Octane II Pro overheating

A'vee

Member
Just got my long awaited high spec laptop - Octane II Pro with i7-6700K and GTX980 Desktop GPU.
Was seriously disappointed after running some tests on it though...

Stress test in AIDA64 shows that the CPU's temperature after just a couple minutes jumps to 100 C and throttling kicks in (between 8 and 38%), lowering its speed significantly to protect it from damage.
Testing the GPU in 3DMark also reveals it's not performing as it should - the achieved score is much lower than an old GTX760 gets... (Graphics Score is 16408 for this GTX980 and 21583 for GX760). It was supposed to be only around 5% slower than a proper desktop GXT980.

I will be returning this machine, but though I'd ask other owners - is this a problem with this particular unit, or all Octane II Pro are like this?
 

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
I would suggest it's probably a thermal paste application issue whereby a bubble has formed or it wasn't applied sufficiently well. A repaste will most likely solve the issue.

The octane has excellent cooling.
 

A'vee

Member
Reapplying the paste would perhaps solve the CPU problems, but would it help for GPU being a snail? Apparently something else is also wrong there.
 

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
Reapplying the paste would perhaps solve the CPU problems, but would it help for GPU being a snail? Apparently something else is also wrong there.

If the CPU is being throttled, the whole system will slow down. GPU performance also relies on the CPU running as it should.
 

A'vee

Member
Well, let's see what PCS says. I'd rather not open it up and mess with the CPU without being clearly said I can, warranty getting void and all.
Thanks for your input SpyderTracks!
 

gunsch

Bronze Level Poster
Hi! I was also looking to buy an octane ii pro in the future let us know what happens and how pcs handled the situation!
 

A'vee

Member
So I filed an RMA and a DPD courier picked it up on the next working day. PCS rep sent a nice e-mail and has given this a high priority.
Their technician found and corrected a problem with the GPU driver that caused it to perform at only half the speed but did not found any CPU throttling issues. The CPU has been re-pasted nevertheless. After testing in 3D MARK the laptop scored over 28k points (compared to 15k it scored before), they left it overnight for a test and confirmed it should now work as expected. It arrived back to me today and while AIDA64 still shows up to 33% throttling (I don't know, could 25C in my room be a problem?), the overall performance is much better, mostly due to GPU working fine.
Furthermore, looking at other tests in 3D MARK I can see that the CPU score I'm getting is quite consistent with other scores, so I guess it's either AIDA telling me rubbish, or all laptops are affected. Still, in practice it doesn't seem that much of a problem (the scores are around 20% better than another desktop's i4770K I tested, so I'm happy).

I must admit that PCS customer service is great - polite, very responsive and the turnaround (5 days from the moment I sent it off on Monday) was really quick. As for the laptop - it's a beast and well worth its price, even if might get a tad too hot at times. I seriously consider using it instead of my big and clunky desktop and not only for work when travelling.
 

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
So I filed an RMA and a DPD courier picked it up on the next working day. PCS rep sent a nice e-mail and has given this a high priority.
Their technician found and corrected a problem with the GPU driver that caused it to perform at only half the speed but did not found any CPU throttling issues. The CPU has been re-pasted nevertheless. After testing in 3D MARK the laptop scored over 28k points (compared to 15k it scored before), they left it overnight for a test and confirmed it should now work as expected. It arrived back to me today and while AIDA64 still shows up to 33% throttling (I don't know, could 25C in my room be a problem?), the overall performance is much better, mostly due to GPU working fine.
Furthermore, looking at other tests in 3D MARK I can see that the CPU score I'm getting is quite consistent with other scores, so I guess it's either AIDA telling me rubbish, or all laptops are affected. Still, in practice it doesn't seem that much of a problem (the scores are around 20% better than another desktop's i4770K I tested, so I'm happy).

I must admit that PCS customer service is great - polite, very responsive and the turnaround (5 days from the moment I sent it off on Monday) was really quick. As for the laptop - it's a beast and well worth its price, even if might get a tad too hot at times. I seriously consider using it instead of my big and clunky desktop and not only for work when travelling.

Well, glad they looked at it thoroughly and that you found it a good experience, and obviously, if it's getting higher scores, that can only be a good thing.

Thanks for posting back with the update too, + rep
 
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