P150EM-SE Barebone to replace P150HM case?

Hi all,

My question may be silly but I'll ask anyway.

I own a P150HM which I love and is a great piece. I would not want or need other specs at this stage, except for one thing: Back-lit keyboard
Besides this being a silly issue, I really would want it.

My question:
Could I buy the 'case' of a new P150EM-SE without any components. Rip out everything of my old P150HM and put it in the new P150EM-SE?

IF that is possible, who would sell such a thing and what would I need to buy?


I am aware this is a bit mad; your help is much appreciated!

 

Mythlogic has an upgrade offer:

MYTHLOGIC :: Mobile Upgrades

 

That sounds very interesting!

Questions@resellers here:
Does Malibal offer this (yet)?
If not, does Mythologic do this for Mailbal computers?
What would shipping from China (that's where I live) cost, and would it be possible with tax, customs etc.

@all
How difficult would that process be to do it myself?


NBR is awesome

 

You'd need the new motherboard, but I bet all of the other components would work. Good luck buying the case though, I think Clevo put a stop to resellers that sold parts at a reasonable price to force the purchase of entirely new machines.

 

How difficult would it be to change the screen? That is the component that would worry me most. Anyone has experience with that?

 

Wouldn't directly contacting the resellers about this be more helpful and get the accurate information?

The screen changing is not hard, simple 4 screws and a plastic wedge to remove the bezel is all that's needed

 

Well, I thought my pursuit of geekiness should be public

Usually the resellers are quite responsive here at NBR no?

 

They indeed are! I would suggest sending a PM to the resellers you've got in mind, which in this case would be Mythlogic since they offer this special option.

 

Just letting you know, as of now, the upgrade program is only for nVidia cards as of now, and I see you have a 6970m as your GPU. They don't have the 6970 or 6990 working yet.

 

Out of curiosity, why would that be an issue?

 

B.i.o.s.

 

so i assume since it is software, in the future the problem could be fixed and this 'upgrade' could work for AMD as well? At least theoretically?

 

Seems really overpriced.

They charge $725+shipping for the P151HM to P151EM upgrade; while RJTech charges $799+shipping for the P151EM barebone.

Clevo P151EM, 15.6", Switchable nVidia GTX 670M 1.5GB/Intel GMA HD GPU, DVDRW

 

Well RJ doesn't assemble it all for you including repaste, reinstall your OS/Drivers, and do a 72hr burn in

 

Indeed, however, I think having second laptop for ~$75 extra more than makes up for that.

You can definitely save hundreds of dollars in the end by doing it yourself.

 

unless you're a newbie at assembling computers and end up breaking everything

 

Actually as far as I know RJ does assemble the laptop for you if you buy it from them... But for the chassis exchange you should ask them about that...

 

So from RJTech it would be $919 to buy the Barebones P150EM as a complete shell. Useful I suppose if you had need of a second laptop...but still a little more than having an upgrade done on an existing P150HM.

Wait, remind me - is the only difference between the 151 and the 150 the AC adapter? If so, obviously you could use your existing...and buy the 151EM chassis.

 

Pretty much, I think the P151HM has plastic instead of a rubberized coating though.

The upgrade price for the P150EM is $850 plus two-way shipping, so the price probably comes pretty close to the $919 plus one-way shipping barebone price; except the upgrade leaves you without a laptop for a short period of time.

 

From what I have seen, they do not have the P150EM-SE yet, right?
The whole point of this undertaking is to end up with the chassis of the P150EM-SE, i.e. backlit keyboard.

Shipping my computer back n forth (from China) is something I'd rather avoid.
The P150HM which I have, has rubber coating and the bigger Power AC already, and as far as I understand that should be equal to the new P150EM-SE line.

So ideally I would need to buy the chassis for the P150EM-SE, excluding everything, not even GPU. From what the discussion revealed, the key issue at this point is that the BIOS of the current P150HM/P150EM-SE does not allow for the intended upgrade. This however could be addressed in the future and is a motherboard issue, not a chassis issue per se.

Now the big challenge question: Who sells laptop components such as chassis and motherboards separately? I seem unable to find it, but cannot believe it does not exist?

 

I don't think you can drop your p150hm's motherboard into a em's chassis, I think they have slightly different layout.

 

Agreed. I should however be able to get a new motherboard and but that into the empty chassis, theoretically at least.

I get the feeling that sourcing is going to be my primary issue.

 

Shout out to Malibal!

Is there anything you can do/recommend/think about/share?

Would be much appreciated!

 

I asked them the same questions a while ago when my p150hm was damaged and they told me they do not sell barebone. So you basically have two choices.

1. buy a barebone p150em from RJtech and change the parts yourself. Sell the left over parts

2. sell your p150hm and buy a new p150em.

Personal I don't think it's worth it to upgrade just for ivy bridge and backlit keyboard.

 

If its just for the backlit keyboard then the cost for doing this is pretty high...

Most resellers wont sell you a barebone and those that will do not offer it without the GPU, so the end cost will certainly be over 1000$ if you count in shipping and taxes (as i understand it youll be importing to China).
Also the P151EM doesnt just differ in the coating and the included power adapter, but also doesnt include a backlit keyboard as its stated in the manuals and specs from Clevo - so taking that would defeat your purpose of getting a backlit keyboard.

Think it through thoroughly and calculate all the costs (including shipping and import taxes).

 

Not sure if it would work or not ( chasis is the same, no? ) but how about just getting and installing a backlit keyboard from the new model and putting it into the new one.
Sure it might require some basic soldering skills but if it does fit would save you so much money.

 

IMHO replacing P150HM on EM does not have any sense. In addition to questionable quality backlit keyboard and useless mSATA (with SATA II) in place of practical WWAN/HSDPA modul, Clevo did not improve the fatal touchpad either the cooling system, or even a damn glowing frame around the screen. Although HM77 chipset there is no RAID0 and XTU.The only thing I can advise is the exchange current GPU on new one (GTX680M or HD7970M). That's all.

 

The chassis is not the same. The port placement is different so you cant fit in the new motherboard.
You also cant just put in the new backlit keyboard as there is no connector to power the backlight on the HM and its also higher than the old keyboard so it doesnt even phisically fit.

I beg to differ on the mSATA. In a 15" laptop with only one HDD bay its a welcome addition even if it is just SATA II. It can still hold a nice SSD and leave room for a spacious 2,5" HDD in the HDD bay. And the cooling was fine to begin with imo so i dont know what youre talking about there. I understand some dont like the rubberized touchpad but i actually found that a pleasant change from the glossy surfaces which offered too much glide.
I agree regarding the glossy frame though, it is really annoying me.
The reviews state the new keyboard is of good quality and offers nice tactile feedback. I havent tried it myself to judge but i doubt you have either.
The GPUs are still some time away so we can only speculate what theyll bring and if theyll work on the HM series.

 

I will agree on the rubberized touchpad, personally I think it's great.

 

And what if You and The reviews are wrong?
http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...sager-np9150-owners-lounge-2.html#post8429073
http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...ager-np9150-owners-lounge-17.html#post8442487

 

Its still too early to say anything for sure. Im also pretty certain the loud fans are due to a poor paste job and/or seating done on the test models. It would make no sense for them to be louder as the cooling including the fans looks pretty much the same.
The keyboard is a harder thing to judge as its really personal preference, but the guys at notebookcheck can be pretty critical if the tactile response isnt good so i do trust them on that one. Ill find out myself soon enough though .

 

Thanks guys for all the input!!

Anyone got a link for the review of the P150EM-SE yet?

 

HERE you go .

 

At least Myth has the 6990 working in EM shell:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/655983-mythlogics-mobile-upgrades-3.html#post8448144

 

That sounds like exactly what I need. I got mine from a different reseller who is nolonger in business. My P151HM has some problems in the chassis and I need a replacement. I would be willing to pay for a new chassis and keyboard.

$725 shipped though? YIKES! How much would a chassis be from RJTech?

Mythlogic says that the upgrade will allow the use of Optimus. How is this possible? I thought the lack of Optimus support on the HMs are due to a chipset issue??? Would the original battery and AC adapter still be compatible?

 

The P150EM has Optimus enabled on this chipset level. The batteries and AC Adapter are interchangeable

 

So if you use the Mythlogic upgrade service, the motherboard is swapped as well?

 

Yes, the case, motherboard, and lcd screen are swapped