Questiosn about P170HM

I'm in the market for a new laptop and I'm looking at the Clevo P170HM, but I have a few questions for the experienced users on this forum.

First, I'm looking at something like:
Intel® Core™ i7-2670QM
12GB - DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory
AMD® Radeon HD 6990M 2GB GDDR5
500GB 7200rpm 2.5" SATA 300 Hybrid w/ 4GB NAND Flash
8X Multi DVD+/-R/RW RAM Dual-Layer Drive
Internal 802.11B/G/N LAN and Bluetooth Card
IC Diamond Thermal Compound

I plan to use the laptop for:
- Gaming
- General family use
- Business travel

1. I'm not sure the processor upgrade over the i7-2630QM is really worth it.

2. Normal (7200rpm) HD vs Hybrid drive vs SSD -
I've read some people on the forums say to get an SSD while others say don't bother. I haven't really seen anything about the Hybrid drives. My understanding is that the hybrid drives are a good compromise between price and performance. Also, with kids using the laptop, I expect that the SSD would fill up rather quickly. I'm looking for someone who has personal experience with both to give me their feedback.

Any other suggestions? I'm not a novice user, but haven't really kept up on laptop hardware, so any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

1. Based on what you listed, you probably wouldn't benefit from any upgrades to the CPU. The 2630qm is more than enough to do any games that you want. Upgrading is worth it if you were to do CPU heavy tasks like video encoding, archiving, etc.

2. If you need a lot of storage space, you really have two options. You can get a smaller SSD (60GB or so) and a regular 500GB hard drive in the second bay. This way you don't have a to pay a ton and get the benefits of both. The downside is that it's not as convenient because you have to make sure to install larger programs on the HDD and not the SSD.

The hybrid drive has limited flash storage and you're unable to say what you want installed to it, as it's dynamic. However, often used programs will speed up noticeably over time. If you want a cheaper option with some of the speed benefits, it's a great choice.

I'd also suggest for what you listed that you could bump down to 8GB of RAM to save some money, and either use it towards SSD/HDD combo or just to save a bit

 

It looks like you have a nicely configured one above!

The i7-2630QM is a more than adequate for gaming and most anything else. The 2670QM was just released a few weeks ago. Soon the 2630QM will not be available.

For gaming an SSD is not totally necessary although nice to have. A low cost solution is the Hybrid drive which after some use will give you increased access times and speed over a traditional 7200rpm drive.

If one is on a tight budget for now yes why not get the Hybird drive. You can always pop in a SSD down the road.
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Thanks a lot for the input! You both confirmed what I was thinking about the configuration. If I can save a few bucks, it's always good. Especially if the benefit will be small.

One question that I failed to include in my original post is on cooling. I've heard that the Clevo laptops run fairly cool in general. Do most people still use a laptop cooler as well? I currently use one (cheap one for a cheap laptop), but my current laptop suffers from overheating, so I don't really have a choice. I'm hoping to get away from it if possible. If it's necessary, do you have any suggestions?

 

I think the general consensus if taken for owners of this model is that you do not need a a laptop cooler.

However, if you are doing extreme things for hours at a time like intense gaming and running benchmarks, you may find it beneficial to have a cooler underneath.

For normal gaming and such there is no need... imo.
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Thanks again for the response. That's the impression that I've got while looking around the forums, but still thought I'd ask to be sure.

I'll probably order something soon to avoid the Black Friday rush.

 

I also wanted to point out the reason most people use a cooler- it's actually not for the active cooling part. The current Clevo models all have their intake fans on the bottom of the laptop, which means you need to make sure that area is clear so that it stays a reasonable temperature. In the case when you're not at a desk or other hard work area, a cooler (or even just a hard flat material) under the laptop keeps the fans working optimally.

 

That makes perfect sense. In my case, 99% of the time, the laptop will be sitting on a desk or table. However, when it does leave the desk, I'm typically not the one using it. So... in order to encourage good behavior from my family , I may pick up something new.

Thanks again for the helpful response!