and I had to reattach the hinges to the top with epoxy. Had to re-apply it about once a year. Otherwise was a good machine.

 

AMD mobility 13.4whql 64bit win7/win8 can be found here:
AMD Catalyst 13.4 WHQL Download (scroll down to bottom of screen)
(I usually install these before installing the latest betas made my LeeKM)
First uninstall present driver then go into safe mode and use DDU to fully clean out drivers. Then install 13.4 and then latest LeeKM betas. Before installing latest beta you may have to Disable driver signature enforcement at reboot on F8 screen.

 

I want to update my drivers, and currently I have this information on my CCC:



I downloaded "AMD_Mobility_Catalyst_13.9_WHQL(PX_Fix).exe" from LeeKM's page ( AMD Catalyst Mobility PowerXpress and Enduro Fix Drivers (13.9 WHQL) - Guru3D.com Forums) and I would like to know if all I need to do is install his fix -over- my current drivers, or if I need to remove something to install it.

 

Also, should I use that 13.9 LeeKM fix I posted or the 13.8b2 everyone seems to talk about?

 

This is what you do :

Express uninstall old drivers - via catalyst install manager (this will remove chipset drivers too)
Run safe mode and use DDU
Install AMD chipsetSB drivers (latest 13.9)
Disable driver signature enforcement (you can do it by pressing F8 on restart)
Install new 13.11b9.2mod

 

Appreciate the help. This AMD chispetSB driver, do I get it from AMD's website (is it the chipset for my notebook, on ASUS website?)? Do you have a link to it? Sorry if I'm sounding too solicitous, but I've messed driver installations more than once and I always end up spending a lot of time repairing it (btw, I disabled driver signature enforcement via cmd, as per LeeKM's guide).

 

Did all the driver installations, but my Catalyst still doesn't have the option for choosing which GPU to use (as I've seen in some screenshots) :/. I can choose to use dual graphics or not, but the only way to use only one GPU and 'choose' which is by selecting a program and setting its priority to 'High Performance'.

 

Try everything again. Here is my guide. It's exactly the same as Undyingghost except I use AMD chipset 13.4whql instead of 13.9whql.
13.4whql>> AMD Catalyst 13.4 (12.104.0.0 March 28) Official WHQL - Guru3D.com Forums
13.11b9.2 LeeKM>> AMD Catalyst™ 13.11 Beta9.2 SG. MOD Driver - Guru3D.com Forums

 

H all,
I recently installed W8.1 64bit, and official amd latest beta drivers and everything works like charm. doesn't work brightness and sound control shourtcuts.

 

Download the "ATKACPI driver and hotkey-related utilities", under "Utilities" from here, and that should do it, I think. But either way, it should be one of those under Utilities...

Does your USB3.0 work? You may also need to install the official Asus k53ta chipset drivers, if your USB3.0 doesn't work. I recommend uninstalling your current graphics drivers, installing the Asus drivers, then reinstalling your current drivers. This may not be the case for you, but just a hunch since you installed a totally new operating system.

 

usb3.0 works great no need for additional drivers thanks for links.

 

anyone still enjoy gaming with this machine? BF4? COD Ghost?

 

Well not BF4/COD but some light gaming is fine, this machine still kickin.

 

Games very well for most games made up to 2013. So it plays ok to well with many of this years games like Batman Origins, Tomb Raider, Crysis3, Aliens, Rayman Legends. But the very latest games like BF4 and COD Ghost are less playable (~20fps) (I've only tested BF4 beta being choppy); Far Cry3 was also choppy. I'd probably go with something better if you must play the "latest greatest" games.

...but still, many of us will continue to squeeze the most gaming we can from this machine.

 

I think it's going to have a fairly decent run with more casual titles but yeah it was never destined for running AAA titles into the future

 

I finished battlefield 4 single player , GPU stock , CPU 1.8Ghz . Playable.
Tried COD Ghost, playable too.

 

Working, not very great thou.

 

hmm... what clock speed do you guys set for daily usage?
I realize the temperature will shoot up if I set 2.3 , 1.8 is fine , even gaming also can maintain <83 .
If 2.3 , can hit 95celcius. is that normal ?

 

95C is too high and it can cause throttling during gameplay.
FPS can move up and down.

 

I've no idea why it will hit that temperature, couple months ago I repaste thermal paste, drill inhale holes under the fan.
shouldn't be that hot isn't it . 1.8 is just nice, around 80+- . , some of you able to do 2.7 2.8 or even 3.0. How is that possible?

 

I'm using 2.2Ghz (2.5Ghz turbo) and reaching not higher than 85c while playing Planetside 2.

@menghao, it depends what volts are find stable, i'm on 1.075v so if i push 1.2v i can reach 2.4Ghz but temps go high as 90c.

 

my volt is pretty low I guess. 2.25Ghz I set 1.1V and it hit 90++ celcius.

 

Every chip is different but maybe the paste did not spread correctly.

 

Hello everyone!
I have this super value laptop too. I was contemplating on getting an SSD for it whilst using a caddy bay to use my existing HDD as a secondary storage device.
I have a question though. My laptop is the X53TK (K53TK) which comes with an A6-3420m APU and 7670m GPU. Can I use the modded 214 BIOS so that I can enable SATA 3 on my laptop? or is it enabled on this laptop my default?
How can I find out if I have SATA 3 enabled on a notebook?

PS - Please suggest a cheap ~$120 SSD that I can use along with the HDD.

Thanks!

 

Can you please comment on my query above?

TIA

 

Anyone tried Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag on our notebook?

 

I kinda did, it's playable on low settings (18-27fps) which is great considering how badly ported this game is...

 

Yeah, the AC series ports are ty as hell. I haven't tried AC: Black Flag but AC 3 was a mess - couldn't look at Boston that I'd lag.

 

Can anyone help me clarify some things? I just ran CPU-Z and only the 6520 is listed in the graphics section. Another one is select-able, but only says graphics device. In the catalyst control center the 6520 is listed twice. In device manager and in sapphire trixx besides the 6520 there is an 6600m and 6700m series driver. Is this how it supposed to be or is it supposed to be an 6720g2 or 6520 and 6650 driver there instead? Putting that aside can any give me a link to buy ram for this laptop? The samsung ones in newegg are all out of stock or discontinued.

 

Recently ventured through the net searching for the latest drivers for this notebook and they are surprisingly hard to come by. Which drivers are you guys using for the main components (BIOS, chipsets, GPU, networking devices, etc.) and where do you get them? Thanks.

 

You can get everything from Asus webiste, only GPU drivers you need to use are "APU-fix" if you want to see switchable-graphics menu in new drivers.

 

This laptop is easy & straightforward to use once you read up on the pertinent things to do: oc cpu with k10stat & installing APU switchable gfx/using switchable gfx menu. I made a long Guide or Encyclopedia with everything(Bios,drivers,etc) you need including download links. Just read the big Roman Numeral headings to get a general idea of what is in it.
>>> http://forum.notebookreview.com/asu...607232-k53ta-owners-lounge-9.html#post8489750
The Ram I installed 2 years ago was Gskill (others may be using better brand ram, but this is working fine.)-I got it for $16 back in the day, but now it's double the price.
>>> G.SKILL Model F3-10600CL9S-4GBSQ Laptop Memory - Newegg.com

 

Thanks and sorry for not finding that, seeing as how much work you have put and apparently are putting into it. One thing though; it might only be me, but some parts of your guide seem rather confusing. There are countless versions of different drivers and the associated fixes - are those there for archive purposes? Or are all versions appropriate to use? I also have problems finding the Catalyst Mobility 13.4 to download.

Currently, I am using version 12.104.0.0 drivers for the 6520G and 8.903.0.0 for the 6650M, BIOS 214, chipset 8.903.0.0000 and qualcomm. WNA 10.0.0.255. Only overclocked the CPU using an Overdrive profile. Are kstat OCing, switchable graphics and the 214 MODBIOS the essential things, or is there more I should do? Thanks again.

 

Pretty much. :thumbsup: And while it's probably implied when you say "kstat OCing," don't forget to undervolt!

 

Yes the guide is mostly a log for archival purpose (mostly archival stuff at end of guide). Sometimes very old games may need very old graphic drivers, so I kept the old stuff. It's messy but if you pay attention to the big roman numerals then you should be fine. It's basically a record of everything we did to this laptop ever since it was purchased in Summer of 2011. But maybe I could remake a new Guide with just the latest things needed and leave this guide as reference.

Looks like AMD isn't allowing us to download older drivers. 13.4mobility>> http://www.guru3d.com/files_details/amd_catalyst_13_4_whql_download.html
Here's a copy for everyone>> AMD13.4whql mobility drivers Win7x64&Win8x64

After 13.4 just install latest beta graphic drivers (eg. AMD 13.11b9.4LeekM). I believe that's all that's essential -making profiles for K10stat ocing cpu is the only thing you have to figure out; after that it's as easy as any laptop. Ocing gpu with MSI afterburner is optional at your own risk. (that also needs a registry hack or mod--which is also in the guide). The last great thing you could do is put an SSD SATA drive in this with the help of the bios mod 214. I haven't tried that so you might need to ask others for help.

 

Anyone???????

 

Not sure if anyone here knows the answer since nearly all of us have the K53ta-bbr6 with 6520g+6650m. You'd have to just give it a try and see what happens . But before doing so, backup all important files and have your backup image of Win7 & a Win 7 repair disc ready in the worst case scenario nothing loads up....(or if you are using Win 8 same thing).

 

Has anyone had problems with their AMD USB 3.0 host controller after installing Leekm 13.11b9.4?; How do you fix the USB 3.0 port....or do you have to reinstall LeeKM's graphic drivers? (not sure if it's related to Disable driver signing enforcement...I thought I did that.)

In device manager it states this:
Windows cannot verify the digital signature for the drivers required for this device. A recent hardware or software change might have installed a file that is signed incorrectly or damaged, or that might be malicious software from an unknown source. (Code 52)