M570TU first impressions

Hi,

After a month of looking I finally settled on the M570TU and today I got it!

These are some of my first impressions straight out of the box. I haven't updated any drivers yet. Just turned it on - set up my
account - turned off UAC - changed the intitial partition size the OS had installed on it - installed 3DMark06 and Vantage and now
am installing my Steam Apps backup - all 80GB of it. I've done this quickly so apologies for spelling errors etc.

1. It's stunningly good looking and the orange is way less orangey than in the pictures. This is one good looking laptop IMHO.
2. The position of the power input at the back and the CAT5 (RJ45) input on the right hand side are exactly the same as my old
laptop and therefore perfect!
3. Screen quality is magnificent. Not sure who the maker of the panel is Hardware Ids shows value as MONITOR\APP9C69. It
absolutely chits all over the XPS1730 panel which resulted in me returning the XPS1730. Out of the box the monitor is perfect. I
haven't touched brightness or any other settings - don't even know where they are yet!
4. Fingerprint reader looks like it will work to login to windows - just need to set it up. Cool!
5. Out of the box (no driver or settings changes to the 9800M) 3DMark06 = 9258 and Vantage = 3830.
6. Keyboard has a bit too much flex to it from about the H key to the Enter Key - not too happy about that - other keys are nice
and solid. I've included a pic of the keyboard and circled the area where the keyboard really flexes- I've put a circle where I
would like to put a nice little riser underneath to keep the keyboard from flexing.


7. Looks like this CPU has some automatic clock multi throttling going on - can't remember the name of it - something I always

turn of in the BIOS of my desktops. THe BIOS in this M570TU does not look like it allows for any changes. CPU changes from

1500ish Mhz to 2500Mhzish - multi goes from x6.0 to x9.5 - Bus and FSB stay the same - Core VID also goes up and down as the

Multi does.
8. I noticed in the BIOS a third SATA device field - empty. WOuld that be for my e-Sata device when I plug it in?
9. CPUZ shows my RAM as DDR2 in the Memory TAB screen and DDR3 in the SPD TAB screen. It's supposed to be DDR3 1066






10. GPUZ (sorry if it's out of date) pic is here as well - also looks like the GPU throttles speed as well.




11. Fan is "there" - I wouldn't call it loud - just there - very quiet when the laptop is doing nothing but still audible. My F3Jm made no noise at all exceptt when the video card was running (game). I appreciate this a "power" laptop so I don't mind a bit of fan noise. Get's drowned out by most of the other PC's in my office anyway.
12. Windows Experience Score thinks my RAM is letting the party down.



13. The Power Supply brick isn't big at all. It's about half what I thought it would be.







Edit 04/09/2008 (day/month/year)

HL2: LC Stress Test - 1920x1200 everything maxed AA and AF maxed - average framerate was 74.80 FPS.

I would really appreciate any feedback plus I have some questions...

Can I fix the keyboard flex?
Can I set my CPU to run full speed all the time - or this that just something I need to live with as this is a laptop?
Can I make the fans quieter at idle (tradeoff for temps I guess).
Can I do a review? Who do I need to ask?
Any links to good setup threads for the M570TU?
What is with the RAM displaying as DDR2 in one tab and DDR3 of another in CPUZ?

Kind regards

Lee

 

you can remove the keyboard and check if anything is stinking up underneath it that is causing that flex... mine had a wire that was not properly hidden.

its easy to remove the keyboard (no screws or anything).

along the top of the keyboard are 3 to 5 retractable plastic tabs that hold down the keyboard, just press them down gently and they will retract and release that part of the keyboard.

on my notebook, the tabs are located right above the following keys:
- ESC
- F6/F7
- PRT SC
- * (on Num Pad)

 

what screen did you have in the 1730 that made you return it?? just curious. thats the same reason i think im going to sell mine the dell screens suck bad.

 

Very nice set of pictures.

My keyboard feels like it sits on a slab of steel. When I type, it is very solid.
That is one thing I am very pleased with...unlike my Toshiba.

I also noticed the BIOS is very restrictive....can't modify or change squat.
My RAM does the same thing in CPU-Z and WEI rated mine at 5.2 making it the lowest subscore.

The last picture makes me think of one thing:

Wire ties.

Over-all, nice post and it seems your already on the way to making this into a fine review.

 

I second the motion on the wire ties!

 

Ah….you has finally got it!

I hope it’s what you wanted and not what the majority wanted? The keyboard is definitely on solid grounds, so maybe yours is set on a wire or something else as Gophn mentioned. If you want steady high performance, then set the mode as such (high performance/performance). I'm surprised that you would need to make the fans even more silent than they already are, considering you’re not doing anything on yours. But if I’m not mistaken, you should have a silent mode? Heck, I will I could turn my fans up! Be truthful, did you not read every review there was over that unit before you purchased it? Just saying, some of this stuff you should already know how to do.

Once you get everything setup the way you want it, you will be much more impressed with the performance. It’s amazing how much more I love my notebook, that when I got it. Looking at one of the pics, it seems as if you’re not running in 1920x1200, and reason for that?

 

just wondering why it says you have a penryn processor, but other than that, i may order this tomorrow.

 

Because he does have a Penryn processor

 

i guess im out of it because i thought that the 570tu with the t9400 was the new montevina platform.

 

montevina = penryn chips

 

Yes it is. Montevina platform uses Penryn CPUs too. Montevina can use Penryn CPUs with 800Mhz FSB (Like T9300, T9500, X9000, etc) and they can also use CPUs with 1066Mhz FSB (Like P9500, T9600, X9100, etc) ! While the old Centrino platform can only use CPUs with 667Mhz FSB (Like T5450) and CPUs with 800Mhz FSB (Like T9300, T9500, X9000, etc).

Oh and yes, since T9400 uses 1066Mhz FSB, it only works in Montevina platform.

 

ah i smells ya

 

I fixed the keyboard flex - here is what I did.

Opened it up - basically all you have is bare metal below the keyboard so essentially you need some sort of "riser" to support the keyboard.

I could have used anything - cloth would be nice or a small bit of rubber/felt like what you can buy to stop doors slamming/cupboards slamming might be good too. Something that doesn't obstruct airflow either would be good too. I think these rubber bands provide the best mix of support and airflow...

It only needs to be 1 or 2 mm at most with some give in it.

I used rubber bands.

I started with 3 but that produced slightly too much support and just ended up with the 2 as pictured. I crossed out the one I removed. My keyboard is now PERFECT. Only downfall I guess will be the rubber in the bands will perish or "melt" slightly over time. But as they are on bare metal (I can always clean the residue off with rubbing alcohol) I don't think this will be much of an issue - well I hope not. I think only one rubber band wouldn't be enough. I placed the bands in the spots I thought would make the most support points.

Opening it is SOOO easy. I used a small flat head screwdriver and gently pushed the tabs away from me - they are on tiny springs and simply spring back - the keyboard just pops up slightly. Because the keyboard was so loose (the reason why it's flexing so much) in one section the tab above the PAUSE/Break button had to be the last - pushed in while I pulled gently up on the keyboard. Honestly it's EASY.





here I have laid the keyboard flat upside down



These wires actually get pressed on quite hard by the keyboard. They are as flat as they will go but actually provide some support already on the left hand side of the board - most likely why the board is so solid on the left. I couldn't do anything with them. The cables are slightly too long for their connections and so there is a bit of cable that sort of has to fold over another bit. I did move the longer cable off the screw head as best I could.



First attempt gave just a bit too much support so I removed the upper right band







If anyone thinks this sucks let me know! Some sort of heat resistant rubber strips would be best I think like the one under the battery in the battery compartment. Any ideas?

 

It sure is! I have removed it about 5 times today!

 

Samsung. Backlight bleed was horrendous as was the curtaining effect. LG and Sharp were better according to people on this forum but I couldn't get them as I am in Perth. That was a year ago - things might be better now. Either way I returned it cause it sucked.

This M570TU monitor is fantastic however!

 

Yes please can you come and clean up my desk and cables!

Why does your WEI show 5.2 and mine only show 5.0 for RAM. My RAM is supposed to be DDR3 1066! Faster than my desktop (DDR2 800) and yet my RAM is scored at 5.9 on my desktop! I don't get it!

 

1920x1200 only and always. Not sure what pic that was.

 

My RAM went to 5.3 after upgrading the T9400 to X9100 but I've noticed that
if I run the test several times in a row, those numbers can go ± 2 digits.

I'm more irritated with my 3DMark06 score of 9700± when I've seen people with the same setup on another notebook claim 11000±

 

Zenica how did you upgrade to the X9100?

Yes well I got 3DMark06 = 9258 and Vantage = 3830 with the "out of the box" drivers 176.02. I'm expecting an improvement when I get around to upgrading to 177.92 from http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=20271

11000 with a 9800M GT? Are the OCing their GPU's/CPU's maybe to get that?

 

The 177.92 drivers brought my 3DMark06 score down by 500 points.
I don't pretend to know why.

As far as I know, only the GPU was OC'd to achieve 11k

Our notebooks max out with the X9100, for now.

 

Oh. re: the drivers. Which driver are you using now?

 

1100 for a 9800GT is pretty good! I barely got that with my 8800GTX, of course mine is posted and not claimed.

 

About your score...I, for some unknown reason, am unable to run the online version, how did you get 11k? The 9800M GT is on par, if not slightly ahead of the 8800GTX. Your CPU is OC's to 3GHz, mine is native 3GHz and OC'd to 3.47GHz yet I am under 10k. You have XP, I have Vista...but that isn't 1,200 points worth. Help me out here...

 

7.15.11.7602

 

Same as me. OK.

How do you overclock a T9300??? I thought you could only over clock the extreme edition CPU's on these laptops.

 

Via setFSB. I think that also OCs the graphics card and ram too, though.
A lot of people do it but I'm not too keen on it.

 

I think we have a disconnect...I used to have the T9400 but right now it sits on my table. It has been replaced by an X9100 that can be OC'd.

The person who said he got a 3DMark06 score of 11k OC'd the GPU, not the CPU although he can as he has the X9100 as well.

 

Sure the FSB is raised, but it doesn't overclock the GPU. The GPU keep the same clocks, unless you change them. I've posted what my clocks are when overclocked, and they do not change. The RAM on the other hand, is severly overclocked.

 

I just noticed something really odd with my CPU in Device Manager - was just clicking through each device having a look...I'm supposed to have a T9400 - according to CPUZ I do. Accordign to device manager I have an X9100! If only!

 

woow........

 

What does it mean? Windows has installed the wrong header/driver? SHould I uninstall it and reinstall it and see what happens? Can't say I have ever seen this before with a CPU in windows. Seen it with other things - hard disks, NICS and Monitors mainly.
EDIT
I've removed it from device manager - see what happens on restart.

 

Hmmmm…?

According to your first page, you have the T9400? That is really weird, that device manager would show you having an x9100 and even its clock speed. Do some more investigating, and see if you can pull up some more information?

 

Yeh I paid for a T9400 and the POST screen says T9400 as does CPUZ.

THis pic is after removing the first CPU - obviously windows has got it right now on re-installing it - re-detecting it.

I reckon this chassis had an X9100 in it at some stage or the image the vendor I bought it off used was for an X9100.

Question...my laptop says Extreme Edition underneath it. Do they all say that - even ones with a T9400?

 

Yes, they all started shipping with that case around the 5792 era.

 

OK - thanks. I wonder what else is displaying incorrectly or not installed correctly. Guess I will find out!

Kobe do my Vantage and 3DMark06 scores seem about right to you?

3DMark06 = 9258 and Vantage = 3830

Nvidia drivers are: 7.15.11.7602

 

With no tweaking and using everything at default, it's what they should be.

 

SetFSB increases the FSB of the PCIE of both the CPU RAM, AND GPU it just doesnt show the increase GPU speed.

 

I have a question, how loud is the M570TU when you are only surfing or watching a movie?

 

quieter than desktop

Not as quiet as some laptops out there, but not to loud either.

 

at it's quietest it's very very quiet - at it's loudest it's the same as any laptop running full bore IMHO.

It's fan is mostly inaudible for general desktop work. Start doing anything that cranks the CPU and the fan does pick up a bit. Can't give you any RPM's or anything.

I have no issues with the sound of the fans at all. It's a high end gaming laptop.

My ASUS F3Jm's fans sound the same when gaming - ie both the M570TU and the F3Jm are as loud as each other when working hard. The ASUS F3Jm is silent at idle, the M570TU is virtually silent.

The M570TU is perfect - really!

Haven't watched a movie on it so can't tell you that yet. Played lots of games on it though!

 

While the fans are quiet for a movie or internet, etc, Running the fans full bore can be heard through the entire house. Its is much louder than your "standard" laptop when its cranked up. On auto fans, its really nice.

 

On silent mode it's dead quiet for me.
On normal mode, it's slightly louder but not annoying, HOWEVER if you start heavy gaming, then it gets pretty loud. But not that much imo (I come from a very, very loud desktop).