Ordered W370ET, advices & useful settings anyone?

XMG A722 ADVANCED Gaming Notebook 43,9cm (17.3") ( CLEVO W370ET)
. 43,9cm (17.3") Full-HD (1920*1080) Non-Glare ( didnt want glossy, just aint right in a bright room with sunlight)
. NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M 2048MB GDDR5 ( no options to choose from anyways)
. Intel Core i7-3740QM - 2,70 - 3,70GHz 6MB 45W ( power....)
. 16GB (2x8192) SO-DIMM DDR3 RAM 1600MHz CORSAIR Vengeance ( left the third slot free, cause I wont need more RAM before I sell the laptop in the future)
. 120GB SATA-III SSD Intel 520 Series (SSDSC2CW120A3K5) ( I would have picked Samsung 830 128GB, but it was out of stock already...intel is good too)
. 750GB SATA-II 7200U/Min Seagate Momentus 7200.5 (ST9750420AS)
. Universal-Caddy SataII ( not sure why I picked that, but an extra storage HDD might prove useful...I dont burn DVDs and I only use them for win7 reinstall. Got an external USB slim DVD for that)
. Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6235 (inkl. Bluetooth) ( Intel WiDi + no more need for access point = awesome. Also bluetooth 4.0 is nice, even though the only BT device I own is my mobile phone with BT 2.0 lol. I would have preffered the Intel 6300 for better WiFi range and signal strenght, but MySN dont offer it. And I definetely wanna stay away from Bigfoot 1103! )
. Basis-Garantie: 24M. Pickup&Return | 6M. Sofort-Reparatur -DE ( basic warranty, because I wanna save some cash.)
. without OS
. Gehäuse ohne XMG-Logo ( without the reseller's logo, thats how I like things - nice and clean)
. German Keyboard ( this is a funny one. It costs 20 EUR to get the English keyboard, but since I only use my external USB keyboard, I thought to save these 20 EUR and remain with the german keyboard )

Things I decided to do when I receive it:
1.) Get Prema's modded BIOS for W370ET and flash it! This will give me all the nice features that Clevo forgot to include (thanks Prema!)
2.) Spend 15min setting up the modded BIOS how I want it
3.) Install Windows 7 Ultimate x64 (with SP1)
4.) Here is where I need some help

Questions I need answered:
Q1: If I buy a HDD for the caddy slot, can I set it up as a removable drive? The idea is, it will stay plugged at all times, but I wanna be able to turn it off completely, to save battery life when Im on battery. This drive will be just for backuping and I wanna be able to stop it from spinning and disable it entirely when I dont need it. Dont want that extra noise all the time, also dont wanna lose battery life. I also want to be able to re-enable it at any time and access it when needed. How can I do that the easiest way (without physically removing the whole caddy, lol)?

Q2: Should I install ALL drivers on the DVD with the laptop, or just the ones that are missing from Device Manager? Generally I preffer to install drivers from Device Manager itself, I just extract them and leave the installation to DM. So which drivers should definetely be installed and which ones are just rubbish and I can pass on those?

Q3: Should I download the latest Intel GPU and Nvidia drivers from their sites or should I just use the ones provided in the laptop DVD? Any major improvements from the latest drivers?

Q4: Im debating whether to format the SSD with 2 partitions or not. If I go with 2 partitions, one will be for the OS and the other will be for games + programs and will contain the TEMP folder (I set it from My Computer properties). So, should I do that or just format the SSD with only 1 partition? Will 2 partitions slow down things?

Q5: Which software is best for downclocking (and overclocking) the Intel HD 4000 and Nvidia GTX660m? And why?

Q6: Im using the desktop gadgets All-Cpu-Meter and GPU-Observer to watch my temps. Im also using Intel's Turbo Boost Monitor gadget. Are there other cool gadgets for temp monitoring that I need to be aware of?

And last but not least - post your suggestions and advices on how should I optimize my laptop! Im gonna be using TuneUp 2012 Utilities to set some things up and for cleanup. Looking forward for more suggestions!

 

Q1: there was a recently opened thread here in the clevo section talking about that exact thing. i remember there was a specific commandline u could enter in cmd in order to manually power down/switch off a connected hdd. lemme check and get back to you on that.

edit: here it is - http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=694106

Q3: i cant give u details on specific improvements, but as a general rule of thumb id always check and go for the latest available gpu drivers.

Q4: before i used ssds i always chose several partitions to keep things nicely separated and tidy. but since ssd space is precious (especially in your case) i switched to one single partition. that strategy makes most of the remaining free space on the drive in my opinion. instead of partitions i just have different folders now in order to keep my stuff and the OS separated.

Q5: intel gpu i think is only OCable via the bios. check the prema bios for that. as for nvidia gpus, i can always recommend nvidia inspector. very smallsize tool, easy to use, gives u all essential OCing functions and its also possible to creaty nifty shortcuts for predefined clocks (for example underclocking/volting for powersaving, stock settings and one OV/OC setting for gaming/benching).

Q6: im using the same widgets! best ones around afaik in order to monitor gpu/cpu temps

last but not least: im using wisediskcleaner and wiseregistry cleaner + ccleaner for maintenance and cleanup of my data. aside from that, the usual id say: futuremark/heaven benches, crystaldiskinfo/ssdlife/ssdtweak for hard disc analysis and regular checkup to avoid impending crashes/errors and to optimize general perf. and functions.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

As always, thanks jaybee!!

Well, I also love CCleaner and CrystalDiskInfo Ive been using them for a long time as well!
Gonna give wisediskcleaner and wiseregistry cleaner a try too!

Nvidia Inspector it is, as you said it, its supposed to be small and useful, so thats what Im gonna get for the OC thing

Thanks for the links about the HDD thing, I remembered the thread now that I saw it, gonna definetely turn off the second HDD for safety reasons (backuping data, when its turned off it cant be infected by viruses AND gonna save battery life too).

I downloaded a large pack of folder icons, gonna use them for good looks and tidy-ness, so I will just format my HDD and SSD with only 1 partition as you proposed. Now that I think of it, I start to like this idea very much.

So yeah, thanks jaybee! I cant wait till wednesday when it finally arrives.

 

aaah, nothing like looking forward to a new machine, eh?

 

Just a point about backing up. Backing up onto the HDD may protect you against failure of the SSD, but backup should always be replicated, and you should NEVER rely on internal backup. Proper backup is external and kept separate from the laptop. Just imagine if it were stolen or damaged badly enough to kill both drives.

 

word. i was actually thinking the same thing. if u only need the hdd for backup purposes, why not just make it external with a fitting case and use the empty port for an optical drive? or maybe even a second ssd in the future?

 

Laptop arrived. Condition - perfect. Specs - all met.

1.) Installed Prema's BIOS, smoothly like its nothing.
2.) Installed Win7 SP1 with all updates till September included. Its got IE9 + .NET 4.5 packed inside as well.
3.) Loaded with Device Manager all "yellow q-marks devices"
4.) Then manually installed this:
-THX Pro
-Intel WiDi
-Audio Driver (replacing the existing windows driver)
-Intel HD Graphics latest version
-Nvidia 295. drivers provided on the DVD (couldnt install 306, they failed to extract from the compressed setup lol)

Im gonna continue installing programs now.
Gotta install StarCraft 2 asap, wanna test it!
So far Im loving the 17.3" matte screen!!! LOVING IT. Nice and big.

 

haha, its xmas in b0b1man-land

 

Damn straight, man!
I am currently testing the spare PSU, which is a Fortron 150W with 8 interchangeable tips.
Its working perfectly, this can give me some ~30W headroom for overclocking and safety

 

if u have time, why dont u upload some pics and first impressions with it?

 

Im at work all day this week. Gonna try at sunday...
Solved the WiDi app not working, it just needed the ProSet Wireless drivers
Solved the THX not working, I just downloaded the R2.70 audio drivers from Realtek. It works now. Stock DVD audio drivers didnt work with THX.
Solved switching off the nasty Intel & Nvidia context menues.
Disabled unneeded startup entries. Gonna keep tabs on that.

Unsolved: CPU is not turbo boosting as my P150HM, it turboes very rarely. Spent 15mins with Throttlestop yesterday, couldnt change anything in that regard.
Unsolved: This release of Win7 has IE9 packed and every time it starts, it keeps loading the welcome tab for the IE9 as if Im starting it for the first time. Gotta figgure out where the problem is.

Overall, this laptop rocks!
The audio quality is BETTER than my P150HM. This is partly due to the fact that P150HM uses ALC892 (which is 95db SNR DAC) and this one has ALC269 (with 98db SNR DAC).
- Im getting ridiculous BASS from THX with this laptop compared to P150HM
- Jacks are made of metal instead of plastic, they feel solid and connect easy when I plug in my phones.
- Signal strenght is huge compared to P150HM. Volume is POWERFUL.
- Microphone input is BETTER. The P150HM offers an 90db ADC, this one has 98db ADC, and thats a world of difference in terms of Mic volume and quality!

My temps are between 32'C and 45'C, depending on room temperature, lol. One of the rooms is cold as hell.
Gaming temps in StarCraft 2 Ultra are between 55-60'C so far.

Will do a review if I can this sunday!

 

If Intel Turbo Boost is not working while gaming, post a screen shot of how you have ThrottleStop set up.

You can also check off the Log File option before you start gaming. Exit the game and then exit ThrottleStop and you will have an accurate record or your CPU's performance. You can upload that to Pastebin.com and then post or send me a link so I can have a look.

 

My review is up!!! http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...69-solid-review-comparison-w370et-p150hm.html

 

checking it out as i type

 

Again updated the review with some real-world gaming results WITH throttlestop.

View attachment 87523 View attachment 87524 View attachment 87525

Here we go.
Turbo Boost in Dual Core operation = 3.5Ghz Constant (single core goes to 3.7Ghz)
Nvidia Turbo clock while gaming = 950mhz (standart is 835mhz)
CPU Temps at turbo: 72-79'C
GPU Temps at turbo: 55-58'C

Thoughts?