New c90s owner. Need guidence for components

Hey all, my girlfriend bought me a bare bones c90s for xmas and now it is up to me to finish the build. I'm excited as I have built many pc's, but this is my first laptop. Anyway, I have a few questions about picking the components.



1. I want to go with the 8600M GT 256MB, but I have read about driver issues and of course the scarce availability of the card itself. I'm primarily going to play BF2 so would I be ok using the stock drivers that are available on the asus website? Also, where in the heck can I find one of these(and at a good price too).

2. My barebone didn't have wireless unfortunately, I ended up buying one off of ebay. is this the right one that works well with the laptop?(saw one person on the board here say something about replacing his wireless fixed his issues)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&Item=280186863884&Category=45003&_trksid=p3907.m29

3. WTF with the memory issues. I initially wanted to get a single 2GB stick of memory, but is there still issues with this that a bios update hasn't addressed. I couldn't find a definitive answer in the forum. Also, what has been a tried and true 2GB stick that is working properly without the unplug issue? Any recommendations for 2x1GB set that works well in case the single stick is more of an issue then what it is worth?

Other pieces that I am going to get.

e6600 c2d
120GB Scorpio WD SATA
Windows XP SP2 32Bit

 

Welcome!

For 1, I have heard about these driver issues, however there are several work arounds if they really are an issue. Such as changing the ID of the card it's self with RivaTuner to make Windows think it's a 8600 GTS, or something like that. Other than that I haven't seen any problems with it...maybe some people just don't know how to get things working properly. ***IF YOU CAN FIND ONE*** you will definitely be good in BF2. Not sure about the stock drivers but you can upgrade them to the latest...so I wouldn't worry to much about driver compatibility, thats what we are here to help for. Like I said, IF AND WHEN YOU CAN FIND ONE, $220 ~ $240 is reasonable for them.

2. The wireless card you linked to on Ebay will work. I infact just bought the same card on eBay for something like $12.50 shipped, used with a Dell, works perfectly.

3. There are memory issues with older versions of the laptop. These issues are BIOS related and since you just got a C90s, there is a good chance it shipped with the 801 BIOS which fixes alot of these issues. The issue is induced when you unplug the laptop aparently. I don't know this because I've never had that. If you want RAM that will work flawlessly, get 2 sticks of these: https://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=T667SB1G_V - hell, they are even cheap as dirt. I have the same ones in my laptop and I have ZERO issues.

 

Super Talent (Micron IC in fact) is one of the best RAM for c90s so it's a good choice and it's cheap. Too bad shipping starts at $30 for Canada because I'd get a 2GB stick

 

1.) From what i read, the 256Mb GDDR3 version only works with the STOCK drivers. Using other driver versions take a huge performance hit. For now, u can only use stock drivers if you want this card to run optimally. NO definite answer from ASUS yet. And, one reseller or supplier ( BTotech or Gentech PC... cant remember ) mentioned that the 8600GT GDDR3 is currently out of stock and there are still no signs of new stocks coming in....

2.) Im not sure... but the 4965 Intel card has issues with the c90, and this is the reason reputable resellers ship with a different wifi card... search the forums for that thread...

3.) Test the RAM in battery power first before purchase. Issues are mostly with single 2gb sticks. 1gb sticks are usually working...

 

Since the intel cards seem questionable(and it only cost me $12 bucks), what are other models that work well?

Also, I'm probably going to go with the 2x1GB super talent sticks and the 8600m GT 512MB. I found the video card for $120 at thenerds.com. Seems to be the cheapest I could find it and it's the GT not GS. I really like G.Skill memory that I use in PC's, but it seems that this laptop is a little temperamental with memory.

Thoughts?

 

I have the 3945 and it works wonder. I doubt you need N anyway

 

I have the 3945 and it works fine as well.

 

2. yeah. BTOtech and Gentech supplies the c90 with 3945 for now... ( as mentioned, because of the issue with 4965 cards... )

check this thread for the RAM :

3.) http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=172169

 

Ooops.. I meant I have the 4965 and it works fine.

 

Thanks Pogitz, but I kinda feel like everything in this laptop is top performance except for the ram. Is there a stable set of ram that will allow me to achieve 3GB total memory. I was looking at the 2gb super talent with 1gb super talent, but can't seem to find a 3GB setup with stability(reading on boards). Has any of the bios updates(801) really addressed the memory issues?

It sucks that I can throw in a e6600, but can't get over 2GB without instability. Like buying a vette that can't go past 4th gear.

 

I have the e6700 and have 3gb of crucial Ram. It hasn't given me a problem.

 

The whole memory issue has been very strange since the c90 release. I'm one of a few who have a very strong running c90 with 3GB of Corsair Memory, and then there are others who can't even get supposedly compatible 2GB to run correctly.

I consider myself lucky as I haven't run into ANY of the problems others have with the c90, Except, seriously high GPU temps that can lock up my machine with a screensaver if no cooling is used.

I wish it all the issues were clear cut but atm it's trial and error for most.

 

Mainly yes.

I do seem to have some RAM issues buti t's only on the first 3 weeks after formating lol. Happened when waking up on battery mode. Sometimes from hibernating (but like 25 minutes after turning it on ????).

You say crucial works?

 

Crucial works fine for me right now. why don't you just buy the ram ziggo posted. Its listed as compatible ram and its dirt cheap too.

 

nothing is 100% when it comes to RAM for the c90. Even gentech previously used approved, compatible kingston sticks. Now, its not working anymore so they changed it to super talent.

Still, the best way is to test the RAM in battery power, or have the reseller put it in for you.

 

How do you test the ram in battery power?

 

You remove the AC adapter and wait for it to crash

 

I'm going to try my hand with crucial. I've used their memory before with great success, but if it doesn't work then I'll ebay it and go for super talent. Another reason is that newegg doesn't sell super talent and they have been good with me in terms of exchanging memory if I have problems with a particular brand.

 

yeah. just remove the AC source. ( unplug... ) My 2gbx1pc corsair is completely working on AC. It freezes when the AC source is removed and im running on battery power.

It gives me BSOD's if it is combined with a completely working 1gbx1pc stick. ( still on battery power ) Otherwise, really no problems if i remain plugged.

 

Ok, well newegg is sold out of one of the sticks of memory. Time for plan B. Super talent baby. Ordered from ewiz today. My 8600M GT 512MB will be in on monday and hopefully I'll see the rest by the end of next week. Is eWiz good at shipping stuff quickly.