Hi guys, i got my unit from www.hidevolution.com, very friendly representative named Ted liaised with me, i got the RBBX05 version with 2GB RAM upgrade, shipping fee is 111.25USD with no tax or any kacau from kastam, delivery take 3-4 working days vis USPS express which is trackable, before you buy i would advice you to confirm with your representative on the LCD screen, Asus uses LCD from 2 manufacturers for G73JH RBBX05 model which came with the 1600x900 resolution, namely AUO and LG, AUO is having inferior verticle viewing angle and slightly less vibrant colors compared to LG, you can ask your representative to verify them before buying, please refer to the link below to know how to identify the LCD manufacturer, as for other models that came with Full HD resolution you have no such worries as it's all manufactured by Hesstar.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/48064...-found-way.html

As for warranty, RBBX05 model comes with 1 year international warranty only but somehow when i called Asus service center in Malaysia they say it's 2 years for all laptops, well i certainly hope it is the latter.

Another thing to consider before buying is you have to put up with some driver incompatibility between Windows and ATi (in short its called bulls***), the big hoo haa is that the G73JH came with the notorious GSOD (Grey Screen of Death) or in some worst case it comes with PSOD (psychedelic screen of death), regardless of the model you're getting, the GSOD/PSOD issue only happens when you're not using stock display driver (Catalyst 9.12), this issue can mostly be fixed with a vBios update, but it's rather dangerous because if you flashed the wrong ROM your laptop LCD will not display anything (even BIOS).

Please note that i personally don't recommend flashing, there are ways to fix GSOD with non-stock driver but it doesn't work 100%, so before you even think of flashing please try this:

1) Uninstall creative audigy audio utilities
2) Use latest Realtek drivers (I had problem using this driver, when headphone is plugged in the speakers isn't disabled)

For more guides on how to debug your GSOD issue before flashing please refer here

http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/48868...bug-thread.html

If everything else fails, a comprehensive guide on vBIOS flashing can be found here

http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/48249...date-guide.html

Note that they say the laptop could be blind flashed but field reports from notebook review suggest that it's not possible to blind flash your vBIOS because if you are having a faulty vBIOS your G73JH laptop will somehow get stuck during boot time

http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/49203...-g73-vbios.html

If all else fails, you might want to consider sticking to Catalyst 9.12 until Asus sends a chopper to the rescue. (an official vBIOS maybe?)

For me i took great risk in flashing, i actually selected a different vBIOS to flash because i want overdrive and HDMI features. The vBIOS i'm using is from the link below.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/49256...-powerplay.html

Thank god everything works great for me now, my G73JH and i have been through great turmoil and hence our love has grown stronger than ever best of luck guys in your quest for the ultimate steal of the year laptop!

This post has been edited by evern: Jul 5 2010, 07:06 PM

Great post, will help a lot of future owners BTW, with USPS express which company delivered to you in Malaysia? Poslaju or Fedex? When did you order (date accepted to delivery date) or if you still have access to the tracking information it would be great if you could report it back here. Thanks in advance

I think in notebookreview someone mentioned that you have to install Realtek Drivers twice since the 1st time you install it it only removes the old drivers when you install the second time it will work fine. I've tried it and it worked. =) Since when I first got my laptop seems like the reseller has uninstall creative for me cos I couldn't find any program named "creative", and when I plugged in my headphone I have the same problem. The sound was coming out from the subwoofer. Then I install the realtek drive one more time and the problem is solved. No sound coming from the subwoofer anymore. Hope that helps. =)

It'll reach the hands of our national pride - POSLAJU , and they'll usually take off the next day it is dispatched from Kastam, the courier van will leave 8.30am in the morning and return to base at 6pm, the operating hours for POSLAJU is 8.30am to 6.30pm Monday to Saturday (i check the website says 9.30pm but the Poslaju representative told me its 6.30pm, so better be safe than sorry), so if you remember your tracking number just visit the nearest POSLAJU to your house after 6pm, since it's after office hours, better wait there earlier.

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Added on July 5, 2010, 6:51 pm

Oh thanks! i'll try that, because the bass boost function is enabled in Windows 7 sound enhancement with latest Realtek driver, really make a big difference for the tiny sub, btw what they meant by the creative driver is named audigy something something in add/remove program.

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Added on July 5, 2010, 7:15 pm

Oh my bad, once the Realtek is installed the bass boost is gone, so i assume the bass boost function only exist in Windows 7 default driver, for me, that causes hangups even using windows

This post has been edited by evern: Jul 5 2010, 07:16 PM


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Any owners here shipped with Priority Mail International Parcels? Did Poslaju send to you or was it Pos Daftar?

This post has been edited by Viperion: Jul 5 2010, 07:11 PM

i only know it's from the Poslaju van , what's the difference btw?

Thanks for the clarification of the Creative software but I still couldn't find any program with the term "audigy" in it. =P Well doesn't bother me much as my laptop is still functioning properly (fingers crossed). Oh yeah now I remember that you'll lose the bass boost thingy if you uninstall creative software. But the speaker is still good to me. I'm happy with it. =)

USPS Express delivery uses Poslaju but I'm not sure for Priority International. Some LYN members says Priority International goes through Pos Daftar so I just want to confirm when my unit arrives and can track it locally

**W00T** Major Update:

Detailed Results:

Out of Foreign Customs, July 05, 2010, 7:18 pm, MALAYSIA
Into Foreign Customs, July 05, 2010, 6:59 pm, MALAYSIA
Arrived Abroad, July 05, 2010, 4:32 pm, MALAYSIA
International Dispatch, June 30, 2010, 10:11 pm, ISC LOS ANGELES CA (USPS)
Arrival
Acceptance, June 29, 2010, 4:58 pm, COVINA, CA 91722
Electronic Shipping Info Received, June 29, 2010



PS: Future owners be aware that USPS page takes a few hours to process to information. Example:

My page updated at 8:10 PM today with this information:

Into Foreign Customs, July 05, 2010, 6:59 pm, MALAYSIA
Arrived Abroad, July 05, 2010, 4:32 pm, MALAYSIA

At 10:50PM I got this:

Out of Foreign Customs, July 05, 2010, 7:18 pm, MALAYSIA

19 minutes to clear customs, 2 hours 40 minutes to update tracking information. EPIC!

This post has been edited by Viperion: Jul 5 2010, 10:52 PM

No i mean the default windows bass boost, it's way better than what creative software have to offer, more "punchy" compared to creative bass boost, well for the audigy software you'll only see it when you restore it to factory default, i can't reinstall right now because i don't even know where to download it, and i can't be bothered, theres nothing i miss about it haha, attached is the bass boost for windows 7, try uninstall your realtek and use the default windows 7 drivers, choose high def audio device and enable the bass amplification for 100hz 15db.

you should be able to track it locally tomorrow, at least that's my case with express, but don't worry it should be at your door step around noon tmr, if not just give poslaju a call, haf lotsa fun bro

This post has been edited by evern: Jul 5 2010, 11:50 PM


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Thanks mate but I don't think I will be able to touch it tomorrow, LMAO! I'm hoping they deliver before 2 pm as I got an appointment with a client around 4:00pm. Most likely I will receive it, hopefully unpack it then leave the unit to charge and be back later to play with it

Bro . . . it was fast to arrive at Malaysia. Enjoy your notebook! Oh yea, don't forget to post some unboxing pics. Currently, I'm so tired as I just came back from my work.

Jeffrey my Lord, you are back I hear you bro, sit down, kick back and relax. How many jobs are you on now?

I might try to source for the Intel 6200 wireless card and do the upgrade myself soon

This post has been edited by Viperion: Jul 5 2010, 11:53 PM

I only have 1 part time job for the time being. Striking for more? NO! I'm darn tired every time I come back from work. Can't concentrate on study if I crank more than 1 part time job.

So, you plan to upgrade your wireless card? Any reasons behind that?

For me, I'm not in that financial stability stage yet to upgrade any of the hardwares now.

Thanks so much for all the precious informations!

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Added on July 6, 2010, 12:01 amYa ya ya! Can't agree more than that.

This post has been edited by Jeffrey1987: Jul 6 2010, 12:01 AM

The stock Atheros card has bad wireless range and limited to 150Mbps wireless transfers rate. I will be carrying this notebook around so might need to use some WiFi spots sometimes. I want to make sure my unit have decent wireless capability. Anyway the upgrade is not too expensive, around RM 70 - 80

Man, don't poison me! I need to have some sort of IT "rehab" . . . But you can tell me where you gonna buy it.

I'm going to get my uncle I mentioned earlier to get it for me to save of shipping, he has friends in US so he can ship there and collect it when he goes for his annual company meeting. He goes there like once or twice a year

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Added on July 6, 2010, 12:16 amOh yeah, I forgot! Viperion spews a 100 KM poison cloud in all directions

This post has been edited by Viperion: Jul 6 2010, 12:16 AM

Ok. Alles ist klar! Danke fuer ihre Hilfe. GTG now as I need to cook my dinner. Good night! All the best for your notebook collection tomorrow.

P/S: I'm super HUNGRY & SMELLY now.

p

This post has been edited by devkamal: Jul 6 2010, 02:19 AM

Thanks Evern I'll try it out now.