Clevo N150RF or P650RE6

Hi,

Right now im looking for a new laptop to replace my hp pavilion p035nd. My main use it to use it for school stuff and i have to carry it with me everyday. After looking at models from lenovo,msi,asus and dell, i came across the clevo barebones.

Right now my main pick would have been the Clevo N150RF (Shark 5 comparable) with gtx965m TI and i7-6700HQ. However i began to doubt that model after seeing the review of Ramzay ( http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/eurocom-shark-4-clevo-n150sd-quick-review.784274/). This is because of the bad cooling properties of the laptop. Also another review ( http://www.notebookcheck.net/Schenker-XMG-A516-Clevo-N150RF-Notebook-Review.159486.0.html) showed that the turbo boost didn't activate while the Nvidia card is active.

After that i looked at the Clevo P650RE6 which apparently has better cooling ( http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/quick-review-eurocom-m5-pro-clevo-p650se.769973/). This laptop however has a 970m which addes another 285 euro's to the costs for a card that i dont need perse. I don't focus on the best graphics(just decent enought to game a bit sometimes) since i have my desktop for that.

Both laptops will have a 1080p ips display

So what are you guys opinions about these 2 models. Should i spend the 285 euro more for a possibly better chassis/cooling solution and better gpu?

 

You get better battery life, optimus switching and the ability to use G-sync/ultra high refresh rate external monitors too.

 

The n150RF has a little bit bigger battery right?..so that would be the better battery life model then? Is it not the case that both laptops have optimus?

 

Both have optimus but the 970M 15.6"/17.3" machines can turn it off. You are right about the battery I was thinking about an older model in that regard.

 

The P650 is built a lot better. It's the first higher end Clevo model, and is built was sturdier than N series models.

 

I honestly have not seen the N150RF overheat. It's not as popular as the P650RE/RG, but very rarely returns for any issues.

If your budget allows and you like the P650, it will hold up better in the long haul of things (better GPU = more "future proof").

 

I agree the jump to the 970M is a large jump (960 -> 965 -> 970 30% each time over the last one).

 

Do you perhaps know why the n150rf is less populair? And yea i know about the future proofing.. tho im just not sure if im willing to spend 285 euro above my budget for a card i dont need perse. The cpu is the most important for me and the main reason atm for me to pick the p650 is because of the apparent better cooling according to lots of reviews ive read.

 

We deal mostly with a certain kind of customer and they mostly want to go with the 970M. The older chassis versions stuck with DDR3 as well without USB 3.1, the updated version with USB3.1, DDR4 and an IPS display is pretty nice for those who can't stretch.

 

Pretty much what @Meaker@Sager said: We mostly get enthusiasts and gamers wanting power. The W and N series sells less than the P series in general simply due to the hardware, not necessarily due to any particular faults.

 

Uch..this is very hard for me..decisions decisions and more decisions. Right now im really going from one model to the other since they both have their ups and downs..

Specs comparision for the build im gonna pick:

Clevo P650RE6
CPU: i7-6700HQ
GPU: GTX 970M - 6.0GB
RAM: 16.0 GB DDR4 dual channel
Main IO ports:4 x USB 3.0 ports, 1 x HDMI Port, 2 x Mini Display Port
Wireless: INTEL® AC-8260 M.2 (867Mbps, 802.11AC)
Screen: 1080P IPS Display
Price: € 1.229,24

Clevo N150RF
CPU: i7-6700HQ
GTX 965M TI - 2.0GB
RAM: 16.0 GB DDR3L dual channel
Main IO ports:4 x USB 3.0 ports, 1 x HDMI Port, 1 x Mini Display Port, 1x VGA
Wireless: INTEL® AC-8260 M.2 (867Mbps, 802.11AC)
Screen: 1080P IPS Display
Price: € 945.36


So looking at these specs the only difference really is the ~20-30% gpu power loss compared to the gtx970m. Since im going to use this laptop mainly for programming, multitasking and general workstation usage with sometimes some gaming the focus is mainly towards a decent cpu. The main reason to go for the p650 was initially because its populair and had good performance temperature wise. However some reviews( http://www.notebookcheck.net/Schenker-XMG-P506-Clevo-P651RE-Notebook-Review.152021.0.html) say different so i dont really know what to think anymore. (i hate reading so much reviews ).

Looking at reviews of both laptops i see that the n150rf has much more throttle issues but apparently that doesnt show up in the benchmark results, whilst the p650 goes alot further without throttleing.

I dont really wanna cheap out on my laptop(tho i have my limits ofc), so paying more for better quality/better cooling solution is something i would do as it would improve the longlivity of my laptop tho atm i cant even tell if the p650 is better at cooling/quality.

So when you look at these specs, which are almost the same..would you still recommend the P650RE6 about the N150RF then?

 

How many reviews have you found praising the n150 over the p650? The latter is much likely to be the better machine; at least that's what's expected.

If your short on funds now maybe you can get the p650 now with minimal ram and no HDD; use your HDD and upgrade Ram down the line? It will space your investment in time, making it more manageable.

 

Problem is i havent found many reviews of the n150rf but yea atm im kinda leaning towards the p650. Im not really shorts on funds and i already have a 850 pro 512 gb ssd which is currently in my laptop im gonna replace.

Currently these 2 reviews are my comparision reviews since these have in general the same specs as my build will.

Clevo n150RF: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Schenker-XMG-A516-Clevo-N150RF-Notebook-Review.159486.0.html
Clevo P650RE: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Schenker-XMG-P506-Clevo-P651RE-Notebook-Review.152021.0.html

If you compare both gpu's in those reviews you can see most games only have like 10 fps difference at max. Normally i would say to get the best since i might regret it later on when i notice my gpu lacks but right now im not so sure if i would lose that much compared to a gtx 970m. Thermal wise both even look te same here so yea thats different in every review. I have friend who has bought the p650RE6 earlier and im gonna ask him if he can run some benches for me..see if that can talk me over.

 

Just finished reading both reviews and GPU performance differences notwithstanding the p650 seems to have a better handle on thermal management. The way I see it, that would make it my choice if I wanted to keep the laptop for a longer time, say, more than 2 years..

Btw, aren't you going to wait for Pascal? Apparently the prices are going to go up for the Pascal models. Should the new N150 end up costing 100€ more than it does now and has the GPU performance of a 970 it might exactly what you need..

 

Tbh it might be even best to wait out the new videocards tho ofc its always a guess when those come out. But as you said for now you would reccomend the p650 for the long run(that's what i intend) and otherwise the n150 if it had pascal and hit the middleground pricewise.

 

That seems like a good plan though bear in mind I don't own either of those machines: I'm just in the same position as you - looking for a new laptop.

 

there is 1 version of the p650 with i7 6700 ddr4 and gtx 965m. I'm not sure this 965m is Ti version or not but its an upgrade as the old model p650 went with ddr3.

 

There is the N155RF1 coming out. Same basic chassis as the N150RF, but this has a 965m as mentioned and uses DDR4 instead of DDR3. There isn't really a Ti version of mobile graphics cards, but it does fall between 960m and 970m for performance. A little more than the N150RF but not as much as the P650RE6.

 

I had the same inner struggle when purchasing a car a couple of years ago. It kind of makes you go crazy, but once you have it in your hands - assuming you like it - you'll be happy you erred on the side of caution and did as much research as you did.

 

There were two revisions with the 965M, the old GM204 based one and the new GM206 based one which is more power efficient and this is what is used in this chassis (it's a pin compatible replacement to the 960M).

 

The struggle is real. It took me 2 months to buy my last laptop, going back and forth between every model possible. Oddly enough, took me like 2 hours to buy my last car and that was a much bigger purchase. But I also don't use my car 8+ hours a day.

 

Took me about 4 hours of research and shopping to get my car. A life time for my laptop lol.

 

hah when it comes to buying my pc hardware/gear i always take sooo long before i decide to buy something. Reading reviews till i drop. Always wanna make the right choice at the first time and not needing to bring it back. Atm im kinda decided on the p650. I noticed a 70 euro price drop as well so that's nice ^^.

 

Lol. And here I went and purchased a system on a complete whim. But both the car and the computer have been [mostly] great. In the end, it's all about the experience.

Great! It's a good one. If you haven't considered upgrading the thermal compound, I would suggest it.

 

It probably makes good sense to research the car more But my car did end up being voted best in class so I can't complain. (It's a Hyundai I10 which is about half the size of what the US call a sub compact!)

 

Yea thermal compound is one of the things im getting. They offer artic mx-4 which i use for my desktop as well. Great stuff.

 

Some people on the forums had issues with MX-4 pumping out on them, I never had an issue personally though.

 

MX-4 pumped out for me.. No such issues with IC Diamond.. Even Gelid seems to pump out for me!

 

Ive been looking at the whole thermal paste pumping out thing around laptops/clevo's after your mentions and i think il just skip the mx-4 in this case. IC diamond is a no go because of the scratching risk etc even tho i use the arctic clean kit. I think my best bet would be the t grizzly kryonaut thermal paste. Now i just need to find a guide on how to remove the heatsinks of the p650re6

 

I've read that viscosity plays a role in this - and ICD is noticeably more viscous than GC Extreme.

That is some hardcore stuff! Do you plan to OC at all?

The heatsinks are pretty simple to remove. The entire bottom case assembly needs to be taken off, then you just remove the screws for the heatsinks (and maybe for the fans as well; I can't recall which models allow the fans to stay and which require fans + heatsinks be removed together, but if you see the screws for the fans numbered, then they need to come out as well).

 

After reading whole day about thermal past i got the general idea that higher viscosity means thicker paste aka better lifetime with looser heatsinks.
Im not planning on oc'ing at all tbh. Im gonna get the i7-6700HQ so that wont be even possible? I just want the best solution that is also safe to use. After reading some more it seems that kryonaut is just as thin as mx-4 which means it would be a choice between gelid gc-extreme or ic diamond. Tho in the end it boils down to the quality of the heatsink mounting. Guess il just ask around at the owner's lounge.

 

I use IC diamond for regular tasks and liquid ultra for the projects I want to get every last drop out of.

 

Hi, where did you find the P650 a this price? What I found is always 200€ higher

 

I live in the Netherlands so im gonna buy it here: https://www.laptopplus.nl/producten/15-6-inch-clevo-p650re6-gtx-970m. Do note tho that that config i mentioned earlier is without a harddrive. The laptop without ram, thermal paste upgrade and without harddrive is here € 1092,92

 

OS and HDD quickly add up.

 

Hey @Jeroen-B , did you end up making a purchase?

 

Nope not yet. I didn't need the laptop right now i'm just waiting for the new generation's to hit. If i find the new one to be better and around the same price point il go for that one. Otherwise il probably go for the old 970m version which by then probably will be discounted.

 

Seems like a good plan to me. That's what I am going to do as well!

 

A performance upgrade almost always comes with a price increase, but I'll bet you can still get better performance than the current gen with a much lower tier card, so keep that in mind when making a decision.

 

You mean if i woud buy the 1070(m)? I heard that was the equivalent of a 980 (which is waay overkill for me btw (970m already is)).

 

If they're anything like the performance increase we saw in desktop cards, I bet you could get away with a 1060, especially if you don't need top tier performance.

 

Does anyone know if its worth getting a dead pixel warranty? My retailer offers a 24h dead pixel warranty as default and a 1 year warranty at 33 euro's covering all costs. First thing im going to do is check the panel in the first 24h. How high are the chances of a dead pixel appearing after those 24h?