* Asus N61JQ Owners Lounge *

[mikeydee]

Hi all! I've been lurking here for a little bit, watching the great info and feedback on the laptop. Thanks all so much for posting photos, details, etc. I've had many computers over years, most of which I've built and modded myself, so I'm lucky enough to be able to follow the details of most posts.

I've just received my lovely N61JQ from Newegg. The only upgrade I plan to make is to the main drive, replacing the HDD with a 128GB SSD (due later today). That's probably a good thing - besides all the obvious benefits, the preinstalled bloatware on this machine is simply astounding. I read the bloatware thread and could likely remove the unwanted stuff, but it seems like I'll be better off adding to a clean Win7 x64 Ultimate install.

I'm hoping someone can point me to info on what I need to install after a clean Win7 installation on the new SSD. I'm sure I can go to the Asus support site and suck down the missing drivers until all the yellow bangs in Device Manager go away. But I was hoping there might be a more specific list or guide or something...? I looked for FAQs here but didn't see any stickies on this topic. If I missed it, feel free to point me there (with the appropriate remarks!).

Thanks for any pointers.

-mike

[jwolfenberg]

okay i have a problem that i cant quite seem to fix.

I connected an external monitor to my laptop and it works fine except for a flickering on the external monitor, flickering horizontal lines is the best way i can describe it. However this problem goes away if i am running on battery power and it looks flawless. I suspect some kind of electrical interference but i am no expert. If anyone has any ideas on how to fix this it would be extremely appreciated

Edit: It is a problem with 3 pronged power adapters apparently, i connected it with a 2 prong and no problems. The adapter that comes with the laptop cant filter 60hz or something along those lines, pretty silly

Edit 2: cheap easy solution: i wrapped the ground of my monitors power cord in scotch tape and no more flicker.

[fabsblu]

Hi to everyone,

I have been following this thread in silent mode since the start when I had decided to buy the N61JQ and I came to the conclusion that this is the best thread regarding our notebook. It is very well structured on the first page (great work Ally oops Greg ) and the contributions to it are all very good (apart from the occasional trolls ) with special thanks to Greg, Adamal, David LordDavon, Risco, the resellers and anyone else who would like a mention .

Here in Italy it is very difficult to find the N61JQ version (there are though two big store versions: Pro64 and X64JQ without the one year ADW and other minor changes) but in the end I found one N61JQ that was on display in a cabinet in a large electronics shop (therefore in theory it was not messed about a lot, but who knows and cares now). I had it turned on, the screen was fine, no scratches were evident anywhere, everything seemed OK and they offered me a € 50 discount so I pulled the trigger (is that the right slang?). This occurred in March and since then I can say that I am very glad of my choice.

I created the backup disks, it did not have the D partition so I created it and also decided to try the restore function from the hidden partition just to make sure that everything worked seeing that it was not a “virgin” .

Now for a brief review:

Estetics: I love it, it is definitely good-looking, obviously the finger prints are a pain but the dark brown colour is attractive (yes I know that it is a notebook and not a lady but I get rather personal with things I had to sweat to buy !)

Usage: The keyboard feels fine, I do not use a lot of pressure when I type so I do not notice any flex and when I play I am too concentrated on the game that who cares what the keyboard is doing. Obviously the zero on the numerical keypad is a pain being so small. I love to finally be able to use my external hard disk through e-Sata, USB 2.0 was too slow for my backups. Tbrocato hope u get to use yours soon

Screen: It’s OK, I am not used to the resolution, I would have preferred to have slightly more vertical real estate but at least with this resolution the life span is increased. OK Risco I understand that with your colour profile it would be a lot better but honestly I cannot complain (it must be the old age )

Gaming: I am playing only very old games (4/5 years back) that my desktop could not manage anymore, without any problems thanks also to the low resolution.

Heating: Definitely very good considering the power, even when I use it in bed on the quit, just have to be careful not to block the vent. I have noticed a difference using the GPU Gadget and HWMonitor of around 2/3°C lower recorded through HWMonitor though .

Software: removed Microsoft Office, Trend Micro, Power4Gear, Asus AP Bank and junk games. I have a problem with Cyberlink in that when I record in DVD+RW book type my DVD player does not read it, whereas on my desktop with Nero it works fine. I was thinking of installing Nero to see what happens.

Other: the wi-fi on 2.4Ghz works very good, but I may change the card in the future seeing that my router also has 5.0Ghz (thanks to Turbogear, ps how did it go with customs duty?)

Now back to silent mode

PS for wishmaster.dj C.F.C. rule OK!

[LordDavon]

Hi to everyone,

I have been following this thread in silent mode since the start when I had decided to buy the N61JQ and I came to the conclusion that this is the best thread regarding our notebook. It is very well structured on the first page (great work Ally oops Greg ) and the contributions to it are all very good (apart from the occasional trolls ) with special thanks to Greg, Adamal, David LordDavon, Risco, the resellers and anyone else who would like a mention .

Here in Italy it is very difficult to find the N61JQ version (there are though two big store versions: Pro64 and X64JQ without the one year ADW and other minor changes) but in the end I found one N61JQ that was on display in a cabinet in a large electronics shop (therefore in theory it was not messed about a lot, but who knows and cares now). I had it turned on, the screen was fine, no scratches were evident anywhere, everything seemed OK and they offered me a € 50 discount so I pulled the trigger (is that the right slang?). This occurred in March and since then I can say that I am very glad of my choice.

Welcome to the forum, congratulations on your purchase and a big "thank you" for your review.

We are more then happy to assist everyone, which is why we are all here. Hopefully, it is one of the reasons this thread has been so successful. I would like to suggest adding Tony to the mix because, well, he is very helpful and can also kick most of our butts. HA!

Again, welcome to the thread and I hope that you aren't too silent since we welcome any help we can get.

Also, it was the correct slang.

[tbrocato]

I know this may be slightly off topic...but for my Command Center Desk :P...I am constructing...I am trying to find a good double arm monitor mount. How do I know if the arm will match up with what monitor? Does anyone have any advice on this ?

[mikeydee]

I know this may be slightly off topic...but for my Command Center Desk :P...I am constructing...I am trying to find a good double arm monitor mount. How do I know if the arm will match up with what monitor? Does anyone have any advice on this ?

I've had amazing luck with Ergotron double mounts. Never had any monitor not fit, and they're built like a tank.

[wishmaster.dj]

PS for wishmaster.dj C.F.C. rule OK!

As far as 'rule' is concerned, there is only one, the mess(i)merizer!
No English football club could even come close to him.

ps - congratulations on your purchase!

[minenfeld]

Please view the attached image. Is what I have circled in red normal? It's as if it's running at a lower color depth. this happens in all games and even browsing the web.

[GregW]

Please view the attached image. Is what I have circled in red normal? It's as if it's running at a lower color depth. this happens in all games and even browsing the web.

Have you tried moving your screen. I know it sounds like a dumb question but there is a small sweet spot on the viewing angle and you have to mess with the screen until you find it. And welcome to the Lounge!

[GregW]

As far as 'rule' is concerned, there is only one, the mess(i)merizer!
No English football club could even come close to him.

ps - congratulations on your purchase!

And when will we be able to congratulate you on your purchase wishmaster?
Or are you destined to be the master of wishing you had a new N61?