Clevo W740SU 14.1"

Yes, it is not a gaming rig and hasn't anywhere near the power, but my criteria are focused around screen, weight and memory moreso than processor and GPU.

 

Seems likely per response from System76. But then they offer two 14" models that have 'Utra' in their names! A G image search showing the innards tells me it should be doable.

 

I'm kind of upset that my order from Mythlogic is still on pre-order. I understand that they can't control Clevo not getting the units to them, but I can't help but feel like I shouldn't have canceled my order from System76 (assuming they actually are shipping theirs now, but none of their customers seem to post here)

 

Don't get a GeForce then.

 

I'm getting my w740su Saturday, from the Norwegian reseller Multicom. I ordered ram and msata separate, so I can update on how easy it was to upgrade it. If there is anything I should test please let me know. Planning to run ubuntu and probarly win 8.

 

Definitely interested in the build quality of the machine and the display.

 

Please come back with your initial impressions!

 

So I just talked to one of Mythlogic's "One Smart Nerd"s and I was told that they're hoping to see a shipment in from Clevo early next week. I mean, it's the same thing we've heard for two weeks now but it's not like Mythlogic can really do much about it. So, fingers crossed?

 

Had a very similar conversation with another "smart nerd" myself this afternoon. They've already, apparently, received their first batch of shells and those units are already spoken for. Second batch "late this month" and if an order is placed today it "should" make that second batch. Build and delivery still taking 10-15 business days beyond that so unit wouldn't be received 'til mid-September.

 

So does that mean since they didn't tell me about that batch I should assume I'm in the second batch? Hopefully they'll chime in here to let me know. I don't care about waiting, it's just the not knowing that kills me.

 

Anyone checked avadirect? They give you way more options, including 16GB of low-voltage 1866 C10 RAM.

 

I wouldn't assume it quite yet , but yes we are beginning to process orders and we have to see the quality, as honestly if you delay and rework things this much, we are going to be going over them with a fine tooth comb.

 

I just ordered one of these from System76 this past Monday. Unfortunately, I just received a message from them telling me that they are waiting on a processor shipment from Intel and assembly of my laptop will be delayed until they receive it. When I originally placed the order, it said order to ship time was 6-10 business days. However, now they are saying it will probably be the first week of September when it ships. At least they updated me on the situation instead of it just sitting there for weeks, though. I will be back to give my impressions of the laptop once I receive it.

 

Never bought a 'Clevo' before, are they any good, or is the quality lacking overall compared to the big companies?

 

Clevo is a ODM, not a end-user brand.

 

Yeah I know that, that's why it's in '..', they still build the shells don't they.....that's what I'm asking about. Do they make the motherboards too?

I like being able to touch/feel something before buying which makes this decision tough.

 

The mobo is from HannStar I believe.

 

Some quick first impressions before going to bed (kind of drunk so sorry for any bad language and general crappy english/grammar.)

Ok. Screen looks nice. Nice viewing angles and colors looks ok. Maybe a bit on the warm side and the blacks lack some detail in what i can see so far. Using Ubuntu and uncalibrated color space. The resolution fits the screen size.
The keyboard is pretty crappy so far. When i'm typing this i'm touching the touchpad all the time so the mouse moves around. Also the keys feels like they are to far apart compared to the 13" samsung laptop i've been using recently. Maye i get used to this.
The touch/clickpad is ING HORRIBLE so far. The mouse pointer moves on the whole pad area so when trying to right click the mouse pointer often slip away from what i'm trying to click on. I hope there is some software where i can deactive parts of the pad and turn it into buttoms, because this sucks. Also when clicking the pad it makes too much noise. Too high pitch. Like the buttoms from the samsung series 5.

I didnt find any manual on how to dessemble to laptop to get to the msata and ram so i just had to try. Made it after a while. Removed 17 screws on the bottom of the laptop to take out the battery. Then i removed the plastic strip where the power buttom sits. Then i could remove some screws that fastens the keyboard. Then i unplugged the keyboard and finaly i could install the msata and ram.
Not easy peasy, and i kind of regret i didnt buy the w230st when it comes to things like this.

First impressions on noise level is ok. The fans run but i barely hear them while typing this in firefox/ubuntu.
Ubuntu reboots in like 1 second so the computer is fast and no driver issue so far. Brightness controls work for once compared to the AMD laptop i've run ubuntu on before this one.

Will try to install steam and maybe Win 8 tomorrow to maybe geta game running to see how hot and noisy it will be then.

Overall the computer looks ok. But i really dont like the clickpad and the keyboard position so far.
Top lid and bottom looks like some sort of metal but the laptop dont give a great quality impression (screen flexes to left and right when touching it and parts of the laptop flexes when pressing it, like the right of the clickpad.)

 

Disappointing. One or two more and this one will be off the board.

 

Tried steam with a couple of games (dont starve and gone home) for linux. Both games run smooth when plugged in but starts to lag when power is removed(?!) My Samsung series 5 with a crappy amd processor runs smooth when on battery but LAGS when plugged in.... Also the fan speeds up to full speed which is quite loud. The noise level here is dissapointing. i was hoping for a better cooling system than this...
I will try to install Win 8 soon.. it may be bad linux drivers that cause some problems so far...
And another bummer is the speakers. No bass whatsoever. Not that i expected much but...

 

You might want to look at performance settings for battery mode.

 

Ubuntu comes with a lot of pre-installed stuff that dynamically affects your performance based on whether or not you are on AC power. I'm not exactly sure how to disable it (I tend to use Arch or Debian so I manually do that stuff myself), but you can try asking on ubuntuforums.org

 

Thanks for your initial impressions. I would say the weak points you mention are in line with the notebookcheck review:
acceptable but not excellent build quality, weak keyboard, clickpad that is a little loud, no bass from speakers, and reduced performance on battery (whatever the performance profile).

Is there a whining sound audible?
Any thoughts on battery life?

Thanks again!

 

Actually, could you please try this with a different distro? I wonder if the throttling is from hardware and not software... Could you do a barebones Arch/Debian installation and try playing some games?

 

Some positive notes too (it's not all negative) about the laptop.
Installed win8 which i use for photoshop. indesign music and surfing. The laptop is actually very quiet when using Win8 and just doing some light photo editing while listening to music. Laptop stays cool. No high pitched sound or anything from the fans. Im not even sure if the fans are on when typing this, they just turned off from a very quiet wooshing sound. When playing games the laptop can get loud, but in windows they don't go full retard when just opening a game, so thats nice.

When it comes to the battery so does it last longer in windows then ubuntu. When listening to music with the screen off it seems to last forever, but on full brighness doing some work i don't think it will last more more then 2-3 hours? Ubuntu said 2 hours 30 minutes but i don't know how accurate that is... anyway windows seems to have better power savivng.

I have tried two (kind of old) games on steam. Gta IV and Fall Out Las vegas. Gta didn't work very good at all. Alot of glitches in the graphic + lag when it finally worked, which it didn't at all in the beginning. Bad intel iris pro drivers?
Fallout Las vegas ran smoothly on ultra graphics at 1600x900. Probarly won't be playing much anyways so the graphic card is good enough for me.

I miss backlit keyboard though. Would it be possible to install it, since it's easy to plug the keyboard out and install a new one? Are there any standards for laptop keyboards? Would very much like one.

 

Is the keyboard really as bad as some people are saying?

Edit: Do you have to press hard to type? Some people are reporting that the keyboard is spongy

 

So something is still wrong in Ubuntu power management.

 

Something is always wrong in pre-configured distros. That's why I prefer to go with Arch or Debian if I'm benchmarking.

 

With installing Windows 8 did you use the drivers from the Clevo manufacturing site?

I might have to see about wiping Ubuntu off my system76 until the setup is more friendly to the battery and general heat issues.

 

Another review from an actual user -- David Pollak -- via his twitter.

-TC

 

looks like system76 are sending him a new keyboard: Post: The System76 Folks are Trying

The keyboard on my keyboard on my laptop don't have the problems that I have to press hard on the buttoms or anything, I just don't like the layout of the keyboard. It's hard to type fast on it. The keys are too spaced or something, and if I lay my hand down i touch the stupid clickpad and the point where im typing is changed. Maybe i just have to get used to it... but I hope there will be made available a new and better keyboard...
I really want to like this machine... the alternative is getting a mac.

 

How do you feel about the clickpad in Windows? Is it the clickpad hardware itself that's bad, or do you think it's a driver issue?

It's kind of disappointing because I use my girlfriend's Samsung Series 3 Chromebook and her clickpad is amazing.

 

I think the hardware is bad when it comes to actually clicking the pad, it's noisy and the pad is too slippery for my liking.. Soft clicking works ok, and I just adjusted the drivers so that i don't click it by accident when the palm of my hand touches the pad. Problem is i didn't find any good drivers in linux. So i guess i will just stick with windows for now because of the issues with power aswell.. Windows 8 seem to work very nicely with the machine and i don't have too much time to fine tune everything, I just want it to work.

 

Does it look and feel like cheap crap?
I think I could live with a subpar keyboard as I don't type a ton. Clickpad, can just use a wireless mouse, the screen is good, processing power should be awesome, which is what I'm after. But being part snob, not sure I could handle a super cheap look/feel......is it actually metal?

 

It wasn't the most premium laptop that I've touched. The top/bottom are supposed to be metal, but it was hard to tell. The screen itself flexes in a semi-unsettling way. It's far from apple or thinkpad quality... but I guess it depends on what you're comparing it to.

 

Just noticed these are for sale at Cyberpower. Seem like a big name, anyone buy from them? Still leaning towards Mythlogic if I buy, seems they get high praise.

 

Pictures please?

 

How about a video?

-TC

 

I am still waiting for System76 to ship mine. So, I took the opportunity to send them a message about the keyboard issues people have been talking about. I asked them if they are aware of the issue and if they are going to take any steps to fix the issue. I will let you know how/when/if they respond.

 

Emma at System76 responded within an hour and a half of me sending my question. Here is her response:

"We immediately addressed the keyboard concern and notified our manufacturer of the complaints. They resolved the issue by soldering an extra metal plate onto the bottom of the keyboard so all orders are shipping with the new keyboard. The flex and responsiveness is much better with the new keyboard and we are very happy with the solution. We also sent customers who complained about the keyboard the new keyboard replacement or offered to take the system back for a full refund."

If this is true, and I do not know why they would say it if it was not true, then I think it is excellent that they took steps to resolve this issue. Once I receive my laptop, I will report on the keyboard and the computer as a whole.

 

Good to know. Looking forward to some detail owner reviews. Will you do some video?

 

Awesome, so the last remaining issue is the clickpad being too loud/too sensitive (which sounds like it can be fixed with software).

Excited to get mine. I modified my order with Mythlogic a bit so it should be done by tomorrow.

 

Ok, I got a grey wallpaper in windows and i just noticed that the picture from a website was visible in the grey background. I tried to log out and in again, but it's still there, just slightly. I can even read what it says.
So, is it possible that the picture is burned into the screen? What the hell? I thought this was a problem with plasma screens. Have never experienced something like this on a normal screen. This really makes me uncomfortable and I'm considering sending the computer back... What do you guys think?

 

Give it time, it will go away. I have had newer LCD panels do this.

 

So will it stop burning in when the display gets older, or is this something that will keep happening?
I'm using the machine mainly for image editing, so there will be alot of static images, and the worst thing that can happen is images burned into the screen. I use the machine for showing work sometimes, and i need a good screen. If this keeps happening I'm considering biting the rotten apple and getting a Mac pro...

 

What's happening with your screen? Still burn in image retention?

 

Can happen to LCD's though it is more rare.

Avoiding image persistence on Apple LCD displays

Apple says how to get rid of it.

AFAIK, it gets better with a bit of age on these screens, but I don't remember where I got the info.

 

I received my Galago today - sorry to report that the trackpad and keyboard as as bad out of the box as reported. The two finger scrolling is too sensitive and clicking often drags the pointer. The keyboard is not sensitive and misses too many strokes. i will be using this mostly with a separate mouse and keyboard but I still might send it back if I can't get the issues resolved.

 

Thanks for the update, jasonholtzapple! Could you give your opinion on the overall build quality of the chassis, screen hinges and lid wobble factor?

Have a great day!

 

I contacted Mythlogic about the keyboard and they said that in their experience typing on the machines the keyboard has been fine... I really hope they aren't BSing and they have a different shipment from Clevo than System76's defective units.