Manuel JoaquimCarvalho de Meireles368
New member
Hello everyone!
I am here to share my review and my current issue with you all. I'm not a native english speaker, so don't mind any spellings or terms inaccuracy.
I have purchased the following laptop:
Chassis & Display
Nova Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD 144Hz 72% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 3900 12 Core CPU (3.1GHz-4.3GHz/70MB CACHE/AM4)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair 2666MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 2070 - 8.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3300MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated Micro-SD Memory Card Reader
AC Adaptor
1 x 230W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
2 x 1 Metre European Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Battery
Nova Series Detachable 4 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
2 Channel High Def. Audio + SoundBlaster™ Cinema
Wireless Network Card
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 (2.4 Gbps) + BT 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 PORTUGUESE KEYBOARD
Operating System
Windows 10 Professional 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [MUP-00003]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Keyboard & Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
3 DAY DELIVERY TO PORTUGAL
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 8 to 10 working days
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
The delivery date took way more than the 3 days stated, but the remaining timings were ok I guess:
The laptop came with an already known issue, the BIOS was outdated making the brightness control not to work properly. It was actually disappointing, as the issue was known for so long when I purchased (I've actually only found it because I had read about it here in the forums and checked it).
I had to send a message to the technical support and they eventually ended up sending me a file to update the BIOS on my own. They took about 2 days to reply to me and I had to exchange a couple of them.
Besides that, I also had a camera issue (it was not showing up on my devices). After a frustrating exchange of messages with the Tech Support, I eventually ended up taking it to a local pc shop to fix it. They said the camera was not properly connected, they just had to plug it. They also said the screen casing was not "glued" just fitted in. Apparently that was strange but they kept it like that as they said it was closing properly and it makes it easier to open if needed. I end up paying 10€ from my pocket, as PCSpecialist did not care about my issue.
The laptop is a beast, it chews anything I throw at him pretty nicely. However, it is a very loud chewer (even on idle). It would heat up to about 65-75ºC (as shown in the Ryzen Master) on idle and would raise (on gaming for instance) to 80-90 ºC. However, even on running multiple demanding games at the same time, temperatures would not go beyond 90 ºC (except for the occasional quick spike). Regardless, I've bough a cooling stand (payed about 15€) that has 5 fans and raises the laptop up to 13 cm from the base. I have to say it works like a charm. I've noticed a 10 ºC reduction (both on idle and gaming). Like this, I don't really have a traditional overheating problem.
However, a couple days ago, I have started having issues. After playing for a couple of hours, I've noticed a performance break. That usually happens when I disconnect the power (I never really use it on battery other than a 1/2 minutes move or something like that). I've checked the system tray and it says I'm no longer connected to the power source, I'm on battery. I've checked the cables and everything was ok. I even disconnected everything and connecte back again, to no use. While I was doing that, I've notice that both the AC adapter and the cable plug (on the laptop) were very hot. I suspected it was something about those overheating so I removed it and placed it on a fresh/ventillated place to cooldown. I shutdown the laptop as well. When power cord was cold again, I've plugged it back in and it was working properly. This has happened to me like 3 times already. I see my CPU and GPU temperatures are fine (within the above mentioned values) but the zone between the keyboard and the screen is burning. Both air vents expel a very hot air and the power cord connects right in the middle of them. I suspect this migth be damaging my power cord plug or, even worse, my laptop power socket.
[PS] This is starting to become more frequent, even when the power cord/laptop is not that hot. However, I've noticed something weird. Nowadays the Total Power Socket (PPT) is always at 100% (sometimes it even goes a bit past that) from the start (still on idle, only with the AMD Ryzen Master opened (check screenshot). I don't know how to make it go lower, but I don't recall it being like this when I got the laptop. I have checked the startup tasks and so on, I see nothing special in there, nothing new lately.
Am I missing something here? Has anyone faced a similar issue? Any idea on how to solve this? I haven't contacted the Tech Support yet, but perhaps I should do it and see what they say. What do you all think?
I will throw some pictures of my unboxing so people can get a feeling of how the laptop looks like and where the sockets are.
I am here to share my review and my current issue with you all. I'm not a native english speaker, so don't mind any spellings or terms inaccuracy.
I have purchased the following laptop:
Chassis & Display
Nova Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD 144Hz 72% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 3900 12 Core CPU (3.1GHz-4.3GHz/70MB CACHE/AM4)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair 2666MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 2070 - 8.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3300MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated Micro-SD Memory Card Reader
AC Adaptor
1 x 230W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
2 x 1 Metre European Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Battery
Nova Series Detachable 4 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
2 Channel High Def. Audio + SoundBlaster™ Cinema
Wireless Network Card
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 (2.4 Gbps) + BT 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 PORTUGUESE KEYBOARD
Operating System
Windows 10 Professional 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [MUP-00003]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Keyboard & Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
3 DAY DELIVERY TO PORTUGAL
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 8 to 10 working days
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
The delivery date took way more than the 3 days stated, but the remaining timings were ok I guess:
| Production Dates | |
|---|---|
| Processed Date | 13-09-2020 |
| Pre-Production Date | 18-09-2020 |
| Build Date | 22-09-2020 |
| Test Date | 23-09-2020 |
| Awaiting Dispatch Date | 24-09-2020 |
| Dispatch Date | 24-09-2020 |
The laptop came with an already known issue, the BIOS was outdated making the brightness control not to work properly. It was actually disappointing, as the issue was known for so long when I purchased (I've actually only found it because I had read about it here in the forums and checked it).
I had to send a message to the technical support and they eventually ended up sending me a file to update the BIOS on my own. They took about 2 days to reply to me and I had to exchange a couple of them.
Besides that, I also had a camera issue (it was not showing up on my devices). After a frustrating exchange of messages with the Tech Support, I eventually ended up taking it to a local pc shop to fix it. They said the camera was not properly connected, they just had to plug it. They also said the screen casing was not "glued" just fitted in. Apparently that was strange but they kept it like that as they said it was closing properly and it makes it easier to open if needed. I end up paying 10€ from my pocket, as PCSpecialist did not care about my issue.
The laptop is a beast, it chews anything I throw at him pretty nicely. However, it is a very loud chewer (even on idle). It would heat up to about 65-75ºC (as shown in the Ryzen Master) on idle and would raise (on gaming for instance) to 80-90 ºC. However, even on running multiple demanding games at the same time, temperatures would not go beyond 90 ºC (except for the occasional quick spike). Regardless, I've bough a cooling stand (payed about 15€) that has 5 fans and raises the laptop up to 13 cm from the base. I have to say it works like a charm. I've noticed a 10 ºC reduction (both on idle and gaming). Like this, I don't really have a traditional overheating problem.
However, a couple days ago, I have started having issues. After playing for a couple of hours, I've noticed a performance break. That usually happens when I disconnect the power (I never really use it on battery other than a 1/2 minutes move or something like that). I've checked the system tray and it says I'm no longer connected to the power source, I'm on battery. I've checked the cables and everything was ok. I even disconnected everything and connecte back again, to no use. While I was doing that, I've notice that both the AC adapter and the cable plug (on the laptop) were very hot. I suspected it was something about those overheating so I removed it and placed it on a fresh/ventillated place to cooldown. I shutdown the laptop as well. When power cord was cold again, I've plugged it back in and it was working properly. This has happened to me like 3 times already. I see my CPU and GPU temperatures are fine (within the above mentioned values) but the zone between the keyboard and the screen is burning. Both air vents expel a very hot air and the power cord connects right in the middle of them. I suspect this migth be damaging my power cord plug or, even worse, my laptop power socket.
[PS] This is starting to become more frequent, even when the power cord/laptop is not that hot. However, I've noticed something weird. Nowadays the Total Power Socket (PPT) is always at 100% (sometimes it even goes a bit past that) from the start (still on idle, only with the AMD Ryzen Master opened (check screenshot). I don't know how to make it go lower, but I don't recall it being like this when I got the laptop. I have checked the startup tasks and so on, I see nothing special in there, nothing new lately.
Am I missing something here? Has anyone faced a similar issue? Any idea on how to solve this? I haven't contacted the Tech Support yet, but perhaps I should do it and see what they say. What do you all think?
I will throw some pictures of my unboxing so people can get a feeling of how the laptop looks like and where the sockets are.
Attachments
Last edited:
