Aorus Owner's Lounge

[Anubis2211]

This is for the Aorus rep and perhaps for potential buyers.

Ordered a brand new X7 v6 from OcUK.

Wonderful packaging, truly excited. Unboxing reveals a beautiful, stunning laptop. And that's about it... switching it on showed the Windows Taskbar on the left hand side, somebody had already used the laptop, not sure how it left the factory and what measures and safeguards are in place. Then Windows and the BIOS wouldn't recognise the 1 TB internal HDD. Finally the screen started flickering and this is within one day of receiving the laptop. Didn't wait to find out whether the HDD had in fact been installed after all, just returned the laptop and received a replacement from OcUK... within minutes of switching it on the 's' and 'a' keys on the keyboard wouldn't register and within a few hours the spacebar key gave out on me, it made such a creaking racket to begin with and then pressing it was Ur biggest mistake, it stayed stuck and had to be pressed multiple times to get it unstuck. Spoke to OcUK and was advised by the rep to choose the refund option, since there was no telling whether the next one would work. Two in a row, back to back, enough said.

I waited more than a year to get this laptop but what a let down, the experience has been annoyingly frustrating. It is a most stunningly beautiful machine, design and aesthetics wise but what good is it if one cant use it even for a few hours, let alone a couple of years. This is the 21st century and not some dark ages, a machine ought to work as advertised. One pays such an exorbitant price from a supposedly well established manufacturer only to have this product beaten by the effort of a self trained, corner shop techie who would most certainly come up with a better laptop, which would last a good five years without a hitch or glitch.

And then like so many others I thought perhaps the next generation may have something better to offer. Was announced in January... so, well nigh one might assume.. but no, the forlorn hope has been dashed to dust weeks ago.. as for the Aorus rep, he's more at bay than those seeking his advice, he has been saying the same thing for the past few months now, that the v7 is going to be out within two weeks and it's been weeks and weeks since he first said it. In fact it's the potential buyers who have more information than he does. Just a few posts ago, on the 14th he wrote he'll get in touch with HQ and let us know the next day... nothing so far and I don't think it's the 15th today. On the 4th of May he assured us that x5v7 sku would be available in two weeks' time ....it would be hilarious if it werent so frustrating really that the company rep doesn't have any clue ...although I do admire his courage, wanting to still be with the company that would leave its employees to take the heat, does speak well of his depth. That I give him, unreservedly.

The corner shop may well have something to offer or MSi perhaps...given up on Aorus.

Initially I was annoyed with OcUK too, somehow I felt it was much of a coincidence that I received two separate laptops, both faulty and useless, back to back but I must emphatically state that in spite of my frustration and angst I do realise that OcUK were really considerate and helpful and I was offered both the replacement and then a complete refund without any hitches. I may well buy from them again but an Aorus product... I'd need to be really off my rockers to even consider the option.

 

[Atom80]

This is for the Aorus rep and perhaps for potential buyers.

Ordered a brand new X7 v6 from OcUK.

Wonderful packaging, truly excited. Unboxing reveals a beautiful, stunning laptop. And that's about it... switching it on showed the Windows Taskbar on the left hand side, somebody had already used the laptop, not sure how it left the factory and what measures and safeguards are in place. Then Windows and the BIOS wouldn't recognise the 1 TB internal HDD. Finally the screen started flickering and this is within one day of receiving the laptop. Didn't wait to find out whether the HDD had in fact been installed after all, just returned the laptop and received a replacement from OcUK... within minutes of switching it on the 's' and 'a' keys on the keyboard wouldn't register and within a few hours the spacebar key gave out on me, it made such a creaking racket to begin with and then pressing it was Ur biggest mistake, it stayed stuck and had to be pressed multiple times to get it unstuck. Spoke to OcUK and was advised by the rep to choose the refund option, since there was no telling whether the next one would work. Two in a row, back to back, enough said.

I waited more than a year to get this laptop but what a let down, the experience has been annoyingly frustrating. It is a most stunningly beautiful machine, design and aesthetics wise but what good is it if one cant use it even for a few hours, let alone a couple of years. This is the 21st century and not some dark ages, a machine ought to work as advertised. One pays such an exorbitant price from a supposedly well established manufacturer only to have this product beaten by the effort of a self trained, corner shop techie who would most certainly come up with a better laptop, which would last a good five years without a hitch or glitch.

And then like so many others I thought perhaps the next generation may have something better to offer. Was announced in January... so, well nigh one might assume.. but no, the forlorn hope has been dashed to dust weeks ago.. as for the Aorus rep, he's more at bay than those seeking his advice, he has been saying the same thing for the past few months now, that the v7 is going to be out within two weeks and it's been weeks and weeks since he first said it. In fact it's the potential buyers who have more information than he does. Just a few posts ago, on the 14th he wrote he'll get in touch with HQ and let us know the next day... nothing so far and I don't think it's the 15th today. On the 4th of May he assured us that x5v7 sku would be available in two weeks' time ....it would be hilarious if it werent so frustrating really that the company rep doesn't have any clue ...although I do admire his courage, wanting to still be with the company that would leave its employees to take the heat, does speak well of his depth. That I give him, unreservedly.

The corner shop may well have something to offer or MSi perhaps...given up on Aorus.

Initially I was annoyed with OcUK too, somehow I felt it was much of a coincidence that I received two separate laptops, both faulty and useless, back to back but I must emphatically state that in spite of my frustration and angst I do realise that OcUK were really considerate and helpful and I was offered both the replacement and then a complete refund without any hitches. I may well buy from them again but an Aorus product... I'd need to be really off my rockers to even consider the option.

Hello Anubis2211,

Sorry to hear of this experience, we have already spoken with OcUK about it and can confirm that the first machine will not have been used by a previous owner (possible if B Grade - but this isn't the case we presume).

We will forward the feedback to HQ, as we don't see how this can have happened. Can you confirm that all security seals were intact when you received the unit?

With regards to your additional feedback regarding schedule for new Kabylake "V7" models - AORUS X3 was here in January, X5 has now been ranged with OCUK for pre-order and we expect stock in the next week or so, and X7 will be set up and ranged when we have firm schedule from factory. The circumstances are far from ideal, we agree, but when as the manufacturer we rely on some suppliers for key parts such as chassis part, keyboard etc, our supply chain is of finished goods is subject to change with circumstance beyond our control.

We believe we have endeavoured to keep OcUK forums updated with as much accurate information as possible, and in our opinion the worst thing we could do would be to make promises that we aren't confident of coming to fruition.

"On the 4th of May he assured us that x5v7 sku would be available in two weeks' time ....it would be hilarious if it weren't so frustrating really that the company rep doesn't have any clue" - We doubt we would have made this "assurance" because of the reasons outlined above, but in reality the estimate is hoped to not be too far off the mark as we expect stock to fly later this week, early next week - again we wait for confirmation from HQ on this subject, but that's the latest we know.

We work closely with OcUK as a valued supplier of our kit, and are very sorry to see that your experience has been well below our expectations, and yours of course.

We of course would like to try and resolve and supply you with a unit that you are happy with, so please feel free to send Trust message to us, and we will see if this is achievable.


Regards,

Team AORUS

 

[Anubis2211]

@Atom80 I am not sure how much Aorus value U but they ought to to know they have someone special on their team. And I am sure U are worth far, far more than whatever it is they are offering U and no, I don't mean to insinuate that U are in it for just the money.

May I sincerely apologise for my tone. Please accept my apologies, my only excuse is my utter frustration. I am truly disappointed and angry with Aorus and unfortunately U get to be their face here, whatever I wrote is directed at them and I still stand by it.

Regarding the laptop/s, there was only one seal, on the main box with the laptop inside and that was intact, as far as I could tell. U assure me that the unit will not have been previously owned, then I can't quite fathom how such units were allowed to pass the tests (assuming there are such tests in place) and declared ready for sale. The wiring on the right speaker (top right) was so shabbily done and could be seen clearly through the mesh, the internal HDD could not be detected, again how did such a unit pass tests if the most blatant of declarations had not been verified given that both Windows and BIOS could not detect it and most pertinently the taskbar.... how could it be placed on the left hand side, all Windows PCs and laptops ship out with the taskbar at the bottom of the screen, in fact the replacement unit I was sent had it at the bottom, too. The second unit didn't even take more than a few key presses before two keys stopped registering until eventually the space bar fiasco.

First impressions are usually hard to shake off... U know how it is, once bitten twice shy but in my case I've already been bitten twice ...not sure what could be different this time.

 

[agt]

Yeah too many bad experiences, going with MSI I think

 

[LEK-89]

With regards to how the both laptops could have left the factory in somewhat of a defective state, sadly it doesn't matter how expensive a laptop can be at times - even though you expect the best for a £2000+ unit, problems can still arise once they reach the customer.

By this I mean laptops such as these are manufactured overseas, most likely in the south east and therefore are subject to constant temperature changes with going from one warm environment, a cold environment for example, another warm environment before then going onto a container truck or even aircraft and also subjected to a lot of movement depending how the batches are handled in bulk. Temperatures changes in general can perhaps be explained for the exposed wiring in the speaker mesh in this instance, maybe some black tape that cannot be seen was supposed to hold the wire away from vision but then came away.

During this time all sorts can happen which sadly can result in a very small number of these manufactured units turning up as defective - and to top it off these laptops are manufactured on an assembly line too where the members of staff probably help produce hundreds of these at a time in order to meet projected sales requirements.

I speak of past experience from a similar line of work that I was in previously - at the time I worked for a worldwide scientific key player who manufactured hospital & laboratory dispensers, I was in the production line / QC and helped make these in bulk all from scratch, down to the very last valve & ball bearing. For instance say from a batch of 150 of them made, 4 of which used to be returned to us on average due to being defective - usually it would only consist of a small part being to blame but on occasion it could also consist of the moulded & tight plastic casing being warped ever so slightly due to exposed temperature changes when in transit / storage around the world.

Hats off to @Atom80 for looking into this and providing a detailed explanation as well.

From past experience myself and also other members of the forum - I wouldn't buy MSI again. I'd still choose Aorus / Gigabyte over them now any day because they're also UK customer support based.

Liam.

 

[OCdude]

Yeah too many bad experiences, going with MSI I think

From what I've seen, there doesn't appear to be any more issues with Aorus than there are with any of the other gaming laptop manufacturers.

 

[Anubis2211]

I agree, only If this be the case then they shouldn't go around charging overseas customers what they'd charge within a certain clime and topography. If they are truly honest, then they should take all this into account and charge just about 10% of what they actually do, seeing how the real value of the product that reaches the customer isn't even worth that. Would they have such morals and standards, and if the product isn't damaged then it's the customer's luck. It may well be argued that the customer always has the right to return or refund, that again defeats the purpose, the customer didn't choose a hit and miss method, something like Russian roulette... well, so glad I lived to tell the tale. What about medicines then, wrong temperatures may well end up kiling the patient. I wonder what life saving drugs would end up doing if they didn't have such considerations.

I agree wholeheartedly, @Atom80 does deserve kudos for a most refined reply. I'm waiting to see what fresh information he has from HQ.

If not MSi then surely there will be one other manufacturer who can manage to manufacture two good laptops in a row. As I said, lets see what @Atom80 has to divulge on the morrow. As for his offer of a Trust message, nothing came of it, apparently the very username I'm using to post here doesn't even exist. It did the same earlier for my forum log in, I managed to make a new account but this Trust thing, not sure what's with that. Another user in this same thread sometime back had the same issue and it still hasnt been resolved.

 

[Jonzales333]

Hey! So i've had my X3+ v4 for about a year now. Overall it's been fantastic! great for gaming, no complaints. It's great to sneak in some gaming at work almost everyday.

I'm looking for some Thermal repasting advice.
I've never repasted a laptop or desktop myself. I have researched info about it and theoretically have an idea what i'm doing. So not completely useless at computers but also little experience.

Can anyone point me in the direction of a guide or walkthrough for an x3+ repaste? I've had a look on google and forums and can only seem to find performance comparisons and results for repaste.
I've read through a few generic laptop repaste guides but wanted to see if there was any specific to my laptop around.

Any other advice would be much appreciated!

 

[LEK-89]

Hey! So i've had my X3+ v4 for about a year now. Overall it's been fantastic! great for gaming, no complaints. It's great to sneak in some gaming at work almost everyday.

I'm looking for some Thermal repasting advice.
I've never repasted a laptop or desktop myself. I have researched info about it and theoretically have an idea what i'm doing. So not completely useless at computers but also little experience.

Can anyone point me in the direction of a guide or walkthrough for an x3+ repaste? I've had a look on google and forums and can only seem to find performance comparisons and results for repaste.
I've read through a few generic laptop repaste guides but wanted to see if there was any specific to my laptop around.

Any other advice would be much appreciated!

My advice on repasting as you've never carried it out before is to also watch some videos on YouTube of it being carried out, I believe there are a couple of repasting videos of this model on there. However also be sure to stock up on the relevant materials besides the new paste i.e Isopropyl alcohol & lint free cloths.

It's pretty much well known now that the likes of the liquid metal thermal pastes are the best ones out of the bunch, but in all honesty I wouldn't even touch the stuff yet myself (despite repasting CPU's & GPU's for over 7 years) as there's a good risk of it leaking & shorting the motherboard components. Stick to Thermal Grizzly Kyronaut which is way up there of being the best out of the usual pastes.

After disassembly, once you have removed the CPU / GPU heatsink all you really need to do is to apply small amounts of Isopropyl alcohol on a paper towel before then cleaning the old paste from the heatsink itself and also around both CPU & GPU dies until all areas are completely clean of the old paste. Then simply apply a small thin line of paste on the centre of both the CPU & GPU dies (best to google this to get a good idea) before then replacing the heatsink back on top completely - the pressure alone of screwing it back together will ensure a good tight seal.

Liam.

 

[Atom80]

@Atom80 I am not sure how much Aorus value U but they ought to to know they have someone special on their team. And I am sure U are worth far, far more than whatever it is they are offering U and no, I don't mean to insinuate that U are in it for just the money.

May I sincerely apologise for my tone. Please accept my apologies, my only excuse is my utter frustration. I am truly disappointed and angry with Aorus and unfortunately U get to be their face here, whatever I wrote is directed at them and I still stand by it.

Regarding the laptop/s, there was only one seal, on the main box with the laptop inside and that was intact, as far as I could tell. U assure me that the unit will not have been previously owned, then I can't quite fathom how such units were allowed to pass the tests (assuming there are such tests in place) and declared ready for sale. The wiring on the right speaker (top right) was so shabbily done and could be seen clearly through the mesh, the internal HDD could not be detected, again how did such a unit pass tests if the most blatant of declarations had not been verified given that both Windows and BIOS could not detect it and most pertinently the taskbar.... how could it be placed on the left hand side, all Windows PCs and laptops ship out with the taskbar at the bottom of the screen, in fact the replacement unit I was sent had it at the bottom, too. The second unit didn't even take more than a few key presses before two keys stopped registering until eventually the space bar fiasco.

First impressions are usually hard to shake off... U know how it is, once bitten twice shy but in my case I've already been bitten twice ...not sure what could be different this time.

Morning Anubis2211,

From our perspective, and I say this honestly, we really do feel your pain and understand your frustration - we are very protective and proud of our brand, and of course feedback like this is extremely distressing, and obviously disappointing - thankfully rare, but that doesn't make it easier to read because we understand and take very seriously, customer expectations when spending on high end tech - so when we don't deliver, it is difficult, and equally frustrating for us - and that's not to take anything away from the frustration and anger you experienced, just trying to quantify it, because our team here, and in Taiwan really do care.

All of the points you have raised with the first unit have already been communicated with the most senior member of our AORUS team in HQ - he will investigate this thoroughly. Could we ask for any order numbers (along with you name, address details) to be sent to OCUK on the Customer Services thread - they can then identify the serial number, pass this to us, and enable us to trace the history of the unit.

Regarding the second unit with faulty keys, we sincerely apologise for this - we had some suspect keyboards in an early batch of these machines, and thought they had all been identified and re-called before sale, apparently not. We have requested OcUK send us the serial numbers for the remaining four machines they have in stock, so we can check them. In the meantime we have requested that they remove from sale until we confirm the units are "OK" from this perspective. This should be a quick process, but again to protect future customer experiences, OCUK and ourselves, it is 100% necessary.

No need to apologise, we get it, and this case is "worst case scenario" because of your initial thoughts: "Wonderful packaging, truly excited. Unboxing reveals a beautiful, stunning laptop." - This is how we want our customers to feel from the out-set, so after giving you that positive first impression,,, well,, we needn't say more


So again, we apologise to you, but hope this post shows we take the feedback seriously and will work hard to prevent future instance.

Thanks again for bringing this to our attention, and also for the comments (@LEK-89, @OCdude & @mattyg) within the thread and for @Atom80 - appreciated and almost made for a pleasant start to the day

Regards,

Team AORUS

 

[Atom80]

OcUK temporarily removed from sale - thanks for quick response guys: AORUS X7 v6-CF2, undergoing extra quality control checks - BACK SOON

Serial numbers for remaining stock been transferred to us, and been sent to HQ to check.

Regards,

Team AORUS

 

[mattyg]

Every business has issues at some point. The sign of a good business is how they deal with said problems

Hats off to Aorus!



On a side note. My X7 with Sli GTX860M has an intermittent screen issue. Nothing major it just flickers off/on every now and then. Like a really slow refresh.

 

[MiSJAH]

Hey! So i've had my X3+ v4 for about a year now. Overall it's been fantastic! great for gaming, no complaints. It's great to sneak in some gaming at work almost everyday.

I'm looking for some Thermal repasting advice.
I've never repasted a laptop or desktop myself. I have researched info about it and theoretically have an idea what i'm doing. So not completely useless at computers but also little experience.

Can anyone point me in the direction of a guide or walkthrough for an x3+ repaste? I've had a look on google and forums and can only seem to find performance comparisons and results for repaste.
I've read through a few generic laptop repaste guides but wanted to see if there was any specific to my laptop around.

Any other advice would be much appreciated!

Liquid metal gives incredible results.

But as with others I urge major caution if you go this route.

The CPU is generally a matter of covering the pcb around the chip with high temp electrical tape then applying the lm.

On my X5 the GPU had a 'cover/sheath' around the GPU but with a small enough gap for the lm to seep through.

My advice is to read some of the horror stories from where it has gone wrong and decide if you still want to take the risk. If you decide to go ahead watch some videos to get the amounts used correct and err on the side of caution.

 

[Anubis2211]

Morning Anubis2211,

From our perspective, and I say this honestly, we really do feel your pain and understand your frustration - we are very protective and proud of our brand, and of course feedback like this is extremely distressing, and obviously disappointing - thankfully rare, but that doesn't make it easier to read because we understand and take very seriously, customer expectations when spending on high end tech - so when we don't deliver, it is difficult, and equally frustrating for us - and that's not to take anything away from the frustration and anger you experienced, just trying to quantify it, because our team here, and in Taiwan really do care.

All of the points you have raised with the first unit have already been communicated with the most senior member of our AORUS team in HQ - he will investigate this thoroughly. Could we ask for any order numbers (along with you name, address details) to be sent to OCUK on the Customer Services thread - they can then identify the serial number, pass this to us, and enable us to trace the history of the unit.

Regarding the second unit with faulty keys, we sincerely apologise for this - we had some suspect keyboards in an early batch of these machines, and thought they had all been identified and re-called before sale, apparently not. We have requested OcUK send us the serial numbers for the remaining four machines they have in stock, so we can check them. In the meantime we have requested that they remove from sale until we confirm the units are "OK" from this perspective. This should be a quick process, but again to protect future customer experiences, OCUK and ourselves, it is 100% necessary.

No need to apologise, we get it, and this case is "worst case scenario" because of your initial thoughts: "Wonderful packaging, truly excited. Unboxing reveals a beautiful, stunning laptop." - This is how we want our customers to feel from the out-set, so after giving you that positive first impression,,, well,, we needn't say more


So again, we apologise to you, but hope this post shows we take the feedback seriously and will work hard to prevent future instance.

Thanks again for bringing this to our attention, and also for the comments (@LEK-89, @OCdude & @mattyg) within the thread and for @Atom80 - appreciated and almost made for a pleasant start to the day

Regards,

Team AORUS

Afternoon Atom80,

The most ironic thing is I don't even game, but I was in the market for a really good, top of the league laptop. And I found Aorus fit the bill. Alas... and as someone far more experienced than I am mentioned, in all likelihood I was sold a display/promo/return unit, so I am not the only one who felt so.

As for my purchase details etc, I would like to give them some where private, is there a PM facility or an email address I could use to write to U. And again, this Trust bit U speak of, I wasn't able to use it. Moreover, this option "Customer Services thread" just takes me to page where I don't see any options to register my details, maybe coz I am on a phone browswr. I think it best if I could write to U on a more private platform, an email perhaps.

 

[OCdude]

This thread has got weird.

 

[Anubis2211]

At least the thread is active now and genuine concerns are being addressed.

 

[Bailey]

Afternoon Atom80,

As for my purchase details etc, I would like to give them some where private, is there a PM facility or an email address I could use to write to U. And again, this Trust bit U speak of, I wasn't able to use it. Moreover, this option "Customer Services thread" just takes me to page where I don't see any options to register my details, maybe coz I am on a phone browswr. I think it best if I could write to U on a more private platform, an email perhaps.

Hello there

The customer service forum is a private platform to provide such information.

Bailey

 

[Jonzales333]

@LEK-89

Thanks for the reply! I've had a good look at some pictures and videos around the net. Couldn't find any x3 plus repasting videos however. I came across a X3 v7 repaste on youtube that was posted a few days ago. Is it safe to assume that the repaste procedure for the x3 and x3 plus is very similar?

As for materials I've only managed to get Noctua NT-H1. Tried looking for Thermal Grizzly but no luck (currently in Hong Kong ebay shipping is iffy here). I've read some people have used Noctua and gotten good results, if this product is not worth it however let me know and I'll try and get Thermal Grizzly shipped. The alcohol is easy to get hold of, I've got cotton buds (q-tips) i've heard conflicting things about the strands possibly causing more heat/not substantial enough to be significant.

For the method it seems pretty straight forward.
Unscrew back panel, remove pack panel, Unscrew heat sink (pay attention to screw numbering), remove old paste with alcohol and LF cloth/cotton buds from cpu + gpu, Remove old paste from heat sink, Apply paste (Dot, Line, X, dealers choice) to gpu + cpu, Fit the heatsink back on, screw the heatsink back on, replace back panel, Enjoy cooler temps.

Please ruthlessly correct me if i'm wrong.

Edit for spelling durr


@MiSJAH

Thanks also for the reply!

Yea i've heard LM can short out your other components if you don't apply it correctly. I'm tentative to use LM on my first repasting, maybe a year or so down the line after some experience.

 

[Atom80]

Afternoon Atom80,

The most ironic thing is I don't even game, but I was in the market for a really good, top of the league laptop. And I found Aorus fit the bill. Alas... and as someone far more experienced than I am mentioned, in all likelihood I was sold a display/promo/return unit, so I am not the only one who felt so.

As for my purchase details etc, I would like to give them some where private, is there a PM facility or an email address I could use to write to U. And again, this Trust bit U speak of, I wasn't able to use it. Moreover, this option "Customer Services thread" just takes me to page where I don't see any options to register my details, maybe coz I am on a phone browswr. I think it best if I could write to U on a more private platform, an email perhaps.

Hi Anubis2211 - Have been in touch with OcUK returns department this morning, they don't yet receive communication from you regarding the order number(s).

If you are having problem with the C/S forum, or TRUST messaging - can you please raise a web-note with required information to: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/webnotes


Thanks and look forward to hearing back from you.

Regards,

Team AORUS

 

[Anubis2211]

Hi Anubis2211 - Have been in touch with OcUK returns department this morning, they don't yet receive communication from you regarding the order number(s).

If you are having problem with the C/S forum, or TRUST messaging - can you please raise a web-note with required information to: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/webnotes


Thanks and look forward to hearing back from you.

Regards,

Team AORUS

Hello

I just raised a web-note with all the pertinent details U needed.

Thank U.