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

I think you must ask the seller.
If the seller can't answer that question correctly don't buy it.
If he told you a lie then you are certainly entitled for a full refund plus damages.

 

What benchmark or program do you want me to try?

 

Yes sometimes UK models have different config than US models.

I have the P35W V3-CF2 model from UK and its different than the US model with the same number.

 

I just did with a Panasonic UJ272. Bezel exchange was a bit fiddly, but now it runs fine.

 

Just made the purchase with the WQHD version with i7 4720HQ and I really liked it so far. But one thing keeps bugging me.

Why even need a swap-able optical/hd drive bay?

I mean, this thing took up 1/5 of the room in the laptop's chassis. the space could essentially double the laptop's battery life, or make a better heat sink for the cpu and gpu. Not to mention uni-body design would make this thing more resilient.

It truly bugs me to no end on this design decision, and I want to fire who ever did this.

I wish a more sensible would come out later this year, making this already amazing laptop better.

PS: Also it would also be great the the screen's frame is made of steel, and control the quality on the keyboard frame (Keyboard does not flex, but the frame is and is uneven on the rim) and touchpad evenness (slightly raised on the right bottom, due to tightly warped components to the chassis).

 

I wonder if we could do a mod to extend the battery by 25%

 

i agree about the drive bay. In theory it's a interesting idea but if that space was used to give it more or bigger heat pipes it would of been a lot better. hopefully the next version gets rid of the bay

 

Do you guys run the screen at 60hz or 59hz?

 

Reason is that some games report framerates of 59 and others of 60. I dont know whether my refresh rate is 60 or 59, and i want the in game fps to match the screen's refresh rate.

When you go to screen resolution --> advanced settings --> Monitor, you can see your screen refresh rate. On a fresh windows installation, it is set to 59, and I've set it to 60. I don't know if it actually changes anything though.

 

This was also the reason why I did not choose for the P35. I think the bay looks ugly, it hurts the structural integrity of the frame and the battery life could have been better if used as battery space.

 

Yet a Laptop like a GS60 has neither a optical drive nor better battery life.

 

What's the difference between the FD0A and the FB0A bios? I'm currently on FD0A, but last time i tried to 'upgrade' to FB0A using smart update, I couldn't boot windows anymore and had to reinstall...

 

The GS60 is hampered by the even smaller battery and 2x SSD and 1x HHD.

 

jup

 

Turns out the issue with the stutter every second i was ecperiencing was due to a program called f.lux, which changes the display temperature when it gets dark, making it more red-ish after sundown, whch is easier on the eyes.

I deleted it and no such issue appears anymore.

This issue is also the reason i enquired about the refresh rate earlier.

 

I'm sorry if this has been asked a lot but I'm looking for a quick answer before I purchase a laptop on Friday--can I plug three external monitors into this laptop? I'm more so looking at the P37X but I assume that they're pretty much the same. I want to plug three external 1080p monitors into the laptop at the same time via HDMI, Mini DisplayPort, and VGA...will this laptop allow me to do that?

 

Only 2, VGA and HDMI,

 

Really? That's odd. The Mini DisplayPort can only be used for outputting to a single display at a time then?

 

Sorry my mistake, I forgot it had a mini displayport as well unlike the P34

 

Right. Honestly, if I can output to three displays, I'm just about sold. It's between this and the MSI GS70 with the 970M. Obviously I'd prefer the 980M but I do plan on having it output to three displays daily.

 

i have two external monitors plugged in and if i open the laptop it will power all 3 screens just fine.

 

Can I make it three, though? I currently have a laptop with a 760M...it has an HDMI and VGA output...I have three 1080p monitors set horizontally on a monitor stand on my desk. The two connections that my current laptop has obviously powers two perfectly fine but I need to use a USB to VGA adapter for the third. I'd obviously prefer not to keep using it if I purchase a new laptop for $2000+. The GS70 can output to three external displays which is nice but I'd seriously prefer the 980M and the slightly better CPU but being able to output to three external displays is pretty important to me.

 

I have no way to test it. However according to intel the hd4600 can output 3 displays as you can see here,

http://ark.intel.com/products/78934/Intel-Core-i7-4720HQ-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-3_60-GHz

and since i am able to run 2 external monitors and use the laptop display totaling 3 displays it should be capable of doing 3 monitors 1 out of the vga, one out of the mini-display port and one out of the HDMI. I cannot confirm this for you however.

 

As long as it's still in stock on Thursday, I'll probably take the gamble and buy the P37X. I really want the 980M and from what I've found online, the fan noise isn't too bad compared to the GS70. I'm hoping that outputting to three monitors will be supported...I submitted a support ticket to Gigabyte; apparently if you disable the laptop display, it's possible but that just seems odd to me. I guess we'll see when I get my hands on one. Worst comes to worst--I'll keep using the adapter. I'd still love it if somebody who has tried it can chime in...otherwise I guess I'll be the guinea pig!

 

:0

 

Guys, guess what? I was able to get around 7 hours battery life (20+chrome tab opened) after tinkering around the settings for the WQHD version

 

Yes. I am using miniDP to output to all 3 monitors.

Here is my setup:
http://imgur.com/a/W5CsE

 

What exactly did you do? That's an amazing quote for battery life.

 

Greetings all!

I'm looking very seriously at this laptop. I'll start by saying some of my requirements (or desires) for my next purchase, what systems I've looked at, and how I ended up at the P35X v3. Then I have some questions the community can hopefully help me with.

To start, these are some of the things I want in my next laptop, sort of in order of priority:

• Great gaming performance. I don't want anything less than a 970M. A nice i7 and 16GB of RAM are also ideal on this front.
• Good (and by good I mean slim and light) form factor. Initially I restricted myself to nothing over a 14" system, but after shopping around, I would be fine with a 15" as long as it is as thin and light as possible. Also on the topic of the chasis, I want pretty decent build quality.
• Ability to reuse mSATA SSD. About six months ago I purchased a 1TB mSATA SSD. It's in my current system, but I'd like to be able to move it over to my new system.
• Ability to output to a 2650x1440 desktop monitor.
• Somewhat professional appearance. I'll be leaving my job in about six months and I'm not 100% sure what comes next, but if I have to use my laptop wherever I end up, I'd like for it not to be too ostentatious.
• ~2 years of life. If I'm honest with myself, I never go more than two years without getting the "itch" to buy a new system. My Eurocom M3 from 2013 has served me well, but I want something new.
• Things I'm not concerned about include: battery life (rarely unplugged), price, and to some extent the screen quality (I don't want rubbish, but since it will be used maybe 50% of the time attached to a monitor, this is a little lower on the priority list than if I planned to use the laptop screen exclusively. I definitely don't care about touch screen, though I'm not against it either.).

I started my search looking at several 14" (ish) systems before coming across the P35X v3. These include the following, along with my thoughts on each:

• Razer Blade 2015 14": I really love the build quality and look of this system. Very nice form factor and everyone says the power brick is just awesome, adding to the portability of the system. The horsepower is good with the 2015 refresh including a 970m. I don't like light up logo, but other than that I'd say it fits the bill as being professional looking. The big down sides are no display port, no way to transfer my 1TB mSATA SSD (which is an even bigger problem given the available storage configurations on the Blade), and overall just seeming like it costs more than it's worth. Yes I can afford it, but other than a very nice piece of aluminum as a base, it seems like paying a real premium compared to other options.
• Aorus X3+ 14": From what I've read, the build quality is considerably lower than that of the Blade, but still a nice form factor. And to be honest, I doubt with my usage patterns (yes I move my laptop from time to time, but it often stays stationary for long periods once moved) that it will be a huge issue over a 2 year lifespan. The X3 also has good horsepower with a 970m (though a slightly weaker CPU than the Blade). The 970 in this system has 6GB so it has a leg up in that regard over any of the other systems I was looking at. It also gives me the option to reuse my mSATA SSD, which I like. Display port available, so that's another plus. Honestly the biggest down side to this system is the look - I wouldn't say it's as bad as an alienware as far as screaming "hey I'm a gamer!" but it certainly doesn't hide the fact either.
• Gigabyte P34 14": Another good form factor system with ample power. This time the 970m steps back the RAM (like the Blade), but it still seems solid. Also lets me reuse my mSATA SSD. To me, it looks totally professional...honestly the least likely out of the three to be guessed as a gaming system (unless the razer logo on the blade is covered, in which case I guess most people end up asking where you got your black MBP). While I haven't talked about heat much (it isn't a big concern for me), this system actually seems to have a problem with it in terms of heat actually causing throttling. I guess this can be somewhat rectified with a repaste and undervolting though. Sadly this system also lacks a display port.

Ok so those were the systems I was considering when I had limited myself to no bigger than 14". When I came across the P35X V3 though, I started to reconsider my position on size. I still don't want to go up any higher, but this 15" system really seems to fulfill all my needs while still managing to be thing, weighing only a pound or so more than the systems above, and only adding a couple of inches of width. By making the small sacrifice in terms of a bigger chasis, I would get:

• Still a sleek system that is very thin and relatively light.
• Even better performance with the 980m (8GB RAM).
• Ability to reuse my mSATA SSD.
• Display Port out to feed my monitor (and a better chance of feeding it well given the better GPU).
• Like the P34, a gaming system that is fairly incognito (call me crazy, but when I look at this system, I don't immediately think "gaming rig").

All that said, I have a few questions for people knowledgeable about this system.

Question #1: I see repasting as a common way to help thermals on the CPU in this system (and the P34 for that matter). If I order through someone like XoticPC (just as an example) and choose for them to put IC Diamond Thermal compound on the CPU/GPU, is that doing the same thing? I just see the term "repasting" used a lot and want to make sure I understand what people are talking about.

Question #2: 1080P vs. 3K screen...which to pick? I realize this is somewhat user preference, but if I intend to use it about 50% of the time hooked up to a 2650x1440 monitor, is it worth it to have the 3K native screen? Part of this comes down to how good the 1080 panel is...is it a high quality, good screen?

Question #3: Playing the waiting game. I know there's always something better coming along and at some point always waiting for the next generation leads to never buying anything, but I have a hard time understanding the current timelines. I wouldn't mind waiting till June or even July to order, but I don't fancy waiting till the holiday season or later. In that time frame, it seems like Broadwell might be a possibility? If so, I'm guessing the die shrink will result in better CPU thermals, which from what I've read are the biggest thermal problem for this system. Odds on seeing this model with a Broadwell in it available for order by the end of June? Any other big developments I'm overlooking that should keep me waiting till summer timeframe before making a decision?

Thanks to anyone who offers some input. I also would appreciate if you can think of any other systems that fit my needs that I've overlooked.

 

I disabled "3D acceleration in the bios"
or in other word, disable the gpu when it's not needed.
by the way, i'm still using this laptop on battery and 5 hours had past in total, plus my file sharing software (you known what it is ) is on with 1.8mb/s download and upload speed. 40% battery left.

this thing beat's my old macbook pro on battery by far.

 

responded in quotes

 

Wow, I never thought about doing that...I'm guessing you have an adapter that you use...what is it? Something like this? http://www.accellcables.com/product...t-1-2-mst-multi-display-hub?variant=729676045

 

Hello everyone! I'm researching as much as I can before purchasing this laptop and the main concern I can seem to get from this laptop is the thermals and fan noise. Is it true that the fan noise is very loud even when doing simple tasks such as browsing and word processing? I plan to use this a lot in my school's library and I do not want to disturb other students with the fan noise. Also, I'm not familiar with what amount of temperature a laptop can take before it begins to degrade itself. In a long term perspective, could the thermals of this laptop hamper the longevity of the laptop if you decide not to repaste or shorten the wattage on the CPU etc?

 

My power adapter just died while playing gta 5. The light doesn't turn on and the laptop doesn't charge. A 120W Universal one works fine however. Anyhing I can try before sending it to gigabyte?

 

But what happens when I need to use 3D acceleration? I must return to change the BIOS again?

 

Ugh, just found out all P35x's (mines the cf9) are back ordered at xoticpc until mid may...unless I go with the 4710 cpu instead of the 4720...thats the only difference, I will be getting the cf1 instead of cf9. Does anyone know if there is any actual difference between the two cpu's?

 

Thanks for the response.

I was talking to a guy at HIDevolution and they will actually do a repaste with Liquid Pro, which for me seems worth it. I've read people saying that compound in particular can actually mess up your system if you do it wrong, so it's nice that they guarantee it since it's a parts upgrade they do. With regular thermal compound I was on the fence just doing it myself as I didn't think I'd mess anything up and I could always just try again, but for Liquid Pro it would be nice to have someone with more experience do it.

Regarding the screen, I'm leaning more toward the 1080p now. I know there are still scaling issues and that's with Windows 8. Given I'm going with Windows 7, I'm gonna go ahead and guess it's even worse (or maybe not supported at all for all I know). Either way I won't be hurt using 1080p when mobile and it will be nice to know I won't have any issues. Then when I sit down at home I can plug it into my higher DPI monitor.

I'm totally out of my depth here, but I was looking at the same issue and my logical answer (with no really evidence) was that if the biggest problem with the CPU specifically in this system is thermal limitations, it doesn't matter much if you have the 4720 or 4710. If you're hot enough that it's throttling it's certainly a moot point. If you're cool enough that you have headspace, you can probably OC a bit and get the same results with either one. I could be totally wrong though.

 

Does disabling the gpu via device manager do the same? Or do you have reboot into bios to get the full effect?

Great find!

1) Yes, same thing, but i'm not sure if i'd trust the quality of their repaste.
2) 1080P. As games get better, you're not going to be able to drive things at 3k while maintaining full quality in games. The 1080p screen is a perfect resolution for this laptop size.

 

Using the startech one with an extension cable because the startech hub cable is wayyyy too short for the vertical setup I have going.
http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-DisplayPort-Triple-Multi-Monitor/dp/B00JLRBC7S&tag=kawai-20

No, not true. It's quiet when you expect it to be, but loud when you put it under heavy load.

I use it in class all the time. No problems.

 

I asked Gigabyte's tech support, and they sent me to Simac where I ordered an original Delta ADP-180MB H PSU for 100 €.

 

i'm at a coffee shop right now and the fans are not audible.

If HIDevolution is willing to honor a warranty if they burn the machine out i would take them up on it. However if their repaste is at buy beware area i would avoid it. if they mess up the application you can fry the entire machine.

 

1. Repasting is basically removing the OEM thermal paste and replacing it with something better. Yes, its basically the same thing if you order it with a repaste from xotic.
2. The 1080p panel is good enough. Its way better than any TN panel, but its not as good as other IPS panels. It has a noticeable brightness shift, what i mean by that is that it has , similar to a TN panel, something like 20-30 degrees viewing angle where the picture is perfect, but if you go beyond that the picture gets slightly darker ( the colors dont change or invert like on a TN panel, the picture is just slightly darker). I haven't noticed this in games or movies at all , but its noticeable when surfing the web. It could also do with 10-20% more brightness. So the panel is definitely not perfect, but not bad.
3. Unless there is a drastic change in the "design" of gaming laptops , you're not going to find anything better. This is currently the only laptop with a 980M thats actually sleek and sexy. Dont wait for Broadwell, the performance gain will be negligible and as for the thermals - since the latest BIOS versions the laptop doesn't throttle at all with a repaste, so you dont really need to concern yourself with that.

What you should ask yourself is if you're willing to live with the flaws of this system - possible "wavey" keyboard, slight bend in the front of the unit, general hit-and-miss build quality, possibly WiFi issues and gigabytes software ( like a box of chocolates- you never know what your gonna get )

 

But it only take less than 1 minutes to change the setting...

 

In my experience you have to disable it in bios to get the "full effect"(which I doubt the dgpu is still operating in some way). Because when I tried to disable 980m in manager, the temperature suddenly surge and the gpu usage shows 100% for some weird reason...)

 

quite true! I just wanted to confirm that. Thanks!

 

I'll make sure to 100% confirm before ordering, but at least that's what the told me last night.

A slight derail of myself, but what exactly makes liquid pro so dangerous if applied incorrectly? I've seen several people say you can fry your system if you do it wrong, so I'm just curious.

Thanks for the response. I am leaning toward the 1080p screen and it's good to know it's at least a pretty good panel. I also don't think I'll play the waiting game much. I was thinking if this system has CPU thermal problems in particular, Broadwell might help, but it seems like there are already solutions to make that mostly a non-issue.

 

No need to worry for the thermal throttle most of the time...
I opened Skyrim and NFS Rival at the same time (both ultra setting, 1080p) and the cpu temp is around 69-78C.
on the other hand, I don't have any build quality problem Qyyz had mentioned (straight front chassis, stiff keyboard, fast wifi connection), but as he had stated, I could just be the lucky one , or Giygabyte fixed the problem in the new i7-4720HQ version ones.

 

Liquid pro is electronically conductive unlike IC Diamond for example. There are a few point above the GPU next to the GPU die itself that are vulnerable for this problem if applied too much.

 

I have a 4720 model and the frame is bulged where the hdd is placed. Seems like if I make the hdd a bit smaller the bulge will go away. Ill try that when i open it next time

Sent from my GT-I9300

 

I see what you mean, but the bulge isn't very distracting, if at all, and the back plate is still a flat surface.
I didn't notice the bulge until you mention it.

I just looked through the net and found every single P35x have that slight bulge, so it could be a bad design decision