Thanks, will post that onto the FP later.

But yeah, I still wonder why the guy's getting sub-1k CB scores. Slower SSD? Non-Dual Channel RAM?

And the AMA thread got bumped off Reddit for some reason lol. Oh well, at least I've opened *some* eyes to the existence of the GK5CN, should be enough that less people would mistake it for a Clevo again.

And anybody interested can just Google for it, now that there's enough non-Chinese information on it floating in the Interwebs already.

This post has been edited by Eiraku: May 12 2018, 05:50 AM

Only the BIOS/EC update fixes them "loud" fans, unfortunately - which IMHO is the "weird curves" I was talking about in my review. It still gets pretty loud post update, but only when it's "supposed" to.

You can try tweaking the fan curves in Onyx Control Center. Switch to "manual" under the fan settings and pull down the fan speeds (especially for the top end, but be reasonable).

As for the screen, did you have calibration selected at purchase? If so, its probably normal for it to look warm, but you can also try the Calibration Profile for the Aero 15/15X from NBC as those also use the same screen (look for the "X-Rite i1Pro 2" box under "brightness distribution" in those review, there's a link marked ICC file).

Where to mess around with all this ICC stuff? Just type "Color Management" into your start menu.

This post has been edited by Eiraku: May 12 2018, 02:50 PM

The updated EC/BIOS helps a lot, TBH. Especially due to the fact that you get a BIOS "switch" to tune between quieter + throttled running and loud + unthrottled performance. Heck, even tuned for performance the new EC is pretty quiet at idle.

Also, compared to the "silent" rivals (namely the GS65 and the Aero) the GK5CN (even on the current, outdated Oynx EC that I ran the review in) runs slightly cooler, so yeah it's pretty much a give and take situation. Plus don't forget due to the lower heat you can tune the manual fan curves for lower noise and STILL run cooler then the others (on the shipped EC anyway, after the update I don't really think you'll be needing the custom curves).

And no, don't drill holes. It's just the fan curves, the unit itself actually runs cooler then its rivals (as I've mentioned before) so it's pretty pointless to drill holes.

This post has been edited by Eiraku: May 12 2018, 06:00 PM

Fans don't seem to be running as I'm watching videos (on Potplayer) on the internal panel (aka, accelerated by the IGPU). At most, maybe JUST the CPU fan is running, but barely (you don't really hear it unless you put your ear next to the keyboard).

File played is a 720p HEVC2 clip though, so load is pretty light (especially with CFL-H as it has internal HEVC decode acceleration), but yeah, I guess that answers your question. Just don't stream 4k though it and expect it to run similarly quiet though.

But damn, now that I'm having a video played on this thing, the VA panel is actually not bad at all TBH, despite my reservations about the colour being inferior to the 144hz panel. Guess a good sample of the Chi Mei is pretty decent indeed.

BTW, the moment you plug in an external display, expect the GPU fan to start running as well as all external video is routed through the DGPU. Not that this is exclusive to the Onyx / GK5CN either - my Clevo P950 used to do the exact same thing.

Sure it's bad for battery life but hey, at least we get the opportunity to use external G-Sync.

This post has been edited by Eiraku: May 13 2018, 12:36 AM

Not the official ones from Illegear at least... its still in the middle of being customised/adjusted alongside the new Command Center.

This post has been edited by Eiraku: May 14 2018, 03:28 AM

Well, get good 3M / Orcal vinyl if you're doing it yourself. For me I don't have that option as 3M / Orcal doesn't have translucent CF vinyl.

Otherwise yeah, just work slowly with a squeegee/credit card during aplication to ensure even-ness. Oh and a hair drier on low helps too.

BTW, quick note. Translucent anything skins are really a PITA to apply due to the bubbles. Sure screen protectors and the like are enough of a pain to apply but heck, try 15 inches diagonal's worth of metal. But yeah, my own choice of material so my own fault, tough translucent CF is really cool as far as skins go really (it protects and feels awesome and yet you can still see the logo underneath).

Normal opaque skins should be a cinch to apply in comparison, as you only really need to worry about even-ness.

This post has been edited by Eiraku: May 14 2018, 01:06 PM

Hmm, I've yet to even get one TBH. Games crashes during overclocking yes, but zero BSODs. You might want to check with Illegear about the BSODs.

I don't use VLC though (more a PotPlayer/MPCBE guy).

That said, my WiFi did go missing for a short while before reappearing, and that's about the most trouble I've gotten with my Onyx (yeah, it was a PITA nonetheless).

Snappy_Darko Air intakes are at the bottom and it exhausts to the side and back. You might not want to put it on a bed because that might block the intakes TBH.

This post has been edited by Eiraku: May 15 2018, 08:04 AM

I'm not getting any even WITH TS and UV. Hmmm.

Not doubting any of you guys' experiences though. Just wondering about combination of things leading to the BSODs.

It might be the Nvidia drivers (and Optimus) though, considering the Onyx is shipped with the older 388 drivers and you need to jump through hoops of fire to update those.

This post has been edited by Eiraku: May 15 2018, 12:57 PM

Hmmm, I'm beginning to wonder what's taking the BIOS so long to be customised TBH. I do hope that the delaying issues get ironed out properly though.

This post has been edited by Eiraku: May 16 2018, 12:19 AM

Errr, close your laptop how? Like closing the lid? That's supposed to put it to sleep automatically unless you've changed the lid down behaviour.

If you HAVE changed it to "do nothing" when the lid is down, then yeah the battery drain is normal behaviour as your laptop is STILL running as usual even when you close your lid.

But if you haven't that just means it's draining while sleeping which is still pretty normal unless it's a ridiculous amount of drain.

Only hibernation = quick resume without drain. Sleep still drains a small amount of battery power - small being like 5-10% an hour or something like that.

That is, unless I'm mistaken about your situation here, because I'm still not entirely clear about "closing without shutting down/putting to sleep".

This post has been edited by Eiraku: May 16 2018, 11:55 AM

Yeahhhhhh Windows isn't as convenient as Macs are unless you set them up right. Mine doesn't go to sleep when I put the lid down because I'm used to using them like that (I sleep/shut down manually).

Even IF it sleeps, there are always programs that can pull it out of sleep sometimes, and this happens on any Windows notebook.

Hell, if you set it up in a certain way, you can wake your computer up from being shut down completely through a network connection lol.

Snappy_Darko Yeah convenience wise, Macs still have the upper hand unfortunately. Windows comes out of the box all wrong for human consumption lol (hence me having to go through the same bloody setup ritual every time I get a Windows machine), though things have improved by leaps and bounds in Win 10 IMHO.

Except for the spying on you / telemetry part of course.

Prince J The keyboard key LEDs staying alive even when the screen is off with the lid down (not sleep, just screen off) is just weird though. Any way you can tell TF to fix that in upcoming updates?

This post has been edited by Eiraku: May 16 2018, 11:01 PM

Maybe it's just TongFang refusing to make a 1060 + extended battery bundle for some reason.

Hmmmmmm.

You actually can, in a way. You can adjust the custom curves in the Command Center to lowest, and it shouldn't bother you too much.

But yeah, completely off fans, I don't think so unfortunately.

I guess so. Funny that my idle fans never actually get to 40dba, or at least to my ears.

Should be a light hum when you put your ear very near to the keyboard yeah. And remember, you need to not engage the dGPU in any way to enjoy this lol, as that kicks the dGPU fan on too.

Nope. It's not a PD port, also I haven't heard of PD 150w adapters either. Theoretically it's capable but the hardware isn't available.

You can charger other stuff from your Type-C port though.

And I'm actually quite curious about the Windows 10 1803 (aka April Update) update causing issues for others, as I updated mine as well and, other then the WiFi drivers going haywire for a bit, I haven't had any other issues TBH.

Not sure if it's just hardware or my configuration.

This post has been edited by Eiraku: May 20 2018, 11:26 PM

There are Samsung NVMe drivers floating around the Net, those might help a bit (I've installed as I have twin PM951s in mine), but otherwise that's it I guess. No Magician for us OEM folks, unfortunately.

Sounds about right. I reach around those temps too playing Ghost Recon Wildlands for a bit.

BTW:



The Beast with Mini Beast in tow.

It's supposed to be included, somewhere in the start menu. Does make the speakers sound a WHOLE lot better TBH, despite folks downrating "software" solutions like this.

If not, contact the Illegear Support email and they can give you the driver bundle, which includes the SB software.

This post has been edited by Eiraku: May 22 2018, 04:21 AM