So are you still happy with your G1S?

I've been looking for the past couple weeks to buy one as it seemed to have everything I wanted. However with the recent rash of "problems" threads, I was curious if everyone is still happy they got one.

So far (off the top of my head) the problems I can remember others talking about are:
1) Grainy screen (however subjective in matter)
2) BIOS issue (possibly) with performance at 50% when charger is plugged in and batt under 90%
3) Skipping/quick pauses when gaming (example WoW)

Any input would be great.

Last couple questions:
a) The upcoming V1S is identical to the G1S however with a business look correct?
b) With talks on the G1S-a2/a3 etc is the only difference the upgraded HDD compared to G1S-A1?

Thanks all for your help. These forums are great to learn on!

 

The Grainy screen could be fixed with a BIOs, many previous ASUS notebooks had this issue but it was fixed, within time. The BIOs issue is another software issue, it'll be solved, as for when, it'll come with time

For gaming, I'd blame it on Vista, the 8600GT is obviously a superior card, but the problems is probably stemming from a driver issue, whether it be with nVidia or Vista.

The V1s should be exactly the same in terms of specs, a Core 2 Duo, 2gb RAM, 8600GT(Though, at the moment, we don't know if its GDDR3 or not, we'll know when it comes or when it is posted on ASUS's site).

The 'new' G1 seems to be an upgrade in hard drive and a Blu Ray optical drive. So far, that we know. Not sure of anything else though.

 

1) After removing the 'splendid' bloatware (can't remember the name of it atm) and customizing the brightness/gamma/contrast in the nvidia control panel, the screen has gotten MUCH less grainy, to the point where I don't notice any grain at all.
2) never had this issue
3) never had this issue, but I don't play wow

games played: fallout 2 (works great, vista has great backwards compatibility with old games), company of heroes (runs amazingly), battlefield 2 (runs maxxed out), half life 2 and mods (all run maxxed out), vampire Masquerade: bloodlines (runs great), S.T.A.L.K.E.R. (runs nearly maxxed out)

none of the games I've played on this thing have given me any trouble; no skipping or anything that some people report. They gave me no issues either with the original drivers or the updated ones I got from laptopvideo2go

 

1) I personally find the grainy screen issue to be negligible. I can see it still there, but unless I look for it, I never notice it.

2) I've never actually run into a performance issue on the G1S. I've run superPi a few times on and off battery and always had consistent results (Best was a recent 53 second time for 2m) which would point against there being any issues with processor throttling. My 3dmark06 scores (run when the lappy was new, and again last week) have been strong as well, the most recent actually being a bit higher than what I've seen from reviews here.

3) I had skipping issues with audio, that were fixed (on a tip from a forum-goer) by uninstalling the Asus data security program. Haven't noticed anything since.

b) One of the upgrades for the A3 version looks like an HD-DVD (or blueray whatever) drive, but do you really want to pay a 600-700 dollar premium for that? :/

Many of my quibbles with the laptop seem to be Vista related. Its *rediculous* read/write speeds being one (I've had 1-2gig zip files take 20+ minutes to unzip at times). Just how slow it is says that it's an OS issue and not the HD's fault.

My problems with the G1S are definitely not performance related. It just feels very cheap to me, which is absolutely not what I expected from an almost $2k laptop. It is also extremely large for a 15.4", which is unfortunate. That extra inch on the top bezel adds what feels like a *lot* more than a simple inch to the size of the machine.

 

All new hardware is going to have its problems.
This G1S is alot better than when I first got the 8800 for my old desktop that this laptop replaced.

That being said.
I like this laptop, but wished I would have waited a little bit.
The Inspiron 1520 is cheaper and you can have it come in pink, looks are huge to me (I was originally trying to get a macbook pro, but no where had them in stock so I bought this one instead). I was also on a bit of a time restraint. I needed a laptop (albeit not this good of one) really soon from the time I started looking... like that week, since I was moving 4 states away... and wanted to have something to GPS/Internet myself down to here.

Otherwise for performance, the G1S is really nice. It actually plays EQ2 better than my desktop. Have not played WoW for an extended amount of time yet. The not BIOS battery not above 90% issue is a bit annoying, but it doesn't really happen to me much... and I am sure it will be fixed soon (just make sure everyone contacts ASUS about it). The silkscreen effect on the LCD would happen with almost any 1680x1050 screen you would buy, after a while you don't really notice it (especially if you set you gamma/brightness/etc).

As for waiting though, as a kind of last comment type of thing. Something new is going to come out pretty soon all the time. Its best to buy what suits your needs now... but not right when the tech comes out. Otherwise you will be waiting forever, always waiting for "the next big thing."

 

As anyone tried playing The Sims 2 + expansion packs on the G1S? Im wondering if its good ?

 

Do you mean you wish you waited to see what the problems were before buying the G1S?

Thanks.

 

Cool. If most of the issues in my first post can be eventually fixed with a BIOS update then things may be just golden. I don't really care for a blu ray drive so the A2/A3 wouldn't matter for me.

Thanks for the inputs. Other inputs are certainly welcome and encouraged!

Thanks

 

well, as a proud g1s owner, i can safely say i am MORE than happy with it. i went from a crappy dell dimension desktop with 512mb of ram, an x300 graphics card, and a pentium 4 processor; now, i'm rocking out with 2gb of blisteringly fast ram, an amazing dx10 graphics card, and a great dual core processor. not to mention the upgraded 7200rpm hdd.

what do i use my g1s for? everything from web surfing to burning dvds to gaming. i play source games (cs/dod/ins), bf2, and some wow; i also have a slew of other titles that i don't play regularly like fear, oblivion, and coh. anyway, this beast of a machine runs very great for everything.

people complain about vista...i love it. with the g1s, home premium runs great, looks smooth as hell, and is very good for multitasking. my gaming experience has been more than stellar. coming from a crappy dell desktop to this beast is like going from vhs to an hd-dvd. games like half-life 2, oblivion, and (especially) fear look and play great on this thing with MOST settings on high.

i could never go back to a desktop, as i caryy my g1s around with me almost everyday with the GREAT and sturdy backpack it came with. the mouse is great, and the screen is great too. i see the grain, but you REALLY have to look at it to tell a difference. if you're coming from a crt monitor, it won't matter cuz it'll look amazing regardless.

i have had no bios problems or skipping problems either. if you want a notebook, i would definitely go with the g1s. minimal bloatware, sleek looks, great performance, and the ability to actually game on the go make this thing worth every penny. i spent about a year of saving up for this and i can honestly say i am extremely glad i did.

my point is: if you want a notebook, you can't go wrong with the g1s. did i mention it's affordable for what you get? yep.

 

Nah, the laptop for what it is is nice. I just spent too much for it I think. Since the Inspiron 1520 is a bit more customizable (colorwise) for marginally cheaper ($300-400)... but also would have to deal with Dell and have to wait for thier shipping.
I really have no regrets buying it to be honest. It does what I want it to.

 

My gut instinct says you'll be happier in the long run with the ASUS....even without the pink lid.

 

Perhaps.
I used to to tech support for a school district full of Dell laptops (~400 laptops), though that was 4-5 years ago... they were alot less problem-prone than the ibooks I looked after then. So that is really the only experiance I have with a Dell laptop.

 

Although my G1s suffered harddrive failure, and I had to live for 3 weeks without having my new toy, I love it. I play fear, coh, and a few other titles. I can't give an overly deep insight, since this is my first laptop/gaming computer, but the only thing im dissapointed with is the quality of the webcam and the grainy screen, although i need to uninstall splendid soon according to many people around here so ill inform you if I notice any difference after.

 

I'm currently playing it under XP with everything maxed, including the in-game AA. There is slight lag on native resolution, but not too bad. It does lag a lot if you speed up the clock in the game (like during the Sim's sleep cycle).

 

Hey mod I still don't know what a grainy screen is. Could you explain it to me thank you.