Prospective European M860tu/Montevina buyers wanted

Groop Buy is now closed. Thank you to everyone that took part.

 

I'd be interested. My proposed spec would be:

- 1680x1050
- no paint job
- P9500 CPU
- 9800GT
- 4 Gig Ram
- 320Gb/7200 HDD
- blue tooth module included
- 30 day zero pixel guarantee
- 1 year warranty
- All other options default

£1,640.92 including VAT

Petrov.

 

I am one of those.

Here are the rough specs I am interested in:

Shopping Cart (Prices in British Pounds)
Subtotal £1444.53
VAT £252.79
Total £1697.32

NEXUS
Chassis - :: Nexus Black & Silver 1
Screen - :: 15" 1680x1050 WSXGA X-Glass 1
Selected Paint Area - :: None Selected 1
Custom Paint Colour - :: None Selected 1
Finish - :: None Selected 1
Laser Etching - :: None Selected 1
Processor - :: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo P9500 Dual Core Processor 2.53GHz 1
Video Card - :: NVIDIA® GeForce® 9800M GT 512MB DDR3 1
Memory 1 - :: 2GB OCZ DDR3 PC3-8500 1066Mhz 8-8-8-27 2x 1GB DIMMs 1
Intel® Turbo Memory - :: None Selected 1
Bluetooth - :: Bluetooth V2.0 Module 1
Hard Drive - :: 320GB 7,200rpm SATA with 16MB Cache 1
7 in 1 card reader - :: 7 in 1 card reader 1
Operating system 1 - :: Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Ultimate 32-bit 1
Operating System 2 - :: None Selected 1
Optical Device 1 - :: 8x DVD±R/W 1
Soundcard - :: Integrated High Definition Audio 1
Speakers - :: None Selected 1
Headsets - :: None Selected 1
Keyboard - :: None Selected 1
Mouse - Mouse: None Selected 1
Mouse Mats - :: Kobalt Mouse Mat 1
Warranty - :: 3 Year - Collect & Return [E-mail, telephone & website support] 1
Dead Pixel Guarantee - :: None Selected 1
Business Software - :: None selected 1
Carry Case - :: None Selected

 

with this price i will now need to save up after buying my car but i can see Kobalt becoming pretty damned busy over these next few days.

Is this really going to be THE laptop to get??

I have lost all interest in Alienware.

EDIT: I have just seen their new Mojave and its a refresh with the Montevina. That is what im getting

 

yes, it will. in less than 1 hour before release, over 6 threads were made about it and one thread had over 180 posts out of pure anticipation. this laptop really is the most powerfull 15inch.

here is a link to my advert on another part of the forums.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=3618385#post3618385

 

well, here is my config. I may get bluetooth and some laser etching if the discount is good.

Shopping Cart (Prices in British Pounds)
DESCRIPTION QUANTITY PRICE COST REMOVE
NEXUS
Chassis - :: Nexus Black & Silver 1
Screen - :: 15" 1680x1050 WSXGA X-Glass 1
Selected Paint Area - :: None Selected 1
Custom Paint Colour - :: None Selected 1
Finish - :: None Selected 1
Laser Etching - :: None Selected 1
Processor - :: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo P9500 Dual Core Processor 2.53GHz 1
Video Card - :: NVIDIA® GeForce® 9800M GT 512MB DDR3 1
Memory 1 - :: 4GB OCZ DDR3 PC3-8500 1066Mhz 8-8-8-27 2x 2GB DIMMs 1
Intel® Turbo Memory - :: None Selected 1
Bluetooth - :: None Selected 1
Hard Drive - :: 320GB 7,200rpm SATA with 16MB Cache 1
7 in 1 card reader - :: 7 in 1 card reader 1
Operating system 1 - :: Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Ultimate 32-bit 1
Operating System 2 - :: None Selected 1
Optical Device 1 - :: 8x DVD±R/W 1
Soundcard - :: Integrated High Definition Audio 1
Speakers - :: None Selected 1
Headsets - :: None Selected 1
Keyboard - :: None Selected 1
Mouse - Mouse: None Selected 1
Mouse Mats - :: Kobalt Mouse Mat 1
Warranty - :: 1 Year - Collect & Return [E-mail, telephone & website support] 1
Dead Pixel Guarantee - :: None Selected 1
Business Software - :: None selected 1
Carry Case - :: None Selected 1
£1,386.53 £1,386.53
Subtotal £1,386.53
VAT £242.64
Total £1,629.17

 

NEXUS
Chassis - :: Nexus Black & Silver 1
Screen - :: 15" 1680x1050 WSXGA X-Glass 1
Selected Paint Area - :: None Selected 1
Custom Paint Colour - :: None Selected 1
Finish - :: None Selected 1
Laser Etching - :: None Selected 1
Processor - :: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo P9500 Dual Core Processor 2.53GHz 1
Video Card - :: NVIDIA® GeForce® 9800M GT 512MB DDR3 1
Memory 1 - :: 2GB OCZ DDR3 PC3-8500 1066Mhz 8-8-8-27 2x 1GB DIMMs 1
Intel® Turbo Memory - :: None Selected 1
Bluetooth - :: None Selected 1
Hard Drive - :: 320GB 7,200rpm SATA with 16MB Cache 1
7 in 1 card reader - :: 7 in 1 card reader 1
Operating system 1 - :: Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Home Premium 64-bit 1
Operating System 2 - :: None Selected 1
Optical Device 1 - :: 8x DVD±R/W 1
Soundcard - :: Integrated High Definition Audio 1
Speakers - :: None Selected 1
Headsets - :: None Selected 1
Keyboard - :: None Selected 1
Mouse - Mouse: None Selected 1
Mouse Mats - :: Kobalt Mouse Mat 1
Warranty - :: 2 Year - Collect & Return [E-mail, telephone & website support] 1
Dead Pixel Guarantee - :: None Selected 1
Business Software - :: None selected 1
Carry Case - :: None Selected 1
£1,344.53 £1,344.53
Subtotal £1,344.53
VAT £235.29
Total £1,579.82

I might want to see it in person or see a review before I get it, so I am tentative signing up

 

Original poster, please do not cross post, thank you. Cross posting is against the forum rules.

 

I'll be buying it from Europe, probably.
mySN.eu (Germany) is advertising M570TU as well btw!!

P.S. If we buy it from the US (with Xoticpc or so) we'll be getting 21% or more import taxes on it, right?

 

no, its more like 50% customs duty (we would have paid american state tax)

do it with us Tankbuster and hopefully we will get a nice discount.

 

Oh, I was just trying to help you guys by showing that the M860TU is also available on mysn.eu (bit cheaper).
I am more interested in the M570TU.
But good luck with the team buying anyway!!!

 

Looking to get the Mojave from them.

I called Rock but they said they have no information on when their own will be released etc.
So sad that Xotic does the same or better actually for 300 pounds less

Heres my spec from Kobalt:

Mojave

Chassis - :: Mojave Orange & Silver 1
Screen - :: 17" 1920x1200 WUXGA X-Glass 1
Selected Paint Area - :: None Selected 1
Custom Paint Colour - :: None Selected 1
Finish - :: None Selected 1
Laser Etching - :: None Selected 1
Processor - :: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo P9500 Dual Core Processor 2.53GHz 1
Video Card - :: NVIDIA® GeForce® 9800M GT 512MB DDR3 1
Memory 1 - :: 4GB OCZ DDR3 PC3-8500 1066Mhz 8-8-8-27 2x 2GB DIMMs 1
Intel® Turbo Memory - :: None Selected 1
Bluetooth - :: Bluetooth V2.0 Module 1
Hard Drive - :: 250GB 7,200rpm SATA with 16MB Cache 1
7 in 1 card reader - :: 7 in 1 card reader 1
Operating system 1 - :: Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Home Premium 64-bit 1
Operating System 2 - :: None Selected 1
Optical Device 1 - :: 8x DVD±R/W 1
Soundcard - :: Integrated High Definition Audio 1
Speakers - :: None Selected 1
Headsets - :: None Selected 1
Keyboard - :: None Selected 1
Mouse - Mouse: None Selected 1
Mouse Mats - :: Kobalt Mouse Mat 1
Warranty - :: 2 Year - Collect & Return [E-mail, telephone & website support] 1
Dead Pixel Guarantee - :: None Selected 1
Business Software - :: None selected 1
Carry Case - :: None Selected 1

Subtotal £1,508.66
VAT £264.02
Total £1,772.68

 

i will contact neil and see if we can include mojave prospective buyers too.

 

That would be great!! There's free trading between UK and Belgium right?

 

there are no trading fees between european countries. belgium is part of it right?

 

I just sent some PM's to some kobalt forum users. hopefully some of them will jump on this bandwagon.

 

would buying them without an OS be posible? That should reduce some of the cost.

 

you would have to ask them that. ill put an enquiry about that in my next message to niel

 

I am another that will be buying one of these ASAP. Just chewing on paint options and laser etching before committing to buy. I WILL be buying one of these from Kobalt. Got my e-mail from Neil @ Kobalt today.

As soon as I decide on how I want it, I will post about it for you Helios.


EDIT: Can somebody please PM me about which antivirus is best to use? Norton is NOT an option!! I can't stand how it slows everything up. There are options on the customization page but I havent used any of those anti-viruses.

 

Put me down as a maybe... just need to check over specs and prices etc, and ive never heard of kobalt so i'd need to research their customer service etc before giving you a definite answer.

So thats a maybe

Specs would be :
NEXUS
Chassis - :: Nexus Black & Silver 1
Screen - :: 15" 1680x1050 WSXGA X-Glass 1
Selected Paint Area - :: None Selected 1
Custom Paint Colour - :: None Selected 1
Finish - :: None Selected 1
Laser Etching - :: None Selected 1
Processor - :: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo P8400 Dual Core Processor 2.26GHz 1
Video Card - :: NVIDIA® GeForce® 9800M GT 512MB DDR3 1
Memory 1 - :: 2GB OCZ DDR3 PC3-8500 1066Mhz 8-8-8-27 2x 1GB DIMMs 1
Intel® Turbo Memory - :: None Selected 1
Bluetooth - :: None Selected 1
Hard Drive - :: 250GB 5,400rpm SATA with 8MB Cache -- FREE UPGRADE -- 1
7 in 1 card reader - :: 7 in 1 card reader 1
Operating system 1 - :: Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional Edition with SP2 32-bit 1
Operating System 2 - :: None Selected 1
Optical Device 1 - :: 8x DVD±R/W 1
Soundcard - :: Integrated High Definition Audio 1
Warranty - :: 1 Year - Collect & Return [E-mail, telephone & website support] 1

Total £1,323.67

 

A note to all... ROCK computers used an upscaled Clevo chassis similar to this one on their Xtreme 770 model. It is a MUST that you all go for the Zero Dead Pixel option if the screen type is going to be the same as what was housed in the Clevo chassis that ROCK were rebranding. Otherwise, the industry standard is that you will NOT get the screen replaced for free if you have less than 5 dead/stuck pixels (and just having one is annoying). Typical cost to replace a screen like this may set you back about £200 or more otherwise.

 

what are you on about? this laptop chassis came out only a few hours ago. not a single person owns one yet. rock had a similar one maybe from clevo, but thisw is entirely new. also, with a wsxga/wuxga screen dead pixels are extremely hard to even notice.

as for kobalt, its a very reputable company like kobalt (only better) ie, they are clevo resselers.

 

I said in my post that ROCK did an upsized version for their X770. The chassis for that was also by Clevo and has VERY similar looks. I didn't say that ROCK used this exact chassis, as their X770 was a 17".

 

ah ok, fyi though, all systems from rock arfe clevo. they are clevo resseler.
I just dont see the logic to suggest that you go for dead pixel cover just because they had a similar system.
dead pixels arrising are very slim if any.

 

Put me as a maybe. My specs would be:

NEXUS
Screen - :: 15" 1920x1200 WUXGA
Processor - :: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T9600 Dual Core Processor 2.80GHz
Video Card - :: NVIDIA® GeForce® 9800M GT 512MB DDR3
Memory 1 - :: 4GB OCZ DDR3 PC3-8500 1066Mhz 8-8-8-27 2x 2GB DIMMs
Bluetooth - :: Bluetooth V2.0 Module
Hard Drive - :: 200GB 7,200rpm SATA with 16MB Cache
7 in 1 card reader - :: 7 in 1 card reader
Operating system 1 - :: Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Home Premium 64-bit
Optical Device 1 - :: 8x DVD±R/W
Soundcard - :: Integrated High Definition Audio
Warranty - :: 3 Year - Collect & Return [E-mail, telephone & website support]
Dead Pixel Guarantee - :: 30 Day Zero Dead Pixel Guarantee

About 1900 £.

But I need Finnish/Swedish keyboard and Finnish OS. Cizmo offers them but they have a bit high prizes... Do you know is it possible to get these from Kobalt?

 

It's a good option to go for, regardless of notebook, as you wouldn't want to take the chance of seeing a dead/stuck pixel appear within the first few weeks of owning it. I had one on a previous notebook that was there on first boot up!
It's worthwhile to invest in the 30-day cover, just for peace of mind, than the possibility of paying a couple of hundred to get the screen replaced if a dead pixel should arise.

 

Except that, at least from xoticpc and powernotebooks (which are the two resellers whose policies I've looked at; hopefully other resellers with the same policy will chime in so their names can be added to the list), there is a 30-day no-questions-asked return policy for a full refund (other than for shipping costs) which can be used, at the additional cost of paying to have the system shipped back to the reseller, which effectively allows you to get the same benefit as the 30-day Zero-Dead-Pixels policy does, but for less than the $200 upfront that the ZDP policy will cost you.

 

Very interested, just havent heard much about '"kobalt" before, and couldnt really find any info on their webpage (pictures, dimensions, weight etc).

If I get more information and decide to go for it, I would be interested in the following specc after checking the customise-page, ill just paste the summary:

Note: Id also be interested in getting the laptop without any OS, will be running linux on it anyways.

 

I would b interested in buying from a European vendor but dude Kobalt are overpriced as f**k.
A set up on Kobalt costs me £1500 when it costs me $2200 on xoticpc.com which is the equivalent to £1100 roughly when i checked the exchange out on coinmill. Obviously i would have to pay more for delivery to the UK but its still cheaper. Do any of you's not feel the same.
I think we should try and get Kobalt to lower their prices.

Anyway my config is;
NEXUS
Chassis - :: Nexus Black & Silver 1
Screen - :: 15" 1920x1200 WUXGA Matt 1
Selected Paint Area - :: None Selected 1
Custom Paint Colour - :: None Selected 1
Finish - :: None Selected 1
Laser Etching - :: None Selected 1
Processor - :: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo P8600 Dual Core Processor 2.40GHz 1
Video Card - :: NVIDIA® GeForce® 9800M GT 512MB DDR3 1
Memory 1 - :: 4GB OCZ DDR3 PC3-8500 1066Mhz 8-8-8-27 2x 2GB DIMMs 1
Intel® Turbo Memory - :: None Selected 1
Bluetooth - :: Bluetooth V2.0 Module 1
Hard Drive - :: 200GB 7,200rpm SATA with 16MB Cache 1
7 in 1 card reader - :: 7 in 1 card reader 1
Operating system 1 - :: Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Home Premium 32-bit 1
Operating System 2 - :: None Selected 1
Optical Device 1 - :: 8x DVD±R/W 1
Soundcard - :: Integrated High Definition Audio 1
Speakers - :: None Selected 1
Headsets - :: None Selected 1
Keyboard - :: None Selected 1
Mouse - Mouse: None Selected 1
Mouse Mats - :: Kobalt Mouse Mat 1
Warranty - :: 1 Year - Collect & Return [E-mail, telephone & website support] 1
Dead Pixel Guarantee - :: None Selected 1
Business Software - :: None selected 1
Carry Case - :: None Selected

 

Truly there is a price difference, but remember that Kobalt includes the VAT in their prices, which is not present in the prices of US resellers : that should count for a good 17%.

Then there is the shipping cost, which I think should be already included in the Kobalt price.

Putting that aside, the current value of US$ gives some advantage to the american resellers right now.

 

That is not true. The only tax you have to pay in the European Union is VAT (which goes from 16 - 25% in most countries).

Count me in too if the price is right (If I can get one for under 1500 Euro that would be great).

 

I don't get the idea that it's the most powerful 15" thing. What makes it more powerful than any other 15"er? It's Core 2 Duo (as opposed to Quad core), so what's so good about it?

 

It's the most powerful mainly due to the graphics card it can take (as the CPUs will be used by others too). It's about the whole package.

 

Customs in Ireland will charge you 21% vat and maybe a 3-4% import duty (not sure if this applies to laptops). They include the shipping cost in their calculations as well, and there can be a handling charge imposed by anpost or the shipping company. You may as well just say its going to be 25% on top of your total cost.

 

You're only going to be charged VAT. By the way, $2200 + 250$ in shipping + 17.5% VAT = £1500

 

I am a maybe buyer, depends on the discount mostly I wanted to buy it from xoticpc to tell the truth, but I live in Europe, and if I need to pay the extra toll or taxes when I buy it from US, well, it might be even more expensive, and I am already on the edge of my budget, maybe slightly over it

Depending on the shipping costs to Slovakia, and the possible discount, I may be tempted to get a better hdd, the 200GB 7200rpm one,or more ram.
Please, if you will be sending another inquiry to Neil, ask how much are the shipping costs, because I couldnt find them on the web page.
//Edit: Also, would it be possible to pay in Euros? Just curious

 

Neil seems quite inundated at the mo. As you can imagine, there are tons of questions that people are e-mailing him and the gang at Kobalt with! I'm having to wait for answers to my own questions.

 

I think that the price Kobalt now offers is pretty good, though I'd like to see if they can offer me a system without the HDD and OS (and with something like a 3870, as it's cheaper).

 

I am well aware of that, I am not expecting to get the answers right away

 

My only reservation is that i compared identical systems of the old 17" machine (the NP5973 or equivalent) on Kobalt and on another re-seller (Novatech) and Novatech seemed about £200 cheaper.

So they will probably be cheaper for the M860TU as well. Ive emailed them for availability/price, as they don't have it on the website.

 

OK, but make sure to post their answer here, as I am sure that a lot of people will be interested.

 

Is it me, but the only customization option on that site is for the OS? Hate those type of resellers.

 

That is correct. They just offer several pre-customized options, with or w/o the OS.

But like I said, they seem to be approx £200 cheaper on identical NP5973 machines compared to Kobalt. This is why i'd like to wait and see what their M860TU price will be.

Yes, if/when they give me info, I will let you know.

 

Novatech replied, and they 'plan to stock it in 3-4 months time'.

LOL! Someone forgot to tell those guys that you need to move quick in the computer industry to stay competitive

Ok. Kobalt are still looking like the cheapest for European buyers.

 

This is the Special Edition paint job that Kobalt is offering. You can have it in whatever colours you want, too.

http://www.kobaltcomputers.co.uk:80/forum/showthread.php?t=55&highlight=etching

Just in case you were all wondering what the Special Edition option was.


EDIT: I know the thread is about the Mojave model, but Neil sent this link to show what it will be like for the M860TU.

 

Hi all

Just to confirm I will have Heliosvector upload our offer soon, added to the first post, with all relevent details and how we can run the group buy

As Gunsmith_Cat mentioned we have been extremely busy over the last couple of days so I have left this thread to develop by itself, I appreciate peoples patience. If anyone has further questions please feel free to post them and I will have the answers added in Heliosvector's first post in a Guide.

Until then, to answer a few questions:

OS and HDDs - because we need to ship all notebooks after testing hardware and to be able to honour a warranty we will not ship without an operating system installed. However, if anyone has for example an msdn account we can ship Vista without putting the product code in, which will take the cost of the operating system off the notebook price. If anyone wishes to do this just let me know after the official offer is available later today/tomorrow.

Europe - our warranty and shipping is Europe wide at the moment and it is collect and return so we pay for shipping both ways in the event of a repair being necessary. We can (and do) ship outside Europe but the warranty is return to base so the customer pays for shipping and we cover parts and labour.

Novatech - I can not argue with their pricing, it is admittedly unbelieveable in some cases however there is a reason for this. They offer notebooks pre built and in one configuration so they will have 40 identicle machines at a time which have an OS image burned on them. We build each system individually and offer a large range of options. I'm not knocking either method - both have their advantages but it means we can offer any configuration, paint etc and get new products to market much quicker

Chassis - The updated Mojave (Montevina) and Nexus (M860TU) will both be included in the offer. As with all Clevo resellers we expect to be shipping the Nexus (860) in the first week of August. This means that we will probably let the group buy run until early next week.

 

If this price is too good to miss then i will DEFINATELY put down the cash.

NEXUS
Chassis - :: Nexus Black & Silver 1
Screen - :: 15" 1920x1200 WUXGA Matt 1
Selected Paint Area - :: None Selected 1
Custom Paint Colour - :: None Selected 1
Finish - :: None Selected 1
Laser Etching - :: None Selected 1
Processor - :: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo P9500 Dual Core Processor 2.53GHz 1
Video Card - :: NVIDIA® GeForce® 9800M GTS 512MB DDR3 1
Memory 1 - :: 2GB OCZ DDR3 PC3-8500 1066Mhz 8-8-8-27 2x 1GB DIMMs 1
Intel® Turbo Memory - :: None Selected 1
Bluetooth - :: Bluetooth V2.0 Module 1
Hard Drive - :: 250GB 5,400rpm SATA with 8MB Cache -- FREE UPGRADE -- 1
7 in 1 card reader - :: 7 in 1 card reader 1
Operating system 1 - :: Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Ultimate 32-bit 1
Operating System 2 - :: None Selected 1
Optical Device 1 - :: 8x DVD±R/W 1
Soundcard - :: Integrated High Definition Audio 1
Speakers - :: None Selected 1
Headsets - :: None Selected 1
Keyboard - :: None Selected 1
Mouse - Mouse: None Selected 1
Mouse Mats - :: Kobalt Mouse Mat 1
Warranty - :: 1 Year - Collect & Return [E-mail, telephone & website support] 1
Dead Pixel Guarantee - :: 30 Day Zero Dead Pixel Guarantee 1
Business Software - :: None selected 1
Carry Case - :: Standard Carrying Case 1


Total £1,521.07

 

OK, great

One more question: how will we have to pay? Online with credit card, or do we pay on delivery? Can't really find it on your site

EDIT: and is there an option for AZERTY keyboards? (it's not cool to live in one of the 5 countries who use azerty )

 

Neil - I sent you a PM about this, just asking if you would offer me the group buy discount even if I've already submitted by order?

Many thanks,

Petrov.

 

English, German, Swiss, French, Italian, Danish (and American if needed) keyboards are all available for no upgrade fee.

We will be taking payment when the group buy finishes by either phone, online or bank transfer. The official offer will be ready by the end of the day which I will post hopefully in a few hours. Heliosvector currently has no broadband access so when he can get back on line he will add the details to the first page so it's easier to see.