Cube i7 Stylus

[obi-lan]

Au5513: Are you sure that you got tablet properly assembled back together? Regarding warranty I think its bigger problem that you opened tablet (?) Though not sure if there is any warranty void seals inside. In case we imagine that warranty can be compared to "real" vendors... Have you tried external monitor?

The problem is when your CPU is 90*C hot and the backshield is ~30*C only - then you have to mod the tablet to achieve better heat transfer from the SoC to the aluminium backshield which role is to dissipate the heat

So if your mod makes the backshield cooler it means that you get worsen the heat transfer

My problem is that when the SoC is 100% load (on 4.5 or 6W) the back is very, very hot - but only in the centre of left half of the device. The other part (when the battery is located) is still quite cold - does your mods makes whole backshield evenly warm?

I think the question is that, in this size of tablet, is it even possible to passively cool 6W without burning hands? It would be interesting to see Surface 4 Pro Core M3 version opened to see how army of MS engineers have solved this.

 

[Wootever]

Regarding RW/XTU, does XTU automatic start after standby now? im sure i read somewhere, it did not., but maybe thats an old version.

Yes it should retain the settings after standby.

regarding the heat spreader, is the fit between the heat spreader and the back cover so tight you can use thermal paste or are you using a thin pad?

I'm using a thin (0.5mm) thermal pad as the backcover is prone to take pressure very easily to the internal components, thermal pad is supposed to compensate this as much as possible.

I can see you have isolated the remaining copper aswell, is there any need to isolate any other parts of the tablets inside?

All metallic parts that may reach the mainboard.

btw im really looking forward to see some benchmark with the mods.

Unfortunately benchmarks aren't that expressive, it needs an "real" application for informative results.
I tested Metal Gear for ~10min at 5.5W, the cpu was at about ~60°C and most importantly: i could hold the tablet in my hands without getting any burning marks. I made the same test some weeks ago with a simple thermal pad mod and 4.5W throttling, cpu was at ~75°C and after ~5 min. the machine was already unpleasant to hold.

 

[Au5513]

May have found the problem

@Wootever, looks like you may be right. A shorting issue, but on the switches cable. There is a black ribbon cable that connects the reset, power and volume switches to the board, labelled I8_key... This black ribbon has a small dent/kink on one side, my guess is the clip on the back cover which goes under the volume rocker was not lined up one time as I aligned the cover. It's not broken, but perhaps is shorting internally after the damage? Just moved it gently some more, I'm convinced this is the issue. In a cirtain position it just kept turning on and off. Putting the shielding/metallic tape back over it seemed to stop this.
I took a photo to upload, but as I'm new here I am not allowed to link any images.
@obi-lan, I don't think that the screen is the issue, as it also will go blank while in the BIOS.

Anyone know how I might get my hands on a replacement, fix this one or be able to mod a replacement?
Somewhat relieve that it may simply be this switch, not sure how to fix it though.
I'd like to ask CUBE for one, but that seems like a long shot?

 

[Angelorpheus]

sorry if i start a small OT, but i'm watching this thread for a while cause i was interested in the cube i7 stylus.

but, now that the new skylake core m are out

should i wait for an update version (thay may never exist) or you think that the wll be not much difference with the actual broadwell architecture?

 

[shunsai]

sorry if i start a small OT, but i'm watching this thread for a while cause i was interested in the cube i7 stylus.

but, now that the new skylake core m are out

should i wait for an update version (thay may never exist) or you think that the wll be not much difference with the actual broadwell architecture?

I thought about waiting for Skylake, but when I realized that there would be 3 tiers, I imagined they might use the weakest one and charge a premium since it's new (and since the Cube i7 series has been such a big hit). So I decided the original Core M was good enough. Very happy with my Cube i7 Stylus.

If you don't need a new tablet right away, then probably sometime early next year a new Cube tablet will come out (just my guess). I had already been waiting for 3 months for the Asus T100HA when I got the Cube. No regrets!

 

[shunsai]

Finally got my Bluetooth working!

Finally! I haven't been able to use my Bluetooth for as long as I've had the tablet. I started to wonder if it was defective. I tried several of the drivers in previous posts, but none of them worked for me. Device manager kept on showing only 'Generic Bluetooth Adapter'.

I still don't know if it's because those drivers are for Windows 10 and I'm still on 8 or what (even though the Lenovo site where one of the links pointed said it was for Windows 8 and 10).

I found these drivers dated March 19, 2015 (released May 6, 2015 I believe), version number 3.857.857.03232015. It says these are for Windows 8.1-32/Win8.1-64, but maybe they're compatible with Win 10 too since Win 10 wasn't publicly available when these came out. YMMV.

Please let me know if these work for anyone else, or if my Cube is just weirder than yours.

Link here

UPDATE: A link to an even newer version of the Realtek Drivers released Aug. 7, 2015
Link here

 

[Maufeat]

Hello XDA,

bought an Cube i7 Stylus from Gearbest, waiting now until I recieve it! Just have a question, I expect it's Windows 8 or 8.1, how can I upgrade to Windows 10 plus what should I do first? Is there something todo, like upgrading/updating things?

Thanks in advance

 

[shunsai]

@Wootever, thanks for all the work you're putting into making the Cube i7 Stylus community a community. If it isn't too much to ask, could you indicate on your driver updates whether they are for Windows 10 or whether they're compatible with 8.1? I think that may be why some of the drivers haven't worked for me- some of the drivers in your drivers packs seem to be for Win 10 only.

Not sure if I'm the only one still using 8.1, but I'm not ready to move over to 10.

 

[mixterz]

Finally! I haven't been able to use my Bluetooth for as long as I've had the tablet. I started to wonder if it was defective. I tried several of the drivers in previous posts, but none of them worked for me. Device manager kept on showing only 'Generic Bluetooth Adapter'.

I still don't know if it's because those drivers are for Windows 10 and I'm still on 8 or what (even though the Lenovo site where one of the links pointed said it was for Windows 8 and 10).

I found these drivers dated March 19, 2015 (released May 6, 2015 I believe), version number 3.857.857.03232015. It says these are for Windows 8.1-32/Win8.1-64, but maybe they're compatible with Win 10 too since Win 10 wasn't publicly available when these came out. YMMV.

Please let me know if these work for anyone else, or if my Cube is just weirder than yours.

Link here

UPDATE: A link to an even newer version of the Realtek Drivers released Aug. 7, 2015
Link here

this driver worked for me
http://www76.zippyshare.com/v/oR7HOHrl/file.html

 

[Wootever]

@shunsai
Those drivers are Windows 10 only, Windows 8.1 drivers are located on Post #2

 

[shunsai]

this driver worked for me
http://www76.zippyshare.com/v/oR7HOHrl/file.html

Cool. Those drivers seem to be from 2014 though. If you want newer ones, you can try the ones I posted. But, hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it right?

 

[fraktulnz]

Thanks for all your work Wootever - very useful stuff.

I have been looking at what you have been doing with regards to reworking the thermals with some interest as I have a bit of time to kill before my own device ships (Gearbest are out of stock presently).

What I have planned presently is off the basis of some of your own work and measurements you have given.

Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut thermal paste on the CPU modules and memory.
2x 20x20x0.5mm copper shims placed side by side and trimmed to fit the CPU package (had these on hand and will trim down to total of 31x18, making sure the split is between the CPU and iGPU). Same copper shim sizes also trimmed to sit on memory.
Mix of 70% Artic silver thermal adhesive and 30% Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut to bond the above copper shims to the below
100x100x1mm copper plate which I will shape to provide support arms (in place of what you have down separately with your aluminium arms) and cut out any points of obstruction with mainboard components
100x100x0.5mm Thermal Grizzly minus 8 pad - taking into your comments regarding benefit of thermal pad compressibility to lessen compression loading on the mainboard. Will be trimmed to match the patter of the above copper plate.
Finally 0.1mm copper foil across the entire mag alloy casing

I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on this?

Regarding the WiFi, you noted that in newer revisions the suspected EMI issue with the SSD seems to have been resolved. Do you have any more information on this?

I was thinking about possibly replacing the WiFi antenna with an iPad mini antenna or similar. However I do not have the dimensions of this and would only be guessing if it would fit. Cutting it to fit would not be ideal as the antenna elements are tuned so there would be a material reduction in gain I suspect.

Finally also would be interested to know if you have looked into alternate internal speakers. Did you know the dimensions of the housing which the speakers can be fitted?

I am keen just to get everything sorted in one go - opening the case on these things multiple times is really something you want to avoid in my experience, even when taking precautions such as pre heating the case.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Wootever]

Regarding the WiFi, you noted that in newer revisions the suspected EMI issue with the SSD seems to have been resolved. Do you have any more information on this?

It's mostly just speculation, newer revisions have moved the wifi antenna cable to avoid direct contact with the ssd.
See: http://bbs.51cube.com/thread-103687-1-1.html

I was thinking about possibly replacing the WiFi antenna with an iPad mini antenna or similar. However I do not have the dimensions of this and would only be guessing if it would fit. Cutting it to fit would not be ideal as the antenna elements are tuned so there would be a material reduction in gain I suspect.

If you remove the old antenna "holder" there should be enough space to fit notebook sized antennas:

Finally also would be interested to know if you have looked into alternate internal speakers. Did you know the dimensions of the housing which the speakers can be fitted?

Not yet, will take a look at this.

About the heatspreader part: i will write a more detailed answer later (you got some good ideas worth consideration).

 

[oeriel]

My idea is coming back again. Is it possible to make a connector like this? My Cube i7S power cable have a little distance from edge. I don't know it's good or not (everything works fine) but it looks dangerous to damage it.
Look at this magnet connector. It's not size of ours jack, but they have many types. Is it possible to make a magnetic power jack connector?

http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/custom-magnetic-power-cable-Magnetic-pogo_60160583921.html

 

[Wootever]

Original Post:

• With the original heatspreader removed and only the screws attached, the height between those and the core package is about ~0.5mm:
  
  
  

• I added some coppersheet with the size of 31mm x 18mm x 0.5mm and an Arctic Cooling thermal pad 1mm:
  
  
  

• The upper sheet (50mm x 45mm x 0.5mm) perfectly fits at the lower copper sheet, threads and thermal pad:
  
  
  

• It needs to be secured as well, i thought about some small aluminium brackets that can be attached to the mainboard:
  
  
  

Update1:

Update2:

• The red line is new size of the upper copper sheet (and also 1mm instead of 0.5mm), the blue line is the thermal pad (arctic cooling 0.5mm):
  
  
  

Update3:

Update4:

 

[Wootever]

Changing a subject for a while... Wootever, what is that slot where is written 3G? Is it have a slot for 3G or ist it just name?

Don't know exactly, could be an USB port like the keyboard connector.

 

[Wootever]

[...] now that the new skylake core m are out should i wait for an update version (thay may never exist) or you think that the wll be not much difference with the actual broadwell architecture?

Await the first benchmarks for the second Core M generation, if the result isn't massively better (~+25%) it probably isn't worth it. Even more if you consider device prices, which will be undoubtedly higher than ~$300.

A shorting issue, but on the switches cable. There is a black ribbon cable that connects the reset, power and volume switches to the board, labelled I8_key... This black ribbon has a small dent/kink on one side [...] It's not broken, but perhaps is shorting internally after the damage?

What you could try: remove the backcover and open the connector lock for the i8_key, enable the device and carefully remove the cable.

 

[majkel_94]

Await the first benchmarks for the second Core M generation, if the result isn't massively better (~+25%) it probably isn't worth it. Even more if you consider device prices, which will be undoubtedly higher than ~$300.

The CPU cores are ~5% faster clock vs. clock but Intel reorganised the GPU parts and it's 30-50% faster even with the same amount of 24 EU's.
But I think we won't see any difference due to TDP Limit which keeps GPU clock on 500-550MHz on FIFA 16 for example

 

[fraktulnz]

I don't think the adhere method is the most reliable solution to keep the lower copper plate in it's place.
Something like a small "cpu only heatspreader" would be more solid:

Thermal pad on the ram should be sufficient enough to keep it cool.

Good idea, this is something i want to do to as well, also the 1mm height might be a little to massive as i noticed some screen bleeding on the left edge. 0.5mm copper + 1mm thermal is probably better to avoid additional stress for the internal components.

The reviews on the AS thermal adhesive and product documentation indicate it is permanent at 100%, as in you are likely to cause physical destruction of components it trying to force apart. This is certainly sufficient for the purpose I intend. At 70:30 mix it seems to be classed as semi permanent (i.e. you may be able to force apart without physical damage to components), the advantage would really be in terms of the higher thermal conductivity for the Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut. I will be testing this first between two spare copper shims to see the results as I appreciate what you have said - you down want the shim floating round the case!

What did you use for electrical isolation on the back of your copper spreader - I assume some thin electrical tape ?

Regarding the memory I agree, I will consider re-purposing some of the minus pad 8 (0.5mm), with 2x layers, from that I am trimming from the 100x100mm 0.5mm sheet. I don't think it will make much different either way however other than being a little safer.

Finally on the copper heat spreader I am in two minds. The copper has far better thermal conductivity obviously so the preference from a heat dissipation point of view would be to have the copper plate as 1mm and the thermal pad as 0.5mm. Having the thermal pad thicker and the copper thinner will reduce the over all thermal performance, however will allow greater compression between the case and the spreader as you have noted.

How much flex is there in the mag allow case towards the screen?

Do you see screen bleed all the time or only when pressure is applied to the back of the screen?

Also when looking at your mod and the aluminium brackets, what is the thickness of these brackets as they lie on top of the heatspreader? Do you think these are possibly the cause of the pressure transfer from the casing to the internals?

Thanks again for your responses, they are much appreciated.

---------- Post added at 08:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:23 PM ----------

The CPU cores are ~5% faster clock vs. clock but Intel reorganised the GPU parts and it's 30-50% faster even with the same amount of 24 EU's.
But I think we won't see any difference due to TDP Limit which keeps GPU clock on 500-550MHz on FIFA 16 for example

Skylake IPC is indeed only ~5% uplift over Broadwell. The question will be how much more efficient the Skylake GPU is with regards to thermal performance as fanless platforms of this size are thermally limited.

Interestingly the price per tray seems to be fairly comparable between Skylake and Broadwell parts (at least advertised price points) - I am guessing they are not to volume customers however.

I feel the real benefit will likely be USB C connectors and charging (no reason this could not take place on Broadwell however) and the improved power management capabilities of Skylake. If the GPU is more power and thermally efficient then that is a (significant) cherry on the top IMHO.

 

[Wootever]

What did you use for electrical isolation on the back of your copper spreader - I assume some thin electrical tape ?

Yes, just some simple electrical tape.

Finally on the copper heat spreader I am in two minds. The copper has far better thermal conductivity obviously so the preference from a heat dissipation point of view would be to have the copper plate as 1mm and the thermal pad as 0.5mm. Having the thermal pad thicker and the copper thinner will reduce the over all thermal performance, however will allow greater compression between the case and the spreader as you have noted.

Indeed, but i think thicker thermal pad can probably adapt itself better to varying circumstances. Not only force/pressure from outside but also expanding materials caused by high thermal strain.

How much flex is there in the mag allow case towards the screen?

The case still fits, but i can see the connections have some movement if i apply some force on the display.

Do you see screen bleed all the time or only when pressure is applied to the back of the screen?

Some medium force on the left display edge make it bleed, but this isn't something you would do regulary (only to check stability).

Also when looking at your mod and the aluminium brackets, what is the thickness of these brackets as they lie on top of the heatspreader? Do you think these are possibly the cause of the pressure transfer from the casing to the internals?

This might be indeed possible, brackets are under <5mm so they should be on a par with the thermal pads (theoretically).

Here is a simple layout for the cpu heatspreader: