new Gigabyte P35K

MSI laptops are known to be sturdy with reasonably good build quality. I am considering the MSI GE60 as of now. It is not as thin as I would have liked, but you can't have it all. It appears to be an acceptable machine.

Gigabyte is a fine company with some strong products. This being the first version of their slim gaming laptops, they didn't quite cover all their bases. I have a feeling they were perhaps pushed for time and rushed through. I am hopeful they will use this experience to fix the issues and put out a great product next time. The ideas were right, the implementation was not quite right, the quality control was definitely not right. They should probably get an engineer to do finite element analysis on the laptop chassis design. That would have caught this particular bending problem at the very beginning.

 

Oh well...I think we all face a grim future under high-priced razer blades....unless another laptop presents itself

 

It does look like affect all P35Ks, it first happened in UK and now in US shipments, I don't think it's coincidence.

 

What, if anything, do you think Gigabyte is going to do about the problem? I'm having second thoughts about ordering this laptop now, but since you guys aren't getting the shipments until later this week I guess I have a couple of days to decide. Any fix would require sending it in which would take over a month and I don't want to be without a laptop for a month. Obviously they're not going to recall all of their laptops, and re-engineering the chassis probably won't happen either.

 

You can add Australia to that list as well. Someone from Australia posted a picture of their bent p35k on gigabyte nb's facebook page. They should stop blaming the shipping and own up to the flaw in their laptop design.

 

It is unfortunate to hear this, so does that mean GenTech will be returning the whole shipment back to Gigabyte? Or will there be some out-going QC checks (and maybe reinforced packaging) for open orders?

Has anyone actually received any P35K's that are not bent?

I agree with the other posts that it had the potential of being such a great laptop.
What a lose-lose situation. Well, I hope ASUS comes out with some more Haswell gaming laptops... Keeping my fingers crossed.

 

I'm more excited about the unboxing video @gentechpc

 

What are your thoughts as to the p25w?

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk

 

Yep the video is here
GIGABYTE P35K Detailed Product Showcase Unboxing & Review - YouTube

 

Isn't that a pre-production model as it has the Thunderbolt port (blocked off). Pretty sure my Retail one did not have a TB port.

I've decided to go with the P25W

It's going to take GB months to sort out the flexing issue - which I'm not prepared to wait.

 

The Thunderbolt port is still a dud on final production units, watch our unboxing video.

Thanks and yeah I know, it's not the shipping or packaging, it's the material of the plastic.

We are returning all of our shipment to Gigabyte. it's unfortunately the P35K has some of the best specs with this price range but with design issues. I told Gigabyte that they need to change the material on the plastic.

Unboxing video us up, this unit doesn't have bend problem however, the plastic is still too soft:

 

Is that a pre-production model? I'm sure my TB port (blank) wasn't there on mine.

 

We don't know what Gigabyte is going to do about this yet, but I did told them that they need to change the material on the plastic, it's just too soft. All decisions will be made by Gigabyte HQ in Taiwan, as a reseller we can only provide feedback and making suggestions, so we will see.

it's not pre-production model, it's the final production retail version of P35K-CF2 we just received from Gigabyte.

 

Just ordered a P25W via camtech.

They have the CF3 edition which has the BR Burner & 2 x 128gb SSD @ 1083+VAT - lead time two weeks.
GIGABYTE P25W | GAMING LAPTOP | Buy P25W Laptop

OCUK has the CF2 editions (DVD and 1 x 128gb SSD) @ 1099 + VAT - they have (at the time of writing) stock.
Gigabyte P25W Gamer 15.6" LED TFT, Intel Core i7-4700MQ, 8GB DDR3, 128GB SSD & 1TB 5400RPM HDD, NVIDIA GTX 770M 3072MB GDDR5 - Windows 8 Laptop - YELLOW [P25W-CF2]

For the extra SSD & BR Burner, I'll wait two weeks!

 

OK, so it seems to have the same spec as the P35K, but is a bit larger and that YELLOW lid! Like Hexus.net, I'd get one if it came in black. Review: Gigabyte P25W - Laptop - HEXUS.net - Page 5

 

It's running a 770m rather than a 765m & has an additional 128gb SSD & 8gb RAM (over the standard P35K) - but yes, quite similar. . . .

Tweaktown review
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/5796/gigabyte-p25w-gaming-laptop-review/index.html

The lid is growing on me

 

I may go with the P25W as well any user reviews yet?


Really want to stick with the P35, slimness is just to good.

 

I think the yellow lid is a little too flashy for me. Also the back doesn't look great either. If I had to get a thicker machine I would probably go with MSI (upgrade the one I have now). Most reviews say that backs on the MSI machines aren't too apparent which would be great because I like to game but I also have to give a lot of presentations and professionalism would be nice.

 

Are you also returning all the CF1s that are stuck in customs right now? Or could you pick out the ones that aren't damaged and sell those? My current laptop is running on fumes right now and I'm not sure it will last long enough for a second shipment + modification time + shipping time. I have no problem sucking up any early adopter issues because the alternative choices seem to be not even close. Hopefully Gigabyte acknowledges the issue and some sort of fix comes from them but I needed a new computer last month so waiting isn't going to work.

I wonder when they decided to change it. It doesn't even look like a thunderbolt port would fit on the motherboard.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s...AHqNEaXgi7QNMhok3w7teaNsMdezXK61TcyujrH0zTj1Q

Also thanks a lot for answering all the questions I've had. Your customer service is top notch, even if this laptop end up being a huge failure I'll still keep you guys in mind for future purchases.

 

I guess but after looking at the MSI laptops the quality is just as bad as the flexing with the P34G apparently.
(I was looking at the GE60, looked neat)


I might as well stick with the P35K all the other options with the similar specs are just either to thick / plasticy, or way to expensive. *Cough* Razer.

 

But but but, its sooo ugly...

 

I want this laptop so bad. Theres nothing really directly competing with it except the gs70..


@Gentech can you keep us updated on the CF1 unit quality when it arrives? Thank you

 

Here is a fairly informative review done by TweakTown: GIGABYTE P25W Gaming Laptop Review | TweakTown

Seems to run a bit hot but otherwise had a favorable impression.

Oops, already posted by others.

 

Yea, that's what I am going to do; I went ahead with my order with Xoticpc (got the email that it's in stock, but it's on the way from their warehouse still). I asked them to verify that the damage/issue isn't present on my laptop before sending it and to add some extra foam support under the middle of the laptop. I'll add my own shims once it gets here.

 

Likebutta what type of shims?

 

Its tempting to switch to the P25W, however some people of the UK are reporting that the P35K is fine they hadn't had any problems so far with it.
So there's still a chance that the P35K is not a total screw up right?

 

Very slim.

Just because theirs was delivered OK, doesn't mean the longevity will be favourable.

 

Not sure if you might remember these but with old processors (not completely old) like the Pentium 3, AMD Athlons, etc, in the DIY community it wasn't all uncommon to use shims to prevent the CPU from getting cracked/chipped from uneven pressure at the corners of the surface. (Most) of these were made of material that were not electrically conductive so they are technically safe. Nowadays CPUs have integrated heat spreaders so they are not of use anymore.

I know I have a bunch sitting in my box of old computer parts. So I am thinking about cutting them into strips and applying them as necessary.

 

both CF1 and CF2 are build on same chassis and material, if CF1 also suffer the same issue then we will have no choice but return to Gigabyte. even with units that aren't bend we still have to check if it will bend after been use for a while.

shipping to customers is another potential problem, we will never know until customer receive the product so there is a risk.


No I don't think Gigabyte will change the motherboard to add Thunderbolt port.

Yes I'll keep you update of CF1 shipment and what Gigabyte decide to do.

 

I also suggest you to consider Samsung Ativ Book 8 which has CPU and GPU (8870m) more powerful than XPS15, some source has said that it will be updated in October to Haswell.

 

what's the source?

Some people have been waiting ages

 

Joined this forum just for this laptop

If the US shipment does turn out to be soft, is it possible that Gigabyte/Gentech/etc. would sell these "defective" first models at a discount?

 

I'm one of them...
Samsung Facebook page of some nation.

 

I highly doubt that they'll sell the units or give a discount to people who buy it. If the unit breaks in 1 year, and you get a 50% discount, you're essentially paying $700 for 1 year of usage of a laptop. If they take the units back and fix them up I think they'll have to consider the units refurbished which they could sell for a discount, but that means they'd start losing money on the production since they wouldn't have sold any new units for full price.

 

Hy man, can you upload more pictures of yours ? Specially that front part please. Or email the pictures to me [email protected] and did you receive it sealed ?

 

Don't put personal emails on public forums or on the internet, you get spam like that.

 

All the pics are in the thread anyway

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk

 

Hey man how is your p35k ? Is it good ?

 

read the forum from about page 85 onwards

 

Blk did you ever get your replacement?

 

LOL, that was the laptop I was waiting for. I saw in the Ativ 8 thread about the P35K and bought it instead (and returned it due to the bending issue). Be ironic if Samsung brought out the update before Gigabyte fix the P35K.

 

Either way it sucks for them. I feel sorry for them if there really is a flexing problem. I'll hold on to any last strings that this laptop is still good

 

Aaaand we have a(nother) winner!

New Battalion Ultra-thin MS1771 Laptop - iBUYPOWER.COM

I hope this one isn't another letdown--it looks perfect (although I would prefer a 15" screen size vs. the 17")


I REALLY hope this one isn't another letdown. I wonder how customizable it is?

 

Unless I see a really good deal on a laptop soon I'll probably keep waiting for the issue to get solved by Gigabyte.

That's the unbranded MSI GS70 stealth. One user MSI GS70 Stealth Gaming Notebook Review - Page 2 - AnandTech Forums here has bending problems too in his system but I don't know how widespread it is.

 

It is just a barebone of the GS70, so hope it doesn't have a nasty bend like the one in Gentechpc's product review video.

 

Back to looking at the Clevo w350st

 

@gentechpc what did gigabyte say ?

 

How did I not know this? Please explain :O I thought it looked similar (the SteelSeries keyboard) but didn't know it was the same...what's the difference?

 

I might consider it if the haswell releases. I want to compare these categories between the XPS15 and (upcoming haswell) ATIV 8: weight, battery life, built quality, and GPU (I'm not to overly fond of AMD cards. Bad experiences with them)

 

Here's more info I got from gigabyte,

Dear, XXX
Apologies for the delay in getting back to you.
Technically, as long as you do not remove the warranty labels upgrading your SSD or HDD will not void your warranty.

For the issues with the shipment - we have seen some units with this issue. It seems to be happening to the units in the lower palette during shipment. The cause of this seems to be the way the laptop is packaged. This has affected some of the laptops that were shipped worldwide.

Thank you very much for your support
---------
Makes sense that only some of the bottom of the pallets were damaged, the bottom boxes have to be able to support the weight of what's on top of it, not only that but whatever forces the whole pallet went under. But the no damages to the box thing is a lil crazy.

Gentech when you say softness do you mean flex around the ODD bay?
Most laptops I've looked at microcenter had a lot of flex near the ODD and also on the palm rest etc... How sturdy is everything else???S