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

Good stuff Cakefish! As others have said I would run the 3k benchmarks without any AA, or certainly lower AA, no point having x8 MSAA at 3K on such a small screen. 3K results you got didn't look very playable for the most part, but by reducing the AA I reckon you could make quite a lot of those nicely playable.

Your GPU temperatures looked OK, high 70's, there's a bit of headroom in there for overclocking when looking to keep temperatures below 90 degC, and by undervolting the CPU you can get some more thermal headroom too because heatpipes are linked. I reckon you could probably max out the +135Mhz overclocking limit on the 980M and stay under 90 degC - I'd love to see some GPU overclock results from you. CPU temperatures were quite high, low 90's, it looks like there's a possibility it might be decreasing turbo boost to stay under about 92 degC there, and it will be interesting to hear from you what the stable Turbo Boosts were. Again, you might be able to get better boost speeds by undervolting here. I'm most curious to find out how much you can get out of your system with a CPU undervolt & GPU overclock, and in that state what your stable CPU & GPU boost speeds are - this would be your optimised system in my mind. (As I think HTWingNut said, you might find your most gaming optimised system will be undevolting your CPU and using Throttlestop to limit the Turbo boost to lower values by a few hundred Mhz - this will leave more power & heat headroom for GPU overclocking and maintaining those overclocked boost speeds).

 

Did you do all the benchmarks with or without cooling pad ?

 

Gonna take a brief break from benchmarks after my lectures this morning and do video footage of fan noise, audio speaker quality, screen quality with comparisons to my older laptops

Will do benchmarks at 3K without AA after that!

Used the NVIDIA Control Panel to set Steam, Origin, Uplay etc. to use the iGPU instead of the 980M.

1080p games on this display look good in my opinion, similar to what a 17.3" 1080p display looks like at native resolution. Running games at 2048x1152 looks even better still on this display and isn't that much more demanding on the hardware vs native resolution.

Yeah, I wish I could get the Clevo as well, not because I have regrets with the P35X at all but simply because I'm super curious to know what it is like - my inner geek desperately wants to know! I will say that one of the things I'm missing most on this new laptop is the fingerprint scanner that is on my Clevo - it makes logging in so easy and quick!

Sent from my Nexus 5

 

Well, my CF1 will get to my office between 11.35 and 12.35 apparently... can't open it until tomorrow (will get home around 2am, long day ahead )

 

Thanks Cakefish. This has got to be the only place on the internet actively discussing/benchmarking/evaluating the new P35x at the moment.

 

Haaaa you forgot my question : p
Did you use a laptop cooler for the benchmarks ? Thanks : )

 

Did you notice any cpu throttling? Temps were at 90-91C.

Sent from my GT-I9300

 

Could you provide the rest of the info you recorded in your first benchmarking session before doing other tests? Talking about the results of your CPU & GPU frequency monitoring and what turbo boost speeds were maintained and stabalised at, (and you mentioned VRAM usage too).

 

@Cakefish

^^Also, this is what I'm curious about

Sent from my GT-I9300

 

the first round of tests he did them with a cooling base (a crappy one apparently). He mentioned new tests will be done without it. But lets wait until he confirms.

 

My Samsung 850 Pro 1TB has been refunded by Amazon because it will be arriving so late. That means I'm getting it free of charge !!! It's worth £470!

Sent from my Nexus 5

 

Anyone who bought this beast and shipped to the US - how much did you pay for customs or anything states-side ?

Thanks !
JD

 

We didn't have to pay for customs or anything. We just paid the amount + Int dhl shipping. I believe we all got sloppy paperwork with our purchase hence customs is holding it longer than necessary. I paid $ 2440ish for everything.

Just checked tracking, it says it will be delivered today unless it gets held back again. Going to hold up on my excitement until I get an email saying it's been delivered.

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk

 

Mine says "Forwarded for delivery" as of 8:09 in my time zone. I ordered on Tuesday so today is business day #3. So while I still don't have any sort of delivery date listed, there is a chance they may be delivering it today. I sure hope that signature release form I filled out counted or else they won't leave it and I will have no way to get it.

 

OMG lucky!!



So now you can buy £1,000 of games to bench for us?

 

Yes I did. Targus cooler: Targus AWE55EU Laptop Cooling Pad 2 fans laptop cooler fits 15"-17": Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

It's not very effective. I think I'm gonna try and get a better replacement one this weekend.

Will provide that info shortly, have no fear!

I know! Completely unexpected and very welcome. Lucky indeed. Seeing as it won't arrive until the end of next week, I'm simply gonna order another 1TB SSD for express delivery tomorrow. Two SSDs for the price of one! Over 2TBs of SSD storage! Insane!

These are my options:

- Samsung 840 EVO 1TB - £292.50
- SanDisk Extreme Pro 960GB - £374.79
- SanDisk Ultra II 960GB - £299.98
- Crucial M500 960GB - £299.48

 

Erf so we can add about 5/6°C to all the temperatures, except for the CPU that must have been throttling I guess.

 

Why? I said it wasn't very good cooler. It barely makes any difference whatsoever.

EDIT: I'll not use the cooler on the upcoming 3K w/o AA benchmarks to see if there is any real difference.

 

I grabbed 2x 1TB 840's because they were cheap (relatively speaking) and available. I have my 2x 2TB HD's ready for install and the SSDs. Just need the darn laptop!

 

This one has worked very well for me: ::: Zalman, leading the world of Quiet Computing Solutions :::

 

If you chose Crucial, get M550 instead of M500.

Regards.

 

The reviews on amazon say it's a good one so I presumed 5/6°C in the worst case scenario.
Maybe if you can try with and without we would have a very clear idea.
Nonetheless a laptop cooler has the advantage of lifting up the laptop, which can be done with nearly everything when we don't have a cooler.

Any feedback concerning the CPU throttling ? You wrote that you had some feedback on it if I'm not mistaken : )

 

Laptop cleared customs. Expecting it to arrive in a few hours (if by flight) or latter half of day (if by ground).

 

Sadly M550 isn't available for express delivery tomorrow. I need it tomorrow or else I may as well just wait until my 850 Pro arrives.

I'll not use the cooler on the upcoming 3K w/o AA benchmarks to see if there is any real difference.

Throttle info incoming - it's a minefield and very complex though - i.e. in the games where XTU states the CPU is thermally throttling there is no sign of any significant clockspeed reduction - very puzzling indeed.

 

Well then might as well get the Samsung so that you can have a matching pair.

Regards.

 

Does the performance restoration tool Samsung released actually permanently fix the firmware issues on the EVO?

 

Never used a Samsung drive before, word on the street is that it does (basically rewrite the whole drive).

Regards.

 

Great News! EA/Dice must be Gigabyte fans. BF4 and Titanfall are free to play for 7 days.

https://www.origin.com/en-us/store/free-games/game-time

 

I'm a bit worried now. I read this thread that had one guy who was refunded for having received an order late but then was re-charged at a later date. The difference here is that my original order (the one being refunded) never arrived and that a customer service rep arranged for me a replacement order free of charge (the one being delivered next week).

This is the email I got; does it sound like they will charge me at a later date, or do you think I'm safe to order another drive?

Spoiler

Dear Customer,

Greetings from Amazon.co.uk.

We are writing to confirm that we are processing your refund in the amount of £471.97 for your Order *snip*.

This amount has been credited to your payment method and will appear when your bank has processed it.

This refund is for the following item(s):

Item: Samsung SAM 850 Pro 1TB 2.5 inch SATA III Solid State Drive
Quantity: 1
ASIN: B00LJ3PYFS
Reason for refund: Item arrived late

The following is the breakdown of your refund for this item:

Item Refund: £391.65
Item Tax Refund: £78.33
Shipping Refund: £1.66
Shipping Tax Refund: £0.33

Your refund is being credited as follows:

Visa Credit Card [expiring on *snip*]: £471.97

These amounts will be returned to your payment methods within 5 business days.

Have an issue with your refund, or a question about our refund policy?
Visit our Help section for more information:

Amazon.co.uk Help: Arranging Marketplace Returns and Refunds

Please note: The credit note for this transaction is attached to this e-mail and to open, you will need Adobe Reader. If you do not have an Adobe Reader, please visit the following link to download it: Adobe - Adobe Reader download - All versions

This credit note is the detailed breakdown of the refund showing the item(s), delivery costs and associated VAT for each item. This credit note is largely applicable to business customers who should retain it for accounting purposes. It’s not possible to redeem or use the credit note number from this credit note towards an order. Visit our Help pages for more information on refunds.

Thank you for shopping at Amazon.co.uk.

Sincerely,

Amazon.co.uk Customer Service
http://www.amazon.co.uk

 

Just make sure you provide proof that said they would be giving you a free replacement. If not, use your bank to file a claim or something.

 

Sadly, I don't think I'm going to get my laptop today even though Its been cleared by customs since it hasn't made it to where they pick up for delivery. Had my weekend all planned out to get it up and running but that went out the window. Patience is a virtue I guess I don't possess. :cry:

 

They have no right to re-charge you if the item never arrived; however, if the item arrive late, I'd think that you're obligate to return it; but you also get another replacement deliver to you, I'm confused: usually it's either replacement OR refund.

I think it's best to double check with Amazon and the third party retailer (if not bought directly from Amazon).

Regards

 

Err...I wouldn't rush to spend it just yet. Play it safe and if they don't charge you again within the next month you are probably good to go.

Experienced a similar situation back when I bought my envy. The first model I received was faulty, so I returned it and got a replacement. However, since I didn't want to wait around for the replacement, the only way to do it quickly was to return it for 100% refund (you can do this with hp within 21 days after purchase) and buy a second laptop.

Bing was offering a promotion at the time where they provided some crazy cashback amount for hp laptops (10 or 15%), and somehow they still credited me for both laptops that were in the range of $3700 IIRC. I held onto that $1,000 from Microsoft in case they asked for this money back, but they eventually discontinued Bing cashback and never requested it.

 

Yeap, play it safe and I doubt you will end up getting it for free. They will just charge you again shortly.

 

The replacement order had to be sent to an alternative address (my home address). The original order will never arrive as the pickup location it was sent to refused to accept such an expensive item. I assume it was returned to Amazon.

Sent from my Nexus 5

 

Hmm, so I have been off for some while now (1 day), but I have been furious, confussed & irritated about this new P35X.
After updating everything I finding out my Nvidia card wasn't active at all, I ofc reinstalled OS (through recovery), installed multiple BIOS's, (upgraded, downgraded). With the result of suddenly the dGFX would stop working.
Because of this I have wrote Gigabyte & Overclockers a nice email, to help me with this problem.

For now, I think I know what the problem is. (Y)

If you use the "Gigabyte SmartManager v3" and change the ODD / HDD Switch to HDD, (I have a SSD in front) it will promt you to restart the Computer & thereafter DISABLE your dGFX in BIOS (that's why flashing BIOS helped me, get my dGFX activated again!)


This is how it looked when you do so:



I have maybe then, never have recieved the BIOS update I thought was the badguy here (it might even not exist), but all along it might have been a Software error from Gigabyte's program.

I will ofc keep you updated in the process, now I have to install all my sh** again, lucky me. haha.

 

Wow, that sounds retarded and you would figure GB QA would pick that up. Glad to see you got it working again. BTW, do you know where I can find a copy of GB Smart Manager, I'm trying to find a copy since I'm doing a fresh install of 8.1 Pro instead of using 8.1 that came with the laptop. I was able to find drivers and BIOS but not utilities.

 

Hi, so your "old" order was refunded and you wont have to pay for it anymore
anyway, the replacement order will be a new order and so the main question is where it says that this new order is free of charge?

 

He got refund. Usually you don't get refund if they sent you a replacement. Cakefish is getting both if I'm not reading it wrong.

Regards

 

Hello again.
I have zipped it for you, I'm gonna send it to you in a PM.

 

Got it, many thanks!

 

Yep. In the email the customer rep sent me when they organised the replacement order he said it was free of charge with a quote of £0.00 and it also says £0.00 on the Amazon website under 'my order details'.

So is it safe to get another? I have the money for it anyway so it's not like I'll be bankrupt if they do demand money. But to me it seems as though I'll be safe as the replacement order was initiated before the previous one was refunded. I speak to different Amazon customer reps each time I reply to their emails, who clearly don't bother to check the details of my issues; the lady I had in my last response from them recommended I arrange delivery to an Amazon pickup location - that was the very thing that caused the issues in the first place!

Sent from my Nexus 5

 

So you're saying using the hot swappable ODD bay as a SSD/HDD bay will permanently disable the NVIDIA GPU? I'm scared to use it now...

Did you manage to get it fixed?

Is this a bug in the Smart Manager software? Which version do you have installed? There is an official one available and a beta one. Which were you using when you used the hot swap feature?

Sent from my Nexus 5

 

Has anyone info on when the laptops will be available in the US? I want a standard US keyboard else I would do the UK ordering also like others.

 

XoticPC rep said Nov 25, but that was some time ago, hopefully hasn't changed.

 

Nope. I'll explain; firstly, one of them was never delivered (the original order) as the item was deemed too expensive for the courier to deliver to the official Amazon pickup location I had selected. That's when a customer rep set up a replacement order (that was dispatched today and due to be delivered to my home address next week) fee of charge when I complained that my order never arrived. Then today, I got the refund notice from Amazon for the original order that never arrived.

I hope that makes sense! I think it's the fact that the Amazon reps agent communicating with one another. I get contracted by a different person each time I hear from them.

Sent from my Nexus 5

 

But you still get BOTH replacement AND refund. How peculiar.

Regards

 

Yes. That is exactly what has happened.

Do you think they'll demand payment? It's been dispatched now at a quoted price of £0.00. It's being treated as a completely separate order to the original.

Sent from my Nexus 5

 

Sorry for scaring you bro.
But yes, I have fixed it. I tried the latest beta aswell as the official one, but problem persits. What you have to do is this: (must really have seen red yesterday, since I didn't notice lol)

Press F2 at startup,
Go to Advanced tab in BIOS
3d Graphic Acceleration will be disabled, change it to enabled.
F10 and press enter.

This was my fix & for now I think it was this problem all the time. However you don't have to change it from ODD to HDD in SmartManagerV3, I thought it would do something but not, the new HDD will still work even if it's on ODD. So it was just for the looks of the program, I did it all the time.

So don't be scared, this laptop is absolutly amazing, just a stupid bug which is reported now.

Best regards

 

So you're getting TWO SSDs for the price of $0. Yeah I'd say there's a very good chance you'll have to pony up in the near future. Amazon isn't exactly running a charity, and it seems something got lost in translation between the different reps that lead to you receiving a replacement AND getting refunded for your original purchase.

Anyway, the right thing to do would be to pay for one SSD and return the other, but I'll leave it up to you.