Clevo P671RE Review (XMG P706)

So I've been tinkering with my new XMG P706 (Clevo 671RE) for a few days now. Its a beauty and a beast.
I'll type up a short review since info about this model is surprisingly obscure. Hope it is of use to someone

i7-6700HQ
GeForce GTX 970M, 6GB VRAM
16GB HyperX Impact, 2133Mhz
Intel Wireless AC-8260
1TB Samsung 850 Pro


Case

Build quality is almost impeccable. Aside from a minor screen backlight bleed in the top left corner (only irritating at max brightness on a black screen) I'm struggling to find something to nitpick and b**ch about.
I guess the rear vents could've been made out of metal instead of a pretty decent quality plastic. But then they wouldn't be so shapely. .
Not a single visible gap. No body twist. Lid opens with one hand like a charm and yet is quite stable when opened. Max angle is about 130-140 degrees.
I gutted it a few times, installed various drives, swapped RAM modules, etc. Everything fits into place and is made very well and intelligently, which is a lot more than I can say about every other brand I've owned. (HP, Lenovo, Toshiba and to a less extent Dell)

Screen

No complaints. I don't notice the bleed 99% of the time. Brightness range settings are quite wide so even if you use it in full darkness it wont feel like it's scorching your retinas.
Already got to use it outside on a fairly sunny day (as sunny as Sweden gets in Dec). Works like a charm, as expected. Didn't have to use max brightness.
The fellas from notebookcheck did a screen flickering test on this LG panel, and it aces it even in lowest brightness settings so that shouldn't be a concern.

Gaming, noise, heat, battery

Fans run fairly quiet on idle. I say fairly since every once in a while (mostly after I switch between power modes), they "pump" a few times to max speed and then go quiet again. Its a very short lived phenomenon - three to five 1-second bursts - and there is no spike in processor activity before or during, so I cannot be sure what causes it. I suspect it has something to do with Optimus since from what I can hear it is the GPU double fans than do it. Was also toying with the idea that it's a "dust dispersion" solution but it does not sound very viable. If anyone has thoughts on the matter feel free to comment/discuss
The three fans do kick in loud during heavy loads, tho. Gladly it's not the high pitched annoying noise some other solutions make.
Tried a few heavy games on it. Runs them well on close to max graphics settings (Assassin's Creed: Syndicate, Rainbow Six: Siege) and struggles when set to "Ultra" but given that they are ported console titles, no surprise there.
World of Warships on the other hand, could not even make it break a sweat.
The notebookcheck review gets quite detailed on the gaming scores ( check P506 )

No heat. Not a single wrong degree reaches your hands. I like my laptops as thin and powerful as I can find them, which means I'm used to sweaty palms and molten fingerprints. This one stays nice and cool. Even the underside. Even during gaming. The portion above the keyboard heated up after I overclocked the GPU quite a bit, but still a frosty keyboard and palm rest. And while idle/browsing, you can chill your beer on this thing. Clevo should branch out into the A/C business. .

The battery, depending on your expectations, you might love or whine about. Gaming not plugged in barely reaches 1.5 hours, although I doubt it's a plausible scenario.
The Control Center program from Clevo brings different power modes (Quiet, Battery Saver, Performance and Multimedia) and they appear to do more than just switch the integrated Windows modes.
I tested all mixes between the Clevo battery saver and windows high performance/battery saver modes and it produces various results. I used the UserBenchmark site and it's tool since it provides scores for separate components of the hardware and I figured the Clevo Battery mode heavily limits CPU and SSD, but not so much the GPU.
Anyhow, using the most battery friendly scenario (Power saver + the integrated Battery Saver mode in Win10) I squeezed out almost 6 hours out of it. During normal usage, with battery saver and screen brightness half-way, it does roughly 4-5 hours. Way above my expectations for a capable gaming rig and I'm a happy man.

Sound, ports, misc

Onkyo speakers are doing a decent job. They are a little weak and my Lenovo Y70's were more punchy and loud, but when you tinker a little with the, quite awesome, SBX utility included, you can get above average results. Subwoofer helps the mids a little and if you are not afraid to use the "Loud" option they can get very. . well loud. It does hurt the quality a bit tho.

Ports are of the usual amount and variety. Well, if we are nitpicking, the sound output jacks are on the right side, which for some could be an issue when using a mouse but It's nothing to write home about. Cables bend and tuck after all I like the backside USB port. Great solution to plug in the rat of choice. I secretly wish a USB Type-C was onboard but no practical advantages for it yet, so I'll live.

Power cord is long and robust and the brick is large but thinner than expected. Carries well. A little more than 600gr with the cables. Plug is on the back side. Some will like that, some will not. I do not have explicit feeling about it.

Keyboard is pleasant. Usual arrangement (large enter key), good backlight (5 steps), nice feedback, convenient Fn+Key placements. Full sized numpad.

There are 8 LEDs on the front of the base (dGPU, HDD, Battery, Num, ScrLock, Caps, On, Charging - in no particular order) I like that the light they emit is gentle. Not a bother during movie nights, like I've had with some previous brands I'd rather not mention. . *cough*Lenovo*cough*.

Camera does what it's supposed to.

The Intel 8260 feels great so far. Quick, decent range and for the first time in the history of existence, no bluetooth connection/pairing issues.

All in all

A very robust piece of machinery. I do not regret a single euro (swedish crowns, to be fair) spent and would gladly overpay for it.
I am quite greedy tho, so I'd like to have a better battery, awesome speakers and USB Type-C. Sadly that would literally make it a perfect laptop. Nobody likes perfect. .

P.S. Pretty sure I missed some stuff. Drop a few lines bellow with any Q's you might have in mind.

Cheers

 

Congrats on the new system, and thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts on it. That is always appreciated for people who are looking for feedback when shopping around. I'm sure the XMG team around here will be glad to see you are happy with your system as well.

 

Awesome Review! I know there have been a lot of people looking into this 17" and they haven't been finding much so this will be very helpful! Thanks for taking the time to do it!

 

I would like to stop by and share my experience with my Sager N8677 ( np670RE3 ) .
Specs : 6700HQ , 8gb ram , gtx 970m 3gb , 250gb evo 850 m.2 ssd , killer n1535 , G-sync .
This is my 3rd laptop from Xotic . Previous 2 were Sager as well . When buying online its hard to have any idea of what the laptop will look and feel like , you can only judge by the pictures . But Clevo is on top of their game .

Build : great quality, sturdy all around, thin .
Screen : absolutely stunning, bright, vivid, colorful . I had an MSI GT72 for a few days and that machine had strong light leakage and the screen had very weird graininess to it.

Keyboard : good feel and feedback. I have always been a fan of standard laptop keyboards from 10 years ago . All these new ones are a hit or miss . GT72 had a good one , despite GT70 having an atrocious keyboard ( not registering strokes and strong input lag ) .

Sound : adequate. GT72 is in a class of its own when it comes to music . Onkyo speakers are loud enough for regular use . I strongly recommend a 2.1 system or a pair of good headphones . Sound output through the 3.5mm jack is great though , easily tuned through the SBX software for your liking , and very powerful .

Wireless : strong performance, fast. Only issue is that it drops the signal on certain occasions when gaming + browsing / watching youtube . I suspect a driver issue ( killer N1535 ) .

Ports : adequate. I would love more USBs in the back of the laptop , as well as an HDMI . Having all these ports on the sides makes it easy to reach , but as my laptop never really leaves my desk i would rather have them in the back .
Heat and noise : machine stays pretty cool and the fan noise is nothing out of the ordinary . New hardware and thoughtful cooling solution makes for a very cool laptop . You can easily set power profiles through the software . And even at the lowest 800Mhz clock the i7 6700HQ stays fast and snappy enough for browsing needs . I dont play newest title games , but RPG titles from a few years ago are easily ran on max settings with GPU being around 50c* .

G-sync : it works. Everyone will have mixed feelings about it. I wont purchase a laptop or a screen without it though .

 

Always happy to share a brilliant experience

@CTLVR , thanks mate for complementing the review. Hope more people share their thoughts.

Have a solid weekend, folks.