Clevo keyboard quality?

I bought a Sager (Clevo M57RU), and I generally like the laptop, but the keyboard sucks... I touch-type around 70-80wpm, and I find that keys frequently "miss" - often double letters will come out as single letters; individual letters won't register, etc. If I go back and carefully retype the letter, there it is.

I *think* the issue is that if I don't hit the key squarely, it doesn't register. But I've never had this problem on any other laptop (owned a dozen) or desktop.

Is this a general Clevo keyboard thing? Or might this one be flaky? I don't see any keyboard complaints in the forum, so I'm hoping maybe I just got a bad one.

 

The keyboard on my M860TU isn't that great either, but keys don't miss (it's just a bit flimsier in feel + doesn't lie flat). What I did notice is that I would get interference from the touchpad when I was typing (even though my hands don't rest on the keyboard area and the touchpad area wasn't touched). I run a program called TouchFreeze (I'm sure there are others out there) that disables my touchpad when I type, and this solved any sort of lag or repetition and mysterious mouse movement issues I had. Also, you might want to make sure that it's not your OS's keyboard settings.

 

You can get rid of the touchpad with fn + 1 i think.

As for the misses, i think its because the clevo's want a harder hit to registers, as in the keys need to go further down then on other keyboards. This is considered a feature, with the reasoning that people dont' want to accidentally hit keys.

 

Don't worry! Thankfully, the issue with some key strokes not registering has nothing to do with their keyboards' build quality, but is a known and fixed bug in their KBC/EC firmware.

Download this boot CD ISO (I found this in a reputable German forum and used it myself, so no worries):
http://www.sendspace.com/file/5xc9k9
It contains the newest Sager versions of BIOS 1.00.12 and KBC/EC firmware 1.00.11 for the M570RU, which means you'll also gain fan control via the Fn key.

By the way, if you want to check for yourself, Clevo's changelog is here:
http://www.clevo.com.tw/en/e-services/esupport/MarketDLOut.asp?model=M57xRU&go=GO&type=BIOS

 

If you're going to flash your BIOS, find the post here that outlines how to do it - it should be done sequentially, and you should find out what BIOS version you're starting from.

 

I find Clevo keyboards to generally be of mid-level quality.

Better than Dell and HPs, not quite up there with the Lenovos.

You might also consider turning down the sensitivity of the touchpad, or installing new touchpad drivers.

For some reason, I get a lot more typing errors with the default windows drivers, perhaps because I am a hard typer.

 

If you don't want to disable the touchpad, you could try disabling touch to click, meaning you disable the computer recognizing merely tapping the touchpad as a left mouse button press. That may help. You'll find that option in Control Panel -> Mouse -> (Synaptics Logo) Device Settings -> Highlight your touchpad device -> Settings -> Tapping -> Un-Check "Enable Tapping" -> Apply -> OK

 

I agree the keyboard on the M860 is above average but is far from the best keyboard ive typed on, i also experience missed letters and find i have (as someone above stated) to hit the key harder than most keyboards i dont find it a good feature, its slower to type and then one has to back track to correct the missing letters.
Could be much better......6/10 in my opinion, worst feature by far on the notebook, if they fixed it and added a backlit keyboard it would be perfect.

 

The lenovo T-series thinkpads t-61s and earlier were the best laptop keyboards ever, imho. Why they changed them with the 400 and 500 series--total mystery,

Dell studios are the worst i've ever typed on--it's like typing on hollow chiclets (a psuedo gum for those who can remember it).

I have two m860TUs and a Flextronic Arima w840 right now and the Flextronic is actually very nice too--a cut above the m860tu (and it's backlit )

 

I have the 8662 and I don't like the keyboard either, I honestly think that this laptop is not top quality, no offence to Clevo lovers, just my personal opinion... Lots of little poor design decisions, probably because of cost/experience etc.

 

What keyboards do you usually type on, Codehead?

 

We have all kinds of laptops here, Sonys, Toshibas, Asus, HPs...

 

I had this problem with my alienware m15x..got so frustrated with it that i returned it, then got an np5793, only to find that it had the same problem. Sager fixed it for the 5796, but not the 3. I complained, and then they developed a BIOS revision based specifically on my complaint. You can find it on their support page.

 

The revision is incorporated into the M570RU KBC/EC as of version .09

 

I notice the same thing....I really have to bang on the keys to make sure all the letters I'm going for are typed....as long as it doesn't shorten the life of the keyboard, I don't mind.....occasionally, it allows me to vent frustration!

Regards,

Jeff

 

All this talk has me worried. Is the keyboard really that bad?

 

The keyboard was never bad to begin with. It's the users' fingers that are bad.

 

My clevo D900 series laptop has a terrible keyboard. Once you use a real keyboard like the NMB Thailand made T60 keyboard, its over. Not a better keyboard out there.
I find my D900 keyboard to be stretched and hard to get used to. I like smaller width keyboards better. They are easier to type on, and feel better

K-TRON

 

My Clevo D900 has a wonderful keyboard. Once you use a real keyboard like the one on a Clevo, its over. Not a better keyboard out there. I find any other keyboard to be streched and hard to get used to. I like bigger width keyboards better. They are easier to type on, and feel better.


Opinions are like....you know. Everyone has one.

 

I wish my M570TU keyboard was as stiff as a typewriter. That would be my dream come true.

 

While I use an extrenal keyboard - Logitech illuminated ultra-thin keyboard, I cannot but praise the integrated keyboard on my M860TU in comparison to alternatives. The flex is small, the responsiveness is OK and the layout is to my liking. Of course, I wouldn't mind to have the old integrated Lenovo keyboard instead.

Try the keyboards of the mainstream brands the next time you visit some PC store. You will be horrified at the overall low quality.

 

The D900F keyboard is one of the best i've ever seen on a laptop. I've used dells, HPs, Levonos, Toshibas, even an Alienware once (was one of only two technicians at a tertiary level school for a while... laptops would come in with problems and I pretty much had to use each one's keyboard) and I have to say, this one is nice, it's stiff but not too stiff, it doesn't take too hard a press to make the keys type, I don't get many problems, and it recognises great fluidity in games as well, it's got my seal of approval stating it's "Fireball Friendly" hehe. I have only ever used this Clevo though, so I can't comment on any others. The arrow keys are small but that's about the only problem I can find on it.