New W3V BIOS v.0402A

http://www.asus.com/support/download/item.aspx?ModelName=W3V&Type=Latest&SLanguage=en-us

First link on top. Use WinFlash [under Utilities menu if you don't have it installed].

I tried it and it seems to work OK [didn't notice anything different yet].

[l]ikwid.[f]uzion

 

I don't know what it's for..... but most likely due to some ram incompatibility..... usually if you don't know you need the update (or you're not having problems)... it's not always the best option to just jump on it without know what it'll do. My guess is some brands of memory were having problems and they put out a new bios to resolve those issues.......... as there really doesn't seem to be anything wrong with it as is.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
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It doesn't generally hurt to upgrade. If it doesn't work as well as the older BIOS, just reflash it again. In this case, it doesn't seem to affect performance negatively so I'll be keeping it.

[l]ikwid.[f]uzion

 

as long as you're bright enough to do it....... when someone who doesn't know what a bios is, flashes a new one.... you can bet your bottom dollar they won't be going backwards....thats all.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

maybe the V6V is also capable of doing this...

ASUS M6800Ne, P-M 1.5 Dothan, 512MB Ram, Toshiba Combo drive, Samsung Spinpoint M 40G HDD with 8M cache, Mobility Radeon 9700

 

the new BIOS is for your ATI X600 to have 128mb instead of 64mb it came with, using the new PCI-express wide bandwidth technology. but you have to also upgrade the new VGA driver. i have just done both and showing no problem... yet. the memory on the graphic card reads now 128mb.[ ]

 

wow that is awesome! that's some great news..[ ]

ASUS M6800Ne, P-M 1.5 Dothan, 512MB Ram, Toshiba Combo drive, Samsung Spinpoint M 40G HDD with 8M cache, Mobility Radeon 9700

 

yes also works for the v6v series. the new BIOS for v6 is out also. but the VGA driver is the same for both.

 

This is astounding... I just checked the ASUS website and it lists the W3V as now having "ATI Mobility™ Radeon™ X600 128MB HyperMemory™ Technology"

Wow... this W3V is getting better and better each day.

ASUS M6800Ne, P-M 1.5 Dothan, 512MB Ram, Toshiba Combo drive, Samsung Spinpoint M 40G HDD with 8M cache, Mobility Radeon 9700

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by totaleuge

 

once u install the new ATI driver it'll show the correct memory size of 128mb. then again i have a W3V with 64mb VRAM on board and then 512mb system memory. maybe u have added more system memory therefore it is sharing more system memory. but make sure you upgrade the ATI driver as well.

for how they achieve this.... read up.
http://www.ati.com/companyinfo/press/2004/4783.html

 

Either my W3V is playing games with me...or this BIOS increased my X600's RAM to 320 MB [64 MB dedicated + 256 MB shared]!

Screenshot: http://home.comcast.net/~likwidfuzion/w3v/x600.jpg

O_O

[l]ikwid.[f]uzion

 

I have 1 GB of Dual Channel DDR2-533. That might explain why. I'm using the drivers from the ASUS site as well since ATi does not release drivers of their own for Radeon Mobility GPUs. I'm not an expert with ATi cards, but I'm assuming the Catalyst drivers are for their PC GPUs only right?

[l]ikwid.[f]uzion

 

LiKWiD FuZioN // how did you make your windows look like that?

 

So beyond the 64 on the card, it's just system memory? So if I'm not gaming, and the 64M dedicated graphics RAM is enough for me, there's really no reason for me to upgrade, is there? I'd rather keep my 1G system RAM all for my greedy little programs.....

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by AuroraS

 

The Mobility X600 has 64 MB dedicated onboard period. The "extra RAM" comes from the system memory. In my case, the 1 GB extra RAM allowed it to go to 320 MB. I can only imagine what happens when you put in more than 1 GB...[:0]

[l]ikwid.[f]uzion

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by barong

So beyond the 64 on the card, it's just system memory? So if I'm not gaming, and the 64M dedicated graphics RAM is enough for me, there's really no reason for me to upgrade, is there? I'd rather keep my 1G system RAM all for my greedy little programs.....
<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'></font id='quote'></blockquote id='quote'>

Good point.. but, correct me if I am wrong, since it is "shared" it means that it is used for your greedy little programs until it is needed for a GPU intensive application.

C.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by claass

 

I don't get it....so the W3V now has a 128Mb GPU with the bios flash update? (64Mb dedicated + 64Mb Shared)? How does that work out for games and such? Will they both add together and work for a better video result as compared to solely the 64Mb dedicated GPU? I'm confused [?]. Explain if you will so that I can dance around in joy as well. [ ]

 

well that may explain the marginal increase in the 3d mark numbers when more ram was added..... but it's only by a few points, so what do you think it's going to help?

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

I've run 3DMark03 and 3DMark05 and both scores are the same as with the 'old' BIOS version.

 

I also upgraded the BIOS to the latest version and now I also have a 320MB(64MB dedicated + 256MB shared) videocard. I'm running some benchmarks to see whether the shared hypermemory makes any difference. BTW, I also have 1GB internal memory. I checked the BIOS whether there were any new settings or features which you can change but it looks exactly the same as the older version. You can't change the amount of shared video memory.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by AuroraS

 

Yeah... more VRAM/memory usually doesn't add much to benchmark numbers... although it does SOMETIMES add to real-time performance with games that require a lot of a texture loading... etc.

ASUS M6800Ne, P-M 1.5 Dothan, 512MB Ram, Toshiba Combo drive, Samsung Spinpoint M 40G HDD with 8M cache, Mobility Radeon 9700

 

LiKWiD FuZioN // i also do not like to install extra programs but at the same time, my system is not as extreme as yours. i really would like to know how you changed your windows' look.

 

[ ]

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

I wouldnt expect the extra shared memory to improve performance, but it sure will be nice for when some games require 128MB VRAM (If some dont already).

 

What video driver file are you guys using? The one on the ASUS site dated 3/17?

 

I find it a bit odd that they add something like that to the bios, but don't allow you to set how much memory it can use. Come to think of it, Asus' notebook bios is about as limited as I think it possibly could be. Can't even adjust the ram latency... which will probably be useful in the near future as DDR2 gets faster and allows for more aggressive timings at lower clocks.

It would appear that there is no such thing as a real DTR.

Kai

 

Well, there will only be a very slight performance increase in its GPU speed between 64MB to 128MB for non-graphics intensive games (e.g sims, UT2004, warcraft3, half-life..WOW). Only multimedia.. video editing graphics/games (doom3..slightly faster FPS) intensive (requires alot of vram) software will you have a feel of the difference.

To my knowledge, basically for vram (w/ bios upg) consist of 64mb(built in)+ 128mb or 256mb shared by RAM...

mmmm well, if you wanna feel the slight diff btw a 128/256mb dedicated vram vs 64mb dedicated + 128/256mb shared vram, you can actually simply play some graphics intensive movies displaying on a 30" + HDTV.. but the thing is i'm not too sure if theres anyway for W3V to have a connection to a HDTV.

 

so how do you actually update the bios? just use winflash and just use it?

 

Install Winflash
download the BIOS image file; unzip it
Start Winflash and locate the BIOS image
Press Flash
Restart

And there you have it...

ASUS M6800Ne, P-M 1.5 Dothan, 512MB Ram, Toshiba Combo drive, Samsung Spinpoint M 40G HDD with 8M cache, Mobility Radeon 9700

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by BBQmyNUTZ

 

If you compare ASUS's desktop motherboard BIOSes with another company's...Abit for example, ASUS's BIOS is still relatively simple.

I've always considered ASUS to be one of those "fool proof" companies; they give you enough options in the BIOS to function properly and efficiently, but never enough options for you to screw up your computer too much. Maybe that's why ASUS is so reliable...[8D]

ASUS M6800Ne, P-M 1.5 Dothan, 512MB Ram, Toshiba Combo drive, Samsung Spinpoint M 40G HDD with 8M cache, Mobility Radeon 9700

 

Cool, thanks for the heads up. I'll update it when my W3V comes in. Any idea why ASUS used large parts (fast CPU, lots of ram, big HD) for everything else and then skimped on the video? 64MB x600? Seriously.

Peace!
Sygyzy

 

Calling the 64mb x600 in the W3 a "skimped" on part..... is crazy. Find another computer that small with a dedicated graphics card, priod..... they are very few and far between.... certainly nothing out there comes close to matching what the W3v has.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

Good challenge. I was trying to decide between two notebooks. The Toshiba Tecra M3 and the W3V. You can configure the Tecra to be identical to the W3V and it'd cost essentially the same (less actually). The only differences? W3V has widescreen with x600 64MB and the M3 would have 4:3 with Nvidia 6200 128MB *dedicated*. Same weight, nearly the same footprint, same price. Essentially the same comptuer. I realize you sell ASUS but that doesn't mean there aren't any other comparable notebooks out there. It's so funny how much fanboism there is on these forums. If you haven't noticed, my order for the W3V went in before lunch today. No need to convince me that they are great. I can think the W3V is great but still be critical about their decisions.

Peace!
Sygyzy

 

Speaking of..... the shipment of W3's that was supposed to come in on Monday came in this afternoon.... so your name is probably on one of them by now. When I left this evening, about 10 remained.... Next shipment is Friday I think.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

That's AWESOME news Justin. I was expecting Friday of next week. You just made my day!

Peace!
Sygyzy

 

No no... I thought I told you that there was room in the shipment from Monday when I was talking to you. Either way, glad to make your night [ ]

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]