g50vt-X5 at Best Buy

So the battery sticks out from the bottom? Can someone take a pic of the battery?

 

I believe it would stick out at the back, not the bottom.

 

Reading this thread it seems that the general consensus is the only difference between these models (X1 and X5) is the slower chip speed on the X5.

However, reading Best Buy's website they show other differences that I'd like to get the community's read on:

Processor Speed: 2.13GHz (X5) vs 2.26GHz (X1)
Cache Memory: 3mb (X5) vs 2mb (X1)
Memory: PC2-6400 DDR SDRAM (X5) vs PC2-5300 DDR SDRAM (X1)
HD: 7200 RPM (X5) vs 5400 RPM (X1)
Video Memory: X5 listed as GDDR3 where X1 doesn't say

No other material references as far as I can tell.

If these differences from Best Buy's side by side comparison of the two models are accurate, then it might make sense for the X5 to be a real upgrade. Faster HD, faster memory and more cache all seem like a decent trade off for .13 GHz of processor speed.

 

I am going to be purchasing one of these two laptops in the next week or two and if someone could post more pics and verify if the differences shown on the bb website are accurate. Here's the side by side per bb website.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=cat13504&type=page&pageIdentity=searchDriven&useProductString=true&productString=1218044029168*1218012519873&unProductString=1218043606827&catId=pcmcat150700050002
It seems that if the specs are correct the larger cache size, faster system memory, and quicker access time of the hard drive would more than make up for the cut in processor speed.

 

the cache on the processors are both 3mb. the best buy site is wrong on some specs. the X1 and X5 both have 3mb cache.

 

Those are wrong actually:
consensus is the only difference between these models (X1 and X5) is the slower chip speed on the X5.

However, reading Best Buy's website they show other differences that I'd like to get the community's read on:

Processor Speed: 2.13GHz (X5) vs 2.26GHz (X1)
Cache Memory: 3mb (X5) vs 3mb (X1)
Memory: PC2-6400 DDR SDRAM (X5) vs PC2-5300 DDR SDRAM (X1) (NOT SURE)
HD: 7200 RPM (X5) vs 7200 RPM (X1)
Video Memory: ddr3 (X5) vs ddr3 (x1)

 

I'd take what is posted on BB's site with a grain of salt. For anyone to say a Penryn has anything other than 3 or 6 MB of L2 is a bad sign. As for the X1, I believe it also has PC2-6400 based on this thread:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=311122

Really what we need is someone to go into a BB and do some CPUZ and GPUZ on both models. I'd gladly do it if there is any place in the Vancouver area that carries them.

 

Best Buy has a lot of wrong information in their specs for each model. I can vouch for the G50Vt-X1 (as I have it) with the following:

P8400 w/ 3MB L2 cache
512 GDDR3 9800M GS
PC2-6400 800Mhz RAM
320GB 7200.3 Seagate hard drive
Intel 5100 802.11n WiFi
6 cell battery

As far as the X5 model, it contains:

P7450 w/ 3MB L2 cache
512 GDDR3 9800M GS
9 cell battery
for the other specs we'll have to wait until someone purchases it and opens it up to verify what is actually inside, but I'm pretty sure it's going to be the exact same as everything else minus the processor and battery.

In the end, it is a downgraded model for more money.

 

I just picked up an X1 display model for 850 after my friend bought the last new one after i recommended he buy it. As far as the pricing goes the manager showed me the pricing screen and It showed about 1050 cost so they are discounted at 950 pretty good to get rid of them for the new X5.
there are my cpu-z and gpu-z screens from my X1 including overclocked gpu

 

have you stress tested the core clock at 575? I can't seem to get anywhere past 550 without crashing..

 

No Im maxed out there i cant go any farther using atitool scan for artifacts as stability test. Also gpu is stable through over 12 hours of WOW. Did get my cpu to 2675 thou

 

Thanks for sorting out the confusion on the X1. I guess the X5 is only a winner if you really need the extra battery life or if you dig the new lid design.

 

im not from the states but im thinking of buying one at bestbuy and having it shipped..can anyone tell me if the 1 year warranty is limited to the states or is it international?

 

its limited to the states

 

Hi guys, looking into some other laptops, the M1730's far too big to use in class, and originally, when the VT came out, I owned one of them, I was one of the first to report that they had the 9800M GS now, so I know I like the laptop. Anyway...

So guys, can the old G50VT-X1 (Don't like the X5- its fugly!) use an X9100? Looks as if they'd be compatible...

I wouldn't care about the overclocking from BIOS, because I'd use the Asus overclocking app instead, and that'd be better piece of mind for me, because the X9100 is meant to overclock. If it's impossible, I guess I will just get a T9800 or something. I am not worried about the warranty.

Hopefully someone can help!

 

Anything? Anyone?

 

Yeah it should be able to use any mobile Core 2 duo of the same socket type. You might have to update the BIOS though. (for the record, there's a negligible difference between the X9100 and the T9800 at stock speeds. If you're not going to overclock manually, don't bother with the extreme edition procs)

 

Hi just joined this forum. I bought an X5 last night. This is a very nice notebook. I opened the notebook up and it looks like it will be easy to upgrade the cpu, drives, & possible on gpu? I am not sure about GPU as I know ASUS does not usually make that possible on the newer units. It is not soldered to the motherboard so who knows maybe someday when the 9800m GS is no longer a strong gpu we might see some upgrade gpu's? I wish the screen resolution was higher and came with bluray but the price is right and it plays every game I can throw at it at med-high settings without any problem. I do not notice a difference putting the machine it turbo extreme mode. I also had that strange keyboard problem but uninstalled the touchpad driver and it seems to be better now.

 

If you do let me know that will be one of my first upgrades I would do also and yeah the color scheme is a bit much I like the orange and black scheme better but its growing on me. lol

 

comes with a bigger battery and 1 year of trend micro and also lojack not sure if the X1 comes with these or not.

 

I originally posted the 1st review of the previous generation of laptop, some of you might recall that I suffer keyboard problem where characters would randomly type or not type, and the whole computer suffered a heart attack and died on the counter of the Geedksquad.

Has anyone with this laptop experience any keyboard lag issue?and other driver issue? I'm looking at this one and

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220483

 

I think the keyboard lag problem is still out there, but it seems to be hit or miss. There is also that problem about certain keypress combinations involving Space not working, but this seems to be universal and there is a solution (albeit a hack job by Asus).

 

Caution: anything requiring heatsink removal voids warranty.

I suggest evaluate carefully whether you need another CPU. CPUs are so fast nowadays that many users don't actually need to upgrade the CPU even if it is from the lower-end of the spectrum.

GPU: I highly doubt anything will be released officially. Unofficially, it is very difficult to exchange notebook GPUs, see the Info BoothFAQ for some reasons.

 

, thanks, I had high hope for it since this would be 3rd generation of this model... or at least from Bestbuy, and they still can't get rid of the keyboard problem........

 

Bought via BB.com, using in store pick-up, gonna give this rig a thourogh burning in, I'll post as complete a review as I can, I dont know how to take screen shots of like Windows, so I'll have to figure that out before i post pics of specs, But I plan to run benchmarks in my favorites, WoW (soloing/questing, city and 25 man raid performances), Fallout 3, and CoD to see how they stack with the X1, so many reviews for it but naught for this one.. I know its a slower processor, but really the extended battery is worth 100 dollars+ by itself, and if I find it sucks, its good to know i can swap it for somethiung beefier anyway. I mainly bought it cause the GPU wont be outdated for a while as its still tier one, and I'm a college student gamer on a budget. (and if you count shipping the X1 really isnt much cheaper anyway) Also anybody here swapped the CPU yet? If so I'd like some help explaining the process is it pick-up and drop in or is there soldering to it?

 

Just push the "Print scr / Sys rq" button at the top right of your keyboard, then go into your favorite photo editor and click "paste"

 

oh so it works sorta like WoW already but I have to paste it in an ed program first?

 

Yup. It basically just takes a screen shot and stores it on your clipboard.

 

I saw this comp at the store today. Looks sick!!
I liked the led and stuff on the outside of the case and on the trackpad. I was looking at the n80v-x5 from newegg so does anyone know if we could put the lighting or change the case(top plate) on that?

 

lol would you be the same lady kat?:

By ladykat from <CENSORED (for respect)>

Value for Price 5/5
Display 5/5
Performance 3/5
Convenience 4/5

"I purchased this particular laptop when my Best Buy salesperson pointed out the specs to me online since they had just gotten it in and did not have a display available nor was it listed on the Best Buy website, yet. Unfortunately, the specs he showed me online (ZDNet) were incorrect and so I thought I was getting more laptop than I actually did. After getting it home and discovering what specs it actually had, I was assured that if I didn't like it, they would wave the 15% restocking fee for me to exchange it for something else. Once I got over my disappointment that it did not have the specs outlined on ZDNet, I gave it a spin. Please keep in mind that I work in an IT support setting and have my hands on a variety of laptops on a very regular basis as you read my review.

Unfortunately, I had non-stop issues with wireless connectivity which in and of itself is a showstopper. I have two other wireless devices in my home to verify that my wireless was in good order, so it was specific to this laptop. IMO a laptop should hop on a network without any issues whatsoever. I did manage to get most Windows updates installed, however.

I tested it out with Bioshock and Fallout 3 to see how it looked and responded and all went well. I didn't give WOW a try due to the connectivity issue. There were evidently some other software issues (Vista, I suspect) as my desktop icons continously disappeared and had to be manually reconfigured. With regards to sound quality, I had noted that the Gateway FX speakers produced a louder, better sound quality than the older ASUS model in the store. This was representative of what I heard on this model as well.

Some of the included utilities were nice, but not anything that I HAD to have.

Since I initially went into Best Buy to purchase the Gateway FX, I decided to take the ASUS back and get the Gateway. I'm glad I did because it has performed flawlessly and has a few specs better than this one. Yes, it cost a bit more, but I am much happier with it overall."


Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes



Cause I want to know more about the wireless issues, and that IF a wireless driver may resolve that issue

 

Just unpacked mine, no pics as I dont have a digicam, out of the box Wireless connected flawlessly, will post a more in depth review after i put it through its paces a bit. By the way, this machine is SEXY, love the lights, design, being able to set my custom banner for the sub-LCD under the battery display (currently reads For The Horde!) The pictures didnt do this machine the justice actually opening the box did. Will post again soon.

 

Well, have had a few hands on hours with the beast now, and as far as I have notice, ZERO keyboard lag, so I suppose i dodged the bullet there or ASUS finally fixed the issue, The overall impression of this notebook is that the construction quality completely blows away any laptop I have ever seen or used firsthand, very solid keypad, the hand rest seems coated with a different material as the shell, looked sort of rubberized in the picture but feels a little more like a very smooth yet textured plastic, what I'm trying to say here is that unlike a lot of polished, glossy laptop plastics this one seems to be less prone to slippage, the keys are the most solid i have ever felt in a laptop and on par with an actual gaming keyboard, requires pressure, not floaty like most keypads. Has an actual num lock key and num key set, unlike most laptops dual purpose sets. Informative LCD display in expressgate area, displays not just battery life but CPU usage and Memory usage, also can be fitted with custom banner which my roomate thinks is the coolest thing he has ever seen on a laptop other than the LEDs all over the machine, LED light around the touchpad makes it easy to find in the dark, very useful for homework in my dorm environment. As far as gaming, I will post a later review as I didnt pick up what I wanted while I was in BB, and my net crapped out while patching World of Warcraft. I will be getting Fallout 3 tomorrow, to see how it compares to my PS3 version, since the salesperson at BB told me this comp should not only run it, but best my PS3 in graphical quality. So, I'm stoked to finally be able to game on it come tomorrow.

In summary, I am quite impressed on my intial useage.

 

I think you will be impressed with it's gaming performance. I can run Crysis Warhead on high without any problems.

I also do not have any keyboard lag issues so I am happy about that.

Good luck and have fun!

 

Do you guys think that this laptop is portable like to carry around a bit? Also, is it a lot bigger then a 14 inch?
I am not sure about the measurements because I think this is widescreen so i know stupid question lol

 

Does this laptop get very hot, and how is the cooling system in it?

thanks

 

I'm not familiar with this latest version of G50V, but from my information on the G50 series in general: Yes it is significantly bigger than a typical 14 inch. It is also somewhat larger than a typical 15.4 incher.

 

thanks i guess the widescreen changes it then

 

Well actually a widescreen with X diagonal has very slightly less surface than a 4:3 screen with X diagonal. (maybe part of the reason for which it has been so widely adopted: it costs slightly less to manufacture while the numbers look just as well).

It's more in the size of the bezels and how the layout is designed, rather than because of the screen size, I believe.

 

ohh ok so would you the 15 widescreen is some what more portable then the 15.4?

 

In this case, it is the full size keyboard that is the factor not the screen size.
The screen has about inch on sides and 2" top and bottom of just the plastic frame.

 

racerman119: No, the surface difference is too small to make a real-life difference I guess (and if it would, the difference would be in favor of the 15.4 widescreen -- i.e. it would be more portable due to less area). It was just a random fact.

The relevant fact for you is that G50 is large even for 15.4" standards; so it is much larger than a 14".

 

haha thanks!
I just really dig the way it looks compared to the n80 but don't wanna get something like really big so i was hoping it would be comparable. Anyways happy gaming!

 

I can't wait to get mine... hurry up tax return! I Miss you! ><

 

lol awww i feel bad for you^. hope you get it soon!

 

hey I'm not sure if I should buy this one because it looks big and heavy. Is it hard to fit in a backpack and is it heavy?

 

Well, I've had this thing for a couple days, and I love it, I've had several laptops in the past, and this is by far my favorite, I personally dont find it very heavy at all, its around 6-7 lbs, Its not very hard to fit in a backpack, I personally use the one I carry my Xbox 360 in, fits good and great weight distribution, also has many compartments

 

Can any one Post Pics of Lap??

 

So did we come to the conclusion that the X5 is a more expensive downgrade of the X1?

Based on what?

So does the X5 merit the extra $50 at all? Other than paint scheme?

Oh, and do either the X1 or X5 have secondary HDD bays?

And more pics please!

Thanks

LC

 

X1 vs X5


X1 has slightly more powerful CPU
X5 has weaker CPU, but a 9 cell battery

X5 is only more expensive right now because the X1 is $100 off, the list price is $1050 normally.

Pretty much comes down to if you want a little more processor or a little more battery life. With the easy overclocking, I would probably go with the X5 at normal prices personally, but the X1 at the current pricing. If I need more processing power, just hit the button.

Truthfully, if you can run them both side by side and nit pick the very slight performance level differences, you shouldn't be buying a laptop in this price range to begin with. You might lose 1-2 FPS in a game when they are both in full "Extreme" mode by choosing the X5. Really, with how they improved the battery life, it isn't a downgrade OR upgrade, more of a lateral shift. Just depends on personal taste really.

 

Does this mean that basically it doesn't matter that much until you get to the ultra high end range?

A lateral shift? Not sure what you mean, interesting terminology though.

Do they both have 7200rpm HDs or are they really 5400rpms?

And does the X1 also have facial recognition?

I do like the finish on the X5 slightly better than the X1, although I haven't been able to see enough of either to tell really.

Thanks

LC