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Review: S96J Review - Page 2

post #21 of 208
5/9/06 at 1:28pm
Yeah, Im really interested to see the results of the x1600 overclocked.
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post #22 of 208
5/9/06 at 5:37pm
I got my S96j. It is much nicer looking than I thought it would be. I'm still waiting for CPU and ram which will be delivered tomorrow.

I have never held or examined an Asus up close before and I'm quite impressed. Very well built! There is hardly any flex in top (LCD). The keyboard feels much better to me than average, no flex at all. I will know more when I can actually type stuff.

I'm very impressed by the cpu/gpu cooling assemby. It is very well thought out. I love the fact that copper pads will be in direct contact with cpu and gpu. I cant wait to try to overclock this baby, I think it will scream.

It is a little heavier than I thought it would be (I'm getting 6.7 lbs without CPU and ram) but is still feels light enough for me. It is also skinnier than I thought it was going to be.

I will update more when I finish building tomorrow and load up software.

edit: there is a web cam. There had been some confusion to whether it existed and it does.
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post #23 of 208
5/9/06 at 7:06pm
Thread Starter 
Let me spare you from a potential moment of sheer terror, then.

Make sure your OS install disk has Service Pack 2 on it. Otherwise, you'll get an atypically frightening blue screen after the file copy portion of the install because it doesn't have PCI-E drivers and it will freak you out and cause you to almost break down emotionally as you doubt your computer skills and begin surfing on your desktop and wondering to yourself what you've got yourself into and why you didn't just buy a Dell and what you're going to do with this heap of parts sitting on your desk. And when you're done quietly sobbing in your office, you'll go online and half-heartedly begin the long troubleshooting process only to discover on the first hit on google that this is a widely known issue with an easy fix.
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post #24 of 208
5/9/06 at 7:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by hyperluminous
Let me spare you from a potential moment of sheer terror, then.

Make sure your OS install disk has Service Pack 2 on it. Otherwise, you'll get an atypically frightening blue screen after the file copy portion of the install because it doesn't have PCI-E drivers and it will freak you out and cause you to almost break down emotionally as you doubt your computer skills and begin surfing on your desktop and wondering to yourself what you've got yourself into why you didn't just buy a Dell and what you're going to do with this heap of parts sitting on your desk. And when you're done quietly sobbing in your office, you'll go online and half-heartedly begin the long troubleshooting process only to discover on the first hit on google that this is a widely known issue with an easy fix.

Wow, thanks for the tip. I had no idea that that was an issue. I do not have a a Pro SP2 install disk. I was planning on using the Pro SP1 install disk that came with my old notebook that died. The only SP2 install disk I have is XP Home and I do not want to put Home on the Notebook. Are there any work arounds?

Thanks
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post #25 of 208
5/9/06 at 8:20pm
Thread Starter 
Fairly easy workaround. You just need to slipstream SP2 onto it. Google "slipstream service pack 2" and follow those instructions.
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post #26 of 208
5/9/06 at 8:38pm
Found it! Thanks! I now have a XP Pro SP2 CD!
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post #27 of 208
5/9/06 at 8:53pm
Flipcody, how did you receive the notebook so fast?
I ordered yesterday and received a call from Ken at GentechPC today that it is shipping. Fast build!

Hyperluminous, thanks for the headsup about SP2. Luckily my windows has SP2. phew!
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post #28 of 208
5/9/06 at 9:14pm
A quick question...I just bought a Core Duo and am about to buy the barebone tonight....What exactly is QSI MultiDrive? Thanks!
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post #29 of 208
5/9/06 at 10:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by keyur
A quick question...I just bought a Core Duo and am about to buy the barebone tonight....What exactly is QSI MultiDrive? Thanks!

It's made by Quanta, the full name is Quanta Storage Inc.
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post #30 of 208
5/9/06 at 10:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by GenTechPC
It's made by Quanta, the full name is Quanta Storage Inc.

Oh Ok...So will it fit the S96J? If so, where can I buy one?

Thanks!
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post #31 of 208
5/9/06 at 10:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Symetrikal
Flipcody, how did you receive the notebook so fast?
I ordered yesterday and received a call from Ken at GentechPC today that it is shipping. Fast build!

I only ordered barebones so it did not need to be built. I did not buy from gentech. I have some of the components (and OS) and wanted to save money (probably not the smartest move in long run). Both geared2play and gentech force the optical drive and I have a DVD burner that I bought not too long ago.

I cant wait to get the ram and cpu and get this baby up and running. It is such a tease sitting here looking at in on desk and not able to use it...
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post #32 of 208
5/10/06 at 12:10am

more pictures...

Here are some more pictures. I tried to include some close-ups and I have several of cpu/gpu cooler which I think is fantastic design. Enjoy!
















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post #33 of 208
5/10/06 at 2:33pm
If the x1600 OC's anything like the x1400(which I'm guessing it does) then you should see some significant gains with overclocking the x1600. My x1400 has the same clock speeds(450core/400mem) and Oc's easily to 565/450. Some other people have gotten the core to the max oC in Powerstrip of 575, which is pretty impressive. I can run mine at that but I get occasional artifacts, though they might go away once the AS5 sets in. Anyway, just thought I'd add that in. You'll probably get a better OC on the memory too since I think Dell uses cheaper/slower memory in the x1400 so it can only OC maybe 40-50Mhz.

Good lulck guys, I think this might be my next laptop! I just wish they had done a little more to make the asthetics a little more appealing. Oh well, still a pretty kick-ass laptop!

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post #34 of 208
5/10/06 at 5:27pm
I got 3,921 on 3dmark05. My stock speeds are 445/396. Very odd, I wonder why you only got 3,659. I'm running latest Omega drivers.

Initial overclocking of X1600 is not as good as I had hoped...I wonder if I did not make good contact with heat sink and GPU. I removed compound that was on there and replaced with AC5. Using powerstrip I get artifacting at 500 on core. I moved back to 490 and no artificating. 4,052 at 490/396. I have not upped memory yet.

I'm still very happy with performance. I can't wait to load some games.

more later...
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post #35 of 208
5/10/06 at 6:06pm
Thread Starter 
I used the supplied drivers on the CD. Omegas automatically overclock, I believe, so that accounts for the difference.
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post #36 of 208
5/10/06 at 10:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by hyperluminous
I used the supplied drivers on the CD. Omegas automatically overclock, I believe, so that accounts for the difference.
They don't overclock, they reduce quality settings I think..Maybe they might overclock in today's world though.. Maybe

.. Can i request some pictures of your S96J while its just running windows or some internet explorer pictures.. I really wanna see the screen quality, etc.. Maybe add some viewing angles and when you have time... what is your battery life on the slowest settings/word typing..
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post #37 of 208
5/11/06 at 12:55am
if you want something for the top you can get them. Since this is a "verified by intel" part, you can get whats called "customizable notebook panels" that stick into the recess on the top. I'll get a pic of my Quanta SW1 with the one I got from Intel to show ya.
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post #38 of 208
5/11/06 at 1:29am
Yea, thats what I might do if i decide to buy one of these babies.. Ill get some of those from Fedex.. Did you find any place except the intel website where you can download some really good ones? The ones fedex have are crappy..
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post #39 of 208
5/11/06 at 4:00pm
How does installing the HD work? i wanna save a few bucks by putting my own RAM in and my own HDD (Hitachi 7k100 80gb) when i buy this bad boy or its big brother Z. If i got everything else assembled before hand and then ordered HDD and ram, i would have to take the heatsink out to put the HDD in im guessing. how does that work? Ive never messed around with laptops before or athlon XP's , but ive had alot of fun building desktops and upgrading and fixing them.
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post #40 of 208
5/11/06 at 4:20pm
Thread Starter 
The HD slides in on the side.....so all you need to do is loosen the two screws for the HD and slide it out. Doesn't get any easier.

For the memory you need to remove the bottom plate, but you don't need to remove the heatsink........the memory is to the side. You can see pictures on the first post of what it looks like with the plate removed.
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