TONGFANG GK5CN5Z / GK5CN6Z / GK5CQ7Z / GK5CP0Z

Thank you for the reply. I also saw a few other users reporting this issue but can't find a solution. A chinese website discussion says it's a system bug that counts NVIDIA GPU idle power as CPU uncore power. It all seems normal when GPU is in use, but when GPU is not in use, it decreases the CPU preformance.

 

I ended up making an AHK script to get the F1-12 keys back after I hard modded the Fn key. Just remove the .txt extension so it becomes: fkey.ahk

For anyone who wants to reverse the Fn key action, this seems to be a pretty good workaround.

Hard mod the Fn key by removing the keycap, taking the switch out, taking the switch apart and removing the spring. OR Remove the keycap, remove the switch, wrap a little scotch tape to hold it down, and punch the 4 holes out so the keycap will go back down. Removing the spring allows you to easily pull the key back up if need be.

Now that you have easy brightness/media/LED control, you will want easy F1-F12 function. How the script works:
` = toggle hotkey (only while held down) - It still functions normally for typing and the number keys function normally for typing too.
1 =F1
2 =F2
...
- =F11
= =F12

This setup gives me what I have been looking for since I got this laptop. I would still like to figure out how to make the keyboard back-light turn off after 10 seconds of inactivity, but I'm not sure that is possible. I think GamingCenter would need to support hotkeys.

EDIT:

I added a little extra functionality to the script in the 2nd file. It adds:
\ = Screen OFF - So hold the ` and press \ to just turn off the backlight for the LCD. Useful to save battery or just cause you don't want it on
Ctrl+\ = Same as above, just press `+Ctrl+\ with it to lock the PC and turn off the LCD.
t = Active Window Always On Top - If you use Linux you miss being able to set a window on top at will. You can set the window back to normal by doing it again.

 

Thanks for all this info. Don't know if you've looked into it but MyApp has a similar functionality to what you're looking for, but i think it triggers after 5 mins of inactivity. Just in case you want to check it out.

 

Yeah, I like MyApp, except that it was getting flagged by anticheat for some reason.

 

Does someone help me to create a script for the undervolt every time I turn on the pc? The values would be, -135, 45w and 50w.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...-under-volt-in-xtu-without-opening-it.802143/ This is what I use with XTU.

 

anyone have success with hackintosh on this laptop like the opencore bootloader?

 

I do that with Throttlestop, theres a guide that you can google, something like "running throttlestop when the device starts" should get you where you need to go.

They way i did it was setting up a task everytime my pc boots up, but you need to setup certain settings on the task scheduler that i cant remember right now.

 

@B0B shows you how to do it with ThrottleStop here:

 

i repasted with CM Mastergel 2 days ago and ive seen some important temp degradation already, possibly due to pumping, right? started with 65-68W 100% load on just the CPU getting up to 70C now its up to 80 and a bit higher even, with balanced settings/gaming fan speed (so auto, not max)

i have my undervolt setup on TS and i purposely extended turbo tdp to 70W and long term turbo to 60W to allow the machine to fully stretch its legs/warm up.

AIDA64 CPU/GPU(both integrated and the gtx 1060) combined benchmark goes right up to the point of thermal throttling at 95C (up to 97C on one core) when the CPU boosts to 67W (which is about its limit ive seen on my laptop). When long term boost kicks in, at 55-60W, my clocks go way down to 3,5-3,7Ghz from 3,9 at 67W (and 3,3-3,4Ghz when the iGPU is tested aswell, which is understandable since it draws power from the same place as the CPU)

Anyways, i think this is all a sign of pumping and im wondering if there is any way i can apply the CM Mastergel thermal paste better. I did a reasonable dot on the GPU and i did a spreaded line on the CPU. Im thinking that it could have been too much paste, and ive read somewhere here on notebookreview that the paste could dry out or oxidize or sometthing if its edges are overflowing the cpu/gpu???
im at a loss, i mean, the thermal paste itself is very thick, tohugh not as much as ive read IC Diamond is, and the amount i put really isnt that much, maybe a little bit more than needed but ive seen so very many people say that its better to put more (since the cooler will only fit whats enough between it and the CPU/GPU anyways) than put less and have parts of the chip naked...

just in case someone asks, i bought the paste last week and it wasnt old at all, and in my country (argentina) its impossible to find anything other than mx4 and artic 5, apart from this one tube of Mastergel that i spent 2 months looking for (and the company that imports it doesnt use nor sell anything else, ive asked...)

edit: Also, if there isnt anything i can do without using another thermal paste, then ill try to record for a couple weeks how much temps degrade and then repaste, and record it again for a couple weeks. that way, at least we can get some knowledge out of how bearable or not it can be to have your paste pump out. i wonder if maybe temps will stabilize at a worse level but a stable one at least (maybe 80-90C on combined load with stock GPU + undervolt + 50W TDP on the i7?)

 

[wrong thread but still applicable to the 1060gtx 15.3"]

Just played some Battlefield V with Ultra/High and RTX ON on the OP-LP3 (1060GTX) no problemo. Obviously not 60fps, but 30-40fps easy. To play around with specs, I reduced texture quality to medium and terrain detail and it's very very playable.

TBH, givent the weak game support of RTX, I'm definitely less eager to upgrade to the RTX line of things.

 

Nice. Have you noticed a difference in temps in-game? And, more importantly, did it drop your framerates?

 

People have had the most success with either gelid extreme or ic diamond here. What I did to prevent pumping over the CPU was to spread a thin layer of paste in the middle, taking a shape 2/3 of the size of the die itself. That way, when the heatsink was clamped down, the pressure caused the paste to spread just enough towards the edge to cover the entire die.

 

I need to sit down and do some tests. I did run cinebench R15 for a quick test, and FPS was the same. I don't remember temps right now.
What games do you think I should test?

 

Maybe this kind of testing has been done before, I have not looked into it, but would be curious to know. To get a repeatable test it might be best to run 3DMark Timespy and compare framerates and temps.

 

I've been gaming a lot on the laptop and my temps are good when under load (about 70C max when playing for hours). But my problem is that I noticed that my fans never run at max speed. The only time I ever hear the fans at max speed is when I open Gaming Center and I manually turn on the Turbo Mode fans under the Power Settings. My question is, should I turn on the Turbo Mode fans everytime I start up a game? Will doing this decrease the lifespan of my fans?

 

OK, I just ran a few tests with HT off/on. HT is better for sure, but I'll have to keep using it in some real life to see differences. In these tests, it don't see any advantage to turning HT off, so that might just be the general conclusion here.

 

What fan mode are you using? I don't use turbo mode really. I don't really want to hear them screaming if not needed. You also don't need to open gaming center since you can just press the button to enable turbo mode.

Those are good temps though without needing the extra fan speed. Are you getting the performance you expect? Have you used Throttlestop to make sure your system isn't throttling? Of course there is no need to do that if you are happy with it now anyway.

 

In the system dashboard, I'm using equilibrium mode all the time. I think the button for turbo mode next to my power button doesn't work because the only way I can turbo my fans is by manually turning on turbo mode in the Gaming Center. The button only switches my PC from Office mode to Gaming mode (im not even sure what that does).

Also, my Gaming Center runs on startup. Is this fine or is it safe to not run it on startup?

I'm definitely getting the performance that I expected. I just played a few hours of Dota 2 and my temps maxed out at 64C at max settings. I have the machine undervolted with TS.

 

Do you have the 17"?

 

Yes. Mech-17 G1R from Eluktronics. i7-8750h and 2060

 

Ok, that probably explains the differences and the better cooling. Yeah, you want gaming center running at startup. I don't think you have any issues.

 

Have one of you guys tried a graphit pad on the CPU/GPU in stead of paste?
I have a Clevo P970 atm that I will return (because of screen issues) and I had choosen this option and it workes pretty well.
Under heavy gaming (Far cry 5) I reached max 90 degrees on CPU with fans at around 50%. At max fan, the CPU was around 80 degrees and GPU (RTX2070mq) around 71. CPU pulled constantly 42-45W and GPU was at power limit. So it was quite good.

The biggest benefit is that you never have to exchange this, it will last the life span of the laptop. Quite a difference if you suffer from pumping out.
Be aware, this is conductive and needs to be placed correctly.

 

I want to upgrade to dual channel ram in my OP15+ and I'm thinking about these two ram kits:

1. https://www.amazon.com/Kingston-Technology-HyperX-HX432S20IBK2-32/dp/B01N2VUOBJ/
2. https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Memory-2400MHz-SODIMM-CMSX16GX4M2A2400C16/dp/B019MRBKYG/

Does anyone have experience using either of these two ram kits in the OP15+?

Also corsair says that despite their ram only being clocked at 2400mhz vs the kingston's 2666, the corsair ram can auto overclock to match the fastest speed available on the platform.
Does anyone know if this is true / works correctly on the OP15+?

 

Good prices there on either RAM. I don't have experience with the Corsair, but the HyperX is great. Probably worth getting something you know will clock up to 2666Mhz. I'm actually selling my old 2x8GB 2666Mhz ADATA kit now, though it's CL19. If you're interested let me know. @MuzzleFuzzle

 

I was curious how those pads would perform. Their prices are reasonable compared to paste on Amazon. Although, I found some GC Gelid on Aliexpress for much lower prices and shipping was within a week. Will try it out this weekend if I can get the stripped screw off.

 

Make sure the Corsair one is compatible with 8th Gen because the description doesn't say... All I've seen on here is great reviews with the HyperX but I'm still using the original 16gb stick that shipped with mine.

 

Theoretically Kingston’s ram has the same auto overclock feature as the corsair, probably using the same method with xmp profiles. In practical I have a Kingston 2400MHz kit that stayed at 2400Mhz in my GK5CN6Z, probably because the stock bios isn’t compatible with the overclocking feature.
Then I installed the modded bios with the unlocked advanced menu and I was able to manually overclock my ram (not with presetted xmp profiles) to 2666MHz using the same timings as the factory 2666MHz Kingston and it’s working good, as stable as without overclock. Don’t know where and if it’s true but I’ve read that the 2666 kingston is basically a 2400MHz ram factory overclocked.
Anyway In your case I would probably take the Kingston kit because it’s factory 2666MHz and should run at that speed, in my experience the auto overclocking feature of the Corsair wouldn’t work on this computer.

 

I've been trying this for a week now (the hard modded way). It's so convenient I'd suggest it being included in the main post @Blebleuh @sicily428

 

Carbonaut pads finally got an Amazon page, still unavailable to buy though. Hopefully it's the solution for those of us with uneven heatsink contacts or pumping out problems.

 

e

 

In stock at Walmart again but at regular $1300 price.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/OVERPOWE...256-SSD-1TB-HDD-16GB-RAM-Windows-10/510869060

 

I just wanted to report back since I posted this a while back. The IC Diamond is awesome. No more pump out. Temps seem better than after I first applied it, which I assume is from it settling in. I HIGHLY recommend this for anyone having pump out. I'm pretty happy now.

This was after multiple runs of 64, 256, and 3x runs of 1024, the same thing I did originally, so I think it is a pretty good comparison.

Max core temp 75 here compared to 88 with pumped out Griz, and 79 max temp after first applying IC Diamond.

 

Thank for reporting back. Are those temps after some heavy gaming sessions? 74 max is great if it is.

 

@B0B's awesome review of the next evolution of these sku:

 

No, they are after running multiple TS benches the exact same way as before changing TIM so that I had a good reference point. Different games would stress in different ways, so I used TS bench to simply check CPU heat.

 

Just makes me sad I can't get this in the UK

 

As long as this flies under the radar I know of another vendor that’s going to be releasing this modification. But I do not think that’s going to help you out. But, perhaps this is something that can be a feature later on throughout many of the sellers of this particular chassis.

 

I wonder if Walmart/OP will ever offer a new laptop, and if so with the boost.

 

Overpowered has updated their support page and it looks like some new drivers are available. I haven't compared any versions to see which, if any, are new. Look here:

https://www.opowered.com/support.html

 

I've found on Mechrevo's site under Z2R's driver the new version of gaming center showed in @B0B 's video.
It's called GamingCenterU and as version 2 of GC works also on older models (I'm testing it on my GK5CN6Z).
Functions are almost the same as always with a redesigned interface ( @B0B 's video shows them well), the only minus I've found is the keyboard backlight menu is a little bit buggy when trying to create multiple profiles. It's also missing the division between battery mode and plugged in mode so I still need to figure out if it's possible to have this types of profiles.
In terms of performance it seems lighter and a little bit less RAM consuming, it's also much quicker to auto boot after powering on the pc. CB scores are almost the same as previous versions.
It's possible as always to customize the installation to have a non-branded version, as I did, changing icons with the standard GC2 icons and modifying the setup file. In orther to have a full STD version you have also to modify the language file (json), same method as for the setup file. In case needed if you provide me a drive I can upload my already modified version.
Hope other vendors will publish their version of GCU to find out if there is one with a less buggy backlight menu.

 

Mechrevo is Tongfang's direct seller I believe. It could be that the "buggyness" is related to the differing hardware involved. I noticed this when comparing the old software MyApp with Control Center: the color reproduction was different between the two, sometimes quite inaccurate with the older software.

I will try out the new Gaming Center on my laptop when I get a chance. If you want to upload your modified version to Google Drive or something similar, I would be interested in trying it. @stesteste

 

If I'm not wrong the myApp software was designed for another chassis and it works also on ours while this GCU is for the same chassis, just with a newer CPU and GPU, so the keyboard and the rest of the hardware should be the same and in my opinion should work good. Could be useful if @B0B or anyone with the newer config could give us a feedback.

Here it is https://drive.google.com/open?id=144sDfC-NGVyx9S6vIG1tXiqxzZIlNYQz @Installed64
If @sicily428 want to add it to his MEGA and add it to the first post it's ready to use.

 

The original Mech 15 (different design completely) used myapp and works with the 8th gen. Not sure on 9th. My review units have been wiped clean and packed up ready to be sent back otherwise I’d have a go.

The Eluktroboost is tied to the Turbo profile and what use to be the dedicated fan button now cycles through all three power profiles.

The previous Mech 15 G2 had that button strictly for max fan. But another vendor had their setup similar to what I reviewed so who knows.

 

All:

Frustrated by the utter lack of tone / equalizer controls in the standard RealTek audio driver for my Overpowered OP-LP2 laptop, I went here:

https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/downloads/ds029024

- and downloaded and installed the 2013-vintage Lenovo Thinkpad RealTek HD Audio driver (the very first one, at the top >> gga109ww.exe << ) for Windows 7/8/10 64 bit, and it works perfectly. Not only does the 10-band equalizer (31Hz - 16 KHz) work perfectly, but all sound effects/enhancements/Environments (Auditorium, Studio, Hallway, Theater, etc.) work as well. Loudness compensation works. Headphone / Speaker auto-detect works. Also, Windows Sonic (Spatial Sound) for Windows 10 (which shipped standard with my OP-LP2) works perfectly. 100% compatible. No hangs, glitches / blue screens, reboots, or conflicts. As a matter of fact, I'd say my system is running quite a bit smoother. Just install it right over the existing driver (don't even bother uninstalling).

Yes, I'm getting only DirectX 11.2 sound from October 2013 (everything else is DirectX 12), but I couldn't care less. Vast improvement in my overall Overpowered Experience®, and am immensely satisfied.

(no untoward effects, such as raised noise floor, crackling, hissing, excess CPU / core spiking, nothing).

Also, if you opt for this solution, don't be unnerved when you do the install the first time, your system restarts, and then the RealTek driver install window pops up again on your desktop when your system starts up - this is by design - 100% normal behavior (I remember this on all my Windows 7 & 8.1 PCs - just go with it, click "Ok" again etc., and let it do its thing). It'll finish. I rebooted one more time (my OCD kicking in), system came up fine.

Also, I tested Overwatch, Battlefield V and WoW - they work fine running DirectX 12 video with DirectX 11.2 sound drivers. No issues.

Good grief, music streams & HD audio content sound so much better than before...like they've had a veil lifted off them. Clarity and punch are present for the first time (I use Audio-Technica ATH-M50x phones).

Now the trick is to figure out a way to stop Windows 10 from trying to "Upgrade" this driver.

That's right - THIS Realtek HD Audio Manager:





ps - APO Equalizer is a PITA - more trouble than it's worth. Nothing but hassles.

 

Hey boidsonly - just an FYI - I got fed up with ZERO tone control / ZERO EQ on my OP-LP2 laptop's audio....so it was time for some drastic measures (I go into more detail in separate post here).

It involves a 2013-vintage Lenovo ThinkPad Realtek driver (along with the Realtek HD Audio manager). SPOILER ALERT: Works perfectly. As in: 100%

 

Hi, I own the GK5CN5Z but i have a problem since a few months
Indeed, the backlight does not work.
I try to reinstall the drivers and windows withtout success and I can not reach the seller site support,
would anyone have a solution?

Thank you in adavance

 

Had the same problem here.. had to send it back, now it’s fixed.


Verzonden vanaf mijn iPhone met Tapatalk

 

Had the same problem the second time I powered up my laptop (GK5CN6Z) after receiving it several months ago. I opened it and the backlight wire was not perfectly in place. I had to properly plug it in correctly and my keyboard backlight work since this moment

NOTE TO PEOPLE WHO CARE: I'm aware of the few updates that happened during last weeks (bios mod, new drivers, new laptop versions, a lot of troubles...), I will try to update the mega post sooon.

 

I was full of hope when I saw your post, as I am experiencing random audio crackles and kind of very short slow downs (audio pitch goes lower of about 1/2 tone for less than half a second) since a few weeks and was not able to find any solution yet. (see this post for more explanation and troubleshooting of my problem).
So I downloaded your advised driver, and the automated process began (installing some first stuff into C://DRIVERS/WIN/AUDIO/, unstalling previous Realtek HD, rebooting, then installing new old version of Realtek HD Audio drivers), but I'm facing an error code 0001 just before the end of the last step and the installer quits. Even if those drivers did not properly installed, audio is still working as before (with random crackles and artifacts).
I guess my last hope is to make a clean install of Windows... Annoying considering the lot of stuff I have to reinstall and set then :'(
Now my experience with this laptop is weird : I boot to macOS if I want to work on audio stuff or look at video/movies without my external sound card, and reboot to Windows when I need the wifi or the dGPU... It's a lot of backs and forths during the day ^^

ANd sorry for the double post :3