***Gigabyte P35X owner's lounge***

Unless the iGPU is somehow being used during benchmarking/gaming it shouldn't put out more than a watts since it's basically idling. 4710HQ is slower than 4860HQ by 100 MHz, so there should be some difference.

If the Firestrike score rocketed after undervolting then your CPU was definitely throttling. -100mV might be OK if you have a strong chip, but I've found pretty much the only real stability test is to actually use it like you would and see if you encounter any errors/crashes/blue screens/artifacts. I could undervolt my 4900MQ by -100mV and it would pass Prime95 for 2 hours, but fire up Sleeping Dogs and some weird physics glitches seem to happen, which went away after backing down to -80mV undervolt.

 

-110mV crashed the system at the end of FireStrike test - it just shut down immediately all of a sudden. So -100mV seems to be the limit. What it has allowed however, is the FireStrike physics score to jump way up to 9111. Max CPU temp was actually 88°C so it did reduce temp by a few degrees. There was no thermal throttling according to XTU and clockspeed regularly reached and stayed at 3.4GHz - the maximum boost clock for 4 cores.

 

Congrats.

However I should say Firestrike physics test is very light on the CPU (relatively speaking). If you don't feel like torturing your CPU unnecessarily I would fire up your favorite game and game for a few hours and see how everything holds up. It's actually surprising how many stability issues gaming can flush out. I kept getting these weird hard locks in games on my desktop even though the graphics cards seemed perfectly happy with the overclock, then someone pointed out it's likely due to instability from CPU or memory overclocking. I was very skeptical since my overclock was stable for 4 hours in Prime95, and on top of that the ram passed 2 hours of XTU memory stress test without issue. Then I remembered someone saying something about a certain timing (tREF) being pushed too hard could cause subtle memory corruption errors that are very hard to diagnose.

Well gee that person was spot on, I was indeed pushing my ram right to the edge, so I dialed back that setting and my desktop seems much happier when gaming now.

 

Wouldn't the iGPU be accessed to do background processes like physX etc. ?? fair enough, will be interesting to see the 4710 CPU temps and see if optimus is a little less demanding on the cpu.

 

And thats why proper undervolting takes so long, probably best to just use it at your -100mV for a week or until you notice graphics glitches. If no glitches for a week go for -110 , if you get glitches back off by 10mV.

Also after your benchmarks of games in 3k vs 1080p can you give your subjective opinion of which is better. For instance is 3k at 45 FPS as good for you as 1080p at 60+ FPS? (I suspect this will vary based on the game, but maybe FPS will always win out.)
________________________________________________________________________
OMG I want my new laptop this keyboard is driving me nuts, 2 more keys are starting to fail.(W, S, D are already mapped to other keys, space only registers 1/3 of the time, and now A, and T are dying. Not going to replace it when my new laptop should arrive hopefully within 2 weeks though.)

 

Didn't take long - instantly crashed whole system when using the Hard Reset benchmark. Scaling back to -90mV...

EDIT: -90mV ran fine in the benchmark.

 

Have you had a chance to test the battery life when not gaming/testing/space heating?

 

Crysis 3 got a BSOD. -90mV is not stable so it would seem.

I'll try and do that tomorrow... problem with all this benchmarking is that I need it plugged into AC all the time.

 

Yeah pretty much. The overclocking purists will chide me for not running a 12+ hour Prime95 loop, but I've found that's really unnecessary and just needlessly torturing your CPU unless you're folding 24/7 or doing something that taxes your CPU 100% for long stretches. Gaming doesn't come anywhere near that level of intensity. Besides, Prime95 only uses the AVX(2) instruction set, so it's not all inclusive either. Plus given what I've seen with my 4900MQ I place much less value on Prime95 now. That being said, it's still a great test for quickly rooting out instabilities though. From personal experience any setting that causes Prime95 to fail within 30 minutes is likely to give you trouble in daily use.

Also, if you enjoy turning your computer into a space heater try running Linpack. My GOD does that thing heat your CPU up like crazy. It's like Furmark for CPU, except on steroids lol. But yeah if you can keep thermals in check with Linpack, you pretty much never have to worry about the CPU overheating ever again. (barring paste going bad/fan failing and stuff like that of course)

 

I did an OCCT lintest, maybe firestrike would have been more effective since we need GPU aswell.
Ill download that and inform you guys later today.

Thank you.

I'm not doing a repaste, not yet anyway. However I can help you with the turboboost.

You Are correct god sir, was sleepy after the long Day, would just like to share my thoughts and pictures.

My specs are the following, so I have to dissapoint you.

GIGABYTE P35X v3-CF1
CPU: Intel Core i7-4860HQ @ 2.40GHz
Ram: 16GB DDR3L @ 1600 MHz
SSD: RAID 0 - LiteOn 2x128GB mSSD
SSD2: RAID 0 - Samsung 850 Pro 2x256GB SSD
GFX: NVIDIA GTX980M 8GB GDDR5 / Intel® Iris™ Pro Graphics 5200

Mentioned above good sir & thank you for for All information you have been given.

Correct.

I'll drop My settings later, for me - 75mv and a Max CPU volt at 0.8v made 7-9 degress difference.

Ill try to help cakefish later today with some stress testing, ~ gaming benchmark and would look into UV and turboboost.
Btw sorry for the long answer time, slept after posting my thoughts, I know, not fair. But on the positive site, I just woke and can start doing the above soon.

Have a good day everyone.

 

Thanks for all you've shown us thus far, Cakefish. I ordered the C4 version today, but I won't be able to do much with it until I get back from a business trip on the 16th. It sounds like most of the issues with CPU temp levels and stable configurations will be solved before I get to play around with it.

 

Is there an US reseller with ETA earlier than 25th??

 

Omg! Sleep bro!

 

Great stuff mate!! Many thanks for all the effort, please give us more information and benchmarking! Absolutely love that we have 2nd user pretty satisfied with the machine already, perfect machine real?!

 

You have no idea how much will power its taking me right now NOT to pull the trigger on one of these while waiting for Wingnut to finish his review on the P-651

 

GenTechPC rep told me that they should get their shipment 13th or 14th. Since I'm in state with them, my shipping should be 2-3 days max. I'm hoping to get mine on the 17th. As with all things, sh** happens. Whenever I get it, it'll be an early Christmas. Sick of my old laptop and gaming PC.

 

I was completely and utterly wrong when I said that CPU undervolting was boosting physics score in FireStrike. Went back to my benchmarks I posted yesterday and saw that the physics score was always averaging ~9000 - for some reason unknown, I had it in my memory it was the 8000 mark! Sorry about that piece of misinformation.

I can confirm CPU temps were decreased after undervolting - 87°C maximum I was seeing tonight in FireStirke.

I'm gonna get a few hours of sleep now and start again with proper benchmarking thereafter; coupled with a first impressions video & ShadowPlay videos.

Sorry I didn't get a lot done this evening but tomorrow (later today I mean) I can really crack on with stuff

Sent from my Nexus 5

 

G'night mayte!

 

Haha, I'm like this

 

I'm more like this currently and it hurts

 

The Clevo looks nice as well, but I'm thinking it's a shame they went with the 4GB VRAM version. For an expensive purchase like this, I want it to last another 5 years. I suppose I'd be worrying less about hitching or stuttering in future games with 8GB VRAM.

 

Maybe write down your test settings & results so you know what you're comparing. On the plus side, undervolting the CPU will help you with getting an overclock on the GPU. I'd take this approach:

For all of the following numbered items below I would work out: What are the stable and maintainable CPU & GPU boost clocks / What are the synthetic benchmark and gaming benchmark scores / What are the temperatures
1) Stock CPU & stock GPU
2) Undervolted CPU & stock GPU
3) Stock CPU & Overclocked GPU
4) Undervolted CPU and overclocked GPU

All of the above will highlight if there are any limitations with power supply and temperatures and where those limitations reside, and will ultimately give you a laptop that is tuned to maximum performance for you in terms of CPU/GPU performance. Number 4 is likely your optimised configuration, Number 1 is your baseline for comparison, and Number 2 and Number 3 give you an understanding of the system and where limitations might lie.

 

Only worry with that would be IF the gpu is capable of utilizing all vram w/o throttling, since even w/ the Titan I believe when it hit around 5gb it started to degree in performance since it couldn't process all the data, that or a diff card, but still something to think about. Either way it truly is a tough decision.

P651 wise I'm loving the cooling methods they're using. I think once Wingnut is done w/ his review I should have my answer, and if push comes to shove and I can't decide then I'll go w/ the 8258/8268 or burn my house down w/ myself in it.

 

I guess reason Asus G751 have low temp is lack of iGPU. For some reason they disabled igpu and temps never go near the 90°C mark

 

It's got nothing to do with the iGPU, and everything to do with the G751 being much thicker, and likely having a beefier heatsink as well. For reference this is what the G750 heatsinks looked like. Look at the last picture where they show the GPU and CPU heatsinks and marvel how dense the fins are and how thick the radiator is.

 

Wow. Thanx for the pics. That's one hell of a big heatsink. BTW I still think lack of igpu help with reduced temp.
Problem with optimus is igpu have to work always.

 

Apologies if this question has already been asked somewhere in the last 30 pages, but Cakefish (or anybody else with the v3): How is the keyboard? Having seen the technical specs and the benchmarks, the quality of the keyboard (in terms of both missed keystrokes and flex) is the main thing I'm still worried about before I commit to purchasing, especially since the v2 copped some flak for it. To Cakefish or any other owner - what is your impression of the keyboard overall?

 

Yes but only when the dGPU is not being used. Actually 4860HQ shares the same TDP as the 47x0MQ and 48x0MQ chips. I suspect the reason why 4860HQ is clocked lower is precisely to account for the extra TDP that would be introduced with the Iris Pro. So by downclocking the CPU cores a bit, Intel can cram in a more powerful (but still useless) iGPU, and keep the thermal output the same at 47W.

Also as I've mentioned before the iGPU is going to be idling when it's not being used, and the thermal output is unlikely to exceed a few watts.

 

Based on all the information coming out, I'm seriously considering the P35X V3 CF2: i7-4710, 980M, 8GB RAM, 128 SSD+1TB HDD. Strip out the HDD and Optical Drive literally only to decrease the weight of the unit. Throw in two 512GB mSATA's in RAID 0. Undervolt the CPU, and repaste with Arctic Silver or IC Diamond. I think it would be amazing.

Would be great to have a video recording of the unit in gaming. Want to hear the fans.

edit: Probably add in another 8GB of RAM while I'm at it.

 

@Robbo thanks for the detailed plan! I'll get round to doing that asap.

@Sam keyboard has zero flex whatsoever, very sturdy - rep was not lying when he said they have strengthened chassis. Unless everyone else are hulking it and applying abnormal pressure while typing. I'll provide video footage to prove my point.

@diego-d I intend to capture fan noise on video today, along with comparing it to Clevo P170SM for reference.

I tested this theory by massively cutting iGPU voltage & clockspeed via XTU. It made zero difference in CPU temps (fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your opinion).

Edit: I have received notice from Amazon on why my 850 Pro orders are stuck in limbo (the replacement order is too). Apparently the item is too expensive for delivery at, and pickup from, the local Amazon pickup location - though no mention of this was ever given on their website. They have asked me to change address for delivery so I have been forced to give them my home address - hope I'm actually in the house when they deliver.



Sent from my Nexus 5

 

Can anyone confirm that repasting won't void warranty? Apologies in advanced if this was asked earlier.

 

Undervolting the CPU is causing BSODs on battery. Is there a way to get XTU to only use the undervolt profile on AC power?

I only got a few hours sleep. Woke up needing the loo and couldn't get back to sleep. Too darn excited to get benchmarking. Stupid me. It's as if I was transported back in time to being a kid on Christmas eve!

Oh well, time to crack on with it!

 

Hello again.

So I just find out today, that my Nvidia GFX haven't been active at all, because of a beta BIOS gigabyte pushed out through their "Smart Updating Tool". So after reinstalling the bios to the D version (instead of F) & continuing finding no 980M in "Device Manager", I read on the internet that removing the "PCI Express Root Compex", should force the 980M to come up & it did, just had to update it manually in there, to force it the right driver.
Afterwards I'd still had problem running the different games, because of Windows automaticly installed the 10.18.10.3960 version, which s the Nvidia driver up so it won't get detected in games and neither "Nvidia GeForce Experience". So after degrading to 10.18.10.3958 & installing the newest GFX it worked!

I can thereby confirm that COD:AW can run in 3K at HIGH/Extra with 60+ fps with 980m
& with our Intel Iris Pro 5200 it can run 3K at low/medium with about 30+ fps.

Just wanted to share this, if anyone else is just as unlucky as me.

Best regards

 

I'm reading the thread again and I can see the main issue is the CPU temperature. Nothing really can be done going for lower-end models as all of them have a TDP of 47W. Of course undervolting is an option, but I bet disabling the Turbo will make more difference if needed at all.

Cakefish, a good and long session of demanding gaming would be useful, to check if you notice any shuttering due to CPU throttling. In my experience is more noticeable (and annoying) with first person shooters.

 

Whats your experience going from the 17" clevo to the 15" gigabyte? Do you miss the screen real estate?

Nice pics btw!

Sent from my Nexus 7 FHD

 

Pretty much what deters me of buying the clevo aswell.

EDIT: ita also pretty weird how they opted for a double heatsink for the GPU even tough the cpu is the hottest part. But then again you can overclock the snot out of the GPU (while the cpu throttles?) I think...
Sent from my Nexus 7 FHD

 

Yep, I plan to do that today

The increased desktop real estate, made possible by the added resolution, makes up for the fact that the display is physically smaller. Infact, even after the two days I've had this machine going back to the Clevo display feels restrictive in terms of desktop real estate.

Sorry to hear that. Mine wasn't affected, that's odd...

 

Im curious about this as well. I contacted schenker about this and they told me 'it isnt needed because our testing has shown it only lowers temps by about 1-3C', which still didnt answer my question

Sent from my Nexus 7 FHD

 

Nice! This is the exact opposite of what I expected! I love to be surprised in a positive way

Sent from my Nexus 7 FHD

 

I'll make sure to notify you all of 3K VRAM usage in games. Let's see if it breaks the 4GB barrier!

Steam refuses to recognise my BioShock Infinite data files. It tries to re-download the game, even after it states that it is 'discovering existing game files' - annoying as it is a humongous game at just under 40GB.

 

Whats your internet speed mate? While were at it, how does the intel AC 7260 hold up? A lot of people on teh webz are complaining about stability issues of intel wireless chips in general.

Sent from my Nexus 7 FHD

 

2.2mb/sec in Uplay at the moment, downloading Far Cry 3.

I've noticed that on two occasions, when I have booted up the laptop on battery, the WiFi adapter is disabled and I have to manually reset it to get it to start up, which is rather odd. I will have to test more to see whether that was an isolated incident or if it happens often.

 

I was there on Monday and decided I should make myself happy and press it. It's not like it's going to be the end of the world or anything.

BTW, customs @ LAX is holding my package. I just got off the phone with DHL to verify my info. Stupid OC.uk and their sloppy paperwork. If I'm lucky I'll get it today but tomorrow or Monday if I'm not. Man all the excitement went down the drain.

But at least I have this thread to read while I wait.

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk

 

Well it seemed like all Hope was over, this was just to put A warning out there, & i anyone should be unlucky they now have a solution.
Also, A reinstall of the os didnt work either. Just an fyi, now I gotta set everything back up. #F***me.

Will play more with it later, have some work releated things to take care off. :'(

 

Well, with Nvidia Optimus iGPU is never idle, it always drives the display. It's actually dGPU that's being turned off when not being used, but circuits are set up in such way that at least part of iGPU is always on. So the real question is how much extra power do these iGPU parts that drive display suck.



That setup BTW is also the cause of multiple other troubles e.g. increased latency, slight decrease of performance, lack of ability to use g-sync and limited options for driving external displays vs dGPU stand-along chip.

See Nvidia Optimus whitepaper:

http://www.nvidia.co.uk/object/LO_optimus_whitepapers.html

 

Which BIOS version were you referring to? The most up-to-date one according to Smart Update is FD05/F005. Was that the one that caused you issues?

 

The FD05 is working, ... Go to page 48 for solution, found it.

 

Schenker confirmed they will start selling the P35W V3 in december. Exact date is not known yet.

 

That is something that always just boggles my mind, a company will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars redesigning the cooling system (like the new better curvature on the heat-pipes) to make it 1-5c cooler. Then won't spend $1-5 more per laptop to put on a better thermal paste to make it 1-5c cooler.

 

If you want to understand a lot of weirdness around PCs read this:

How the 'value trap' squeezes Windows PC makers' revenues and profits | Technology | The Guardian

Basically profit margins are incredibly thin (only about $15 per PC ends up as manufacturer profit), so everybody started to do stupid things, like adding pre-installed crapware just to squeeze out a tiny bit more.



Now gaming notebooks have probably better margins than average PC (sidenote: the reason why Acer, Lenovo, HP now try to compete in this category). But still, at best they could be near Apple margins, if they are smart and lucky (Guardian estimates $232 margin per Apple computer).

With these numbers every little cost matters to them. I know, it's silly, we consumers would easily pay a bit extra to get better products, but that's how business people think.

BTW cooling system redesign is one-time fixed cost, so it goes into different accounting folder, not directly visible in per-unit cost, it's something you need to amortize over all product sales.