~VX2S Owners' Lounge~

[djembe]

Hey guys : seems like ther's a new driver set, it's 156.55 but they say it's the "latest build". How does the nvidia numbering work ????

well, it used to be sequential.. and now I guess they decided to mix it up! lol

[Kos-Mos]

Just bought one (in fact about 5 hours ago)

I should receive it next week. Paid 2940CAD$ (about 2700US$ or 2040 EUR)

Not sure about the specs though (The description is quite vague, seems to be the big package since it comes with BD and Docking)

Model number states VX2S-B1B (never found the "real" specs)

So here was my first post on this forum!

[Kador]

Just ask asus canada for spec, usually they answer

[Kos-Mos]

Got the answer from the guy I bought it from. It's the A2B version (Ultimate in black/carbon).

Can't wait to receive it... 10 days... it's sooooo long!!!

[Kador]

be patient you'll be pleased

any1 tried to overclock that DDR3 ? if G1S runs at 513/700, we should get a nice perf increase as we are running 475/400

[Oxyd]

any1 tried to overclock that DDR3 ? if G1S runs at 513/700, we should get a nice perf increase as we are running 475/400

Well, I don't think you guys will be happy to read that, but for the premium price we paid to get a VX2S, we've been sold a laptop with a neutered graphics card:

The VX2S, like the V1S, comes with a 8600M GT with 512MB of DDR2 (clocked at: core 475MHz / memory 400MHz). On the other hand, the G1S features a 8600M GT with 256MB of GDDR3 (475/700) like some other high-end laptops (latest Macbook Pro, ...) Did I just say high-end? How much did we pay for the VX2S again? Asus have been taking the big time on this one, especially when you know that we could have had a 8700M GT (625/800) in their top-of-the-line laptop...

Anyway, I welcome your comments (this will be one of my only rant against this machine, with maybe this bloody fan that never stops)


Overclocking the 8600M GT on VX2S:
I have managed to overclock my VX2S around 580/470 (stable, no artifacts) using RivaTuner or ATITool. It will probably work with nVidia nTune too.
I could probably push it a bit higher on the core, but the memory is at its max on my machine...
(Yeah great! But some people have managed to overclock their G1S close to the performances of a 8700M GT though...)

Note 1: I cannot confirm but it would appear that the 16x.xx Series drivers doesn't allow overclocking. I personally still use the original driver (101.38) distributed by Asus.

Note 2: When I'll have confirmed my stable overclocked frequencies, I'll try to re-flash the video BIOS with them... but for that I need a version of nvFlash that can read/write it - doesn't seem to work yet.
(It's a bit like: "If I have had mushrooms, I would have made a mushroom omelette, but I don't have any eggs" )


Threads/posts worth a look:
Aspire 5920: VGA Bios modification/flash/restore guide
G1s 8600m gt overclocked to 8700m gt spec.
Re: ~G1s Owners Lounge~
Vostro 1500 w/ 8600m gt overclocking
New Overclock reaches "stock 8600gt(DDR3) scores"
Macbook Pro Overclocking Benchmarks

References:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/geforce_8600M.html
http://www.nvidia.com/object/geforce_8700m.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8600#GeForce_8600M_Series

[WLF46WLF]

about overclocking the GPU: on asus website (in italy) it's clear that g1s/g2s series have the 8600GT gddr3, while on lamborghini series it's not specified. maybe g1s (this kind of notebook born as a gaming notebook) has higher range of OCability because of better cooling system! but lamborghini has better features. I repeat, I don't think that an OC can give you that benefit that justify the risk (doing it in a notebook)! I had ferrari 3200. my default in 3dmark05 was 1350. I made ove 2100 with OC, but the increase in fps in gaming wasn't evident!

now, what do you think about the new model of vx2s?? VX2S-AK111G comes wit the new T7700! all other features are the same, but the HD-DVD instead of the Blu-ray. what do you think about this? step back or forward??

[Kador]

Hi,

Oxyd, are you 100% sure it's DDR2, what is your source ? RivaTuner reports that it is DDR3 memory.

As for the specs, they were pretty available (at least you could easily know the GPU/RAM frequencies), so don't blame asus for this, maybe blame your own choice if you wanted a more powerful machine and didn't choose another one. One thing is true : on a supposedly top-of-le-line machine, one would expect the best of each component, so if the memory is actually DDR2, that's a bad choice from asus.

regarding the fan, in normal use it hardly blows for me (runiing oracle software + virtual machines etc, not only workpad and firefox ;-) ), of course if you're gaming all the time or running 3DMark ... but that's the same for every lappy with a decent GC.

as for the price, just try and buy a thinkpak / hp pro ceries with SAME spec, and then we'll speak again ;-) . Don't forget what you get for that price.

Conclusion, I'm still 100% happy, DDR3 or DDR2 (still I really need to know for sure). I was not looking for "the ultimate gaming machine", but a nice laptop, solid, powerful, with a docking station, a blu-ray. I got that and more.

Asus rocks

[Jorlin]

Hi,

great to have this thread here

I am currently thinking about getting this nice notebook.
The only concern that I have right now is that I wonder how well the leather padding for the palm rest is? I am a "heavy" notebook user and I wonder if the leather palm rest will wear of quickly... can anyone say something about that. I am already sure that the soft palm rest is most comfortable... but I do not want to end up with a ugly looking, color vanished palm rest after two month or so...
Any protection advice for that you would suggest?

Another question how is the screen? Does it loose a lot of brightness in the corners? What about light leakage on the bottom? And how is the angle dependent view?

Thanks in advance...

[Oxyd]

Oxyd, are you 100% sure it's DDR2, what is your source ? RivaTuner reports that it is DDR3 memory.

Well... if RivaTuner says it's DDR3, it probably is, isn't it?
Or could it be that the app doesn't show accurate information for this particular card? Please read this post (accurate at the time of writing):

Re: G1S-A1 (8600GT) DDR3 or GDDR3 ???

I did write in my earlier post GDDR3, not DDR3. This was done intentionally and I've got nothing against the letter "G". I actually do lots of reading before posting in here and verify the accuracy of the information before I state things. BUT there's still lots of debating going on around the 8600M GT, so I can just say that I back this information up with the overclocking I've done: if the video memory was GDDR3, I could overclock beyond 470MHz and run 700MHz no problemo (like the stock memory speed of the G1S). The last thing I'll probably do, is to open my laptop and take a picture of the memory chips (for brand/specs) for all the folks around here who still have doubts...

As for the specs, they were pretty available (at least you could easily know the GPU/RAM frequencies), so don't blame asus... One thing is true : on a supposedly top-of-le-line machine, one would expect the best of each component, so if the memory is actually DDR2, that's a bad choice from asus.

I see... So tell me, if the specs were so obvious, why are still debating about "Is it DDR2? No it's DDR3! No it's GDDR3!!" ?
I did a lot of research and read lots of other threads that applies to laptop with similar architecture and parts (even from other brands). Even the Asus specs vary between countries according to their websites. By the way, if you know if the VX2S uses a MXM graphics card, please feel free to answer this post, I'm too chicken to open mine and check yet...

Asus VX2/VX2s MXM?

Mind you, the specs of the VX2S are "pretty available" it must be written somewhere on their website?
Anyway, as the VX2S and the V1S have the same architecture and motherboard but just a different shell, I believe it's not MXM according to some info I read somewhere else... needs confirmation though.

regarding the fan, in normal use it hardly blows for me (runiing oracle software + virtual machines etc, not only workpad and firefox ;-) )

If your fan hardly blows, it maybe means that my settings have something wrong (even in Quiet Office mode, the fan never stops for me).
(Hey! maybe I shouldn't run 64 instances of Wordpad and Firefox in parallel? )

as for the price, just try and buy a thinkpak / hp pro ceries with SAME spec, and then we'll speak again ;-)...
Conclusion, I'm still 100% happy, DDR3 or DDR2 (still I really need to know for sure)... Asus rocks

Thanks for showing your devotion to the brand and the model. If someone needs reassurance in his purchase, I'll tell them to speak to you. But please, if I ever am critical again in one of my next posts, you don't have to take it too personally you know...


References:
Other Asus DDR3 instead of G1S (and yes, you should read GDDR3)
V1S 8600gt? DDR3?
G1S-A1 (8600GT) DDR3 or GDDR3 ???
Re: G1s vs. Aspire 5920G
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GDDR3


DISCLAIMER

* I do not condone overclocking - Do it at your own risk and don't blame me.
* Don't drive without insurance nor driving licence - if you do don't tell me.
* Don't drink alcoholic beverages if you are under-age - if you do I don't care
* I really like Asus as a brand.
* I love my Asus VX2S.
* Computers tend to have similar specs and issues between brands. Try to do searches at the root of this forum, not only in the Asus section.