Just received my S5 today. I'll get a review up once I've had some fun with it.

Question, does anyone know how to stop the battery from charging over a certain percentage?

Ok here goes. Note that I am not a hardcore gamer so I don't have the latest games. I am coming from a Lenovo Y50 with a 860M prior to the S5.

First impressions, nice solid build. The laptop itself well built, very sturdy. To the earlier person asking about hinges, I can say the hinges of the S5 is rock solid. There is barely any movement when you open and close the laptop but I have to point out that the monitor is a little flimsy to the touch but it is of no concern. It is still a lot better than most laptops I have used. (Dell/Lenovo enterprise laptops, Asus ROG, Y50, Y700).

The specs I took comes with the 1060 (6GB). You can check the Illegear site for the rest of the specs as this is the main point of the laptop. The 1060 is very powerful for 1080p gaming. I've tried this on Doom, Tomb Raider 2013, Metro 2033 and Tales of Zesteria. It doesn't break a sweat hitting 60 FPS at Ultra settings. For some of the games here, I can crank it to the max  and it still runs at 60FPS. If 4k or multiple displays are not your concern, a 1060 is more than enough to power your games.

Physically there is not much to complain about the laptop's design. The keyboard keys are pretty big and it is very comfortable to type with and the trackpad is top class but some might feel that it is a little rough to the touch. I got used to the input devices in less than 15 mins compared to my Y50 which I could never get used to the touchpad after 2 years. Big touchpad buttons are a plus but it never gets in the way despite the size. Palm rests are suitably large but I wished they put the stickers on the right side of the laptop instead. FPS players might accidentally peel it off after prolonged used of the WSAD keys.

The screen is freaking fantastic. I am not sure if it is because I took it with the professional color calibration but holy damn hell. I've not seen a laptop screen with such vibrant colors as of yet.

Some gripes I have:
1. The speakers don't complement the Soundblaster X-Fi. Holy shit the sound is so awesome with headphones but on the speakers a lot of the quality are lost. I can't say the speakers are terrible but neither are they really good. Its about average to me. A plus for the speakers though, it is really loud when cranked up to the max. It beat the Y50 that comes with a subwoofer. I thought Y50 was loud, the S5 tramples all over it like it was never there.

2. When gaming, the fans are really loud. Without earphones I can hear the sound of the fans spinning at top speed but strangely the temperature was never over 60 degrees celcius for the processors and around 60 for the GPU. I don't think the temperature is really high yet at that point but then again, maybe the fans are working hard to keep the temperature down.

3. When I change it to discrete GPU, the laptop suffers from micro stutters. I tried many games, all faced the same problem. 60 FPS constantly but micro stuttering every 5 secs or so. It is really annoying.When I switch it back to MSHybrid, it works perfectly. I tried switching a few times, upgraded and downgraded the drivers (clean install) and it never made a difference. I can't pin down whats the problem with it but it happens only during discrete GPU. Not a major problem for me though, I just switched it to MSHybrid. I just hope MSHybrid is not as stupid as Optimus.

4. LAN port is on the right side. This might be just me but the LAN port is on the right of the laptop. I also plug in an Xbone controller on the right. It limits the space for the mouse. Nothing major but becomes a small nuisance when typing and using the mouse at the same time.

5. So maaaaaany screws for the maintenance hatch.

Overall, I am very satisfied with this purchase despite the numerous complains I have.The major winning point for me was how quickly I felt accustomed to the laptop. Very nice design with lots of typing space. Oh did I mention it has a numpad? Awesome stuff. Another major point for me is the WiFi card it comes with. The intel 8260 has very good range. My router is one floor below and I had some issues with my Y50 getting full signal. It gets stuck at around 1 or 2 bars. The S5 easily maxes it out. I'd say there is a distance of about 10 meters with a thick floor between it.

I'd give this laptop a 8/10. Easily recommended for anyone looking for a good 1080p gaming and working laptop. The minimalist design makes it look professional too.

PS. I am not sure whats with the temperature. I tried running all kinds of things that should have shot up the temps but it never goes above 60. Not sure if this is a good thing or not.

It should be fine to keep the laptop fully charged. Technically Li-ion batteries do not have the problem of overcharging and modern batteries have chips built in them to stop charging once it reaches a certain threshold.

That said, based on my experience with Li-ion battery power laptops like Lenovo Y50-70, T410 to T460 series, I do notice a pretty bad level of degradation of the batteries when they are left plugged in. For those said laptops, the default charge level starts at 97 and stops at 100. Batteries, no matter how little you use them will always discharge a little bit. What I've noticed with them is that after 1 year (usually when the warranty ends) the batteries have already gone bad and can hold less than half their capacity.

My Y50 was capped to stop charging at 60 and start charging at 50. I do the same to my work laptop, a T440 which is approaching its third birthday. What I've noticed is that their battery wear is only around 3% after 2-3 years of constantly plugged in.

If you're worried, there is a BIOS setting in the Illegear laptop that allows Flexicharge, which caps the charge at a fixed percentage. Mine is set to start at 50 and stop at 60. Call me old fashioned but experience has taught me to not take it for granted.

Hi Madgeiser, it's possible as long as you don't break anything it's fine.

D series has the best cooling and thermal control among all other ILLEGEAR series.

You still need to clean the dust every 6 months and reapply thermal paste every year.

Hi vemp,

Can i have your order details to check on your Z5 970M service?

Thanks for your returning purchase
IC Diamond is a very lasting thermal paste and it can last 1 to 2 years normally.

I've been using the S5 for about 6 months now. Just to give you an idea of what you're asking but before that, I am using the 1060 version.

All I can say about the cooling is that it works very well. I got mine with the Diamond Thermal Compound which was free due to some promotion. I play games like Rise of the Tomb Raider at max settings for everything, the temperature peaks at around 68 to 72 Celsius, which I think is pretty good when compared to a Lenovo Y50 I used to have. That peaked at around 95 for the same game.

Another example, Overwatch, Tera and Titanfall 2 peaks around 68 to 72. Idle temperature is around 38 to 42. Standard browsing, Youtube, MS Office and other productivity work doesn't affect the temp much so it stays around the same as idle temperature.

Now the noise is something you need to be concerned about if you like gaming in quiet environments. It's pretty loud when they're spinning in AAA games. Not loud enough to distract you if you have the speakers set to high volume or if you put on some headphones. I don't consider this a problem as my volume is always set high as the speakers are top notch.

Can't complain about the performance either. The only game I had performance issues with is Rise of the Tomb Raider when I max out everything. Frame rates drop to around 45 FPS in certain parts of the game(this is just me, 45 FPS is actually very good for gaming). Other games like Titanfall 2 get a constant 70+ FPS and Doom stays above 80 FPS at all portions of the game with everything cranked to the max. Not suitable for 1440p gaming or 4k gaming though you can get away with 1440p gaming if you lower some options. Most options don't really make a difference anyway.

Flight out from Japan later today. Gonna be my first day with my new S5X tomorrow (26th) so I'm a bit anxious lol. Hopefully it goes well and everything is as it should be.

Damn, it's nerve wrecking to say the least. Funny that I could wait weeks while being in Japan but these few hours seem almost unbearable lol.

Andhhey, Merry Christmas all.

Muh Onyx in da house ya all:



Currently setting up and benching. Will update more later.

Nope, TongFang "barebones", and a review of a similar device (the XMG Neo 15) should be up on Notebookcheck as soon as XMG finishes tweaking their unit, which is pretty much just an Onyx with slightly different keyboard caps and a sandblasted metal outer finish (we've got a brushed metal finish).

Also, in China there's the Mechrevo (which is simply TongFang's retail division) Z2, and the MechNike F117 Break: both silver-coloured versions of the Onyx (and both not available outside of China, hence expect Chinese-language reviews only).

Plus, my own full review is OTW.

As for ambient temps I believe I measured the external temps of the Illegear display unit running Furmark with a IR Thermometer already a few pages back. Short version, nothing beyond 50c back OR front. Will do it again for my unit but I don't think there's gonna be much deviation.

As for proc CPU/GPU internal temps, I'll get back to you later once I'm finished with my review.

Just for anyone still wondering about internal temps for the Onyx, just finished a few rounds of NBC-style Furmark + Prime 95 combo torture test.

A continuous 45-min run yielded CPU temps of 80c max and GPU 82c max. No sudden CPU or GPU throttling either, but of course there's room for UV improvement.

And yeah, my initial input regarding temps stand for the most part. Re-measuring the torture tested Onyx yielded a max temp of 50c at the bottom and 45c on top, with an average surface temp of 38c on top and 40c at the bottom - which is honestly not that much different from my previous findings pun.

And all of this is with an ambient temp of 28c.

So yeah, not bad Onyx.