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

Same. The 1660ti is bad compared to a 2070, I wish I had gone for the 2070 MaxQ but I was short on cash at that time.

 

Jarrod's tech tested the vapor 15 1660ti vs 2070, and only had a 13% improvement across various games. Not really worth it imo

1660ti is best value for 1080p gaming

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk

 

DLSS and Deep learning acceleration is worth the 200-250 price difference. But XMG's ridiculous price difference of 475 was just milking it.

 

True, I guess it depends on what you're looking for, but 475 is wayyyy too much imo. If those features were really important to someone, then they should wait for ampere GPUs to drop.

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk

 

Hello there, I had the same problem and ended up returning my unit. Were you able to solve it? Now I'm lookin at the Fusion 15 again, but I am curious if the same problem persists. Even in silent mode I had the fans blow for about 4-5 minutes, keep quiet for max of 2 minutes.

Question to the XMG users. Did you get the bios/software update where you can:

quoting B0B below
We can change the GT and GTU voltage offset as well.

The Power Mode can be set in the BIOS too.
“Performance”
“Balanced”
“Battery Saver”

We can change the minimum fan duty cycle from 30% to 25%.
We can enable and disable passive cooling mode.
Enable and disable Speed Shift.

 

Hey guys! How's going?

Well.... I just discovered a barebone pc manufacturer in my country which is using this TongFang QC7 chassi.
I've read all these 201 pages in this topic yesterday and some stuff has come to my mind.

I live in Brazil and this manufacturer doesn't explicitly say anything about "Overboost/EluktroBoost" (I know these labels can change based on each manufacturer, but my point is: there's nothing mentioning in the product page anything about "extra power / extra performance".

But from what I've read, XMG said here at least twice that this laptop will have this function regardless because of Intel

So if I buy this laptop here, how can I test if I have this feature indeed?
Usually stuff that come to my country have parts modified to lower the costs, so I wanna make sure I'm having the same performance as any other QC7 laptop sold around the globe.

Oh! And besides that.... if in the feature I need a battery replacement, can I order it from other manufacturer? Like XMG, Eluktronics, and so on? Or those manufacturers only sell parts to their customers?

And last but not least, what is the current best BIOS and Control Panel for this model?

And just to make sure, can you please take a look and see if this laptop I'm talking about is indeed TongFang QC7?
Link HERE

Thanks!

 

1. I could be mistaken (someone do correct me if I am wrong), but this feature you speak of sounds like the Benchmark Mode mentioned a few pages back? It can easily be enabled by modifying the registry to enable the option in the Control Center.

2. I'm not certain about the battery orders. My brand of the QC7 is XPG and I hope they offer the battery for sale if ever I need to grab one. Perhaps other users/companies can weigh in on this and advise you accordingly.

3. The current BIOS and Control Panel depends on which company is selling the laptop in my honest opinion. XPG currently doesn't offer a BIOS update on their drivers page, but their Control Center (called XPG Prime) is at version 2.2.0.8. The Intel page with drivers for the laptop though has a latest BIOS version at v0120 and a Control Center at v2.2.0.18. Intel further differentiates the laptop by 4 models: LAPQC71A, LAPQC71B (which uses the Creative Sound Blaster Drivers) and LAPQC71C & LAPQC71D (which uses Sound Research Drivers for Intel).

4. That does indeed look like another TongFang QC7. Which selection are you going for with the Avell brand (Essential, Expert or Pro)?

 

Nice!

I'm asking this because usually replacement parts are damn expensive here. So I still prefer to import small parts if needed in the future.

Yeah, I know that. But in this chassis, since Intel is kind the one behind the development, all bios and control panels are exchangeable. From what I can see, XMG is by far the most interested manufacturer in the project, they usually are the ones posting here stuff and helping everyone else. If I could I would definetely buy from them, unfortunately that's not possible because of customs duty.... Considering State Tax + Federal Tax, I get over 110% of customs =(. I really would like to support companies that indeed work together the customers, but in this case I'm unable to provide this support.

Hmmmm. Is there a way to get this info from my local manufacturer (besides software differences)? I don't know if they would provide my this kind of info, but I can give a shot and ask them tomorrow.

I would probably get the cheapest one, Essential. Since I have knowledge to upgrade it, if needed in the future, I could easily import parts and pay less them paying this premium they ask for upgrades.
So I would stick with Essential and get no Windows licence (I don't mind having a non-activated Windows). Perhaps I even try a dual boot with Linux, since I usually take care of many servers running CentOS and I usually need 3rd party apps to run ssh... Running Linux I could just use the native terminal .

 

Since I'm unable to edit the first post (probably because of anti-spam in this forum), I will just rephrase the last part:

I would probably get the cheapest one, Essential. Since I have knowledge to upgrade it, if needed in the future, I could easily import parts and save some bucks. My currency is worthing nothing this year, so as much as I can save at this time will be better. And 512GB/16GB is plenty for my daily use.
So I would stick with Essential and get no OS install by default (I don't mind having a non-activated Windows). Perhaps I even try a dual boot with Linux, since I usually take care of many servers running CentOS and I usually need 3rd party apps to run ssh... Running Linux I could just use the native terminal .
Since I'll be the one install Windows, I think it's easy in this laptop to get all drivers and run everything as supposed, right? A friend of mine got a "dual gpu" laptop a couple years ago and he fresh install ed Windows and couldn't get this discrete gpu to work as intended. Although Windows was able to identify his GPU, any game he tried to run was using the integrated Intel HD Graphics . I don't know if after some months he was able to fix that.... It's weird in this case because his laptop part number has no product page and he couldn't get the proper drivers and softwares.
This would be my first high performance laptop, so that's my only concern right now. I don't think I've to worry about that, since some guys here have done a fresh install and got everything working as expected, and for this laptop there's plenty support online, since it's a global chassis (pretty much like a global car, like VW Golf).


Oh! Since I'll be using this in a Office open to the public, and Brazil is clearly not known for being the safest country, I'd like to remove all brand related logos in this laptop. I think the top lid is just a sticker that I could remove using a dental floss and someone here have posted. I'm just concerned about the branding in the keyboard. I think XMG said it comes from the ODM with UV printed. Is it possible to remove this branding in the top left on the keyboard with some chemical stuff without destroying the painting and the chassis itself? Does anyone here have tried something and succeded?

 

in Windows run msinfo32 system model will be LAPQC71A (1660ti) or LAPQC71B (2070 MaxQ)

 

Can someone test something for me;
Cold boot Windows make sure that you're not running any MSI Afterburner, ASUS GPU Tweak or throttlestop. Run
XMG control center (I am on version 2.2.0.16) turn on benchmark mode(in the power settings tab), leave it running
Block ears
Run a benchmark, note the score
alt+tab back to XMG control center and turn off the benchmark mode, again leave it running
unblock ears
Run the benchmark again and see if you get the same result?

 

Sounds good grabbing the Essential package! Where drivers are concerned you shouldn't have any issue with a clean install. You should be able to use the drivers and software supplied by XMG or Intel. Ah the branding removal is beyond me, I believe I read where there are different stickers you can get for the lid. For me I'd avoid trying to use any chemicals on such a nice chassis.

 

Hey folks, I know it's been addressed before, but having no luck getting Soundblaster Connect working on my new Vapor 15 Pro. Was informed by Aftershock that the device is no longer support by Creative? But haven't seen that elsewhere. I've tried all of the guides on the XMG discussions but the Connect app either never downloads or, when installed manually, is blank with no options. Any advice would be great!

 

Hi ryajso, if you're willing you can try the Creative Soundblaster drivers on the Intel download page. Just use MSinfo and locate your Baseboard product to know the correct model to look for (see attached image). Here's an excerpt from the download page:
"The Creative Sound Blaster* Application for Intel® NUC 9 Extreme Laptop Kits-LAPQC71A and LAPQC71B provides additional sonic controls for speakers, headphones, and microphones.
After you've installed the Sound Blaster application and EQ and you connect to the Internet, the Sound Blaster Connect application will be automatically installed from the Windows Store*."

 

Hello everyone, been a long while since I visited this forum.

I saw people online discussing using Project Aurora with the Fusion 15 from XMG, is that possible with Eluktronics MAG 15 ?

If so, does anyone has a tutorial on how to set it up ? I've downloaded the latest version but I'll admit i'm having trouble. Thanks in advance.

 

It seems to be in development but they need Intel approval to release it.
A couple posts before they have mentioned it, I'm not sure how it is today though....

 

I have also been trying to get Project-Aurora working but with no luck.

From my understanding there should be support for it?
At least if you look in the in the release notes for BIOS 0114 and the release notes for Control center

I've got it working with a PS4 controller but not with the built in keyboard of the laptop...

 

Project Aurora works really well on my Maingear Element 15.

You need to allow it to take over your keyboard’s lighting in Control Center.


It’s in beta support for the QC71 but so far any bugs are momentary. I’ve only noticed some overlays stick, but go away when triggered again. Probably just my layer setup needs tweaking

 

I know. I've got the Aurora Switch checked. But for me nothing gets initialized.
I can see in the preview that Aurora gets the input when I press a key, but the actual lighting on the keyboard doesn't change at all. It's just a solid color.

 

I would check in with their discord, as they are actively looking to improve integration.

 

Btw, does anyone have any picks or videos of the repaste process for the QC71B (RTX 2070) model specifically? I seem to have misplaced a thermal pad and am now experiencing thermal related crashes. Just want to make sure I’m covered everywhere I should be.

Cheers!

 

Avell has just released Control Panel 2.2.0.19 for QC7:
http://drivers.avell.com.br/driver/DRIVERS_MUV/A60_MUV/10controlcenter.zip

No clues what changed. My laptop hasn't arrived yet.

For more content (maybe something else have been updated), you can check here:
https://avell.com.br/drivers/

In "Modelo" type in "A60 MUV"

 

Thanks!
Actually found the same question in their discord and got it working! You need a .dll file and an other build to get it working on some qc7 laptops. It's flickering a bit. But I'll check with them in their discord if they have a fix.

 

Anyone get dpc_watchdog_violation blue screens? Normally I would dial the undervolt back a bit but google tells me this one is related to SSD drivers.

 

I had this error with my Desktop. It was not related to SSD whatsoever.... For some reason Windows Update got a new driver for my Intel Ethernet adapter and something was broken with that update. I just had to go to Device Manager and rollback to a previous driver.

But in short this error is usually something related to drivers, not necessary SSD or ethernet adapter.

I suggest you to download WhoCrashed and run it. It will read all dumps from windows folder and get you an idea what is happening.
Just make sure when you get a BSOD you let Windows finish the diagnosis and reboot itself, otherwise you may not get the dump file and you will be unable to understand what is happening.

 

Thank you, I will install that and see what's up. I filed a support ticket to eluktronics so hopefully they can give me some pointers.

 

Well turns out the issue was related to my soundblasterx g5 drivers and is a relatively common issue, which is a bit unfortunate.

 

Hi everyone,

Aftershock vapor 15 user here

Anyone having trouble having the laptop supply power to the left USB port in S4/S5?
It's plugged into the power adapter and hasn't been set to any battery saving modes...
I can't find any option in the bios, to my knowledge it should supply power even when off given it has the battery symbol next to the port?

Many thanks
Mika

 

Hi everyone,
I just have an idea with using Hyperjuice usb-c charger with PD 100W-20V/5A to charge the Mag-15. I saw on Tom reply on Reddit about
90W Universal Adapter can charge the laptop while in Power saver/ Balanced mode. Is it poossible?
I am trying to find an usb-c to barrel connector (5.5 x 2.5 x 12.5) but still no hope for the thing.
Thanks,

 

WoW, that's actually a pretty good idea. I've seen some people converting barrel plugs to usb type c, but never come to my mind to use in a laptop.

5.5mm x 2.5mm seems to be pretty easy to find. Only the length is hard to find since most product pages never mention the actual plug length.
Aren't they supposed to be in a standard 12.5mm?

In AliExpress I found this adaptor:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33034965138.html

While in Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/Female-Rectangle-Charge-Laptop-5-52-5mm/dp/B08331ZNTP/ref=sr_1_5

 

Hey Tom, if this is the case, what does QC7 represents?
QC would be the Category/Segment, but what about the 7? Since this is not a 17.3' display, I guess 7 here means RTX 2070?
I guess the 1660TI version would be: QC5CP6?

 

Just tried, with my mouse and it works when the laptop is in sleep state but not when it's in a off state. Had to unplug and plug back in, which is odd cause the old work dell laptop used to charge stuff even when it was off.

 

Hello man, your Avell A60 MUV arrived to you?

 

Yup.

 

Im from Brasil too, can we speak in private?

 

Find me in Hardmob forum, there's an exclusive topic there to speak in Portuguese about this Avell A60 model.

 

Can you send me a link?

 

Hi I have been reading these forums a bit for the last couple days. I see that not many people have mentioned the Cyberpowerpc variant. The Tracer Evo III 200. I was wondering if anyone had experience with it because I just purchased it. I have been trying to get the battery to last me in the range of 6-8 hours on battery mode. I am gonna attempt to test it today as I have been doing my best to update it since I've only had it for a week. I downloaded the latest BIOS from Intel, updated most of the drivers there regarding sound, chipset, wifi, and so on. I was wondering if anyone knew if this variant the 1660ti was able to go past the 80w. I hadn't realized that the Mag-15 had a physical mod to their boards or at least thats what I believe they do. So I just was wondering if anyone has had success in that scenario. I am happy with the performance regardless but was just interested in hearing what other people have achieved if anything on that end. I also am aware that software doesn't monitor if the wattage is increased so I wouldn't really even be able to tell except perhaps by seeing performance increase on benchmarks and what not. Anyway I have enjoyed reading others posts.


Edit: So for my battery woes I think I have solved it, the dGPU gets activated or stuck active on whatever and it will drain the battery. Making sure that nothing is keeping the dGPU awake solves my battery problems. Then my second question regarding the power limit of the 1660ti remains. Just curiousity is all like I said the performance I get out of the GPU is pretty good, however knowing that there is some performance left on the table irks me a little bit knowing that it could technically go up to 115w. I assume that without the shunt mod this GPU won't surpass 80w. Which makes me a bit sad but for a laptop it already performs I believe better than my desktop GPU which currently is a Nvidia 980 lol. Hoping to get that upgraded with either a 3000 series or an AMD 6000 series GPU.

 

As long as you stay below 75 degrees c on the GPU the laptop has a pretty open PL(power limit), from testing with a powerpoint power meter I'd guess that the GPU's limit is 110-115watts. Just turn on benchmark mode in whatever control center that you have, keep the GPU thermals below 75c, if the fans are annoying you then make sure that you're in Enthusiast, turn off benchmark mode and enjoy the higher PL's without the fans at 100%. (You need to turn on benchmark mode for awhile and then off to get the best out of the laptop unless you don't mind the fans at 100%)

Note that I don't have access to a 1660ti version to test at the moment but I am assuming that it's the same as the 2070. Also software reporting of GPU wattage on most laptops is broken, so don't believe it.

 

Not sure if anyone has been asking for this but http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/tongfang-gk7cn6s-gk7cp0s-gk7cp7s.825461/page-54 is a working fan controller for the QC7, I have only just loaded it and it seems to work although it's a bit slow to ram up fan speeds when I was testing it in fixed speed mode.

 

Did anyone notice that the latest bios removed the ability to change the power limit of the GPU from afterburner?

 

Hello everyone! Has anyone had a problem with closing the lid doing nothing? It is configured to Suspend when I close the lid, but when I do that nothing happens. I have tried changing the closing lid action to Hibernate, but it did nothing.

I use Windows 10 Pro 2004, and my BIOS is at version Intel - 1072009 - QCCFL357.0048.2019.0808.1937.

[EDIT]: Problem solved. It was the flat cable responsible for the lid sensor that was poorly connected. Here is the post at XMG subreddit that solved the issue: https://www.reddit.com/r/XMG_gg/comments/jnn9md/fusion_15_not_suspendinghibernating_when_closing/

 

Never saw that ability sadly how did you activate that before?

 

Funnily enough, as one of the peeps that initially reported about the beginnings of the TongFang barebones "revolution" (I own - still do - one of the first CL/1060 GK5CNs posted about over here), I'm only now on the cusp of finally getting myself a QC7.

Yeah, a bit late to the party but hey, late adopter discounts.

That is, IF I can snag this ONE remaining highly discounted barebones unbranded CL-R/2070MQ unit being sold over my local web-market when the date shifts to 11.11.

Wish me luck, coz I'm probably gonna need that unit to Cyberpunk later this year (provided CDPR doesn't pull another fast one on us).

Quick question tho, does the XMG/Intel BIOS and CC offer the same Charge Limit settings the EL one does? Coz TBH, it's a pretty important thing to have considering I've already lost my GK5CN battery ONCE already to bloating.

(Also considering that I'm probably going to have to hunt for BIOS updates and Drivers by myself in the dark, looking at the rather spartan nature of the outfit I'm getting that particular unit from)

Imma thinking these TF li-poly pouches REALLY hate to be kept constantly at 100% or something.

 

I managed to get the order through... Here's hoping I don't get a lemon (and I don't end up regretting it).

 

Answer is yes, you can change the charge limit and yes if you don't use the battery the constant charging wears the battery pretty quickly

 

That's nice to know. Still awaiting delivery of my white label QC71 though... Had the luck of ordering right at the eve of a big local holiday so it's an understandable delay. Again, really hoping I don't win the lemon lottery coz... I really don't want to deal with the kinda shifty-looking aftersales the folks I got it from seems to have.

(Yeah it was discounted enough that I ended up risking it anyway lol)

Also, having gone through the entire thread, it seems to have been a heck of a ride for you guys. A lot of notes were made and a lot of screenshots have been taken.

That said, anything that I ABSOLUTELY have to check once I get my unit?

 

Anyway it's HERE. I nearly got a heart attack when I got it out and saw a bit of a gap of the bottom cover near the LED bar (same thing I remember some website getting)...

... but getting the bottom panel off (and back on) quickly fixed that and now it's rock solid with minimal gaps.

Also, for a system advertised as having "FreeDOS" installed, it had a fine unactivated copy of Win10 Pro pre-installed anyway into that XPG SX6000 that comes with the thing.

Like, I don't think the reseller ever even took the thing out for any checks lol. Was probably a straight shot from TongFang's factory into their warehouses and to me.

Unfortunately not much time to check besides giving it a quick once over and booting it up (was getting ready for a grocery run when it arrived). I finally get the whole "loose touchpad" thing now though, in my case it only really happens when you tap HARD on it.

But eyyy gon do the "fix" on it anyway later when I put my SSD and RAM in.

Also wondering now if starting from zero with my new SSD is gonna be a better idea VS just cloning the install that's already there and simply using my Activation on that (I have a Win Pro copy all ready and waiting).

 

Okay, another update now that I've done all the initial setting up.

Have been running a -120 UV (on BIOS) all the while from the very beginning and my - lets just call it "QC71" - has been nothing but an absolute peach. Finally decided to start out from absolutely zero on my Sammy SSD (and put the XPG on "media" duties, and followed the driver installer steps as outlined. Besides NOT finding SB Connect anywhere (except for XMG's driver site, and the bloody thing is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY considering the puny speakers on this thing), everything proceeded without any drama.

Also, a shout out to @elgreco14 for that thing with the thermal pads and shorting SSDs. I haven't experienced it myself but have pre-emptively put a bit of 0.5mm thermpadding on the SSD cooler plate, just in case. Have been pressing the spot indicated afterwards and no shorting.

For one thing, after using it for a bit more, I can say for sure that I can live with the keyboard on this thing a LOT more than the one on my old GK5CN/Neo15 (updated Browns). Maybe its the layout (surprisingly, I don't really prefer numpads after all), or maybe it's the relative stability of the keys... but yeah I'm noticeably more productive on these.

Haven't yet had the time to game on it though, still busy getting it "done" for daily use.

 

Alright, a few days later update and my unit has... still not been giving me any issues. Rather, it's been pretty much the most satisfying TongFang chassis I've used so far.

For one thing, it has been as stable as a rock. Zero bluescreens from the very first day (unlike my old CL/1060 GK5CN or even my girl's brand new Ryzen GK7NP5R).

Also, there's like only ONE very minor panel alignment issue (discounting that gap thing on the first day), and even that was just me being overly anal (my GK5CN had its fair share of these).

And the keyboard is actually NOT regularly making me miss (or repeat) keys (the GK5CN did this with both the "original Blue" keyboard and the "updated Brown" one). That clickpad is also responsive and just about the right size for heavy gesture use (and thankfully mine doesn't wobble, it only rattles slightly when tapped very hard).

It also games like champ, as long as you remember that it's not a thick fat desktop replacement and tune your expectations accordingly (and use GPU Tweak if you REALLY need the power).

Finally, the fact that I got an un-customised INTEL boot logo is just plain cool TBH. I have plans to edit it and make my own but dang, it sure looks nice as is.

If not for very slight LCD bleed (which I can live with), the puny speakers and the rather dated components... this thing would have been a total home run in my book. Getting @Prema's custom BIOS would be nice too, if it wasn't Intel-prohibited.

It's still a pretty solid hit as it is though, and hopefully Intel continues making more of these Whitebooks (yeah I saw that Tiger Lake one they just launched so there's hope yet).

Here's a shot of my fully set-up QC71 just doing it's thang:

Spoiler