Going to buy a clevo!

Im going for a clevo, from Kobalt in the uk. Their model number is the G860. Apologies, i'm not sure what the Sager/Clevo model number is.

Linkage

Specs:

Full HD 15.6" screen
i7 720QM
4GB 1333MHz ram
GTX 280M
500GB 7200rpm HD
Bluray
Bluetooth/Wifi/Fingerprint

I'll put the order through later today, and I can't wait. Only downside is they've said I won't get it until w/c January 4th

Quick question, i'm going for a standard SATA HD, but want to upgrade in a year or so to SSD when the prices go down. Do I need to fit an additional controller or anything or is it a matter of taking the old HD out and sticking the new SSD drive in there and it working?

I'm going for the system without an OS as i'll be sticking Win7 onto it as soon as I get it which I already have, are there any suggested mods or hacks etc that I should look at implementing??

I spoke to Novatech and in my experience their pre-sales agents were terrible! Overall, so far i've had a great service from Neil at Kobalt who has been happy to answer all of my questions, and i'd have no problem recommending them thus far to anyone else who's looking to order one of these laptops in the UK.

 

Neil is a good guy, you'll be happy with Kobalt! The G860 = Sager NP8690 / Clevo W860CU. You should be fine with a SSD, nothing extra needed.

I went without an OS as well and installed 7 on my own. I'm actually re-doing the installation shortly, as I'm adding a second drive and going to RAID 0. The only "modification" I plan on doing is not installing the audio drivers, and just using the drivers provided by 7.

 

I think the only thing you might have to do to your SSD is flash the firmware to a new version.

 

If you do upgrade to a SSD, make sure you reinstall Windows 7 to it. Windows 7 sets up things differently if you install it on a SSD.

 

Yep, enjoy your purchase.

No, you should be fine replacing it with a SSD which is what I just did and it's running fine.

 

Yeah, don't clone your drive with Windows 7 on it, then put the image on the SSD. You'll need a clean install on the SSD in order to gain full functionality and all of the benefits.

 

good choice bigpun11
kobalt will be having a very very well earned rest over the christmas period and re open again 4th january at 10.30am
youve always got the forum (link below) or the great members here for any additional questions or advice.

 

Thanks for all the replies MrDJ, the Kobalt official forum seemed a bit quiet so not signed up there yet

 

I wonder if they ship those to Belgium, since its an english site, shouldn't be so far.

 

As far as I know they ship anywhere in Europe. I'd definitely recommend them so far as they really do seem to know what they're talking about, and are very happy to listen to specific requests.

Try PM'ing member Neil@Kobalt ( link) and i'm sure he'd be able to tell you if they do ship to Belgium

 

thats one way you can tell its a good company as its so quiet.
there are a lot of regular members on there that visit every day but the majority only visit when they need help or advice.

yup,certainly do Student.

taken from forum.

hope that helps.

 

You will be very happy with your purchase. My machine is still going strong after 2 years and their customer service is the best I've experienced. They let me change the specs several times before build.

 

I don't know if its Neil but I definitly messaged someone and asked if I had to send my kobalt back to the uk or wether they would pick it up and return in case something got broke (I think they only do that in the UK). The upgrades from a 1.6 ghz corei7 to a 2 ghz corei7 are like twice as cheap as with dell/alienware xD So I definitly hope they will ship it. A 15 inch with an nivida 280 is totaly sweet. Does anybody know how the cooling is btw?

 

Yes they ship to Belgium. I bought a G860 from them and delivery is 1 day with TNT.

They give European collect & return warranties, so they are in charge of both picking up and returning your notebook. (I also asked about this before I made my purchase)

 

Check the stickied Clevo Guide, Kobalt might ship to you, but they'll charge you in quid, so it'll be expensive. Other mainland European resellers on the Euro might sell the same thing for lots less. I didn't find anything in Belgium with the W860CU, but I saw the W870CU. Germany and France definitely sell both.

You might or might not get as good of service as with Kobalt, but you'll save some money. Might be worth it to you.

 

Well I just checked the pictures and that clevo looks really really fat. I wonder if I wouldn't just buy a xxodd laptop, which is basicly just as fat, and offers 2.6 corei7 instead of 1.6 corei7. Maybe i'll pick neither, they are really way to fat for a laptop.

 

I think you're talking about this? Xxodd sells the same (Clevo) laptops as Kobalt. The W860CU (G860) isn't that fat, certainly a lot smaller than the D900f. It also weighs almost 2.5kg less.

 

Both seem rather enormous to me, but 2.5 kg's is sure a big difference.
Anyway, hows the cooling in the clevo??

 

thats the comanchi which is a lot thicker than the 860/870

 

I just had another look at the g860, I think despite its thickness it's still a good pruchase compared to alienware. The machine I configurated would cost 1860 pounds (2070 Euros or something like that). Since it offers a lot more than alienware, and has a 0 dead pixel warranty (dell doestn replace unles you have more than 7 dead pixels) I think I'l settle for this one.

 

Enjoy, the ordering process is the weakest link in Kobalt's chain, but they've made a far far better impression on me than Alienware ever did.
Much smaller tighter team though, so obviously things move slower.

They did say the new website should finally be going up in the new year, so you never know, might make things a little clearer if it does come up in the new year. Should be a lot more automated as well, right now stuff like status updates are all manual, hence why they're not as quick as some other companies, as they actually have to do everything on the system themselves.

 

If you're worried about thickness and weight, Alienwares are terrible! Their 15" laptop weighs almost a kg more than my 17" computer! The W860CU is lots more portable than an Alienware.

 

it has been difficult these last few months but as everyone knows the delays were out of the OEM's hands waiting for delayed parts thanks to clevo and intel.
the normal ordering process usually takes 10-14 days but its always better to give a little longer and then the frustration doesnt kick in as quick.
if kobalt had known about these long delays then the defo wouldnt have taken pre orders and keep their customers waiting.
roll on the new automated ordering and update system

totally agree with you Alex on the alienware front. i wouldnt even recommend them to my worst enemy now after my m15x nightmare.

 

I wasn't just talking about the G860/870, I was just giving a friendly warning not to expect it tomorrow, you know Im not unhappy with Kobalt, you've read my testimonial

 

Yes they do. Just call them up within 7 buisness days after you recieve your notebook and you can return it 'no questions asked'. I had no problem returning an M1530 a while ago when it had 1 dead pixel.

 

i know Alex,i wasnt having a dig,honnest
Neil was still in the office at 6 tonight on crimbo eve. hopefully hes home now with beer in hand