P34W v3 First look, impressions and tests - a Pretty Little Beast

Works fine on mine.
Using Samsung 840 Evo 1TB mSATA.

AU Optronics B140HAN01.1

No, it doesn't downclocked.
As if it's plugged in.

 

I guess I wasn't the patient type...

 

thanks i just bought one with no laptop for it LOL

 

Does the new BIOS change the fan profile? I just got mine and this thing is pretty loud.

 

TBH it depends on how many hours of use there is in your typical school day.
I have long consecutive lectures from 11 to 5 and the 63 Wh can barely make it at the lowest brightness, stealth fan, no backlight, no windows effects etc. Turning on wifi only when you need it helps with that a long way.

 

Do you hear the fans when idle and when performing low intensive tasks?

 

That's probably around how many hours ut will be, I really don't know how many hours yet, because there are some month until I start there. That is a bit disappointing, though, so I have to think a bit bore about the laptop then.

Anyway, thanks for the answer!

 

It tends to bounce between low and off when doing things like browsing the web. Low is pretty audiable.

Also, has anybody been able to stop the CPU from throttling without turning off turbo boost? I still get throttling while playing BF Hardline, even after a 65mV undervolt and ICD repaste.

 

So after the pic yesterday I thought I'd share my experience repasting the CPU and GPU
Stuff you need:
Screwdriver (I used mine for glasses)
Better-than-stock paste (i.e. anything you can buy for more than $5), using my trusty NT-H1
Isopropyl alcohol (75% or 99% are both ok)
Facial tissue
Patience

RAM slots opened, very naturally a first step for me

Unscrewed everything. Took extra care to not let screws fall too far. I'd say group those screws too for easier re-screwing.
Note that there are two screws with stickers on it, most likely a warranty seal. Continue this step at your own risk.


A nice, copper surface. I guess every bit of cooling helps.

Naked with two round shapes (NSFW)
Seriously though, preserve those chrome fan stickers. That way you won't bust your warranty.

NIC and SSD model in case you are curious.

Interesting placement. Guess they went into great lengths into the real estate.

I digress. Now loosen the three screws on each die out slowly and all is left is the sticky compound.

Can't say it's a bad pasting really, but I usually won't expect much either.

Look at the gunk above the CPU die!

3 swabs and a couple tissue later...

Honestly not a bad temp, GPU receives a five degrees cut and the CPU a whopping 8 degrees I <3 Noctua 4ever

I'll need some time before I can adequately log more temps into Afterburner so stay tuned.

 

Nice job good temps i just did my Aorus x3 and i am not that happy with my results. I will try Noctua paste and that's a weird location for the msata slot. lol

 

Sweet. Thank you for the pictures. Will come in handy when I repaste and install my SSD.

 

Check this out:-

http://www.coolenjoy.net/bbs/boardc.php?id=review&no=24894&p=1

Lotsa pics, in Korean though.

 

I just ordered an HP zBook 14 G2 fully loaded. Suddenly I see this thread and I am wowed that I can get a quad core cpu in such a small form factor.

Can any users familiar with this family of laptops tell me - is this the ideal machine to work as a desktop replacement / mobile workstation?

zBook plus offers - touch screen, nice docking solution, slice battery for extended mobile use, 5th gen i7 (dual core). But this Gigabyte offers quad core (4th gen cpu), blazing fast gpu, more storage options.

I am not a gammer - but I want lots of storage, work a lot in photoshop, illustrator, even do some video work.

What can you gigabyte users tell me?
Battery Life?
Heat?
Portability?
Docking solutions?

Can't wait to hear - I have 30 days to return my zBook if I don't like it. (have not even received it yet)

 

That is a really nice review.

Benchmarks on page 7-9, including video of BF4, Crysis, and Metro).

Screen test on page 10 (750:1 contrast, 300 nits, 98% sRGB, little bit of light bleed).

Noise (39-50 dB @ 20 cm), temp (CPU 96C, GPU 85C), and battery tests on page 11. The idle battery tests seem a little wonky (they were getting 60W idle, so it only lasted 2 hours). But otherwise it's a really thorough review.

(Funny aside, I never realized until I ran that site through google translate, but "idle" spelled phonetically in Korean is the same as "children". "Children" is pronounced differently in the dialect of Korean I speak. But it's spelled the same, so Google obediently translated it as "children".)

 

I wonder if they include the ambient temperature on that one? That is actually well hotter than mine.
I can confirm the idle life wouldn't be so ridiculously low; there must be some problems with their conditions.
But really the biggest takeaway from this review? The P34W actually has a name!

 

So is there any reason to not buy this laptop?

Although I was hoping for a 14" laptop with a 980m then again this laptop with a 970m is already near its thermal limits.

Now if only $1700 fell from the sky.

 

Hi all. To those who have the laptop, may I know is there an option to set the battery charge limit like for example set the laptop to charge till 95%? As I plan to get this P34W v3 and it will most of the time be connected to the power supply and output to an external monitor.

 

The stock Gigabyte software is limited to battery profile so no luck. I actually did a search in Google for that but all that I could find is BatteryCare which can notify me when it is charged up to your defined %. I would love to have a function you mentioned.

 

not ev

not even in the bios? cuz some laptop can be set through the bios instead of a program in Windows.

 

Check the battery's reported capacity with hwinfo64 too.
http://www.hwinfo.com/download.php

Some laptops implement the battery saving feature by reporting a lower capacity to Windows than the battery's actual capacity. e.g. The battery is 48 Wh, but the hardware reports it to Windows as a 44 Wh battery, meaning when Windows thinks it's reached 100% and stops charging, it's actually only charged it to 92%.

The battery pack is physically labeled as 15.2V, 4030 mAh, 61.25 Wh.

 

i dont own this laptop yet so i cant tell you what i think on comparison besides general hardware. the p34w has the power you require. but because it is geforce which is for gaming. its hard to see where it would lie in cad. the equivalent cad to a 970m would out do it more than twice the performance. even a less powered quadro/fire pro card would perform better than a 970m. i dont do video work so i cant be sure how it differs from cad style use.
but the zbook will give you battery life you want and docking and less heat. i know this because i owned zbook 14 g1 and then went to the hp 840 g1 for the radeon for better gaming.

but from the sounds of what you what. the zbook outweighs all your needs imo even if the power of the p34w sounds too tempting to pass.

 

Does the battery still show 100% capacity (0% wear level) in Windows using utility such as hwinfo even after being connected to AC supply most of the time with when the battery charge is already at 100%?

And I am confused why is it physically 61.25Wh but you said the battery is 48Wh?

 

Please kindly read the OP for the first 3 properties. Just don't expect the battery life and heat to be spectacular as the zBook might be, after all we are still worrying 'bout thermal throttling on the CPU, and Broadwell is excellent at avoiding exactly that. As for portability it really depends on your maximum tolerance for weight. 1.8kg is definitely on the light side for me but there is a reason why the Panasonic RZ exists

I don't see any docking solution possible in the future for this model. The chassis is simply not equipped to do so. You might then wanna look at the MSI GS30 for that.

HWinfo as per request:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/h9k11k077eo0fiy/P34W v3.HTM?dl=0

Apparently Gigabyte set it to a 5% hardware cap to battery life as you expected, @Solandri

 

The only reason I have seen from others (not me) is that the vram is 3GB and not 6GB. Otherwise it is a fantastic laptop. Had the Razer Blade 2015 not come out when it did, I would have this very laptop in my hands and be very happy.

 

Does any one know why newegg and adorama are still listing 970m with 6GB VRAM? also, those two sites carry a different CPU which is 4710 instead of 4720.

http://www.adorama.com/GIP34WV3CF2.html
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834233062&cm_re=970m-_-34-233-062-_-Product


Is it like typo error or are those different models with 6gb VRAM and 4710 cpu?

 

HWinfo as per request:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/h9k11k077eo0fiy/P34W v3.HTM?dl=0

Apparently Gigabyte set it to a 5% hardware cap to battery life as you expected, @Solandri [/QUOTE]

Does the 5% come as default out of the box or it wears off after a few time of charge cycle?

 

I don't believe this overclockers are selling the p34w v3 with 6GB vram or only £1200. But I bet it will run very hot my Aorus x3 v3 runs pretty cool.

 

I used BatteryCare almost within the first 3 hours setting up the laptop, and it shows a 4.96% wear level so it comes stock.

 

Gigabyte Australia updated their website with a p34w v3 6gb model. Looks like I'm going to Aussie land.

 

The title says 6GB but in the description it says 3GB. The Gigabyte Rep on the Overclockers forum stated all P34W's will have 3GB, no matter where you are in the world.

They even have it on weekly special!
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=LT-032-GI&groupid=959&catid=1828

 

Hello all,

first post here as I am seriously planning on getting this p34w.

What are its capabilities in terms of storage? I would like to do the following, assuming that is doable of course:

• 1TB SSD
• and another one, slotted in the 2.5" bay in place of a regular HDD.

Another question is related to the noise level of the 970m. How does it compare to the one found on the p34k (965m)?
While I understand the 965 is "slower" than the 970, I would be ready to give up on the extra kick if that meant less noise. Any opinion? Do you think it might be worth the trade?

Many thanks!

 

computeruniverse.net just got stocked. Mine is shipping tomorrow! Can't wait!

Does anybody know if I can use normal DDR3 SO-DIMM, or if I have to use DDR3L SO-DIMM? I assume I can replace both, but can I use 1x DDR3L (stock) and 1x DDR3?

 

cant believe its stocked here cos i checked daily and then bam. i only noticed cos of this thread. im ordering one.

 

http://www.gigabyte.com.au/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5387#kf

 

I'm sorry for the confusion. e.g. is a Latin abbreviation for "for example". The 48Wh was an example. The P34W's battery pack is 61.25 Wh.

I tend to give so many examples in my explanations that I just use the shorthand "e.g." to save time typing.

970m = 1280 shaders @ 924-1038 MHz, and a 192-bit memory bus.
965m = 1024 shaders @ 924-950 MHz, and a 128-bit memory bus.

Early tests are putting the 965m at about 70% the speed of the 970m.

Synthetic benchmarks
Game benchmarks

Personally, unless there was a huge difference in price, I would just get the 970m and manually underclock it or framerate-limit the game if temps and noise were a problem. You can force the 970m to run a lot slower and cooler. You cannot force the 965m to run a lot faster.

I'd also wait until someone can report which screen Gigabyte put into the P34k v3. They pulled a switcheroo on the screen in the P35W V2 after they released the P35W v3. The v2 used to come with an IPS screen, but people buying the discounted older version found that it had been downgraded to a TN screen.

 

Hi,

I have a P34W V3 and the GPU throttle a bit when i Overclock it to the maximum (+135 mhz limit).

Do you know if it's possible to modify the vbios to unlock the core limit and to stop the throttle.

In fact temps are pretty good , but in load (3Dmark firestrike) the core voltage decrease and the frequency core too. Decrease 1175mhz to 1050 mhz 1 ghz max ..

I modify the bios to show the hidden function, it work great (cf P34G unlock bios on this forum) but i don't know what to do with this bios to have a better / stop throttle on the cpu and the gpu ?

Is it possible to lower the rpm of the fan when the temeprature is more than 55°C (passive when lower than 55°C) ?

This is a fire strike score with +135 mhz and 3000 mhz mem , cpu undervolt to -70mv : http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/5878381

This is the original : http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/5868477

 

Ok try Throttle Stop
http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/2288/throttlestop-6-00/
Also watch your temperature make sure it doesn't go over 90c
Also hello I'll be the guy drooling over this computer that I won't have in months lol

 

thats too bad because its REALLY nice. to the people that ask if the quality is plastic or cheap quality like. but i actually find that its more premium style. even if it is not the same premium as the razerblade. from my 1st hand experience of it. im very impressed. compared to the reviews and opinion of the build compared to the aorus x3. it seems like its better built.

 

God dick... way to tease me a little bit more xD
Anybody want a Sony Flip 15? Ya that no thats what.. I thought xD

 

Debating between this and aorus x3....

How is it that the aorus runs significantly cooler? I know the CPU gets throttled when it hits 70..but considering they're the same internals what exactly is different?..I like the p34 better as far as design and looks...aorus design is a bit too asusey...

 

It has bigger airtakes on the back

 

yea bigger cooling vents at the back. its more like an extension rather than just built in the chassis to keep it "square"

 

But is that really enough to justify 66 C CPU load temps on the x3?

Gun to your head, which one are you buying and why?

One more question...anyone know if reseating the heastsink messes up the contact with the GPU CPU because of the thermal pads? I had that happen on an MSI years ago...

I'm probably gonna end up buying this one but the temps are making me paranoid...

 

So far no problem about the thermal pads with me reseating the thermal paste. Maybe I was just lucky, maybe they are well designed, who knows .

Never hurt for you to keep an eye out though. Worst case, Fujipoly pads are worlds better than these stock pads anyway .

 

Last question I promise... How is the screen quality? I'm coming from a w230ss and the screen is fairly decent with minor bleed...

 

Don't be scared to ask questions! That's why this is a thread

 

The screen is very thin, the lid is flimsy. Similar Aorus design is prone to crack the frame in both corners, unless opened carefully (Aorus never responded to reports, did not improve the design, and completely ignored the evidence).
Ref: http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/official-aorus-x3-and-x3-owners-lounge.761197/page-3
Gigabyte considers the screen panel faulty if there are: "Total bright and black dots : more than 5 dots (In any place)"
Ref: http://www.gigabyte.com/WebPage/56/Definition-of-bright-dot-black-dot.html
Yes, I agree, it is irresistibly cool and packs a lot of power in small (running very hot) chassis.

 

The screen quality is very good. High contrast, vibrant colors, good viewing angles. I didn't have any problems with the lid and actually thought it was pretty solid (more so than my MSI GT60 at least).

 

Awesome... You guys have been great at helping lol... I guess its good for people with similar questions...

I know I said last question, but...

I'm seeing variants of the processor... On xoticpc it says 4710 while the gigabyte website says 4720....xotic PC says 6gb for the 970m while the rest say 3gb(this is a typo, but you never know)...

What doesn't make sense is that it's the same price either way for 4710 or 4720...

 

@ Hephaestos said the lid is flimsy, i really disagree. its nothing like the aorus x3 from the video review that LVNeptune did. i think it was in his video where he flexed the screen to the point it looked flimsy. its defindately more solid. the lid is not even constructed the same way so it. and the lid is metal not plastic like the x3
As for the 4710hq or is it 4720hq. and is it 6gb vram or 3gb? i think the cpu is a typo. well i ordered what i thought was a 4710hq and though i read people got theirs with the 4720hq i though there was pointlessly 2 versions, but i receieved the 4720hq and not the 4710hq i thought i was ordering.

the 6gb was going to be the intial release. but maybe because of the casing materials or the cooling wasnt good enough to handle 6gb vram but its 3gb. i think thats what part of the delay was for why it wasnt released same time as the x3