Clevo M570U and RJTech?

I’m getting ready to purchase a laptop for gaming and work.

After researching what is currently available I narrowed it down to the Clevo M570U or a Dell XPS 1710.

The difference in price between the Dell and the Clevo is shocking. With both laptops optioned out with a 2.3GHz (T7600) Core2 Duo, 2 GB of RAM and an nVidia Go7950GTX the Dell is almost $1000.00 dollars more.

I don’t want to start a Dell vs. Clevo post but what are the latest opinions about Dell vs. Clevo build quality?

Right off the bat I’m not overly impressed with all the “XPS” logos and lights on the Dell. I like the clean no-nonsense look of the Clevo but if I have to sacrifice quality to get it I’m not interested.

My other question is about Clevo resellers.

If I go with the Clevo I was thinking of purchasing from RJ Tech. Has anyone here had any experience with them. I see that they have an excellent rating but I was looking for some personal experiences. I’m also looking to buy a completely stock Clevo, no company stickers/badges on the case/lid. Does RJ Tech deliver their laptops like this?

Any help or opinions would be appreciated.

 

Well some advantages of the Clevo are:
-Can have up to 2 HDD's
-Has a number pad
-Costs much less as stated

Downside to Clevo:
-Rather Bland look/appeal (Although you can send it to smoothcreations, or somekind of 3rd party notebook specializing painters, and fix up the look )
-Very few people know what "Sager" or "Clevo" are (Not a biggy)

Some extras the XPS has that the Clevo doesn't are:
-Shiny adjustable lights
-Big XPS logo (Everyone knows what a XPS is)
-Option for T7600G (Overclockable)
-Option for 160gb 7,200rpm HDD

Downside to XPS:
-(As you have stated none of these are worth the extra $1,000)
-Can house only 1 HDD
-No numberpad
-Same laptop as an Inspiron E1705/9400, just lights and XPS logo, which ups the premium (So stupid).

Defiantly go with the Clevo, I bet anyone who will post here will say the same "GO FOR CLEVO M570U ".

Dell's build quality is satisfactory, nothing special (Unlike Clevo which has SUPERIOR build quality to the XPS), but also there have not been to many reports of an XPS build defect (Only the minors: Hinge loosening/cracking, slight keyboard flex, ect. . .).

Most Clevo Resllers are excellent like RJ Tech, Powernotebooks, XoticPC, ect... (Except for Flawless). (Refer to the Clevo Guide).

To have no stickers, you can call up RJ Tech and say that you don't want any stickers, and they'll be happy to do it for you.

Other than that, I'm sure someone who has bought from RJ Tech can answer your question about experiences with them.

EDIT: Hope I didn't miss anything...

 

xtyfyb,

Thanks for the response, it was very informative.

I have a couple of other questions that I forgot to ask in my first post.

About this second hard drive option, is this like a spare drive that you can just put in the modular bay and boot between the two drives? If so how would you load windows on to the spare drive if you are using the bay that usually holds the optical drive?

Also I noticed that the 2.3GHz “G” Core 2 Duo (with unlocked multiplier) is available on the XPS but I can not find it listed as an option on the Clevo. Do you know if this available as a special order from RJ Tech with the Clevo?

 

The Clevo M570U is the best notebook with the better build quality and performance/price ratio.

RJtech is a very reputable reseller, we have had a number of posts from first time customers that ordered through them.... all happy and satisfied.

I would recommend to call them, you can probably get special parts as well as a better price.

 

I tried calling today but just got the answering machine. I don’t think they have sales representatives working on weekends.

 

Thats probably true, most businesses do not work on the weekends.

 

I doubt anyone knows, but when would you expect the soonest would be that a Clevo M570U gets the 160 GB 7200 RPM HDD? I've fooled around with one that my friend has and am quite convinced that it's what I want to buy, but I would hope that it has it at least by the launch of Santa Rosa.

 

the 160gb 7200rom Seagates are almost available for purchase within 4-6 weeks. It seems that Dell has gotten an exclusive first batch for their XPS notebooks, but it won't be exclusive for long.

and keep in mind that they go for about $290-300 when they are ready for purchase.

 

Yes, definitely email them; Richard's very good about getting whatever you need as long as it's technically compatible. Personally, I wanted a less powerful video card than the 7800GTX 512, and he promptly put up an option for the 7800GTX 256 at $300 less. I don't see why he wouldn't get the overclockable processor for you.

The second hard drive does go in the modular bay; you would install Windows on the internal drive, and then use the modular bay as a data drive (partition the internal disk off if you need to use more than one OS). I think the last time I put my CD drive in was 3 months ago; I just use ISO images and Alcohol 120 for everything. If you do need Windows on the spare drive for whatever reason, you can probably use an external optical drive.

Go with the Clevo. From my personal experiences with Dell, their keyboards suck, their customer service is absolutely execrable, and their laptops have an annoying tendency to break rather frequently. That said, you may want to wait for the M570RC or whatever it's called; I don't know when that comes out, but having DirectX 10 cards and the new processor socket will probably be worth it. If you can't wait, though, for whatever reason, the 570U should last you for years.

 

I have a 7800 GTX, still a beast in gaming [even after a year of having it].

As for the extra harddrive, It would be more cost efficient to get an USB external 2.5" Harddrive to have extra storage. It seems that a good number of people that got the optical bay HDD is somewhat regretting it, but it could just be their types of use with it... or the inconvenience of having an external optical drive [which is more bulk than an external HDD].

 

Heh, I just kind of hate ODDs, so emulation is the ideal choice for me - keeps me from having to juggle media around and allows me to have more storage for other things. And why would a USB hard disk be more costefficient? They're the same disks, just different housing.

 

Maybe not too cost efficient, but probably more time-efficient [for those that do not want to lose the internal optical].

I am glad to hear that you enjoy the extra drive, so for your situation, you probably dont use the optical drive regularly... which makes the bay-HDD a good option.

 

A deal maker option, actually. I'm really happy with it. Really depends on your usage patterns, I guess; if you need the hard disk more, you use that, and if you need the optical more you use that. Whichever you're using less often goes external.

Or if you don't need either, you get a second battery *grins*

 

I know this is an old post, but I'm still going to take a shot at it. Does ANYONE know where to pick up one of those SATA HDD caddies for the M570RUs? I've been looking around (as much as I can) on this military net, but since most sites are blocked (damned security precautions!) I can't get to many sites that would point me into the right direction to purchasing one and having it sent to me in Iraq. If anyone out there could point me to a place that might sell them, PLEASE link it here and I'll se if I'm capable of accessing the site. Also, I'm looking for an extra battery pack (ODD replacement type if it's possible with my model) for the long flight back home. I already have one extra battery pack for the bottom, but the longer battery life the better, expecially when it's going on a 20+ hour flight back Stateside!

Anyway, thanks for all the help!

nicodarious

SGT !@#$ *)@#($%
US Army

(security purposes, they won't let me post my name here)

 

unfortunately the M570RU does not have a HDD smart bay. So it would be best to get an external USB 2.5" HDD enclosure.

as for battery, you can contact (email or call) RJtech or XoticPC... who can ship internationally.

 

Thanks for the quick reply, Gophn. I'll see if there is some way to contact Justin@XoticPC since right now, his website is blocked to me (doh!). He was very helpful when it came to purchasing this laptop when the site want' blocked back a few months ago. I was so impressed with his company and the laptop that I sent three of my friends to buy laptops from Xotic who each bought a laptop from them and are also extremely happy with the service. So kudos to Justin and his business.

I'm going to go check out and see if I can find some laptopmods. Anyone have a good site to go to? Even just generic mods, like power pack additions, or some way to put a HDD into this optical drive slot (it's removable, so why can't it be done, right?). Hopefully, I can pull out something out of this locked-down internet access. If anyone might have a good site to go to, please, post it and I'll see if I can access it from here.

Thanks again Gophn.

 

if you need to contact Justin.... just PM him here Justin@XoticPC

he checks i almost every hour during his day

 

Sweet! thanks a load! I'll do so now