Thinking on buying a clevo, but new on clevo business market

Hello everybody,

So I m thinking in buying a new laptop since mine is getting old and for the time I baught my old one, which is a vaio fw, I saw the difference between a gaming laptop and a multimedia laptop and ofc I prefered much more a gaming laptop. At first I wanted an alienware I know they are overprice and carry the same hardware as clevo does, but still at that time I felt clevos were ugly. Since I checked the new line of clevos were much better in design I started thinking in buying since I can't buy an alienware in Portugal.

But now I have a lot of doubts, here they are:

1) Are new clevos coming out since we are reaching new hardware in the next year.
2) What is better the P150em or P170em? is the difference between them great to change from a 15 inch to a 17 inch?
3) I was thinking in buying a P370em since they carry 2 graphic cards, mind this laptop will be also for school but since I won't take public transports and also walk few with the laptop I think there is no problem with the weight.
4) Which one is better 7970M or 680M?
5) Does anyone here plays company of heroes, this is a game which I have great interest in and their physics are great but I don't know if they work with the 7970M and if they work are they equal to 680M???
6) I need help in buying them, please help?This are the stores CLEVO CENTER - Portáteis de alta Performance & INFORPHONE ONLINE can u advice me in the build???

Thank you guys for the compreension and help

 

new line probably come out in april/may
p150em and 170em are virtually the same, i think only the casing is a bit different.
p370em is quite heavy, the power adapter is a lot more weight as well. p150em is around 4kg with charger, p370em is 6kg
680m better especially on 150/170 since 7970m is having driver issues when used in 150/1700 (but is currently being fixed with new drivers)
never played company of heroes
i would recommend a 3630qm with 670mx or 675mx. should get your own SSD, might be cheaper that way (if you want one that is). 8gb of ram should be enough. Could put in a hard drive caddy inplace of the optical drive if you dont need it, this gives you ability to put in a hard drive for storage and use SSD as boot drive

 

It all comes down to these things:
1.) Are you ready to wait 4-5 months for the new hardware and chassis to become available?
2.) Are you willing to be one of the first to try them out?
3.) Will you be willing to gamble on the new hardware and drivers (stuff could be unstable in the first months of a new HW release)
4.) Do you need a laptop right now, or can you afford to wait some 5-6 months for stable drivers and new hardware to come out?

This is everything you need to consider

 

i have a P150em unbranded and i think the laptop has a clean, minimalistic look to it.

if you arent going to be moving your laptop much, then i say a P170
imo, 7970m has the better performance/price. 680m is a couple hundred more for a fraction better speed. but has more stable drivers/support. personally, i haven't run into any problems with my 7970m and the drivers should get better in the future.
isn't CoH an old game? the sequel isn't even out yet

 

Yeap it is but the physics are killing me because I love that game and I want to know if the difference from 7970M to a 680M are huge or not eheh.
Also I didn't know that a p370em was that heavy, I know it was heavy but not that much ...

 

The P370EM really is a desktop replacement, have you added the larger brick to the weight too?

PhysX is mostly just a gimmick when used, it can be nice but limited titles and the performance hit usually mean its restricted to the top tier machines that happen to be running that platform.

 

One thing I've been hearing about is the drivers issues with the Ati and Nvidia top graphic cars, is it everything ok now?
That's an important point for me I don't wanna buy a laptop who's having issues and I even haven't touched him.

 

One advantage the 370EM has is that it avoids all switchable graphics (enduro and optimus) so has minimal driver issues.

 

To reply to the subjects the others haven't responded to yet, or to mention points they missed:

Regarding question #2):
The p150em is lighter and more portable. The 150 has only one drive bay that supports Sata III. From what I recall reading the p170em has two drives that can run Sata III drives at Sata III speeds. The 170 of course has the larger screen of the two. You can find the manuals (that show the difference) on Sager's website:
p150em:
http://files.sagernotebook.com/Sagernotebook/manual/Manual_NP91X0_N.exe

p170em:
http://files.sagernotebook.com/Sagernotebook/manual/Manual_NP91X0_N.exe

Regarding question #3):
Systems on the weight level of the p370em heaviness is more a factor how much it will tax your body than if you are physically capable of carrying it. I don't know if you are planning to carry your school supplies in the same case as the system, or in a different case but regardless. The weight of the system can cause the straps of single shoulder strap case to cut into shoulder over time (especially when you're carrying it long distance -between classes- at quick speeds -where its swinging back and forth). (I had an old Dell Inspiron that was pretty heavy that the weight of the system pulling down on the strap would leave marks on your shoulder if you carried it around for a long period of time). If you're planning to carry it in a backpack (with your school supplies) then you're either going to have times where you're carry around something you don't need (either the notebook or school supplies), or you're going to be leaving the notebook book at home (and will need a large area to store it when not being used).

Regarding question #4):
It depends what you're planning to use it for. If you're doing graphic or 3d programming the ATI 7970m has been shown to preform much better than the Nvida 680m. In some games the ATI has a slight edge, and in some games the Nvidia has the slight edge. If you're going to play one of the Batman Arkham games on it (the Batman games only display physics on the Nvidia equipped systems), or you plan to play Borderlands 2 (physics on high preform much better on the Nvidia system than on the ATI) then go with the Nvidia. If you aren't going to play one of those games than go with the 7970m. In general it performs as good (if not better) than the 680m in many games, and the 7970m is much cheaper. (If you have access to the NP9150 special edition as an option then the price difference between 7970m and 680m systems is a bit more reasonable with identically equipped systems -aside from the GPU-).

Regarding question #5):
Company of Heroes is a relatively old game, and you're likely to see similar performance on both. Company of Heroes isn't on any of the Physx exclusive/optimized lists, so you're not going to see anything using an Nvidia card that you wouldn't see using the ATI card.
https://developer.nvidia.com/physx-games
PhysX | Games | GeForce
PhysX - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

My advice would be to go with the ATI 7970m (unless you plan to play the games on the lists linked above, and you feel the physx in those games are worth the extra cost you'd be paying for the GPU).

 

I think they will be announced then. But won't be available until late June or around July.

 

Hey Avid Gamer thank you for the answers, I feel more relieved watching that either company of heroes and company of heroes 2 aren't part of the exclusive physX Nvidia list if it was, it would've been a pain.
I m not going to order from Sager, but I've some good retaillers here in Portugal, also I've seen that the new line of clevos will take long to order so waiting is out of the question.
The only problem here will be the choice between them, tomorow I m going to see the 3 clevos I mentioned life size so I can have more perception of what too choose.
Backpack is a no problem I think since I have an alienware backpack, I know I know, I wanted an alienware can't have it but I have a backpack eheh and now I m ordering a clevo mixed up world of laptops, it's weird but i'ts alienware fault that's what it is.
Also I found that one of the clevo retaillers I have here in Portugal does some costumizations some cool ones and I wanted to know if its go go or a no no.
These are the extras.
Also anyone here notice any difference between the 1600Mhz and 1866Mhz ram, is it worth it?
Thank you again for your help guys

 

i never liked alienware, i feel it look so ugly, childish and overpriced. i dont think clevos support 1866mhz ram do they? Also i doubt you will notice a difference.

 

I like alienwares I think they have a good design instead of clevo it's diferent you can't compare it I think.
Clevo has a simple design but it has the power you want at the bang per buck, Alienware has the design and the power but you pay a lot of the brand.

 

They do support it as long as you have the patience and ability to test different sticks out. What was found when Sager was originally offering this option is that it caused instability and for such a small gain in performance (barely 4%) it just wasn't worth offering it.

 

I had a lot of luck with 4GB sticks of Kingston Hyper-X 1600mhz ram in my system.

Once I modified the ram timings it did CL9 at 1866mhz quite happily (with a single pair, never tested four sticks).

 

Hey guys, today I've saw and felt in contact with the p150em and p170em, unfortnely I they didn't had the p370em available. I enjoyed more the p150em than the p170em but the palmwrest of the p170em was better.
I do have some questions to ask you guys, which are the differences between this list of wireless cards and also which one is the better:
ClevoCenter: ------------- Inforphone:
Intel 135 Wireless LAN + Bluetooth4.0 ------------- Intel 6235 Wireless LAN + Bluetooth4.0
Intel 6235 Wireless LAN + Bluetooth4.0 ------------- Intel Ultimate 6300 Wireless LAN (without BT)
Intel Ultimate 6300 Wireless LAN (without BT) ------------- Bigfoot Killer-N 1202
Bigfoot Killer-N 1202 Wireless Lan + Bluetooth4.0 ------------- Bigfoot Killer-N 1103

Also I have some doubts about the mSata since I don't know which are the average read and write specs of such and what should be standard and what should be the best, here I have a list can you check it:

ClevoCenter ------------- Inforphone:
mSATA Samsung 830 - 64GB ------------- 120GB SSD mSata OCZ Nocti
mSATA Samsung 830 - 128GB ------------- 128GB SSD mSata SAMSUNG 830
mSATA Samsung 830 - 256GB ------------- 256GB SSD mSata SAMSUNG 830
mSATA CRUCIAL M4 128GB ------------- mSATA CRUCIAL M4 128GB
mSATA CRUCIAL M4 256GB ------------- mSATA CRUCIAL M4 256GB

So what are your choices?

 

With mSATA, just get what's cheap, as the speed is strangled by the SATA2 port anyway.

 

As far as the wireless network card - which one to get will depend on what you plan to do with it (most of time time) and what you may do occasionally. With the Intel wireless cards you'd have support for WiDi, so you could project the screen of your notebook to a tv without using an HDMI cable. With the BifFoot you'll get better communication and data transfer when playing multi-player games. Some people have said that if you're planning to use public wifi networks (coffee shops, fast food locations, etc) they are supposed to be more compatible with the Intel wireless cards. Extending on that I've heard it mentioned that outside the US the compatibility of the Bigfoot with other networks becomes even harder to find. The upgraded cards also have a longer range than the standard wireless card. I was able to upgrade my card to the 6235 at no cost (part of the holiday promotion going on with the 9150s). If you can get the upgrade to the wifi cards free (or extremely cheap ~$10) then I'd say upgrade, but if not its probably not worth it.

I bought myself the 256gb m4 msata separate from my system. All of the masta drives you listed are good drives, so like Tmets said you might as well choose whichever one you can get cheapest. (While also factoring in what, if any, drive you are going to have in the system in addition to it. The larger your hard drive is the small the msata you could get away with buying. If you went with the 64gb drive then you should configure your drives in a RAID configuration, and let Intel Raid Start and Intel Rapid Response/Smart Response to speed up your hard drive. If on the other hand you go with a 128gb or 256gb and you plan to run your OS drive off the ssd drive then keeping it in AHCI configuration is usually recommended.

The customizations listed on the site you linked are ok as long as you're not paying hundreds of dollars for them. Both the 9150 and 9170 both run pretty cool as it is, so you're not likely to see much of a difference with those modifications.

 

Thank you for yours answers AvidGamer you've been very helpfull +rep, I don't pay hundreds for that only about 35 40 euros so it's not a bad deal I think.
I didn't know bigfoot wireless cards were having such problems hum I always saw them as a good thing but oh well, I wanted one now I don't know. maybe Intel Extreme?
I m going to use the wifi a lot in my college so I m a bit concerned now, with what to choose.

 

If wireless is a concern, I would suggest go for an intel 6300, it has 3 antennas and will provide better coverage.

I'm not sure when the 802.11ac wireless cards will be released, but it could be on option in the near future.

 

A slightly older review but it gives you the idea:

AnandTech - Bigfoot

 

Hello LP18, I have upgraded from an Alienware M15X to a Sager P9170, and then swap out the 7970m video card to a 680m video card. Maybe my experience can help you here.

1. My old M15X (runs on ATI 5850 vid card) is actually bigger and heavier than my current P9170. As far as physically quality base on the feel, I felt that the Alienware is much better. The M15X gave a more solid feel than the NP9170. However, it does not necessary mean the P9170 feels cheap. To me, the P9170 is not a heavy laptop. I really don't you are going to have an issue with the weight.

2. Look wise, it is very subjective. Personally, I think that Alienware looks cooler. Not only that, you also get more color controls compare to the Sager.

3. 15.6 inch on the Alienware vs 17.1 inch on the Sager. Go with the 17 inch. As cool as my Alienware was, I didn't like 15.6 inch screen. It's not that it is a bad screen. 15.6 inch is a little too small for gaming (IMHO)

4. With the currrent Enduro driver issue that still plagues the 7970m, I will not recommend the 7970m, nor will I say it is the best price to performance vid card. The card is not working correctly and that is why I don't think it is the best to performance vid card. The good news is that ATI is fixing this issue. The bad news is ATI is STILL fixing this issue. Until this issue is resolve, stay away from 7970m. I will suggest you to read some of the posting in this forum about the 7970m. It will give you a better understanding of all the issues that had been going on with the 7970m card thru out the year.

5. If you are going with the P370EM, then I will recommend to go with the 7970m crossfire option. It does not use switchable graphic, so it does not have the Enduro issue. I think someone posted an article here showing that the 7970m crossfire actually outperforms the 680m SLI. I didn't look too deep into this, but I can be wrong about this.

Hope this helps.