K9C3 Teclast X98 Pro

[Chris G]

@willba4 Yeah it’s not good. 4-5 hours, which is why I gave it 6/10 for battery life. If you want to get close to five hours use Edge. But I believe it needs a bios update. It turbo like crazy all the time 2.24 all cores. I expected a small drop in battery over the Bay Trail, but this is using power like a Core M!

I also saw that Windows defender was eating up CPU and a few other Windows 10 things like system interrupts with high CPU use. This eats up the battery.

Chris | Admin
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[rich t]

Chris G wrote:

@willba4 Yeah it’s not good. 4-5 hours, which is why I gave it 6/10 for battery life. If you want to get close to five hours use Edge. But I believe it needs a bios update. It turbo like crazy all the time 2.24 all cores. I expected a small drop in battery over the Bay Trail, but this is using power like a Core M! I also saw that Windows defender was eating up CPU and a few other Windows 10 things like system interrupts with high CPU use. This eats up the battery.

Probably also explains the hot temps with basic tasks. I do have to admit though, this tab is a speedy s.o.b. It’s quicker than my laptop with an i3 and 4gb ram.

[William]

so turns out hidden under system settings and the battery saver tab, there is a battery usage monitor, that will tell you what applicaitons have been using what percentage of the power.

turns out chrome was using 49% of my battery 😛  the screen chews up a bit too.  if they released a bios update that stoped it from turboing quite as much, and requiring a bit more stress before turboing, then i reckon the battery life on this would be MUCH better,  even just opening up a web browser, i’ve seen the clocks hit maximum turbo.

windows defender also slows down installation of programs,  when i tried to install a game from steam, it was as if it was scanning each file before installing it.  it had taken 3 hours to do 10% of the installation.  turned off windows defender, and the install was done within the next 20-30min.

i just saw your post about the new bios for the dual boot options….  if you try that out,  let us know what battery life you get in windows!!
hope they release a new bios for windows only tablets….

[Bill B]

My International X98 Pro (US English Windows 10 Home) from Aliexpress has terribly quiet and  tinny sounding speakers, MUCH worse than my Air II.  Can’t understand that as I think they are supposed to be the same speakers and appear to be so in Device Manager.   And the overheating is RIDICULOUS.  It instantly zooms to ~85 in a couple of cores when I start a 4K video.  Idling it is in the 50s and 60s.  My Air II idles in the 40s and hardly budges from that when playing 4K videos.  Very disappointed in the X98 Pro.  I could try to alter the heatsinks, but the speakers are still an issue and the heat even with feasible heatsinking seems crazy, like it needs a fan.

[rich t]

Bill B wrote:

My International X98 Pro (US English Windows 10 Home) from Aliexpress has terribly quiet and tinny sounding speakers, MUCH worse than my Air II. Can’t understand that as I think they are supposed to be the same speakers and appear to be so in Device Manager. And the overheating is RIDICULOUS. It instantly zooms to ~85 in a couple of cores when I start a 4K video. Idling it is in the 50s and 60s. My Air II idles in the 40s and hardly budges from that when playing 4K videos. Very disappointed in the X98 Pro. I could try to alter the heatsinks, but the speakers are still an issue and the heat even with feasible heatsinking seems crazy, like it needs a fan.

Not sure what you expected with the heat issue. It’s been stated numerous times that a heat sink mod is NEEDED.

[Ethan Spitz]

Hey Chris!

Could you do a write up on the thermal mod you did? Your video is a bit hard to follow since you don’t quite mention the thickness of all the parts you used or explain how you attached the copper shim to the CPU.

Was it a 20x20x1mm copper shim under the shield? Did you use thermal adhesive (ceramic or silver?) to attach it or just thermal paste? Also, Thermal paste on top of the shim too before putting the shield back on? Did the 1mm thermal pad on top of the shield make contact with the back of the case? Perhaps upgrade that pad to a 30x30x1mm since we have plenty of surface area to attach to?

Thanks,

Ethan

[Ethan Spitz]

Also, looking into trying this instead of copper :O

http://www.digikey.com/en/product-highlight/p/panasonic/pyrolytic-graphite-sheets

edit: doesn’t come thicker than .1mm 😛

Edit 2: Actually might be perfect. http://semiaccurate.com/2013/08/15/panasonic-make-a-10-micron-thick-carbon-phone-heatsink/

Could attach directly to cpu and the use thermal adhesive to attach directly to the back of the case, the Case would then be one big heat sink that is “next to perfectly” attached to the CPU

[Bill B]

rich t wrote:

NEEDED

Rich:  The processor is running too close to its thermal limit (90C).  So far Chris’s heatsinking mods have brought the operating core temps down to 80C which will still present performance problems at some points.  We need a heatsink solution that can dissipate at least 4W.  I ordered before Chris’s review.  After a good experience with my Air II I took a leap of faith as an early adopter.

[William]

4 watts? This processor will use up to 8 watts at full turbo.  which is why we have issues.  because it shouldn’t be able to turbo 24/7.  not even the Microsoft surface turbos 24/7

[Chris G]

If I do another mod there is plenty if room for improvement. I think a 20mm heatsink and then a larger 100 x 100mm one on top of it. Then a thermal pad of around 1 or 0.5mm depending on the pressure on the screen from the rear housing.

But  I strongly believe that a simple bios update will fix the heat and improve the battery life a good 25% maybe to the point no mods are needed. I hope Teclast are reading this, it just turbos for too long.

Chris | Admin
Please support us and help keep TechTablets online. Affiliate revenue is used to pay for the server, studio apartment (Techtablets HQ) and buy new tech to review. Without it, this site would be dead.
Next up for review:
Ordered and waiting for my: BMAX S15 & Teclast F6 Plus
Currently testing: LG G8X & Redmi K30

[Chris G]

Ethan Spitz wrote:

Hey Chris! Could you do a write up on the thermal mod you did? Your video is a bit hard to follow since you don’t quite mention the thickness of all the parts you used or explain how you attached the copper shim to the CPU. Was it a 20x20x1mm copper shim under the shield? Did you use thermal adhesive (ceramic or silver?) to attach it or just thermal paste? Also, Thermal paste on top of the shim too before putting the shield back on? Did the 1mm thermal pad on top of the shield make contact with the back of the case? Perhaps upgrade that pad to a 30x30x1mm since we have plenty of surface area to attach to? Thanks, Ethan

I used 1 20mm x 20mm 1mm thick copper shim with thermal paste. And then thermal adhesive on top of it to secure it in place to the shielding which I left. I replaced the Ram thermal pads with my own higher quality one and use a 1mm thermal pad on top of the shielding to give it contact with the tablets rear metal housing.

 

I think now if I do the mod I would use a larger thermal pad maybe 60x 60 or larger on the shielding to give more contact with the rear of the tablet housing. There is definitely room for improvement and I only used what I had with me at the time. It still gives me a 24% boost in FPS.

Chris | Admin
Please support us and help keep TechTablets online. Affiliate revenue is used to pay for the server, studio apartment (Techtablets HQ) and buy new tech to review. Without it, this site would be dead.
Next up for review:
Ordered and waiting for my: BMAX S15 & Teclast F6 Plus
Currently testing: LG G8X & Redmi K30

[Bill B]

William wrote:

4 watts? This processor will use up to 8 watts at full turbo. which is why we have issues. because it shouldn’t be able to turbo 24/7. not even the Microsoft surface turbos 24/7

I couldn’t find the Cherry Trail TDP, so I estimated it (wrong). 🙁  Anyway, we need some far better cooling and maybe BIOS changes re: turbo modes. Oh, Chris, maybe use some modeling clay to see what thickness the sink should be and keep the number of junctions to a minimum.  I tried to open the case, like I have several times with my Air II using a guitar pick.  Boy, is it tight.  I don’t want to mess it up, as mine has really bad speakers, I may decide to return it.

[Ethan Spitz]

Thanks

Chris G wrote:

Ethan Spitz wrote:

Hey Chris! Could you do a write up on the thermal mod you did? Your video is a bit hard to follow since you don’t quite mention the thickness of all the parts you used or explain how you attached the copper shim to the CPU. Was it a 20x20x1mm copper shim under the shield? Did you use thermal adhesive (ceramic or silver?) to attach it or just thermal paste? Also, Thermal paste on top of the shim too before putting the shield back on? Did the 1mm thermal pad on top of the shield make contact with the back of the case? Perhaps upgrade that pad to a 30x30x1mm since we have plenty of surface area to attach to? Thanks, Ethan

I used 1 20mm x 20mm 1mm thick copper shim with thermal paste. And then thermal adhesive on top of it to secure it in place to the shielding which I left. I replaced the Ram thermal pads with my own higher quality one and use a 1mm thermal pad on top of the shielding to give it contact with the tablets rear metal housing. I think now if I do the mod I would use a larger thermal pad maybe 60x 60 or larger on the shielding to give more contact with the rear of the tablet housing. There is definitely room for improvement and I only used what I had with me at the time. It still gives me a 24% boost in FPS. <span class=”embed-youtube” style=”text-align: center; display: block;”><iframe class=”youtube-player” src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/_5Bj2I3g_s0?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent&#8221; width=”810″ height=”486″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen=”allowfullscreen”></iframe></span>

Thanks Chris!

Mine should ship out from gearbest tomorrow or so. I’ll report back if there’s any issues with thermals (before I open it up of course)

Ethan

[Denis]

Not sure if you guys saw this FAQ from the OKQI promotion for X98 Pro dual boot here http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/FAQ-Page-of-Teclast-X98-Pro-Dual-OS-Promotion-on-14th-Sep/609719_32467959995.html

Hope it is true and the heat issues are going to be resolved.

Quote:

1. This new batch has addressee the heat/throttling issues ?

Since some of our old buyers asked about this problem. We specially ask Teclast to test the device. Their lab test result is after 2 hours running 3D Mark, the tablet got only 43 degrees shell temperature. Under 45 degrees it won’t influence normal usage.

Some programs can detect the temperature but it’s instantaneous temperature of the Soc running which read from BIOS data. Intel has throttling system to protect the CPU. If the temperature gets too hot, the program will protect the tablet from damage. Since the tablet is equipped with stronger CPU and GPU, in some case the device can be hotter than older X98 Air series, especially with metal shell. Teclast has plan to work out a new BIOS to improve this.

[rich t]

Bill B wrote:

William wrote:

4 watts? This processor will use up to 8 watts at full turbo. which is why we have issues. because it shouldn’t be able to turbo 24/7. not even the Microsoft surface turbos 24/7

I couldn’t find the Cherry Trail TDP, so I estimated it (wrong). Anyway, we need some far better cooling and maybe BIOS changes re: turbo modes. Oh, Chris, maybe use some modeling clay to see what thickness the sink should be and keep the number of junctions to a minimum. I tried to open the case, like I have several times with my Air II using a guitar pick. Boy, is it tight. I don’t want to mess it up, as mine has really bad speakers, I may decide to return it.

 

If we could fit a ram heatsink on, I think heat issues would be gone.

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