GPD G1 - Ear explosion review - Way too loud and inconvenient, but great performance

[@mystechry]

GPD just released the 100w vBIOS and even an 80w one. I'll test this with my unit and post an update, soon

[@Umamis_Boy]

Hey, where can I get the 80w vbios?

[@Tj-bs6ej]

Hi I just received my g1 and plugged into my win4 the g1 is not recognized and I tried a refresh on drivers can you give me some insight?

[@mystechry]

@@Tj-bs6ej Try the other USB-C port. The Win 4 has 2 and only one of them is USB-4

[@bruxis]

Considering GPD showed off this device a lot in gameplay videos, but never had the fan audible (usually gameplay sounds or music), this comes as no surprise, unfortunately.

[@mystechry]

We all hope that my unit is faulty and that it's not as bad as it is in the video. Maybe I am just hyper sensitive to noise, but I can not imagine how anyone would want to use the G1 if it was that loud

[@RyouConcord]

considering mine is gonna be shipping soon, i greatly appreciate this.

[@mystechry]

GPD just released the 100w and an 80w vBIOS. I'll post an update, soon. You'll get the 100w BIOS anyways. Hope your unit will be more silent than mine

[@RemTilak]

Thank you very much for the info, buddy. 🤝 I wasn't sure if I should buy a G1. But after hearing how loud it is, I finally decided against it.

[@mystechry]

You made the right decision. Better wait for some more reviews and a potential fix on the noise issue. I'll hope to get a new fan or to be able to test a retail unit at some point. Can't say whn and if that will happen

[@Arkenar13]

One thing to remember here is that this is a pre-release unit and not production - so sound levels are subject to change. based on the shown decibel levels it would be audible but not horrendously loud - picking it up on a mic like that always sounds worse in person. but they are shipping i believe next week so we shall see

[@mystechry]

@@Arkenar13 I mentioned often enough, that this information needs to be taken with a grain of alt and can not be taken as a given for the final units. Also it sounds way worse in real life than on the microphone for me

[@Arkenar13]

@mystechry I'm not criticising your video BTW, your experiences are 100 percent valid. As are your tolerances to noise levels etc just imo I'm going to wait for some accurate readings and my own unit tbh. I have the kit at my studio to be able to get pretty exact reading so when I get chance I'll try to do some tests if there aren't a bunch done before I get mine

[@scarvalho1]

Good video. Great work on research. I also ordered a GPD G1 (locked contribution but still waiting for shipment). If mine ends up being as loud as yours I will remove the fan and replace with quieter one. Or I fine a way to add Thermoelectric cooling, like I did to my Alienware x15. If it works, I'll let you know maybe you can do follow-up video if you are interested

[@mystechry]

GPD released the 100w and 80w vBIOS today. I'll test those and make a follow up video as soon as I have time for it

[@parthmenon]

Nice video, man. I don't have a G1 yet but i found the video very entertaining

[@mystechry]

Thanks :) Check out my latest bone, as we have evidence now, that my unit is ndeed faulty and others are way more silent.

[@parthmenon]

Amazing! I'll check it out. Thanks!!

[@GameTechTalk]

Glad I didn't pick it up for now! I hope they keep working on a solution though! Thanks for the very valuable feedback.

[@mystechry]

Hi Klef, great to see you around :) I doubt it, as the responses from GPD are not very helpful this time unfortunately. We'll see if at least the new BIOS helps. To fix the noise issue, the whole device needs to be made a little bit bigger

[@retronister8816]

this sounds like a rant but i love your channel, always have just what i need, including this. Does the unit have any issues software and hardware wise? i have heard people saying it gets disconnected at times because of some conflict with the built-in 780M (you have to disable the 780M for the G1 to stop disconnecting)

[@mystechry]

I do not have my unit any more. Regarding issues: At least during the Gamescom, my unit was paired with the Intel Max 2 and had no issues running 5 days for 10 hours. Also during my testing eith the 7840u, I did not have disconnects. those tests were quite limited though.

[@LasseMan83]

Thanks for one of the way too few honest reviews. How can anyone reviewing the GPD G1 NOT comment on the extremely loud fan?!

[@mystechry]

Quite a few people told me that this is normal and that such a small device needs to be loud for the power it has. I honestly do not care too much about that. If I can not put it onto my desk and enjoy games with it, it's worthless for me.

[@LasseMan83]

Couldn’t agree more. With that much noise, it’s obviously too small. It’s a design flaw.

[@DienerNoUta]

For me it's a cool device, but like you said, my gpd can play all what I play at 1080p 45-60fps since I only play jrpgs and read VNs (The most demanding saga that I play is Monstr Hunter and Yakuza/Like a dragon, but even with those games my win4 runs them at stables 45fps, enough for me)

[@benjiro8793]

Maybe a stupid idea but, why not buy a Morefine M500S that has a 6600M ... Its only about 6cm longer and 15mm thicker then the G1. And it has a build in 5900HX, storage, memory etc. Its also cheaper then the G1... Install a OS, setup streaming and simply stream games directly onto your Win Max. Now you can put that "gaming machine" in a corner, far from you, but have the ability to game anywhere in the room, while your Win Max 2 runs quiet (its only hw decoding) and has easily 6 ... 7+ hours of game time. Sure, your going to have a bit more latency but ....

[@mystechry]

Yeah, that might be a nice solution for some. I simply do not like game streaming and having to deal with one more device. For me it's all about having everything on a handheld with me all the time :)

[@SAerror1]

Thank you for the warning! High pitched fan noise has always been the achilles heel of GPD devices, it's very frustrating. I would much rather have a thicker, heavier device with a fan that's less obnoxious. Let's hope they make a G2 that is twice as thick with a big squirrel cage blower fan and heatsink (and better port placement, hopefully).

[@mystechry]

Check out my latest video. It seems like my device was faulty and other devices are way more silent. nfortunately I do not have a retail unit here to check it myself and sent mine back to Dragonbox.

[@CuriousTinkering]

This shows that the WM2 heatsink fan design it top notch.

[@mystechry]

It is. 100%. My new one can sustain 45w with stock paste

[@m.l.9385]

The only thing I find tempting is mobility. My Razer Core X with a 2080Ti serves me actually pretty well, works flawlessly with my Win Max 2 Model 2022 and isn't noisy at all (it must be quiet in room to notice it) - but its more on the heavy side with like 8kg or so...and nothing you would like to carry around.

[@mystechry]

Wait for the actual retail units. Chances are high, that they will be more silent than mine. People will probably soon post comparisons. Just wait a few weeks and buy when more data is available :)

[@m.l.9385]

@@mystechry Well KZbinr The Phawx did a Review and he also said it is loud - very loud. And then the pricing. I mean my Razer X did cost 219€ new (you can find it as low as 140€ used) and a in my case 2080Ti was ad hand - but let’s say I use a 6650 XT new for 240€ - I would end up with something below 500€ for very quiet (albeit not very mobile) solution. So mobility is the only factor that could make this attractive - but the $800 price point for the retail unit is a killer/show stopper for me. BTW: Sadly other KZbinr that “reviewed” the G1 (i.e. ETA Prime) didn't say anything about noise or ergonomics at all. ETA prime testes 4K Gaming etc. but nothing about noise etc. As mobility for my eGPU Gaming on the big screen isn’t all that important to me - I think I will stick to my Razer Core X and my trusty 2080 Ti which works pretty well and I can play most titles even on 4k 60 FPS on medium or high!

[@tomoprime217]

I noticed the eGPU cables are always on the short side as I suppose it affects performance. That's probably why they put the ports in the front as to route a handhelds cable to the back would shorten the distance of someone holding it undocked. I guess it's all subjective. People who dock with external mouse keyboard and monitor might just have enough cable management room. Otherwise there are people who just want the GPD G1 to be mobile like their handheld to always be on the go hence it's slim profile as opposed to other bigger eGPUS which are less portable.

[@mystechry]

Sure, it is highly subjective.

[@alphacompton]

I agree. I don't think it's intended to be plugged into a TV, I have a proper gaming PC connected to my TV but I need something portable I can take to work to use during the night shift and I'd like something portable to take for my roadtrips during the holidays so I can use PCVR.

[@tomoprime217]

I use my laptop for portable PCVR. It worked really well with a Rift-S as I use display port and one usb type-a to be able to connect and power the headset. After a long while though I just keep my laptop docked at home with a 34" ultrawide. Being 16" it isn't very light for travel. It's strange as I remote into a more powerful desktop that I hook up to the TV with a HP G2 V2 but I seem to rarely use otherwise. I feel like a handheld would bridge a gap but sometimes I just use my cell to play my games remotely. XBPlay and Parsec work extremely well. I hate to drop $1000+ on a clamshell when Valve might be releasing the ultimate VR experience right around the corner. Also that Legoin Go / Quest 3 / Pico 5 is almost here if you have Bestbuy rewards points its way too tempting. The Fomo is real. I might have to put my smart money with Valve though especially if they plan on keeping a powerful all in one wireless setup that can play pancake games too. The G1 may not matter depending on what Valve comes up with. I suppose we can make our own G1 with aliexpress if need be.

[@guido841]

Thanks for this video!

[@mystechry]

I will post an update one more information become available

[@LuminousSpace]

holy cow lol cant use this in public space

[@mystechry]

Maybe you can. On a train station it's probably equally loud, so people won't hear it

[@yunesdzhabarin8710]

I ordered Win Max 2 with G1, question: does it consume battery power when connected to the network? I mean that this laptop already consumes little electricity (maximum 40 W), and the charging power from the network gives 100 W, and it is logical that when connecting the laptop from the network, at the maximum load of the laptop, it will be approximately 50 percent. the reserve from the mains connection, of course - this power will also charge the battery, but at this point whether the battery itself is being used, I cannot understand this, because in any case the charging rate will increase to 100 percent, almost the entire time during which I I plan to keep the laptop connected to the network, is there a function that, when connecting the laptop over the network, will automatically turn off the laptop battery? (for slower and less battery wear) if yes then is this feature available on G1 when connecting oculink port?(since company claims G1 also charges laptop) if there is no such feature it is very sad as for this line of laptops, it would be very useful, it would be cool if you figured it out, this is a very good topic for your new video, thanks for your attention and good luck in the tests)

[@imnotahippie22]

am curious if youve installed PTM 7950 on this dock? Edit: oh. My bad. Wow that sucks. That thing is super loud 🔊😢

[@mystechry]

Yes, I did. all tests were done with ptm7950 applied

[@sharpsou]

Do you think is possible to play VR like flight simulator 2020 or other ?

[@mystechry]

I have neither VR, not Flight simulator. The power should be about an Nvidia RTX 3060ti/3070. So check if those cards can play the games you want to play.

[@TomNook.]

OMG G1 max fan is basically a vacuum cleaner 😂

[@mystechry]

It is, but chek out my more recent video. There is strong evidence that my unit is faulty and that the retail ones don't go beyond 60db

[@user-qv9zs2rq6l]

Would you reccomend to just use it like a home console?

[@mystechry]

Sure, why not? The retail units seem to be more silent, so sure, you can use this like a home console. It's not as easy to switch like on a Nintendo Switch, since you have to increase/decrease game resolution and details manually after (un)docking. Else, it's the same

[@HoboTurtle]

i backed out of ordering this. that noise is a big let down :( picking up asus flow z13 instead!

[@mystechry]

I'll upload a new video soon. We have very strong evidence, that my unit is faulty and that your one will be way more silent. It should stay below 60dba close to the unit for you :)

[@mahtan2685]

I became sick after Gamescom, too 😭

[@mystechry]

Have you been at our booth? (Dragonbox, Retro area?)

[@ByrdRecords]

Really Its not a suprise since It is such a small EGPU. I wear headphones so i dont care

[@mystechry]

If noise is not an issue, you'll get great performance. Also we have some evidence now that my unit is somehow defective and others are more silent. I'll make a new video soon

[@superghetto420]

I am just curious on why everyone is complaining about the noise? Do people not have headphones on while they are gaming or what? Am I missing something here cause I cannot hear anything when I am gaming. Even with my wife yelling at me

[@mystechry]

To me headphones are way less comfortable than speakers. I prefer good speakers over headphones. I wear glasses and headphones are pushing against it. Sometimes I do eear them, but I prefer not to.

[@migpagola]

i have one and you are wrong! its not true! Change the title of your video, pls

[@mystechry]

I already made a new vide to clarify and pinned a comment. But you are right, I might add something to the title to clarify. I already sent mine back for repair

[@migpagola]

@@mystechry thanks!

[@tomoprime217]

Two things annoy me about your take on your loud fan analysis. You never once talked about the GPU temps at all. Were they even high? Second you never once mentioned about adjusting the G1 fan level curves. Did you even explore it as an option? Ok how about one more? Did you contact GPD for new firmware updates? Which firmware does your current issues exist on?

[@mystechry]

I already recorded a new video I'll release soon. We have high evidence that my unit is faulty and that others are way more silent. I have tested the 80w, 100w and 120w BIOS now and they are all pretty much the same for me. For others it makes quite a bit of a difference an his phone shows lower dba values, too.