New owner - question and confusion...

Hi all,

I'm hoping someone might be able to answer a couple of questions about my new system.

Ok, first background:

1) This is an Asus G51VX-RX05 laptop
2) I bought this refurbished from TigerDirect
3) According to the sticker on the bottom, it appears to have a G60VX MB in it.
4) From when it started up, it had a bestbuy link icon on the desktop - so at this moment, I'm assuming it's a "best buy" model

Now my questions:

1) I know there is a utility from Asus called Direct Console - this utility allows adjustment of the LEDs on the back of the LCD lid. I also know that my version didn't come with this utility. The touch panel icon that would normally launch Direct Console currently sets the display mode (normal, theater, gamma, vivid, etc.) - I say the same icon as someone else I know owns a current version 15" G laptop (don't know its model) and the same looking icon launches DirectConsole on his laptop. Can I use Direct Console on my laptop? There will be times I'd really like to shut off those LEDs if possible.

2) I know that you can install other CPU's, but I'm having a bit of trouble figuring out exactly which CPUs are compatible with my system. More people seem to talk about the quad core upgrades, which from what I've read appear to only be supported in the A1 model. I found a huge thread here about the G50 model upgrades, but that doesn't help me much.

3) The audio jacks on the side - I don't have my headset with me here at work, so I can't test this myself - are they hardwired, or can they be changed like in other systems? ie: right now, it appears to be headset, mic, line in - can I change those three jacks to all be output to throw out 5.1 audio? I have a Razor 5.1 headset that would be convenient to use with this laptop if I could, but I would need a full set of jacks to take advantage of it.

4) I know that the default overclocking maxes at like 7% in the turbo mode - setfsb can overclock it more, but it seems from reviews that the overclocking doesn't get a ton of benefit on this model - have I just misread something or are people having good success with pushing the cpu a bit?

Thanks in advance for what may seem like silly questions.

 

2) Socket P - T & P processors (Penryn), no Q.

4) 10% through Asus utility. Overclocking benefits are not dependent on "models". If you can overclock it 50% here, you get the same benefit as other "models".

 

I understand that citizenPanda (about the overclocking) but from reports people weren't seeing substantially increased performance when they overclocked it. Last machine I had overclocked was a quad core that I pushed to 2.9 (if I recall correctly) from 2.4, and I did see an increase in performance, which is why I was curious as to what the heck was going on - if there was another bottleneck on the motherboard that was making it just not worth it to go over the 7 or 10% that was activateable via the power profile.

 

Could be because the CPU sucks (P7350)? Whatever the specifics may be, it is not motherboard dependent.

 

The utility for turning off the lid LEDs works on the G50, but not the G51. Response for Asus is "live with it."

Jacks are labeled Mic In, Line In, and Headphone/SPDIF. I believe they are hardwired.

 

Heh, figures that the utility would work for the G50 and not G51. That stinks. Oh well.

Also looks like I'll be looking for a 5.1 usb headset then for mobile playing, woulda loved to have used my razor headset, but beggars can't be choosers.

 

HAHAHA! You could be right on that count

Well, can't afford a new cpu this year with christmas this close, but next year I might look for a bit more power - I had looked at the one you seem to have in yours (the 9900 series according to your sig) - have you had any cooling problems with it in your Asus?

 

Nope, but I have IC Diamond 7 under everything so it is not stock. 28-29C Idle @ 3.5ghz.