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

As long as you haven't busted your Control Centre install, yes just tick the benchmark box, put on headphones and enjoy the POWER!!!
Benchmark mode max's the fans and doesn't adjust the power limits once you start getting close to the temp goals/limits.
The temp goals are pretty low on this laptop, remember this isn't actually meant to be a 'gaming' laptop, just a high spec.
Higher temps = shorter life

 

Assuming youre running it 24/7 at high loads which is unrealistic for a laptop, shorter life is like 7 years vs 10 years before a capacitor stops working and even then the laptop will still work, it just wont overclock as high/ undervolt as low on the gpu and cpu respectively.

But if you just enable benchmark mode when gaming or benchmarking and switch it back to regular mode for other stuff, it'll be obsolete long before it breaks. Heck, even if you run benchmark mode 24/7 it'll last just as long because no real use case will stress the laptop long enough to noticeably reduce the lifespan of the laptop. The only thing that'll break would be the fans from spinning at 100% too long.

So unless you run benchmark mode and use the laptop for mining cryptocurrency 24/7 it doesnt affect longevity in any practical sense.

 

Apart from capacitors you can cook an NVMe drive as bottom is a heatsink for the m.2 slots, GDDR6 runs hot you could cook that to and you will dry out your thermal paste faster. But yeah running hotter will shorten the life of electronics. I don't know anything about; your settings, your config (eg what NVMe drive you have), the temp where you live or how you game eg in your bed or on your lap. So I suggest that you do some research rather than listening to 2 random dudes on the internet who may or may not own the same laptop as you.
But as @seanwee said your probably fine but understand the risks.

 

As another random dude on the internet with a MAG-15, I don't believe the situation here is as clearcut as 'running the device above manufacturer specifications.'

My understanding, and reading of the tea leaves here, is the following (based on seemingly informed individuals and my own conjecture based off of these bits of information that make sense

• Intel partnered with Tongfang (and by extension Eluktronics, XMG, Aftershock, and others) to create the QC71 chassis/design.
• In the design, Intel elected and Tongfang acquiesced, to limit the NVIDIA GPU to 75 degrees Celsius, which is under the manufacturer's maximum thermal limit of 87 degrees
• It seems this was done to ensure that the Intel CPU, which shares heat pipes with the GPU, would essentially get thermal priority and be less likely to throttle based on excessive use of the GPU.
• Unfortunately, in most gaming scenarios, this means that a heavily utilized GPU would be throttled at 75 degrees while the CPU might still have plenty of headroom.
• There seems to have been some requests by the vendors to remove the thermal limit (or adjust it) above the current 75 degree limit on the GPU, but Intel has not allowed this to happen on this chassis. (Note - other similar chassis not built in partnership with Intel have freely set the thermal limit on the GPU well above 75 degrees)
• As a workaround, enabling Asus Tweak along with Benchmark mode affords users the ability to run the GPU above Intel's required GPU limit more in line with other laptop designs.

I'm pretty sure I've got this right after about 8 months of experience with the laptop, forums, YouTube videos, and my own fiddling with this device (QC71B - MAG-15). Other than finally exceeding 75 degrees with the 2070 Max-Q that's in this chassis, I haven't noticed any ill effects when it comes to the rest of the thermals in the system nor hitting any true new thermal challenges when it comes to the CPU (let alone the memory, NVMe SSDs [I have two 2TB Intel 660p's populated], etc.) Of course, I won't know whether I'll need an earlier re-paste until longer into the lifespan (only a stock paste on this device bought via Amazon).

Hope that helps even though it does involve some conjecture on my part. I'm sure there are others that might be better informed that are welcome to validate or poke holes in any of the above.

Thanks to everyone on these forums for keeping me informed on the options to utilize this device differently and I've been mostly pleased with the MAG-15 (still trying to wring out battery life on this thing when I'm just 'doing work').

 

What is the increased performance when you are running the thermal limit at 87C? With thermal limit at 75C, my 1660ti will steadily draw 95-100W in performance mode.

 

You'll be able to get up to 115w. Note that software like HWInfo won't be able to measure that increase, but I think you already know that. It should be able to go to 1800mhz when unlocked, given that you can keep it under 87.

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Hi guys,

we are proud to be the first Intel partner to release the latest BIOS for XMG FUSION 15.

BIOS 0118 from August 11, 2020

BIOS 0118

• Fixed: An issue with the DmiEdit tool.
• Updated: BIOS functionality so that the BIOS can only be updated via the power cord.
• Added: F8 recovery functions.
• Fixed: Issue whereGT/GTU prefix showed the incorrect sign.
• Added: Solution for DPC error when running LantencyMon

Touchpad Firmware Update Rev. 25

• Improved responsiveness of Touchpad under certain conditions
• Click here for discussion thread

Please let us know if you find any other changes or if you have any issues with this update. We are looking forward to your feedback!

// Tom

P.S.: we also have a new thread with a collection of resources, tips and tricks about Linux on XMG FUSION 15.

 

Hey has anyone been having a crash/blue screen problem? Specifically when playing games. I just thought of it now but it was after i updated to the last bios and some other driver stuff.

 

Have you undervolted it more than the stock 80mv?

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Yeah it's 120 mv. But it was stable from when i got it last year until around two months ago. Then it stopped and started again this week.

 

Apologies for the late reply but I can't really answer that question as I don't undervolt my CPU. Both my CPU and GPU are at stock settings. Actually just my CPU, I've raised the temperature limit on my GPU to 87C.

 

I no longer have Benchmark Mode on my 2070 Mag-15. Is this right? I saw on the latest B0B video that his Control Center still had Benchmark Mode as an option. For reference, I am on the latest Mag-15 BIOS and control center. Would love to get this mode back if possible, or at least understand where it went...

 

How long does the BIOS update take, and is there any point where the laptop turns off for a long time? I'm updating to the latest version right now, and the laptop turned off for a good 10 minutes. I thought it finished and I had to hit the power button to turn it back on, but I might have screwed it up and interrupted it by doing that, because it definitely won't turn back on now. Also, I uninstalled control center and restarted before installing the new BIOS, would that break something?

I'm afraid I bricked it. What should my next steps be?

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I literally just fixed this!! Set BenchmarkModeSupport to 1 and restart the Control Center.

 

Do we still need asus gpu tweak to increase the gpu temp limit?

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Yes

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How useless... I wish they would just give us a small temp limit increase without this whole song and dance. Or at least allow the Intel CPU to pull less watts in balanced mode to give gpu more headroom. My system has had SUPER consistent fps as long as I don't install throttlestop or Intel XTU. Undervolted in bios with -0.100 with no issues but without any power limit controls for high combined load scenarios this laptop leaves me right at the edge of perfection

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I actually like the 75 degree limit as I usually do things/play games that are more CPU intensive, so turning the GPU up to 87 actually hurt my performance

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It should be dynamic. Honestly if throttlestop didn't hurt my fps stability and had an API to work around, I would have made a script to look at what apps were in the foreground and change the power limits based on my own profile per app/game. Not everyone plays CPU intensive only and not everyone has GPU only tasks either. How sad

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Yeah being able to choose the limit thru BIOS would be awesome. Except I can't do anything now because I think I bricked mine. Time to email Eluktronics I guess

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This was what I needed! Thank you!

 

Anyone facing BSOD due to -
Stop Code: STORE_DATA_STRUCTURE_CORRUPTION

On Microsoft forum, this is mostly due to bad RAM stick. Did anyone face the same?

 

Can somebody send a closeup picture of their CMOS battery connector? You just need to take the back panel off and it would really help me out

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have you tried memtest86? download off https://www.memtest86.com/ and build a USB boot stick and it should be able to help you see if your RAM is bad

 

Intel has some nice instructions on recovery https://downloadcenter.intel.com/do...71A-LAPQC71B-LAPQC71C-LAPQC71D?product=196640 but I am not sure what a BIOS security jumper is

 

Thank you very much, I believe it's that jumper towards the bottom right of the board, idk how else to describe it

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are you able to post a pic of your own and circle the part that you need?

 

Never mind, I found it from a screenshot. For future reference, it's that little white plug with twisted red and black wires coming out near the battery.

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That is correct. It is next to the M.2 drive slots. My CMOS battery was underneath the system battery and motherboard with the wires snaking around to plug-in connection on the accessible side. I yanked it out and moved the coin cell battery to the same side as the M.2 drives so it was easier to unplug.

Depending on what you set that soft-bricked it, disconnecting the CMOS battery and main system battery might be enough to revive it. If you went crazy changing settings with an unlocked BIOS you may have to use an SPI programmer and BIOS chip dump to resuscitate it. I've had to do that a few times on my MECH-15. Test, brick, flash, test, brick, flash. Life is good with an SPI programmer. With modern UEFI cancer firmware, life sucks without an SPI programmer and a BIOS chip dump. In fact, it's like playing Russian Roulette.

That is really good information. Intel does a much better job of designing laptops that most of the popular laptop manufacturers do. That is extremely unfortunate considering that the latter have a whole lot more experience building laptops than Intel and yet they still can't get things right.

Edit: In fact, the BIOS recovery process may even eliminate the need for an SPI flash recovery. The competition needs to pay attention... very close attention.

LGA, BGA... either one... This is how things are supposed to be. Clevo... pull your head out... an inexpensive turdbook is making you look really stupid in the firmware department.

https://downloadmirror.intel.com/29792/eng/Whitebook-Aptio5-BIOS-Update-Readme.pdf


@Papusan @jc_denton

 

Yeah having an SPI programmer seems like it would be real helpful. I tried resetting CMOS, doing the Intel fix, and no luck, so I think I bricked it pretty good. Thankfully I got my data out into my old np8651, and I'm still in warranty so I'm sending it back. I'll tell you guys how that experience is

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How do you get it to work? it never would increase my temps to 87. Maybe it did like once or twice right when i got it but then it would then either cap at 75 or maybe 82 max

 

Well you have to be running Asus GPU tweak in the background, keep in mind this will keep ur dGPU active so it'll kill your battery life. Then, activate benchmark mode, and you should be able to go past 75C given that you aren't being limited by the CPU or iGPU. For example when I'm playing Minecraft or csgo, the 1660ti isn't actually at 100% because those games run at such high framerates that it's being bottlenecked by other things.

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You asked for feedback I went from 114 to 118(LAPQC71B), followed your instruction ie apply BIOS, reboot, factory reset BIOS, reboot and reapplied my secret BIOS settings. Ran my normal benchmarks and the frame hangs are gone, 1% lows are much better and while it was benching like a fast 2070 Max Q before it's benching just that little bit better now. I didn't check the temps as I wasn't actually expecting much. I'll do some more mucking around, eg check temps and actual real work tests but so far very good.

 

Here's my customer service experience

On the 12th, I tried to update to BIOS 0116 from 0064, and somehow the machine got bricked. I had it plugged in to a reliable power source, it was a full battery, and I didn't stop it prematurely. At the end of the process when it should've restarted, it turned off and didn't come back on. The only sign of life was a dim white LED in the power button; no fans, no display, nothing. I tried the intel recovery, and nothing changed. Resetting the CMOS didn't help either. So, I shipped it back to eluktronics. For anyone who needs to go through something similar, a few things that might help:

1. Calling them is infinitely better than email. They always picked up immediately when I called, but email and support tickets tend to take a while (supposedly due to people spamming them for status updates on their orders).

2. The support people are helpful, and they sent me instructions on the intel fix, resetting CMOS, etc.

3. Depending on your timing and your ability to negotiate with support, expect between 1 and 4 weeks without a computer. They told me their turnaround time was around 3-4 weeks, but I got mine back a bit earlier than that. That being said, I think I just got lucky with this, so do not expect the same turnaround time that I got.

4. You are allowed to take out your storage without voiding warranty, so I would highly recommend cloning it with a tool like macrium reflect to an external drive before shipping your laptop back. Another option (what I did) is to take out your drive and just store it safely. When they sent me back a laptop (with no drive) I just put it back in and was good to go immediately.

All in all, I'm extremely happy with how things turned out. Their support was helpful and responsive (when calling) and I got a laptop back pretty quickly, so I have no complaints.

 

Just purchased an Eluktronics MAG-15 2070MQ | 32GB RAM, I have a couple of questions. I've heard MSI afterburner causes issues with this particular laptop is this true? Also, I heard the battery was taking a hit after a BIOS update is this still an issue?

 

Never tried using afterburner on this laptop, but u haven't had battery life issues. Just make sure you don't have things open that are accessing the dgpu. You can check that thru hwinfo, or turning on a system tray icon from Nvidia control panel that shows when the dGPU is active and what's using it. I prefer the second option.

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Hey, another Xenia 15 user! I'm loving the laptop as well! From reading through this thread it should be ok to use the drivers and so on from XMG. Since the available drivers for the Xenia 15 is outdated on XPG's product page I use those supplied by Intel and run XPG Prime CC software. Intel has an update out for the jumpy trackpad along with XMG (since you're using their drivers). Good luck!

 

Thanks for the reply! I have already returned my unit a while back but I hope your unit is working well! I'm now looking to buy a cheaper brandless unit from one of the Chinese suppliers (~$900) and I'll see how that goes. Cheers

 

I have a similar setup to you I haven't had issues with MSI afterburner, other than it's really hard to get better performance out of the video card. Whoever tuned this laptop in the factory did a really good job. I only ever managed to get better temps and frequencies but it didn't translate into improved fps.
As @StormFalcon said battery life can take a hit if you have a driver or a background process either vampire drawing and stopping the dGPU or the CPU from sleeping. I get 5-7 hours on battery depending on the workload.

 

Maingear is offering the QC7 with the "Super" GTX cards:

https://maingear.com/product/element-stage-2070-super/

I suppose this means all the other resellers will start offering these in the coming months

 

Has anyone tried gaming on 1440p with this laptop and getting decent fps? I am trying to decide whether I should get a 1080p or 1440p monitor.
If you play on 1440p, have you been getting an average 60 fps on medium quality settings?
Also I have the 1660ti version.

 

Depends on the game. Personally, I'd go for 1080p 144hz instead of 1440p 60hz

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Aftershock is also offering the 2070 Super version now

https://www.aftershockpc.com/welcome/Productinner/vapor-15-pro

only 2 configurations on offer - 2060 and 2070 super (does not state wattage), original configs (1660 and 2070) no longer offered

 

Thanks for sharing. Any clue as to what went wrong? Or some coinciding hardware related mishap?

 

Honestly, I have no idea. I was plugged in and had full battery. I was the first person to experience that, so right now all I can say is that I got unlucky.

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Thanks.
Also, anyone having any battery draining issues after updating post BIOS 64 actually?

I'm usually in the not-broke-don't-fix-it camp but that battery management actually looks useful! Of course I found some reddit mention with a few guys going back and forth NOT to update because their laptops had noticeably more drain after updating, believe it was 114. But I don't see any mention of 'battery drain' issues mentioned in 116 or 118 change logs, so these guys reporting a 'one off/god knows what's wrong' or is there something here that looks more like a wider spread issue?

 

Not sure if it's widespread, but for me my battery has stayed pretty much the same. Are you running background things that ping ur dGPU?

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Not that I realise)

 

Wish the 2060 was the base config it came with...mine's a 1660ti. *sigh*

 

1660ti 115w that Eluktronics offers beats most 2060s which are usually 80w iirc, so I wouldn't be too down about it. The chassis can't really handle all that much more thermally anyways

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