Clevo P870DM-G Review

nothing to worry about, xtu always shows higher values than u set, even at static voltage. same with haswell, albeit with smaller differences between whats set and whats shown

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Matrix Leader sent me here and there is a lot of great information. However some of the tweaking in xtu is a little beyond me. Granted I have used it before... But wasn't a big fan of having to use it in general.

My question for anyone that has an answer... If I am planning on purchasing the P870DM with 6700k and 980m sli.. Do I need to tweak voltages and such of the cpu? Or am I able to run it stock? Also is the sli worth it vs a single desktop 980?

By not tweaking am I gimping performance? I want to run the cpu at its 4ghz and leave it. I may think of OCing the gpu's but that's all. I do apologize in advance for not being on the same level with this stuff. Thank you all! I am planning to purchase through Mythlogic.

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The chances of throttling below 4GHz are higher with a Dual 980M setup due to the extra current pulled from the 2 cards. We notice this on my system when SLI is enabled the throttling happens more.

Go for a single Desktop 980 GTX if you want less headaches. Also games have crippled SLI profiles these days. Benchmarks is another thing, a Dual 980M will always beat a single 980 GTX but the most important is real world scenarios so I would go for the 980 GTX Desktop version if I were you.

Additionally, a new BIOS is due to be released soon that has an updated EC which will fix the throttling issue so don't worry.

I leave mine at stock at the moment because I am like you, I hate XTU and having to rely on it. It runs perfect and I play some games like Need for Speed Rivals and FIFA 16 all the time with 0 issues. A 100 or 200MHz throttle will not affect a game since it is mostly GPU dependent.

If you live in the USA or Canada, I recommend getting the Eurocom version of this laptop as it will have the PREMA BIOS mod which fully unlocks the potential of this laptop. If you live outside the USA, then I recommend HIDevolution as their warranty is amazing. if you need to send the system to them for repair, they will cover the shipping charges even internationally!

 

I would tweak the CPU voltage. It is a 15-20C difference from stock at load. Just drop offset voltage by about 150mV and you're done. Nothing hard about it. Obviously stress the system for a while before you use it at that voltage offset to make sure it's stable.

 

Amazing review bro.

 

btw how much can go the 980 OC on this laptop...

 

So I was thinking of ordering from Mythlogic actually... That would work just as good? I understand the prema mod bios is much better and was already told go with one of the supported vendors.

And far as the throttling... You said a new bios will be out soon to fix that issue? Also running 2 psu's didn't correct the throttling? With the new bios coming out do you still think I should go with a 980 desktop card?

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Dual PSUs didn't help one bit, they are just sitting there not being fully utilized. It's a crippled BIOS, simple as that.

If it was my money right now after knowing what I know, I would ONLY go with EUROCOM no matter what the price. You don't understand how much better is the PREMA BIOS. Without it, this laptop is a throttling garbage that should've never been released to the public with such a BIOS.

As for the GPU, I would also go for a single desktop 980 vs a dual 980M SLI if I could turn back time.

Regarding the new BIOS coming out to fix the throttling issue, we were just told that by some guy on the forum, when it would happen, noone knows so don't buy a laptop with a crippled BIOS and be like a sitting duck waiting for a BIOS update, you and I know that EUROCOM is the first to get the PREMA BIOS and the first to get all future updates to the PREMA BIOS.

My motto is, if you wanna do something, either do it right or don't do it at all.

 

I don't do GPU overclocking, tried it on my previous Origin PC Millennium desktop which had two GTX 980 Ti in SLI and while the benchmarks and stress tests were perfectly fine with temps around 70C, just watching a movie or doing anything GPU intensive for a prolonged time would cause crashes or blue screens. I have no time to waste on GPU overclocking.

 

I thought the Mythlogic also uses the prema bios?? I am so lost with this purchase because I did so much reading about different things. I don't have anything against going with a single 980 card if you think overall it's going to yield better results for gaming.

I am however still very confused as I spent a good chunk of last night going back and forth from Eurocom and Mythlogic, and was under the impression they both use the Prema Bios. If Eurocom is the only one obliviously I'd go with them.

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where did you read that Mytlogic have the PREMA BIOS? I could be wrong but as far as I am aware, EUROCOM hired Mr. PREMA to make the BIOS for this laptop so they have the exclusivity and make people wanna buy this specific laptop from them as opposed to other retailers. It wouldn't make any sense that EUROCOM would share this BIOS with anyone otherwise the strong selling point which they have about the unlocked performance without voiding your warranty is gone down the drain.

Again, don't take what as I say as a 100% answer I am just talking common sense brah.

PS: As for the GPU, ask yourself this:

1) Do you wanna play games with less headaches than having to hunt for a good driver that has good SLI support? Do you want to avoid CPU Throttling or at least make it less? Go for the desktop 980

2) Do you want to play benchmarks like some of us and brag about your high 3DMark Score and not care about if a game works flawlessly or even has support for SLI? Then go for the Dual 980M

If it was my money, I'd happily sell you my Phoenix and buy a Eurocom Sky X9 with a desktop GPU

 

Well you make a good point so I'm going to do more digging on that one. If it's just them then sure I absolutely agree with going through only them. I just don't want to drop an extra 1000 for almost the same build without being sure!

Going back to throttling and OCing. If I went with the 980 desktop version will I have room to OC it? Or will I have power issues? I'm definitely going with the 6700k as I want the base clock sitting at 4ghz.

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FYI Mythlogic is a supporting vendor and will have the prema bios to my knowledge. No vendor has the bios currently since its still in testing.

Always discuss your warranty options with the prema bios though as in most cases to be covered addition cost will be included for coverage of risk

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i see

 

ah well, any kind of overclocking / undervolting / tweaking needs tedious testing some people enjoy it (myself included), others cant be bothered, cest la vie

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So I just got off chat with Mythlogic. They use a custom bios that is in collaboration with Prema Bios. He assured me I will have a warranty as well.. And that I won't have issues with throttling.

He also recommended going with a single 980 desktop gpu. He was very helpful and told me to submit a configuration for review by their team.

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Awesome dawg! then you get to order the beast that you want, not have throttling issues, AND save a good amount of money.

Early congratz to j00 from the NBR Phoenix Team.

PS: Until I get the Prema BIOS, my Phoenix has temporarily converted itself into a duck...quack quack....throttle quackk....

 

Go to sleep Matrix. Its almost 12 oclock.

 

Thank you very much I'm super excited!!

The only thing I forgot to ask about was the adapter and 2nd psu. They offer that but I wanted to pick their brain on it.

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Unless you are doing some extreme overclocking, it's not needed, it's overkill. The 330W power adapter it comes swith is enough. Hey, not like you can't order another adapter if you want in the future. Keep the cost as a start to a minimum bro

 

So you think the 6700k with 980 desktop card and 330w will have headroom for OCing just the gpu? I won't be touching the cpu clock as 4ghz is perfect for me.

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best to check mr. fox review on the phoenix and/or ask him personally concerning power consumption. in theory u can draw up to 440W from the wall with a single 330W psu before it starts tripping, but it sure is not a smart thing to run a psu at its limit for longer periods of time.

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I don't think I'd do a super aggressive gpu overclock. Just to give it some extra umph. I'm already concerned how far cry 4 and witcher will run on just a single 980. I can't max out either on my 980m without being at 25-35 fps. That's why originally I wanted 980m sli. Hopefully it turns out ok!

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https://biosmods.wordpress.com/2015/10/21/sky-x9/5/ <--

 

Should be really no Problem to run Witcher 3 and Far Cry 4 smoothly on a GTX 980!




Edit: Unless you plan to go 4k. Then a "slightly" OC might be needed!

 

That's just the OC that everyone can try to achieve with the Mods...his "FOX-CLOCKS" are even a bit higher and yet to come...a 6700K & GTX980 can pull a bit north of 360W fully OCed, so one PSU is enough for normal OCs in that config, but I would never go with a single AC Adapter for OCing SLI...

 

FOX-CLOCKS! i like it

 

I know. I did not expect anything else when you have good firmware, hardware and knowledge

 

@Prema This Suits me just fine. Is retired from work. Time And patience is not a problem

 

Looks good but I can definitely see I'll be OCing that gpu! What can you get out of it without messing with voltage?

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You can add the 100-130mhz ish region i believe.

 

What tool do you guys use? I heard EVGA Precision X is bad

 

if ure not planning to fiddle around with voltages, u can use msi afterburner. otherwise, nvidia inspector will give u full control of the gpu without risk of display bricking.
another option is clevo's very own gpu oc app, u can find it in the control center installation folder

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ohhhhhhhhh thank you so much!! I heard people saying that the new Control Center has that OC option and I looked everywhere, installed diff. versions, with no luck, never could've imagined it was buried in the installation folder!

+rep to j00

It shows one GPU, I don't know how to make it show the 2nd GPU, SLI is enabled

 

@jaybee83

Ohh I found another version of the tool, it's called GPUOCv2.exe

That one has the option to choose which GPU you want

 

yes, i forgot to mention that there are two versions, no. 2 is the preferable one, since it gives u a sli option and also full control over ram clocks

btw, whats the version number on your control center?

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My hotkey version seems to have only the first one.. There is no 2nd one... What hotkey version are you using with ZM Jaybee???

 

Thanks for the tip, just wonder why it doesn't show up in the control center already

 

my thoughts too, if it weren't for @jaybee83 , I would've never even thought to look in that folder or even imagine that such tools even exist from the ODM.

 

I just wished the fan control was for each individual side (they seem to use the same values however set) but some addition control is better than nothing.

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I have always had great luck with MSI afterburner. Love it and it's very user friendly imo!

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MSI Afterburner voltage control doesn't work, There is no voltage control on the "GPU Overclock" tool either it seems so its back to nvidia inspector or precision X.

 

That was for if you don't mess with voltage

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Why would one not do that

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I thought Matrix Leader didn't want to. I probably won't at first either. I'll up the core by 100 or so and see how I fair. I am getting the extra psu and adapter which Mythlogic said will work for pushing it further. So eventually yea

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well at first i was using an inofficial beta version provided by prema, now im being sneaky and just steal off other models, such as the P7 DM or the phoenix

anyways, im currently using version 5.0000.0.24 and that version actually shows a shortcut to gpu overclocking under the gaming section

i would generally recommend being on the look out for new versions of Clevo software such as the control center, airplane mode, etc. when new clevo models come out. more often than not, it does actually work across models!

same goes for the soundblaster software for example, ive already read reports of the MB5 working on the ZM models. come to think of it, i should test it right away

 

Control Center v5.0000.0.32 for Windows 10

Control Center v5.0000.0.35 for Windows 7

 

Can you please do that? Let me know how it goes

 

will keep u guys posted in the batcave