My New G750JW-RB71-CB

[Dat_Wax_Dab]

Hey all,

Im rather new to gaming computers, I've pretty much always left everything the way it comes out of the box. At the end of the day I'd really like to make the most out of my purchase and have my new gear running at its finest.
I may be green when it comes to technical terms but I do know how to use google and am prepared to do a lot of reading.

So with that any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I purchased a G750JW-RB71-CB
Link to site with all tech specs is below.
http://www.futureshop.ca/en-ca/product/asus-asus-republic-of-gaming-17-3-gaming-laptop-black-intel-c...

I'm just curious what all I should do first,

I've been told I should set up RAID, I'll do some searching on that topic but any advice from some of you vets would be great.

I've been warned about upgrading my memory, currently running 16gb (2 - 8gb with 2 available slots) that I need to be sure its 1.35 and not 1.5 For this im not too worried at this exact moment, 16gb is enough for now, unless you guys think that should be one of my first purchases. I've been pricing another 2 - 8gb sticks would be around the 200$ CAD range. Which is not the end of the world, so maybe its worth doing now.

Backing up, I've heard of numerous ways of doing so. Am I better off cloning my hard drive or using the asus backup utility?

Updating my drivers, I want to have my laptop running at its best, so I'm just curious if there's any driver updates that I should avoid, or am I safe just updating everything off the asus g750 support page?

I've also heard splendid has been causing display issues, mainly lines appearing on the display, I've yet to experience this issue but should I just remove it to be on the safe side?

For standard applications that come pre-installed I've been told to use a program called PC Decrapifier to cleanse my computer and uninstall any applications I'm not going to use. I've always just manually done this, has anyone else here used this program and have any advice on it?

And finally, I decided against the store extended warranty based on the price and past dealings with returns/problems with products/warranty policies
So I want to stress test my computer just to make sure anything thats going to fail, fails within my 14 day return policy, so I can do a simple swap. Anyone have any recommendations for a good stress test?


Again, I apologize for any stupid questions and appreciate any and all advice.


James (Dat Wax Dab)

[mtneer]

I purchased mine from Costco.ca http://tinyurl.com/o3d2gv3 due to their 90 day no hassle return policy & included was an ROG backpack! The spec differences were 1920x1080 screen resolution vs. 1600x900 from Futureslop, Wifi AC at the time (now I see FS has it) & the backpack, plus Costco warranty & the price I got was $1359.99 delivered, it's now up $50. But the Costco option only has 12 GB RAM vs. 16 from FS. I'd rather have the higher res screen as the RAM can be added, the screen cannot. If you are not a Costco member, I have read that you can still order online, but I have never been able to test it.

You can only easily replace 2 RAM DIMMs as the other 2 slots are deeper inside & require the entire back assembly to be removed & will void your warranty if you go there. That kind of pisses me off & I will probably do it anyway at some point, but for now will just work with 12 or add one more DIMM to make it 16 as right now one easy access slot is empty (that won't void the warranty to access).

I have removed some of the Asus bloatware using Revo Uninstaller but have not yet removed all the Asus utility software. I have used PC Decrapifier in years past, but it didn't have options to be as complete as Revo & was too similar to Windows Add & Remove Programs. It just does a nice job of listing what it has deemed to be crapware or possibly crapware. Download the trial version of Revo Uninstaller Pro as it removes 64 bit files. Check that PC Decrapifier removes 64 bit files? I also just used Google to search any software that I wanted to know about & if it was crap or not & what impact it might have if I removed it.

I'm easing into removing all Asus bloatware, as I have read here of some significant problems by some & so I'm just taking my time. I also am still not sure I'm going to keep this G750JW if it develops problems as I've read about here. Luckily I don't seem to have the display or other issues that others have had, but it worries me that something may happen. I had hoped & read that the Asus G750's would be more reliable but reading this forum makes me wonder & worried.

I installed 2 SSD's & kept out the 1TB installed HDD, in case I want to return the G750JW. I also did not implement the RAID option thinking it would be better for SSD's to reduce write cycles & I don't need RAID. I used the Asus Backtracker utility & it was a breeze to migrate the OS to the SSD OS drive & it was formatted (not sure if they came that way or if the utility did it). I have a Crucial & a Samsung 840 SSDs at 500 GB's approx. each.

I am not a gamer but opted for this model for it's CPU performance & superior cooling & lower power use when not taxed but it's ability to ramp higher when needed. I am using it for my photography image database & image editing with Photoshop & Capture One & a bit of Lightroom. The screen is not bad but needed calibration as it was too blue & bright. It wasn't as bad as some I'd read about but it's not quite as evenly lit as I had hoped. I may try to replace it myself down the road. (My older HP DV9615 with a self replaced LG screen is extremely evenly lit). I will also get an external higher res monitor for more critical Photoshop work (despite the driver being 6 bit I think), but my needs are also for low power consumption as I live & work off grid, which is why I opted for a laptop vs. higher powered desktop & monitor. (Very frustrating trying to find a good yet affordable laptop screen for high quality image editing, given that we now MUST edit digital images using monitors!!!! It'sw a bigger tech subject I know but still frustrating & also frustrating to find accurate RGB specs. I looked at Chillblast, Xotic & Sager the latter two offered 3 Chi Mei screen choices but further research seemed to show that they only "might" be better & replacement screen website specs said that they actually weren't. Windows Display Properties says my G750JW has an AUO screen & looking it up shows pretty good specs. One review website measured it's display @ 96% sRGB! But the TFT website says AUO 1920x1080 screens are in the 60%+ to 90% sRGB range. Due to the screen colour display issue, I may yet also opt for the Del XPS 2710 or 2720, though Dell has had very little help or info on it's real world display accuracy. But the G750JW has other advantages)

I haven't yet removed Splendid but I'm not using it either as I calibrated my screen with a Spyder Pro3 & use that profile, but the profile doesn't load automatically & it could be Splendid that is interfering, so I just load it manually. Removing Splendid & the Asus Power Management are next on my list, should I decide to keep it. I removed the Asus ROG mouse software, security trial & other free software. I have not upgraded it to Windows 8.1 yet, nor even installed all the Windows updates as my internet speed would require it to download all night. I have allowed all the Asus updates & so far they are behaving.

Sorry this doesn't answer all your concerns, but I hope it helps a little.

[Dat_Wax_Dab]

Nevermind reading over the costco website it looks like you dont have that bluray drive.
If i were you I'd consider going into memory express with that ad printed out, they told me the other day that they beat the price by 25%

[Dat_Wax_Dab]

To be 100% honest I didn't even think of checking out Costco for a laptop when I was shopping around. I did however come across the model you picked up, it was at Memory Express for $1599.99 CAD.
I actually tried dealing with the manager, expressing that I'd happily take the hit on memory and disk space to have the better display with no luck unfortunately. I'm still on the fence about wither or not I should return this one and go for the other. Now that I know I can get it at the same price. I dont know if the display is actually worth the hassle, also I should note your model comes with 4 x 3gb for memory, where mine came with 2 x 8gb, so down the road, I'm looking at 2 x 8gb to purchase where you'll be buying 4 x 8gb. Not that the price will be that costly, especially if your not going to be upgrading for a year. You however work with photos, so I'd imagine resolution is a bigger deal to you than to me. You also have a bluray drive, which I dont.