K53TA.. The best deal ever... could be!

[UnXpectedError]

ok guys so i went to best buy the other day after returning my DV6z-qe to HP and this gem caught my eye.. i couldn't believe it when it was priced at only $449.99. so i snagged one up.

SPECS

AMD A6-3400M
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium
AMD M780G Chipset
4GB DDR3 1333 MHz
15.6" 16:9 HD (1366x768) LED Backlight
AMD Radeon® HD 6720G2 1GB DDR3
500GB
Super-Multi DVD
4 -in-1 card reader
0.3 Mega Pixel web camera
Integrated 802.11 b/g/n
Battery 6Cells : 5200 mAh 56 Whrs

here is a link to the specs
ASUSTeK Computer Inc. - Notebooks- ASUS K53TA

and a link to best buy
ASUS - Laptop / AMD A-Series Processor / 15.6" Display / 4GB Memory / 500GB Hard Drive - Brown Suit - K53TA-BBR6


BANDING ISSUE FIXED

here are the new bios that fix the banding issue
thanks to Link626 for the following link

ftp://ftp.asus.com/pub/ASUS/nb/K43TA/K43TA206.zip

Download new bios, unzip file, use flashing tool from Start menu

Start > all programs > asus utility > winflash

and load the new k43ta.206 and reboot.

OVERCLOCKING

GPU
you have to download a program called Sapphire TRIXX and then go into the settings and disable ULPS and restart the computer. then you should be able to use the sliders to overclock on any program including MSI afterburner which i like to use as it has temp read outs and everything.

CPU
you have to use K10stat.. use this as a basic guide on how to.
Aspire Gemstone: K10STAT AMD Griffin Processor UnderVolting Guide
AMD has been very kind with the voltages its given its cpus so you can def undervolt it while overclocking at the same time

basic starting point.. your results may vary but this is what works for me.



UPGRADING

here are the 2 ports on the bottom opened up. one is for the HD and the other is for the ram and network card.
the HD is a Seagate Momentus 5400RPM Drive
the Ram is 1x4GB Samsung PC3 10600 9-9-9 Cas ram



so there you have it the HD is easily upgradable and the Ram consists of only 1 stick so you can pop in another 4GB stick for $25


BENCHMARKS

3DMark

3D Mark 06 - CF off
Stock = 6530
8GB ram stock = 6692
2.4ghz/ 670/990 = 7995
2.6ghz/ 670/990 = 8235
2.6ghz/ 670/1040 = 8388
3ghz/ 670/1040 = 8532

3D Mark Vantage
2.3ghz / 8gb ram / stock GPU = P5465 / gpu=4977/ cpu=7745

3D Mark 11
Stock = P1372
8GB Stock = P1606
2.4ghz / 700/950 = P1560
2.3ghz w/8gb stock GPU = P1665
2.6ghz w/8GB/ 670/1040 = P1752

Heaven Dx11@1366x768 Stock = 17.1fps
Heaven Dx11@1366x768 2.4ghz / 700/950 OC = 19.2fps
Heaven Dx11@1366x768 2.3ghz + 8GB /GPU stock =19.8 fps


Passmark
CPU Mark
Stock = 3573
2.4ghz = 5560
2.7ghz = 6517
3ghz =7043

Cinebench 11.5
@ 2.4ghz
Open GL 13.16fps
CPU = 2.77
Single core = .77

@2.6ghz
CPU = 3.12

@3ghz
CPU =3.45

Mafia II Benchmark - this one doesn't like crossfire

1600 x 900 / High / CF off
2.4ghz = 27.8fps

1366 x 768 / High / CF off
2.4ghz = 34.8fps

if you guys have would like me to run some other tests or have any questions feel free to ask
i will also update this post with different results as i benchmark stuff

[Zagnut103]

Greetings..

Out of curiosity..what are you using to OC the GPU/CPU?

Also, are you seeing the same banding in your display mentioned in another thread? Basically looks like this LCD won't go beyond 16bit color depth.

[xrmx89x]

So you can overclock even the CPU on this? My brother just got one, so I will have to look into that. How is the cooling system with these. Anything in regards to max temp and voltage for the CPU? The crossfire wasn't working on the game he plays mostly either (global agenda), so I disabled that. The 6650 kicks in as default when it is enabled right?

[link626]

Are you using Overdrive, or the bios ?

[UnXpectedError]

ok guys to answer some questions.

first yes i have the banding issues as you do but im just trying not to pay attention to it atm lol.

secondly you can over clock the GPU and CPU on this machine by doing the following.

GPU
you have to download a program called Sapphire TRIXX and then go into the settings and disable ULPS and restart the computer. then you should be able to use the sliders to overclock on any program including MSI afterburner which i like to use as it has temp read outs and everything.

CPU
you have to use K10stat.. use this as a basic guide on how to.
Aspire Gemstone: K10STAT AMD Griffin Processor UnderVolting Guide
AMD has been very kind with the voltages its given its cpus so you can def undervolt it while overclocking at the same time

[xrmx89x]

Was the 3D Mark score you posted with everything at stock or overclocked? I would like to see the difference in the scores with the CPU stock vs Overclock. Specifically the CPU score to see the major difference. Thats a 70% overclock you have going there. Any chance for a CPU-Z screen shot? Like to see the voltage and such.

A guy @ another forum was clocking this at 3.0 GHz with 1.275 volts. I think he was gaming with BC2 for an hour and had no issues. This laptop is indeed a little gem.

[UnXpectedError]

with the stock cpu and gpu the laptop scores P1372 in 3dmark 11

im not sure what 3ghz on all four cores would be stable at but im sure its possible. but i noticed some sorta throttling going on after 2.4ghz so im trying to figure it out now

ill keep ya all updated.

again if you guys have any more questions or requests let me know.

[xrmx89x]

Any idea on the CPU score between stock vs overclock on 3DMark11?

[UnXpectedError]

Any idea on the CPU score between stock vs overclock on 3DMark11?

i didnt keep track of that but i think stock was like 2000ish and 2.4ghz was about 3000.. i could be wrong .. but ill check next time i run some tests.

also just ran some passmark cpu benches

CPU Mark
Stock = 3573
2.4ghz = 5560
2.7ghz = 6517

though i think i found out whats going on with the throttling thats happening after 2.4ghz.. i believe it has to do with the integrated GPU not liking it past that. im gonna see what happens if i just use the discreet GPU. maybe that will solve some issues.

[abaddon4180]

Have you uninstalled the Asus Power4Gear utility? When I was trying to overclock mine it wouldn't go past a certain p-state (p3 iirc) even when the power plan was set to go to 100%, it was set to 100% in CCC and I was plugged in. Even when I switched back to the stock clocks and voltages it wouldn't go past p3. I figured there had to be some program doing it so I uninstalled Power4Gear and it runs at 2.4GHz @1.085V through 5 runs of IntelBurn fine now.