Anandtech tests W870CU and others. LCD comparisons included.

Check it out: http://anandtech.com/mobile/showdoc.aspx?i=3660&p=13

Here's the conclusion:

The contrast ratio on the W870CU is horrible! They didn't list the manufacturers of the displays so I'm going to e-mail them and see if I can find out. I'm pretty sure the the W870 is using the AUO screen.

Edit: I got an e-mail back from Jarred at Anandtech regarding the LCD manufacturers. Here is the list he was able to pull up:

D900F: AUO B170UW01-V0
M980NU: Chi Mei N184H4-L01
W870CU: Chi Mei N173O6-L02

Note: He did say the displays could change and wouldn't always give this result so keep this in mind.

 

Actually, it doesn't look like they are using an AUO screen. Justin posted the hardware ID and model number in the other thread

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=423943&page=6

However, I'm not convinced that the AUO screen in the W860CU is that bad. So far, most of the people who have seen it, seem to like it.

 

As previously reported the 8690 uses a AUO however I don't see the AUO screens even as close to as bad they have been reported in the past. Talk to some of the 8690 owners on the forums and you will probably here the same.

As for the 8760 it does not use AUO. Here are the details that were posted in the other thread:

 

Justin, How about the screen of 8760? How does it compare to 8690?

 

Thanks. It's too bad they didn't test the W860 in this shootout. I'm going to request that they consider reviewing it.

 

IMHO I like the screen on the 8690 better.

 

Yep. Very disappointing.

I can't accept a poor or even average screen on a high $ notebook.

 

Got an e-mail reply back. See first post.

 

Paying over $1500 for a computer, one would expect to receive high quality, if not top end parts in his/her notebook. Yet we are stuck with LCD/LED panels that make the worst desktop panels look like a dream. It took years to hone laptops to the quality that they are today, and I'll be the first to admit laptops are actually an amazing alternative now to a big heavy PC ever since laptops like the Gateway P-6831Fx came out and stuck it to the industry. Prices are actually fair and make sense, and the RAM and Video is really catching up to the processing power...but WHAT is going on with our LCD/LED panels? I have heard about the power issues, but give me a break, POWER issues on a notebook with SLI / Core i7? Sorry that excuse is null, as it always was with gaming laptops, plus look at Apple laptops(I'm no apple fan but wow they have nice screens), amazing display quality on the Pro models. Price? oh we're all so sorry our 2,000 dollars isn't enough to cover that screen we all want, so just charge $100 less and sell us a piece of junk? I think after anandtech's review on the 8760's panel word will get out about the quality of supposed " new " technology comming from ODT's like Clevo and MSI... I'd say a screen is more important than : Looks of the laptop, weight of the laptop, battery life of the laptop, price of the laptop, even what's inside to an extent....
Now you could argue that using an external display can fix this, but I don't want to use an external display, I just want my laptop to have a nice screen...that's all, that's it, pretty please with chocolate cherries on top?

 

I feel the same way. To me the screen is one of if not the most important components in a notebook. Hooking it up to an external display defeats the purpose of having a quality notebook. These manufacturers need to stop cutting corners with the display and instead give us high quality ones. Dell finally stepped up with their notebooks so there is no excuse for companies like Clevo that pride themselves on quality and charge for it.

 

I couldnt agree more and the poor screen was the reason I sold my clevo 860.
I dont understand how these companies think it is acceptable to sell top spec laptops with such poor screens. This is the reason I now own a studio xps 16. The lapto is average with heat issues but the screen is fantastic.

Its not like you can just upgrade it at a later date like you can a hard drive/ram/cpu.

I wouldnt even mind if they had a naff basic model but you could spec a decent screen. Oh and please name the screen used. I hate panel lotterys

 

Notebooks need better quality LCD screens, cooling design and overall quality of design and manufacture in general. I wait for the day when I can go on Newegg and purchase a myriad of notebook upgrade components for any notebook easily and cheaply--especially graphics cards. Until then I'm out of the market as I've lost too much money with Notebook computers in general that I could have used to build desktops with better specs/longevity/upgrade capabilities, etc. Mobility is nice but...

 

Please have in mind that the model they tested is the 900p Panel and not the 1080 panel. It seems that all test Units where shipped with 900p. I think they 1080 is going to be good.

 

I think you din't read the whole testing. that w870cu has the 900p+ panel which available only from Eurocom.

 

You get what you pay for on Clevo laptops. And when you buy Clevo laptops you are basically buying a business-gaming (reliable performance) hybrid laptop; LCD quality doesn't seem to be a concern for Clevo (though it should be). If you want business-gaming hybrid laptop with awesome screen quality you may want to look at the Dell/HP/Lenovo 17" workstations, but they are quite expensive... much more expensive than Clevo.

I think the best solution for you LCD luvers who want a Clevo is to buy an external 200$ monitor. You are willing to pay for the Studio XPS RGB screen, after all, which comes with a 250$ price tag.... though I admit that brightness should be very important specially for taking the laptop outside.

 

Agreed, after having used a Macbook Pro and a Dell RGBLED Studio 17, the state of screens for laptops in general are atrocious.

Even Dell LED panels are nice.

The dual bulb screen of the HDX 20.1" is the stuff of legends too.

 

What the heck why does this laptop only have a 4 cell battery??? They usually ship the 17 inch models with 2-3 times the battery capacity.

 

I think they did that to reduce weight. They probably figured that anyone buying the DTR would have it plugged in most of the time.

 

eh why would they need to reduce the weight if it stays still all day?

 

I think it is a token battery/ UPS, briefly untethered idea because let's face it; for this thing to have meaningful battery life, it would weigh 11lbs+.

 

Yeah 11+ pounds is pushing it, but id still take the extra weight for at LEAST a 6 or 8 cell battery. That battery is bigger than the 9280's battery it looks like, and basically it's just a big empty jagged staircase of a cell holder.
I was somewhat torn over getting either a w860 or the w870, and honestly I never did think to check the battery sizes, figuring they would be at least 6 cell batteries! But wow, yes my 9280 has a 130w CPU and a 24W chipset, but the thing still lasts longer than the w870 in some cases.

 

The 9280 is a thing of beauty. You're gonna love it.