There have been some changes in this area in recent months, which have been noted in this forum, but as tends to be with the internet, it may take a while for the old information to fade away.

Check-in opens online 24 hours before departure, so I think it is bag drop that you are interested in. Formally this opens at 05:00 hrs, and recently it was changed to apply for all passengers, there is no longer a 3 hour rule, not that it ever applied to First passengers. Actually the baggage drop machines work from about 04:45 hrs, and the staff in the First Wing (there are no machines in this area) will arrive around then too, but personally I wouldn't aim to arrive in this period, it takes a while get logged in and security isn't likely to open until 05:00 hrs anyway. The CCR is open at 05:00 hrs, you may not be the first person there since there may be connecting passengers from HKG and SIN.