*** Official Clevo PB5xExx(-G) Owner's Lounge ***

I think that’s a good upgrade. I’m personally not going to repaste unless I really have to. I don’t feel comfortable doing anything other than the ram and SSD upgrade. I was fortunate that MC did the ram for me for free.

 

The average GPU clocks are around 1500 MHz, boosting to around 1800 MHz during Division 2 benchmark. The temps reach around 73C. I tried to overclock GPU by about 150 MHz, the clocks were up to 1650 MHz with max boost reaching 2000 MHz and GPU temp increase to 74C. The benchmark result I got with overclocked GPU was 94 fps, I don't think overclocking really worth it in this game. I have not tried Metro Exodus yet.

Edit: I just ran Forza Horizon 4 benchmark at Ultra mode. The GPU got to 81C and CPU got to 97C. I definitely need a repaste for both of them.

 

My average stock temps in Forza were 81 on CPU and 76 on GPU, but this was gameplay rather than the benchmark, though I can't imagine that making much difference in temps. I'll run the benchmark when I get home and see how it compares to my gameplay temps.

You should see my earlier post for temp comparisons. ( http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...-g-owners-lounge.826810/page-37#post-10900155) My repaste was with Coolermaster as opposed to Kryonaut, since I just could not get good results with it for the life of me for some reason. I would expect slightly better temps with a good Kryonaut repaste though.

 

I ran Forza Horizon 4 in "Ultra" serting with frame rate and Vsync disabled and "Dynamic optimization" setting also disabled. I also used "Performance" mode in Clevo Control Center so if you will be testing it - make sure to select that.

The whole benchmark seem to put more utilization to both GPU and CPU compared to Division 2, which is actually pretty good since it makes it more useful as stress test.

 

There is a spike at the beginning while it loads the benchmark that shoots the temp up to 90 for a second, so that's probably the max your seeing. Not including that my average temps are around 80 on both CPU and GPU. In-game my free-roam temps are both about 75ish, during a race, they're both around 80 like in the benchmark.

 

Maxes are not much use these days, the steady state clocks/temps tell much more the story of what your experience is like.

 

I just re-ran it and watched graphs in HWINFO, the CPU still produces lots of spikes between 80C and 90C, gets more hot at the end of benchmark. That's still a little too hot, I think I will also repaste it with CoolerMaster paste - from what I've read it also includes diamond particles but it's easier to spread than IC Diamond. I don't expect a huge difference but should be better than stock stuff.

Also, I just ran Metro Exodus on Extreme setting using the benchmark tool. The FPS is definitely not playable but just something for anyone curious. The GPU and CPU stays pretty cool during the run and overclocking GPU by 150 MHz only gives about 2 extra FPS. Not a lot of reviewers test Metro Exodus but Jarrod does and the result I got is pretty much similar to what he got in test with Razer model with 2080 Max-q:

 

Is repasting really necessary for the 1520 & 1720? Getting kinda spooked from all the temp scores here >.<

 

Most gaming laptops with the 8750h are going to be more or less the same. These seem to be on the better end of that spectrum. I would repaste any 8750h regardless of the laptop, or at the very least undervolt it.

 

So just to follow up from the previous discussion, I finally decided to return the 1520. Like @Ashlander, I decided the consistently high temps (>90C) were a sign that something was very wrong.

When I brought it back, the local MicroCenter finally had the 1720s in stock so I took one of them in exchange. I was hoping that the larger chassis might improve cooling.

I have some preliminary measurements on the 1720 from Forza Horizon 4 on Ultra settings. These are all with stock paste, no propping or other airflow assistance, and Performance mode in the Control Center. The CPU/cache are undervolted by 125mV with Throttlestop. I did not adjust the GPU voltage or GPU clock.

"Better performance" on battery slider:
CPU average / max: 78 / 84
GPU average / max: 76 / 77

"Best performance" on battery slider:
CPU average / max: 91 / 96
GPU average / max: 80 / 81

Overall, I am much more comfortable with these numbers than my 1520 numbers. Then again, these numbers are pretty close to what @Ashlander reported on a 15", so I'm not sure what conclusion to draw regarding 15" vs 17".

 

Hmm.. Perhaps this is why Sager, Eluktronics, etc only offer the 15.6` with 2060 & 2070MQ not 2070.

 

I have got somewhere around the same for division 2 though my GPU runs hotter at 83 and CPU around 77. But Forza (Ultra), both CPU and GPU runner quite cooler. I played 3 rounds of Goliath and GPU was around 75 and clocked higher around 1750mhz

 

Those temps look alot more similar to what I got. I think your problem with the 1520 was probably just a real bad factory paste job, bad fitting heatsink, or some other defect along those lines. I wouldn't bother using the "Best performance" setting for anything other than benchmarks, since the slight gains in gaming don't really justify the temp increase imo. It is interesting to compare the difference though.

Sager offers the 15" with the full 2070, that's the model I have. You may be mistaking these with the P960/970 models.

 

Yes these only come with the 2070.

 

@Ashlander could you take a photo of how the large keyboard ribbon cable is routed behind keyboard? I have a slight bulge in keyboard in that area and I suspect I might have placed it incorrectly.

 

Make sure you press firmly around the sides and top edges to get them to snap in place.

 

Hey guys, I just turned on my 1520 for the first time, and after going through Windows setup, I find I seem to have NO software on the machine...

I know this comes with little bloatware, but there is no AV (not an issue, I have my own), no PowerSpec software/control center? I do not even see Nvidia settings icon when right clicking on the desktop...

This was an open box, but had been restored to factory settings. How can I get the important stuff on here?

 

You can get the drivers and software from any of these places. Make sure you install the provided Nvidia driver before updating to the latest version, I had some performance issues with Optimus if I just installed the latest from Nvidia right away. All the Clevo software, is from the Microsoft store, just search for Clevo. Same with the Nvidia and Intel control panels. You can skip the fingerprint driver, and I'm assuming the Powerspec uses the Intel wifi.

https://www.clevo.com.tw/en/e-services/download/ftpOut.asp?Lmodel=PB5xED_EFG&ltype=9&submit=+GO+
https://www.pro-star.com/driver-downloads
https://www.sagernotebook.com/drivers.php?cat=722

 

Thanks, I will check those out. I also found this page from PowerSpec:

http://www.powerspec.com/support/support_archive.phtml?selection=1520

Should I install all of this? Microcenter guy says it would seem the computer was reset but the drivers not re-installed (although device manager shows everything ok, but again, no control center, no way to select keyboard colors, no Nvidia settings, etc.)

And if I understand you correctly I should install the video driver from that page (or one of the ones you showed me) and then I can install the Nvidia ones?

 

Windows installs generic drivers for everything so they should show up fine in device manager. Some of them are out of date, and some are newer than the ones provided by the manufacturer, so I just install or keep whichever version is newer.

The Powerspec drivers should be the same since it's essentially the same laptop, but yeah, install the Nvidia driver from any of those first, then update after. The Clevo Control Center, keyboard lights, etc are all here; https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/search?q=clevo. FN Hotkeys is needed for the Fn combos to work (and the OSD), and also enables the fan profile switching (via fn+1 and fn+3) without actually needing to install the Fan Speed app. Aside from this and the LED Keyboard app, I personally don't bother with the rest.

 

Thanks. The microcenter guy said all that should be within the "motherboard" package of what they pointed to...

So you don't install control center, overclocking, etc? Just the FN Hotkeys app and the LED Keyboard app?

Regarding video, bear with me.. once I install this when you say "update" means to download form Nvidia? Do you use GeForce experience?

 

I don't use any of the others because there's either better alternatives or I don't need them. Fan speed core functionality is included with FN Hotkeys, I use HWinfo for temp monitoring, no interest in flexikey macros, and I'm not OCing my GPU atm, but if I do I'll probably use afterburner or something. If you're not planning to tweak your laptop much, they'll do just fine. It's really up to you and what you find useful. You can always uninstall if you don't want to use them anymore. I use GeForce Experience, but you can download the newest version from their website, or update it however you normally would.

Whether you want to tweak or not, I would recommend installing Throttlestop and finding a good undervolt. Then you can just set it and forget it.

 

Thanks, taking note of all this. Downloaded all the drivers I was pointed to, and now more confused if that’s possible...

They have a popup of recommended order of installation, and then in the “motherboard” package each folder is also numbered but skipping numbers, and some stuff not even sure what it is or which to install (like there seems to be some audio stuff within the motherboard package but then there’s the separate audio package).

In total I had 5 files that resulted in 5 folders and subfolders as follows:

Audio — APP_Creative_SBC
— APP_Realtek_Audio
— Realtek
— SoundblasterX (the laptop has a “tuned by sound blaster x pro gaming”’sticker)

Motherboard — 01_Chipset
— 02_SerialIO
— 06_Cardreader
— 07_Control_Center_Driver
— 08_HIDFilter
— 09_MEI
— 13_SGX
— 14_ANX
— 15_SBX

Network

Video — Intel
— NVIDIA

Wireless-bluetooth — bluetooth
— wireless

 

Don't worry about the numbers. Just install each one. I always compare the versions in device manager, because sometime's the Windows installed ones are the same version or newer and don't need updating. You won't 'need' all of them, but you'll be fine just going through and updating them all if you want the simplicity and the 'out of box' configuration.

The two APP ones in the audio folder are just 'control panel' type apps for the sound hardware. You can leave them uninstalled (or uninstall after) if you don't plan on messing with the sound settings and don't like unnecessary bloat.

 

I've repasted with CoolerMaster Mastergel paste today. This is a good paste and spreads much better than IC Diamond. I see some improvements for GPU but no improvements for CPU, maybe I have to try thin thermal pads for components around CPU. The stock pads seem to be 1.5mm, perhaps with 1mm pads there will be better contact between heatsink and CPU.

 

Ok, I gotta buy a vowel...

I tried installing the Intel HD graphics driver, and got an error that the computer did not meet the requirements... Followed a tutorial to add legacy the HD graphics and then run the install which now worked, however, I see no Intel Graphics option in the context menu, and in device manager it still has an exclamation point..

I then tried the NVIDIA installer, which worked but after reboot I also see no NVIDIA option in the desktop context menu, and while I have an icon in the system tray, clicking or double clicking does nothing, and right clicking only shows "exit" as an option...

From the version numbers, it seems there was already a newer driver version than the one the package had, but not sure what to make of all this...

Help appreciated.

 

I left my stock pads for now. With 1.5mm Fujipoly I was barely making any contact on the GPU die, and 1mm Gelids seemed too thin. I think the stock ones are 1.5mm but are quite compressible so who knows how much space there actually is. Though I tried both of these while I was trying to paste with the Kryonaut, so I don't know how much of the bad results is actually attributed to the pads themselves.

I'm just gunna wait for someone to confirm the proper thickness needed before doing the pads again.

 

You need to download the Nvidia and Intel apps from the Microsoft store. It should have automatically done it, but if it hasn't just search them in the store.

It's normal for some drivers to be newer then the ones provided in the driver packages, since those are often not updated to the most recent versions. In those case you can either just not install that driver from the package since you have a newer one installed already, or update it again if you already installed the older version. With the Nvidia one, you need to install the old version first regardless since it seems to include some settings put in by Clevo that arn't in the Nvidia versions.

 

The Intel drivers for iGPU will not install if your laptop is switched to discrete graphics in BIOS, which disables Intel GPU.

As for Nvidia - you probably installed DCH drivers, they need a separate install of Control Panel (this is available in Microsoft Store) and a separate install of GeForce Experience (the app that does driver updates for Nvidia). First you install DCH drivers, then a Control Panel for them and after that you install GeForce Experience which should find driver updates for GPU. Also, if you installed Intel DCH drivers for Intel iGPU - you also need a Control Panel installed separately which is also located in Microsoft store.

Here is a link to Nvidia Control Panel if you cannot find it:
https://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4733/~/nvidia-control-panel-windows-store-app

 

Yeah, I wouldn't know because in that link you sent it mentions you can check what type of driver you have by seeing it in Nvidia control panel, but I don't even have the control panel option show up when right clicking the desktop...

I will check the BIOS. Is there even any point in re-enabling the IGPU if it was disabled?

 

If you do not care about battery life - there is no point of using Intel GPU, you can just use Nvidia's GPU for everything. Enabling Intel GPU gives you a switchable graphics, similar to Nvidia's Optimus, where Intel GPU is used when you are not playing games for lower power consumption.

As for proper Nvidia driver installation - first you install the DCH drivers from Clevo's site, then you install Control Panel from Windows Store, after that you just install GeForce Experience which should find newer drivers for you.

 

Great... now for some reason the NVIDIA driver won't install... I have the intel one fine but nvidia does not appear in device manager, and running the installer says: "NVIDIA installer cannot continue / the nvidia graphics driver is not compatible with this version of windows"...

 

This is weird. Did you download it from Clevo site? I used latest one when I was installing my drivers, the one that says "Update Nvidia VGA driver".

 

Yes, when I was having issues initially I deleted the driver (from device manager) but it seems something got screwed up as I had an exclamation point under a PCIe x16 driver... I auto-updated that, and a new display adapter appeared, after which I was able to install the NVIDIA package. I guess now I will get the control panel you linked me to, and then GeForce experience, and then I can update from there?

Still don't have intel options in the desktop context menu, even though the intel control panel got installed.

 

So I just re-ran Forza Horizon 4 benchmark. I used "Performance" mode in Clevo Control Center. And I got much better temp results, even though nothing changed - I did not change in-game settings, they're still on Ultra. These are results without undervolting. The CPU temp peaked at 89C, the GPU temp peaked at 72C, you can see peak power consumption for CPU and GPU. I guess this is as good as I'll get now without undervolting.

 

Well, I learned the hard way that even if you want battery life etc., if you want to use G-Sync then you need to disable the mshybrid mode anyway, thereby not using the Intel GPU... It sure is annoying that you would have to change this in the BIOS.

I read somewhere that the same could be switch in Control Center, but it does not seem to apply to this laptop

 

Yea, mine came with Intel GPU disabled by default. I have not re-enabled it so I just use Nvidia GPU for everything with G-Sync enabled.

 

Yeah, being that "normal" setups let you have both and select per program even which to use, seems kind of strange that you cannot do the same for the rest of the stuff...

Now I'm installing audio, and wondering if there's any app or anything to tweak/improve the sound...

 

My control center app seemed to include the LED Keyboard app, the GPU Overclocking app (not the CPU overclocking app), the fan speed select, the Flexikey app and the power modes app. While there is no specific FN Hotkeys, those do work and I see the changes via OSD.

 

Creative SoundBlaster app can adjust audio stuff like EQ or various sound effects, Windows installed it for me automatically. I think Clevo also has it on their drivers site. Personally I don't like stuff like that so I uninstalled it, I just installed Realtek drivers.

 

Ok, so once I get all software installed, configured etc., would this "Throttlestop" be the one I need for all this undervolting I am reading about? Is this like a "must do" to keep this laptop running nice and cool? Besides my extra RAM stick I also ordered the Kryonaut paste just in case, not sure if I will need it or not, I guess I need to run a game and check with HWinfo or similar?

 

They are all separate apps, it just installed all of them. If you click start and look through your apps you should see them all. FN Hotkeys is just a background service, that displays a message when using fn combos and switching some of the Clevo software settings, and enables the fn commands. CPU overclocking isn't available for these, so even if you download that app it won't work.

It is if you want to get the best temps, and thus prolong the life of your system. You can monitor your temps with the Clevo software, but HWinfo lets you see visual graphs and keeps track of min/max, averages, etc. It's up to you how you want to check temps.

 

3 days with the 1520. I’m very impressed with the cooling TBH. I have by unit on a cooling pad and I’m getting around 88c while playing Apex Legends. It seems like a lot of the issues with the 1510 have been fixed.

 

Nice to hear you have some solid performance.

 

I did undervolt 140mv. This brought my temps down about 5 degrees. I tested with the laptop closed as we’ll and hooked up to a monitor. Really solid performance.

 

I'm playing with some different settings in TS and noticed that changing my Turbo Ratio Limits (in FIVR) doesn't seem to be working. Is that locked on these or am I just missing something.

Also what exactly is the reasoning behind keeping the core and cache voltage offsets matched? I have a profile setup like @B0B suggested in his video (-250/-125) just to test, which didn't seem to be any more stable or cooler than the -150/-150mv I've been running. I'm just curious where this 'parity' rule of thumb came from, since it seemed to run stable enough with them set differently.

 

There is the max turbo number in the bios.

 

Hey if you’re referring to my last video I wasn’t recommending those settings for anyone and I definitely wasn’t talking about temps.

Vcore and cache/ring voltage was separated several generations ago for desktops and it’s been a feature for the tuning enthusiast ever since. Those who said they need to match are mistaken.

 

I was actually bumping the min turbo up. I tried setting the 5 and 6 core turbo to 40 instead of 39, but the clock speed didn't change while running the 12 thread TS Bench. Again, I've got a good configuration already, I'm just experimenting and trying different things to see what effects they have on performance/temp, not necessarily intending to apply to my normal profile.

I wasn't trying them with the intent of running the laptop like that, just wanted to see how it ran since it was my understanding the Vcore and cache were supposed to match, or at least be close. Wasn't actually expecting better results then what I was already running with.

So it seems like the cache voltage is what usually causes the crashes, if you can safely drop the Vcore that far?

Would I be better off leaving my cache where it currently is, since it's at the "sweet spot" (stable at -150/-150), and dropping my Vcore further as far as it'll remain stable, vs keeping it matched?

 

Then it could be a ampage limits.