Clevo W740SU 14.1"

i've otm indwith pci express torage oly, thats why its light weight

avoid this latop, if it wasn't forthe shipping cotsbackand forth to us, i would have returned it..

 

This thread is so fun to read with all those typos... :-*

 

indeed, i am so desperate that am looing for otheroem's kyboards hatmight match this clevo W740su:

in case a i'v got a spare keyboard from system76
IraqiGeek's Blog » Howto: Laptop Keyboard Repair


i've found a simlar keyboard from asus, not sure how it wil fit



i've contacted laptopskeyboard.com, laptopkeyboard.com, Laptop Keyboard Replacement, New Cheap Laptop Keyboards NZ Online Shop
and waiting for a reply,any ideas ?

 

Will Clevo W230ST's keyboard fit? The backlight may not work but, IMHO, that's the closest you can get. One can take look at service manual for W230ST. It's, unfortunately, available only on techinferno dot com, which has a five posts minimum to access any shared file. This is how open Internet dies... sorry, I digress. The potential problem I see with going with ASUS or any other manufacturer's keyboard is that the function keys may not match, and there could be other incompatibilities. But same can be argued of W230ST's keyboard. FYI -- W740SU service manual.

Also, I don't know how your warranty will work if you swap the keyboard by yourself.

Clevo has messed this one big time, and boutique resellers are left trying to fix Clevo's mess. Are there any Clevo's employees on this forum? I hope there's a right solution from Clevo that takes care of W740SU's keyboard issues once and for all.

-TC

 

does W230ST's keyboard acts straight ? or is it a **** too ?

if it is ok am going to order one..

system76 sent their first batchcustomers the keyboard to replaceit them selves, i don'tgive a **** about warranty, its going to cost me at least 400$ to ship it to system76 if there is any defect in the first place, i live out side the us..

i thought the faceplate of the keyboard (plastic between keys) is something separate, it isn't; right?

what about removing each key like that blg said and replae it with some higherrubber contact ?

 

dude you are awsome, it looks like 100% match, but why do you thin backlit won't work ?



http://www.fortunetechnology.com/spares/3678/

i've contacted them, hopefully theywillreply..

 

It isn't the mechanical fit that's the problem - it's the electrical. It's very unlikely that the keyboard have the same wiring, the same type of connector and the same position/size of cable.

 

My thoughts exactly! Hence my looking for service manual for W230ST. If you see the service manual for W740SU you get a decent peek at the keyboard and its underbelly. I hope it's similar with W230ST's service manual. One can then determine if they're perfectly interchangeable. Only reason I, like mohsh86, thought of this is that W230ST's keyboard has received quite a few positive reviews, at least in the typing department; backlighting is a gravy for me, although a very good one!

-TC

 

W230ST Service Manual: removed

From the looks of it, there's an extra connector (presumably to power the backlight) so I guess we wouldn't be getting a backlight, but the connector looks like it would work if folded over.

 

Thanks for the service manual. The connector may work, but the physical tabs -- 4 at the top, and 4 at the bottom -- don't seem to spaced identically across the two models. Unless there's a way, that has been tried out by someone before, to work around this apparent limitation, I think we're outta luck here. That would explain why Clevo didn't give the same keyboard in both laptop models. Or may be it's vice versa -- they didn't want to, and hence made the keyboards differently. And perhaps they don't want users to be able to do that either!

I had a hunch that the tabs won't match when I saw HTWingnut's video about w230st's keyboard removal. The tabs are barely visible, but now with the service manual you get a better idea.

-TC
PS: Should the service manual be uploaded to this forum? The copyright notice in the manual isn't quite clear on this. But then other models' service manuals are easily available online elsewhere...

 

I guess I should remove the manual...

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk 2

 

Lol was just about to check it..

So shall I chase the w230st keyboard ?

 

I'll pm you a copy.

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk 2

 

Well, I haven't seen anyone who has tried the swap, let alone report a success. You seem very determined .... after all you figured out which ASUS keyboard could be a candidate. I don't know how you sifted thru the listings on that website. I think your best bet is to get a confirmation from those keyboard vendors and take it from there. If you choose to buy one, at ~US$50 a pop, it doesn't come cheap. But then, your other alternative is to return the laptop at an expense of ~US$400 to you.

If you do go ahead with your plan, please keep us posted.

Thanks,
-TC

 

This whole keyboard thing, flexy screen, stuck pixels etc has completely turned me off this thing. So glad I canceled my order, such a shame, it seems so close to being awesome. Holding out hope that the Gigabyte P34G isn't a pos!

 

I should be receiving mine back from Mythlogic tonight, I'll let you know how the refurbished keyboard works out.

Honestly I'm looking at their new Callisto 1313, and with the exception of the Intel Iris Pro 5200 it looks to be a pretty good, similarly speced laptop (Clevo W840SU-T)

 

The screen is only flexy if you actively try to twist it (why would you?). It is perfectly fine if you just open and close it normally. I also haven't had any stuck pixels on mine, but of course others have. It isn't a universal problem though. The keyboard is really the only real issue with the laptop IMO. I think I may be getting better at typing on it. Either that, or I am deluding myself because I really love this laptop.

 

The keyboard thing is literally the only problem. The flexy screen isn't a big deal as long as you don't flex it there (don't pick it up by the screen, which you shouldn't be doing anyway), and stuck pixels happen on every laptop -- it's not a problem with this model or anything.

 

So can anyone give me a concrete idea about exactly how bad this keyboard is...? Like comparing it to keyboards on other laptops that you've used? I have access to an Amazon Showroom (BestBuy, lol) so I could try out some laptop keyboards. I just want to know which one I should be comparing the W740SU's keyboard to.

 

There are a couple posts in this thread about keyboard error rates and so forth. From personal experience it is the worst laptop keyboard I have ever used in about 20 years of computing. I'm a fast (80 wpm) and light typist. If you tend to pound the keys it might be a little bit better for you. At this price point it's unacceptable.

 

Main gripe is keyboard. It's not very responsive unless you hit the keys at their dead center with some conscious force. Just like jasonholtzapple I too am a light typist. This keyboard becomes really frustrating when you're typing your passwords, which I do quite a few times throughout the day. One thing I'd like to say is that the keyboard doesn't flex when you type hard. So that's a plus, if you will. Typing hard is not a habit I want to develop. Newton's 3rd law says I'll get RSI if I do type hard. Although, sometimes the law fails... an action on the keyboard doesn't produce any reaction!

The screen is bright with vivid color and very good viewing angles, and didn't have any dead pixels. It's FHD at 14" and non-touch -- big winners in my book. The downside is the ghosting, and backlight bleed, at least on mine. Ghosting isn't permanent or even long lasting, and may be mitigated by deploying screensaver. I don't know how I can reduce the bleed.

The screen is housed in a very flimsy lid. The hinge placement also doesn't help. The bottom corners of the screen being free tend to bend the entire edge on either side when you move the screen by left/right edge to adjust the angle. The only way you should move the lid back and forth is by touching the top edge at the center, near the camera. This is something I can live with. It would've been better if the frame around the screen was reinforced with aluminum rod frame. I don't know if it already has something like that. I haven't opened it. Or changing the hinge model to typical hinges like that of W840SN would also help.

Overall construction quality isn't rock solid as you get from most big brand laptops, The plastic doesn't align perfectly at the seams. And the palm rests are bit too bendy for my comfort. Similar bendy-ness with closed lid... don't place anything atop this machine! Again, I can live with this as I tend to take good care of my electronic goods. It's what occasional and accidental bump and pull that worries me. Frankly, I don't think there's any metal anywhere on the outer body, as some have claimed. It seems all plastic to me.

This laptop has very nice horsepower to last me thru 5+ yrs, just as my past (branded) machines have. It's the chassis that I'm not sure of. I think this machine may last me 3 years. I hope it does longer, and I want it to.

My machine is currently back at my seller for screen bleed and keyboard issues. If keyboard is fixed to suit my light typing style, then I'm keeping this machine.

-TC

 

This is exactly why I bought this laptop. I'm not trying to lose sales for any of the companies that resell this laptop, but honestly the W740SU is a dud. On paper it's amazing and very affordable for what you get, but once you start customizing it (SSD, 16GB RAM, etc) it becomes expensive quickly and the quality is not indicative of a computer worth $1800. Hell, I've had better keyboards on $250 EeePCs.

If you can't type on the keyboard it's a dud. If I have to change my typing habits when using a laptop then the manufacturer has failed.

 

So I just got my computer back from Mythlogic; Let me just preface this by saying that the problem is pretty much completely fixed! The keyboard is still spongy and not of great quality, but it no longer misses random keypresses and best of all he spacebar works completely! I'm amazingly happy with my fixed laptop.

I'll update here if something goes awry in the next few weeks

 

Does anyone have experience ordering this beast from Cyberpowerpc? Specifically if they've fixed the keyboard?

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk 2

 

No clue about this model, but my buddy just ordered the Xplorer X3-9100 gaming notebook from them (Clevo W230ST) and he loves it. He only just got it this morning, though.

But sorry, I don't know anything about them with regards to their Zeus Hercules. The best I can do is point you in the direction of Mythlogic who have been nothing but helpful through this whole ordeal:

https://www.mythlogic.com/configure.php?id=146

 

anyone know the msrp on these yet?

 

Went the same path as you and in fact ordered a P34G from Xotic on Monday. Will be posting over in that thread as soon as I receive it, believe I'm one of the first handful based upon my reading so far. Went with the stock unit to drop from 9-16 business days to 1-3, but still believe they and Excaliber haven't even taken receipt of the first lot yet, we'll see.

 

i was/still mad at the keyboard thing, but to be honest, it's either am deluding my self, or i started to get used to it, missing few keystrokes here and there ( i type fast, but not the correct way..)

space does miss a lot, you have to strike on the center of the button in order to register, or strike hard even on edges..

there are not an appearant solution, Clevo W230ST does not fit on this model, i've contacted Clevo them selves, i've contact Sager, Xotic PC, and many laptop keyboard websites, with no luck..

you either go with W230ST, but it has nvidia card, and not Iris Pro 5200, i didn't check gaming performance in Iris Pro 5200, but most probably windows performance is going to be better, as linux drivers (if you are planning to get it from System76) are community driver..

 

really ? then why System76 "fixed" keyboard still misses like hell ? do they fix it them selves ? (solder something on the back ) or does Clevo fixes it ?

i used to use my wife's laptop (Sony) and i don't miss at all, this one still misses, any idea how Mythlogic got it fixed ?

please tell me that it is fixed properly and i would order one from mythlogic..

 

! i've asked System76 to ship me another spare keyboard and i will buy it so i will try alter it my self and see if it works, they want $111.04 for a en keyboard !

Never Ever going to buy anything from System76 !

 

Spacebar works totally and the only time I ever miss a key is when I actually miss it. For example, I typed out this entire message without backspacing once so far.

Honestly, your main mistake was buying from System76 -- I've bought from them in the past but they're more of a boutique store, and less of an actual support company. Mythlogic on the other hand seems to be a group of guys who like what they're doing and take problems with their laptops as something they have to fix, not something their customers have to pay for -- though they might be being extra nice since I bought the three year warranty.

If you can still return it to System76 get a full refund and order from Mythlogic. Or just look into the P43G from XoticPC -- it's a pretty comparable device for roughly the same price.

Personally though, I had my heart set on the Iris 5200 graphics (as a Linux user), and I'm really happy with my laptop now.

That's pretty crazy, but you are asking for another spare keyboard. They're not just gonna take the hit and send you one for free.

I'm surprised they aren't fixing this problem in-house honestly, it seems like a HUGE red flag for me (I'm a software guy, not a hardware guy)

 

By the way, are we going to get an owner's lounge thread for this laptop at some point?

 

Pobega,

Thank you for your words here. I've been following a variety of blogs and this thread in the purchasing decision process. As a Linux user, I was originally going to go with System76, however, they will not ship to an APO address even though it is a US address... which led me to MythLogic. However, seeing these keyboard reports, I asked for the order to be put on hold.

Now, your experience is "winning me back".

My only question now is did everything in Linux (some sort of Ubuntu I'm assuming) work out of the box? suspend/card reader/web cam? or did you have to tweak things to make it work? For instance, I've seen some gripes about the upgraded wireless not working as desired.

 

Honestly, I've been riding with Windows the last few days since I've been sick and that's what I had installed previously (to test the Iris Pro 5200's gaming capabilities). I'm hoping to feel better tonight, and if I am I'm going to take some time to configure a dual boot with Arch or Debian.

But when I had Ubuntu installed on it everything seemed to work out of the box for the most part with the exception of the clickpad gestures. I didn't try the microphone or webcam though. It still might be worth your time to look at the source code for the System76 app and figure out the changes they made -- they purposely lock you out of using their application if you don't buy your hardware from them. Kind of silly, but really more of a time waster than anything else.

Edit: and if you do decide to go through Mythlogic, ask them to double check to make sure the keyboard isn't defective. Tell them to check the space bar, specifically.

 

for linux support check my review.

tl;dr - support is mixed

 

Honestly looking at this model as someone who bought from a regular retailer (ie not System76) it looks pretty good. Considering I didn't buy it with 100% guarantee that it will work under Linux, the things that I expect to work do work and the other problems you have mostly tend to be hardware related (like I said, my keyboard is fixed)

 

As far as Linux goes, I installed Xubuntu 13.04 64-bit on mine. Installation went smoothly. VLC didn't work right away -- it played audio fine but the video was just a green screen. I then updated Intel Iris Pro drivers from 01.org and I also updated the kernel to 3.11 rc7. Here's what I found:

a. Graphics issues, like that of VLC above, went away. Haven't tried screensaver but auto changing desktop wallpaper worked. Flash-based video and mpeg played perfectly
b. Sound on this is decently loud. I played Pandora and FilterMusic.net. They sounded OK for a laptop of this size. I'm not an audiophile. I'm happy the speakers and the sound card generate sound that's comparable with my MacBook 2006's sound
c. Mic and headphone jack work as expected. My G+ Hangout sessions sounded well, and the other party could hear me well too. The mic needed some adjustment -- I had to select 'Microphone' instead of 'Internal Microphone' to capture and relay my voice correctly.
d. Camera works. G+ Hangouts detected the hardware correctly and launched the camera
e. The USB3.0 ports work correctly. I've been able to charge my smartphone with it.
f. The SD card reader worked as expected. The card sticks out. I think that's dangerous. But it works.
g. I haven't tested the two video out ports -- HDMI and mini-display
h. The trackpad has a super smooth feel. It's clicking is sightly on the louder side but nothing unbearable. I use tap-to-click setting, so doesn't really matter. It takes some effort to set the sensitivity and other configs right. After that I don't hope to see any glaring issues. Two-finger scroll, both vertical and horizontal, works. Not sure about other multi-touch gestures. The pointer jumps a bit upon clicking causing you to mis-click. I think this can be fixed thru software settings.
i. The RJ-45 port is difficult to use. I'm afraid the cover on that might break if I'm not careful inserting and removing the network plug.
j. The wireless (Intel AC 7260) works. It doesn't work very well on battery. I thought problem was my ancient 802.11b router. Later I found that the power management kicks in when on battery and it slows down the wireless, at least when talking with my router. So when running on batteries, I run 'sudo iwconfig wlan0 power off' to disable power management for wireless adapter. I haven't figured out a way to make it a permanent setting regardless of whether I'm running on batteries.
k. Battery lasts 3+ hrs for casual browsing and video streaming over wireless
l. And now the keyboard... ah, the keyboard. Apart from the widely known and talked typing defect, there are some other annoying issues. My machine doesn't have any caps lock or num lock LED. So I don't know if I'm typing my passwords correctly. The camera key (F10) also doesn't indicate if it's on or off. Thus, a few times when my webcam wasn't detected by G+ Hangout, I was left scratching my head blaming the Linux drivers for their flakiness! The keyboard layout is new to me. I'm not used to having a short shift key on the right. Also I'm not used to having any keys to the right of backspace and enter. This causes problems. The spacebar could've been made longer. The right control key is unnecessarily longer than its left counterpart. All in all it's not a programmer's keyboard. The trackpad isn't centered relative to the keyboard. It's slightly to the right. This causes right palm to make a significant contact and change the cursor position. I think this can be fixed thru software settings.

Now waiting for my laptop to come back from my seller.

-TC

 

My sentiments exactly. I love this laptop, even if it isn't Macbook Pro quality -- but realistically this laptop is for people who need raw power (i7 4750HQ, 16GB RAM, Iris 5200) over battery life and build quality. I can't wait to start programming on this machine, personally.

 

As someone that have fixed and tinkered with a lot of notebook computers let me say: so what? Buying spare parts isn't cheap and can be very expensive if ordering a one-off part (not normally stocked). If it is US$111 then it is reasonable, have payed much more for just a keyboard.

 

Any rumors of this machine shipping with something faster than the 4750HQ? Would like one with a 4950HQ (and fixed keyboard!).

 

i don't mind paying 150$ if it was working properly!

 

Yeah one shouldn't need to buy any extra keyboard to get quality. :/

 

So I should have both a P34G and a W740SU as soon as Xotic ships out my order. Does anyone want me to do a video comparison and if so what points do you want compared?

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk 2

 

Please post a dual review! :d

 

Height, temperature, screen quality and battery life.

Edit: by height I meant thickness

 

So I just wanted to come back and say that using this machine has been a real pleasure. It runs fantastic with Arch Linux after ironing out a few issues (mostly with the Killer 1202 wifi card), and performance and stability on kernel 3.11 are fantastic (with some minor graphical tearing in Chromium). The machine boots in ~8 seconds, and I get about 5-6 hours of battery life on Linux (in contrast to the 3-4 I get with Windows). To be fair though, I run a very minimalistic setup with i3, and the only programs I ever really have opening are terminals and Chromium/Hangouts plugin.

The clickpad works great in Linux with a few minor flaws (I can't get it to act as a clickpad without turning the left 20% of it into a rightclick button -- I've just taught myself not to use that side of the clickpad, though), and the new keyboard is honestly pretty fantastic for typing. I don't have any problems with the keyboard itself, the buttons all work well, but the actual layout of the keyboard does cause me to miss a few letters here and there. My fingers are still trained for other, more well-spaced out keyboards, and everything just feels a little bit cramped on this one. I wish they would have spread out the keyboard a bit and put the speakers somewhere else, but I guess this is better than speakers on the bottom of the laptop (the bane of my existence).

The screen is amazing; when I have multiple terminals open I can fit about five on the screen at once and have a lot of things going on simultaneously.

I'm also loving how quickly this thing resumes from suspend. I didn't realize that systemd-logind comes with suspend already functional on lid close, and it took me about three days to realize that it actually WAS suspending when I was closing the lid -- I just didn't notice because of how quickly it resumed! Freaking crazy.

Intel Iris Pro 5200 performance is fantastic. I can easily get anywhere between 25-50 FPS in Final Fantasy XIV when I'm booted into Windows, and when combined with the 16GB RAM and 480GB Crucial SSD this computer flies. It's extremely zippy. Honestly, in terms of flat out performance for someone who wants both Linux compatibility and the ability to do some light gaming this computer is perfect, if not a bit on the expensive side -- when all is said and done I paid $1750 for mine, including Mythlogic's no dead pixel policy and 3 years of warranty service/parts & labor/2 way shipping.

I'm hoping to get a solid 3-5 years out of this laptop.

All in all, I love this laptop. It does have a few flaws though; the construction definitely isn't top notch -- the plastic around my power button is already loose and it flexes whenever I (even lightly) touch it. The computer is a little louder than I initially thought, but I guess I can't expect it to be quiet while I'm gaming -- realistically in class this is the quietest thing in the room, which is great since my previous laptop (ASUS U33jc) would have the fans cranked all the way up even when it was idling.

If you had your hearts set on this computer and backed out because of the keyboard, I'd reconsider ordering one -- it's definitely been fixed. Just make sure to get it from a good reseller like Mythlogic or XoticPC, and don't bother with boutique sellers like System76.

 

My order has been on hold due to the keyboard issue. I am about to put have it re-instated, but I have a couple questions for them and one for you. This is my set-up:

System Memory: 16GB (2 x 8GB) , PC3-12800, 1600MHz SODIMM
External Optical Drive: Samsung External DVDRW USB Powered Optical Drive (Black)
mSATA Solid State Drive: Plextor M5M 256GB mSATA Solid State Drive
Hard Drive: None (REQUIRES mSATA for Bootable Drive)
Network Card: Onboard Gigabit (10/100/1000 Mbits/sec) LAN subsystem
Wireless Card: KILLER WirelessN 1202 - Designed for the best wireless gaming, HD video and audio experience
Bluetooth: Integrated Bluetooth 4.0 Only With Intel 2230/6235/7260 AND Killer 1202 Wireless

Do you recommend ditching the Killer and going with the Intel Centrino Advanced-AC 7260 instead?
What of the SSD? I feel like the options they currently have weren't available for me. Is there a benefit to what you picked (besides size) over the mSATA?
anything else for that matter?

I'm not a Linux pro yet, so I'd like effort to get it running to be at a minimum.

 

I know that support for the 7260 is pretty new. I don't think you'd find it in the current Ubuntu release for example. It's probably in the upcoming 13.10 release. If your skill level is pretty low you might want to go with the 6235 which is more mature.

 

I'd go with the Killer 1202. Support is baked into the mainline kernel through the ath9k module, and the 'trick' to getting it to work with WPA2 Enterprise networks is using the nohwcrypt=1 parameter (which you can do in /etc/modprobe.d/ath9k.conf). It's not the greatest network card in the world, but it works and it seems to be as stable as any other card I've used (I can't hold a connection for over an hour, but that's a larger problem with my university's wifi than the wireless card).

From what I've read SATA SSDs are slightly faster than mSATA, on top of the fact that the Crucial m500 series is brand spanking new. I'd splurge on the m500 and forego the mSATA, unless I'm totally misunderstanding how this all works.