Looking for input before I buy a Clevo/P150EM-SE

Hello NBR! I have never posted before, but firstly, I want to thank everyone here for all of the great info that is here and being one of the most helpful/friendliest online communities that I have come across.

I'll start by saying that while I am a fairly tech savy guy, I don't really know much about laptops as I have been purely a desktop man until now. I have learned a lot over the past week or so of reading, and just very recently came across this great community. Anyway, as the title says, I am looking to buy a P150EM-SE(from malibal), but I have A few questions before I do so.

I plan on getting a few upgrades: The 95% NTSC Glossy Display, a GTX675M, Bigfoot network card, and a empty caddy in place of a optical drive. I plan on getting a Crucial M4 and installing it myself. I also have a Windows 7 Pro disk and key that I plan on installing myself because I get it heavily discounted from my employer.

Now, to my questions..
1) Is the caddy sata 2 or 3? If it is 2, should I install the SSD in the primary hard drive slot and move the hard drive to the caddy?
2) How big of an improvement is the upgraded screen?
3) I don't plan or expect this computer to replace my desktop, but will it offer pretty solid gaming performance when I can't be at my desktop?
4) Will the upgraded network card allow me to better stream HD videos/music to my home theater system?

Lastly, I am up for any suggestions that the community has to offer. Any input you guy/gals have to offer will be very much appreciated. Thanks for you time.

 

1) The ODD slot is SATA 2. You'd want to swap it.
2) People do swear by the 95% MATTE screen. I don't think that too many people get the glossy. There was a post a while back by mythlogic that compared the screens but I can't find it. It is a noticeable improvement.
3) Yes it will offer quite a good gaming experience. If you wait for tomorrow the 7970m will come out, which will offer a much better gaming experience (it seems to be around $100 above the 675m on powernotebooks).
4) The upgraded card is 3x3 so it will allow for a better throughput providing that your router can handle it.

 

Thanks for the info! I will probably get the matte screen. I always thought that glossy looked a bit brighter/less grainy, but I have seen people swear up and down that the matte is better.

I have always been a NVIDIA fanboy, but the 7970M will definitely have a clear advantage over the 675. I haven't seen any bench marks yet, but if it is a > 10-15% improvement, it would be dumb not to get it.

Edit: One of the selling points for me with the new P150s was optimus. Do you know if I will be able to switch to integrated graphics with the 7970 when just searching the web and such to save on power?

 

Here's the thread you were looking for:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...-between-different-screen-options-photos.html

 

Exactly what I was looking for, thanks so much!

 

I'm planning on buying a Clevo/Sager P150EN-SE but with the 670m due to budget constraints. I like to game fairly often and would like to upgrade it down the road once I get a little more money. Would it be hard to find a compatible graphics card for a reasonable price? I'm also wondering if my performance would be drastically reduced with the 670m compared to the 675m?

 

The benchmarks I have seen show the 675 as being 16% faster than the 670. From what I understand, the 670 is basically a overclocked 570, and a 675 is an overclocked 580. These new Clevos should support all of the new GPUs that are coming out for a while. The clevo dealers should be able to sell you whatever you want, and the service manual will show you how to install your new card. They may even work with you on the price of the card if you bought your laptop from them.

 

Wrong.
The 675M is exactly the same as the 580M. Exactly the same, except the new drivers and Optimus

 

You are correct jaug.

If anyone else wished to argue that, I would like to direct their attention here http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/656685-gtx-675m-r3.html

 

Good to know. Thanks guys =D.

 

I've been following this thread where someone has gotten hold of a 7970M and successfully tested it in his alienware.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/gaming-software-graphics-cards/658185-amd-7970m-vs-gtx-680m.html

At least for the synthetics, it seems to be something around 60%-100% improvement over a 675M (rebadge of a 580M), so I'd definitely wait for it and keep my eyes out for benchmarks that may be coming out soon. Games may show ~40% improvement, this is a made up number until, of course, we see actual game benchmarks.

AMD has its own "optimus" technology but who knows if it will work on the new EM models, perhaps a reseller can confirm if they've tested one with a 6990M.

 

I've never really had a AMD card before, all of my desktops have been Nvidias, any major differences between the two that I should know about?

 

This post should answer it firmly
Overclockers Australia Forums - View Single Post - What the difference between nVidia and AMD?

 

What is different about the "SE" model of the P150?

 

Nothing different, well besides the usual. Malibal just chose to name them so, the P150EM is the P150EM-SE on Malibal's website and the P151EM is the P150EM on Malibal's website

 

yes the colour. one is green the other is red.

Aside that its one hell of a tasty performance improvement, we are waiting for software to oc the heck out of the 7970m

 

Thanks, just didn't know if I needed to order a different number.

 

Is there a release date on the 7970? The malibal website just says end of may

 

Supposed to be around May 21, but please keep in mind that is subject to change. Essentially end of May.

 

I think that link you posted is a bit biased, don't you jaug?

To answer questions between nVidia and AMD, I have had both on my desktops but mostly AMD only due to price at time of purchase.

Both seem to have nice graphics cards to begin with and the ball seems to bounce back and forth over who has the best card, which is great to see such competition between them.

That said, the AMD Catalyst Control Center seemed to be a bit more idiot proof than the nVidia one, especially for setting up crossfire vs. SLI.

In the end though, and aforementioned personal opinion aside (possible PEBKAC error on my part anyways), both offer excellent graphics cards.

 

Yes, yes it is. But it's a very old post, that's how it was (I should have mentioned that to begin with) but I must admit that AMD has improved greatly ever since.

As it stands right now AMD is certainly better value imo, however nVIDIA has a better quality with more features and slightly more performance model vs model (well not right now.. at least not on the mobile market)

Unfortanetely nVIDIA doesn't focus that much on it's control center, which in it's current state is severely random and mixed up and that saddens me.. Oh well