Clevo P650SG vs. Gigabyte P35Xv3

Hey guys, having a very tough time deciding between these two laptops, but I had a quick question for anyone that had seen them in person: Is there much difference in the case construction? I know they are both supposed to be aluminum, but in picture the Gigabyte comes off a lot "cheaper" looking.

I'd really love to save the .35" and go with the Gigabyte, but the lackluster keyboard and audio, combined with a slight speed decrease due (I assume) to the cooling (P650SG wins over at notebookcheck), makes it hard for me to pull the trigger. Anyone have any subjective tests with the 2 keyboards and sound systems to get a feel for how different they are? I've heard both screens are very good (looking for FHD not 3k).

 

@Cakefish? youre up

(he has owned both machines so he can report based on first hand experience)

 

Both aluminium, so both have a similar feeling when touched, but look quite different aesthetically (although both are somewhat fingerprint magnets). Sandblasted finish on P651SG is black, sleek, understated. Assuming the brushed finish is akin to what my P170SM had, it looks shinier, but also sleek and understated. Nothing special about either. P35X v3 definitely has a more visually interesting finish, with the colour shifting between a mix of purple, brown, black - all sorts of colours really, depending on the lighting conditions and angle you're looking at it, it's quite an attractive effect that doesn't come across in static photos online. I prefer the aesthetics of the P35X v3, it doesn't look cheap when you actually see it 'in the flesh', so to speak. In terms of build quality, both are the same weight, but the P35X v3 is much thinner than the P651SG and so naturally feels more delicate. It's not like the P35X v3 feels like it's going to fall apart at any moment though.

In terms of keyboard, I would have to give it to the P651SG, though that's not to say the P35X v3's keyboard is bad. They're both completely usable. The latter has a tad more flex to it than the former though. In terms of speaker quality, the P651SG wins hands down. The P35X v3 sounds perfectly fine at lower volumes, but can slightly distort while playing some music tracks with the Dolby software enabled at high volumes. Without the software enabled it is much quieter. The same is true for the P651SG, the sound level is very quiet until you enable the Soundblaster software - however, it doesn't distort at higher volumes with the software enabled. Additionally, bass is much more present on the P651SG compared to the P35X v3, with the overall sound being richer as a result.

Sent from my Nexus 5

 

@Cakefish that is an awesome reply, exactly what I was looking for, thank you! Since you seem to be the resident expert on the topic, what are your overall opinions of the two notebooks? I see from your sig that you had to RMA the Gigabyte, how would you compare it to the P651SG in just everyday life? I've seen all the benchmarks comparing the two, but it's rare to get someone with such excellent first hand experience with both machines. If you had to buy a new one today, would you definitely go with the P651SG again?

 

I'd add that the p651SG has a better thermal architecture, resulting in less fan noise and no throttle compared to the P35Xv3.

 

I will add that from a support side, that I have had much better luck with Sager than I have Gigabyte. RMAs with Gigabyte have taken over a month each time and I had to return my P34G 3 times. I have RMA'd one sager and the whole process took a little over a week.

 

Yeah, I wonder if @Cakefish can comment on the fan noise in every day usage as well. I know it is louder but that isn't a huge deterrent for me, I primarily wear headphones. As long as it isn't overbearing while watching media it wouldn't be much of an issue. The throttle is definitely there, but in the real life benchmarks I've seen it usually puts it 2-3% slower than the P650SG. Not enough that I would mind given the smaller footprint and better battery life, but stacked on top of everything else it makes it a hard decision. I just can't decide if the P650SG is really *that* much bigger than the Gigabyte or if I am making a big deal out of a fairly small (.3" ish) size increase. My laptop right now is 1.7" and I really don't think anything of it, but I do love a thin laptop.

Thanks, definitely something to keep in mind, though I imagine that varies widely based on the retailer. I likely wouldn't get a Sager, I like the no-branded look a little better (this laptop will also be used for business), so I think I'll be getting it from RJTech. I got a Clevo from them years ago and they've always been helpful.

 

I am on a P370SM3 right now on max fans. I just turned off my big lasco fan next to me. I am using a Corsair Vengeance 1500V2 headset and I am at 50% system volume, listening to music at 2% volume in Windows Media Player. I cannot hear my laptop's fans.

You can request no branding from most Sager resellers and Clevo rebranders.

 

^^^. No branding at request.

 

Thanks, I had just noticed that on Xotic PC's site last night, looks like their prices were identical to SAGER's as well. I may go that route, though I do like buying the SSD/Ram separately since they are priced a little steep there.

Probably going to order one of the laptops today or tomorrow, anyone else have any opinions on the size differences between the 2 chassis? Does the P65xSG feel like a 'slim' notebook, or it it pretty standard size? Thanks guys for all the help!

 

P35X v3 is slightly louder by comparison under full load. Additionally, the P651SG is quieter if left on Auto fan control, as it will only ever ramp up the fans to 80% of their maximum RPM, whereas P35X v3 will go all the way to 100% on Auto. Both have the ability to manually force maximum 100% fan RPM if required. The P651SG also has a slightly lower pitch to the fan noise in comparison to the P35X v3. One important thing to note is that the P35X v3 is overall quieter at idle - it is pretty much silent. So too is the P651SG; however, it has the odd moment (carried over from older Clevo models like the P170SM) where the fans get confused and spaz out, resulting in; "VRRRRRD, VRRRRRD, VRRRRRD, VRRRRRD" every once in a while. It's not often that this will happen, but it is distracting enough when it does occur to praise the P35X v3's lack of this minor odd quirk.

I've haven't noticed any real difference in in-game performance between the two. Even 3DMark FireStrike scores for both are very similar. 3DMark doesn't seem to like 4K resolutions though, as it crashes at native resolution - I have to drop my desktop resolution down in order to actually run it at all. The P35X v3 didn't have that problem with it's 3K resolution. In any case, you're already set on 1080p, so there's no point in me further elaborating on this bug.

Battery life is noticeably better on the P35X v3; at least 50% longer lasting, probably more (I never had it long enough to properly test out battery life fully.)

The thickness discrepancy is noticeable, but mostly from an aesthetic viewpoint. With both having almost the same footprint in terms of width and height and weight, there isn't any situation where the P651SG would suddenly become impractical to carry around due to it's added 7.9mm in thickness, whereas the P35X v3 would make for an ideal fit. Both are much thinner and lighter than the traditional gaming laptops of the past - especially the 17.3" varieties. There can be no questioning the visual impact of the added thickness to the P651SG however; the P35X v3 does look more sleek and sophisticated as a result. Additionally, the P35X v3 has a more 'dense' feeling to it, due to the same weight taking up less volume, but it's not like the P651SG feels noticeably hollow - far from it (and that extra room inside does permit greater internal cooling capabilities).

The P651SG is identical in size to my old Samsung media/entertainment laptop of 2012, which itself was about average thickness for its time. It's very impressive that a 980M can fit inside the same-sized chassis that the 650M could just a few years ago!

Overall, the P35X v3 is in a different league to the P651SG. While it's extra slimness may not give any real practical benefit to portability, it does give the laptop a very different feel to it than the P651SG. The P35X v3 is the one to go for if you desire the 'wow factor' of having such a slim and sleek laptop that still houses a top-of-the-line GPU - it is very impressive to look at, you can't help but admire the engineering involved. The P651SG is the one that won't surprise you, it's just averagely sized in terms of laptops overall - however, it remains impressive in its own right. But after having seen the P35X v3 first and then moving to the P651SG, I can safely say that I didn't feel the same level of amazement in my first impressions of the latter. Like I said before though, it's completely fine when being scrutinised in its own right and allows for beefier cooling to fit inside the chassis (GPU temps will be on average 15-20°C greater with the P35X v3 in comparison to the P651SG - however, both run games at stock settings just fine and both can handle slight GPU overclocks too) .

 

Again, really appreciate the insight @Cakefish , sounds like you liked both notebooks. If you had the option of buying either again today, think you'd stick with the P651SG or hope you didn't get another lemon for your P35XV3?