Check box for obvious shipping damage
Check laptop for dents and scratches
Check packaging (confirm new model)
Check power brick and cord damage
Check for cracks, fractures or impact marks
Open and close lid (check hinges)
When setting up Windows for the first time, don’t connect to the internet, therefore you won’t have to deal with unnecessary Microsoft services
Verify actual specs are what you bought (HWInfo and model number)
Check all keys multiple hits (enter key)
Check for dead pixels (black and white screen tests)
Check all ports working (check snugness and fit)
Check profiles and fan speeds (noise)
Check RGB across diff profiles (dark room and well lit)
Check for backlight bleed
Check trackpad for motion and click feel
Check different resolutions
Take system image “out of the box”
Remove bloatware (McAfee, etc.)
Update Vantage software (if available)
Update bios (check Discord for best current version). However if you don’t have any issue with it, don’t. Don’t fix it if it ain’t broken. [First time users, don’t update Bios]
Update NVIDIA driver (check Discord for best current version)
Connect to wifi and run Windows update
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Charge battery and confirm 100% as start point
Review Discord/Reddit for any new issues experienced by new owners
Install benchmarking and hardware info tools
Confirm benchmarks measure up to other users of same model (Cinebench for CPU, aida64+heaven for combined load stress test, 3Dmark timespy/firestrike for an overall benchmark, shadow of the tomb raider for a non-synthetic benchmark)
Download some programs and games and enjoy your new device