Intel-TongFang QC7 (Element/Fusion 15/MAG-15/Vapor 15 Pro)

Shoutout to B0B for pointing out the new BIOS and CC rollouts. These updates completely fixed the battery drain I was having! Back to 7-10 hours!! Yay!!!!

 

[QUOTE="eddi3x3x3, post: 10976628, member: 654037"
So now I'm noticing another issue. Not sure if this is windows update again, a driver or what but while I use my touch pad it occasionally stops working. It's like if I draw a circle on the touchpad it'll follow the circle half the time and the other half the cursor just stops working. Any ideas what could be causing this?.[/QUOTE]

I just had this problem. A simple restart seemed to fix it, no idea why though.

 

I just had this problem. A simple restart seemed to fix it, no idea why though.[/QUOTE]Ive restarted several times and I still have this issue. According to fox it might have to do with all the peripherals I have hooked up. (A wireless mouse and a cooling pad)

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If I find any I’ll let you know. I have a Mag-15 on the way and wanted a skin for it. I don’t much care for the logo and dbrand only has a top skin with cutout. Thought that was odd as all others have the option to either have it or not. Worse case I may just look up how to do it myself and do the bottom and top only.

 

Ive restarted several times and I still have this issue. According to fox it might have to do with all the peripherals I have hooked up. (A wireless mouse and a cooling pad)

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk[/QUOTE]
Just a heads up, my fix was to go into the bios and disable the card reader. I don't use the card reader so when I went into the bios today I thought "why not disable it? I don't use it" and BAM now my trackpad has 0 issues tracking with my cooling pad and my wireless mouse connected. Not sure if it's the card reader itself or the number of devices hooked up at once that's causing the latency issue with the mousepad.

 

Anyone mind playing subnautica and swimming around in the kelp forest biome to see what fps they get at max graphics without any change to throttling/voltage? Curious if my laptop is getting the right performance.

 

You should get around a destop GTX 1070 performance. I will test when im back at my desk.

 

@Eluktronics / @XMG I am thinking of changing the thermal pads for this laptop. By chance, would either of you have the measurement (especially thickness) of the thermal pads?

 

No need to do this, the stock pads are perfect for what they are intended for and replacing them will be of no benefit at all.

 

Thanks! For reference I get around 40-50fps in that area looking forward, 60-70 looking down

 

Hey does anyone have the specifics for the display offered on the QC7? Like, I know it's 1920x1080, 144Hz - that's what the various specifications pages on Eluktronics, XMG and Aftershock say, but where do you get the brightness levels, contrast ratio etc. information?

 

300 nits, 1000-1100:1

 

Thanks!

reason why I'm asking is, I'm looking to buy one of those portable USB-C powered displays, and I'm trying to match the stats as best as I can so that things don't look too different/jarring when I drag windows over to the secondary display

(heh, anyone doing this already? any recommendations?)

 

I’ve been trying to decide between a Mag-15 or similarly specced MSI P65-does anyone have any insight? I’m sold on the Mag except for the trackpad, I have an MSI right now and love the trackpad but I’ve heard mixed things about the Mag’s.

Also can anyone comment on egpu performance? One of the reviews I saw mentioned that performance with a 2080ti egpu about matched the onboard 1660ti.

 

The egpu performance isn't worth it on this machine. It's more for people who have an ultrabook or an nvidia mx250 at most. The 1660ti and 2070 Max q versions with electroboost use 115w which gives it around the performance of a 1070 desktop card and even more if you play dx12 titles or use dlss on higher resolution screen.

I personally recommend a thunderbolt 3 dock with display port and just hook the laptop straight into the screen with a good cooling pad to enable Max performance with no throttle.

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Gotcha, that makes sense. Would G-Sync still work through a TB3 dock like that?

 

The USB c on the mag 15 is passed through the Nvidia gpu for display alt mode. In other words, if you connect it to a thunderbolt 3 dock that has a display port out connection, gsync will work through it! Alternatively if you don't want the thunderbolt 3 dock, you can USB a USB c to display port adapter and that will work too. You have to make sure the adapter in question supports 4k @ 60 fps minimum.

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Any vendor in the NA region with plans to add a 17.3" equivalent version of QC7?
Asia/Oceania seems to already have a version for sale: http://store.illegear.com/extreme-performance/206-illegear-selenite-pro.html
Illegear has their Selenite Pro which has a TB3 port, 92wh battery, I'm assuming the same same motherboard, just different body, display, heatsink, etc.

 

Seems like a small let down if you ask me.

Pros:
1. Numpad
2. Larger heatsink (assumption)
3. 240 hz available
4. 4.4 lbs 17" is light for it's class
5. 2070 Max P available AND 2060 that's boosts to 115w

Cons:
1. Web cam placement at bottom
2. Keyboard doesn't mention mechanical (just tactile, that can mean many things)
3. 17.3" @ 1080p has less pixel density vs 15.6"
4. zone rgb

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Mag is much better overall IMO

The heatsink should be the same with QC7 but need confirmation

The keyboard is upgraded Tongfang membrane kb. 4 zone RGB.

 

I know that keyboard tray is swappable due to using the keyboard that doesn’t have the membrane keyboard covered by frame on top, same as the whole display assembly since the hinges are the same as the normal TF 17.3”, meaning they can go back to the older cam on top version lid. Don’t know how or who would be able to provide better display options, but I know the end user could swap it, the bezel removal process is like the alienware bezel removal process, the display is connected with a 40 pin display connector. The heatsink and fans would be bigger on one side vs the 15”. I’m trying to get a internal photo to get a sense for the differences on the inside of the laptop.

 

I would steer clear from MSI, I own GS56 and it has been nothing but trouble (as far as I can tell it is same laptop as P65, case, MB internal layout just different color). Case feels super thin, crackling sounds all around (due to way it is constructed), bends very easily. I thought I could live with this as I'm careful with my laptops...

At some point one of keyboard keys scratched screen, reading warranty it mentions you should be using supplied cloth... LOL imaging your self going to meetings and punting cloth in and out your laptop all day long.
Then CPU fan started making loud rattling noises, pain to replace, RMA takes up to few weeks. Tried DIY route (fans are actually quite expensive) and it is a lot of work, reverse MB disconnecting all delicate ribbon cables removing heatsink, re-pasting ...

Finally battery in my unit has swollen, bending upward palm rest and rendering touchpad unusable. This actually is dangerous.
Now I'm bit hesitant to dissemble my laptop (with reversed MB and swollen battery it is pain) wanted to remove SSDs. Again reading warranty you shouldn't send laptop with additional drive inside, MSI doesn't guaranty what happens to it and data when they service the laptop.

This made me order XMG Fusion 15 ... lets hope it comes before MSI burns my house down

In conclusion I wouldn't ever again order laptop with reversed MB or soldered SSDs. I have some corporate data on it and if something like this happens you can't just pop SSDs and DHL it to MSI.

 

I tried Lexar NM610 1TB SSD in the 2nd m.2 slot - FYI it required a firmware update so I RMA'd it. You might run into issues with this model SSD.

 

Can anyone confirm if this thunderbolt 3 dock would work for Gsync on external monitor?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07T2RW54...olid=1HG3IX05ZLLEO&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

@XMG when will the thunderbolt 3 drivers be out? next month?

I want to in theory hook up my mag 15 to this thunderbolt 3 dock and have my external keyboard, Display with adaptive sync (gsync compatible) and possibly some speakers. Would this be possible? Or would using the display port on the thunderbolt 3 dock use up all the bandwidth and not allow other peripherals?

 

So I just got my XMG 15, installed all latest drivers and Windows 10 updates. Laptop is great, but I am quite unhappy with the acoustics and the noise in general. Can you guys tell me if your every day user experience with your XMG/MAG is the same? I have no problem if the laptop is noisy while gaming, but the laptop being noisy in idle. The constant on/off make it very incovenient for my persnnal usage.

I was able to get the following test results regarding how long the laptop stays quet and how long the fans are on. The tests were done with the XMG Control center while the laptop was in idle mode, wireless off, bluetooth on (one mouse connected). No changes to power settings other than monitor time off period. No other apps such as HW info, etc. CPU was between 0-2% at all times, GPU was at 0%. Temperatures were varying between 41 and 49 degrees.

Seems as the fans stayed quet the longest in silent mode. Unfortunately they still come on quite often and the noise level is high. Again, is this normal?

balanced-standard
5:44 on
1:34 off

enth - perf
3:37 on
1:03 off
======
3:32 on
1:09 off

quiet
4:05 on
3:45 off
=====
4:02 on
3:38 off

 

Your GPU isn't properly idleing so its drawing power and makes all components hotter including cpu. Go to nvidia control panel and turn 'display gpu activity icon in notification area' on. Yopu will see gpu is on.

 

It was the xmg control center program. I added it to the nvidia control panel, set it to use the integrated graphic and also set the global preference to be the integrated graphic card. Is that the correct setting or should I set it to auto? This change did not remedy my situation.

edit1: I set those settings to Auto from the nvidia control panel, but the xmg CC was still using the gpu. I then manually added the controlcenter.exe which defaulted to integrated graphics. Confired, rebooted, but controlcenter is still using the GPU.

edit 2: after a couple of reboots nothing is using the dedicated GPU. However the fans are still spinning almost constantly. I've notied that the integrated graphics usage is always at around 7% while watching youtube or twich. It would climb to 25%, then go back to 7%. That would explain why fans are always spinning. Is there a way around this'? It does not seem normal at all. While watching youtube at 1080p fans are almost always on - balanced mode wtih standard fans. I tried turning off hardware acceleration in Chrome, but that makes the cpu usage to go up. I never had to deal with those settings on my previous laptop which has slower hardware. Should I set Chrome to use the dedicated GPU?

For some reason the GPU core frequency stays at 645 Mhz (not always, sometimes it goes down to 300, but I can't find a pattern). The dedicated gpu is marked as actve in the tray. The GPU itself says 0% in XMG CC.

@XMG, please help when you see this

I haven't even tried gaming... so far my experience is negative.

 

The control center sales the GPU when you are viewing the stats section. Issue is highly likely to be only on your side. I have zero issues with GPU not idling if you properly setup the laptop.

 

What do you mean by "sales the gpu ? I can't translate that.

I've worked on quite a number of laptops and desktops, and honestly I've never had such troubles such as those. I installed Windows Os, installed the drivers in the order listed in the documentation and that's it. I don't have to do anything else on a laptop this expensive in order to get it to "idle properly".

What is the preferred graphics processor on your side?

 

Should be wakes the GPU *

Control center bug happened once or twice after waking from sleep to me. Since new updates havent seen it since. The nvidia control panel settings set to integrated GPU is a must, because some programs trigger dgpu by accident.

 

Fans are almost constantly on even only with Task managern up front. CPU, GPU, SSD usage is at zero, yet fans kick in and blow for 3-4 minutes every 2-3 minutes, this happens with wi-fi off too. Something is very wrong here ( It's not normal for a system at 0% usage to constantly have blowing fans. Ambient temperature is 20-21 degrees. I am using all latest drivers from nVidia and Intel.

 

Its very simple. Fans kick in when CPU temp > 49C. With idling CPU, your temps should be between 30-40C. BUT if GPU isn't idling, so even when it draws like 5-7W from gpu, your temps will rise for both of components. Then CPU will hit 50C and fans kick in. Task manager also can trigger GPU and then it doesn't idle. Only HWINFO doesn't trigger the GPU.

So use hwinfo and check if your GPU is properly idleing with control center closed and properly setup nvidia control panel.

 

Fans kick in way before 49C, I checked, they kan kick in at 44 and at 46, sometimes they would go down at 42 degrees, then I would load Twich.com and fans come back on in about 5-10 seconds, temps go up with 2 degrees maybe. It usually does not go that high *(49 - 50) if only watching a twich stream or a youtube video with a couple of more tabs active. Temps usually hover between 41 and 48. CPU temps almost never go down to 30 degrees, at least I haven't seen that.

edit 1:OK, Installed HWINFO. At first Control Center was using the GPU and it was at around 6W. Killed CC, set Integrated graphics for CC in nVidia Control Panel, launched CC back on. HWINFO showed zero watts current usage. If I run CC to see what's going on, it will show 645 Mhz core frequency, but HWINFO shows zero, so not sure what to believe. From time to time the current wattage will go up to 5, 6,7 or 10 for a second and go back to 0. That's only when I have CC running minimized in the task bar (not tray). Another thing I've noticed is that the gpu performance status varies between two values : p3 and p8. Seems to depend on the current memory frequency, maybe I am wrong.

edit 2: OK, so I've been running the laptop on battery (balanced mode) doing the same browing - youtube and twich. The laptop is behaving very nicely, fans do NOT come on at all times and experience is pleasant. On/off timing is around 2-3 minutes fan on and 20-22 minutes fans off. I need to get that with the power plugged in. Battery life is about 7hrs at 90%.

edit 3: I noticed that I can hear what I believe is coil whine coming from the laptop while running on batteries. As soon as I plug the power supply, the whine goes away. Comes back again around 3-5 seconds after I unplug the power supply. Not sure if relevant.

 

Happy New Year everyone!

I have my laptop connected to an external display via a thunderbolt to display port connection - and it works perfectly fine, allowing my x34p to run at 120hz. And, I have the laptop open and using that screen as well. Question though, in the Nvidia control panel, it shows that I only have one display - my external monitor. And, it looks like all the apps are using the discrete GPU rather than the integrated GPU - even those apps that are defaulted to use the integrated graphics, like my mouse's software, and my keyboard's software for example.

Question - is this normal? Again, I don't feel like it's screwing anything up really. Perhaps my laptop is never as silent as is could be? It runs quiet enough though.

I have all of the latest intel and nvidia display drivers. The latest bios - generally, I think I have most, if not all, of the recent updates.

Thanks in advance for helping me answer my question!

 

if I recall correctly, for this laptop all display output via TB3 to external monitor will always use discrete GPU.
what result do you get at https://www.testufo.com/refreshrate on your x34p via the TB3?

 

OK thanks! Here is what I'm getting for a refresh rate. Everything is working great but wanted to be sure I wasn't missing a setting somewhere.

 

Any owners here want to weigh in on the old MECH vs MAG debate? Eluktronics are running a special where I can get the MECH for $1200 with a 1660 (or $1500 with a 2070), while the best price for the MAG appears to be $1500 for a 1660 (from Newegg).

Looking back over the past few pages here, it seems that there might still be some wrinkles to iron out since the MAG is newer. (The MECH thread is nearing 500 pages now...) If I get a MAG, and make sure it has the latest updates, will it be a pretty smooth experience, or is the MECH more battle-tested because it's older?

 

I'm quite interested in this debate as well

- MAG has Thunderbolt 3 and all USB 3 ports, while MECH has USB-C and one of the ports is USB 2
- MAG uses magnesium alloy for chassis, while MECH uses aluminum and plastic. I suppose MECH feels more robust because of thicker chassis.
- MAG is slightly lighter and more compact
- MAG has bigger battery, while with MECH you can have 2.5 inch SATA drive for extra storage, which was more important to me than super big battery
- MAG comes with bigger and heavier power brick as far as I know, while MECH + 1660Ti can get with super small and light (~0.4kg) 180W AC adapter
- MAG has cleaner looking design. It resembles Razer Balde or MacBook, while MECH looks more gamer-ish, but it's still quite clean
- With MAG you maybe get slightly better factory QC, since Intel put it's name on it, but I think maybe that's because Tongfang as a manufacturer proven itself to be worthy for openly dealing with to a well known brand
- Heatsink and fans look almost the same, probably sound the same and work the same. Maybe MECH cooling is slightly better because of a bigger grill at the bottom, but I'm not sure

I went with MECH and I'm quite happy with it, except the issues with higher C states blocked by something.

 

Hi all again. I decided to test some gaming on the laptop. I am not some hardcore gamer, I mostly play Pro Evolution Soccer. Unfortunately my experience with pes 2019 on the Fusion with 1660ti is really bad. Fans go up to 5800 RPM, I can hear the laptop in the other room. The gameplay was not as smooth as on my Dell 7577 with GTX 1060 MaxQ and i7 7700 CPU. So far I am really unhappy with my purchase and I will be returning it. Too bad, becuase the laptop is really nice, I love the form factor, I love the build, but the cooling at least on my unit is very loud. Try playing a game for 30 minutes with fans blowing at 5800 RPM

 

Just got mine in Maingear Element form and I'm quite happy with it-the chassis rigidity is superb after owning two MSI laptops.

I'm considering getting a thunderbolt dock, has anyone gotten g-sync (specifically g-sync with a free sync monitor) to work with displayport out of a TB3 hub?

 

Or you can get that new MSI monitor with USB type c display alt connector just bought one, arrives Saturday so I can test it

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Hey folks,
I have read that alot of people run their games on Balanced mode instead of the high performance/elektroboost just to keep the fans as low as possible. I know from reviews that the fans run at aprox 52 dB(A) when running stress test and high demanding games. Does anyone know what temps and fan-volume I can expect when running games at balanced mode?

 

For me the laptop runs at 50 dba at idle, fans spinning at all times, no help from anyone so far (will return it next week), if I launch a non-demanding game like PES 2019 I can hear the fans in the other room. On balanced mode I get game stuttering and around 60 dba and on enthusiast mode(high performance) I get around 80 dba and I can still notice game stuttering - very unpleasant experience so far.

 

(Sorry if this is off-topic or not allowed)

If anyone based in the UK is interested, I have a almost fully specced out Eluktronics Mag-15 for sale that I brought back from the states.

Used only for a few days. It's fantastic, but I was trying to transition from Mac and I can't deal with windows - I'm getting a new Macbook Pro instead.

Intel Core i7-9750H (2.6-4.5GHz 12MB Cache)
8GB GDDR6 NVIDIA® GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q
2TB PCIe NVMe SSD
64GB DDR4 2666MHz RAM
Thermal Grizzly Conduconaut CPU & MasterGel Maker GPU Upgrade
1 Year Eluktronics Warranty
Windows 10 Home

Plus you can have a really nice case I bought for free.

£2000 - if you want equivalent specs from XMG in Germany you'll be paying just under €3000.

I'm based in London, DM me for my number, you're welcome to come over and have a go on it

 

I can speak a little about the Mag, although I haven't owned a MECH. This laptop is among the best that I've ever owned, but in the beginning there were quite a few problems, all of which seem to have been fixed (at least for me and most others) with the latest CC and BIOS updates. There doesn't seem to be many more major wrinkles to unravel, but the MECH, as you say, is more battle tested so it will simply be more smooth as most/ all of the small glitches will have been found (although I haven't encountered any in the MAG). Anything that hasn't been fixed by updates has been for themostpart due to faulty parts and, considering how many units XMG/Eluktronics have sold, they are only a small, outspoken percentage. For reference on what kind of user I am, I'm a university student who is pretty good with technology compared to the average consumer (although significantly less knowledgeable than many other users on this site).

I would say to hold off on returning it until @XMG replies to you, unless there is some time limit. They seem to answer people on company time (e.g. not on the weekends), so I assume they'll be active again after the holidays end. Your issues do sound exactly like what many people experienced earlier. Are you absolutely sure that you have updated to CC 2.1.0.19 and BIOS 0058?

 

Jesus, the entitlement.

 

I'll say lol. I think we are just waiting for some updates from Intel (especially those thunderbolt 3 updates)

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Thanks for all the responses, but I'm not sure I'm any closer to a solution. I can get US hardware via APO or buy local in Germany, so my options are (1660 / 2070)

* MAG-15 from Newegg $1500 / $1800
* MECH-15 from Eluktronics for $1200 / $1500
* XMG Fusion for 1520 EUR / 2000+
* XMG Neo for almost exactly the same as the Fusion

If I buy from Newegg I can get a Squaretrade warranty that's supposed to be good anywhere, if I buy from Eluktronics I have to ship back to them for service. But if I buy locally I have to get a German keyboard, which I could change later.

 

@elgreco14 and @eddi3x3x3, why would you say LOL and say I am entitled? I've paid 1500 euro for this laptop and I do expect support and help from the company. So I don't understand your comment, but OK Maybe where you are from, you can afford to pay so much money and not get help or a good item. Fortunately XMG replied, but I will return the unit and not deal with it.

@Helgrinds, yes I am certain I've installed the proper CC and proper Firmware, instrutions are easy to follow. Right now I have the Fusuion 15 sitting in the other side of the room, on idle, with nothing but XMG's software and divers and Google Chrome. I haven't even activated the Windows system this time. The fans are spinning at all times, even if the temperature is below 40 degrees. The laptop just sits there doing nothing, disconnected from the Internet and the fans are spinning for 5 minutes and keep quiet for not more than a minute. According to the CC stats the CPU temperature was raised from 36C to 55C only during Chrome download and installation. Maybe I am incompetent and 20C raise is normal, but I don't find this convenient due to constant fan spinning and noise.

 

I certainly agree that if you have it in quiet mode, especially if it's not doing anything, it should stay quiet. Did XMG not offer a fix? I could understand it being misconfigured but if it's not as easy as changing a setting or two, it's entirely reasonable to be upset.