Looking at purchasing the P150HMA

So, as the title says, I am deciding on purchasing the 'Clevo Horize P150HMA' (as it is called in Australia). Since I hadn't heard of sager/clevo before this week, I have some questions.

The system I am looking at is,

Intel I7-2630QM 2.0Ghz Processor Quad Core
DDR3 1333 : 8GB 1333Mhz DDR3 (would have liked the option to downgrade to 4 gig)
ATI Radeon XTX 6990M
Operating System : NO OPERATING SYSTEM
Laptop LCD Display : Standard 1920x1080 Glossy Display
Hard Disk : 500gb 7200rpm Drive
Optical Drive : DVD+/-RW DVD Burner
Wireless Card : Standard 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless Card ,

All for $1671 AUD delivered from Logical Blue One.

1. First of all, the processor. Is the 2630 worth upgrading? (the 2720 is $100 more) Does the 2630 have sufficient power or will it hold me back in any games?

2. GPU. The 6990 is apparently designed for 17+inch laptops, so no doubt there is a lot of heat given off. I just wanted to know if the laptop overheated (over 90C) with the 6990.
Also, if heating isn't an issue, is there an overclocking ability?

3. General build quality. How is the keyboard, screen quality (I have the Standard 1920x1080 Glossy Display).

4. Anything else that I should know about?

Thanks in advance

 

1. Th 263QM, is more then plenty. By the time it is outdated/holds you back in the games the GPU will have been outdated for 2 years lol. So I just went with the 2630QM because it is more than sufficient for games.

2. 6990M works fine in a 15in notebook. My 6990m hits 85C at the most in BF:BC 2 which is perfectly except-able. With my notebook cooler it hits about 81C. Yes you can overclock it quite easy, I have not tried overclocking mine yet because their is no need and I'm kind of scared to lol. People have overclocked their 6990m past the desktops 6870's speeds though. Also these GPU's are capable of hitting 90C and it won't damage them, although I wouldn't want my temperatures this high.

3. Build quality is superb, I love the keyboard. A lot of people on this forums will recommend the matte screen also because it looks fantastic.

 

As you are buying from Logical Blue One, I'd like you to read my review regarding this laptop. Although I am coming from the GTX485M variant, I think it should be similar experience, except at the benchmarks and temperatures. Build quality, keyboard etc. are mostly covered in the review

Clevo Horize P150HMB Review: http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/1794588

I'd suggest you get the 95% Matte screen because it's one of the selling points of these laptops as well. And by the way, you can ask for additional customisations if you directly consult with them, e.g. downgrade from 8GB to 4GB.

 

I just assumed at 90C the gpu will throttle back like my current one (335m), and danger temps are usually above 100C. Good to hear that they are overclockable also.
I choose the glossy finish since its $50 saving and my currently laptop has glossy finish and I kinder prefer it over matte.
Also, I was fairly sure the processor was more than enough, but just wanted to double check
My main concern with the laptop was cooling, since I can live with worse than average build quality, but obviously cooling is important. So I am happy that your temps stay around 8x.

Thanks and + rep

 

Also check out Thisisalamp's review above ^ Great review!

 

1. You'll never be bottlenecked with the 2630 in games. The GPU will limit you before that. However, if you run multithreaded apps or virtual machines, the 2720 would be a decent upgrade.

2. This isn't really true. They said the same about the 480/485m and both have run fine in the 15" as it has adequate cooling. That said, the 6990m runs hotter than both of those and temps in the 80C range are not uncommon. It is possible to overclock, but due to the already higher temps than other cards, you don't have a lot of headroom there.

3. The keyboard is decent- there's no flex to speak of. People do have a love/hate relationship with the chiclet-style keys and the layout. The stock screen is a 60% color gamut model and has decent quality. You can see the link below for comparisons of it and the upgraded screen:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...-between-different-screen-options-photos.html

4. Plenty. These threads below are filled with info you might find useful:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...-0-faq-reseller-info-read-before-posting.html
http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/596883-what-do-after-unboxing.html
http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...ntly-asked-questions-read-before-posting.html
http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...-sager-np8150-clevo-p150hm-owners-lounge.html

 

Thanks for the review it was really helpful. You said that you also bought from Logical blue, you stated somewhere you could chose the ram/hdd type and remove webcam (basically you could configure/change anything on the laptop). Is this still possible? I ask since the customization page has few options? i.e. I couldn't downgrade my ram to 4g like I wanted.

Thanks again and + rep

 

I am pretty sure this is possible with all resellers. They won't have it as a standard configuration on their websites though. I emailed them if I could have Corsair memories instead of anything else, they said sure; but somehow the Corsairs were out of stock...so they gave me Kingstons instead. And I asked them if I could have the HDD removed and have nothing (since I have my own), and they did that and lowered the pricing. It doesn't hurt to ask really.

I just got my laptop back from them after an RMA about bad memory/wireless card. Seems like they replaced my Kingstons with SuperTalents and the wireless card fixed, brand new. And I'm a happy customer.

Hope that answers your question briefly.

 

Yes thanks
Also, did you receive a CD containing all the drivers, since you didn't buy the hdd? I ask since I decided to get no OS and was wondering if they still included a driver CD (I can find and download them, its just easier if they are all together and ready).

 

Yep they do come along with the purchase .

 

Yes, we supply the driver disc/PowerDVD disc and on this model also an additional CD which has the latest ATI drivers, some apps and tools included on the disc for your benefit.