Kobalt World Exclusive: Comanche SLI (M980NU)

That's a great idea...Clevo should retire the dated 5797 and come out with an updated 17" version of the M980Nu that has a LED RGB LCD and can support two hard drives and two graphics cards, and an updated bios that supports high overclocking of the Intel extreme CPUs.

 

Latest update from Kobalt:
New Comanche is the D900F new Comanche SLI is the M980NU. Two different chassis.. two different names.

It was a very last minute thing that we got the machine and we had to (within a few minutes) confirm names and get things printed up.

 

You could have just gone with Apache lol

Prices !!

 

That's because he had only had 3 hours sleep the night before:SLEEP:

Pricing isn't available yet, should have a rough idea before too long though.

 

Any SLI benchmarks yet?
Can't wait to see what numbers explode with this laptop!
It's to bad out "older" generation(901C) will not support the 280M GTX GPU( Has this been confirmed by any body?)
I was also basically just waiting for the 280's to come out and slap then in my NP9262.
The thing is I really don't see why they won't work, any body want to take a shot explaining it to me.
I know some CPU's are not compatible because they use different sockets, but GPU's, I thought you can easily swap them out for one another if they are from the same family (MXMII/III etc.) Are they different MXM cards?

 

/Off-Topic

MrDJ, what ever happened to the old boy milcs?

 

great minds think alike Kevin.
i actually asked that same question after fridays show while supping a beer at our hotel.
sounds like hes in france but why he hasnt been on the forum in months i have no idea. they do have electricity in france dont they

 

wuhuu, the all new 18.4" model!!! wow, clevo rocks... ahaha. Now just how much the price will be? with all the lighting and whatnot? lolz...

but sli GTX280m ... hope the temp will be ok in this laptop!

totally agree with that, dude. I really like the sony-style look of the keyboard

 

It's less cumbersome than trying to carry a desktop through airport security.

Some of us travel a lot and 17" and 18" DTRs are a godsend. I travel 9 months out of the year and DTRs allow me to take my desktop with me, and play games and watch movies. It's my work/play/entertainment rig, all wrapped up in one lovely Taiwanese package.

Just because a product may not appeal to your personal tastes or preferences, it doesn't mean there isn't a market for it

 

The 280m might indeed be compatible with our 901cs, however, without a bios revision to support it we probably won't be able to use it.

As far as fit and thermal compatibility, the crads are the same type and the thermaloutput is the same as the 9800m. From power and mechanical standpoints it should fine.

However, I would be suprised to see Clevo offer a bios to let us use it. From a business standpoint there's no financial incentive to do so. They make no money selling nVidia cards. They make money designing and selling the chassis and motherboards. By not offering a bios to support the 280m on the 901c, they'll get more customers who will buy the new laptops. The only customers they'll anger are those who were not going to buy a new laptop anyway, i.e, those who were just going to buy new Nvida cards.

 

When is Kobalt going to have the M980Nu in stock if they are not going to be available in the US until June/July?

 

will just have to wait and see.
i wonder if it could be a trend when the uk gets the only prototype before the rest of world.
until Kobalt can gaurantee a date its not worth speculating as all that does is get everyone worked up and then when the date passes people start moaning.

as soon as they know,you will know.

 

im still waiting for this nb, buuutt....

almost to much lights, and led, and illuminations-bling-bling for me ...


oh and for the illuminated keyboard: im very glad that this notebook has not the same illuminated kb like the m17, as this was the worst kb i have ever worked with...

 

how about this.... what if some one where to back flash it...
put the 9800m gtx bios on the gtx280m, since they seem to be the exact same thing with a different temp reading? anyone think this will work?

 

I'm loving that thought, finally we get some Clevo love here in the UK...

 

Thats true, having a 17"/18" or bigger notebook is much easier than getting a desktop because some people just like big monitor and besides the 17" notebook are much easier to upgrade in terms of the component inside it than any smaller notebook out there and much better cooling performance.

Carrying a desktop would mean carrying:
1) CPU
2) Monitor
3) Keyboard/Speaker
4) Power Generator.

Compare that with carry just ONE notebook. Its like the 17"/18" or larger notebook is the ALL in ONE desktop.

i know this because i used to carry my desktop alot back in the younger days lolz, but the notebook let me carry stuff much easier.

 

Too many light, but I think they`re able to turn them off.
And the glossy look I can`t stand it.
As for the power, the more, the better

 

WOW! That thing looks awesome, Wish i had the budget to be able to get one, but as the saying goes "Wish in one hand poo in the other and see which one fills up first." Very nice thanks for sharing.

 

i dont like the glossy finish... they should stick to matte finish.

 

LMFAO now that saying defo deserves a +rep.

 

you guys like the lighting system?

i mean, LightFX Keyboard in nice because it help you type in the dark. but glowing light from all direction??

 

What's wrong with glow-in-the-dark from all directions?

 

Seems there's a green light version?

 

IMHO, to flashy. attract too much intention.
not good if you work as a Hitman like Agent 47.

 

So long as there is an option to tone down or turn off the lights, I'm all for it. When showing your friends how insane your system is, you might as well give them a light display while your at it.

 

there are (i think) 6 colours and an off option (i think again).

 

The keyboard actually lights up on this thing? I haven't seen that in any of the pics...

 

not 100% sure on that Crylo
ill double check all the info when i get home tonight.

 

AFAIK, the keyboard does not light up like Arima W840.

 

as this is the prototype and the only one in existance so far things could change.
for all we know the pr guy or the makers may take on board different ideas and opinions from forums like Kobalt & NBR and change a few things.
we will just have to wait and see.

let the waiting game begin.

 

Good, let them take on the idea of centering that damn keyboard (it looks ugly and awkward off to the right like that Clevo!!!) and making those programmable buttons on the left smaller and more "low profile" (they dont need to take up that much room) Center the keyboard and make the programmable buttons smaller Clevo!

 

They could have put 4 buttons on each side and centered the keyboard...

 

They could also keep 8 small buttons on the left side, center the keyboard, and fill out that numpad on the right to a full sized numpad.

Edit: Oh and they should really make the keyboard back-lit..

 

oh dear, wish i hadnt written that now

to be honest until you see and hold it up close its no where near as bad as you are all making it out to be.
the pictures just dont give its true potential.

 

No matter what is said, I'm not liking that keyboard, pictures or not it doesn't change anything, that keyboard really needs to be centered and those buttons need to be smaller, its like seeing a good lookin girl then she smiles and has rotten teeth, good from far but far from good..

 

The keyboard is waay to far to the right. When you use the W,A,S,D keys, your palm will touch the touhpad, so you have to turn that off every time you game. Even when you type, (noone type correctly) to prevent clicking on a random place and typing is screwed.

 

Hey Gent's.

Nothing is perfect and I have a humble suggestion, but I think Clevo is onto some good things with the keyboard and touch pad design. Let me explain.

I like the look of the Sony/Apple keys and if the keys still have a quiet, build quality, firm and precise (no wobbly-wobbly stuff please!) feel to them I think the looks is an improvement to the quality feel, but bulky looks of the tried an true keyboard on the M570A which I am typing on right now.

Also the 'cover-all' 'glass' plate in front of the keyboard that covers the touch pad completely is a super move in my opinion. I hope it also covers the related touch pad 'mouse' buttons completely to finalise the design fully and that the integral pad edge lighting can also be switched off to completely forget there is even a touch pad there.

You see, 99% of the time I am on my M570A, I have the touch pad switched off as I am using an USB mouse right next to the laptop ... much better for gaming and general usage when sitting at a standard table which I am almost all the time. In this situation the touch pad edges normally there, are simply an annoyance. If the design is as proposed above I will be able to position my hands completely free in relation to the keyboard keys without having to worry about the touch pad at all.

Now, to me what is seemingly wrong about the placement in the new keyboard design is to a large extend about aesthetics and what is pleasing to the eyes. No doubt that the most elegant solution in this aspect would be a perfectly aligned space key and touch pad to the screen centre vertical axis splitting the laptop perfectly in two half's. But this would mean no numeric key pad and no programmable buttons.

The instant you throw a numeric key pad into the equation you will hurt aesthetics by moving the space bar away from the centre axis. To facilitate easy palm rest in alignment with the non-numeric keys you then also have to move the touch pad to align somewhat with the space bar. On the M570A this would mean moving the touch pad very far left which would hurt aesthetics even more and so the touch pad is not aligned at all with the space bar on the M570A. But it is also not aligned with the centre axis.

Now put a panel of programmable buttons into the equation and suddenly you have the means to remedy much of the above issues. The aesthetic solution (still perfectly viable with regards to palm rest) would then be to position the space bar and the touch pad back onto the screen centre vertical axis perfectly aligned and then have the numeric pad and the programmable buttons sort of cancelling each other out on each side of the standard keys.

This has almost succeded on the M980NU. If you compare the M570A to the M980NU you will see that the touch pad is better aligned with the centre axis and the space bar on the M980NU than on the M570A. I think the reason why the M570A keyboard and pad design still looks easier on the eye is that all the keys, numeric and otherwise, are sort off melted into one coherent black quadrant between the touch pad and the screen and so only the touch pad seems a bit out off alignment to the left (which is also true). This is then somewhat compensated for by the power button 'group' being out of alignment to the right just above the keyboard.

On the M980NU the right side feels to heavy compared to the left as the whole thing is not a coherent entity. The numeric keys are coherent with the normal keys as they are of the same 'weight' and connected perfectly with their horizontal placement to the standard keys. The programmable buttons to the left feels wrong and out of sync with the rest as they are lit up, and also does not 'weigh' as much visually compared to the standard-numeric coherent entity. This all goes toward a design out of sync and not easy on the eyes even if the actual alignment is closer to the screen centre vertical axis than on the M570A design.

So if you ask me then what could be improved with the current M980NU design is two things.
A) Centre the touch pad and the space bar completely and perfectly with the screen centre vertical axis.
B) Somehow make the numeric key pad and the programmable buttons weigh the same visually so they balance each other out on each side of the normal keys. Either light them both or don't. Only one of the two seems wrong.

BUT some of the new stuff is great ...
C) Keep the touch pad and related buttons hidden beneath the glass and make the ability to disable them easy.
D) The new Sony/Apple keys look cool if build quality is maintained to previous versions.

And finally ...
E) Do never ever divert from a path of build quality and firmness in look'n feel. Keep it elegant and don't go overboard with all the bling. At the very least make the ability to turn off the lighting and bling ... some of us are over 40 you know

Sorry for a long first post and thank you to all the old timers for keeping a very friendly and informative forum ... very much appreciated.

Thank you and all the best
Frans

 

Wow! great first post and welcome to the NBR forum Frans (from another 40+)

 

nice post hawkerT...

 

Hey MrDJ and xor01
Thank you for the warm welcome ... t'is much appreciated!

MrDJ my man ...

Just went through your nice lil'ol thread here again for some actual info as to the whole build quality feel of the thing. Thank you for all your time and info in here ... it is much appreciated!

Since you have had some hands-on time with this big beauty and have lined up front for purchase (at least I read you so) I recon it's an affirmative to the question - Have Clevo stayed on the straight and narrow with their old virtues of quality and craftsmanship?

Any comments as to your own experience and views would be much appreciated ... what's your take on this whole M980NU vs. D900F vs. W90 line up for gaming. What makes you prefer the M980NU to the competition?

I am very hooked on the M980NU and will probably take the bate but after having had a short look at W90 I must acknowledge that they (ASUS) seemed to have diverted from the current day 'bling' crop of laptop/desktop gaming designs and kept their design really stylish and elegant. And at a very competitive composition and price (reviews even say of extremely high build quality ('like a tank')). I really want to stay with Clevo as I am very fond of my old M570A and would like to support Clevo with another high end purchase. I could just use some really good reviews and reasons to justify the mucho extra dinero for a M980NU ...

Do you know if any of the big time and trust worthy review sites currently have a M980NU or D900F review in progress? (I tried to gnaw through the German review at Notebookcheck but my school-german eludes me like a bar of wet soap and I don't care much for Google translations of an important topic like this).

Anyway sorry for all the questions and thanks again for keeping us all in the loop and up to date on what is likely to be our next LabbieofLove.

All the best
Frans

 

There is also a feature to view the site in english.
Check lower right corner and search the review of it. It will display it in english.

edit:
I am talking about notebookcheck...

 

There won't (shouldn't!!!) be any reviews around for the D900F or 980NU for a good month as there are only a very limited number of sample chassis around and they are not sale ready yet, hence 4 weeks for the D900F and a little longer for the 980NU. I might be a little biased but the build quality is very good. For an 18.4" laptop you can pick it up with one hand and though it's heavy it feels very solid. It's hard to call whether the ASUS is better build quality or not but they are both definitely at the top end build wise.

 

@dynamite2
Thanks dynamite2 ... interesting, but as Neil hints, it's a quite preliminary read.
----------

@Neil
Roger about the reviews Neil, thanks!

Sounds excellent with regards to the quality ... very reassuring to hear from the ones in the know.

I will honker down and wait another month or two then and see how everything fleshes out. Mighty fine of you to pop in and give the word.

After all the positive experiences with your service being voiced here on this very board and as I am living in Denmark (the only Danish Clevo reseller I know of 'Genex' have closed shop) I will very strongly consider Kobalt when finally getting to place the order for my next Clevo.

Thank you and all the best
Frans

 

the only other clevo ive owned is the m860tu/Nexus from kobalt which is built like a tank.
i did have some hands on (but not much) with the m980nu and of what i saw and felt of it (not forgetting its the demo model only) clevo have once again done themselves proud.
like everyone else,i cant wait to see the full benchmarks of both systems to compare.

m980nu vs d900f vs w90
i know nothing about the w90 so cant really comment on it.(just done a google to see what it looked like).
i saw the original comanche/9262 and thought imo it was quite bulky and not for me so the d900f will be the same.
the 18" is or seems a lot thinner and more defined but without having them next to each other its difficult to be exact.

 

My speculation is that D900F barebone should have the same price as D900C barebone.
The reason is although D900F have new motherboard (and technology), the chassis is the same and the GPU is $200 cheaper than 9800M GTX.

PS:
To avoid miscommunication, D900C barebone spec included 1x 9800M GTX.

 

That's the main point.
So no chanche to have a 280 SLI in a 17 incher?
I want to buy my next laptop from Kobalt!

 

whats a inch between friends
18" with 2 x 280 SLI

 

Right an inch is what, 2Kg more? ;-)
When the 18inch will be available for buy?
I will get my bonus early september )

 

Desktop CPU + 6GB RAM VS Mobile CPU + 2GB GPU SLI

Hubba hubba hubba, money money money, who do you trust??

 

Neil - I don't suppose you would able to find out who the manufacturer of the new style keyboard is?