**OFFICIAL W860CU/NP8690 Owners Lounge**

Ah. I guess Clevo should really look into these minute details into consideration. They concentrate very much on the performance of their laptops and most of the time sacrificing little details that are of utmost importance to the function of the laptop. I don't know if everyone would agree with me but the spacebar is one of the important keys in a keyboard.

 

I guess the part I do not understand is do you guys only tap that area of your space bar all the time? The space bar is huge and you always hit the bottom edge only 1 cm from the end.

 

Well, it is a defective part, because I can tap ANY area of my spacebar to get a response. I've tried, but it always registers a space.

I don't think it's indicative of cost cutting, so much as a supplier with inconsistent production quality.

 

Well, I doubt it's with the design, most likely a defect, I tap onthe edge of my spacebar constantly and it registers flawlessly. Actually, I think the keyboard is from the same OEM as the macbook's keyboard, if you would observe the mbp's keyboard, the shape is exactly the same as the Clevo's, only difference is the layout.

 

Im glad i dont have the spacebar issue.

 

obliviously not; I could not find in the manual that I wasn't allowed to use the last 1 cm of the spacebar.....

 

just got mine today... yaay, i'm now installing softwares... what setting should i run on furmark? i'll put my review on this forum as soon as i finished installing softwares and run all the benchmark...

 

do you know if this notebook has a tray to install hdd in odd tray?

 

I certainly don't do it all the time. It's just that when I type my left thumb is the one automatically pressing the spacebar and it mostly hits any area of the "left half" of the spacebar which contains the area that is "soft and sometimes doesn't register", so it's kinda issue for me.

A couple of guys, even one from Italy in this W860CU lounge has the issue.

 

yep, i can confirm that. the pressure zone was weird, the whole bar was clearly unbalanced. i wasn't alone, though, many guys from hwupgrade.it noticed the same issue.

i wrote to my reseller which sent me a brand new keyboard for free. the spacebar issue was gone. so the other guys did, and they had their kb replaced, too!

 

that's great. who's your reseller? I'm still waiting for the reply of RJTech.

 

like i said before that i'll give my review about this machine, this machine is really powerful, it even outperform my desktop... haha...

what i like from it :
1. simple design
2. powerful
3. great screen

what i dont like :
1. touchpad
2. at first the wi-fi driver wont work
3. bad battery life

CPU temps
idle at 50s c
max at 74s c

GPU temps
idle at 50s c
max at 77 c

3dmark vantage score P8379
CPU score 10813
graphic score 7842

how do you guys think about my score in 3dmark vantage and my temps?

 

My spacebar has some of the problems described here. When I type it is my right thumb that taps the right-center of the spacebar. I've noticed that it takes a firmer push than the other keyboard buttons. If I were using this computer to write papers or tons of e-mails I think this would be a problem. But I just wanna play games when I deploy in June, so to that end I'm okay with a less than perfect spacebar.

And Wolfenstein 2009 IS AWESOME!!

 

Mine arrived with TNT.
I've installed windows 7 and the webcam/fingerprint and chipset drivers from the included discs so far.
What ATI are you guys using and also should I upgrade my chipset driver?(the one on the CD might be outdated)
@hendrixing: I installed the wifi drivers off the included intel CD(I think they also include chipset drivers, not sure though) and it worked out of the box.

One thing I don't like about it, is the noise it makes. It's reaaaaly loud, but I had read about this in reviews so I was warned. Still it's rather loud

 

I thought mine was excessively loud too. Removing the sticker over the CPU vent really really quieted my machine down. I think the fan pulling against a blocked vent was making extra noise.
And my CPU temps fell almost 15C under load. GPU stayed the same.

 

Using Ati 10.4 drivers right now and they work really well for me. I'm curious about the chipset drivers too. I installed the one on the disc, but this was about 1.5 months ago. THere might be a newer version now. I'm not sure.

And remove the vent sticker. That might help with noise, and will most certainly help with lowering your cpu temps.

 

sager has shipped me a new spacebar, but I havent installed it yet (it shipped to my other address so i have to get it next week)

I'm not sure if they included instructions on how to remove and replace the spacebar key.
Does anyone have an experience ? Do i just rip it out and put the new one in ? haha, or is there a special way to do it?

 

Ripping out a chiclet-style keyboard...

 

lol, im guessing its easy then?
I just tried removing and replacing the spacebar on my work laptop (Lenovo T61p) and it was pretty easy. I just followed a tutorial online, but im not sure if the chicklet keyboard on the 8690 would be the same/simliar?

I'm scared of breaking the tabs when removing the spacebar key. The creaking noise when pulling always makes me uneasy. Thats the only reason im asking if there's a proper way of removinig the key?

 

Section 2-18...

You'll love me;
and anyone else who hasn't seen this will too


http://web.eurocom.com/EC/data/m210_2.pdf

 

BEFORE Cleaning (1 week ago):


AFTER Cleaning (Yesterday 17/5):




Any ideas why? The paste used was (supposedly) IC7. My reseller did the paste job when I sent back my laptop for an upgrade.

 

Mike570U Answered you in the overheating thread...

 

I guess you're right. I must've missed it. Thanks!

 

Guys, how is your w860? I been thinking to get 15" but I want SSD.. and with the HDD bay only one, and the most I can afford is the 80GB, it won't be enough.. What should I do?

also, how's the heat like guys? I have been under the impression that the w870 cooling is slightly better due to the size. However, if it's wrong then, I don't think there's any other choice of me getting the w860.. (I also have this ego that I don't want to be bested, so I like the current title that it's the fastest 15" on the market currently >_> )

thanks in advance

 

80GB would be too small for me, too. Either just wait for price drops or save up for the larger size?

 

Thats what I'm thinking to kingtz.. I never even experience 7200rpm HDD, so going from 5400rpm I want to be very impressed with the SSD.. too bad I think it's slipping away that wish.. >_>

 

If you want the laptop so bad, just get the 80GB ssd... and get an external hdd....
Or jump to 7.2k hdd, and further along; save up for a bigger ssd

 

Thanks for the reply I think I already decide on what to get..

 

I also wanted to get an SSD but I just can't justify the price Vs capacity. Nothing is worth losing my current 640GB 7200 RPM HDD I have at the moment.

No problems with heat here, GPU idles as low as 39-40C but 42-45C most of the time and under load can be 75-78C and during TLAD cutscenes for some reason can reach up to 85C, HDD idles at 30-40C and maxes out at 41C, CPU idles at 40-44C and maxes out at 65-71C, sometimes 72-73C. CPU temps used to max out at 84C when I still had the sticker on inside of the backplate near the CPU vent (funny how W760CU doesn't have this sticker by default so immediately gets lower CPU temps under load and increased Turbo Boost potential compared to the W860CU).

Temps right now are 38-40C for all CPU Cores, 39C for the GPU and 28C for the HDD. My ambient is 22.2C

To add to what has already been said regarding this question. I was warned about Diamond IC7's potential of scratching GPU DIE's by a forum user and I also tested this out myself on some old unused chips. Diamond IC would make a great metal polisher.

I don't recommend IC7, it can easily scratch the DIE surface and that discolouration you showed in the pic looks about the same as other users I have seen on another forum who got that after using the same thermal paste.

 

Speaking of GPU temps, I have the 5870 and I've never seen the temp drop below 51 degrees, is that fairly normal? (considering I haven't started or tried downclocking)

I know there was a post earlier regarding good temps for the 5870, etc, but I can't seem to locate the discussion thread.

 

wow, your temps are really good. mine r idle at 48-50C and maxed at 80+C.. my ambient temp r around 30... but i usually use the laptop on air conned room... do you think mine r overheated?

fyi i use the stock thermal compound and i dont remove the black sticker covering CPU's vent... what thermal compound do you use?

 

^i only get below 51 when i downclock.

 

Spoke to Maingear today and apparently they got a bad batch of systems for the new eX-L 15 line.
I was told that the systems were posting intermittently while they were testing them and it may have been a problem with the CPU's.
So they were expecting new parts today and hopefully to ship tomorrow and I will have to wait at least another week before getting it. (Shipping to my location takes a long time due to geographical constraints). Kinda sad about it but at least the did not send me a laptop that has issues.

 

My GPU idles at 45C, down clocked, in a 30C room. The CPU idles at 51C. Laptop temps are affected greatly by ambient temperatures.

 

Just curious how much did you end up paying for your build? I checked out Maingear and to me it seems like their prices are waaaaay up there.

 

Do you have the 5870? What are your temps after a 25min Furmark/OCCT test?

 

I hate UPS stupid company policy! My package with my computer is 15mins away from me but they wont allow me to pick it up on my day off, until they try 1 delivery at my home. Problem is that's not until tomorrow but I have work so I would need to pick up from them anyways, since it needs a signature.

 

The noise, it's deafening
I'll try removing the sticker I hope that improves things dramaticaly.

Why does it need so much cooling when I'm just surfing the web? It's not like it's working very hard or something. Can't i force the fans to turn at some specified RPM?

Ok, I just detached the bottom panel and it looks like the sticker was allready removed by kobalt computers. (the cpu intake on this picture doesn't have a black thing covering it, it looks exactly like the the gpu intake)

Has anyone bothered trying to get the fans to quiet down while doing some surfing/browsing/mailing? I don't mind them being loud when I'm gaming but I do mind when I'm not gaming and just doing something casual :<

If I could it to quiet down this would be the perfect notebook for me

 

we have almost the same temps, but since your room temp r 30C, and i use mine in air conned room with a coolerpad, and still idle for 50C something... maybe i have to change the thermal compound...

 

Removing the CPU vent sticker decreased my CPU temps by about 8C or more, some others had a 10C reduction in temps from doing that too. I use Arctic MX3 thermal paste, I apply using a line across the middle of the DIE relying on the small amount of pressure when the heatsink is screwed shut to spread the paste out. It works pretty well too.

If you remove the sticker your temps will decrease by about 10C I bet.

 

Try using Silent Mode. You activate it by pressing the (M) button on the panel right above your keyboard and right below the screen. Remember to turn it back off if you need more CPU power.

 

Silent mode seems to set the fans to a fixed speed, which is the same as the speed at which they are operating in normal regime(eg. typing this post right now).

Does anyone notice a difference with silent mode activated, I even notice a slight increase in fan speed(and noise) when activating silent mode because the speed at which the fans were running was lower than the silent mode speed.

Could I somehow change the configuration of the silent mode, could I change the RPM level associated with silent mode?
Or is this hard coded into one of the hardware chips?

Also, what software do you guys use to monitor temperatus?
I'm using Coretemp for the moment and it says 45-50 degrees centigrade.

 

I find silent mode to be about as useful as a chocolate Teapot. It should be called ''louder mode''. I use Coretemp, HWMonitor and Rivatuner for temp monitoring because I display temps in game in an OSD as well as in the system tray. HWinfo is also excellent, especially for ATI chips.

 

What would be the battery life with an underclocked 5870 and a i5-520m? Would it be close to 90 minutes? Maybe more? Battery life seems to be the only problem with this laptop (and not really a huge problem).

 

I'm trying to make my mind up...

Is i7-720QM really worth it? I mean, can i go i5-540 and still have stellar performance in games in the following 2 years?

is FULLHD screen worth it?
is the 16x9 screen worse, better, equal to the fullhd one?

Is it really worth the $235 dollar difference? (fullhd + i7 + 500gb hdd)?

thank you...

 

Hi Ben, I had the same debate when I was ordering my 8690. Although the i5 is a great performing CPU and can play most games very well right now, the i7 720QM will really futureproof your laptop for quite a bit longer...especially since games such as BF:BC2 and future titles are going to require much more juice; you'll really regret not going quad-core down the road when you decided to stick with the i5 to save 150 bucks. As for 1600x900, it really is personal preference. 1600x900 will give you better FPS in-game at native resolution but if you like to watch movies or edit photos or anything that needs a high pixel count....you can't go wrong with a Full HD screen!

If you aren't going to order your 8690 for a week or so...I should have something that represents a review of my very own 8690 with an i7 720QM and a 1080p screen and I can make a video comparison to my Dell Studio XPS 16...which has an i5 and 1440x900 resolution to give you an idea of the difference!

 

Thank you Agent Coolblue, and yes, I'm waiting for your review, actually I'm the one that suggested a lot of things to be measured (temperature-wise)...

Ok, $235 are worth it, 10 more days for my next paycheck

Thanks man, +rep

 

I should have most of the "first impressions" out of the way within 10 days, stay tuned ;D

 

With the i5 you will still get good performance but you might have a few issues with any unoptimised console ports (GTA IV), any multi Core intensive games. Some claim they are already experiencing bottlenecks in a few new titles even with the i7-820QM, I think it was SC2 but it is usually down to poor optimisation and lazy coding. BFBC2 was like this when first released until they patched it.

If you aren't interested in GTA IV or you don't have a favourite game that is known to be a crappy console port or poorly optimised then the i5 should be fine.

Regarding FullHD Vs 1600 x 900, I went with the latter simply because I don't watch fullHD movies and I want to game at native for as long as possible. For a small example of the performance difference, see here

 

Ok...
But I mean, its only a $50 difference, besides, I could just lower the resolution in-game to 1600x900 if the framerates are a "bit" too low?