Question 1

1) Is it available with Windows 8.1?

2) Is it available with 16 gigs of ram?

Accepted Answer

1. Mine came with windows 8, but 8.1 is a free download/update.
2. I think 8gb is stock, but it's one 8gb dimm, so I just bought another. Bam, 16gb.

Question 2

What is the speed of the m-sata? And could you copy both the hdd and the msata to 1-ssd or 1-msata without running into partition problems? And how bad is the bloatware? :)

Accepted Answer

I'm not 100% sure (I'm not near the P34G at the moment), but I believe the M-SATA SSD is Lite On Plextor M5M 128GB mSATA Solid State Drive (PX-128M5M), you can google for the specs on that drive for performance.  The SSD and the HDD are configured as independent drives.  Windows8 and all programs are installed in the SSD and the HDD (which is a Toshiba 1TB, 5400RPM drive) is completely blank.  The SSD is not used a caching drive, but rather it's own stand alone drive.  Thus, there shouldn't be any issues with changing either drive independently and no partition issues.

The bloatware isn't too bad.  There are a few applications installed on the machine from Gigabyte, most of them can be uninstalled.  The machine does not come with a recovery disk, but has a recovery partition on the SSD.  Sadly, reinstalling from the recovery still leaves you with the bloatware.

Question 3

I would like to buy another 8gb ram or use 4gb of my own. Do you know the make and more details lime latency of the I stalled ram? Also is there a spare sata bah or is the 1tb already taking that space? Thank you

Accepted Answer

Hi Ty,

I currently have the Gigabyte P34G, and the base RAM is 8gbs, 204 pin, and 1600MHz. If I were you, I would try to upgrade to 16gbs using 2x8gbs, rather than 12gbs. I do not know the make exactly, but as long as the stick of ram you put in has the same stats as the base one, you should be good to go. To my knowledge, both hard drive slots are taken up. One by the SSD, and one by the HD.

Question 4

Can the battery be easily removed? Also does anyone know of a backup battery i could buy for this?

Accepted Answer

yes, the battery can easily be removed. I haven't checked about back up batteries, but I'm sure they are out there.

In general I have had this notebook for about 3 months and am completely satisfied. If I HAD to pick one negative, the bottom does get a bit hot sometime (especially if you are holding it on your lap). Nothing too bad though. Speed and memory have both been exceptional for the size.

Question 5

how long does the battery last?

Accepted Answer

I use this machine in the field as a capture and viewing station for photography. I get about the same battery life as my previous Mac book pro 15. Around 2.5 hours, but I haven't been timing it.
As an aside, I enjoy the peocessing power this machine packs into it's petite form factor.

Hope this helps

Question 6

how do i add 8 GBof memory to the laptop?

Accepted Answer

Very simple, just open the panel in the bottom of the laptop and install the SODIMM in the open slot.  I ordered a 8GB 1600MHz DDR3L (PC3-12800) 1.35V Non-ECC CL11 SODIMM which worked fine.

Question 7

Has anyone tried to install Ubuntu (or any Linux) on it? Any missing drivers ?

Accepted Answer

It's not the same but I was able to get Lubuntu 13.10 (default 64 bit) working on a VMware player virtual machine with no problems on the default configuration - however that helps you.

Question 8

Thinking of buying this laptop, wondering how long the battery will last without being plugged in?

Accepted Answer

If you NEED >4hrs battery life, this is not your laptop. With casual use, I'd say you'd be lucky to get that. It's got a smaller battery due to the design of the dual fans, and keeping it slim.

That being said, this thing freakin' rocks. Screen is incredible, it  weighs next to nothing, and the 760m GPU tears through anything I can throw at it. I'm usually plugged in, and when I'm not, I never need >3 hrs unplugged.  I was pretty nervous about a Gigabyte laptop, but the build quality is fantastic, not quite Macbook Pro caliber, but not close to Macbook Pro (15" Retina) price either.

Question 9

Has anyone successfully upgraded the MSATA drive? What did you use, where did you get the details on how to do it?

Accepted Answer

I put in a 250GB ssd for the storage drive and left the main OS drive alone. If you have ever installed harddrives it is not hard to figure out how to do that part. Just unscrew the back and swap it out, format and you are good to go.

Question 10

Max Memory supported??

Accepted Answer

16GB DDR3

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