Clevo D900F config suggestions for CAD?

Looking at picking up a D900F for a CAD work rig (UGS NX4, Unigraphics, Solidworks, and SpaceClaim primarily). I know it doesn't have a workstation-class card, but the 280m should be plenty - I'm more interested in the CPU processing power & the high RAM ceiling. Weight, size, and battery life are non-issues. I'll be going with the base-level Core i7 920 (quad 2.66ghz). The bump to 3ghz doesn't seem worth it to me, and the 3.33ghz max upgrade is a bit out of budget at nearly $800.

I'm looking at Windows 7 with 12 gigs of RAM. I found Windows XP drivers (which is what's on the current workstation, and works great), but that would limit my RAM ceiling to 4 gigs. Haven't messed with Windows 7 too much, so I'm a tad worried about compatibility, but I think I'll be okay. Would prefer to never, ever touch Vista on this laptop.

I'm also looking at (3) 320gb 7200rpm drives in RAID 5. Originally I wanted a 120gb OCZ Vertex SSD for a boot drive, but the price went from ~$355 to $500 at Newegg. I was planning on doing that plus (2) 640gb 5400rpm drives in RAID 1 for data storage. I haven't read too much on the reliability of the 640gb drives, but I figured in RAID 1 it'd be okay. But since the 120gb SSD is crazy $$$, I think I'll just go with some reliable Scorpios in RAID 5 and do an external drive for backup. Yeah, I could still do a single SSD, but for $500, man...it's only $320 for a 600gb-formatted RAID array, would would have pretty decent speed plus reliability using the 320's.

So my initial questions:

1. Who is good to buy from? PowerNotebooks.com looks pretty good, and offers a $200 zero-dead-pixel policy (unlike Sager). I find it stupid to have pay for that at this pricerange (and to have to pay $200, no less), but I'd rather pay for it and NOT have any dead pixels on a $3,000 machine. Also concerned about service, as this is a work machine I don't want flakey support. If something goes wrong, I need a fix solution ASAP, and no warranty games.

2. I'm assuming the RAID levels can be set in BIOS, unless they're somehow configured at the factory or something. I'd probably just go with their offered drives (the 320's are fairly close in price to, say, Newegg).

3. I'm looking at this G.Skill 4GB 1066mhz DDR3 for $240 on Newegg:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231265

That's $720 for 12 gigs, vs. $885 installed from Sager or Power Notebooks. That's a $165 savings, vs. only about $15 for the hard drives. Although if I order the RAM from Newegg or wherever and the RAID config can be easily set in BIOS, I might as well save the $15 lol.

4. Looking at the Targus TXL617 17" backpack, as recommended by Sager:

http://www.amazon.com/Targus-TXL617-17-Notebook-Backpack/dp/B0001EMM10

I'm a bit concerned about the quality. I use an Ogio Metro backpack for my 14" home laptop and it's been an absolute gem. I want something EXTREMELY durable, but that will fit the laptop, power cord, etc. I know the laptop is pretty big & heavy, so I want to make sure (1) it fits, and (2) the backpack isn't going to fail on me (I had 3 backpacks fall apart, before finally investing in my beloved Ogio). I read on Newegg that the Targus comfortably fits the 18.4" Toshiba Core i7 laptop, so I think I should be okay with the D900F.

5. Any special mods, "gotchas", BIOS releases, or anything else I should know about? I read about modding in a 4th fan, but that's not a big concern to me.

6. A bit off-topic, but does anyone know of a compact ergonomic or split keyboard? My desktop keyboard is a Microsoft 4000 ergo, but that's a bit too big for traveling.

Thanks.

 

In SPECViewperf10 test there are huge differences between Quadro and GeForce.....

 

Yes, but as I stated in my first post, I'm more interested in CPU & RAM than in GPU performance due to the types of CAD work the machine will be used for. The workstation currently in use has a lesser consumer (non-workstation) graphics card and performs the operations extremely well. So really I'm just looking for a monster laptop, and this seems to be the best

Out of curiousity, what would you recommend for a top-notch laptop with a workstation GPU?

 

I do a lot of CAD/SIM work as well (engineering student - MATLAB/Simulink, CATIA, Solidworks, GTPower, Hypermesh and even the good old Fluent )

And you're absolutely right on RAM - HDD speed and CPU being far more important than the GPU type. And even though my laptop is not as fast as yours will be, i can still work with real time rendering in Solidworks without even bothering it.
On the HDD issue, i would go for the fastest possible setup for your budget, without excluding RAID 0. Yes it shortens your drives' life, but chances are you'll never see your drives fail before SSD's become affordable enough. My computer (Bought from Xoticpc.com) came with RAID configured since it was an option when i ordered it.
As for the processor, consider that most benchmark engineering programs have only just started adding multi-core threading compatibility. This means that it'll be more or less another year before all the programs you use more frequently will be able to use your processor's full potential, so a faster processor is better right now.

I have the Targus XL. Awesome backpack, it will fit your notebook, your power cord and then some. Seriously sometimes i use it instead of a suitcase for short train trips. It is durable, waterproof (i've used it in rain), and the notebook compartment is decenly padded. The drawbacks are that it's a bit of an old design, so it's not especially pretty. It's a bit bulky even if it's not full and the ipod / drinks pockets are not easy to reach, but i'm not that tall so that's probably why. It won't have the perceived quality of an OGIO, but it's well made.

I hope that answers some of your questions.

 

Yes that helps, thank you! The current workstation in use has a 512mb ATI 3870 and does great with 3D modeling, surprisingly.

I think the config for hard drives I'll go with is (3) 640gb 5400rpm in RAID 5. I found hardly any speed data for the drive itself; the one test I read said it clocks in at about 84 MB/s, which seems pretty fast for a 2.5" laptop drive @ 5400rpm (my old desktop 500's are only about 80 MB/s). But, capacity is pretty important for this rig, so if I can double my overall RAID capacity by going with 640gb, then the speed hit would be OK (that, plus RAID 5 would give something of a performance boost anyway). That and the cost is much easier to swallow - the 120gb Vertex drives I wanted are $500 each, or $1500 for an (insane) RAID array, versus $417 for three 640-gig drives. Having an onboard RAID 5 system would be really nice for trips, not having to worry about things going bad and all.

I think I'm going to go with Power Notebooks - they offer the dead-pixel thing ($200, ouch!), and currently include a 3-years-labor and 1-year-parts warranty, lifetime tech support, a 10% discount for bank wire transfer, and seem to be a little cheaper than some other D900F resellers. They also have good reviews online - I was reading through the Clevo Guide & FAQ here on the Notebook Review forums and they have a lifetime rating of 9.97/10 out of 1328 reviews.

Okay, I think I'm set! Thanks for your help I'll post back when it arrives!

 

If you're going to go with the no-dead-pixel guarantee, I would recommend upgrading to the 2 year warranty with no-dead-pixels for about $50 more. Basically, you get the 2 year warranty, and pay only $100 for the no-dead-pixel guarantee, or, if you want to look at it the other way, you get the no-dead-pixel guarantee, and save $100 on the 2nd year of warranty.

 

Is the warranty worth it? I've been burned on warranty support before...

 

From everything I've heard, Powernotebooks customer support is excellent (no personal knowledge). The thing about warranties, naturally, is that hopefully you'll never have to use it at all. My point was largely that if you're going to go to the expense of a no-dead-pixel guarantee, you might as well toss in an extra year of warranty coverage for only $50 more. For me, I wouldn't have bothered with the dead-pixel guarantee in the first place, since officially, serious dead pixel issues affect less than 1% of all LCDs, and with the 30 day total satisfaction guarantee, you could always send it back for a full refund (less shipping) and reorder and try again, but then again, I've also been lucky to date with no dead pixel issues. YMMV.

 

Yeah, I've actually never had a problem with laptop screens, although my current 24" Dell LCD just developed a light-blue dead pixel about a month ago in the upper middle/center

Is Sager the official Clevo retailer in the US? And all the others are Sager resellers? I see most places selling the laptop as a "Sager NP9280", not a "Clevo D900F".

 

Sager is one of three official Clevo importer OEMs in North America.

the other two are:
- Pro-Star / Mtech
- Eurocom

more info in the Clevo Guide

 

Ahhh I see. Read through the rest of the guide too, that makes sense. I'm glad there's a FAQ here for this stuff, it'd be super confusing to try to google and try to figure that all out on your own, haha.

 

Would this laptop stand fit the D900F?

http://matias.ca/ifold/index.php

I just ordered a split-wire ergonomic keyboard to fit in my 17" Targus bag to go along with the Clevo; I want to get something to prop up the screen to eye level to go along with it. Any suggestions are welcome.

 

that looks like it can do the job... although you should make sure that the bottom fan vents do not get blocked when using such a stand.

 

If the outlet offers a 30day no questions money back you'd be better going that way (xoticPC). Check it

 

I'll give it a shot and report back.

btw thanks for your great reviews, this one helped me make my decision on the D900F!

 

Went ahead and ordered the memory - the G.Skill 4GB DDR3-1066MHz sticks went from $239.99 to $204.99 overnight haha:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231265

 

Got it in, yay! Not impressed with the screen (pretty dim compared to even $250 netbooks), but overall a pretty nice machine! Going to install all the upgrades this weekend.

One question: my power brick is making weird skittering noises. It sounds exactly like a hard drive sounds when it's seeking. Is this normal? It's pretty annoying. The computer itself is super quiet, but I can hear the brick making weird noises constantly since the cord is only like 3 feet long

 

The noisy power supply is a common complaint. I ordered 2 P/S with my notebook. One is quiet and one is noisy. Sometimes I give the P/S a rap, then it stops. But usually only for a while. I don't know if anyone has ever tried to get their P/S replaced because of this condition?

I'm a little confused about your display comment. You say its dim? I have my backlight turned down to about 75% because it was too bright at the full setting.

 

I have one definate reccomendation, DONT put your HDDs in RAID5 i did, had to reinstall my OS due to constand HDD use almost like it was paging non stop and it was rediculously slow, if you want security buy 2 Intel X25-M 160GB SSDs (Make sure you buy Gen 2 with the new controller and TRIM support) fastest and most reliable SSDs and controllers out there, run then in RAID0 and your onto a winner for your 3rd HDD buy a 640GB HDD from one of the big guys, WD, Seagate, Samsung etc and youve got storage right there

 

You could get this backpack for your 9280.

http://www.spireusa.com/products/ME10.htm

Good quality and does not look as dated at Targus offerings.

 

Maybe I'll give them a call to replace it. It's pretty annoying lol.

Yup, dim. Even compared to my $370 14" laptop I got for cheap or my last netbook. I was just playing with a 17" Acer at Staples the other day for under $500 and the screen was brighter (I've got the Sager on max brightness). It's not horrible, just...somewhat dim.

 

Wow really? That stinks. I already bought (3) 640gb hard drives for RAID 5. What OS were you using?

 

Already picked up the Targus, but thanks! Looks nifty! The Targus is a tad ugly, but it seems pretty sturdy. I'm keeping my Ogio for my other portable laptop.

 

Seriously my D900F went seriously slow in RAID5, never do that in a notebook,
Im using Win7, i tried vista and XP all the same in RAID5, RAID0 is the only viable option man

 

One thing it might have been, and I don't know how long you were running in RAID 5, but apparently when drives are first put in RAID, it takes a while for it to initialize and build up all the parity between the drives, since apparently it needs to write to every sector of every drive to insure parity on initialization. This could obviously take a while...

 

Thanks for the info but i was running RAID5 for about 1 1/2 weeks almost 24/7 so i asume it would have finished the process by then?
Iv since read RAID5 isnt reccomended for anything other than desktops/servers

 

Might have been. I don't actually have much experience with RAID, just thought that might have been a contributing factor, since I've heard about 3 day long initialization times. I think those were on larger arrays, though.

 

Cool thanks man

 

Cool, I'll probably go with a 640gb boot & (2) 640gb in RAID 1 (Mirroring) for backup. Or maybe (2) 640gb in RAID 0 for speed for boot and a single 640gb for backup.

Any suggestions on an anti-glare film? The glossiness is pretty glossy I'd like a bit more of a matte finish. I've seen some stuff from 3M that looks pretty good...

 

Ayee thats the best idea with your hardware man
Im running 2xRAID0 and one backup

The gloss is nice in low light/non flourescent areas and in the dark, be careful about bubbles though if you want an anti glare film, it will also reduce your viewing angel

 

For the final install, I'm actually thinking of going with (2) 640gb drives in RAID 1 (Mirroring) for boot, then use the third 640gb for backup. That way my boot is protected, plus I get backup. Not as ideal as RAID 5, but should be better for performance. I'm testing 64-bit Win7 with all my apps this weekend, so if everything goes smoothly then I'll do some tests to see what I like the best, but safe & secure sounds pretty good right now!

It's a beast of a laptop. I'm amazed at how quiet it is, too (well except for the PSU lol).

 

RAID1 works well too id stick with that
x64 works fine for me and all my prograds AutoCAD 09, 3DS Max '10 ans CS4 MC,

try Fn+1 my fav shortcut key

 

Have you tried increasing "Digital Vibrance" in the Nvidia Control Panel to address brightness issues?

+1 for FN+1 being a D900x user's favorite key press.

 

Hah, fan control, nice!

 

Wow, colorful! At max brightness, I'm actually pretty happy with it. Would love for Clevo to come out with an LED-backlit model though.

So far I think my only real complaint is that the Home/End/Page keys require you to press the Fn key, which is annoying, but luckily my Logitech VX Revolution mouse is programmable, so not a biggie.

 

Ahah, I think I've found the source of the PSU noise! I'm like 99% sure it's picking up hard drive whine. I've noticed the same thing on cheap motherboards with onboard audio - when you plug in good headphones, you can hear the hard drive being accessed. I played around with the D900F's PSU today and it definitely seems like it's picking up access noise from the hard drive - if I do something to access the hard drive, it makes that squeaking noise that my old hard drives used to make.

Weird.

 

Got Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit installed tonight. Had to scour the net for drivers, but got everything working 100%. I can post a driver kit if anyone's interested. I just used the Nvidia Mobile drivers, although I think someone mentioned using the desktop drivers?

Only bug seems to be the Game Keys on the left - pressing it once outputs the keys twice. Like if I program "ABC" using the GameKey app, then press the G1 key, it will print out "ABCABC". Kinda weird. The application key up near the power button works fine, but it uses a separate app, so I think it's the GameKey app that's the problem. Update: Another reboot seemed to clear that up. Odd. Update 2: Doesn't seem to work for every usage. For example, Google Desktop Search has a default hotkey of "CTRL CTRL", but doing that twice doesn't work, and programming in two CTRL key presses doesn't work. Using shortcuts that utilize the Windows shortcut key are also trick. For example, I tied G2 to CTRL+E (open Windows Explorer), but Windows kept opening Windows, so my workaround was pressing the Windows key (Windows key press) then E, which opened up Explorer, switching back to the GameKey app, pressing E (E press, E release), switching back to Explorer, pressing down the Windows key, then switching back to the GameKey app and releasing the Windows key (Windows key release). So now I can just whack the G2 key and have Explorer open. Nice.

Also the webcam seems pretty choppy, like it has a low framerate. Wonder if that's just the driver on Win7 64-bit or what.

 

Ran HD Tune on the 640gb drive:

69 MB/s average
102.6 MB/s burst
16.8ms access time

Not bad, not great. In a couple years when the SSD tech gets better, I'd like to do 3 x SSD in RAID 0 with a 1TB 2.5" USB for backup, along with a faster Core i7. For now though, I need the storage capacity, so ~70 MB/s it is Got a 5.9 on the Windows 7 scale with 3 gigs of RAM & the 920 chip, btw.

 

Goo, they didn't include 2.5" HDD screws for additional drives! Gotta order some...

and Merry Christmas

 

kaidomac can you show me where you got those drivers? I've been looking for a display driver ever since mine screwed up. I figured re-formatting would do it but there is now a standard VGA driver that isn't much better.