EUROCOM Tornado F5 Mini-MonsterBook Review Thread

To be honest that model is not listed under EVOC category and I have to do a manual search, sneaky.

100% agree! I bought my MSI GT80S from them.

 

It's a secret, hehehe. "Don't tell no body"

 

@ Mr. Fox. @ Rage Set

Should I get IPS with G-SYNC now or TN 120hz with G-SYNC later? My main purpose for this machine is hardcore gaming for at least 8 hours a day.

 

Well I just read this entire thread from start to finish.

I shall now cry silently at not being able to get Prema vBIOS mods.

But who knows, maybe in the future things may change. Maybe Prema will do magic. Maybe Prema is in fact a magical bios-modding phoenix thing. Not to be confused with Phoenix, formerly Matrix Leader.

Anyway, this looks like it's shaping up well. I can't wait to take a crack at my own machine myself. Soon™

I sincerely wonder what that Tornado F7 is going to be like. I hope it causes Clevo to shape up.

 

Updated opening post with the following:

01/30/2016:
One of the Pro bullet points above mentions the excellent service and support. These videos are just a couple of examples. Be sure to visit their YouTube channel for more.

​

When the 120Hz screen arrives, I will do a video for that upgrade.

 

Well idk though, if the masses can't get the prema s/vbios for the F5 then I don't think I'll buy this laptop.

@Mr. Fox did say that there will be something for the public soon, but I don't think that's going to be as good as a prema mod...

 

Never say never...patience is the key.

 

It is listed under Manufacturer & Gaming Laptops in the EVOC - MSI category, not EVOC - Clevo. It is also listed under VR Ready 15.6" Laptops.

The 120Hz screen is not TN, it is the Full HD (1920x1080) AUO AHVA 120Hz w/ 30 Day No Brite Dot Guarantee. AUO AHVA is an IPS-level screen - Model number B156HTN05.2. It may or may not ever be available with G-Sync.

There are no TN screens offered on the EVOC 16L-G-1080.
.

 

Patience, young one. Good things come to those that wait. As soon as we can disclose details on the firmware mods we will.

Yes, listen to Brother Donald. We are both old, and we both know things that we cannot disclose right now. But, we both have every reason to believe that the owners of this model are going to be very happy. With few exceptions, most that own one are already very happy.

 

Should be a very nice screen upgrade. I am looking forward to installing one. I'll do a video on it. Spoke to @Talon and it doesn't sound difficult.

 

Thanks. I'll just wait until there is a 120hz with GSYNC for that model, it will be a huge upgrade for me.

 

Updated post #3...


http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/11946356

http://www.3dmark.com/fs/11572495

http://valid.x86.fr/igp6v8

 

Amazing what a mere 150W 1080 with no external power connector can do. I would imagine it will be even sweeter with a @Prema vBIOS.

 

Hi, I have just bought a 16L3 barebone.
I want to change the 1TB HD 5400rpm for another one with higher capacity. Is it possible to install a new Seagate Barracuda 4TB ST4000LM016 ?
Its height is 15mm...

 

This model can fit up to 9.5mm drives. You would have to use that 4TB drive in an external enclosure.

 

OK, In this case I only can install up to 2TB internal....

 

Yep, well technically you can fit a 4TB SSD, but those are very expensive right now.

 

Uuhhh!! Yes! I saw that but not a good option... :S $$$$$$

 

No, it won't fit. I have one like that and already tried. It's too thick. There are hardly any laptops where this will work simply because none are designed with the idea of putting in a thicker drive like that.

 

The trend is thinner and thinner laptops. Hence the M-sata and M.2 ssd design Next level will be soldered ssd Why not? Razer use already soldered ram on MB

 

Very nicely done bro. I knew you wouldn't be able to resist the killshot. I'll be back shortly with my answer.

 

We know what Razer can do with their soldered stuff, but saying it would violate forum rules and damage my reputation as a kind person.

 

Apple's 2016 Macbook "Pro" {ahem} has soldered RAM and soldered SSD. I took one look at that config, and that was the last straw for me. My 2013 MBP Retina has had its motherboard replaced twice in 4 years, and I have done a self-installed upgrade of the SSD. On the new ones, I would have had to reinstall software and restore all my data from backups for each of those two motherboard replacements. Ummmmmm.... NO! And the SSD upgrade could never have happened. 2016 was the year I lost a lot of respect for Apple, a company I used to admire.

The Razer Blade Pro 2016 has soldered RAM (but at least they give you 32 GB), but the SSDs are socketed.

 

If it doesn't fit, put it in an external USB case, you don't even need a faster than USB 3.0 case as that HDD will likely top out around 175MB / sec, well below the 550MB/sec max.

Make sure you get an external case with a temperature controlled fan for cooling, the passively cooled ones get too hot

Your going to have the same height problem with that 2.5" drive in an external case, most are for slim 7mm/9.5mm drives.

You could go for a combo 3.5"/2.5" that would give you enough headroom to fit the 15mm drive:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UAA4J6G/ref=psdc_160354011_t2_B00LS5NFQ2

Or an easy access swappable enclosure:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LS5NFQ2/ref=psdc_160354011_t3_B00LS31KQG

If you do get it, please let us know how it works out and what drive case you are using.

 

The 2.5 inch 4TB HDD I have was purchased already in an enclosure for less than the cost of the bare drive (same applies to the 1TB and 2TB versions from Seagate/Samsung) which are 100% identical parts (even same part number on the label) except they charge less for the drive in an enclosure with a USB cable... go figure, LOL. I opened the enclosure carefully without damaging it so I have it back in the enclosure now.

Seagate 4TB HDD in EUROCOM Panther 5

If it was purchased as a bare drive you could just use a normal 3.5" USB enclosure with a 2.5" adapter like what comes with many retail packaged SSDs. If you already have an old enclosure with a bad or too small HDD in it, this is the cheapest route and works fine.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-5-to-3-5-...t-Hard-Drive-Holder-With-Screws-/400500369668

Spoiler: examples

 

Great advice

I have also purchased pre-built portable USB drives just to get the bare drive, at times they are the only stock available especially for popular new models. Surprisingly the pre-built's are usually sold at discount, while the other bare drives are out of stock for long periods of time

 

So I finally got around to trying this out. It seems this does not work at least for the 1070N. Applying the "fix" does indeed unlock the voltage slider and voltage monitor, but increasing the voltage limit +100 does not actually take effect. I blame Nvidia's overly controlling architecture, known as Pascal Ah, shame.

 

Same for me. No change.

 

Does it give you a voltage reading in MSI Afterburner program windows that was never there before the slider was unlocked? On the right side above the temperature reading?

 

Yeah I have voltage now which is nice, I max out at 1.05 or was it 1.005 can't remember right now, and that is when it crashes. What's funny is it will be running around .8 to .9 then it spikes up to the 1.05 and just basically restarts itself.

 

Yes, it reports GPU voltage now.

 

I've thinking about a solution: I always use my DTRs almost the 100% of time plugged to AC...so the battery is barely a UPS emergency system (take into account the power of our enthusyastic system...). So...I could take the battery out...and use this extra space to place the 4TB (or more) hard disk using a expansion flex wire or similar to connect it to the SATA port...

What do you think?

 

@Mr. Fox is it possible for you to request or urge Eurocom to release a 120hz (w/GSYNC) display for the Tornado F5/EVOC 16L?

 

Yeah, that could work. Sounds like it could to me. While i have not run a laptop on battery for more than a few minutes for several years now, I kind of like having a battery as a built-in UPS, but if you don't care or need one it is just wasted space in the chassis.

 

They may be on the waiting list already. Maybe @Eurocom Support can answer that question. If they are then it is not up to them. It is up to NVIDIA to approve it and add support for the hardware ID in the whitelist after an extortion fee, I mean license fee, has been paid for the privilege of being certified. An example is the 1080p 120Hz screen used on current generation Clevos. NVIDIA said no on that one, but said yes to the 1440p screen. The 75Hz got their nod in 2015, but not the 120Hz that followed. And, you have to get in line and wait until the Jolly Green Giant gets around to it. I have G-sync on two laptops and I keep it disabled 24/7. It would be better to have 120Hz without it than something less with it.

 

Curious why you want Gsync on a FHD screen for a laptop with such power. I think Gsync really only makes sense when you're on lower end hardware or you want to game at 4K on a single GPU, but for 1080p the 1070 or 1080 are more than enough to keep up.

 

At 1080p 60 Hz, I agree GSync is a bonus, not a necessity. In 2+ years when the 1070N starts to struggle, it could potentially be useful. For 1080p 120 Hz, GSync is definitely wanted.

 

OK, guys. Next week I am going to do a full tear-down video like the excellent video from @Eurocom Support I added on the first page, only taking things slower with more explanation. Yup, we're going to take the motherboard totally out of the chassis and document where that elusive CMOS battery is found that was placed on the wrong side of the motherboard. Maybe... time permitting... we will do a mod to put that battery on the bottom side where we can unplug it and make the NVRAM puke whenever we feel like it. Should be fun. Anticipating this will be the final teardown, I will be going back together with CLU on everything, including the GPU. I've got the GPU protected and ready to receive it.

I don't know if the 120Hz screen will be here by then or not, but if it is then I will do a video on that as well. Based on what Brother @Talon shared, we don't have to open the chassis for that upgrade.

Another project you'll want to watch for in this thread is a bottom cover mod. My impression is this little beast can benefit from improved air flow, so I am going to open up the cover above each fan and give it room to breathe. That will come later, but not too much later. I want to make it look like a factory job, so let me figure out how I am going to do it. Otherwise, I would have already butchered it with a 3-inch hole saw.

 

Sounds interesting, can't wait. Just curious, what have you protected your GPU with?

Sent from my SM-G925W8 using Tapatalk

 

My theory was they built the bottom cover that way to pull air past the components on the motherboard.

One thing I would really like to do is make some rubber spacers and glue them to the bottom cover or CPU/GPU heatsink, similar to how MSI puts them in the GT62VR. At first I was very confused because my Tornado F5's bottom cover flexes much more than the demo GT62VR's does at a store. After looking closely at some reviews, it appears that there are these spacers in all of MSI's retail models.

When you have the motherboard out would it be possible for you to take the audio daughterboard out and see if it has a connector for a ribbon cable that would go up to the USB 2.0 daughterboard that exists for the GT62VR? The cable runs under the battery, as you can kind of see in this picture:

http://www.laptopmain.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/MSI-GT62VR-Disassembly-14.jpg

It would be really cool if we could somehow get that board and ribbon cable, then cut a hole for the left side port in the chassis.

 

I think Clevo had that theory on some of their products as well, but I am not convinced it works as well as intended. On the P870DM-G they had a lot of stuff blocked off and removing the restrictions was helpful. There was no real benefit that I could see to having it plugged up to manipulate the flow of air in the chassis.

As far as the extra USB port, I will have a look at that. I agree, that would be a nice mod.

 

Hey guys... Introducing the EUROCOM 780W Notebook AC Adapter (Clevo & MSI Ready)

 

Electrical tape... the cloth type...

 

Ahhh, Will you be leaving this on after applying the CLU to continue protecting it, or is it just acting as a temporary stencil till you apply the paste?

 

I'm pretty sure he's gonna leave it on. If it was just during application then you'd just use some ****ty sellotape or something & take it off afterwards. That thermally resistant tape that Mr Fox has applied has been neatly done to stay there - I guess to catch any excess CLU that is squeezed out when the 2 surfaces come together.

 

Makes sense, I'll have to note this when I get my F5 and do my tweaks. We're lucky to have Mr Fox do all this experimenting for us before hand. Keep up the fantastic work good sir!

Sent from my SM-G925W8 using Tapatalk

 

That's what I like about this community here at notebookreview forums - people sharing their knowledge & tweaking experience (Mr Fox is amoung the most hardcore & most experienced!), and I think this Tornado notebook seems like a perfect candidate for tweaking! A good choice for enthusiasts, I'd probably buy this one if it weren't for me already having built a desktop.

 

Yes, as @Robbo99999 said, that will be staying on there. The cloth type of electrical tape sticks extremely well, resists heat well, and since it is not slick if any CLU gets away from the die it's going to have a bumpy ride and lots of places to get trapped. I'm not overly worried about CLU moving from where I place it like I would be Conductonaut or Phobya Liquid Metal, but the extra insurance never hurts. Another option would have been liquid electrical tape, but I like this one better.

 

New video added to review on first page. Next video will be the 120Hz screen installation.

 

Here's this... thanks to Brother @Talon for his tips.