Asus G74SX DH72 ROG - Multiple Issues

[AdelaisAer]

Hey. I've read through the forums and I have managed to find that my laptop suffers from several of the issues discussed in these forums. Rather than commenting on all of them, I decided to make this thread in hopes of others having the same issues.


1. Speakers are unbalanced - the right one is louder; also, the quality is kinda low, especially for a gaming laptop.


2. Touchpad is not properly working. As many others discussed, it auto-enables itself regardless of a USB mouse plugged in. Even with all the newest updates installed and the Disable With USB Mouse Plugged In option enabled, it still gives troubles.

3. Keyboard is not fully responsive. Albeit rarely, some of the keys, mostly the N key, do not respond when I type. Maybe it's because it's new, Iunno.


Also, for a while, my nVidia driver kept crashing every so often, but it seemed to stop...


I bought this laptop on the 22nd and got it on the 23 (yes, this month). Got it from Amazon. I heard that Asus was one of the best manufacturers, so I got this laptop instead of the previously-wanted Alienware Mx17. But now I am starting to regret this decision.

[dstrakele]

Hi @AdelaisAer

1) Realtek HD Audio Manager has a Balance Setting in the "Speakers" tab to even out your speaker volumes. You'll find no disagreement here that the built-in speakers are low quality.

2) As you have noted, others report this problem. You could try updating to the most recent Sentelic or Synaptics driver, depending what brand touchpad is installed on your system. You could also try the Fn-F9 key to disable the touchpad. This key combination is controlled by the ATK Package Hotkey driver.

Don't disable the touchpad in the BIOS - it also disables the keyboard.

I don't use a mouse, so if you find a touchpad driver version or ATK Package version that keeps the touchpad disabled, let us know.

3) Here is what I've done to resolve missing keystrokes/keyboard lag on my G74SX-A1: http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread...ll=1#post44735 However, you may have a hardware problem with respect to your N key.

It's not too late to a) ask Amazon to exchange your laptop for a new unit, or b) request a refund from Amazon and go get that Alienware system.

[AdelaisAer]

Hi @AdelaisAer

1) Realtek HD Audio Manager has a Balance Setting in the "Speakers" tab to even out your speaker volumes. You'll find no disagreement here that the built-in speakers are low quality.

2) As you have noted, others report this problem. You could try updating to the most recent Sentelic or Synaptics driver, depending what brand touchpad is installed on your system. You could also try the Fn-F9 key to disable the touchpad. This key combination is controlled by the ATK Package Hotkey driver.

Don't disable the touchpad in the BIOS - it also disables the keyboard.

I don't use a mouse, so if you find a touchpad driver version or ATK Package version that keeps the touchpad disabled, let us know.

3) Here is what I've done to resolve missing keystrokes/keyboard lag on my G74SX-A1: http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?3076-G74SX-Keyboard-Issues-ATK-1.0.00010-BIOS-202-Available-(SOLVED)&p=44735&viewfull=1#post44735 However, you may have a hardware problem with respect to your N key.

It's not too late to a) ask Amazon to exchange your laptop for a new unit, or b) request a refund from Amazon and go get that Alienware system.

I have checked balance and reinstalled the newest driver; still doesn't fix it. Also, I read that after you install BIOS 203, the option to increase sound should be enabled, from 4 to 8; I tried it and for me it was still grayed out and set to 4.

Fn+F9 doesn't work; tried. The touchpad auto-disables when Windows starts, but when I run a game, it enables itself. Unless I unplug and replug my mouse, it keeps being enabled and Fn+F9 won't turn it off for whatever reason. Iunno why. Gonna try to see if I can update the drivers though. Going through ALL driver updates right now.

I got mine on the 23rd so I don't think it'd be a problem to exchange for a newer unit, if worse comes to worst, that is.

[dstrakele]

I'm not certain, but the volume setting in the BIOS is near to where you enable POST sounds. I'm thinking it may only control the volume of those POST sounds.

I've wondered if choosing to disable the touchpad when a USB mouse is detected in the touchpad driver conflicts with disabling the mouse using the Fn-F9 key comblination of the ATK Package Hotkey driver. It may be worthwhile to try one without the other - in other words, check the disable touchpad when USB mouse is detected checkbox in the touchpad driver, but don't disable with Fn-F9. Then try by UNchecking the disable the touchpad when USB mouse is detected checkbox in the touchpad driver, and choose Fn-F9 to disable the touchpad after you start the game.

[AdelaisAer]

I'm not certain, but the volume setting in the BIOS is near to where you enable POST sounds. I'm thinking it may only control the volume of those POST sounds.

I've wondered if choosing to disable the touchpad when a USB mouse is detected in the touchpad driver conflicts with disabling the mouse using the Fn-F9 key comblination of the ATK Package Hotkey driver. It may be worthwhile to try one without the other - in other words, check the disable touchpad when USB mouse is detected checkbox in the touchpad driver, but don't disable with Fn-F9. Then try by UNchecking the disable the touchpad when USB mouse is detected checkbox in the touchpad driver, and choose Fn-F9 to disable the touchpad after you start the game.

I've looked into that, and yeah, that's the only thing it does. Such a shame.

And alright, I'll try doing that and see if that works.

[BrodyBoy]

@ AdelaisAer:

1. This in an inherent consequence of the asymetrical speaker placement in the G74. The right speaker is way to the side and behind the display panel (when it's open). The left speaker is more centrally-placed and in front of the panel.
   
   The best solution I've found is a particular setting in SRS Essentials. I can't remember offhand exactly what it's called, but it's the one that allows you to "center" the audio image by adjusting the mix between left/right channels. I find that it helps....YMMV. (Other audio utilities probably have a similar option.)
   
   Of course, nothing changes the fact that the speakers are low quality, as you've noticed.
2. I have not had a chance to experiment with this to really narrow down the culprit, but I suspect it's either conflicting software, or that the TP driver doesn't recognize a wireless mouse (which is probably what most external-mouse users use?) as USB.
   
   On a clean install, I can use a wired USB mouse...just a cheap Logitech....and the TP is reliably disabled whenever it's plugged in. Are you using a wired mouse?
3. I don't know what to make of the missed keystrokes problem. Many owners find that the BIOS/ATK updates resolve or alleviate it, but occasionally, there seem to be some units that just have specific glitchy keys no matter what they do. Honestly, if you have tried all the recommended software/firmware fixes and those same keys are still an issue, I'd send the laptop back to Amazon and try a different unit. Maybe some keyboards are just defective.

PS: The volume setting in the BIOS only applies to the post sound, as Drew mentioned.

[AdelaisAer]

@ AdelaisAer:

1. This in an inherent consequence of the asymetrical speaker placement in the G74. The right speaker is way to the side and behind the display panel (when it's open). The left speaker is more centrally-placed and in front of the panel.
   
   The best solution I've found is a particular setting in SRS Essentials. I can't remember offhand exactly what it's called, but it's the one that allows you to "center" the audio image by adjusting the mix between left/right channels. I find that it helps....YMMV. (Other audio utilities probably have a similar option.)
   
   Of course, nothing changes the fact that the speakers are low quality, as you've noticed.
2. I have not had a chance to experiment with this to really narrow down the culprit, but I suspect it's either conflicting software, or that the TP driver doesn't recognize a wireless mouse (which is probably what most external-mouse users use?) as USB.
   
   On a clean install, I can use a wired USB mouse...just a cheap Logitech....and the TP is reliably disabled whenever it's plugged in. Are you using a wired mouse?
3. I don't know what to make of the missed keystrokes problem. Many owners find that the BIOS/ATK updates resolve or alleviate it, but occasionally, there seem to be some units that just have specific glitchy keys no matter what they do. Honestly, if you have tried all the recommended software/firmware fixes and those same keys are still an issue, I'd send the laptop back to Amazon and try a different unit. Maybe some keyboards are just defective.

PS: The volume setting in the BIOS only applies to the post sound, as Drew mentioned.

I am not familiar with SRS Essentials, but I'll look for it. Thanks. And yeah, my old Toshiba Satellite has better speakers, but I was told that if I get the THX Pro version, I might be able to raise the quality by a bit.

It's a problem with the driver, as most people speculate, since even disabling it in BIOS causes issues, mostly with the keyboard (for whatever reason). Asus just needs to contact the manufacturer and come up with a proper driver. Hopefully...

I am considering that. I'll wait until Jan. 9th. I already installed all the latest drivers (especially from that one thread in the forums), so we'll see how things go.