Gaming Laptop Clevo P150EM

[cambamuniverse]

Does anyone have any experience with this laptop?

http://www.avadirect.com/gaming-laptop-configurator.asp?PRID=23922

I'm looking for something portable that I can still play games with (doesn't need to be HIGHEST settings, but I want it to look decent). Because of the way my house is set up at the moment, it isn't ideal to get a desktop pc, so I was thinking of getting this laptop. Does anyone have any experience or info about it that I should be concerned with?

The screen is kind of small, but I'm using a 15" now and it's never really rustled my nuts too much. Also, I've heard the gtx 670mx is quite nice, but I really wouldn't know personally, and I guess I'd just be afraid of overheating.

Anyway, what do you think?

(Was going to post this in the advice-technology thread, but I figured it might end up as more of a discussion so I just posted it here)

 

[Strelok]

As the owner of a Sager NP9850 (rebranded Clevo), steer clear, I had problems out of the box, bad hard drives, bad connection from the motherboard to the LCD panel, failed Blu-ray drive, bad video cards. I sent it back for repair and it came back withthe same issues. They are poorly constructed and flimsy. The support is incompetent (Sager is the only one I know, not sure about Clevo), they tell me the issue with the video cards is I have to use a driver from 2009, so that means they dropped support for the model the year I bought it. I suggest you avoid them if their support is anything like Sager, you are going to have a bad time, I know their builds are the same as the systems are just rebranded, and that will be a problem for you. Oh yes I am also not an American, so it cost me $200 just to send the thing back to them, and get it back in the same condition.

I have some experience with laptops, I had been stuck with them for awhile when in school, I have had 3 toshiba laptops, one of which was a gaming laptop. Only ever had a few issues with them. While under warranty one blew a fan on the vid card, Toshiba had it fixed in 3 days (through a local authorized repair shop), a blown video card out of warranty after years of use, I fixed it myself by baking the video card. The none gaming laptop also had one issue with the video card out of warranty, I fixed this also myself.

I have been in IT 10 years, I have worked for both Gateway and Dell, and if you are willing to spend a bit more I say go Alienware, they cost a bit more but the support is much better at Dell, well at least it was when I left about 6 years ago. If not Alienware there are others, try Xotic PC, if you are in the US they sold me the Sager, not their fault it was a dud, but they answered my questions much faster than any Sager tech did. Hope my experience can at least help someone from making a big mistake.

 

[Dr_of_Journalism]

Dell/Alienware is a horrible PC brand, their laptops fall apart and their chargers are plain shit. If you're in the $1,300 range I'd recommend this Asus http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230408 . Of course a gaming desktop would be miles better, but you already know that.

 

[MrLS]

Overheating is one of the big problems with most gaming laptops, I don't have any experience with Clevo, they don't seem to sell them in Europe.
If you want a gaming laptop with good performance and not much problem with heating, look into the ASUS gaming laptops (G75 etc.)
I have an slightly older G model but it works brilliant, runs most games on high and stays on a solid framerate and more importantly, keeps cool.
This is one I found: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230408
I usually play on stationary computers, but mine was a gift from my parents when I was moving about and most of my more hardware expert friends usually said it was a really damn good choice so the G models are pretty high held in those communities.

Edit: Ninja'd with the same laptop as the guy above me, coincidence? or providence? DUNDUNNN

 

[Strelok]

Dell/Alienware is a horrible PC brand, their laptops fall apart and their chargers are plain shit.

Any evidence to back up the claim? Been years since I worked for them, if they are no good any longer I don't want to buy one.

Overheating is one of the big problems with most gaming laptops,

Maybe years ago, when was the last time you used a gaming laptop? Mine has had a tone of problems, heat was never one of them.

Edit: Almost forgot, if you want good advice on a gaming laptop go here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/

The Escapist is probably not the best place to be looking for gaming PC advice.

 

[Dr_of_Journalism]

Dell/Alienware is a horrible PC brand, their laptops fall apart and their chargers are plain shit.

Any evidence to back up the claim? Been years since I worked for them, if they are no good any longer I don't want to buy one.

Overheating is one of the big problems with most gaming laptops,

Maybe years ago, when was the last time you used a gaming laptop? Mine has had a tone of problems, heat was never one of them.

I don't have documented evidence of my 2 broken Dell laptops as they are now sitting in a landfill. The chassis is just plain cheap and falls apart, in my youthful naivety I thought that if I upgraded to an XPS from whatever cannon fodder I had (some sort of dimension) it would fix the issue.. nope. Also had the same issues with an HP. Now for the power bars they have the shelf life of a micro brewed beer, and my entire family and friends who own a Dell laptop know this. They're also proprietary (or at least were). I've never owned an Alienware, so who knows they might bet great, but if the XPS I had is any indication, no way.I feel as if I can trust companies like Asus, Samsung and Gigabyte more because they're hardware companies, Dell and Hp are not. My Samsung netbook has been a tough bugger for 2 years now, and my girlfriends Asus runs just beautifully. Not to say these companies don't have any issues, but they sure have lasted longer than my Dell and Hp laptops. Also if Macs are good for anything its build quality, I recently sold my 2006 Macbook pro for a handsome sum (considering its 7 years old) and it looked like the day its was bought. Something I can't say for my misadventures with Dell.

 

[MrLS]

Dell/Alienware is a horrible PC brand, their laptops fall apart and their chargers are plain shit.

Any evidence to back up the claim? Been years since I worked for them, if they are no good any longer I don't want to buy one.

Overheating is one of the big problems with most gaming laptops,

Maybe years ago, when was the last time you used a gaming laptop? Mine has had a tone of problems, heat was never one of them.

Edit: Almost forgot, if you want good advice on a gaming laptop go here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/

The Escapist is probably not the best place to be looking for gaming PC advice.

I still use my laptop frequently and it's my main system when I go to LANs. I've had it about a year and half now and it still works perfectly. All other laptops my family or friends have owned before that has had problems keeping cool and fan failure isn't very uncommon. With the Dell/Alienware thing it's more of how much you get for your money. Dell and Alienware has a tendency to overprice it a bit, Alienware in particular is very very overpriced. While the ASUS is so far the only one I've owned directly from store, all other laptops I've inherited when my family has upgraded etc. but it's also the first one out of that bunch that hasn't had massive hardware, battery or charger problems short after purchase either, so I'm quite happy with it.

 

[Strelok]

Dell/Alienware is a horrible PC brand, their laptops fall apart and their chargers are plain shit.

Any evidence to back up the claim? Been years since I worked for them, if they are no good any longer I don't want to buy one.

Overheating is one of the big problems with most gaming laptops,

Maybe years ago, when was the last time you used a gaming laptop? Mine has had a tone of problems, heat was never one of them.

I don't have documented evidence of my 2 broken Dell laptops as they are now sitting in a landfill. The chassis is just plain cheap and falls apart, in my youthful naivety I thought that if I upgraded to an XPS from whatever cannon fodder I had (some sort of dimension) it would fix the issue.. nope. Also had the same issues with an HP. Now for the power bars they have the shelf life of a micro brewed beer, and my entire family and friends who own a Dell laptop know this. They're also proprietary (or at least were). I've never owned an Alienware, so who knows they might bet great, but if the XPS I had is any indication, no way.I feel as if I can trust companies like Asus, Samsung and Gigabyte more because they're hardware companies, Dell and Hp are not. My Samsung netbook has been a tough bugger for 2 years now, and my girlfriends Asus runs just beautifully. Not to say these companies don't have any issues, but they sure have lasted longer than my Dell and Hp laptops. Also if Macs are good for anything its build quality, I recently sold my 2006 Macbook pro for a handsome sum (considering its 7 years old) and it looked like the day its was bought. Something I can't say for my misadventures with Dell.

What model Dells were they? With Dell it was always, you get what you pay for, we never had calls for high end laptops, if we did it was just for help connecting printers, formatting documents, sending email etc. the usual stuff people should google rather than pay $99 per incident to call support for. Whereas the other side of the coin Gateway, even the high end systems were loaded with parts contracted to the lowest bidder. When I quit Dell they had just taking over Alienware, with what looked like every intention of killing the brand in favor of XPS, don't know what happened. Something made Dell hang on to them.

I still use my laptop frequently and it's my main system when I go to LANs. I've had it about a year and half now and it still works perfectly. All other laptops my family or friends have owned before that has had problems keeping cool and fan failure isn't very uncommon. With the Dell/Alienware thing it's more of how much you get for your money. Dell and Alienware has a tendency to overprice it a bit, Alienware in particular is very very overpriced. While the ASUS is so far the only one I've owned directly from store, all other laptops I've inherited when my family has upgraded etc. but it's also the first one out of that bunch that hasn't had massive hardware, battery or charger problems short after purchase either, so I'm quite happy with it.

Sorry man that is incorrect, Alienware has higher end parts, much like Apple which passes the cost of higher end parts on to you the buyer. Companies like Clevo/Sager cut back a bit on parts and pass the savings on to the buyer. The result can be the situation I had with Sager, or someone can never have a problem. The issue is you have a higher chance of encountering a problem with cheaper parts. So you can either save at point of purchase, and risk losing money later or go high end parts now and lower the risk of problems.

 

[TimeLord]

Personally, I am looking forward to the Razer Edge.

http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-systems/razer-edge-pro

Why? Because then I can tease console gamers that even my tablet can beat their console

Of course it can... It's $1,300! I'd be shocked if it couldn't out do a console for that price.

 

[Joccaren]

As an owner of 3 Alienware systems, I can tell you Alienware is not a horrible brand. Their laptops don't fall appart, and their charging bricks aren't bad at all. In-fact, they are excellent laptops and handle heat and gaming very well.

Alienware's support is excellent, and their service for repairs or replacement if you so need something replaced, is free nexday/overnight shipping via FEDEX.

I've been more than pleased with Alienware and their hardware, and I have to completely disagree with this upsetting and moronic notion that Alienware is "Shit."

The main reason Alienware is usually referred to as shit is because of how much you pay for what you get.
As an example, my present Desktop cost me about $1400 including the 2560*1440 monitor to build for myself. I'd accept up to $2200 in prices from a named company because they're guaranteed to rip you off. About a week after I finished assembling it I took a look at a local PC store catalogue and saw an Alienware PC with about the same specs as mine for $4,300. I've heard few people say that the actual quality of Alienware products is shit, but you ARE paying far more than you should be for everything you buy - unless its an end of the line system going out of production.
Thus Alienware is referred to generally as a shit brand to buy from. Sure you get some good stuff, but you can get stuff as good, or almost as good, from other brands for far, far less the majority of the time.
Granted I haven't looked into their laptop line, and odds are they're better value considering laptops are already a rip off value wise, and ripping people off to that same extent would have you paying something to the order of $2,000 for an ok laptop, and $8,000+ for some of the best.

 

[Originality]

I won't get involved with the brand wars - the brand is just a name for the companies that assemble (not make) laptops. Either way, every laptop brand has a 15-35% failure rate within 3 years (HP and Apple tend to be at the higher end of this, while Asus and Samsung are towards the lower end).

I'll just drop this suggestion: look into the Samsung 700G7C series. Might be a little pricey at $1000+, but you can't argue with a GTX 675M.
Edit: link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0098O6F0S?qid=1358759196&sr=8-2

 

[Joccaren]

Unfortuantely people miss multiple reasons as to why ANY BOTIQUE MACHINE IS EXPESNIVE IN THE FIRST PLACE.
Its not just alienware, stop pointing the finger at alienware.
XoticPC, Origin PC, Falcon Nortwest, MAINGEAR, Digital Storm, and other Botique manufacturors all run the same business model, and often times actually out price alienware.
You should really research your points before posting, as with anyone because the unfortunate fact is that its not just alienware, its the entire botique manufacturoring market. There's a reason these machines are more expensive to buy premade. ANY system is.

Infact OriginPC, dubbed Alienware 2.0, makes Alienware look cheap. Their laptop and desktop prices are nearly extortionist in price. I help out on the Origin PC forums and I honestly can't believe the obscene overpricing that Origin does.
I think after doing some research, I figured out that OriginPC is pocketing nearly 250$ per laptop sold. Money that has no warrent to its cost.

Of course all pre-built machines are expensive. I even commented on that in my first post. Few, at least around here [I have not heard of even 1 of the brands you mention] manage to come close to Alienware in terms of price. I'd be fine with a company pocketing $250 for a rig, that's not much. As stated in my OP, I payed $1,400 including a very good screen, would have payed around $1,000 without, and I'd expect up to a $2,300 price tag for such a rig from most companies as they'd try to rip you off and would end up making about $500 at least, even after labour and transport costs were paid. Alienware would have had to be making $2,500 or so. Of course this doesn't include advertising, which is where a lot of people think a lot of Alienware's money goes - their ridiculous ads can't be doing anything but sending a lot of money down the drain.
As said, I haven't looked into the Laptop side of things, but Alienware are extortionate for Desktops. Not even a question about it.

 

[Bvenged]

Get an ASUS. I don't trust anything that says "gaming" and "laptop" in the same title, but Asus do the better "gaming" "laptop"'s you can buy, particularly higher performance ones.

This is a good bet, cheap but a little underpowered for its price: Asus N56VM-S4110V ~$1000
http://www.asuslaptop.co.uk/Gaming+Powerhouse/Asus+laptops/p#search=1&price[4]=600%20AND%20999&price[5]=999%20AND%201000000&cats[0]=21

Sure sure it's 16GB, but it's got a -decent- GPU and an i7 Ivy Bridge quad core CPU, which use far less power than its predecessor, the Intel i-core 2k range. 15" 1080p screen and Windows 7.

Otherwise I'd recommend: ASUS G75VW-9Z396H ~$2000
http://www.asuslaptop.co.uk/G75VW-9Z396H-12GB/Gaming+Powerhouse/Asus+laptops/d

Basically, the same as the last laptop but with a GPU that's double the performance, and a bigger HDD and a 17" full HD screen. Bit expensive for what it is, mind, so shop around for one closer to $1000 as opposed to near $2000.

This is personally the one I'd buy: ASUS N55SL-S1188V ~$1000
http://www.simplyasus.com/ASUS_N55SL-S1188V_1338594.html

It's an i-core 2k quad core processor, but that doesn't mean it's bad, just less power efficient to the latest 3k range intel core processors - so still more than capable for a gaming laptop. 750GB HDD, 17" full-HD screen, GT 635M 2GB Graphics (average run-of-the-mill, does medium graphics guild wars at 60fps I think, but double-check yourself to make sure), and affordable.

There ya go, the 3 laptops I'd consider getting. Do a little more research into performance, lifespan and temperature problems (if it's a gaming laptop, it's gonna' have them). Just don't blame me if you get one and it's shot. That's the problem with laptops, they're not designed for gaming yet companies keep cramming streamlined gaming hardware into them and what should be powered by the mains is being run off of portable batteries in a book-size case.

 

[Originality]

HD 7970M is indeed more powerful than GTX 675M, but the drivers, power consumption and heat output of the 7970M makes it a less attractive choice in certain circles. Then again, it does depend on what you're after. Higher frame rates at higher temps, or a more well rounded laptop.

 

[cambamuniverse]

snip

snip

Well now I'm feeling like I want to go with that. Thanks for you input.

Also, thanks everyone for pointing me away from Clevo, glad I could have avoided those problems. The desktop I was building was set to be around $1,378, so bumping that up to $1,399 certainly isn't an issue

Thanks for your help everyone!

 

[PoolCleaningRobot]

Dell/Alienware is a horrible PC brand, their laptops fall apart and their chargers are plain shit. If you're in the $1,300 range I'd recommend this Asus http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230408 . Of course a gaming desktop would be miles better, but you already know that.

My 3 year old alienware laptop (that I am typing on) beggs to differ. Besides, they have great costumer support. A friend of mine had trouble with his order of an Alienware x51 and they upgraded him to an i7 processor for free (that's like $200). Another person I know had trouble with his charger and they gave him a new one for free

Edit: looks like everyone else beat me to the punch

 

[Fasckira]

Dell/Alienware is a horrible PC brand, their laptops fall apart and their chargers are plain shit. If you're in the $1,300 range I'd recommend this Asus http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230408 . Of course a gaming desktop would be miles better, but you already know that.

As an owner of 3 Alienware systems, I can tell you Alienware is not a horrible brand. Their laptops don't fall appart, and their charging bricks aren't bad at all. In-fact, they are excellent laptops and handle heat and gaming very well.

Alienware's support is excellent, and their service for repairs or replacement if you so need something replaced, is free nexday/overnight shipping via FEDEX.

My own experience with Alienware wasn't as nice, but only based on one Alienware purchase admittedly. I got an M11x R2 and after 3 years the problems are as follows:

Space key broken (white clip on the left snapped).
Enter key broken (white clip snapped).
Home key broken (metal bar bent then snapped when I tried to straighten back out)
Insane amount of heat, to the point that if I'm playing a game and the Nvidia Optimus has switched to the GeForce card I can't touch the laptop after about 15 minutes.
Battery charger point doesnt sit securely inside the laptop so quite often moving slightly will cause it to come loose and stop charging.
Battery life of about 1 hour on mobo graphics, 25 mins on geforce - this however is admittedly likely down to constant charging over 3 years and to be expected of any laptop I guess.
Wireless range very poor and temperamental.
Random lock ups while playing games with the GeForce card (likely down to the overheating).

The keys all happened out of warranty but the heat issue occurred from day 1. I ran the various diagnostics and reported the findings back to Dell support and was told that the temperatures were perfectly normal. I insisted that they really weren't so they eventually relented and took my laptop back to investigate, only to return it a week later with "No Fault Found" on the sheet and still the insane temperature. Worked in IT for a very long time and never come across a laptop that runs as hot as my M11x! I would add that I care for my kit a lot and its certainly not been subject to abuse.

Like I say though, could just be a bad egg I got and there is the element that its now 3 years old so a lot depends on how long you expect a laptop to last (though the price Alienware charge you expect some durability). On a side note I've always seen Alienware as like the Porsches of the computing world - they're flashy looking, expensive and powerful but ultimately you can get a similar powered device for considerably cheaper elsewhere.

To the op I'd ask - why do you need a gaming laptop? Have you really considered how often you're likely to use it? When I got the aforementioned M11x its because I knew I was going to be doing a fair whack of travelling and felt I'd want to play games while I was on the move. Realistically though I found myself avoiding playing anything too stat-taxing as I didnt really have space to set up a separate mouse to play any FPS games or the time to really devote myself to a good gaming session!
I'd be inclined to spend a bit more time pondering what you are likely to use it for as this could save you a chunk of money and see you getting a more powerful robust "standard" laptop.

 

[PoolCleaningRobot]

Does anyone have any experience with this laptop?

http://www.avadirect.com/gaming-laptop-configurator.asp?PRID=23922

I'm looking for something portable that I can still play games with (doesn't need to be HIGHEST settings, but I want it to look decent). Because of the way my house is set up at the moment, it isn't ideal to get a desktop pc, so I was thinking of getting this laptop. Does anyone have any experience or info about it that I should be concerned with?

The screen is kind of small, but I'm using a 15" now and it's never really rustled my nuts too much. Also, I've heard the gtx 670mx is quite nice, but I really wouldn't know personally, and I guess I'd just be afraid of overheating.

Anyway, what do you think?

(Was going to post this in the advice-technology thread, but I figured it might end up as more of a discussion so I just posted it here)

But to help you with your question, you don't exactly have to spend a ton of money and get all the best stuff. My laptop is only an i3 and has 4 gigs of ram but if I plug my laptop into my hd tv (I use a display port to hdmi converter) I can play my games with really good settings. See, the TV has more pixels so it won't look as muddy as it would on my 1600x900 laptop screen. This means I can run the game at 1200x780 (which is faster. Its what console games run at) on my tv and the resolution still looks good and I can turn up all the effects settings. My point of reference is Spec Ops: The Line which I ran at full settings on 1200x780 with no slow down. I think its because my laptop's video card is still really good even though I have a slow processor and low ram.


Another thing, its important to look at hard disk speed too. Most of the time, a computer's speed is only slowed down by the read rate of the hard disk

 

[Joccaren]

I just want to point this out to you, again.
snip

And I'll point this out to you again:

Of course all pre-built machines are expensive. I even commented on that in my first post. Few, at least around here [I have not heard of even 1 of the brands you mention] manage to come close to Alienware in terms of price.

Alienware i actually not as bad as people make them out to be, Go and look up different Botique manufactorers.
Alienware using their own cases, their own OEM products like Motherboards and graphics cards.

Casing and finaly Stop pointing the the finger at just alienware, lets not single out a single company for the "Crimes" a whole industry commits.
Its dishonest to not do so.

I'm pointing the finger at Alienware as they are the worst of all the brands I've actually heard of, at least when it comes to Desktops. Their prices are ridiculous, and no model sold around here comes close to matching them. Maybe others exist with higher prices, but they don't around here whilst Alienware does, thus I point the finger at the one company I know to be shit as a blanket cover for all companies that are like it.
Besides that fact the fact that others are as bad or worse doesn't make Alienware any better. They're still overpriced as all hell, and shit bang for buck, and thus people will keep calling them out on that. If someone buys an average car from some dealer for $100,000, I'll consider that dealer shit. Doesn't matter that the dealer down the road sells it for $110,000 - the dealer up the road sells a near identical car without the rediculous paintjob for $20,000, and both the others are shit value for money compared to that.

 

[Joccaren]

You should really really really do your research before speaking.
You didn't even look at the builders did you.
No you didn't.
go actually check the Alienware.com, and OriginPC.com buidlers.
yes actually do some research.

Yes, of course I didn't. None of theme exist around here so I have no need to. Alienware does, and as stated Alienware are the worst of those around here. IDGAF about somewhere else, where I live Alienware are the worst Value for Money you can buy, and that is why they get a terrible rep. People aren't going to go out looking for brands worse than Alienware because, as said, Alienware is bad enough.

Here I'll start it for you.

snip

From the looks of it...
The originPC is more expensive....

And a Big Mac is more expensive than a Cheeseburger. The Origin PC contrains more expensive and in some cases better components. I.E: SATA 6 instead of SATA 3 drive, let alone the number of parts missing on each side to compare to the other. Yes its more expensive, its also a better build, and neither it nor the Alienware build are good value for money.
Additionally, Alienware prices vary by Region. The Cheapest Aurora Desktop over hear is 2.6K whilst the most expensive is 6K. No idea on shipping as I CBF looking that up, but I'll assume its free for the sake of being fair.

You're opinion is not only biased, its incorrect and full of prejudice, you need to do your research before you speak, because you're completely wrong.

As is yours, as is everyone's. Welcome to the world my friend. Nothing I have said is incorrect - Alienware offers terrible value for money, where I live they are the worst, and that is why they get a lot of flack. None of that is a lie, nor incorrect. Brands like Origin PC I don't see in my local stores, I see Asus, Toshiba, Dell, Alienware and that shop's custom build, along with a couple of other brands that I can't remember right now. Of them, Alienware is the most expensive, and offers terrible value for money, whilst the others offer far better value for money for builds that, whilst not quite as good as Alienware ones, are close enough that you'd struggle to find a difference with some brands [Others are absolutely terrible, and completely unreliable, but it all depends on what you buy]. Oh, and then there's Macs and Apple, but they're almost as overpriced as Alienware.