Clevo W740SU 14.1"

Prostar created a handy little video on youtube:

Prostar/Clevo W740SU - Keyboard and bezel removal - YouTube

It's under the keyboard

 

Thanks Meaker! AFA you know does upgrading the card involve any soldering? (it came with realtek and I want to install the intel 7260)

 

Hi!

Where are I can buy laptop with last generation of keyboard?

Second question:
Is laptop noisy on load?

Is power jack proprietary?

Thanks.

 

I just got mine about 10 days ago from GentechPC, they get them from Sager and Sager said all of the new ones have the latest KB. I have no issues at all with the KB and am very happy overall with it.
If you look at Emissions (from here Review Schenker S413 (Clevo W740SU) Notebook - NotebookCheck.net Reviews) I 100% disagree, there is no whistling, and the fans rarely come on when browsing . I tested Need For Speed Shift and do hear the fans but the noise is not overwhelming.
The plug is right angle ... seems standard to me but can provide a closeup later if needed.
1 minor Issue, it is VERY difficult to remove an RJ45 cable from the LAN adapter. What I have done put in a very short cable and a coupler so I can easily disconnect when needed.

Thanks Meaker
vvvvvvvvvvvv

 

Usually they make the port tight as it will loosen over time.

 

W740SU don't have prema mod BIOS.

Today he start voting....

Voice it! | Prema Mod Select Other and enter W740SU =)

 

Get your votes in, he only has so much time

 

Hey to all. I'm relatively new to here, the forums, and Linux in general (although I'm by no means computer illiterate - I'm a techie by every definition of the word). I've been looking at purchasing a Galago Ultrapro, the System76 edition of the ClevoW740SU. I started doing research on Ultrabooks because I've been looking for a powerful laptop that will last me for years to come. I ended up being recommended System76 on Google+ for their great customer service. I've done a lot of research, and have followed the development and resolving of issues such as the keyboard, which many had issues with in the 1st revision but by the 3rd has been resolved to great effectiveness.

I am primarily a Windows user (one of the few who actually enjoys Windows 8) although I have some limited experience with Ubuntu and GNOME on secondary boot partitions that I rarely have used.

I have a few questions for people with experience with the laptop.

1. The trackpad. How well does it perform under Linux? I'm used to the trackpad on an old dual-core 2 inch thick Gateway. Tap-to click requires you to basically *hit* the trackpad. Two-finger scrolling is a nightmare, it works like 35% of the time. I tried using the trackpad on a MacBook, and oh my - it spoiled me. Zooming, panning, scrolling; its as good as you get on the best mobile touchscreens. Is the UltraPro even remotely close to the experience you would get on a MacBook?

2. I am going to use this laptop for gaming in addition to other things. I'm not a content creator. It will also be used for this while I'm travelling; whether on trips or to friends'. My gaming consists of light (Minecraft, Starbound) to heavier (X-series games (X3: Terran Conflict, etc.). I don't necessarily need to be gaming all the time; this laptop will also be used for other things. General media consumption, internet browsing, music, etc. But gaming performance is definitely a concern.

3. The price with a 8GB configuration with the higher-end Wi-Fi chip and 1 year two-way shipping warranty coverage for canada is $1098. I'm debating purchasing the 4GB model for $1033 and upgrading myself. However, the price of a Sager NP7330 similarly configured but with a GTX 765m is $1274. It has a 13.3" display. Now, here's the question: is the larger display, faster processor, and other parts of the Galago enough to make it more worthwhile than the Sager?

The Sager is also a full 0.5" thicker and is almost a pound heavier than the Galago. The 765m is a powerful chip, but I'm also worried about heat since the fans are on the bottom (the Galago has a much superior cooling system, IMO). They include a 30-day dead pixel guarantee (1 pixel) with the Sager. A backlit keyboard is integrated.Considering all this, is it worth the price increase? Will the Iris Pro 5200 be enough to keep me going for the next few years in indie gaming and titles like X? I know for a fact that the i7 in the Galago will be an extremely powerful chip for many, many years. For gaming, though: I'm not into Crysis, Battlefield, or any kind of FPS whatsoever. I'm more a strategy and racing kinda guy (Homeworld 2, NFS, etc.). Will this be enough? What do you think brings the Galago above and beyond the Sager? Has anyone dealt with Sager support? I've heard and experienced great things from System76.

See link for the Sager.

4. Battery life. What has been everyone's personal experience under their own usage conditions?

5. Any personal opinions or recommendations?


Thanks to anyone who has read through this and especially so to anyone who considers replying.
Regards!

 

Welcome to the forum Walkop! I have only used the TrackPad in Windows and it is very responsive and totally configurable in windows The gestures you mention work perfectly. I will be dualbooting with Ubuntu once 14.04 is officially released. In win 7 with wifi on, 40% display brightness, and light usage I got ~ 4 hours. If I have time I will install an early version of 14.04 and report back.
You are 100% correct the KB on mine is better than average and I have tested out quite a few.
AFA backlight on KB, display is so bright (even on 50%) the need for a backlight is negated. I have only run Need for Speed Shift so far and temps were in the 60 C range, performance was as good as on my Asus G73JH.
I do not see the Sager link, but I did consider it briefly Gaming Laptops - GenTech PC - Gaming Notebooks - Custom Laptops - Custom Notebooks - Customize System
BTW if you get the Sager do you intend to order directly from Sager?

 

Thank you very much, Josea. Fantastic! That's exactly what I was hoping to hear. I really like the idea of a clickpad, as well; I've heard conflicting opinions on it. Does that aspect work as you'd expect? I've seen people write that the cursor jumps around when you click.

That sounds perfect to me. 4 hours is what I would expect from this machine. I'd appreciate input on 14.04 very much! You might need to install the Intel Haswell drivers...unless that update is included in the 14.04 package. It doubled graphics performance for the APU. I don't really know too much about Linux, although I want to try to get into it.

That's very interesting; it makes sense, though! Thanks for that, looks like I don't really need a backlight. I wouldn't have thought of that. It was just a convenience feature anyway.

That sounds quite reassuring! Native resolution, or lowered? None of my games are ridiculously intensive; I prefer content and nice graphics over obscenely detailed games with less design/strategy.

Probably, yes! Although I don't know much about them at all. I've worked back and forth with System76 support and they've been very helpful and very responsive, and I've gotten comfortable with them.

I have no idea about Sager. And so far I'm leaning towards the Galago because it seems more balanced (lighter, still very powerful, etc.).

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Synaptics touch pads are more configurable under Linux, but obviously don't offer Win8 gestures.

The Sager NP7330 actually has faster CPU (unless you get a i5), the cooling is also better according to temperture readings posted here.

 

The 7330 is setup for higher power consumption in general.

 

Makes sense.

The Sager's i7 configuration is *much*, more expensive than the System76. Regardless, those Intel chips will obliterate anything I throw at them. I think the Galago will feel cooler on the lap, since the cooling is routed out the rear instead of the bottom. I didn't realize the Sager seems to run cooler; the readings I saw seemed to indicate the opposite! Thanks for that.

Agreed; it has a more powerful battery, but the CPU/GPU combo will use a *lot* more power at full tilt than the 4750HQ (47W TDP with both the CPU and GPU, the GTX765 uses 50W+ alone.)

Performance for gaming would be much better, but on battery...it would die (quickly), I would think. If it isn't heavily throttled. I talked to System76, and they said they were considering releasing a patch that removes the throttling on battery for the Galago Ultrapro. I would love that, myself. If anyone wants to voice their opinion in this thread about that, I'd probably forward it to them (if they're already considering it, a few users pushing for it might get them to go through with it).


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Hey everyone!

I've always been a desktop only user, but I'm looking now for a laptop to use at home and while traveling. I'm considering the Clevo W740SU and I'm also considering the Lenovo IdeaPad Y510p.

How do the two compare?

My budget is around $1,000, and hopefully when I'm at home I'll be using a separate keyboard and mouse. I know some people in the thread didn't much care for the keyboard, so that isn't a big issue for me.

Typical use for me is photoshop, Firefox (with plenty of tabs open), Winamp, and either Minecraft (with an hd texture pack), Civ4 or Civ5. Often all at once (only one game at once of course). Occasionally I'll play Skyrim or something similar, but typically games like civ or minecraft.

Which of these is a better option for me?

 

I've also looked at the IdeaPad. Looks like we're in the same boat! I'm looking at laptops with a $1000 budget also.

I personally think I would take the Clevo in this situation. It seems to be a really solid machine in all aspects. The touchpad has gotten great reviews (and it's a clickpad, which I love), and the keyboard issues have most definitely been fixed. I haven't seen a single complaint since the 3rd revision.

Its very powerful and uses less power on battery. The Iris Pro 5200 graphics are very close in performance to a 650M, so one of those 750M cards would outperform the Clevo by a little bit. However, we're talking a 47W TDP on the Clevo for the CPU and GPU or a 47W TDP on the Lenovo for just the CPU, then you have two GPUs!

It will die hard and fast on battery.

The Clevo has a matte display, also. Many prefer matte. It isn't flashy, but it's nice. It also has DisplayPort and an extra USB 3.0 port. It's a bit more versatile, but doesn't have as much power.

All in all, the Clevo is much lighter (almost half the weight), thinner (.65"), has a great keyboard and clickpad, great display, similar power, less graphics capability. Unless you're planning on playing these games on max settings (unless you're talking Minecraft, in my experience it is much more CPU bound than graphics, even with HD texture packs), I wouldn't worry at all.

I THINK I'm going to get the Clevo from System76; it runs Linux, but I've heard great things from their customer support and Linux has gotten much better for gaming. I'm all into Chrome for a lot of services anyway, so it should be great!

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Thanks for the feedback. I think your comment has pushed me more toward the Lenovo. I'm more interested in power than the touchpad or power usage. Most of the time I anticipate using it while plugged in or sitting on my desk.

 

Iris pro does not match in 650 in actual game play.

 

Indeed. The performance varies depending on the game/program but is often quite a bit below the GT 650M which is the main reason I've not bought a W740SU yet (having a superb Asus UX51VZ is also a "problem"). Also most GT 650M implementations can be overclocked with ease in my experience which makes the differences larger.
I hope Clevo will release a Broadwell update of this model though, preferably with the high-end variants they don't offer ATM (i7 4950HQ...).

 

Based on AnandTech reviews, the Iris Pro 5200 is generally around 10-15% slower than the 650M. AA hits the Intel chip harder than Nvidia. Rarely, it's actually faster though.

The 4950HQ doesn't have a newer graphics chipset, IIRC. Its still Iris 5200.

I haven't looked too much into Broadwell. How does it compare to Haswell? Haswell was an absolutely massive jump. A "tock" in Intel's cycle, that's for sure.

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If you'really into numeric stuff (or something similar from a CS prospective), Haswell with its widen vector, fast L4 cache and some other features is actually a big improvement. Games can utilize those as well but they don't. You can't blame Wintel when game development aims for the lowest dominator.

 

I'm having a problem and hope someone can give a hint. The CPU can cycle normally through all of its clock speeds but the Iris Pro is stuck at a clock speed of 199.5 MHz all the time, even on GPU-intensive activities like benchmarks (3DMark 11) or games (Starcraft II). For example Starcraft II has around 20-30 fps only at a resolution of 1360x768 px and lowest graphic details. The GPU runs then still at 199.5 MHz with 100% usage and CPU at 1297 MHz with 5-20% usage.

I bought this laptop from Schenker (named as S413). Windows 8.1 Pro x64 is installed on it. I tried the previous Iris drivers and those which got released two days ago. Problem is still there. Ideas anyone?

 

I know this one! I don't have one, but I've done enough research.

That's the stock GPU frequency when being throttled. The CPU is also bring throttled to ~1.3GHz, if that's what's happening. Normally it is only supposed to do this when on battery power.

Try going to power settings, and change it to high-performance mode.

Let me know if this stops the throttling when not plugged in, too!

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High-performance mode is enabled in both Windows settings and graphic driver settings. If I run a CPU-intensive benchmark then the CPU goes up to around 2000 MHz with 100% usage as normal. CPU behaves normal. It's only the Iris Pro which stays always at 199.5 MHz.

 

Right. However it have higher processor performance which is nice too
i7 4750HQ: 2GHz base, 3.2GHz turbo.
i7 4950HQ: 2.4GHz base, 3.6GHz turbo.

I don't think there have been an official release of the specifications however one Intel developer have claimed the graphics hardware will be improved quite a bit. The processor will be a polished Haswell with some extra instructions so that will not be a significant step up unless Intel have found some bottlenecks (very unlikely given that Haswell performs so good).

Personally as far as Broadwell Iris pro graphics will always match the GT 650M performance I'll have no problem to skip dedicated graphics. I do game but aren't a fanatic in any way.

 

I am running plugged into AC, Win 7 & tested with the 2 minute 30 second video Radeon (same settings as you mentioned) and GPU clock is ~ 1200 MHz and ~ 350 MB ram .... 3d mode is set to balanced, (all intel graphics settings are on default normally and win 7 power scheme is balanced with no modifications)
The name of the installer is Win64_15338 from intel's site .... I am using HWINFO64 to monitor
MAYBE this is a Win 8 issue ???

 

It will need to be plugged in to up the gpu clocks.

 

Okay after many hours of research, installing a fresh Windows on the 2nd HDD, installing all drivers and software and trying to find my problem, I finally resolved it. One of the drivers you get is a Hotkey driver developed by Clevo. It's buggy. It works when it is just newly installed, but when you click around in the GUI, then it could change some Windows settings permanently which cause the GPU to hang at 199.5 MHz and also to hang the CPU at around 1300 MHz. That's a persistent state then, no matter how you change Windows' power saving profiles or whether the power plug is connected or not. It's just stuck. If you have this driver installed then you can find it as a laptop icon in your system tray. So don't play around with it. Just leave it as it is, with its preconfigured settings. I have deinstalled it and now everything works fine. And then I also have installed it again and everything works fine. Both CPU and GPU can go up to their maximum frequencies now.
This driver is not doing much by the way. Its GUI shows only functions you can access easily on Windows anyway, but what is useful is the display of Caps Lock, Num Lock, Scroll Lock and activation status of the webcam, when you press those buttons.

 

hello, i am considering buying w740su, but i have few questions to users
-is the throthling fixed while in battery mode?
- is built quality ok after some time of usage, like stable lid( it does not fall down), no cracks etc
-is the laptop capable of running dota 2 and cs go at stable 60 fps fullhd, 100% render quality and high textures (ot
her options may be on low settings or off like aa,shadows)
- how long does the battery last while a)browsing internet, documents wit wlan on b) watching 720p videos c) in sleep mode in a review i read it was drawing like 6w while in that mode
- and finally would you buy w740su again or do you regret your choice
thanks for every piece of advice

 

The build quality is very good on mine (~1 month old and I have used it a lot). The lid hinge is very stable and secure (does not fall down), but there is some flex in the frame that holds the display. I get ~ 4 hours in scenario a) (with ~ 40 % brightness). I put the machine in sleep, and 7% of the battery was used up in 8 hours, so I guess it should be good for ~ 4 days in sleep mode
I have no regrets at all so far, I was concerned about the issues mentioned here Review Schenker S413 (Clevo W740SU) Notebook - NotebookCheck.net Reviews but the KB is GREAT, There are no whining sounds. BUT the throttling on battery has not been addressed via BIOS (I just contacted Sager recently and was told there are no BIOS updates for this model.

 

I recently contacted System76 and they were apparently considering their own BIOS update for their model, the Galago Ultrapro, based on customer feedback.

If it's possible. They said it might be in the processor microcode. Which means it may be Intel's job, if I understand correctly.



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could you say something about gaming performance ? I dont want to buy a gaming laptop, but i would love to be able to play dota 2 with decent framerate on it

 

When plugged in, it should be more than adequate. The Iris Pro 5200 rivals the Nvidia 650M.

This link places DOTA at pushing 50FPS on maximum settings at 1080P with a 650 GTX, and average of 30FPS with same settings with a GT 630.

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You do need to check title by title as the drivers are still not as mature as nvidia or AMD.

 

Prema is looking for tester. Premamod BIOS.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...18-prema-bios-mod-review-142.html#post9578254

I think this BIOS contains throthling settings, and etc. But I don't have laptop now.

 

If you get it working, I'd like to forward this to System76. They've expressed interest in updating the BIOS but they weren't sure if it's possible.

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It's always good to find great community members some paid work for the talent and effort.

 

You can write him. I think he will give you BIOS for test.

 

Does any one know if the Sager NP2740 models from XoticPC shipping with the latest keyboard iteration?

edit/ Scratch that, looks like the Sager models are all updated.

 

I recently had to RMA my NP2740 to the Calif. Facility. the hinge was repaired perfectly, and It came back in PERFECT condition. I live on the east coast and it was back in less than 8 days. Thanks to Ken Lee of GentechPC for his guidance and the staff at Sager for the great work. The only suggestion I would have is to email a summary of what was done to fix the issue.
Now its time to load Ubuntu 14.04!

 

I've just bought the w740su through Schenker (it's called s413). I'm very pleased by the performance of the computer and by the great matte screen. The keyboard doesn't flex at all (it might be a reinforced "2nd iteration" keyboard) but it keeps on missing strokes if I don't press on the center of the key. I guess the rubber dome under the key is too small and pressing on the edge doesn't make it push enough to trigger the contact.

I've written to Schenker and they replied that this is a known problem and they're expecting a new batch of keyboards in 3 weeks. I'll let you know as soon as I receive the replacement keyboard if this solves the problem.

 

Welcome Roccapl! I lucked out and got a great KB from the start, I am sure they will resolve this for you. I just wanted to add when mine was RMA'ed I noted that it was very hard to remove an RJ45 network cable, that problem was also fixed. Could you let us know about your fans. Some have reported that one or both (?) come on in light usage for short periods of time, I have not noticed this. Also are you running Ubuntu 14.04 or a Windows OS?

 

Hello everybody!
I'm also considering to buy this laptop, but there are some minor things bothering me...would be glad if somebody can help me?!

1.) Is it possible to make the Clevo(with SSD only) completely silent while in office or while doing light surfing? (through software or BIOS setup...)
2.) Are the sound-speakers really THAT bad? I know, this is highly subjective question, but i'd like to watch movies from time to time with my girlfriend without headphones... is that fun? (the sound, not the girlfriend )
3.) Is the laptop rugged enough to put it relatively mindless in my bag (without casing) and carry him around every day?

Thank you!

 

Welcome to the party pillepelle, I have made no BIOS or software changes and mine is silent in light usage. Even when the fan(s) come I barely notice them. They are noticeable when temps get above 60 C - When I run Need for Speed Shift for example.
The sound is equal to a $10 transistor radio that I own and max volume is not very loud. I would not describe this as a rugged notebook. The hinge for my display had to be replaced. BUT it was very tight when I received it. It seems much better after being fixed by the Sager folks. Personally I am very careful with any notebook I work on or own.

 

1.) As long as you don't stress it. Make sure you don't have some naughty background process kicking in.

2.) It feels like something on an average budget laptop.

3.) No. This is definitely not a rugged laptop.

 

Thank you Josea and Mr.Koala for the information!

Silence in light use sounds great, that's very important for me - the most important point!
With average speaker quality and average body rigidity, I can probably live with, though I have to take some final thoughts how important these points really are for me.
I'm not rude at all with my tools, but I will carry it a lot around and things happen in everyday use...

PS: Not sure if it has already been posted, but here at youtube I found a Video-Review by "Jupiter Broadcasting" about this machine.

 

Keep in mind Jupiter is sponsored by System76 and therefore biased. They're also likely to show bias to any laptop manu that ships with Linux preinstalled. I watched it while researching this machine and they got many facts about it blatantly wrong. I wouldn't trust their review of it.

 

You can't really complain. It's better than nothing; there's literally no serious video reviews *anywhere* of this machine, especially post-keyboard fixes.

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I confirm that my fans are generally really quiet, unless I'm doing some CPU intensive stuff. While browsing they are most of the time off or barely audible. I use Windows 7.
Even at 100% cpu the fan noise is acceptable, I have nothing to complain about it.

 

The speakers are tiny and you will have no bass. I mean, I watched a couple of movies with it and it's certainly doable but it is not a wonderful experience. You will enjoy your movies more with external speakers. With headphones the sound is ok and the sound card has little self noise and no hum.
The laptop is not rugged. It feels solid, but given the very thin screen I would never shove it in the bag as it is. I would put it in a neoprene sleeve and mind not to put heavy things on top of it, just in case

 

Has anyone loaded Ubuntu 14.04 (fresh install) or another recent Linux Distro on this model? When I got my Sager variant backfrom RMA, the BIOS was set for System76. I already have 100 GB unallocated space & want to dual boot with the existing Win 7 partition. Thanks for any tips, tricks or warnings.
(NOTE I am not a System 76 customer)