The Most Powerful Laptop EVER!!!

[AlexTheGreatish]

 

An AMD Ryzen 9 3950X in a laptop? Sign me up, the XMG Apex 15 sounds wicked.

 

Click here for more information on XMG APEX 15: https://bit.ly/2xdsRLT

Click here to freely configure the XMG APEX 15: https://bit.ly/3bDejEl

 

Buy AMD Ryzen 9 3950X

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Buy NVIDIA RTX 2070

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Buy 16GB G.SKILL Trident Z Royal

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Purchases made through some store links may provide some compensation to Linus Media Group.

 

 

 

[rcmaehl]

My news thread from when they announced it has some additional information if anyone has any questions:
 

Tempted to get one myself, especially now that my X370 board is basically EOL  

[_Omega_]

1 minute ago, rcmaehl said:

My news thread from when they announced it has some additional information if anyone has any questions:
 

Tempted to get one myself, especially now that my X370 board is basically EOL  

EOL? there will be a nice 3700X in my X370 board when everyone gets... Ryzen 5000 

[rcmaehl]

16 minutes ago, _Omega_ said:

EOL? there will be a nice 3700X in my X370 board when everyone gets... Ryzen 5000 

I was waiting for Ryzen 4000 since there's not much major changes in chipset features but I can't now. 

[Red :)]

[TempestCatto]

But if it thermal throttles it's no better than a Macbook. Can't watch the video right now (at work. shouldn't even be here lol) so I'll judge later. 

[SkyHound0202]

The XMG Apex 15 actually uses B450 chipset.

 

So no Zen 3 (Ryzen 4000 series) in the foreseeable future, unless they release a new hardware revision with B550 chipset or somehow slipstream the new AGESA code into the BIOS update.

[benammiswift]

Ah now this thread could really help me out

 

I bought a PC Specialist Nova laptop a couple weeks back with a Ryzen 9 3900 and RTX 2070 which is based on the same Clevo chassis as the XMG machine however I've been having stability issues with it when running 32Gb RAM. When stressed (particularly I found the cache to cause this) the machine will just full on black screen. But when I pop one of my 16GB sticks out, the machine will run totally fine. PCS have sent me numerous replacement RAM sticks and I still get the same issues when running 32GB RAM. 

 

Is this the issue that you guys had whilst testing the XMG machine at LTT @AlexTheGreatish? I've contact PC Specialist already and let them know of your video and said I'd appreciate if they could talk to Clevo as it sounds like we may be having the same issue

 

Ben

[wedgevic]

what is the song in the beginning? I would love to listen to that @AlexTheGreatish.

 

Thanks!

[ShinRamen]

5 minutes ago, wedgevic said:

what is the song in the beginning? I would love to listen to that @AlexTheGreatish.

 

Thanks!

Should be this from the Doom Eternal Soundtrack?

[Streetguru]

2 hours ago, AlexTheGreatish said:

 

WAIT

 

Why on earth didn't you test turning off CPU cores for more battery life if you plan to be mobile?

 

like going down to 2 cores 4 threads where basic things would still be fast?

 

I demand a quick follow up on short circuit.

[Results45]

Remember back when 5.4-pound mid-spec sub-$1000 laptops had socketed CPUs?

 

 

That was 8 years ago. EIGHT YEARS AGO.

 

What's so amazing about the Apex 15 is not only upgradability, but the fact that it packs so much performance in a system as light as the average laptop from yesteryear.

 

Even more impressive is that it only weighs a pound more than affordable gaming laptops (like XMG's own Fusion 15) and out performs rival desktop replacements that weigh a chonky 2-3 pounds more ~ namely the MSI GT76 Titan, Dell Area 51M, and Eurocom Sky X7C.

 

Definitely worthy to be at the top of the food chain

[AlexTheGreatish]

5 hours ago, benammiswift said:

Ah now this thread could really help me out

 

I bought a PC Specialist Nova laptop a couple weeks back with a Ryzen 9 3900 and RTX 2070 which is based on the same Clevo chassis as the XMG machine however I've been having stability issues with it when running 32Gb RAM. When stressed (particularly I found the cache to cause this) the machine will just full on black screen. But when I pop one of my 16GB sticks out, the machine will run totally fine. PCS have sent me numerous replacement RAM sticks and I still get the same issues when running 32GB RAM. 

 

Is this the issue that you guys had whilst testing the XMG machine at LTT @AlexTheGreatish? I've contact PC Specialist already and let them know of your video and said I'd appreciate if they could talk to Clevo as it sounds like we may be having the same issue

 

Ben

Do you have the latest BIOS update? Last that I heard 1 16GB stick was fine (as you said) but two are not.  Hopefully a BIOS update will fix it soon™.

4 hours ago, Streetguru said:

WAIT

 

Why on earth didn't you test turning off CPU cores for more battery life if you plan to be mobile?

 

like going down to 2 cores 4 threads where basic things would still be fast?

 

I demand a quick follow up on short circuit.

I doubt it would make a huge difference, the bigger problem is the lack of an iGPU, so the dGPU has to run all the time.  With some undervolting to the CPU and GPU I imagine you could get a fair bit more battery life, but even a 50% uplift is still just 1.5h....

[aisle9]

4 hours ago, Results45 said:

Remember back when 5.4-pound mid-spec sub-$1000 laptops had socketed CPUs?

Pepperidge Farm remembers.

 

But seriously though, socketed laptop CPUs/APUs were wonderful back in the day. 15" MacBook Pro, anybody? ThinkPad T420?

[JosephX12]

Getting one of these soon! With a 3900 and more storage and ram mind you.

 

I see someone is having issues with 2x 16gb which is worrisome mind you.

 

 

 

Quote

 

 

[AlexTheGreatish]

42 minutes ago, JosephX12 said:

Getting one of these soon! With a 3900 and more storage and ram mind you.

 

I see someone is having issues with 2x 16gb which is worrisome mind you.

I'm pretty sure that the Samsung B-die ones work with 32GB, but I haven't been able to test it first hand so can't guarantee.

[Yebi]

10 hours ago, _Omega_ said:

EOL? there will be a nice 3700X in my X370 board when everyone gets... Ryzen 5000 

Hell, if you wait that long, you might actually get a 4700, in the form of a 3700 AF

[Lathlaer]

10 hours ago, NZgamer said:

Dang... a socketed CPU! I thought they gave up on that in 2014-15

 

5 hours ago, aisle9 said:

But seriously though, socketed laptop CPUs/APUs were wonderful back in the day.

 

There are high end gaming laptops with socketed CPU's even now. Alienware Area 51M comes to mind. I think MSI Titan GT76 also has one.

 

But the prices are a bit different.

 

I think the most impressive part of the laptop is how low the markup there is on the components.

[JosephX12]

4 hours ago, AlexTheGreatish said:

I'm pretty sure that the Samsung B-die ones work with 32GB, but I haven't been able to test it first hand so can't guarantee.

Thank you kindly. I'm opting for some Corsair 2666Mhz modules, unfortunately retailer doesn't list any specifications let alone who produces the memory chips.

 

Good times, gambling is just what I want when I buy a brand new laptop.

[Streetguru]

8 hours ago, AlexTheGreatish said:

Do you have the latest BIOS update? Last that I heard 1 16GB stick was fine (as you said) but two are not.  Hopefully a BIOS update will fix it soon™.

TEST IT!

It will be a good reference point for any future portable desktops anyways.

[aisle9]

3 hours ago, Lathlaer said:

There are high end gaming laptops with socketed CPU's even now. Alienware Area 51M comes to mind. I think MSI Titan GT76 also has one.

 

But the prices are a bit different.

 

I think the most impressive part of the laptop is how low the markup there is on the components.

Didn't Clevo make a midrange gaming laptop a couple of years back that shipped with a socketed Kaby Lake processor?

[benammiswift]

10 hours ago, AlexTheGreatish said:

Do you have the latest BIOS update? Last that I heard 1 16GB stick was fine (as you said) but two are not.  Hopefully a BIOS update will fix it soon™.

I doubt it would make a huge difference, the bigger problem is the lack of an iGPU, so the dGPU has to run all the time.  With some undervolting to the CPU and GPU I imagine you could get a fair bit more battery life, but even a 50% uplift is still just 1.5h....

Hmm I'm not sure if I do. Where do I get the BIOS update from? Is it on Clevo's site somewhere? @AlexTheGreatish

 

As to the RAM I'm using, I'm using Corsair Vengeance 2666Mhz. I don't have any Samsung B-die modules to test that theory sadly. I might try putting the other stick back in and dialling back the memory clock to see if that fixes that instability, although I'm kinda loathed to do that as slower RAM will impact Ryzen especially a 3900 pretty hard. 

 

This is not to say that when it works (ie with 16GB RAM in) that this isn't the best laptop I've ever owned. It really is fantastic, absolutely crushes games like Control with everything cranked up full. Multitasking between Blender, Substance Painter etc is phenomenal, once they have this memory stuff figured out, this machine will be a 10/10 in my book.

 

Ben

[Lathlaer]

1 hour ago, aisle9 said:

Didn't Clevo make a midrange gaming laptop a couple of years back that shipped with a socketed Kaby Lake processor?

Maybe. I don't follow laptops that closely, I just knew about those two models because of videos and articles I've seen about them

 

With how competitive the pricing on this laptop is, it's a real shame that they haven't included option to buy it with a G-Sync panel and an RTX 2080  

[sub68]

This is crazy and I want one 

ps the forum link is not in the video

[JosephX12]

5 hours ago, Benji said:

@aisle9

It isn't really unusual as a LOT of Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge driven laptops had socketed CPUs, unless they were ULV versions which were soldered. Even my 300€ Acer laptop had a socketed Sandy Bridge CPU, so back then in that time period it was nothing special.

 

I generally have a problem with calling such fat, loud, low-battery-life laptops a "laptop". That thing is a DTR. Besides the form factor, it has nothing to do with a "laptop" per say. Bad battery runtime, desktop hardware, heavy and thus hardly portable... I could also throw an iMac Pro with its KB and mouse in a suitcase and set it up at my hotel room, that would have the same effect in my opinion.

 

My first laptop had a 20 minute battery life in the early 90s. I don't think battery life has anything to do with this particular form factor. I do agree that mobile desktop or desktop replacement is a better term for laptops like this however I think the laptop moniker is only associated with the form factor and not with the battery life itself.