AFTERSHOCK PC - Now featuring Nvidia 10 series graphics cards!

[Darkshadows]

touch pad you can just tap. no need press so hard until got sound. the fan is damn noisy, when im in my room, with the charger plucked in when im on low battery, the normal fan noise become louder. when pressing the fan boost its like the laptop is taking off, flying to somewhere. i dont really like the top cover with my oily fat hand. overall i think its still reasonable

Just got my Apex-15 a few days ago. Footprint wise, it's really small. Same footprint as my Asus 14 inch laptop. It's light and slim too! Touchpad doesn't have that tapping sound on this new laptop. Probably just an old and new laptop difference. I haven't played any AAA game yet but while I was installing 2 games and climbing "bukit timah" mountain, the laptop didn't get as hot as the one in their showroom. I have to agree that the fan noise is exceptionally noisy especially when it's plugged on. When my wife just came back, she thought the sound came from the washing machine. Handrest and top cover are really grease magnets. Can be cleared using wet tissues like what I always do to my phone screen. Not really a problem to me.

As I'm not into photo editing, I didn't realise that color calibration requires around 40mins. It was already 8pm when I was at the showroom to collect my laptop. I was also told that after color calibration, the laptop screen will have a red or yellow tint so end up I did not get any color calibration. Is this true? Thought calibration is supposed to make the color more accurate. Not sure if the staff is trying to shoo me off as they are rushing to knock off from work.

I just realise that the Enter key doesn't seem to be lit up unlike other keys. No matter how I change color, it's still grey. Is this the same for you or other Apex-15 owners? I'm thinking of calling AS during the weekend.

Btw, just a note that mine was the 1050ti version and I upgraded the ssd to samsung evo 970 and 16gb ram.

 

[chiaRH]

As I'm not into photo editing, I didn't realise that color calibration requires around 40mins. It was already 8pm when I was at the showroom to collect my laptop. I was also told that after color calibration, the laptop screen will have a red or yellow tint so end up I did not get any color calibration. Is this true? Thought calibration is supposed to make the color more accurate. Not sure if the staff is trying to shoo me off as they are rushing to knock off from work.

most LCDs have a cold colour balance so if calibrated it will of course feel warmer in colour temperature at initial glance

my opinion on calibration is dont do if don't need, cos to untrained eye they may even 'feel' that the calibrated is worse like why so yellowish etc. cos they are too used to typical LCD colour temperature

 

[Niccolo Machiavelli]

Just ordered a MX15 Pro. Upgraded to 16GB Ram.

 

[Darkshadows]

most LCDs have a cold colour balance so if calibrated it will of course feel warmer in colour temperature at initial glance

my opinion on calibration is dont do if don't need, cos to untrained eye they may even 'feel' that the calibrated is worse like why so yellowish etc. cos they are too used to typical LCD colour temperature

Thanks for the advice. Eventually I won't be going for the calibration even though they said they can come over to my house to bring the laptop back for calibration if I ever change my mind.

Apart from that, I find that the APEX-15 has a really good build. Playing Witcher 3 was pretty smooth and only lags a little bit after the story telling transits to the game playing if you get what I mean. It's however, a very big improvement to my older Asus laptop that kept shutting down abruptly (unable to restart for many hours) which eventually the battery got fried.

The APEX-15 has dual fans, it can be a little uncomfortable as the right fan is blowing the hot air onto my hand when the fan speed is high.

 

[finclk82]

do aftershock laptops still go into fan over spinning mode? I am still using a XG13 from 5 years ago. Even doing normal window's applications for emails, typing docs. Sometimes the fan goes into fastest spinning mode. And there's no different speeds of fans. It's just 1 fast and loud mode.

Are the new models better? Especially the slim guys - Apex15, Prime15 etc?

 

[chiaRH]

do aftershock laptops still go into fan over spinning mode? I am still using a XG13 from 5 years ago. Even doing normal window's applications for emails, typing docs. Sometimes the fan goes into fastest spinning mode. And there's no different speeds of fans. It's just 1 fast and loud mode.

Are the new models better? Especially the slim guys - Apex15, Prime15 etc?

it depends on the model. best to manually go check in the showroom ask someone to demo a game on the display unit, then demo light workload etc

for what its worth I doubt any laptop manufacturer has really succeeded in making a quiet and slim gaming laptop yet. no matter what nvidia says about max Q and noise, the manufacturers seem to focus more on the heat side of max-Q which means they're probably willing to let fans ramp up as a compromise

another heat concern which may lead to more fan workload is we're now in coffee lake territory that means 6 core CPUs even for thin and light laptops, and intel doesnt have a 'max-q'

 

[loneranger87]

do aftershock laptops still go into fan over spinning mode? I am still using a XG13 from 5 years ago. Even doing normal window's applications for emails, typing docs. Sometimes the fan goes into fastest spinning mode. And there's no different speeds of fans. It's just 1 fast and loud mode.

Are the new models better? Especially the slim guys - Apex15, Prime15 etc?

My Prime15 under load/gaming the fans will spin loudly normal useage. I put the battery under saving mode. Fan doesnt even move.

 

[finclk82]

Do you all know what is the tong fang model number for the aftershock apex15? Wanna check some reviews online

 

[chiaRH]

Do you all know what is the tong fang model number for the aftershock apex15? Wanna check some reviews online

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/tongfang-gk5cn5z-and-tongfang-gk5cn6z.815943/

 

[Darkshadows]

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/tongfang-gk5cn5z-and-tongfang-gk5cn6z.815943/

Why do they have the same laptop as Aftershock? Does it mean that Aftershock bought the laptop from them? Tong Fang sounds like some China company.

A review from one of the users:
http://www.technomadica.com/2018/05/11/illegear-onyx-i7-1060-dark-dazzler/

 

[finclk82]

Tong fang is a Chinese company that does bare bone laptops for other brands to slap their brand name on it and do abit of customisation. Similar to clevo of Taiwan.

Actually quite a number well known brands outside there sell laptops these way. Especially when they don't produce and R&D their own components.

 

[chiaRH]

Why do they have the same laptop as Aftershock? Does it mean that Aftershock bought the laptop from them? Tong Fang sounds like some China company.

A review from one of the users:
http://www.technomadica.com/2018/05/11/illegear-onyx-i7-1060-dark-dazzler/

All system integrators get their laptop barebones from OEM, namely clevo in taiwan. A small minority got some from MSI.

For example this is the aftershock prime 15
http://www.clevo.com.tw/clevo_prodetail.asp?id=1119&lang=en

This is a barebone that is very similar to Prime 15 which some companies use but aftershock doesnt
http://www.clevo.com.tw/clevo_prodetail.asp?id=1110&lang=en

This tong fang machine is note worthy because it's a non-clevo barebone that is adopted recently by a lot of custom laptop companies, including aftershock. In a world where pretty much 99% of all custom laptops are literally the same (due to all using clevo shells) seeing a non-clevo for a change is interesting

 

[chiaRH]

Why do they have the same laptop as Aftershock? Does it mean that Aftershock bought the laptop from them? Tong Fang sounds like some China company.

A review from one of the users:
http://www.technomadica.com/2018/05/11/illegear-onyx-i7-1060-dark-dazzler/

All system integrators get their laptop barebones from OEM, namely clevo in taiwan. A small minority got some from MSI.

For example this is the aftershock prime 15
http://www.clevo.com.tw/clevo_prodetail.asp?id=1119&lang=en

This tong fang machine is note worthy because it's a non-clevo barebone that is adopted recently by a lot of custom laptop companies, including aftershock.

 

[zakyyy]

Anybody using Apex the FHD IPS wide color gamut display or 144hz FHD IPS / AHVA wide color gamut display for creative work?

Everything else doesn't rly bother me (like the fan/mech keys). My only concern would be the colour accuracy and screen brightness. Which screen would you recommend? Or should I look at other laptops. I can't find the colour gamut specs anywhere (such a waste if the screen colours suckkkkkkkk)

Thanks!

 

[chiaRH]

Anybody using Apex the FHD IPS wide color gamut display or 144hz FHD IPS / AHVA wide color gamut display for creative work?

Everything else doesn't rly bother me (like the fan/mech keys). My only concern would be the colour accuracy and screen brightness. Which screen would you recommend? Or should I look at other laptops. I can't find the colour gamut specs anywhere (such a waste if the screen colours suckkkkkkkk)

Thanks!

sounds like the 'k' key on your keyboard is glitching

if you want to play safe the IPS is always the better bet for colour. both display choices of the apex are IPS anyway

satisfactory amount of screen brightness is subjective, only way is to go down to aftershock and view a display unit


colour accuracy and colour gamut are 2 different things I'm not sure why u are mixing up the 2 terms. A screen can have a wide gamut but suck at proper representation of the colours it's supposed to represent. You have things like contrast and so on which impact accuracy.

For instance my S-17 bought in August 2016 also has wide gamut display but the bit depth of the display was only 6-bit colour. After 1 year of using it I'm now using a Dell U2417H instead as my main screen.

FYI when aftershock says wide gamut in their marketing they usually mean 72% NTSC which is pretty much your 100% sRGB coverage. However beyond that they usually wont advertise any other image quality specs (and neither do other laptop sellers cos its very nitty gritty stuff and can even differ from unit to unit cos of calibration etc)

My 2 cents on colour is: unless u really need that level of accuracy like you're doing some photo or graphic stuff that is going to be printed out, etc, strict colour accuracy is probably not a must have. Even for my 6-bit colour display when I highlighted it to aftershock (cos i observed the display struggling to render some blues/oranges) they even said no other customer had raised that concern.

But lets say you really need the screen colour to be on that level, I would recommend checking out razer blade or gigabyte aero

EDIT: I did some googling around and the 1080p display on the Apex may be the same as that of the Gigabyte Aero 15X, unit number LGD05C0

 

[zakyyy]

sounds like the 'k' key on your keyboard is glitching

if you want to play safe the IPS is always the better bet for colour. both display choices of the apex are IPS anyway

satisfactory amount of screen brightness is subjective, only way is to go down to aftershock and view a display unit


colour accuracy and colour gamut are 2 different things I'm not sure why u are mixing up the 2 terms. A screen can have a wide gamut but suck at proper representation of the colours it's supposed to represent. You have things like contrast and so on which impact accuracy.

For instance my S-17 bought in August 2016 also has wide gamut display but the bit depth of the display was only 6-bit colour. After 1 year of using it I'm now using a Dell U2417H instead as my main screen.

FYI when aftershock says wide gamut in their marketing they usually mean 72% NTSC which is pretty much your 100% sRGB coverage. However beyond that they usually wont advertise any other image quality specs (and neither do other laptop sellers cos its very nitty gritty stuff and can even differ from unit to unit cos of calibration etc)

My 2 cents on colour is: unless u really need that level of accuracy like you're doing some photo or graphic stuff that is going to be printed out, etc, strict colour accuracy is probably not a must have. Even for my 6-bit colour display when I highlighted it to aftershock (cos i observed the display struggling to render some blues/oranges) they even said no other customer had raised that concern.

But lets say you really need the screen colour to be on that level, I would recommend checking out razer blade or gigabyte aero

EDIT: I did some googling around and the 1080p display on the Apex may be the same as that of the Gigabyte Aero 15X, unit number LGD05C0

Thanks so much for your input homey! I think it should be pretty alright then since my work doesn't rly require 100% accurate colour representation. I was actually considering the Aero 15 but with that price tag, and I can spec up so much more on ram and storage

Gonna go down to the showroom after work today to see the apex in person!

 

[chiaRH]

Thanks so much for your input homey! I think it should be pretty alright then since my work doesn't rly require 100% accurate colour representation. I was actually considering the Aero 15 but with that price tag, and I can spec up so much more on ram and storage

Gonna go down to the showroom after work today to see the apex in person!

the aero is also costlier in part cos of 1070 max Q

however with heat concerns maybe sticking to no more than a 1060 like the apex is a wiser choice




Notebookcheck has released a review of the XMG equivalent of the Apex 15

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Schen...-GTX-1060-Full-HD-Laptop-Review.315660.0.html

 

[KWSW]

Any MX-15 PRO users here? How are the temps on it under full load?

Looking at getting a laptop with i7 8750H, 16GB Ram, GTX 1060 and SSD + HHD combo for storage. Comparing with the other branded laptops from HP, Lenovo & Dell, seems like the closest match is the MX-15 Pro. Although for the thinner ones, the Prime 15 and APEX 15 are equally competitive in pricing compared to MSI, Asus, etc.

Would it be worth it to spend more to get the Apex 15 or Prime 15 or just stick to the MX-15 Pro? I am assuming the bigger MX-15 Pro would mean better temps under load?

 

[chiaRH]

Would it be worth it to spend more to get the Apex 15 or Prime 15 or just stick to the MX-15 Pro? I am assuming the bigger MX-15 Pro would mean better temps under load?

They're all using a 1060 GPU and a 8750H CPU, unless you're going for 1070 max-q on the Prime 15.

The Prime and Apex are slim laptops and you pay the tax (both the financial and heat-discomfort cost) for that slim-ness. is it worth the premium to get something that weights maybe 300 to 400 grams lighter? You have to decide on that.

The MX-15 will have some less obvious trade offs, such as a fewer amount of USB 3.0 ports and no wide gamut on the display but it actually has a lot of specs parity with the more high end stuff, including:

- it can do 144hz on its screen
- it can support NVME SSDs
- it can do dual channel memory (all 3 laptops can do it with their 2 RAM slots)

Will the MX-15 have better cooling is not easy to answer but educated guess is that the slimmer chassis of the apex and prime will be a slight thermal disadvantage. However the MX-15 only has 2 fan, 2 vents. The Prime has a triple fan system, and the Apex has a 4-vent with shared heatpipe spanning 2 fans each with dual exhaust, so I won't hold my breath for the MX-15 to have way better cooling cos it has its own bottlenecks too. Yea its bigger chassis but we're taking like half a cm taller at most, if it really has fewer ventilation I reckon that'll negate most of its advantage against the slim laptops

 

[KWSW]

They're all using a 1060 GPU and a 8750H CPU, unless you're going for 1070 max-q on the Prime 15.

The Prime and Apex are slim laptops and you pay the tax (both the financial and heat-discomfort cost) for that slim-ness. is it worth the premium to get something that weights maybe 300 to 400 grams lighter? You have to decide on that.

The MX-15 will have some less obvious trade offs, such as a fewer amount of USB 3.0 ports and no wide gamut on the display but it actually has a lot of specs parity with the more high end stuff, including:

- it can do 144hz on its screen
- it can support NVME SSDs
- it can do dual channel memory (all 3 laptops can do it with their 2 RAM slots)

Will the MX-15 have better cooling is not easy to answer but educated guess is that the slimmer chassis of the apex and prime will be a slight thermal disadvantage. However the MX-15 only has 2 fan, 2 vents. The Prime has a triple fan system, and the Apex has a 4-vent with shared heatpipe spanning 2 fans each with dual exhaust, so I won't hold my breath for the MX-15 to have way better cooling cos it has its own bottlenecks too. Yea its bigger chassis but we're taking like half a cm taller at most, if it really has fewer ventilation I reckon that'll negate most of its advantage against the slim laptops

thanks for the info, esp about the thermal structure for the MX-15. Guess I will make a trip down to aftershock showroom after work today to check them out. Hope the lead time of the laptops dont take forever as I read many reviews on that on their facebook page