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Asus G73Jh
Introduction
This is a compatibility guide to running Linux with the Asus G73Jh laptop.
This page is just for discussing using Linux on the Asus G73Jh. For a general discussion about this laptop you can visit the Asus G73Jh page on LapWik.
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Specifications
For full specifications see the Asus G73Jh specifications page.
| Name | Asus G73Jh |
| Processor | Intel® Core™ i7 Processor 620M/820QM/720QM : 2.66 GHz - 1.6 GHz, with Turbo Boost up to 3.33/3.06/2.8 GHz; Intel® Core™ i5 Processor 540M/520M/430M : 2.53 GHz - 2.26 GHz, with Turbo Boost up to 3.06/2.93/2.53 GHz Intel® Core™ i3 Processor 350M/330M : 2.26 GHz - 2.13 GHz |
| Screen | 17.3“ 1920×1080 Widescreen |
| RAM | Up to 4GB (up to 8GB for 720QM/820QM) |
| HDD | up to 500GB |
| Optical Drive | DVD+-RW Blueray |
| Graphics | ATI Mobility™ Radeon® HD 5870 |
| Network | 10/100/1000 Ethernet 802.11 b/g/n |
Linux Compatibility
| Device | Compatibility | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | No problems | |
| Screen | No problems | |
| HDD | No problems | |
| Optical Drive | No problems | |
| Graphics | AMD Catalyst 10.4 & 11.12 works okay. Open source radeon drivers work best (WITH FIX). | The open source radeon drivers will lock on the highest frequency and make the fan stay on full speed. The fix is to enable powersaving/frequency throttling: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/ATI#Powersaving |
| Sound | No problems | Had to adjust alsamixer settings to turn the sound up, I think that's typical with Kubuntu. |
| Ethernet | No Problems with (K,X)ubuntu 10.04 & 11.10, Fedora 13, Arch Linux. May not work with Fedora 11 & 12. | |
| Wireless | No Problems | |
| Bluetooth | Not Tested | |
| Modem | Not Tested | |
| USB | No problems | |
| Card Reader | No problems | |
| Webcam | No Problems |
Notes
| Bios Settings | Be sure to set the vga controller setting to “other os” |
Fedora 13
FC13 and this laptop have been the most painless installation I ever had for a laptop. The BIOS also lets you choose to boot from either of the two disks, which is something you don't see in most BIOS these days. So I could just keep the shipped windows 7 installation on one disk, and put linux on the other disk.
I have been using this laptop for a couple of weeks. FC13 and the Asus have been a terrific combination.
Ubuntu 11.10
I have had a very good experience with this laptop. The open source radeon drivers make the fans very loud because they don't have frequency throttling set up (see arch wiki for the fix: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/ATI#Powersaving). The proprietary AMD Catalyst drivers have throttling set up by default, but are a little buggy, especially with gnome-shell. Backlit key brightness up/down buttons do not work in 11.10, but have been fixed in 12.04.
Kubuntu
Installed Kubuntu Karmic Koala when I first bought the laptop and had some minor problems with a second monitor and the video driver. When Lucid Linx came out I did a clean install (Kubuntu once again) and the video on both monitors is perfect. I did have to fiddle with it a little, but it's a huge improvement over Karmic Koala. I'm using an external keyboard and mouse and there are no problems there. I've used the built in keyboard and mouse (not extensively) and haven't noticed any problems with either of them, but I haven't used every key. Overall this laptop and the latest version of Kubuntu have been a dream - very fast and everything works with little effort.
