Clevo P150HM: Which OEM/Reseller Should I Choose?

---- Prices/Pros/Cons last updated: 4:12 PM, July 21st ----

Help weigh in on my purchase (taking place this Monday/Tuesday) on which reseller to choose from. Below are my specs. Further below are the costs of these specs from Malibal, PowerNotebooks, XoticPC, and Mythlogic (with differences noted). I'll be making the purchase soon for school (and am unsure if any of these 4 offer student discounts either).

Here are the specs for all 4 companies (unless stated otherwise below):
-Screen: 15.6" FHD 95% Gamut Matte LCD
-CPU: Intel i7-2720QM (quad-core)
-GPU: nVidia GeForce GTX 485m
-CPU/GPU: IC Diamond Thermal Compound
-RAM: 16gb DDR3 1600MHz (4 SODIMMS)
-Storage: SSD 250gb Intel 510, SATA-III
-Optical: Lowest grade available Blu-Ray Read-only & Lowest grade available DVD/CD-RW
-NIC: Bigfoot Networks Killer
-OS: Windows 7 Ultimate
-Peripherals: Everything identical (sound card, fingerprint reader, etc)
-Warranty: 4 year labor / 4 year parts (with american express card)

Malibal: $3,168.00
Advantage: Free shipping for NBR members
Advantage: $35 savings on RAM with current promotion
Advantage: ~$35 price matching
Student Discount: N/A
Dead Pixel Guarantee: Available (+$75)

PowerNotebooks: $3,193.00
Student Discount: Unknown
Dead Pixel Guarantee: Available (+$75)

XoticPC: $3,193.00
Possible Advantage: Custom laptop lid skinning (+$89), but there are always schtickers (+$24.95).
Student Discount: Available (savings unknown)
Dead Pixel Guarantee: Available (+$75)

Mythlogic: $3,236.24
Con: Does NOT offer 24/7/365 phone tech support (only weekday buisiness hours and no holidays)
Advantage: Warranty is 5 (not 4) years labor (still 4 years parts, however)
Advantage: Monitor Callibration
Advantage: Phoenix Upgrade Plan
Advantage: Price matching (savings unknown)
Possible Advantage: Upgrade from Intel 510 (256GB, SATA-III) SSD to Crucial M4 (512GB, SATA-III) for (+$363.40)
Student Discount: N/A
Dead Pixel Guarantee: Available (+$60)

................................

NOTE: All the cons, advantages, and possible advantages were NOT factored into the total pricing alongside the company names. The "3% cash discount" from all 4 companies was also NOT included, as I will not be utilizing it (I plan to pay by American Express for the extended warranty and various other benefits that are worth more than the ~$100 difference in the long-run).

 

Hi, we do not offer any student discounts - however, we do have a RAM Promotion (doesn't add any time to the order) that can save you some money, a 3% cash discount, Free Shipping for NBR Members and also a low price guarantee. Also, our warranty includes Lifetime 24/7 USA-Based Support and Free Labor on all upgrades.

If you have any other specific questions for us, please drop us a PM and we'll be glad to help out.

 

instead of getting the vista ultimate i recommend the home premium, because the only difference between the two is bitlocker(useless) and the extra 30 language packs, which im guessing that you wont need, due to your location. The ultimate doesn't have any benefits for gamers.

Buying the 30 day dead pixel free guarantee is a waste, according to malibal they have only seen two returns for this year because of it, and you can just ship it back and have it replaced.

by getting rid of those 2 things you can then upgrade to the 580m, which you will see a performance increase from

Unless you are going to be doing heavy video transcoding stay with the 2630qm, it is more than sufficient for gaming, because of its powerful 32nm architecture

As far as the RAM i rarely see my usage go over 3gb even when gaming, let alone 8gb so get the 8gb and use the cash for something else.

also about the 6x blu-ray ask the reseller to match it to this pro-star 4x blu-ray reader Prostar P150HM Gaming Laptop | Clevo P150HM Gaming Laptop | Sager NP8150 Gaming Laptop | Custom Built Gaming Laptop

Your estimate for malibal is low, because you selected the option for the ram promotion. pm MALIBAL and he will give the code for the ram promotion, and it works on any ram even the stock one.

I recommend malibal, i just got my system and its sick, and the only bottleneck on the system is the 485m, which is still an amazing card, but it is the bottleneck of the system, and of course my non ssd hard drive.

BUT, if you are willing to wait 3 weeks you can get the amd 6990m for only $25 more than the 485m, and that you would definantly see more performance from.

 

Feedback included in the original post. Thanks Malibal!

Hey, thanks for your extensive input Aduy! Some follow-up questions for you:

Vista: What good are those language packs? As it happens, I may be using this laptop in a variety of foreign countries, so my eyes opened up to that. Truthfully, I don't know the differences between Ultimate and Home Premium (I feel foolish for not having thought to investigate that further). Additionally, I was hoping to dual-boot with Linux Mint (Ubuntu-related).

Dead Pixel Guarantee: Are you certain about this? I feel to say why they'd offer the guarantee pricing, if they're going to guarantee it either way...

CPU: Admittedly, the 2630QM does save me $160 from all of the companies (EXCEPT for Mythloic, which only saves me $25). I'm not getting this processor for gaming, but rather running a LOT of intensive programs simoultaneously that will be crunching numbers and such.

Price Match / Bluray: I just inquired with Malibal about that and you were correct (gracias)! I'm not sure how much it will save though exactly.

Ram Promotion: Updated my post to reflect that point already. Mind you, the price I listed isn't an estimate. It's what configuring it on the website shows.

GPU: Can you link me to something regarding the 6990 being so much more powerful, being available in the next 3 weeks, and for only $25 more? Also, how's the 6990 compare to the GTX 580m, then? Malibal has told me that they don't know about the 3-weeks being true or about the $25 price difference being true.

 

Yeah the 30 day pixel guarantee isn't really worth it. The warranty costs an extra $75 and all that means is that if you get a dead pixel you can send it back within 30 days of purchase and they cover the shipping.

However, if you get your laptop from MALIBAL and it has a dead pixel, you can return it to them and they will replace it for free. You do have to pay the shipping (which I think is less than $75 and I'm not sure if that is both ways). In either case, the chances of a dead pixel aren't too large so you will most likely not need it anyway.

 

Here are the differences in Windows 7:

Compare Windows - Microsoft Windows

 

Mythlogic does offer a 3% cash discount. You just can't see it up front. If you add the machine to your cart and check out, it gives you the option of paying by check. Select it, and you'll be given the discount.

 

Hey, just to clarify. Our support hours are 7 days 10a-10p est. We also have extended support via email and chat =)
Yes we do a 3% discount for cash sales.
We don't have a student discount at this time.


thanks

 

I'm going to jump in here (like I've been doing quite a bit recently). Mythlogic is the best company I have ever dealt with, and in the end the best choice I could have made. Their support truly is 24/7 even though it is not advertised. I have exchanged emails with Jeff Cline during almost every hour of the day and sometimes even on weekends. Also, you can get Windows and/or Office cheaper elsewhere, and if you give them the license key, will install it for you for free.

 

sorry i meant windows 7 not vista, and the 6990m will only be available on mythlogic's site in 3 weeks, the other sager re sellers will have it later on. also about the reason not to get the dead pixel warranty, is because it costs about the same to ship it back to them to get it replaced using the money back guarantee. also if im not mistaken logical blue one, an australian clevo seller did some tests between the 6990m and the gtx 580m, you can see the results in the link.
http://www.logicalblueone.com.au/docs/GPU%20Performance%20August.pdf

 

I'm going to agree with Aduy's comments.
Lose the dead pixel warranty, downgrade your OS and RAM.
Seems like the big decisions here are about the GPU and the reseller.
Waiting for the 6990 may be a good call, but don't think that the 485 is a bad option. I use it, with the 2720 processor and it's performed beautifully.
As for a reseller, that's always a tough question. The people on this forum almost universally recommend whoever they ended up using, and for good reason. Any of the resellers on this forum will more than likely work wonderfully for you. I went with Malibal after doing a lot of flip-flopping between resellers and have been very satisfied, no regrets.

 

Hmm, okay, I might take the risk then. Thanks for making this point (I've modified the prices in the OP accordingly to reflect your input on this). Admittedly, this would involve shipping (manhandling) of my laptop and lost time when wanting my computer. Mythlogic guarantees it before shipping (I would assume the others do, too).

Ahh, thank you. Looks like I might revise my decision here. *going to give it some more thought*

Ahh, I was mistaken. Thanks for the correction.

Thanks for the phone clarification, good to know. Ditto on the discount information.
Question: Malibal earlier confirmed for me that he'd price match the Prostar bluray reader / dvd-rw optical drive ( LINK). Would you do the same (and if so, how much of a savings would there be)? I actually computed the mythlogic price incorrectly earlier (forgot the optical configuration) and increased the cost of the laptop significantly (+$112.70).

It is advertised, but no 24/7/365 phone tech support for Mythlogic. I like to call-in. Good note on the software though. Much obliged... Mythlogic, can you please confirm this about giving you the license keys? I already have a copy of Microsoft word.

Perhaps I'm reading that link wrong, but it makes the 6990m seem weaker? I've also looked here on notebookcheck to compare GPUs gaming performance. It seems to be stronger than even the nVidia 580m, so why's it so much cheaper? I'm feeling skeptical and not desiring to wait 3 weeks, but if there is more to base this off of I'd wait the 3 weeks and pre-order... any resellers care to pitch-in here?

Dead Pixel Warranty: I modified my OP to reflect this in pricing/offers. I agree.

OS Downgrade: I need a proper comparitive before making an informed decision here. In lieu of such information I still recall all the headaches I suffered years ago about how x64 XP couldn't surpass 2.8-3.5gb and I'd rather not have any more headaches. And I do know the versions of Win 7 used DO impact RAM usage (I forget the exact #s, however...it might be a non-issue).
edit: Comparitive link I responded to earlier does give some insight...reconsidering the matter...

RAM Downgrade: I'm not sure about this. I do more than gaming. I'll be running multiple virtual machines and security suites and programming apps SIMOULTANEOUSLY. Were I just gaming, I'd think 6-8GB would be appropriate, but my needs are pretty extreme in this department.

GPU Waiting: Considering it, pending more information. I posted a link of my own comparing the cards above.

CPU: What made you opt for the 2720QM over the 2630QM? I've noticed that Malibal, PowerNotebooks, and XoticPC cost $160 to upgrade from the 2630QM to the 2720QM. Mythlogic however only costs an additional $25. Very interesting price differential here. Could sway my choice in companies even...I brought up an NBR forum topic on it here ( anyone care to pitch-in here?), but no one has pitched in there as of yet.

 

AMD is known for providing a very good cost to performance ratio, but often times the nvidia cards will have better drivers, better support for games, and will yield better battery life. according to almost all of the articles that ive seen the 6990m will outperform the gtx 580m.

 

^ That's all we know until someone @ NBR with an X7200 or M18X actually does a REAL comparison with the latest drivers from both camps. The slides I saw were from AMD not from a third party, the one from LBO has old drivers. I'd still probably get the 6990M because of the price advantage.

 

Someone (forgot who) on the boards commented that Mythlogic had done a comparison between the 6990m and the 580m, with the conclusion that the 6990m was better. I see minimal comparisons here and there that both agree and contradict this statement. Seems like a gamble based on limited-info, especially when the 485 has been around longer and is more proven not to fail under stress. Seems to me this might be a good case for holding back and in the future doing a user-upgrade. But at only a $25 difference it certainly is enticing...am I missing anything? These seem to be the facts, so far as I can tell. Seems wisest to wait than risk it.

 

Hi Matt as discussed in PM we provide 24/7 Telephone Support. Let me know if you have any questions!

The 6990 is still going to be a while.

 

For price matching etc, shoot me a PM as to what you are looking to do and we'll go from there.

For the bring your own key, as long as its a legit key sure just email us after you place your order, thats no big deal at all.

On the 6990m is cheaper but performs just as well. Its smaller, and its cheaper to make, thats pretty much the long and short of it. AMD is doing its best to beat nV at the price / performance game.