win32asmguy

25% is comparing the 1% lows. The average and max fps is absurdly high. 300-400 maybe? Its less on the 5090 mobile but does not matter as WoW is enjoyable at 120fps for me as long as it is consistent. 200S boost only last night as I had to first backup data on the Optane drive, then build the Apex + 285K and get it installed, then reinstall W10, apps and WoW. I do want to try out Talon's settings as well. The power is out today due to high winds / fire risk so may have to wait until tomorrow.

Ah, there is one in stock at the Denver store (also a 60min drive for me) but it appears to be out of stock at most other locations. I got the Z890 Apex + 285K swapped today. Enabled 200S boost for now which resulted in around 42k in CBR23 and 71.5ns in AIDA64 (8000 CL40). Also getting over 110fps in heavy raids so it is already outperforming the 12900KS by 25% (90fps), the L9i G10 by 100% (55ps) and Hydroc G2 (D2D 30x, NGU 26x, 6400 CL52 trefi 16k) by 25% (90fps). I need to run the Hydroc G2 through the same as well to see where it lands. It can be tuned but still no word on the Prema bios being available despite it being 6 months after release. From what I read on OCN the Strix is supposed to be a very good alternative to the Apex. I need to get an M.2 adapter for my Optane drive so I can attach it to CPU PCIe lanes instead of PCH.

Micro Center also has the Z890 Apex for ~$294. The Unify would be nice but its a lot of trouble to change around boards unless there is a good benefit to it. The Z890 Apex + 285K I bought from Talon was finally delivered today. Hopefully can test out this evening!

Yeah. I have been starting to read through the Arrow Lake thread over at OCN. Sounds like G4 is needed over 9000 and its not worth it unless you can really push NGU further. I do not recall what @Talon tested his NGU to clock at but I am guessing 36 should be obtainable. Hopefully all of this can run ok on air only. A bios update came through on the Legion 9i G10 recently which fixed a few bugs with the shipping bios, but sadly SREP no longer works so tuning D2D is not possible (yet) on that version.

I picked up the other 9600 kit this seller had after @electrosoft gave me the heads up. I figured it would pair better with the 285k than the 2x16gb 6400 cl32 kit I have now.

The dips are interesting. Not that the remix raids are particularly challenging as the game mode is pretty broken but its just more enjoyable to have performance consistent. I could pick up a 2x24GB 8800 CL42 Teamgroup CUDIMM kit from Micro Center for $550. I do have a bunch of laptop memory that may fetch more money now. Legion 9i G10 - 275HX at 58W and 5090 at 150W combined load, not really overheating as it can go up 300W combined loads. I need to just give it 100W on the 275HX as WoW could probably use more TDP. Its also severly limited on memory compatibility. The Kingston Fury 2x32GB kit is the only performance memory that works, and only up to 5200 CL38. No custom profiles or XMP profiles can post. That results in AIDA64 latency of around 105-110ns with Gear2, boosted D2D and NGU. Not great but still far better than the X580 could do. The Hydroc G2 can do better with memory latency but its also the smaller screen, and much more loud and much hotter palm rest.

I have the clevo x370 4090 bios if you would like to try it!

I have done remix raid world tours on the 12900KS + 5090 and it can usually hold 90 fps even in the really heavy fights at QHD. I am guessing it is still CPU limited albeit better than the 2495X could do. I never picked up that team group 2x24gb kit back when y'all recommended it so I will have to tune my a-die 2x16gb on the 285k instead. Hopefully can find good starting point timings as it only has XMP at 6400 C32. Hoping it can keep a stable 120fps in the 1% lows as that is the refresh rate on a new display with kvm I am testing. The laptops are all basically a lag fest in the raids at those same settings...

I have seen WHEA error 17 on multiple other Arrow Lake systems including the Eluktronics Hydroc G2 and Lenovo Legion 9i Gen 10. Supposedly setting PCIe Power State Management to disabled in the bios could fix this but I have not tested that.

I was disappointed when the 5090 mobile GPU option was dropped from the Pro Max Plus lineup. It seems like Nvidia may be the one responsible here as the T16g G3 has not been released yet either so it could be a play to boost 4000/5000 Blackwell mobile sales. The Legion happened to be the best choice for a consumer model 18 inch for me. Its warranty and repairability is worse than the Pro Max 18 Plus but I would be selling and upgrading before the warranty expires with either machine.

The battery drain under load was a big issue for me. It cannot actually sustain 200W as it needs to draw down the battery at 20W per hour to do so. I really just wanted an 18 inch version of this years uniwill chassis. As it turns out the legion 9 g10 is much closer to that. It also has even better build quality than the pro max 18 plus along with a 1200p panel mode which works much better for me when docked at my desk.

Well if you are going for a Pro Max 16 Plus it might have less of a battery drain issue under load as it is capped at 170W instead of 200W. Then just repaste the cooling system with PTM7950 and better VRAM putty. I returned the Pro Max 18 Plus and opted for a Legion 9i Gen 10 instead. Its been a great machine and definitely the best 18 inch model I have used. Its a shame they did not offer a 1600p panel option in addition to the dual mode 1200p/2400p as that is what most people would want to use. I can even run 2x32GB at 5200MT CL38 in Gear2 and get close to 100ns memory latency with D2D and NGU overclocks.

I did not have issues with the micron 3500 512gb SSD included with my Pro max, but I also used W10 so maybe that helped with avoiding the SSD issues posted above. I also have a 4tb sn8100 which has worked well in the hydroc g2 but I did not test it in the pro Max.

@Easa nice post! If you happen to run some combined load stress tests could you monitor if it periodically trips the ia: rapl/psyspl2 throttle flag reducing the CPU to around 15w until the power supply is disconnected and reconnected? Oh and for Optimus make sure advanced Optimus is not enabled as it is pretty buggy.

I think they might consider exposing manual fan control a security concern at this point. To be completely honest I was surprised that the Pro Max 18 Plus does not yet have its EFI variables write protected yet like the Zbook and Thinkpad. The fan noise is better than the previous Precision 7780 and also Thinkpad P16 G2. I spent a bunch of time over the weekend trying to find a way to prevent the power adapter performance locking issue. It seems like it will always eventually happen if the system is in performance mode and under any kind of high load scenario where the battery is draining down while plugged in. I have to box it up and send it back as their support said it was "operating as designed".