W370SS and W230SS

Hello all,
I've been researching laptops recently, and I've mostly narrowed my search down to Clevo models. I know there is a "what should I buy" forum, but since my questions are Clevo specific, I was hoping to get a few more informed answers here.

I'll be using my laptop for both work and play, but I think the gtx860m will be sufficient for my gaming needs, and I prefer the maxwell chip for the energy savings.

Between the W230SS and the W370SS with equal configs, would the power usage really be that different? I'm not familiar with how much juice the larger screen would take.

Secondly, I saw the W230SS review that mentioned CPU throttling due to heat. Has anyone done any testing with theirs to see if a high quality thermal paste or a laptop cooler prevents that? And with the 17.3" version, does the larger size provide better cooling? Does anyone know if the heatsinks are the same? Any tests on the 370 yet?

I run several pieces of engineering software that utilize all processor cores for finite element analysis, so CPU throttling and temps would be a concern for me.

I like the idea of the 13.3" for mobility and travel, but the heat does concern me. 75% of the time, the laptop will be docked at my desk with an external monitor, KB+M, etc, so the screen size isn't critical for that. I figured it would be a little easier to travel with the 13.3, but I traveled with a 10+ lb HP laptop for years without an issue, so if the larger laptop has better cooling, I'll probably go that way.

Thoughts? Experiences?
Thanks!

 

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review...-W230SS-Barebones-Notebook.113676.0.htmlThere is an xmg 304 review up on notebookcheck.net

I would assume that the heat issue better on the larger laptop since they have more room for copper but i would wait for an official review to double check. What res is your external monitor?

 

External is 1920x1080. And I am fine with that resolution for the appreciable future (and the life of the notebook). So I'm considering that the max I will need.

That is the review I was referencing, where the 4810 was throttling due to temperature.

 

Hey there,

Just for your own information, the 8xxM cards you see now are not of the Maxwell architecture, they are still Kepler cards. Maxwell is supposedly slated for later this year when NVidia releases it under the 20nm manufacturing process.

They use identical power supplies and draw pretty much the same amount of power. The 17.3" screen on the W370SS may draw slightly more energy, but I stress slightly (if any).

The W370 definitely has superior cooling by comparison. The heat sinks are different from what I remember, but the W230's small form is what hurts its thermal capacity and heat transfer abilities. Good paste helps, along with other enthusiast mods. We had Unigine Heaven running for hours on a 370 with zero cooling upgrades, and it hovered just below 70 C the whole time. The W230 stayed in the high 80s during the same bench and no cooling upgrades, if I remember correctly.

Hopefully this helps!

 

Hi Prostar, Is there any truth to the talk that 370ss received a bio's update to combat the fan issues the previous model had. I see your site is still showing this model now has a backlit keyboard. Some of the other re-sellers stated this was not the case. I think this would be a nice budget 17" machine with proper fan control and a backlit keyboard. Any plans for a video review of the 370ss. Thanks for your time!

 

Thanks for the cooling info!

On the maxwell bit, everything I have read says the 2gb soldered gtx 860m cards are maxwell chips, and the 4gb mxm cards are Kepler (with the 870m and 880m also Kepler). They are still at 28nm, but the new architecture.

AnandTech | NVIDIA

There are many other sources for that discussion too. Is there something I'm not understanding?

 

Hey Blacksabs,

The SS model that just came out was released with a BIOS revision. When benching it and leaving it idle, the fan behavior seemed normal. It does not come equipped with a backlit keyboard, however (I've got someone working on that on the configurations page). There's no review or plans for one, but we should be uploading a video of it soon to show off a few angles of it while it runs Heaven. You'll be able to see how it scores in Heaven in the video also.

You're welcome! And yes, you're right about the surface mounted chips being part of the new architecture. I forgot that it was the higher up MXM cards that didn't make the cut due to production not being able to meet demand at launch. Thanks for the reminder!