G51/53/71/73 Keyboard Mod

[grungeboy]

there's been a little done in regards to changing the keyboard color. i think xoticpc offered it as a option on some of the G-Series laptops.









i saw a pretty thurough video the other day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rklOixPa_ns

on the g51 there's no need to remove the screws on the bottom, it was easily popped out by the 5 tabs.

i used a small flathead screwdriver to pop the tabs, they don't take much pressure at all. once you get one end up you can lightly lift up to aid in the popping of the other tabs.

once open and out, i laid the keyboard back towards me. it was not nessacery to unhook the keyboard, but i did the first time i did it. i then took the plastic i wanted to use and laid over the back of the keyboard. there's a black band going around the out side of the back of the keyboard. the plastic you use needs to fit with in that band.

there are two screws that need to be removed as well. i didn't mess with putting the screws back in, once i put my film in (making sure to get it all the way to the bottom of the keyboard so that it covers all the rows of keys) i used a little clear tape.

i put it along the sides and then over the back. i used two at the top, one at each side, and then two at the bottom.

when seperating the led light panel care must be taken that you don't completely remove it. the object is to break the seal, open it enough to slide the color film you want to use, then seal it up.

i fiddled with it while the laptop was on, but this obviously should be recommended.

another mistake i made when hooking it back up was to hook the backlight power cord into the top of the black connector instead of the bottom of it. easy mistake to make.

the effect is quite nice. the blue was ok, but came out to faint, so it was a very light blue. a darker blue would produce a nicer effect, as i'm sure a darker red would too.


http://www.asusrog.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=3148

[xeromist]

Very cool. I'm tempted to go red.

[G4MER]

Awesome tutorial. I think I will try this when I get my ASUS gaming laptop.. but I think I want to go Green.

[grungeboy]

it was very easy to do. the hardest part is getting the keyboard sealed back up good. i have a little light bleeding out around the top, but it's not noticable sitting down, only when standing over the laptop and looking directly down into the keyboard.

i may try some black vinyl tape later on tonight.

it occoured to me earlier that if asus continued to use the same keyboard for most of the G-Series, it would be super easy to make a gap big enough to fit a piece of film into and turn a mod into a intentional feature.

the upshots to using film is it's easy to customize. the alienFX stuff is very nice, but also very expensive. with the film it's easy to slip in one piece for the keyboard (maybe cut out the WASD and spacebar to make those letters stand out) and slip another piece in for the keypad.

i like the idea of the green too, it comes out nice. the blue came out about the same off-pale-shade the lights on the back of the lid are, so that looked nice. i like the red tho, it goes well with my red rog theme.

[Brian@ASUS]

sweet, i remember back in the bare bone days, people used to mod their notebooks A LOT! would be great to bring this trend back. case modding for notebooks!

[G4MER]

Hey Brian, does ASUS have a notebook with a thumb scanner? if not that would be a great mod to make.. like PJD did on that motorcycle.. also add some bigger feet to the notebook, and has under-carage lights added.. ahh yeah.

[Brian@ASUS]

we used to have notebooks with thumb scanners but not anymore, maybe in our b series notebooks. thumb scanners are oldschool lol i remember guys used to add LED to their vents or speaker holes. would be cool if someone did a exhaust mod with red LED coming out of the back. would be even cooler if someone did a RGB LED that changed color based on thermal temps lol

[grungeboy]

this could be a cool idea.

i've been thinking of tinkering with the idea of a internal LED light. one guy made some for his G53 exhaust, similar to xotic's afterburner mod. i think it'd be cool to mount one underneath so that glows from the underpanel mod and out the exhaust. my issue would be rigging it to some sort of on off switch. or having it rigged to the backlighting on the keyboard.

i've done a under panel mod on mine. i used a 3" hole saw to make the hole (after removing the silver ring around the faux vent/subwoofer). i then used some JB Weld to mate a piece of speaker grill.

also, changed my keyboard color today. decided to go with the blue film for improved viability, i found the red to be too dark, the film i used was thicker than the blue and not as transparent.

i cut it to a different shape so that my numpad and the function keys at the top are white. but the keyboard and arrowpad is blue.

here's a pic but it might not show up as well in pic.

3169

[G4MER]

Humm wonder how you could get the LED to change based on the temp.. would you need to add some sorta temp gauge, or could you wire it to the board and run it off the BIOS?

[grungeboy]

well if you wired it in, there'd be no support for it on the board. you might be able to rig something, but i bet a arduino would be the best way.

now you could wire, like i was saying, to something else that had a on off switch, but it'd be pretty hard to wire it in any way to make it change colors.

anyone familiar with how the asus video cards that have the colored lights on top work?

honestly i'd be more interested in just wiring two in, and rigging a on/off switch in the wire.

[JoJoDean]

Is there a way to change the lights on the G74sx?

[grungeboy]

the keyboard lights?

probably the same way i did the mod on mine, the difference being in how the keyboard comes apart.

if the folks at ASUS would supply me with a G74 i'd be happy to mod it and do a write up on it. :D

it's probably pretty similar inside. as for how to take it apart or mod it. dunno.

[RoG]

This is sow sweet but, i just bought the "logitech G110", but very nice mod indeed m8!

[grungeboy]

another one to consider is the Alienware TacTX keyboard.

they're $80 from Dell. that's not bad.

hopefully Asus will add a similar feature to their G-Series. a few others already have theirs out (the msi comes to mind, but i think the steel series they use has some issues).

it'd be great to see Asus pull it out and make it work right. that'd be a great hit for the next line up (G55/G75). a move like that would keep them ahead of the pack and help the RoG line really stand out.

[fisherman]

Great Mod, What is the actual name of the film you used? I do like the blue. Thanks

[fisherman]

I have spent 2 days looking for the backlit film without much luck. Not to mention getting a blue piece. Is there another film that would work on the chiclet keyboard?

[Giannis996]

epic!!!!!!!!!!!!just epic!

[eugvor]

Which is the back light cable among these two?

[eugvor]

Which is the back light cable among these two?
Ok. Never mind, I found it, it's a smaller one.

[grungeboy]

i live in nashville and sometimes do stage hand work for shows that go on at the Bridgestone Arena. the blue film i used came from a lighting guy during a Reba McIntyre set up. i couldn't tell you what it was. it was blue and thin. light shined through it easily. the red material was from a $1 cooking pan for sale at the dollar store.

the cooking pan was a aluminum pan with a clear red lid. i bought it then cut the lid up for the plastic.

i used clear tape around the edges of the keyboard once i got the film the right size and in the right place. send pics of what you ended up with. how'd it turn out?