Lotus W150HM questions

Hi,

I am new to the forum, but so far there has been a lot of really useful information. I decided that I will probably be getting a Clevo, and I will likely be getting it from MALIBAL (good reviews, active forum presence, and fast shipping to CA). I was actually interested in if this laptop is still available, since I can't seem to find it directly from their site (I got the link from the sig on the forum).

Lotus W150HM - MALIBAL

I will likely have this config:

Lotus W150HM (W150HM)
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Customizations:
Display: 15.6" 1920 x 1080 FHD LED Backlit Matte Display
Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-2410M, 3MB L3 Cache, 2.3-2.9GHz (maybe go for the i7)
Memory: (8GB) 8192MB, PC3-10660/1333MHz DDR3 - 2 SO-DIMM
Graphics Card: NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 555M 2GB GDDR3
Hard Drive: 500GB 7200rpm 2.5" SATA 300
Optical Drive Bay: 8X Multi DVD+/-R/RW RAM Dual-Layer Drive
Wireless: Intel® 6230 Advanced-N 802.11A/B/G/N LAN and Bluetooth Card
Cooling: Stock OEM Thermal Compound, CPU & GPU
Keyboard: English: US & Canada
Power Cord: US & Canada
Branding: MALIBAL
Build Time: 5-7 Business Days
Warranty: LIFETIME Ltd. Labor and 1 Year Parts Warranty with 24/7 Support (USA)
Extras: Standard Black Carrying Case
Extras: Integrated 2.0 Megapixel Web Camera
Extras: Integrated 9 in 1 Card Reader
Extras: Integrated Fingerprint Reader
Extras: MALIBAL Software & Drivers Disc
Extras: PowerDVD & Bison Cam Software Package

So I guess my questions are:

1) Is this computer definitely available?
2) Any suggestions on changes to build? (for moderate gaming, some bio related programs for work/grad school)
3) Any deals for free shipping or anything else at MALIBAL?
4) Should I wait until next weekend to get it (forum rumors)?
5) Any issues with forum posting conventions?

 

1.) No idea.
2.) Get an i7 CPU (2630qm or 2670qm or 2760qm)
- Get it with at least GTX560M (miles away from GT555M)
- Seriously consider getting it with 6990M instead of nvidia cards
3.) No idea.
4.) No idea.
5.) No idea.


You say "moderate gaming". Get a better GPU, it is obligatory! Do you plan on keeping that laptop for more than a year? If so, then invest a little more into it and it will not let you down, I guarantee. Look at my signature, this will last for about 1-2 years.

 

GT 555M and i5 are BS! get a min of GTX560M and atleast i7 2.0ghz (its like $30 bucks upgrade)

wait for next weekend, malibal has something coming up after they ship out all the black friday deal laptops!

 

Thanks for the advice. My only issue is that I would like the laptop to have at least decent battery life during general use. Will the 560 and i7 kill the battery life? I would like it to last at least 3-4 hours. I was also hoping to stay under 1000 if possible. I guess I'll wait until next weekend to see.

 

If you do the config for a P151HM (has the GTX 560M), you can get it shipped for $988 with a i5 and $1018 with a i7. Just take the stock config and switch the RAM to 8GB in 4 sticks. Then add Windows 7.

As for battery life, I think you'll squeak to 3 hours. The next-gen Clevos will have Optimus through the lineup though, if you need both power and battery life.

 

Ok. I didn't realize that they would be putting in the Optimus option for future laptops. I will probably need the new laptop at the latest by early Feb though, so I am not sure I will be able to wait that long. I am still trying to figure out how important it will be to have the long battery life when I go back to grad-school in 2012...

Would it be expected that these laptops would be in similar price range for a 560M (or similar) with optimus?

 

You'll be waiting for Ivy Bridge to get moving whenever it does (tentatively Q2 2012) as the new models are tied to Chief River and Ivy Bridge. Price-wise, I don't imagine they'll be much different than they are now, but I don't know. By that time the new Nvidia 6xx and AMD 7xxx will be in motion as well. You'll definitely not get any of this by February though.

If you MUST have greater battery life in a Sager/Clevo, I think your only option in the 15.6" niche is stay with one of the GT 5xx cards in that W150HM.

 

might as well throw the laptop into the sea, if you want to get gt 555m and i5 now to play games! , if you are waiting till feb, just wait till april/may and get the new series with optimus in them! that should extend your battery life and give you 3 hours easily just browsing and stuff

 

I guess I should have described "moderate gaming." I would be looking to play things like Civ V, Diablo III, and Torchlight II most likely. Since I am not really into first person shooters. Do you see any reason the 555M would not be good for this? I think I will go up to one of the i7s after reading a little more.

 

Yeah, gaming doesn't have to mean running BF3 on high at 1080p. I think the GT 555M will more than suffice for you. The CPU upgrade sounds like a good idea too.

 

Alright. Thanks again for the help everyone. I guess I will just need to wait to see if any good deals get thrown up in the next week or two. Maybe a cheaper i7 or SSD upgrade, haha.

Hopefully there already isn't too much of a backlog from BF to put off another pre-holiday deal.