AnandTech Review

AnandTech - AVADirect Clevo P170EM: Has AMD

I don't agree with the gripes this review have for the design of Clevo. Personally I don't have issues typing on this laptop. I didn't expect it to be incredible either, I didn't expect Clevo to put much emphasis on it. Either way it types fine for me. Sure it could be better, but the worst keyboard ever and all his exaggerations? Hell no, if it types, has backlit, and works just fine when I'm gaming and typing, what more do I need?

As for the design and too plastic? I don't even know why that is mentioned considering plastic is a better material. It's cheaper and and lighter and plenty strong for laptops. I'm not using my laptop as a hammer.

As for design, don't get that either. I think we all chose Clevo for a reason and not the Alienware the reviewer is so in love with. I despise the Alienware design. Sure I'd take one if it was given to me, but you bet I'd be selling it as soon as I get it, leave it in the box, not even open it.

Anyway, let me know what you think. I think the reviewer is clearly not in tune with what Clevo users are looking for. It seems to me he was far more concerned with cosmetics, especially considering when I'm suing the laptop, I'm looking at the screen, not how pretty my laptop may be.

Don't know about you all, but this is my favorite laptop so far. I love that it doesn't look like a toy or a Mac clone and heavy with magnesium and aluminum. I love that it has no branding and it's just a plain black matte finish. I love this blocky look, it's a no nonsense, no frills look. Just looks so beast and industrial. LOVE LOVE LOVE the Clevo design. Only reason I went with G73JH back then, it was the right price, Sager didn't have something as cheap back then and I was afraid of the fans being too loud. With the GCN, it runs cool enough it's now quieter than my old machine. The only gripe I have is the headphone output. Not the keyboard or the display ports in the back, which for me makes complete sense since the displays I connect to the laptop are behind the laptop, not to the side....

 

Hear, hear! When I bought my P170EM I was looking for a powerful piece of machinery, not for a decorative item. The laptop looks rugged, rigid and powerful (like an old sports car). And even if the headphone output didn't suck, I would still recommend getting an USB soundcard. For me, the stock keyboard has been fantastic and I haven't had a single problem with it.

 

i guess its all preference, i personally have nothing to complain about my p150em. keyboard took me about a week or so to get used to. now when i go back to my old laptop for 4 years, i felt THAT keyboard to be weird. Also i think alienware design is g@y, and its over priced, while its upgrades are robbery. i would never buy a dell. nothign wrong with plastic design if you do it properly. i do not see any flex on palm rest or any creaking sounds. its a very solid plastic build, and i like paying less

edit: one problem with the design i found in p150em is that the touchpad could be moved to the left a bit so that my palm doesnt touch it when i am typing

 

I like the design a lot, well actually the idea of no thrills, not what is actually delivered, he has a point, its not that interesting. And yes I despise blings and everything, so aw or msi are a no no for me.

 

Clevo is anonymous if you ask me. Not stealthy like Asus. Or flashy like Alienware. Or stylish like Macbook. Or gadgy like MSI.

That said, Clevo do have to sacrifice some build details to keep the price down. Therefor one can find things that isn`t supreme in terms of quality. Which this review does

 

I did see a couple of flaws in the article myself. One that really stuck out was the RAM timing. They may have ordered it with 1600Mhz, but it was XMP it seems as they are griping about being unable to pop into the BIOS and change the settings.
Had they received it with the proper JEDEC PnP memory, I doubt they would have had issues.

 

The big issue I have with that article is that it isn't as much a review as much as it was a very opinionated blog. I would prefer if he was more objective, just say what it is. Just say how it is designed, the materials, thickness, weight. Leave the opinions and exaggerations out of it. Then go through the benchmarks and whatever other tests for LCD, HDD etc.

It is in the conclusion he can put in his opinion, but the rest should be sterile. Let the user decide for himself without all the flamboyant exaggerations. People read reviews I think to find out what the machine looks like, feels like, the dimensions, loudness, etc, more information than the manufacture details, not pages of dribble of complaints that others don't see as negatives, but positives.

 

some i guess are valid complaints, such as lack of dedicated page down/page up keys

 

There is dedicated page up and page down, his issue is you have to press the FN button for Home and End.

 

oh yes, thats what i meant

 

If I had read this review/blog 4 months ago, I would have still bought the 170EM. Of course, I would have also noticed his remarks about AMD and saved myself some money and headaches with the 7970M. As a gamer, I want horsepower....I don't care about looks and pretty lights.

No one should ever decide that one writer is the expert/genius. I read them all and then go back and read between the lines. Then I finally come here and find out what the real experts and users think (all you guys).

I think it is a good article but in the end it comes down to how much I like it and now that I am running a 3820QM with a 680M....I'm happier than a pig in a salad bar

 

I dissected his review in the comments.... It is a good review, but a little bit too ignorant.

 

AnandTech just posted their review of the Razer Blade. According to AnandTech there are only a few notebooks worth paying more than $2000 for. One is the Razer Blade and the other is MacBook with retina display, even though the actual/native working space on the retina display is 1440x900. If you do crank it to 1920x1200 it's supersampled crazy with loss of quality of huge performance hit. Oh and the color accuracy and the contrast of my display is better and the anti-reflective coating is better than the retina displays workaround reflection method. Stupid sheep don't seem to care about that... Bow to the inferior Retina... :/

FYI, your 11" Clevo monster is 5-15 FPS faster than the Razer which supposedly has the 660M in about every game. The new special Ivey Bridge Razer claimed was designed for them in some benches is 50% slower than ours.

And yet, because it is metal, and pretty like a Apple clone, it's worth more than $2000 but let's trash the Clevo because it's plastic. I don't think this site even cares about gaming. It seems all they do is run a few benchmarks and that is it.

 

I love the design of the p170/150em. I think it's great that even though it looks like a tank, it's still very unassuming and packs some punch under the hood. Also, it has a balanced mix of plastic and metal and the plastic isn't of the cheap looking variety.

 

When they review it it's always design > performance/function
This is why there are other brands...

 

The back and forth between Hula and Jarred was more entertaining to read than the whole review.

 

We're both stubborn, but Jarred is obviously writing from the perspective of an editor/writer who cares more about his keyboard experience and his appearance in the office than the machine itself. I'd imagine in the editorial department, having a MacBook is a whole lot more enviable than having a Clevo. Luckily for those who aren't interested in what a MacHead thinks, NBR is here to provide a better assessment of Clevo notebooks vs the available options.

FYI I still think an Alienware or MSI or Asus has more to offer than any MacBook does. Couldn't care less about a Retina display whos native, viewable res is 1440x900 and with inferior contrast, color space and anti-reflective measures.

 

I came out in support of Hula, Clevo has a worse build quality than Alienware?

What?

Both the Alienwares I have owned were complete pieces of crap. Sadly my fiancee still has one and I have to deal with it till it is gone for good too.

 

In the comments, he finally came out and said it. For a gaming machine, he's more concerned about it having a Thinkpad quality keyboard, having a heavy metal chassis than having the best options on LCD, and best upgrade prices on hardware. As I kept saying over and over, his perspective and viewpoint on the Clevo is not the demographic that Clevo is designing their laptops to.

 

Yeah, I gathered that really quickly reading it. I am surprised that the front page does not say "CLEVO: NOT A MBP, DON'T GET IT"

 

I semi-agree with the comments on the Clevo chassis. Of the 3 Clevo/Sagers I've owned, I've only really like the P151EM. The w110er looks like cheap plastic and has a cramped (more than it should be) keyboard for some reason. Not a fan of the faux brushed metal look and the soft touch plastic of the w350et. Clevos just don't look good with a grey finish imo. But the P151EM looks great. Sleek and stealthy black, kinda like the ASUS ROG notebooks without the big vents on the back.

 

What can you expect form the W110ER. You forget that is a 11" machine with a 650M that outperforms the best Apple and Razer has to offer, laptops that cost $2,500. As for the P151EM, it's the same chassis as the P150EM except different keyboard, PSU etc. It appears to me the P150EM had the design updated and the P170EM, not yet. I would expect the next generation of the P170 series to look similar to the P370, which has a much more stylized look than it's predecessor.

But the point of it my rants is it's clear that AnandTech/Jarred don't want to recommend a Clevo P170EM on the appearance of the chassis and the keyboard. It's clearly not the first thing a Clevo buyer is looking for. A better looking chassis sure is a bonus, but it's not a deal breaker for most of us.

 

Take it from another perspective, anand target audience probably is not people who residence on the NBR all day (obivously many here know more than he does).

What would you expect a general consumer(someone like the reviewer) brought a 1.5k machine react when he/she find windows key is on the right hand side between crtl/alt and combined that with one of the most weird keyboard layout?

For audience that are interest in gaming on a 7970m or 680m sager/clevo/msi , NBR is the place to go, not anandtech. I doubt anyone who never heard of clevo/sager will order one immediately just because a review site praise it.

 

It's fine to point those out. It's one thing to phrase it this way.

Clevo opted to remove the Windows key on the left and enlarged the CTRL key for gamers to make that CTRL more accessible and to prevent hitting Windows key by mistake in games. If this is a problem, this keyboard may be an issue for you.

OMG Clevo, why are you doing this to me! Who thought to move the Windows key, the placing of the Windows key makes no sense and it's terrible! Clevo keyboard is the worst keyboard ever.

Huge difference here. That's my issue with him, it wasn't a review, it was a diatribe. He should just said what it is and let the reader decide for themselves if this is an issue or a deal breaker or a problem for them. Instead he goes into the article blazing, Clevo chassis sucks, Clevo keyboard sucks, Clevo battery only lasts 4 hours, OMG I can't recommend this. Buy Samsung 7 and buy Alienware instead, Alienware so much better, Alienware better in every way. Yeah like that can be objectively quantified. He's just being a jerk to be frank.

 

It does look like the reviewer was exceptionally nitpicky about this laptop, but I'll have to agree with some of his criticism.

The keyboard is atrocious. You can get used to it, but..well..no, it's just horrible and that's it. No merits here whatsoever. Even writing this post is a not a pleasant experience for me, and I'm coming from a 13" Sony Vaio Z which was a dream in comparison. My fingertips actually ache from typing on this thing. The keyboard lights is not for me, I turned it off immediately, so I don't care about it.

The touchpad is indeed problematic as well since it has no boundaries, but it's also one of the first things I disabled, so I don't think it should even matter, let alone dedicate two full review paragraphs for it.

The brushed metal palm rest is OK. It feels sturdy, but again - not too pleasant. And the plastics of the chassis is rigid and utilitarian. Then there are the fans blasting off and refuse to die down, FN + numpad 7 needed just for a Home key is indeed annoying (you can't do that while the num lock is on, either), and there are actually two \ keys. Two. And one of them right next to the space bar. I didn't realize more than one was in such a high demand.. and other such niggles.

But all of this is a just one big WAAAA. This is a mobile monster, and it excels at everything it should excel in - performance and reliability. That's the bottom line and what I was expecting, and receiving.

 

You guys crack me up. I have used a few types of desktop keyboards, HP laptop keyboards, Toshiba keyboards, Macbook keyboards, and this keyboard does not annoy me at all.

 

Just a quick comment about the Home and End keys. If you don't use PageUp and PageDown (like me), you can use AutoHotkey to change those keys to Home and End (so you don't have to press Fn first).

 

Seriously guys, after reading the comment section, I`m really embarassed.
You attack people because they don`t share the same opinion. Stop acting like an internet hero just because someone post a different perspective on things.

Stop being such fanboys and just live with the fact that not everyone likes Clevo or have some concerns about it.
This thread was nothing but an "call to arms" just to comment on the article so that you can feel good about yourself afterwards. Atleast that is what it looks like to me

 

I didn't mean to come across in the thread as attacking anyone or defending anything, just stating that from actual, real world use my Clevo has held up much better than both the Alienwares I have had. He spent quite a portion of the article talking about how fantastic the Alienwares were and their build quality.

From my own experiences I find this to not be true.

I didn't comment to feel good about myself at all, just to state that I find his article to be incorrect to me and my experiences as to why I feel that way.

 

Key lay out is perfectly fine, however the keyboard does require more force than the other laptop keyboards when it comes to typing.

 

I feel kinda bad for Jarred having to defend himself on basicly everything. He could though have chosen not to respond but he does anyway. I think that shows how much he really cares and want to understand what you guys are saying. Maybe he likes discussion, I don`t know.

Jarred writes the most interesting articles at Anandtech imo. Don`t push him too far, poor guy

 

I find the keyboard "types" better than on my ASUS G73's. That being said, the keys are a bit harder so my finger tips tend to ache after extended gaming. I also dislike the extra \ key which makes it ever so slightly harder to hit the spacebar with the right thumb. Then there's Home/End which is ridiculous. To remedy that while keeping the same key layout (minus the dumb backslash key), they could have put them where Scroll Lock and Pause are at, making those two Fn options. I mean, who really uses those keys outside of pausing the rare screen when there's an error? lol. That, and I really enjoy the media Fn controls on my ASUS. They were on the arrow keys, left being rewind, right fast forward, down pause/play. Being able to control music while in a full screen app is awesome and saves that much time and annoyance from alt-tabbing.

 

You clearly don't get what we are upset about. Just leave it at that.

 

I did my own overview of the P170EM I got just mere months back from AVADirect.

I have yet to have any issues typing at all. I mean its no ergo keyboard but its a laptop.

as for not knowing how to adjust or turn off the keyboard backlighting it took me all of 2-3 minutes till I saw the buttons. maybe its just the fact that I like to fiddle with stuff but overall the P170EM is a strong machine and does really really well

The memory issue sounds like a strange issue as my model I ordered with the Kingston PnP 1600 modules and they run great at spec speed. This is because on the PnP modules they program the SPD basic profiles for 800MHz from the get go so thats what any pc will pull by default.

If anyone needs specs from mine or want me to run a specific test or show video of how a function works lemme know im sure I can arrange that.

 

I have to agree, hulawafu77 went very nasty on him. After that it was all downhill, unfortunately when htwingnut posted his feedback on the review (which was balanced and no his gripe against warranty wasnt what you guys argued with) he went ballistic.

Anyway the thing is that I dont like jarreds review of notebooks, unfortunately 90% of the reviews of notebooks is done by him. He has clear cut preferences and he makes the case for each and every review he makes to point those out, not in the conclusion, but everywhere on the article. Does that make him a poor writer in terms of form? yes. Does it means that he is a poor writer for everyone? no.

Well, I do agree with him that the design could suffer changes for the better, and other materials can also be chosen, and sincerely the battery life on the np9150 is pathetic at best, laughable at worst. And dont throw the nonsense of Im a asus, msi or aw, for the 1st they dont make gaming machines, for the 2nd I dislike the build quality and aesthetics, for the latter I dislike a lot the aesthetics.

 

4 hours of battery with a i7 Quad and one of the most powerful GPUs available, with the best TN panels available and numerous ports and options is laughable? Are you serious? Considering for the majority of the history of DTR notebooks, battery life expectations was realistically for emergency, safe guard when you lose AC power, 4 hours today is incredible. You and I obviously have a huge difference of opinion on that.
- As for Jarred, doesn't matter if he thinks it's atrocious or pathetic. There is no need for that. All he had to do was provide a graph for battery life, comparison to actual competitors, there was only one, the Alienware. The Samsung 7 is not the same class as the Clevo/Alienwar. And then just stated what a user can expect for battery life, it's that simple.

ASUS G75 vs. Alienware M17x R4

That is a review NoteBookReview staff just did recently. Now here it is a comparison review. And just look at how it's written. It's not a diatribe of the reviewers preferences and it's written with a lot more class. In the conclusion he even says you couldn't go wrong with either one. Compare that to Jarred who says the Alienware is better than the Clevo in every conceivable way and using very strong opinionated words.

Now read the review done on the notebook that NBR did not choose as their choice for a mainstream gaming machine the Asus G75.

ASUS G75VW Review: The Best Mainstream Gaming Notebook Gets Better

He described the chassis without being a jerk about it. He mentioned it's nearly all plastic, but it's durable to withstand the rigors of everyday use and gaming and despite it being plastic, it's thick and he couldn't find flex anywhere. That's a whole lot different than how Jarred wrote his. For the ports, it's simply stated what and where they are. Simple, doesn't go into where he prefers his ports to be located. On his review of the Asus keyboard he doe a simple description. The comparison he does is to the previous generation for the current G series owners. It's simple, concise and explains what the reader can expect of the keyboard.

It's a very stark contrast, the reviews done by NBR and Anandtech. Sure Anandtech has a lot more access to the industry trends and experts and their benchmarks are more in depth with measuring gamut, srgb, numerous benchmarks. But I would still prefer a review from NBR than from Jarred.

 

My friend, a software developer/ web designer likes the extra \ key. maybe he uses it a lot? I dont know, I dont program except CNC.
But yes I do think that, especially with the 370EM as its a new model, they could have made use of the extra inch on either side to make the keyboard a little friendlier. As for gaming, the windows key on the right side is great.
does the steelseries fit the 370em? can you just re-assign keys or functions?

 

The company that makes the Steelseries keyboard is the same as the keyboard for Clevo believe and they are compatible. Just ask the reseller , that Jarred doesn't like, and belittles for the inferior service they provide for Clevo owners.

 

Samsung 1600MHz RAM was put into my laptop, and it runs at 1600MHz, as it should.

Quoting hulawafu77:
"Some of your complaints with the keyboard are because you from the perspective of a writer. That's a problem, because this is not a machine designed for writers, it's a gaming machine. Take for example your ire with Windows key. Clevo did that on purpose. They enlarge the CTRL button which is used very often by gamers, whether its CS:GO or SC2. The removed the Windows because gamers complained of hitting unintentionally and sometimes causing to switch to desktop out of the game. I don't use End/Home often, even when using Word Processor or InDesign. I don't think that's a concern for most gamers."

Good insight.

 

I dont undestand why in the **** hells are you talking to me how to write a ***** review. I said clearly and explicitly that I dislike the reviews of notebooks made by jarred.

4h is the battery life of the lucky ones, granted the m17x has a much larger battery, but its got 2h+ of lead against the sager. And seriously a 77wh means that you consuming more than 20w per hour, thats a lot. And seriously it doesnt matter that it packs the best of the best in terms of gpu and cpu, both downclock tremendously and you have switchable gpus still. This is worst than asus level of engineering.

 

Still have 4 hours of battery life, which more than enough for me. If I need a laptop on the go for long hours, obviously I'd just spend $200 on a sale on a APU notebook that will have far better mobile experience.

Jarred didn't even know how to check if zero core, where all the cores are shut down and uses only 1watt at idle for the 7970M. Anyone on this NBR probably can tell you can check on Afterburner. Actually Afterburner won't even work unless you have activated it from zero-core.

My response to you was because yeah, I was harsh on Jarred, so I clarified why. I think his review was very unprofessional, and I'd be surprised if he isn't a paid staff.

 

As I said he always puts his bias in every notebook review he does, currently he is their worst reviewer in that therms.

Regarding battery life, I dont know, I still need power on the go, very happy that I have a notebook that provides me 10h of battery life. and yes it uses a smaller battery, 63wh to be exact

 

We're in a Clevo/Sager forum. Even the portable 11" has a 650M that outperforms the best Apple and Razer has to offer. This isn't the forum where we talk about 10 hour battery life. So I'm not sure why you are so concerned about Clevo's battery life since you already know. Here people are looking to buy a powerful workstation or a gaming rig. It's that simple, extra battery life is just icing on the cake.

 

you and I are aware of that clevo battery life aint good, while you can say that you can buy an apu cheaply I cant say that I can buy a notebook that offers me good battery life?

 

No, misunderstood what I said. My point was, people don't come to the Clevo/Sager or look for a powerful gaming/workstation machine for battery life. That's all. And it's also why I thought Jarred's criticism of what was ludicrous. Luckily technology is getting better, so we may get better battery life, but for now, 3-4 hours is very impressive for these machines.

Speaking of which, I think you can expect Rome II to be a beast of a game to run. Shogun 2 and Total War Empire are two of the most hardware intensive games I've ever run. Me wonders what rig you are going to use for Rome II.

 

My G73 gets about 3.5-4 hours on battery. Is the Clevo/Sager's battery really not good, or are there just a couple manufacturers with exceptional battery life? Think about it for a minute. Majority of the gaming laptops have hardly any battery life. Sure, they could be better, but saying they aren't good when it's generally the average time across the board is just silly.

 

I have a G73JH and definitely don't get anything near the battery life of my current Clevo. So yeah, I don't believe you get 3.5-4 hours, I'd be surprised if you get 1.5 hours. And yes I made my own vBios setting wih 100/150 on the 5870M, and didn't matter, battery life is not comparable to these switchable graphics.

 

Clevo has no issue with battery life management. The W110ER is the BEST performing per watt-hour, and it has the same GT 650m and 45W i7 processor as the Samsung. You say Clevo has horrible energy management, yet their model targeted at more mobile consumers has the best battery life per watt-hour? Simply put, the EM series laptops are designed not to save energy as they are targeted at gamers. It won't clock down as much, and the 7970m still needs a lot more energy to run. The Alienware models are based on the 680m, which is quite a bit better with power than the 7970m.

 

20w+ per hour is a lot, I do prefer the consumption of the enterprise class line, and their support.

However the thing is that the I dont really know what rig I will have at the time of rome 2, so I expect something better.

 

I never said I actually did anything in those 3 and a half hours.