Asus Release Duo Video Card, E-1GD5-GTX650 and GTX650-E-2GD5

After a few months or more precisely in September 2012 ago, after NVIDIA released the GeForce GTX 650 graphics card that uses the latest standard cooling medium and 6-pin power connector, recently reported that ASUS also implement the same. It is not even half the battle, this time the ASUS seems to actually apply existing technology to the newest video card duo-E-GTX650 and GTX650-1GD5 E-2GD5. Referring to the reference NVIDIA released, essentially cooling technology will not be used on a pair of video controller is made by ASUS. But the reality on the ground turned out to say otherwise. And so far the ASUS does more than just change the coolant or innovated existence only. Additionally, the ASUS reportedly also had to adjust the various components and PCBs are present. Until the idea of ​​no longer requiring PCI Express power connectors to the adapter.

Even though both video cards ASUS innovation is exactly identical, but basically both injected different memory capacities with each other. For the video card GTX650-1GD5-E has 1 GB of GDDR5 VRAM, while the GTX650 video card-E-2GD5 has 2GB of GDDR5 VRAM. And both of them were able to run at 1071 MHz GPU and memory 5GHz. Meanwhile, to optimize the display for its users, the ASUS complement both the video card in the presence of DVI, VGA and HDMI. With the intake of features in it is said to have a 25% resistance graphics cards longer than usual, and is resistant to dust or other damaging particles. In addition, there is also a mention even in the presence of GPU Tweak technology in it is able to modify the clock speed, voltages, fan performance and other parameters directly from Windows.

Furthermore, the premium on your ASUS utilized when making voltage conductor component, was successfully able to control the lower heat even better performance and durability 2.5 times longer. For their own marketing, with a 1GB video card is priced at 100 USD price range, or about 1 million. While the video card 2GB capacity priced at 110 USD price range

Sony VAIO SA3 Unboxing Video and First Look Review

There was a great sale on recently at B&H Photo & Video in which a nice config of the Sony VAIO SA3 was priced at $799.  Unable to resist a good deal on a rather appealing looking laptop, I jumped at it.  A 13.3” screen notebook with a high resolution 1600 x 900 screen is hard to find, especially for an under $800 price tag.  Then consider the fact the VAIO SA3 comes with an impressive Intel Core i5-2430m processor and AMD HD 6630m dedicated graphics and the price becomes even more amazing.  At the time of this writing the SA3 VPCSA3AFX config (ugly model number) is now back at $899 at B&H.  The same configuration of a VPCSA390X CTO on Sony.com for the SA3 costs $1,049.  Let’s go over what those specs are exactly shall we?

Processor: 2.40GHz Intel Core i5-2430M with Intel TurboBoostMemory: 4GB DDR3 RAM Storage: 500GB 5400rpm Hard Drive Graphics: AMD Radeon HD 6630M 1GB GPU Screen: 13.3" LED Backlit Widescreen Display, 1600 x 900 resolution, matte (anti-glare) finishOptical Drive: SuperMulti DVD Burner Integrated Webcam & Microphone Wireless: 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR OS: Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)Ports: 2 x USB 2.0, 1 x USB 3.0, HDMI, VGA monitor out, SD card reader, Memory Stick Duo card reader, headphone out, Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-4)Backlit keyboardWeight: 3.7lbsDimensions: 13.04” x 8.84” x 0.92” (Width x Depth x Thickness)

With that out of the way let’s take a look at what the VAIO SA3 looks like fresh out of the box:

If you watch the video you’ll note that I thought the laptop felt light because I assumed the battery was not in, which is often the case when a laptop ships.  However, it turns out the battery is actually sealed in there and I was feeling the entire weight of the laptop upon first holding it, it was much lighter than I expected.  Granted, this is no ultrabook at less than 3lbs, but it is still very light at 3.7lbs.  You also get a lot more with the VAIO SA3 compared to an ultrabook for only a 0.7lbs heavier weight.  Consider you have an optical drive, fully fledged Core i5 processor, dedicated AMD Hybrid graphics, wide array of ports and a removable battery – none of those features come on an ultrabook.  So why are ultrabooks so popular again?  But I digress.

First impressions are lasting, and I think most people will be like me and be struck by the sleek looking design of the VAIO SA.  It has nice chrome accents in places such as the VAIO logo and touchpad buttons.  This contrasts nicely with the solid black finish.  The backlit keyboard is an instant attention getter, assuming you’re in a darkened room that is, and just the thinness of the screen sets this apart from your standard laptop look.  I also like the bright green power button LED lighting.  I think the only disappointment I had with the design is that the optical drive is not slot loading, for some reason I thought it would be.

The build quality of the VAIO SA feels top notch.  The palm rests are flex resistant and the entire chassis feels very rigid and durable.  The screen itself is very thin and therefore has some flex, but it is designed that way and there’s no need to worry about the screen breaking.

The quoted battery life for the VAIO SA is a max of 7 hours with just the internal 4400mAh battery, less if you’re doing DVD playback the whole time.  You can upgrade to using a sheet battery that essentially straps onto the bottom of the laptop to double the battery life.  This is a nice option to have and solves the problem that other laptops with sealed batteries have of what happens when my battery is drained and there isn’t an outlet nearby?  Well, with the VAIO SA3 the answer is just add a sheet battery.  The extra sheet battery retails for $125 on Sony.com.

The screen is nice and bright, but as others seem to have noticed, the viewing angles are so-so and colors tend to quickly wash out if you’re not viewing at just the right angle.  That’s disappointing, but on the bright side the resolution is an amazing 1600 x 900 and you can easily fit two browser windows side by side for viewing at this res.

Though I haven’t done anything in terms of benchmarking with the VAIO SA3 at this early stage, it definitely feels snappy with the Intel Core i5-2430m 2.40GHz processor and AMD 6630 graphics.  This feels like a laptop that’s begging to have an SSD put in to help with bootup times, the only slow part of the experience.  Unfortunately I’ve been reading that with a new BIOS update that’s on the latest version of the VAIO SA3 that SATA 3 is not enabled which means the latest and greatest SSDs that use SATA 3 are incompatible at the current time.

There you have it in terms of first impressions, we’ll continue to play with this laptop some more before coming back with a full review.  Until then, a few more pictures…

VAIO SA right side

VAIO SA left side

VAIO SA in the dark

ThinkPad X220 Vs. VAIO SA

Subscribe to our e-mail newsletter to receive updates.

How to fix video problem on HP laptops

In this post I explain how you can fix a known video problem on some HP laptops without actually taking it apart. Most likely the fix is not permanent but this will buy you some time, enough to backup personal files or even use the laptop until you get a new one. There is no guaranty this fix work 100%.

Here are some HP models affected by this known video failure problem: HP Pavilion dv2000, dv6000, dv9000, tx1000 tablet PC, Compaq 700, v3000, v6000 and probably some others.

If you know more models, please mention them in comments after this post.

CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM:

As I know, the video problem somehow related to NVIDIA chip located on the motherboard. Overtime the NVIDIA chip separates from the motherboard and the laptop video fails.

SYMPTOMS OF THE PROBLEM:

When you turn on the laptop, all LEDs light up but there is no video on the laptop screen or external monitor. The laptop screen remains completely black and blank. The cooling fan spins as normal, on some models it stars spinning right away on other models after some time.

I found this trick mentioned by Walliot (comment 85) in this post. This trick called “towel fix” and used to fix “no video” issue in xbox360.

HOW TO FIX:

1. Remove laptop battery and hard drive.
2. Plug the AC adapter and turn on the laptop. Make sure the laptop is actually on, all LEDs should work.
3. Wrap the laptop with towels so all air intakes are closed.
4. Keeps the laptop wrapped in the towel for about one hours.
5. Unplug the AC adapter from the wall the let the laptop cool down (do not touch it for a while).
6. Unwrap the laptop and try tuning it on.

I didn’t really believe that this trick might work and tried it just because of curiosity but… IT WORKED!!!!

LAPTOP #1. HP tx1000 Tablet PC.

First, I tried this fix on a failed HP tx1000 Tablet PC.
I didn’t have paper towels at work but I had plenty of bubble wrap.
I closed the laptop in a tablet mode (with hard drive and battery removed), plugged the AC adapter and wrapped the laptop properly in bubble wrap.

After that I just waited for about two hours and unplugged AC adapter from the wall.
Waited for about 30 minutes and tried turning it on.
Success!!! The laptop started with video.

I just couldn’t stop and tried the fix on another failed laptop.

LAPTOP #2. HP Pavilion dv6000.
This is a different model with very similar failure symptoms. It turns on, all LED lights work but there is no video.

This time I didn’t something extra. To make sure there is no cool air coming into the laptop though bubble wrap, I closed all air vents with sticky tape.

After that I turned on the laptop from AC adapter (again with hard drive and battery removed) and wrapped the laptop base with bubble wrap.

The laptop was running like that for about 60-70 minutes but then I noticed that all LED lights went off. Not sure what happened, maybe the laptop overheated too much and shut down on its own. Anyway, I didn’t touch it for about 30 minutes and let it cool down.

My fix was successful again! The laptop turned on with video and booted to the desktop.

HOW THIS FIX WORKS:

Here’s my understanding of how this fix works.
When you run a laptop wrapped in towels (bubble wrap in my case), it gets very hot because there is no air circulation inside the heatsink. The heatsink and GPU (NVIDIA chip) run so hot that it melt solder between the chip and motherboard and the video chip gets resoldered to the motherboard.

Now I have to test for how long this fix last.

RELATED POSTS:

In one of the previous posts I explained how I fixed failed video chip by backing the motherboard in an oven.
In one of the following posts I explain how to reflow failed NVIDIA graphics chip with a heat gun.

Fixing Compaq Presario V6000 laptop motherboard with “no video” issue

Here’s how I fixed a Compaq Presario V6000 motherboard with “no video” issue. Not sure if this fix will last forever but it works and the laptop is back to life.

Also, this fix might work for the following HP/Compaq laptop motherboards: HP Pavilion dv2000/dv6000/dv9000, Compaq Presario V3000 and probably some other models.

WARNING!
This repair might be harmful for your health and baking motherboard in an oven could be a bad idea. It could be toxic. I don’t know if it is or not. I did this repair for myself, at my own risk. I’m just sharing my experience. If you decide to fix your motherboard the same way, please do it at your own risk.

Again, proceed at your own risk. Otherwise, close this page and take your laptop to the professional repair shop.

FIXING “NO VIDEO” ISSUE BY BAKING THE MOTHERBOARD.

Problem description: I had an abandoned Compaq Presario V6000 laptop. The laptop was turning on when I press on the power button but after a few seconds turning off by itself. There was no video on the laptop screen or external monitor. I tried another AC adapter, new memory modules but it didn’t help. I was pretty sure this is motherboard related failure.

Research: After I did some research on the Internet, I found that this is a known problem with Pavilion dv2000/dv6000/dv9000 and Presario V3000/V6000 motherboards and most likely related to the graphics chip failure. The graphics chip (aka GPU or video chip) is soldered to the motherboard. Apparently, there are bad solder joints between the graphics chip and motherboard. Overtime the graphics chip separates from the motherboard causing all kind of different video problems.

Possible solution: One guy suggested baking the failed motherboard in a conventional oven preheated to 385 degrees Fahrenheit for exactly 8 minutes. This process should reflow the graphics chip solder joints and give the motherboard a second life.

I had nothing to lose and decided to give it a try. Here’s how I did it step by step.

First of all, you’ll have to disassemble the laptop and remove the motherboard.

STEP 1.

Remove all peripheral components installed on the motherboard (memory, cooling module, CPU, etc…). Remove all protective films from the motherboard. The motherboard will be baking at a very high temperature and all that can burn has to be removed.

Tip: Make lots of pictures while stripping down the motherboard. They will help you to put all removed protective films back in proper locations.

STEP 2.

Here’s how the same side of the motherboard looks without protective plastic films.

You can see the problematic graphics chip, it’s on the right side from the CPU socket.

STEP 3.

Remove all protective plastic films from the other side of the motherboard. Disconnect the audio cable.

STEP 4.

The motherboard will be seating in the oven on the baking pan. In order to elevate the motherboard above the baking pan I’ll use a few screws.

STEP 5.

I installed screws in four corners of the motherboard. There are plenty holes for screws.

STEP 6.

You can see there is a 3/4 inch gap between the motherboard and desk surface. By the way, I positioned the motherboard so the graphics chip seats on the top.

STEP 7.

Place the motherboard on the baking pan. Make sure it’s not touching anything.

Preheat the conventional gas oven to 385 degrees Fahrenheit and place the motherboard in the middle of the oven for 8 minutes. You’ll smell some burning plastic in about 6 minutes.

After that remove the baking pan with motherboard and let it cool down for about 30-40 minutes.

Install the motherboard back into the laptop, assemble the laptop back together and see if it works.

This fix worked for me! After I assembled the laptop, it started properly right away taking me to the BIOS setup menu. I didn’t have the hard drive, so I tested my laptop with a Knoppix live Linux CD. The laptop video works great!

RELATED POSTS:

In the next post I’ll show a much safer way to fix same problem using bubble wrap. Which requires no laptop disassembly.

Here’s another way to fix failed NVIDIA graphics card with a heat gun.