NorthDakota
Bronze Level Poster
Hey all,
Finally got my Nova 15.6 on Friday.
As a guide* to production times:
Processed Date: 21/05/2020
Pre-Production Date: 22/05/2020
Build Date: 01/06/2020
Test Date: 02/06/2020
Dispatched: 04/06/2020
Arrived 05/06/2020
Build:
*Every build if unique to times vary this is the times for my build.
Review:
When the laptop arrived it was well packaged within a large box supported by two air pocketed corner units 'hugging' the laptop to ensure no damage during transit.
On booting up everything was good to go followed the steps @SpyderTracks advised to link my my windows 10 account to save me £100.00 on a WIN 10 key from PCS. This worked a charm.
Updated some NVIDIA drivers and done some Windows Updates.
I noticed immediately that the laptop was very fast, slick with a high response time. The keyboard is very responsive and the LED backlit trumps the old Vortex system as I much prefer it.
I have had no issues at all with the system. I have tried out Hitman 2 which ran on full ULTRA including Motion Blur at 92 FPS according to Mumbai benchmark and 105 FPS on a partial ULTRA. I have not yet tested out more games. I have also ran the Civ 6 Gathering Storm AI check which showed an turn time of 39.46 seconds. I could have upped this by fiddling with the CPU settings but it worked very well.
Definitely trumps my old Vortex IV (PCS Laptop) which was 6 years old and I am actually preferring the 15.6" screen over my old 17.3". The weight of this system is also a good bit different from the Vortex.
I had researched this laptop vigorously from posts on the comments, PC Gamer review, reviews of the same model, from different suppliers (CLEVO model), GPU and CPU reviews. This is a beast of a system. Overkill in a lot of respects but well worth it. @SpyderTracks had helped me build my system and I added a couple of upgrades after his advice notably upping the RAM and CPU. This is not recommended at all, but my job role is changing and I may require the additional loads time will tell and for the cost it was not unreasonable.
I have bought a cooling pad to help with the airflow aside from this everything is as is described. Overall I am very happy with my purchase
Sound Blaster 6:
I became aware that when downloading Sound Blaster 6 Cinema from the drivers package on PCS itself that the software did not install or no boot/application/executable within the folder.
I decided to check out the driver disk in case anything was missing on the PCS folder. Turns out there is a section on the disk for 'preinstalled hardware'. When I found this I clicked through it and I found Sound Blaster 6 Cinema. Copied over the file on to a USB and read the 'readme' which advised how to install it. I then put the USB into the Nova and followed the instructions as stated on the readme. Then after a restart it loaded up and have had no issues since.
NOTE: The Nova does not contain a disk drive so you'll need another laptop/computer to do this otherwise you may have to ask PCS to upload it but I don't know how feasible this is.
AMD Ryzen Master - Sound click noise in game/any audio output
I noticed whilst AMD Ryzen Master application was open that there was a clicking noise every few seconds from the speakers this was noticed in game, on spotify and on youtube. As soon as I closed the application I heard nothing.
I googled this and no one seemed to suggest this was an issue. So FYI with anyone who hears a 'clicking noise' whilst this is open. Note the noise only happens when you are outputting audio via the speakers so it is inaudible when nothing is playing.
Question:
First time using a AMD processor having been a Intel fan boy for years. I've noticed it is very fast and powerful however the temps seem to raise to a high level. At one stage it peaked at 105 degrees, I have since fiddled with AMD Ryzen Master (CPU Manager) to undervolt the system and noticed prior to this that a few settings were off.
I am not a wizz with this sort of stuff could someone advise what is safe temps for this processor. My solution to reduce it to a healthy idle of 40-50 degree was to undervolt it to 1.1/1.15v. But I understand there may be better/other options. Whilst running normally the PPT option in Ryzen seems to almost max out and I don't understand why (Picture one). Is this a concern? Is this normal. Note when this happened I was not in game and task manager shows my CPU as 5%.
I've attached some photos for reference taking from my mobile so I apologise if it isn't the best.
Finally got my Nova 15.6 on Friday.
As a guide* to production times:
Processed Date: 21/05/2020
Pre-Production Date: 22/05/2020
Build Date: 01/06/2020
Test Date: 02/06/2020
Dispatched: 04/06/2020
Arrived 05/06/2020
Build:
| Chassis & Display | Nova Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD 144Hz 72% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080) |
| Processor (CPU) | AMD Ryzen 7 3700X Eight Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.4GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
|
| Memory (RAM) | 16GB Corsair 2666MHz SODIMM DDR4 (1 x 16GB)
|
| Graphics Card | NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 2070 - 8.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1 |
| 1st Storage Drive | 2TB Samsung 860 QVO 2.5" SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (up to 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
|
| 1st M.2 SSD Drive | 500GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3200MB/W)
|
| Memory Card Reader | Integrated Micro-SD Memory Card Reader |
| AC Adaptor | 1 x 230W AC Adaptor |
| Power Cable | 1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead) |
| Battery | Nova Series 4 Cell Lithium Ion Battery |
| Thermal Paste | STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING |
| Sound Card | 2 Channel High Def. Audio + SoundBlaster™ Cinema |
| Bluetooth & Wireless | GIGABIT LAN & KILLER™ Wi-Fi 6 AX1650 M.2 GAMING + BLUETOOTH 5.0 |
| USB/Thunderbolt Options | 1 x USB 3.2 PORT (Type C) + 2 x USB 3.2 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT |
| Keyboard Language | 15" NOVA SERIES UK KEYBOARD |
| Operating System | NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED |
| Operating System Language | United Kingdom - English Language |
| Windows Recovery Media | NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED |
| Office Software | FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required) |
| Anti-Virus | NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE |
| Browser | Google Chrome™ |
| Notebook Mouse | INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE |
| Webcam | INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM |
| Surge Protection | 6 Socket 2m Surge Protector |
| Warranty | 3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) |
| Delivery | SUNDAY DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (BEFORE 2PM)
|
| Build Time | Standard Build - Approximately 6 to 8 working days |
| Welcome Book | PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland |
*Every build if unique to times vary this is the times for my build.
Review:
When the laptop arrived it was well packaged within a large box supported by two air pocketed corner units 'hugging' the laptop to ensure no damage during transit.
On booting up everything was good to go followed the steps @SpyderTracks advised to link my my windows 10 account to save me £100.00 on a WIN 10 key from PCS. This worked a charm.
Updated some NVIDIA drivers and done some Windows Updates.
I noticed immediately that the laptop was very fast, slick with a high response time. The keyboard is very responsive and the LED backlit trumps the old Vortex system as I much prefer it.
I have had no issues at all with the system. I have tried out Hitman 2 which ran on full ULTRA including Motion Blur at 92 FPS according to Mumbai benchmark and 105 FPS on a partial ULTRA. I have not yet tested out more games. I have also ran the Civ 6 Gathering Storm AI check which showed an turn time of 39.46 seconds. I could have upped this by fiddling with the CPU settings but it worked very well.
Definitely trumps my old Vortex IV (PCS Laptop) which was 6 years old and I am actually preferring the 15.6" screen over my old 17.3". The weight of this system is also a good bit different from the Vortex.
I had researched this laptop vigorously from posts on the comments, PC Gamer review, reviews of the same model, from different suppliers (CLEVO model), GPU and CPU reviews. This is a beast of a system. Overkill in a lot of respects but well worth it. @SpyderTracks had helped me build my system and I added a couple of upgrades after his advice notably upping the RAM and CPU. This is not recommended at all, but my job role is changing and I may require the additional loads time will tell and for the cost it was not unreasonable.
I have bought a cooling pad to help with the airflow aside from this everything is as is described. Overall I am very happy with my purchase
Sound Blaster 6:
I became aware that when downloading Sound Blaster 6 Cinema from the drivers package on PCS itself that the software did not install or no boot/application/executable within the folder.
I decided to check out the driver disk in case anything was missing on the PCS folder. Turns out there is a section on the disk for 'preinstalled hardware'. When I found this I clicked through it and I found Sound Blaster 6 Cinema. Copied over the file on to a USB and read the 'readme' which advised how to install it. I then put the USB into the Nova and followed the instructions as stated on the readme. Then after a restart it loaded up and have had no issues since.
NOTE: The Nova does not contain a disk drive so you'll need another laptop/computer to do this otherwise you may have to ask PCS to upload it but I don't know how feasible this is.
AMD Ryzen Master - Sound click noise in game/any audio output
I noticed whilst AMD Ryzen Master application was open that there was a clicking noise every few seconds from the speakers this was noticed in game, on spotify and on youtube. As soon as I closed the application I heard nothing.
I googled this and no one seemed to suggest this was an issue. So FYI with anyone who hears a 'clicking noise' whilst this is open. Note the noise only happens when you are outputting audio via the speakers so it is inaudible when nothing is playing.
Question:
First time using a AMD processor having been a Intel fan boy for years. I've noticed it is very fast and powerful however the temps seem to raise to a high level. At one stage it peaked at 105 degrees, I have since fiddled with AMD Ryzen Master (CPU Manager) to undervolt the system and noticed prior to this that a few settings were off.
I am not a wizz with this sort of stuff could someone advise what is safe temps for this processor. My solution to reduce it to a healthy idle of 40-50 degree was to undervolt it to 1.1/1.15v. But I understand there may be better/other options. Whilst running normally the PPT option in Ryzen seems to almost max out and I don't understand why (Picture one). Is this a concern? Is this normal. Note when this happened I was not in game and task manager shows my CPU as 5%.
I've attached some photos for reference taking from my mobile so I apologise if it isn't the best.
