TONGFANG GK5CN5Z / GK5CN6Z / GK5CQ7Z / GK5CP0Z

This is what I found in the BIOS folder after downloading the 10GBS driver files from the Overpowered support page. I noticed that there is only one batch filed there. Will this F batch file only upgrade my BIOS or both my BIOS and EC? Do I just need to run the AFUWINx64 application to start the BIOS update process?

 

I must be behind the times because I've never had the need or the opportunity to use USB-C. Is there a problem with USB 3.0 speeds? On the other hand, I have two 24" displays ready to plug into the conveniently placed mini-displayport ports in the rear. There's no way I would ever complain for the pricing, even less so had I purchased the OP version.

I wish the keyboard had better response, but I concur with another reviewer who said it's not a big issue since this is not their work computer. I, too, am using this machine for personal uses and don't need a top-notch typing experience. Now sure, it stinks when you miss the occasional jump in-game.

 

The link below shows what combination of BIOS and EC are best for performance and which are the best for battery life. In addition, Blebleuh has done us a great service and has complied a plethora of useful information regarding the GK5CN models including but not limited too: a link for GK5CN videos, link to buy a bigger battery, how to fix keyboard issues.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/tongfang-gk5cn5z-and-tongfang-gk5cn6z.815943/page-109

 

Your link is wrong for the video. It keeps reloading this thread.

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The link is a post on this forum that contains the videos on the GK5CN laptops.

 

I think I am going to flash my BIOS and EC to BIOS 1.03 and EC 1.29.29 by XMG as it provides the best battery life.

Edit: Just checked to see what EC version I have installed from the factory. I have 1.33 installed. I can't install EC 1.29.29 now. Feels bad man

 

You can flash a lower Bios version. The EC 1.33 has an Nvidia GPU performance improvement

 

Oh snap, Linus Tech recommends this laptop! Be prepared for many more people to purchase this once it’s back in stock!





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That ship has sailed - I don't think it'll ever come back in stock, at least not at $799.

 

Oh snap, he's a little late to the party.

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Well, hold time for Overpowered tech support is over 90 minutes and 30+ people ahead of you! They must only have a couple people working there. This does not bode well for future tech support access....

 

Hello all,

I kinde new here. I got my GK5CN6Z e few days a ago but cant get usd to the ketboard layout. Das any one know where i can get a spare keyboard with the US type layout currently got the UK layout.
ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_and_American_keyboards

kind regards
Sander

 

Hi there,

I just let you know that I updated my mega post with last informations I saw here in the last days. Please pointe me out the ones I missed !

NEWCOMER ? It's a nice starting point

( @sicily428 maybe you can update the copypasta on the first page ? Or more explicitly give a link to the actual post ? thx )

 

Ok. So I finally got through to tech support. I indicated I had a problem with the wifi (made up - I wanted to see how they would respond). If you have a problem with your laptop they are currently directing you to Walmart for an exchange or refund do the extended exchange/return period - they would not offer any tech support outside of offering drivers/bios updates. Apparently they are not set up to do repairs at yet. I asked what will happen once the return period is over and the tech indicated laptops could be sent in for repair at that point. It also sounds like Walmart is pretty involved with this company. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

 

Very scary to hear. I hope their recent success allows them to expand more and focus on a tech support team. They have the right formula in terms of pricing and build going for them now, however everyone needs some sort of comfort in knowing they’re going to be there to support us if something messes up.


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Does anyone know if you can raid1 the nvme SSDs or only only sata disks?

 

I was also thinking about a little portable wireless keyboard and mouse combo. I'd be curious about what some folks have found are good. This might be worth an extra thread.

 

So I just added dual channel RAM and a WD Blue 1 TB SATA M2 SSD to my $800 Overpowered laptop. Looks like there were only 2 SATA ports available that are taken by the standard drives. Can I remove the conventional Hard Drive and have the 2nd M2 slot convert to an open SATA port? Or do I need to just buy an NVMe M2 SSD and place it in the 2nd slot? It looks like Linus said that the 2nd slot needs to be NVMe.

 

You will need an adapter - something like this might work:

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...Kn4Ukq8iy-4S2yabYqUaAhb8EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

Decent deal here for a 1x16gb 2666 stick of crucial ram that should work for dual channel - use code save20 for 20% off - ends up being around $100:

https://www.rakuten.com/shop/thekeykey/product/210507/?sku=210507

There is also an additional promo for $30 back in rakuten points if you use a mastercard for your purchase.

 

“You heard it here first” he says! (Linus Tech Tips). Well ignorance is bliss. At least he’s honest about the chassis but barely gives it any credit except for its low price.

 

I've had my OP-LP2about 10 days now. This is definitely the deal of the year, in terms of price/performance. Thanks to @Bob Of All Trade for being the first to provide in depth reviews on this OP line of laptops.

I pulled the no name goldkey RAM and replaced it with 2x8gb sticks, added the Adata XPG SX8200 512gb NVMe (as my boot drive) and replaced the HDD with a 960gb SSD. I repasted per @Bob's video and couldn't be happier. Puts my Dell XPS-15 9550 to shame.

I hope Walmart picks this ball up again and allows the rest of the lately interested folks to enjoy what we are experiencing right now. The only downside I have experienced is OP's support. It takes 3-4 days to get a response; sounds like it consists of one guy that answers emails during his lunch break

Interesting thread-I started at page 275 and read forward from there.

FWIW, here are the CrystalDiskMark numbers from the Adata NVMe. Damn good for the price...

* MB/s = 1,000,000 bytes/s [SATA/600 = 600,000,000 bytes/s]
* KB = 1000 bytes, KiB = 1024 bytes

Sequential Read (Q= 32,T= 1) : 2837.464 MB/s
Sequential Write (Q= 32,T= 1) : 2253.397 MB/s
Random Read 4KiB (Q= 8,T= 8) : 1302.968 MB/s [ 318107.4 IOPS]
Random Write 4KiB (Q= 8,T= 8) : 865.443 MB/s [ 211289.8 IOPS]
Random Read 4KiB (Q= 32,T= 1) : 375.904 MB/s [ 91773.4 IOPS]
Random Write 4KiB (Q= 32,T= 1) : 296.807 MB/s [ 72462.6 IOPS]
Random Read 4KiB (Q= 1,T= 1) : 53.409 MB/s [ 13039.3 IOPS]
Random Write 4KiB (Q= 1,T= 1) : 102.210 MB/s [ 24953.6 IOPS]

Test : 1024 MiB [C: 8.3% (39.7/476.3 GiB)] (x5) [Interval=5 sec]
Date : 2018/12/24 22:11:53
OS : Windows 10 Professional [10.0 Build 17763] (x64)

 

How is the battery life of Mint compared to Windows 10.

 

I like the Oh snap fanboi comment... Same comment was left on the slickdeal conversation thread... Oh snap!

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That was me, on here and on there. It could be perceived as fanboy, if that’s how you take it. If any large youtuber endorses such a deal, it is a huge validation and actually helps us long-term as well. It will bring more customers and it will most likely help with future of the company, support model etc. It’s a big win-win situation.


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Like I said that Large Youtuber was a little late to the party... oh snap!

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True but kinde defeats the purpose of a thin and licht das it. My HTPC got a logitech K400 its a good keyboard and has a touchepad.
https://www.logitech.com/en-roeu/product/wireless-touch-keyboard-k400-plus

 

OP updated. check it

 

Agreed! But personally I can’t live with a touchpad. I’ve got to have a mouse for the large majority of my tasks. It’d be impossible to recommend any one mouse and/or keyboard without knowing the user’s preferences though.

 

Just want to let you know that German company MEDION (now a Lenovo daughter) has published the Medion Erazer X6807 a few weeks ago, which is as well technically identical to the N6Z. It is available in Switzerland (several online stores), Spain (via Amazon) and other european countries.
I bought two of them for my wife and me two weeks ago.
Prices are very competetive compared to XMG Neo and Co, but still far more expensive than the ridiculously cheap Walmart offer (too sad, I paid twice their amount, but in Switzerland even that was a great deal).

 

I tried searching this thread but didn't see the answer:

Why am I getting an error when trying to install nvidia drivers that I downloaded from nvidia's website?

 

Use GeForce experience and you will not have an problem. I ran into the same thing. It appears to be a windows version issue.

 

So what's the final verdict on returns? Not that I would, I think $799 was a cheap enough price point for me to decide to keep it. But I still haven't sold the original parts just in case.

Is it 15 days, or is it the extended period, which is by 1/10/19? My 15 days is already up which is why I ask.

 

Yeah, that worked out. Thanks!

I was going to exchange mine since the display had bad light bleed. I took off the bezel and messed with it, and it seems acceptable now.

Anyways, I used the walmart app and started a return before I decided to keep it. They sent me an email telling me to bring it in by Jan 20. But maybe its different if you need a refund.

 

Could someone explain the return policy for walmart?

 

It's pretty clearly laid out here: https://help.walmart.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3228/~/returns,-replacements-and-refunds#R1 ... the only question was whether electronics (e.g. laptops like this one) are still 15 days or if they are extending this "holiday return policy" to this category as well.

If you're asking in terms of defects/support, it seems OP is just asking users to return/exchange at their nearest Walmart. Not sure what will happen after return period is over.

 

Could you explain how easy it is to take the bezel off (is it just using a plastic lifter like on thick bezel laptops)? And the screen is just held in place with a few screws? I was under the impression that the bezel maybe had been glued on.

 

@XMG do you guys have extra stock of the higher capacity 4 cell battery? Haven't seen it in stock at the aforementioned places for about a month now since the last mods were done.

 

It's easy to take off the face of the bezel, but once that's done, it does look like it is glued or maybe double-sided tape to the back. I was able to side a folder up paper behind the screen a decent amount, but I'd have to spend some more time messing with it to find out where it is attached. It doesn't have a interior metal frame, which I guess is all part of what helps it stay thin.

 

Has there been any noticable benifit from updating the bios over what came from the box?

 

Thanks, good to know!

 

Anyone have a source for a spare power brick (180w) for the 15+? Are there any out there?

 

I have updated my system to 1.05 BIOS and EC 1.35.09. I'm trying to dial in my ThrottleStop settings. I have a fresh install of Windows, fully updated. I'm still on the single stick of factory RAM.
I'm just testing with TS Bench to see how my clocks behave and what my temps get to.

I tried installing the Control Center, but I noticed it was really limiting my clocks on every setting. With it installed I only get a 28 multiplier during TS Bench. When I uninstalled it, I get a 39 multiplier for most of the TS Bench test. It drops down to 35-36 around the 75% progress mark.

Has anyone been able to get 41 multiplier during TS Bench? If so, what were the settings?

 

Anyone try this Hynix ram for $105 (CL19)?
https://www.amazon.com/Timetec-PC4-...45955286&sr=8-8&keywords=16gb+2666+laptop+ram

 

Please understand that this "OP" brand was nothing till their insane price cut and my content. Small team, new product with bad press so far...then WHAM! They probably sold thousands in a mater of days.

 

I tried all sorts of BIOS and EC and the above average Joe wouldn't tell the difference.

 

I'm still loving my OP15+. I just have the i5 GTX1050 model, but hey, this was a very easy purchase this year at $499.

Eventually I'll drop another 8GB DIMM into this - but for what it's worth this is a steal for an average "power" user. I'm a programmer, modeler and CAD/GIS guy, and this is a nice buy.

2cents. PS - They're back in stock...

 

Well got my Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut in and after 6 minutes temps are 89C when running Aida64. (Well 1 core hit 91, 1 is 90, 3 are 87, 1 is 84). Fan speed is turbo. Room temp is 19C.

I used the Articleaner and purifier to clean the cpu/gpu and heatsinks.

Edit: Hit 90C after 10 minutes (91C after 12 minutes). Dropped voltage down to -.139 and temps hitting 90C after 17 minutes. CPU mhz is jumping between 3688mhz and 3792mhz. Odd that Core 2 is hitting 90C when Core 5 hits 81C.

So yeah, should of left the original paste on.

 

How are you guys applying your paste?

Temps were all good here

 

Exactly like you did in your teardown video. Although the GPU is more rectangular since it is a 1060 instead of 1050 so did a line there too instead of a dot.
GPU is at 74C so that is fine.

What are you getting for temps on the i7-8750H when running Aida64 Bob?