Wishlist for a new notebook

I would like to buy a new notebook with the following specifications:

• i7-8559U CPU
• or i5-8269U or i5-8259U CPU
• or i3-8109U CPU
• NO graphics card
• high quality 17 inch 4k display, 100% sRGB and 100% Adobe RGB screen (or as close as possible)

As you can guess I will not use it for gaming. The Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655 of the CPU should be more than sufficient. The display will be used for photo editing etc.

Any chance that such a notebook is or will be available from Clevo?

 

Unlikely due to the super niche nature.

 

Is it really?
At the moment I have a P170EM with a Nvidia 675M. As you know that card will automatically be activated if you need the power of the card. How often does it happen? Never, it will always use the Intel HD4000 on the CPU.

Unless you're into gaming, or you need a graphics card for certain calculations, you don't need one, it's as simple as that.

Clevo does have notebooks without a graphics card, and a notebook with one of the CPUs I mentioned is more then powerful enough if you're not into gaming or some other work where you need a very powerful CPU.

That leaves the display. Can't be difficult to put a high quality display in a notebook?

 

I doubt there would be any laptop with given spec. Either from Clevo or any other brand.

Closest I could find is this:
http://sklep.hyperbook.pl/laptop_customization.php?products_id=26426

You'd have to ask for the exact screen model and see if it can be replaced with 4k one.

 

The issue is people want a smaller more portable device generally. If they want a larger screen they tend to want more power. What you want is a niche, it's just not what a large group of people are after.

 

That is exactly why I'm looking at Clevo. There it should be possible.

I have found that AU Optronics has the display I want, and not even very expensive. The only question is if it will fit in the notebook. But first Clevo has to come up with with a fitting notebook for the new coffee lake CPUs.

 

The u series would need a totally different motherboard to the current systems so it would need a strong demand to command the R&D in a new chassis etc.

 

I've seen sites that list laptops including given screen. Why not choose one of them then?

 

I suppose those will be high end notebooks with high-end CPUs.and high-end graphic cards. I don't need those, and they will make the notebook very expensive.

 

Designing laptop that meets your requirements, given the low demand, would be even more expensive. I think you'll just have to compromise. Like new 15-inch Dell XPS 2-in-1 http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell...in-1/spd/xps-15-9575-2-in-1-laptop/dncwlf416s

 

If it was 13 ~ 15 inch laptop, probably. But 17 inch.... I am not sure why would anyone want to have a bulky 17 inch laptop with U processor.

 

check for a Clevo N770WU, it is a 17" laptop with ULV Intel cpus and no dgpu

 

I don't see why really.
At present there are 9 mobile CPUs in the Intel Coffee Lake generation of CPUs. All the low power CPUs (28W TDP) have the powerful Iris Plus Graphics 655 graphics, that is more than adequate if you're not into gaming.
Using those CPUs you can build a more than adequate notebook for many applications, with a low power consumption (= long battery life). Doesn't sound like a niche market to me. Combine it with a 4k display, and ready.

I have 32GB in my notebook, sometimes I'm using over 20GB. I also have a SSD (wasn't quite standard 5 years ago). My new notebook should have a big NVMe drive, 32GB, and the i7-8559U CPU, and I promise you it will be a very fast notebook for all normal applications.

 

Because people that need such specs, also want their laptops to be portable, so no-one really wants 17". Plus there are no laptops with 8559U yet.

 

Yes indeed, that is almost what I'm looking for. Thanks!!
However, at the moment it's only offered with Kaby lake CPUs, not Coffee Lake CPUs (yet).
I will have to ask if my supplier can exchange the standard 1920 x 1080 display for a 4k display.

So Clevo does have at least the basic setup for what I'm looking for, this notebook or its successor for Coffee Lake. Exchanging the display should be possible I assume.

 

you are welcome!
Intel ULV cpus are all KBL-R. Intel released also coffee lake cpus but only CFL-S (desktop) and CFL-H (mobile), so no ULV coffee lake cpus atm

 

Are you sure about that? this Wiki page does list CFL-U (mobile) CPUs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_Lake
The i7-8559U would be the one I would like to have.
I did notice all the different sockets, so it's certain that Clevo would have to build a (set of) separate motherboard(s) for the CFL-U CPUs.

 

With the same core count CFL = KBL basically.

 

Yes I know, it is a Kaby Lake Refresh.
However there are significant differences, specially when you look at the CPUs with the Iris Plus graphics. The previous low power top model was the i7-7657U, a 2 core CPU with 4MB L3 cache and 64MB L4 cache. The top model low power CPU now is the i7-8559U, with 4 cores, 8MB L3 cache and 128MB L4 cache. Clocks speeds are up as well, and the GPU is better too. Big differences I would say.

 

Maximum boost clocks maybe but under sustained load clocks will be lower.

 

No, base frequency 1.8 GHz 'old' CPU, 2.7 GHz new CPU.

 

Can you confirm exactly which models you are using for that comparison?

 

Sure, I'm looking at the best CPUs with the Iris Plus graphics.
However I made a mistake (must have been looking at the wrong page), the 'old' CPU has a base frequency of 3.5 GHz.

Kaby Lake: https://ark.intel.com/products/97541/
Coffee Lake: https://ark.intel.com/products/137979/Intel-Core-i7-8559U-Processor-8M-Cache-up-to-4_50-GHz

 

Yes that sounds about right. Multicore performance will be stronger at the lower clock but any single threaded apps will tend to drop a tiny bit.

 

Maybe, on the other hand L2 cache is bigger and memory access is faster. May compensate. And turbo speed is higher as well!

 

There is a new model
N770WL
It has an ULV cpu +mx150

 

Thanks for pointing this out for me.
However, it's made for Kaby Lake CPUs, and it has a separate graphics card. I would like to have a notebook for the Coffee Lake ULV CPUs (different socket!!), and no graphics card.

I can remember the time that PC's could be equipped with a separate numerical coprocessor. Those days are gone, unless you need real high performance numerical processing, then you can install something like the Nvidia Quadro.

I think that the discrete graphical card will disappear for all those customers who are not into gaming etc. , just as the numerical coprocessor disappeared.

 

Well, Clevo will have new notebooks for the Coffee Lake mobile CPUs. That's the good news. The bad news is that it is not possible to replace a 1920 x 1080 display by a 4k display, different cabling.

What I want doesn't seem to be a niche product at all. My supplier has asked Clevo on several occasions to produce such notebooks, the demand is there. However, Clevo is stubbornly refusing to put 4k displays in anything but the very top of the line notebooks with desktop CPUs. A missed opportunity.

 

I'm not attacking what you have said, but it's not completely accurate:

If BTO has asked Clevo to produce laptops with 4K then that's one reseller asking one question. For an ODM to make certain options available, they need to see demand globally, or at least from a significate number of direct customers who would purchase that specification from them. Clevo would offer the panel option if enough of their customer's requested it - that's my point.

You're correct in that mostly Clevo laptop s are available with 4K at the high end, but there are many BGA chassis with 4K options and have been in the past, also the current N130 is available with 4K and that's 13" - not exactly what you are after though I know ;-)

 

I get your point, however....

Clevo has an enormous number of notebooks in its portfolio. They used to give quite detailed information about their technical specifications, and even then it sometimes was impossible to find a difference between two types. These days it is even worse. If Intel thinks there is a business case to produce a group of CPUs that is meant to give consumers mid range 4k GPU performance without the need to use discrete graphics, then I wonder why Clevo would not build notebooks with these CPUs in the most sought after display sizes? By the way, these CPUs are quite expensive as well, the i7-8559U costs $431, the fastest desktop CPU i7-8700K 'just' $359 !!

No, not quite. 13 inch is very small, why 4k there and not at midrange 17 inch?

 

I figured it out. It isn't that low power CPUs are not suitable for 4k displays, or that there wouldn't be a demand for that combination, no, its very simple. The manufacturers only want to sell 4k displays in combination with high-end graphics and high-end CPUs, because that way they will make more profit.

 

No, that way they'll make a profit. Producing laptops that almost no-one would buy would cause losses, not "smaller profit".

 

Then what is the use of a 4k display? Just gaming?

 

4k displays consume more power so in a low power system this can reduce the battery time by hours.

 

Fine, but that's not the issue. What is the purpose of a 4k display, and what do we need to be able to use it for that purpose?

 

More powerful machines are mostly used when connected to power supply and in applications that use GPU acceleration (Adobe Premiere, Photoshop, CAD etc.). 4K for web browsing, programming seems to be an overshoot.

About Dell XPS 13 FHD vs QHD.

http://www.tomsguide.com/answers/id-3288058/dell-xps-fhd-touch-qhd-touch.html#19089342

Also, some companies put 4K in 5-6" smartphones. Why? I believe that when someone buys top-tier product wants it to be top tier in every angle (except for battery life, lol), no matter the price.

 

Perhaps the the full versions of Adobe Photoshop and Premiere can use GPU acceleration, but the Elements version certainly not. Intel has GPU acceleration as well, and the quality of videos produced with that acceleration seems to be quite a lot better as with other kinds of GPU acceleration.

However, that all is besides the point. If I want to use whatever photo editing software there is, my primary tool would be the display. That is where I can see what I'm doing. That is why I want a 4k display with 100% Adobe RGB. Any modern CPU will be more than fast enough for that work, GPU acceleration is not used by most photo editing software, or it has very limited use. I never claimed 4k is useful for web browsing, I want it for photo editing!

Even if a 4k display uses more power, a low power cpu can compensate that, as does the lack of a discrete graphics card. And that's only of any importance if you're running on batteries, but most notebooks are used with their power supplies.

Seems to be useful with virtual reality things that work with a smartphone.

 

Higher fidelity, some people prefer the look.

 

Indeed, that is why I want it for photography. But for that you don't need a super fast CPU and a ditto GPU. And even for 4k video you don't need them.

 

No indeed, the IGP does just fine for 2d/video 4k.

 

Exactly, I need high quality pictures, no flashing game output. The Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655 IGP has a performance between the Nvidia MX 110 and MX 130, good enough for me.

 

It seems that the MacBook Pro is going to get the i7-8559U CPU.

Clevo can't go wrong with producing a similar notebook I would say!

 

Macbook users have not been the traditional market, though not having riveted in keyboards which can be destroyed by a spec of dust is an advantage.

 

Macbooks are usually high quality products, with very beautiful screens. There's nothing wrong with a Clevo notebook with similar characteristics for the Windows/Linux market.

 

I would watch Louis Rossman's video if you want to dispell that notion about good design (at least electrically)